13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to 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. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of 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.
Commentary
Commentary
Vs. 13 Having declared that the law is holy, and the commandment from the law is holy, just, and good (Rom 7:12). The Apostle Paul now reiterates that the law which was to bring life, instead he found only to bring death (Rom 7:10-11). The reason that it brought death to him, (and to us all) is because of sin. For apart from sin, the law encapsulates all that points to life (Ps. 119:93). However with sin on the scene, sin merely runs amuck, using the law as a grounds to arouse and awaken all manner of sinful desires inside of us. And so here in chapter seven the Apostle Paul reveals the personal dilemma that he found in his own life because of the laws incompatibility with us because of our carnal or sin nature. Thus the law which was meant to bring life he found only to bring death. Since the law does not address the fundamental problem with us all and that is our sin nature. And so through the commandment (which is good) sin becomes exceedingly sinful, so that it's active and destructive presence is so absolutely and undeniable revealed to one and to all, that all who see sins presence in their own lives, or in this world, will flee to God through Jesus Christ via the Gospel. For only then can one be set free from sins destructive grip and control in their persons and lives. The law on the other hand can do nothing to restrict or alleviate one's own desires towards sin, it only makes sin more manifest, and thus eliminates any hope of our change coming through the law (Rom 7:5; 1 Cor 15:56). Thus through the law the Apostle Paul discovered his own sinful condition, yet the law offered him nothing as a remedy for it. For in his flesh he was incapable of keeping it, sin simply defeated him over and over again through it. And that is the dilemma that Paul is expounding here in chapter seven, for both the believer and unbeliever alike, the inherent conflict between the law and the sinful nature of us all, and thus the defeat that comes to us all through our flesh.
Vs. 14-15 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
And so here the Apostle Paul reveals the first problem in our fight with sin, that is that the law is spiritual, but we are are all carnal, sold under sin (vs. 14). For the law knows no sin, nor does it make any allowances for sin. We on the other hand are carnal, sold under sin, and so whether we admit it or not, we all know sin (1 John 1:8). Now that Paul says he, and thus we all are sold under sin, is the result of Adam and Eve's disobedience, by which sin entered the world, and thus sin through their fall spread to all of mankind, indeed all of creation. And so the spiritual nature that they once bore (being Spiritually alive with God and apart from sin) has been lost to them, and to us all, as we are all descended from them. Thus we are all Scripturally said to born into Adam's sin as a consequence of their disobedience to God, and thus we are all said to be carnal, sold under sin. Meaning God has sold us all (that is all of humanity) under sin, so that our Redemption from sin and death must come through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore neither law, nor good works, can save us from our sin, because these cannot fundamentally change who and what we are apart from God, carnal and sold under sin. Now as evidence of this point that we are all carnal, sold under sin. The Apostle Paul will now say of himself in verse fifteen, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Here then we have the reality and dilemma of our carnal (or fleshly) nature. For as Paul says of himself "what I am doing I do not understand." Paul then (like ourselves) has found himself doing (and saying) things which he cannot explain as to why, nor can he justify. Yet it's not merely a case of being ignorant, as he goes on to say, ..."For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." And so like ourselves, Paul has also gone through this inner turmoil of knowing what is good and right and yet doing doing what he hates.
Vs. 16 "If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good."
And so in a twist of irony by our doing what we will not to do, we agree with the law that it is good and thus all that is of the flesh is not.
