(Romans 7:19) "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

Wally Tedrick

(Romans 7:19)
"For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

Ponder those words for a moment...confusing yet true. Romans 7 is a fascinating chapter on struggling with sin. Paul writes openly about the war within himself, the battle between the sinful flesh and the spirit. “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice… O wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:19,24).

Every one of us struggles with sin every day, and the sooner we admit that, the better off we’ll be.
If you say you don’t struggle with the flesh, you are deceived and deluded. The Bible clearly states, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

When you come to Christ, the guilt you have is taken away in Him. But because of that, those "new" in Christ might think they're never going to struggle anymore with problems, sin, and temptation (in fact, some "seasoned" Christians fall into that trap as well). In reality, when you accept Christ, you become a target of the devil because you have now defected from the devil's camp! Before you were saved, he had you on his side, and he lied and told you, “Get ‘spiritual,’ get ‘nice,’ do anything you want but don't come to Jesus.” And he and his demons surely did not give you a standing ovation when you said, “Lord Jesus, be my savior.” You defected and now you’re a target. They’re after you. When you come to grips with the truth of the continuing struggle with sin, you may say, “What do I do now?”

Some people resort to legalism. They say, “I’ll keep all the Law and the Commandments. I’ll do everything good.” They try to uphold holiness, and at the same time they become very critical of people who don’t do everything right and perfect. They are like the Pharisees of Jesus' day. And just as Jesus said to them: "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me." (Matthew 15:7-8).
Legalism is like being tied to a block of cement that drags you down. Legalism doesn’t help free you from sin. It doesn't bring you closer to Christ, and you feel condemned all the time...frustrated, miserable and completely lacking in the freedom that Christ wants for us.

Others decide they’ll go it alone, or practice the “do-it-yourself” brand of Christianity. They say, “I’ll set my own rules, pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I can conquer it. I can deal with it. I have more perseverance than most.” And these people, too, are very frustrated and miserable. Let me make this clear..NO amount of strength within ourselves can conquer sin! That strength can only come from Christ!
Paul finally comes to the place where he cries out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25). That’s the key! You cannot do it alone!

One of the truths of Romans is that there is nothing within ourselves that is of any value to procure our own right standing before God. Paul came to this truth: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). C.S. Lewis put it very simply: “No amount of bad eggs can create a good omelet.”

So no matter how many good things you think you see in yourself, obeying the Law and self-effort do not conquer sin. Only the power of Jesus Christ conquers sin. Paul’s words should be our prayer EVERY day: “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”