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.

Romans 10:13 and the Sinner's Prayer

It is perhaps fitting that this post be the first content post on this blog. This issue is one which has been thoroughly and repeatedly discussed by the group that is collaborating on this blog. It is an issue which we feel is of great importance. Also, this post will hopefully be an example to our readers of what we mean by a traditionally unbound interpretation of Scripture. In nearly all cases, this one included, the "tradition" that we address is really the modern interpretation, not a well-established 2000 year Christian understanding of the passage.

Scripture in question -- "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

Traditional Interpretation -- In order to be saved, someone must call on the Lord in prayer, asking Him for forgiveness and salvation. Most believe that if someone sincerely asks Jesus to be saved, He will definitely save them. This interpretation is commonly used in conjunction with the Roman's Road, or presentations of the gospel which end in a sinner's prayer. In these presentations, the sinner's prayer is often equated with "calling upon the name of the Lord" and upon such a profession, a person is given assurance of their salvation. The prevalence of this interpretation can be established by examining most gospel tracts and church websites which explain salvation.

Refuting Tradition -- Before getting into specifics, it's helpful to realize that there is no place in Scripture in which a person is told to respond to the gospel by calling on the name of the Lord, or by a prayer. When the gospel is presented, it is preached that men should repent and believe (Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21). This alone should give pause to anyone considering the traditional interpretation.

Let's dig deeper. The next step in understanding this passage is to recognize that it is a quote from Joel 2:32. At this point I would recommend reading all of the book of Joel. The really relevant parts are the first 2 chapters, but it's short so go ahead and read the whole thing. From Joel, it's clear that "calling upon the name of the Lord" includes deep sorrow and repentance, (Joel 1:8, 1:13-14, 2:12-13) much more than a simple prayer.

There is also one more place in the NT that this verse is quoted. Examine now Peter's sermon on Pentecost. Peter quotes this verse in the middle of his sermon (Acts 2:21). Now, if you glance down to the end of the sermon where the people were pricked in their hearts and said "what shall we do?" Notice Peter's response (v. 37-38). He tells them they need to "repent and be baptized (Hopefully the reader understands that baptism is irrelevant to salvation, but is commanded for everyone to do after repenting unto salvation.) The point here is that Peter quotes this passage and his response to the people at the end shows that he understands this "calling upon the name of the Lord" to be repentance.

Finally, a few miscellaneous points. Those who hold to the traditional interpretation should compare their understanding of the passage with Matthew 7:21-23, where some of those who call Jesus "Lord, Lord" are sent away into hell. Obviously, understanding that Jesus is Lord and calling Him so is not enough. Romans 10:14 should also be mentioned in this discussion. Immediately after saying that "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Paul continues by saying, "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?" This makes it clear that the issue is not a process of actually calling on the Lord in prayer, but the issue is true saving faith, which naturally includes repentance.

Traditionally Unbound Interpretation -- Now that the traditional interpretation has been thoroughly refuted, what is this passage really saying? If we look at the context, we see that Paul is talking about Israel and the Jews at the beginning of the chapter. You can expand the context a couple chapters back, but I think starting at the beginning of 10 is sufficient for understanding this passage. Again, Paul starts off talking about the Jews. Then, around verse 11 or 12, depending on how you look at it, Paul expands his discussion of salvation by saying that it's for everyone, not just Jews.

Verse 12 is a huge hint here. The first thing to notice is that Paul isn't writing a thesis on how someone gets saved. In actuality, in verse 13, he's basically just making the point that even the OT shows that salvation is for everyone, not just the Jews. This isn't to diminish the fact that "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" is a true statement. However, as we have seen in the description in Joel, as well as Paul's statement immediately following this verse, we can very plainly conclude that "calling on the name of the Lord" is essentially repentance and faith.

Concluding Remarks -- At this point I will plead with the reader to carefully consider his position on this issue. This is not a lofty theological position with no practical relevance. Twisting Romans 10:13 to teach a sinner's prayer for salvation is a corruption of the gospel. An evangelist or preacher who teaches this is making a large number of false converts who will show up on the day of judgment saying "Lord, Lord" and will hear "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Instead, please preach the gospel in simple terms, and call people to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.