For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,
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Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, was producing death in me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. For I delight in God’s law after the inward man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.
Parallel Translations
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For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.
So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good.
For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
I find then the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present.
For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,
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because I wote not what I doo. For what I wold that do I not: but what I hate that do I.
Yf I do now that which I wolde not I graute to the lawe that it is good.
So then nowe it is not I that do it but synne that dwelleth in me.
For I knowe that in me (that is to saye in my flesshe) dwelleth no good thinge. To will is present with me: but I fynde no meanes to performe that which is good.
For I doo not that good thinge which I wold: but that evill do I which I wolde not.
Finally yf I do that I wolde not then is it not I that doo it but synne that dwelleth in me doeth it.
I fynde then by the lawe that when I wolde do good evyll is present with me.
I delite in the lawe of God concerninge the inner man.
Show all 3 translations
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For I alow not that which I do: for what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I.
If I doe then that which I woulde not, I consent to the Lawe, that it is good.
Nowe then, it is no more I, that doe it, but sinne that dwelleth in me.
For I know, that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to wil is preset with me: but I find no meanes to perform that which is good.
For I doe not the good thing, which I would, but the euil, which I would not, that do I.
Nowe if I do that I would not, it is no more I that doe it, but the sinne that dwelleth in me.
I finde then that when I would doe good, I am thus yoked, that euill is present with me.
For I delite in the Law of God, concerning the inner man:
Cross-references (120)
- Galatians 5:17 (vv15, 18) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the…
- Psalms 1:2 (v22) but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
- Psalms 40:8 (v22) I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
- Psalms 119:35 (v22) Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.
- Psalms 119:47-48 (v22) I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them. I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate…
Show all 100 cross-references
- Romans 7:19-20 (v15) For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is…
- Job 23:12 (v22) I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20 (v15) Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.
- Hebrews 8:10 (v22) “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind,…
- Psalms 119:97-104 (v22) How I love your law! It is my meditation all day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with…
- Nahum 1:7 (v15) Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
- John 3:6 (v18) That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- James 3:2 (v15) For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also.
- Romans 7:15 (vv18–19) For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
- Psalms 51:5 (v18) Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16 (v22) Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
- Philippians 3:12-14 (v15) Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold…
- Psalms 119:92 (v22) Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
- Romans 7:25 (vv18, 21) I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.
- Psalms 119:16 (v22) I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
- Psalms 119:115-117 (v18) Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be…
- Romans 12:9 (v15) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
- 1 John 1:7-8 (v15) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses…
- Job 14:4 (v18) Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.
- Psalms 19:8-10 (v22) Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is clean,…
- Psalms 119:167 (v22) My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.
- Psalms 119:174 (v22) I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.
- Psalms 19:12 (v15) Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors.
- Romans 8:7 (v22) because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be.
- Romans 14:22 (v15) Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn’t judge himself in that which he approves.
- Ephesians 3:16 (v22) that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner…
- 1 Peter 3:4 (v22) but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of…
- Jude 1:23 (v15) and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
- Job 15:14-16 (v18) What is man, that he should be clean? What is he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he puts no trust in his holy…
- Psalms 119:24 (v22) Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
- Psalms 119:72 (v22) The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
- Psalms 119:111 (v22) I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- Romans 7:20 (v17) But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
- Galatians 5:24 (v18) Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
- 2 Timothy 2:19 (v15) However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the…
- Psalms 119:113 (vv15, 22) I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.
- Genesis 6:5 (v18) Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually…
- Psalms 119:127 (v22) Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.
- Isaiah 51:7 (v22) “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Don’t fear the reproach of men, and don’t be dismayed at…
- Philippians 2:13 (v18) For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
- Romans 7:23 (vv17, 21) but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is…
- Proverbs 8:13 (v15) The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
- Mark 7:21-23 (v18) For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit,…
- Romans 6:14 (v21) For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.
- Romans 8:2 (v21) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
- Romans 8:3-13 (v18) For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for…
- Ephesians 6:11-13 (v21) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and…
- Titus 3:3 (v18) For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating…
- Psalms 1:6 (v15) For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
- Psalms 101:3 (v15) I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.
- Psalms 119:133 (v21) Establish my footsteps in your word. Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me.
- Amos 5:15 (v15) Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of…
- John 4:34 (v22) Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
- Romans 6:12 (v21) Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
- Romans 7:16 (v15) But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.
- Romans 7:19 (v18) For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
- Ephesians 2:1-5 (v18) You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world,…
- Colossians 3:9 (v22) Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
- Hebrews 1:9 (v15) You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”
- Hebrews 2:17 (v21) Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things…
- Psalms 65:3 (vv15, 21) Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions.
- Genesis 8:21 (v18) Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the…
- 1 Kings 8:46 (v15) If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they…
- Psalms 119:37 (v21) Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
- Zechariah 3:1-4 (v21) He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before Yahweh’s angel, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. Yahweh said…
- Matthew 15:19 (v18) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
- John 8:34 (v21) Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
- Romans 2:29 (v22) but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men,…
- Romans 7:17 (v20) So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
- Romans 7:18 (v17) For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is…
- Philippians 3:8-9 (v17) Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered…
- Philippians 3:12 (v18) Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold…
- Hebrews 4:15 (v21) For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like…
- 2 Peter 2:19 (v21) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.
- Psalms 119:40 (vv15, 18) Behold, I long for your precepts! Revive me in your righteousness.
- Job 25:4 (v18) How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean?
- Psalms 19:12-13 (v21) Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion…
- Psalms 40:12 (v21) For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs…
- Psalms 119:128 (v15) Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way.
- Psalms 119:163 (v15) I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.
- Psalms 119:176 (v18) I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.
- Proverbs 13:5 (v15) A righteous man hates lies, but a wicked man brings shame and disgrace.
- Luke 4:1 (v21) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
- Luke 11:13 (v18) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to…
- Romans 7:12 (v16) Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.
- Romans 13:14 (v18) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
- 1 Peter 4:2 (v18) that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
- Psalms 119:32 (vv15, 18) I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free.
- 2 Chronicles 30:18-19 (v21) For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the…
- Psalms 97:10 (v15) You who love Yahweh, hate evil! He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
- Psalms 119:1-6 (v15) Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s law. Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with…
- Psalms 119:173 (v18) Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
- Isaiah 6:5-7 (v21) Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have…
- Romans 7:5 (v18) For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were through the law worked in our members to bring out fruit to death.
- Romans 7:14 (v16) For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (120 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 15. For what I do I know not, etc.…
15. For what I do I know not, etc. He now comes to a more particular case, that of a man already regenerated; in whom both the things which he had in view appear more clearly; and these were, — the great discord there is between the Law of God and the natural man, — and how the law does not of itself produce death. For since the carnal man rushes into sin with the whole propensity of his mind, he seems to sin with such a free choice, as though it were in his power to govern himself; so that a most pernicious opinion has prevailed almost among all men — that man, by his own natural strength, without the aid of Divine grace, can choose what he pleases. But though the will of a faithful man is led to good by the Spirit of God, yet in him the corruption of nature appears conspicuously; for it obstinately resists and leads to what is contrary. Hence the case of a regenerated man is the most suitable; for by this you may know how much is the contrariety between our nature and the righteousness of the law. From this case, also, a proof as to the other clause may more fitly be sought, than from the mere consideration of human nature; for the law, as it produces only death in a man wholly carnal, is in him more easily impeached, for it is doubtful whence the evil proceeds. In a regenerate man it brings forth salutary fruits; and hence it appears, that it is the flesh only that prevents it from giving life: so far it is from producing death of itself.
