Romans 7:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see how the Apostle, having freed both the substance of the soul and the substance of the flesh from accusation, transferred everything to wicked activity? If a man does not will evil, the soul is free. If he does not do evil, the body also is free. Everything depends only on the evil will. Soul, body, and will are not the same in essence. The first two are creations of God. The last is a movement arising from ourselves, which we direct wherever we wish. The will in itself is a natural faculty given by God. Yet this same will is also something of our own and depends on our reason.

When he says, "which I do not will," he removes blame from the soul. When he says, "it is no longer I who do it," he removes blame from the body. Who, then, does the evil?

"For to will what is good is present with me," he says, "but how to perform it I do not find," and so forth. In order to show clearly that the flesh painfully gives birth to sin within itself, he wisely acknowledges that the good is present with us. Yet the possibility of fulfilling it is not yet present, for the flesh compels the mind to involuntary retreat, even when the mind does not wish this. Therefore, with regard to what is pleasing to the mind, he would be outside sin. But since he suffers unavoidable violence, it would naturally be fitting to assign the blame not to him, but to what commits the violence.

Paul resists and sees how the law of his flesh opposes the law of his mind, and how he becomes a captive of sin. He does not trust in his own reason, but believes that the grace of Christ will free him from death. And do you think that anyone who knows sin can avoid sinning?

"The good that I will, I do not do, but the evil that I do not will, I do." The Apostle repeats this often so that the matter may be clear.

Paul says this in the person of one who is accustomed to sin and is stained by the vices of the flesh.

After daybreak, when we urged the elder more insistently to examine the depths of the apostolic saying, he began to speak thus.

The testimonies by which you tried to prove that the Apostle Paul spoke not in his own person but in the person of sinners in saying, 'The good that I will, I do not do, but the evil that I do not will, that I do. But if I do what I do not will, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For according to the inner man I delight in the law of God, but in my members I see another law warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members,' prove the opposite.

They clearly show that this cannot fully suit the person of sinners. What was said belongs only to the perfect and befits the holiness of those who have shown apostolic merits.

How can the saying befit sinners: 'The good that I will, I do not do, but the evil that I do not will, that I do. But if I do what I do not will, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me'?

Who among those who sin unwillingly defiles himself by adultery? Who lays snares for his neighbor under compulsion? Who is unavoidably forced to wrong a man by false witness, steal, desire another's plunder, or shed blood?

On the contrary, as it is written, 'The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth' (Gen 8:21). All are so inflamed by passion for vices that they wish to accomplish what they desire.

With sleepless care they even watch for an opportunity to commit iniquity. Boasting in their dishonor and multitude of vices, they seek a certain glory in their shame, according to the rebuke of the Apostle (Phil 3:19).

The prophet Jeremiah also says that they commit crimes not unwillingly, and not with tranquility of heart and body. Rather, they strive vigorously to carry them out, so that even great difficulties do not turn them away from the deadly desire for iniquity.

He says, 'They bend their tongue for lies; they grow strong on the earth by falsehood' (Jer 9:3-4). Who will say that this also befits sinners: 'So then, I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin' (Rom 7:25)?

Plainly, they serve God neither with mind nor with flesh. How do those who sin in the body serve God with the mind, when the flesh receives its impulse toward vices from the heart?

The Creator of both nature and the other says that the source and beginning of sins proceeds from the heart: 'Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts,' and the like (Mt 15:19).

Thus it is clear that this can in no way be thought of persons who are sinners. They not only fail to hate evil, but love it. They serve God neither with mind nor flesh.

They sin first with the mind before they sin with the body. Before they fulfill the pleasure of the flesh, the sin of mind and thoughts has already preceded.

The abba teaches that there was much good in the apostles, but they possessed the fulfillment of the good itself only in desire and intention.

Therefore we must explain the meaning of the words by the disposition of the speaker's heart. What blessed Paul called good, and what in comparison with it he called evil, must be considered not from the bare meaning of the words, but from his viewpoint.

We must examine his thought in accord with his dignity and merit. Then we shall understand the saying uttered by divine inspiration according to his intention and will.

