Is Romans 7 about a Christian or a non-Christian?

Hey, thanks again for sending in questions related to our recent sermons. We’ve been continuing our series in Romans, and this last week we covered Romans 7, which talks about our ongoing struggle with sin. Paul says, “What I don’t want to do, that is what I keep doing.” And what I do want to do—follow God—that’s what I struggle to do. I do the things that I hate.

I don’t want to do the things that I really want to do in my inner being. And at the end, he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?” Thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord! Going into Romans 8:1, there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So, the question comes in this week, which is actually a debated question in theological circles: Is Romans 7 written for Christians, meaning post-conversion? Is Paul describing life after receiving Christ, or is he referring to life before we receive Christ? The people who argue that Paul is speaking about what it’s like before we are a Christian—to put their argument in the best light—refer to things like Romans 6, where he talks about this victory that we have, this new life, and this freedom that we have in Christ. And so, then how could he then in Romans 7 be talking about this struggle? Aren’t we supposed to be free?

Similarly, they point to his references to the law, like how this law has produced death in me because it brought sin to life. Since Christians are supposed to be free from the law, they would say Romans 7 is describing a struggle with sin before we come to Christ.

However, I do not hold that view, and many theologians do not hold that view. Mark, when he preached, clearly didn’t hold that view either. We believe that this is an ongoing struggle with sin after we receive Christ. I would point to several things.

First, it’s the progression of the argument in Romans to begin with. He started with a pre-Christian state in Romans 1 and Romans 2, showing that we are away from God. But then, in Romans 3—these are broad strokes—he shows what God has done to bring us back to him; our righteousness apart from the law has been manifested. In Romans 4, we receive it by faith. Romans 5 is about how we can rejoice even in sufferings because of what Christ has provided for us; we know we have a brilliant future and that he loves us because he died for us. Romans 6 talks about resurrection life. But then in Romans 7, we’re deep into his argument. It wouldn’t make sense for him to go back to a pre-Christian state. That’s number one.

Number two, I think most convincingly for me, is that Paul uses present tense verbs. “What I don’t want to do, I do.” It’s current; it seems to be currently happening for him. And “What I do want to do in my inner man, this I don’t do.” Again, present tense. Both these things are happening simultaneously. And he’s referring to an inner man that has been transformed. He has Christ’s new life inside of him, and yet, he’s not doing what he wants to do in his inner man. He wouldn’t have that inner man inside of him if he hadn’t been remade. If this was pre-conversion, he wouldn’t have this inner man that delights in God’s law. That wouldn’t even exist yet if he hadn’t been converted. So those present tense verbs, I believe, strongly indicate that this is describing life in Christ—that we still have this ongoing battle with sin.

And then thirdly, and finally, it’s true to our experience, isn’t it? We’re not done with our struggle with sin after we receive Christ. In some ways, our struggle with sin begins when we receive Christ. We have a new awareness of the glory of God, and we want to go in that direction, but we’re drawn back into the darkness. I mean, that’s just what Tuesday and Wednesday look like, right? We do have this ongoing struggle. If it were before we received Christ, there would just be life apart from him. We’re not struggling to follow him before we receive him. And so that is true to our experience.

So I really believe Romans 7 is what it’s like after we receive Christ. The good news is what Paul says at the end of the passage: “Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?” It’s Jesus Christ. God will one day liberate us out of the presence of sin in our lives. He’s redeemed us already from the penalty of sin, but it does still dwell in us and in our world. And he will one day end all of that as well. Just as he ended our penalty for our guilt, he will end the actual presence of sin, and we will be able to be with him forever without sin and without any entanglements. He is the one who will do it. He will rescue us. So while there is this struggle, there is a confident hope going forward.

Thanks for the question. We’ll see you next time.