romans chapters 7-8
We hesitate to break into a new section entitled “Romans Seven and Eight,” for fear of giving the idea that Paul is entering a new line of thought. True, he begins a new analogy at the beginning of chapter seven, but chapter seven must be read in light of the previous chapters (and of course, the letter as a whole). As Paul continues his discussion of the law, keep in mind where he has just been in chapters five and six: namely, that we are no longer under the purpose of the law that brings death, or as he later puts it in chapter eight, the “law of sin and death.” In other words, we have been set free from sin and have become servants who obey God (6:22).
With this in mind, let's look at the analogy Paul gives at the start of Romans seven.
With this in mind, let's look at the analogy Paul gives at the start of Romans seven.
Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code (7:1-6, emphasis ours).
Now we must ask, what is it that held us captive, “while we were living in the flesh” (the unregenerate state)?
Return to the previous chapter for the answer.
Return to the previous chapter for the answer.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God (6:6-10, emphasis ours).
We were held captive by sin, by the “old self” or the flesh (our service to our own way, our own evil inclination, the sinful nature). Death once had dominion over us, but now we have “died to that which held us captive” (7:6), a death to sin. Paul is carrying forward the exact same line of thought as in chapter six. Just as in chapter six, where his use of “law” refers to the power of the Torah over the unregenerate heart to increase trespass (one purpose of many, and a negative purpose for sure!), so here in chapter seven he continues with the same use of the law, and shows via the analogy of the married woman, that we have been released from that purpose of the law. The Torah no longer produces in us an increase in trespass.
As Paul has done throughout the letter whenever he says something that might be construed as anti-law, Paul quickly anticipates and refutes the argument that he is against God's instructions for his people as identified in the Torah.
As Paul has done throughout the letter whenever he says something that might be construed as anti-law, Paul quickly anticipates and refutes the argument that he is against God's instructions for his people as identified in the Torah.
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! (7:7a)
Paul clarifies that the law is good! Yet immediately after this statement, he reminds his readers that the law does reveal sin and shows it to be what it is—utterly sinful:
Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure (7:7b-13).
Here, Paul uses the pronoun “I” to describe this experience of being “alive apart from the law.” Many commentators agree that Paul is not speaking of a time when he personally was apart from the law, since the law came into existence long before Paul did (see Dunn, 381-382). In fact, there is only one man who was truly alive before the giving of a command: Adam. Therefore, many scholars conclude that Paul is speaking here of Adam's experience described in Genesis 2-3:
- Adam was alive apart from the law.
- God gave the commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- Sin seized an opportunity through the commandment.
- Sin came alive and Adam died.
Paul uses the pronoun “I” in such a way as to suggest that he has in mind Adamic humankind, or humankind outside of the new experience which for believers is found in Christ (9).
We are “in Adam,” and are thus under the same consequence as he is—banishment from the garden. Once again, we see the focus is on the unregenerate state. Paul refers to sin as alive (9), deceiving and killing me (11). Yet we know from chapter six that, in Christ, sin is dead and we are no longer enslaved to it. Paul's point is this: the law ought to bring blessing, but for those in Adam, it brings death. But this is not so in the regenerate heart, when we are made alive in Christ. Sin no longer “seizes an opportunity through the commandment” to bring death; and “the very commandment that promised life” can actually bring blessing.
However, Paul is realistic. He understands that though we are identified with Christ, and therefore dead to sin, we do not yet have full realization of this. We still struggle with sin and the sinful nature. That is what the following section is all about (7:14-25). Our spirits are alive in Christ, but our flesh still frequently gives in to sin. Yet we have the assurance that one day we will fully experience our freedom from sin in Christ:
However, Paul is realistic. He understands that though we are identified with Christ, and therefore dead to sin, we do not yet have full realization of this. We still struggle with sin and the sinful nature. That is what the following section is all about (7:14-25). Our spirits are alive in Christ, but our flesh still frequently gives in to sin. Yet we have the assurance that one day we will fully experience our freedom from sin in Christ:
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 (7:22-25, emphasis ours).
Far from making the law obsolete, Paul states that he delights in the law of God, in his inner being, in his spirit, yet he sees “another law” waging war against his mind (a parallel term for his inner being). We said previously that Paul's use of the term “law” is not static, and this verse clearly shows this point. What is this other law? It is “the law of sin,” which makes him captive. This is the very same “law” that Paul has been dealing with in chapters six and seven. The law of sin that enslaves. It is not the Torah. It is anti-Torah. It is violating the Torah. It is that which causes God's law to increase trespass when you are not identified with Christ. Now, Paul has made it abundantly clear that those in Christ are no longer slaves to this law. So why then does he struggle with it here? Why is it at work in his members, even dwelling there? Isn't it dead?