By examining the state and merit of those who uttered it, we enter into the same disposition not by word but by experience. According to the quality of that disposition every thought or saying must be understood.

Let us examine, then, what good it was that the Apostle could not do when he wished. We know many good things that blessed Paul and all men of like merit unquestionably had by nature and acquired by grace.

Chastity is good. Continence is praiseworthy. Prudence is wondrous. Love for mankind is generous. Watchfulness, modesty, and moderation are careful. Mercy is pious, and righteousness is holy.

All these were undoubtedly so full and perfect in Paul and his companions that they taught religion more by deed than by word. What is it when they are inflamed with constant care and watchful concern for all the churches?

What good of mercy is this, what perfection, to burn for those who are scandalized and to be weak with the weak (2 Cor 11:29)? Since the Apostle abounded in such gifts, we cannot know what good he did not accomplish unless we enter the disposition in which he spoke.

All the virtues he possessed were like precious and shining stones. Yet if they are compared with the bright and excellent pearl, seeking and desiring to acquire which the evangelical merchant sold all that he had (Mt 13:46), their worth will appear small and insignificant.

After their immediate sale, the acquisition of that one treasure alone enriches the seller with countless goods.

What is this good that the Apostle could not accomplish? What is this one thing incomparably preferred to so many and countless goods, so that after all are abandoned and rejected, it alone must be acquired?

It is that better part which Mary preferred, because of its weight and eternity, to the duty of hospitality and service. Concerning it the Lord says: 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful.

Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her' (Lk 10:41-42). This one thing alone is the contemplation of God, which is rightly preferred to all merits of righteousness and all exercises of virtue.

Indeed, all that was in Paul, as we have said, was not only good and useful, but great and most glorious. Yet tin, which has some share of usefulness and brightness, is far cheaper than silver.

The value of silver diminishes in comparison with gold. Gold itself is placed far below precious stones. The shining whiteness of one pearl surpasses a multitude even of precious stones.

So all merits of holiness, though good and useful not only for the present life but also for gaining eternal blessedness, appear small and, so to speak, less valuable when compared with the merits of divine contemplation.

This comparison is confirmed by the testimony of Holy Scripture. It says generally of everything created by God: 'God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good' (Gen 1:31).

Again: 'Everything God has made is good in its time' (Sir 39:41). Thus what exists in the present age is acknowledged not simply as good, but with the addition, very good.

For us who remain in this world, all things are truly adapted either for use in life, for healing the body, for some benefit unknown to us, or at least are very good in this: they enable us to perceive the invisible perfections of God.

His eternal power and Godhead have been seen from the creation of the world through the contemplation of created things (Rom 1:20), and we contemplate Him in this vast world, ordered in such a way, and in all that exists in it.

Yet none of this will keep the name of good if it is compared with the age to come. There is no change of goods there, and no disturbance in true blessedness to be feared.

The blessedness of that world is described thus: 'The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days' (Isa 30:26).

Thus what is great, most glorious to sight, and wondrous will prove vanity if compared with the future promises of faith. As holy David says: 'They all shall grow old like a garment.

Like clothing You will change them, and they shall be changed; but You are the same, and Your years shall not fail' (Ps 102:26-27).

Since there is nothing constant, unchangeable, or good except God alone, and all creatures attain eternal or unchanging blessedness not by nature but by participation in their Creator and by grace, they cannot retain the merit of goodness when compared with their Creator.

Human goodness and righteousness are not good when compared with divine goodness and righteousness.

If we wished to confirm this thought with clearer testimonies, we would show that many things in the Gospel are called good: a good tree, good treasure, a good man, and a good servant.

It says, 'A good tree cannot bear bad fruit' (Mt 7:18). 'A good man out of the good treasure brings forth good' (Mt 12:35). 'Well done, good and faithful servant' (Mt 25:21).

There is no doubt that all these are good in themselves. Yet if considered in relation to God's goodness, none of them will be acknowledged as good, as the Lord says: 'No one is good except God alone' (Lk 18:19).

In this respect even the apostles, who by the greatness of their election surpassed human goodness in many ways, are called evil. The Lord says to them: 'If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him' (Lk 11:13).

