Introductory remarks:
In this chapter we will learn, by Paul's magnificent grace logic, that we cannot live the Christian life. By this I mean we cannot live the Christian life by our own effort. We can desire to live the Christian life, but we cannot live that life; all we can do is yield our lives to God, and allow the Holy Spirit to do the work. All the self-help books in the Christian Book Stores put together will not get the job done for you. We must study Bible Doctrine and yield our lives to the truths of God's Word. Obedience to the Word of God, and I don't mean the Ten Commandments, although they are a part of the Word of God, is the only way to get the job done. Paul gave us doctrines of grace to live our lives by, and this is my whole purpose of writing these expositions; I desire that you all study to show yourselves true workmen, in order to be able to give God all the praise and glory for every hour in every day.
"We were bound to sin like a wife is bound to her husband. But when her husband dies a wife is free to marry another, as we are now married to Christ. The law reveals sin and sin brings death, but the law itself is holy. The flesh of man is controlled by sin, and even if he wants to obey the law, sin in him fights it" (A Survey of Romans by Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: An analogy from marriage vv. 1-6: the problem of indwelling sin vv. 7-25.
An Analogy from Marriage
Verse 1, "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?"
LGT "Are ye ignorant, brethren, for I speak to those knowing the law, because the law rules over the man for time as long as he lives?"
Are ye ignorant: Paul means here that they were ignorant about what he was about to teach, and that they should pay close attention. Paul was not insulting these Christians; it was simply an attention getter. Up to this point, Paul had shown that man is justified by faith, sanctified by faith positionally, and that he is to live by faith, through the grace provided experientially, based on their position in Christ; now he is teaching that they must live by faith. The Jews had been arguing that the Law was sufficient for them, and that Paul was antinomian, that is, against the law. Paul continues to prove the superiority of grace. For I speak to those knowing the law: Paul is speaking to those Jews that were members of the Roman church; but he is also speaking to the Gentile believers, especially to those who had a knowledge of the Old Testament, and also to those Gentiles that were being influenced by the Judaizers. Because the law rules over the man for time as long as he lives: the term the man is used in a generic sense of mankind, and it means all men who put themselves under the bondage of the law; the law has the rule over man as long as he lives under the law. Paul proceeds to show them that they are freed from the yoke of bondage of the Mosaic System.
Verse 2, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband."
LGT "For the married woman is bound by the law to the living husband: but if the husband should die, she is cleared from the law of the husband."
For the married woman is bound by the law to the living husband: Paul is using the similitude of marriage to illustrate the law has no more dominion over the believer. The law illustrates the husband and the woman illustrates the Church. But if the husband should die: the believer is no longer under the obligations set forth by the law, that is, the curse of the law. The believer is now joined to Christ and is no longer connected to the law. She is cleared from the law of the husband: she is cleared from the law of the husband; this illustrates the fact that the church is now under grace not law.
Verse 3, "So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."
LGT "So then, the husband living, she shall be called an adulteress, if she be to another man: but if the husband should die, she is free from the law, so as for her not to be an adulteress, having become to another man."
Paul is not teaching doctrine regarding marriage and divorce; he is merely using the Mosaic law of marriage to illustrate that as the law is dead to the believer, the believer is free as to grace, that is, he is no longer under the curse of the law, but under grace. This will be developed as we continue through Romans.
Henry Beveridge, Esq writes:
"Let us notice how Paul introduces the illustration; the law, he says in the first verse, rules, or exercises authority, over a man while he lives; and then let us observe the application in verse 4, where he speaks of our dying to the law. The main design of the illustration then was, to show that there is no freedom from a law but by death; so that there is no necessity of a correspondence in the other parts. As in the case of man and wife, death destroys the bond of marriage; so in the case of man and the law, that is, the law as the condition of life, there must be a death; else there is no freedom. But there is one thing more in the illustration, which the Apostle adopts, the liberty to marry another, when death has given a release: the bond of connection being broken, a union with another is legitimate. So far only is the example adduced to be applied - death puts an end to the right and authority of the law; and then the party is released may justly form another connection. It is the attempt to make all parts of the comparison to correspond that has occasioned all the difficulty."
