Romans 7:16
in Romans 7And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good.
KJV
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
⋯
This verse in Romans 7
Commentary
15 notes on this verseNevertheless, in that part by which he does not will the evil, he consents to the law of God that it is good, since it forbids evil; and the natural law is brought into a certain harmony with the law of God, so that they will the same things and do not will the same things.
This site's exposition
the law is spiritual
on Romans 7:14-16
Verse 14 sets a spiritual law against a speaker sold as a slave to sin, and the tense turns to the present. Verse 15 describes a divided will, and verse 16 treats that struggle as agreement that the law is good.
This site's exposition
I admit that the law is good
Admit renders symphemi, to speak together with, and Matthew Henry glosses it as casting a vote for the law. Wesley hears in the single word good all three words of verse 12, holy, righteous and good. The protest against the deed is a verdict for the law.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Theodoret of CyrusINTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS · Written before 458.
proposed
Paul says that he learned to hate what he does from the law, and therefore he defends the law and says that it was right.
You see here, that the understanding is not yet perverted, but keeps up its own noble character even during the action. For even if it does pursue vice, still it hates it the while, which would be great commendation, whether of the natural or the written Law. For that the Law is good, is (he says) plain, from the fact of my accusing myself, when I disobey the Law, and hate what has been done. And yet if the Law was to blame for the sin, how comes it that he felt a delight in it, yet hated what it orders to be done? For, "I consent," he says, "unto the Law, that it is good."
The law is defended against every accusation, but we must be careful not to think that these words deny our free will, which is not true. The man being described here is under the law, before the coming of grace. Sin overpowers him when he attempts to live righteously in his own strength, without the help of God's liberating grace. For by his free will a man is able to believe in the Deliverer and to receive grace. Thus with the deliverance and help of him who gives it, he will not sin and will cease to be under the law. Instead, being at one with the law or in the law, he will fulfill it by the love of God which he could not have done through fear.
The Medieval Church2 voices
That the law is good, he says, is evident from the fact that I naturally know what ought to be done, and that my reason is not impaired, even though I give myself over to vice.
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 50 · Written before 1153.
proposed
Nor do I say this so that we should be without affection, and with a dry heart move only our hands to works. I have read among the other great and grievous evils of men which the Apostle writes, this also numbered: namely to be …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, now if I do, he concludes from the aforementioned condition of man that the law is good, saying, now if I do that which I will not. No matter which of the aforementioned ways is taken, by the very fact that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
, symphemi -- I give my vote to the law; here is the approbation of the judgment. Wherever there is grace there is not only a dread of the severity of the law, but a consent to the goodness of the law. "It is a good in itself, it is good for me." This is a sign that the law is written in the heart, that the soul is delivered into the mould of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
It is good - This single word implies all the three that were used before, ver. 12, "holy, just, and good."
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-12-anchored-16-16
If then I do that which I would not,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
If then I do that which I would not, etc. - Knowing that the law condemns it, and that therefore it must be evil. I consent unto the law; I show by this circumstance that I acknowledge the law to be good.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
If then I do that which I would not--"But if what I would not that I do," I consent unto the law that it is good--"the judgment of my inner man going along with the law."
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:82%@v13-18
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I consent unto the law - The very struggle with evil shows that it is not loved, or approved, but that the Law which condemns it is really loved. Christians may here find a test of their piety. The fact of struggling against evil, the desire to be free from it, and to overcome it, the anxiety and grief which it causes, is an evidence that we do not love it, and that there. fore we are the friends of God. Perhaps nothing can be a more decisive test of piety than a long-continued and painful struggle against evil passions and desires in every form, and a panting of the soul to be delivered from the power and dominion of sin.
The words behind it
12 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὃ | ho | that which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| θέλω | thelo | I do want | G2309 → | 208 times |
| τοῦτο | touto | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ποιῶ, | poio | I do, | G4160 → | 569 times |
| σύμφημι | sumphemi | I consent | G4852 → | |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νόμῳ | nomo | law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that [it is] | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| καλός· | kalos | good; | G2570 → | 101 times |
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
ὃthat which
hoG3739 →1405 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
θέλωI do want
theloG2309 →208 times
τοῦτοthis
toutoG3778 →1381 times
ποιῶ,I do,
poioG4160 →569 times
σύμφημιI consent
sumphemiG4852 →
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
νόμῳlaw
nomoG3551 →192 times
ὅτιthat [it is]
hotiG3754 →1292 times
καλός·good;
kalosG2570 →101 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 7:22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.
it leads to
- Psalms 1:2
But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
- Psalms 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
- Psalms 119:35
Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight.
- Psalms 119:47–48
I delight in Your commandments because I love them.
- Job 23:12
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- Psalms 1:2
Through
Romans 7:12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 1:8
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.
- Psalms 119:137
Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
- Psalms 19:7–12
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- 1 Timothy 1:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Romans
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 44; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 50; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 13; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans.