Romans 7: Is it about believers or unbelievers?
As a general principle regarding this whole epistle, it was originally and fundamentally addressed to believers in Rome. Actually, ALL of Paul’s epistles were addressed to believers, people who had accepted the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as the sole basis for their salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
If you’re saved and heaven-bound today, it is because you’ve put your faith in Christ and what He did for you. You’re quite aware that your own works of righteousness have nothing to do with the acquisition of your salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Emphasis added]
The moment you gain salvation you enter into what is often called the Christian life. But you still have the sinful nature you had before you were saved but you now also have a new nature. These two natures then make war with one another for control of your thinking from that moment on.
Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh [your sinful nature] lusteth [EPITHUMEO = desires] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do [with perfect consistency] the things that ye would [THELO = desire]. [Emphasis added]
Much of the apostle Paul’s writings serve to exhort believers to accept and live by certain principles. Such is then the case for what we read in Romans 7. There he’s describing the ongoing warfare that goes on in the thinking of believers who are striving to live obediently to the commands and prohibitions they’ve been given in the Bible. Of course, it is also important to know which of these commands and prohibitions are directed to us. For more information about that, please see my article about it—
None of us are saved because we’ve quit sinning. We’re just ones who’ve put our faith in the One who did something wonderful about our sin problem. We know that because of our faith in Him and what He did for us, we’re no longer under the condemnation of God. Instead, we’re the ongoing beneficiaries of His blessings as members of His family and of what is called the spiritual Body of Christ.
Romans 8:1a
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,… [Emphasis added]
We are now said to be “under grace.” Instead of being condemned by the justice of God, we are the beneficiaries of the many spiritual blessings we will now have forever. We’re now always faced with the challenge to yield ourselves to the life He’s designed for us.
Romans 6:14-16
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? [Emphasis added]
Romans 1-5 present a clear definition of the Gospel of Grace. There we find that we’re justified and saved from condemnation by grace through faith in Christ alone.
Romans 3:24
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [Emphasis added]
Justification provides us with a completely new standing before God. Instead of being objects of His condemnation, we are the objects of His gracious blessings. In chapters 1-3 we see our guilt. Then in chapters 3-5 we see God’s provision. Chapters 6-8 are all about experiential sanctification, getting our thinking right. Then we see a shift. Chapters 9-11 are all about what happened to Israel. They were once the custodians of God’s Word but that took a dramatic turn.
Romans 11:25
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [Emphasis added]
Today, it is primarily saved Gentiles who are God’s people proclaiming His message and, therefore, the primary beneficiaries of His blessings.
Acts 13:46
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [Israelites]: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. [Emphasis added]
Romans 9-11 is dispensational in nature—Israel’s past, present, and future statuses. If you’re not familiar with the subject of dispensations, please see my articles. Here are the names and links to several of them—
Dispensational Theology: What should everyone know about it?
Dispensation: How is this defined in the Bible?
Dispensations: When did ours begin?
Bible: What is the Dispensation of Grace?
Dispensations: Why do so few churches teach about this?
We today are not Israel spiritually or in any other way. As ones who’ve accepted the gospel message, we are the Church, the Body of Christ; we should therefore not behave like Israel, claiming her promises and blessings as our own as so many try to do today. Such always results in confusion, frustration, and division.
The book of Romans concludes with chapters 12-16 that consist of daily practical applications of grace principles for specific life situations.
Romans 7, our subject, shows the conflict that always goes on when a believer is trying to live the life God has designed for him, the Christian life. The believer’s spiritual warfare is on not just one but three fronts—the world, the flesh, and the devil. Romans 7 tends to deal primarily with “the flesh” issue, the Christian’s daily battle with his own sinful nature. A one-verse summary of this warfare is found in the one verse I mentioned earlier in this article—
Again, Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh [your sinful nature] lusteth [EPITHUMEO = desires] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do [with perfect consistency] the things that ye would [THELO = desire]. [Emphasis added]
Romans 7:14-24 is the longer version of this.
One extremely important principle people need to learn from this is the fact that believers sin. Yes, all saved, born again, saints, regenerated, justified, members of the family of God, or whatever else they can be called, sin. We actually have foolish professed believers today who claim they no longer sin. In every generation there are people who are filled with their own self-righteousness and all the “stinkin’ thinkin’” that goes with it. The denial of their own sinfulness is an expression of that. Our Lord had such people to deal with in the time of His earthly ministry and we certainly have them today. Our Lord compared them to whitewashed tombstones.
Matthew 23:27-28
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. [Emphasis added]
Every Christian you know was a sinner before he or she was saved, and they still are now after they’ve been saved. The apostle John makes as clear a statement as you’ll find in all Scripture about this.
