Romans 7:13–17 Commentary – Sin Working Death in Me
Sin Working Death in Me
Key Passage: Romans 7:13–17
Romans VerseQuest Commentary Essay 45: Sin Working Death in Me Text: Romans 7:13–17
Introduction
Romans 7:13–17 says, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” Paul now takes the knife deeper. He has defended the law from the accusation that it is sin. He has shown that the commandment “Thou shalt not covet” exposed the lust in the heart, that sin took occasion by the commandment, deceived him, and slew him. Now he asks whether the good thing itself—the law—became death unto him. Again the answer is “God forbid.” The law did not become evil. Sin used that which is good to work death in him. The commandment did not poison Paul. It revealed the poison already running through Adam’s veins.
This passage is one of the most honest dissections of the inward life in the entire Bible. It does not flatter man, and it does not flatter the saved man’s flesh. It tells the truth about the conflict between the renewed inward man that consents to God’s truth and the sin that still dwells in the flesh. Paul is not describing a lost pagan enjoying sin without conviction. He is describing a man who knows the law is good, hates what is wrong, wills what is right, and yet finds another thing present in him that works contrary to the will of God. That is not the testimony of a dead sinner with no light. That is the groan of a man who has discovered that salvation did not remove the flesh from his mortal body. The old man has been crucified with Christ, but the flesh still has enough breath to argue from the coffin.
Romans 7:13–17 is not given to excuse sin, baptize defeat, or teach believers to make peace with failure. It is given to make the believer understand the battlefield correctly. If a Christian does not understand the difference between his standing in Christ, his inward delight in God’s law, and the sin that still dwells in the flesh, he will either fall into despair, pretending, legalism, or hypocrisy. Despair says, “If I struggle like this, I must not be saved.” Pretending says, “I do not struggle at all,” while sin laughs in the basement. Legalism says, “Try harder under law,” while the flesh manufactures fresh failure. Hypocrisy says, “Look at how well I am doing,” while hiding the evidence in a locked drawer. Paul gives the honest answer: the law is good, sin is the culprit, the flesh is carnal, and deliverance must come through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Chapter One: Was That Which Is Good Made Death Unto Me?
Paul begins verse 13 with the question, “Was then that which is good made death unto me?” The “that which is good” is the commandment, the law of God he has just described as holy, just, and good. Since Paul said the commandment was found to be unto death, some careless reader could accuse the law itself of being deadly in its nature, as though God handed man something evil and then condemned him for falling under it. Paul will not permit that nonsense. The law did not become death. The law is not the murderer. Sin is. The law is the clean blade that reveals the infection; sin is the gangrene killing the man.
This matters because sinners love to blame anything except sin. Adam blamed the woman, and indirectly blamed God: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me.” Eve blamed the serpent. Their children have been improving the family talent ever since. Men blame environment, upbringing, temptation, stress, government, religion, personality, poverty, wealth, trauma, ignorance, culture, and even God’s commandments. Paul does not let the sinner slither away. The law is good. The commandment is good. God’s standard is good. If death is working in man, the culprit is not God’s goodness but man’s sin. The mirror did not dirty your face, and the x-ray did not break your bone.
The question also protects the believer from developing an unbiblical hatred of the law. The Christian is not under the law as his covenant master, but he must never speak of the law as though it were wicked. The law exposes sin, condemns guilt, and reveals God’s holy standard. Used lawfully, it is good. Used unlawfully, it becomes a tool of legalism, pride, frustration, or condemnation. A hammer can build a house or smash a window, but the fault lies with the user, not the hammer. Paul is rightly dividing the matter. The law is good, but it cannot give life to fallen flesh. Grace does not dishonor the law by refusing to use it as a saviour. Grace honors the law by pointing to Christ, who fulfilled it, bore its curse, and gives life where law could only condemn.
Chapter Two: God Forbid
Paul answers, “God forbid.” That phrase has already thundered through Romans like a cannon shot against every crooked objection. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid. Is the law sin? God forbid. Was that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. Paul refuses to let error pick the lock on doctrine. When the flesh tries to twist grace into license, he says no. When legalism tries to accuse grace of lawlessness, he says no. When someone tries to blame the law for sin’s death-work, he says no again. The Holy Ghost is not confused. Men are.
“God forbid” is not a soft little academic qualification. It is a doctrinal door slammed in the face of a lie. Paul is defending both the holiness of God’s law and the truth about sin. The law did not become death; sin worked death by means of that which is good. That is the horror of sin. It can take a holy commandment and use it as a platform for rebellion. It can take truth and twist it, privilege and abuse it, liberty and corrupt it, law and weaponize it, grace and pervert it. Sin is not merely wrong actions. It is a treacherous principle in fallen man that hates God even when it is wearing religious clothes.
