Romans 7 - Struggle or Unsaved?

Less than a month ago, I was reading through Romans. As I got to chapters 6-8, I felt like something wasn't right. Chapter 7 seemed really out of place. I had always heard chapter 7 preached as a Christian struggling with sin, but as I read through, I didn't get that impression at all. After more reading and studying, I came to change my position on this passage. I want to point out that I changed my position solely on the reading of Scripture, it actually wasn't until after I'd changed my mind and began to labor to iron out some of the details that I became aware of any debate over this passage. Since I've had this experience of recently changing my mind on this passage, I feel like I'm in a good position to give my thoughts on it.

First off, I would start by encouraging everyone to read through this passage, starting at chapter 5. Keep reading until you've passed at least 8:18. For this discussion, I'll start off very general. I think the tone of these passages speak plainly. In chapters 6 and 8 especially, we see Paul making clear contrasts between those who are dead to sin and living after the Spirit and those who are not. In chapter 7 Paul makes statements about himself, oftentimes using terminology which is essentially the same as that used in chapters 6 and 8 in places that are clearly talking about the unsaved. I think it's clear that Paul is not talking about a Christian struggling with sin, but about his experience with the law before he was saved.

Let's get a little more specific. In Romans 6 Paul uses strong language to describe our state as believers. Here are some of the main ideas:
- We are dead to sin (v.2, 7, 11).
- Our old flesh is crucified with Christ (v. 6, 8).
- We are no longer servants of sin, but are servants of righteousness (v. 13-14, 17, 20)

We see a similar thing in chapter 8:
- We are free from sin and death (v.2)
- Christians walk in the Spirit (v.1, 4, 9, 13-14)
- We are not carnally minded (v. 5-9, 12)

Now let's see what Paul says in chapter 7 in light of this:
[1-4] Using the analogy of marriage, Paul explains how we are dead to the law, so we can be married to Christ.
[5] Before salvation, sin worked with the law to bring death
[6] However, we're delivered now because we are dead to the law.
[7-8] Paul continues discussing the function of the law. The law itself is not sin, but shows us what sin is and gives opportunity for sin. This is where Paul starts talking about himself before conversion. Again, the point is to explain the function of the law. From everything we've noticed beforehand, it's plain that the law is active only to the unbeliever. Believers are dead to the law.
[9-11] Before Paul knew the law, he was alive, but the law came, sin worked, and he died.
[12-13] Paul again describes the function of the law. It is not made for death, but sin worked with the law to bring death.
[14-23] Paul describes himself as carnal and sold under sin, then goes on to describe what this looks like. He knows the law, and knows that he should obey it, but he can't/won't.
[24] Paul begins his conclusion of the matter by asking: how can I be saved of all this? Of course, the answer is Christ. As a side note, I think Paul is also giving a description of the conversion process (seeing God's law as good, recognizing his own sin, coming to the end of himself, turning to Christ for mercy).
[25] The last part of this verse is a summary of what he was saying. As an unsaved man, he acknowledges and serves the law in his mind (contrast this with being dead to the law), but in reality serves sin.
* Note that his next phrase is that, because of what Christ did, we have no condemnation and we walk in the Spirit, not the flesh.

If that doesn't take care of it for you, here are a few more verses to look at which make this even more clear. In addition to what I've highlighted in red above, these are instances in which Paul uses the same terminology:
- 7:17, 20, 23 compared to 6:13-18.
- 7:14 compared to 8:6-7

Conclusion - Do Christians still struggle with sin? Yes. However, our teaching on that should come from other passages in Scripture, not this one. While a Christian may still fight and struggle with sin, he is also dead to it, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ. If someone is in a situation where they can say with Paul in chapter 7 that, "I agree that the law of God is good, but I serve sin.", they need to repent and turn to Christ for their salvation.