ROMANS 7 - Annotated Notes
Romans 7:1 [AV]
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?
ANNOTATED NOTES:
** In the original text of Romans as it was given to Paul by revelation, there were no chapters or verses. Chapter divisions and verse designations were added centuries later, by man, for the convenience of reference. In the case of Romans 6 and 7, the chapter divisions added by man fall at clear lines of demarcation in subject matter.
** Whereas chapter 6 was generally about the born again one being dead to sin and alive to God, chapter 7 addresses how the believer is dead to the law and alive to God - newness of life in Christ vs being under the bondage of the Law. Chapter 7 is not, as some have taught, describing the experience of the unbeliever who has yet to be saved by God’s grace. The text of the chapter, in the context of surrounding chapters, bears out that it’s not dealing with Paul reflecting on his life prior to conversion, but rather the relationship of the law to the born-again believer in his walk, how law persistently stimulates sin. Granted, there are verses that be can extracted and used in reference to the unsaved, but the whole does not deal with salvation, it deals with the walk of the born again believer in relation to the law.
** In this chapter, the word “dead” or "death" occurs 11x in the AV, "life" in its various forms occurs 5x, and "sin" appears 14x. The most significant word in the chapter is "law," which occurs 23x, while the closely associated word, "commandment," is used 6x. Chapter 6 showed how our oneness with Christ in his death ended the tyranny of the sin nature in the believer’s life. Chapter 7 will show how our oneness with Christ in his death also ended the dominion of the law. It will show that the one who has been reconciled to God by the one man, Jesus Christ, is to reckon himself legally dead to the law, and alive unto God. The first 6 verses of this chapter relate back to 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” So whenever a person is under the law, sin will have dominion over them. However, death relieves a person from all obligations to adhere to the law. It is our oneness with Christ in his death that allows us to legally be loosed from the bounds of the law, for the law has nothing to say to a dead man.
Know ye not=agnoeo: could accurately read “Do you not know”, or "Are you ignorant"
brethren: that addresses fellow believers, brothers and sisters in Christ, born-again ones
the law=nomos: “the” is not in the text, so it should simply read “law”; The Mosaic law is specifically being covered with this reference, but the fundamental principle would speak to anyone familiar with civil law anywhere in the Greco-Roman world: law rules if you are alive - if you are dead, law has no lordship over you.
have dominion over=kurieuo: exercise lordship over, have dominion or power or authority over
a man=ho anthropos: a person, an individual; it’s not gender specific, but general - man or woman
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:1 [PHILIPS]
You know very well, my brothers (for I am speaking to those well acquainted with the subject), that the Law can only exercise authority over a man so long as he is alive.
Romans 7:1 [WST]
Or, are you ignorant, brethren, for I am speaking to those who have an experiential knowledge of law, that the law exercises lordship over the individual as long as he lives?
Romans 7:1 [CEV]
My friends, you surely understand enough about law to know that laws only have power over people who are alive.
Romans 7:2 [AV]
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
For=gar: a coordinating conjunction, in the essence of "For instance” or "For example”; what follows in v2 is a specific example of the principle stated in v1
which hath a husband=hupandros: literally "who is under a husband" or "who is subject to a husband"
bound=deo: to bind, put under obligation, fasten with chains; this occurrence is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed past action that has effects in the present, with the emphasis not on the past action but on the present state of affairs resulting from the past action; a married woman is and remains bound to her husband as long as he is alive.
bound by the law: according to the Mosaic law, if a married woman left her husband while he was living and became joined to another man, she was guilty of adultery
be dead: has died
loosed=katargeo: discharged, freed, released, to cause the release from an association or institution on the basis that the earlier obligation is no longer in force; this verb is also in the perfect tense, emphasizing the current state of being freed or discharged based on a past action (husband died). This use of the perfect tense emphasizes that she is discharged and remains discharged. This same Gr word (different tense) is translated “delivered” in 7:6.
loosed from the law of her husband: discharged from the law’s requirement of her to be subject to her husband. In other words, upon her husband’s death, she is free and remains free from the law's binding demands.
** If a person dies, they obviously are no longer expected to live by the law. Conversely, if the law is done away with, in a sense put to death, a living person is no longer expected to live by that old dead law. Though the converse is valid, that is not the position stated anywhere here in Rom 7. The law is never stated in this chapter as being “dead”. WE are the ones declared to be dead, in Christ. If it was merely the law that was declared “dead” by God, that would release us from the bonds of the law, but we would still be spiritually dead due to Adam’s fall. The death of the law is not a remedy to us being dead in trespasses and sins, without God and without hope. God’s total provision, through our union with Christ, has us dead to the law’s demands through the death of Christ and alive to God through the resurrection of Christ. That is complete deliverance!
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:2 [NEB]
For example, a married woman is by law bound to her husband while he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the obligations of the marriage-law.
Romans 7:2 [TLB]
Let me illustrate: when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, she is no longer bound to him; the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.
Romans 7:3 [AV]
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
she be married to another man (2x): she be joined to another man; literally “she becomes another man’s"
husband be dead: husband dies
free=eleutheros: free, unrestrained, exempt, not bound by an obligation
** 7:1-3 contains straight forward thinking that would make sense to any person of any background, but especially someone familiar with the Mosaic Law. A wife is bound by the marriage law while her husband is alive, and loosed from it if he dies. She is an adulteress if she is married to another man while her husband is alive, and not an adulteress if she marries another man after he dies.
When someone dies, the law no longer has power or authority over them. That is now the legal foundation to approach v4, where our oneness with Christ in his death is grounds for us being set free from the law. Just as death legally terminates the marriage relationship, so the death of the believer (in their oneness with Christ) terminates the law’s jurisdiction over the believer.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:3 [MOF]
Accordingly, she will be termed an adulteress if she becomes another man’s while her husband is alive; but if her husband dies, she is freed from the law of ‘the husband,’ so that she is no adulteress if she becomes another man’s.
