Romans 7

Released from the Law

(7:1-4) “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? ² For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. ³ So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. ⁴ Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”

We shouldn’t press Paul’s analogy too far. Parables and illustrations often only one main lesson. If we over interpret them, we run into problems. For instance, regarding the ten virgins and their oil lamps (Mt. 25), interpreters will often ask, “What do the virgins represent?” or “What does the oil represent?” or “Why are there ten virgins?” This misses the point entirely. The one main lesson of the parable is, “Be ready!”

In this analogy, all Paul is trying to illustrate is that death breaks the contract of the law. He is asking the question, “What breaks the law of marriage?” No one is legally married to a dead person. Marriage is binding “until death do we part…” Even the rabbis stated, “If a person is dead, he is free from the Torah and the fulfilling of the commandments” (b. Shabbat 30a, Shabbat 151b bar). In the same way, argues Paul, how does a human being get out from under the legal binding of the Law of God? That person needs to die! Paul argues that we did die—with Christ on the Cross. Our identity is wrapped up in His identity (v.4). Since that old self died, we are freed from the Law. Interestingly, Paul says that this death allows us to “bear fruit for God.” Our death and separation from the Law is essential for spiritual growth.

(7:5-6) “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

It isn’t that the Law died. God’s moral Law is eternal and unchanging. There will never be a time that worshipping other gods will be moral, or that adultery or murder will be moral. If we believe that the Law died, then this would result in antinomianism (i.e. a rejection of the Law).

No, Paul doesn’t argue that the Law died. He argues that we died (v.4, 6). We have been released from the obligation and covenant of the Law, because of the work of Christ.

Is Paul referring to sanctification or justification? Paul emphasizes our current release from the Law in sanctification. He uses the present tense to describe how we “bear fruit for God” (v.4) and “serve in the newness of the Spirit” (v.6). Moreover, just as the old self was “done away with” (katargeo, Rom. 6:6), we now are “released” from the Law (katergethemen, Rom. 7:6).

Does this refer to Paul before he came to Christ? Some commentators think that this entire section refers to Paul’s pre-conversion, because he refers to being “in the flesh” (v.5), which seems to describe a non-believer. We disagree. First, Paul uses the plural “we” referring to all believers—not just himself. Second, Paul uses the expression “in the flesh” to refer to believers (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:22; 2 Cor. 10:3; Phile. 16; cf. 1 Pet. 4:2), and he also uses it in contrast to spiritual living (Rom. 8:8-9). Elsewhere, Paul tells us not to “trust in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). Another way of understanding “in the flesh” is to say that this refers to the old self, but now, we are released from the Law. Either way, our current standing with the Law in regards to sanctification is one of release—not bondage. For these reasons, we hold that Paul is referring to the current state of believers—not his pre-conversion experience. We agree with Mounce who writes, “How unfortunate that so many believers continue to understand their Christian experience within an ethical framework determined by law. To serve in the Spirit is to live the resurrected life, to claim our rightful place in Christ. Dead to sin and freed to live for righteousness, we now live lives that bear fruit for God.”[]

Romans 7:7-13 (Defending the Law)

(7:7) “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”

Once again, Paul anticipates the accusation of antinomianism: If the Law results in an “increase” of sin (Rom. 5:20) and if our “sinful passions… were aroused by the Law” (Rom. 7:5), does this mean that the Law is evil? Not at all. It isn’t that the Law is sinful; we are sinful. There is nothing wrong with the Law of God. One of the purposes of the Law is to know and identify sin (“I would not have come to know sin except through the Law”). Hence, Paul cites the 10^th commandment.

(7:8) “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.”

Paul uses a military metaphor when he writes “taking opportunity” (aphormen).[] Paul cannot be saying that people cannot sin before they know the Law (cf. Rom. 2:14-15; 5:13). Instead, he must be saying that the Law (when combined with our flesh) produces more sin. This one law (the 10^th commandment) produced sin “of every kind.” If only we could get out from under Law, we’d be free from sin (“apart from the Law sin is dead”).

Consider the Israelites. God told them, “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Ex. 20:4). Just a few weeks later, these people had Aaron make them a Golden Calf to worship (Ex. 32).

(7:9) “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died.”

This is the first time Paul uses the pronoun “I” in his letter. The context is sanctification—not justification. Paul would never say that a person without Christ could be considered “alive.” Instead, he writes that without Christ we “were dead” and “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:1, 3), and “we were dead in our transgressions” (Eph. 2:5). We didn’t become “alive” until we met Christ (Eph. 2:5; cf. Col. 2:13).

Does this refer to Paul’s pre-conversion experience? Keller writes, “[Paul] had not realized what the law really required. He saw a plethora of rules, but not the basic force or thrust of the law as a whole. He had no understanding of holiness, of what it meant to love God supremely, of what it meant to love his neighbor as himself. Thus he was ‘apart’ from the law. What does it mean, though, that he was ‘alive’? Paul probably is referring to his own self-perception. He felt he was spiritually alive—pleasing to God, satisfying to God… [Paul] must mean: The commandment came home to me.”[] Keller later argues that Paul is speaking about sanctification in verses 14-25 (i.e. Paul’s present struggle with sin).[] But here, he holds that this is referring to justification.

