For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:14-8:1
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:14-8:1
Breaking Down 7:14-25
So we made it through the Theology and everyone is saying “Yea! We are done with the theology!” so then what is the practicality of this particular passage as this passage is one of the most practical passages throughout the book of Romans. So we are going to run through these verses here.
First I want to give you an outline of Paul’s thought process through this passage.
When we break this passage down, we’ll really see 3 laments of Paul, Paul’s Solution, and the unfortunate continuation of the struggle between the law of God and the law of sin.
I know I put Romans 8:1 on the title of these notes, and I don’t want you to think that was a mistake, but I’ll only briefly be touching on Romans 8:1 in my conclusion in my next post.
Now all 3 laments will follow the same pattern. At first we’ll see the condition of Paul, then we’ll see the proof of his condition and then we’ll see the source of it. Because they all follow the same pattern, I’m going to spend a little more time up front on the first lament and then skim through the second two in my next post. For this post in particular though, we will only make it through the first Lament.
First I want to give you an outline of Paul’s thought process through this passage.
When we break this passage down, we’ll really see 3 laments of Paul, Paul’s Solution, and the unfortunate continuation of the struggle between the law of God and the law of sin.
I know I put Romans 8:1 on the title of these notes, and I don’t want you to think that was a mistake, but I’ll only briefly be touching on Romans 8:1 in my conclusion in my next post.
Now all 3 laments will follow the same pattern. At first we’ll see the condition of Paul, then we’ll see the proof of his condition and then we’ll see the source of it. Because they all follow the same pattern, I’m going to spend a little more time up front on the first lament and then skim through the second two in my next post. For this post in particular though, we will only make it through the first Lament.
The First Lament – Romans 7:14-17
The Condition – vs 14
We read in verse 14, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” And you've heard it said, when there’s a therefore, we need to see what it’s there for? Well we now have a For and we need to know what it’s for.
And if that statement hasn't bee coined yet, I’ll be sure to coin that phrase for you.Paul is continuing the same subject from the prior passage about how the law reveals our sin and continues to answer the question that this imaginary antagonist that he’s been going back and forth throughout the book of Romans is asking.
Does salvation by grace through faith, apart from the law, imply that the law is evil? To which is answer in verse 12 is of course not. Paul is reconfirming this truth here. We know that the law is spiritual. But he says that he is unspiritual.
Although Paul delights in God’s law, he admits that there is something that prevents him from obeying that law. Namely his flesh or carnal nature. He does not say that he was in the flesh or controlled by the flesh, but rather he is specifically talking about an unregenerate condition. Although Christians are not in the flesh, the flesh is still in us. Paul admits that the Flesh is still present in our human condition. We have to remember, that we are of two natures and Paul is now saying that “I’m not in the flesh anymore, but the flesh is still in me.” And I think this viewpoint is so crucial to how we deal with sin. It’s not that he’s in the flesh, but the flesh is still in him.
When Paul stated in Romans 6:12 to not let sin reign in your body” he implied that it doesn’t reign in the believer’s new mind, but yet it still affects us.
This is a practical reality of our humanness getting in the way of accomplishing what we ought to accomplish.
Sold Under Sin
What does it mean that Paul is sold under sin if we just talked about how we are free from sin? There is actually a word in the Greek that most translations don’t interpret. It’s the word “the”. To translate the section literally would be to translate it as “having been sold under the sin” which is putting emphasis on the principle of sin, or the product of the fall which continues to reside in the believer’s body. It means that, as believers, we will have to constantly battle with sin on account of our human flesh; and every time you sin, you lose the battle and become, in a sense, captive to sin.
And can I just pause quickly to say that, this is an ongoing thing? This is something that we won’t have relief from on this side of heaven. So just a quick thought that, if we aren’t struggling with sin and righteousness, that’s when I’d be concerned. When you don’t have that tension between what God wants you to do and what sin is telling you to do, there might be something wrong or you may be knee deep, waist deep, neck deep, or even head deep in a sin that is desensitizing you to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
Our incorruptible nature isn't in view of verse 14, but our physical human nature, very much is. This is where the view of the “non-christian” I think comes into play and where we would refute this view. Can Christians really be sold under sin? If we are true believers, is this even possible? Isaiah 6:5, that great Chapter about revealing the holiness of God. But Isaiah, after seeing the glory and holiness of God, states “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” All the prophet could see against the glorious holiness of God was his own sin. So yes, I very well think that a Christian can have this sort of lament over their own sinfulness.
The Proof – Vs 15
"That which I do I understand [or, know] not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."
A self-righteous person can believe that he is doing morally good things, however, that’s not the case of a Christian led by the Spirit. The more a Christian grows, the more apparent sin will be. That’s the sign of a true believer, as we grow in holiness, and as we grow in becoming like Christ, we should be sinning less, but hating it more. Where as a, new believer will sin more, but not have the same lament over this sin.
Paul also qualifies his statement that not only does he do what he doesn't want to do, but he says that he hates it. You can really see this inner struggle that Paul is dealing and his frustration with his sinful flesh. It’s not that evil won ever time, but it was that when evil did win in his human nature, he was frustrated that his attempt to perfectly obey God’s entire law has been tainted.
John MacArthur said that “The road to spirituality is paved with a sense of your own wretchedness.” This is so true. If we are going to grow in holiness, I think we need to stop desensitizing ourselves to sin. But the more we preach sin, the more opposition we will have. But, and this is a big but, but if we preach sin to exemplify holiness, we will draw those who truly want to strive for holiness. If we are true children of God, the inner person desires holiness and will pursue an environment where they are aided in fulfilling this longing. That is the mark of a mature believer.