Finally, as our goodness will be evil when compared with the highest goodness, so our righteousness will be like a garment stained by monthly impurity when compared with the righteousness of God.

The prophet Isaiah says: 'All our righteousness is like a garment of menstrual impurity' (Isa 64:6). To present this still more clearly, the life-giving commandments of the Law itself were given through angels by the hand of a Mediator (Gal 3:19).

The Apostle says of this Law: 'The Law is holy, and the commandment holy and righteous and good' (Rom 7:12). Yet if it is compared with evangelical perfection, it appears less good.

God Himself says: 'I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live' (Ezek 20:25). The Apostle also confirms that the glory of the Law is darkened by the light of the New Testament.

Compared with the evangelical brightness, it is not even counted glorious: 'What was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the surpassing glory' (2 Cor 3:10).

Holy Scripture also maintains this comparison from the opposite side, in judging the merits of sinners. Those who are much less impious are justified in comparison with worse ones.

It says: 'Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and by the abominations you have done your sisters have appeared more righteous than you' (Ezek 16:51).

So also the merits of all the virtues mentioned above, though good and precious in themselves, are darkened in comparison with glorious contemplation. Many saints, occupied with the practice of good yet earthly works, are drawn away from contemplation of the highest good, God.

They are slowed in their striving toward God. No one can continuously strive toward the highest good, God.

Who, while rescuing the helpless from the hand of those stronger than he, and the poor and needy from those who plunder them, while breaking the jaws of the wicked and snatching prey from their teeth, can calmly contemplate the glory of the divine majesty in the very act of intercession?

Who, while providing food for the poor or receiving crowds of strangers with helpful love for mankind, can contemplate the measurelessness of heavenly blessedness at the very moment when his anxious spirit is distracted by serving the brethren?

And when he is troubled by the sorrows and cares of the present life, will he consider the state of the age to come with a heart lifted above earthly attachments?

Therefore blessed David, considering only this as good for man, desires to cling to God without ceasing, saying: 'But for me it is good to draw near to God. I have put my hope in the Lord God' (Ps 73:28).

Ecclesiastes confirms that none of the righteous can accomplish this faultlessly, saying: 'There is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin' (Eccl 7:20).

Can it be believed that anyone, even the best of all the righteous and saints, bound by the bonds of this body, could ever attain this highest good so as never to depart from divine contemplation?

The Apostle depicts the state of the unregenerate man, in whom an inner struggle takes place between mind and will, between spirit and flesh. With man's fall, the will ceased to obey the suggestions of reason. Reason still preserved knowledge of the good, desires it, and strives toward it. Yet it does not have the power to move the will to perform what it wants. The voice of conscience, the inner arbiter of man's actions, is likewise too weak to govern and restrain man's activity. It is itself confused and irresolute, so that it is difficult even to follow its directions. The flesh, from being the instrument of the spirit, became its ruler. It drew even the spiritual capacities into seeking various means to satisfy its needs.

To awaken in us the greatest possible revulsion and hatred toward sin, the Apostle depicts the grievous violence which sin works upon us. He also depicts the unnatural division that arises in our nature because of sin: "I do not understand what I do. For I do not do what I will, but what I hate, that I do. But if I do what I do not will, I agree with the law that it is good. Now then, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me... According to the inward man I delight in the law of God. But in my members I see another law, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin."

The nineteenth and twentieth verses are a repetition of Rom 7:15 and Rom 7:17, but with a special shade of meaning. There, devotion to sin was being proved. Here, the failure to find in oneself the doing of good is explained. There is the cause; here is the effect. The explanation of why "the evil I do not will, that I do" may be borrowed from there, with the addition that I am sold under sin. The word "I do" points to every particular case. In general, I will the good, approve it, and have it in mind to do it. But in particular cases sin approaches, that is, pleasure-loving self-pleasing. It deceives me and carries me away, and I do not do what I ordinarily will. Thus: "How to perform what is good I do not find." "Here the Apostle points to deception and being carried away by sin. I desire, he says, to do the good, and I desire not to do evil. But desire attacks, captivates, and inclines me to despise what is recognized as good and desired, and to do what it suggests" (Oecumenius).