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. I know that nothing good lives 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 what I do is not the good I want to do; no, 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.
Romans 7:14-20 (New International Version)
I think the English Standard Version is so much easier to follow, but I put the NIV one up just because it's fun with all the do's. :)
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 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.
Romans 7:14-20 (ESV)
Paul is arguing that the fault lies with sin, not with the law. Through the law, sin is revealed in all its hideousness, and the law is vindicated as good.
Just because I am a Christian does not mean that I do not struggle with sin. I struggle so much with it, every day. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit we should be growing and have that desire to be more Christ-like. Therefore, that is why we hate sin. I hate the fact that I sin, and God knows this because He knows my heart. I do desire to do the right thing, but it's so easy for my flesh (sinful nature) to take over. We are not perfect, and we do not have the ability to be perfect. I want to be righteous, but evil is always there.
However, God's love is so amazing that He did send Jesus to die on the cross as a living sacrifice for our sins. He looks at the heart. If he didn't, we would all be goners. But He does love us, and He knows that I hate sin, and He won't ever take away my salvation. This is no excuse that sin is okay, because it is not. God hates sin so much more than we do, and he won't even allow a bit of it in His kingdom. When you truly become a Christian, you will hate sin just as much. God looks at that, and that is how we are judged.
Another thing to think about:
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
1 Corinthians 10:23 (ESV)
NIV puts it this way: All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.
This is another thing that I struggle with. I want to serve God to my best ability and give Him all the glory. All things are permissible, even if we do screw up. But God can still work through that. It may not have been as beneficial as if we followed God's will in the first place, but God can work through anything to make good, which is why all things are permissible. God's will is perfect. We will benefit the most if we follow His plan. For me, I struggle with trying to figure out His plan. From experience, I've found that God never tells us what to do, however, you will just kind of know if you keep praying about it and it feels right. If things start lining up, it is probably God's will.
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