What does Romans 7:8 Mean?

Study Notes

sin
Sin.

grace

Grace (in salvation). ( Romans 5:2 ); ( Romans 5:15-21 ); ( Romans 11:5-6 ); ( Romans 3:24 ).

( See Scofield John 1:17 ).

"Sin" in Romans 6, 7 is the nature in distinction from "sins," which are manifestations of that nature.

Compare ( 1 John 1:8 ) with ( 1 John 1:10 ), where this distinction also appears.

grace

Grace (in salvation). ( Romans 5:2 ); ( Romans 5:15-21 ); ( Romans 11:5-6 ); ( Romans 3:24 ).

( See Scofield John 1:17 ).

Verse Meaning

One illustration of what Paul had in mind here is the story of the temptation and Fall in Genesis 3. Whenever someone establishes a law prohibiting something, the natural tendency of people is to resist it. If you tell a small child, "Don"t do such-and-such," you may create a desire within him or her to do it, a desire that was not there before. [source][source]

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"Suppose a man determined to drive his automobile to the very limit of its speed. If ... signs along the road would say, No Speed Limit, the man"s only thought would be to press his machine forward. But now suddenly he encounters a road with frequent signs limiting speed to thirty miles an hour. The man"s will rebels, and his rebellion is aroused still further by threats: Speed Limit Strictly Enforced. Now the man drives on fiercely, conscious both of his desire to "speed," and his rebellion against restraint. The speed limit signs did not create the wild desire to rush forward: that was there before. But the notices brought the man into conscious conflict with authority." ^[1] [source]

"Coveting" or "desire" covers a wide range of appetites, not just sexual desires, which the AV translation "lust" (and "concupiscence," Romans 7:8) implies. "Dead" here means dormant or inactive, but not completely impotent, as is clear from Romans 7:9 where this "dead" sin springs to life. The absence of the verb before "dead" in the Greek text indicates that what Paul was saying was a generalization rather than a specific historical allusion. [source][source]

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Context Summary

To make his meaning clear the Apostle now enters upon a parable drawn from domestic life. He says that we are married to the Law as our first husband, and seek, through union with it, to bring forth fruit unto God. Every convert earnestly endeavors, in the first impulse of the new life, to be good and to form, by incessant effort, a life that is pleasing to God. Like Cain we bring the fruit of the ground, extorted from the soil by the sweat of the brow.

But we are soon disappointed in the result. Our laborious care ends in failure. Sinful desires are too masterful. As Luther said, "The old Adam is too strong for the young Melanchthon." Then we see that the Cross has put death between us and our painful effort. We learn that the marriage contract which bound us to our first husband, the Law, has been dissolved. We are set free to enter into marriage union with the blessed Lord, and He, by His indwelling Spirit, effects in us what our own energies have failed to produce. We are joined to Him that was raised up from the dead, and bring forth fruit unto God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Romans 7

¹  No law has power over a man longer than he lives
⁴  But we are dead to the law
⁷  Yet is not the law sin;
¹²  but holy, just and good;
¹⁶  as I acknowledge, who am grieved because I cannot keep it