The Christian's Civil War Text: Romans 7:13-25
Introduction: The Honest Christian
We live in an age that majors in self-esteem and minors in self-awareness. Our therapeutic culture wants to diagnose every discomfort as a trauma inflicted from the outside and prescribe a treatment of self-affirmation. The last thing modern man wants to hear is that the call is coming from inside the house. He does not want to hear that the primary problem is not his environment, his upbringing, or his society, but rather the treasonous rebel that resides in his own heart.
Into this festival of self-congratulation, Romans 7 lands like a meteor. This passage is a profound embarrassment to all forms of superficial, happy-clappy Christianity. It is a description of the Christian life as a bloody, internal, hand-to-hand combat. And this is why so many have tried to explain it away. Some say this is Paul describing his life before he was converted. Others say this is Paul describing a carnal, defeated Christian who has not yet entered into the "victorious life." Both are profoundly wrong. This is the testimony of a mature apostle. This is the normal Christian life.
The unregenerate man does not have this fight because his will is in perfect accord with his flesh; they are allies in rebellion against God. The unregenerate man does not delight in the law of God in his inner man. He is at war with it. The man who has no spiritual conflict is not a spiritual giant; he is a spiritual corpse. A corpse does not struggle. The presence of this war is the sign of life. This passage, then, is not a manual for defeat, but rather a field guide to the war zone that is the heart of every true believer. It is a dose of glorious, liberating realism.
The Text
Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me.
I find then the principle that in me evil is present, in me who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
(Romans 7:13-25 LSB)
Sin's Judo Move (v. 13)
Paul begins by defending the Law. Is the Law, which is good, the cause of death? He answers with his characteristic, emphatic rejection.
"May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful." (Romans 7:13)
The Law is not the poison; it is the laboratory test that reveals the poison. The Law is the straight edge that reveals how crooked we are. Sin is the problem, and sin is so diabolically clever that it performs a kind of judo move on us. It takes the strength and goodness of God's holy Law and uses it as a weapon against us to produce death. The purpose of this is not to malign the Law, but to expose sin for what it truly is. The commandment comes, and sin, which was lurking in the shadows, is flushed out into the open and revealed in its full malignancy. It is shown to be "utterly sinful." God uses His Law to unmask the enemy. He turns the lights on so we can see the roaches for what they are. This is a mercy. You cannot fight an enemy you do not see.
The Two "I"s (vv. 14-20)
Here Paul describes the fundamental conflict. This is the anatomy of the Christian's civil war.
"For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:14-15 LSB)
The Law is spiritual, from God. But "I am fleshly." This does not mean Paul is unregenerate. It means he still possesses a fallen human nature, what the Bible calls "the flesh." This flesh has been defeated at the cross, but its final execution awaits the resurrection. It is a guerrilla force, staging insurgencies. The result is a baffling internal contradiction. The true "I," the regenerate man, wants to obey, but he finds himself doing what he hates. This is not the testimony of a man who loves his sin. It is the testimony of a man who is at war with his sin.
He continues this thought, making a crucial distinction.
"But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me." (Romans 7:16-17 LSB)
This is remarkable. The very hatred of his own sin becomes proof that his heart, the true "I," is on the side of the Law. He agrees with God against himself. This allows him to distinguish between his identity in Christ and the actions of his indwelling sin. He is not making excuses. This is not "the devil made me do it." It is a theological diagnosis. There is a traitor within the gates. "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." This is the language of a man who has been born again. He has a new identity, a new self, which is at war with the old rebellious tenant that refuses to be evicted quietly.
The War of Two Laws (vv. 21-23)
Paul summarizes this conflict as a war between two competing principles or "laws" within him.
"I find then the principle that in me evil is present, in me who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members." (Romans 7:21-23 LSB)
This is the key that unlocks the whole passage. The unregenerate man does not "joyfully concur with the law of God." He is hostile to it (Rom. 8:7). This joyful concurrence, this delight in God's standard, is the unmistakable mark of the Holy Spirit's work. This is the "law of my mind." But there is another law, a law of sin, that has set up a military outpost in his "members," his body, his habits, his flesh. And this law wages war. It is an active, hostile, military campaign. And sometimes, it is successful. It takes him "captive." This is the experience of every honest Christian. We have moments, hours, or even seasons where we are captured by a particular sin, despite the fact that our truest self, the inner man, despises it.
The Cry and the Answer (vv. 24-25)
This intense conflict leads to a cry of anguish, which is immediately met with an answer of faith.
"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24 LSB)
This is not the cry of someone wallowing in self-pity. This is the cry of a man with a clear view of two things simultaneously: the perfect holiness of God's Law and the stubborn corruption of his own flesh. It is the cry of a soldier pinned down by enemy fire, who knows he cannot save himself. He is not looking for a technique, a program, or a self-help book. He is looking for a person. "Who will deliver me?" This is the question that every man must ask before he can be saved. You will not look for a rescuer until you admit you are drowning.
And the answer comes like a thunderclap.
"Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:25 LSB)
The deliverance is not found in resolving the tension, but in looking to the Deliverer. The answer is not a method, but a Messiah. The victory is not located in our sanctification, but in our Savior. Paul gives thanks to God for a deliverance that is already secured in Christ, even while the battle still rages. He then summarizes the Christian's position in this life: a divided service. With the mind, the new man, he serves God. With the flesh, the old man, he serves sin. This is not an excuse for sin, but a description of the war. It is the necessary context for the glorious declaration that opens the next chapter: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." The war on the ground is fierce, but the verdict from headquarters is already in. The war has been won. Our job is to fight in that victory.
Conclusion: Fight the Good Fight
So what do we do with this? We must reject two temptations. The first is the temptation to despair, to look at the ongoing struggle and conclude that we are not true Christians. That is a lie from the pit. The struggle is the evidence of life. The second is the temptation to antinomian license, to use this passage as a hall pass for sin. Paul's agony and hatred of his sin should put that notion to rest forever.
The proper response is to be realistic and to be thankful. We must be realistic about the nature of the fight. It is a lifelong war, and there will be casualties. But we must be overwhelmingly thankful that the outcome of the war does not depend on our performance in the daily skirmishes. It depends entirely on the finished work of our champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you fall, when you are taken captive by the law of sin in your members, do what Paul did. Cry out for the deliverer. And then thank God that He has already answered through Jesus Christ our Lord. Get up, dust yourself off, and get back in the fight.