Romans 7
7:1 a Both Jewish Christians and many of the Gentile Christians were familiar with the law. Jews were taught the law of Moses from birth. Many of the Gentiles in the church at Rome had been God-fearers, Gentiles who were interested in Judaism and attended the synagogue regularly.• the law applies only while a person is living: Paul may be paraphrasing a rabbinic saying: “If a person is dead, he is free from the Torah and the fulfilling of the commandments” (Babylonian Shabbat 30a; baraita Shabbat 151).
Summary for Rom 7:2-3: 7:2-3 b These verses are not an allegory, in which every element of the story has a theological counterpart. Paul simply cites an illustration to make two basic points: Death can release a person from obligation to the law, and freedom from one relationship can allow a person to establish a new one. Paul applies the illustration in 7:4 c.
7:4 d Christians have died to the power of the law (literally died to the law) and so are no longer bound to it. Paul often refers to the law of Moses as representing the old regime of sin and death, but through union with Christ in his death, believers are set free.
7:5 e old nature (literally flesh): Although “flesh” can refer to the human body in a neutral sense (see 8:3 f, which speaks of Christ coming “in the flesh”), Paul more often uses the word negatively, to denote human existence apart from God. To be “in the flesh” is to be dominated by sin and its hostility to God.
• the law aroused these evil desires: The law of God is a good thing in itself (see 7:12 g), but it arouses sinful tendencies by provoking the rebellion that is in people’s hearts. When we are in rebellion against God, his commands spark in us a desire to do the exact opposite of what he commands.
7:6 h the letter of the law (literally the letter): Paul uses the word letter to refer to the law, which was engraved on tablets of stone and consisted of individual letters (see 2:29 i; 2 Cor 3:5-7 j).
Summary for Rom 7:7-25: 7:7-25 k Well then (see study note on 6:1): Paul has just said some rather negative things about the law, and he now explains how God’s law is good in order to guard against any notion that it is evil in itself.
7:8 l sin used this command (literally sin took an opportunity through this command): The word opportunity is a military term for a position seized in enemy territory that becomes a base of operations (see 7:11 m). By expressing God’s demands, the commandments stimulate rebellion in sinful human beings. The commandments of God become an occasion for sin to accomplish its deadly purposes.
• sin would not have that power: The law, by clearly expressing God’s will, makes people more accountable than they would be without it. The law of Moses did not solve Israel’s sin problem but exposed and exacerbated it. This is always the effect that God’s law, by itself, has on sinful human beings.
7:9 n At one time I lived without understanding the law: Paul might be referring to his early childhood, before he came to understand the full demands of the law.
• But when I learned the command: Paul’s experience with the law as he grew to maturity exemplifies every person’s experience with it. With the law, we have greater accountability to God, which brings the power of sin to life, and the result is greater judgment (7:10 o; see 4:15 p; 5:14 q, 20 r).
7:10 s which were supposed to bring life: The Old Testament promised a blessed and secure life to those who obeyed the law (e.g., Lev 18:5 t, quoted in Rom 10:5 u). However, human beings inherit from Adam a strong tendency to sin. Therefore, when God’s commands come to us, we do not naturally obey them, but resist and disobey them. Instead of bringing life, the law only confirms and exposes our lost and helpless condition. We need a change of heart that the law cannot provide.
7:11 v Sin ... deceived me: The language is reminiscent of Gen 3:13 w—Paul might be thinking of the Fall.
7:17 x I am not the one doing wrong: Paul is not evading responsibility for his sin (see also 7:20 y). Rather, he is saying that because he genuinely wants to do what the law commands, some other factor must be causing him to do just the opposite. That factor is sin living in me. Paul experiences a divide between his will and his actions.
7:18 z my sinful nature: See study note on 6:19. This phrase could refer to Paul’s former state as an unredeemed person or to a part of Paul that remains tied to the world and resists the will of God.
7:21 aa principle of life (literally law): Paul is referring to a regular occurrence, such as when we speak of the “law of gravity.” The struggle between wanting to do what is right and instead doing what is wrong reveals a regular pattern operating in the human sphere.
7:22 ab with all my heart (literally in my inner person): The Greeks used this phrase to denote the spiritual or immortal side of human beings (cp. 2 Cor 4:16 ac; Eph 3:16 ad).
7:23 ae another power. ... This power (literally another law. ... This law): Paul plays on the word law in these verses. Opposed to God’s law (7:22 af) is another law, a ruling power that prevents Paul from submitting to God’s law even though he fully agrees with it.
7:24 ag this life that is dominated by sin and death (literally this body of death): Sin is so invasive that it affects the whole person, particularly our interactions in the physical world.
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