Romans 7:3 [WEY]
This accounts for the fact that if during her husband’s life she lives with another man, she will be stigmatized as an adulteress; but that if her husband is dead she is no longer under the old prohibition, and even though she marries again, she is not an adulteress.
Romans 7:3 [PHILIPS]
This means that, if she should give herself to another man while her husband is alive, she incurs the stigma of adultery. But if, after her husband's death, she does exactly the same thing, no one could call her an adulteress, for the legal hold over her has been dissolved by her husband's death.
Romans 7:4 [AV]
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
body of Christ: talking about the crucified body of Christ, the death of Christ; when he died, we died with him, hence we became dead to the law and it’s requirements upon us (Gal 2:19-20); In extending the marriage illustration from v2-3, it matters not whether it is the husband or wife that is said to be dead - for both parties, the death of either ends the power of the marriage-law.
be married to another: see 7:3 note on same words, meaning "be joined to another", literally "to become another’s”; This figurative language emphasizes that we are no longer under the power of the law, but have been set free to be joined to the risen Christ, for it is through his finished work that we have legally been justified, made righteous, and sanctified unto holiness. The law showed us our sin, and declared the penalty for sin to be death. As our sinless Redeemer, our legal substitute, Christ paid the penalty for our sin through his death on the cross (Gal 3:13), ending the law’s dominion over us.
is: was
raised: when he died, spiritually we died with him - on the same legal grounds, when he arose, spiritually we arose with him to walk in newness of life (6:4) and serve in newness of spirit (7:6); Our oneness with Christ in his death “loosed” us from the law (v2), but that alone would simply leave us dead. The greatness of the life we have in Christ is built upon the truth that God raised him from the dead. Without his resurrection, we’ve got no victory over death. The resurrection is God’s provision of proof that he was who he said he was – as Rom 1:4 testifies: “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead”.
should (2nd): may
bring forth fruit=karpophoreo: bear fruit, bring forth fruit; same Gr word used in Matt 13:23; Mk 4:20 and Lk 8:15, where they hear the Word, understand it, keep it, and bring forth fruit (same Gr word also used in Col 1:6,10!).
** The imperative of 6:11 is reflected in this verse: we are not only to think of ourselves as dead to sin, but also alive unto God - a double reckoning. As for the focus of chapter 7, there is but one way of escape from the dominion of the law: death. The law ceases to have any jurisdiction over a man the moment he dies. And it is through the crucified body of Christ, his death satisfying the law’s demands, that the believer finds his liberty from the law. Galatians 2:19-20: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I was crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” We are now joined to Christ, free to bring forth fruit unto the glory of God.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:4 [MOF]
It is the same in your case, my brothers. The crucified body of Christ made you dead to the Law, so that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead that we might be fruitful to God.
Romans 7:4 [PHILIPS]
So, my brothers, the death of Christ on the cross has made you "dead" to the claims of the Law, and you are free to give yourselves in marriage, so to speak, to another, the one who was raised from the dead, that we may be productive for God.
Romans 7:4 [NLT]
So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
Romans 7:5 [AV]
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
in the flesh: referring to the mind and body ruled by the sin nature, which was the case before we were born again (see “flesh” in 6:19 notes); “in the flesh” is in direct contrast to “in the spirit” (see Rom 8:8-9, where a person who has the spirit of God is referred to as not being “in the flesh” but “in the spirit”)
motions of sins: sinful passions, sinful cravings and lusts; this sinfulness was operative in our physical and mental faculties
which were by the law: accurately understood as "which were aroused and produced by the law”; It is not that the law originated them, but that by naming and then forbidding them it stirred up the strong desire to DO them. Tell a child “No”, and what do they want to do? Law excites the self-willed nature of sin (see Rom 3:20; 5:20; 1 Cor 15:56)
members=melos: see note on 6:13
fruit unto death: this is set in contrast to bringing forth “fruit unto God” in v4; see Gal 5:19-24 for some of the works of the flesh in contrast to the fruit of the spirit
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:5 [MOF]
For when we were unspiritual, the sinful cravings excited by the Law were active in our members and made us fruitful to Death;
Romans 7:5 [PHILIPS]
While we were "in the flesh" the Law stimulated our sinful passions and so worked in our nature that we became productive--for death!
Romans 7:5 [TLB]
When your old nature was still active, sinful desires were at work within you, making you want to do whatever God said not to and producing sinful deeds, the rotting fruit of death.
Romans 7:6 [AV]
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
are delivered=katargeo: discharged from, make inactive; it's speaking of how the law is made inoperative as a controlling power; same Gr word is translated “loosed” in 7:2; When we died in Christ, we were delivered, discharged from the requirements of the law that were upon us, just as the woman in v2 was discharged from the law which bound her to her husband. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the claims of the law by paying its penalty (death) on our behalf. Therefore, we are now free from the law, from it’s demands, from its curse, and from its legal penalty. That allows us to serve with love, not fear; with freedom, not bondage. We no longer need to slavishly adhere to minute details of forms and ceremonies, but can joyfully and freely give of ourselves for the glory of God and the blessing of others.
being dead: having died
that (2nd): so that
should serve: "may serve”; it's a free will choice, not put upon us by the guilt and burden of the law, but by a freedom to serve granted to us in the new birth
newness of spirit: this phrase aptly describes the new nature we received at the new birth, and the subsequent walk in love and service to others
oldness of the letter: referring to the OT Mosaic law which was written with letters; See 2 Cor 3:3,6-8 for how the “letter” brings forth death, in contrast to the spirit which gives life. As born-again children of God, we do not succumb to any form of legalism, not even a single letter of the law (see Gal 2:5; 5:3-4; James 2:10). A person could attempt to live every single letter of the law’s demands, and yet not have a single ounce of love in doing it - but it is LOVE that fulfills the whole law (Rom 13:10; Gal 5:14; Matt 22:37-40), and it was LOVE that sent Jesus Christ to the cross to give himself as a sacrifice for our sins (Eph 5:1-2: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (also see Jn 13:1,34; 2 Cor 5:14-15).
