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What does Romans 7 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

In Romans 7, Paul tackles the relationship between the law—the commandments given by God—and human sinfulness. He begins by making it clear that those who are in Christ have been released from any obligation to the law of Moses. This is for the same reason that we have been released from our slavery to sin: We died, and death breaks those obligations. Those who come to faith in Christ are so closely associated with His physical death and resurrection that we experience a kind of spiritual death and are resurrected into a new spiritual life. This is how we are freed from our responsibility to the law.

Paul uses the illustration of the law of marriage. A woman whose husband has died is no longer obligated to remain faithful to him. She is free to marry another man. In a similar way, our death with Christ freed us from our obligation to the law and allows us to serve God in what Paul calls the new way of the Spirit (Romans 7:1–6).

Some apparently thought Paul's teaching about freedom from the law meant that he believed the law itself to be sinful. He insists that he does not. Instead, it was the law that revealed his own sinfulness to him. He learned that he was covetous after being told by the law not to covet. Worse, as a sinful human being, merely knowing that covetousness was a sin made him want to covet! Our rebellious natures often choose to break rules just for the sake of breaking rules. The law promised Paul life if he could keep the commandments, but he discovered he could not do it. In that sense, the law doomed him to death. Still, though, Paul describes the law as holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:7–12).

Paul then describes his devastating experience of wanting to do what is good and finding himself doing what is sinful instead. Bible scholars disagree about whether the picture Paul paints of this experience is describing himself before he was a Christian, when he was trying to follow the law, or whether it was a current experience of trying to do good in his own power as a Christian. Based on the Greek tenses used, Paul seems to be describing the ongoing struggle of a believer against sin, rather than something he "got over" when he was saved (Romans 7:13–23).

The difference between the two positions is significant, but both present biblical truths supported elsewhere in Scripture. Certainly, Paul's whole book stands on the idea that non-Christians are unable to keep the law. That's why the law cannot make us righteous before God. It is also true that Christians who have been freed from the power of sin often still find the powerful influence of sin terribly difficult to overcome. Becoming a Christian gives a person the power to overcome sin (1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 6:17), but it does not make one sinless (1 John 1:9–10).

After describing the disconnect between his best intentions to do good and his real-world sinful actions, Paul cries out in frustration that he is a wretched man and asks who will deliver him. He responds by thanking God through Jesus Christ our Lord, implying that he has and/or will find that deliverance only through faith in Christ (Romans 7:24–25).

Romans 7:1–6 contains Paul's teaching that those in Christ have been released from following the law of Moses. Why? Our association with Christ's death on the cross created in us a kind of spiritual death that led to a new spiritual life. Paul illustrates his point by pointing to the law of marriage. A woman whose husband has died is released from her commitment to that husband. In the same way, we are released from our obligation to the law and freed up to serve in the new way of the Spirit.

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.

Chapter Summary:

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.

Chapter Context:

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 3:35:03 PM