Romans / The Inner Conflict: Law, Sin, and the Flesh

The Inner Conflict: Law, Sin, and the Flesh

Romans 7:7-25

Chapter 7

⁷ What then shall we say? "The law is sin"? May it never be! But I did not know sin except through the law, for I did not know desire indeed except the law said, "You shall not desire." ⁸ But Sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked in me all desire; for apart from the Law Sin is dead. ⁹ But I was living without law once. But when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, ¹⁰ But I died, and the commandment was found for me—the one unto life—this unto death. ¹¹ For sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. ¹² So then, on the one hand, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. ¹³ Therefore, did the good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might appear as sin, through the good produced death in me; that sin might become exceedingly sinful through the commandment. ¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For I do not know what I do; for what I do not want, this I practice, but what I hate, this I do. ¹⁶ But if the thing that I do not want, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ But now it is no longer I who do it, but Sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present with me, but the working out of the good is not. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil that I do not want—this I practice. ²⁰ But if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin dwelling in me. ²¹ I find then the law that for the one wanting to do the good for me, the evil is present to me. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ But I see another law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of sin, the one in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with the flesh the law of sin.