Ariel HaNaviy Messianic Jew and Torah Teacher with Messianic Congregation 'The Harvest'

Romans 7:14-25 is Paul describing himself as a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17), albeit still wrestling at times, like all believers, with sinful desires in the flesh. In this passage, Paul speaks of the two desires that all believers must deal with: 1) sinful desires that are linked to when we were “slaves to sin and lawlessness“ (previously described in Rom 6:20), and 2) righteous desires that are linked to the new spiritual nature, which is a “slave to God” (previously described in Rom 6:22). 

I don't believe Paul could have written this chapter and described the personal insights into the spiritual nature (Rom 8:16) if he did not in fact know the spiritual nature personally. Romans 7 is the description of a genuine, Spirit-filled believer.

The old man with its old nature has indeed been crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6), but we still have yet to put on sinless perfection (Rom 7:24; 1 Cor 15:54). Undeniably, believers have no reason to let sin reign in our mortal bodies (Rom 6:6, 12, 13). We must likewise remind ourselves that Rom 6:14 states emphatically that, even though we still occasionally sin, true believers are no longer under the condemnation that the Law reserves for unrepentant sinners who are not in Christ.

In fact, Rom 7:14-25, the verses in question, come after Paul’s explanation in Rom 7:1-6 about being released from the aspect of the Law (Torah) that rightly condemns unrepentant sinners (read Rom 7:4 and corroborate it with Rom 6:14, 15, where Paul says we are not under the condemnation of the Law. In Gal 2:19 where Paul also describes dying to the condemning part of the Law meant for hard-hearted sinners. 

A fundamental context of Rom 6 and Rom 7 makes it clear that we have died to sin (Rom 6:7) and are now free from the part of the Law that condemns unrepentant sinners (Rom 6:14, 15). We are not free to deliberately sin or to continue wantonly sinning (Rom 6:1, Rom 6:15), because sin is a violation of the Law (1 Jn 3:4 uses Greek ἀνομία “anomia”=lawlessness).

The points Paul makes in Rom 7:14-25 about wrestling with sinful desires as a believer, are bolstered by the facts he previously stated in Rom 7:1-6, which teach that, like all true believers in Jesus, even though Paul still sins from time to time, he is no longer a slave to the sin nature that bears fruit for death (Rom 7:5). Sin is not the normal character of a believer’s life; it is the unfortunate exception.

Conclusions:
Romans 7 describes a true believer. Genuine believers will still occasionally sin (Rom 7:17, 19), but the old sin nature no longer dominates our actions since we have a new nature that enables us to walk according to the Spirit (Rom 7:22, 8:4, 11), and this new nature is dead to the condemning feature of the Law that is reserved for unrepentant sinners (Rom 6:14, 15, 7:4, 6, 8:1, 2 and Gal 2:19). 

Paul wants believers to understand that sin and the Law have an important relationship according to Romans 7. Sin seizing the opportunity through the commandment (Rom 7:8) is a deceitful killer (Rom 7:11), but by comparison, the Law is holy, righteous, and good (Rom 7:12), as well as spiritual (Rom 7:14). In fact, the Law showed Paul what true sin was (Rom 7:7-9). The Law did not kill Paul, it was sin that killed him (Rom 7:13). Nevertheless, the Law was “weakened by the flesh” (Rom 8:3) and that is why Christ had to condemn sin in the flesh. 

In the end, Romans 7 is best understood when studied against the total context of Romans 6, a chapter about being dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:11), and Romans 8, a chapter about life in the Spirit (Rom 8:9).

October 03 2015 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

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