6:21 fruit. Or benefit.
6:22 set free from sin. See note on v. 2. holiness. The benefit of being slaves to God is sanctification, the outcome of which is eternal life.
6:23 This verse describes two inexorable absolutes: 1) spiritual death is the paycheck for every man’s slavery to sin; and 2) eternal life is a free gift God gives undeserving sinners who believe in His Son (cf. Eph. 2:8, 9).
Romans 7
7:1—8:4 Knowing that his readers—especially Jewish ones—would have many questions about how the law relates to their faith in Christ, Paul sets out to explain that relationship (he refers to the law 27 times in this passage). In a detailed explanation of what it means not to be under law, but under grace (6:14, 15), Paul teaches that: 1) the law can no longer condemn a believer (7:1–6); 2) it convicts unbelievers (and believers) of sin (7:7–13); 3) it cannot deliver a believer from sin (7:14–25); and 4) believers who walk in the power of the Spirit can fulfill the law (8:1–4).
7:1 know the law. Lit. “those who know law.” Although Paul intends to include God’s written law, he is not referring to any specific law code, but to a principle that is true of all law—Greek, Roman, Jewish, or biblical. dominion. I.e., jurisdiction. No matter how serious a criminal’s offenses may be, he is no longer subject to prosecution and punishment after he dies.
7:2, 3 These two verses are not a complex allegory, but a simple analogy, using marriage law to illustrate the point Paul just made about law’s jurisdiction (v. 1). This passage is not teaching that only the death of a spouse frees a Christian to remarry; it is not teaching about divorce and remarriage at all. Both Christ and Paul have fully addressed those issues elsewhere (cf. Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:3–12; 1 Cor. 7:10–15).
7:3 The law that governs a married woman’s actions no longer has any jurisdiction over her once her husband dies. Widows are free to marry again, and Paul even encourages younger ones to remarry as long as their potential mate is a believer (1 Cor. 7:39; 1 Tim. 5:14). Even the legitimately divorced can marry again (see notes on 1 Cor. 7:8, 9).
7:4 Therefore. The logical conclusion or application of Paul’s brief argument (vv. 1–3) follows. become dead. The Gr. construction of this verb emphasizes two important points: 1) this death happened at a point in time, with results that are complete and final; and 2) someone else—in this case God Himself—initiated this death (lit. “you were made to die”). In response to faith in His Son, God makes the believing sinner forever dead to the condemnation and penalty of the law (cf. 8:1). through the body of Christ. Because, as the substitute for sinners, He suffered the penalty of death that the law demanded. be married to another. Just as the widow in Paul’s analogy (vv. 2, 3) was freed to remarry, the believer has been freed from his hostile relationship to a law that condemned him, and can, therefore, be remarried—this time to Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:24–27). fruit. A transformed life that manifests new attitudes (Gal. 5:22, 23) and actions (John 15:1, 2; Phil. 1:11; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:19, 20; Eph. 2:10; see note on 1:13).
7:5 flesh. Scripture uses this term in a non-moral sense to describe man’s physical being (John 1:14), and in a morally evil sense to describe man’s unredeemed humanness (see notes on 6:6; Rom. 8; Gal. 5; Eph. 2), i.e., that remnant of the old man which will remain with each believer until each receives his or her glorified body (8:23). “In the flesh” here describes a person who is able to operate only in the sphere of fallen mankind—an unredeemed, unregenerate person (8:9). Although the believer can manifest some of the deeds of the flesh, he can never again be “in the flesh.” sinful passions. The overwhelming impulses to think and do evil, which characterize those who are “in the flesh” (Eph. 2:3). aroused by the law. The unbeliever’s rebellious nature is awakened when restrictions are placed on him and makes him want to do the very things the law forbids (see note on v. 8; cf. 1:32). our members. See note on 6:13. fruit to death. The sinful passions at work in unbelievers produce a harvest of eternal death (see note on 5:12; cf. Gal. 6:7, 8).
7:6 delivered from the law. Not freedom to do what God’s law forbids (6:1, 15; 8:4; cf. 3:31), but freedom from the spiritual liabilities and penalties of God’s law (see note on v. 4; cf. Gal. 3:13). Because we died in Christ when He died (see note on 6:2), the law with its condemnation and penalties no longer has jurisdiction over us (vv. 1–3). serve. This is the verb form of the word for “bondservant” (see note on 1:1), but here it is parallel to being slaves of righteousness (cf. 6:18, 19, 22), emphasizing that this service is not voluntary. Not only is the believer able to do what is right, he will do what is right. the newness of the Spirit. A new state of mind which the Spirit produces, characterized by a new desire and ability to keep the law of God (see note on 8:4). oldness of the letter. The external, written law code that produced only hostility and condemnation.
