Chapter 7

Introduction to Chapter 7

(Romans 7)

The law with his prescription of condemnation has dominion over the man living in his sin. Righteousness in life is impossible through the works of the law as the sinner is bound to his sin. This chapter deals with carnality and the sinners relationship (so long as he lives) to sin and death. This chapter also emphasizes that the law of God is holy. There are three sections in this chapter:

  1. Sin has died and we are free to marry another (v. 1–6). In the first section, God shows how those that were placed by Him under the law were released from that relation by sharing in the death of Christ; so that, joined to a risen Christ, they bear fruit; and released from law, they are glad and willing to serve Him. The Apostle Paul reminds his Jewish brethren that the power of the law is terminated, and uses the illustration of a wife who has been freed by the death of her husband to marry another. The main thought is death dissolves legal obligation and that on the death of her husband a wife is legally free to contract another marriage.

  2. The law is holy, just, and good (v. 7–13). Paul explains that sin's dominion is not that the fault of the Law of God. The law is good, but sin took advantage of him.

  3. Paul's captivity to the law of sin (v. 14–25). In the final section, we have Paul testifying of his struggle under the law as an Israelite, before he experienced the great truth that in Christ he was dead to the law and to sin.

Married to Another

(Romans 7:1-6) Sin has died and we are free to marry another.

Meaning of the illustration

The sinner is in a binding relationship to his sin, just as a wife is bound to her husband. As long as they both live, the husband and wife are bound to each other under God.

Paul announces a death! It is the death of self. As the wife would be free from the law of her husband by death, so the sinner is freed from the law of sin through sharing in Christ's death. This death is the crucifixion of the old man with Christ (Acts 13:38–39; Rom. 3:25; 5:21; 6:6; 7:4; II Cor. 5:15; Gal. 1:4; 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; Eph. 4:22; 5:2; Col. 2:11; 3:5, 9; Tit. 2:14; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:21; 4:2; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Raised then in resurrection, we share in Christ's life that we might be married to another. In this second marriage, we are united with Christ.

The power of the law is terminated

As long as a person is living in sin they are under the law. The sinner has no choice but to be under the law, and the only way of escape is if he dies to his sinfulness. The law dominates the sinner. The person that lives in sin is under the law. Death dissolves the legal obligation of the marriage. The sinner can be free from the power of sin and the penalty of the broken law (7:4; 6:14).

Paul repeats the words "know ye not" three times when talking about this subject:

  1. "Know ye not" The old life is baptized into His death (6:3).
  2. "Know ye not" The old service is broken off, destroyed through Christ (6:16).
  3. "Know ye not" The old union is impossible with the new union with Christ (7:1).

The service of the union with Jesus Christ

From this union with Christ will come our service to Christ (v. 6).

The fruitfulness of this union

Our union with sin produced death (7:5; 1:32; 6:21; 7:5; Gal.5:19–21), but union with Christ enables us to bring forth fruit of righteousness unto holiness (1:13; 5:3–5; 6:22; John 15:2,4,5,8,16; I Cor. 1:6; Gal. 5:22–23; Eph. 5:9; Php. 1:11; 4:17; Col. 1:6, 10; Tit. 3:14; Heb. 12:11; 13:15; James 3:18; 5:7; II Pet. 1:3–9).

The Law is Good

(Romans 7:7-13)

In Romans 7:7–13, Paul establishes the goodness of God's Law and the wickedness of sin. Paul is writing to the Jew, those who understand the law (v. 1), and he properly frames the purpose and nature of the law. Service to the letter of the law cannot make one righteous, but in its exactness it awakens the sinner to his need of Christ.

Question: Is the law sin? (v. 7a)

Why Would Paul Ask this question? Paul had written in verse 6 that the law was something he was delivered from. This would seem to infer that the law is "bad."

Short answer: No, the law has a good gurpose (v. 7b)

The main theme of chapter seven is the believer's relation to the law. The believer is united with Christ, who is "the new husband." When we are born we are bound to the law like as a marriage. To be free from the law, because the law will never die or change we must die. We become dead to the law by the body of Christ, which allows us to marry Jesus, who is raised from the dead.

Serving the old letter of the law did not make Paul righteous, but rather it exposed his unrighteousness. The law was not the cause of his sin, but it was like a schoolmaster and it taught him what sin was. By society's standards, Paul was not guilty unless he followed through on his lust, but the law communicated God's standards which by result exposed the depravity of his heart.

His law is his will. It recommends what is just, and right, and good and forbids what is improper, unjust, and injurious.
—Adam Clarke

The law reveals the fact of sin (Col. 3:5; I Thess. 4:5). What would be the results of a world without law? The law is representative of order, security, stability, faithfulness, uniformity, equality. Absence of the law produces chaos, with its attendant evils. If the laws of nature were to stop what would be the results? The End of the world.

Sin brought death (v. 8)

Paul personifies sin and in so doing abstracts sin from the person. The sword of the spirit is cutting a discerning division so that we might see we can be free from sin. If sin is characterized as an enemy waiting to pounce and take advantage of someone, then that someone can given the right situation, deny that sin. The murderer is within the sinner. But, if sin is merely the automatic reactions of nature, how can righteous judgment be made?

What was the opportunity that sin took advantage of? The law defines the sinner as dead in his sins. Being dead, the rebellion of sin takes advantage to work more death.

