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Pentecost Season · Proper 9 · Year A

Romans 7:15-25a

The Divided Self

July 5, 2026

Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul, Rembrandt van Rijn
Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1661Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Rembrandt painted himself as Paul at fifty-five, turban, sword hilt, letter and all, looking out of the canvas with his eyebrows raised.I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate … Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelMt. 11:16-19, 25-30Mt 11:16-19, 25-30
EpistleRom. 7:15-25aRom 7:15-25a
Old TestamentGen. 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67Gn 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67Alt. OTZech. 9:9-12Zec 9:9-12
PsalterPs. 45:10-17Ps 45:10-17 orSong 2:8-13Sg 2:8-13Alt. PsalmPs. 145:8-14Ps 145:8-14

Overview & Insights

“Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25a)

Paul describes the anguish of willing the good yet doing the very evil he hates, a war between his inmost self and the law of sin. He ends by giving thanks that rescue comes through Jesus Christ.

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Take it further: Romans 7:15-25a

Commentary

Commentary on Romans 7:15-25aCommentary on Rom 7:15-25a Working Preacher

The Lutheran lectionary commentary for this exact Year A passage.

Romans 7:15-25a Sermon CommentaryRom 7:15-25a Sermon Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed preaching commentary keyed to this Sunday.

Romans 7 CommentaryRom 7 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse evangelical exposition of the chapter.

Romans 7:15 Study DeskRom 7:15 Study Desk StudyLight

Aggregates dozens of classic and modern commentaries on the verse.

Romans 7:15 CommentariesRom 7:15 Commentaries BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries gathered for the verse.

Background & Word Study

Romans 7:15 InterlinearRom 7:15 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek text with word by word parsing and Strong's numbers.

Book of Romans OverviewBook of Rom Overview BibleProject

An animated overview of the argument of Romans.

The Church Fathers

Romans 7 in the Church FathersRom 7 in the Church Fathers Catena

Patristic and medieval comments verse by verse.

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