Romans 7 And Struggling With Sin
Romans 7 and the Struggle with Sin
The apostle Paul's description of the internal conflict between the desire to follow God's law and the reality of sin in Romans 7 has been a subject of interpretation for centuries. The passage reads, "But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me" (Romans 7:23, BSB) [2].
Literary Context
Romans 7 is part of Paul's larger argument about the relationship between law and grace. The chapter is sandwiched between discussions on the believer's freedom from the law (Romans 6 and 8). Paul's personal experience is used to illustrate the ongoing struggle with sin that believers face.
Historical Setting
Written by Paul to the Roman church around 57-58 AD, Romans 7 reflects the apostle's understanding of the Christian life and the role of the law. The historical context suggests that Paul is addressing both Jewish and Gentile believers, explaining how the law relates to their new life in Christ [1].
Key Terms and Exegetical Decisions
The term "law" (nomos) is crucial, referring not just to the Mosaic law but to a principle or power that governs human behavior. Paul distinguishes between "the law of my mind" and "the law of sin" (Romans 7:23), highlighting the internal conflict [2].
A significant exegetical decision revolves around whether Paul is describing the experience of a regenerate or unregenerate person. Interpreters like John Calvin and Charles Hodge argue that Paul is speaking from the perspective of a believer, describing the ongoing struggle with sin [5, 7].
Range of Interpretations
Traditions vary in their understanding of Romans 7. Some, like Matthew Henry, suggest that the passage could apply to both convinced but unregenerate souls and to believers struggling with sin. John Gill interprets the chapter as discussing the freedom of justified and regenerated persons from the law and the struggle between flesh and spirit [3, 4].
The Reformed tradition, represented by Calvin and Hodge, views the passage as describing the experience of a believer. They emphasize that while sin no longer reigns, it still dwells in the believer, causing an internal conflict [5, 7].
Function in Tradition
Romans 7 has played a significant role in Christian theology, particularly in discussions about sanctification and the Christian life. Luther's Small Catechism advises those struggling with sin to reflect on their experience in light of Romans 7 and Galatians 5, emphasizing the ongoing presence of sin and the devil's opposition [6].
The passage has also been used to comfort believers who struggle with sin, reminding them that this experience is not unique but is part of the Christian life. As Jamieson, Fausset & Brown note, the conflict between "flesh" and "spirit" is a characteristic of the renewed person [8].
Sources
- Romans “Romans 7:17 (LITV) — But now I no longer work it out, but the sin dwelling in me.”
- Romans “Romans 7:23 (BSB) — But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 7:14: Here is a description of the conflict between grace and corruption in the heart, between the law of God and the law of sin. And it is applicable two ways: - 1. To the struggles that are in a convinced soul, but yet unregenerate, in the person of whom it is supposed, by some, that Paul speaks. 2. To the struggles that are in a renewed sanctified soul, but yet in a state of imperfection; as other apprehend. And a great controversy there is of which of these we are to understand the apostle here. So far does the evil prevail here, when he speaks of one sold under sin”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 7 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 7 The Apostle, in this chapter, discourses concerning the freedom of justified and regenerated persons from the law, and concerning the nature, use, and excellency of it; in which he removes several objections to it, and gives an account from his own experience of the struggle and combat there is between flesh and spirit in a regenerate person; and which shows, that though believers are justified from sin, yet still sin remains in them, and is the complaint of their souls. Whereas he had in Rom 6:14, of the preceding chapter, asser”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 31: subjects of the inward conflict here depicted. There is in them indeed often a struggle protracted and painful, between reason and conscience on the one side, and evil passion on the other. But there is not in the unrenewed that utter renunciation of self, that looking for help to God in Christ alone, and that delight in the law of God, of which the Apostle here speaks. What Romans vii. 7-25 teaches. Assuming, then, that we have in this chapter an account of the experience of a true and even of an advanced Christian, we learn that in ever”
- Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran) “Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran, 1529), To such a person no better advice can be: To such a person no better advice can be given than this: first, he should touch his body to see if he still has flesh and blood. Then he should believe what the Scriptures say of it in Galatians 5 and Romans 7. Second, he should look around to see whether he is still in the world, and remember that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15-16 and in 1 John 2 and 5. Third, he will certainly have the devil also around him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 58: of sin. In regenerating his people God indeed accomplishes this much for them; he destroys the dominion of sin, 312 312 Latin, “Reatus.”—the imputation of sin. by supplying the agency of the Spirit, which enables them to come off victorious from the contest. Sin, however, though it ceases to reign, ceases not to dwell in them. Accordingly, though we say that the old man is crucified, and the law of sin is abolished in the children of God ( Rom. 6:6 ), the remains of sin survive, not to have dominion, but to humble them under a cons”
- Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 7:17: Now then it is no more I--my renewed self. that do it--"that work it." but sin which dwelleth in me--that principle of sin that still has its abode in me. To explain this and the following statements, as many do (even BENGEL and THOLUCK), of the sins of unrenewed men against their better convictions, is to do painful violence to the apostle's language, and to affirm of the unregenerate what is untrue. That coexistence and mutual hostility of "flesh" and "spirit" in the same renewed man, which is so clearly taught in Rom 8:4, &c., and in Gal 5:16, &”