Paul is employing first person terminology to convey a general truth (cf. 3:7), replacing the past tense of the previous paragraph (vv. 7-13) with the present tense. Some scholars refer to this as “speech-in-character.”1 But even in a generic sense, who would be included in the “I” references? As Paul seems to be using himself as an example, is he speaking hypothetically or of his own true-life experience? Is this before or after conversion to Christ? His argument is from the perspective of a mid-first-century Jewish Christian, though its application is almost certainly not intended to be limited so narrowly. Historically the “I” [ἐγώ] in this section has been applied to (a) reflections of a Christian; (b) an unbeliever’s observations; or (c) both.2
Who is “I”
The plethoric interpretive positions can be roughly categorized as follows: (1) Paul’s autobiographical view of (a) his current Christian experience; (b) his pre-Christian experience in Judaism; or (c) his pre-Christian Jewish experience from the perspective of his current regenerate state. (2) Paul’s personal view of the Jew currently living under the Mosaic Law. (3) The general Christian view (speech-in-character) of (a) the Jew currently living under the Mosaic Law; (b) the regenerate Christian; or (c) the weak in faith. (4) Adamic humanity, thus the biography of everyone. (5) The experience of the unbeliever. (6) The experience of the old-covenant Jew before the time of Christ, whether (a) unfaithful to the Mosaic Law, or (b) frustrated by the inability to keep the Mosaic Law. (7) The experience of Israel as a nation. (8) The experience of a judaized Christian trying to keep the Mosaic Law.
There is no convincing reason to think this is not descriptive of Paul’s own experience, and yet certainly not unique to him. It is an authentic portrayal representing, not “the human race,”3 but the experience of any Christian who struggles under the weight of sin.4 The letter is not written to all people everywhere but to “saints” (1:7), particularly for their benefit, as they live in the real world ladened with sin. Paul writes as an evangelist to those who have already been evangelized, so whatever he discusses surely relates to internal Christian matters.
Resuming the imagery of slavery (6:6–7:6), having been “sold under sin” (v. 14), the apostle describes himself as one going through the motions in deference to a master, constrained to “not do what I want” and to “do the very thing I hate.” Paul is not evading responsibility but reveals the all-too-real struggle of transitioning from one master to another (cf. 6:6-22), highlighting the tenacious grip of sin as the pressing issue rather than “the law,” which “is good.”5
The Battle Within
“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Rom. 7:21-25).
The inner strain between “sin that dwells within me” and “the desire to do what is right” does not necessarily center around the old Mosaic system in its entirety, but the holiness, justness, and goodness of the law as a spiritual guiding principle (cf. 3:27; 8:2). This is the most apparent usage in 7:12-14, 16, 18-19, 21-23, 25; 8:7. Paul does not ask, “What will deliver me?”—as if a law or commandment could rectify his dilemma—but “Who will deliver me …?” Rather than “I myself” or “the works of the law” (9:32), the solution rests with “God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (cf. 8:3). The tension persists between “my mind,” striving to “serve” (as a slave) [δουλεύω] the “law of God,” and “my flesh,” committed to the “law of sin.”
The law itself (8:3, 4), unable to defeat “the law [‘principle’ or ‘authority’] of sin and death” (7:23, 25; 8:2), has been replaced by something far more effective in the spiritual realm of God, Christ, and the Spirit where “life” can be reclaimed (8:1-11).
Conclusion
Although Paul has more to say, any Christian trying to leave behind the tenacious clutches of sin can surely relate to the struggle depicted in these verses. “Without chapter 7 we would not be able to appreciate to the full the truths presented in chapter 8.”6 As a prelude to what follows in the next chapter, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 See, e.g., S. K. Stowers, “Romans 7.7-25 as a Speech-in-Character,” in Paul in His Hellenistic Context (ed. T. Enberg-Pedersen): 180-202. Compare 1 Cor. 10:29-30.
2 See J. F. Hart, “Paul as Weak in Faith in Romans 7:7-25,” BibSac 170 (July-Sept. 2012): 316-17.
3 F. F. Bruce, Romans 140-41. Those who have become “futile in their thinking” (1:21-25), “whose consciences are seared” (1 Tim. 4:2), typically do not have “the desire to do what is right” or struggle to avoid evil.
4 C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans 1:356; L. Morris, Romans 285-87; R. H. Mounce, Romans167; A. Nygren, Romans 287, 292; cf. J. D. G. Dunn, Romans 1:396-405.
5 “He is like a person living simultaneously on two planes, eagerly longing to lead a life in keeping with the higher plane but sadly aware of the strength of indwelling sin that keeps on pulling him to the lower plane…. Christians in general live in two worlds, with the tension that this involves” (F. F. Bruce, Romans 143).
6 E. F. Harrison, “Romans” 83-85.
Related Posts: The Law: Holy, Righteous, Good (Rom 7:7-14), Deliverance from Sin (Rom 8:1-11
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