Basel was the home of Karl Barth. I studied there under his son, Markus. Barth senior had come under the influence of liberal scholarship during his pre-WWI years. For a period of time he adopted their utopian vision of human progress and social change. The war changed all that. The publication of his commentary on Romans in 1918 marked a decisive break with theological liberalism. He had been forced to acknowledge the depth of human sin and guilt. He therefore emphasized the sinner's complete dependence on the sovereign, saving grace of God.
Roman Catholic theologian Karl Adam once said that Barth's Romans commentary "dropped like a bombshell on the theologians' playground." In Romans, Paul himself seems well acquainted with the subtle pride of the human heart. I am profoundly grateful for his emphasis on a salvation given sola gratia, by grace alone.
This week I plan on doing a deep dive into Romans 7 -- Paul's vivid description of the continuing moral struggle in the life of a regenerated Christian who cries out for deliverance. Not only does Paul exonerate the moral law. He emphasizes that the remedy for indwelling sin is the indwelling Spirit. Thus, for both justification and sanctification, we are "not under law but under grace." If Romans 7 is preoccupied with the place of the law, Romans 8 is preoccupied with the work of the Spirit. The latter chapter begins with "no condemnation" and ends with "no separation" for those who are in Christ Jesus.
In handling the text of Romans 7 this week, I pray that I will be faithful both to the words of Paul and to his realism. After all, the final verse of Romans 7 is no later gloss. It is Christian realism in all of its harsh concreteness.