Session 4 – Paul’s Psychology of the Will: Romans 7 and the Battle for the Inner Life

This lecture focuses on the question, ‘Does Paul understand the Christian life to involve an ongoing, inner battle between the flesh and the Spirit?’  Romans 7.7-25 has long been read by some to answer this question, ‘Yes’.  I will argue, ‘No’.  Paul’s understanding of the power of the Gospel for salvation is more than forgiving grace; it is also transforming grace.  The lecture locates the discussion of Romans 7.7-25 in its Graeco-Roman context, in Paul’s letter to the Romans, and in Paul’s theology overall.  The work of Christ and the Spirit offers the believer a changed life by God’s grace, not by the Law or philosophy.