Romans 7:15-25 is a passage in the Bible where the Apostle Paul describes the ongoing struggle between his desire to do good and his inability to do so, as he is instead compelled to do what he hates due to the power of sin dwelling in him. He expresses a deep internal conflict, serving God with his mind but sin with his flesh, lamenting, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?".
This passage illustrates the reality of the Christian life as a battle between the new spiritual self and the old carnal nature, a struggle that can only be overcome by God's grace through Jesus Christ.
LESSON-3-The False Self…Romans 7:15–25…Confronting imitation, performance, and identity confusion
The Struggle Within: “I do not do what I want…”Paul’s words are painfully honest: “I do not understand my own actions… I do the very thing I hate” (v.15). This isn’t just moral failure—it’s identity dissonance. He’s confronting:
•Imitation: Trying to live by the Law, mimicking righteousness, but finding it powerless to transform the inner man.
•Performance: Striving to “do good,” yet failing repeatedly. The Law becomes a stage, and Paul realizes he’s playing a role he can’t sustain.
•Identity Confusion: He wants to delight in God’s law (v.22), but another law—sin—wages war in his members (v.23). There’s a split between who he is in Christ and who he feels like in the flesh. A Description of Internal Conflict
Paul states, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do". He recognizes the good he wants to do but finds himself unable to accomplish it.
He identifies the cause of this struggle not as the law, but as "sin which dwells within me". This is the fleshly part of himself, which he notes "in which nothing good dwells".
Paul describes a powerful, pervasive force he calls the "law of sin," which is "in my members" (his body) and wars against his "law of my mind" (his spiritual self). The Christian's Experience
Believers experience an internal "war" between their old, sin-bound nature and their new spiritual nature in Christ.
This struggle doesn't mean a Christian is not saved; rather, it demonstrates a believer's sensitivity to sin and their desire to please God.
The passage concludes with Paul's cry for deliverance from this internal captivity, a deliverance he finds "through Jesus Christ our Lord". The Purpose of the Law
The Law Reveals Sin.Paul's experience shows that the law, being good and spiritual, actually magnifies the power of sin and reveals a person's inability to obey it on their own.
The Law's Role in Salvation.By highlighting the depth of sin, the law points to the necessity of a savior, leading to a deeper appreciation for God's grace.