Every session has a point—what each participant should walk away from the discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.

• Main Idea: We can persevere in overcoming the still-sinful parts of us by remembering that the finished work of Jesus assures us of our ultimate victory over sin.
• Head Change: To know that Christians still struggle with sin and our sin can be overcome.
• Heart Change: To feel hopeful that God, through his gospel, will produce in us an ever-deepening love for him.
• Life Change: To obey God by resisting sin because we love him and believe that, in Christ, ultimate victory over sin is certain.

Our desires play a crucial role when it comes not just to obeying traffic laws, but to battling against sin as well. In this final session of The Book of Romans: Part 1, J.D. will dig into Romans 7 and explore the Christian’s ongoing battle with sin.

Show Session 11: Romans 7:1–25 (14 minutes).

J.D. suggested that Romans 7 can be a source of encouragement for us as we face temptation and wrestle with sin. Read Romans 7:1–6.

In these first few verses, Paul uses a marriage analogy to help his Jewish readers understand their relationship to the law. J.D. said, “Before we met Christ in the gospel, it’s like we were married to the law.” But because we are in Christ now, we aren’t tied to the law anymore and, therefore, our “marriage covenant” was voided. We now belong to Jesus. What stands out to you about Paul’s analogy? In what ways do you find the analogy helpful?

Why is it good news that we belong to Jesus instead of the law?

According to Paul in verse 4, what does belonging to Christ lead to? How do we bear fruit—or live—for God? What evidence in your life points to your devotion to God? 

Paul says in verse 6 that since we’ve been released from the law—because we were “put to death through the body of Christ”—we can serve “in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.” Since we died with Christ and were raised with him, we now serve God as we might serve a spouse—in love, not out of obligation to a list of rules. Are your acts of service fueled by love or obligation? How can we tell the difference between the two?

At this point in the letter, Jewish readers who learned and followed the law all their lives would likely wonder if Paul was against the law completely. Is the law good for anything? Paul anticipates and answers if the law is sin in verse 7. How does Paul answer this question? What reason does he give for answering this way? 

How does the law show us our sin?

In verses 8 and 11, Paul uses the phrase “seizing an opportunity” to communicate sin’s active nature. Many of us can relate to that description, as it often feels like sin creeps up on us when we are most vulnerable. Have you ever thought of sin as actively taking advantage of you? How can Paul’s description of sin help us plan to resist sin?

Paul uses the tenth commandment, “do not covet,” as an example of sin’s sinister and opportunistic manipulation of the law. J.D. spent some time showing how covetousness—wanting what someone else has—is “the core sin behind all other sins.” Where do you notice covetousness in your own heart? In what ways does sin use covetousness to lead you to disobey God?

Knowing the insidious nature of sin, what measures can you take to combat the still-sinful parts of you?

Verses 14–25 is a well-known passage of Scripture that describes the human condition in relatable terms. To what extent do you relate to what Paul writes in this passage? What stands out to you most? 

J.D. said that all believers have a constant war going on inside of them. We want to love and delight in God, but, with the same heart, we can also crave sin. When has this internal war been most noticeable for you? What has it been like to fight against your sinful cravings? 

Using Tim Keller’s words, J.D. categorized our battle with sin as both “a battle we can’t win” and “the battle we can’t lose.” Why is our battle against the law and sin a battle that, apart from Christ, we are unable to win? How did your life before Christ prove that you couldn’t win the battle?

Why is this battle, for us as Christians, one that we can’t lose?

In verses 18–19, Paul groans that he has “no ability” to do the good that he wants to do but he’s fully capable of practicing the evil he doesn’t want to do. Sin comes much easier to us than righteousness. When have you found it difficult, like Paul, to do the good that you wanted to do? Why do we find it so easy to sin, even if we don’t want to do it?

The tension of this passage builds with each verse as Paul describes his plight. His condition (and ours) seems hopeless. As you read, can you feel the constraint and frustration that Paul is trying to communicate? When have you experienced a similar frustration? How have you dealt with that frustration in the past?

Near the end of this passage, it feels as if Paul is about to give up. But instead of imploding in frustration, he explodes into thanksgiving. What truth eases Paul’s mind and fills him with joy? Why is it so important to remember that Jesus is the only one who can deliver us from our sinful condition?

Paul’s expression of thanksgiving taps into the idea that J.D. returned to as he closed this session. He said that God is after the kind of obedience that grows from desire, or love. In what ways does gratitude cultivate a deeper love for God? To what extent do feelings of gratitude lead you to the new kind of obedience that J.D. describes? 

How can you be intentional about giving thanks to God for all he’s done for you?

The book of Romans is a dense, deeply theological book that covers a lot of ground. We’ve only studied the first half of Paul’s letter, but we have a lot to reflect on. What’s one thing you want to remember from this study of the first half of Romans? What could you do this week to apply that truth to your life?

As we close this series, consider the truths we explored while studying the book of Romans. Consider reading these first seven chapters again slowly this week and reflecting on what God has taught you. Pray that he would embed these lessons in your heart so that you can walk in the knowledge that your battle against sin is a battle you can’t lose.