Can any one explain this chapter of the Bible. I have heard many theocracy's about this but none satisfy. Most say that this was before Paul was saved. I don't think so, Because his name is Paul and not Saul. Are there Christians out there who are bound by sin but, truly love God and are abhorred by what they are doing and want to be free from there bondage. Reading the bible more doesn't work, praying more doesn't work, fasting doesn't work. Cutting the grass at the church doesn't work. giving water bottles out to the poor doesn't work. Going to church every time the door is open doesn't work. And you are still bound. This thread is for You, because the Cross is the only way to be free according to the Word of God.
Romans Chapter 7
- Thread starter Earlmayknowornot
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Firstly Romans 7 is written to those who "know the law."
Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Paul then compares the New Covenant with the Old as well as alluding to how yielding to sin wrought death (which he spoke of at the end of Romans 6). The wages of sin is death and thus under the law one is under the dominion of what sin requires
which is death yet one can be rescued from this state via Jesus Christ whereby one switched from one master (sin) to another (Christ) in order to bear fruit unto righteousness.
om 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
Rom 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul then defends the law against the thought that the law is evil because it wrought death.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The law simply brought the knowledge of sin and when men chose to do wrong when they knew better it wrought death to them hence (Gen 2:17, Rom 6:23, Rom 7:11, Jam 4:17, 1Joh 3:4).
The law was ordained for good because it points the way we should go but when we willfully choose to violate righteousness it is sin that brings death.
The actual law clearly clearly taught right from wrong and thus due to it being so specific (thou shalt not murder etc.) it made sin becoming exceedingly sinful.
Rom 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Yet even without the law of Moses death still reigned because all men have the light of conscience (Joh 1:9. Tit 2:11-12) and are thus without excuse (Rom 1:19-20). Therefore death still reigned before the law.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Whether one was a Jew and violated the letter or whether one was a Gentile and violated their conscience all are guilty before God. Hence...
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
The above is a parallel between the Jews and the Gentiles concluding ALL UNDER SIN. Whether one sinned with the law or one sinned without the law. Doing wrong when you know to do right is sin and the wages of it is death.
Just as Israel sold themselves into sin so did everyone else.
Isa 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Isa 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Thus the wretch of Romans 7 has been sold into carnality.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
What the wretch does he KNOWS NOT (he is in darkness).
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Allow - G1097 - ginōskō
A prolonged form of a primary verb; to “know” (absolutely), in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as shown at left, with others not thus clearly expressed): - allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) known (-ledge), perceive, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.
In other words many people "want to do what is right" but they "do not know how to do what is right" because THEY ARE IN DARKNESS and thus KNOW NOT. If they really knew what they were doing they would not do it. Living in sin is pure insanity because the result is total destruction, no-one who truly understands what sin is wants anything to do with it.
Therefore the wretch does what he wouldn't do otherwise if he knew better but he admits that the righteousness that the law speaks of is good.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Thus when he sins it is not him (in a figurative sense) it is the sin that dwells in him.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
The "sin dwelling in me" IS NOT a reference to Original Sin. That doctrine was brought into the Church by Augustine in the 4th century. The "sin dwelling in me" is a clear reference to the "body of sin."
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
It is the "body of sin" that holds people in bondage. It must be destroyed by being crucified with Christ. Human beings become addicted to sin because the human brain is constructed in such a way that neuron pathways are formed in regards to the dopamine receptors and the firing off of neurotransmitters.
When someone engages in a pleasure activity whether it be sinful or not the reason they feel pleasure is because neurotransmitters are being fired off into the pleasure centers of the brain. When one engages in repeated acts of sin a "sensory reward system" is patterned in the brain and thus a strong desire to repeatedly perform the action becomes hardwired. Scientific studies into habits and addiction confirm this.
This is why sinning leads to bondage. No-one is born into bondage to sin. The bondage is acquired through long practiced habit and thus the nature by which one becomes a child of wrath (Eph 2:3) is something that is a result of an ACT OF THE WILL in YIELDING TO TEMPTATION. This is why the Bible clearly states that "we sell ourselves into sin" rather than "we are born into sin." When David says he was "born into iniquity" he does not say "iniquity was born in him," rather he is referring to being born into a sinful world of iniquity.
