Romans 7

“Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.” Rom. 7:1-2 [Emphasis added].

We are well on the way to understanding Romans 7 when we realize that the whole chapter is addressed to those who know the law. Since the law was made for transgressors, you would think that many people would know the law because all are transgressors—no one is righteous, no one does good. But not many people do know the law, because the foreskin of the flesh prevents the holy and righteous law from operating as law on a conscience that is dead in trespasses and sins. Only after we have had our sins forgiven and have put off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ will our conscience be awakened enough that the law is able to operate as law. To those people who are trying to keep their purity by the law, Paul writes about a deeper, ongoing salvation. Yet he speaks not only to them, but also to those who are redeemed from the law, and to those in whom the law has accomplished its work; for we can only comprehend the work of the law and its true meaning after we have been redeemed from the law.

Despite being redeemed from the law, the married woman is still bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. How can we possibly be bound by the law and yet be freed from it? The answer is by agreeing with the law! The holy and righteous law no longer affects us as law when we learn to love it, but it becomes for us delightful bonds that bind us together in love. The law was given because of sin. Take sin away, and the law will no longer be your opposer, but your husband.

“But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.” Rom. 7:3 [Emphasis added].

Even if we live an exceptionally righteous life according to the leading of the Spirit, we are not thereby freed from the spirit of the law, but only from its letter and its curse. The curse takes effect when a woman marries another man while her husband is still alive. But the requirement of the law is being fulfilled if the woman remains with her husband for as long as he lives. The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us when we do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Rom. 8:4. We are freed from the law when its righteous requirement is met; His law becomes my delight.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” Rom. 7:4 [Emphasis added].

We have died to the law through the body of Christ—take note: through the body of Christ. The curse of the law is now gone, yet its requirements remain in full force. The letter is gone, but the spirit in the letter lives and reigns. This spirit is the Spirit of Christ, by whom we have been baptized into one body. The old man is crucified with Him. Rom. 6:6. The trespasses were done away with by the cross, and thereby also the curse. Instead of a curse, the cross brings sufferings—the sufferings of Christ, who offered Himself in the power of the eternal Spirit. Fellowship with Christ on the cross makes us partakers with Him in His sufferings; so true freedom from the curse of the law is always accompanied by the cross and the fellowship of His sufferings. Now we belong to another; for, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The leading of the Spirit and the requirements of the law both work in the same direction on our sanctification, which is fruit for God.

The Spirit has not made His dwelling in us to please us with sweet feelings. Rather, He compels us toward fulfilling the requirements of the law, toward the blood of the covenant and toward what was impossible for the law because of the weakness of the flesh. In this process, the Spirit resists the flesh, and we experience precisely the same thing our forerunner, Christ, experienced: we suffer death according to the flesh, but we are made alive according to the Spirit. This is the fellowship in the suf­ferings of Christ, which is hidden from most people because they are enemies of the cross of Christ.

Under the curse of the law, sin was outside the body. But now it receives its sentence in the body; what was impossible by the law has now become possible by the body of Christ.

“For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.” Rom. 7:5 [Emphasis added].

When we were in the flesh! Are we not still in the flesh? We are certainly present in the body, but our mind is in the Spirit, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit . . . .” Rom. 8:9. When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions were aroused. Our entire mind and all our thoughts were in the flesh; and the aim of all our endeavors was to nurture and satisfy the flesh. We were under the curse of the law, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. But we are no longer in the flesh, nor are we under the curse, nor at enmity with God. When we were in the flesh, the sinful lusts that dwell in our members were aroused, with the result that we bore fruit to death. But now, since we have passed from death to life, from the power of Satan to God, from the flesh to the Spirit, we have come under the influence of the Spirit who is life and peace.

“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” Rom. 7:6 [Emphasis added].

We have now been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by. What was it that held us captive? It was the lusts in the flesh, which made the law active. For without the law, sin is dead. We were enslaved by a multitude of lusts, and so the law was active with just as many curses. For the law is a light from God, given for the very purpose of pointing out transgressions. But now we are dead to what held us captive. It was impossible for us to get rid of sin without a full and complete self-surrender (death). At that point God delivered us by the life of His beloved Son, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light. By His life we have now been transferred to the “kingdom of His beloved Son”—a kingdom that consists of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. When we were in the flesh, we served in the oldness of the letter, but now we serve God in the newness of the Spirit.

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” Rom. 7:7 [Emphasis added].

