Today we’re in Romans chapter 7:14-25. The statements here indicate that the believer has two serious problems: (1) he cannot do the good he wants to do, and (2) he does the evil that he does not want to do. Does this mean that Paul could not stop himself from breaking God’s law, that he was a liar and thief and murderer? Of course not! Paul was saying that of himself he could not obey God’s law, and that even when he did, evil was still present with him. No matter what he did, his deeds were tainted by sin. Even after he had done his best, he had to admit that he was “an unprofitable servant” (Luke 17:10). “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” (Rom. 7:21). This, of course, is a different problem from that in Romans 6. The problem there was, “How can I stop doing bad things?” while the problem here is, “How can I ever do anything good?” Let’s talk more about it.
