Romans 7:19,20 – Concluding

For it is not the good that I will that I am doing, but the evil that I am not willing, this I am putting into practice. Now if what I am not willing, this I am doing, it is no longer I who am effecting it, but Sin which is making its home in me.

It seems to be a hopeless inner conflict that Paul describes. It is recognizable to many, especially religious people. They understand that the Divine bar is so much higher than any human requirement. And the more the ideal is pursued, the more unattainable it becomes. How frustrating is that!

Paul can only draw one conclusion: if I do what I do not want, then I apparently do not do it myself “but the sin that is making its home in me” (see also: 17). That is not a lame excuse or shunning responsibility. No, Paul exposes the cause of his hopeless struggle.

If the law is good and alive, and I love that law, how could it possibly be doomed to me ?! That can only mean one thing: I don’t understand that law well. I have been misled (: 11) as to what she says. And indeed: the law does not require that I am not allowed to covet. She promises me: you shall not covet!

Delen: