RSV ~ Romans 7 Notes
Rom 7:1-6 | ISB Notes
Paul illustrates Christian freedom in terms of death and remarriage. Just as a woman is freed from the law of marriage when her spouse dies, so believers are freed from the Law of Moses (7:6) when they die to sin in Baptism (6:1-11). So, too, as the widow is free to remarry, the baptized are freed for a new marriage with Christ (7:2-4). Note that Paul is using the marital analogy to make the general point that death liberates us from law. The analogy breaks down when we insist that every detail must correlate with Paul’s teaching (e.g., note how the surviving spouse remarries in 7:2-3, but the deceased spouse remarries in 7:4).
Rom 7:3 | ISB Notes
called an adulteress: Paul echoes the teaching of Jesus that marriage is lifelong and exclusive (Mk 10:11-12). Remarriage after the death of a spouse is licit (1 Tim 5:14), but remarriage after divorce is forbidden when both spouses are living. For further details, see note on 1 Cor 7:15 and essay: Jesus on Marriage and Divorce at Mt 19.
Rom 7:4 | ISB Notes
the body of Christ: The crucified humanity of Jesus. In other contexts, this expression denotes the mystical body of Christ, the Church (12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12; Col 1:24).
bear fruit for God: The goal of our marital union with Christ. In Paul’s theology, this fruit is produced in our lives through the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) (CCC 2074).
Rom 7:5 | ISB Notes
living in the flesh: i.e., living by the impulses of our fallen nature. Paul often speaks of “the flesh”, not as the body per se, but as the whole range of weaknesses we inherited from Adam, including (1) our corruptible bodies (8:3); (2) our darkened minds (1:21); (3) our inability to obey God without grace (8:7); and (4) our inclinations toward sin (7:25). The desires of the flesh are directly opposed to the will of the Spirit. See note on Gal 5:16-24.
our members: Our bodies can be used as instruments either of wickedness or of righteousness (6:13) (CCC 1995).
Rom 7:6 | ISB Notes
held us captive: The Mosaic Law imprisoned the people of Israel in condemnation, revealing their sins (3:20) and magnifying their guilt (5:20). Although its written code made clear distinctions between good and evil, it gave them no assistance to obey it through the Spirit (CCC 1963).
Rom 7:7-25 | ISB Notes
Paul contemplates the mystery of sin and man’s natural inability to resist it. He defends the Law of Moses as innocent and good (7:12), but accuses sin of murder and enslavement (7:11, 23). To dramatize this, he personifies “sin” as a predator lurking in our members who deceives, kills, and wages war on our desire to follow God. Paul is approaching these issues from a Christian perspective, where the experience of grace magnifies the reality of sin. His consciousness of sin was not nearly so acute when he was a Pharisaic Jew (Phil 3:5).
• The Law was given neither to create sin nor to remove sin, but merely to make it known. Thus the Law, in giving the soul a sense of guilt rather than innocence, makes it ready to receive grace (St. Augustine, To Simplician on Various Questions 1, 1).
Rom 7:7 | ISB Notes
You shall not covet: The preface to the final two LIU commandments of the Decalogue (Ex 20:17).
• The laws against coveting another’s wife and property show that the Torah censures not just outward acts, but even interior acts hidden in the heart. So not only do the commandments heighten our awareness of sin (3:20), they show that our vulnerability to sin lies deep within.
Rom 7:9 | ISB Notes
I was once alive: Paul speaks often in Romans 7 in the first person (“I” or “me”). Scholars ancient and modern have wrestled over the rhetorical implications of this. (1) Paul may be reflecting on his personal history, either as a Jew, confronted with the challenging demands of the Torah, or as a Christian, still fighting the inclination to sin in order to follow the Law. (2) Paul may be looking back on biblical history as sin was first experienced by Adam, who lived in innocence until he transgressed the commandment threatening death (Gen 2:17), or by Israel, who no sooner received the Law of the covenant than broke it (Ex 32:1-28). For the insertion of divine commandments into history at these two junctures, see 5:13-14. (3) Paul may be thinking of human history in general, so that his words describe the universal plight of all men apart from the saving grace of Christ. In the end, the third view is most likely Paul’s intended meaning, although allusions at the level of personal and biblical history should not be ruled out.
Rom 7:11 | ISB Notes
deceived: A form of this verb is used in the Greek version of Gen 3:13, where Eve blames the serpent for “beguiling” her into sin. Paul reflects on this tragedy elsewhere in 2 Cor 11:3 and 1 Tim 2:14.
Rom 7:12 | ISB Notes
the law is holy: Because it promotes virtue and prohibits vice. It is likewise “the embodiment of knowledge and truth” (2:20); it is “spiritual” (7:14); and it is full of righteous requirements (cf. 8:4). Paul is here asserting the excellence of its moral commandments.
Rom 7:13 | ISB Notes
death to me?: The Torah is not a murderer of souls. Sin is the real cause of death (5:12), which used the Law like a sword to kill us for our trespasses.
Rom 7:15-20 | ISB Notes
On his own, man is unable to rise above his fallen condition or to close the distance between what he ought to do and what he actually does. This leads to the overwhelming sense of helplessness that Paul verbalizes in these verses (CCC 2542).
Rom 7:23 | ISB Notes
the law of sin: Traditionally called concupiscence, which is the inclination of fallen man to misuse his free will in sinful and selfish ways. It manifests itself as an unremitting desire for pleasure, power, and possessions. Even the baptized have to wrestle with this inner force, although Paul insists that the Spirit can give us victory over its unmanageable urges (8:2, 13). So concupiscence remains in the believer, but it need not rule us like a tyrant (6:12-14) (CCC 405, 1426, 2520).
Rom 7:24 | ISB Notes
Who will deliver me … ?: The desperate cry of humanity apart from Christ.
Rom 7:25 | ISB Notes
I serve … sin: Insinuates that believers will continue to struggle with sin throughout their lives. There is thus an ongoing need for confession (1 Jn 1:9) and forgiveness (Mt 6:12).