The reason is that, as stated above, though we are united with Christ, we do not yet have a full realization of this identity. The law of sin still wars in us, in our flesh, in our members, though our spirits are alive in Christ. It still tries to increase our trespass. In our minds we know the battle is done and can therefore delight in God's law. We must, as Paul said earlier, consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, and therefore, not let sin reign in our bodies (the evil inclination), obeying its passions (6:12-13). And one day, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, he will deliver us from this body of death! There will be full realization of our identity in Christ. We will delight in God's law, in our mind and body.
After reading Paul's words here, it is clear what law we are released from in the marriage analogy that starts chapter seven. The law of sin and death! If it need be clarified further, look briefly at the following verses that start chapter eight (remember that there were no chapter breaks in Paul's original letter to the Romans):
The reason is that, as stated above, though we are united with Christ, we do not yet have a full realization of this identity. The law of sin still wars in us, in our flesh, in our members, though our spirits are alive in Christ. It still tries to increase our trespass. In our minds we know the battle is done and can therefore delight in God's law. We must, as Paul said earlier, consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, and therefore, not let sin reign in our bodies (the evil inclination), obeying its passions (6:12-13). And one day, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, he will deliver us from this body of death! There will be full realization of our identity in Christ. We will delight in God's law, in our mind and body.
After reading Paul's words here, it is clear what law we are released from in the marriage analogy that starts chapter seven. The law of sin and death! If it need be clarified further, look briefly at the following verses that start chapter eight (remember that there were no chapter breaks in Paul's original letter to the Romans):
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (8:1-4, emphasis ours).
There are a few things we should take note of here. For the first time, we have the introduction of “the law of the Spirit of life,” which is clearly set in contrast to “the law of sin and death.” Paul has already discussed this law of sin and death in detail in chapters five through seven. The law of sin and death is the aspect of the Torah that increases sin to those who are “in the flesh,” namely the unregenerate (those who are not identified in Christ). In contrast, those who are regenerate, who are in Christ, now are “under” the law of the Spirit of life. Is this a new set of principles, different from what God had previously revealed? Is it merely the “heart” of the law, which many say does not necessitate obedience to God's commands as long as we obey the general principle?
While this is generally what is taught in the Christian church at large, it simply does not follow from the argument Paul sets forth in Romans. Consider this:
Instead, what we need is to be free, not from God's commands, but from the sinful nature, the body of sin, the enslavement to sin, the law of sin and death, the evil inclination . . . call it what you want. If it is still alive, then we are enslaved. What we need is a freedom from this law and that is exactly what Paul says we have in Christ. We have been set free from the law of sin and death so that we can obey God's commands. No longer will the body of sin respond negatively to God's law because the body of sin is dead. God's law is certainly not dead.
To put it another way, there are two options to solve the problem of sin: God either has to free us from all his commands so that sin has no opportunity to reign OR the flesh has to be put to death. Which of these two options does Paul say that God has done for those in Christ?
So now, we in Christ have been made alive. No longer are we under the law of sin and death. Rather we are under the law of the Spirit of life (8:2). As Paul put it a few chapters earlier, we can now “walk in newness of life” (6:4). In other words, we are no longer under the aspect of God's law that increases sin in the unregenerate heart, but rather, in its place, are under the aspect of God's law that allows us to respond in obedience and receive blessings and life. With the old self dead, we can be blessed by God's law, as he originally intended. Look at how Paul puts it:
While this is generally what is taught in the Christian church at large, it simply does not follow from the argument Paul sets forth in Romans. Consider this:
- Paul explains that the old self was enslaved to sin (6:6). Because of this enslavement, when we encountered God's commands (the law), instead of these commands bringing about blessing, they increased our sinfulness, so that sin reigned in death (5:21). This is what Paul refers to as the law of sin and death.
- Now, however, the old self has been crucified, the body of sin done away with, and we are no longer enslaved to sin (6:6). Sin no longer has dominion over us (6:9).
- Since we are no longer enslaved to sin, it no longer has the power to cause sin to increase when we encounter God's commands.
- Paul explains that the old self was enslaved to sin (6:6). Because of this enslavement, when we encountered God's commands (the law), instead of these commands bringing about blessing, they increased our sinfulness, so that sin reigned in death (5:21). This is what Paul refers to as the law of sin and death.
- To remedy this problem, God freed us from his law, so that sin would not have the opportunity to increase.
- Since we no longer have to obey his law, sin no longer reigns.
Instead, what we need is to be free, not from God's commands, but from the sinful nature, the body of sin, the enslavement to sin, the law of sin and death, the evil inclination . . . call it what you want. If it is still alive, then we are enslaved. What we need is a freedom from this law and that is exactly what Paul says we have in Christ. We have been set free from the law of sin and death so that we can obey God's commands. No longer will the body of sin respond negatively to God's law because the body of sin is dead. God's law is certainly not dead.
