The Grace Commentary – Your free verse-by-verse Bible commentary Romans 7

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Romans 7:1

Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?

(a) Do you not know? By now, you should know; see entry for Rom. 6:3.

(b) Brethren. Fellow believers; see entry for Rom. 1:13.

(c) Those who know the law. “You all know how the law works and that death ends all contracts.” In the following verses, Paul uses the law of marriage to illustrate how believers have no obligation to obey the Law of Moses.

(d) Has jurisdiction over. The original verb kyrieuō is translated elsewhere as “be master over” or “lord it over” (e.g., Luke 22:25, Rom. 6:9, 14). If you live under the law, the law has total authority over you. There are no cheat days.

Romans 7:2

For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.

(a) A married woman. Paul uses the example of a widow to show how believers have been freed from the law (Rom. 7:6).

(b) If her husband dies the wife is released from her marriage. The death of one of the partners will end the marriage.

(c) She is released from the law. The good news for the believer is that through our inclusion in Christ’s death and burial (Rom. 6:3–4), we have died to the law. We are no longer under the jurisdiction of the law (Rom. 6:14–15).

Romans 7:3

So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

(a) An adulteress. We died to the law so that we might be joined to another (see next verse). A Christian who returns to the law is committing spiritual adultery. They are cheating on Jesus and are essentially saying, “Christ died for nothing” (see Gal. 2:21).

(b) She is free from the law and in Christ so are we. We do not need to follow or even know the Ten Commandments. Being free from the law does not mean we are lawless or lawbreakers. It means we are governed by something better than rules, namely the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

We who trust in the grace of God are sometimes called antinomian or anti-law. (The word “antinomian” is derived from the Greek words anti (against) and nomos (law).) Nothing could be further from the truth. Like Paul, we believe the law is good if used properly (Rom. 7:12, 1 Tim. 1:8). And like Paul, we also believe that Christ is the end or culmination of the law for all who believe (Rom. 10:4). The law is for the ungodly and sinners (1 Tim. 1:9). It is not for those who have put their faith in Christ.

Romans 7:4

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

(a) My brethren; see entry for Rom. 1:13.

(b) You also were made to die to the Law. The Law did not die; you died. The moment you were baptized into Christ, you were baptized into his death (Rom. 6:3–4). “Through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God” (Gal. 2:19). The believer who died with Christ has no obligation to the Law of Moses.

In Romans 6:2 Paul says we died to sin, but here he says we died to the Law. Which is it? It’s both. Since the Law is the strength of sin (1 Cor. 15:56), dying to one means we have died to the other.

(c) Through the body of Christ. Christ’s death on the cross accomplished many things. In his body, he bore all our sins (1 Pet. 2:24), he abolished the enmity that separated us from God (Eph. 2:15), he canceled the certificate of debt that was against us (Col. 2:14), and he delivered us from the jurisdiction of the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).

(d) So that you might be joined to another. Your relationship with Mr. Law came to an end so that you might be joined to Mr. Grace.

Imagine a woman married to a moral man who constantly finds fault with her yet never lifts a finger to help. This is like our relationship with the Law. Mr. Law is a good man, but he is not a good husband. He is merciless and judgmental, always criticizing but never helping. How much better is Mr. Grace. Whatever he asks, he provides. Whatever he requires, he does. Unlike the heavy yoke of Mr. Law, any burdens placed on you by Mr. Grace are easy and light (Matt. 11:30, Acts 15:10, 1 John 5:3).

(e) To him who was raised from the dead. We died with Christ so that we might be raised with Christ and live in spiritual union with Christ.

(f) Raised; see entry for Rom. 4:24.

(g) In order that we might bear fruit for God. Under the Law, we were incapable of bearing fruit for God for the Law ministers death (see 2 Cor. 3:6). But as we rest in Christ, he bears his fruit in our lives (see John 15:4). This includes the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23).

(h) Fruit. We all bear fruit of one sort or another. When we yield to sin, we bear condemnation and death (next verse); when we live out of our union with the Lord, we bear life and peace (Rom. 8:6).

