Opinions?
Only Christ has the power to free man (and woman) from the power of sin.
I thought this passage was fairly clear: For Paul, our inner sense of morality conflicts with the impulses of “the flesh”, but the grace of Christ helps us to overcome those impulses.
God expects us to be holy even as He is holy. He has given us His Spirit to help us to be holy and His commandments to guide us.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. Rom 7:15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Someone who is saved knows that the law is good, but we are weak. They desire to do the things pleasing to God but cannot.
Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Rom 7:18 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.
We recognize our true nature-that sin dwells in us striving against God's Spirit. Unlike non-Christians, we desire to do the things of God but we don't always follow through in doing them. We don't share the gospel, tithe, do good works, etc. as much as we should when given the opportunities.
Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Not to follow God's will is evil in us and is sin.
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
God expects us to be holy. We know we don't meet that requirement as we Christians sin deliberately all the while we have the Holy Spirit in us.
We are being refined. We sin, but we don't practice sin. This is what sanctification is all about.
As Ifinnegan quoted Jesus’ words in Matthew 26:41: ... the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That pretty much sums up the passage in Romans. Paul is not thanking the Lord for his flesh serving sin. He is thanking the Lord for delivering him from his “body of death.”