Romans 7.20-Paul's Sin Nature Is The Source Of Evil In His Life
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 25, 2008
Romans: Romans 7:20-Paul’s Sin Nature Is The Source Of Evil In His Life
Lesson # 232
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 7:14.
This evening we will note Romans 7:20 where Paul concludes that his sin nature is the source of evil in his life.
Romans 7:14, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to 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.”
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.”
Romans 7:17, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
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.”
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 7:20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
“But” is the “resumptive” use of the post-positive conjunction de (deV), which introduces a statement that “reiterates” or “resumes” Paul’s argument in Romans 7:16-17.
If you recall, in Romans 7:14, the apostle acknowledges that the Law is spiritual, yet he still possesses a sin nature.
Then, in Romans 7:15, Paul continues his autobiographical account in which he relates his struggles as a Christian with his sin nature without the enabling power of the Spirit.
In this passage, he 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.
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.
In Romans 7:17, Paul 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.
In Romans 7:17, Paul is not saying that he is not responsible for his actions but rather, he is attempting to demonstrate his point in Romans 7:14 that he possesses a sin nature, which is source of personal sin in his life.
In Romans 7:20, the conjunction de introduces the conclusion that Paul possesses a sin nature, which is based upon the evidence presented in verses 18-19 and which evidence supports Paul’s conclusion in verse 17 that he possesses a sin nature.
Romans 7:20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
The idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume for the sake of argument, then...”
This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on the protasis.
Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his audience.
In Romans 7:20, the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument that I do the very thing that I do not want to do and of course I’ve demonstrated this is true in verse 18-19 and have already admitted to this in verse 17.”
The apodasis is “(then) I am no longer the one producing personal sin but rather the sin nature which dwells in me is the culprit.”
In Romans 7:20, the basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”
The “evidence” is Paul is doing the very thing that he did not want to do.
The “inference” is that the sin nature is the source of personal sin in Paul’s life.
The response to Paul’s protasis by his Christian readership would be obvious.
The sin nature is the source of personal sin in Paul’s life and thus in theirs as well!
They would agree emphatically with his protasis.
Thus, we call this a “responsive” condition.
Paul is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the first class condition that we agree that if I do the very thing I do not want to do, then it is not me but the sin nature that dwells in me that is the source of personal sin in my life!
The first class condition would then persuade them to respond to the conclusion found in the apodasis that Paul’s sin nature is the source of personal sin in his life.
Therefore, Paul’s audience would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to this line of argumentation.
He wants them to come to his line of argumentation because he is teaching them about the Christian way of life in relation to the sin nature and the Law through his own experience.
Therefore, it is essential that they agree with him on this point since it will help them to deal with their struggles with the Law in relation to their sin natures.
As we have noted in previous studies in chapter seven, Paul’s problem is not the desire to obey God’s Word but the “power” to obey God’s Word, which holds true of his readers of this epistle in Rome.
The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life that demands the power of the Spirit to be experienced.
2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
Thus, in Romans 7:20, Paul’s line of argument is essential to understand and agree upon because he is leading his readers to the solution of the problem in Romans chapter eight when he discusses the enabling power of the Spirit.
Romans 7:20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
“I am doing” is the verb poieo (poievw) (poy-eh-o), which means, “to commit” and is used in relation to evil, which personal sin is.
“The very thing” is the immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos (ou!!to$) (hoo-tos), which refers to evil as indicated in that its antecedent is the neuter singular form of the adjective kakos, “evil,” which appears in Romans 7:19.
“I” is the personal pronoun ego (e)gwv) (eg-o), which emphasizes that Paul is not the source of evil and personal sin in his life but rather his sin nature.
“Do not want” is composed of the emphatic negative adverb ou (ou)) (oo), “not” the verb thelo (qevlw) (thel-o), “do…want.”
In Romans 7:20, the verb means, “to desire to do” and is used in relation to committing evil in the form of personal sin and its meaning is emphatically negated by the emphatic negative adverb ou, “not.”
Therefore, together, the verb thelo and the emphatic negative adverb ou express in emphatic terms Paul’s desire to not commit evil in the form of personal sin.
“No longer” is the adverb ouketi (ou)kevti) (ook-et-ee), which is used in a “logical” rather than a “temporal” sense expressing an absolute, direct and full negation that Paul is the source of sin in his life but rather his sin nature.
“The one doing” is the verb katergazomai (katergavzomai) (kat-er-gad-zo-my), which means, “to produce” evil.
Romans 7:20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
“But” is the strong adversative use of the conjunction alla (a)llav) (al-lah), which introduces a statement that presents a strong contrast with the idea that Paul is the source of evil in his life.
“Sin” is the noun hamartia (a(martiva) (ham-ar-tee-ah), which refers to the sin nature as indicated in that the word is being personified by the verb oikeo, “which dwells,” which means, “to occupy” as one would a house.
“Which dwells” is the verb oikeo (oi)kevw) (oy-keh-o), which is used intransitively and is personifying the noun hamartia portraying the sin nature as dwelling in Paul’s physical body.
“In me” emphasizes the physical body of the apostle Paul since this as we have established is where the sin nature is located.