For without the law sin was dead

The law is like a plumb-line: It shows where and what we are in the sight of God. It is intended to awaken the sinner to his need for Christ. The law then becomes the conductor to Christ in order that we may be justified by faith.

The law reveals the power of sin (v. 9)

Under the law, a man becomes condemned to death because of sin. Romans 7:5 describes the state of a Jew as in the flesh serving sin which considered as being under law. It reveals that he is cursed (Deut. 27:26; 28:15; Ps. 119:21; Jer. 11:3; Gal. 3:10).

The law was meant for life, but it brought death (v. 10)

The end result for Paul was that he who vigorously followed the law and served it tenaciously, was dead in sin! All his religion was a work in unrighteousness--in light of the cross, all the commands of God were a sentence of death.

The law reveals the deceitfulness of sin (v. 11)

Sin takes advantage of us and deceives us. The law of God is known in different ways: the ceremonial laws, the social laws, natural laws, moral laws, and health laws. The Jews believed you had to keep all of those laws to become holy. By the time of Paul's ministry, the rabbis had summed up all of the Old Testament law into 613 commandments. It is impossible to keep them all, especially since they had strained at the laws beyond the intention of God.

The law reveals the effect of sin. The effect of all sin is a spiritual death. The outcome of dying physically with unrepented sin is eternal separation from God. Through the inability to fulfill the law the sinner becomes condemned to death under the law. A commandment cannot give life, but it can convict you of sin through the sentence of death and cause you to repent and seek eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The law itself is holy, righteous, and good (v. 12)

The law reveals the sinfulness of sin (v. 12–13)

The Law is Holy, Just and good, so as the standard, the plumb-line, the commandment shows us where and what we are in the sight of God; sin is shown for what it is "exceeding sinful". Far off from the mark that God has set for us in Christ. Its purpose is to convict the sinner of sin and only through Christ find repentance. It condemns, convicts, constrains, and conducts an awakened sinner to Christ (3:19, 23; 7:8–11; 8:3; Gal.3:19–24). Sin can hide in society of men comparing one with another or else judging merely by the dictates of there own heart, but in the light of perfect holiness, sin becomes "exceedingly sinful."

Captivity to the Law of Sin

(Romans 7:14-25)

In Romans 7:14-25, Paul brings us to the root of the struggle; the cause of our constant defeat by sin is our own flesh, the "body of this death" (v. 24).

Every believer is privileged, enabled and obligated to live a holy life. For those resting in the law for justification and sanctification, it is necessary to convince them of their error. The law is insufficient for for these but grace through Jesus Christ is sufficient. A believing Jew is discharged from his obligations to the ceremonial rituals of the law, and is at liberty to come under the gospel of God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior (v. 1-4).

The "I's" in this section

A key to the meaning of this section is found in the repetition of Paul referring to himself ("I", "me", "my"). At least, 48 times in this chapter, Paul exposes his own weakness without a single mention of the Holy Ghost. NOTE: In chapter 7 the Law is mentioned more than 20 times and in Chapter 8 the Holy Spirit is mentioned more than 20 times.

Diplomacy

This voice taken in this section is in part a case of Paul using diplomacy. Instead of giving his religious and zealous readers cause to be defensive, Paul reaches out to his brethren and is self-critical and testifies of his experience under the law:

The inability of the flesh

The emphasis on self profoundly exhibits the inability of the flesh. Paul in his shared experience under the law testifies what "I" am struggling to do, and utterly failing to do in my own strength.

We see three confessions in this section of the Chapter:

The First Confession: "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." (v. 14)

The 2 words in the Greek for carnal. One implies that which is purely material, and the other implies that which is ethical. The first suggests man's nature as weak, and the second suggests man's character as sinful.

The Second Confession: "In my flesh dwelleth no good thing." (v. 18-20)

Here we see Paul describing a struggle. In him so far as his person was carnal, there dwelt no good thing because of the influence of sin.

The Third Confession: "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me." (v. 21-25)

He is ever conscious of moral contraction and conflict within. He has a desire to do good and yet an evil is always present.

PARALLEL:

On the one hand the inward man is delighted in God's law. On the other hand he saw a different law in his members warring against the law of his mind and bringing him into a spiritual bondage. NOTE: The "inward man" is not the same as "the new man", nor is the mind ever used of the renewed nature. It is the immaterial part of man.

There are four laws mentioned in verses 21-22

  1. Law of God (moral law - written or unwritten)
  2. Law of sin (reigns since fall of man)
  3. Law of the mind (moral sense of man)
  4. Law of members (leads individual to falling under law of sin)

Conclusion of chapter seven

Verse 24 is a cry of agony and conflict:

"O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

The body of this death—what a fearful description of the body! It is unredeemed, unchanged, and under the law of sin in all its members. To dwell undelivered in such a body is to find it a "body of death."

Is this section an accurate description of the born-again believer's relationship to sin?

Romans 3:9—What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

Romans 6:14—For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Can I Overcome Evil? Yes! A Remedy has been provided for indwelling sin (Eph. 6:13; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 2:13; Col 3:1-3). Our mind does not have to be captive to sin (Romans 12:2). Verse 25 says, "I thank God, (for deliverance) through Jesus Christ our Lord." In summary, Paul discovered:

  1. That sin dwelt in him, even though he delighted in God's law.
  2. That his will was powerless against it.
  3. That the sinful self was not his real self (which is the image of God).
  4. That there is a difference through our Lord Jesus Christ.