Romanos 7
Cyril of Alexandria · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Romanos 7:7
Paul did not say that he had no sin apart from the law but rather that he was unaware of it. Therefore the law is not the cause of sin but rather the instrument which points it out, making it clear to those who did not know what it was. It did not do this in order that, once sin was made known, those who committed it should continue in what they were doing.… On the contrary, its intention was to convert people to better things by making their sins known to them. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:8
I think that what Paul means here is something like this: Even though the person who sins in ignorance is guilty, there will be a harsher punishment for the one who sins knowingly. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:9
We were not righteous before the law came, but given that sin was dead as long as there was no law to condemn it, we lived having the excuse that we did not know what it was that we ought to be doing. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:12
The law was holy because it testified that those who kept it were holy, righteous and good and were not guilty of sin in any way whatsoever. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:13
Even those who do not know God's will deserve God's punishment because they sin, even if it is in ignorance. Nevertheless, they have some excuse, for when the law is explained to them they will probably excuse themselves in front of those who are under the law, on account of their ignorance. But those who have chosen to sin and do so not out of ignorance have committed a crime of madness and have completely rejected God. Such people are said to be "sinful beyond measure." Someone who sins in ignorance is still sinful, but he is not, nor is he said to be, "sinful beyond measure." — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:14
The will of the Spirit is one thing, that of the flesh is another. These two wills fight against each other and can never reach agreement. Man is carnal, but the law is spiritual. How then can the law ever become tolerable to those who struggle so hard against the sickness of sin? There is wisdom here, for if a man is carnal he is in some sense captive and reduced to the condition of slavery. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:15
It appears that this refers to the ignorant Gentiles, whose thoughts Paul is reproducing. For having consigned their destiny and future to their own lusts even to the point of regarding vain idols as having some power over our lives, they deprive man of his glory, which is the ability to live freely, and to have full and complete control over his own will to do whatever he wishes.… It may be that someone who is forced to act against his will cannot be blamed for it, but at the same time no rational person will praise him for his godliness and righteousness either. For why should somebody be praised for doing things against his own will, even if he is forced to do so by a power over which he has no control? — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romanos 7:21
If sin inheres in my flesh and corrupts it, it may well be that the law offers help and gives advice, but even so it does not set me free from sin. Yet for those who are bound by the weakness of sin, it is hardly enough to know that they should be doing better; what they need is the strength to do what is right and in accordance with the law. — EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS