Romans 7:1-6

Read Romans 7:1. We must know who we are, the spiritual life begins in the mind. Before we come to Christ we are bound by law, bound by rule-keeping, rules and regulation's, do's and don'ts, legalism. We are enslaved. When Christ died, that ended. Read Romans 7:2-3. An illustration is given, the point is not of marriage but of civil law. In Roman law when two people were married they were bound to each other, they were bound to each other until death. The point is: death severes relationships.

So now we are to apply that concept to Mosaic Law. Read Romans 7:4. In the illustration (vs. 2-3) it says: if your spouse dies then the bond ends and you can marry again. In vs. 4 it says when you die the bond ends and you can belong to another. It might be a little confusing, but the point is that death severes the bond to Law. We died with Christ, and are crucified with Christ. We are in Christ, joined to him. When Christ died, we died. The bond to the Mosaic Law ended, we don't belong to the Law anymore. Now we belong to Christ, there is no more rulekeeping or legalism with him, we have died to that. Yet, so many Christians still live under the Law.

What does it mean to "bear fruit?" It means becoming like Jesus, having Christlikeness. Galatians 5 connects the Holy Spirit with fruitfulness. (Read Gal. 5:22-23) Does God see these things in you? Do these things characterize you more and more? If not, why not?

Read Romans 7:5. Living in the flesh means that you are living for yourself rather than for Christ. The Law is not bad, but it tends to stir up sin and the result is we start to bear fruit of death. (meaning guilt, shame, misery, broken relationships, etc.)

Read Romans 7:6. We are in a New Day. We are released from the Law. No longer under the Law, that was Old Testament life. We live in the New Testament in the New Covenant. We no longer serve God under the Law, we serve God in the new way of the Spirit. We can live life in the Holy Spirit: led by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, and baptized by the Spirit. This is a New Day and the Age of the Spirit.

Discussion Questions
1. After studying Romans 6 and part of Romans 7, is your sense of identity changing? Are you seeing yourself more like Christ sees you? Are you talking to yourself rather than listening to other voices? How could you do this more?
2. Contrast a life "in the flesh" and a life "in the spirit." How would you define each of these, and what are the implications of each kind of life?
3. Would you say you are moving more towards a life in the Spirit?