This phrase also keeps the believer from two errors in the Christian life. One error is blaming God’s standard for the trouble. The other is trusting God’s standard to fix the trouble. The first says, “The commandment is the problem.” The second says, “The commandment is the cure.” Paul says both are wrong. The commandment is not the problem; sin is. The commandment is not the cure; Christ is. The law can expose the disease, but it cannot perform the resurrection. A man who curses the law is a rebel. A man who trusts the law to save or sanctify his flesh is a fool. A man who lets the law expose sin and then flees to Christ has finally begun to read the Bible honestly.
Chapter Three: Sin, That It Might Appear Sin
Paul says, “But sin, that it might appear sin.” There is the culprit dragged into the light. Sin must be made to appear as sin because man is a master of disguises. He paints sin, perfumes sin, educates sin, politicizes sin, medicalizes sin, theologizes sin, and rebrands sin until the original label disappears under a pile of human excuses. God’s commandment strips the costume off and makes sin appear as sin. Covetousness is not ambition. Lust is not love. Pride is not confidence. Bitterness is not discernment. Rebellion is not independence. Unbelief is not intellectual caution. Sin is sin, and the commandment makes it appear so.
This is one reason plain Bible preaching is hated. It makes sin appear. Men prefer preaching that makes sin manageable, explainable, relatable, and socially acceptable. They want a pulpit that tells them their rebellion is a wound, their lust is a need, their greed is a drive, their pride is a strength, and their unbelief is a journey. Paul says the commandment makes sin appear sin. It does not flatter the patient. It names the disease. A doctor who refuses to say “cancer” because the word sounds negative is not compassionate. He is dangerous. A preacher who refuses to say “sin” because sinners might feel judged is not loving. He is helping decorate coffins.
The believer also needs sin to appear as sin in his own life. Saved people can become skilled at sanctified excuses. A harsh tongue becomes “just being honest.” Laziness becomes “needing balance.” Worldliness becomes “relating to people.” Prayerlessness becomes “a busy season.” Envy becomes “concern for fairness.” Disobedience becomes “waiting for clarity.” The word of God cuts through the fog and says what God says. Sin must appear as sin before it will be confessed, judged, and forsaken. A Christian never gets victory over a sin he keeps defending under another name. You cannot crucify what you keep calling a pet.
Chapter Four: Working Death in Me by That Which Is Good
Paul continues, “working death in me by that which is good.” Sin uses the good commandment to work death in the sinner. That is not because the commandment is defective, but because sin is so corrupt that it can misuse what is holy. The law comes in with God’s righteous standard, and sin turns the occasion into condemnation, rebellion, guilt, and death. The commandment says, “Do this and live,” but fallen man does not do it. The commandment says, “Thou shalt not covet,” and fallen man discovers coveting crawling all over his heart. Sin works death through the very commandment that reveals life’s requirement.
This death-work includes the collapse of self-righteous confidence. Paul once thought himself alive. The commandment came, sin revived, and he died. His religious confidence was slain. His Pharisee résumé caught fire. His inward lust stood exposed. This is mercy when it happens before the final judgment. It is a terrible blessing when God kills a man’s false hope early enough for him to flee to Christ. Better for the law to slay your pride now than for the Great White Throne to expose your guilt when no gospel invitation remains. The commandment that works death in the conscience is doing its proper work if it drives the sinner away from self and toward the Saviour.
For the saved man, this death-work also teaches him not to trust the flesh for sanctification. A believer who tries to use law as the engine of victory finds sin still present, still active, still able to twist commandment into frustration. He discovers that the flesh does not become holy because it is threatened. It becomes exposed, irritated, condemned, or proud if it thinks it has performed well. That is why Paul must move from Romans 7’s struggle to Romans 8’s walk in the Spirit. The law can say what is good, but sin in the flesh prevents the flesh from producing it. Grace does not ignore that problem. Grace brings the believer to the death of Christ, the life of Christ, and the power of the Spirit.
Chapter Five: That Sin Might Become Exceeding Sinful
Paul says the commandment shows sin “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” Sin is already sinful, but the commandment reveals it as exceedingly sinful. The law does not make sin worse in its nature; it makes sin’s wickedness manifest. When sin rebels against a clear, holy commandment, its hostility becomes obvious. It is one thing for a man to wander in darkness. It is another thing for him to see a sign from God saying, “Do not enter,” and step across the line while looking straight at it. The commandment exposes sin’s defiance.
