Romans 7:15-19 "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."
For what I am doing, I do not understand: Paul's problem isn't desire - he wants to do what is right (what I will to do, that I do not practice). His problem isn't knowledge - he knows what the right thing is. His problem is a lack of power:how to perform what is good I do not find. He lacks power because the law gives no power.
The law says: "Here are the rules and you had better keep them." But it gives us no power for keeping the law.
It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me: Paul is not trying to get pagans off the hook; he is not saying that people “in Adam” love God’s law and they are not sinning. No. By distinguishing the “real me” from the “sin living in me,” he seems to be saying that the “real me” is the person in Christ. That is who we really are. This is why he can say that there is no condemnation for people in Christ (8:1). Whatever bad they do is blamed on the sin within them, not on the new person they are in Christ.
O Dear Holy Lord, thank you so much for creating a new creature in me! I humbly admit that I do not do what I will to do, but I am so grateful for the freedom from condemnation through the gift of Jesus Christ!
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