To put it another way, there are two options to solve the problem of sin: God either has to free us from all his commands so that sin has no opportunity to reign OR the flesh has to be put to death. Which of these two options does Paul say that God has done for those in Christ?
So now, we in Christ have been made alive. No longer are we under the law of sin and death. Rather we are under the law of the Spirit of life (8:2). As Paul put it a few chapters earlier, we can now “walk in newness of life” (6:4). In other words, we are no longer under the aspect of God's law that increases sin in the unregenerate heart, but rather, in its place, are under the aspect of God's law that allows us to respond in obedience and receive blessings and life. With the old self dead, we can be blessed by God's law, as he originally intended. Look at how Paul puts it:
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (8:4, emphasis ours).
What Paul says here is hugely significant. He says that now that sin is condemned (i.e. we are free from the law of sin and death), we can obey the righteous requirement of God's wonderful commands, instead of always rebelling against them. Why? Because we no longer walk according to the flesh (the law of sin and death) but according to the Spirit (the law of the Spirit of life).
What an amazing truth this is! God knew the solution to our horrible problem was not to remove his righteous and just laws, but to free us from the old self that disobeyed them. Look at how Paul brings all these lines of thought to one synopsis:
What an amazing truth this is! God knew the solution to our horrible problem was not to remove his righteous and just laws, but to free us from the old self that disobeyed them. Look at how Paul brings all these lines of thought to one synopsis:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (8:5-9, emphasis ours).
Those who live according to the flesh (to the law of sin and death) are hostile to God, do not submit to God's law, cannot submit to God's law, and cannot please God. Those who live according to the Spirit (to the law of the Spirit of life), in contrast, can do these things. We can obey his law. We can please him.
And ultimately, one day, we will have the full realization of our identity in Christ, life given to our mortal bodies.
And ultimately, one day, we will have the full realization of our identity in Christ, life given to our mortal bodies.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (8:10-11, emphasis ours).
As Paul so clearly and painfully expresses at the end of chapter seven, right now our spirits are renewed, but our bodies are still dying, thus our internal struggle with God's law and the flesh. But one day we will receive life, not just in our spirits, but in our bodies. Paul continues discussing this future hope, our future glorification, throughout much of chapter eight (see verses 17-30), and then stresses that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, the assurance of our future hope (31-39)! Hallelujah!
More on Romans 5-8: A Story from Personal Experience
In our western culture, we have a tendency to look on "law" very negatively. We have even written songs about the law as a hard and harsh master. You remember, "I fought the law and the ... law won; I fought the law and the ... law won!" This is not the attitude that God's chosen and righteous people have toward his instructions. The word Torah comes from the Hebrew verb yarah meaning to instruct. As parents, we give instructions to our children to keep them safe, to be a benefit to them, to teach them morality, charity, and so on. So, when we think of God as our Father, his Word is his instructions to his children (just as Paul elaborated above, he would not have known not to covet except the "law" has said, "You shall not covet"). These are God's faithful and loving instructions to us as his children.
It is not God's intention that his holy and righteous and good gift become a curse to us, just like when we give instructions to our children to make their beds or clean up their room, our instructions are not intended to become a curse to them. But, when our children do not listen to our instructions, consequences follow. And what was intended for them to be a blessing becomes a curse. Similarly, when we walk contrary to God's Word (his Torah, his instructions), we experience negative consequences.
Now, I (David) might have been an especially bad child, and probably none of you ever did this, but I remember having a spirit of defiance enter me against my parents. Now, like I said, it's probably just me, but when my mother told me to do something, I remember thinking, "There is no way on God's green earth, I'm going to do that!" So, I would find every conceivable way to avoid her instruction, even if I might get myself into a heap of trouble. One such example especially comes to my mind.
One day, I had not done some chore, and my mother came walking down the hall to my bedroom where I was lying on my bed. She said, "You didn't do [such and such] and I've told you a hundred times to get that done, so now you're going to be grounded for a week." Well, needless to say, I had plans that my mother's discipline was getting in the way of, so I decided to argue with her. After some back and forth banter, she said, "Okay, you want to talk to me like that, you're grounded for two weeks!" Well, now I was mad. So, I said, "I don't care! You're ruining my life anyway, so I don't care how long you ground me for, I'm not doing [such and such]!" She replied, "Okay, you're grounded for three weeks." "I don't care," came the angry retort. "Four weeks," she replied. "I don't care!" came the retort. And this went on and on until I heard her say, "Okay, that's six months, want to go for seven?" Well, I had been so stuck in my own anger, selfishness, and defiance that I really hadn't been thinking. All of a sudden, my eyes blinked, my face flushed red, and I turned and shut the door, but I didn't say, "I don't care."
