Romans, Chapter 7
Commentary
7:1-3 Paul speaks directly to the Jews here, trying to further convince them of his premise through an extended analogy. The law does not have any bearing on the dead, but is for the living (even concerning the construction of cemeteries and so on, the instructions and regulations are for the living, not the dead). Paul's example of a woman and her husband is clear and easily understood.
7:4-Here is a new thought, "bearing fruit for God." The Greek and English languages use "fruit" as a metaphor in a similar fashion, so the Greeks might also talk of something, or someone, being "Fruitful" or "unfruitful." The fruits of the spirit, which Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22-23, are fruits which we bear, not just for our own pleasure or the benefit of our neighbors, but for God.
7:5-The idea that the law is capable of "arousing sinful passions" or that sinful passions are at work in us "through the law" is difficult to justify. According to commentator Brendan Byrne, Paul defends this assertion by saying that the law brings with it the burden of knowledge of and guilt for sin, but no way to break the cycle of guilt and condemnation. This was a common theme of Jesus' ministry as well-the Pharisees were accused of placing huge burdens on the people that they were unwilling to alleviate (Matthew 23:4). While Christians give thanks for the freedom they have in Christ, we should take time to reflect on the religious and civil obligations which we place on people. Christians have often fallen into the sin of being dogmatic and merciless about obedience to certain aspects of Christian morality or secular law, but have rarely done the hard work that Jesus did-to go to the guilty and potentially guilty, and offer them a way to break the cycle of sin that they're trapped in. For example, if we stand against drug abuse, do we provide support groups for addicts, lobby for jail sentences that differentiate between violent and nonviolent offenses, and work to create adequate mental health care for returning soldiers with PTSD, victims of abuse, and so on? Or do we merely demand harsh legal penalties, and let the law deal with them? Christ did the hard work on our behalf to break our bondage to sin and death. Imitating Christ means being willing to make similar sacrifices to free others from the condemnation of the law, whether secular or of God, "while they are yet sinners."
7:6-Just as death frees from worldly obligations, so death to the law frees us from its obligations. However, our death was for a purpose-we have died to the law so that we can serve in the Spirit.
7:7-8-Many of us can identify with this spirit of rebellion against the law. No sooner do we find out that some law or statute impedes our desires, than we begin to justify why we should not be held to the same standard as everyone else. The Law is not sin, Paul says, but rather sheds light on, and sometimes provokes, sin in us. It's worth noting here that most Pagan philosopher in Paul's milieu did not regard coveting as a vice, since it was an internal thought process and not an external action or behavior. Paul uses this familiar example of a way that the law discloses sinfulness to drive home his larger point, as seen in the following verses.
7:9-10-Given that we are all without excuse for our own sinfulness (Romans 2:1), The Law, which is the just and holy will of God for humanity, is positively lethal for us. This is not a defect on the part of the law; laws always seem wonderful when they promote our interests, and unfair when they hinder them. The law, being from God, is holy and good, and insofar as it disappointing, frustrates, or condemns us, we, and not the law, are at fault.
7:11-Sin is personified here, again (see 5:12, 6:12-13, etc.) but using language that is very reminiscent of the story of Adam and Eve. The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, uses the same Greek verb in an expression of the same form: "X deceived me, and thus..." as Genesis 3:13. Paul will only mention Satan in the final words of parting, Romans 16:20. In the midst of the book, he prefers to focus the Roman Christians on their own sin and culpability, not on blaming external factors, so that they might not become like Adam and Eve ("The woman you gave to me is to blame!" "The serpent is to blame!") themselves.
7:12-"Commandment" is interchangeable with "Law" in Paul's writing. He is not here suggesting that one aspect of the Torah is more valuable than another. Calvin agrees with this reading, saying that law and commandment are interchangeable terms. Calvin cites earlier theologians, but does not give names or sources.
7:13-The English word "sin" is a translation of a Greek archery term meaning to miss a target. The phrase here "beyond measure" (Greek: Huperbolé, cf. English: Hyperbole, which means basically the same thing) indicates that the law takes the unreckoned but still existing sins, and not only defines them, but casts a bright light upon the extent of the disease. The law here does not produce sinfulness, but allows and enhances knowledge of it.
