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INTRODUCTION
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Despite physically attending church services for many years, we have yet to hear anyone teach or preach on Rom 7:21-25. Researching the internet on Bible commentaries did not yield satisfactory results either. Some commentaries kept going around in circles without giving proper explanation. Others referred readers to literary texts that do not seem to answer the question. So, what exactly is Paul saying when he said, “On the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Those who misinterpret Rom 7:25, will use this verse as an excuse to continue with their lifestyle of sin – their end has already been determined. And those who do not understand continue to wait for a clear explanation, but it may never come. As for us, we admit that Rom 7:25 is a difficult verse to understand and explaining it is even worse. Nonetheless, we will try to explain all five verses to the best of our ability. But first, let us establish this article with some foundational information before building up to our conclusion and summary. This foundational information is important so please have patience with us.
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ANALYSIS OF THE INNER AND THE OUTER MAN
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Matt 26:40-41 (NASB95) states:
(40) And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? (41) Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
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There are only two parts to every human being – the outer and the inner man. Please see our article titled: “What is the meaning of Hebrews 4:12? Man consists of Three or Two Parts?” The outer man is his flesh (his body) and the inner man is his immaterial soul/spirit entity. Both outer and inner man of the same person are controlled by his mind. We emphasize that he is not controlled by his brain, but his mind. His brain is only assisting his mind. Once the person dies, his brain dies as well, but his soul/spirit which of course includes his mind, continues to live on. When Jesus died on the cross, His entire physical body including His brain was dead. Yet, He in the spirit form knew where to go and He even preached to imprisoned spirits (1 Pet 3:18-19). His mind was alert and His spirit was alive. But a person’s outer man is always sending signals to his mind about his physical needs. Take for example, food. The stomach sends a signal informing the brain that the body needs food for energy. The brain upon receiving that information does not make any decision to eat. As soon as that information is received by the brain, the mind also receives that same information through his brain. It is the mind that makes the decision whether to eat or not to eat, whether to overcome his hunger pangs or to give in. It is the mind of both his outer and inner man that will make the decision to do, not not do something.
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The signals and decision process can be disrupted by demon possession. Sometimes demons hiding in a human body can be perfectly content to stay quiet and allow the mind of the human spirit to carry on controlling the body. But we have read in Scripture that demons can override the control exerted by the human mind. Like Luke 4:33-34, the demon possessed man very likely started to shout only after he saw Jesus, otherwise he would have gotten chased out much earlier since a synagogue tend to be quiet place. We hypothesize that the demon would not have said a word if not for Jesus coming into the synagogue. Nonetheless, demon possession cannot take place unless God allows it. Every human, every demon, every angel, every immaterial entity and everything that exists, all fall under God’s absolute sovereignty. So, if a person is demon possessed, it is because God has allowed it. That being said, this also means that the only way to cast a demon out of a person is for others around him to plead with God for deliverance. But we are digressing. Let us go back to the current topic.
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1 Thess 4:3-5 (NASB95) states:
(3) For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; (4) that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, (5) not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
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The Bible considers the human body as a “vessel” like a container, an airplane, a car, or a ship. Do we take care of it for God’s purposes? Or do we use it to sin or use it for Satan’s purposes. Our minds can overcome our body’s urges – it takes practice and determination, but it can be done. We wish to reiterate that the mind of the inner man is different from his brain. The brain is like a powerful computer. It automatically formulates ideas from the information it receives. The more rubbish it gets, the more rubbish it will automatically formulate – garbage in, garbage out. Conversely, if it is constantly filled with the word of God, it becomes less susceptible to the world and its temptations. Thus, the Christian, through his mind must maintain strict, unyielding discipline over this flesh, refusing to obey it and refusing to allow garbage into his brain through his eyes and ears. With this in mind let us now get a better understanding of man’s automatic reaction first, before analyzing Rom 7:21-25.
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ANALYSIS OF MAN’S AUTOMATIC REACTION
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As previously mentioned, the human brain is a computing machine that senses and collects signals from other parts of the body, for the purpose of providing important information, for decision making, or activating an instant reaction. Using an example of a human stomach, if a person’s stomach suddenly hurts, the brain upon receiving the pain signal, will automatically think of a way to reduce the pain based on what he thinks is the possible cause of the pain. So, if the pain is caused by food poisoning, his automatic reaction is to stop eating immediately and take appropriate remedial action. Or, if the pain is caused by someone who is stabbing with a knife, his automatic reaction would be to defend himself by moving away from the attacker. In the case of the stabbing action, usually there would not be any time for the person’s inner man to consider and ponder before making the decision to move away from the the stabbing knife. His automatic reaction has to be instantaneous or he will not survive. Readers are encouraged to be patient with this analysis because understanding this is crucial to our explanation of Rom 7:21-25. In another example, a person hurled a stone at another person’s head. The person on the receiving end will react based on the physical circumstances around him as well as his ability to deal with the immediate threat to his safety. A person not paying attention will probably get hit by the stone. But a person paying attention would likely react instantly to dodge the stone. There is no time for the mind of the inner man to ponder before reacting. His brain and body reacted instantly without any decision input from his mind. Once again, with no decision made by his mind, his body dodged the fast-moving stone headed in his direction.
