Romans 7-8
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
An Analogy from Marriage
7 Do you not know, brethren—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during his life? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
The Law and Sin
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; 10 the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.
The Inner Conflict
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me?[a] By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Life in the Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[b] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Future Glory
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;[c] 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. 27 And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[d] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 We know that in everything God works for good[e] with those who love him,[f] who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; 34 who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us?[g] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For thy sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- 7.13-25 Man under the law of Moses and perhaps man under the natural law too.
- Romans 8:3 Or and as a sin offering
- 8.19 Material creation, too, shares man’s destiny, made as it was for him. Many ancient philosophers thought matter to be evil, and that the spirit should be freed from it.
- Romans 8:27 Or that
- Romans 8:28 Other ancient authorities read in everything he works for good, or everything works for good
- Romans 8:28 Greek God
- Romans 8:34 Or It is Christ Jesus . . . for us
Romans 7-8
New King James Version
Freed from the Law
7 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law [a]has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For (A)the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then (B)if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become (C)dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should (D)bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law (E)were at work in our members (F)to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve (G)in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Sin’s Advantage in the Law
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, (H)I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, (I)“You shall not covet.” 8 But (J)sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For (K)apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, (L)which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore (M)the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Law Cannot Save from Sin
13 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 the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, (N)sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. (O)For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that (P)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. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I (Q)delight in the law of God according to (R)the inward man. 23 But (S)I see another law in (T)my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me (U)from this body of death? 25 (V)I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, (W)who[b] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For (X)the law of (Y)the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from (Z)the law of sin and death. 3 For (AA)what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, (AB)God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who (AC)do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For (AD)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (AE)the things of the Spirit. 6 For (AF)to be [c]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because (AG)the [d]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, (AH)nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of (AI)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (AJ)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [e]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Sonship Through the Spirit
12 (AK)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For (AL)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you (AM)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For (AN)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For (AO)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again (AP)to fear, but you received the (AQ)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, (AR)“Abba,[f] Father.” 16 (AS)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (AT)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (AU)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
From Suffering to Glory
18 For I consider that (AV)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For (AW)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For (AX)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [g]corruption into the glorious (AY)liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (AZ)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have (BA)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (BB)even we ourselves groan (BC)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the (BD)redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but (BE)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For (BF)we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but (BG)the Spirit Himself makes intercession [h]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now (BH)He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints (BI)according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those (BJ)who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom (BK)He foreknew, (BL)He also predestined (BM)to be conformed to the image of His Son, (BN)that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also (BO)called; whom He called, these He also (BP)justified; and whom He justified, these He also (BQ)glorified.
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? (BR)If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 (BS)He who did not spare His own Son, but (BT)delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? (BU)It is God who justifies. 34 (BV)Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, (BW)who is even at the right hand of God, (BX)who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
(BY)“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 (BZ)Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor (CA)principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 7:1 rules
- Romans 8:1 NU omits the rest of v. 1.
- Romans 8:6 fleshly
- Romans 8:7 fleshly
- Romans 8:11 Or because of
- Romans 8:15 Lit., in Aram., Father
- Romans 8:21 decay
- Romans 8:26 NU omits for us
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
