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Romans 7:15
“For that which I do, I don't know. For what I want, that I don't do; but what I hate, that I do.”
The Apostle Paul, writing to believers in Rome around the mid-1st century CE, is exploring the ongoing tension between God's law and human inability to perfectly obey it, even for those committed to following God. This verse is part of a larger section where he describes an internal conflict.
How might acknowledging this internal struggle shape our compassion for ourselves and others?
Then — the setting
Paul is writing in the mid-1st century CE from Corinth (likely), addressing a diverse church in Rome. This section of Romans (chapters 7-8) is deeply personal and theological. He is engaging with the Jewish understanding of Torah (Law) and arguing for the necessity of salvation through Christ, not through perfect obedience to the Law. His struggle here is often understood as the experience of a person under the Law, or a believer who still contends with the 'flesh' (sinful human nature) even after conversion. It’s debated whether Paul is describing his pre-conversion experience, his post-conversion experience, or using a rhetorical device to illustrate a universal human predicament.
Across the Testaments
This passage is in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, while there is a strong emphasis on obedience to God's Law (Torah) and the consequences of disobedience, the internal struggle described by Paul is not often articulated with such intense psychological depth. Old Testament figures like David (e.g., Psalm 51) certainly express remorse for sin and a desire for a clean heart, acknowledging human failure. However, Paul's focus here is on the Law's inability to empower true righteousness, highlighting a fundamental human powerlessness to consistently do good, even when the will desires it. This sets up the New Testament's emphasis on God's grace and the indwelling Spirit as the source of new life and the power to live righteously (Romans 8).
Keep thinking
Read alongside it
Continues Paul's lament, 'For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.'
Describes a similar internal conflict between the 'flesh' and the 'Spirit' within believers.
Reflects a deep awareness of human brokenness from birth, 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.'
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