7:14-The struggle between the flesh and the spirit is one that was originally alien to Jewish thought, but came to absolutely dominate many realms of philosophy, both Jewish (ex. Philo of Alexandria) and Gentile (Plato, Plotinus, Marcus Aurelius, etc.) in the Roman period. The basic idea behind this way of thinking is that there exists a hidden spiritual world, which is "undimmed by human tears," which Plato called the "world of forms," basically a place where the perfect templates for everything that exists dwell, and a mortal world, which is nothing but a passing, imperfect shadow of the world of forms. All the hardship and imperfection of the present life belongs to the flesh, but the spiritual realm contains within it the distillation of beauty and joy.
Paul capitalizes on this shared philosophical background as he launches into a discussion of the reality of life in the world: Human intentions and human actualization rarely align. What we want to do and what we achieve are often far apart. Paul should not be understood as feeding into the pagan idea that there is something inherently evil about the material world; God created the physical world and called it "very good." However, it does provide a good grounding point for his hearers for what follows. The phrase "sold into slavery under sin" may be translated so that the phrase reads "I am a slave to sin." Either reading is valid.
7:15-Here is the principle struggle of the Christian life. Every Christian who has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit can relate, daily, to this deep conflict. ]Paul uses different verbs when he says "I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate," however, commentators are divided on whether this is intended to have some layer of meaning, or merely be variation for the sake of reader/hearer interest. The idea expressed by Paul here would be no surprise to his Gentile hearers. In his play, Hippolytus, Euripides wrote "I have often thought about what so wrecks our human life, and realized that a lack of understanding is not the root of all evil-most people lack nothing in insight, so the cause must lie elsewhere: We know and recognize the good but we do not do it, some from sloth and others from preferring pleasure over duty." (Cited in Jewett, 2007, p. 463).
7:16-This statement, which is very confusingly worded in some translations, basically means "It's a good thing that the Law is there to designate and condemn evil, since I am not capable of controlling myself, and do bad things even when I don't really want to." Some commentators speculate that Paul's wrath against the early Church before his conversion was borne out of the unsettled feeling that obeying the law produced in him. Because he was so careful in obeying The Law (Philippians 3:6), despite knowing that this behavior was inwardly hypocritical because his heart was not always in it, he was especially wrathful in punishing those whose outward behavior did not conform to the law. This should be a wake-up call for all Christians against sententious and judgmental behavior.
7:17-Again, Paul continues with the idea of sin and ownership, what Augustine called "non posse non peccare," that humans apart from the Spirit do not have the power to break free from Sin, which owns and dominates them like slaves. Sin "lives in" unregenerated humanity, like the Spirit lives in the regenerated believer.
7:18-This is a very important doctrinal point. Christians must reject the notion, popular at various points and throughout history (and in Disney movies), to "follow your heart" or "listen to your inner voice" or "do what feels right" in order to determine what is right. Scripture tells us that at its worst, "every intention of the thoughts of human hearts are only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). We do not have the power within us to consistently choose the unselfish, Christlike good over the selfish, harmful evil. We cannot be trusted to use our corrupt and malleable consciences to choose the good. We must be regenerated by the Spirit, pray for our will to be conformed to God's, discern the will of the Father in community with other Christians, and be guided by the light of the scriptures, if we are to stay on the narrow path of righteousness.
7:19-20-Paul summarizes his arguments. Fallen man is completely dominated by sin, it runs wild and out of control, leading people to make choices that can shock and horrify them in retrospect.
7:21-Paul finds this axiom to closely approximate reality: That good and evil are in conflict within him, and Sin is seeking to dominate him, and often succeeds. In Genesis 4:7, God warns: "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
7:22-23-In Jeremiah 31:33, God says through the prophet: "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." In the depths of sin, people will sometime shave glimpses of "coming to their senses," and seeing the reality of evil around them, through the work of the Holy Spirit and common grace. Such a realization is the impetus for the start of the journey of the protagonist Christian in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Yet sin functions like a law, binding humans to obedience.
7:24-CS Lewis once said that sometimes, to get a man saved, one must first get him lost. The Gospel is the map to save humanity from the lost-ness expressed in this verse. It is a solution to the problem that this verse outlines.
7:25- And this the solution: Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, the dual use of "Lord" and "Delivers" indicates both that Christ rescues from the clutches of sin, and imposes a new paradigm on our lives, a new kind of law, which will bind us to obedience to God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. Yet, in spite of this newly acknowledge Lordship, conflict persists. Augustine calls this state posse non peccare, it is now "possible not to sin," but it is by no means guaranteed. How will this conflict be resolved? The answer awaits in the next chapter.
