| Romans! |
 |
| |
 |
| Chapter 7 Continued |
In this part, we see Paul's struggle with sin and his quest to
overcome that sin.
For we know that the law is based on the nature of God: but I am
governed by the nature of man. I have been sold into the slavery
of sin.
Paul is using himself to show the spiritual struggle of the
converted man on a plain above the letter of the law. It is
possible for man on his own to keep the letter of the law, at least
as it pertains to his fellow man. First he makes the statement
that the law is a very high standard. Its requirements are based
on the nature of God - perfection. Do we want a standard that is
less than perfect? If so, we will only reach a sub-standard to that
which God has put forward for us! God's purpose is to create
sons of God. Therefore, the standard for us can be nothing less
than that based on the nature of God Himself.
It seems that Paul is speaking more about living the law
according to the spirit rather than the letter, for many of the laws
of God have become codes of man according to the letter.
In the second statement, Paul is showing himself as being
governed by his human nature. Man does not of himself seek for
perfection. Man seeks to satisfy his vices, the appetites of the
flesh. Because Adam sinned, every man has been sold into the
slavery of sin.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
I do not understand my own actions. I do not accomplish what I
desire to do, but I do the very thing that I loathe.
Paul is explaining the struggle between his mind and his actions.
He is baffled by his actions for they are not what he wants to do.
He winds up doing what he does not want to do!
Every converted person must surely be able to identify with this
struggle. Paul is, no doubt, speaking in the area of sinning
against the law according to the spirit. For elsewhere, Paul tells
us that he has kept the law as a Jew blamelessly. In other words,
Paul could keep the law by the letter blamelessly. However, the
Messiah (our Husband) has raised the stakes to living the law
according to the spirit; and to do that we must struggle against
the thoughts of the mind - bringing every thought into captivity!
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
Unless we understand this struggle, we will give up and fail for
years to overcome some sin. Do not give up! As Jacob showed
when wrestling with God, He who overcomes must prevail with
God! God wants us to show tenacity. He desires that we never
give up against sin. We will only have success against sin when
we have prevailed with God.
Na 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he
knoweth them that trust in him.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I.
Now if I do that, which is contrary to my desire, I acknowledge
and agree that the Law is morally excellent.
Paul understood that in disagreeing with his own actions he was
showing that he believed that the law was perfect, morally
correct, a proper and right standard.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
Therefore, I am not really the one doing the deed; rather it is the
sin that lives in me.
Paul is speaking figuratively here. Of course Paul is the one
doing the deed! Sin is personified here. Sin is not literally a
person alive in someone doing various misdeeds. However, as
Paul does not want to do evil and he admits that the law is the
correct standard for man, he brings the argument to the level of a
figure to show that it is not <really> himself doing the deed. For
if he had his way, he would not be doing the deed - rather, he
would be doing what is right. Paul is obviously explaining the
struggle against some habit. For a habit within man reduces him
to a slave. He struggles against this habit time and time again
and seemingly cannot overcome it.
Because Paul knows mentally that his habit is wrong and agrees
that the law is correct in its demands against what he is doing,
and because he is now fighting against the nature of his flesh and
not against the knowledge of the truth - figuratively he is not the
one doing the wrong deed. The deed has become an automatic
response from within him.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I know that righteousness does not live in my human nature. I
have the desire and intention to do what is right, but I have no
power to do the right thing.
Now Paul is making a figure of righteousness. He says that
righteousness does not live within him. After Adam transgressed,
Satan was allowed to influence man to do evil. Therefore, man
by nature has evil "living" in his mind rather than righteousness.
We know these are figures because neither sin nor righteousness
is a living thing. They are thoughts and urges that seem to take
on a life of their own, but in reality it is the working of our minds
that gives them life.
Because evil has the hold on man's mind for years before he
begins to contemplate what is right, evil has the upper hand and is
the natural course for man to follow. Man has become a slave to
sin because righteousness has been at a disadvantage in his life
for several years. Therefore, of himself man has no power
against sin. Paul says that he is unable to do what he has already
admitted is the right thing to do. He is still speaking of himself as
a man. He has not yet brought the holy spirit or mind of God into
the picture!
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.
I don't do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do
not want to do.
Here Paul tells us what he told us before that he desires to live
according to the spirit of the law, but instead he does that which
is against the law - and it is evil.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that
I do.
If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the
one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.
This is basically what Paul said earlier. He is personifying sin and
saying that figuratively he is not the one doing the sin for he
doesn't even want to do what he is doing. Therefore, it is the sin
that lives in him doing what is wrong!
Paul is not trying to be like one comedian, who said, "The devil
made me do it!" Paul's intention is not to place blame on some
evil being called sin. Rather, he is showing that he has come to a
certain level in the conversion process that is different to the
man who does not recognize right from wrong.
