The Many Laws of Romans
The American legal system is incredibly complicated. When I was a child watching movies and shows with lawyers, I got the impression that criminal law was all there was. Being a lawyer meant going into court, talking to a judge and jury, and generally just arguing all day. It honestly sounded pretty appealing to me at the time. But as I grew up, I learned about all kinds of lawyers, some of whom never touch criminal law. There are experts in family law, tax law, personal injury, contract law, financial law, and many others. There are lawyers who spend the majority of their careers working on massive class-action lawsuits. Some people spend most of their time just working with legal theory and constitutional law. While most of us imagine courtrooms, plea deals, and dramatic closing statements when we think about working in law, the truth is that there are many ways to do law in our country.
As it turns out, we aren’t the only ones who have a complicated understanding of law. Paul uses the term “law” frequently throughout his letter to the Romans. Englishman’s Concordance records 196 uses of the various forms of the Greek word for law, “Nomos” throughout the entire New Testament. Of those 196, 74 are in Paul’s letter to the Romans. To be clear, that is well over a third of the uses in the entire New Testament. Unfortunately, though Paul is one of the biggest writers in the New Testament, he sometimes writes more like a poet than a systematic theologian. His language can be more evocative than precise, and we get a good example of this in Romans 7. For ease of exploration, I’ll quote Romans 7:21-23 in full here:
“21 So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, 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, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
The word “law” is used five times in these three verses, and the closer you look the more complicated it becomes. It would be simple enough if law meant the same thing in every usage, but if you pay close attention, that isn’t the case. The first use speaks of law in terms of expected human behavior. As a rule, when we try to do good, “evil lies close at hand.” It isn’t clear what Paul means. Perhaps all good behavior has hints of evil or selfish intentions. Maybe doing good causes us to become arrogant and self-righteous, which is a form of evil in itself. Maybe Paul sees an ultimate futility in human good. The wording almost feels like an echo of God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4. “Sin is lurking at the door,” could be seen as a parallel to “evil is close at hand.” Maybe Paul is suggesting that we can only ever attempt to do good, but if God doesn’t accept our offerings, our intention doesn’t matter. Whatever the case, the point that Paul seems to be making here is that our attempts to do good cannot be separated from our inclinations to do evil.
The next usage refers to God’s law. This also isn’t exactly clear. Does it mean the law given to the Israelites, the law of the covenant, complete with circumcision and dietary restrictions? Or does this refer to the moral law of God? Whatever the case, Paul delights in God’s law. The instructions that God has given are fundamentally good and helpful for human wellbeing. Law goes from talking about an expectation of human behavior to talking about God’s rules for humans. This is a clear difference.
Next, Paul speaks of a law in his flesh, a rule his body lives by. This is set in sharp contrast to the law of his mind. There are two laws here, but it isn’t clear that either of them are God’s law exactly. One rule is what his body wants, and we can assume this refers to temptations to sin. This could refer to sexual temptation, gluttonous living, selfish laziness that isn’t concerned with the well-being of others, or a whole manner of other problems. Whatever the case, the point is that the fleshly law is sinful.
The law of Paul’s mind seems to be his own power of self-control. Again, although this may seem similar to God’s law, that isn’t necessarily the case. This pertains to Paul’s ability to rule himself. The war going on within him is due to the fact that his mind is not enough to overcome the law of his flesh. Finally, Paul speaks about the law of sin ruling in his flesh. This may very well be the same meaning as the law of his “members.”
Ultimately, we see four different uses of “law” here. Law may mean a rule that we have come to expect. Law may mean God’s moral declarations for our lives. Law may mean the prevailing desires of the flesh. And law may mean the dominance of our own will power over our lives. With all the different possible usages in just three verses, one could find it challenging to follow Paul’s logic clearly. It may be that Paul is seeking to use wordplay, or simply that he enjoys that word. However, it could also be that Paul is intentionally trying to tie these ideas together.
Broadly speaking, law for Paul is something real, something certain, which exerts power over us. The tendency for even our good behavior to be overshadowed by evil is so certain Paul can count on it. His mind and flesh are at war within him, both seeking to control him. And God sets rules that govern his life. All of these forces strive with each other, and we may be left wondering which “law” wins. Fortunately, Paul is clear in the letter to the Romans. Law is ultimately good. There is one usage in particular that Paul has in mind when he is talking about it throughout the letter. The ultimate law is that which comes from God. The only law with authority enough to truly rule and govern our lives, is God’s law.
Today, we still think about our own personal code of ethics, hoping that such self-governance will keep us safe from evil deeds, trusting the the law of our own wills to guide us. We still fall prey to the temptations of letting our appetites rule us. We still imagine human behavior as so predictable that it can be governed by rules, reducing the complexities of life into cliches. However, we are not governed by flesh or will or cliche. God has the power to rule our lives, and so we are ultimately ruled by God’s law. This isn’t to say that we don’t need to employ our will to make good decisions, nor is it true that we will never give into temptation. But the only law of ultimate significance is God’s law, a law that isn’t about criminal court, taxation, or property, but rather about love that transforms the entire world.