The Bible clearly teaches that sin is a CHOICE as opposed to a DISEASE. This is one of the greatest misunderstandings in modern theology and it is the root of much error.
Paul goes on...
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This wretch is ADDICTED TO SIN. Like any addict who wants to be free of their addiction they don't know how to quit. Look at many smokers and drunks who quit for a time but fall right back into it. This is why sin cannot be defeated in the flesh. The solution is in the spiritual realm not the carnal realm.
Paul just reiterates his points here...
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
There is something "in him" that makes him sin. It is the "body of sin" which is addicted. It's not easy for someone to break old habits is it? Do messy people become tidy people easily? No, it is extremely difficult.
This wretch delights in his knowledge of righteousness. He really does want to do the right thing. He is very conflicted.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
He is also very convicted. He is crying out for deliverance.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
This wretch IS NOT A CHRISTIAN. He is a sinner in bondage to the flesh who is under conviction who is SEEKING deliverance.
His "mind" serves the law of God but the "flesh" the law of sin. The flesh WILL ALWAYS serve the law of sin because the flesh is the raw passions and desires and it yearns gratification.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Paul continues...
Due to what Paul has just written he says this...
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
One MUST be IN CHRIST.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
It is the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST that sets one free.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
The law cannot set one free because it is merely outward rules and regulations and simply yielding to rules does not effect the root cause of sin which is iniquity in the heart by which one yields to temptation and gratifies the flesh. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh (a flesh body with the same passions and desires we have) and RULED OVER IT and thus condemned SIN IN THE FLESH. In other words Jesus gave us an example of not having sin rule over us. ie. ye shall rule over it (Gen 4:7).
True righteousness is fulfilled IN US when we WALK AFTER THE SPIRIT.
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
You see the solution to sin is to die with Christ in broken repentance so that one can submit to God in walking after the Spirit. It is by the Spirit that we are QUICKENED to life and that OUR MORTAL BODIES ARE QUICKENED.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
In other words when we renew our minds our brains become hardwired to God instead of being hardwired to sin. First the heart has to be purged of iniquity and made pure and then we walk after the Spirit growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
One of the greatest fallacies today is the Romans 7 wretch being constantly taught as the PRESENT walk of a Christian. Alongside the fallacies of 1Joh 1:8-10 being taught as Christian's being in a perpetual state of bondage to sin.
Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Paul then compares the New Covenant with the Old as well as alluding to how yielding to sin wrought death (which he spoke of at the end of Romans 6). The wages of sin is death and thus under the law one is under the dominion of what sin requires
which is death yet one can be rescued from this state via Jesus Christ whereby one switched from one master (sin) to another (Christ) in order to bear fruit unto righteousness.
om 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
Rom 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul then defends the law against the thought that the law is evil because it wrought death.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The law simply brought the knowledge of sin and when men chose to do wrong when they knew better it wrought death to them hence (Gen 2:17, Rom 6:23, Rom 7:11, Jam 4:17, 1Joh 3:4).
The law was ordained for good because it points the way we should go but when we willfully choose to violate righteousness it is sin that brings death.
The actual law clearly clearly taught right from wrong and thus due to it being so specific (thou shalt not murder etc.) it made sin becoming exceedingly sinful.
Rom 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Yet even without the law of Moses death still reigned because all men have the light of conscience (Joh 1:9. Tit 2:11-12) and are thus without excuse (Rom 1:19-20). Therefore death still reigned before the law.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Whether one was a Jew and violated the letter or whether one was a Gentile and violated their conscience all are guilty before God. Hence...
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
The above is a parallel between the Jews and the Gentiles concluding ALL UNDER SIN. Whether one sinned with the law or one sinned without the law. Doing wrong when you know to do right is sin and the wages of it is death.
Just as Israel sold themselves into sin so did everyone else.
Isa 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Isa 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Thus the wretch of Romans 7 has been sold into carnality.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
What the wretch does he KNOWS NOT (he is in darkness).
