Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 7:24 Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]? |
Subject: Who is the Wretched Man? |
Bible Note: Part II Let's continue our study of Rom. 6-8 by looking at the context leading up to chapter 6. In Romans 1-5, Paul lays out the great truth of salvation by faith, not by works. However, his emphasis on grace led some of his objectors to falsely believe that Paul was advocating lawless living, anything goes living. So, in chapters 6-8, Paul deals with this misunderstanding. Rom. 6:1 begins with this question: “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” His answer is an emphatic 'no'! He then uses baptism as an illustration of our new life in Christ. We have died to sin, Paul says in v. 2. As I have been learning recently, many have a serious problem with Paul's words in this chapter. Have we really died to sin? Are we really no longer slaves to sin? Has the old man really been crucified with Christ? Are we really expected to “...not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” (v. 12)? Or, did Paul really mean that we are just a little less slaves day by day? Did he really mean that the old man has been critically wounded, but yet lives? Did Paul command us to 'not let sin reign' even though the command is impossible to obey? I can't speak for anyone else, but the message of Rom. 6 is one that the world really needs to hear. Paul does not use future tenses in this chapter. He doesn't teach that God has half saved us, and then let us to suffer the ravages of sin. Rather, Paul teaches that God has called us to holiness. It would be nice, I guess, to be able to abdicate responsibility, but the simple fact is that if we sin as Christians, it is because we have chosen to do so. We have chosen to makes ourselves slaves again to something from which Christ has set us free (v. 16). This is why the claim that the 'wretched man' of Romans 7:24 describes a Christian makes no sense. In chapter six, Paul argues that we are not to sin because we are no longer slaves of sin. If we do sin, we make ourselves slaves to sin again. But, in Rom. 7, Paul is supposed to be arguing that we cannot help but sin, but we are slaves to sin. These are contradictory statements and make no sense either logically or Scripturally. In my next post, I will look at Paul's 'but now...' of Romans 8. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |