1 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? 2 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. 3 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. 4 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.
The previous chapter likened man’s salvation experience to Christ’s death and resurrection – a man must crucify Self in order to rise again unto new life in Christ. Now Paul observes another analogy which attests that God’s people are no longer under the Law, but are married to Christ. The Jews could not fail to appreciate this evidence because it comes straight out of the Mosaic Law. Here’s the progression of these two analogies: “The one who has died unto sin is released from that bondage and is free to to be bound unto another, even unto righteousness (Rom 6); the Law’s statute concerning marriage authenticates this by way of analogy” (Rom 7).
The Law admitted no condition where a woman could leave her husband and marry another – any woman who did so was an adulteress. A married woman was bound unto her husband for life; she was free to marry another only if her husband died. On the other hand, the Law did allow the husband to put away his wife and then she could remarry. That circumstance, while completely accordant with this analogy (see below), is not mentioned by the Apostle because his point lies elsewhere. Here is my paraphrase: “You Jews, who once were under the Law, have become dead to the Law by the death of Christ. Now you are free to marry another, even the same Christ who died and freed you from the Law; for He has been raised from the dead.”
Why does Paul say, “You have become dead to the Law,” instead of saying, “The Law has died”? While both statements are true, I see three important reasons why the Apostle stated it this way in the present figure. First, the point of these chapters is not so much to prove to the Jews that their Law was dead, but to hold forth Jesus Christ as the culmination or final objective of the Law. He argues not for the negative, but the positive effect: “See here that Jesus our Messiah is the one and only Hope of Israel. We Jews that believe on the risen Christ are married to a new husband. Now His purpose can be truly fulfilled in us.”
Secondly, the power of this analogy lies primarily in how it happened. The Law didn’t just die, or fade away; it was completed, fulfilled, ended by Christ (John 1:17; Rom 10:4; Mat 5:17), who taketh away (aneiro – literally, “slays”) the first that He might establish the second (see note for Heb 10:9). This fits the emphatic point of conclusion: Ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ. It was Christ’s doing. Because of His death you are freed from the Law. The Law didn’t just up and die, thereby releasing Israel to marry Christ. No, the Law ended because Jesus died and initiated a new covenant which made the first old (Heb 8:13).
Thirdly, by avoiding the statement, “the Law died,” Paul is able to maintain the long-established symbolic meanings contained in this figure. The Jews of the Old Covenant were not “married” to the Law, but to God. It is a symbolism found often in the Old Testament. My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord (Jer 31:32; Is 54:5). The whole book of Hosea is written upon the figure of God and Israel in a marriage relationship, and the Apostle’s figure is carefully true to those meanings. Israel’s husband is never said (nor implied) to be the Law. No, her Husband who died and made them dead to the Law was none other than God (the Son). For Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Covenant that Israel had forsaken (see my note for 1Pet 1:11).
The teaching here is quite plain, but is ignored down to the present day by some Jews (and even some Gentiles), who wish to be bound to selected portions of the Mosaic Law (see note Rom 4:11). If ye are become dead to the Law, then the Law is also dead to you. Christ came under the Law and kept the Law. With His death and resurrection, the Law The New Testament Scriptures teach that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law (Mat 5:17-18). So Man is dead to the Law and the Law is dead to Man, who is therefore loosed from the Law of Moses so that he might be bound to the Law of Christ.
The analogy of Marriage to the two Covenant relationships of God and Man is a fascinating study. In both testaments, God’s people are often likened to the woman in a marriage, while God is the husband. Under the Law, a woman was never allowed to put away her husband, but the husband was allowed to put away his wife by giving her a bill of divorcement, making them both free to marry again under the condition that the husband would never re-take her for his wife. The analogy is that Israel, although bound unto God for life, forsook Him and played the harlot. So God gave the adulteress a bill of divorcement and He will never take her back. He has chosen a new wife which has also chosen Him (see Isaiah 54). Furthermore, under Christ’s new Law neither the husband nor the wife is permitted to give a bill of divorcement. They are truly bound for life and that is beautifully true in the case of God and His New Covenant people. See Mat 5:32, 19:7-9; 1Cor 7:10-11.