“Exceeding sinful” is language too strong for modern religion. Modern religion wants sin to be unfortunate, understandable, manageable, treatable, and non-threatening. God says it is exceeding sinful. It is not merely a mistake. It is not merely brokenness. It is not merely weakness. It is rebellion against a holy God, corruption of the creature, poison in the soul, treason against the King, and the wages of it is death. Sin nailed the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. Sin required blood. Sin opened graves. Sin sends men to hell. Sin is not a harmless stain on human dignity. It is the knife in man’s hand raised against God’s throne.
A believer must keep this view of sin if he is going to fight honestly. Sin will try to shrink itself in your mind. It will say, “This is not serious. This is just your struggle. This is normal. This is private. This is understandable. This is not as bad as what others do.” The commandment answers, “Exceeding sinful.” Grace forgives, but grace never teaches the saint to minimize what Christ died to judge. The cross is the final commentary on sin. If sin were small, Calvary was excessive. But sin is exceeding sinful, and Calvary is the righteous, bloody, glorious answer of God to what no law could cure.
Chapter Six: The Law Is Spiritual
Verse 14 begins, “For we know that the law is spiritual.” Paul now makes a statement that destroys every fleshly accusation against the law. The law is spiritual because it comes from God, reveals God’s holy standard, reaches beyond outward action to inward desire, and judges man in the light of divine righteousness. The law is not carnal because it cannot save the carnal man. The problem is not that the law is too low, too crude, or too earthly. The problem is that the law is spiritual, and man in the flesh is not. The instrument is pure; the material is rotten.
This means the law exposes more than behavior. It reaches into the hidden realm of motives, desires, coveting, worship, and inward consent. “Thou shalt not covet” proves the law is spiritual because it condemns a sin that may never become outwardly visible to men. Nobody can photograph coveting in the heart, but God sees it. Nobody may hear the inward boasting, the secret envy, the concealed lust, the hidden resentment, or the private idolatry, but the law reaches it because God gave it. The commandment walks into the private chambers of Adam and opens the curtains. No wonder the flesh hates it.
Yet because the law is spiritual, it cannot be fulfilled by carnal strength. Fallen man cannot meet a spiritual standard by fleshly power. The legalist keeps trying to make the flesh behave spiritually by placing it under spiritual commandment. That is like handing a hymnbook to a corpse and complaining that he sings flat. The law is spiritual; the flesh is carnal. The law can demand, but it cannot regenerate. It can command love, but it cannot create love in Adam. It can demand holiness, but it cannot make the flesh holy. Only the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can bring the believer into practical victory that the law could command but not supply.
Chapter Seven: But I Am Carnal, Sold Under Sin
Paul says, “but I am carnal, sold under sin.” This is where Romans 7 becomes painfully personal. The law is spiritual, but Paul finds something in himself that is not. “Carnal” means fleshly. It does not mean Paul was lost. The Corinthians were called “carnal” in 1 Corinthians 3:1–3, and they were still brethren. Paul is describing the presence and power of the flesh in the believer’s experience when measured against the spiritual law of God. The inward man consents to the law that it is good, but the flesh remains carnal. Salvation gives a new man, but it does not yet give a glorified body.
“Sold under sin” does not mean the believer remains sin’s property in the same sense as before salvation. Romans 6 has already said the believer is dead to sin, freed from sin, and not under sin’s dominion. Paul is describing experiential captivity when the believer confronts the flesh under the law and finds sin still present in his members. The flesh behaves like it still belongs to the old master. It still answers old calls, still understands old languages, still remembers old roads, still reaches for old wages. The believer’s standing has changed, but his flesh has not been converted. Adam’s nature does not improve with Bible study. It must be reckoned dead and kept under.
This distinction is crucial. If a saved man does not understand the difference between his identity in Christ and the sin dwelling in his flesh, he may mistake the presence of conflict for the absence of salvation. But dead men do not grieve over sin like this. The unregenerate heart does not consent unto the law that it is good while hating the evil it does. A lost man may regret consequences, but the inward consent to God’s truth belongs to a man in whom grace has done a work. Romans 7 is not a permission slip for sin; it is a battlefield report from a man who knows the law is spiritual and has discovered that the flesh is still carnal.