Romans 7:5

For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

(a) While we were in the flesh. While we were in Adam. While we were unbelievers disconnected from the life of Christ (Eph. 2:12).

To be in the flesh is to live solely from our connection to the physical world. It is walking by sight instead of faith. It is being mindful of worldly things and having no regard for the things of the spirit (see Rom. 8:9).

(b) Sinful passions are those desires that lead us to rely on the flesh and draw us away from God. These fleshly desires to pursue both “good” deeds (e.g., law keeping) and bad deeds (e.g., law breaking). When we live independently of the Lord, even our good deeds are worthless (Is. 64:6).

(c) The sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law. The righteous demands of the Law excite the flesh. “Do this. Don’t do that.” This is why we cannot combat sin with the Law. The Law can no more cure sin than gasoline can extinguish a bonfire.

(d) At work in the members of our body. Our physical bodies; see entry for Rom. 6:6.

(e) Death. When we offer the members of our body to sin, we reap a harvest of death (Rom. 7:24, 8:10). Sin damages our health, our mental well-being, our relationships, and our world.

Romans 7:6

But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

(a) Released from the Law. Just as the widow has been released from her marriage, we who died with Christ are no longer under the Law (Rom. 6:14). You should have no doubts about this. Those in Christ have died to the Law and are free from the Law (Rom. 7:3–4).

(b) Having died. Your inclusion in Christ’s death and resurrection is a historic fact; see entry for Rom. 6:3.

(c) To that by which we were bound. Prior to the coming of Christ, we were all kept in custody under the Law (Gal. 3:23). The Jews were bound to the Law of Moses (spelled with a capital L), while the Gentiles were kept in line with the universal law of right and wrong. The Law (or law) was a most vigilant guardian. If we stepped out of line, the Law would blow the whistle, swing the gavel, and point an accusing finger.

(d) Newness of the spirit, or newness of life (Rom. 6:4), describes the new life of the spirit we now have in Christ. In Adam, we were creatures of flesh, bound by the Law and captive to sin. In Christ, we are free to walk according to the spirit (as Paul explains in chapter 8). It’s a whole new way to live.

(e) The spirit; see entry for Rom. 8:4.

(f) Not in oldness of the letter. Christianity has nothing to do with the observance of old rules and regulations. Christianity is Christ living in you (Gal. 2:20, Col. 1:27).

(g) Oldness. The original noun palaiotēs is related to a word (palaios) that means “antiquated, worn out, or obsolete.” Now that Christ has given us the Holy Spirit, living according to rules and regulations is an inferior and antiquated way to live.

(h) The letter refers to the codified Law written in ink or on tablets of stone (Rom. 2:27, 2 Cor. 3:3).

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

(a) The Law of Moses; see entry for Rom. 2:12.

(b) Is the Law sin? The Law is not sin, but living under the Law will stir up fleshly desires (such as the desire to make yourself righteous).

(d) I would not have come to know sin. Like a mirror, the Law reveals our sin and need for a Savior.

Without the Law, we might conclude that we are alright. “I’m basically a good person.” The Law shows us how wrong we are. “You are breaking a commandment and to break one is to break all (Jas. 2:10). You have fallen short of the mark.”

Further reading: “What are the three uses of the law?”

(e) Know. The original verb ginōskō means to “understand through personal experience.” Every one of us is a sinner (Rom. 5:19), but we may not know we are sinners until the Law comes along and shows us our shortcomings. “Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

(f) I would not have known. Paul draws on his experience as a former Pharisee to show how trying to walk in the strength of the flesh led only to failure.

(g) I would not have known about coveting. When we sin, we may tell ourselves, “I didn’t know it was wrong,” or “everyone’s doing it, why can’t I?” But the Law pulls no punches. “What you are doing is sin.” The Law reveals our bondage to sin (Rom. 7:14).

(h) Coveting. The original noun epithymia means “strong desire” or “longing” and is often translated as “lusts” (e.g., Rom. 6:12).