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Allow - G1097 - ginōskō
A prolonged form of a primary verb; to “know” (absolutely), in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as shown at left, with others not thus clearly expressed): - allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) known (-ledge), perceive, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.
In other words many people "want to do what is right" but they "do not know how to do what is right" because THEY ARE IN DARKNESS and thus KNOW NOT. If they really knew what they were doing they would not do it. Living in sin is pure insanity because the result is total destruction, no-one who truly understands what sin is wants anything to do with it.
Therefore the wretch does what he wouldn't do otherwise if he knew better but he admits that the righteousness that the law speaks of is good.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Thus when he sins it is not him (in a figurative sense) it is the sin that dwells in him.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
The "sin dwelling in me" IS NOT a reference to Original Sin. That doctrine was brought into the Church by Augustine in the 4th century. The "sin dwelling in me" is a clear reference to the "body of sin."
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
It is the "body of sin" that holds people in bondage. It must be destroyed by being crucified with Christ. Human beings become addicted to sin because the human brain is constructed in such a way that neuron pathways are formed in regards to the dopamine receptors and the firing off of neurotransmitters.
When someone engages in a pleasure activity whether it be sinful or not the reason they feel pleasure is because neurotransmitters are being fired off into the pleasure centers of the brain. When one engages in repeated acts of sin a "sensory reward system" is patterned in the brain and thus a strong desire to repeatedly perform the action becomes hardwired. Scientific studies into habits and addiction confirm this.
This is why sinning leads to bondage. No-one is born into bondage to sin. The bondage is acquired through long practiced habit and thus the nature by which one becomes a child of wrath (Eph 2:3) is something that is a result of an ACT OF THE WILL in YIELDING TO TEMPTATION. This is why the Bible clearly states that "we sell ourselves into sin" rather than "we are born into sin." When David says he was "born into iniquity" he does not say "iniquity was born in him," rather he is referring to being born into a sinful world of iniquity.
The Bible clearly teaches that sin is a CHOICE as opposed to a DISEASE. This is one of the greatest misunderstandings in modern theology and it is the root of much error.
Paul goes on...
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This wretch is ADDICTED TO SIN. Like any addict who wants to be free of their addiction they don't know how to quit. Look at many smokers and drunks who quit for a time but fall right back into it. This is why sin cannot be defeated in the flesh. The solution is in the spiritual realm not the carnal realm.
Paul just reiterates his points here...
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
There is something "in him" that makes him sin. It is the "body of sin" which is addicted. It's not easy for someone to break old habits is it? Do messy people become tidy people easily? No, it is extremely difficult.
This wretch delights in his knowledge of righteousness. He really does want to do the right thing. He is very conflicted.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
He is also very convicted. He is crying out for deliverance.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
This wretch IS NOT A CHRISTIAN. He is a sinner in bondage to the flesh who is under conviction who is SEEKING deliverance.
His "mind" serves the law of God but the "flesh" the law of sin. The flesh WILL ALWAYS serve the law of sin because the flesh is the raw passions and desires and it yearns gratification.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Paul continues...
Due to what Paul has just written he says this...
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
One MUST be IN CHRIST.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
It is the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST that sets one free.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
The law cannot set one free because it is merely outward rules and regulations and simply yielding to rules does not effect the root cause of sin which is iniquity in the heart by which one yields to temptation and gratifies the flesh. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh (a flesh body with the same passions and desires we have) and RULED OVER IT and thus condemned SIN IN THE FLESH. In other words Jesus gave us an example of not having sin rule over us. ie. ye shall rule over it (Gen 4:7).
True righteousness is fulfilled IN US when we WALK AFTER THE SPIRIT.
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
You see the solution to sin is to die with Christ in broken repentance so that one can submit to God in walking after the Spirit. It is by the Spirit that we are QUICKENED to life and that OUR MORTAL BODIES ARE QUICKENED.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
In other words when we renew our minds our brains become hardwired to God instead of being hardwired to sin. First the heart has to be purged of iniquity and made pure and then we walk after the Spirit growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
One of the greatest fallacies today is the Romans 7 wretch being constantly taught as the PRESENT walk of a Christian. Alongside the fallacies of 1Joh 1:8-10 being taught as Christian's being in a perpetual state of bondage to sin.
