January 14 Reading Plan

To find the entire scripture reading plan, visit:  Cottonwood Creek Journey to Easter Reading Plan

Romans 7 can be a bit confusing.   I hope this summary helps explain the text.

After discussing how being baptized into Christ makes us dead to sin and free to present our bodies as instruments of righteousness unto holiness, Paul now carries the concept of death and freedom one step further by explaining to those who know the Law that the Jewish believers become dead to the Law so that they might be joined to Christ. The result of being freed from the Law is the ability to “serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” (1-6)

Paul does not want the Jewish leaders to think that he is saying that the Law was sinful, so he is quick to clarify that notion. The Law, he says, is “holy and just and good.” The problem is that the Law only makes known that which is sinful, but the Law itself could never fully fix the problem of sin (7-12).

To explain his point, Paul describes himself as man under the Law who finds himself in a terrible dilemma. He knows what is good, and he wants to do it. He also knows what is evil, and he wants to avoid that, but he finds a “law” (or principle) in his flesh, which wins over the desire of the mind (13-23). Is there hope? Yes, God provides the solution through His Son Jesus Christ, upon which Paul will elaborate in chapter eight (24-25).