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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Romans 7:7–13. His two-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
To what he had said in the former paragraph, the apostle here raises an objection, which he answers very fully: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? When he had been speaking of the dominion of sin, he had said so much of the influence of the law as a covenant upon that dominion that it might easily be misinterpreted as a reflection upon the law, to prevent which he shows from his own experience the great excellency and usefulness of the law, not as a covenant, but as a guide; and further discovers how sin took occasion by the commandment. Observe in particular,
I.The great excellency of the law in itself. Far be it from Paul to reflect upon the law; no, he speaks honourably of it.
1.It is holy, just, and good, Rom 7:12. The law in general is so, and every particular commandment is so. Laws are as the law-makers are. God, the great lawgiver, is holy, just, and good, therefore his law must needs be so. The matter of it is holy: it commands holiness, encourages holiness; it is holy, for it is agreeable to the holy will of God, the original of holiness. It is just, for it is consonant to the rules of equity and right reason: the ways of the Lord are right. It is good in the design of it; it was given for the good of mankind, for the conservation of peace and order in the world. It makes the observers of it good; the intention of it was to better and reform mankind. Wherever there is true grace there is an assent to this - that the law is holy, just, and good.
2.The law is spiritual (Rom 7:14), not only in regard to the effect of it, as it is a means of making us spiritual, but in regard to the extent of it; it reaches our spirits, it lays a restraint upon, and gives a direction to, the motions of the inward man; it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, Heb 4:12. It forbids spiritual wickedness, heart-murder, and heart-adultery. It commands spiritual service, requires the heart, obliges us to worship God in the spirit. It is a spiritual law, for it is given by God, who is a Spirit and the Father of spirits; it is given to man, whose principal part is spiritual; the soul is the best part, and the leading part of the man, and therefore the law to the man must needs be a law to the soul. Herein the law of God is above all other laws, that it is a spiritual law. Other laws may forbid compassing and imagining, etc., which are treason in the heart, but cannot take cognizance thereof, unless there be some overt act; but the law of God takes notice of the iniquity regarded in the heart, though it go no further. Wash thy heart from wickedness, Jer 4:14. We know this: Wherever there is true grace there is an experimental knowledge of the spirituality of the law of God.
II.The great advantage that he had found by the law.
1.It was discovering: I had not known sin but by the law, Rom 7:7. As that which is straight discovers that which is crooked, as the looking-glass shows us our natural face with all its spots and deformities, so there is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin which is necessary to repentance, and consequently to peace and pardon, but by comparing our hearts and lives with the law. Particularly he came to the knowledge of the sinfulness of lust by the law of the tenth commandment. By lust he means sin dwelling in us, sin in its first motions and workings, the corrupt principle. This he came to know when the law said, Thou shalt not covet. The law spoke in other language than the scribes and Pharisees made it to speak in; it spoke in the spiritual sense and meaning of it. By this he knew that lust was sin and a very sinful sin, that those motions and desires of the heart towards sin which never came into act were sinful, exceedingly sinful. Paul had a very quick and piercing judgment, all the advantages and improvements of education, and yet never attained the right knowledge of indwelling sin till the Spirit by the law made it known to him. There is nothing about which the natural man is more blind than about original corruption, concerning which the understanding is altogether in the dark till the Spirit by the law reveal it, and make it known. Thus the law is a schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ, opens and searches the wound, and so prepares it for healing. Thus sin by the commandment does appear sin (Rom 7:13); it appears in its own colours, appears to be what it is, and you cannot call it by a worse name than its own. Thus by the commandment it becomes exceedingly sinful; that is, it appears to be so. We never see the desperate venom or malignity there is in sin, till we come to compare it with the law, and the spiritual nature of the law, and then we see it to be an evil and a bitter thing.
2.It was humbling (Rom 7:9): I was alive. He thought himself in a very good condition; he was alive in his own opinion and apprehension, very secure and confident of the goodness of his state. Thus he was once, pote - in times past, when he was a Pharisee; for it was the common temper of that generation of men that they had a very good conceit of themselves; and Paul was then like the rest of them, and the reason was he was then without the law. Though brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, though himself a great student in the law, a strict observer of it, and a zealous stickler for it, yet without the law. He had the letter of the law, but he had not the spiritual meaning of it - the shell, but not the kernel. He had the law in his hand and in his head, but he had it not in his heart; the notion of it, but not the power of it. There are a great many who are spiritually dead in sin, that yet are alive in their own opinion of themselves, and it is their strangeness to the law that is the cause of the mistake. But when the commandment came, came in the power of it (not to his eyes only, but to his heart), sin revived, as the dust in a room rises (that is, appears) when the sun-shine is let into it. Paul then saw that in sin which he had never seen before; he then saw sin in its causes, the bitter root, the corrupt bias, the bent to backslide, - sin in its colours, deforming, defiling, breaking a righteous law, affronting an awful Majesty, profaning a sovereign crown by casting it to the ground, - sin in its consequences, sin with death at the heels of it, sin and the curse entailed upon it. "Thus sin revived, and then I died; I lost that good opinion which I had had of myself, and came to be of another mind. Sin revived, and I died; that is, the Spirit, but the commandment, convinced me that I was in a state of sin, and in a state of death because of sin." Of this excellent use is the law; it is a lamp and a light; it converts the soul, opens the eyes, prepares the way of the Lord in the desert, rends the rocks, levels the mountains, makes ready a people prepared for the Lord.