The cross includes this...
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
I believe Romans 7 is dealing with Holy Spirit Paul writing of the before and after in places but this line:
Would be expressing what the Messiah spoke here :
John 4
Yahshua the Messiah tells us that we must be born again of the Spirit and Paul is trying to put this across in his writings.
John 3
Romans 7
This is Paul explaining the Old covenant being dead and that Faith in the Messiah is the New Covenant of Yahvah God.
Romans 7
This part is Paul declaring that the His belief in the Messiah is what delivers him to be reconciled with Heavenly Father to worship in Spirit and Truth.
The Law of Moses was given until the SEED came which is the Messiah.
The Messiah tells us to keep and teach the Commandments.
The 10 Commandments were not the problem we the people were.. we have to die to self and made New which comes through Faith.
Hebrews 10
Matthew 22
Love is what makes the difference... we are Loved and are free to love Heavenly Father and Yahshua the Messiah.
Would be expressing what the Messiah spoke here :
John 4
Yahshua the Messiah tells us that we must be born again of the Spirit and Paul is trying to put this across in his writings.
John 3
Romans 7
This is Paul explaining the Old covenant being dead and that Faith in the Messiah is the New Covenant of Yahvah God.
Romans 7
This part is Paul declaring that the His belief in the Messiah is what delivers him to be reconciled with Heavenly Father to worship in Spirit and Truth.
The Law of Moses was given until the SEED came which is the Messiah.
The Messiah tells us to keep and teach the Commandments.
The 10 Commandments were not the problem we the people were.. we have to die to self and made New which comes through Faith.
Hebrews 10
Matthew 22
Love is what makes the difference... we are Loved and are free to love Heavenly Father and Yahshua the Messiah.
Okay
Beautifully portrayed by Skinski. I think you understand the sin nature that was passed down from Adam. I believe that Paul was saved and this great Apostle had came out of a strict religion of works. In fact it is said that he was in line to become High priest according to tradition. However he found that his works were not sufficient to deliver. He had to rely on the cross (not the wooden beam. but, the work performed there on by Jesus Christ). Because that is the only sacrifice accepted by God.
So when a believer who truly loves the Lord, takes their faith off of that sacrifice and places it on what there doing. Such as 40 days of purpose or rituals or the works of their hands which God will not recognize. The sin nature is revived through the the flesh and can become bound by it.
I think that's why Paul said " I die daily" speaking of flesh and why Jesus said "take up your cross and follow me" and also, " today is the day of salvation". It is a daily struggle against the flesh and why we must keep our faith focused on the work of Christ and not our own.
Beautifully portrayed by Skinski. I think you understand the sin nature that was passed down from Adam. I believe that Paul was saved and this great Apostle had came out of a strict religion of works. In fact it is said that he was in line to become High priest according to tradition. However he found that his works were not sufficient to deliver. He had to rely on the cross (not the wooden beam. but, the work performed there on by Jesus Christ). Because that is the only sacrifice accepted by God.
So when a believer who truly loves the Lord, takes their faith off of that sacrifice and places it on what there doing. Such as 40 days of purpose or rituals or the works of their hands which God will not recognize. The sin nature is revived through the the flesh and can become bound by it.
I think that's why Paul said " I die daily" speaking of flesh and why Jesus said "take up your cross and follow me" and also, " today is the day of salvation". It is a daily struggle against the flesh and why we must keep our faith focused on the work of Christ and not our own.
Rom7 is the most illuminating chapter Paul wrote on Grace, and shows us why he was so passionate that the Christian has to die to the law to live and produce true works for God. If Paul is speaking post conversion in verse 14-25, he condemns himself according to what he wrote in chs6&8
From verse 7 of ch7 onwards Paul is speaking of what happened when he lived under the law, and I am sure that happens to so many today
You said:
Are there Christians out there who are bound by sin but, truly love God and are abhorred by what they are doing and want to be free from there bondage. Reading the bible more doesn't work, praying more doesn't work, fasting doesn't work. Cutting the grass at the church doesn't work. giving water bottles out to the poor doesn't work. Going to church every time the door is open doesn't work. And you are still bound.
