Understanding Romans 7: The Struggle with Sin
The Epistle to the Romans stands as a foundational pillar of Christian doctrine, meticulously expounding upon humanity's fallen state, God's righteous judgment, and the glorious provision of salvation through Jesus Christ. Within this profound letter, Romans 7 emerges as a particularly poignant and often debated chapter, offering a deep introspection into the believer's ongoing struggle with sin. Far from describing the experience of the unregenerate, this chapter, when understood in its full context, vividly portrays the internal conflict faced by the born-again child of God, who, though redeemed, still grapples with the lingering presence of sin within their mortal flesh.
The Context of Romans: From Justification to Sanctification
To properly appreciate the message of Romans 7, it is crucial to consider its placement within Paul's broader theological argument. In Romans 1 through Romans 5, Paul establishes the universal reign of sin and the glorious doctrine of justification by faith alone. We are declared righteous in God's sight through Christ's atoning work. Then, in Romans 6, Paul addresses the practical implications of this new standing: if grace abounds, shall we continue in sin? His emphatic answer is "God forbid!" (Romans 6:2). Believers are declared dead to sin's dominion and alive unto God through Jesus Christ. We are to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. This sets the stage for Romans 7, which explores the internal reality of this reckoning, before culminating in the triumphant freedom of the Spirit in Romans 8.
Romans 7:1-6 – The Believer's Freedom from the Law
Paul begins Romans 7 by illustrating the believer's relationship to the Law through a marriage analogy. Just as a woman is bound to her husband only as long as he lives, so too are believers freed from the Law's demands as a means of righteousness because they have "become dead to the law by the body of Christ" (Romans 7:4).
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?
The purpose of this freedom is not to live lawlessly, but to be united with Christ, "that ye should bring forth fruit unto God" (Romans 7:4). Before conversion, when we were "in the flesh," the Law merely stirred up sinful passions, leading to spiritual death. But now, having been delivered from the Law as a taskmaster of condemnation, we serve "in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Romans 7:6). This transition is vital: the Law reveals sin, but it cannot conquer it. Our deliverance comes through Christ.
Romans 7:7-13 – The Law's Goodness and Sin's Exceeding Sinfulness
Having stated that believers are dead to the Law, Paul anticipates a crucial question: "Is the law sin?" (Romans 7:7). His response is an emphatic "God forbid!" The Law itself is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12). Its purpose is not to condemn us arbitrarily, but to expose sin's true nature. Paul explains that without the Law, he would not have known sin.
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.
The Law, by its very prohibitions, awakens sin within fallen human nature. Sin, personified, "took occasion by the commandment, and wrought in me all manner of concupiscence" (Romans 7:8). The Law, which was intended for life, brought spiritual death because sin used it as an instrument of destruction. This highlights sin's deceitfulness and power: it uses God's good Law to produce death, thereby making sin "exceeding sinful" (Romans 7:13) by revealing its true, destructive character.
Romans 7:14-25 – The Believer's Inward Conflict
The most debated section of Romans 7 is verses 14-25, where Paul describes an intense internal struggle. Is Paul describing the unregenerate person here, or the struggling believer? A careful reading, especially in light of Romans 8, strongly suggests he is describing the experience of a regenerate believer.
Consider the language used:
- "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." (Romans 7:14). The term "carnal" here refers to the fleshly nature that still wars against the spirit, not necessarily an unregenerate state.
- "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." (Romans 7:19). This speaks of a desire for good, which is a mark of a renewed mind. An unregenerate person typically does not "delight in the law of God."
- "If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good." (Romans 7:16). This implies an alignment of the mind with God's will, even when the flesh fails.
- "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:" (Romans 7:22). This is perhaps the strongest evidence. The "inward man" (the regenerated spirit) delights in God's law, a characteristic impossible for the unregenerate, who are dead in trespasses and sins.
Paul describes a profound dichotomy: the spiritual desire to obey God's law versus the persistent pull of the sinful nature (the flesh). He finds "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" (Romans 7:23). This is the daily reality for many believers: a sincere desire to do right, coupled with the frustrating awareness of failure and the continuing presence of sinful inclinations.
This struggle culminates in Paul's desperate cry:
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
This is not the cry of a defeated individual, but the yearning of a believer for complete deliverance, a cry that is immediately answered in the very next verse:
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.
The deliverance is found in Christ. While the internal war continues ("with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin"), the victory is assured through Him. This sets the stage for the triumphant declaration of freedom in Romans 8, where "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1).
The Believer's Perspective on Romans 7
Understanding Romans 7 as the experience of a believer provides several crucial insights:
Conclusion
Romans 7 is not a chapter of despair for the believer, but one of profound realism and ultimate hope. It beautifully illustrates the spiritual war within the heart of a regenerate person: the mind delights in God's Law, while the flesh still wars against it. The Law, though good, cannot conquer sin; it only exposes it. This exposure drives us to the only true Deliverer, Jesus Christ. Our struggle is real, but our victory is assured, not through our own strength or perfect obedience, but through the indwelling Spirit of God who empowers us to walk in newness of life. The cry of "O wretched man that I am!" is met with the triumphant shout, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" This chapter, therefore, serves as a powerful reminder that while the battle with sin continues on this side of glory, the war is won, and our hope rests eternally in our Lord and Saviour.