(i) “You shall not covet” is the Tenth Commandment (Ex. 20:17). In this letter, Paul refers to four of the Ten Commandments; see entry for Rom. 13:9.

Romans 7:8

But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

(a) Sin, taking opportunity. Sin uses the Law to deceive and kill us (Rom. 7:11). As he did in the previous chapter, Paul personifies sin as a diabolical tyrant who is out to rule and ruin you (see entry for Rom. 6:14).

(b) Through the commandment. The Law is held out before us like a big, juicy carrot. “Keep the Law and live!” Our flesh responds enthusiastically. “I will do everything the Law commands.” And from that moment, we are doomed. We have opened the door to sin. Our boast will lead either to condemnation (if we fail) or pride (if we succeed). In either case, we are lost.

(d) But sin… produced in me coveting of every kind. It was not the Law that produced sin. It was the power of sin itself that drew Paul to do that which he did not want to do. “I am not the one doing it. It is sin in me” (see Rom. 7:17).

(e) Coveting; see previous verse.

(f) Apart from the Law sin is dead. “The Law arouses this evil power called sin” (verse 5).

If you are struggling with sin, don’t look to the Law for help. You died to the Law so that you might be joined to another (verse 4). Look to Jesus and receive his grace which empowers you to say no to sin (Tit. 2:11–12).

Romans 7:9-11

I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

(a) I was once alive apart from the Law. “Once upon a time, I thought I was doing okay. Then the Law aroused sinful desires in me and I became a dead man walking. I thought I was a good person, but I am a wretched man who can’t stop sinning no matter how hard I try.”

(b) When the commandment came, sin became alive. The Law does not create sin, but it arouses and amplifies the sin that is already there (Rom. 7:5, 8).

(d) This commandment, which was to result in life. People try to keep the Law because they believe they will be blessed if they do (Lev. 18:5, Deu. 30:15–20). But the Law cannot impart life (Gal. 3:21).

(e) Proved to result in death for me. For good reason, the Law is called the ministry of death (2 Cor. 3:7). The Law hurts us two ways; it arouses and empowers sin against us (Rom. 7:5, 9, 1 Cor. 15:56), and then it pronounces the inescapable verdict of death. However, it is not the Law that kills us, but sin.

(f) Sin… deceived me. “I was seduced into thinking that I could use the Law to conquer sin. Big mistake!”

One of the oldest lies says, “If you do this or that, you will become acceptable or pleasing to God.” It’s a lie that leads to dead works and unbelief. No one was ever made right through the Law (Rom. 3:20).

(g) Sin… killed me. “The Law extinguished all hope. It showed me that I was a lost cause living under the sentence of death.”

The Law does not help you overcome sin; the Law helps sin overcome you. It does this by demanding that you perform day in and day out, with no time off for good behavior. Urged on by the merciless Law, we try and try again until we are broken and our promises are exposed as futile. Eventually, we collapse, whispering words of defeat. “I can’t do this. What a wretch I am. Who will rescue me from this prison of death?” (see Rom. 7:24).

Further reading: “What is the purpose of the Law?”

Romans 7:12

So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

(a) So then. “Let me be clear; my problem is not with the Law which is good, but my inability to keep it. The Law is good, but my flesh is weak (Rom. 8:3).”

(b) The Law… and the commandment refer to the general and the particular. Commandments are specific directives (e.g., “thou shalt not covet”) while “the Law” refers to a set of laws (e.g., the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses). Paul is saying, “Every detail of the Law is good, right down to the least commandment.”

There are things that are good which are not good for you. The Law is good, but only if it is used properly (1 Tim. 1:8). Try and live under the Law and you will put yourself under a curse (Gal. 3:10). It is not the Law that curses you, but your reliance on the flesh (Jer. 17:5).

Further reading: “When doing good is bad for you”

Romans 7:13

Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

(a) That which is good is the Law (see Rom. 7:7, 12, 16). Paul takes great pains to explain that the Law is not the problem; sin is the problem. The Law is good; sin is bad. The Law is not sin (verse 7) nor the cause of death.