I am positive there are so many Christians living as you have described above, it is truly tragic. Speaking honestly I have never heard preached from any pulpit, including born again pulpits, the message in its fulness Paul wrote on Grace in his letters, though I have read a couple of books on it. I think many ministers are reluctant to preach it in fear people will see it as a licence to sin
For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under law but under grace
Rom6:14
Anyone can know the reality of sin not beling their master(i am not speaking of sinless perfection) if they love God and believe the message Paul spoke. So if Christians love God(as you obviously do from what you wrote) and understand Paul's message, they will be free, for their is great power in the Cross of Christ
Though in that fredom they will always have temptaion to sin, for such temptation is inevitable, but does not leave you in the state Paul was in in Rom7:14-25
My heart goes out to the people you have described in emboldended letters
From verse 7 of ch7 onwards Paul is speaking of what happened when he lived under the law, and I am sure that happens to so many today
You said:
Are there Christians out there who are bound by sin but, truly love God and are abhorred by what they are doing and want to be free from there bondage. Reading the bible more doesn't work, praying more doesn't work, fasting doesn't work. Cutting the grass at the church doesn't work. giving water bottles out to the poor doesn't work. Going to church every time the door is open doesn't work. And you are still bound.
I am positive there are so many Christians living as you have described above, it is truly tragic. Speaking honestly I have never heard preached from any pulpit, including born again pulpits, the message in its fulness Paul wrote on Grace in his letters, though I have read a couple of books on it. I think many ministers are reluctant to preach it in fear people will see it as a licence to sin
For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under law but under grace
Rom6:14
Anyone can know the reality of sin not beling their master(i am not speaking of sinless perfection) if they love God and believe the message Paul spoke. So if Christians love God(as you obviously do from what you wrote) and understand Paul's message, they will be free, for their is great power in the Cross of Christ
Though in that fredom they will always have temptaion to sin, for such temptation is inevitable, but does not leave you in the state Paul was in in Rom7:14-25
My heart goes out to the people you have described in emboldended letters
Last edited:
Now I do agree with the above embolodened BUT NOT the explanations you have given. Paul is speaking of his life under the law obviously in 14-25 but the reason he is in such dire straits is because
The power of sin is the law(1Cor15:56)
But the law holds no power over a persion if it cannot bring punishment/condemnation when a person breaks it. The law cannot bring punishment/death for the Christian for Christ died for their sins at Calvary, and sin is transgression of the law
You can relate Paul's experiance from verse 7 onwards to that of a child being given rules/comamnds by their parents for their own good.
IE
Don't touch the iron, don't touch electrical sockets, don't touch the computer etc, but once thosae rules come to a child, huge excitement is stirred in the child to disobey the rules. If they were not given those rules, they would sometimes, inevitably would be drawn to that which they should not do but the allure would not be so great
Hence, when the comamndemnt came to Paul, sin sprang to life and he died, sin used the commandment to wrought all mannner of concupiscence in Paul
Hence Paul had to see he was not under law but under grace, without the law to condemn sins power is weakened in our lives.
Hence
For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under law but under grace
But how many actually in their hearts believe they only have one righteousness before God the whole of the Christian lives, faith in Christ. those who do believe that see the most victory over sin, according to Paul's message
The power of sin is the law(1Cor15:56)
But the law holds no power over a persion if it cannot bring punishment/condemnation when a person breaks it. The law cannot bring punishment/death for the Christian for Christ died for their sins at Calvary, and sin is transgression of the law
You can relate Paul's experiance from verse 7 onwards to that of a child being given rules/comamnds by their parents for their own good.
IE
Don't touch the iron, don't touch electrical sockets, don't touch the computer etc, but once thosae rules come to a child, huge excitement is stirred in the child to disobey the rules. If they were not given those rules, they would sometimes, inevitably would be drawn to that which they should not do but the allure would not be so great
Hence, when the comamndemnt came to Paul, sin sprang to life and he died, sin used the commandment to wrought all mannner of concupiscence in Paul
Hence Paul had to see he was not under law but under grace, without the law to condemn sins power is weakened in our lives.
