7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I 9 would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else 10 if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 11
12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, 20 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God 21 – which is your reasonable service.
12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you 22 a measure of faith. 23
1 tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”
2 tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”
3 tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).
5 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
6 tn Grk “that we might bear fruit to God.”
7 tn That is, before we were in Christ.
8 tn Or “sinful passions.”
9 tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
9 sn Romans 7:7-25. There has been an enormous debate over the significance of the first person singular pronouns (“I”) in this passage and how to understand their referent. Did Paul intend (1) a reference to himself and other Christians too; (2) a reference to his own pre-Christian experience as a Jew, struggling with the law and sin (and thus addressing his fellow countrymen as Jews); or (3) a reference to himself as a child of Adam, reflecting the experience of Adam that is shared by both Jews and Gentiles alike (i.e., all people everywhere)? Good arguments can be assembled for each of these views, and each has problems dealing with specific statements in the passage. The classic argument against an autobiographical interpretation was made by W. G. Kümmel, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus. A good case for seeing at least an autobiographical element in the chapter has been made by G. Theissen, Psychologische Aspekte paulinischer Theologie [FRLANT], 181-268. One major point that seems to favor some sort of an autobiographical reading of these verses is the lack of any mention of the Holy Spirit for empowerment in the struggle described in Rom 7:7-25. The Spirit is mentioned beginning in 8:1 as the solution to the problem of the struggle with sin (8:4-6, 9).
10 tn Grk “I would not have known covetousness.”
11 sn A quotation from Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21.
11 tc ‡ Most
12 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
13 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
14 tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.
13 tn Grk “in that.”
15 sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).
16 tc Several
17 tc Most
17 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
18 tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.
19 tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.
20 tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”
21 tn Grk “hearts.”