5 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. 6 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.
This frames again the general point of the material in chapters 6-8 (see Rom 6:20-22; 8:2). Any person that is not in Christ, is in the flesh (Rom 8:9). Whether Jew or Gentile, under the Law or without Law, we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind (Eph 2:3). Our bodily members worked sinful actions and earned the wages of death. The Law expanded this knowledge in Man, for its many rules gave opportunity to many sins. Moreover, the Law could not truly heal man’s sickness of sin unto death.
The phrase, delivered from the Law (v6) is the same as being dead to the Law (v4). And Christ is the reason. Now we are alive to Christ and live by the Spirit according to the Law of Grace (Rom 8:4). We have been released from the old Law by death with Christ (Gal 2:19; Rom 6:6-9). While this is especially relevant for Jews, it is just as important for seeking Gentiles, for both groups have brought forth fruit unto death by disobedience to their respective laws – the law of Moses and the law of Conscience.
The design of the Old Covenant was largely physical. While it reached to the inner man and weighty matters like mercy and trust, its first intention was to rule the outside, the flesh, and it did so by imposing many complex and burdensome rites and ceremonies. In contrast, the New Covenant was designed to be a spiritual constitution, for while it does have rules to govern the outer man, its first thought is to touch the soul. It does so by many beautiful spiritualities and promises. The way of the Law was to oblige righteousness of the outer man and so affect the inner man. The way of Christ is to make anew the inner man and so empower the outer man unto righteousness. This great Covenant shift, from the oldness of the letter (the Law) to the newness of Spirit was effected by Christ so that we serve Him. See the same two representations in 2Cor 3:6.
7 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. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
The words lust, covet and concupiscence in these verses are translated from the same word (epithumia). “I learned about coveting from the Law: ‘Thou shalt not covet.’ Sin then took this as opportunity to tempt me with all kinds of coveting.” The Law educated Man of the manifold intricacies of Sin; for by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20; Gal 3:24). It taught the gravity and consequence of sin by requiring strict justice for every transgression by the lex talionis – eye for eye and tooth for tooth. Personal responsibility was also a prominent feature of the Law, which imposed many rules and rites upon the people. There were offerings and sacrifices that could atone for mistakes and failures, but there was no forgiveness for the one who willfully broke the Law – he was to be put to death. In the end, the Law proved that Man will always fall short of perfect obedience, for the work of every man’s members brought forth fruit unto death (v5).
What do we make of this? Is the Law bad or sinful? Nay. It is holy, and just, and good (v12). Rather, it is Sin that brings death within. Apparently, if a person would have kept the Law in perfection he would have earned his salvation. However, on account of the weakness of man’s flesh it resulted in death (v10). Sin, or the Flesh as it is later called, has deceived and slain every human who has ever lived (v11), even those who had never heard the commandment. They are not guilty of breaking the Law of Moses, but of breaking the Law of conscience (see note Rom 2:14). Those who are guilty of transgressing the Law, however, will face the greater consequence, for they were entrusted with greater knowledge and responsibility. Their transgressions of plainly written rules have shown sin to be exceeding sinful (v13).
For without the Law sin is dead, meaning there can be no transgression of it (see note Rom 4:15). This must be understood in the context of Paul speaking to the Jews concerning their Mosaic Law, for sin in the general sense does exist outside of the Law and it is not dead. All humans, regardless of time or place, have a general sense of right and wrong built into their minds, a moral compass (see note Rom 2:12-14). The era of the Mosaic Law endured for about 1500 years, but it was instituted long after the world began (about 2,500 years according to Bible chronologists). Many godly men lived in the pre-Law era, and they were counted righteous without the Law. Job, Enoch, Melchizedek, Abraham, Noah and many more were mighty men of faith, but to our knowledge, they never held a written moral code in their hands. Clearly a different Covenant was in place at that time, concerning which we can only speculate by inferring from the Scriptures. There is no doubt that ancient Man was by nature more intelligent than present-day Man. The second law of thermodynamics agrees. Evolution’s ridiculous, anti-scientific idea that Man is increasing intellectually is demonstrably false. The pyramids of Egypt are just one example.
