Wednesday, April 9’s devotional. Romans 7:18–20 gives us a startling yet strangely comforting reality: “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.” Paul is not saying he’s no longer responsible for his sin, but he is making a clear distinction—between his new redeemed self in Christ and the sin that still dwells in him.
Mark Penrith explains, “This is not a cop-out. This is Paul drawing a line between who he is in Christ and what still clings to him in the flesh.” The source of failure, Paul says, isn’t the regenerate “I,” the one that delights in God’s law—it’s the indwelling sin, that deceives and destroys. “So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me” (v. 17). That’s not denial—it’s diagnosis.
Paul knew his desire for righteousness was real. “The desire to do what is good is with me,” he says in verse 18. And yet he admits, “there is no ability to do it.” That’s not a contradiction. It’s a confession of weakness. Mark puts it this way: “Paul had the desire to do good, but not the power in himself to perform it. And that is what drives him to grace.” The Christian life is not about self-reformation, but Spirit-dependence.
Paul continues, “For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do” (v. 19). That’s raw honesty. That’s a believer under siege, not from the outside, but from within. And yet, this very battle testifies to new life. As Mark reminds us, “Dead men don’t fight. The very fact that you feel the conflict is evidence that the Spirit is alive in you.”
So what do we do with this tension? We remember that the war isn’t over—but the victory is already won. You are not defined by the sin that remains in you, but by the righteousness of the One who died for you. “Yet, in the cave of your heart, in your flesh, sin has found a place to hide,” Mark says. “It dwells. It remains. Defeated—yes. But still devious, deceptive, and deadly.”
Don’t give up. Don’t give in. The sin in you is real—but it’s not the real you. In Christ, you are a new creation. Keep fighting, not in your own strength, but in His.
Prayer:
Lord, I am weak, but You are strong. Fill me with Your Spirit today to resist sin and walk in step with You. Amen.
This devotional content is not penned by the preacher. It is derived from the sermon notes. We aim to provide bite-sized reflections throughout the week for devotion and reflection.