Romans 7

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:7-25 NIV

We have two competing natures residing within us that try to direct our thoughts and actions.  We have our sinful nature that we were born with: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:5).  The reality is that this applies to everyone who has ever been born, except for Jesus.  Thankfully, God gives us a new nature the moment we place our faith in Jesus: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Once this transformation occurs, it does not mean that we will never sin again.  What it does mean is that we become properly equipped to conquer sin with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and The Bible.  The more we feed our new nature (through prayer, Bible study, worship, and obedience), the more powerful it will become in comparison to our old nature.  This is what spiritual growth is all about: choosing the things that help your spirit stay aligned with the Holy Spirit, and rejecting any remnants of sinful desires from your old nature.  Growth in the Christian life is not easy.  The apostle Paul compared it to a fight or a race: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  If you find yourself struggling with something today, like Paul was in verse 15, remember the two opposite natures living within you.  Deliberately do something that helps your new nature grow, and rest in the truth of this scripture: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).