7:7 Is the law sin? Paul wanted to make certain his readers did not conclude (from vv. 4–6) that the law itself was evil (cf. v. 12). I would not have known sin. The law reveals the divine standard, and as believers compare themselves against that standard, they can accurately identify sin, which is the failure to meet the standard. Paul uses the personal pronoun “I” throughout the rest of the chapter, using his own experience as an example of what is true of unredeemed mankind (vv. 7–12) and true of Christians (vv. 13–25). covet. Quoted from Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21.
7:8 opportunity by the commandment. The word “opportunity” describes a starting point or base of operations for an expedition. Sin uses the specific requirements of the law as a base of operation from which to launch its evil work. Confronted by God’s law, the sinner’s rebellious nature finds the forbidden thing more attractive, not because it is inherently attractive, but because it furnishes an opportunity to assert one’s self-will. sin was dead. Not lifeless or nonexistent (see notes on 5:12, 13), but dormant. When the law comes, sin becomes fully active and overwhelms the sinner.
7:9 without the law. Not ignorance of or lack of concern for the law (cf. Phil. 3:6), but a purely external, imperfect conception of it. when the commandment came. When he began to understand the true requirements of God’s moral law at some point prior to his conversion. sin revived. He realized his true condition as a desperately wicked sinner (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15). I died. He realized his deadness, spiritually; that all his religious credentials and accomplishments were rubbish (Phil. 3:7, 8).
7:10 was to bring life. Theoretically, perfect obedience to the law could bring eternal life, and with it happiness and holiness. But no one except Christ has—or could—ever fully obey it (2 Cor. 5:21; see note on 10:5).
7:11 sin…deceived me. By leading him to expect life from his keeping of the law, when what he found was death (v. 10); and by convincing him that he is acceptable to God because of his own merit and good works.
7:12 The fact that the law reveals, arouses, and condemns sin, bringing death to the sinner, does not mean that the law is evil (cf. v. 7). Rather the law is a perfect reflection of God’s holy character (cf. vv. 14, 16, 22; Ps. 19:7–11) and the standard for believers to please Him.
7:13 Has then what is good become death. Sin is the cause of spiritual death, not the good law. sin…might become…sinful. An awareness of the true nature of sin and its deadly character, which brings the sinner to see his need of salvation—the very purpose God intended the law to serve (Gal. 3:19–22).
7:14–25 Some interpret this chronicle of Paul’s inner conflict as describing his life before Christ. They point out that Paul describes the person as “sold under sin” (v. 14); as having “nothing good” in him (v. 18); and as a “wretched man” trapped in a “body of death” (v. 24). Those descriptions seem to contradict the way Paul describes the believer in chap. 6 (cf. vv. 2, 6, 7, 11, 17, 18, 22). However, it is correct to understand Paul here to be speaking about a believer. This person desires to obey God’s law and hates his sin (vv. 15, 19, 21); he is humble, recognizing that nothing good dwells in his humanness (v. 18); he sees sin in himself, but not as all that is there (vv. 1
7, 20–22); and he serves Jesus Christ with his mind (v. 25). Paul has already established that none of those attitudes ever describe the unsaved (cf. 1:18–21, 32; 3:10–20). Paul’s use of present tense verbs in vv. 14–25 strongly supports the idea that he is describing his life currently as a Christian. For those reasons, it seems certain that chap. 7 describes a believer. However, of those who agree that this is a believer, there is still disagreement. Some see a carnal, fleshly Christian; others a legalistic Christian, frustrated by his feeble attempts in his own power to please God by keeping the Mosaic law. But the personal pronoun “I” refers to the apostle Paul, a standard of spiritual health and maturity. So, in vv. 14–25 Paul must be describing all Christians—even the most spiritual and mature—who, when they honestly evaluate themselves against the righteous standard of God’s law, realize how far short they fall. He does so in a series of 4 laments (vv. 14–17, 18–20, 21–23, 24, 25).
