While we serve a God of grace and love, we still lean toward spiritual independence from Him. Paul was completely transparent to the Romans—Living the life of a follower of Christ is tough. One of the toughest parts is walking away from the sinful life that calls us, indwells us and constantly tempts us to walk away from God.
Paul openly admitted that he failed at that battle often. He, the Pharisee turned missionary knew the law and he was the king of checklist followers. God had changed his heart and his life. Paul was now one of the most spiritual of apostles—but, he was still a human. Humans cannot help but sin. What is worse, the more clearly the sin is defined—the more likely people will try to skirt the law and dive in.
Today, not much has changed. We have the gift of grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit—still we want to walk away from God and follow our old nature. The bad news is we too fail. The good news is God’s grace is sufficient to forgive our sin and he will continue to transform us into his image and fill us with the desire to humbly follow him. Chances are we will never be perfect, but, with his help, we can be more like him and less like the world each day.
God Bless You
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin
Walking With God 