Peter Barnes | Romans 7:14-25
SERMON NOTES
THE FIGHT IS ON! (part 1)
(Romans 7:14-25)
About whom is Paul writing?
(a) Paul is writing of himself as a non-Christian.
(b) Paul is writing of an unsanctified Christian.
(c) Paul is writing of himself as a Christian.
This third option seems to be the correct one, for five reasons:
1. Verses 14-25 are in the present tense.
2. The ‘I’ and ‘me’ should normally be accepted as literal.
3. Verses 22 and 25a surely could only be uttered by a Christian.
4. Romans 6-8 is a section on sanctification, and too much of a backtrack in Romans 7 would seem to destroy the flow of the argument.
5. This understanding fits in with experience and the rest of Scripture (Gal.5:17; Eph.6:10-20; 1 Cor.9:27; Phil.3:12-14). John Bunyan wrote of this struggle in The Holy War.
Instead of working our way through the verses, it may be better to draw out some of the lessons that can be found here.
1. We do not understand ourselves.
– 7:15. See Jer.17:9. That does not suddenly become untrue the moment of conversion. Augustine wrote in his Confessions: ‘I could not find myself, much less find You.’
– Ps.19:12. ‘Rabbi’ Duncan: ‘There’s nobody perfect: That’s the believer’s bed of thorns: That’s the hypocrite’s couch of ease.’
2. We must be earnest
– Romans 7:14 is a lament. A professing Christian can act like an unbeliever – read 1 Tim.5:8.
– Paul loves the law of God because it is the law of God (7:22-24). A non-Christian does not love the law or delight in it.