Romans 7:1-25

This passage can be confusing. At it's core it is about the struggle between our old sinful self and our new righteous self.

Old and New

Our old self we were enslaved to sin, but through Christ we are set free from it. But we are also set free from the law. It's our human nature to want to break laws that are given to us. Often if we did not know about the rules, we wouldn't want to do what they forbid.

Paul here is talking about the law of Moses. So Paul talking about being enslaved by the law would have been quite contraversal. Paul is saying that although the law is good, it has it's limitations.

Our sin comes from the law

Sin by very definition is disobeying God's law. It is a prime example of evil twisting something that God has made. The law by itself cannot make us good. Being a slave to the law (ie. striving to follow it to the letter) won't make us righteous before God because of our inherent incapability to keep it. The law does nothing but tell us we are sinful. It becomes the tool of the devil to trip us up and tell us we've failed God and enslaves us.

Freedom from the law

When we come to Jesus, we are no longer at the beck and call of sin. Sin has no power over us any more. The law does not trip us up and trap us because we have forgiveness for that failure. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit - the power to do what was impossible before; we have the power to reflect God's character and live a holy life. Of course we will still sin, but as Paul says in chapter 8 we no longer have any condemnation from the law for our actions.