Paraphrasing Romans 7:17-20 (TMF:1674)

Thursday, August 12, 2021
Peace to Live By: Paraphrasing Romans 7:17-20 (TMF:1674) - Daniel Litton
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       “So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 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. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:17-20, ESV). I want to paraphrase what I believe Paul is saying here so that you can understand where I am coming from: “If we follow sin in our lives, sin will have its way in us. For I know that nothing good dwells within me alone, that is, in my flesh alone, by itself. For I have the desire to do what is right in my mind, but not the ability to carry it out with my flesh alone. For I do not do the good I want when I try alone to do things, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, the sin that I don’t want to do in my mind but I do it anyway, it is no longer under my power that I am doing, but I have given myself over to sin’s power.”