The law is holy, righteous and good; but all sin is of the devil. There is a deep gulf between the law and sin. But since the law pursues sin in every aspect, Paul realized that people might make the mistake of thinking that the law and sin are one and the same thing. That is why he asks: “Is the law sin? Certainly not!” Everyone has evil desire (covetousness), yet this is not reckoned as sin. But the law says, “You shall not covet”! There is a difference between having covetousness in the flesh and coveting. When a person covets, his thoughts are set in motion. In a way, the desire in the flesh is dead because the most it can do is come as a temptation, provided that the mind is not in agreement. When we resist this temptation, we overcome in the power of the Spirit. But if covetousness gets the upper hand, so that we are truly coveting, we immediately become transgressors and come under the curse. If the law had not said, “You shall not covet,” we would not have known covetousness. By this we realize that the law is a light that exposes the sinful lusts and imposes commandments on them. A person who transgresses the law goes against his better judgment, and he will feel the chastisement and curse of the law.

“But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.” Rom. 7:8 [Emphasis added].

Sin in the flesh is incited to covetousness by the commandment. The law touched every aspect of life. If it did not say, “You shall not,” then it said, “You shall.” Sin in the flesh was aroused. Through the commandment, and because of the commandment, all manner of covetousness was produced. Sin became sin where we had previously not known it to be sin—even though plenty of it existed; for when the law came, sin revived.

“I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Rom. 7:9 [Emphasis added].

Everyone recognizes these tendencies in himself. There were times in our lives when we lived without the law. Our conscience was dead, and we did not see sin as sin. But when the commandment came, sin revived. Jesus speaks about a peace that the world gives. This is exactly that kind of peace—a peace without the law. We do not like the holy commandment because it causes sin to revive. We become restless; the peace of the world vanishes. We want to live without the law so that sin can remain dead and not be revived.

“And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.” Rom. 7:10 [Emphasis added].

Paul heeded the commandment; he paid diligent attention to it and he sought to live according to it. He did not try to make himself free from the commandment in a superficial way. No, he took the matter seriously. God let the commandments rain down on him; and the more they came down on him, the more sin revived. The apostle reasoned in the following way: What is the cause of this? The commandments are given to bring life, for he who does them shall live by them. But for me, sin is becoming exceedingly sinful through the commandment. Why is that so? I am trying, with all my power, to live a life pleasing to God, and the more I try to do the right thing, the worse I become!

It is through this process, however, that God accomplishes His work, even though it looks hopeless. The apostle’s “I” is becoming separated from the flesh, because he is discovering that it must be there—in the flesh—that sin dwells. He gives up the battle of trying to keep the law and declares to God that he is unable to make any progress in that way. He dies, because sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived him and through it killed him.

“Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” Rom. 7:12 [Emphasis added].

Paul has now made a very important discovery by the holy and righteous and good commandment: he has discovered the law of sin in his members. Not many have discovered this law, even though it is spoken about in such clear and precise terms.

By paying close attention to the commandment and living according to it, we discover this law of sin in the flesh. Once you have discovered the law of sin in the body, the flesh, the members, or whatever else you want to call this corruptible body, you are well on the way to taking up the battle against sin in the flesh. Previously, sin was outside of the body and there the law warred against it, but now we find sin in the body where we must war against it by the leading of the Spirit in the power of God. What was impossible by the law is now possible for him who believes, because Christ condemned sin in the flesh, thereby opening a new and living way through the veil, which is His flesh. Rom. 8:3. The commandment, which is holy, righteous and good, made sin revive for me so that I was able to see that sin is firmly entrenched in the flesh. Consequently, I was able to distance myself from it by moving into the realm of the Spirit. Rom. 7:3; 8:9. Because we are now in the Spirit, we can see the law of sin in the flesh through the light of the Spirit. But when we were in the flesh, we were unable to see this law, because we ourselves were held captive by it.

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.” Rom. 7:13 [Emphasis added].

It was not the good commandment that produced death in him, rather sin which revived, and against which he felt completely powerless. By the commandment sin became exceedingly sinful, and Paul turned away from his own flesh with disgust, whereas previously he did not think it was so bad.

Now he had learned this lesson: “In me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” He therefore chose to live and abide in the Spirit.

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Rom. 7:14 [Emphasis added].

My natural “I” is carnal, sold under sin. The “I” is incapable of freeing itself from sin in my members. Even though we understand the will of God in the light of the law, the law of sin in our members is stronger, and we are brought into captivity to it just like someone being sold into slavery.