That the whole, then, of this reasoning may be more fully and more distinctly understood, we must observe, that this conflict, of which the Apostle speaks, does not exist in man before he is renewed by the Spirit of God: for man, left to his own nature, is wholly borne along by his lusts without any resistance; for though the ungodly are tormented by the stings of conscience, and cannot take such delight in their vices, but that they have some taste of bitterness; yet you cannot hence conclude, either that evil is hated, or that good is loved by them; only the Lord permits them to be thus tormented, in order to show to them in a measure his judgment; but not to imbue them either with the love of righteousness or with the hatred of sin.
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There is then this difference between them and the faithful — that they are never so blinded and hardened, but that when they are reminded of their crimes, they condemn them in their own conscience; for knowledge is not so utterly extinguished in them, but that they still retain the difference between right and wrong; and sometimes they are shaken with such dread under a sense of their sin, that they bear a kind of condemnation even in this life: nevertheless they approve of sin with all their heart, and hence give themselves up to it without any feeling of genuine repugnance; for those stings of conscience, by which they are harassed, proceed from opposition in the judgment, rather than from any contrary inclination in the will. The godly, on the other hand, in whom the regeneration of God is begun, are so divided, that with the chief desire of the heart they aspire to God, seek celestial righteousness, hate sin, and yet they are drawn down to the earth by the relics of their flesh: and thus, while pulled in two ways, they fight against their own nature, and nature fights against them; and they condemn their sins, not only as being constrained by the judgment of reason, but because they really in their hearts abominate them, and on their account loathe themselves. This is the Christian conflict between the flesh and the spirit of which Paul speaks in Galatians 5:17.
It has therefore been justly said, that the carnal man runs headlong into sin with the approbation and consent of the whole soul; but that a division then immediately begins for the first time, when he is called by the Lord and renewed by the Spirit. For regeneration only begins in this life; the relics of the flesh which remain, always follow their own corrupt propensities, and thus carry on a contest against the Spirit.
The inexperienced, who consider not the subject which the Apostle handles, nor the plan which he pursues, imagine, that the character of man by nature is here described; and indeed there is a similar description of human nature given to us by the Philosophers: but Scripture philosophizes much deeper; for it finds that nothing has remained in the heart of man but corruption, since the time in which Adam lost the image of God. So when the Sophisters wish to define free-will, or to form an estimate of what the power of nature can do, they fix on this passage. But Paul, as I have said already, does not here set before us simply the natural man, but in his own person describes what is the weakness of the faithful, and how great it is. Augustine was for a time involved in the common error; but after having more clearly examined the passage, he not only retracted what he had falsely taught, but in his first book to Boniface, he proves, by many strong reasons, that what is said cannot be applied to any but to the regenerate. And we shall now endeavor to make our readers clearly to see that such is the case.
I know not. He means that he acknowledges not as his own the works which he did through the weakness of the flesh, for he hated them. And so Erasmus has not unsuitably given this rendering, “I approve not,” (non probo.) We hence conclude, that the doctrine of the law is so consentaneous to right judgment, that the faithful repudiate the transgression of it as a thing wholly unreasonable. But as Paul seems to allow that he teaches otherwise than what the law prescribes, many interpreters have been led astray, and have thought that he had assumed the person of another; hence has arisen the common error, that the character of an unregenerate man is described throughout this portion of the chapter. But Paul, under the idea of transgressing the law, includes all the defects of the godly, which are not inconsistent with the fear of God or with the endeavor of acting uprightly. And he denies that he did what the law demanded, for this reason, because he did not perfectly fulfil it, but somewhat failed in his effort.
For not what I desire, etc. You must not understand that it was always the case with him, that he could not do good; but what he complains of is only this — that he could not perform what he wished, so that he pursued not what was good with that alacrity which was meet, because he was held in a manner bound, and that he also failed in what he wished to do, because he halted through the weakness of the flesh. Hence the pious mind performs not the good it desires to do, because it proceeds not with due activity, and doeth the evil which it would not; for while it desires to stand, it falls, or at least it staggers. But the expressions to will and not to will must be applied to the Spirit, which ought to hold the first place in all the faithful. The flesh indeed has also its own will, but Paul calls that the will which is the chief desire of the heart; and that which militates with it he represents as being contrary to his will.
We may hence learn the truth of what we have stated — that Paul speaks here of the faithful, in whom the grace of the Spirit exists, which brings an agreement between the mind and the righteousness of the law; for no hatred of sin is to be found in the flesh.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 18, 21, 22 The deeds of my life, saith he, answer not,…
The deeds of my life, saith he, answer not, nay they are contrary to my will: Therefore by the consent of my will with the Law, and repugnancy with the deeds of my life, it appeareth evidently, that the Law and a right ruled do persuade one thing, but corruption which hath her seat also in the regenerate, another thing.
It is to be noted, that one selfsame man is said to will and not to will, in divers respects: to wit, he is said to will, in that, that he is regenerate by grace: and not to will, in that, that he is not regenerate, or in that, that he is such an one as he was born. But because the part which is regenerate, at length becometh conqueror, therefore Paul sustaining the part of the regenerate, speaketh in such sort as if the corruption which sinneth willingly, were something without a man: although afterward he granteth that this evil is in his flesh, or in his members.
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He setteth himself, being regenerate, before us, for an example, in whom may easily appear the strife of the Spirit and the flesh, and therefore of the Law of God, and our wickedness. For since that the Law in a man not regenerate bringeth forth death only, therefore in him it may easily be accused: but seeing that in a man which is regenerate, it bringeth forth good fruit, it doth better appear that evil actions proceed not from the Law, but from sin, that is, from our corrupt nature: And therefore the Apostle teacheth also, what the true use of the Law is, in reproving sin in the regenerate, unto the end of the chapter, as a little before (to wit, from the seventh verse unto this fifteenth) he declared the use of it in them which are not regenerate.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–22 15 For that which I do I allow not:…
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Ver. 15. I allow not] Gr. ου γινωσκω, I know not, as being preoccupated, Gal 6:1, wherried and whirled away by sin before I am aware or have time to consider.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 For that which I do; i.e. what I do…
For that which I do; i.e. what I do contrary to the command of God.
I allow not: in the Greek it is, I know not: q.d. Many times I am surprised and overtaken, not knowing or considering what I do. Or when he says, I know not, his meaning is, (as our translation renders it), I allow or approve not. So the word is used, Mat 7:23, and elsewhere: q.d. Even now, in my converted and regenerate state, I am many times greatly divided, and feel a strife or combat in myself; so that the good I would do upon the motions of God’s Spirit in me, I do not; and the evil that I hate, and am utterly averse to, so far as I am regenerated, that I do. See a parallel place, Gal 5:17.
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But what I hate, that do I: he doth not speak here so much of outward actions, as of inward motions and affections: he doth not speak of gross sins, as drunkenness, uncleanness, &c., but of such infirmities as flow from the polluted nature, and from which we can never be thoroughly cleansed in this life.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22 These words are an argument to prove what the…
These words are an argument to prove what the apostle had asserted in the foregoing verse; namely, That he was held under the power of sin unwillingly, because he did not allow or approve of any evil which he did contrary to the holy law of God, but did hate and abominate it, was displeased with it, and with himself for it.
