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

1
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? ​
2
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
3
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. ​
5
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. ​
6
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. ​

The Purpose and Goodness of the Law

7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. ​
8
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. ​
9
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. ​
10
And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. ​
11
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. ​
13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. ​

The Conflict of the Two Natures

14
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. ​
15
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. ​
16
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ​
18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. ​
19
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. ​
22
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: ​
23
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ​
24
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? ​
25
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself 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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