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NASB | Romans 7:14 ¶ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 7:14 ¶ We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant--carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control]. |
Subject: "the law is spiritual, but I am carnal" |
Bible Note: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Romans 7:14 (NKJV) Romans 7:14-25 'Some interpret this chronicle of Paul's inner conflict as describing his life before Christ. They point out that Paul describes the person as "sold under sin"; as having "nothing good" in him; and as a "wretched man" trapped in a "body of death". Those descriptions seem to contradict the way Paul describes the believer in chap. 6. 'However, it is correct to understand Paul here to be speaking about a believer. This person desires to obey God's law and hates his sin; he is humble, recognizing that nothing good dwells in his humanness; he sees sin in himself, but not as all that is there; and he serves Jesus Christ with his mind. Paul has already established that none of those attitudes ever describe the unsaved (compare Romans 1:18-21,32;3:10-20). 'Paul's use of present tense verbs in vv. 14-25 strongly supports the idea that he is describing his life currently as a Christian. For those reasons, it seems certain that chap. 7 describes a believer. 'However, of those who agree that this is a believer, there is still disagreement. Some see a carnal, fleshly Christian; others a legalistic Christian, frustrated by his feeble attempts in his own power to please God by keeping the Mosaic law. But the personal pronoun "I" refers to the apostle Paul, a standard of spiritual health and maturity. 'So in vv.14-25 Paul must be describing all Christians -- even the most spiritual and mature -- who, when they honestly evaluate themselves against the righteous standard of God's law, realize how far short they fall. He does so in a series of 4 laments (vv.14-17,18-20,21-23,24,25). ____________________ The MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997. |