An unregenerate man’s judgment and conscience is sometimes against sin; which makes him afraid to commit it; but a gracious person’s will, heart and affections, are all set against sin;: Indeed there is a regenerate and an unregenerate part in the Christians will (he is sanctified totus, but not totaliter;) so far the will is renewed, it hates all sin, and meditates the ruin and destruction of it.
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And observe, It was not this or that particular evil, but all evil which the apostle hated. A wicked man may hate a particular evil, as Absalom hated Ammon’s uncleanness; but to hate all sin, is the character of none but a regenerate person.
Observe, lastly, That a good man sometimes, through the power of corruption, and the prevalency of temptation, doth that evil which is disallowed and disapproved by him; yea, which is very odious and hateful to him: he loaths in part what he doth, and afterwards loaths himself for the doing of it; and when he doth evil, allows not of the evil that he doth.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–22 For that which I do, I allow not,.... The…
For that which I do, I allow not,.... The apostle having cleared the law from the charge of being the cause either of sin or death, and taken the blame to himself, proceeds to give an account of the struggle and combat he found in himself between the flesh and spirit; "that which I do, I allow not". That which he did was evil, since he allowed not of it; but this is to be understood not of any notorious crime committed by him, and repeated again and again; nor of a sinful course of life, for before his conversion he was not a profane man, but externally moral; and after his conversion, had his conversation in the world by the grace of God in righteousness and holiness; a vicious course of life being contrary to the grace of God implanted in him, and the doctrines of grace professed by him; but of internal lusts, the workings of corruptions in his heart, and which are real actions of the mind, together with the various frailties and infirmities of life: when that apostle says that what he did, "I know not": his meaning is, not that he was utterly ignorant of them, of their nature and operations; that he was insensible of their motions, and unconcerned about them; for his sense of them, and concern for them, are expressed by him in the strongest terms, "I know", "I find", "I see", "O wretched man", &c. Rom 7:18; but either that the efforts and effects of sin in him were so sadden, and at an unawares, that he was sometimes overtaken and held captive, before he knew well where he was, or, what he was doing; or the sense is, that he had not a full knowledge of the evil of his heart, the corruptions of his nature, nor did he understand all his infirmities and the errors of his life; or else the meaning is, I own it not as right, but confess it to be wrong, I do not acknowledge these actions as the productions of the new man, they are alien to him, but as the deeds of the old man; or rather, "I do not approve" of them, I dislike, abhor, and detest them; I cannot excuse or palliate them, but must condemn them; so words of knowledge in the Hebrew language are expressive of love, liking, and approbation; see Psa 1:6; on which last text, "I know him", says Jarchi, , "it is the language of love", or a phrase expressive of strong affection; and so here, I know not, I do not like, love, and approve of these things, or I do not "allow" of them, and indulge myself in them, I loathe them and myself for them; and is this talking like an unregenerate man? can it be thought that the apostle speaks of himself as unregenerate, or represents such a man?
for what I would, that do I not; what he desired and willed was good, though he did it not; and so the Vulgate Latin version reads, "for not the good which I would, I do": and so the next clause, "but the evil which I hate, I do": and what was that? he would have had his thoughts always employed about the best things; he would have had his affections continually and alone set on God, Christ, and the things of another world; he would he was desirous to keep the whole law of God, and do the whole will of God, and live without sin, and as the angels do in heaven: now such a will as this is never to be found in unregenerate persons; this is from God, and the power of his grace: when he says he did not what he willed, what he was desirous of, and bent upon, his sense is, not that he never did any good thing he willed; for he did many good things, as every good man does, but he did not always do the good he willed, and never perfectly, nor anything without grace and strength from Christ: he adds,
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but what I hate, that do I; sin was what he hated; it being contrary to the pure and holy nature of God, to the good and righteous law of God, and was in itself, to his view, exceeding sinful: he hated vain thoughts, unclean desires, revengeful lusts, the secret motions of all sin in his heart, and the various evil actions of life; which can never be said of an unregenerate man; who loves sin, delights in iniquity, and takes pleasure in them that do it; and yet what the apostle hated he did; he wrought with his carnal I, his flesh, and through the power of it, and force of temptation, though not without reluctance, remorse, and repentance. The Karaite Jews, which were the better sort of them, say and hold some things, not much unlike to what is here delivered;
"though a man (say they (i)) should transgress some of the commandments, or the commandments in part, , "through the strength of lust, and not on account of, or with pleasure not delight", he shall be one of those that shall enter into paradise.''
(i) R. Eliahu in Addareth, c. 3. apud Triglaud de Sect. Karaeorum, c. 10. p. 176.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 18, 21, 22 It is good - This single word implies all…
It is good - This single word implies all the three that were used before, ver. 12, "holy, just, and good."
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15–22 Verse 15. For, that which I do, I allow…
Verse 15. For, that which I do, I allow not, c.] The first clause of this verse is a general assertion concerning the employment of the person in question in the state which the apostle calls carnal, and sold under sin. The Greek word κατεργαξομαι which is here translated I do, means a work which the agent continues to perform till it is finished, and is used by the apostle, Php 2:12, to denote the continued employment of God's saints in his service to the end of their lives. WORK OUT your own salvation the word here denotes an employment of a different kind; and therefore the man who now feels the galling dominion of sin says, What I am continually labouring at I allow not, ου γινωσκω, I do not acknowledge to be right, just, holy, or profitable.
But what I hate, that do I.] I am a slave, and under the absolute control of my tyrannical master: I hate his service, but am obliged to work his will. Who, without blaspheming, can assert that the apostle is speaking this of a man in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells? From Ro 7:7 to this one the apostle, says Dr. Taylor, denotes the Jew in the flesh by a single I; here, he divides that I into two I's, or figurative persons; representing two different and opposite principles which were in him. The one I, or principle, assents to the law that it is good, and wills and chooses what the other does not practise, Ro 7:16. This principle he expressly tells us, Ro 7:22, is the inward man; the law of the mind, Ro 7:23; the mind, or rational faculty, Ro 7:25; for he could find no other inward man, or law of the mind, but the rational faculty, in a person who was carnal and sold under sin. The other I, or principle, transgresses the law, Ro 7:23, and does those things which the former principle allows not. This principle he expressly tells us, Ro 7:18, is the flesh, the law in the members, or sensual appetite, Ro 7:23; and he concludes in the last verse, that these two principles were opposite to each other; therefore it is evident that those two principles, residing and counteracting each other in the same person; are reason and lust, or sin that dwells in us. And it is very easy to distinguish these two I's, or principles, in every part of this elegant description of iniquity, domineering over the light and remonstrances of reason. For instance, Ro 7:17: Now then, it is no more I that do it, but SIN that dwelleth in me. The I he speaks of here is opposed to indwelling or governing sin; and therefore plainly denotes the principle of reason, the inward man, or law of the mind; in which, I add, a measure of the light of the Spirit of God shines, in order to show the sinfulness of sin. These two different principles he calls, one flesh, and the other spirit, Ga 5:17; where he speaks of their contrariety in the same manner that he does here.