It seems that the decline of natural human ability (observe the decline in lifespans) made a written Law more necessary. Before that time, I think Mankind were able (by conscience, superior analytical capacities and nearly faultless memory) to know God’s will on their own. And it seems that God spoke to them audibly and even visibly. Yet the history of ancient Man demonstrates this sad principle: the person with the greatest capacity for Good also possesses the greatest capacity for Evil. Exhibit A is Satan himself. And so we read of the Cainites, the Sodomites and the general population at the time of Noah. In one sense, God punishing Adam with natural death was good for Adam. Otherwise, he would have continued forever estranged from God. The same is true for Mankind in general. By limiting their lifespan, God was shortening the time of their proving, making it easier for them to pass the test.
I think the same concept is in play when we consider the reasons that God instituted the Law of Moses. He wanted to make plainer, easier, more generally attainable to a greater quantity of people. Abraham attained righteousness without the Law, but there were not many Abrahams (as his own grand-children demonstrate). After 1500 years however, the Law had been twisted and distorted to serious human detriment. The time was ripe for Christ and the New Covenant. This sad retrogression will be repeated at the end of the present Covenant of Grace! The religious elite will distort its message, deny its real purpose and use it for personal gain. At the end of the Age, the World will see the dead bodies of those two great and famous witnesses, the Word and the Spirit, lying on the streets of the great cities of the world (Rev 11).
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Many commentators have marveled at Paul’s dexterity in presenting Christ to the self-righteous and vain-minded Jews (Tit 1:10), for he must inevitably show that the Law is no longer in effect; it is incomplete, weak and unable to save. Arriving at the most sensitive part of his argument, he carefully shifts the perspective from “you,” to “we,” to “I,” to soften any perceived accusatory tone. Notice the progression:
Ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ that ye should be married to another (v4). 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. But now we are delivered from the Law (v5-6). Is the Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the Law….I was alive without the Law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died (v7-9).
Perhaps another reason that Paul changes to first person for the rest of the chapter is to speak on behalf of all Mankind, both Jews and Gentiles. For while his primary audience is the Jew (at least down to verse 14), the principles in this section are relevant for Gentiles also, both Christian and otherwise. For instance, it is universally true: Sin deceived me, and by it slew me. Any commandment opens the occasion for temptation and then to sin. Nevertheless, these particular verses primarily concern the commandments of the Mosaic Law, which were given so that the Jews might obtain Life, yet resulted in spiritual death. The Law was able to save he who perfectly kept it, but it could not regenerate (revive) he who transgressed it. Christ came for that very purpose (1Cor 15:45).
I was alive without the Law once. This statement affirms the initial purity of the human soul and the innocence of children. As a child, Paul was alive spiritually, but when he reached the age of accountability and understood the commandment, he sinned and died spiritually. This is true of Gentiles as well, except that they sin and die on account of disobeying the law of Conscience (see Rom 2:15). The first death is universal.
Verse 11 might allude to Eve’s testimony in Genesis 3:13 (see LXX and 2Cor 11:3). The unchurched person will not be tempted to the same degree as one that has been well taught in the Scriptures (see John 15:24). A friend related to me the story of how he told his young son not to step in the mud-puddles with his new shoes. “Where are the mud-puddles?” the son wanted to know. Mother sighed, “It would have been better if you would not have told him about mud-puddles!” But the cat was out of the bag and the temptations began in earnest. Ever since Adam and Eve it has been so, for it is part of God’s way to develop an honest, sincere relationship with the only being who can comprehend Him and choose/refuse to know Him.
The Law is holy, just and good (also 1Tim 1:8). The problem isn’t the Law, the problem is Sin. However, the Law did not provide the means for a man to overcome his carnal nature. It’s goodness showed clearly the bounds of sin, it’s holiness called every sinner guilty, and its justice demanded the righteous penalty for each transgression. It could not, however, actually remedy the situation (Col 2:20-23). It was insufficient in that it could not cleanse the sinner from his sin (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:21; Heb 8:7). See previous note.