Hence
For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under law but under grace
But how many actually in their hearts believe they only have one righteousness before God the whole of the Christian lives, faith in Christ. those who do believe that see the most victory over sin, according to Paul's message
Last edited:
P
I like what you said there.
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
Last edited:
I like what you said there.
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
I like what you said there.
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
But it isn't self that Romans says we died to.
What we died to was the Law, so we can live to (for) the Spirit.
In Rom.7:1-3 Paul (through the Holy Spirit) tells us the Law has authority over a person as long as he lives.
In 7:4-6 he explains that we died to the Law.
v. 4: Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ in order that you might be joined to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
v.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.
v.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.
I love Romans. It's the Bible's great treatise on grace. ♥
Most folks don't know all of the song "Amazing Grace", but in the second verse, John Newton says,
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ( the grace of God allows you to SEE the Law, and realize how incapable you are to fulfill it, and how sinful and wretched you are, and it KILLS you)
and grace my fears relieved..." (God's grace shows you the Lord Jesus)
Is the Law of God holy, pure and good?
Oh, yes!
And you're right, the problem is us.
Okay, gotta go praise God for the Grace that saves us as the Law never could. ♥
Romans 8 elaborates more and much better put than i ever could.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [SUP]6[/SUP]Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[SUP][b][/SUP] gives birth to spirit. [SUP]7 [/SUP]You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[SUP][c][/SUP] must be born again.’ [SUP]8 [/SUP]The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
What does the Spirit do for those He makes born again?
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: [SUP]16 [/SUP]“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]]
[/SUP]Then he adds:[SUP]“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”[c[/SUP]
[SUP]
Heb 10:15&16
[/SUP]
What does the Spirit do for those He makes born again?
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: [SUP]16 [/SUP]“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]]
[/SUP]Then he adds:[SUP]“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”[c[/SUP]
[SUP]
Heb 10:15&16
[/SUP]
Last edited:
Have you not just shifted the blame from one being personally responsible (ie. sin is a choice) for their own sin to blaming the way one is made (ie. sin is necessitated)?
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
E
you mean like you do every day?
every one else's sin is evil. your sin is just a mess-up, a mistake, an oops??
Paul praised God for the righteousness he had in Christ jesus, and for the day he would be glorified. Because he understood. deep inside him, he still had a nature of self will, which fought against the will of God. and he did not always chose to do what was right. he saw how truely wretched of a man he was. not only in his past. but also his present.
one day I pray you will see this also. and instead of preaching the damnation of God. preach the love of God. and help people learn to live the life God wants. instead of condemning them for not getting there yet.
every one else's sin is evil. your sin is just a mess-up, a mistake, an oops??
Paul praised God for the righteousness he had in Christ jesus, and for the day he would be glorified. Because he understood. deep inside him, he still had a nature of self will, which fought against the will of God. and he did not always chose to do what was right. he saw how truely wretched of a man he was. not only in his past. but also his present.
one day I pray you will see this also. and instead of preaching the damnation of God. preach the love of God. and help people learn to live the life God wants. instead of condemning them for not getting there yet.
Nope
Paul was an arch Pharisee, it was the Pharisees who were responsible for Christ being crucified. To Paul eternal life hinged(the bottom line) as to whether he could obey the lteral law.
David knew the correct bottom line
'I trust in God's unfailing love'
Hence David, though he erred was a man after God's heart
And so today, many stress you in effect must obey the literal letter of the law(you must not sin/the bottom line) to inherit eternal life, therefore anyone who believes that message is in the same state Paul was in Rom 7 IF they are sincere
Paul was an arch Pharisee, it was the Pharisees who were responsible for Christ being crucified. To Paul eternal life hinged(the bottom line) as to whether he could obey the lteral law.
