November 3, 2024 – Romans 7:15-25

Lesson Date: November 3, 2024

Focal Scripture Passage: Romans 7:15-25

AIM: To lead students to recognize that within each Christian there are two natures warring against each other, and to commit themselves to resist sin and yield to God.

Before class: Read the notes on Romans 7:15-25 found in the Sunday School Teacher Book.  Write the words “Tug of War” on the board (or bring a picture depicting a tug of war).

INTRODUCTION (Create Learning Readiness): Direct everyone’s attention to the words “Tug of War” written on the board (or the picture depicting a tug of war).  Ask: “What is a tug of war?” (a game in which two teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, each trying to pull the rope to their side).

Ask: “Have you ever played tug of war?” (they probably have).  Ask: “Is it easy to win tug of war if the teams are evenly balanced?” (no).  Ask: “What makes it so hard to win?” (each side uses all their strength and effort trying to dominate and control the other side, so they can win the game).

Tell the students that tug of war can be a fun game to play; but in real life, there is a tug of war going on inside each of us, every day of our lives.  Tell them the title of today’s lesson is Our Struggle With Sin.  Explain that in today’s scripture passage we will learn about the inner struggle we face when we try to resist sin and do good.

HEART OF THE LESSON (Bible Study):

1. Review.
   • Remind the class that we are studying the New Testament book of Romans.
   • Ask: “What was last week’s lesson about?” (Who Are You Yielding To?; we discovered the very different results of yielding to sin and yielding to God).
   • Ask if any volunteer would recite last week’s memory verse (Romans 6:23).
   • Tell the students that Romans 7:7-14 says that God’s perfect Law reveals our sinfulness.
2. Our Struggle Identified.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 7:15.
   • Explain that the word allow literally means to know or understand, so the first part of this verse means, “I don’t understand what I am doing.”
   • Ask: “What struggle did the Apostle Paul identify in this verse?” (he often didn’t do the good things he intended to do, but instead did sinful things that he hated).
   • Ask: “Can you identify with Paul’s struggle?” (yes).
   • Ask: “Was Paul a Christian when he wrote these words?” (yes).
   • Stress the fact that this struggle is one that all Christians face.
   • Remind the class that in our previous studies in Romans we have learned that:
     • We are all sinners (chapters 1 – 3).
     • We were born with Adam’s sin nature (chapter 5).
     • We must choose not to yield ourselves to sin, but to yield ourselves to God (chapter 6).
   • Ask: “What is the struggle we all face?” (resisting sin and doing right).
   • Ask: “Have you ever felt like Paul, that you don’t understand your own actions?” (yes).
   • Summarize: We all face a constant struggle to do the good things we intend to do instead of the bad things we don’t want to do.
3. Our Struggle Described.
   • Read Romans 7:16-17.
   • Explain that verse 16 says when we do sinful things we don’t want to do, that proves the Bible is true when it says we are all sinners born with Adam’s sin nature.
   • Ask: “According to verse 17, what was the source of Paul’s sin?” (sin that dwelled in him).
   • Ask: “Why does sin still dwell within us, even after we are saved?” (because we still have our old fleshly sin nature).
   • Read Romans 7:18.
   • Ask: “What dwells in our flesh?” (nothing good).
   • Ask: “Did Paul sincerely want to do right?” (yes).
   • Ask: “How did he describe his struggle?” (he had trouble doing the good things he knew he should do).
   • Ask: “Can you identify with Paul’s struggle?” (yes).
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 7:19-20.
   • Ask: “According to verse 19, what was Paul’s struggle?” (he didn’t do the good things he wanted to do, but instead he did evil things that he didn’t want to do).
   • Ask: “According to verse 20, what was the source of his sin?” (sin that dwelled in him).
   • Explain that in verses 17 and 20 the word “I” refers to the new man in Christ, and “sin” refers to the old sin nature.
   • Summarize: We all face a constant struggle with the sinful desires of our flesh.
4. Our Struggle Explained.
   • Read Romans 7:21-23.
   • Ask: “According to verse 21, what law or principle did Paul discover?” (even though he wanted to do good, evil was still present within him).
   • Ask: “Have you discovered that to be true in your own life?” (yes).
   • Ask: “Based on verse 22, do you think Paul truly wanted to do good?” (yes, he delighted in God’s law in his inner, redeemed man).
   • Ask: “Can you identify with that; do you love and delight in the things of God?” (yes).