Chapter Eight: What I Do I Allow Not
Paul says, “For that which I do I allow not.” The word “allow” carries the idea of approving, acknowledging with consent, or accepting as what he truly wills. Paul is not saying he has no awareness of what happens. He is saying the thing he does is not what the renewed inward man approves. There is a division within the believer’s experience. He can do what he hates. He can fail where he wills to obey. He can find himself acting contrary to the truth he knows and loves. That is not comfortable doctrine, but it is honest doctrine.
“For what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” This is the agony of Romans 7. The will is present, but performance fails. The inward man wants what is right, but sin in the flesh resists. Any honest Christian knows something of this battlefield. He wants to pray with consistency, but finds distraction. He wants pure thoughts, but finds filth knocking. He wants a disciplined tongue, but anger rises. He wants humility, but pride speaks up. He wants faith, but fear intrudes. He wants charity, but self insists on the throne. The flesh is not a quiet tenant. It is an old rebel still trying to run the house.
This verse must not be twisted into fatalism. Paul is not saying, “I fail, therefore failure is normal, so let us surrender.” He is exposing the futility of trying to produce holiness by the flesh under law. He is showing why the believer needs deliverance through Christ and the walk of Romans 8. The battle is real, but defeat is not the final doctrine. Romans 7 shows the problem; Romans 8 shows the power. Still, a believer must first stop lying about the problem. The flesh is worse than your public testimony admits. Sin is more present than your Sunday clothes suggest. The inward conflict is real. A man cannot walk in Spirit-filled victory while pretending there is no enemy inside the gate.
Chapter Nine: I Consent Unto the Law That It Is Good
Paul says, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.” This is a vital distinction. When the believer does what he hates, his hatred of the wrong shows that his renewed inward man agrees with God’s law. He consents that the law is good. The sin he commits is not proof that God’s law is defective; his inward grief and disagreement with that sin prove he knows the law is right. The very conflict bears witness that the believer has a new inward disposition toward God’s truth.
This inward consent separates a struggling saint from a comfortable rebel. The saved man may fall, but he cannot make peace with sin as his rightful home. He may be ashamed, grieved, chastened, convicted, and troubled. He may cry out for deliverance. He may hate what he has done even while confessing that he did it. The lost man can have remorse, but remorse usually grieves over consequences, shame, loss, exposure, or pain. The inward man in the believer grieves because God’s truth is good and sin is evil. That distinction matters. A pig can fall in mud and enjoy it. A sheep can fall in mud and bleat to get out. Same mud, different nature.
Paul then says, “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” This is not Paul dodging responsibility. It is Paul distinguishing between the renewed “I” that consents to God’s truth and the indwelling sin that operates in the flesh. The believer must not use this verse to say, “It was not my fault.” He must use it to understand the source of the conflict. The true inward man in Christ agrees with God. Sin still dwells in the flesh and must be judged, resisted, mortified, and refused dominion. The Christian is responsible to reckon, yield, walk in the Spirit, and put off the old man’s deeds, but he must not confuse indwelling sin with his new identity in Christ.
Conclusion
Romans 7:13–17 shows sin working death by that which is good. The law is not the problem. The commandment is not evil. God’s standard is not defective. Sin is the culprit. Sin uses the commandment to appear as sin, to become exceeding sinful, and to expose the death working in fallen man. The law is spiritual, but man in the flesh is carnal. The commandment can reveal lust, expose rebellion, condemn guilt, and kill self-righteous confidence, but it cannot give life to Adam. That is why the sinner needs Christ, and that is why the believer must not seek sanctifying power from the law.
This passage also explains the inward struggle of the saved man. The believer may know the law is good, consent to God’s truth, will what is right, hate what is wrong, and still discover sin present in the flesh. That conflict does not excuse sin, but it does explain the battlefield. The Christian is not a sinless spirit floating above temptation. He is a redeemed man still living in a mortal body, waiting for final deliverance, called to reckon himself dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Until glory, the flesh remains flesh. It does not become trustworthy because the man is saved.
Therefore the believer must understand the difference between the inward man and indwelling sin. The renewed inward man consents unto the law that it is good. The sin that dwells in the flesh pulls the other direction. Victory begins by refusing to identify yourself by the flesh’s rebellion and refusing to excuse the flesh as though it were harmless. Name sin as sin. Judge it by the word. Reckon the old man crucified. Yield your members unto God. Walk in the Spirit. Do not blame the law, and do not trust the flesh. The law is holy, sin is exceeding sinful, the flesh is carnal, and the only deliverer is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 7:13–17 Commentary – Sin Working Death in Me
Sin Working Death in Me
Key Passage: Romans 7:13–17
Romans VerseQuest Commentary
Essay 45: Sin Working Death in Me
Text: Romans 7:13–17
Introduction
Romans 7:13–17 says, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” Paul now takes the knife deeper. He has defended the law from the accusation that it is sin. He has shown that the commandment “Thou shalt not covet” exposed the lust in the heart, that sin took occasion by the commandment, deceived him, and slew him. Now he asks whether the good thing itself—the law—became death unto him. Again the answer is “God forbid.” The law did not become evil. Sin used that which is good to work death in him. The commandment did not poison Paul. It revealed the poison already running through Adam’s veins.