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And we may give a probable reason why the apostle dwells so long upon the struggle and opposition between these two principles; it appears intended to answer a tacit but very obvious objection. The Jew might allege: "But the law is holy and spiritual; and I assent to it as good, as a right rule of action, which ought to be observed; yea, I esteem it highly, I glory and rest in it, convinced of its truth and excellency. And is not this enough to constitute the law a sufficient principle of sanctification?" The apostle answers, "No; wickedness is consistent with a sense of truth. A man may assent to the best rule of action, and yet still be under the dominion of lust and sin; from which nothing can deliver him but a principle and power proceeding from the fountain of life."
The sentiment in this verse may be illustrated by quotations from the ancient heathens; many of whom felt themselves in precisely the same state, (and expressed it in nearly the same language,) which some most monstrously tell us was the state of this heavenly apostle, when vindicating the claims of the Gospel against those of the Jewish ritual! Thus OVID describes the conduct of a depraved man:-
Sed trahit invitam nova vis; aliudque cupido,
Mens aliud suadet. Video meliora, proboque;
Deteriora sequor. OVID, Met. lib. vii. ver. 19.
My reason this, my passion that persuades;
I see the right, and I approve it too;
Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.
--------indignum facinus! nunc ego et
Illam scelestam esse, et me miserum sentio:
Et taedet: et amore ardeo: et prudens, sciens,
Vivus, vidensque pereo: nec quid agam scio.
TERENT. Eun. ver. 70.
An unworthy act! Now I perceive that she is wicked, and I am wretched. I burn with love, and am vexed at it. Although prudent, and intelligent, and active, and seeing, I perish; neither do I know what to do.
Sed quia mente minus validus, quam corpore toto,
Quae nocuere, sequar; fugiam, quae profore credam.
HOR. Ep. lib. i. E. 8, ver. 7.
More in my mind than body lie my pains:
Whate'er may hurt me, I with joy pursue;
Whate'er may do me good, with horror view.
Francis.
Επει γαρ ὁ ἁμαρτανων ου θελει ἁμαρτανειν, αλλα κατορθωσαι δηλον ὁτι, ὁ μεν θελει, ου ποιει, και ὁμη θελει, ποιει.
ARRIAN. Epist. ii. 26.
For, truly, he who sins does not will sin, but wishes to walk uprightly: yet it is manifest that what he wills he doth not; and what he wills not he doth.
- αλλα νικωμαι κακοις,
Και μανθανω μεν, οἱα τολμησω κακα
Θυμος δε κρεισσῳν των εμων βουλευματων,
Ὁσπερ μεγιστων αιτος κακων βροτοις.
EURIP. Med. v. 1077.
-----------But I am overcome by sin,
And I well understand the evil which I presume to commit.
Passion, however, is more powerful than my reason;
Which is the cause of the greatest evils to mortal men.
Thus we find that enlightened heathens, both among the Greeks and Romans, had that same kind of religious experience which some suppose to be, not only the experience of St. Paul in his best state, but to be even the standard of Christian attainments! See more examples in Wetstein.
The whole spirit of the sentiment is well summed up and expressed by St. Chrysostom: ὁταν τινος επιθυμωμεν, ειτε κωλυωμεθα, αιρεται μαλλον της επιθυμιας ἡ φλοξ. If we lust after any thing which is afterwards prohibited, the flame of this desire burns the more fiercely.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 18, 21, 22 Rom 7:15. For that which I do — Greek,…
Rom 7:15. For that which I do — Greek, κατεργαζομαι, what I thoroughly work, the word signifying earnestness and perseverance in working till the work in which the agent is employed is finished. It is therefore used by the apostle to denote the continued employment of God’s people in his service unto the end of their lives; Php 2:12, Work out your own salvation. That is, as you have, in time past, laboured to serve God in all things, so persevere in that service to the end. The word here denotes a continued employment of a very different nature. Therefore he says, What I work, I allow not, or, approve not; for the word,
γινωσκω, which literally signifies I know, is used in the sense of approving, Mat 7:21. For what I would — That is, incline to, or desire, as Macknight renders θελω, which, he observes, cannot here signify the last determination of the will, “actions always following that determination; but such a faint ineffectual desire as reason and conscience, opposed by strong passions, and not strengthened by the Spirit of God, often produce.” These corrupt passions frequently darken the understanding, mislead the judgment, and stupify the conscience; in consequence whereof the will, strongly impelled by criminal desires, in the place of being governed by these higher powers of the mind, governs them herself. But, “when order is restored to the soul by regeneration, then the enlightened understanding determines the judgment, and the decisions thereof, enforced by the voice of conscience, determine the will, whose volitions, thus excited, become the spring of action; so that the good the regenerated man would, he doth, — and the evil he hates, he doth not. But, in the unregenerate, those volitions neither obey the directions of reason nor conscience; hence there is a continual conflict in his breast, between appetites and passions on the one side, and reason and conscience on the other. The latter, however, are generally overcome; and in this state the person, with propriety, may say, What I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do: or, as it is expressed, Rom 7:19, The good, that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Ovid, a heathen, describes the conduct of depraved men in words very similar to these:
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Sed trahit invitam nova vis, aliudque cupido, Mens aliud suadet. Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor. OVID, Metam., lib. 7. Rom 7:19. ‘My reason this, my passion that persuades; I see the right, and I approve it too; Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.’
The apostle does not say that this took place in his conduct on some particular occasions merely, but he gives us this account of himself as his general conduct, while he was carnal and sold under sin, as appears from Rom 7:21. where see the note.” — Smith, On the Carnal Man’s Character.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–22 For that which I do - That is, the…
For that which I do - That is, the evil which I do, the sin of which I am conscious, and which troubles me.
I allow not - I do not approve; I do not wish it; the prevailing bent of my inclinations and purposes is against it. Greek, “I know not;” see the margin. The word “know,” however, is sometimes used in the sense of approving, Rev 2:24, “Which have not known (approved) the depths of Satan;” compare Psa 101:4, I will not know a wicked person.” Jer 1:5.
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For what I would - That which I approve; and which is my prevailing and established desire. What I would wish always to do.
But what I hate - What I disapprove of: what is contrary to my judgment; my prevailing inclination; my established principles of conduct.
That do I - Under the influence of sinful propensities, and carnal inclinations and desires. This represents the strong native propensity to sin; and even the power of corrupt propensity under the restraining influence of the gospel. On this remarkable and important passage we may observe,
(1) That the prevailing propensity; the habitual fixed inclination of the mind of the Christian, is to do right. The evil course is hated, the right course is loved. This is the characteristic of a pious mind. It distinguishes a holy man from a sinner.
(2) The evil which is done is disapproved; is a source of grief; and the habitual desire of the mind is to avoid it, and be pure. This also distinguishes the Christian from the sinner.
(3) There is no need of being embarrassed here with any metaphysical difficulties or inquiries how this can be; for.
(a) it is in fact the experience of all Christians. The habitual, fixed inclination and desire of their minds is to serve God. They have a fixed abhorrence of sin; and yet they are conscious of imperfection, and error, and sin, that is the source of uneasiness and trouble. The strength of natural passion may in an unguarded moment overcome them. The power of long habits of previous thoughts may annoy them. A man who was an infidel before his conversion, and whose mind was filled with scepticism, and cavils, and blasphemy, will find the effect of his former habits of thinking lingering in his mind, and annoying his peace for years. These thoughts will start up with the rapidity of lightning. Thus, it is with every vice and every opinion. It is one of the effects of habit. “The very passage of an impure thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it,” and where sin has been long indulged, it leaves its withering, desolating effect on the soul long after conversion, and produces that state of conflict with which every Christian is familiar.
