Reflection on Romans 7:20-23
The whole chapter seven speaks of laws: the law of God, the law of sin and the law of the Spirit. Which of these laws works depends on whose territory we are. If we are in Adam, that means in our corrupt nature, our spirit is under the rule of the law of sin. Even if we observe God’s law outwardly, it leads to pride and pharisaism. One can be outwardly moral and decent and yet one is a slave of sin, pride and spiritual blindness. Pharisees were in the Church in the time of Christ but they are in the Church nowadays as well. The Apostle calls: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer is that we have been delivered, I have been delivered, by God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so thanks be to Him! However, if I am not in Christ, not conformed to God’s will, but I am in myself, it is true about me that “I serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin”. But if I am in Christ, the law of the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death (see Rom 8:1-2).
The essence of freedom is our abiding in Christ. “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jn 8:36) “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.” (Gal 5:1) How to abide in Him? Through earnest repentance.
Verse 20 says that I do what I do not want and that it is not me who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Verses 22-23 mention the law four times. I delight in the law of God in my inner being but on the other hand I am captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. The conclusion is that I do not do the good I want but the evil I hate and do not want is what I keep on doing. The Apostle shows that it is not I who do it but the power of sin within me which dominates the powers of my soul – reason, will and feelings.
If we abide in Christ through the living faith, the law of the Spirit is at work. If we do not abide in Christ and strive to keep God’s laws by our own effort, the truth is that the law of God can not be fulfilled by human endeavour. There are then two extremes. Either the Pharisees lay on people’s shoulders the burden of observance of the law, but without leading these people to conversion and a living communion with Christ. This results in rebellion against God and in an effort to rid oneself of the uncomfortable burden of Christianity. Or another extreme is liberal Christianity which denies all God’s laws and adapts everything to its liking. All is disguised with pious phrases about love, which in fact is self-love, or about God’s mercy, which in reality is unwillingness to live a just life. This all is a deceit. Neither pharisaism nor false liberty leads to salvation. Why? Because it lacks the foundation – true repentance. Jesus says: “Unless you repent, you will all perish.” Repentance, or metanoia, does not rest in external ascetic practices but in a change of mind.
Download: Reflection on Romans 7:20-23
