Romans 7:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

NIV: We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

NASB: For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin.

CSB: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave to sin.

NLT: So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

KJV: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

NKJV: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Bible scholars and teachers disagree about Paul's intended voice in this passage. Some feel Paul is describing himself, now, presently, as a Christian. Others believe he is describing his life before he accepted Christ. How one interprets these verses is especially important when it comes to these next few verses. Most likely, Paul is speaking from a here-and-now standpoint, about his own experience. In the original Greek, Paul has shifted, in this very section, to using first-person, single-person, present-tense words. Earlier passages spoke from a plural voice, or a future tense. In a literal, grammatical sense, Paul has made a noticeable shift in his language, which suggests this is a very personal and literal discussion.

Here Paul writes that we know that the law is spiritual. It is commonly understood among Christians that the law was about a human being's spiritual condition. Perhaps, if we were simply spiritual beings, we might be able to keep the law. The problem, Paul writes, is that he is—and by extension, we all are—"fleshly" beings, or "of the flesh." Paul exists in a body and that body is driven by sinful desires. In addition, Paul describes himself as living in a body, flesh, which has been "sold under sin."

Those who believe Paul is describing his life before being a Christian understand him to be talking about being a slave to sin, under its power and authority. In the previous chapter, Paul described slavery to sin as a condition of non-Christians (Romans 6:20). Those who see Paul as describing his life as a Christian hear him saying that his body, his flesh, was previously sold as a slave to sin and still desires sinful things, though he has been freed from sin through faith in Christ.

His broader point is that it is the flesh, our unspiritual minds and bodies, which contains those sinful desires and impulses that keep us from obeying God's spiritual law.

Romans 7:7–25 explores the relationship between the law of Moses and human sin. Paul insists that the law is how he came to know and understand sin, in general, and his own sin specifically. He also explains how knowing the law does not make a person holier; it can actually tempt us to sin even more! Paul changes his perspective in this passage, speaking in a first-person-here-and-now manner, as a Christian, wanting to do what is right and finding himself doing what is sinful instead. Paul recognized his natural inability to do right and realized his need to be delivered from sin by God through Jesus.

In Romans 7, Paul describes the relationship between Christians and law of Moses and between the law and human sinfulness. Because we died spiritually when we came to faith in Christ, Christians have been freed from our obligation to follow the law. Paul insists, though, that the law is holy and good in the sense that it reveals to all who try to follow it just how very sinful we are. The law shows us that no matter how good our intentions, we still end up in sin and in need of the deliverance available only through faith in Jesus.

Romans 6 revealed that those in Christ have died to sin and are no longer slaves to it. Romans 7 begins by showing that, in Christ, we have also died to our obligation to follow the law of Moses. Paul makes clear, though, that the law is holy and good because it reveals to us just how sinful we are. Paul describes how his failed attempts to follow the law convinced him more fully of his need to be delivered from his sinfulness by God through faith in Christ. Romans 8 will explore many of the benefits of being in Christ.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.