13 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.
Both the question and the answer are rather technical. For although he answers “No” here, Paul earlier said, “Yes; ye are become dead to the Law” (v4). I believe that Paul is making this distinction: “It wasn’t the good commandments of the Law that slew me, but Sin which the good Law provoked within me.” In other words, while the commandment did result in the spiritual death of all (v10), the real culprit was not the Law, but Sin…working death in me by that which is good. One cannot blame the Law (or God either) for Man’s failures. Earlier the Apostle addressed a similar objection, “Does the fact that many Israelites failed in Faith mean that God’s plan was in vain?” (Rom 3:3). No! God is good, holy and just, so His Law was good, holy and just.
The real killer is Sin, showing itself to be exceedingly sinful by how fiercely it opposes the commandment and by how universally have yielded themselves to serve it.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The real reason that Man is sold under sin is not because of the Law, but on account of his own carnal nature. The Law is spiritual. The rites, rules and ceremonies had deeper, spiritual meanings which pre-figured the coming New Covenant of Christ. These were hidden in the Holy Scriptures by the finger of God for our marvelous spiritual benefit today (Rom 15:4; 1Cor 10:11; Heb 9:9). The second part of the Law, the Prophets, have the same spiritual purpose, for they were authored by the Holy Spirit Himself. Jesus said that the words He spake were essentially already written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets (Luke 24:44). The Old Testament is a virtual treasury of spiritual instruction, with thousands of stories, analogies, prophecies and types. These are high quality sermons that preach both doctrine and admonition in the present Kingdom of Christ. He that diminishes the Old Testament does so to his own spiritual detriment. This is another reason for the Apostle’s careful, detailed teaching on this important subject of the Jewish Law. He does not denigrate the Law and even avoided saying that it is dead; rather, he shows that it is good and holy, but that its day is past and the new day is dawning (2Pet 1:19).
Man’s fleshly nature is a serious impediment to attaining peace with God. He is carnal (sarkikos). The same word is translated, fleshly (1Pet 2:11) and its noun form, sarx, appears in verse 18. The fleshly nature of man is that inner passion of selfish desires that constantly demand bodily gratification. The flesh and the spirit, these are contrary the one to the other (Gal 5:17; Rom 8:4-5). The flesh incites me to do what I would not – what my spirit knows is wrong. The spirit indeed is willing, Jesus said, but the flesh is weak (Mat 26:41). It has ever been this way and will be unto the end of time, for this is that great test of life. The war within man is intense and unrelenting. Every person has lost multiple battles in the long conflict. All have sinned and fallen short. However, God knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust (Ps 103:14). He does not demand perfect domination of the flesh nor flawless obedience to the Law of Christ, but rather a heart that is determined to constantly crucify those fleshly desires, to deny SElf and to put that old man to death daily – because he wants to please his new Master and Groom (Rom 7:6).
This conflict between the flesh and the spirit within a man is true across all human-kind and throughout all ages, Jew or Gentile, under Law or without Law. Even the Christian must fight daily this inner spiritual battle with Self and Satan. Therefore, I believe that here Paul speaks as any one of us and not just as one who is “under the Law.” He speaks in first person and in the present tense, whereas the earlier personification under the Law ended in the past tense (v9-10). Notice too the change of meaning for nomos (law), which refers to the Mosaic Law in most of the chapter; however, in the latter verses nomos is a rule or principle of God (see v21).
The war is waged in the mind – even Christians know that, and all too intimately. The flesh wants to be the ruler of the body, so it works, tempts and fights to enslave the whole person into serving Sin (Rom 7:23). This does not mean that sin literally dwells in the Christian (v17), or even that he is carnal (v14) and constantly doing the evil that he would not (v19). They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom 8:8-9). Christ has delivered the believer from the body of this death (v24). Nevertheless, this passage agrees with the rest of Scripture, that two laws are constantly at work within every believer and unbeliever, the law of God and the law of sin (v25). Indeed, this struggle is far more acute in the believer, for Satan will work more intently to corrupt anybody belonging to Christ.
