Romans 7:18-20
What is written? (ESV)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
What does it say?
Paul knows that no good dwells in him, specifically in his flesh. He desires the right but cannot carry it out, doing the evil he does not want instead of the good he wants. He concludes that this unwanted action is sin dwelling in him.
What is its immediate context?
Paul has explained how the commandment exposes sin and how sin uses it (vss 7-13). Verses 14-20 describe the conflict between the desire to do good and the practice of sin. The following verses continue that conflict and cry for deliverance, with thanksgiving through Jesus Christ (vss 21-25).
How Romans 7:18-20 is applied across Bible answers
Does your belief determine your behavior?
Paul is expressing his own struggle with sin and the fact his desire is to do good but his flesh wars against it.