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But in other types of situation, there may be more than sufficient time to make a decision. Take for example, long distance running. Initially, the run is usually refreshing and enjoyable. But over time, typically towards the end of a marathon, the runner can get very tired and his body via his brain is telling his mind to make a decision to stop running and give up the race. Will he obey the signals sent by his body or will he ignore and continue running. His mind has plenty of time to consider before making a decision. Looking at this case of the runner, it is his automatic reaction that wants to stop running. His tiredness and/or pain in his body is telling his brain to stop his legs from running. His mind, which senses this message through his physical brain, now has to decide whether to obey or to disobey. Readers who are not convinced of this can test themselves by going for a long run. It will not be long before two conflicting thoughts come to their minds – one telling them to stop and another telling them to finish the run.
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Therefore, the outer man (the body) is always reacting to his five senses. Very often, in fact most of the time, the brain reacts before the mind of the inner man receives any information for decision making. Everyone reacts differently, but let us look at another example. Amy has been circling around the mall parking for a long time looking for a parking lot and she was running late. Then she saw a car exiting from one lot. Happily she maneuvered her car to park in that lot. But before she got into it, another car went into it faster than her. Amy’s automatic reaction was one of intense rage and before her mind could establish control, she let out a string of vulgarities from her mouth. Then her mind managed to establish full control of her brain and she stopped herself from uttering anymore of those words. The problem with the flesh (the body) is that it is always inclined to sin. Its first immediate automatic reaction is almost always to sin. Many commentators put the blame on the original sin for their automatic sinful reaction. Others put the blame on God for giving man such tendencies. But none of these are true. The reason why the flesh is always inclined to sin is due to the brain’s ability to remember what he or she has seen and then use that information to devise new information. The problem has always been the input of garbage information, retention of that garbage information and the usage of that garbage information to devise even more garbage information. Amy’s automatic reaction to anger is vulgarities because she had learnt it from somewhere else earlier in her life. Different people across the world utter different vulgar words in their own languages as not all speak English, because somewhere in their lives, they must have heard either their relatives or their friends saying it, and they remembered and repeated those same words. Scripture tells us that God made men upright. But they are the ones who are devising, imagining and concocting new schemes (Eccl 7:29).
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Eccl 7:29 (NASB95) states:
(29) Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
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Thus when a person constantly fills his mind and brain with garbage, it will not be surprising if his automatic reaction will also be garbage. The ears hear and the eyes see and whatever is seen and heard will be retained in that person’s brain and also his mind. The more a person views pornography, the more that information will be retained in his or her brain and mind. The next time this person sees another person of the opposite sex (or even of the same sex), sinful thoughts will likely be that automatic reaction. But this is not to say that if we remove all input of garbage information we are going to be perfect. There are two problems. Firstly, we are still in the world and the world is constantly trying to pull us into its darkness through audio-visual communications, from the media and from people who belong to this world. Secondly, the problem of coveting can only be reduced to “acceptable” levels but cannot be totally eliminated. Let us explain. As long as a person is alive, he is most certainly going to be affected by all kinds of changes such as, changes in hunger levels, thirst, hormonal fluctuations, levels of boredom, loneliness, busyness, environmental changes and more. Take hunger for example; if for a split second, a person in his hunger looked and coveted someone’s food, he would have sinned. He does not even need to steal his neighbor’s food, all that is required are only covetous thoughts. The same applies to coveting anything else such as cars, handbags, shoes, spouses, job, position or even business networks. As long as there is even the slightest thought about wanting something that belongs to another person, that covetous person would have sinned. This brings us to our key point: The inclination to sin in our automatic reaction cannot be stopped because the physical brain sins faster than his mind can control it, in order to stop it from sinning. But once the mind realizes that he is coveting or lusting after someone or something, he can quickly stop the sin to prevent it from becoming worse or as they say, “prevent it from becoming entrenched.” The estimated time between a person’s automatic reaction and his mind’s realization of that reaction is about 2-3 seconds. It is our opinion that within 2-3 seconds, the true Christian must seize control to block all evil thoughts from becoming worse. The true Christian must make sure that sin does not become embedded in his life so that it becomes a habitual lifestyle. But to stop that initial sinful reaction is impossible because the brain automatically reacts faster than the person’s mind. If readers understand what we have explained so far, we can now discuss Rom 7:21-25.
