Theodoret of Cyrus — Commentary on Scripture

Romans 6:6

The “old man” does not refer to our nature but to our evil mind. It is this which has been put to death in baptism, so that the body would not continue to serve sin.

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Romans 6:7

Whoever saw a dead man sleeping in some harlot’s bed, or bloodying his hands with murder, or doing anything else which is sinful?

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Romans 6:8

Those of us who were buried with Christ ought to die to sin, because we are waiting for the resurrection.

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Romans 6:12

A reign is different from a tyranny in that a tyrant rules without the consent of his subjects, whereas a reign applies in those cases where the subjects have assented to it. Therefore Paul is urging his hearers not to assent any longer to the reign of sin, for the Lord destroyed sin’s reign when he took on human flesh.

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Romans 6:13

By telling us to yield our members to God as instruments of righteousness, Paul teaches that the body is not evil but the creation of a good God. Therefore if it is properly and correctly controlled by the soul it can serve God.

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Romans 6:14

In other words, nature is no longer struggling on its own but has the Holy Spirit to help it.

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Romans 6:16

Righteousness and sin are mutually incompatible. As the Lord himself said in the holy Gospel: “No man can serve two masters.”

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Romans 6:17

You who once were slaves to sin have broken away from it by the free will of your mind and have embraced spiritual teaching instead.

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Romans 7:4

In order not to offend the Jews or to give those heretics who reject the Old Testament any encouragement, Paul did not say that the law had come to an end but rather that we have died to the law by the saving grace of baptism.

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Romans 7:5

“In the flesh” means “under the law.” Paul calls those laws regarding food, drink, leprosy and so on “flesh.” … Paul teaches us that before grace came, while we were still under the law, we suffered ever more serious attacks of sin because, although the law showed us what it was we should be doing, it did not give us any help in doing it.

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Romans 7:6

Paul continues in his cautious manner, for he does not say that the law is abolished but rather that we have been set free from it.

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Romans 7:9

Adam had no fear of death before he sinned.

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Romans 7:10

As soon as God gave Adam and Eve the commandment concerning the trees, the devil came to Eve in the form of a serpent and lied to her. When she saw the beauty of the fruit she ate of it, being overcome by desire, and broke the commandment. Both she and Adam were immediately placed under sentence of death, for Adam too ate the fruit along with her.

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Romans 7:12

The law is what was given to Moses; the commandment, what was given to Adam. What Paul praises so highly the average person condemns. For those who have given themselves over to idleness and run away from the works of righteousness blame God for having given a commandment in the first place. They say that, if God did not know what was going to happen, how can he be God? And if he did know that men would sin but nevertheless gave the commandment, then he is himself the cause of sin. But these people ought to realize that the knowledge of good and evil belongs to all who have the gift of reason. Only those without reason lack the ability to distinguish one from the other. The wolf is vicious, the lion devours, and bears and leopards do the same sort of thing but they have no sense of sin, nor do they have a conscience which is offended by their actions. But men are ashamed even if nobody else sees what they do and are afraid to admit what they have done. For their conscience accuses them. How could this be if they lived without any law? But God gave them a commandment so that they woul…

The law is what was given to Moses; the commandment, what was given to Adam. What Paul praises so highly the average person condemns. For those who have given themselves over to idleness and run away from the works of righteousness blame God for having given a commandment in the first place. They say that, if God did not know what was going to happen, how can he be God? And if he did know that men would sin but nevertheless gave the commandment, then he is himself the cause of sin. But these people ought to realize that the knowledge of good and evil belongs to all who have the gift of reason. Only those without reason lack the ability to distinguish one from the other. The wolf is vicious, the lion devours, and bears and leopards do the same sort of thing but they have no sense of sin, nor do they have a conscience which is offended by their actions. But men are ashamed even if nobody else sees what they do and are afraid to admit what they have done. For their conscience accuses them. How could this be if they lived without any law? But God gave them a commandment so that they would recognize their own rational nature and fear the lawgiver. Yet they knew that the lawgiver was merciful and that the law was not difficult to keep.The commandment is “holy” because it teaches what is right. It is “just” because it pronounces the correct sentence on those who break it. But it is also “good” because it prepares eternal life for those who keep it.

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Romans 7:14

Once again, Paul covers the law with praise. For what could be nobler than what he says about it here? He says in effect that the law was written by the Holy Spirit. Moses was given a share in his grace and thus wrote the law.

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Romans 7:15

We do not sin from necessity or by compulsion; rather we are overcome by desire and do things which in principle we detest.

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Romans 7:16

Paul says that he learned to hate what he does from the law, and therefore he defends the law and says that it was right.

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Romans 7:21

Paul says that “evil lies close at hand” because our body is mortal and passible, and our soul is sluggish and weak.

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Romans 7:22

The “inmost self” is the mind.

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Romans 7:24

Paul calls the body a “body of death” because it has been made subject to death and is therefore mortal. The soul, on the other hand, is immortal.

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