Paul is at the halfway level in his conversion where he knows
what is the right thing to do. But because of his past when he did
not know - certain habits of sin have become second nature to
him and he cannot possibly find a way to immediately stop
sinning, even though he knows that what he is doing is wrong.
Therefore, because he does not mentally agree with his actions,
he is saying that figuratively it is not he doing the wrong thing!
Now as we said above, we know that literally Paul is doing the
actions. In other words, it is his body that is performing the
actions. Therefore, Paul has to be speaking figuratively and not
literally. For the mind of man is to be master of his body.
Therefore, until we have overcome the urges of sin within our
flesh we have much yet to do, as Paul shows later, there is a way
to overcome this sin.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil is present
with me.
Paul found this to be the case on such a regular basis that it
worked as a law within him. When he made an effort to do what
was right, evil sprung up and insisted that he do evil instead. This
is the lust of the flesh that is warring against what is right and
good. We see in Ga 5:16 that Paul learned how to overcome this
evil nature within him. In fact, he already knew this when writing
Romans, as we will see in the next chapter.
Ga 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust
of the flesh.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God. It is my conscience.
Paul knew the law was right and good and it was his delight. He
knew that the law was God's standard and he wanted to live
according to that standard - even in the spirit. It was his
conscience. His conscience was smitten when he did not live
according to the standard of the law - God's standard.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I discern another law at work in my body; one that battles
against the law of my mind and makes me a prisoner to the law of
sin that dwells in my body.
Notice that Paul did not blame God for the lust in his flesh. As
James shows, God does not tempt man to sin. But man is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust. Lust entices him
and he follows the temptation and then man sins. If there were
no other recourse, eternal death would be the end result. But
Paul is going to show us the way out!
However, Paul did recognize that lust was at work in his body
and that it battled against his conscience. He also recognized
that he was a prisoner to sin because of the lust in his flesh. The
question is – How can he be set free?
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it
is finished, bringeth forth death.
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.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body
of death?
Paul realizes his predicament. He knows what is the right thing
to do. But he knows that he is living in a death trap. For the
results of sin is death and his body wants to sin. It is like driving
a car without brakes! You are headed over the bluff but you
have no brakes to stop the car. Who is going to deliver you? You
know that you are going the wrong way, you know that you
should not be headed over the bluff. But you seemingly have no
control over your actions because even though you know the
truth you don't have the power to react against sin.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
Thanks be to God, who does this through our Master, Joshua, the
Messiah! This then is my condition: On my own I can serve
God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the
law of sin.
Paul gives us the answer of how we are able to overcome this law
of sin in our bodies. Through the Messiah will we overcome.
This brings us full circle to the subject that Paul is writing about -
justification. Only if he justifies us can we be brought back into a
proper relationship with God. There is a further step that Paul
will bring up shortly, but this chapter is ended with a summary of
his condition.
On his own, Paul could serve the law with the reasoning of his
mind. He could have a proper conscience, but because of the lust
within him (the result of many years of service to sin in the past -
here on the basis of the spirit of the law) he served the law of
sin. He does not accept that it is himself sinning, because he has
already agreed that the law is good and that he should not do
what he does! At this point, figuratively, Paul is not sinning. For
if he had the power to keep from sinning he would not sin. What
then is the answer?
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.
Well, in this section, Paul has discussed the struggle against sin
when one is trying to overcome sin on his own strength. It is
impossible! We will get to the answer, in the next chapter, how
we overcome sin. It is unfortunate that the translators
determined to end the chapter here. For to do so tends to give
the impression that the Messiah is going to do it all for us. That
is absolutely not true! Although God gives us every aid to
overcome sin, we must put forth enough effort from ourselves to
use those aids. Paul told us that it was through the Messiah that
we would be able to overcome sin, but he tells us in the next
chapter by what method that is done.
The theme of the Book of Romans so far has been justification
and it is obvious that this is the first step to clean us up from sin
and is continually used as one holds a baby by the hand to help it
learn to walk. But, there is another step that helps us to learn to
walk on our own. One that comes from within!
However, Paul did tell us here that he knew the right way to
walk. With his mind he could reason and come to the
understanding of the demands of the law. Some people have
smoked cigarettes until they cannot quit. Because they struggle
against smoking and find it impossible to overcome, they have
come to the conclusion that it is not wrong. Paul tells us that he
understood what was right and held onto that understanding.
What happens when we have become addicted to a particular sin
such as smoking? We are told that in the brain there are actually
habit tracks that are lain down over the years. A structure to
support sin has been created on the brain. My friends, there is
only one power that will be able to overcome these habits of sin -
but overcome them we must! We will get into that in the next
chapter!
Home
Commentaries
Chapter:
One
Two
Three
Four
Four Continued
Five
Six
Seven
Seven Continued
Eight
Eight Continued
overcome that sin.
