THE APOSTLE OF THE RECONCILIATION

The conscience bears its testimony to the excellence of the law:

`If what I do not will I practice, I consent to the law that it is excellent' (kalos) (Rom. 7:16 Author's translation).

Professor Tholuck has given several illustrations of the conflict between the conscience and the passions in a

man. We quote two:

Eupirides, Medea, 1077: `I know indeed, that such things as I am about to do are evil: But my mind is better than

my inclinations'.

Plautus: `I knew that it was becoming, but me miserable! I could not do it'.

The apostle arrives at a very striking conclusion in Romans 7:17 :

`Now, therefore, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me' (Author's translation).

We tread dangerous ground here and must walk carefully. The apostle does not mean us to infer that he

disallows all personal responsibility for sin; far from it. He is introducing a topic concerning which most believers

are profoundly ignorant. By carefully observing the parallels in the verses that follow, the `I' that is differentiated

from `sin that dwelleth in me', is seen to be the `mind' or the `inward man' - the seat of the conscience. It is set in

opposition to the `members' - the seat of the law of sin.

`I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind' (Rom. 7:23).

The law of sin was not resident in the mind, but `the law of sin is in my members'. The contrast is again made in

Romans 7:25 :

`So then with the mind I myself am subject to the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin' (Author's

The difference between Jew and Gentile in the matter of the mind is striking. The Jew had a law which was a

lamp and a light:

`The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul' (Psa. 19:7).

How little they understand the gospel who speak of the conversion of the soul as equivalent to justification. It is

striking that Paul's gospel has no place for the saving of the soul!

`... the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the

heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes' (Psa. 19:7,8).

The mind of a person brought up under such a law would be enlightened and clear as to right and wrong. The

trouble was that greater knowledge of right and wrong did not bring power to perform it - it only added

condemnation. The Jew boasted in his light and knowledge (Rom. 2:17-24), and is warned that mere assent to the

law with the mind was not sufficient:

`For circumcision verily profiteth, IF THOU KEEP THE LAW' (Rom. 2:25).

The Gentile nations, on the other hand, had not this enlightenment of mind, `God gave them up to a reprobate

mind' (Rom. 1:28). They walked in the `vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened' (Eph. 4:17,18).

The `members', the `fleshly mind', the `body of sin', the law of sin in `the flesh' show that the seat of corruption, the

weapons of the `old man', are found in the mortal bodies of men. The mind of the Jew might be more enlightened,

the mind of the Gentile might be utterly darkened and reprobate, but in neither case was there any hope in self or the

law. The law of sin continually mastered the law of the mind until the wretchedness of the man became unbearable.

He cries for deliverance from this body of death. Note that the old man, the flesh, is to be reckoned dead, crucified,

incorrigible. The mind, however, is said to be `renewed' (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23). The person may have had a

`fleshly mind', and then after conversion have a `spiritual mind', but that mind has been `renewed' - not destroyed.

Here is the key to the differences of Romans 7:17-25. The more the law is seen, the more awful the dominion of

sin appears that can so successfully resist it. The mind is symbolized by the same woman who, set free from one

husband by death, is quite within her rights in marrying another. So the mind, once linked with a sinful nature and