Did the good, then, become death for me? Of course not! Sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin, worked death in me through the good, so that sin might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. 15 What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. 20 Now if [I] do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. 22 For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, 23 but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.
Paul asked if the Law, which God designed as good, is a direct cause of sin which brings death. No. The Law was overrun by the power of sin which used the Law to bring death. The Law is spiritual because its origin and purpose is God. The flesh is carnal, perishable and enslaved to sin. There is an internal conflict between the Law which is good and sin which is evil. The carnal self, influenced by desire, tends to sin and leads us to do that which we detest. The inner self is confused and cannot understand its actions. The inner self is at war with itself and cannot do the good it wants to do. The inner self does not do what in its heart it wants but it does what it hates.
Because I desire to do what is right, I know that the Law is good. Therefore, if I do what I do not want it is because of the sin that enslaves my flesh. Paul delights in the Law in his inner being but the sin that dwells in the flesh, makes the inner self a captive opposed to God’s Law written into our hearts. I can will the good but cannot freely do it. We suffer and are miserable because we are oppressed by burden of sin in our flesh. In our hearts we willingly embrace God’s Law, but the carnal self is enslaved to sin. We are delivered by God’s act of redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Almighty God, we are all sinners and the wages of sin is death. By the gratuitous gift of eternal life through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, we can pray for your mercy and ask you to send your Spirit upon us to encourage our minds and hearts to the knowledge and love of God. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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