** The tendency for most believers after they're born again is to continue with the law-based idea that they have to work on themselves, to subdue the flesh by better works, by better habits, by rules and regs and resolutions for holy living. But the truth is, the old man is so evil and bad that nothing can ever improve it, and the new man is so perfect that it needs no improvement. The old man sin nature is inflamed into full activity by the law, while the law is in conflict with the new man nature, because the new man, Christ within, needs no such outward rules of conformity.
Instead of simply reckoning the old man to have died with and in Christ (6:6; Gal 2:20; 5:24; 6:14), many continue seeking to put it to death. But Christ was crucified once and for all, and once was enough. It is D-O-N-E. Through Christ, we have gone from death unto life, discharged from the law to serve in newness of spirit. Heb 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ...purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:6 [AMP]
But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life].
Romans 7:6 [NLT]
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
Romans 7:7 [AV]
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.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
** The words “ye” or “we” are used 7x in v4-6, but only 2x from v7-25. The words “I” or “me” are used zero times in v4-6, but 44x from v7-25. Beginning in this verse and for the remainder of the chapter, God has Paul use the first person singular. The battle in the mind is personal, yet universal, and Paul’s experience gives a first person perspective to that which every believer will experience in the spiritual contest, a conflict within himself between the old sin nature and the new divine nature.
God forbid=me genomai: let it not be!, or may it not be!, or may it never happen!; The Gr words communicate a vehement denouncement of something so abhorrent that it should not even be thought of. This strongly assertive phrase appears 14x in the Church Epistles, 10 of them in Romans (see 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:13; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1 Cor 6:15; Gal 2:17; 3:21; 6:14). In this case, the thought that is so repugnant that it should never even enter one’s mind in the first place is that the law is synonymous with sin. The reality is, the law makes known sin - it allows us to understand the very nature of sin, the magnitude of our personal guiltiness to sin, and the countless multitude of our sinful transgressions. The law gives light to see the pervasive sinfulness of the sin nature.
known (1st): “come to know”, “come to understand”, in the essence of "recognized it as"
lust: lustful desire, i.e. desire of the old nature
Thou shalt not covet: taken from Ex 20:17 and Deut 5:21, the last of the 10 Commandments written in stone with the “finger of God”. The Heb word for “covet” in Ex 20:17 (chamad) is the same word translated “desired” in Gen 3:6, when Eve looked upon the forbidden tree as “a tree to be desired to make one wise”. She “desired” before she “ate”. Coveting takes place covertly in the secret places of the heart (Rom 2:16), not overtly visible for others to see. Had the law not prohibited coveting, one might have reasoned that as long as they did not bring their thoughts into fruition, everything was copasetic – no harm, no foul. But the law declared otherwise. Evil thoughts are as unlawful as evil deeds (Matt 5:27-28!). Mere external adherence to the law cannot change the desires, the lusts, the coveting within. One’s outward life may appear blameless, while their inward life is nothing short of shameless.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:7 [AMP]
What then do we conclude? Is the Law identical with sin? Certainly not! Nevertheless, if it had not been for the Law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning. [For instance] I would not have known about covetousness [would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, You shall not covet and have an evil desire [for one thing and another]. [Exod. 20:17; Deut. 5:21.]
Romans 7:7 [PHILIPS]
It now begins to look as if sin and the Law were the same thing--can this be a fact? Of course it cannot. But it must be admitted that I should never have had sin brought home to me but for the Law. For example, I should never have felt guilty of the sin of coveting if I had not heard the Law saying "Thou shalt not covet”.
Romans 7:7 [TLB]
Well then, am I suggesting that these laws of God are evil? Of course not! No, the law is not sinful, but it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known the sin in my heart—the evil desires that are hidden there—if the law had not said, “You must not have evil desires in your heart.”
Romans 7:8 [AV]
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
sin: referring to the sin nature, not to acts of sin
occasion=aphorme: opportunity, a set of circumstances favorable for a particular activity or endeavor; aphorme was used as a military term describing a base of operations to extend and execute a war. Also used in Gr literature as a business term for the monetary means with which one begins a venture. Sin uses the law as the capital to finance its initiative, as its base of operation in extending and executing warfare. If your walk is in accordance with the letter of the law, your base of operation is in reality your sin nature. If your walk is centered on who God has made you to be in Christ through his death and resurrection, then your base of operation is the new man nature, that CHRIST who lives in you (Gal 2:20!). That is what brings victory to your walk, not adherence to the law. (For other uses of aphorme see Rom 7:11; 2 Cor 5:12; 11:12; Gal 5:13; 1 Tim 5:14)
commandment=entole: this word occurs 6x in 6 verses, from v8-13, as the focus is upon the relation between the believer and any commandment of the law, with the specific example, “Thou shalt not covet”.
wrought=katergazomai: to fully work something with success, to do thoroughly, to accomplish; Law gives sin full employment, allowing it to work thoroughly and successfully (and the wages of sin are death – 6:23). This is true of all forms of legalism. The law provides the working capital to keep the sin nature working full time. Law bankrolls the sin nature. In contrast, grace, when properly understood and lived, bankrupts the sin nature. Grace puts sin in the unemployment line, shutting the facility down and declaring the building as condemned.
concupiscence=epithymia: lust, lustful desire for that which is forbidden; this is the same Gr word translated “lust” in v7, the noun form of the verb “covet” in v7; As is true with all law-based prohibitions, the old man desire to sin is made all the stronger with the prohibition. When the law forbids evil coveting, man’s corrupt sin nature is inflamed all the more to covet in all manners. There could not have been a more appropriate command to use as an example (“Thou shalt not covet”), as the word “covet” encompasses the essence of the sin nature’s rebellion against any law, whether it be in the affirmative (thou shalt) or the negative (thou shalt not). This section of Romans is not stating that the Law is the cause of sins – the sin nature is the cause of sins. Sin is the root, sins are the fruit produced by the root. The commandment of the Law stimulates the sin nature.
sin was dead: “dead” in a relative sense, dead in the sense of dormant or not actively aroused; that is not to say that sin is nonexistent without the Law, but that without the Law sin is less active because law arouses sinful passions (7:5). Until the Law was revealed, sin was unrevealed in all its full sinfulness. The Law brought the full sinfulness of sin into clear, undeniable definition and recognition.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:8 [AMP]
But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated all kinds of forbidden desires (lust, covetousness). For without the Law sin is dead [the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing].