Vs. 17-19 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
And so here the Apostle Paul names the source of this conflict within us, sin. But not as an excuse for our sins, rather to clarify how sin works through the flesh and brings us into subjection to itself. Which is why Paul says nothing good in his flesh dwells (vs. 18). For indwelling sin by default means that nothing good dwells within our flesh, for the flesh is subject to sin, and is thus the means by which sin when "full grown" brings forth death (James 1:15). Now as evidence of this conflict between our will and our flesh, and it's powerlessness because of indwelling sin. The Apostle Paul says in verse eighteen, ..."for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." Thus the good Paul wants to do he does not find the means to do. The flesh provides him with nothing to attain to that desired end. Yet it's far worse that just not being able to do the good God commands of us all, for as Paul says in verse nineteen, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." vs. 19
And so even well meaning people can very much find themselves in this conundrum of wanting to do good, and yet being overcome by sin through the fleshes weakness. It is then the essential human tragedy, given a will that (when the moral conscience is still intact) instinctively wants to do that which reflects the true nature of us as God's creation, yet because we are all sold under sin, we have no way to exercise that will apart from Divine intervention. If then the flesh had any possibilities by which we could overcome sin, (or find redemption for ourselves from it through it) it would not be the crux through which sin overrides our own will and brings us into death. And so again in the flesh nothing good dwells, for the flesh does not empower anyone to overcome sin and temptations towards it, for the flesh is only subject to sin, being the dwelling place of it.
Vs. 20-25 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to 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. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of 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.
Therefore if I (the one who desires to do good) find myself doing what I do not want to do, then that is evidence enough that there is evil present with me, which is working against my will, and this again is sin (vs. 20). And so the Apostle says, "I find then a law..." , (same word used of the law of God in vs. 22) "...that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good" (vs. 21). And so indwelling sin is "a law" which has a dominion over the flesh. Thus when we individually or collectively (in of ourselves) try to rise above it, inevitably we are brought back into it's domain, because we are all children of the fall.
Now as evidence of his (and our) wanting to do good according to the will of God, the Apostle Paul now says, "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (vs. 22). That is the inward man, which is our regenerated (or born-again) person, the new creation (2 Cor 5:17), where Christ and the Holy Spirit dwell inside of us all who believe in Jesus Christ, who having brought us to life and baptized us all into Christ by the Holy Spirit, we have been given a new heart and new mind. Yet we are not yet in our glorified body, and so there is this conflict between the old sinful nature with our new nature until this mortality is swallowed up by life (consider 2 Cor 5:1-8). Therefore as long as we are in this mortal body we will all have to wrestle against indwelling sin, (and or temptations towards it), until we are home in eternity with Christ (12:1-11). For truly the righteous do indeed delight in the law of God according to the inner man (or person). But because of the law of sin within our mortal members we find no means (in of ourselves) to effectively live by it's moral decrees. Sin simply overrides our will and brings us back into it's captivity and bondage through the fleshes weakness (vs. 23). Therefore in an outcry against this state of being, which is our persons here and now, the Apostle Paul now says in verse twenty-four, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" To which he quickly answers in verse twenty five, "I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!..." For truly our deliverance from these mortal bodies will come to us from God through Jesus Christ our Lord, who will transform our lowly bodies of death and conform them to bear the image of Christ's glorious resurrected body, where sin and death will have no more domain or rule (Phil. 3:21, 1 Cor 15:35-49). And so to sum up the Apostle will now say, "So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
Scripture Quotation
The New King James Version. Nashville Thomas Nelson, 1982.
Vs. 14-15 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
And so here the Apostle Paul reveals the first problem in our fight with sin, that is that the law is spiritual, but we are are all carnal, sold under sin (vs. 14). For the law knows no sin, nor does it make any allowances for sin. We on the other hand are carnal, sold under sin, and so whether we admit it or not, we all know sin (1 John 1:8). Now that Paul says he, and thus we all are sold under sin, is the result of Adam and Eve's disobedience, by which sin entered the world, and thus sin through their fall spread to all of mankind, indeed all of creation. And so the spiritual nature that they once bore (being Spiritually alive with God and apart from sin) has been lost to them, and to us all, as we are all descended from them. Thus we are all Scripturally said to born into Adam's sin as a consequence of their disobedience to God, and thus we are all said to be carnal, sold under sin. Meaning God has sold us all (that is all of humanity) under sin, so that our Redemption from sin and death must come through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore neither law, nor good works, can save us from our sin, because these cannot fundamentally change who and what we are apart from God, carnal and sold under sin. Now as evidence of this point that we are all carnal, sold under sin. The Apostle Paul will now say of himself in verse fifteen, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Here then we have the reality and dilemma of our carnal (or fleshly) nature. For as Paul says of himself "what I am doing I do not understand." Paul then (like ourselves) has found himself doing (and saying) things which he cannot explain as to why, nor can he justify. Yet it's not merely a case of being ignorant, as he goes on to say, ..."For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." And so like ourselves, Paul has also gone through this inner turmoil of knowing what is good and right and yet doing doing what he hates.