This passage is one of the most honest dissections of the inward life in the entire Bible. It does not flatter man, and it does not flatter the saved man’s flesh. It tells the truth about the conflict between the renewed inward man that consents to God’s truth and the sin that still dwells in the flesh. Paul is not describing a lost pagan enjoying sin without conviction. He is describing a man who knows the law is good, hates what is wrong, wills what is right, and yet finds another thing present in him that works contrary to the will of God. That is not the testimony of a dead sinner with no light. That is the groan of a man who has discovered that salvation did not remove the flesh from his mortal body. The old man has been crucified with Christ, but the flesh still has enough breath to argue from the coffin.
Romans 7:13–17 is not given to excuse sin, baptize defeat, or teach believers to make peace with failure. It is given to make the believer understand the battlefield correctly. If a Christian does not understand the difference between his standing in Christ, his inward delight in God’s law, and the sin that still dwells in the flesh, he will either fall into despair, pretending, legalism, or hypocrisy. Despair says, “If I struggle like this, I must not be saved.” Pretending says, “I do not struggle at all,” while sin laughs in the basement. Legalism says, “Try harder under law,” while the flesh manufactures fresh failure. Hypocrisy says, “Look at how well I am doing,” while hiding the evidence in a locked drawer. Paul gives the honest answer: the law is good, sin is the culprit, the flesh is carnal, and deliverance must come through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Chapter One: Was That Which Is Good Made Death Unto Me?
Paul begins verse 13 with the question, “Was then that which is good made death unto me?” The “that which is good” is the commandment, the law of God he has just described as holy, just, and good. Since Paul said the commandment was found to be unto death, some careless reader could accuse the law itself of being deadly in its nature, as though God handed man something evil and then condemned him for falling under it. Paul will not permit that nonsense. The law did not become death. The law is not the murderer. Sin is. The law is the clean blade that reveals the infection; sin is the gangrene killing the man.
This matters because sinners love to blame anything except sin. Adam blamed the woman, and indirectly blamed God: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me.” Eve blamed the serpent. Their children have been improving the family talent ever since. Men blame environment, upbringing, temptation, stress, government, religion, personality, poverty, wealth, trauma, ignorance, culture, and even God’s commandments. Paul does not let the sinner slither away. The law is good. The commandment is good. God’s standard is good. If death is working in man, the culprit is not God’s goodness but man’s sin. The mirror did not dirty your face, and the x-ray did not break your bone.
The question also protects the believer from developing an unbiblical hatred of the law. The Christian is not under the law as his covenant master, but he must never speak of the law as though it were wicked. The law exposes sin, condemns guilt, and reveals God’s holy standard. Used lawfully, it is good. Used unlawfully, it becomes a tool of legalism, pride, frustration, or condemnation. A hammer can build a house or smash a window, but the fault lies with the user, not the hammer. Paul is rightly dividing the matter. The law is good, but it cannot give life to fallen flesh. Grace does not dishonor the law by refusing to use it as a saviour. Grace honors the law by pointing to Christ, who fulfilled it, bore its curse, and gives life where law could only condemn.
Chapter Two: God Forbid
Paul answers, “God forbid.” That phrase has already thundered through Romans like a cannon shot against every crooked objection. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid. Is the law sin? God forbid. Was that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. Paul refuses to let error pick the lock on doctrine. When the flesh tries to twist grace into license, he says no. When legalism tries to accuse grace of lawlessness, he says no. When someone tries to blame the law for sin’s death-work, he says no again. The Holy Ghost is not confused. Men are.
“God forbid” is not a soft little academic qualification. It is a doctrinal door slammed in the face of a lie. Paul is defending both the holiness of God’s law and the truth about sin. The law did not become death; sin worked death by means of that which is good. That is the horror of sin. It can take a holy commandment and use it as a platform for rebellion. It can take truth and twist it, privilege and abuse it, liberty and corrupt it, law and weaponize it, grace and pervert it. Sin is not merely wrong actions. It is a treacherous principle in fallen man that hates God even when it is wearing religious clothes.