Next: Romans, Chapter 8
Previous: Romans, Chapter 6
Back to the Centennial Scripture Challenge
7:1-3 Paul speaks directly to the Jews here, trying to further convince them of his premise through an extended analogy. The law does not have any bearing on the dead, but is for the living (even concerning the construction of cemeteries and so on, the instructions and regulations are for the living, not the dead). Paul's example of a woman and her husband is clear and easily understood.
7:4-Here is a new thought, "bearing fruit for God." The Greek and English languages use "fruit" as a metaphor in a similar fashion, so the Greeks might also talk of something, or someone, being "Fruitful" or "unfruitful." The fruits of the spirit, which Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22-23, are fruits which we bear, not just for our own pleasure or the benefit of our neighbors, but for God.
7:5-The idea that the law is capable of "arousing sinful passions" or that sinful passions are at work in us "through the law" is difficult to justify. According to commentator Brendan Byrne, Paul defends this assertion by saying that the law brings with it the burden of knowledge of and guilt for sin, but no way to break the cycle of guilt and condemnation. This was a common theme of Jesus' ministry as well-the Pharisees were accused of placing huge burdens on the people that they were unwilling to alleviate (Matthew 23:4). While Christians give thanks for the freedom they have in Christ, we should take time to reflect on the religious and civil obligations which we place on people. Christians have often fallen into the sin of being dogmatic and merciless about obedience to certain aspects of Christian morality or secular law, but have rarely done the hard work that Jesus did-to go to the guilty and potentially guilty, and offer them a way to break the cycle of sin that they're trapped in. For example, if we stand against drug abuse, do we provide support groups for addicts, lobby for jail sentences that differentiate between violent and nonviolent offenses, and work to create adequate mental health care for returning soldiers with PTSD, victims of abuse, and so on? Or do we merely demand harsh legal penalties, and let the law deal with them? Christ did the hard work on our behalf to break our bondage to sin and death. Imitating Christ means being willing to make similar sacrifices to free others from the condemnation of the law, whether secular or of God, "while they are yet sinners."
7:6-Just as death frees from worldly obligations, so death to the law frees us from its obligations. However, our death was for a purpose-we have died to the law so that we can serve in the Spirit.
7:7-8-Many of us can identify with this spirit of rebellion against the law. No sooner do we find out that some law or statute impedes our desires, than we begin to justify why we should not be held to the same standard as everyone else. The Law is not sin, Paul says, but rather sheds light on, and sometimes provokes, sin in us. It's worth noting here that most Pagan philosopher in Paul's milieu did not regard coveting as a vice, since it was an internal thought process and not an external action or behavior. Paul uses this familiar example of a way that the law discloses sinfulness to drive home his larger point, as seen in the following verses.
7:9-10-Given that we are all without excuse for our own sinfulness (Romans 2:1), The Law, which is the just and holy will of God for humanity, is positively lethal for us. This is not a defect on the part of the law; laws always seem wonderful when they promote our interests, and unfair when they hinder them. The law, being from God, is holy and good, and insofar as it disappointing, frustrates, or condemns us, we, and not the law, are at fault.
7:11-Sin is personified here, again (see 5:12, 6:12-13, etc.) but using language that is very reminiscent of the story of Adam and Eve. The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, uses the same Greek verb in an expression of the same form: "X deceived me, and thus..." as Genesis 3:13. Paul will only mention Satan in the final words of parting, Romans 16:20. In the midst of the book, he prefers to focus the Roman Christians on their own sin and culpability, not on blaming external factors, so that they might not become like Adam and Eve ("The woman you gave to me is to blame!" "The serpent is to blame!") themselves.
7:12-"Commandment" is interchangeable with "Law" in Paul's writing. He is not here suggesting that one aspect of the Torah is more valuable than another. Calvin agrees with this reading, saying that law and commandment are interchangeable terms. Calvin cites earlier theologians, but does not give names or sources.
7:13-The English word "sin" is a translation of a Greek archery term meaning to miss a target. The phrase here "beyond measure" (Greek: Huperbolé, cf. English: Hyperbole, which means basically the same thing) indicates that the law takes the unreckoned but still existing sins, and not only defines them, but casts a bright light upon the extent of the disease. The law here does not produce sinfulness, but allows and enhances knowledge of it.
