Romans 7:15-25
by:
Dan Hill, PhD
Pastor, Southwood Bible Church
7655 South Sheridan Avenue
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74113
E-Mail: hill918@aol.com
Introduction
The personal struggle Paul records in verses 15 through 24 is often seen
as a struggle between sin and righteousness or a struggle between God's
will and self will.
However, it is neither. It is a struggle between that which will not work
and that which will work.
Consider the tone of Romans 7:15-24
For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not
practicing what I {would} like to {do,} but I am doing the very thing I
hate.
But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing
that it is good.
So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the
wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that
I do not wish.
But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing
it, but sin which dwells in me.
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes
to do good.
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is
in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Some Observations:
1. In these verses Paul mentions the law of God but never mentions
God himself.
2. In these verses there is no mention of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. In these verses there is no mention of God the Holy Spirit.
4. Instead, we find Paul referring to himself more that thirty-three times.
5. These verses represent the struggle of the believer who has gone back
under the bondage of the sin nature.
6. The desire is there to do what God wants but the divine enablement is
not there.
7. The conclusion is that in the flesh, we are all wretch men and women,
verse 24.
PRINCIPLE: This struggle then is between the desire of the believer and
the sin nature of man.
Lewis Sperry Chafer: "Two extended passages bear upon the conflict
which continues in every believer between the flesh and the Spirit, and
therein is presented the only way of deliverance. In the first of these
passages (Rom. 7:15 to 8:4), the Apostle testifies, first, of his own complete
failure and, second, of his victory. The failure is complete in spite of
the fact that he has made his greatest possible effort to succeed. In Romans
7:15-25 the conflict is between the regenerate man (hypothetically contemplated
as acting independently, or apart from the indwelling Spirit) and his flesh.
It is not between the Holy Spirit and the flesh. Probably there is no more
subtle delusion common among believers than the supposition that the saved
man, if he tries hard enough, can, on the basis of the fact that he is regenerate,
overcome the flesh. The result of this struggle on the part of the Apostle
was defeat to the extent that he became a wretched man."
This chapter ends with Paul's recognition of his wretchedness and with what
appears to be an ongoing struggle:
Romans 7:25, So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the
law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Is that how we are to live? Is that all we have to hope for? A continued
struggle between what we know is right and what the OSN persuades us to
do?
NO . . . that is where Romans 7 ends, but where we are to live, to abide,
to have our joy and our life is in Romans 8.
THE KEY VERSE: Romans 7:23
but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging
war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin
which is in my members.
Verse 23 mentions three laws:
1. A different law in the members of my Body
2. The law of my mind
3. The law of sin which is in my members
But in the conflict Paul has just outlined, his struggle is between just
two laws:
7:16, But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree
with the Law, confessing that it is good.
The Law of the mind, agreeing, stating God's law is good
7:17, So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.
The law of sin which is in my members, the OSN
7:21, I find then the principle (Law) that evil is present in me, the one
who wishes to do good.
The law in my members, the OSN
7:22, For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
The law of the mind, again, agreeing with the law of God.
But then there is this third LAW that Paul begins to see in verse 23, a
different kind of law:
7:23, But I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is
in my members.
The word SEE is BLEPW which is a word meaning a single look or glance.
The word DIFFERENT is ETEPOS (heteros), totally different, another of another
kind, totally different.
This totally different law that Paul gets a glimpse of at this point does
two things:
1. It wars against the Law of the mind:
ANTI-STRA-TEU-OMAI means something a bit more than just to war against.
Means to lead a army against. Only found in this passage.
Like a commander leading a whole battalion of troops.
2. Secondly, this different kind of law takes a captive, that captive is
Paul and it does so in the midst of the law of sin or the OSN.
Rather than making me a prisoner it should be taking me captive.
So let me expand this verse:
"But I get a glimpse of a completely different kind of
law (not like the law of my mind that agrees with God's law nor like the
law of the OSN that is in me).
"And this law is in me, not something on the outside.
"And it leads a battalion of troops (God's grace assets) against the
law of my intellect.
"And it takes me captive even when I am in the midst of the Law of
the OSN."
WHAT IS THIS THIRD LAW?
Look ahead to Romans 8:2, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Romans 7 ends with defeat in the struggle because the victory in the struggle
did not depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
But Romans 8 begins the victory . . .
And what a way to begin!
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
NOW WITH THIS IN MIND LET'S GO BACK TO ROMANS 7:15
Romans 7:15
For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing
what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
What Paul does he does not understand.
What Paul does is a middle voice verb, hence the idea is that it is for
his benefit.
However he does not understand GINWSKW, to understand in this way would
mean that he has progressed in this knowledge to the point where he sees
the active relationship of his desires or wishes to what is being done,
but he does not see this.
What he wants to do he is not practicing.
He wishes, a mental attitude attestation, to do one thing and yet ends up
doing something else.
Both WISH and PRACTICE are pres, act, indicatives indicating they are going
on at the same time.
There in is the conflict: Between what is wished in the mind and what is
done in practice.
He end up doing the very thing he hates (coveting).
Strong contrast ALLA, but what I hate I end up doing.
Again. both present active indicatives.
Romans 7:16
But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law,
[confessing] that it is good.
The conflict continues.
The IF is a first class conditional, so this is a true statement and it
is asked like a rhetorical question:
But what if I do the very thing I do not wish to do?
The conclusion is that if he does not wish to do it he has recognized it
as sin and did so by way of the Law so he agrees with the law that it is
good.