This phrase also keeps the believer from two errors in the Christian life. One error is blaming God’s standard for the trouble. The other is trusting God’s standard to fix the trouble. The first says, “The commandment is the problem.” The second says, “The commandment is the cure.” Paul says both are wrong. The commandment is not the problem; sin is. The commandment is not the cure; Christ is. The law can expose the disease, but it cannot perform the resurrection. A man who curses the law is a rebel. A man who trusts the law to save or sanctify his flesh is a fool. A man who lets the law expose sin and then flees to Christ has finally begun to read the Bible honestly.
Chapter Three: Sin, That It Might Appear Sin
Paul says, “But sin, that it might appear sin.” There is the culprit dragged into the light. Sin must be made to appear as sin because man is a master of disguises. He paints sin, perfumes sin, educates sin, politicizes sin, medicalizes sin, theologizes sin, and rebrands sin until the original label disappears under a pile of human excuses. God’s commandment strips the costume off and makes sin appear as sin. Covetousness is not ambition. Lust is not love. Pride is not confidence. Bitterness is not discernment. Rebellion is not independence. Unbelief is not intellectual caution. Sin is sin, and the commandment makes it appear so.
This is one reason plain Bible preaching is hated. It makes sin appear. Men prefer preaching that makes sin manageable, explainable, relatable, and socially acceptable. They want a pulpit that tells them their rebellion is a wound, their lust is a need, their greed is a drive, their pride is a strength, and their unbelief is a journey. Paul says the commandment makes sin appear sin. It does not flatter the patient. It names the disease. A doctor who refuses to say “cancer” because the word sounds negative is not compassionate. He is dangerous. A preacher who refuses to say “sin” because sinners might feel judged is not loving. He is helping decorate coffins.
The believer also needs sin to appear as sin in his own life. Saved people can become skilled at sanctified excuses. A harsh tongue becomes “just being honest.” Laziness becomes “needing balance.” Worldliness becomes “relating to people.” Prayerlessness becomes “a busy season.” Envy becomes “concern for fairness.” Disobedience becomes “waiting for clarity.” The word of God cuts through the fog and says what God says. Sin must appear as sin before it will be confessed, judged, and forsaken. A Christian never gets victory over a sin he keeps defending under another name. You cannot crucify what you keep calling a pet.
Chapter Four: Working Death in Me by That Which Is Good
Paul continues, “working death in me by that which is good.” Sin uses the good commandment to work death in the sinner. That is not because the commandment is defective, but because sin is so corrupt that it can misuse what is holy. The law comes in with God’s righteous standard, and sin turns the occasion into condemnation, rebellion, guilt, and death. The commandment says, “Do this and live,” but fallen man does not do it. The commandment says, “Thou shalt not covet,” and fallen man discovers coveting crawling all over his heart. Sin works death through the very commandment that reveals life’s requirement.
This death-work includes the collapse of self-righteous confidence. Paul once thought himself alive. The commandment came, sin revived, and he died. His religious confidence was slain. His Pharisee résumé caught fire. His inward lust stood exposed. This is mercy when it happens before the final judgment. It is a terrible blessing when God kills a man’s false hope early enough for him to flee to Christ. Better for the law to slay your pride now than for the Great White Throne to expose your guilt when no gospel invitation remains. The commandment that works death in the conscience is doing its proper work if it drives the sinner away from self and toward the Saviour.
For the saved man, this death-work also teaches him not to trust the flesh for sanctification. A believer who tries to use law as the engine of victory finds sin still present, still active, still able to twist commandment into frustration. He discovers that the flesh does not become holy because it is threatened. It becomes exposed, irritated, condemned, or proud if it thinks it has performed well. That is why Paul must move from Romans 7’s struggle to Romans 8’s walk in the Spirit. The law can say what is good, but sin in the flesh prevents the flesh from producing it. Grace does not ignore that problem. Grace brings the believer to the death of Christ, the life of Christ, and the power of the Spirit.
Chapter Five: That Sin Might Become Exceeding Sinful
Paul says the commandment shows sin “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” Sin is already sinful, but the commandment reveals it as exceedingly sinful. The law does not make sin worse in its nature; it makes sin’s wickedness manifest. When sin rebels against a clear, holy commandment, its hostility becomes obvious. It is one thing for a man to wander in darkness. It is another thing for him to see a sign from God saying, “Do not enter,” and step across the line while looking straight at it. The commandment exposes sin’s defiance.