1 John 2:1-2
1 My little children [a reference to believers, God’s children], these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if [EAN = if or when] any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation [HILASMOS = the One having satisfied the just demands of God] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. [Emphasis added]
Paul’s rebukes to believers about their sinfulness wouldn’t be necessary if they weren’t guilty of those things. Here’s a list of a few—
1 Corinthians 6:18-19
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [Emphasis added]
1 Corinthians 5:1-2
1 It is reported commonly that THERE IS fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
Yes, there’s even the possibility of a Heaven bound saint getting involved in an incestuous relationship.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. [Emphasis added]
1 Corinthians 10:13-14
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This tells us believers don’t have to sin, but they often do.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. [Emphasis added]
Again, such a command wouldn’t be necessary if there were no idolatrous Christians. The Christians in this Corinthian church were about as bad as any the apostle ever had to deal with. But note what he also says about these idolatrous fornicators.
1 Corinthians 1:1-4
1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; [Emphasis added]
Every sinning believer is only a saint because of the grace of God. Let us never forget that if it wasn’t for God’s grace, none of us would be possessors of salvation and all the wonderful grace blessings that come with it.
There are no lost people in Romans 7! As noted earlier, this section of the book is about Christian living. If we want to find any lost and unsaved people in Romans, we have to go to the first five chapters. Chapter 7, however, highlights a common problem in the lives of all believers in Christ in every generation. “I” or “me” appears nearly forty times in Romans 7:7-25. Self-righteousness among believers is an ongoing problem. Furthermore, focus on the Law of Moses and all other laws keeps us focused on ourselves rather than on Christ and the provision He has made for all of us. Every sin we’ll ever commit was judged in Christ on the cross. It was there that the penalty for them all was paid in full to give all of us the forgiveness of our sins.
Again, 2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
But it’s verse nineteen of that passage that presents the truth that is so commonly rejected.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING [LOGIZOMAI = charging] their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word [or message] of reconciliation. [Emphasis added]
Our salvation isn’t based on our own righteousness, but on His. That’s what the whole first part of the book of Romans is about. Then after he makes his comments about Israel in Romans 9-11, note how he then begins the so-called practical section of the book. By “practical” I mean the manner life every believer should or ought to live. It is a code of conduct for each of us.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech [PARAKALEO = beg or request—Paul’s plea to them] you therefore, brethren [a reference to them as brothers and sisters in Christ], by the mercies of God [because of all the grace blessings of God given to them], that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [Emphasis added]
Again, there are no unbelievers addressed in this writing. If there was, this that you’ve just read would amount to being a plea to perform good works for salvation. But no such pleas are made! Everything written is to people who are already saved and saved forever. Salvation was permanent for them just as it is for us. Believers can’t even commit a sin that wasn’t paid for at the cross of Christ. In other words, these aren’t even pleas for people to do certain works of righteousness to maintain their salvation. We are assured that our salvation was sealed and made permanent by the Holy Spirit the moment we first believed the gospel message.
Ephesians 1:13
13 In [EN = in or sometimes translated by] whom [speaking of the Holy Spirit] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [Emphasis added]
Conclusion—
Romans 7 is about the inner spiritual warfare every progressing believer must deal with. Salvation is not the dismissal or eradication of one’s sinful nature. Temptation to sin continues to be a part of the everyday life of every believer. The areas of weakness vary from believer to believer. In other words, the types of sin that are most attractive to some are not to others. But everyone has their areas of sin where they are most vulnerable. For example, for some it would involve worry while for others it is envy. Some are most prone to gluttony while others may struggle with some form of sexual sin. But every believer has their areas of weakness. We are all prone to be self-righteous when some believers get involved in certain forms of sin we’re not particularly attracted to. But we should all soon learn that there are certain sins where we’re most vulnerable. Addressing those sins is what Romans 7 is all about. It is about the warfare that goes on when a believer works to resist or overcome those temptations. The promise we need to claim in working to resist those temptations is this one—
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer [permit] you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. [Emphasis added]
Therefore, we can never honestly proclaim that we can’t help ourselves. As our Lord resisted the temptations of Satan, it is our knowledge and application of the Word of God that is the solution. The words of King David come to mind as I close this article—
Psalm 119:10-12
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. [Emphasis added]
The “statutes” he refers to is a portion of the Mosaic Law. We are not under that Law today, but there are many commands and prohibitions that we find given in the writings of the apostle Paul that are given to us. We’re to be familiar with them and always work to make the right applications of them. The ongoing battle of believers doing that is the subject matter of Romans 7.