Perhaps the Calvinist will use this verse to support his idea that Man is entirely and totally depraved. I am carnal. It does sound quite comprehensive. Later however, the Apostle clarifies his meaning, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing (v18). The fallen, depraved part of Man is this fleshly, carnal nature we have inherited on account of sin coming into the world by the fall of Adam. However, every man is also born with an untarnished soul, a moral conscience, and the honest abilities to think, comprehend and choose. These two – the fleshly, selfish nature and the Godward nature – are strongly displayed in these verses. See notes in chapter five.
Sold under sin. Slavery is the imagery here (as in Rom 6:16-20). By his choices and actions, every man has sold himself unto Satan. The prophet wrote, For your iniquities have ye sold yourselves…ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money (Isaiah 50:1; 52:3). Anciently, a debtor who could not repay was often sold (Mat 18:23-27), but the Law allowed the slave to be redeemed by another (Lev 25:47-48). And that is exactly what Christ did for us. With Paul, each person must say, I am carnal, sold under sin. Our nature is to sin. Jesus, with His own blood, bought those slaves from a very cruel master.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
This passage does not describe the condition of a wanton rebel or an uncaring reprobate, but of a sincere seeker of God who is distraught by his failure to do what is right at all times. The good-intentioned Jew who thought to keep the Law and also the honest Gentile trying to live a good life will soon learn that they cannot be perfectly righteous. Even Christians know the reality of this inner conflict. However, let us not draw a false conclusion before the Apostle has finished his discourse. Thank God through Jesus Christ, the Christian CAN live in victory over sin (v25). While he will lose some battles, he is not doomed to a life of failures and wretchedness. All honest, submitted-unto-God believers will struggle at times to do what is good and right, but he WILL win as long as he perseveres in the faith of Christ. Even Peter and Barnabas unexpectedly failed, for fearing them which were of the circumcision, they ended up being carried away with their dissimulation (Gal 2:11-14), but they didn’t quit like Judas did.
Actually, temptations unto sin and struggles with the flesh are not in themselves worrying signs of being lost, or even of a precarious spiritual estate. According to the Scriptures, we should take them as as sign of sonship, of God’s love for us (Heb 12:3-7; James 1:2-4). God does not take away our temptations, nor does He keep evil from affecting us (how many martyrs have proven that). He does not take over our minds, fight our battles for us, or remove us from the World. However, He has given many beautiful, faithful promises, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Heb 13:5); and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Mat 28:20). Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you (1Pet 5:7). God will make a way of escape from every temptation (1Cor 10:13); He is able to make us stand firm (Rom 14:4). The prayerful words of the songwriter come to mind: “Lord, don’t move that mountain, but do give me the strength to climb it.” So, fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Bible teachers and theologians have wrestled over this particular passage for centuries. Some think the Apostle testifies of his own personal struggle as a Christian, but how can that possibly be? Paul was a spectacular example of righteousness, almost unto perfection. Others say this passage represents the Jew under the Law, but surely that narrows the audience too much. The Calvinists claim Paul teaches here that every man is perpetually doomed to serve sin in this life and there is nothing he can do about it.
Yet, what Paul is really saying here is nothing different from what he has been saying and will continue to say in the book of Romans: “There is a fierce war going on inside of each man. His natural flesh is constantly provoking him to sin, but his enlightened spirit prompts him to do good. So he must not let sin have dominion over him, but become a servant of righteousness” (Rom 6:14-22). So Paul is not testifying that he personally is constantly choosing to sin, but graphically acknowledging this war of the mind within every person and especially in the Saved. The one that honestly and humbly recognizes this fact has learned an important key to victory, for to ignore it (either as the Calvinists in their extremity or the Perfectionists in the opposite) is to concede the Devil a huge advantage. Elsewhere Paul also described this war and his own mind concerning failure and becoming a castaway (1Cor 9:25-27).
