Dead To Sin But Still Vulnerable To It

November 11th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Nov 11, 2024

Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 7:13-14 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

Paul paints a somewhat dreadful picture of the Law in Romans 7, it being the means through which sin brought death to his soul, both deceiving him and killing him (7:10-11). In spite of this, Paul emphatically says that the Law is “holy …righteous and good” (7:12). And it is! The moral Law of God found in the Ten Commandments is, and will always be, a reflection of God’s character and nature. So there is nothing evil about the Law in and of itself. Charles Swindoll likens the Law of God to an MRI, a magnetic resonance imaging test that reveals things within the human body. An MRI for example can reveal cancer. When it does, no one would conclude than an MRI is evil; it just exposes the sickness. The MRI, like the Law of God, merely exposes the problem. Like the doctor then going in to cut out the cancer beneath the surface, so too does Christ remove the curse of sin that the Law of God exposes in man’s soul.

So, it is “sin” that is the problem with mankind, not God’s Law. God’s Law is “good” and could not be the “cause of death” for humanity (v. 13). If every human is born into Adam’s sin, and as a result the cause of every human’s death (cf. 5:12-14), then the Law of God is part of the gospel—the first step toward the good news in exposing one’s sin as sin leading to death. Once the reason for death has been revealed, then the problem (sin) can be addressed. The Law, or “commandment” of God, is the means through which sin is diagnosed as “utterly sinful” (Gr. huperbolē)—the state of having extraordinarily more than is necessary. Or, totally depraved.

Paul now draws the conclusion that although “the Law is spiritual”—characterized by the Holy Spirit—he, as are all humans, is “of flesh”—characterized by sin and rebellion toward God. Further, he says that he is, as are all humans, “sold into bondage to sin.”

One cannot help but wonder how Paul can say here that he is “sold into bondage to sin” (v. 14) when he previously spoke of believers having “died to sin” (6:2) and being “freed from sin… [having become] “slaves of righteousness” (6:18; cf. 8:2). Is Paul talking about his life prior to conversion? This would make sense in light of 7:18 where Paul says “nothing good lives in [him],” that the “law of sin…is in my members” (v. 23), and “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death?” (v. 24). This sounds like Paul prior to conversion. After all, Jesus Himself spoke of the abundant life for those who love Him (John 10:10). Moreover, the vivid disparity between Romans 7, with its incessant failure, and Romans 8 which depicts victory through the Holy Spirit, points to Paul’s pre-conversion state. Prior to Christ, Paul was a wretched man in need of rescue (7:24); after Christ, he had been “set free from the law of sin and death” (8:2), under the influence of God’s indwelling Spirit (8:9).

The problem with concluding that Paul was talking about his life prior to Christ however is that he uses the present tense throughout vv. 13-25, referring to his present quandary. Over 20 times he says things like “For what I am doing, I do not understand” (7:15). If he was talking about life prior to Christ, would he not have used the past tense? Furthermore, in light of the fact that Paul made it clear that “no one seeks for God” (3:11) in their unbelieving state, Paul says, “I joyfully concur with the law of God” (v. 22), something a non-believer could never say.

It does not fit that Paul would reflect here on his pre-conversion life then talk about his struggles with sin while discussing sanctification for believers. What does fit is that Paul would speak of his ongoing struggle with sin after conversion in his quest for sanctification. Though Paul had died to sin, as do all Christians, sin was still alive and seeking him—like the rest of us.

Food for Thought

Robert Mounce says, “Recognition of our inability to live up to our deepest spiritual longings (Romans 7) leads us to cast ourselves upon God’s Spirit for power and victory (Romans 8). Failure to continue in reliance upon the power of the Spirit places us once again in a position inviting defeat. Sanctification is a gradual process that repeatedly takes the believer through this recurring sequence of failure through dependency upon self to triumph through the indwelling Spirit.”