(b) Become a cause of death for me? It is not the Law that kills, but sin (verse 11). Humanity was always under the Law of sin and death but we did not know this until the Law revealed our captivity.

(d) Sin would become utterly sinful. The Law calls out sin. By drawing lines in the sand, it removes our excuses. We may say, “I didn’t know I was sinning,” and the Law replies, “Now you know.”

Romans 7:14

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

(a) The Law is spiritual. The Law is holy and heavenly to the extent it reflects the divine character of God. (Paul calls it “the Law of God” in verses 7:22 and 25.) But we are cut from different cloth. As earthly creatures, we cannot measure up to the heavenly standard. The Law offers perfection, but it cannot make us perfect (Heb. 7:19).

(b) Spiritual means having to do with the spiritual realm as opposed to the natural or natural or physical realm (1 Cor. 15:46).

See entry for Spiritual

(c) But I am of flesh. “I don’t sin because I’m a bad person, I stumble because I am a creature of unspiritual flesh. I can no more live up to the holy standard than a fish can fly.”

(d) Sold. Adam sold us down the river, but Jesus bought us back. Adam’s sin led to our captivity, but we were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18).

(e) Sold into bondage to sin. My flesh cannot escape sin’s grip.

Scholars debate whether Paul was describing himself as a former sinner or a Christian who stumbles in sin. Some say he is speaking of Israel’s failed attempts to keep the Law. However, a plain reading suggests that Paul is unpacking a universal truth: people are unable to live right. Despite our best intentions, we often do the wrong thing. Even when we know the right thing to do, we can’t seem to do it (see next two verses).

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.

(a) What I am doing, I do not understand. “I don’t know why I do the things I don’t want to do.”

(b) I am not practicing what I would like to do. “I want to do the right thing, but I fail.”

Paul’s lament will be familiar to anyone who tries to live by a moral code or live up to the standards of religion. “I make promises to God, but I break them. I resolve to do better, but I fail. No matter how hard I try, I never succeed.”

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.

(a) Do… do… do. The motto of the flesh could be “Do or die trying.” Every manmade religion and philosophy preaches, “do, do, do.” In contrast, the gospel says, “It’s done, done, done.”

(b) The very thing I do not want to do. The discrepancy between our desires (“I want to be kind”) and our behavior (“I lost my temper again”) testifies to our inability to keep the Law. Our flesh—our resolve and self-efforts—cannot deliver the holy life demanded by the Law.

For the fourth time in five verses, Paul reiterates that the Law is good (Rom. 7:12–14). “It is not the Law’s fault that I constantly break it.” The Law reveals our true condition. Blaming the Law for our sin is like throwing stones at the x-ray machine.

Romans 7:17

So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

(a) So now. “Let’s draw these threads together.”

(b) No longer am I the one doing it. “When I walk after the flesh, I end up being sin’s stooge. I do the very things I don’t want to do.”

Christian, you do not have a sin nature or sin virus inside you. The only thing that dwells in you is the mighty Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9, 11, 2 Tim. 1:14). But your body connects you to the world, where sin resides. Like the law of gravity, the law of sin affects our bodies (Rom. 7:23). This explains why Paul refers to our bodies as both “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19) and the “body of sin” (Rom. 6:6) or the “body of this death” (Rom. 7:24).

Further reading: “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.

(a) Nothing good dwells in me. Your flesh is incapable of living the good life that God wants for you.

Sin tempts us through images, sounds, and thoughts that are received by our natural senses. But this does not mean, as some religions say, that your body is evil. Your mind and body are gifts from God. They are tools that can be used as instruments of righteousness or unrighteousness (Rom. 6:13). Those who are in the flesh (unbelievers) can only walk after the flesh. But you are not in the flesh if you are born again and Christ’s Spirit dwells in you (Rom. 8:9).