For we know that the law is based on the nature of God: but I am
governed by the nature of man. I have been sold into the slavery
of sin.
Paul is using himself to show the spiritual struggle of the
converted man on a plain above the letter of the law. It is
possible for man on his own to keep the letter of the law, at least
as it pertains to his fellow man. First he makes the statement
that the law is a very high standard. Its requirements are based
on the nature of God - perfection. Do we want a standard that is
less than perfect? If so, we will only reach a sub-standard to that
which God has put forward for us! God's purpose is to create
sons of God. Therefore, the standard for us can be nothing less
than that based on the nature of God Himself.
It seems that Paul is speaking more about living the law
according to the spirit rather than the letter, for many of the laws
of God have become codes of man according to the letter.
In the second statement, Paul is showing himself as being
governed by his human nature. Man does not of himself seek for
perfection. Man seeks to satisfy his vices, the appetites of the
flesh. Because Adam sinned, every man has been sold into the
slavery of sin.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
I do not understand my own actions. I do not accomplish what I
desire to do, but I do the very thing that I loathe.
Paul is explaining the struggle between his mind and his actions.
He is baffled by his actions for they are not what he wants to do.
He winds up doing what he does not want to do!
Every converted person must surely be able to identify with this
struggle. Paul is, no doubt, speaking in the area of sinning
against the law according to the spirit. For elsewhere, Paul tells
us that he has kept the law as a Jew blamelessly. In other words,
Paul could keep the law by the letter blamelessly. However, the
Messiah (our Husband) has raised the stakes to living the law
according to the spirit; and to do that we must struggle against
the thoughts of the mind - bringing every thought into captivity!
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
Unless we understand this struggle, we will give up and fail for
years to overcome some sin. Do not give up! As Jacob showed
when wrestling with God, He who overcomes must prevail with
God! God wants us to show tenacity. He desires that we never
give up against sin. We will only have success against sin when
we have prevailed with God.
Na 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he
knoweth them that trust in him.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I.
Now if I do that, which is contrary to my desire, I acknowledge
and agree that the Law is morally excellent.
Paul understood that in disagreeing with his own actions he was
showing that he believed that the law was perfect, morally
correct, a proper and right standard.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
good.
Therefore, I am not really the one doing the deed; rather it is the
sin that lives in me.
Paul is speaking figuratively here. Of course Paul is the one
doing the deed! Sin is personified here. Sin is not literally a
person alive in someone doing various misdeeds. However, as
Paul does not want to do evil and he admits that the law is the
correct standard for man, he brings the argument to the level of a
figure to show that it is not <really> himself doing the deed. For
if he had his way, he would not be doing the deed - rather, he
would be doing what is right. Paul is obviously explaining the
struggle against some habit. For a habit within man reduces him
to a slave. He struggles against this habit time and time again
and seemingly cannot overcome it.
Because Paul knows mentally that his habit is wrong and agrees
that the law is correct in its demands against what he is doing,
and because he is now fighting against the nature of his flesh and
not against the knowledge of the truth - figuratively he is not the
one doing the wrong deed. The deed has become an automatic
response from within him.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I know that righteousness does not live in my human nature. I
have the desire and intention to do what is right, but I have no
power to do the right thing.
Now Paul is making a figure of righteousness. He says that
righteousness does not live within him. After Adam transgressed,
Satan was allowed to influence man to do evil. Therefore, man
by nature has evil "living" in his mind rather than righteousness.
We know these are figures because neither sin nor righteousness
is a living thing. They are thoughts and urges that seem to take
on a life of their own, but in reality it is the working of our minds
that gives them life.
Because evil has the hold on man's mind for years before he
begins to contemplate what is right, evil has the upper hand and is
the natural course for man to follow. Man has become a slave to
sin because righteousness has been at a disadvantage in his life
for several years. Therefore, of himself man has no power
against sin. Paul says that he is unable to do what he has already
admitted is the right thing to do. He is still speaking of himself as
a man. He has not yet brought the holy spirit or mind of God into
the picture!
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.
I don't do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do
not want to do.
Here Paul tells us what he told us before that he desires to live
according to the spirit of the law, but instead he does that which
is against the law - and it is evil.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that
I do.
If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the
one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.
This is basically what Paul said earlier. He is personifying sin and
saying that figuratively he is not the one doing the sin for he
doesn't even want to do what he is doing. Therefore, it is the sin
that lives in him doing what is wrong!
Paul is not trying to be like one comedian, who said, "The devil
made me do it!" Paul's intention is not to place blame on some
evil being called sin. Rather, he is showing that he has come to a
certain level in the conversion process that is different to the
man who does not recognize right from wrong.
