Bible Strands
Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Roman believers while explaining the internal conflict that follows his argument about the law's role in exposing sin. He speaks from the perspective of a person under the law, contrasting spiritual reality with human bondage.
The words — The text declares the law spiritual (πνευματικὸς, pneumatikos) and describes the speaker as unspiritual and enslaved to sin. Paul uses ἐγώ (egō), "I myself," to mark a sharp personal contrast against the law's divine nature.
The thread — The theme of voluntary bondage to evil appears in 1 Kings 21:25, where Ahab sold himself to do evil, and 2 Kings 17:17, where Israel devoted themselves to divination and idolatry. Paul adapts this motif to describe the law's inability to free a person from sin's control.
Why it lands — The passage demands acknowledgment that moral effort alone cannot overcome sin's dominion. It requires the reader to stop attributing spiritual failure to the law's deficiency and instead recognize the need for external deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 21:25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 2 Kings 17:17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- 1 Kings 21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Isaiah 52:3 For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”
- Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
- Psalms 51:6 Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
- Psalms 119:25 My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word.
- Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
- Isaiah 50:1 This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.