For that which I do I allow (ginosko) not (v15). This very common Greek word means “to know;” not just head-knowledge, but experiential and relational knowledge. It is nowhere else translated “allow” in the Greek Scriptures. However, the general sense of the verse does not substantially change regardless of which word is used. Paul says, “My members act contrary to my will; they do the evil things that I do not know, that I do not allow. If I admit that what I am doing is not right and that I should not be doing it, then I agree that the Law is true and good. And since I am doing wrong against my will, then it is not really I, but Sin within me that is doing it.”
This re-states the conclusion in verse 13, that Sin (not the Law) worked death within each man. Do not, however, extrapolate this statement and ignore the body of Scriptural teaching on the subject. Man is always in control of his actions. He is not OBLIGATED to sin, nor does he HAVE to sin, but being deceived by Satan and the carried away by the flesh, he chooses to sin (Rom 7:11). God created Man with a mind capable of comprehending himself, his environment and his Maker. Remember chapter three, where Paul refuted those who said God could not condemn Man for they were only acting as God had created them – bent to sin, selfishness and doing wicked deeds. The Calvinist believes that Man is born a wicked beast; no light of knowledge, no ability to discern good and evil, no option to choose to do good. They say that God chooses to give faith and grace to certain of these miscreants, without having shown any particular goodness or tendency towards Him. The rest of Mankind, the unchosen to salvation, are not given faith to be saved.
Every man is born an uncontaminated soul. He has the light of conscience and the ability to reason and understand. And he has the capability to will to do good. The actions of Adam however, have opened a new part in Man which is egocentric and vain. He knows all about the mud-puddles (see note v11). This is the flesh, the natural man that is bent to follow Self and reject the pattern designed by God. Here the Apostle distinguishes, for our benefit, between the Will of man and the Actions of man. The upright man wills to do good, but finds that his flesh is a powerful adversary urging him to do evil (see also 2Tim 2:26).
18 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. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
We have seen that the flesh is the fallen, corrupted, selfish part that came into existence by the sin of Adam. The flesh is determined to have dominion over the whole body. After their fall in the Garden, the eyes of Man’s mind were opened to a new world of good and evil, of moral choice and personal responsibility. And that very moment, a part of their spiritual being died and the whole world was changed. The flesh is a direct result of those first sins (see notes on Rom 5:12-13). The imagination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth (Gen 8:21). Jesus Christ, being fully human, also struggled with his flesh (Heb 4:15). However, God also created Man with powers of conscience, of reason, will and decision. These were not intrinsically corrupted by the Fall. Yet, the will of the believer will inevitably clash with his flesh during life. These verses set the stage for the next chapter, which speaks of the war between the flesh and the spirit even within the Christian.
My belief is that Paul speaks for all Mankind here, even the believer who wants to do good and delights in the Law of God but ends up failing at times. However, other commentators have pointed out that even the pagan writers of old acknowledged this inner battle between knowing what is good and yet doing what is bad. Euripedes wrote, “We understand and know the good things, but we do not work them out…I know what sort of bad things I am going to do: but passion is stronger than my purposes. And this is to mortals a cause of very great evils.” And Ovid, “I desire one thing: the mind persuades another. I see and approve better things: I follow worse things.” These remarkable statements only add support to the point the Apostle has often made in this epistle: God has given all Mankind a conscience of right and wrong, yet all have failed to follow its voice. All are guilty before God; we have all taken our own way, there is none that doeth good, no not one (Rom 3:12).
Beware of the sin doth so easily beset us, the Apostle warned (Heb 12:1), because this inner conflict stirs even stronger within the heart that has decided to follow Christ. However, let us troubled souls take heart, for all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2Tim 3:12). If there are no battles then there is no war, and without war there can be no chance of victory. Yes, we have peace with God, but the Christian can never make peace with the flesh! That dual nature within, the will of the flesh and the will to do the Law of God, are at enmity until the last breath of life (Rom 8:7). Dedicated warriors will not be denied the crown of Glory, but quitters and deserters will not even be present.
