Overview of Romans 7: Freed yet Bound

Romans 7 is historically a very disputed chapter. There is much intense doctrine within its words that leads many theologians do interpret different meanings from the text. Nonetheless, it is still God's Word, and deserves our utmost effort. Let us then be careful as well look at this chapter.

In the beginning of this chapter (verses 1-6), Paul shows how we are freed from the law. He gives an analogy of a women who is no longer bound to her husband after he dies, and therefore has the right to be remarried. This analogy gives us a great understanding of our position with the law. Through Christ, we have died to the law, and are remarried to Christ (Romans 7:4..."so that you may belong to another"). We therefore still obey the law, but not in the "old" way in which it condemns us if we do not obey it, and in which we obey it simply in a selfish effort to gain righteousness on our own accound. Rather, we obey the law in "the new way of the Spirit" (Romans 7:6) that is free of condemnation and free in its giving of salvation.

However, this does not mean that the law is sin (Romans 7:7-13). Though the law does bring life to sin, which therefore brings death to us, the law is still "holy and righteous and good" because it is God's standard of holiness. Without the law, we would never have seen our own sin (Romans 7:7) and therefore never been drawn to our Savior. Praise be to God for the law!

However, just because we have been freed from the law does not mean that we obey it perfectly, which is Paul's point in Romans 7:13-25. Some theologians would argue here that this text is Paul speaking of his unredeemed, unregenerate soul and body. For many reasons that I will not go into, I do not agree. It makes more logical sense that Paul is speaking of himself as a Christian, even thoughout the entirety of this short text. Paul is arguing here that even though Christians are freed from the law, they still do not obey it perfectly, as seen in his own life. Now that we are freed from the law we have the power to obey it through the Spirit, but that does not mean that we always desire to because our bodies are still in the flesh. Our spirit desires to follow God, but our flesh pulls us against this desire. One commentator puts it this way:

"[Paul's] pain is not the path of wickedness which he pursues, but in the chain that drags him along the destructive way."

Paul, then, is not saying that he is in pursuit of wickedness, but rather than he has a strong impulse inside of him to do so--and he hates it. This impulse is the very thing that leads him to sin, even though in his spirit he does not desire to do so (Romans 7:20). Once again, this does not disregard Paul's sin or hold him unaccountable to it (see yesterday's devotional), but rather points out that by the grace of God there can be within us a deep desire to not sin even though we are in the flesh.

However, there is still a great dillemna. We, as Christians, are freed from the law yet bound to our sin in the flesh. How will we get over this? Who can save us? "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). Though we are captive to sin in the body (though certainly not in the soul, which is the entire point of Romans 6), God promises deliverance by his Spirit, which we will get into in Romans 8. Praise the Lord, who saves us from both the penalty of our sin, but also sanctifies us as we gradually overcome the power of our sin through his Sprit!