Verse 4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
LGT "So that, my brethren, ye were made dead to the law by the body of Christ, for you to be to another, who was raised from among [the] dead, in order that we should bring forth fruit to God."
The point Paul is making is that we are no longer bound by the law. So that: in view of what has just been said in verse 3. My brethren: it is very important to understand that Paul is talking to believers only. Ye were made dead to the law by the body of Christ: the KJV has "become dead to the law"; it is literally, ye were made dead to the law by the body of Christ: you see, we are put to death in Christ, that is, we have fellowship positionally in Christ death, that is, we are identified forever in Christ's death. We are dead to the law as a means of justification and sanctification. The law was a burden even the Jews fathers could not endure; we must remember the law was righteous and holy, and was never given to be broken, but it was a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. We are now to serve Christ in grace, which does not give us liberty to do as we please but to bring forth fruit. For you to be to another: the first husband represents Adam, and our being condemned in him; the second husband, that is, the another [husband] in this phrase is Christ; if we look back at the previous chapters in Romans, Paul teaches us that Adam's sin was imputed on us, and a righteousness of Christ was imputed on us, making it possible through our new man to serve Christ. We still posses our old sin natures, however, by Christ imputing on us our new natures, that is, the new man, we have the freedom to serve Him. Who was raised from the dead: whenever Paul teaches justification by faith through His grace, he always brings in the doctrine of the resurrection. In order that we should bring forth fruit: Paul says here that we are made free from the law, not so we can live however we please, but that we have the liberty to walk in the light as He is in the Light; he annexes this verse with the fact that we should bring forth fruit, in order that we don't get the mistaken idea of why we are joined to Him, and that we are freed from the law. Bringing forth fruit is simply yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit through the written Word of God. We are His body, and He produces the fruit, and He can only do so with a willing body.
Verse 5, "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."
LGT "For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which [were] through the law, wrought in our members, to the bringing forth fruit to death:"
For when we were in the flesh: the flesh is not naturally sinful, however it is subject to sin; thus the flesh and the Spirit are antagonistic to each other. Paul is describing the natural man in his unconverted state, and before the presence of the Spirit of God's influence. In our unconverted state the law was irksome with its restraints. The passions of sins, which were through the law: these sinful passions lead to sin. The law has the effect to excite the unbeliever to sin; it is illustrated when a parent tells his child not to do something, they seek right away to do that thing. While the law excites to sin, the Spirit in the believer checks these impulses to righteousness. Wrought in our members, to the bringing forth fruit to death: the law kills whereas grace gives life. "To produce crime, agitation, conflict, distress, and to lead to death. We were brought under the dominion of death; and the consequence of the indulgence of those passions would be fatal" (Barnes). Paul shows that we are in a far superior position now under the influence of the Holy Spirit than we were in our unconverted state.
Verse 6, "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
LGT "But now we have been discharged from the law, having died [to that] in which we were held, so that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in [the] oldness of the letter."
But now: in our new condition under the gospel of grace. We are discharged from the law: as the woman from her husband in verse 2. "If the restraint of the law availed so little to bridle the flesh, that it became rather the exciter of sin; then, that we may cease from sin, we must necessarily be freed from the law." Again, "If we are freed from the bondage of the law for this end, that we may serve God; then, perversely do they who hence take liberty to indulge in sin; and falsely do they teach, that by this means loose reins are given to lusts" (Calvin). Having died to that which we were held: Paul reflects back to verse 4 where he states that we are dead to the law by the body of Christ. We are identified in Christ's death, that is, just as He died for our sins; we also died with Him to our sins. In our unconverted state we were held in bondage to the law, that is, we were held by it. We are now under grace, whereas we were once under the spell of the law. So that we should serve in newness of spirit: that we should serve our new Husband, Jesus Christ, through the filling of the Spirit. We are a new creation created in Christ Jesus our Lord; under the law our thoughts were "I ought to do it"; now under grace "I delight to do it." As I have said many times, "I do not serve God because I want to please Him; I serve God because He is already pleased with me in Christ Jesus." We cannot live the Christian life; we can only yield to the Spirit and Christ will live His life through us; we are the branches, He is the Vine. Christ produces all the good works in us, and then at the Bema Seat of Christ He will reward us for the fruit He produces. And not in the oldness of the letter: Paul ascribes the new man to the Holy Spirit, and the old man to the letter of the law. "The main idea is, that the services under the gospel are purely and entirely spiritual, the offering of the heart, and not the service rendered by external forms and rites" (Barnes).