7:14-The struggle between the flesh and the spirit is one that was originally alien to Jewish thought, but came to absolutely dominate many realms of philosophy, both Jewish (ex. Philo of Alexandria) and Gentile (Plato, Plotinus, Marcus Aurelius, etc.) in the Roman period. The basic idea behind this way of thinking is that there exists a hidden spiritual world, which is "undimmed by human tears," which Plato called the "world of forms," basically a place where the perfect templates for everything that exists dwell, and a mortal world, which is nothing but a passing, imperfect shadow of the world of forms. All the hardship and imperfection of the present life belongs to the flesh, but the spiritual realm contains within it the distillation of beauty and joy.
Paul capitalizes on this shared philosophical background as he launches into a discussion of the reality of life in the world: Human intentions and human actualization rarely align. What we want to do and what we achieve are often far apart. Paul should not be understood as feeding into the pagan idea that there is something inherently evil about the material world; God created the physical world and called it "very good." However, it does provide a good grounding point for his hearers for what follows. The phrase "sold into slavery under sin" may be translated so that the phrase reads "I am a slave to sin." Either reading is valid.
7:15-Here is the principle struggle of the Christian life. Every Christian who has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit can relate, daily, to this deep conflict. ]Paul uses different verbs when he says "I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate," however, commentators are divided on whether this is intended to have some layer of meaning, or merely be variation for the sake of reader/hearer interest. The idea expressed by Paul here would be no surprise to his Gentile hearers. In his play, Hippolytus, Euripides wrote "I have often thought about what so wrecks our human life, and realized that a lack of understanding is not the root of all evil-most people lack nothing in insight, so the cause must lie elsewhere: We know and recognize the good but we do not do it, some from sloth and others from preferring pleasure over duty." (Cited in Jewett, 2007, p. 463).
7:16-This statement, which is very confusingly worded in some translations, basically means "It's a good thing that the Law is there to designate and condemn evil, since I am not capable of controlling myself, and do bad things even when I don't really want to." Some commentators speculate that Paul's wrath against the early Church before his conversion was borne out of the unsettled feeling that obeying the law produced in him. Because he was so careful in obeying The Law (Philippians 3:6), despite knowing that this behavior was inwardly hypocritical because his heart was not always in it, he was especially wrathful in punishing those whose outward behavior did not conform to the law. This should be a wake-up call for all Christians against sententious and judgmental behavior.
7:17-Again, Paul continues with the idea of sin and ownership, what Augustine called "non posse non peccare," that humans apart from the Spirit do not have the power to break free from Sin, which owns and dominates them like slaves. Sin "lives in" unregenerated humanity, like the Spirit lives in the regenerated believer.
7:18-This is a very important doctrinal point. Christians must reject the notion, popular at various points and throughout history (and in Disney movies), to "follow your heart" or "listen to your inner voice" or "do what feels right" in order to determine what is right. Scripture tells us that at its worst, "every intention of the thoughts of human hearts are only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). We do not have the power within us to consistently choose the unselfish, Christlike good over the selfish, harmful evil. We cannot be trusted to use our corrupt and malleable consciences to choose the good. We must be regenerated by the Spirit, pray for our will to be conformed to God's, discern the will of the Father in community with other Christians, and be guided by the light of the scriptures, if we are to stay on the narrow path of righteousness.
7:19-20-Paul summarizes his arguments. Fallen man is completely dominated by sin, it runs wild and out of control, leading people to make choices that can shock and horrify them in retrospect.
7:21-Paul finds this axiom to closely approximate reality: That good and evil are in conflict within him, and Sin is seeking to dominate him, and often succeeds. In Genesis 4:7, God warns: "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
7:22-23-In Jeremiah 31:33, God says through the prophet: "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." In the depths of sin, people will sometime shave glimpses of "coming to their senses," and seeing the reality of evil around them, through the work of the Holy Spirit and common grace. Such a realization is the impetus for the start of the journey of the protagonist Christian in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Yet sin functions like a law, binding humans to obedience.
7:24-CS Lewis once said that sometimes, to get a man saved, one must first get him lost. The Gospel is the map to save humanity from the lost-ness expressed in this verse. It is a solution to the problem that this verse outlines.
7:25- And this the solution: Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, the dual use of "Lord" and "Delivers" indicates both that Christ rescues from the clutches of sin, and imposes a new paradigm on our lives, a new kind of law, which will bind us to obedience to God's good, pleasing, and perfect will. Yet, in spite of this newly acknowledge Lordship, conflict persists. Augustine calls this state posse non peccare, it is now "possible not to sin," but it is by no means guaranteed. How will this conflict be resolved? The answer awaits in the next chapter.
Next: Romans, Chapter 8
Previous: Romans, Chapter 6
Back to the Centennial Scripture Challenge