David knew the correct bottom line
'I trust in God's unfailing love'
Hence David, though he erred was a man after God's heart
And so today, many stress you in effect must obey the literal letter of the law(you must not sin/the bottom line) to inherit eternal life, therefore anyone who believes that message is in the same state Paul was in Rom 7 IF they are sincere
Last edited:
Romans 7 Understood
THE PATRISTIC INTERPRETATION of ROMANS 7:14-25 — The early church did not understand Rom 7:14-25 to teach the necessity of sin in believers
No writer before the fourth century assigned the traditional Present day understanding of Romans 7:14-25.
The early church did not understand Rom 7:14-25 to teach the necessity of sin in believers. Search them if you will, you CANNOT find anyone before Augustine who held that Rom7 was speaking of true follower of Christ.
THE PATRISTIC INTERPRETATION of ROMANS 7:14-25
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (Rom 7:14-15).
Perhaps no other verses have been the subject of such intense debate as the above passage. To the Present day Church this passage represents a never-ending struggle with sin which will inevitably end in failure until the day one dies, because of the fallacy of Original Sin. But For the Real Christian it represents the life of spiritual struggle (before conversion) that God wants to deliver mankind from via the experience of regeneration.
While the best way to interpret a passage will always be to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture there is also much to be gained by studying the ways that the early Christians who followed in the footsteps of the Apostles interpreted a passage. It will be the purpose of this article to examine the ancient Christian interpretation of Romans chapter seven. This paper incorporates information from A Dissertation Of The True And Genuine Sense Of The Seventh Chapter Of St. Paul’s Epistle To The Romans. An extensive search of Christian literature up until the fifth century revealed that prior to the fourth century no known Christian writer interpreted Romans seven in a the presend day manner. Rather, it was always understood up until that time to be either an unbeliever.
Throughout this paper I have focused only on those writers who commented directly upon Romans 7. There is a good amount of indirect testimony to this subject in the form of statements which indicate that various early Christian writers understood the Christian experience to be one that entailed complete victory over sin. These quotes have been left out for brevity sake but if included would add even more weight to the conclusion that no writer before the fourth century assigned the traditional Calvinistic interpretation to this passage.
The earliest existing writer to comment directly upon this passage was Irenaeus of Lyons (120-202) in the second century. In Against Heresies he connected Paul’s statement “that there dwells in my flesh no good thing” as typical of human infirmity which Jesus came to deliver men from [3:20:33]. In commenting upon the parable of the two sons in which one represented the repentant sinners of Jesus’ day, the other the unrepentant Pharisees (Matt 21:28-32) Irenaeus described the Pharisees using Romans 7 [4:36:8].
Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.220), a North African Christian teacher, in Stromata, a refutation of Gnosticism, indicated his belief that when Paul emphasized the war between the law of God and the law of his mind (Rom 7:22-23) it was only to show that Jesus rescues men from this through salvation [3:76-78].
Tertullian (c.150-240), another North African Christian leader, indicated that the Holy Spirit makes men free from the law of sin and death in our members (Rom 7:23). After this experience of being set free, “Our members, therefore, will no longer be subject to the law of death, because they cease to serve that of sin, from both which they have been set free” [On The Resurrection Of The Flesh, Ch. 46]. Elsewhere he noted his understanding that Paul was referring in Romans 7 to his pre-Christian days as an unbelieving Jew stating that “even if he has affirmed that ‘good dwelleth not in his flesh,’ yet he means according to ‘the law of the letter,’ in which he ‘was’; but according to ‘the law of the Spirit,’ to which he annexes us, he frees us from the ‘infirmity of the flesh’”[On Modesty, Ch. 17].
In analyzing the early Christian understanding of Romans 7 it has become very clear that the early church did not understand this passage to teach the necessity of sin in believers, usually attributing to it the interpretation that it was a man who was striving to please God under the Law of Moses. In fact this interpretation was so prevalent that when discussing this passage around 415AD, Pelagius (c.350-c.420?) could write in his now lost work entitled Inv Defense Of The Freedom Of The Will, which is preserved by Augustine in On The Grace Of Christ And On Original Sin [1:43] that “that which you wish us to understand of the apostle himself, all Church writers assert that he spoke in the person of the sinner, and of one who was still under the law. . . .” Augustine, in his attempt to refute this statement of Pelagius, was unable to offer any church writers who disagreed with Pelagius.Standing the Gap
THE PATRISTIC INTERPRETATION of ROMANS 7:14-25 — The early church did not understand Rom 7:14-25 to teach the necessity of sin in believers
No writer before the fourth century assigned the traditional Present day understanding of Romans 7:14-25.