Phrases like “the body of sin” (Rom. 6:6) or “the body of this death” (Rom. 7:24) can lead to confusion. Some may say, “Your spirit is saved, but your body remains unsaved,” which is like saying God only does partial salvations. (How can we glorify God in our bodies if they are unsaved (1 Cor. 6:20)? How can we present our bodies as holy sacrifices to the Lord if they are unholy (Rom. 12:1)?)

Your enemy wants you to be double-minded and uncertain. He wants you to think that you have two natures dueling inside you, or that parts of you are unsaved and need work, or you are infected with sin virus, and there’s nothing you can do about it. When you stumble, he will say, “Your behavior is bad because you are bad.” It’s not true. You are not a bad person. You are not even partly bad. In Christ, you are all good. One with the Lord, you are as holy and righteous as he is.

(b) My flesh. “My body” (see Rom. 7:23).

(d) But the doing of the good is not. “No matter how hard I try, my weak and unspiritual flesh cannot elevate me to the kind of life that God desires for me.”

Asking your flesh to be good is like asking your shoes to dance. But just as we can put something inside our shoes that will make them dance, God puts something inside us that makes us truly live—his Spirit (see Rom. 8:9).

Romans 7:19

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

(a) I do not do. Frustration is the result of walking after the flesh. “Wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24).

If Christians are frustrated trying to live the Christian life, it is because they are trying to live the Christian life. They’re trying to produce fruit, do the right thing, and live up to the standard, but they cannot deliver a consistent performance. Like yo-yos, they’re up one day and down the next. When they fail to perform, they promise to try harder, only to fail again. The good news: Only One person ever lived the Christian life, and it wasn’t you. Christ is your life.

(b) Practice. “This happens again and again.”

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.

(a) If I am doing the very thing I do not want. “Something is out of whack: I want to do the right thing, but I do the wrong thing” (Rom. 7:15). For emphasis, Paul repeats the point he’s been making (in verses 15 and 19).

(b) I am no longer the one doing it. “Something is influencing me to act against my will.” That something is the influence or law of sin; see Rom. 7:23.

(c) Sin which dwells in me; The evil influence and effects of sin are felt in my body and mind; see entry for Rom. 7:17.

Romans 7:21

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

(a) Principle. A better translation of the original noun nomos is “law,” since this is how the word appears in the following two verses. Against the law of God, which Paul wants to obey (verse 22), there is an opposing law, the law of sin (verse 23).

(b) Evil is present in me. The temptation to sin (or to walk after the flesh) and the effects of sin (corruption, death) are felt in our bodies.

Evil is everywhere—but the evil that matters is the evil that touches you. It’s in the image you see, the lie you hear, and the thought that enters your mind. We are seldom troubled by the temptations that afflict others. It is the temptations that come to us personally that have the potential to make us fall.

You may have thought, “I’m a good person,” but the law says, “No one is good except God alone, and you have fallen short of the good life he has for you” (see Rom. 3:23). Or you may say, “I want to be a good spouse, a good parent, and a good boss,” yet you fail to deliver. Worse, you do the very things you don’t want to do (verse 19). These failings testify to the weakness of our flesh and the seemingly irresistible influence of sin (verse 23).

Romans 7:22

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

(a) I joyfully concur with the law. “I delight in God’s commands. I take pleasure in obeying the Father.”

(b) The law of God is what the Jews called the Law of Moses (Jos. 24:26, Neh. 8:8).

(c) The inner man, or the inner you, or “the hidden person of the heart” (1 Pet. 3:4), is the real you (as opposed to your body or earthsuit, which is something you wear).

Elsewhere, Paul compares the new self (created in righteousness and holiness; Eph. 4:24) with the old self (who was crucified with Christ; Rom. 6:6). Here, he is talking about the inner man (your spirit and soul), which can be contrasted with the outer man (your mortal body). Your body may be aging and dying, but your inner self is growing from strength to strength (Eph. 3:16). “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Romans 7:23

but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

(a) A different law means a different government. “With my mind, I want to obey the law of God, but my flesh is subject to the influence of sin.”