III.The ill use that his corrupt nature made of the law notwithstanding.
1.Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence, Rom 7:8. Observe, Paul had in him all manner of concupiscence, though one of the best unregenerate men that ever was; as touching the righteousness of the law, blameless, and yet sensible of all manner of concupiscence. And it was sin that wrought it, indwelling sin, his corrupt nature (he speaks of a sin that did work sin), and it took occasion by the commandment. The corrupt nature would not have swelled and raged so much if it had not been for the restraints of the law; as the peccant humours in the body are raised, and more inflamed, by a purge that is not strong enough to carry them off. It is incident to corrupt nature, in vetitum niti - to lean towards what is forbidden. Ever since Adam ate forbidden fruit, we have all been fond of forbidden paths; the diseased appetite is carried out most strongly towards that which is hurtful and prohibited. Without the law sin was dead, as a snake in winter, which the sunbeams of the law quicken and irritate.
2.It deceived men. Sin puts a cheat upon the sinner, and it is a fatal cheat, Rom 7:11. By it (by the commandment) slew me. There being in the law no such express threatening against sinful lustings, sin, that is, his won corrupt nature, took occasion thence to promise him impunity, and to say, as the serpent to our first parents, You shall not surely die. Thus it deceived and slew him.
3.It wrought death in me by that which is good, Rom 7:13. That which works concupiscence works death, for sin bringeth forth death. Nothing so good but a corrupt and vicious nature will pervert it, and make it an occasion of ins; no flower so sweet by sin will such poison out of it. Now in this sin appears sin. The worst thing that sin does, and most like itself, is the perverting of the law, and taking occasion from it to be so much the more malignant. Thus the commandment, which was ordained to life, was intended as a guide in the way to comfort and happiness, proved unto death, through the corruption of nature, Rom 7:10. Many a precious soul splits upon the rock of salvation; and the same word which to some is an occasion of life unto life is to others an occasion of death unto death. The same sun that makes the garden of flowers more fragrant makes the dunghill more noisome; the same heat that softens wax hardens clay; and the same child was set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel. The way to prevent this mischief is to bow our souls to the commanding authority of the word and law of God, not striving against, but submitting to it.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
10 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
Let us see, then, what it is that we have endeavoured to say respecting the apostle. For this saying of his, "I was alive without the law once".
"But I was alive and blameless before the law, having no commandment in accordance with which it was necessary to live; "but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death."
When the commandment, i.e., the power of the discernment of the good, came, the mind did not prevail over the baser thoughts but permitted its reason to be enslaved by the passions. Then sin revived but the mind died, suffering death because of its transgressions.
If sin “revived” it is clear that it must have been alive at some earlier point and then died. When was that? It was when the devil deceived and defeated Adam, who had received the commandment and knew what transgression meant. Cain too knew that he was sinning, having been commanded not to murder his brother. It was after that that there was no commandment and no law, and so sin was knocked out by the ignorance of those who committed it.
For this cause justly does the Scripture say regarding such a generation as this: "My Spirit shall not dwell in men for ever, because they are flesh." "Whosoever, therefore, has not the Spirit of God in him, is none of His:" as it is written, "The Spirit of God departed from Saul, and an evil spirit troubled him, which was sent upon him from God." [1 Samuel 16:14]
When, pray, was that? Before Moses. See how he sets himself to show that it, both by the things it did, and the things it did not do, weighed down human nature. For when "I was alive without the Law," he means, I was not so much condemned. "But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." This seems indeed to be an accusing of the Law. But if any one will look closely at it, it will be seen to be even an encomium of it. For it did not give existence to sin that before was not, but only pointed out what had escaped notice. And this is even a praise of the Law, if at least before it they had been sinning without perceiving it. But when this came, if they gained nothing besides from it, at all events this they were distinctly made acquainted with, the fact that they had been sinning. And this is no small point, with a view to getting free from wickedness. Now if they did not get free, this has nothing to do with the Law; which framed everything with a view to this end, but the accusation lies wholly against their spirit, which was perverse beyond all supposition.
