Isn't Romans 7 the Normal Christian Life?
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
"For the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." Many believers read Romans 7 as a description of themselves. They conclude that constant failure is normal. Professor Gary Maxey disagrees.
His reading of the passage
In his book on the Highway of Holiness, Professor Maxey argues that Romans 7 describes Paul's struggle before conversion. He looks at verse 9: "I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." He reads this as a picture of a young person who reaches the age of accountability, understands the law and is cut off from God.
What follows in the chapter, he says, is the struggle of an unsaved moralist who tries and fails to keep God's law. To read it as normal Christian living, he writes, is one hundred and eighty degrees off the mark. It also makes nonsense of much of Paul's other writing.
What chapter 8 says next
The very next chapter begins with no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Paul describes a life led by the Spirit. In Romans 6, he has already said that believers are no longer slaves to sin. Professor Maxey asks readers to let these chapters speak together.
A history to know
He explains that Augustine originally read Romans 7 this way, as a pre-conversion struggle. In his later debates with Pelagius, Augustine changed his mind and read it as the Christian's normal condition. Professor Maxey believes that shift strongly shaped the church's expectations of defeat.
A fair caution
This is a debated passage. Many respected teachers, including Reformed scholars, read Romans 7 as the believer's struggle. Professor Maxey's reading is his own and part of the Wesleyan tradition. The question for the reader is not which team you belong to. It is what the text says.
How to test it
Read Romans 6, 7 and 8 together, aloud, over one sitting. Mark each verb that speaks of what Christ has done. Mark each verb that speaks of what the "I" is doing. Which chapter does your daily life sound like? Then ask God to move you toward the third.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