“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Rom. 7:15 [Emphasis added].

What I will to do is good because the law is good; nevertheless, I am unable to do good. Some people believe that after we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, we are capable of doing good. No! We must be led by the Spirit in order to do the works of God. No one can do good, because no one is good—no, not one. Rom. 3:12. When someone tries to do good, he also does things that he does not understand, things that he hates. But if he is driven by the Holy Spirit, just as our Lord Jesus Christ was, then it is God who works both to will and to do, without man’s carnal will.

“If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.” Rom. 7:16 [Emphasis added].

I now agree with the law that it is good. The next question is: Why, then, am I unable to do what is good? It is because I am still carnal, sold under sin. Will this always be the case? Yes, and all the light you receive will confirm that it is this way and cannot be otherwise. You are constantly doing things you do not want to do, things you hate—assuming you are awake and sober. If you let yourself be carried away by the sweet feelings that can come when you are first baptized with the Holy Spirit, or when you experience so-called “deliverance,” then it is possible to believe (and make others believe) that everything you do is “well done.” However, if we are sober-minded, we will soon discover something quite different. If we are awake, we will find that we do many things that have never been prompted by the Holy Spirit—things we ought to hate.

“But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” Rom. 7:17 [Emphasis added].

Paul said: “Sin that dwells in me.” That was a profound acknowledgment. Most people have a very hard time digesting this truth after they have received the Holy Spirit. “In me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells”—because sin dwells there. But even though it dwells there, we are not to let it reign so that we obey it in its lusts. Rom. 6:12. “No,” some say, “Paul is speaking about another condition here; he means our condition before we were saved, before we were baptized with the Holy Spirit, when we were still under the law!” On the contrary, he means exactly what he says: What was impossible for the law because of the weakness of the flesh, has now become possible by the Holy Spirit and the power of God. Sin in the flesh can now be condemned.

Now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. It is obvious that I can neither be blamed nor condemned for doing things that I hate when they are contrary to my best intentions, because it is not I who do it—i.e., the “I” of my mind—but sin that dwells in me. That is why there is no condemnation from God. Nevertheless, even though there is no condemnation, I must still be on guard so I do not entertain the thought that all is well with me, for there is still nothing good in the flesh.

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” Rom. 7:18 [Emphasis added].

Paul does not glorify sin. On the contrary, he loves the truth so much that he dares to confess that in him, that is in his flesh, nothing good dwells. The good that he possessed was that he willed to do good; however, he was unable to perform what was good. And I don’t think anyone else can either. Some might ask, “How can I be pure in heart if sin dwells in me?” Perhaps this is one of the mysteries of godliness. God does not take into account the sin in your flesh, but rather your willingness—your good attitude. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Such a person is pure in heart. There are certainly transgressions, but the Lord will not impute them, because the spirit is free from guile.

Even though God does not impute our transgressions, it would be a delusion to believe that transgressions do not exist! And if transgressions do exist—although there’s no condemnation—there must certainly be sin in me—sin which, despite my best intentions, I am unable to avoid doing. The Bible calls these works the “deeds of the body,” and they must be put to death by the Spirit. Rom. 8:13. Those who have received God’s Spirit are the ones who are able to put to death these deeds by the Spirit. And if they must be put to death by the Spirit, then we can be sure that they were not prompted by the Spirit.

“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” Rom. 7:19-20 [Emphasis added].

Once I realize that it is the sin that dwells in me that does those works I do not wish to do—the things I hate—then as soon as I get light over them, I have the opportunity to put them to death by the Spirit. Even if I do not realize that sin dwells in me, I will still commit plenty of these deeds, but I will not put them to death. Which is better? To know about sin in the flesh and put the deeds of the body to death, or to shut my eyes tightly when faced with that dreadful expression “sin” and continue to commit a great many deeds of the body without putting them to death—just because I cherish the doctrine that says there is no sin in the flesh? To have sin is one thing; to commit sin is something else entirely.

“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.” Rom. 7:21 [Emphasis added].

Have you found this law? Not many people have, because in order to find it we must take heed to ourselves in the light of the Spirit. Just because someone has not found it, does that mean that it does not exist? You can be certain that it does exist! For when you wish to do the good, evil is present with you. Or do you never offend anyone in word or deed? The truth sets us free. If it is true that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells, then this truth will also set me free. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Does that exclude the existence of God? If you say, “Sin does not dwell in me,” does that mean it does not dwell there? You can be certain that it does. Not only do the Scriptures testify to it, but also those innumerable deeds which are definitely not a fruit of the Spirit. I am not speaking about people in the world; I mean you who have received the Spirit.

