SURVEY OF ROMANS

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If Paul had put the name Adam at the head of one ledger and the name Christ at the head of another and listed under them what they both stood for, sin and death would be in the Adam list. Life and Righteousness would be on the other list under Christ.

It’s when Paul puts the Torah in the Adam list that questions fly and blood pressure rises!

They insisted that the Torah brought life and kept Israel from sin and here we have Paul claiming the Torah was added to prior Gentile laws and to a situation in which sin reigned through death and Torah only made matters worse!

Paul claimed that the Torah was given to increase the trespass or the nature of sin, and that seems to speak ill of the Torah in that it seemed to put the Torah on the side of assisting sin rather than removing sin

If sin reigned through death and the Torah was given to increase the trespass then the Torah must be anti-life and pro-death!

But Paul had said that where the trespass was compounded by the Torah, God's faithful grace was more than a match for this (Rom 5:17; 20-21).

For the Jewish mind, this seemed to introduce conflicting and confusing conclusions!

If increased sin resulted in increased grace and therefore more glory for God, it would appear that the logical and right thing to do would be to sin more so that God would get more glory!

After all, that’s what people are to live for¾to bring God glory.
To the Jew it began to look like Paul despised the Torah by making it a “torah of sin and death”!

Paul appeared to be making sinning a service to God by which God gets more glory.

To the well trained Jew Paul’s doctrine seemed to be putting the Torah down and elevating sin!

If the Torah was given to make sin worse (Rom 5:20, “Law came in, in order to increase the trespass ”with a hina clause in order to stressing purpose rather than simple result¾see Rom 11:32) then people should sin more in order to fulfil the purpose of the Torah!

This seemed, to the troubled Jewish mind, confused by these new ideas of Paul, to be the logical outcome of Paul’s message.

The following section (Rom 6:1-7:25) is not dealing with the dynamic of righteousness, or the power to overcome sin (though Paul will mention that); it has to do with the "obligation" of the "new man" declared righteous by faith in Christ and freed from Torah demands.

Should the man now righteous by faith live in sin and despise the righteous requirement of the Torah so that grace may abound (Rom 6:1)?
Paul responds with a resounding, “By no means” of “Not never, never, never”!
Paul had already addressed this thinking, Rom 3:8, “their condemnation is just!” and Rom 3:31 “Do we overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary we uphold the law.”

Later in Rom 8:3-4 Paul will argue that Christ had died to condemn sin and sinful flesh.

Paul now discusses what had happened to those who through faith in Jesus had been baptized.

1. Baptism into Christ; United with Christ: Rom 6:1-14

His little expression “Do you not know…?” indicates that they should have already known this, but in case they had not fully realized what had happened to them in baptism,.
Paul now enters one of the finest discussions of baptism we have in the New Testament.

It is interesting to note that whenever Paul addresses baptism in his epistles, he is speaking to those who have been baptized explaining to them what baptism should have meant to them! (see 1 Cor 12:12, 13; Col 2:12, 3:1-17; Gal 3:26, 27).

For more detailed study on baptism in the New Testament we recommend the materials on the web pages of the Center For Church Enrichment under the Topical Menu on Baptism and Acts 2:38, http://www.centerce.org.

2. You were also baptized into Christ’s death which is where atonement for sin took place.

3. In baptism we are buried with Christ into death, we die with Christ to our old life.

4. In baptism we are raised with Christ (because of the power of his resurrection) to a new life in Christ

5. After baptism we walk (live) in newness of life, not just a new life, but in a condition of newness.

6. Since we are united with Christ in a death like his we shall also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

7. A major point is that in baptism we are united with Christ; we experience in Christ his death, we experience in Christ his
resurrection.

8. Our old man of sin is crucified with Christ so that our sinful nature is dead and destroyed so we are no longer enslaved to
in (Rom 3:9, under the power of sin).

The net result of this we find in Rom 6:8 -11, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

The point being that because Christians have been united with Christ through baptism, Christians no longer live under the control of sin and no longer make excuses for sin based on the grace of God they enjoy in Christ!

Rom 6:12-14 explains that those baptized into Christ and united with Christ no longer let sin reign in their bodies for sin must no longer have dominion in their lives.

Rom 6:15-23. Since they (presumably the Roman Christians) had been obedient from the heart to that form of doctrine to which they had been committed and are no longer slaves to sin.

In the context of Rom 6 and baptism it seems most natural that the obedience form the heart to the form of doctrine they had received was a reference to baptism, which was obedience form the heart, or an obedient faith (se Rom 1: 5; 16:26).

Obviously, Jewish concerns for he Torah would again surface, so Paul again resorted to a diatribe style in which he introduced an interlocutor (someone who asks questions in behalf of others), and answers the question. (In Rom 3:1-7:25 Paul plays with this diatribe style in which he introduces a Jew asking supposed concerned questions. The words “By no means” are in keeping with this diatribe style and indicate the introduction of a diatribe interlocutor.)

A natural question rephrased in terms of Rom 6:1 would be, “Since we are no longer under the law and now under grace, can we sin so grace may abound?” Paul responded with the usual indignant answer, “By no means!”

Slavery to sin is death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23), and “the free gift of God (grace) is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Notice that sin no longer has dominion over the baptized (that is, is Lord in their lives), for Jesus is now Lord of their lives!