7:14 the law is spiritual. I.e., it reflects God’s holy character. carnal. Lit. “of flesh.” This means earthbound, mortal, and still incarcerated in unredeemed humanness. Paul does not say he is still “in the flesh” (see note on 7:5), but the flesh is in him. sold under sin. Sin no longer controls the whole man (as with an unbeliever; cf. 6:6), but it does hold captive the believer’s members, or his fleshly body (v. 23; cf. v. 18). Sin contaminates him and frustrates his inner desire to obey the will of God.
7:15 understand. This refers to knowledge that goes beyond the factual and includes the idea of an intimate relationship (cf. Gal. 4:9). By extension, this word was sometimes used to express approving or accepting (cf. 1 Cor. 8:3). That is its sense here, i.e., Paul found himself doing things he did not approve of.
7:16 I agree with the law that it is good. Paul’s new nature defends the divine standard—the perfectly righteous law is not responsible for his sin (v. 12). His new self longs to honor the law and keep it perfectly (v. 22).
7:17 no longer I who do it. The Gr. adverb for “no longer” signifies a complete and permanent change. Paul’s new inner self (see note on 6:6), the new “I,” no longer approved of the sin that was still residing in his flesh, like his old self did (cf. v. 22; Gal. 2:20), but rather, strongly disapproved. Many have misconstrued Paul’s comments as abdicating personal responsibility for his sin by embracing a form of Greek dualism (which would later spawn Gnosticism; see Introduction to 1 John). Dualism taught that the body is evil and the spirit is good, so its adherents sinned with impunity by claiming they were not responsible; their sin was entirely the product of their physical bodies, while their spirits remained untouched and unsullied. But the apostle has already acknowledged personal guilt for his sin (v. 14; cf. 1 John 1:10). sin that dwells in me. His sin does not flow out of his new redeemed innermost self (“I”), but from his unredeemed humanness, his flesh “in me” (Gal. 5:17).
7:18 in me…nothing good dwells. The flesh serves as a base camp from which sin operates in the Christian’s life. It is not sinful inherently (see note 6:6), but because of its fallenness, it is still subject to sin and is thoroughly contaminated. my flesh. The part of the believer’s present being that remains unredeemed (see notes on 6:6, 12; 7:5).
7:20 no longer I who do it, but sin. See note on v. 17.
7:21 law. Not a reference to God’s law, but to an inviolable spiritual principle.
7:22 I delight in the law of God. The believer’s justified, new inner self no longer sides with sin, but joyfully agrees with the law of God against sin (Pss. 1:2; 119:14, 47, 77, 105, 140; cf. 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16).
7:23 another law. A corresponding spiritual principle to the one in v. 21. But this principle, which Paul identifies as “the law of sin,” operates in the members of his body—that is, his unredeemed and still sinful humanness (see note on 6:6)—waging war against his desire to obey God’s law. law of my mind. Equivalent to the new inner self (2 Cor. 5:17; see notes on 6:6), which longs to obey the law of God (see notes on vv. 21, 22). Paul is not saying his mind is spiritual and his body is inherently evil (see note on v. 17).
7:24 wretched man. In frustration and grief, Paul laments his sin (cf. Pss. 38:14; 130:1–5). A believer perceives his own sinfulness in direct proportion to how clearly he sees the holiness of God and perfection of His law. deliver. This word means “to rescue from danger” and was used of a soldier pulling his wounded comrade from the battlefield. Paul longed to be rescued from his sinful flesh (cf. 8:23). body of death. The believer’s unredeemed humanness, which has its base of operation in the body (see notes on 6:6, 12; 7:5). Tradition says that an ancient tribe near Tarsus tied the corpse of a murder victim to its murderer, allowing its spreading decay to slowly infect and execute the murderer—perhaps that is the image Paul has in mind.
7:25 The first half of this verse answers the question Paul just raised (v. 24)—he is certain that Christ will eventually rescue him when He returns (cf. 8:18, 23; 1 Cor. 15:52, 53, 56, 57; 2 Cor. 5:4). The second half summarizes the two sides of the struggle Paul has described (vv. 14–24). with the mind. See note on v. 23. I myself. Paul’s new redeemed self (see note on 6:6). the flesh. See notes on 6:6, 12; 7:5. law of sin. See note on v. 23.