“Exceeding sinful” is language too strong for modern religion. Modern religion wants sin to be unfortunate, understandable, manageable, treatable, and non-threatening. God says it is exceeding sinful. It is not merely a mistake. It is not merely brokenness. It is not merely weakness. It is rebellion against a holy God, corruption of the creature, poison in the soul, treason against the King, and the wages of it is death. Sin nailed the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. Sin required blood. Sin opened graves. Sin sends men to hell. Sin is not a harmless stain on human dignity. It is the knife in man’s hand raised against God’s throne.
A believer must keep this view of sin if he is going to fight honestly. Sin will try to shrink itself in your mind. It will say, “This is not serious. This is just your struggle. This is normal. This is private. This is understandable. This is not as bad as what others do.” The commandment answers, “Exceeding sinful.” Grace forgives, but grace never teaches the saint to minimize what Christ died to judge. The cross is the final commentary on sin. If sin were small, Calvary was excessive. But sin is exceeding sinful, and Calvary is the righteous, bloody, glorious answer of God to what no law could cure.
Chapter Six: The Law Is Spiritual
Verse 14 begins, “For we know that the law is spiritual.” Paul now makes a statement that destroys every fleshly accusation against the law. The law is spiritual because it comes from God, reveals God’s holy standard, reaches beyond outward action to inward desire, and judges man in the light of divine righteousness. The law is not carnal because it cannot save the carnal man. The problem is not that the law is too low, too crude, or too earthly. The problem is that the law is spiritual, and man in the flesh is not. The instrument is pure; the material is rotten.
This means the law exposes more than behavior. It reaches into the hidden realm of motives, desires, coveting, worship, and inward consent. “Thou shalt not covet” proves the law is spiritual because it condemns a sin that may never become outwardly visible to men. Nobody can photograph coveting in the heart, but God sees it. Nobody may hear the inward boasting, the secret envy, the concealed lust, the hidden resentment, or the private idolatry, but the law reaches it because God gave it. The commandment walks into the private chambers of Adam and opens the curtains. No wonder the flesh hates it.
Yet because the law is spiritual, it cannot be fulfilled by carnal strength. Fallen man cannot meet a spiritual standard by fleshly power. The legalist keeps trying to make the flesh behave spiritually by placing it under spiritual commandment. That is like handing a hymnbook to a corpse and complaining that he sings flat. The law is spiritual; the flesh is carnal. The law can demand, but it cannot regenerate. It can command love, but it cannot create love in Adam. It can demand holiness, but it cannot make the flesh holy. Only the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can bring the believer into practical victory that the law could command but not supply.
Chapter Seven: But I Am Carnal, Sold Under Sin
Paul says, “but I am carnal, sold under sin.” This is where Romans 7 becomes painfully personal. The law is spiritual, but Paul finds something in himself that is not. “Carnal” means fleshly. It does not mean Paul was lost. The Corinthians were called “carnal” in 1 Corinthians 3:1–3, and they were still brethren. Paul is describing the presence and power of the flesh in the believer’s experience when measured against the spiritual law of God. The inward man consents to the law that it is good, but the flesh remains carnal. Salvation gives a new man, but it does not yet give a glorified body.
“Sold under sin” does not mean the believer remains sin’s property in the same sense as before salvation. Romans 6 has already said the believer is dead to sin, freed from sin, and not under sin’s dominion. Paul is describing experiential captivity when the believer confronts the flesh under the law and finds sin still present in his members. The flesh behaves like it still belongs to the old master. It still answers old calls, still understands old languages, still remembers old roads, still reaches for old wages. The believer’s standing has changed, but his flesh has not been converted. Adam’s nature does not improve with Bible study. It must be reckoned dead and kept under.
This distinction is crucial. If a saved man does not understand the difference between his identity in Christ and the sin dwelling in his flesh, he may mistake the presence of conflict for the absence of salvation. But dead men do not grieve over sin like this. The unregenerate heart does not consent unto the law that it is good while hating the evil it does. A lost man may regret consequences, but the inward consent to God’s truth belongs to a man in whom grace has done a work. Romans 7 is not a permission slip for sin; it is a battlefield report from a man who knows the law is spiritual and has discovered that the flesh is still carnal.
Chapter Eight: What I Do I Allow Not
Paul says, “For that which I do I allow not.” The word “allow” carries the idea of approving, acknowledging with consent, or accepting as what he truly wills. Paul is not saying he has no awareness of what happens. He is saying the thing he does is not what the renewed inward man approves. There is a division within the believer’s experience. He can do what he hates. He can fail where he wills to obey. He can find himself acting contrary to the truth he knows and loves. That is not comfortable doctrine, but it is honest doctrine.
