Romans Chapter 7 Bible Commentary

This is a very important chapter in the Bible that teaches about righteousness by faith. In fact, this topic of righteousness by faith is more of an experience than simply a message. But it is so essential to understand and live out, that unless we grasp this message, we will not enter heaven. This Romans chapter 7 bible commentary centers on salvation coming from God, not from human effort.

We cannot save ourselves — God alone can save us. This question of works versus faith is critically important, because it is the intention behind why we do things that makes all the difference. We all perform good works, but those who understand righteousness by faith do these works because they love Jesus and others, while the legalistic mindset performs works in order to be saved. They believe their works earn them entrance into heaven, and that their works alone are sufficient to save them. Let’s dig deep into Romans chapter 7.

RO 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

The law, the Ten Commandments, remains binding upon us until we die. Because God still has the Ten Commandments, we can conclude that sin still exists.

1 John 3:4 — “Sin is the transgression of the law.”

If there were no Ten Commandments, there would be no sin. Sin exists because God has given a law. This is very important to establish, because many Christians go to one extreme, claiming the Ten Commandments and the law no longer apply at all. The other extreme we must also avoid is believing that we are saved by keeping the law — something no one is able to do. No one can keep the law unless Jesus gives us His righteousness by faith. This is the great secret of true conversion.

RO 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

Many people claim there are no more commandments because they take the verse that says “we are not under the law” and draw the wrong conclusion from it. Being “not under the law” means we are no longer under the law’s condemnation — Paul is not saying the law itself has been abolished. In many other passages, Paul speaks about sin and people’s behavior worsening over time. Here, Paul confirms that the law requiring lifelong marriage is still in force — and this principle is rooted in the Ten Commandments.

RO 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

Here is the law stating that marriage is meant to be for life, with one person. Yet God’s grace enters our lives, and God is deeply merciful on this matter. Before addressing grace, Paul first establishes that the Ten Commandments remain binding.

In Acts 13, we see that Paul, even many years after Jesus died, was still keeping the Sabbath on Saturday, in accordance with the Ten Commandments. All the apostles kept the Sabbath; all the prophets kept the Sabbath on Saturday. Even most Christians for roughly 300 years after Jesus’ death continued to keep the Sabbath. But does this mean we are saved by keeping these things? No — we are saved by grace. Even our obedience comes from God; it is His power working in us.

RO 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

We become “dead to the law” when we understand that our own works are worthless to save us. Only the death of Jesus on the cross is sufficient to pardon our sins, and only Jesus can give us His righteousness — because we have no righteousness of our own.

Being dead to the law does not mean we no longer obey; rather, it means God obeys through us.

In this Romans chapter 7 bible commentary, we find that legalists may claim to be Christians, yet remain separated from Christ. This parallels what Paul says in Galatians — that those trying to save themselves are separated from Christ. The opposite of this is being dead to the law, because Jesus gives us the power to keep the law through Him working in us.

RO 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

All people produce these “fruits unto death,” as the Bible says there is none righteous, no, not one. All have turned away and become spiritually corrupted. But when someone believes they are saved by their own works, even those works become tainted with selfishness, since they are performed with an ulterior motive — to earn salvation. Such works lead to death, because no one can be saved through works done not out of love for others, but in an attempt to be saved and gain approval from God and others.

RO 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

This does not mean we no longer need to obey the Ten Commandments. It means that when Jesus, by faith, gives us the power of His righteousness — which we receive simply by asking Him — we become dead to the law, since even our obedience now comes from God. In this, we can relax and enjoy life, knowing our own works are insufficient, and that as we spend time with Jesus, He performs the works through us automatically.

RO 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

It is only through the law that we come to know sin. Here Paul confirms that the law cannot be abolished, since sin is, by definition, the transgression of the law. Without the law, there would be no sin. Paul affirms that the law still stands — but because of Jesus’ righteousness, we can have peace, knowing that all true obedience comes from God.

RO 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

Once someone understands what sin truly is, it becomes clear that we are all sinners, and that no one on earth is inherently good. There is not one good person — the Bible says that whoever claims to be without sin is a liar, and the truth is not in them. Once we clearly see what sin is, we also realize there is no power within us to do good on our own.

