Romans 7:14-25 Describes Our Struggle Against Sin

Gal 5:17, Mark 14:38, and Matt 26:41 teach the same thing as Rom 7:14-25 (“… For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do …”) and these three verses definitely state a truth about all Christians:

· Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

· Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

· Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Sure if we compare ourselves to Adolf Hitler, we barely sin at all. But if we compare ourselves to Christ, we sin all the time. The latter is what these four passages are talking about – sinning once a day (perhaps just accidently breaking the speed limit – I Pet 2:13) is sinning all the time compared to thirty-three years of absolute sinless perfection (Heb 4:15).

Some say Rom 7:14-25 refers to before Paul became a Christian, but Paul’s describes his difficulty in overcoming sin in the present tense no less than 19 times (by my count) in these 12 verses. Perhaps somebody can think of a reason present tense doesn’t mean presently in this case, but they certainly wouldn’t be able to say context was on their side if they did.

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