Chapter 7
This chapter is notoriously difficult to interpret and apply. Remember yesterday we read that sin is no longer our master; Paul said that no less than 7 times. But in verse 14 of this chapter, Paul says that he is sold into bondage to sin and he uses the present tense as though it was his current situation (which is what makes it so difficult to interpret with what he said in chapter 6 about our freedom from sin as our master). Then in verse 19 he describes the all too familiar experience of defeat: “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” We can all agree that our lives look that way sometimes, can we not? So which is it? Am I free from bondage to sin or am I still a slave? A lot of ink has been spilled on this question. There are three basic interpretations of this chapter.
- Romans 7 describes the normal Christian life as a life of defeat by sin (we just have to wait till the 2ndcoming to be delivered from it).
- Romans 7 describes Paul as presenting himself back to sin and becoming enslaved again.
- Romans 7 describes Paul before he became a Christian.
I reject the first position. Romans 6 is too clear (along with many other NT passages that establish this truth). The other two interpretations are live options for me, but I can not dogmatically argue either one. Whether I am correct or not, we can all agree that sometimes it feels like verse 19 is the normal Christian life because we have a tendency to give ourselves over to sin, often and sometimes so easily. If you feel defeated by sin and your relationship with the Father feels like a sham because of your choices, rest assured, there is hope. Romans 8 will show us that HE will deliver us fully and finally someday from our sin. In the mean time, remember the overwhelming evidence from chapter 6: you are not a slave to sin; so keep fighting the good fight.
