Romans 7.21-Paul Discovered The Principle That When He Desires To Do Good, Evil Is Present In Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 28, 2008
Romans: Romans 7:21-Paul Discovered The Principle That When He Desires To Do Good, Evil Is Present In Him
Lesson # 233
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 7:14.
This morning we will note Romans 7:21 where Paul relates to the Christians in Rome that he discovered a spiritual principle that when he desired to obey the Law that evil was present in him in the form of the sin nature.
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.”
Romans 7:21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
“Then” is the “inferential” particle ara (a&ra) (ar-ah), which introduces a statement that is a conclusion or inference from Paul’s preceding statements in Romans 7:14-20.
Romans 7:21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
“I find” is the verb heurisko (eu(rivskw), which means, “to surprisingly discover” something about oneself.
The word means, “to learn the location of something, either by intentional searching or by unexpected discovery, to learn the whereabouts of something.”
It means, “to find, discover, come upon, happen to find, to learn something previously not known, frequently involving an element of surprise.”
The verb expresses Paul’s “surprising discovery” of a principle inherent in his physical body that seeks to control his life, namely the sin nature.
He is basically reiterating his statement in Romans 7:18.
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.”
In Romans 7:21, the verb heurisko denotes Paul’s “surprising discovery” of the principle of evil in the form of the sin nature residing inherently in his physical body and this discovery is based upon his own personal experience as a Christian.
It is used figuratively expressing Paul’s surprise in discovering something that he never knew as an unbeliever, namely that he possesses an evil principle in his physical body, namely, the sin nature.
Romans 7:21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
“The principle” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which up to this point in our study of Romans chapter seven, has clearly referred to the Mosaic Law as we noted in detail.
However, the context in which the word is found in Romans 7:21 clearly indicates that Paul is not referring to the Mosaic Law.
This is indicated in that the word functions as the “accusative direct object” meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb heurisko, which as we noted means, “to surprisingly discover through experience.”
Therefore, since Paul was familiar with the Mosaic Law from the time that he was a child, nomos could not possibly be referring to it here in Romans 7:21 since the verb heurisko indicates that Paul discovered something that he was ignorant of earlier in life.
Further indicating that nomos does not refer to the Mosaic Law in Romans 7:21 is the hoti clause that follows it, namely, hoti emoi to kakon parakeitai, “that evil is present in me” identifies the content of nomos.
So the fact that Paul identifies that the content of nomos is evil in the form of the sin nature residing in his physical body and all Christians for that matter refutes the idea that nomos is referring to the Mosaic Law as it has up to this point in chapter seven.
In Romans 7:21, the noun nomos is used in a generic sense for a “principle” in the sense that it refers to an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct, a fundamental and inviolable law or principle.
Paul defines this fundamental and inviolable spiritual principle or truth with the hoti clause, emoi to kakon parakeitai, “that evil is present in me” indicating that evil is present in him that he identified in Romans 7:14-20 as the sin nature, which indwells his physical body.
Romans 7:21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
Not translated in the New American Standard Updated Version and the New International Version and many other English translations is the first person singular dative form of the personal pronoun ego (e)gwv) (e ), which refers of course to the apostle Paul.
The word functions as a “dative of agency” meaning that it is used to indicate the personal agent by whom the action of the verb heurisko is accomplished.
Therefore, as a “dative of agency” the personal pronoun ego indicates that Paul’s surprising discovery of the principle that evil in the form of the sin nature resides in his physical body was made by him “through his own personal experience.”
The personal pronoun ego was used with the verb heurisko in this same exact same manner in Romans 7:10.
Romans 7:10, “In other words, this commandment, which was for the purpose of life, was surprisingly discovered through my own personal experience to result in temporal spiritual death.”
In Romans 7:21, the personal pronoun ego emphasizes that this discovery was “through Paul’s own personal experience” as a Christian.
Romans 7:21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
“Evil” is the adjective kakos (kakov$) (kak-os), which as was the case in Romans 7:19, 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 and which actions flow from the sin nature.
“Is present in me” denotes that evil is present in Paul’s physical body.
“The one who wants” is the verb thelo (qevlw) (thel-o), which means, “to desire to do” and is used in relation to the adjective kalos, which refers to obedience to the Law.
The verb thelo functions as a “temporal” participle indicating that Paul surprisingly discovered through his own personal experience the principle that “when” he desired to accomplish that which is perfect in God’s eyes, i.e. obedience to God’s Law, evil was present in him.
“To do” is the verb poieo (poievw) (poy-eh-o), which is used with regards to obedience to the Law and means, “accomplish.”
“The good” is the adjective kalos (kalov$) (kal-os), which means, “perfect” and refers to obedience to the Law.
It denotes that from God’s perspective obedience to the Law is: (1) Excellent, complete, beyond practical or theoretical improvement. (2) Exactly fitting the needs and purpose God in relation to His moral rational creatures. (3) Without any flaws or shortcomings. (4) Correct in every detail.