The Problem of Indwelling Sin
Verse 7, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet."
LGT "What then shall we say? [Is] the law sin? May it never be: but I did not know sin except by the law: for also I had not been conscious of lust had not the law said, thou shalt not lust."
What shall we say: Paul began the sixth chapter with this same phrase regarding sin. Is the law sin: Since it has been said that we must die to the law, in order that we may serve God in newness of life, the law must also be sin. May it never be: Paul answers the Jewish objection that the law does not give occasion to sin. The law is perfect, therefore it cannot produce sin, for it prohibits any and all sin; it is the flesh that produces the sin in us through the lust of the flesh. Paul is very emphatic on this point. But I did not know sin except by the law: remember, the law was a schoolmaster to bring the Jew to Christ. The Word of God is a mirror to our souls showing our sin natures. "The I refers to Paul himself. He speaks in the first person, declaring concerning himself what is meant to apply to every man placed under the Mosaic law, as respects his relation to that law, before and after the revolution in his inner life brought about through his connection with that law. His personal experience is not excluded, but represents the universal experience" (Vincent). Calvin notes that the 'Papists' teach that lust or coveting is not sin, but that it lies in each of us; such silly reasoning cannot be substantiated because what produces sin, that is coveting, is also latent sin. They teach that it is not a mortal sin, only menial or trivial or unimportant. The righteousness of God is presented in the law. For also I had not been conscious of lust had not the law said, thou shalt not lust (Exo. 20:17). Paul chose this one commandment because it shows the evil desires of man's heart continually. Robertson notes: "Men with their sinful natures turn law into an occasion for sinful acts." Men are left to their evil vain desires that have not been saved and received a new heart, that is, the new man. The law is not at fault, but we are possessed with a sin nature.
Verse 8, "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead."
LGT "But sin, having taken an occasion by the commandment, worked out in me every lust: for apart from law sin [was] dead."
But sin: the corruption of our nature. Having taken an occasion by the commandment: that is, the prohibitions of the law excites to sin; as already pointed out, whenever a prohibition is put on a thing, there need be no more enticement to do that thing. Worked out in me every lust: the law has the contrary effect on the mind of the unbeliever; it excites him to sin. "We always endeavor to obtain that which is forbidden, and desire that which is denied."
Barnes notes four ways sin entices one to sin:
"(1.) It crosses the path of the sinner, and opposes his intention, and the current of his feelings and his life. (2.) The law acts the part of a detector, and lays open to view that which was in the bosom, but was concealed. (3.) Such is the depth and obstinacy of sin in man, that the very attempt to restrain often serves to exasperate, and to urge to greater deeds of wickedness. Restraint by law rouses the mad passions; urges to greater deeds of depravity; makes the sinner stubborn, obstinate, and more desperate. The very attempt to set up authority over him throws him into a posture of resistance, and makes him a party, and excites all the feelings of party rage. Any one may have witnessed this effect often on the mind of a wicked and obstinate child. (4.) This is particularly true in regard to a sinner. He is calm often, and apparently tranquil. But let the law of God be brought home to his conscience, and he becomes maddened and enraged. He spurns its authority, yet his conscience tells him it is right (that is why we can not let our conscience be our guide); he attempts to throw it off, yet trembles at its power; and to show his independence, or his purpose to sin, he plunges into iniquity, and becomes a more dreadful and obstinate sinner. It becomes a struggle for victory; and in the controversy with God he resolves not to be overcome (this is further proof that everyone knows there is a God). It accordingly happens that many a man is more profane, blasphemous, and desperate when under conviction for sin than at other times."
For apart from law sin was dead: before the law was given or before it was applied to the mind, sin was inoperative, inactive, and unexcited. Paul is explaining this in a general sense, and then in the next verse begins to apply it to his own case as a sinner.