Vs. 16 "If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good."
And so in a twist of irony by our doing what we will not to do, we agree with the law that it is good and thus all that is of the flesh is not.
Vs. 17-19 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
And so here the Apostle Paul names the source of this conflict within us, sin. But not as an excuse for our sins, rather to clarify how sin works through the flesh and brings us into subjection to itself. Which is why Paul says nothing good in his flesh dwells (vs. 18). For indwelling sin by default means that nothing good dwells within our flesh, for the flesh is subject to sin, and is thus the means by which sin when "full grown" brings forth death (James 1:15). Now as evidence of this conflict between our will and our flesh, and it's powerlessness because of indwelling sin. The Apostle Paul says in verse eighteen, ..."for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." Thus the good Paul wants to do he does not find the means to do. The flesh provides him with nothing to attain to that desired end. Yet it's far worse that just not being able to do the good God commands of us all, for as Paul says in verse nineteen, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." vs. 19
And so even well meaning people can very much find themselves in this conundrum of wanting to do good, and yet being overcome by sin through the fleshes weakness. It is then the essential human tragedy, given a will that (when the moral conscience is still intact) instinctively wants to do that which reflects the true nature of us as God's creation, yet because we are all sold under sin, we have no way to exercise that will apart from Divine intervention. If then the flesh had any possibilities by which we could overcome sin, (or find redemption for ourselves from it through it) it would not be the crux through which sin overrides our own will and brings us into death. And so again in the flesh nothing good dwells, for the flesh does not empower anyone to overcome sin and temptations towards it, for the flesh is only subject to sin, being the dwelling place of it.
Vs. 20-25 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to 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. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of 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.
Therefore if I (the one who desires to do good) find myself doing what I do not want to do, then that is evidence enough that there is evil present with me, which is working against my will, and this again is sin (vs. 20). And so the Apostle says, "I find then a law..." , (same word used of the law of God in vs. 22) "...that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good" (vs. 21). And so indwelling sin is "a law" which has a dominion over the flesh. Thus when we individually or collectively (in of ourselves) try to rise above it, inevitably we are brought back into it's domain, because we are all children of the fall.
Now as evidence of his (and our) wanting to do good according to the will of God, the Apostle Paul now says, "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (vs. 22). That is the inward man, which is our regenerated (or born-again) person, the new creation (2 Cor 5:17), where Christ and the Holy Spirit dwell inside of us all who believe in Jesus Christ, who having brought us to life and baptized us all into Christ by the Holy Spirit, we have been given a new heart and new mind. Yet we are not yet in our glorified body, and so there is this conflict between the old sinful nature with our new nature until this mortality is swallowed up by life (consider 2 Cor 5:1-8). Therefore as long as we are in this mortal body we will all have to wrestle against indwelling sin, (and or temptations towards it), until we are home in eternity with Christ (12:1-11). For truly the righteous do indeed delight in the law of God according to the inner man (or person). But because of the law of sin within our mortal members we find no means (in of ourselves) to effectively live by it's moral decrees. Sin simply overrides our will and brings us back into it's captivity and bondage through the fleshes weakness (vs. 23). Therefore in an outcry against this state of being, which is our persons here and now, the Apostle Paul now says in verse twenty-four, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" To which he quickly answers in verse twenty five, "I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!..." For truly our deliverance from these mortal bodies will come to us from God through Jesus Christ our Lord, who will transform our lowly bodies of death and conform them to bear the image of Christ's glorious resurrected body, where sin and death will have no more domain or rule (Phil. 3:21, 1 Cor 15:35-49). And so to sum up the Apostle will now say, "So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
Scripture Quotation
The New King James Version. Nashville Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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