(b) An effect somewhat similar is felt by all people. All are conscious of doing that, under the excitement of passion and prejudice, which their conscience and better judgment disapprove. A conflict thus exists, which is attended with as much metaphysical difficulty as the struggle in the Christian’s mind referred to here.
(c) The same thing was observed and described in the writings of the heathen. Thus, Xenophon (Cyrop. vi. 1), Araspes, the Persian, says, in order to excuse his treasonable designs,” Certainly I must have two souls; for plainly it is not one and the same which is both evil and good; and at the same time wishes to do a thing and not to do it. Plainly then, there are two souls; and when the good one prevails, then it does good; and when the evil one predominates, then it does evil.” So also Epictetus (Enchixid. ii. 26) says, “He that sins does not do what he would, but what he would not, that he does.” With this passage it would almost seem that Paul was familiar, and had his eye on it when he wrote. So also the well-known passage from Ovid, Meta. vii. 9.
Aliudque Cupido,
Mens aliud suadet. Video meliora, proboque,
Deteriora sequor.
“Desire prompts to one thing, but the mind persuades to another. I see the good, and approve it, and yet pursue the wrong.” - See other passages of similar import quoted in Grotius and Tholuck.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 22 For that which I work, I understand not. To…
For that which I work, I understand not. To know, or understand is often, in the style of the Scriptures, the same as to approve or love: so the sense here is: I approve not what I do, that is, what happens to me in my sensitive part, in my imagination, or in the members of my body, which indeed the just man rather suffers than does; and this is the sense, by what immediately follows, the evil which I hate, that I do, i.e. that I suffer, being against my will; and I do that which I would not. (Witham) --- I do not that good which I will, &c. The apostle here describes the disorderly motions of passion and concupiscence; which oftentimes in us get the start of reason, and by means of which even good men suffer in the inferior appetite what their will abhors: and are much hindered in the accomplishment of the desires of their spirit and mind. But these evil motions, (though they are called the law of sin, because they come from original sin, and violently tempt and incline to sin) as long as the will does not consent to them, are not sins, because they are not voluntary. (Challoner)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 For, &c.--better, "For that which I do I know…
For, &c.--better, "For that which I do I know not"; that is, "In obeying the impulses of my carnal nature I act the slave of another will than my own as a renewed man?"
for, &c.--rather, "for not what I would (wish, desire) that do I, but what I hate that I do."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 18, 20, 22 15. I do, I allow not—Here begins the battle…
15. I do, I allow not—Here begins the battle of the I’s. It is the corrupt I of carnality and indwelling sin asserting its law in the members, and overwhelming the I of conscience, awakened by the Spirit, with the body of death. What I wickedly do, I conscientiously allow not.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 15. I do] The Gr. word is strong; carry…
15. I do] The Gr. word is strong; carry out; perhaps with allusion to servile task-work.
allow] In the old English sense of the word; “to allaud,” “to praise, or approve:” so “the Lord alloweth the righteous,” Psa_11:6, Prayer-Book. But the common meaning of the Gr. is I know, in the sense of recognition; and this has a fit application here: q. d., “I know not, in a proper sense, what I do; it is done only under the (partial) obscuration due to the presence of the flesh.” This is further explained in the next clauses.
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what I would, &c.] Lit., and better, not what I will, do I; but what I hate, that do I. Here the “willing” and the “hating,” if carefully weighed, are good evidence for the reference of this whole section to the regenerate soul in its conflicts. It is certainly out of harmony with St Paul’s doctrine of grace to represent the soul, before special grace, as “hating” sin as sin, and “willing” pure holiness as holiness.—On the whole passage we must again remember that a soul fully alive to the profound sanctity of the Law is in view. Not gross but minute deviations (minute on the human standard) occasion these complaints.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22 (15) That which I do I allow not.—Rather, that…
(15) That which I do I allow not.—Rather, that which I perform I know not. I act blindly, and without any conscious direction of the will; that higher part of me which should preside over and direct my actions, is kept down by the lower physical nature.
Which I do.—St. Paul uses three words for “to do” in this passage, the distinction between which is hard to represent in English. That which is employed here and in Rom_7:17; Rom_7:20, is the strongest, “perform”—deliberate action, thoroughly carried out. The other two words differ, as “do” and “practise,” the one referring to single, the other to habitual and repeated actions.
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What I would.—If my will had free course I should act very differently.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15, 18, 22 Vers. 15-25. For that which I do (rather, work,…
Vers. 15-25. For that which I do (rather, work, or perform, or accomplish, katergazomai) I know not (rather than I allow not, as in the English Version, this being the proper meaning of the verb ginwskw . The idea may be that, when under the delusion of sin I do wrong, I do not know what I am accomplishing): for not what I would, that I do (rather, practise; the verb here is prassw); but what I hate, that I do (poiw). But if what I would not that I do, I consent unto the Law that it is good (kalov). Now then (nuni de , not in temporal sense, but meaning, as the case is) it is no more I that work (katergazomai , as before) it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth not good (agayon): for to will is present with me; but to perform (katergazesyyai) that which is good (to kalon) is not (ou , rather than ouc auriskw as in the Textus Receptus, is the best-supported reading). For the good (agayon) that I would I do not (oi poiw): but the evil which I would not, that I practise (prassw). But if what I (egw , emphatic) would not, that I do (poiw), it is no longer I (egw , again emphatic) that work (katergazomai) it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then the law, that to me who would do good, evil is present. For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man. But I see a different law in my members (on what is meant by "members" (melesi) see note under Rom_6:13) warring against the law of my mind, and brining me into captivity to (or, according to some readings, by) the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (probably in the same sense as "the body of sin" in Rom_6:6; see note thereon. Translate certainly as in the English Version; not this body of death, as if it meant this mortal body) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. In the note introducing this whole section (vers. 7-25) its general drift has been intimated. The following additional comments may further explain the part of it which begins at ver. 15.
(1) The initial gar introduces proof of the egw being in the condition spoken of in the preceding clause, viz. "sold under sin." For (the meaning is) am I not a bond-slave, when, as I feel is the case with me, I am not my own master? But, observe, the state that goes on to be described is that of an unwilling bond-slave; not of one who likes his bondage, and has no desire to be free. The conscience is supposed already, through the operation of law, to protest against sin; to hate its thraldom; not willingly to acquiesce in it.
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(2) The distinction between the verbs poiw, prassw katergazomai , not observed in the English Version, but to which attention has been drawn in the above translation, has its meaning. Attention to the places where they occur will show their appropriateness in each case, denoting severally single acts, habitual practice, and general working, performance, or accomplishment.
(3) The English Version is wrong in rendering, in ver. 15, "What I would, that I do not," so as to make the idea the same as that in ver. 19. There are really two different statements in the two verses the first, of our doing what we wish not to do; the second, of our not doing what we wish to do; and after each the same conclusion is drawn in the same words, viz. that sin is the real worker (katergazomai being here the word appropriately used).