Romans 7:8 [WST]
But the sinful nature, using the commandment as a fulcrum, brought about in me every kind of evil craving. For without law, the sinful nature was dead.
Romans 7:9 [AV]
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
I…came: see opening note on 7:7; with the usage of first person singular “I”, this verse cannot be understood as some have taught, as referring to the time between Adam's fall and the giving of the law with Moses. It’s referring to Paul’s personal experience, that during a previous period in his life he was insufficiently aware of the full gravity of God’s commandments. He intellectually knew the law from his youth into adulthood, but only to the point he felt he was a "good man”, in good condition relative to keeping the law (see Phil 3:4-6). But when the commandment came, meaning when he became fully aware of the consequence of the commandment, convicted that he could never live up to it, and thus was condemned to death for falling short, the power of his sinful desires was thoroughly inflamed and sprang to life.
sin revived: this concept is not limited to what most might think, an unrestrained lifestyle of self-indulgence in every form of desire. That aspect of the revival of sin is on the "letting loose” side of the flesh. But the revival of sin also includes the all-out effort to discipline the flesh with rules and regulations, with the re-doubling of efforts to live by the letter of the law, an increased involvement in religious activities, more participation in programs of self-improvement, and other legalistic forms of “tightening up” the flesh. “Sin revived” includes the arousing of the sin nature all across the “flesh” spectrum, from the self-indulging “letting loose” end, to the self-exalting “tightening up” end. The sin nature, at either end, is self-centered.
I died: cannot be referring to him dying physically; it’s referring to how the Law sentenced him to death for not keeping it. He realized himself to be guilty and worthy of the law’s demand upon him for falling short, i.e. death. He died as far as any hope of overcoming his sin nature by his own efforts, his own goodness, his own law-keeping. (see Eph 2:1-3)
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:9 [AMP]
Once I was alive, but quite apart from and unconscious of the Law. But when the commandment came, sin lived again and I died (was sentenced by the Law to death).
Romans 7:9 [TLB]
That is why I felt fine so long as I did not understand what the law really demanded. But when I learned the truth, I realized that I had broken the law and was a sinner, doomed to die.
Romans 7:10 [AV]
And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
which was ordained to life: keeping the law was to bring life (Lev 18:5), but since no one could keep it in its entirety (Eccl 7:20; Rom 3:10), Paul included, then it was found to issue a due death sentence for being guilty of it all (Jm 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all”). Paul’s attempts to be victorious over his sin nature through disciplined law-obedience failed miserably, not once, not twice, but over and over – just as anyone’s will. And the harder the efforts to live victoriously over one's sin nature by one's own efforts and own strength, the more profound the failure will be. Romans 7 is repetitively teaching us that in order to walk victoriously in life, if even possible, it must be done some other way other than through the rule-keeping of the law (Gal 3:21). Living life by law won’t work, for the law always demands death to the transgressor.
unto death: not talking about physical death, but in the essence of bringing him under the sentence of death, or caused him to be condemned to death; this is a recurring figurative theme, first stated in v9, “I died”, then here as “unto death”, and again in v11 as “it slew me”; the word “commandment” plays a leading role in all three verses.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:10 [PHI]
The commandment, which was meant to be a direction to life, I found was a sentence to death.
Romans 7:10 [TLB]
So as far as I was concerned, the good law which was supposed to show me the way of life resulted instead in my being given the death penalty.
Romans 7:11 [AV]
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
occasion=aphorme: see note on 7:8, where the same Gr word is used in the midst of the exact same English phrase in the AV ("sin…commandment”)
deceived=exapatao: to deceive, to beguile, to cause someone to have misleading or erroneous views concerning the truth; the 4 other occurrences of this Gr word in the NT are insightful: we are to let no man deceive us (2 Thes 2:3; Rom 16:18), we are not to deceive ourselves (1 Cor 3:18), and we are not to allow ourselves to be beguiled the way Eve was by the serpent when she believed the lie and went from life to death (2 Cor 11:3). The sin nature, by carrying out its warfare with the venture capital and base of operation provided it through the law, can deceive us and bring a form of death (Rom 8:6: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”). Any believer expecting their law-based walk to issue in a testimony and experience that would be a living one, alive with the life of God, will find that any effort at obeying an outside law results only in defeat. Law-obedience, rule-keeping, or any form of legalism that employs our own righteousness and strength will bring the same end result as spoken of in this verse and its context. In short, legalism kills.
slew me: not in the sense of physically slaying him, but in the sense of bringing misery and failure, spelling death to any hope of deliverance from the sin nature via self.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:11 [PHI]
The commandment gave sin its opportunity, and without my realizing what it was doing, it "killed" me.
Romans 7:11 [AMP]
For sin, seizing the opportunity and getting a hold on me [by taking its incentive] from the commandment, beguiled and entrapped and cheated me, and using it [as a weapon], killed me.
Romans 7:12 [AV]
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
holy and just and good: God's definitive way of saying the law isn’t the problem. Each commandment of the law came from God and thus reflects His nature - He is Holy, He is Just, He is Good. The law is holy, a revelation of He who is Holy. The law is just, righteous in its requirements for justness. The law is good, beneficial in its purposes and the fulfillment of its purposes. The law was given to Israel by God and therefore perfect as an expression of His will for His people. But His people were already sinners, laden with a sin nature that was at enmity against God. They needed the law to give them the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20; 7:7), which in turn reminded them that they needed a Savior who could pay the penalty of sin (death) and thus deliver them from the power of sin. No matter how holy and just and good the law is, salvation does not come by keeping the law, but by believing in the accomplished work of the Savior that God sent.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:12 [NASB]
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7:12 [AMP]
The Law therefore is holy, and [each] commandment is holy and just and good.