(b) In the members of my body. Our physical bodies; see entry for Rom. 6:6.

(d) The law of my mind. “My conscience agrees with the law of God” (see verse 25).

The mind is the chooser. It’s that part of us that decides whether we will walk after the flesh or the spirit (Rom. 8:6). But those who are in the flesh (i.e., unbelievers) have no freedom to choose. Disconnected from the Spirit of God, they can only walk after the flesh.

(e) Making me a prisoner. The unbeliever remains in bondage to sin (Rom. 7:14), and this is true whether the unbeliever is a law-breaking cheat or a law-keeping churchgoer.

(f) The law of sin refers to the rule or influence of sin.

In the same way a sheriff is the law of a town, the world is in thrall to the rule of sin (Rom. 6:14, 20. “Sin entered the world… sin reigned through death” (Rom. 5:12, 21). Like gravity, the effect of sin is to pull us down into the realm of the flesh.

Although Christians have been freed from sin (Rom. 6:7), we yield to the influence of sin whenever we walk after the old ways of the flesh (Rom. 6:16). One way we do this is by putting ourselves under the yoke of law (Gal. 5:3–5). A Christian who sins won’t lose their salvation, but they will lose their freedom and reap the destructive consequences of their actions (Rom. 6:21, Gal. 5:1).

(g) Sin which is in my members. For the seventh time in this chapter, Paul says the influence of sin is felt in our flesh (Rom. 7:5, 8, 17–18, 20–21, 23).

Romans 7:24

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

(a) Wretched man that I am! When we rely on our flesh, we end up doing the things we don’t want to do and not doing the things we do want to do and the result is frustration and despair (Rom. 7:15, 19). The remedy is to stop walking after the flesh and walk in the new way of the spirit (Rom. 8:4, 14).

(b) Who will set me free? Who will set us free from sin’s grip? By now, it should be clear that the wrong answer is you. Your flesh is too weak to overcome sin (Rom. 7:14). Another wrong answer is what. There is nothing you can do, and no formula you can follow that will bring you victory over sin. The right answer is Who. God’s solution to our captivity is Jesus Christ our Lord (see next verse).

(c) The body of this death, also known as the body of sin or our mortal body, is our physical body, the battleground where we engage with sin (Rom. 6:6, 12–13). The body of death is not referring to our old self, which was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6), but our lowly bodies, which are subject to death and decay (Php. 3:21). Paul is not saying that he wants to be rid of his body. He’s saying that walking after the flesh leads to death which is experienced in our bodies.

(d) Death. When we walk after the flesh, we bear fruit for death (Rom. 6:16, 21, 7:5). Death comes in many forms. Greed leads to destruction. Gossip leads to fractured friendships. Immorality leads to disease and divorce

Romans 7:25

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

(a) Thanks be to God. On your own, you cannot live the whole and holy life you desire. But you are not alone. God is with you and for you, and he wants you to succeed (Is. 41:10, Jer. 29:11, Rom. 8:31–32).

(b) Through Jesus Christ our Lord we can enjoy lasting victory over sin and walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). Paul has more to say about this in Romans 8.

(d) So then. “To recap: I find myself pulled in two directions; my mind wants to serve God and walk in his ways, but my flesh is incapable of living righteously.”

(e) With my mind. “I want to do the right thing. I joyfully concur with God’s rule and reign.”

When we walk after the flesh, setbacks and disappointments are inevitable. No matter how hard we try, we remain caught in an endless cycle of trying and failing. It may seem that we have no choice but to live as prisoners of sin. But you do have a choice. You can choose to walk after the old ways of the flesh or in the new way of the spirit (Rom. 8:4).

(f) The law of God; see entry for Rom. 7:22.

(g) With my flesh. In our own strength, we cannot overcome sin. Only the grace of God can teach us to deny ungodliness and live righteously (Tit. 2:11–12).

(h) The law of sin refers to the government or influence of sin; see entry for Rom. 7:23.

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Romans 7