GOOD here is KALOS a relative good in relationship to what he is doing.
Uses this word to show that even in his mind he can see that what the law
says to do, or not do, is better than what he ends up doing.
Paul is not rationalizing what he is doing as being a better idea. While
we do that at times that is a conflict of another color.
Here he agrees that the Law is right, thou shall not covet or lust. But
while he knows that he ends up not being able to do that.
QUESTION:
Does merely knowing right, having the knowledge of what is right lead to
doing right. Does knowledge change behavior . . . NO.
1. What Paul has in the midst of this struggle is knowledge.
2. Furthermore his wish is to do what is right according to the knowledge
he has
3. But the knowledge and the desire he has is not working
4. Remember the description of the adolescent believer from I John 2:14
I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of
God abides in you . . .
The young man knows the Word of God and has gained some strength but then
attributes the strength to self and falls.
5. Paul is saying the same thing here as he reflects on his progress in
the faith. He knows, he wants, but he does not do.
6. What is missing is the power of the Holy Spirit and faith, trust, in
that power to take the knowledge and the desire and make it a reality in
the life of the believer.
7. Some Verses:
I Corinthians 8:1 We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant,
but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not
yet known as he ought to know.
II Timothy 3:5 and 7 There are those who are: holding to a form of godliness,
although they have denied its power . . . always learning and never able
to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Romans 7:17
So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.
Paul comes to a conclusion regarding what he wants to do and the Sin Nature
that is in him.
He is not seeking to rationalize his sin or absolve himself from its responsibility.
He is not saying "the devil made me do it."
What he is saying is that there is a conflict between rational thinking
and sins. He says in his rational mind "NO", but he ends up in
sin anyway.
So here is attesting to the conflict and the power the OSN has in one's
life.
Remember, its sovereign power over us was broken at salvation but it remains
and we continue to infuse it with power by the choices we make.
Romans 7:18
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for
the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
This is recognition of the OSN with all of it weaknesses, strengths, and
trends.
From this recognition Paul makes the conclusion of total depravity.
And here he goes back to AGATHOS when he says nothing good dwells in me.
Paul stated in verse 16 that he recognizes the comparative value or goodness
of the law in relationship to his actions of sin.
But here he concludes that there is nothing in him that is intrinsically
good or good in an absolute or divine sense.
Then he states the wishing, the desire is there but he cannot do the good.
Here he goes back to KALOS again to emphasize the comparative value or that
which he wants to do. When he talks of doing the good he uses KALOS but
when, as in the next verse he talks of his desire, he uses AGAQOS, the desire
to do the good of God.
Romans 7:19
For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil
that I do not wish.
And instead of and set against the AGATHOS, he does evil.
Not even a good that is good in a comparative sense, but the practice of
evil which opposes the grace of God.
And he does not want to do evil, he wants to do good but he does not.
Principle: When ever we get involved with trying to do good out of the
energy of our own flesh, this is evil. It is exactly what Satan wants,
he wants us to try harder, do better, attempt to bring our desires to reality
by our own efforts.
Romans 7:20
But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one
doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
And he places the source of this inability at the OSN.
The IF again is a first class condition, IF, and it is true.
Notice the conflict: He wishes in his mind to do one thing and yet he ends
up, from the OSN, doing the opposite.
Romans 7:21
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes
to do good.
From this he concludes that there is another law in him.
I FIND is EURSIKW, as in eureka, to have discovered a truth . . .
The word PRINCIPLE is LAW and so he has discovered through this struggle
that a Law of evil is present in him.
True of all believers. The OSN wants us to try to do good apart from God.
Even if based upon the Word of God but to take the truth, the Word and
try to work it according to the flesh.
The one who wishes to do good. That statement is a diminutive, a line that
is to be thrown away because he has shown that all the wishing, all the
desire he can muster up does not work.
Romans 7:22
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
This is not a denial of the truth of the Word or the Law of God.
The words JOYFULLY CONCUR is the word DEIGHT. He has a delight with God
in the Law, knowing that it is right, but unable to do it.
Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land
and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give
you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also
in Him, and He will do it.
The issue is never knowledge alone. Attitudes and actions require knowledge
if they are to change but that is only part, trust in Him, faith in what
God and God alone can do must under grid all knowledge.
Commit to Him, depend upon and trust in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 7:23, 24
but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is
in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
See earlier notes
The word WRETCHED is TALAIPWROS and means to be physically exhausted, totally
wasted from extreme effort.
That is what Paul has been through, a lot of self effort.
"Who will set me free from the body of this death?"
This is the first mention of a deliverance that is not in the form of a
law, but is, rather, from a person.
WHO?? The Lord Jesus Christ!
Romans 7:25
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one
hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other,
with my flesh the law of sin.
M.R. Vincent says of this last verse: "Paul says that so far as concerns
his moral intelligence or reason, he approves and pays homage to God's law;
but being in bondage to sin, made of flesh, sold under sin, the flesh carries
him its own way and commands his allegiance to the economy of sin. It should
be carefully noted that this last summation does not describe Paul after
he has found the way of deliverance through Jesus Christ, but is a recurrence
to his discussion of his state before he found victory."
You see, Paul concludes that while with his mind he wants to serve the Law
of God, he instead, with his flesh, serves sin.
That is the conflict, you cannot just decide to obey God and have t count
for anything in God's plan. You have to have more, you have to depend upon
all that God has done for you by way of Grace.
AND THAT IS WHERE PAUL BEGINS ROMANS CHAPTER EIGHT:
Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus.
End of Lesson 30
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