Romans 7:13 [AV]
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
that which is good (2x): referring to the law, which was called “good” in prior verse
God forbid=me genomai: let it not be!, or may it not be!, or may it never happen!; The Greek words communicate a strong aversion to something so abhorrent that it should not even be thought of. This strongly assertive phrase appears 14 places in the Church Epistles, 10 of them in Romans (see 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1 Cor 6:15; Gal 2:17; 3:21; 6:14); In this case, the repugnant thought is to think that the law, which is good, brought death to man. Sin is what brought death to man, not the law. The law merely exposed sin in all its sinfulness. A good thermometer accurately measures one’s feverish temperature - it doesn’t cause one to have a fever or to die from it.
sin=hamartia: in this verse and context it’s referring to the sin nature; this Gr word occurs 3x in this verse, and 15x in the entire chapter. In a general definition, it means to miss the mark, be off the standard, to err, to wander from God’s will in thought or in action. After the fall of man, man’s very nature was a missing of the mark – he was without God and without hope (Eph 2:12), dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). When a person gets born again of God’s spirit, the sin nature does not go away, nor does it become less sinful.
that (2nd and 4th): accurately "in order that"; both of these uses are initiating a purpose clause
appear: be seen to be
working death in me: the law is not the culprit in the death sentence upon man - sin is the culprit. The Law didn’t originate sin, but it showed sin in all its extreme malignity and exceeding sinfulness. What may have been a dormant desire before, becomes a burning passion when a commandment forbids it. That is the nature of sin – it rebels against God, it is at enmity against God (Rom 8:7-8; Eph 2:15-16). Man’s state after the fall left him as an enemy of God (Rom 5:10), instinctively wanting to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, especially in whatever is forbidden. The law by itself can neither improve the old nature on the one hand, nor cause it to sin on the other. The law simply awakens desires that might otherwise have been lying dormant. The more man tries to live by the law, the stronger the sinful desires get and the more exceeding sinful his nature appears, until at last he is brought to despair of hope, causing any delusion of possible self-improvement to die.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:13 [AMP]
Did that which is good then prove fatal [bringing death] to me? Certainly not! It was sin, working death in me by using this good thing [as a weapon], in order that through the commandment sin might be shown up clearly to be sin, that the extreme malignity and immeasurable sinfulness of sin might plainly appear.
Romans 7:13 [NLT]
But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.
Romans 7:14 [AV]
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
spiritual=pneumatikos: the adjective form of the Gr noun for “spirit” (pneuma); means spiritual, of or from the Spirit; the law was given by God, who is Spirit (Jn 4:24) (also see Jn 6:63)
carnal=sarkinos: the adjective form of the Gr noun for “flesh” (sarx); means carnal, fleshly, of the flesh (i.e. sin nature); this can describe the state of a born-again Christian when they are not walking in Christ (see 1 Cor 3:1-3)
I am carnal, sold under sin: though this was true before he got born again, it’s not referring to before, but after the new birth - and specifically whenever he is not claiming the truths of what Christ has already spiritually accomplished for him. It’s an acknowledgement that even though Paul, or any believer, may be born again of God’s spirit, he still has a carnal sin nature to deal with. The question is, how can it be dealt with victoriously.
** In following the flow of chapter 7, v1-6 declared how the believer is not under law, but has been discharged from its dominion. v7-13 showed that a believer who puts himself under the law, through a rejection or ignorance of his oneness with Christ, will lead a defeated life, because the law doesn’t mitigate the sin nature, it exacerbates it.
Now, in v14-24, the grammatical use of the "historical present” (employment of the present tense when narrating past events) is used to emphatically describe the experience any believer will undergo whenever he is walking by the flesh, failing to claim who and what he has in Christ. Via Paul’s personal experience (“I” is used 27x in v14-25), it describes the conflict between the two natures and the impossibility of finding deliverance from sin via the flesh.
Regardless of how rare the occurrence was at this point in Paul’s life, at any point where he attempted to use his own strength and goodness to overcome the sin nature, he was being carnal, walking by the flesh, putting himself under sin as his master. Such an attempt at perfection through one’s own goodness after being born again is pointedly condemned in Gal 3:3: “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?”.
The carnal path of defeat in this inner conflict between spirit and flesh will be detailed in v14-24, but the source of victory to this conflict will be boldly declared in 7:25, and expanded on magnificently in chapter 8. It is only by looking away from ourselves in rejection of self-dependence, and looking to our new nature which we have by God’s grace, that we will experientially find true victory in our walk.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:14 [GW]
I know that God’s standards are spiritual, but I have a corrupt nature, sold as a slave to sin.
Romans 7:14 [NCV]
We know that the law is spiritual, but I am not spiritual since sin rules me as if I were its slave.
Romans 7:15 [AV]
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
allow: more accurately “understand"
would...do: the English word “do” is used 3x in this verse in the AV, and 10x from v15-21 (but not the same Gr word each time). In contrast to “do”, the Gr. word for “would” in this verse, thelo, appears 7x from v15-21. It means "to will", to intend, to take delight in doing. This verse describes a believer’s attempt to live his life under the law rather than by the grace of God - it speaks to the good we “will” to do, vs what we actually “do”. When a man trusts in his own strength, he often has extraordinary confidence in his will power, and exalts his good intentions. But Paul is describing how bafflled he is at the failure of his “good intentions”, the utter folly of thinking that sheer will power can win this battle against the sin nature. This struggle is one a believer is doomed to lose when they either do not know or do not believe the truths of their oneness with Christ in his death and resurrection. It is a conflict that is lost by the believer who is still trying to climb Mount Sinai in pursuit of holiness (Ex 19:11-12). Holiness is not found in the flesh, nor achieved by the flesh, no matter how much one tries to “will” and “do". It was not within the power of fallen man, nor is it within the human power of a born again man, to conquer their sin nature by programs of self-improvement, by adherence to rules, regs, and resolutions, or by performance of God’s “holy and just and good” commandments. Victory is not found in self - it’s only found in God’s grace, by believing God’s declaration of truth concerning Jesus Christ, who in this unparalleled epistle of Romans is declared to be “the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom 1:3-6)!
