Romans 7 (NLT)

Struggling with Sin

14The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. 15I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. 16I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good.
7But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
18I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. 19When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 20But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
21It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22I love God's law with all my heart. 23But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?[3] 25Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
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I know EXACTLY how he felt. I'm sure 99% of Christians, if they were honest (and shouldn't they be?) would also say that they know exactly what this feels like. My Pastor put it in an interesting way...it might even be considered heretical by most. The way he put it, when we are redeemed, our soul is transformed, but our flesh is still flesh and will be until the day we die. This leads to a war within ourself. The soul, our conscience, knows very well what we should be doing, and our bodily desire to eat drink and be merry for life is but a vapor, tends to pull us towards doing things that would trouble our conscience. It is only through a continued relationship with God that we can strengthen our spirit to have a greater say over the flesh. Even then we'll still stumble sometimes as none of us will be perfect until we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank God for His mercy and grace.