And this is precisely what Paul is addressing in Romans 7:13:
More on Romans 5-8: A Story from Personal Experience
In our western culture, we have a tendency to look on "law" very negatively. We have even written songs about the law as a hard and harsh master. You remember, "I fought the law and the ... law won; I fought the law and the ... law won!" This is not the attitude that God's chosen and righteous people have toward his instructions. The word Torah comes from the Hebrew verb yarah meaning to instruct. As parents, we give instructions to our children to keep them safe, to be a benefit to them, to teach them morality, charity, and so on. So, when we think of God as our Father, his Word is his instructions to his children (just as Paul elaborated above, he would not have known not to covet except the "law" has said, "You shall not covet"). These are God's faithful and loving instructions to us as his children.
It is not God's intention that his holy and righteous and good gift become a curse to us, just like when we give instructions to our children to make their beds or clean up their room, our instructions are not intended to become a curse to them. But, when our children do not listen to our instructions, consequences follow. And what was intended for them to be a blessing becomes a curse. Similarly, when we walk contrary to God's Word (his Torah, his instructions), we experience negative consequences.
Now, I (David) might have been an especially bad child, and probably none of you ever did this, but I remember having a spirit of defiance enter me against my parents. Now, like I said, it's probably just me, but when my mother told me to do something, I remember thinking, "There is no way on God's green earth, I'm going to do that!" So, I would find every conceivable way to avoid her instruction, even if I might get myself into a heap of trouble. One such example especially comes to my mind.
One day, I had not done some chore, and my mother came walking down the hall to my bedroom where I was lying on my bed. She said, "You didn't do [such and such] and I've told you a hundred times to get that done, so now you're going to be grounded for a week." Well, needless to say, I had plans that my mother's discipline was getting in the way of, so I decided to argue with her. After some back and forth banter, she said, "Okay, you want to talk to me like that, you're grounded for two weeks!" Well, now I was mad. So, I said, "I don't care! You're ruining my life anyway, so I don't care how long you ground me for, I'm not doing [such and such]!" She replied, "Okay, you're grounded for three weeks." "I don't care," came the angry retort. "Four weeks," she replied. "I don't care!" came the retort. And this went on and on until I heard her say, "Okay, that's six months, want to go for seven?" Well, I had been so stuck in my own anger, selfishness, and defiance that I really hadn't been thinking. All of a sudden, my eyes blinked, my face flushed red, and I turned and shut the door, but I didn't say, "I don't care."
And this is precisely what Paul is addressing in Romans 7:13:
Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
Just as my mother's commandments to me were not intended to bring punishment, but rather intended by her to bring blessing, God's commandments are not intended to bring punishment, but rather blessing and life (Romans 7:10). But Israel, like me, became very defiant and stubborn and became sinful beyond measure. In fact, humanity became so sinful that there was no way out of it. Humanity could not redeem itself and was destined to death with no hope of escape.
I probably ought to finish my little story. After about three months of being grounded, my pride finally broken, I approached my mother and said, "Mom, is there anything I can do to get out of being grounded?" She said, "All I wanted was for you to listen to me. When I ask you to do something, I'm not asking you to do it to hurt you, or take your time with your friends, or inconvenience you, but because what I have asked you is good for you. It will make you a responsible young man." With tears in my eyes, I said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, and I guess I was really stupid." She hugged me, and the consequence was over. You see, my mom didn't want me to be grounded, but she did want a prideful and obstinate spirit to be broken. And once broken, I would be free to be obedient to her. But when she freed me from the consequence, did that mean that I was now free from obeying her? Absolutely not! I was free from my disobedient spirit and free from the consequences that resulted from that. Similarly, Paul's point in this section of Romans is that our carnality, or flesh, our human spirit of defiance against God, is a law that enslaves us. It is this law of man's carnality that is hostile to the instructions of God, the Torah, and it is this carnality from which we need release.
I probably ought to finish my little story. After about three months of being grounded, my pride finally broken, I approached my mother and said, "Mom, is there anything I can do to get out of being grounded?" She said, "All I wanted was for you to listen to me. When I ask you to do something, I'm not asking you to do it to hurt you, or take your time with your friends, or inconvenience you, but because what I have asked you is good for you. It will make you a responsible young man." With tears in my eyes, I said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, and I guess I was really stupid." She hugged me, and the consequence was over. You see, my mom didn't want me to be grounded, but she did want a prideful and obstinate spirit to be broken. And once broken, I would be free to be obedient to her. But when she freed me from the consequence, did that mean that I was now free from obeying her? Absolutely not! I was free from my disobedient spirit and free from the consequences that resulted from that. Similarly, Paul's point in this section of Romans is that our carnality, or flesh, our human spirit of defiance against God, is a law that enslaves us. It is this law of man's carnality that is hostile to the instructions of God, the Torah, and it is this carnality from which we need release.