Romans 7. A mature believer struggling with sin or an unbeliever?

In Romans chapter 7, is Paul talking about himself as a mature believer struggling with indwelling sin or as an unbeliever? Many faithful Christians disagree on this text. It is not an issue to break fellowship over. However, the position we take on this text does reflect something about what we believe. In particularly it reflects our understanding of the Christian Life. Everyone agrees that Christians struggle with sin. Everyone acknowledges this fact. There are passages in scripture that address this issue. For example Galatians 5:16-18. No one doubts that Paul is talking about a believer in that text. However, in Romans 7 I think there is room for constructive debate. The question that remains is: Is Romans 7 discussing a BELIEVER struggling with indwelling sin?

I aim to argue that in Romans 7, particularly focussing on verses 14-25, Paul is speaking as an unbeliever convicted of sin, but without a changed heart to obey God. I want to make the argument that this text is part of a larger argument that Paul is trying to make in Romans 6-8. That argument asks the question: If I am Justified, then how will my life work? Paul is in the middle of answering that question here in Romans 7. He is addressing the issue of our experience.

Let's begin with Romans 6 to set the stage. Lets's focus on a few verses: Romans 6: 1-2, 6-9, 14, 17-18, 22. In theses verses Paul describes the believer as one who is, "no longer enslaved to sin", "set free from sin", "consider yourselves dead to sin", "Let not sin reign", "sin will have no dominion over you", "once slaves of sin", "obedient from the heart", "slaves of righteousness", and "you have been set free from sin". Paul is very clear that for the believer sin does not any longer control us. We still struggle with sin, but as one who now has the ability to fight sin and not be "held captive" by it. To be "held captive" by sin is directly opposite of Paul's description of a believer who is "set free from sin". 1 John 3:6 offers even more clarity. "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him." 1 John 3:9 furthers this point when it says, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God." This does not mean that as a believer we will be sinless. It means that our lives will not be characterized by sin. In other words we will not get to the point where we are "held captive" by sin, as a believer, we will always fight our sin. We will not "keep on sinning" in a habitual way. When personal sin is brought to our conscience we fight that sin. The reason we "cannot keep on sinning" is because through Christ we have been given a new heart that desires to obey God internally. We are not casual about our sin. We do this because God has transformed our hearts and we love him. 1 Peter 1:8 says, "though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory". When we become a believer, we not only get the forgiveness of our sins, we also get new hearts, hearts that want to love and obey God. This means we now have the ability to fight sin. Prior to this transformation, we were unable to fight our sinful desires. We might have been aware of our sinfulness to a certain degree, but we would never have been able to win the fight against it. Scripture is clear about this. So, I am trying to emphasize the fact that Christ fundamentally changes a persons heart. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says that "the love of Christ controls us" and that we will "no longer live for ourselves but for him". 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that we are a "new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." The change that takes place inside a believer is incredible, It is apparent to people. People notice. You're different. You WANT to obey Christ. Colossians 3:5 says, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you . . ." Paul gives us that command because we can actually obey it. Through Christ we are given the ability to fight sin. Now that we have done a brief cursory of Romans 6 lets move into Romans 7.

Romans 7

vs.1-4

immediately after Paul explains the radical change that takes place in the believer after conversion he begins to explain where this radical change comes from. He is going to illustrate that this change does not come from the law, but from the Holy Spirit. Paul offers an example of the law being binding on a woman in marriage. He uses this example of law to help the reader see the connection between law and sin. In the same way that a woman who's husband dies is free from her marital commitment to him a person is free from the death of the law when he is united with Christ. In other words, we belong to the law, unless we are set free from it. 2 Corinthians 3:6-7, 9 tells us that the law or the "letter kills" is a "ministry of death" and is a "ministry of condemnation". The law brings death or eternal separation from God. We can not obey it. Our only hope is to have someone else substitute their perfect obedience to the law for ours. This is precisely what Christ does. Paul tells us that, if we are a believer, then we have "died to the law through Christ, so that you may belong to another". We are no longer bound to the law, we are set free through Christ. This does not mean that we have no law, we are now under Christ's law. However, we now will have the ability to obey because our hearts are changed. Further and even more importantly, Paul emphasizes something critical here. He emphasizes that Christ has set us free "in order that we may bear fruit for God". This is critical because previously (before Christ became our substitute) we were unable to accomplish this. We have been set free from the law with a new heart that enables us to obey and love Christ, unlike before. Additionally, we see here that Paul emphasizes the ideas that we have been set free to "bear fruit". This means that our love for Christ will be transparent in our life. That is a significant distinctive in a Christian's life: "fruit".

