Romans 7:18-20
“For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find how to perform that which is good. For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. But if I do that which I don’t desire, it is no longer I who do it, but sin which dwells in me.”
This passage comes from Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome, likely written in the mid-50s CE. In this section, he's exploring the tension between the Law, sin, and the human experience, particularly his own struggle to consistently live according to what he knows is right.
What does this passage reveal about the experience of moral struggle, even for someone deeply committed to doing good?