Romans 7

Romans Chapter 7 Commentary

Overview

Romans 7 is a crucial chapter where the Apostle Paul explores the roles of the law, sin, and the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. This chapter contrasts the state of humanity under the law with liberation through Christ, emphasizing the relationship between sin and the law, and a life that overcomes sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. Various theological traditions offer profound insights into the function of the law, the nature of sin, and the freedom and responsibility of believers through this chapter.

Structure of the Text

The structure of Romans 7 can be divided as follows:

Verses 1-6: This section metaphorically explains the severance of the relationship with the law, meaning those who were under the law are freed from it through Christ. Using the analogy of marriage, it demonstrates that the law's authority ceases due to Christ's death.

Verses 7-13: This part explains that the law is not sinful; rather, it reveals sin and clarifies its true nature. The law is holy and righteous, but due to human sinfulness, it serves to highlight sin.

Verses 14-25: This section vividly portrays the internal struggle of humanity under the law. It shows the painful battle between the desire to do good and the reality of sinning, concluding with an earnest cry for deliverance from this state.

Key Themes

The Relationship Between Law and Sin: The law serves to condemn sin but is not a fundamental solution to it. Instead, the law reveals the existence and destructive power of sin.

Christian Freedom: Through union with Christ, believers are freed from the condemnation of the law and the power of sin. This signifies liberation from the law's authority, not its abolition.

Internal Conflict and the Power of the Holy Spirit: Humanity under the law constantly struggles between good and evil, but in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, this conflict can be overcome, leading to a holy life.

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Verses 1-6: Severance of the Relationship with the Law

Verse 1: "Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has dominion over a person only as long as he lives?"

The Reformed tradition and various other traditions emphasize that the law has authority only as long as one lives, and that the binding power of the law ceases through union with Christ. The analogy of marriage clarifies that the relationship with the law is severed by Christ's death.

Verse 2: "For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is alive, but if her husband dies she is released from the law that binds her to him."

This analogy likens the law to a husband, showing that humanity under the law is freed from it by Christ's death.

Verse 3: "Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress."

This is a crucial verse showing that the believer's status has been freed from the relationship with the law and united with Christ.

Verse 4: "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God."

Various traditions, including Anglican, Methodist, and Reformed, emphasize liberation from the law through the body of Christ and a life bearing fruit for God. This signifies living a new life free from the law's condemnation.

Verse 5: "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members, leading to fruit for death."

This explains how sinful passions, under the law, worked through our members, leading to death.

Verse 6: "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."

This emphasizes a life serving God in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the letter.

Verses 7-13: The Role of the Law and the Revelation of Sin

Verse 7: "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known what it is to covot if the law had not said, 'You shall not covot.'"

Various traditions, including Puritan, Lutheran, and Anglican, emphasize that the law itself is not sin, but rather it reveals the existence and nature of sin. Through the commandments of the law, human sinfulness is more clearly exposed.

Verse 8: "But sin, seizing the opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead."

Sin uses the law to stir up covetousness within humans and produce sinful fruit.

Verse 9: "I once lived apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died."

Before the law, sin was not recognized, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and the person realized their sinfulness.

Verse 10: "The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me."

The commandment that should have brought life, due to sin, resulted in a sentence of death.

Verse 11: "For sin, seizing the opportunity by the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me."

Sin exploits the law to deceive and destroy humanity.

Verse 12: "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."

The law itself is holy, righteous, and good, reflecting God's holy character. The problem lies not with the law but with sinful humanity.

Verse 13: "Did then what is good become death to me? By no means! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, in order that sin might become exceedingly sinful by the commandment."

The good law serves as a tool to reveal sin, making its seriousness even more apparent.

Verses 14-25: Internal Conflict and the Cry for Deliverance

Verse 14: "We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin."

Reformed, Methodist, and Anglican traditions explain through this verse the intense conflict between human sinfulness (flesh) and God's holy will (law, spiritual). Humanity is enslaved to sin and cannot keep the law by its own will.

Verse 15: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I hate, I keep on doing."

This is a confession of human powerlessness, sinning against one's own will.

Verse 16: "Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."

This explains that it is not one's own will but the sin dwelling within that acts through them.

Verse 17: "So then it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Repetition of verse 15)

Verse 18: "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire, but I do not have the ability to do what is good."

This states that nothing good dwells in human flesh, and though there is a desire to do good, the ability to do it is absent.

Verse 19: "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." (Similar to verses 15 and 17)

Verse 20: "Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Repetition of verse 16)

Verse 21: "So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand."

