Reflecting on Romans 7:7-13

Passage

Romans 7:7–7:13 (ESV): 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Reflection

As I was dimwittedly working through 1 John 3 for olivet-mens-group-august-2025 I found myself gravitating towards Romans 7 and 8 as it brings clarity to John's words about practicing sin vs being a child of God.

It goes without saying in Christian circles that Romans is a tough cookie... Paul packs a lot in the letter and although I'm focusing right now on 7 verses, the context certainly matters when it comes to deeper study. As for me this morning I believe God's calling me to reverse-sear my conscience in regards to some persistent sins in my life. I write a little note in my notes for the olivet study:

As I write this out, the Christian concept of "setting the captives free" and jubilee and freedom strike my heart deeply. Just these phrases begin to call up emotions. But as I look at my life right now, what am I doing that shouts freedom? I spend more time lately playing games than being entrenched in theological study, I think about work more than things which are noble and praiseworthy, and I seem to purposefully focus on my own situations internally rather than on God's grace (which I do externally a lot - but I feel this tension inside - a hook of doubt)

These aren't the motifs in the passage, but the conversation around sin in our hearts spiderwebs throughout scripture very quickly if the conversation is to be worth anything... Freedom is core in a Christian worldview, but am I free and devoted to Jesus or a morally bankrupt slave to myself?

So far I haven't even touched the passage so let me dive in a bit.

"What then shall we say, that the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law I would not have known sin."

And that feels to me a little bit like Paul saying what I've heard other Christians today say — something like: "I didn't struggle with anger until I became a Christian and then it was a struggle!"

So there's that side of it.

And then the other side of it is that God has "written eternity on our hearts," has He not? And through Common Grace, do we not all understand very common morality?

Aside from our worldviews, there are things that we know are wrong. Murdering is simply wrong. Another good example is something like cowardice—or like Paul will go on to say, covetousness.

Whether you're a Christian or not, you wouldn't value covetousness or cowardice. Cultures across the world and across history reject these things.

So, through becoming a Christian, the struggle with sin really begins — because it's the understanding not that something is just kind of morally wrong, but that you're violating the law of the Creator of the universe.

Now, we don't want to dive in so deep that we reject the context (of Paul's thoughts in Romans 7:7–13). And so, I don't want to dissect these few verses too much.

And so what's my reflection?

I don't know.

Sin is crouching at the door. And it deceives me. So, through the law, I learn what my sin is—it lets me name my killer.

The law didn't bring death—it brings understanding of death, because it reveals sin, which produces death.

But the part that I'm not "to" in my heart yet is the end of the passage. Verse 13:

"Did that which is good then (the law) bring death to me? By no means! It was sin producing death in me through what is good (the law), in order that sin might be shown to be sin and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure."

And I think that that phrase "sinful beyond measure" is a reflection of Paul's understanding of sin in his life.

Now, I claim I have the same mental understanding...

Later on in Romans 7, Paul talks about his "inner man" and his mind being a slave to the law of the Spirit, but his body being a slave to sin.

But can I really say that my mind is a slave to the law of the Spirit?

I certainly would make a lot of theological points about it—but is it really?

That's my reflection this morning.

I'm not as convicted over sin in my life, and so this reverse conscience searing needs to happen.

Another Reflection

As I come back here for a second day, I believe by the guidance of the Spirit, I trust God to encourage and teach me through Paul's words

How do I know what is sin (lawlessness) and what is not sin (ie. not lawless, ie. lawful)? It's through the law as noted above.

What to do about this though? One day since some conviction settled into my heart certainly doesn't indicate anything about my life, but what else is relevant to this meditation?

The "law" is torah... generally this is referring to a code of holy living. Torah isn't "the law" how we understand the law, it's case-law for holy living. Torah describes the flight of an arrow towards its target - it's the direction of your life.

So the psalmist says that it's in the constant meditation of God's law (God's direction for holy living) that a man is "blessed".

There's many words to use, but this word "blessed" is a Hebrew word used for when describing the good life of another person

• Blessed is the man who meditates on the law of Yahweh
• The law brings knowledge of sin
• Furthermore, the law causes sin to "become sinful beyond measure"
• How? Via the constant meditation of the law of Yahweh - which Psalm 1:3 says

Bible stuff is apart of my daily vocabulary with anyone. God's law is in my mind, and hopefully my heart, every day. At the same time, the callousness is present. It's Paul's lament about being the chief of sinners, and about the war in his members (Romans 7/8)...

The solution is this... day by day meditation - slightly more focused and directed... God's blessing is absolutely on my lie - and the word for "blessed" in Psalm 1 referring to others describing the life of the blessed man as blessed is very true for me - people around me know God's been good to me. So I have every bit of faith that he will continue that goodness, and thankfully conviction this morning and week to take small steps towards a more devoted life to the meditation of God's law.

Round 3

Today the Bible Project app brought me to Isaiah 61 which coincides with this extended reflection quite well as it's one of the places we get the image and phrase of "setting the captives free" which is a Biblical theme I see Paul leaning on at the end of Romans 7.

This is a messianic prophecy delivered to the people of God in captivity to spur the remnant of the faithful to continue hoping in the promises of Yahweh.

Israel was in captivity more or less as discipline for violating God's word pretty regularly... Consistent with my reflection so far - has "sin become sin beyond measure" to me yet? No, just as it wasn't for Israel, and God allowed His people to be enslaved multiple times as they turned to foreign gods... is callousness to sin any different than turning to a foreign god? No, it's exactly what it is.

But thankfully the over-arching story is about Yahweh's faithfulness to His people, and this prophecy is for those who exercise faithfulness to Yahweh.... that's the crux of my reflection on Romans 7, how can I claim the promises of God if sin is so present in my life? I think the answer is that it's only through the awakening of the Spirit that I can genuinely question my loyalty to Yahweh and also acknowledge his loyalty to the Promise He brought me into. By God's grace I'm just a guy who the Lord has grace on, and I pray through daily meditation my will becomes so conformed to the will of Jesus that I can faithfully say "sin has become beyond sin to me"

Praise God for Paul's words at the end of Romans 7

Round 4

This morning I don't know if it was another translation or the direct explicit work of the Spirit but I feel like something clicked just a little bit here. The law didn't bring sin (lawlessness), God's law pre-exists Torah (Genesis, the trees), so the law says what is good and bad, and it's the brokenness of humanity (sin) producing death in us/me and the production of death shows sin to be what it is - sinful beyond measure

So as I reflect here on Paul, Romans, and myself - what am I missing or what is God recovering in me? This week has been pretty good concerning the areas of my mind and life where I feel callous and hardened. The daily meditation can't NOT be the reason - devotion in the morning, however minimal and before anything else, is producing in me the will to do God's good work in my own life. I don't mean giving money and doing charity - but in the privacy of my mind and day, do I honor the Lord with every thought?

The cliche but honest answer is no but I feel God's working in my heart, the tug towards Heaven and away from the hellish pit of my own desires