Romans 7.19-Paul Acknowledges That He Does Not Do What He Desires But Rather The Evil He Does Not Want To Do
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday September 24, 2008
Romans: Romans 7:19-Paul Acknowledges That He Does Not Do What He Desires But Rather The Evil He Does Not Want To Do
Lesson # 231
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 7:14.
Beginning in Romans 7:14 and all the way to the end of the chapter, the apostle Paul relates his conflict as a Christian with his indwelling Adamic sin nature.
Briefly, by way of review, we have noted the following:
In Romans 7:14, we noted that the apostle acknowledges that the Law is spiritual, yet he still possesses a sin nature.
Romans 7:14, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.”
Then, in Romans 7:15, Paul relates that as a Christian he did not understand what he was doing because he was not practicing the Law but rather was committing the very thing he hated, namely sin.
Romans 7:15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”
Next, in Romans 7:16, Paul states that if he does the very thing that he does not want to do, then he agrees with the Law’s assessment of his conduct that it is sinful and he also testifies that the Law is perfect.
Romans 7:16, “But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.”
Paul in Romans 7:17 presents the logical conclusion that he possesses as a Christian, a sin nature and which conclusion agrees with his claim in verse 14 and is based upon the evidence presented by him in verses 15-16.
Romans 7:17, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
Then, in Romans 7:18, Paul states to the Christians in Rome that he recognizes that nothing good dwells in his physical body because the desire to do God’s will is present in him but the power to do so is not.
Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”
This evening we will study Romans 7:19 and in this passage, Paul acknowledges that he does not do what he desires to do but rather the evil he does not want to do.
Romans 7:19, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
Romans 7:19 repeats the substance of Romans 7:15b.
Romans 7:15, “For you see, I habitually produce what I absolutely do not understand because I by no means habitually practice the very thing that I habitually desire to do. On the contrary I habitually commit the very thing that I do hate.”
In Romans 7:15b, the desire to the good and the evil that is done is implicit whereas in Romans 7:19, it is explicit.
Also, in Romans 7:19 the verb poieo is used of the good and prasso in relation to the evil whereas in Romans 7:15b, the former is used of the evil and the latter is used of the good.
This indicates that the good implicitly mentioned in 7:15b is synonymous with the good explicitly mentioned in 7:19 and the evil implicitly mentioned in 7:15b is synonymous with evil explicitly mentioned in 7:19.
Romans 7:19, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
“For” is the “explanatory” use of the conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces a statement that presents the reason for Paul’s statement in Romans 7:18.
Romans 7:18, “For you see, I know as a fact through experience, namely that absolutely nothing good, as an eternal spiritual truth, dwells in me, that is, in my flesh because the desire is, as an eternal spiritual truth, present in me, however, the capacity to produce that which is perfect, is, as an eternal spiritual truth absolutely not.”
In this passage, we read that Paul teaches the Christians in Rome that he knew as a fact from experience that absolutely nothing of intrinsic good dwells in physical body because the desire to do God’s will is present in him but the capacity to do so is not.
Here in Romans 7:19, Paul acknowledges that he does not do what he desires but rather he commits evil acts, which he does not want to do.
The conjunction gar introduces a statement that provides more information as to why the desire to do God’s will is present in Paul but the capacity to do so is not.
“The good” is the adjective agathos (a)gaqov$) (ag-ath-os), which is used of obedience to the Law, which is indicated by the verb poieo, “I do.”
In Romans 7:12-13, the adjective was used to describe the tenth commandment.
Romans 7:12, “Therefore, indeed, the Law is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy. Furthermore, the tenth commandment is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy and in addition righteous as well as good.”
Romans 7;13, “Therefore, did that which is good cause temporal spiritual death in me? Absolutely not! On the contrary, the sin nature caused temporal spiritual death in me in order that the sin nature would be exposed by repeatedly producing temporal spiritual death in me by means of that which is good in order that by means of the tenth commandment, the sin nature would demonstrate itself extraordinarily sinful in character.”
The word describes the tenth commandment as having man’s best interests in mind and is not designed to hurt him.
In Romans 7:18, it is used with ou to describe Paul’s physical body as not having anything “intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality” in it since the sin nature indwells it.
Romans 7:18, “For you see, I know as a fact through experience, namely that absolutely nothing good, as an eternal spiritual truth, dwells in me, that is, in my flesh because the desire is, as an eternal spiritual truth, present in me, however, the capacity to produce that which is perfect, is, as an eternal spiritual truth absolutely not.”
Now, in Romans 7:19, it describes from God’s perspective that obedience to the Law is “intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent” since it is in conformity to God’s sovereign will.
Romans 7:19, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
“I want” is the verb thelo (qevlw) (thel-o), which is used of Paul’s human volition and is used in relation to obeying the Law and denotes Paul’s “desire” to obey the Law.
“I do not do” is composed of the emphatic negative adverb ou (ou)) (oo), “not” and the verb poieo (poievw) (poy-eh-o), “I do.”
In Romans 7:19, the verb poieo is not used in relation to committing personal sin but rather with regards to obedience to the Law.
Therefore, instead of translating the word “commit” it should be translated “accomplish.”
The meaning of the verb is emphatically negated by the adverb ou, which means that it emphatically negates the idea that Paul habitually accomplished the good in the form of obedience to the Law.
Romans 7:19, “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
“But” is the strong adversative use of the conjunction alla (a)llav) (al-lah), which introduces a statement that presents a statement that is totally antithetical to the accomplishing the good in the form of obedience to the Law, namely, evil in the form of disobedience.
“I practice” is the verb prasso (pravssw), which is used in relation to the adjective kakos, “evil.”
Therefore, together, they indicate that Paul “practiced evil” instead of obeying God.
“Evil” is the adjective kakos (kakov$) (kak-os), which describes actions that are done against the laws of God that reveal His will and thus refers to various acts of sin that constitute evil.
It describes the actions that flow from the sin nature.
“I do not want” is composed of the emphatic negative adverb ou (ou)) (oo), “not” and the verb thelo (qevlw) (thel-o), “I do…want.”
In Romans 7:19, the verb thelo means, “to desire to do” and is used in relation to committing evil in the form of disobedience to the Law.
The meaning of the verb is emphatically negated by the adverb ou, which emphatically negates the idea that Paul desired to do that which is evil.
Therefore, Romans 7:19 reveals the intense struggle that Paul had with his sin nature as a Christian.