   • Ask: “According to verse 23, what did Paul find in his body?” (another law).
   • Ask: “What was this law in his members doing?” (warring against the law of his mind).
   • Ask: “What was the goal or objective of that other law in his body?” (to make him captive to the law of sin still residing in his body).
   • Explain the following:
     • As we learned in chapter 5, because of Adam’s sin, we are all born with a sinful nature.
     • That’s why we don’t have to teach children to do wrong.
     • Sin is “hard wired” into our human DNA.
     • When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we receive a new spiritual nature, that wants to love, obey, and serve God.
     • When we get saved, however, we don’t lose our old sin nature.
     • The believer has two warring natures within: the old sin nature that wants to please the flesh and the new spiritual nature that wants to please God.
   • Remind the students of the tug of war we discussed at the beginning of the lesson.
   • Tell them that each Christian has a very real tug of war going on within, the struggle between the old sin nature and the new spiritual nature.
   • Explain that Galatians 5:17 says it this way: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that ye would.”
   • Ask: “Can you identify with that struggle?” (yes).
   • Summarize: We struggle to resist sin and do right because we have two natures warring within, our old sin nature and our new Christian nature.
5. Our Struggle’s Rescuer.
   • Ask a volunteer to read Romans 7:24-25.
   • Ask: “Because of this struggle, how did Paul describe himself in the beginning of verse 24?” (as a wretched man).
   • Tell the class that Paul’s struggle to resist sin and do good made him feel frustrated, exhausted, and miserable.
   • Ask: “What did he ask in verse 24?” (who could deliver him from his body of death).
   • Explain the following:
     • The word deliver means to drag along the ground to rescue or snatch from danger.
     • It could be used to describe pulling a wounded soldier from the danger of the battlefield.
     • The body of this death refers to our fleshly sin nature.
     • Concerning this, John MacArthur says, “an ancient tribe near Tarsus tied the corpse of a murder victim to its murderer, allowing its spreading decay to slowly infect and execute the murderer.”[i]
   • Ask: “According to verse 25, who will eventually rescue us from our struggle with our old sin nature?” (our Lord Jesus Christ, either through our natural death or through giving us a new glorified body at the Rapture).
   • Tell the class that the rest of verse 25 summarizes our struggle: with the mind (our new spiritual nature) we serve the law of God, but with the flesh (our old sin nature) we serve the law of sin.
   • Stress the fact that this verse merely summarizes our struggle; it DOES NOT mean it is okay to sin with our body as long as we keep our mind and heart right with God.
   • Summarize: Jesus Christ will one day deliver us from the struggle between our old sin nature and our new spiritual nature.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: Direct everyone’s attention once again to the words “Tug of War” written on the board (or the picture depicting a tug of war).  Tell them in a tug of war, each side tries to dominate and control the other.  Remind the class that the title of today’s lesson is Our Struggle With Sin.  Tell them we have identified that struggle, described the struggle, explained why we have the struggle, and learned that one day Jesus will deliver us from the struggle.

Ask: “Until then, does God give us help in the struggle between our sinful flesh and our new spiritual nature, or do we have to face it on our own?” (God helps us by giving us His indwelling Holy Spirit, promises and encouragement in His Word, and His Gospel armor; Eph. 6:10-17).

Tell the students that to live victoriously in this struggle we must yield ourselves to God and resist the sinful desires of our flesh.  Tell them that James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Ask: “Are you willing to resist sin and submit to God?”

Ask everyone to bow their head and close their eyes.  Tell them to confess any sins God has brought to their mind during this lesson.  Tell them to yield and submit themselves to God, and to make a commitment to Him to resist the sinful desires of their flesh.  Allow a moment for silent prayer, and then voice a prayer of submission and commitment.

CONCLUSION: Tell the students that James 4:7 is not listed in our books as a memory verse, but it would be a good one to remember when we face the inner struggle between good and evil.  Tell them to pray for one another this week, that we all may submit to God and resist sin.

[i] The MacArthur Study Bible, John MacArthur, Copyright © 1997, Word Publishing, Nashville, TN, Electronic edition © Logos Library System.