The dual state of humanity, where evil coexists with the desire to do good, is expressed as "a law."

Verse 22: "For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,"

The true self within delights in and agrees with the law of God.

Verse 23: "but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members."

This describes the powerless state where the law of sin in the body wars against the law of the mind, making one captive to the law of sin.

Verse 24: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

This verse is the climax of Romans 7, an expression of despair in the struggle against sin. Puritan, Methodist, and Reformed traditions emphasize through this cry a deep recognition of human sinfulness and an earnest need for a Savior.

Verse 25: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."

In this desperate situation, hope of salvation through Jesus Christ is found, and thanks are given to God. Although humanity still struggles internally between two laws, ultimate deliverance is found in Christ.

Original Language Insights

Verse 7: Law (νόμος, nomos) - The Greek word 'nomos' means law, rule, or order. In this verse, it refers to the moral and ceremonial laws given by God.

Verse 14: Spiritual (πνευματικός, pneumatikos) - Meaning 'spiritual,' it refers to the power and nature of the Holy Spirit, contrasting with human carnal nature.

Verse 14: Of the flesh (σάρκινος, sarkikos) - Meaning 'of the flesh' or 'worldly,' it refers to human nature under the influence of sin.

Verse 14: Sold under sin (πεπραμένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, pepramenos hypoten hamartian) - The expression 'sold under sin' emphasizes complete dominion by sin.

Theological Perspectives — Comparative Denominations

Reformed: The law reveals sin and condemns sinners, but believers in Christ are free from the law's condemnation. Human sinfulness remains, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, one can fight against sin and live a holy life.

Methodist/Wesleyan: The law shows God's holy standard, but humans, due to sinfulness, cannot perfectly keep it. Through the grace of Jesus Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, sin can be overcome, and a life of holiness can be lived.

Lutheran: The law reveals human sinfulness and causes guilt, leading people to Christ. This is emphasized as the 'third use of the law.' Justification is by faith alone, and salvation cannot be obtained by works of the law.

Puritan: They deeply understand the powerlessness and sinfulness of humanity under the law, emphasizing liberation in Christ and a holy life through the internal work of the Holy Spirit. Serving in the "newness of the Spirit" is considered important.

Baptist: The law serves to make one aware of sin, but the grace of salvation, received through the atoning work of Christ and made righteous by the Holy Spirit, is emphasized.

Anglican: The law is a holy standard showing God's will, but humans, due to sin, cannot perfectly keep it. Through Christ's grace and the help of the Holy Spirit, a life that fulfills the law's requirements can be lived.

Greek Exegesis: Focuses on analyzing the original language meanings of concepts like law, sin, flesh, and spirit, and understanding the structure of Paul's argument.

German Pietism: Emphasizes the deep sinfulness and powerlessness of humanity under the law, and values the experience of salvation through Jesus Christ and the transformation of life through the internal work of the Holy Spirit.

Cross-References

Romans 6: The theme of severance from the law and liberation from sin is further developed in Romans 7.

Romans 8: Presents freedom and victory in the Spirit as the solution to the painful state of humanity struggling with sin, as described in chapter 7.

Galatians 5: Emphasizes a life bearing the fruit of the Spirit rather than works of the law, connecting with the themes of Romans 7.

2 Corinthians 3: Contrasts the glory of the law with the glory of the gospel, explaining the difference between the old and the new.

Sermon / Application Points

Who Am I? (Self-Awareness as a Sinner): Romans 7 honestly portrays the powerful force of sin within us and the powerlessness felt in the struggle against it. We should not consider ourselves righteous or take sin lightly, but like Paul, deeply recognize our sinfulness.

The True Meaning of the Law: The law is not given to condemn us but to reveal God's holiness and our sinfulness, leading us to Christ. Instead of striving to keep the law, we should look to Christ who saves us through the law.

Liberation in Christ: Through Christ's death and resurrection, we have been liberated from the condemnation of the law and the power of sin. This liberation is not the abolition of the law but freedom from its binding authority, and it means living a new life through union with Christ.

Victory Through the Power of the Holy Spirit: While struggling with sin under the law is our natural state, in Christ, we can overcome sin and live according to God's will by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. We must constantly seek the Spirit and follow His guidance.

A Life of Thanksgiving: We should live a life of thanksgiving to God through Jesus Christ, who delivered us from the body of sin and death. We must remember that our victory is not by our own strength but solely by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and give thanks accordingly.