Paul is at the halfway level in his conversion where he knows
what is the right thing to do. But because of his past when he did
not know - certain habits of sin have become second nature to
him and he cannot possibly find a way to immediately stop
sinning, even though he knows that what he is doing is wrong.
Therefore, because he does not mentally agree with his actions,
he is saying that figuratively it is not he doing the wrong thing!
Now as we said above, we know that literally Paul is doing the
actions. In other words, it is his body that is performing the
actions. Therefore, Paul has to be speaking figuratively and not
literally. For the mind of man is to be master of his body.
Therefore, until we have overcome the urges of sin within our
flesh we have much yet to do, as Paul shows later, there is a way
to overcome this sin.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil is present
with me.
Paul found this to be the case on such a regular basis that it
worked as a law within him. When he made an effort to do what
was right, evil sprung up and insisted that he do evil instead. This
is the lust of the flesh that is warring against what is right and
good. We see in Ga 5:16 that Paul learned how to overcome this
evil nature within him. In fact, he already knew this when writing
Romans, as we will see in the next chapter.
Ga 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust
of the flesh.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God. It is my conscience.
Paul knew the law was right and good and it was his delight. He
knew that the law was God's standard and he wanted to live
according to that standard - even in the spirit. It was his
conscience. His conscience was smitten when he did not live
according to the standard of the law - God's standard.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I discern another law at work in my body; one that battles
against the law of my mind and makes me a prisoner to the law of
sin that dwells in my body.
Notice that Paul did not blame God for the lust in his flesh. As
James shows, God does not tempt man to sin. But man is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust. Lust entices him
and he follows the temptation and then man sins. If there were
no other recourse, eternal death would be the end result. But
Paul is going to show us the way out!
However, Paul did recognize that lust was at work in his body
and that it battled against his conscience. He also recognized
that he was a prisoner to sin because of the lust in his flesh. The
question is – How can he be set free?
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it
is finished, bringeth forth death.
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.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body
of death?
Paul realizes his predicament. He knows what is the right thing
to do. But he knows that he is living in a death trap. For the
results of sin is death and his body wants to sin. It is like driving
a car without brakes! You are headed over the bluff but you
have no brakes to stop the car. Who is going to deliver you? You
know that you are going the wrong way, you know that you
should not be headed over the bluff. But you seemingly have no
control over your actions because even though you know the
truth you don't have the power to react against sin.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
Thanks be to God, who does this through our Master, Joshua, the
Messiah! This then is my condition: On my own I can serve
God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the
law of sin.
Paul gives us the answer of how we are able to overcome this law
of sin in our bodies. Through the Messiah will we overcome.
This brings us full circle to the subject that Paul is writing about -
justification. Only if he justifies us can we be brought back into a
proper relationship with God. There is a further step that Paul
will bring up shortly, but this chapter is ended with a summary of
his condition.
On his own, Paul could serve the law with the reasoning of his
mind. He could have a proper conscience, but because of the lust
within him (the result of many years of service to sin in the past -
here on the basis of the spirit of the law) he served the law of
sin. He does not accept that it is himself sinning, because he has
already agreed that the law is good and that he should not do
what he does! At this point, figuratively, Paul is not sinning. For
if he had the power to keep from sinning he would not sin. What
then is the answer?
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.
Well, in this section, Paul has discussed the struggle against sin
when one is trying to overcome sin on his own strength. It is
impossible! We will get to the answer, in the next chapter, how
we overcome sin. It is unfortunate that the translators
determined to end the chapter here. For to do so tends to give
the impression that the Messiah is going to do it all for us. That
is absolutely not true! Although God gives us every aid to
overcome sin, we must put forth enough effort from ourselves to
use those aids. Paul told us that it was through the Messiah that
we would be able to overcome sin, but he tells us in the next
chapter by what method that is done.
The theme of the Book of Romans so far has been justification
and it is obvious that this is the first step to clean us up from sin
and is continually used as one holds a baby by the hand to help it
learn to walk. But, there is another step that helps us to learn to
walk on our own. One that comes from within!
However, Paul did tell us here that he knew the right way to
walk. With his mind he could reason and come to the
understanding of the demands of the law. Some people have
smoked cigarettes until they cannot quit. Because they struggle
against smoking and find it impossible to overcome, they have
come to the conclusion that it is not wrong. Paul tells us that he
understood what was right and held onto that understanding.
What happens when we have become addicted to a particular sin
such as smoking? We are told that in the brain there are actually
habit tracks that are lain down over the years. A structure to
support sin has been created on the brain. My friends, there is
only one power that will be able to overcome these habits of sin -
but overcome them we must! We will get into that in the next
chapter!
Home
Commentaries
Chapter:
One
Two
Three
Four
Four Continued
Five
Six
Seven
Seven Continued
Eight
Eight Continued