(4) The conflicting principles, or energies, of human nature, between which the individual egw , which wills and acts, is here regarded as being distracted, are the sarx in which sin dwells (which has been explained above; see note under ver. 14) on the one hand, and the nouv (ver. 23) of the esw anyrwpov (ver. 22) on the other. The egw is identified with the esw anyrwpov , rather than regarded as an intermediate personality between the two. For it is spoken of throughout as willing what is good; and though in ver. 14 it is said to be sarkinov , and though, in ver. 18, good dwells not in it, yet the first of these expressions only means that it is in the flesh at present, and therefore in bondage; and the latter is at once qualified by the addition, toutestin en th sarki mou ; it does not identify the egw with the sarx . It is, we may remark in passing, this egw o esw anyrwpov that is regarded as rising to a new life with Christ, so as to become a new man, delivered from bondage; this last expression, of course, involving a different idea from that of the inward man). It is to be observed, further, that throughout this section beginning at ver. 7, there is no distinction drawn (as elsewhere by St. Paul) between pneuma and sarx ; the idea of pneuma , in fact, does not come in at all, except with regard to the Law, which is called pneumatikov . The reason is that the apostle is confining himself here to an examination of what man, even at his best, is in his mere human nature; of what thoughtful observers, though not theologians, may perceive him to be. It is a philosophical rather than a theological analysis. It is one that might commend itself to heathen philosophers, some of whom have, in fact, expressed themselves much to the same effect. Hence it is not till Ro 8, where man"s regeneration by the Divine pneuma is portrayed, that the spiritual principle in himself, through which he is capable of such regeneration, comes into view. And it will be seen that it is this very idea of pneuma that pervades that whole chapter. This essential distinction between the two chapters is sufficient in itself to disprove the theory that the regenerate state is described in Ro 7.
(5) The senses in which the word nomov is used in this chapter require to be perceived and distinguished, its usual sense (see under Rom_2:13) not being uniformly retained. There is, however, always some appended expression to indicate any new application of the word. We find it
(a) in its usual sense, with the usual significance of the absence or the presence of the article, in vers. 7, 9, 12, 14, 16; and in ver. 22, still in the same sense, we have "the Law of God." We find also,
(b) in ver. 23, "the law of my mind," whereby I delight in the "Law of God." Here "law" assumes a different sense from the other, but one in which the word is often used; as when we speak of the laws of nature, having in view, not so much a fiat external to nature which nature must obey, as the uniform rule according to which nature is found to work. The Latin word norma expresses the idea. Thus "the law of my mind" means the normal constitution of my higher and better self, whereby it cannot but assent to "the Law of God. Then
(c) we have "the law of sin in my members;" i.e., in a similar sense, an antagonistic rule or constitution dominant in my sarx . Lastly,
(d) in ver. 21, the general law (in like sense) of my complex human nature, which necessitates this antagonism: "the law, that when I would do good" (in accordance with the law of the mind), "evil is present with me" (in virtue of the other law). Ancient and other commentators have been much puzzled as to the meaning of ver. 21, from taking tomon at the beginning to denote the Mosaic Law, as nomov usually does when preceded by the article. But not so when there is something after it to denote a different meaning; as there is here in the oti at the end of the verse, meaning that, not (as some have understood it) because.
(6) Difficulty has been found in the concluding clause of ver. 25, ara oun , etc. It follows the expression of thanksgiving, "Thanks be to God," etc., which certainly introduced the thought of deliverance from the state that had been described; and hence it is supposed by some that this clause must be a continuance of that thought, and so to be taken as an introduction to Ro 8 rather than a summing up of the preceding argument. It is said also, in support of this view, that more entire association of the egw with the Law of God than was before intimated is here expressed; auto being written instead of simply egw , and douleuw being a stronger word than sunhdomai (ver. 22). Thus the meaning would be, "Though in my flesh I still serve the law of sin (the fronhma sarkov still remains in me, notwithstanding my regeneration), yet now in my very real self I not only approve, but am in subjection to, the Law of God." It is, however, at least a question whether these slight differences of expression come to much; and both the introductory ara oun and the form of the clause suggest rather its being the summarized result of Ro 7. The additional emphasis added to egw (which had, indeed, already been emphatic), and the substitution of doeleuw for sunhdomai , may serve only to bring out all the more strongly in the end what it had been the purpose of the whole passage to lead up to, viz. that man"s real self, when conscience is fully aroused, yearns for and is ready for redemption. There is no difficulty in so understanding the clause (as we should surely understand it naturally but for the preceding thanksgiving), if we regard the thanksgiving as a parenthetical exclamation, anticipating for a moment the purport of Ro 8.
Such an exclamation is characteristic of St. Paul, and it adds life to the passage.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21 For I know that in me (that is, in…
Rom_7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
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Grace in believers weakened by the flesh
I. There is no good thing by nature found in any unrenewed heart. And where there is no good there must be much evil.
II. The people of God, whose eyes are enlightened by Divine grace, are fully convinced that in their flesh dwelleth no good thing. I know it, says our apostle. It is a part of the new nature to know it; for grace is a Divine light in the soul, discovering the true nature of things.
III. The children of God not only know this want of any good in themselves, but they acknowledge it whenever they think that God may thereby be glorified. This, I doubt not, was the principal design of our apostle here.
IV. Notwithstanding all this, yet the people of God have always something within them which may be properly called a will to do good. To will is present with me.
V. All the people of God find that their performance of good is never equal to their desires. How to perform that which is good I find not. (J. Stafford.)
Nature and grace in the same individual
I. We have all felt the exceeding difference between the tone and temper of the mind at one time from what it is at another.
1. Many of you can recollect that under a powerful sermon, in church, you caught something like the elevation of heaven; and that when you passed into another atmosphere, the whole of this temperament went into utter dissipation. And again, how differently it fares with us in devotional retirement, and in the world!
2. And many who are not, in the spiritual sense of the term, Christians, will not be surprised when they are told of two principles in our moral constitution--which, by the ascendancy of the one or the other, may cause the same man to appear in two characters that are in diametric opposition--and of two sets of tendencies, one of which, if followed out, would liken them to the seraphs, and the other to the veriest grub worm.
3. We appeal to a very common experience among novel readers--how they kindle into heroism, and melt into tenderness, and appear while under the spell to be assimilated to that which they admire. And yet all flees when again ushered into the scenes of familiar existence. There is one principle of our constitution that tends to sublime the heart up to the poetry of human life; and there is another that weighs the heart helplessly down to the prose of it.
4. A conspicuous instance of the same thing is the susceptibility of the heart to music. You have seen how the song that breathed the ardour of disinterested friendship blended into one tide of emotion the approving sympathies of a whole circle. It is hard to imagine that on the morrow the competitions and jealousies of rival interest will be as busily active as before, and will obliterate every trace of the present enthusiasm. And yet there is in it no hypocrisy whatever. The finest recorded example of this fascination is that of the harp of David on the dark and turbulent spirit of Saul. During the performance all the furies by which his bosom was agitated seem to have been lulled into peacefulness.
II. Let us unfold the uses of this incident in the argument before us.
1.
(1) Saul was refreshed and became well under the operation of this music. In which case it was his duty to call in the harp on the very first approaches of the threatening visitation; for by it alone, it seems, could his tranquillity be upheld.