vs. 5

Paul tells us that the law brings out our sinfulness and bears the fruit of death. This idea is similar to Romans 3:20, "through the law comes knowledge of sin". We are unaware of our sin until we are given a law. For example, if I see a sign in a yard that says, "do not walk on grass", my first inclination is to step on the grass. I would be unaware of my sinful heart without the sign (law) telling me to obey. This is what the law does. It draws out our sin, making us keenly aware of our flaws and darkened hearts (Jeremiah 17:9).

vs. 6

"But now", this is an important distinction. In other words, Paul is saying "now, as a believer we are not under the law". The law "held us captive". But now, as a believer, "in the new life of the Spirit" we are able to be "released" where now we have the ability to obey. The "Old way of the written code" reminds us of the ten commandments (written law) and Israel. Paul compares two ways of living: the way of the "old written code" as an unbeliever with an external motivation to obey God for benefit or ambition with the "way of the Spirit" as a believer with an inward motivation to obey Christ out of a changed heart that loves Him. There are essentially two ways to live life: as an unbeliever who is a slave to sin or as the believer who is no longer a slave to sin but a "slave to righteousness".

vs. 7-8

Paul makes it clear, the law is not the bad-guy. The law simply points me to my sin. The law is not sinful, my heart is what harbors sin. Without the law, we would remain oblivious to our sin, "Apart from the law, sin lies dead."

vs. 9

Paul begins to describe a time in his life when he perceived himself as fine spiritually. He thought of himself as a good Jew (Gal. 1:14, Phil 3:4-6). Paul was keenly aware of the law and it had no effect upon him. However, when his heart was softened he began to experience genuine conviction of his sin and he "died". Paul is saying that he was crushed by the awareness and weight of his sin. He became aware that he was a terrible sinner.

vs. 10-13

The law that Paul loved so much as a Jew, when viewed through the lens of conviction brought on by the Holy Spirit, became the very thing that was showing him his hopelessness in his sins. He began to realize that when the law shows us our true condition, we sin more not less. Paul says that his sin "killed" him, which means he became a "slave to sin". He recognized that it was his heart that was bad, not the law. It was sin that oozed from his heart that prevented him from obedience. He realized he was "sinful beyond measure".

vs. 14

"sold under sin". The question comes, is that a description a believer can make of himself or is that a description of an unbeliever who is convicted of his sin but not yet a believer? We know this can't mean that Paul is referring to himself as a believer because, as we have already discussed, Paul uses the phrasing of "sold under sin" to describe an unbeliever in Romans 6: 6: 6-7,11,14, 17-18, 22. Paul uses Romans 6 to make perfectly clear for us that a believer will not ever any longer be a "slave to sin". Being a "slave to sin" is very different from being someone who struggles with sins. As a believer, a person has the ability to fight sin, unbelievers do not have that ability. Here, Paul is looking back on his time as an unbeliever who is struggling / convicted with sin but doesn't have the new heart to be able to not sin. He is a "slave to sin".

vs. 15-21

Paul is speaking about himself. This is an autobiographical account of his personal experience, that as an unbeliever, convicted of sin, he wanted to obey the law, but recognized he couldn't. He didn't have the power from God through the Holy Spirit and a changed heart to obey. This is the process everyone must experience prior to becoming a Christian. We must be made aware of our sin and that awareness is brutally honest in it's evaluation of our own heart. We must be made aware of our sin in order to see our need for a savior. We must be made aware of the grandness of our sin in order to be made aware of the grandness of our savior. Paul says that he wants to do what is right, "but not the ability to carry it out." For the believer, this statement is not true. As a believer, we have the ability to do what is right, because we have transformed hearts the are no longer "slaves to sin". This is another indicator that Paul cannot be speaking of himself as a believer struggling with sin.

