Paul’s Presenting His Dilemma
Romans 7:14-24 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.ou ever wonder why, when your children do something wrong or fail to do what you told them and you ask them “Why did you do that?” they respond with, “I don’t know” and your resp
Paul shows a practical why if sin is revealed and he wants to stop it he tries and tries but doesn’t do a good job of succeeding. But it is also controversial among the commentaries. Indeed, I had changed my mind more than once in trying to decide if Paul is talking about life from a non-Christian point of view or a Christian point of view. Interpreters have disagreed. Those who believe Paul is speaking about himself as an unbeliever point out that he describes the person as being “of flesh, sold into bondage” , as having nothing good dwelling in him, and as a “wretched man” trapped in a “body of…death” . How then, it is argued, could such a person correspond to the Christian Paul describes in chapter 6 as having died to sin, as having his old self crucified and no longer being enslaved to sin, as being “freed from sin”, as considering himself dead to sin, and as being obedient from the heart to God’s Word?
Some interpreters believe that chapter 7 describes the carnal, or fleshly Christian, one who is living on a very low level or immature level of spirituality. Some suggest that this person is a frustrated, legalistic Christian who attempts in his own power to please God by trying to live up to the Mosaic Law.
But the attitude expressed in chapter 7 is not typical of legalists, who tend to be self-satisfied with their fulfillment of the law or of carnal Christians who are satisfied with just being saved. The level of spiritual insight, brokenness, contrition, and humility that characterize the person depicted in Romans 7 are marks of a spiritual or mature believer.
Those who contend Paul is speaking about a believer in chapter 7 point out that this person desires to obey God’s law and hates doing what is evil, that he is humble before God, realizing that nothing good dwells in his humanness. The apostle has already established that none of those things characterize the unsaved.
It seems that there are strong arguments for the position of Paul as the mature believer (he’s been saved for 20 years when he writes Romans) who struggles with sin just as we do. Paul uses the first person to speak of himself and speaks in the present tense, not the past as he has done in the previous verses. The flesh is still within believers, and he gives thanks to God through Jesus Christ as his savior from sin and he desires to serve Him with his mind. An unsaved person would not be characterized by these statements.
Is he saying that as a non-Christian I was miserable with my sin and impossible to not sin. I was bound like a prisoner and the things I didn’t want to do I do and the things I wanted to do I didn’t do. I need help. As a non-believer we do not have the Holly Spirit dwelling within and have no power over sin.
But if he is writing as a Christian, does he still struggle with fleshly desires? Does he not have victory over sin? Is there this ongoing battle that does not stop with sin, then how can you say you have died to sin when you continue to sin as a believer?
Regardless of which position one holds don’t miss the main message of justification by faith and not by works of the law. I think it is clear #1: The law cannot change you. (vs 14) #2: The law cannot enable you to do good. (vs. 15-21) #3: The law cannot set you free (vs. 21-24) You realize that you failed, the law did not fail, you did
I certainly know that as a Christian I struggle with sin in my life. I do things I know I do not want to do and want to do things I know I should do but don’t. I think as a non-Christian I wasn’t bothered much about sin as I am as a Christian. I was guilty, but now with the Holy Spirit living in me and I do something wrong I find my conscious bothering me that didn’t bother me much before. I can’t imagine Paul having this conflict within himself when he was a non-Christian. In fact he was very proud of his accomplishment and proud of his self-righteousness. It doesn’t make sense that he has this dilemma if he is a non-Christian.
But if we are regarded as dead to sin and dead to the law and deceived as to what the purpose of the law, then we are in a dilemma if we ignore the fruit of how Jesus Christ wants us to please him. One man who was a vile mouthed person came to Christ and was convicted of his heart he was not right for the Lord. He knew he was going to Hell. He by faith trusted Jesus and asked Jesus to save him and repented from his sin. He turned his back on his past life. But now and again he would be upset and those old words from his mouth turned the air blue. He tried to stop and felt bad about it, but one afternoon his temper got the best of him and off he’d go again.
He came home discouraged and told his wife he made a poor Christian and should stop pretending he just could not get victory over his foul mouth.
She smiled and said, “Oh my dear, there is all the difference between you now and then. Then, you never would have been sorry for what you had done. Then, you would never have even thought that you had done anything wrong. And you certainly wouldn’t be contrite about what you had done. Oh, I see every sign that the Holy Spirit is working in you.”
In his dilemma Paul asks, "who will deliver me?"
Dale
