"I"
Romans 7:13-25
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
ATTENTION!
Romans Part 2 begins TOMORROW. Pick up your new Romans book at Asbury, or email Sandie and she can mail you one.
THIS WEDNESDAY: All-Church Bible Study, 6:30-8:00 PM. We’ll be looking at what is arguably the greatest chapter in the Bible—Romans 8. Please make every effort to attend—it’s important.
This is one of the most famous passages in the Bible, and it has generated no end of opinions. Who is the “I” Paul is writing about?
Here’s what I think is the most persuasive interpretation:
In Romans 7, Paul is personifying Israel itself and speaking in the first person: “I.” He is talking about the experience of Israel before the coming of the Messiah. Though they had the Mosaic Law, it in itself was not enough to change their hearts.
“For the law informs us of our duties before God, but it does not give us the ability to fulfill those duties.” — from The Letter to the Romans, by Douglas Moo
The story of Israel in the Old Testament is proof that it is not possible to be righteous on your own—you need the Spirit of God to change you, which is what he will start talking about in Romans 8. Because Torah—the Law—is working with sinful flesh, the only thing it can produce is sin and death. The Law is a gift from God, but people also need new hearts that are capable of keeping the Law.
Sin, then, is a prison. Paul speaks for agonized, sinful Israel:
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [7:24]
The answer:
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [7:25]
Summary so far:
• The Gentiles were idolators, and they were enslaved to sin and death (even though their consciences should have been guiding them away from sin);
• But the Jews were also enslaved to sin and death, even though they had the Law;
• The reason Jews were enslaved is that their hearts were just as sinful as the hearts of the Gentiles, and the Law could do nothing to change hearts;
• So, both Gentiles and Jews are in the same position: enslaved to sin and death, and unable to free themselves.
In Romans chapter 8, Paul will dramatically explain how the coming of Jesus the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit will show the Father’s love for His people and set people free for a new kind of life. We start Romans Part II on Tuesday, October 1!