vs. 22

"For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being . . ." This is the verse that is most often used to defend the idea that Paul must be a believer who is struggling with sin, because a non-believer would not ever delight in the law of God. However, is that really a true statement. Is it not possible for an unbeliever to delight in the law of God? Is this not what faithful Jews do every day? Paul says that he was the "Hebrew of Hebrews", "a Pharisee" and "blameless" in his righteousness in the law according to the Jewish definition of his Hebrew status not his spiritual righteousness. (Gal. 1:14, Phil 3:4-6). He goes on to say in Romans 10:2 that Jews have a "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge". Paul deals with this even more clearly in Romans 2:17-24. They (Jews) "rely on the law" for deliverance for judgement and they "boast in God". The Jews considered themselves an "instructor" to the World about God while they also "dishonor God by breaking the law". The Jews enjoyed several privileges as being the physical chosen people of God, yet those privileges didn't produce hearts that loved him, just affection for legalism. We all know people who are very religious yet they miss the truth of the Gospel completely. This is exactly what Paul means when he says that "I delight in the law of God, in my inner being . . ." This does not mean that Paul is referring to himself as a believer. In fact, it points even more clearly to the idea that righteousness takes place after the cross of Christ changes a person, not before. Most of the Jews were sincere in their effort to obey God, but sincerity is not enough.

vs. 23

"captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" This is exactly the same language as Romans 7:6 and 7:14. Scripture does not open to us the possibility that a person can be a "slave to sin" or "captive (prisoner) to the law of sin" and be a believer in Christ. Romans 6: 6: 6-7,11,14, 17-18, 22 speaks directly against this idea. Paul was an unbeliever who was a slave to sin that was convicted and wanted to fight against it, but was constantly unable to be victorious in that effort.

vs. 24

This is the verse that illustrates total brokenness over his sin. This is what is necessary for every believer at some point. He recognizes he is a sin factory. "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" The question is rhetorical as Paul already knows the answer, which he pens in the very next verse. It's Jesus. Jesus is the one who saved him! Paul then closes the chapter by summarizing for us what he has just been through: He wanted to serve God but was unable to fight the sin.

Romans 8

vs. 8:1-4

These verses are critical in completing Paul's train of thought. Paul emphasizes that Jesus is the one that makes transformation possible, he is the one that makes us victorious in fighting sin. He says that "for those who are in Christ Jesus", notice this clarification, it is important. For believers only: there is "no condemnation", for believers only: we are "set free from the law of sin and death" Christ has "done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do" Well, what could the law not accomplish in the flesh? It could not create obedience. Our sin always corrupted the process. We constantly failed in obeying God, because we didn't have a new heart, we didn't posses the Spirit.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I agree that Christians have a never-ending fight on their hands with sin. There are seasons in the Christian's life that he struggles with sin. I think Romans 6:11-13, and Gal. 5:17-18, 24-25 illustrate this struggle very well. I just do not think that Romans 7 is dealing with that issue. In Romans 7 Paul uses terms like "captive" and "slave" when describing someone. This cannot be a Christian. Christians are "free" from the slavery of sin. We will struggle with sin, but we will not be defeated by it or habitually dwelling in it. Christians fight sin and they see progress as the scriptures say, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified"(Heb. 10:14). Therefore, Romans 7:14-25 does not describe a believer dealing with indwelling sin. It is Paul's autobiographical description of himself as an unbeliever convicted of sin but unable to fight sin because he lacks a changed heart from the Holy Spirit. If we compare this passage with Galatians 5:16-18, 24-25. Here everyone agrees that Paul is talking about the believer. Every believer faces a conflict with sin. The question remains is: Is every believer stalemated with their struggle with sin. No. This passage shows us that if you are a believer then you are being "led" by the Spirit into a changed life (same meaning as Romans 8:14). When you receive the forgiveness of sins you also get a changed heart which makes it possible to fight sin. Every believer will have an observable changed life. To minimize this is to minimize the power of the Gospel. The person described in Romans 7 is "sold under sin" (verse 14) and "captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (verse 23) which is the same "captive" used in 7:6 which is referring to sin. This is not a faithful description of a believer. Therefore, it seems highly doubtful that Paul is speaking of himself as a believer struggling with sin, verses as an unbeliever not able to rightly obey the law because he lacks a new heart.

In summary, Douglas Moo says it best. " . . . we need to avoid what I think all interpreters would agree is a misuse of the text: using it to justify sin or stagnation in the Christian life. I have all too often encountered believers with just this attitude: " Ia m really struggling with a sin, and it keeps getting the best of me. But that's alright - Paul had the same problem {Rom. 7}." Paul may indeed have had the same problem. But this does not make it appropriate - for Paul or for us. We should never regard the sins we commit with complacency. They are not supposed to be there. God hates them, and he has given us the power to get rid of them." (Romans Commentary Pp 246).