(2) Further conceive of Saul on the strength of the foreign application, ever at hand and never neglected, conquering the rebellious tendencies of his inner man.
(3) Consider how Saul should have felt as well as acted, under the consciousness of what he natively was. Should he not have been humbled when he bethought him that, to sustain his moral being, he had to live on supplies from abroad, because in himself there was the foul spirit of a maniac and a murderer; and it would have become this monarch, even when feeling at his best, to loathe his savage propensities in dust and in ashes.
(4) That sense of depravity which prompted the self-abasement of his spirit would prompt an unceasing recurrence to that by which its outbreakings were repressed; and so the more intense his detestation of his own character, would be the vigour and efficacy of that alone practical expedient by which his character was transformed.
2. And thus, in all its parts, does it hold of a Christian.
(1) He feels that in himself he is like Saul without the harp. The streams of his disobedience may not be of the same tinge, but they emanate like his from the heart. The Christian feels that in that part of his constitution which is properly his own, there is a deeply seated corruption, the sense of which never fails to abash and to humble him.
(2) What, then, is it which serves to mark him as a Christian? Not most assuredly that he is free of a carnal nature, but that he has access to an influence without, by which all its rebellious tendencies are thereby overborne. The Christian hath learned whither to flee in every hour of temptation; and thus it is that a purifying influence descends upon his soul.
(3) There was a personal agent called in by Saul--the son of Jesse. In the former case, the power to soothe lay materially and directly in the music--though, to bring it into contact with the organ of hearing, there needed one to perform it. In the latter case, the power to sanctify lies materially and directly in the doctrine--though, to bring it into contact with the organ of mental perception, there needed to present it the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to bring all things to our remembrance. And so, when like to be overborne by the tyranny of your own evil inclinations, is it your part, depending on the Holy Ghost, to go forth and meet His manifestations, as He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto your soul; and the heart will be kept in the love of God; and this will attune it out of all discord and disorder. In conclusion, learn from these observations how it is that by means of a power external to the mind of man, he may be so transformed as to become a new creature. If eloquence, or romance, or poetry, or music attune the heart to nobler and better feelings than those by which it is habitually occupied, shall we wonder that, upon faith realising the promises and the prospects of the gospel, the heart shall be translated into a new state? What music can be sweeter to the soul than when peace is whispered to it from on high; or what lovelier vision can be offered to its contemplation than that of heavens Lord and of heavens family; or what more fitted to lay the coarse and boisterous agitations of a present world than the light which has pierced across the grave and revealed the peaceful world that is beyond it? (T. Chalmers, D. D.)
Willing inability
How much waste there is in the world! Beauty, and no eye to see it; music, and no ear to hear it; food, and no creature to eat it; land, barren for want of cultivation. As in nature, so among men, Paul was not peculiar in his experience. There is--
I. Much native talent undeveloped. Parents pay no attention to the natural aptitudes of their children. One has vocal powers, another musical, others artistic, poetic, oratorical, or mechanical. In after life, when a born singer feels the rising of music in his soul, he would sing, but cannot, because lacking the acquired skill. So with the artist and the engineer. This is waste; loss to the community and to the individual. Many a gifted soul has been compelled to say, I would, but I cant; and I cant, not because I want the ability, but the acquired art.
II. Much skilled talent unused. Men who have educated their minds, trained their fingers, and matured their natural aptitudes, cannot employ them.
1. Cannot find an appropriate sphere for them. They must live, and so are obliged to do something less genial and remunerative. The man who should have been at the plough is in the pulpit, and the man who should have been in the pulpit is behind a counter. These misplaced men say, I would do better, but cant.
2. Many who have found appropriate spheres, cannot do their best, because they are hindered and discouraged.
(1) Many a skilled artisan would do more and better work if better placed. Many a servant would be better with better masters. And many a Christian worker would do more if there were fewer hindrances and more helpful and stimulating conditions.
(2) Men who can rise above such conditions are not always the best. They have often more force than intellect or goodness. There are many men and women who have good heads, warm hearts, and skilled fingers, but lack force, because the body is disordered. The helm, the compass, the captain, and the sea may be all right, but if there is no steam in the machine the vessel will make no headway.
III. Much natural affection unexpressed. There may be sap in the plant, but if there is no sun there will be no flower or fruit. Many hearts want sunshine; the cold chills them. They recoil from uncongenial influences.
1. Sometimes the head is so full of cares that the heart has no play. The mind may be so distracted that it has no time to think of the claims of the heart, or no time or power to respond to its promptings.
2. There are many who can, and who do, both think and feel, but cannot for want of means. How gladly would you do many things for those you love! But the hand is empty, the heart swells, and the tongue is dumb. The good I would do, I do not, because I cannot.
IV. Much sincere and ardent piety unmanifested. When I would do good, evil is present with me. Evil stands like a sentinel at the door of the heart to prevent good getting out, and if it gets out, to distort, cripple, and pollute it.
1. If veneration struggles to express itself in prayer, incarnate evil is at the heart and lips pleading no time; and if it struggles through, and makes time, then it distracts the thoughts.
2. If our affections would rise up to God, incarnate evil is there to fetter the soul; and if it escapes, then it presents innumerable idols to eye and heart.
3. If benevolence would show itself, incarnate selfishness bars the way; and if you overcome it, it will fill you with low motives.
4. If your affections try to be beautiful and tender, an evil temper distorts and pollutes them.
5. The life of the soul may be chilled and dwarfed by the want of piety in those around you.
Conclusion:
1. It is possible for a man to feel himself to be greater than his little world, and greater than he can make it.
2. God does not expect more from us than we are capable of being and doing. Virtue under difficulties is of finer quality than under more favourable circumstances, and God regards quality more than quantity. The widows mite was of more value than the greater offerings of the rich. He regards and rewards the willing mind where nothing more is possible.
3. We might have been better than we are. None of us have made the best use of our opportunities.
4. We might have done better than we have done. There is more cause for humility than for complaint.
5. We may do better in the future. There is no cause for despair. Let us not forget that it is in little things that love best expresses itself. Oh that we may so live and die that we may receive from the Master, She hath done what she could. (Wickham Tozer.)
Inefficacious convictions
1. It may be true that the apostle was describing a man under the bondage of the Jewish law, but it is no less true that he might have uttered these words concerning himself. But it must have been a humiliating confession. How much he wished the case to be otherwise! Adam did not more fervently wish it possible to go back into paradise.
2. But we have sometimes heard confessions, in something like the same terms, made in a very different spirit. Confessions that certainly there is something very wrong with us; but, then, there is no helping it; it is the common condition of man.
I. Let us describe this state of mind. A clear apprehension as to the necessity of a serious attention to certain great concerns, and an earnest desire that these great concerns were duly attended to. But, still, they are not or in no such manner as it is felt they ought. Some fatal prevention lies heavy on the active powers, like the incubus in a dream. Again and again the conviction returns upon the man; and he wishes and resolves, but nothing is done. He wishes some mighty force might come upon him, and would be almost willing to be terrified by portentous phenomena. But nature is quiet, spirits do not encounter him, and he remains unmoved.
II. How comes so deplorable a condition of a being made a little lower than the angels? It comes of the disorder and ruination of our nature., What is the disorder, the ruination of anything, but its being reduced to a state that frustrates the purpose of its existence, be it a machine, a building, or an animal?