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:15 [AMP]
For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns].
Romans 7:15 [NIV]
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Romans 7:16 [AV]
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
consent unto=sumphemi: consent to, agree with
the law...is good: if a person is going to attempt to overcome their sin nature through their moral character and human goodness, there is no higher standard than the Law God gave. So when one fails in their attempts, it simply confirms that the law is good, but we are not.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:16 [NASB]
But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
Romans 7:16 [GNB]
Since what I do is what I don’t want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right.
Romans 7:17 [AV]
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
Now then: "But now", or "So now” - the “now” is not a reference to time, but to a logical conclusion, in the essence of “After this statement you can no longer maintain that it’s ‘I' who does it…”. Ultimately, the conclusion he will reach is to no longer identify himself (“I”) with his old sin nature, but with his new nature, as a new man in Christ, in light of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection: "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20 - NLT)
no more: no longer
sin that dwelleth in me: literally, the dwelling-in-me sin; The culprit in this seemingly unwinnable battle is the corrupt sinful nature that still dwells within us from the 1st birth. Pointing to the sin nature that dwells in us is not to be used in any wise to minimize our responsibility for our own actions. We are 100% accountable for what we do and don’t do. This verse is simply pointing out the source of one’s sinful behavior, not excusing the behavior. And chapter 7 is heading toward the ONLY remedy to that source, which is NOT the law. The law arouses sin, bringing condemnation and death (see 2 Cor 3:7-9; Rom 8:1-2).
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:17 [NCV]
But I am not really the one who is doing these hated things; it is sin living in me that does them.
Romans 7:17 [MOF]
That being so, it is not I who do the deed but sin that dwells within me.
Romans 7:18 [AV]
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
flesh=sarx: see note on “flesh" in 6:19; this usage is not referring to the physical flesh of man (as in “flesh and blood” - Gal 1:16; Eph 6:12), but rather to the sin nature inherited from Adam that is still within every born-again believer, which expresses itself through the body and mind of a person. Throughout chapters 6 & 7 and into chapter 8, this old sin nature (flesh) is put in contrast to the new spirit nature.
no good thing: that is an accurate valuation of what the sin nature had to offer before the new birth, and nothing has changed in its value after the new birth. The flesh has “no good thing” to offer as a remedy to man’s old man/new man conflict. The self-deceit of thinking that man is basically good-at-heart from birth is the undoing of many Christian "do-gooders". “no good thing” means NO GOOD THING. That realization delivers us from occupation with self, helping us forsake the fruitless efforts of the flesh at self-sanctification.
will=thelo: same word translated “would” in verses 15, 16, 19, 20 and 21; see note on “would..do” in 7:15
is present=parakeimai: to be at hand, to be here; only used 2x in NT; here it’s referring to the will or desire to do that which is good as being at hand, and in v21 referring to the evil or sin nature as “present” or as being here at hand.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:18 [NEB]
For I know that nothing good lodges in me - in my unspiritual nature, I mean - for though the will to do good is there, the deed is not.
Romans 7:18 [AMP]
For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]
Romans 7:18 [NLT]
I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t.
Romans 7:19 [AV]
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
the good that I would…the evil which I would not: this precisely describes any born-again one who is trying to achieve holiness by personal effort, struggling with all their might to fulfill God’s “holy and just and good” commandments (v12), only to discover that the harder they try, the more pronounced their failure becomes. It is a losing battle, for it is not in the power of the old nature to conquer itself and live in holiness. That power lies solely in the new man, living in newness of life and not in the oldness of even a single letter of the law. Victory is not in one’s self, but in one’s Savior. Victory is not in what we try to do for God, but in what He has done for us in Christ, when He GAVE us right standing, and the power to walk in the light of it.
the good that...I do not: the 1st phrase in this verse indicates that it is not only the commission of evil actions (the 2nd phrase in this verse) that brings the awareness of sin, but also the omission of the good actions that we desire to do. This duel-sided iniquity is in full view in this verse and section.
would (2x)=thelo: same word translated “would” in verses 15, 16, 20 and 21, and “will” in v18; see note on “would..do” in 7:15
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:19 [NASB]
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Romans 7:19 [ESV]
For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Romans 7:20 [AV]
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
no more: no longer
I...I...I: a greater understanding of the usuge of “I” in this verse can be gained with some parenthetical notation differentiating between old and new nature: “Now if I (the old nature) do that which I (the new nature) would not, it is no longer I myself (my whole being) who does it, but sin (the old nature) that dwells in me." Similar to v17, this is not to be viewed as an excuse for sin or a disclaimer of responsibility. It is merely identifying the source of the problem. And from the context, attempting to adhere to the law is categorically eliminated as a possible solution to the problem. No matter how well-intentioned a Christian might be, reverting to law-adherence in attempting to bring the sin nature into subjection is either an act of ignorance or an act of arrogance. Instead of reckoning the old man to have died with Christ, they are ever seeking to put it to death by their own efforts. Doesn’t work. Never will work.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:20 [AMP]
Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [fixed and operating in my soul].
Romans 7:20 [NEB]
And if what I do is against my will, clearly it is no longer I who am the agent, but sin that has its lodging in me.
Romans 7:20 [NLT]
But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:21 [AV]
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
law: not referring to the OT law, but to "a rule" or “a principle" at work; this same usage was noted in 3:27 (“By what law [principle]? of works?”, and it will be used again in the immediate context: 7:23 (“the law of sin”), and 8:2 (“the law of the spirit of life…the law of sin and death”); This principle that he found at work within him was causing his good intentions to end in failure. When Paul desired to do what was right, evil was at hand, waiting in the weeds, ready to ambush his good intentions.
present with me: right there with me; Paul, like every believer, had been delivered from the guilt and penalty of sin, yet still had to deal with the presence of sin. Dealing with sin within will end only with either our physical death or with the Return of Christ (see Rom 8:23). Until then, sin nature is present within us from our first birth, no matter how Christ-like we grow, no matter how brightly we shine, no matter how magnanimously we walk in love. Yet regardless of its presence, we can be victorious by reckoning ourselves dead to sin (6:11), as well as to the law (7:4), and alive unto God who raises the dead!
