Romans 7:13-25(NKJV)
13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 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.
16 If, then, I do what I will not to 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 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.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to 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.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:13-25(TPT)
Romans 7:13
Life under the Law
So, did something meant to be good become death to me? Certainly not! It was not the law but sin unmasked that produced my spiritual death. The sacred commandment merely uncovered the evil of sin so it could be seen for what it is.
Romans 7:14
For we know that the law is divinely inspired and comes from the spiritual realm, but I am a human being made of flesh and trafficked as a slave under sin’s authority.
Romans 7:15
I’m a mystery to myself, for I want to do what is right, but end up doing what my moral instincts condemn.
Romans 7:16
And if my behavior is not in line with my desire, my conscience still confirms the excellence of the law.
Romans 7:17
And now I realize that it is no longer my true self doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin in my humanity.
Romans 7:18
For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but willpower is not enough to accomplish it.
Romans 7:19
My lofty desires to do what is good are dashed when I do the things I want to avoid.
Romans 7:20
So if my behavior contradicts my desires to do good, I must conclude that it’s not my true identity doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin hindering me from being who I really am.
Romans 7:21
Through my experience of this principle, I discover that even when I want to do good, evil is ready to sabotage me.
Romans 7:22
Truly, deep within my true identity, I love to do what pleases God.
Romans 7:23
But I discern another power operating in my humanity, waging a war against the moral principles of my conscience and bringing me into captivity as a prisoner to the “law” of sin—this unwelcome intruder in my humanity.
Romans 7:24
What an agonizing situation I am in! So who has the power to rescue this miserable man from the unwelcome intruder of sin and death?
Romans 7:25
I give all my thanks to God, for his mighty power has finally provided a way out through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! So if left to myself, the flesh is aligned with the law of sin, but now my renewed mind is fixed on and submitted to God’s righteous principles.
Galatians 5:16-18(NKJV)
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:16-18(TPT)
Galatians 5:16
The Holy Spirit, Our Victory
Let me emphasize this: As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.
Galatians 5:17
When your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit you hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your self-life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:18
But when you yield to the life of the Spirit, you will no longer be living under the law, but soaring above it!
Galatians 5:24(NKJV)
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24(TPT)
Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah.