Romans 7:7-25
Struggling With Sin
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Without God, who helped Moses write the law and the first five books of the Bible we would not know what sin is...The Law of Moses, as St. Paul explains, tells us and explains that we should not covet...St. Paul tells us we would not even realize that to covet is a sin, if not for law of the tenth commandment...
Verse twelve teaches us that the law is good and righteous... But reading and hearing the law makes us aware of sin...Once we hear what sin is, we are curious and/or our human nature is just aroused by this knowledge (of sin)...This arousal or awareness takes us back to the fallen man, which is in all of us...The Law of Moses, therefore, tell us, and shows us, how sinful we really are...
We know that following God's Laws (the Law of Moses) is the spiritual thing to do...But as man, St. Paul says he is unspiritual...He says I do not understand what I do...He wants to always do the right thing(s) and he hates doing things that are wrong and sinful...
With sin living in us, we want to do good, we have the desire to do good, but as fallen men and humanity, we just cannot carry out the moral laws of God...The sin living in us is what makes us evil...
As St. Paul says even when he does good sometimes, sin and evil is right there with him...His body and mind (and our body and minds) are constantly battling...Our mind is the battleground... Sometimes we do right, sometimes we do evil and sin...What a wretched man I am...Who can rescue from this constant battle of good versus evil in our fallen nature?...Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our LORD, we are saved...
This battle of the mind goes on and on...Temptations, desires, and sin come to the flesh...We want to follow God's perfect law every day, but we sinful in nature and slaves to sin... St. Paul thanks God for Jesus who answers this impossible situation in us...
Without Jesus, we are unreconciled to God...God sent Jesus...He is the answer to our battles with sin...We struggle with sin...But Jesus died for our sins...And God has saved us through His Grace , through His LOVE, and His Son...