We respectfully disagree with this interpretation. The more natural reading is that Paul is continuing to write about sanctification in the present—not launching back into justification. Indeed, Paul doesn’t say that he felt alive, but that he was alive (“I was once alive apart from the Law…”).

(7:10-11) “And this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; ¹¹ for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

What does Paul mean by “death” here? One interpretation is that this refers to spiritual death (i.e. hell and the judgment of God). Another view is that this is referring to dead works or death to our sanctification. We hold to this latter view. Paul uses “death” in contrast to “righteousness” (Rom. 6:16), and he also refers to “bearing fruit for death” (Rom. 7:5). Later, he refers to his current body as “the body of this death” (Rom. 7:24). In our view, the death mentioned here refers to death to our spiritual growth.

(7:12-13) “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. ¹³ Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

Paul has now answered the objection raised in verse 7: “Is the Law sin?” No, the Law is “holy” and “righteous” and “good.” Paul is not against the Law.

Paul describes a time after he came to Christ when he was living in his position in Christ. But then, the law came in. As a former Pharisee, it was probably easy for Paul to fall back under the law. He describes the struggle that this was for him. Whereas he formerly relied on the law as a Pharisee, after coming to Christ, he realized that the law only inhibited spiritual growth.

Romans 7:14-25 (Struggling under Law)

(7:14-25) “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷ So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. ²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

Paul explains what it is like to fall back under law as a believer. He focuses on himself (“I”), rather than Christ. He focuses on the law, rather than the Holy Spirit. This frustration leads him to ask, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (v.25). Paul’s savior is a who—not a what. He depending on a person—not a list of laws.

Questions for Reflection

Why does Paul spend an entire chapter on the moral law in Romans 7, when he is in the middle of a discussion on spiritual growth? What is the importance of this?

How do you react to these quotes from author and pastor Watchman Nee (1903-1972) from his book The Normal Christian Life?

Watchman Nee: “A drowning man cannot be saved until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save himself. When we give up the case, then God will take it up. He is waiting until we are at an end of our resources and can do nothing more for ourselves. …For our every attempt to do his will is a denial of his declaration in the Cross that we are utterly powerless to do so.”[]

Watchman Nee: “Anyone who serves God will discover sooner or later that the great hindrance to his work is not others but himself.”[]

Watchman Nee: “If you have a very clumsy servant and he just sits still and does nothing, then his clumsiness does not appear. If he does nothing all day he will be of little use to you, it is true, but at least he will do no damage that way. But if you say to him: ‘Now come along, don’t idle away your time: get up and do something,’ then immediately the trouble begins. He knocks the chair over as he gets up, stumbles over a footstool a few paces further on, then smashes some precious dish as soon as he handles it. If you make no demands upon him his clumsiness is never noticed, but as soon as you ask him to do anything his awkwardness is apparent at once. The demands were all right, but the man was all wrong. He was as clumsy a man when he was sitting still as when he was working, but it was your demands that made manifest the clumsiness which, whether he was active or inactive, all the time were in his make-up. We are all sinners by nature. If God asks nothing of us, all seems to go well, but as soon as he demands something of us, the occasion is provided for a grand display of our sinfulness. The Law makes our weakness manifest. While you let me sit still I appear to be all right, but when you ask me to do anything I am sure to spoil it, and if you trust me with a second thing I will as surely spoil that also. When a holy law is applied to a sinful, man, then it is that his sinfulness comes out in full display. God knows who I am: he knows that from head to foot I am full of sin; he knows that I am weakness incarnate; that I can do nothing. The trouble is that I do not know it. I admit that all men are sinners, and that therefore I am a sinner; but I imagine that I am not such a hopeless sinner as some. God must bring us all to the place where we see that we are utterly weak and helpless. While we say so, we do not wholly believe it, and God has to do something to convince us of the fact.”[]

What does it look like in your life when you are just beginning to fall under the weight of the Law? What are ways that you’ve found helpful to get back under grace?

Conclusions

First, if you’re having these feelings about your sin, this is a good place to be! Don’t despair. The lesson of Romans 7 is to understand that faith in God begins, where faith in self ends. However, if you stay in this spiritual state, you need to move on to Romans 8.

Second, believers who don’t understand this sort of struggle are superficial. Broken believers are very enjoyable to be around. You don’t feel like you have to put up a façade around them. Because they are open about their sin and struggles, you feel the freedom to share honestly as well. This happens when we are able to get our focus off of the law and onto the Holy Spirit. Romans 7 mentions the law 31 times (and the Holy Spirit once). By contrast, Romans 8:1-27 mentions the Holy Spirit 19 times.

Third, the law is useful in breaking us of our self-sufficiency. When we fall under law (e.g. comparison and performance), spiritual growth breaks down. If Romans 7 is teaching on the believer’s reaction to a law focus, then Lordship Theology will actually cause less spiritual growth—not more.