Romans 7:13-25 (2)

The Power of Sin vs the Power of God

Paul begins this section with a question and obvious answer:

Romans 7:13 HCSB

Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

But if the Mosaic law is good, meant for our spiritual edification, meant for us to use as a guide to experience full life as God intended, then why are so many people - like Paul, an observant Jew, one who knows the law, one who seeks to organize his entire life around God’s law - such sinners?

Before we examine Paul’s words one question should be addressed. Is Paul sharing his experience of life before he met Christ? Or is this passage a reflection of how Christians live?

The grammar of the text is important. One scholar points out:

Paul’s Letter to the Romans (ii) Israel’s Ongoing Experience Living under the Law, 7:14–20

Unlike the previous passage (7:7–13), which employs the aorist tense of the verb almost exclusively, 7:14–25 is marked by the complete absence of the aorist and uses the present tense extensively (36 times), a tense that more vividly expresses the dire situation of the ‘I’ than does the aorist tense. It is a situation in which the ‘I’ struggles with an inner conflict between what it wills on the one hand and what it does on the other.

I understand Romans 7:13-25 to be describing Paul’s experience. It may or may not match mine and yours, however, until Jesus returns we are in a world that is controlled/dominated by sin - not just a power but a power being wielded by a person - Satan.

vs 14

The law is ‘spiritual.’ The Mosaic law originates in the heart and mind of God. It cannot be anything but spiritual!

“But...” the world in which we live is not spiritual. It was created to be spiritual but sin once unleashed continues to wreak all sorts of havoc on the environment as well as in the hearts and lives of every human being.

Earlier in the letter Paul wrote

Romans 3:9 HCSB

What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,

All are ‘under’ sin. Sin is a power, a force being used by the adversary to keep all human beings from discovering the life God intended His creatures to have.

vs 15

Who among us has not fallen into sin? Yes, we know better, we recognize sin for what it is, yet - like Paul- we do what we hate!

vs 16-17

Jesus died on the cross, was raised on the third day and ascended to heaven to deliver us from the power of sin. However as long as we are in this world we are confronted with the presence of sin.

1 John 2:16 HCSB

For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Until Christ returns this world is under the temporary control of Satan. As long as we are embodied in this world our senses are all prone to the power of sin.

vs 18-20

Here Paul clearly expresses the struggle all believers face. When the Holy Spirit took up residence in our lives we began to grow. Yes, Christ is fully formed, but it is a process to grasp the fullness of Christ as the Holy Spirit makes Him real in our lives. (This is ‘sanctification.’)

vs 21-25

God’s law

a different law

the law of my mind

the law of sin

Four uses of the word ‘law.’ the first use: ‘God’s law’ (vs 22) is the Mosaic law - enshrined in the Ten Commandments

‘…a different law...’ (vs 23) It is the same Greek word, but here it might better be translated ‘principle’ or ‘rule.’

‘…the law of my mind...’ Here Paul certainly refers to the Mosaic law. As a diligent student Paul had spent his childhood and teen years and his young adult years devoted to reading, memorizing, studying, and applying God’s law.

Yet Paul was conscious of a different ‘law’ or principle: ‘the law of sin,’ Paul writes of sin not just a specific actions but as a power that literally overwhelms and overpowers individuals - even those who have begun to walk with Jesus!

The question Paul asks in vs 24 certainly makes sense! All of us have been in similar circumstances. We know how to walk with Jesus. We study His Word. We align our lives with His truth. And yet we find ourselves captured as it were by sone besetting sin.

However, we have an answer: Jesus Christ - which will lead directly to Romans 8!