Romans7

Paul explains that believers are delivered from the law's dominion through Christ's death, much like a woman is freed from her husband's law upon his death. The law itself is holy and good, but it reveals sin and, through sin, brings death. This leads to an internal struggle where the believer desires to do good according to God's law but finds sin actively working in their members.

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Freedom from the Law Illustrated

Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth?

For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband.

So then if, while the husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man.

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ; that ye should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.

The Purpose and Goodness of the Law

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Howbeit, I had not known sin, except through the law: for I had not known coveting, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet:

but sin, finding occasion, wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting: for apart from the law sin is dead.

And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;

and the commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto death:

for sin, finding occasion, through the commandment beguiled me, and through it slew me.

So that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.

Did then that which is good become death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good;—that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful.

The Conflict of the Two Natures

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practise; but what I hate, that I do.

But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good.

So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me.

For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not.

For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.

But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me.

I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present.

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.

Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Study Notes for Romans 7

Verse 1

Paul addresses those familiar with the Mosaic Law, establishing the principle that authority (dominion) over a person ceases upon death. This sets up the analogy for the believer’s relationship with the Law.

Verse 4

Theologically, believers are considered 'dead to the law' because they died with Christ on the cross (cf. Rom 6:3). This death frees them from the Law's bondage, allowing for a new union with the resurrected Christ, resulting in spiritual 'fruit unto God.'

Verse 5

To be 'in the flesh' (*sarx*) refers to the state of unregenerate humanity, dominated by the sinful nature. In this state, the Law served to stimulate sinful passions rather than suppress them, leading to death.

Verse 6

Deliverance from the Law allows the believer to serve God not through the external, written code ('oldness of the letter'), but through the inner enabling power of the Holy Spirit ('newness of spirit').

Verse 7

Paul anticipates the objection that if the Law activates sin, the Law must be sinful. He denies this, explaining that the Law is good because it performs a diagnostic function: it reveals sin, making transgression recognizable (e.g., 'Thou shalt not covet').

Verse 8

Sin, personified as an active agent, used the commandment as an opportunity ('occasion') to produce all kinds of evil desire. Without the Law defining the boundaries, the power of sin was 'dead' or dormant in terms of specific, conscious transgression.

Verse 9

This verse describes the experience of coming under the full conviction of the Law. Paul may be describing his own realization (perhaps as a young man or a Pharisee) that his superficial obedience was insufficient once the Law’s spiritual depth was understood.

Verse 10

The Law was intended by God to lead to life (cf. Lev 18:5), but because of the corruption of the human heart, its actual effect was condemnation and death.

Verse 12

Paul firmly establishes the moral integrity of the Law. The problem is not with God's perfect standard, but with human failure to keep it.

Verse 13

The Law, which is good, was used by sin to work death. This action served to expose sin's true nature, demonstrating that sin is 'exceeding sinful' because it perverts God's good intention.

Verse 14

The contrast here is crucial: the Law is 'spiritual' (reflecting God's nature), but the 'I' (the person struggling) is 'carnal' (*sarkinos*), meaning dominated by the fleshly nature and enslaved ('sold under sin').

Verse 15

This verse expresses the experience of internal moral paralysis (*akrasia*), where the mind approves of God's will but the will is too weak to resist the power of indwelling sin. This struggle is often understood as the defining tension of the regenerate life.

Verse 17

Paul distinguishes between his authentic self ('I') and the powerful force of 'sin that dwelleth in me,' personifying sin as an alien, destructive power operating within his physical nature.

Verse 18

The 'flesh' (*sarx*) here denotes the inherent corruption of the fallen human nature, emphasizing that apart from the Spirit, there is no capacity within the self to fulfill God's righteousness.

Verse 21

Paul summarizes his discovery: a consistent principle ('a law') of opposition where the desire to do good is immediately met by the presence of evil.

Verse 22

The 'inward man' (Gk. *esō anthrōpos*) is the renewed mind or spirit, which finds pleasure in God's Law. This delight confirms that the person described is regenerate, possessing a transformed core desire.

Verse 23

Paul describes the civil war within the believer: the 'law of the mind' (spiritual obedience) is constantly opposed by the 'law in my members' (indwelling sin operating through the physical body), resulting in temporary spiritual captivity.

Verse 24

This is a desperate cry for rescue, recognizing that the self cannot win this war. The 'body of this death' refers to the mortal, sin-infected physical existence that holds the person captive.

Verse 25

The answer to the question posed in v. 24 is immediate: deliverance comes only through Jesus Christ. The final summary clarifies the duality of the believer: the mind (the renewed part) serves God, but the flesh (the unredeemed part of the nature) remains subject to the power of sin until glorification.

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Romans7

Freedom from the Law Illustrated

The Purpose and Goodness of the Law

The Conflict of the Two Natures

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