In verse 20, Paul repeats what he said in verse 17 (see note there). “Actually, I’m not the one doing evil, but the sin inside me is doing it.” He is not making excuses nor denying that every man has full control of his actions. Instead, he is acknowledging the uncomfortable fact that we all struggle to do what is right on account of our fallen sinful nature.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 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.
The context hints that nomos (law) does not refer to the Mosaic Law, but to a general law or principle at work in all Mankind. Paul says, “This principle works within me: ‘I wish to do good, but am ever tempted to do evil.’ For while I inwardly delight in the Law of God, the members of my body want to follow the law of sin, which tries to make me its captive by warring against God’s law in my mind.”
The Jews should have quickly identified with this truth, and even Christians know what it means to delight in the Law of God after the inward man, yet feel the flesh warring in his mind, trying to deceive him and make him a captive of Sin by the actions of his bodily members. The imagery is of a city under siege, in danger of falling captive to the enemy. It is essential to defend the walls and gates so that the enemy cannot enter in. This motif is visible in various New Testament passages (ie Eph 6:11-18; Rev 20:7-10). We are constantly at war in the body, struggling with Satan, Sin, and the World. The war begins in the mind and extends to our bodily members.
The two laws at play here, the law of God and the law of sin, are central to the topic and they continue into the next chapter. Neither term refers exclusively to the Law of Moses, for consistently in this passage the law of God means the New Covenant (see also Rom 7:25; 8:7), and the law of sin refers to the desires of the flesh (which is part of the body). The Mosaic Law made this general law of sin more powerful (v13), but to say that this law of sin refers solely to the holy and just Mosaic Law would contradict the teaching of this chapter. Although the Law was incomplete it can hardly be called a law of sin (see note for v14). The two laws are named again in verse 25.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 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.
To this point in the Apostle’s description of Man’s dismal condition, the name of Christ has been conspicuously absent. Knowing what is good and determined to do it, yet doing the bad; affirming the goodness of the Law but transgressing it anyway – both Gentile and Jew have shown themselves to be weak and unfaithful. O wretch that I am, what can I do? Who can deliver me from the body of this death? Only Jesus Christ can, and that is the wonderful news for the troubled soul which Paul has personified in this passage. Paul could not deliver himself from this condemnation, nor could the Law deliver him (Rom 8:3), but Jesus Christ is able!
The power of Christ at work in the believer results in a double blessing. First it brings soul-healing forgiveness and second it brings powerful new weapons to overcome the flesh and Sin. The mature Christian will not live in constant failure (Rom 6:1). He will not constantly do the evil that he would not (Rom 7:19) for Christ has come to deliver and empower. The next chapter will show this even more certainly. Yes there is a most severe battle ahead, but victory is attainable through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is beautifully portrayed by John’s vision of a great heavenly multitude arrayed in white robes praising the Lamb and casting their crowns at His feet. “Who are these?” John wondered. The angel answered, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). Forget the bed of roses rhetoric! Every Christian is going to pass through his own life-test of tribulation, trial, struggle and persecution. The Devil knows he has only a short time and he furious with us for having chosen Christ (Rev 12:12). Do not be lulled into complacency.
The body of this death. The meaning of this imagery is that our nature of flesh is contrary to our desire to serve God. The term depicts the scene of verse 23, where the members of the body are warring against the inner Man and attempting to make him captive to the law of sin. Crucify this body of sin (Rom 6:6), consider it dead (Rom 8:10; 6:11), mortify its deeds (Rom 8:13), walk not after its desires (Rom 8:4). In the Scriptures, the flesh is everywhere shown to be truly a body of death (Rom 7:18; 6:23; 8:8). How truly it is said, In my flesh dwelleth no good thing (Rom 7:25). How clearly it is seen that this is the part of Man that is fallen, this piece which Adam did not know before he sinned. Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil made it a part of Mankind.
The law of God and the law of sin. With the Spirit of God in our minds, the will of the earnest Christian is to serve the law of God, but the flesh is ever present, attempting to get us to serve instead the law of sin. Both the Jew who is trusting in the Law instead of Christ and also the Gentile who is trying to follow the Law of his conscience. Instead, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16); the subject of the next chapter.