Verses 9, 10, "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death."
LGT "But I was alive apart from law once, but the commandment having come, sin revived, but I died: and was found to me [that] the commandment which [was] to life, this [to be] to death."
But I was alive apart from the law once: Paul is saying, take me for instance; I was alive as a Pharisee of Pharisees in my unregenerate state without a true spiritual meaning of the law. But the commandment having come: when I came to understand the spiritual meaning of the law, specifically, "thou shalt not covet." Sin revived: the blissful state of sinful innocence was over, that is, his self-righteousness as a religious zealot, and I became aware of the significant spiritual meaning of sin. But I died: when he learned the true significance of the law, his self-righteousness as a Jew was over, and he defines it as a death. And was found to me that the commandment which was to life: he says that now that he understands the true significance of the law, that it is holy, and that he no longer is living to keep the outward displays of keeping the law, he has died to this way of life. This to be to death: this law that I thought I lived by with all its rituals, now that I understand the spiritual significance of it, which it leads to death. I realize that it cannot be kept, and now I lean completely on God's magnificent grace.
McGee notes:
"Oh, the tragedy of the person who seeks to live by the law! It does not lead him to life. While it is true that God had said, This do and thou shalt live (Deut. 8:1), the doing of it was the difficulty. The fault was not in the law, but in the one who thought the law would bring life and power. It did neither. It merely revealed the weakness, inability, and the sin of mankind. If there had been a law, which could have given life, God would have given it (see Gal. 3:21). But life and Christian living do not come by the law."
Verse 11, "For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me."
LGT "For sin, having taken an occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew [me]."
Paul says that he attempted to please God by keeping the law, but this proved to be deception. Man cannot live for God by his own effort; in this light, Paul says, the law killed him, that is, the law kills, whereas grace gives life. No man can live the Christian life; this has to be done by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the believer's life through the Word of God.
Verse 12, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
LGT "So that the law indeed [is] holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."
The law of God is not the problem; the corrupt nature of man is the problem. If the law were obeyed, it would produce happiness on every hand. The law and the commandment are synonymous.
Verse 13, "Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."
LGT "That which then [is] good to me has it become death? May it never be: But sin, in order that it may appear sin, by that which [is] good to me working out death, in order that sin might become excessively sinful by the commandment."
That which then is good to me has it become death: the question is, is that which is holy, just, and good (vs. 12) be changed into evil? The objection is how something so just, a gift from God, cause death; this seems a contradiction. He answers: May it never be: perish the thought. But sin, in order that it may appear sin: the law exposes sin, and shows it in the true light of God's Word. Calvin translates this verse thus: "Sin is in a manner regarded as just before it is discovered by the law; but when it is by the law made known, then it really obtains its own name of sin; and hence it appears the more wicked, and, so to speak, the more sinful, because it turns the goodness of the law, by perverting it, to our destruction; for that must be very pestiferous, which makes what is in its own nature salutary to be hurtful to us." By that which is good to me working out death: that which looked good to him was sin; however it only leads to death. In order that sin might become excessively sinful by the commandment: only the excess of sin can reveal its sinful nature, and this by the law. "The import of the whole is-that it was necessary for the atrocity of sin to be discovered by the law; for except sin had burst forth into outrageous, or, as they say, into enormous excess, it would not have been acknowledged as sin; and the more outrageous does its enormity appear, when it converts life into death; and thus every excuse is taken away from it" (Calvin).
Verse 14, "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin."
LGT "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold under sin."