Romans 8
8:1 therefore. The result or consequence of the truth just taught. Normally it marks the conclusion of the verses immediately preceding it. But here it introduces the staggering results of Paul’s teaching in the first 7 chapters: that justification is by faith alone on the basis of God’s overwhelming grace. no condemnation. Occurring only 3 times in the NT, all in Romans (cf. 5:16, 18), “condemnation” is used exclusively in judicial settings as the opposite of justification. It refers to a verdict of guilty and the penalty that verdict demands. No sin a believer can commit—past, present, or future—can be held against him, since the penalty was paid by Christ and righteousness was imputed to the believer. And no sin will ever reverse this divine legal decision (see note on v. 33). those…in Christ Jesus. I.e., every true Christian; to be in Christ means to be united with Him (see notes on 6:2, 11; cf. 6:1–11; 1 Cor. 12:13, 27; 15:22). walk according to the flesh…the Spirit. This phrase is not found here in the earliest manuscripts but only at the end of v. 4, perhaps indicating an inadvertent copyist insertion.
8:2–30 The Spirit, who was mentioned only once in chaps. 1–7 (cf. 1:4), is referred to nearly 20 times in chap. 8. He frees us from sin and death (vv. 2, 3); enables us to fulfill God’s law (v. 4); changes our nature and grants us strength for victory over our unredeemed flesh (vv. 5–13); confirms our adoption as God’s children (vv. 14–16); and guarantees our ultimate glory (vv. 17–30).
8:2 The word “for” introduces the reason there is no condemnation for the believer; the Spirit has replaced the law that produced only sin and death (7:5, 13) with a new, simple law that produces life: the law of faith (3:27), or the message of the gospel. the law of the Spirit of life. Synonymous with the gospel, the law of faith. the law of sin and death. The law of God. Although it is good, holy, and righteous (7:12), because of the weakness of the flesh (see notes on 7:7–11; 8:3), it can produce only sin and death (7:5, 13).
8:3 what the law could not do. Deliver sinners from its penalty (Acts 13:38, 39; Gal. 3:10) or make them righteous (Gal. 3:21). weak…the flesh. Because of the sinful corruption of unregenerate men, the law was powerless to produce righteousness (Gal. 3:21). His own Son. See notes on Ps. 2:7; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:6, 7; Heb. 1:1–5. in the likeness of sinful flesh. Although in His incarnation Christ became fully man (see note on 1:3), He took only the outward appearance of sinful flesh, because He was completely without sin (Heb. 4:15). condemned sin in the flesh. God’s condemnation against sin was fully poured out on the sinless flesh of Christ (Is. 53:4–8; cf. Phil. 2:7).
8:4 righteous requirement of the law. The thoughts, words, and deeds which the moral law of God demands. The ceremonial aspect of the Mosaic law has been set aside (Col. 2:14–17), and the basic responsibility for the civil aspect, which shows the application of the moral law in a community, has
been transferred to human government (13:1–7). The moral law finds its basis in the character of God and is presented in outline form in the Ten Commandments; its most condensed form is in Jesus’ commands to love God and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. It has never been abrogated, but finds its authority in the New Covenant. Every unbeliever is still under its requirement of perfection and its condemnation, until he comes to Christ (Gal. 3:23–25) and every believer still finds in it the standard for behavior. fulfilled. Although the believer is no longer in bondage to the moral law’s condemnation and penalty (7:6), the law still reflects the moral character of God and His will for His creatures. But what the external, written code was unable to accomplish, the Spirit is able to do by writing the law on our hearts (Jer. 31:33, 34) and giving us the power to obey it. not walk according to the flesh but…the Spirit. Not an admonition, but a statement of fact that applies to all believers. “Walk” refers to a lifestyle, the habits of living and thinking that characterize a person’s life (cf. Luke 1:6; Eph. 4:17; 1 John 1:7). Since every true Christian is indwelt by the Spirit (v. 9), every Christian will manifest the fruit He produces in his life (Gal. 5:22, 23).
8:5 those who live…the flesh. All unbelievers (see note on v. 4). set their minds. This Gr. verb refers to a basic orientation of the mind—a mindset that includes one’s affections, mental processes, and will (cf. Phil. 2:2, 5; 3:15, 19; Col. 3:2). Paul’s point is that unbelievers’ basic disposition is to satisfy the cravings of their unredeemed flesh (Phil. 3:19; 2 Pet. 2:10). those who live…the Spirit. All believers (see note on v. 4).
8:6 carnally minded. In the Gr. “minded” is a noun form of the verb in v. 5. “Carnally” means “of flesh.” This is a simple spiritual equation: The person with the mind set on the flesh is spiritually dead (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1). spiritually minded. This describes every Christian. The person with his mind set on the things of the Spirit is very much spiritually alive and at peace with God (see note on 5:1; cf. Eph. 2:5).
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 567