The Inner Conflict
7: 14-25
This section is obviously a touching account of a mature believer’s inner conflict with sin, one part of him pulling one direction and another part pulling in the opposite direction. The conflict is real and it is intense. The more mature believers measure themselves against God’s standards of righteousness, the more they realize how much they fall short. They place no value on their own goodness or achievements. The closer we get to YHVH, the more we see our own sin.
It also seems, as one would naturally suppose from the use of the first person singular (which appears forty-six times in Romans 7:7-25), that Paul is speaking of himself. Not only is he the subject of these verses, but it is the mature and spiritually seasoned apostle that is portrayed. Only a believer at the height of spiritual maturity would either experience or be concerned about such deep struggles of heart, mind, and conscience. The more clearly and completely he saw ADONAI’s holiness and goodness, the more Paul recognized and grieved over his own sinfulness.
Beginning at 7:14 there is also an obvious change in Paul’s circumstances in relation to sin. In 7:7-13 he speaks of sin as deceiving and slaying him (to see link click Bz – Application to Believers in Yeshua). He gives the picture of being at sin’s mercy and helpless to free himself from its deadly grasp. But here, in 7:14-15, he speaks of a conscious and determined battle against sin, which is still a powerful enemy, but no longer his master. In the latter part of Chapter 7 Paul also continues to defend the righteousness of the Torah and rejoice in its benefits, which, although it cannot save from sin, it can, nevertheless, continue to be his blueprint for living (see the commentary on Exodus Dh – Moses and the Torah).185
Anyone who has ever failed to live up to YHVH’s mitzvot can identify with what Paul is saying here. As Yeshua put it: The spirit is eager, but the human [sin nature] is weak (Matthew 26:41). Similarly, the Talmud states, “At first sin is like an occasional visitor, then like a quest to stay a while, and finally like the master of the house” (Genesis Rabbah 22:6; Sukkah 52b). But as long as we remain on this earth in our mortal, corrupted bodies, the Torah will continue to be our spiritual ally.
Dear Pure and Holy Heavenly Father, I praise You that You are perfectly holy. You are totally pure in Your every thought, inclination and heart’s desire. How wonderful it is to know that You, our Father, are so pure and clean. Not only do you never sin, you cannot tolerate sin. It is an abomination to You and there will be no sin in Your heavenly home. And nothing unholy shall ever enter it, nor anyone doing what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). Praise Your great love which offered Yeshua’s blood when He died on the cross as the payment for our sins. What awful shame and great pain He endured for us so that we could share in His righteousness. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).
I am so grateful for the immeasurably great and costly gift of love that You, God, gave so that those who love You could come to live with you forever in Your holy heaven. When trials come in my life I will focus on the wonderful joy and peace I will have in eternity in heaven. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (Second Corinthians 4:16-17). I look forward to praising You forever! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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