For we know: that is, it is generally accepted as truth. That the law is spiritual: the law is part of the Word of God and therefore it is perfectly holy and righteous, for it could not be otherwise. The word "spiritual" means Spirit caused or Spirit given. We all receive the Word of God to our minds by the agency of the Holy Spirit. But I am carnal: Paul says that he is in the flesh, that is, fleshly. This means that he has the old sin nature. McGee makes a good illustration of how sin ravages our bodies over the years by comparing the face of a baby to the face of a fifty-year old man. It is obvious to we who have been on this earth this past 70 plus years. Sin is no friend of the flesh; however Paul is not referring to his flesh and bones, but to his carnal nature. Sold under sin: Paul describes himself as a slave sold under sin. The preposition (hupo) under means that he is under the power of sin. Robertson says: "Sin has closed the mortgage and owns its slave." "Since in human things there is no greater discord than between spirit and flesh, the law being spiritual and man carnal, what agreement can there be between the natural man and the law? Even the same as between darkness and light" (Calvin). The flesh desires what is sinful and earthly from the womb on wards; until the Holy Spirit puts the new man in us, that is, until we are united to Christ, we cannot desire spiritual things. Even after we are saved, if we live after the flesh, we are carnal; but if we, through the Spirit, put to death the things of the flesh, we then are spiritual, that is, controlled by the Spirit (Rom. 8:13). This can only be accomplished by the renewing of the Holy Spirit through the mechanics of I John 1:9, that is, confessing sin to God.
Verse 15, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."
LGT "For what I work out I know not: for not what I will, this I practice; but what I hate this I do."
For what I work out: the first thing we must notice in this passage is Paul's use of the personal pronoun "I". Paul uses himself to make the point that this is the experience of the believer. So the working here is the work of a believer. Paul is saying that whatever he is doing that is contrary to the will of God. I know not: I do not recognize in its true nature. Robertson notes: "My spiritual perceptions are dulled, blinded by sin (2 Cor. 4:4)". Paul says he does not perceive the outcome of my sinful life. For not what I will: on the contrary to my desire to practice righteousness: this I practice: that is, the opposite of what I wish I could do, and do not because of the sin nature. But what I hate: I do not practice what I should, and the outcome is hate. This I do. No hatred of sin is found in the flesh. Paul is speaking of our constant combat between our spirit and our flesh. "Desire prompts to one thing, but the mind persuades to another. I see the good, and approve it, and yet pursue the wrong" (Barnes).
Verse 16, "If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good."
LGT "But if what I do not will, this I do, I consent to the law because it is morally excellent."
But if what I do not will, this I do: if I do what I know to be contrary to the law; in this case it is coveting. I consent to the law: my wanting to do the opposite of the law proves to me that it is good. Because it is morally excellent: because the Word of God is pure and excellent, and we have surrendered to It, we see the insidious hideousness of our sins.
Barnes notes:
"The very struggle with evil shows that it is not loved, or approved, but that the law which condemns it is really loved. Christians may here find a test of their piety. The fact of struggling against evil, - the desire to be free from it, and to overcome it, the anxiety and grief which it causes, - is an evidence that we do not love it, and that therefore we are the friends of God. Perhaps nothing can be a more decisive test of piety [faithfulness] than a long-continued and painful struggle against evil passions and desires in every form, and a panting of the soul to be delivered from the power and dominion of sin."
Verse 17, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
LGT "Now then no longer am I working it out, but sin dwelling in me."
Paul is saying that his sin is in the old man, that is, the old sin nature. Paul is not releasing himself from his own willingness to sin, nor excusing himself; he is simply saying that it is his true nature to desire to sin, and that it is only because of his new nature that he abhors sin. The only thing we have to combat sin is the Word of God, that is, Bible doctrine; the Psalmist wrote, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee (Psalm 119:11). Our spirits are in a constant warfare with our flesh.
Verse 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."
LGT "For I know that there dwells not in me, that is in my flesh, good: for to wish is present with me, but to be working out the good [is] not [present]."
For I know that there dwells not in me: in his flesh; Paul could not function in his flesh alone. That is in my flesh, good: Paul is saying that he can do absolutely no good thing in the flesh. Anytime we try to do a righteous act by self-effort it will amount to wood hay and stubble at the Bema-Seat. We may set our affections on things above, and we may work out righteousness here below, but we must have the proper motive in our effort. We must be obedient to Bible Doctrine, and obey the Word of God because of our position with Christ, and for no other reason; all other motives are self-righteousness. For to wish is present with me: Paul had the desire to do good things; the wishing came from his new nature created in Christ Jesus. The reason so may people make decisions to follow Christ, and then fail, is because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; and the only answer to a weak spirit is Bible Doctrine studied, and then studied, and then studied some more; of course the end result will be wisdom as we apply Doctrine to our lives. But to be working out the good is not present: because of the old sin nature, Paul says that the working out of the good is not present; the KJV has the word "how", which would have been better left out of this translation; for the question here is not the method, but that the flesh presented horrific obstacles to his desires. Paul is by no means ignorant of the method, for he was the apostle chosen to teach the church the method for grace living; we will develop these doctrines as we continue in Paul's epistles. Paul is simply presenting to us the why we sin, and then he will teach us how we can live in the Spirit by walking in the Light of God's Word.
Verse 19, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."
LGT "For what good I wish I do not practice, but what evil I do not wish, this I practice."
For what good I wish: this is a repetition of what he said in vv. 15, 17. Those things he desires to do: I do not practice: it is not strange for Paul to use repetition because it is so important on his mind. But what evil I do not wish: those evil things desired by his flesh. This I practice: "Paul presents the moral contrast between good inclination and bad action" (TEGT).
Verse 20, "Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
LGT "But if what I do not wish, this I do, [it is] no longer I [who] work it out, but sin dwelling in me."
Paul repeats the same conclusion (see vs. 17). The Old sin nature is causing all the trouble.
Verse 21, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me."
LGT "I find then the law, to me who will to practice the good, that evil is present with me."
I find then the law, to me who will to practice the good: this law is that of presenting a moral contradiction, that is, Paul says when I wish to do the right thing: that evil is present with me: The old sin nature is an ever living obstacle to our serving Christ; however, to recognize this fact, we can overcome evil with good by allowing God the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives; and this is done by adjusting our lives to Bible Doctrine; there is no other way. If we do not recognize that we have this sin nature, we end up trying to overcome evil by the works of the flesh.
Verse 22, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man."
LGT "For I rejoice with the law of God according to the inward man."
For I rejoice with the law of God: Paul says that his real self rejoices in the law of God. According to the inward man: This inward man is our new natures in Christ.
Verse 23, "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
LGT "But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive to the law of sin, which is in my members."
Here Paul describes the fact that he has the old man and the new man, and they are at war in my members. The war is between the flesh and the Spirit that dwells within us; and as I have said before, the only way we win this war is in fellowship with Christ.
Verse 24, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
LGT "O wretched man I [am]: who shall deliver out of this body of death?"
O wretched man I am: Paul cries out in despair; we can understand this cry much better as we remember 1 Tim. 1:15 where Paul described himself as "the chief of sinners." Who shall deliver me out of this body of death: the soul is held captive by the physical body. To obey the flesh leads to death, which is the final release from the sin wracked body of ours; however, Paul recognizes that we can overcome in the next verse.
Verse 25, "I thank 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."
LGT "And thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself with the mind indeed serve God's law; but with the flesh sin's law."
And thanks to God: Paul gives all the glory of his deliverance from the bondage of sin to God; the law could not accomplish what the grace of God has. Through Jesus Christ our Lord: this grace is made possible for God to shed abroad by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself with the mind: Paul is referring to the illumination of the Spirit of God who allows him to think straight and just, that is, he is able to view things with his mind from the divine viewpoint. Serve God's law: Paul is not referring to the Ten Commandments, but Bible Doctrine, that is, whatever God desires he desires. Paul says whatever God says is true and righteous, and that does include the Law. But with the flesh sin's law: the desires of the flesh, the old man, lead to sin. The corruption of sin can only be overcome by the grace of God. "We have thus, (1.) A view of the sad and painful conflict between sin and God. They are opposed in all things. (2.) We see the raging, withering effect of sin on the soul. In all circumstances it tends to death and woe. (3.) We see the feebleness of the law and the conscience to overcome this. The tendency of both is to produce conflict and woe. (4.) We see that the gospel only can overcome sin. To us it should be a subject of ever increasing thankfulness, that what could not be accomplished by the law, can be effected by the gospel; and that God has devised a plan that thus effects complete deliverance, and which gives to the captive in sin everlasting triumph" (Barnes). Greater is the grace of God in us, than the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. We must adjust our lives to the Word of God for us.
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