Romans 7:7–16

^7aWhat shall we say then? Is the Law sin? ^bMay it never be! On the contrary, ^cI would not have come to know sin except ¹through the Law; for I would not have known about ²coveting if the Law had not said, “^dYou shall not covet.”

⁸But sin, ^ataking opportunity ^bthrough the commandment, produced in me ¹coveting of every kind; for ^capart ²from the Law sin is dead.

⁹I was once alive apart ¹from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;

¹⁰and this commandment, which was ^1ato result in life, proved ²to result in death for me;

¹¹for sin, ^ataking an opportunity ^bthrough the commandment, ^cdeceived me and through it killed me.

^12aSo then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? ^aMay it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

The Conflict of Two Natures

¹⁴For we know that the Law is ^aspiritual, but I am of flesh, ^bsold ^1cinto bondage to sin.

¹⁵For what I am doing, ^aI do not understand; for I am not practicing ^bwhat I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

¹⁶But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with ^athe Law, confessing that the Law is good.