I would like to ask what is the “law” which Paul was referring to in Romans 7:14-25. Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
The Bible speaks of many different types of laws, so we need to examine the context to see what law is being discussed.<\/p>\n
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0law<\/strong>), that\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from\u00a0the law of her husband<\/strong>. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from\u00a0that law<\/strong>, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0through the body of Christ, that you may be married to\u00a0another <\/strong>— to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law<\/strong>\u00a0were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from\u00a0the law<\/strong>, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of\u00a0the Spirit<\/strong>\u00a0and not in the oldness of\u00a0the letter<\/strong>. What shall we say then? Is\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through\u00a0the law<\/strong>. For I would not have known covetousness unless\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0sin was dead. I was alive once without the\u00a0law<\/strong>, but when\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>\u00a0came, sin revived and I died. And\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0is holy, and\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>\u00a0holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through\u00a0the commandment<\/strong>\u00a0might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with\u00a0the law<\/strong>\u00a0that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then\u00a0a law<\/strong>, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in\u00a0the law of God<\/strong>\u00a0according to the inward man. But I see\u00a0another law\u00a0<\/strong>in my members, warring against\u00a0the law of my mind<\/strong>, and bringing me into captivity to\u00a0the law of sin<\/strong>\u00a0which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0law of God<\/strong>, but with the flesh\u00a0the law of sin<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>(Romans 7:1-25)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Using colors makes the various laws being discussed clear. The majority of the context is speaking of the law of God, in particular, the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. We know this because Paul speaks of the command “You shall not covet,” which is one of the ten commandments. Yet, as Paul progresses through his arguments regarding the Old Law, we find that his statements are also true of the New Law when we discuss the war between living according to God’s Law and battling sin. Law, in and of itself, is insufficient to overcome sin. Law can only define what sin is, but law alone cannot defeat sin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I would like to ask what is the “law” which Paul was referring to in Romans 7:14-25. Thank you. Answer: The Bible speaks of many different types of laws, so we need to examine the context to see what law is being discussed. Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[177,115,120,76],"class_list":["post-9485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-law","tag-old-law","tag-romans","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15678,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-divorce-disqualify-a-man-from-being-an-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":0},"title":"Does divorce disqualify a man from being an elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does divorce disqualify a man from being an elder? Is adultery covenant-breaking? Answer: Adultery does break the covenant or \"law\" between a man and a woman. \"Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-man-married-three-times-but-his-wives-are-all-now-dead-can-he-marry-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":1},"title":"If a man married three times, but his wives are all now dead, can he marry again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a man had three spouses, he divorced his first wife for adultery and he married an adulterer, divorced her for unknown reasons, and married a woman who was not an adulterer and divorced her to go back to his second wife, and all three spouses die, is it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36140,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/now-that-my-husband-has-died-can-i-marry-the-man-i-committed-adultery-with\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":2},"title":"Now that my husband has died, can I marry the man I committed adultery with?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have committed adultery against my husband. He has since died. If I marry the man that I committed adultery with, am I free to marry him? He is single. He knew I was married at the time this happened. Is he an adulterer? If we decide to marry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28455,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-the-adulterer-remarry-after-his-original-spouse-dies\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":3},"title":"Can the adulterer remarry after his original spouse dies?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a person, scripturally married, commits adultery and ends up divorced, can the one who committed the adultery remarry if the one who was innocent dies? Answer: \"For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-the-laws-for-remarriage-different-between-the-old-law-and-new-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":4},"title":"Why are the laws for remarriage different between the Old Law and New Law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If the marriage law is universal, why is the remarriage law in Deuteronomy 24 different from Romans 7:2 in that the guilty party who gets married to a second spouse can go back to his\/her first husband? Answer: The two laws of God are different. \"Behold, days are coming,\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29085,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-redemption-for-a-person-who-has-been-in-multiple-marriages\/","url_meta":{"origin":9485,"position":5},"title":"Is there redemption for a person who has been in multiple marriages?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's the fate of a man or woman who has married twice, have discovered the church of Christ, and are convinced it's the only true way? Can the person be baptized? Brethren in my congregation says there's no redemption for such a person because of the person's past marital\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}