Rom 6 explains in detail and graphic terms that for the baptized the Torah (regardless of how important it might be, and Paul will explain this in Rom 7) does no control the life of the Christian, but their relationship with Christ does, for He is now Lord of their lives.

Consequently, Christians, although freed from the restrictions of the Torah, now have a greater restriction on sin, the fact that they are dead to sin and united with Christ!

In one sense, Christ has become the Christian’s “torah” or instruction form God on how to live righteous lives.

2. In Christ, Slaves to Righteousness: Rom 6:15-23

Paul opens this argument with his familiar diatribe question put into the mouth of an interlocutor, "What then, Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?"

Paul's answer is a resounding NO! "By no means", "NO. NO. No. Never think like that!"

He follows that with another of his familiar questions, "Do you not know" implying that they should know!

To whom you offer yourselves as obedient servants, to that one you become a slave!
If you obey sin, you become a slave to sin!

Since you have been united with Christ in baptism and have died in this baptism to sin, you cannot any longer be obedient to sin and offer yourself to sin!

Notice Paul's next comment in Rom 6:17!
"You have become obedient from the heart to that standard (tupos - form) of teaching to which you were committed!"
What form of teaching had they obeyed form the heart?
In the context of Rom 6 it can only be baptism!

Paul clarifies this point by stating that in this act of faithful obedience they had been set free from sin.
They now have become slaves of God (Rom 6:22)

Paul's final response is stunning!
The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23)
The free gift of God's grace is eternal life in Christ!

Those baptized into Christ and consequently united with Christ are obedient to God and Christ, they are slaves of God!
Those obedient to sin are not slaves of God and righteousness, but are slaves to sin, and consequently will receive the wages of sin, namely, total ruin and death!

Rom 7:1-25 Continues Paul’s Discussion on the Christian’s Relationship with Law and Sin.

Paul develops his thought on the Christian’s relationship to sin and the law by with three arguments:

Again he introduces the discussion with the expression “Do you not know…” indicating that he is using an analogy that they know and understand.

Since he is precise in referring to the law it seems most likely that he has Jewish Christians in mind, and that the law he is referring to is the Torah.

A marriage lasted as long as both partners were alive; death broke the marriage bond.

The surviving partner was free to remarry as that person would be free form the law that bound the previous marriage.

However, and here is the clincher Paul makes, if one of the partners married while their spouse was alive, this would be adultery.

The analogy Paul makes with this marriage law is creative since in his example the person now married to Christ had died, thus breaking the previous marriage bond!

The point Paul is making is that following Rom 6:1-5 and Paul’s teaching on baptism the Jewish Christians have died to their previous life relationships, and have been united with Christ.

But this marriage had been cancelled or broken by the death of one of the partners, in this case the Jewish Christian who had died with Christ in baptism.

To continue to hold on to the previous “spouse”, the Torah, would be equivalent to adultery!

Notice Rom 7:5, 6 “While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”

We do not serve under the old written code (Torah) which working with our sins killed us, but now serve in the new life of the Spirit.

Paul introduces a new point here, the life giving power of the Holy Spirit which he will develop more fully ion Rom 8.

Note 2 Cor 3:6 where Paul again speaks of the written code (Torah) which kills and the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of life.

The background to this interesting example has given scholars a considerable field for discussion!

Just who does Paul have in mind when he uses the pronoun “I” (in Greek ego) in Rom 7:9?

We will in this discussion adopt #3, unregenerate humanity as a whole since this seems to be a universal struggle. One can make a good argument for all three!

In 1 Tim 1:8 Paul answers this in another context. The law is good if you use it lawfully!

We need to be reminded her that when Paul speaks of “I” he is doing so, not in regard to his own self, but in regard to the whole human race. What he describes in this paragraph is felt by all humans sensitive to what is right and wrong, and what is expected of them!

Christians under grace naturally feel the tension of being free form opinion and required norms such as relating meaningfully to Torah, whether it be Torah of the Old Testament or “torah” of the New Testament (torah referring to divine instruction on how to live righteously).

Since the law (Torah) although good, spiritual, and holy led to sin and death, how then do Christians live in the presence of a deeply spiritual Torah (Jewish Christians would have problems working this one out)?

Paul reminds the Romans that the problem lay not in the Torah, but in our carnal (fleshly, sinful) nature.

Christians know what they should do, or how they should live, they understand “torah” instruction, but because of human weakness they end up failing to do what they intended, and frustrated by their human weakness!

Because Christians recognize their human weakness and know the ideals of righteousness and “torah”, guilt often sets in!

Paul expresses this well, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

The answer to this cry, almost a cry of desperation, can be anticipated from what Paul has already discussed.
It is “God through Jesus Christ our Lord” who can deliver us!

This answer, that it is through God that we find relief from guilt, is the thought that Paul devoted the following chapter, Rom 8, to develop in specific detail!

Rom 8 is perhaps the culmination and climax of Paul’s doctrine he plans to teach in Rome and Spain, and it certainly is the climax of justification by grace through faith in Jesus and the confidence Christians gain from this!

Although the Torah law is good, holy, and spiritual, when used incorrectly, working with sin, it brings death, total ruin, and guilt.

For Christians (and in fact all humanity) knowing the divine instruction of “torah” and our own human weakness inevitably results in frustration and guilt.

The answer to those who cry out in frustration is that God through Jesus has provided relief from human weakness, sin, and guilt, and this relief is found in covenant relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ethical Response To God; The Fulfilment of the Torah