Romans 7
7
No Longer Bound to the Law
1Now, dear brothers and sisters#7:1 Greek brothers; also in 7:4.—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5When we were controlled by our old nature,#7:5 Greek When we were in the flesh. sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
God’s Law Reveals Our Sin
7Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”#7:7 Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21. 8But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
13But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.
Struggling with Sin
14So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.#7:18 Greek my flesh; also in 7:25. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22I love God’s law with all my heart. 23But there is another power#7:23 Greek law; also in 7:23b. within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
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Romans 7: NLT
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Romans 7
7
1Brothers and sisters (I'm speaking here to people who know the law),#7:1. Paul's use of the word for law can have various meanings, but usually refers to the whole system of Jewish belief. Much of this has to do with rule-keeping. don't you see that the law has authority over someone only while they're alive? 2For example, a married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he's alive, but if he dies, she's released from this legal obligation to him. 3So if she lives with another man while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery. However, if her husband dies and then she marries another man, she wouldn't be guilty of adultery.
4In the same way, my friends, you've become dead to the law through the body of Christ, and so now you belong to someone else—Christ, who was raised from the dead so that we could live productive lives#7:4. Literally, “bear fruit for God.” for God. 5While we were controlled by old nature, our sinful desires (as revealed by the law) were at work within us and resulted in death. 6But now we've been set free from the law, and have died to what kept us in chains, so that we can serve in the newness of the spirit and not the old letter of the law.
7So what do we conclude? That the law is sin? Of course not! I wouldn't have known what sin was unless the law defined it. I wouldn't have realized that wanting to have other people's things for myself was wrong without the law that says, “Don't desire for yourself what belongs to someone else.”#7:7. Quoting Exodus 20:17 or Deuteronomy 5:21. 8But through this commandment sin found a way to stir up in me all kinds of selfish desires—for without law, sin is dead. 9I used to live without realizing what the law really meant, but when I understood the implications of that commandment, then sin came back to life, and I died. 10I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life brought death instead, 11because sin found a way through the commandment to deceive me, and used the commandment to kill me!
12However, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, right, and good. 13Now would something that is good kill me? Of course not! But sin shows itself to be sin by using good to cause my death. So by means of the commandment, it's revealed how evil sin really is. 14We realize that the law is spiritual; but I'm all-too-human,#7:14. Literally, “flesh.” a slave to sin. 15I really don't understand what I'm doing. I do the things I don't want to do, and what I hate doing, that's what I do! 16But if I'm saying that I do what I don't want to, this shows that I admit the law is good and right. 17So it's no longer me who does this, but sin living in me— 18for I know that there's nothing good in me as far as my sinful human nature is concerned. Even though I want to do good, I'm just not able to do it. 19The good I want to do, I don't do; while the evil I don't want to do, that's what I end up doing! 20However, if I'm doing what I don't want to, then it's no longer me doing it, but sin living in me.
21This is the principle I've discovered: if I want to do what's good, evil is always there too. 22My inner self is delighted with God's law, 23but I see a different law at work within me that is at war with the law my mind has decided to follow, making me a prisoner of the law of sin that is within me. 24I'm totally miserable! Who will rescue me from this body that's causing my death?#7:24. Literally, “body of death.” Thank God—for he does this through Jesus Christ our Lord! 25Here's the situation: while I myself choose with my mind to obey God's law, my human nature obeys the law of sin.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com