“For what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” This is the agony of Romans 7. The will is present, but performance fails. The inward man wants what is right, but sin in the flesh resists. Any honest Christian knows something of this battlefield. He wants to pray with consistency, but finds distraction. He wants pure thoughts, but finds filth knocking. He wants a disciplined tongue, but anger rises. He wants humility, but pride speaks up. He wants faith, but fear intrudes. He wants charity, but self insists on the throne. The flesh is not a quiet tenant. It is an old rebel still trying to run the house.
This verse must not be twisted into fatalism. Paul is not saying, “I fail, therefore failure is normal, so let us surrender.” He is exposing the futility of trying to produce holiness by the flesh under law. He is showing why the believer needs deliverance through Christ and the walk of Romans 8. The battle is real, but defeat is not the final doctrine. Romans 7 shows the problem; Romans 8 shows the power. Still, a believer must first stop lying about the problem. The flesh is worse than your public testimony admits. Sin is more present than your Sunday clothes suggest. The inward conflict is real. A man cannot walk in Spirit-filled victory while pretending there is no enemy inside the gate.
Chapter Nine: I Consent Unto the Law That It Is Good
Paul says, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.” This is a vital distinction. When the believer does what he hates, his hatred of the wrong shows that his renewed inward man agrees with God’s law. He consents that the law is good. The sin he commits is not proof that God’s law is defective; his inward grief and disagreement with that sin prove he knows the law is right. The very conflict bears witness that the believer has a new inward disposition toward God’s truth.
This inward consent separates a struggling saint from a comfortable rebel. The saved man may fall, but he cannot make peace with sin as his rightful home. He may be ashamed, grieved, chastened, convicted, and troubled. He may cry out for deliverance. He may hate what he has done even while confessing that he did it. The lost man can have remorse, but remorse usually grieves over consequences, shame, loss, exposure, or pain. The inward man in the believer grieves because God’s truth is good and sin is evil. That distinction matters. A pig can fall in mud and enjoy it. A sheep can fall in mud and bleat to get out. Same mud, different nature.
Paul then says, “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” This is not Paul dodging responsibility. It is Paul distinguishing between the renewed “I” that consents to God’s truth and the indwelling sin that operates in the flesh. The believer must not use this verse to say, “It was not my fault.” He must use it to understand the source of the conflict. The true inward man in Christ agrees with God. Sin still dwells in the flesh and must be judged, resisted, mortified, and refused dominion. The Christian is responsible to reckon, yield, walk in the Spirit, and put off the old man’s deeds, but he must not confuse indwelling sin with his new identity in Christ.
Conclusion
Romans 7:13–17 shows sin working death by that which is good. The law is not the problem. The commandment is not evil. God’s standard is not defective. Sin is the culprit. Sin uses the commandment to appear as sin, to become exceeding sinful, and to expose the death working in fallen man. The law is spiritual, but man in the flesh is carnal. The commandment can reveal lust, expose rebellion, condemn guilt, and kill self-righteous confidence, but it cannot give life to Adam. That is why the sinner needs Christ, and that is why the believer must not seek sanctifying power from the law.
This passage also explains the inward struggle of the saved man. The believer may know the law is good, consent to God’s truth, will what is right, hate what is wrong, and still discover sin present in the flesh. That conflict does not excuse sin, but it does explain the battlefield. The Christian is not a sinless spirit floating above temptation. He is a redeemed man still living in a mortal body, waiting for final deliverance, called to reckon himself dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Until glory, the flesh remains flesh. It does not become trustworthy because the man is saved.
Therefore the believer must understand the difference between the inward man and indwelling sin. The renewed inward man consents unto the law that it is good. The sin that dwells in the flesh pulls the other direction. Victory begins by refusing to identify yourself by the flesh’s rebellion and refusing to excuse the flesh as though it were harmless. Name sin as sin. Judge it by the word. Reckon the old man crucified. Yield your members unto God. Walk in the Spirit. Do not blame the law, and do not trust the flesh. The law is holy, sin is exceeding sinful, the flesh is carnal, and the only deliverer is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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Romans 1:1 Commentary – Paul, a Servant of Jesus Christ
Romans 1:2-4 Commentary – The Gospel Promised Beforehand
Romans 1:5–7 Commentary – Grace, Apostleship, and Obedience to the Faith