Dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus
I have really enjoyed my class on Romans this semester, BIBL 425. It has been going very quick, just like most of these 8 week classes do, so it almost seems like I'm not getting much of what we are covering. I know that after it is all said and done, I will have learned a lot.
One of the things that I have learned is that there sure is a lot of controversy over how to interpret Paul. Everywhere you look there are 4 or 5 different views on how to read or understand him. So I guess my question is, "Who is right?" This is a question that my buddy Mike and I have been going back and forth over for a couple of days now. Specifically we have been focusing on chapter 7 verses 13-25.
There are 3 different ways of approaching these verses according to one of my textbooks, Encountering the Book of Romans by Douglas J. Moo.
The first is Paul talking about himself as an unconverted Jew under the law.
Second, Paul is talking about his experience shortly after his conversion as he sought sanctification through the law.
Third Paul is describing his experience as a mature Christian.
Douglas J. Moo Encountering the book of Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002 pg 125
Moo goes on to explain that he believes that this cannot be options two or three because……….
In a summarization, Moo basically states that the first option must be correct because the other two options of reading Chapter 7 in that way contradicts what Paul clearly says in Chapters 6 and 8.
If you are a Christian you are
"free from the law of sin and death." 8:2
6:6 "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin"
6:11 "count yourselves dead to sin"
6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.....v22 we "have become slaves to God."
Chapter 7 clearly says that the person he is talking about is
"I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin." v14
"but it is sin living in me" v17
"in my sinful nature" v18
"making me a prisoner of the law of sin" v23
This person cannot be a Christian according to the standards that Paul clearly laid out in the previous and following chapters (chapters 6 and 8).
That is how I came to my understanding and conclusion of how to read chapter 7. I agree with Moo and Schreiner (my other text book leans this way as well). But what about Michael, and a whole lot of others (Matthew Henry, Calvin, The Holmen Commentary, even John MacArthur……probably tons more) that say that Paul was talking about his present condition, as a mature Christian of 25 years, who was just struggling with sin?