Paul means either that he once imagined that he lived as a righteous and free person or that he was alive, at least for the present life. But when the commandment arrived to put an end to forgetfulness, sin was once again recognized, so that everyone who commits it knows that he is dead. Because sin had lived by natural knowledge and died through forgetfulness, it is said to have come back to life through the law.
When he says “I died,” Paul means that he realized that he was already dead, because one who sees through the law what he should do but does not do it sins with transgression.
Nothing can be said to revive if it had not been previously alive.
We were not righteous before the law came, but given that sin was dead as long as there was no law to condemn it, we lived having the excuse that we did not know what it was that we ought to be doing.
Adam had no fear of death before he sinned.
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Summary
Romans 7:9 encapsulates the Apostle Paul's profound theological insight into the Law's role in exposing human sinfulness, leading to a realization of spiritual death. Paul describes a past state of perceived innocence or self-sufficiency, where the full weight and condemning power of God's holy Law were not yet fully apprehended. However, upon the Law's true impact, sin, which was latent or unrecognized, became powerfully active, resulting in a crushing awareness of spiritual condemnation and an inability to attain righteousness through human effort. This verse is pivotal in demonstrating that the Law, though good, serves to reveal humanity's desperate need for divine grace.
Context
Literary Context
Romans 7:9 is nestled within a complex and deeply personal section of Paul's letter to the Romans, specifically Romans 7:7-25. Paul has just clarified in Romans 7:7 that the Law itself is not sin, but rather it is through the Law that sin's true nature and power are revealed. The preceding verse, Romans 7:8, explains that "sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence." This sets the stage for Paul's "I" statement in Romans 7:9, illustrating how the Law, by defining sin, paradoxically provides sin with an opportunity to manifest its power and condemn. The subsequent verses in Romans 7 continue to explore the internal conflict experienced by those under the Law, culminating in the cry for deliverance from the "body of this death" (Romans 7:24).
Historical & Cultural Context
Paul, a former Pharisee, was intimately familiar with the Mosaic Law and its centrality to Jewish life and identity. For a Jew, obedience to the Law was the pathway to righteousness and a right relationship with God. However, Paul's Damascus Road experience and subsequent theological revelation led him to understand that human effort, even in diligent adherence to the Law, could not achieve true righteousness or life. The Roman audience, comprising both Jewish and Gentile believers, needed to grasp this profound shift: that salvation was not by works of the Law but by faith in Christ. Paul's use of "I" in this passage is debated—whether it refers to his pre-conversion experience, the corporate experience of Israel, or a representative human experience under the Law—but in any case, it powerfully communicates the universal human predicament when confronted with God's holy standards apart from grace.
Key Themes
This verse contributes significantly to several major themes in Romans. It underscores the Law's revelatory function, demonstrating that its primary purpose is not to justify but to expose sin and humanity's inability to meet God's perfect standards, as stated in Romans 3:20. It highlights the power and deceitfulness of sin, showing how sin, though seemingly dormant, springs to life when confronted by the Law's prohibitions, leading to spiritual death. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork for the theme of justification by faith, as the Law's inability to give life (a theme explored further in Galatians 3:21) necessitates a different path to righteousness, which Paul presents as faith in Jesus Christ in Romans 3:21-26.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
Meaning "to live (literally or figuratively)." In this context, Paul's "alive" refers not to spiritual vitality in God's eyes, but rather a state of perceived self-sufficiency, innocence, or moral complacency before the Law's true impact. It signifies a life lived without a full awareness of sin's deadly power or the Law's condemning force, a life that felt "good enough" by human standards.
Meaning "injunction, i.e. an authoritative prescription." This refers specifically to God's holy Law, particularly its specific prohibitions (like "Thou shalt not covet," mentioned in Romans 7:7). The "coming" of the commandment implies a moment of profound realization or a deeper apprehension of its spiritual demands and implications, rather than merely its historical promulgation.
Meaning "to die off (literally or figuratively)." Here, it signifies a spiritual death—the crushing realization of condemnation, the death of self-righteousness, and the profound awareness of separation from God due to sin. It is not physical death, but the experience of being utterly helpless and without hope under the Law's just judgment.
Verse Breakdown
"For I was alive without the law once:"
Paul describes a prior state, whether personal, representative of humanity, or of Israel before the full impact of the Law. In this state, there was a sense of being "alive"—a feeling of moral adequacy, self-righteousness, or innocence, largely due to an ignorance of the Law's true spiritual depth or the pervasive nature of sin. This "life" was superficial, not a genuine spiritual vitality before God.