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A COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 7:21-25
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Rom 7:21-25 (NASB95) states:
(21) I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. (22) for I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (24) Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (25) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
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Rom 7:21 Commentary – In verse 21, Paul is certainly not saying that he has a demon. It is clear as day that when he said that evil is present in him, he was referring to his body. He considers his body evil because it is always inclined to do evil. Please refer to our comments earlier in this article on the reasons for such inclinations.
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Rom 7:22 Commentary – Paul’s inner man, that is, his immaterial soul/ spirit joyfully agrees with the law of God. But this also implies that his outer man does not always agree with the law of God. Again, this is because it is always inclined to to evil.
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Rom 7:23 Commentary – The word, “law” in verse 23 is not referring to a system of written rules. In the NLT, it is translated as, “power.” In our view, the word, “law” is referring to a kind of influencing power. So, Paul was explaining that there is an influencing power in his body that is battling against another influencing power that is in his mind. One inclined to do evil and the other joyfully agrees with the law of God, both pulling in two different directions. The mind of Paul’s inner man wants to do good, but his body is inclined to do evil. And because Paul is still physically alive, he cannot pull away from his body. Paul is essentially trapped and imprisoned in his body that is inclined to sin. Hence, the words, “making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.”
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Rom 7:24 Commentary – Paul was expressing his frustration with his body’s persistent inclination to sin – wretched man that he was and wretched men we all are! When he asked who will save him from his body of this death, he was also telling the Roman Christians that there was actually no way to fulfil the law of Moses because their bodies will automatically sin, no matter how hard their minds try to control the reaction of their bodies. To be clear, we are referring to the automatic reaction of their bodies before the mind of the inner man takes control of their bodies (via their brains) to stop themselves from sinning.
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Rom 7:25 Commentary – It is important that Christians do not misinterpret this verse. Paul is most certainly not saying he is given in to the desires of his flesh. Paul is saying that because his flesh is always reacting faster than his mind can take control, thus due to its speed he has no choice but to let his flesh continue in its sinful inclinations. Lustful thoughts of the flesh, lust of the eyes, prideful thoughts, covetousness, hateful thoughts and the like, can all occur as automatic reactions of the flesh. And there is no way to stop such reactions – because they are automatic and they are fast. But once the mind registers the fast-occurring sin developing from the flesh, the Christian has to put a stop to it immediately and prevent it from taking root in his life. The sinful inclinations of the flesh makes it impossible to be justified by the Mosaic law. In fact, no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God (Gal 3:11). If the Christian counts on the Law for justification, he will be condemned repeatedly without end, because of his automatic reactions. But thanks be to God, because he now has Christ. Christ has redeemed him as well as all who truly believe, from the curse of the Law (Gal 3:13). But how does a person know that he truly believes? This is what John 12:46 says.
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John 12:46 (NASB95) states:
(46) I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
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John 12:46 Commentary – So if any person is still living his life in darkness, then he has not truly believed. Those sinful automatic reactions of the flesh cannot be wished away. They are indeed very bothersome and irritating. But if our minds are truly serving the law of God, we will not allow sin to take root in our lives. Darkness through the world and through his flesh will always try to influence the Christian, that is, the mind of the Christian. While he may be momentarily affected, he will not remain in darkness. Once again, he will not remain in darkness and he will not walk according to his flesh, but according to the Spirit.
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Rom 8:3-5 (NASB95) states:
(3) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (5) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
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CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
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Often the initial reaction of the flesh is almost always sinful and cannot be prevented. Flashes of envy, lusts, jealousies, anger, etc. often occur before the mind of the inner man can register them. But once the mind registers, it must forcibly exert control to prevent sin from taking root. Rom 6:12 tells us not to let sin reign in our bodies – do not obey those fleshly impulses. The world and the flesh want to influence the mind of the inner man, but the true Christian will not obey them. A person who is truly born again of the Spirit will set his mind on the things of the Spirit and he will walk according to the Spirit. What then is the meaning of the words, “To walk?” To walk, in the context of Rom 8:3-5 is to make it a habitual lifestyle. So how are we to walk according to the Spirit? It is by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. And what are the things of the Spirit? John 16:13 tells us that the Spirit will guide the Christian into all the truth and Gal 5:18-26 tells us how we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit and not practice the deeds of the flesh. Day in and day out, every minute and every second, the true Christian will set his mind on the things of the Spirit. Setting the mind on something requires effort and from our experience, it requires determination and persistence. Through prayers and a “never give up” attitude, the Christian will find it more and more difficult to sin over time. Those flashes of sinful automatic reactions of the flesh will still occur, but they will have lesser and lesser impact on the mind of the Christian, because his mind is set on Him.