Romans 7:14

For. Paul now confirms his vindication of the law and his disclosure of the true nature of sin, by a profound analysis of the operation of sin in a man’s personal experience. The meaning of vs. 14-25 has been one of the most discussed problems in the whole epistle. The main questions have been as to whether the description of such intense moral struggle could be autobiographical, and, if so, whether the passage refers to Paul’s experience before or after his conversion. That Paul is speaking of his own personal struggle with sin seems apparent from the simplest meaning of his words (cf. vs. 7-11; SC 19; 3T 475). It is surely also true that he is describing a conflict that is more or less experienced by every soul confronted by and awakened to the spiritual claims of God’s holy law.

More important is the question as to which period in his experience Paul is depicting. Some commentators hold that the description is of Paul’s current experience as a converted Christian. They emphasize the present tense of the verbs and point to expressions that reveal a hatred of sin (vs. 15, 19) and an earnest desire to do good (vs. 15, 19, 21). They argue that an unconverted person would not be capable of saying “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (v. 22), and “I myself serve the law of God” (v. 25). Other commentators believe that the struggle must have been before his conversion. They argue that such expressions as “I am carnal, sold under sin” (v. 14), “sin that dwelleth in me” (v. 17), “how to perform that which is good I find not” (v. 18), “O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me?” (v. 24), could not possibly refer to Paul’s condition after rebirth. They point out, however, that Paul is not describing his experience at the time he “was alive without the law once,” but at the time “the commandment came,” “sin revived,” and he “died” (see on v. 9). The experience thus described would then be, not that of unregenerate man generally, but of a sinner under deep conviction who is wretched under his load of guilt, and who strives earnestly, but by his own efforts, to bring his life into conformity with the divine requirements. His best efforts end in miserable failure until he finds Christ and experiences the enabling power of the gospel. Such is also the experience of one who, though once converted, fails to take advantage of the provisions of the gospel and strives for purity of life in his own strength, or of the nominal Christian who has never made a full surrender to Christ.

Paul’s main purpose in the passage seems to be to show the relationship that exists between the law, the gospel, and the person who has been awakened to earnest struggles against sin in preparation for salvation. Paul’s message is that, although the law may serve to precipitate and intensify the struggle, only the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring victory and relief (v. 25; ch. 8). The intensity of the struggle and the time of its beginning vary in the experience of each individual who is brought by the law to a knowledge of sin, and surely every Christian can acknowledge from his own experience that an intense struggle continues on after conversion and rebirth. The life of the apostle Paul himself was “a constant conflict with self. . . . His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God” (MH 452, 453). The reality of Paul’s struggle is revealed by his words: “I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27, RSV). Likewise, for every converted, reborn, and justified Christian, the process of sanctification involves hard, stern battles with self (COL 331; AA 560, 561). The nearer we come to Christ, the more clearly we shall discern the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the more earnestly we shall confess the sinfulness of our own nature (see on Eze. 20:43; see Eze. 16:62, 63; COL 160, 161).

Although it is often true that intense moral struggles continue after conversion as day by day the Christian consecrates himself anew (see Luke 9:23-25; 2 Cor. 4:16; 5T 200; 7T 44), we cannot be certain that the apostle here refers to such a struggle. His purpose in his thesis thus far in the epistle has been to show the inadequacy of man in his own strength, by works of law, to attain to righteousness. Those who are under the law he has shown to be in bondage to sin (see on Rom. 6:14). Despite their best efforts, they are unable to perform that which the law requires. They are wretched and miserable until they find Christ. Then the condemnation ceases (ch. 8:1). That which before they were unable to accomplish they can now achieve through the enabling power of Christ (ch. 8:3, 4). They no longer mind the things of the flesh (ch. 8:5), but walk after the Spirit (ch. 8:1).

We know. Paul assumes that the spirituality of the law is acknowledged by his readers (cf. chs. 2:2; 3:19).

The law is spiritual. Paul is summing up and repeating what he has already said in v. 12. He is re-emphasizing the fact that the law is not responsible for the evils of which he has been speaking. The law is spiritual in origin, for it was given by God Himself, and “God is spirit” (John 4:24, RSV). It is spiritual in nature in that it is “holy, and just, and good,” and in that it requires an obedience that can be rendered only by those who are spiritual and have the fruits of the Spirit (Matt. 22:37-39; John 15:2; Rom. 13:8, 10; Gal. 5:22, 23; Eph. 3:9).

I am. The change from the past tense in vs. 7-11 to the present tense here and in the remaining verses of the chapter has been regarded by some as evidence that Paul is describing his current experience. Others see in it a simple historical or dramatic present such as occurs in Mark 14:17; Luke 8:49. See above under “for.”

Carnal. That is, made of flesh and blood, denoting human nature in its creaturely weakness (see also 2 Cor. 3:3). This is Paul’s mode of expressing, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). His equivalent of “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6) follows in Rom. 8. In contrast with the spirituality and holiness of the divine law, Paul finds himself a creature of flesh, and hence prone to all the sinfulness and self-indulgence to which his corrupt nature is inclined. Thus, in his desire to obey the spiritual law, he finds himself involved in a continuous warfare with his inherited and cultivated tendencies to sin (ch. 7:23). He calls on believers to crucify the flesh, and declares that he himself kept his body in subjection (1 Cor. 9:27; Gal. 5:24). He also calls on them to live temperately (1 Cor. 10:31) and to offer their bodies to God as holy, living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1). He describes the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and calls upon Christians to glorify God in the body (v. 20). He includes the flesh along with the spirit as requiring cleansing (2 Cor. 7:1) and looks forward to the redemption and glorification of the body (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:51-53).

Sold under sin. That is, sold so as to be under the power of sin. Compare “Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness” (1 Kings 21:25; cf. 1 Kings 21:20; Isa. 50:1). The dominion of sin over the flesh may be as complete as that of a master over his purchased slave. There are those who, in view of Paul’s previous statements that the converted Christian is now free from bondage to sin (Rom. 6:18, 22), regard this expression as evidence that the apostle is speaking of his preconversion days, that is, of the time he was under deep conviction but had not yet fully yielded himself to Christ (see on ch. 7:9). Others hold that Paul may be using such emphatic language to express the strength of that depravity against which he was struggling after conversion; that he is trying to show that in obeying the impulses of his carnal nature, he was acting as the slave of another will. He adds later that sin is still dwelling in his flesh (vs. 17, 18) and that even though he has come to the place where he delights in the law of God, he still sees an evil power at work in his members, bringing him into captivity to sin (vs. 22, 23).

In comparison with the spirituality of the law the holiest of men are carnal. His discernment of the holy character of God’s commandments made Paul all the more conscious of his own imperfection. And when he describes himself as “sold under sin,” this intimates how deep his conviction was. Compare the experience of Job, who, though described by the Lord Himself as a perfect and upright man (Job 1:1; 2:3), later confessed, “I am vile,” “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (chs. 40:4; 42:6).