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:21 [NASB]
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
Romans 7:21 [NCV]
So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me.
Romans 7:21 [WEY]
I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in ambush for me.
Romans 7:22 [AV]
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
ANNOTATED NOTES:
delight=sunedomai: delight together, rejoice together; This is the only occurrence of this Gr word in the entire NT. In v16, after acknowledging “I do the very thing I do not want to do”, it says Paul “consented” or agreed that the law was good. Verse 22 takes it beyond “consenting” to another level - “I delight in the law of God”. This is an acknowledgement of how the law of God is good, and how he delights in that which is good after the inward man. This verse and the next contain yet another expression of the struggle that takes place within the man trying to live according to the law. Multiple times, in multiple ways, chapter 7 has described Paul’s personal experience of having the will to do what is right, but not the ability within himself to do it.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:22 [PHI]
For I am in hearty agreement with God's Law so far as my inner self is concerned.
Romans 7:22 [NEB]
In my inmost self I delight in the Law of God,
Romans 7:22 [GW]
I take pleasure in God’s standards in my inner being.
Romans 7:23 [AV]
But I see 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.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
law in my members: a phrase referring to the sin nature within; the 1st use of “law” in this verse, as well as the 3rd use, refer to the old nature, the sin nature received at the first birth; all 3 uses of “law” in this verse parallel the usage found in v21, meaning “principle” or “principle at work”;
members(2x)=ho melos: see note on 6:13 (also see 6:19 and 7:5)
warring against=antistrateuomai: to carry on a campaign against, to make a military expedition or take the field against, to actively oppose; this is the only use in the entire NT
law of my mind: a phrase associated with the new man nature, in contrast to the 1st and 3rd uses of “law” in this verse, which refer to the sin nature; The law of God, though he delights in it after the inward man, gives him no power. By attempting to discipline and subdue his flesh through the commandments of the law, he is trying to accomplishment what God has declared an impossibility - the flesh cannot be made subject to God’s holy law. The flesh minds the things of the flesh, and is at enmity against God.
bringing me into captivity: this is not an absolute certainty for the believer under all conditions, but is a certainty if the believer tries to subdue his flesh using his flesh to attempt adherence to the commandments of the law; that method will bring captivity to sin, whereas the new man, in Christ, brings liberty from sin. The verb form of the Gr. word for captivity is used in Eph 4:8 “...When he [Jesus Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive…”!
** What some have made this verse to be is a battle between the body and the mind, setting the body over against the mind as though one were evil and the other innately good. That would be in contradiction to numerous verses already declared in Romans. Via Paul’s experience in pursuing victory in his walk as a believer, this verse works in harmony with prior verses by pointing out that even though he approves of what is right (and the commandment is right), he is unable to do what is right in his own strength.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:23 [PHI]
But then I find another law in my bodily members, which is in continual conflict with the Law which my mind approves, and makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is inherent in my mortal body.
Romans 7:23 [NEB]
But I perceive that there is in my bodily members a different law, fighting against the law that my reason approves and making me a prisoner under the law that is in my members, the law of sin.
Romans 7:23 [GW]
However, I see a different standard at work throughout my body. It is at war with the standards my mind sets and tries to take me captive to sin’s standards which still exist throughout my body.
Romans 7:24 [AV]
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
ANNOTATED NOTES:
wretched man=talaiporos anthropos: refers to one who is helplessly suffering great misery, affliction, and hardship
deliver=rhumai: rescue, deliver; it’s the same Gr word used in the Lord’s prayer, “…deliver us from evil” (Mtt 6:13; Lk 11:4).
body of this death: this is the FOS Hypallage, meaning interchange of construction, involving a reversal of grammatical forms; as used in this verse, the noun form “death” is interchanged for the adjective form “dead”, so that the phrase would accurately be understood “this dead body”, with the emphasis on “DEAD". Figures of speech are God’s way of using language to bring attention to that which He wants emphasized.
* In addition to the FOS Hypallage, this entire verse is a FOS, Ecphonesis, which is an expression of feeling by way of exclamation. This FOS is used when, through feeling, we change our mode of speech, and instead of merely making a statement, we express it by an exclamation, an outburst of words prompted by strong emotion.
In order to be fully understood, a verse of Scripture must be examined in light of its context, including its cultural context. What would have been recognized by those living in the 1st century Roman culture was how this verse is an allusion to an ancient form of capital punishment. A prisoner would be executed by tying that person to a dead body, body to putrid body, limb to reeking limb, until the corrupting dead corpse brought a painfully slow and decaying death to the prisoner. Viewed through the eyes of someone living in the lands and times of the Bible, this entire verse becomes the desperate cry of such a prisoner.
What a stunningly accurate description of what the old sin nature has to offer to Paul or to any believer at any time: “…Who shall deliver me from this dead body [of the sin nature]?!". It is as if there is a decomposing dead body irremovably strapped to our own, and the law cannot help us, for it was the law that declared the death sentence! Here is an acknowledgement, via Paul, that we are utterly unable to deliver ourselves from this repulsive bondage – we must have help from some outside source, a source we will have to be totally and completely dependent upon for deliverance. In the next verse, THANKS will be given to the sole Source of such deliverance.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:24 [AMP]
O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?
Romans 7:24 [LIT]
Oh, what a miserable and afflicted wretch I am! Who shall deliver me from the bondage of this dead body?!
Romans 7:24 [TLB]
Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature?