"but when the commandment came,"
This marks the turning point. The "coming" of the commandment signifies a moment of profound encounter with God's holy Law. It's not merely the historical giving of the Law, but an internal revelation where the Law's demands and its mirror-like quality truly penetrated the individual's conscience, exposing the hidden depths of sin.
"sin revived,"
When the commandment came, sin, which was previously dormant or unrecognized, "revived" (Greek: anazáō, meaning "to live again," "to gain new strength"). The Law, by specifying prohibitions, paradoxically gave sin an opportunity to spring to life and assert its power. It didn't create sin, but it brought it into sharp focus, making its presence and power undeniable and active in the individual's experience.
"and I died."
The revival of sin, exposed by the commandment, led directly to a spiritual "death." This is the death of self-reliance and self-righteousness. It is the agonizing realization of one's utter inability to meet God's holy standards, leading to a profound sense of condemnation, guilt, and separation from God. This "death" is the necessary precursor to seeking life in Christ.
Literary Devices
Paul employs several powerful literary devices in Romans 7:9. Personification is prominent, as "sin" is portrayed as an active entity that "revived" and "wrought" (in Romans 7:8) various desires. Sin is given agency, acting as a living, deceptive force that takes advantage of the Law. The concepts of "alive" and "died" are used metaphorically for spiritual states rather than literal physical conditions. Paul's "I" functions as an autobiographical or representative narrative, allowing him to vividly illustrate a universal spiritual truth through a seemingly personal experience. This narrative technique makes the abstract theological points relatable and impactful, drawing the reader into the profound internal struggle with sin and the Law.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Romans 7:9 is a crucial theological statement on the Law's function and the nature of sin. It teaches that the Law, though holy and good, cannot impart life; instead, it serves as a divine mirror that reflects the true, fallen state of humanity, bringing sin into sharp relief and leading to a realization of spiritual death. This "death" is not an end but a necessary step towards understanding one's utter inability to achieve righteousness through self-effort, thereby creating a profound longing for a Savior. The verse underscores that true spiritual understanding often begins with a profound conviction of sin and an acknowledgment of our desperate need for God's grace, paving the way for the good news of justification by faith.
Reflection and Application
Romans 7:9 offers a profound spiritual lesson for every individual. It challenges the common human tendency to believe we are "alive" or righteous in our own eyes, often by comparing ourselves to others or by adhering to external rules. Paul's experience reminds us that true spiritual awakening often comes when the "commandment"—God's holy Word and its perfect standard—pierces our self-deception and exposes the pervasive reality of sin within us. This realization, though painful, is a gift, for it shatters our illusions of self-sufficiency and leads us to the only true source of life and righteousness: Jesus Christ. It teaches us that the Law's purpose is not to save us, but to lead us to the One who can. For believers, it's a powerful reminder of the grace we've received, ensuring we never return to a works-based righteousness, and for those yet to trust in Christ, it's an invitation to recognize their spiritual need and turn to Him for true life.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does Paul mean by "I was alive without the law once"? Does this refer to his childhood, or humanity before the Mosaic Law?
This phrase is subject to various interpretations among scholars. Some suggest it refers to Paul's experience as a child, before he fully comprehended the spiritual depth and demands of the Law, living in a state of relative innocence or ignorance regarding the true nature of sin. Others propose it represents the corporate experience of humanity before the giving of the Mosaic Law, where sin existed but its full guilt and condemning power were not yet explicitly revealed. A third view sees it as a rhetorical device, a representative "I" illustrating the universal human experience of self-righteousness prior to a genuine encounter with God's holy standard. Regardless of the specific interpretation, the core meaning remains: it describes a state of perceived life or moral adequacy that existed before the Law's full impact exposed the reality of sin and spiritual death.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Romans 7:9, by demonstrating the Law's inability to give life and its power to expose sin, powerfully points to the necessity and sufficiency of Christ. The "death" experienced under the Law is not the end, but the beginning of true life found only in Jesus. Where the Law could only condemn and reveal sin, Christ came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17) and provide the righteousness that the Law demanded but humanity could not achieve. The "revival" of sin and subsequent spiritual "death" described by Paul underscore the desperate need for a Savior who could conquer sin and death. This Savior is Jesus, who, through His own death and resurrection, broke the power of sin and the Law's condemnation for those who believe (Romans 8:2-4). He became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus, the Law, in its function of revealing sin and leading to death, serves as a "guardian" or "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24) to bring us to Christ, who is the "end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4).