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Rom. 7:22-23 [Emphasis added].

This Word of God is simple and straightforward, but people have sought out many schemes. Eccl. 7:29. I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, but then comes the law of sin in my members which wars against the law of my mind. The law of sin takes me captive, and I am forced to do what I do not want to do—what I hate. What am I to do then? Put this deed to death by the Spirit, for God hates it, and I hate it too. So we are in agreement. He judges me according to the law of my mind, not according to the law of sin in my members. For if there is first a willing mind, every person is acceptable to God according to what he has, and not according to what he does not have. 2 Cor. 8.

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Rom. 7:24 [Emphasis added].

In this wretched condition, the apostle cries out: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Does he receive an answer? No! Instead, he must continue in this body in which the law of sin dwells as long as he lives. And we must do the same, in spite of the false teaching that Romans 7 applies to the one who is under the law and Romans 8 to the liberated soul.

“I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Rom. 7:25 [Emphasis added].

It is easy to understand the apostle when he thanks God that he serves the law of God with his mind, but it is harder to understand him when he thanks God that he serves the law of sin with his flesh. However, when we consider that the flesh cannot submit to the law of God, and that God does not desire any fleshly worship, we can understand why Paul can thank God that things are the way they are.

Notice that Paul is serving the law of sin with his flesh, not with his mind. There is a fundamental difference here, which can only be grasped in the Spirit; for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Some have distorted this Scripture to allow themselves to serve sin as much as they want. But this is not what the apostle meant. Such people serve the law of sin with their mind. Paul, however, did not do this. He served the law of God with his mind. In those areas where he had received light, sin’s evil desires in his body were crucified. The law of his mind stopped those desires. On the other hand, in those areas where he was still carnal, he was taken captive by the law of sin in his members, so that he did things that he hated. However, he who willfully commits sin is not doing what he hates, because his mind sanctions it. When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Conception takes place when we consent to the desire with our mind—then sin is born. Paul did not commit this kind of sin. On the other hand, he did serve the law of sin with his flesh.

Because this is so, and cannot be otherwise, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1 [Emphasis added].

There is no sudden transition from Romans 7 to Romans 8. Far from it! Romans 8 begins with a sentence that links it to Romans 7. In the German translation, Romans 8:1 begins as follows: “Precisely therefore [Eben darum], there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” [Emphasis added]. And in English, “There is therefore now no condemnation . . . .” In the Bible there is no radical transition from Romans 7 to Romans 8. However, it does exist in that superficial, so-called “doctrine of liberation,” which allows people to negate all of Romans 7 and apply it to a so-called “slave of the law.” In this way they are able to cover up their hatred of the cross, their own insufficiency and their lack of that knowledge of God that leads a person through sufferings in the flesh to life and peace in the Spirit.

To find a solution to Romans 7, we must also consider a few verses in Romans 8.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 8:2 [Emphasis added].

The law of the Spirit of life has freed my mind from the law of sin in my members, so that I am equipped to serve the law of God with my mind. In spite of this liberation, I still serve the law of sin with my flesh. Rom. 8:13.

God has been able to set me free from the law of sin and death on the basis of what is written in the next verse.

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh . . . .” Rom. 8:3 [Emphasis added].

As long as we are under the law, sin in the flesh is able to keep a firm grip on our mind. For the law is a light outside of the body. Its purpose is to judge sinful deeds. All sin—with the exception of fornication—is committed outside of the body. God sent His Son and condemned sin in the flesh—that is to say, within the flesh. In this way, a salvation took place where my mind was freed from the law of sin in my members so that, while present in the body, I could still hate and judge those deeds performed by the body. We are now able to suffer death according to the flesh and be made alive according to the Spirit, just like our Lord and Master. Under the law it was impossible to suffer death according to the flesh. Under the law people sought with all their might to please God according to the flesh; the flesh would rather slave away and live than suffer and die.

Christ has now forced His way into the body’s flesh and condemned sin in it. By doing this, He has made a new and living way for us through the veil, that is, His flesh. “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” But if His life is to be manifested in our mortal flesh, sin must be condemned in that flesh. For the life of Christ replaces sin in the flesh, and we are saved by His life. Rom. 5:10.