>Our brothers at Thoughts on the Way have called this article by Daryl Wingerd on Why Romans 7:14-25 Cannot Describe the Christian Life, “a must-read.”
Here’s a taster from the article:
“Romans 7:14-25 can be misapplied in dangerous ways. Where the passage is understood as a description of the ordinary Christian life, professing believers who are overtaken in patterns of habitual immorality (or other serious sins), might take unwarranted comfort by thinking, “Even Paul failed habitually, like me, and we know Paul was a true Christian. Therefore my own experience, though characterized by habitual sin, is that of a true Christian.” I have personally heard the “Romans 7” excuse coming from the lips of professing Christians who were (or should have been) facing church discipline, and there is no shortage of written works available today that naturally lead to this type of abuse. On the other hand, where the passage is seen as a description of Paul’s pre-conversion discovery that the Law could not produce righteousness in those who are still “in the flesh,” some may wrongly arrive at the conclusion that true Christians never have serious struggles with sin.
Both of these applications of Romans 7:14-25 are serious abuses of the passage and cannot be harmonized with the rest of the New Testament. Professing Christians who are overcome by patterns of serious sin should never be comforted in their profession of saving faith based on the belief that Romans 7:14-25 describes the ordinary Christian experience. Instead they should be warned that their profession of faith may be false, based on the clear meaning of passages like 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 and 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, James 2:14-26, and 1 John 3:7-10. On the opposite end of the spectrum, those who conclude that true Christians never struggle with sin or fail in sinful ways are also committing a serious error. Interpreters in this category should note that Paul devotes much of the space in his letters to encouraging Christians to guard themselves against the temptation to sin (e.g., Rom. 13:14; Eph. 6:10-18), to put away sinful behavior (e.g., Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 4:17-24), and to forgive and restore one another when sins are committed (e.g., Gal. 6:1; Col. 3:12-13). Even Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:4, emphasis added).”
Read the full article HERE.
See also: Context of Romans 7- Early Church View
&: Romans 7 by Charles Leiter.