Even our best works are done with an undercurrent of selfishness. So what is the solution? It is to ask God for His righteousness every day. This becomes an extraordinary way to live the Christian life — knowing that God does all the work through us, we can relax and live at peace. This is an amazing gift.

RO 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

If someone does not yet know the truth, they are not held responsible for following it. But once we know that Jesus died for us, and we understand how much God loves us, that truth carries weight — to reject it is to reject the truth itself. Romans chapter 7 points us to the way out, which is Jesus. And let us not mix works with faith. The Bible says that if we are saved by faith, it is no longer of works — it is one or the other. The key is that when we truly have faith, works flow from us automatically, as a gift from God.

RO 7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. But God sent His Son, Jesus, so that we could live forever — not only forgiven of our sins, but also given the power and the will to do good, which is righteousness by faith.

RO 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

When we are honest with ourselves, we realize that keeping the commandments perfectly is impossible for human beings. Sadly, many Christians and others refuse to accept that there is nothing inherently good within them. They continue to cling to the belief that human beings possess some measure of inherent goodness. This is not true — and as long as we believe this, we cannot receive the only true solution for sin, which is righteousness by faith.

RO 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Paul confirms that the law remains binding, but we are not saved by the law. This is the great distinction: Do you obey in order to be saved, or because you love Jesus? The intention behind our obedience makes all the difference.

RO 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

This is the crucial part that many people miss — realizing that there is nothing inherently good in us. In fact, even after coming to understand this truth, it may take returning to it many times before someone finally internalizes and fully embraces the reality that the only solution for sin is allowing God to give us His righteousness. Some may understand it intellectually, yet still cling to a belief in their own goodness.

RO 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

This is the condition of all human beings — we are sinful, and there is nothing good in us on our own. We have all turned away from God; our mouths are an open grave.

RO 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
RO 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Here Paul realizes that sin can be so powerful within us that we end up doing the very things we don’t want to do.

RO 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
RO 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

The legalists and Pharisees cannot grasp this, because their perception of sin is distorted. They believe themselves to be good because they fail to recognize sin within themselves. We need to be honest and acknowledge that we are not inherently good. But pride causes us to focus on what others are doing, rather than examining ourselves. So many religious and non-religious people alike remain blind to their own condition. Because they don’t recognize how sinful they truly are, they can never receive God’s righteousness.

RO 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

There exists, within human beings, an inherited inclination toward evil, passed down from Adam and Eve. Only God can break this power.

RO 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
RO 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Paul came to clearly recognize what sin truly is, and he saw it for exactly what it was — pride, selfishness, an unloving and unkind spirit. These things are sin.

RO 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

Paul loved the law of God; as a Pharisee, he had believed that keeping the law was the goal. Yet the Pharisees failed to love others. In truth, loving others is what matters most — and this love for others can only come from God, through conversion.

RO 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

This inclination toward sin traces back to the Garden of Eden, when Adam sinned. Yet Jesus died so that we could receive His power — the same power Jesus had on earth to overcome sin.

RO 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

This is the great realization every person must come to: unless you and I recognize how sinful we truly are, there is no hope of heaven, no hope of receiving Jesus’ righteousness. We will continue striving in our own strength toward nowhere, because our works cannot earn us heaven — especially when those works are performed to gain something for ourselves, even the gaining of heaven itself. Works like that are not done out of pure love for others and for God, and they carry no power before Him.

RO 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

This realization is the great turning point toward receiving God’s righteousness — a righteousness we must ask for every single day, since it is not found within ourselves. Paul spends almost the entire chapter explaining just how sinful we are as human beings, and this extended explanation matters greatly, because even after hearing this truth repeated many times, we tend to keep believing, deep down, that we are good. This is why Paul takes such care to explain, at length, that there is nothing inherently good within human beings.

Are you ready now to receive Jesus’ righteousness? Repeat after me: “Father God, forgive my sins, come into my heart, give me Your righteousness. Help and bless me, please, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”