The Source – vs 16-17
1 John 3:9 says that no one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
So again, we have to remember that Scripture Supports Scripture, and that these two passages aren’t in opposition to one another, but corroborate each other. The Christian’s new nature within himself make him want to carry out God’s law. The Christian’s new nature cannot sin. The Christian’s new nature is perfect and holy, and he goes against this new nature, it
is sin that still resides in the human body. A Christian will naturally pursue the moral excellence of God’s law, but the old flesh that is still in him.
The new Christian will grow, and as he grows in maturity, the more he will love the Lord, the more that he will submit to the spirit, the more that he will grow in the understanding of God’s holiness, and the greater his longing will be to fulfill the law of God which is why he says in verse 22 that he delights in God’s law with his inner being.
The Condition – vs 14
We read in verse 14, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” And you've heard it said, when there’s a therefore, we need to see what it’s there for? Well we now have a For and we need to know what it’s for.
And if that statement hasn't bee coined yet, I’ll be sure to coin that phrase for you.Paul is continuing the same subject from the prior passage about how the law reveals our sin and continues to answer the question that this imaginary antagonist that he’s been going back and forth throughout the book of Romans is asking.
Does salvation by grace through faith, apart from the law, imply that the law is evil? To which is answer in verse 12 is of course not. Paul is reconfirming this truth here. We know that the law is spiritual. But he says that he is unspiritual.
Although Paul delights in God’s law, he admits that there is something that prevents him from obeying that law. Namely his flesh or carnal nature. He does not say that he was in the flesh or controlled by the flesh, but rather he is specifically talking about an unregenerate condition. Although Christians are not in the flesh, the flesh is still in us. Paul admits that the Flesh is still present in our human condition. We have to remember, that we are of two natures and Paul is now saying that “I’m not in the flesh anymore, but the flesh is still in me.” And I think this viewpoint is so crucial to how we deal with sin. It’s not that he’s in the flesh, but the flesh is still in him.
When Paul stated in Romans 6:12 to not let sin reign in your body” he implied that it doesn’t reign in the believer’s new mind, but yet it still affects us.
This is a practical reality of our humanness getting in the way of accomplishing what we ought to accomplish.
Sold Under Sin
What does it mean that Paul is sold under sin if we just talked about how we are free from sin? There is actually a word in the Greek that most translations don’t interpret. It’s the word “the”. To translate the section literally would be to translate it as “having been sold under the sin” which is putting emphasis on the principle of sin, or the product of the fall which continues to reside in the believer’s body. It means that, as believers, we will have to constantly battle with sin on account of our human flesh; and every time you sin, you lose the battle and become, in a sense, captive to sin.
And can I just pause quickly to say that, this is an ongoing thing? This is something that we won’t have relief from on this side of heaven. So just a quick thought that, if we aren’t struggling with sin and righteousness, that’s when I’d be concerned. When you don’t have that tension between what God wants you to do and what sin is telling you to do, there might be something wrong or you may be knee deep, waist deep, neck deep, or even head deep in a sin that is desensitizing you to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
Our incorruptible nature isn't in view of verse 14, but our physical human nature, very much is. This is where the view of the “non-christian” I think comes into play and where we would refute this view. Can Christians really be sold under sin? If we are true believers, is this even possible? Isaiah 6:5, that great Chapter about revealing the holiness of God. But Isaiah, after seeing the glory and holiness of God, states “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” All the prophet could see against the glorious holiness of God was his own sin. So yes, I very well think that a Christian can have this sort of lament over their own sinfulness.
The Proof – Vs 15
"That which I do I understand [or, know] not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."
A self-righteous person can believe that he is doing morally good things, however, that’s not the case of a Christian led by the Spirit. The more a Christian grows, the more apparent sin will be. That’s the sign of a true believer, as we grow in holiness, and as we grow in becoming like Christ, we should be sinning less, but hating it more. Where as a, new believer will sin more, but not have the same lament over this sin.
Paul also qualifies his statement that not only does he do what he doesn't want to do, but he says that he hates it. You can really see this inner struggle that Paul is dealing and his frustration with his sinful flesh. It’s not that evil won ever time, but it was that when evil did win in his human nature, he was frustrated that his attempt to perfectly obey God’s entire law has been tainted.
John MacArthur said that “The road to spirituality is paved with a sense of your own wretchedness.” This is so true. If we are going to grow in holiness, I think we need to stop desensitizing ourselves to sin. But the more we preach sin, the more opposition we will have. But, and this is a big but, but if we preach sin to exemplify holiness, we will draw those who truly want to strive for holiness. If we are true children of God, the inner person desires holiness and will pursue an environment where they are aided in fulfilling this longing. That is the mark of a mature believer.
The Source – vs 16-17
1 John 3:9 says that no one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
So again, we have to remember that Scripture Supports Scripture, and that these two passages aren’t in opposition to one another, but corroborate each other. The Christian’s new nature within himself make him want to carry out God’s law. The Christian’s new nature cannot sin. The Christian’s new nature is perfect and holy, and he goes against this new nature, it
is sin that still resides in the human body. A Christian will naturally pursue the moral excellence of God’s law, but the old flesh that is still in him.
The new Christian will grow, and as he grows in maturity, the more he will love the Lord, the more that he will submit to the spirit, the more that he will grow in the understanding of God’s holiness, and the greater his longing will be to fulfill the law of God which is why he says in verse 22 that he delights in God’s law with his inner being.