Romans 7:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

NIV: For in my inner being I delight in God's law;

NASB: For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person,

CSB: For in my inner self I delight in God's law,

NLT: I love God’s law with all my heart.

KJV: For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

NKJV: For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

This verse echoes the writer of Psalm 119, as he declared his delight in God's law (Psalm 119:16, 24, 47). Paul, like Aleph, said with sincerity that he too delighted in the law of God in his "inner being" or "inner man." Paul uses this same phrase in 2 Corinthians 4:16 and Ephesians 3:16 to describe the true self inside a person that God renews and strengthens through the Holy Spirit.

Bible scholars who believe Paul is describing the experience of Christians in this section point to this verse as evidence of "regeneration." In other words, they insist that only someone who is in Christ would delight in the law of God in his or her inner being. Paul is saying that he really, truly does love God's law and wants to follow it. This interpretation also seems to fit Paul's Greek grammar, which has shifted in this passage to a first-person, present-tense style.

On the other hand, scholars who believe Paul is describing his life before becoming a Christian, point to the next verse as evidence for their perspective. Paul will write that in spite of his love for God's law, he finds himself captive to the law of sin. These scholars point to statements Paul made in Romans 6:2, 18, and 22 that Christians are freed from slavery to sin through faith in Christ.

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.