Romans Chapter 7
Originally posted Thursday, June 26, 2008
Romans Chapter 7:1-6 An
Analogy of Marriage
In
the previous chapter Paul used the analogy of slavery to differentiate between
being a slave to sin which ends in death and being a slave to
righteousness which ends in eternal life. Paul uses a second analogy, the
bond of marriage under the Law (Torah), to examine the effect of one's death
on that bond. Writing to those who are under the
Law, Jewish Christians, struggling with the conflict over the value
of Torah, he describes the legal "binding of husband and wife. A
woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. Any other living arrangement
would be adulterous. If her husband dies she is free (and
encouraged) to remarry. She is free from the Law with regard to
the former marriage.
Paul
now applies the marriage analogy to the issue of a Christian's relationship to
the Law. Using the prior point of a Christian having died with Christ in
baptism and having risen to "walk in newness of life" (6:4), he declares (with authority) that
in the same way, the Christian has "died to the law." The
Christian no longer "belongs" to the Law (as its slave) but
belongs to another - to the risen Christ. Belonging to Christ is synonymous
with being a slave to righteousness (6:18).
Paul reasons that before the Jewish Christian was converted she/he belonged to
(was a slave to) the Law and was "living in the flesh." In such a
state the Law (which defines sin) "aroused" sinful passions in their
flesh (bodies) which bore the fruit of death. Now that they are free from
the captivity of the "old written code" they are no
longer its slaves. They have passed from death to "new life in the
Spirit."
In
this passage Paul has introduced two new concepts related to the Christian
life. He has mentioned life in the flesh (body) and life in the Spirit. He
relates the first to sinfulness - the Law aroused "our sinful
passions" which were at work in the flesh. His term "members"
means body parts through which sin is expressed and he leaves that to our
imaginations. We must be careful to avoid any conclusion that Paul is
saying the body is inherently sinful. The body is the conduit for sin. To live
in the flesh is to give the body over to any sinful passion that presents
itself. He characterizes those who live under the Law as susceptible to such
passions. Over against living in and for the flesh is, as an opposing
existence, the "new life in the Spirit." He confronts us with
two ways to live: in the flesh or in the [Holy] Spirit. In other
words, we choose to live carnally or spiritually, guided by sin or
guided by God. We serve whatever or whomever we choose.
Romans Chapter 7:7-13 The
Law and Sin
Paul
restates his argument about the nature of the Law. He asks if the Law should be
considered as sin. Of course not! The Law has brought knowledge of
sin not sin itself. If some action is not in the Law it is not sin, or at least
is not understood to be sin. He gives the example of the sin of covetousness
(to desire wrongfully without regard for the rights of others - Exod. 20:17). If there were no
commandment in the Law against coveting, it would not be a sin to covet.
If there were no speed limit signs we could not break the law no matter how
fast we drove. The law is a big red sign of what actions are wrong. "Apart
from the Law sin lies dead." We cannot push this analogy too far
but Paul's meaning is obvious. For Paul, Sin takes on a life all its own. Sin
is operative, seeking opportunity through the Law to infect those whose
allegiances are poorly chosen. This is in keeping with his view of two worlds
or kingdoms in conflict, that of God and that of Satan, the father of sin.
Returning
to his original question of whether or not the Law is sin, he declares it
to be holy (it is of God), just and good. So, he asks, did this good Law
bring death? Of course not! In a variation on a theme he suggests that sin,
acting through what is good - the Law, brought death. So far we might see his
point: Sin acts through the Law as an opportunist to tempt and to lead
astray. In vs. 13b we seem
to have a contradiction. Is he saying that Sin worked through the Law so that
it could or would be seen as sin? Probably not. More likely he is
suggesting that Sin took advantage of the good commandment through human
weakness and this shows just how terrible sin is. He still
maintains that the commandment shows what sin is and the reality that sin works
through the holy, just and good commandment multiplies sin's malevolence.
Romans Chapter 7:14-25 The
Inner Conflict
What
Paul has proposed is that sin and commandment are in
conflict within each of us. We strive to act rightly but we end
up messing up. In what at first appears to be a bit of brilliant
rationalization, Paul declares that it isn't he who is acting wrongly it
is the Sin that dwells within his body that is acting wrongly. How else can he
explain his desire to do what is right when the outcome is always
wrong? Obviously, he admits, nothing good [there is no good that] dwells
in his body (not literally in his body but in his "self." (In
Aramaic, flesh and blood constitutes the self, the whole person). Even if he
wills what is good he cannot seem to achieve the good. He characterizes
the Sin that dwells within him as another Law at work in opposition to the Law
of God in which he delights in his mind (thinking). It is this "other
Law" that holds him captive to the law of Sin.
Here
Paul's shout is an expression of the Jewish convert's frustration. His
conversation has been with a "fictitious Jewish Christian" (not
unlike himself) who has to reconcile the idea of switching his deepest
allegiance from the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ, from the old way of
understanding the source of salvation (obedience to the Law) to the new
(Obedience to Christ). With these forces battling within him, who will rescue
him from death? Who will save him?
Thankfully
God has provided the remedy. Resolution comes paradoxically in accepting the
conflict as real and continuing. There is no possibility of absolute obedience
to either pole. Such is the case with any legal code. We dance between two
partners each inviting our attention. With Paul and in our minds, we commit
ourselves to the Law of God through Christ while accepting that another Law
will persistently tug at the weak edges of our senses. There are no easy
answers, no happy-face solutions to the human dilemma. There are just choices
to be made at every turn while allowing our choices to be informed and
guided by a call from beyond our selves.
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