The early church did not understand Rom 7:14-25 to teach the necessity of sin in believers. Search them if you will, you CANNOT find anyone before Augustine who held that Rom7 was speaking of true follower of Christ.
THE PATRISTIC INTERPRETATION of ROMANS 7:14-25
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (Rom 7:14-15).
Perhaps no other verses have been the subject of such intense debate as the above passage. To the Present day Church this passage represents a never-ending struggle with sin which will inevitably end in failure until the day one dies, because of the fallacy of Original Sin. But For the Real Christian it represents the life of spiritual struggle (before conversion) that God wants to deliver mankind from via the experience of regeneration.
While the best way to interpret a passage will always be to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture there is also much to be gained by studying the ways that the early Christians who followed in the footsteps of the Apostles interpreted a passage. It will be the purpose of this article to examine the ancient Christian interpretation of Romans chapter seven. This paper incorporates information from A Dissertation Of The True And Genuine Sense Of The Seventh Chapter Of St. Paul’s Epistle To The Romans. An extensive search of Christian literature up until the fifth century revealed that prior to the fourth century no known Christian writer interpreted Romans seven in a the presend day manner. Rather, it was always understood up until that time to be either an unbeliever.
Throughout this paper I have focused only on those writers who commented directly upon Romans 7. There is a good amount of indirect testimony to this subject in the form of statements which indicate that various early Christian writers understood the Christian experience to be one that entailed complete victory over sin. These quotes have been left out for brevity sake but if included would add even more weight to the conclusion that no writer before the fourth century assigned the traditional Calvinistic interpretation to this passage.
The earliest existing writer to comment directly upon this passage was Irenaeus of Lyons (120-202) in the second century. In Against Heresies he connected Paul’s statement “that there dwells in my flesh no good thing” as typical of human infirmity which Jesus came to deliver men from [3:20:33]. In commenting upon the parable of the two sons in which one represented the repentant sinners of Jesus’ day, the other the unrepentant Pharisees (Matt 21:28-32) Irenaeus described the Pharisees using Romans 7 [4:36:8].
Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.220), a North African Christian teacher, in Stromata, a refutation of Gnosticism, indicated his belief that when Paul emphasized the war between the law of God and the law of his mind (Rom 7:22-23) it was only to show that Jesus rescues men from this through salvation [3:76-78].
Tertullian (c.150-240), another North African Christian leader, indicated that the Holy Spirit makes men free from the law of sin and death in our members (Rom 7:23). After this experience of being set free, “Our members, therefore, will no longer be subject to the law of death, because they cease to serve that of sin, from both which they have been set free” [On The Resurrection Of The Flesh, Ch. 46]. Elsewhere he noted his understanding that Paul was referring in Romans 7 to his pre-Christian days as an unbelieving Jew stating that “even if he has affirmed that ‘good dwelleth not in his flesh,’ yet he means according to ‘the law of the letter,’ in which he ‘was’; but according to ‘the law of the Spirit,’ to which he annexes us, he frees us from the ‘infirmity of the flesh’”[On Modesty, Ch. 17].
In analyzing the early Christian understanding of Romans 7 it has become very clear that the early church did not understand this passage to teach the necessity of sin in believers, usually attributing to it the interpretation that it was a man who was striving to please God under the Law of Moses. In fact this interpretation was so prevalent that when discussing this passage around 415AD, Pelagius (c.350-c.420?) could write in his now lost work entitled Inv Defense Of The Freedom Of The Will, which is preserved by Augustine in On The Grace Of Christ And On Original Sin [1:43] that “that which you wish us to understand of the apostle himself, all Church writers assert that he spoke in the person of the sinner, and of one who was still under the law. . . .” Augustine, in his attempt to refute this statement of Pelagius, was unable to offer any church writers who disagreed with Pelagius.Standing the Gap