Read Romans 7 at Bible Gateway.
Outline:
Rom 1:1-7, Greeting and benediction;
Rom 1:8-15, Desire to visit Rome;
Rom 1:16-17, Theme of the letter: the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God;
Rom 1:18-5:21, Justification and the righteousness of God;
Rom 6:1-8:39, Sanctification and the righteousness of God;
Rom 6:1, Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2-13, No, we have died to sin and are alive with new life in Christ;
Rom 6:14, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under Law but under grace;
Rom 6:15-23, Shall we sin because we are not under Law but under grace + answer;
Rom 7:1-6, Dead to the Law written without/ alive to the Spirit written within;
Rom 7:7-14, The Law is holy, but in my flesh sin works to bring death;
Rom 7:14-22, I do what I will not to do through sin dwelling within me;
Rom 7:23-25, Jesus Christ has delivered me from this state, that is, my flesh serving the law of sin;
Rom 7:7-14a chiastic structure:
1a) Rom 7:7a, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not!
1b) Rom 7:7b, On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law;
1c) Rom 7:8a, But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire;
1d) Rom 7:8b-11, When the law came, sin killed me/ the commandment, which was to bring life, brought death;
1a) Rom 7:8b-9, For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died;
shim1b) Rom 7:10a, And the commandment, which was to bring life;
shim2b) Rom 7:10b, I found to bring death;
2a) Rom 7:11, For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me + killed me;
central axis) Rom 7:12, Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good;
2d) Rom 7:13a, Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not!
2c) Rom 7:13b, But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good;
2b) Rom 7:13c, So that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful;
2a) Rom 7:14a, For we know that the law is spiritual.
So then, what does Paul mean when he says he is dead to the Law? Does this mean, as the modern church interprets it, who ordain homo[s-x]ual pastors who are living with their partners, that God’s instruction in righteous living (Torah) no longer applies to us?
The short answer is NO!
Follow along with me for the long answer: romans 7, dead to the law ♥
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