"Then, I find the law, in me to desire to do good, that lacking in character is in me." Romans 7:21
Paul is struggling between two principles within himself. He desires to do that which is good, but the desire to do the things that lack in character is also always present with him .
"For I rejoice in the law of God after the inner man. But I see another, of a different kind, of law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and taking me captive to the law of the sin nature, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am. Who will rescue me out of this body of death?" Romans 7:22-24.
What a situation! Paul desires to do that which is good, but every time he attempts it, the desire to do that which lacks in character overwhelms him. This is what happens every time a Christian attempts to live under the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic law is not bad, it was not designed to control the sin nature; rather, it was designed to show how sinful the sin nature within us can be.
So then, what does a Christian do?
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then I myself, on the one hand, with the mind serve a quality of law from God, but on the other hand, I serve the law of sin with my flesh." Romans 7:25.
How we serve God begins within our mind. It is no longer a thing of the flesh. Remember what Paul said back in Chapter 6 about how you deal with the sin nature? " Thusly, you reckon yourselves to be dead to the sin nature but alive unto God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:11. It begins with the mind.
How you frame your mind, directly affects your actions. The conflict that Paul has been writing about relates to how you frame your mind. Are you considering yourself to be what God considers you to be? Does your opinion of yourself line up with God's opinion of you?
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