III. But what shall, a man, conscious of and lamenting such a state of mind, do? Shall he absolve himself from all duty respecting it? Soothe himself into a stupid contentment? Resign himself to despair? Infallibly the time must come when he will feet that this was not the way. No; he has a solemn work to do, and he must think of means. The immediate cause of this inefficacy is, that the motives are not strong enough. We want to be under a constant, mighty, driving power of good motives. When a mariner suffers a long, dead calm, how oft he looks up at the sails, and says, Oh, if the winds would but blow! Now, there may be persons who will aver that a man can do no more respecting his motives than the mariner respecting the winds, We must think differently, and wish to inquire what practicable means he may find for strengthening the operation of good motives upon his mind.
1. We must deeply think what it is that all the great motives are required for. What in us, for us, by us? This serious thinking will tend to render luminously distinct those grand considerations which ought to constitute our chief motives.
2. Then these being acknowledged, it should be our study to aggravate the force of those considerations in all ways. There is something that needs to be reinforced. It should be so today. We should watch for anything to be added to their power, seize on everything that can be thrown into the scale. Observe how this takes place in the case of a motive which falls in with our natural inclination. The motive, then, of itself, as by an instinct for its good, catches all these things that serve to strengthen it. Without our care it avails itself of each casual thought, each passing impression. Observe, too, how fast the very worst motives may grow upon a man, and he never intend it! Oh! not such the condition of the good ones!
3. But, besides this general vigilance, there must be a direct, earnest effort to bring before the mind those realities which are adapted to make the right impressions. And here we appeal to the man who laments in the language of the text, and say, Cannot you do this? And if he is sincere he will be willing to sustain a painful repetition of these applications. And if he feels that the motive takes hold of him, oh, let him be earnest that it may be retained and prolonged!
4. In connection with this, it will be well, by an exercise of thought, to endeavour to combine all the motives that tend to the same effect. But take special care of admitting an evil or doubtful principle into this combination. Revenge may work to the same point as justice; but here the companionship of the bad will vitiate the good. Each good motive must, to be of any essential value, be part of a whole system. There must be a vital circulation of the holy principles through the whole soul. The single part cannot by itself have pulsation and warmth and life.
5. Our concern respecting the influence of motives upon us must be directed to this indispensable point--the earnest cultivation of vital religion. This alone can put conscience into them.
6. Dwell often on the most instructive and impressive examples. And also there are many affecting scenes and events applicable to the principles that should move us (the death of friends, dreadful deaths, etc.).
7. Choose the society which furnishes the best incitements.
8. Motives work best in fire, that is, in the warmth and animation of the passions. Where these are faint, so will be the actuating principles. Where, then, there is little fire of soul, let it not be wasted on trifling things, but applied and consecrated to give efficacy to the best principles. When there are barely combustibles enough for offering a sacrifice, it were sacrilege to take them away for baubles and amusements. But there is fire enough in heaven for all our noblest uses, and we want it as much as Elijah, when his altar and offering were drenched in water. But God has put into our hands that which will bring it down. He has promised the Divine energy of His Holy Spirit to those that ask Him. Then what have we to say to Him? Oh! infuse into these convictions, these motives, Thine own omnipotence! Here is a solemn consideration that glimmers in my mind--make it lighten! Here are the motives which Thou hast sent; but there is something between them and me; oh! make them break in upon me! Here is a languid, unavailing strife of the better principles against an overpowering force; oh! arm those principles with all that there is in heaven that belongs to them, and then my deadly oppressors will be drawn away! Here is a wretched corrupted nature averse to Thee and all that is good; oh! lay Thy new-creating hand upon it and it will be forever Thine! (John Foster.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv16–22 16. If then I do. Rather, “But if I…
16. If then I do. Rather, “But if I do.” If he sins, against his purpose and inclination, he condemns his sin, and thus acknowledges the law, which he disobeyed, to be just and good.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv15–22 15. “For that which I do I know not;…
15. “For that which I do I know not; for I do that which I do not wish, but I do that which I hate.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv15–22 For that which I do I know not: for…
For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practise; but what I hate, that I do .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 20, 21 I do I allow not
I do I allow not
The apostle personifies the strife of the two natures in the believer, the old or Adamic nature, and the divine nature received through the new birth 1Pe 1:23; 2Pe 1:4; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27. The "I" which is Saul of Tarsus, and the "I" which is Paul the apostle are at strife, and "Paul" is in defeat. In Chapter 8, this strife is effectually taken up on the believer’s behalf by the Holy Spirit; Rom 8:2; Gal 5:16; Gal 5:17 and Paul is victorious.
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Contra, Eph 6:12 where the conflict is not fleshly, but spiritual.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv18, 21 The struggle between the flesh and the spirit in…
The struggle between the flesh and the spirit in the believer:
v. 18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
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v. 19. For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.
v. 20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
St. Paul here, for the sake of emphasis, repeats and amplifies his statements concerning the struggle between flesh and spirit in the regenerate: For I know that there lives not in me, that is, in my flesh, anything good. He makes a distinction between himself, his real, regenerated self, and his flesh, his old, perverted nature. Inasmuch and in so far as he still has this nature in himself, nothing good lives in him. This implies, incidentally, that in the real self of the regenerated person there is indeed something good, something spiritual, something that agrees with the demands of the will of God. For the willing, the determination to do good, lies beside him, is ready for him, and its use offers no difficulty. But to perform that which is excellent he finds not, he does not know where it is, it is not to be found. So the purpose to perform the holy will of God is there, but the difficulty lies in the execution of that which he acknowledges as being excellent. For the good that he desires he does not perform, but the evil which he does not desire, that he practices. The determination to live in accordance with the will of God is not altogether without effect, the struggle is never given for an instant, although the evil is committed again and again. And so the apostle again concludes: If, then, I perform that which I do not purpose, then it is no longer I that do it, but the sin which dwells in me. "The things which I do, when contrary to the characteristic desires and purposes of my heart, are to be considered as the acts of a slave. They are indeed my own acts, but not being performed with the full and joyful purpose of the heart, are not to be regarded as a fair criterion of character. " (Hodge.)
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 17, 19, 22 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Paul talks about the struggle inside his inner man between his flesh and the law of God—between sin and good.
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For what I do, I do not really understand
"I am not sure why I do some of the things that I do"
For what I do
"because what I do"
what I want to do, I do not do
The words "I do not do" are an exaggeration to emphasize that Paul does not do what he wants to do as often as he would like or that he does what he does not want to do too often. AT: "I do not always do what I want to do" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
what I hate, I do
The words "I do," which implies that he always does what he hates to do, are an exaggeration to emphasize that Paul does what he does not want to do too often. AT: "the things that I know are not good are the things that I sometimes do" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
But if I do
"However, if I do"
I agree with the law
"I know God's law is good"
translationWords
law
good
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 18, 21, 22 7:17 I am not the one doing wrong: Paul…
7:17 I am not the one doing wrong: Paul is not evading responsibility for his sin (see also 7:20). Rather, he is saying that because he genuinely wants to do what the law commands, some other factor must be causing him to do just the opposite. That factor is sin living in me. Paul experiences a divide between his will and his actions.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.