What is the meaning of Romans 7:20? And if I do what I do not want Paul is describing the real-time experience of every believer who has been born again yet still lives in a fallen body. • The phrase echoes his earlier confession: “For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do” (Romans 7:19). • Though we have been given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), the tug of our old nature remains. Galatians 5:17 clarifies, “For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh”. • This tension is not proof of spiritual failure; it is evidence that the Spirit now sensitizes us to sin we once ignored (Ephesians 4:22–24). it is no longer I who do it Paul is not dodging responsibility; he is distinguishing between his new identity in Christ and the residual pull of his old self. • Romans 6:6 affirms that “our old self was crucified with Him”. The “I” that is united to Christ genuinely wants righteousness (Romans 7:22). • Second Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”. When we sin, we are acting out of character with who we now are. • This statement guards us from despair: though we stumble, we are not defined by that failure (Romans 8:1). but it is sin living in me that does it Indwelling sin remains active until glorification. • Romans 7:17 already noted, “It is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me”, underscoring that sin is a parasite, not the believer’s core identity. • James 1:14–15 traces the progression: desire—conception—sin—death. Indwelling sin supplies those desires, yet we are called to “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). • First John 1:8 cautions, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”. Realism about sin keeps us dependent on Christ’s finished work and ongoing grace. summary Romans 7:20 teaches that the believer’s occasional lapse into sin does not negate the reality of the new birth. Our true self, united to Christ, longs for holiness, yet indwelling sin continues to tug in the opposite direction. By confessing this struggle, Paul invites us to stand firm in our new identity, rely on the Spirit’s power, and look forward to the day when sin’s presence will be gone forever. |
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