Vs 16.) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
I know God’s law is good, and I don’t approve of what I do when I break it.
Vs 17.) Now then it is no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
A saved person is a "new creature". (II Cor 5:17) My old sin nature is dead, separated from me, as we learned in Romans 6. You can see that separation in this verse.
Vs 18.) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
There is nothing good in my old flesh nature, so it cannot perform any goodness. No matter how much I want to keep God’s law, I can’t.
Vs 19.) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
No matter how sincerely I want to do good, I end up doing evil.
Vs 20.)
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
It is not our new self that sins. (See verse 17.) Our "new man" is "created in righteousness and true holiness" and desires only to serve God. (Eph 4:24) But if we are trying to serve God by keeping commandments to regulate the old flesh nature, the sin in that nature will rule.
Vs 21-23.) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members
Here are three laws, or unfailing principles. (1.) The law of sin in my members is "that, when I would do good, evil is present with me." (2.) The law of my mind is that a saved person delights in God’s standards and wants to please Him. (3.) The law of God shows His perfect standards.
Forcing myself to keep God’s laws is like holding up a weight against the law of gravity. I might be able to do it for awhile, but gravity wins in the end. Likewise, I can keep some of God’s laws for awhile, but the law of sin will prevail in the end. Keeping commandments is just NOT the way to stop sinning, or to serve God in this age of grace. (Gal 4:21,29-31)
Vs 24.) O wretched man that I am! No
matter how hard I try, I can’t keep that law or stop sinning!
who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Paul asks, Is there any way to be free of the sin that lives in my body??
Vs 25.) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank God, yes, there is a way to be free from sin in our lives. So then with the mind (spirit) I myself (my new real identity in Christ) serve the law of God; but with the flesh (the old identity) the law of sin.
There are 2 ways to think: 1.) The flesh - the
way the natural man thinks, and 2.) The Spirit - the mind of God. When we trust Christ, God gives us His Spirit (Eph 1:13),Who teaches us from His word how He thinks. (I Cor 2:11-16) Our point of contact with God is our mind (spirit), because God is a Spirit. (John 4:24; Rom 8:16) So if I follow my mind, and it is taught by God, then I will keep the law of God without ever being under it. (Rom 8:4) But if I think in the flesh, trying to regulate it with rules, I’ll serve the law of sin.
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the
Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Gal 5:16-18)
Gal 5:19-21 goes on to describe the bad deeds of the flesh. But here in Romans 7, Paul is describing the flesh trying to do good by keeping rules and being religious. Both are sin to God and produce "dung". (Phil 3:4-9; Rom 8:8). Many people try to serve God by switching from bad to good deeds of the flesh. That is just legalism, and wins no points with God.
The way to stop sinning is to think differently. We "put off the old man" and that way of thinking by "putting on the new man". (Col 3:1,2,9,10; Eph 4:21-24) "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom 12:2 )
God gives us His forgiveness, His righteousness, all spiritual blessings and predestinates us (Eph 1:3-7) the minute we are put into Christ by the Spirit. (Gal 3:26-28; I Cor 12:13) We are now dead unto sin and alive unto God. (Rom 6:11) So "if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal 5:25) In the next chapter, we’ll learn more about how to "walk in the Spirit". Just remember from this chapter, that it is not by keeping God’s law, or any other set of rules.