Romans 7:25 [AV]
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.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
God...through: between these two words there are words that are implied but omitted, by God’s design. It is the FOS Ellipsis, where the omission is to be supplied from the context - in this case, supplied from the exclamatory question posed in the preceding verse. With the supplied omission, an accurate understanding of the verse is, “I thank God, [who has delivered me from this dead body] through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
through Jesus Christ our Lord: the deliverance being spoken of here is a present tense reality that is ours through what Jesus Christ has already done in his complete and finished work - his death, resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the gift of holy spirit on the day of Pentecost. Some have taught that our deliverance won’t come until the return of Christ, making this verse a reference to a future event rather than a present reality. But that leaves every believer in the sorry state of being a miserable wretch 24/7, rather than a victorious son of God. Such a teaching contradicts several verses within Romans that clearly declare our very present reign of victory (5:15-21!; 8:2!; 8:31-39!; etc.). The revealed truths concerning the return of Christ are undeniable, speaking of a glorious future moment when we all will be changed (1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 Thes 4:13-18). But the details of that future event do not negate the change that took place within each of us at the moment we were born again of God’s spirit (not to be waited for, but right now, we ARE justified, we ARE righteous, we ARE redeemed, we ARE sanctified, we ARE more than conquerors, we ARE able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us, we ARE complete in him, we ARE etc., etc., etc.). “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” (2 Cor 2:14 AV)
So then…sin.: this phrase, closing out v25 and chapter 7, appears to be disjointed from the prior phrase expressing gratitude to God for deliverance from “this dead body”. Viewing the flow of the context, this closing phrase of v25 relates back to and continues the statement of v23, with v24 and the first part of v25 comprising a parenthetical interjection. As such, v24-25a can accurately be handled in translation with a parenthesis, an interjection or parenthetical addition, without disrupting the thought flow which began before the parenthesis ("law of my mind…law of sin" and is continued after it ("law of God…law of sin”). See the Weymouth translation below for the use of the parenthesis, with this closing phrase of chapter 7 summing up the general subject matter of the chapter, i.e. the battle between the old nature and the new nature, and how victory in that battle is not won by us subduing our flesh via the law, but by walking in the light of the victory we already have through our Lord Jesus Christ.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS:
Romans 7:25 [WEY]
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!) To sum up then, with my understanding, I - my true self - am in servitude to the Law of God, but with my lower nature I am in servitude to the Law of sin.
Romans 7:25 [NEB]
God alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Thanks be to God! In a word then, I myself, subject to God’s law as a rational being, am yet, in my unspiritual nature, a slave to the law of sin.
ANNOTATED NOTES:
** From a general topical perspective, the 7th chapter of Romans deals with how the believer is dead to the law and alive to God, able to walk in newness of life in light of God’s grace. In order to capture the over-all 'flavor' of this section, here is a compiled running text of the chapter for you to enjoy, utilizing several translations.
Romans 7 - Compilation:
You know very well, my brothers (for I am speaking to those well acquainted with the subject), that the Law can only exercise authority over a man so long as he is alive.
Let me illustrate: when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, she is no longer bound to him; the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.
This means that, if she should give herself to another man while her husband is alive, she incurs the stigma of adultery. But if, after her husband's death, she does exactly the same thing, no one could call her an adulteress, for the legal hold over her has been dissolved by her husband's death.
It is the same in your case, my brothers. The crucified body of Christ made you dead to the Law, so that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead that we might be fruitful to God.
For when we were unspiritual, the sinful cravings excited by the Law were active in our members and made us fruitful to Death;
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the spirit.
Well then, am I suggesting that these laws of God are evil? Of course not! No, the law is not sinful, but it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known the sin in my heart—the evil desires that are hidden there—if the law had not said, “You must not have evil desires in your heart.”
But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated all kinds of forbidden desires (lust, covetousness). For without the Law sin is dead [the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing].
That is why I felt fine so long as I did not understand what the law really demanded. But when I learned the truth, I realized that I had broken the law and was a sinner, doomed to die.
So as far as I was concerned, the good law which was supposed to show me the way of life resulted instead in my being given the death penalty.
The commandment gave sin its opportunity, and without my realizing what it was doing, it "killed" me.
The Law therefore is holy, and [each] commandment is holy and just and good.
But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death, so we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.
I know that God’s standards are spiritual, but I have a corrupt nature, sold as a slave to sin.
For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns].
But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
But I am not really the one who is doing these hated things; it is sin living in me that does them.
For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
For I am in hearty agreement with God's Law so far as my inner self is concerned.
However, I see a different standard at work throughout my body. It is at war with the standards my mind sets and tries to take me captive to sin’s standards which still exist throughout my body.
(Oh, what a miserable and afflicted wretch I am! Who shall deliver me from the bondage of this dead body?!
God alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Thanks be to God!)
In a word then, I myself, subject to God’s law as a rational being, am yet, in my unspiritual nature, a slave to the law of sin.
PERSONAL NOTES:
** The Word of God is our only standard for what we will believe and how we will conduct our lives. Romans is a doctrinal epistle, instructing the born again child of God how to believe rightly and live rightly, in the light of the gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. It is foundational instruction in righteousness, presenting the grace of God in all its simplicity and beauty for all those who believe.
The book of Galatians was written to correct the doctrinal error that enters the lives of believers when they get away from the right teaching of Romans on how to walk in light of God’s grace. It targets the subtle seduction of legalism that even the BEST of believers can fall prey to (the apostle Peter! the apostle Barnabus who traveled and served side-by-side with Paul! Church leadership from Jerusalem!).
As a correctional epistle tied directly to the revelation of Romans, Galatians succinctly addresses all the general doctrinal issues covered in Romans. As you thoughtfully read the book of Galatians, you’ll note similar phrases and themes that tie back to subject matter from each chapter in Romans 1-8.
Since we just completed our examination of Romans 7, I thought you might enjoy reading a section of Galatians that I personally find electrifying. It nails the truth of our identification with Christ, rather than “the law”, as being our path to true freedom from the bondage of the sin nature.
Galatians 2:17-21 [MSG]
Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous.
If I was “trying to be good,” I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.
What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man.
Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me! The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
