Romans 7:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

NIV: So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

NASB: I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

CSB: So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me.

NLT: I have discovered this principle of life — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

KJV: I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

NKJV: I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

Paul has been describing his inability to keep the law of Moses, to consistently obey all of God's Old Testament commands to Israel. Now he uses the word "law" to describe not the law of Moses but a universal principle of human behavior: Whenever we want to do what is right, evil is waiting nearby.

Paul's use of the word "evil" is striking. He is not describing his tendency to sin in the face of his good intentions as a bad habit or a personality disorder. He is describing sin as his desire to do evil, the opposite of good. Paul feels the desire to do what is right, and then he experiences the sin inside of him take over and choose to do evil instead.

Is Paul describing his experience as a non-Christian Jewish man, attempting to follow the law of Moses or as a Christian who has been freed from the power of sin but not from the desire to sin? Bible scholars disagree about that, though an analysis of Paul's Greek tenses here strongly suggests he's speaking of his present, personal condition. In either case, the principle that evil lies close at hand even when we set out to do good holds true. Christians are certainly capable of taking an unexpected left turn into sin even though we are no longer slaves to sin because Christ has set us free.

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.