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Section 10   Romans 7:1-6
Deliverance from the law

Subject of Section 10
As we see from 5:14, the apostle has three men in view, Adam, Moses and Christ, (“him that was to come”). He has shown how we are freed from Adam in principle by the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ, 6:1-14, then how we are freed in practice by the application of the doctrines delivered to us, 6:15-23. He now shows in this section our deliverance from “Moses”, that is, the law. To explain this, he uses two distinct but connected illustrations. First, in verse 1, the illustration using the principle of law in general. This principle is that death ends the dominion of the law over any person, male or female. Second, the illustration in verses 2 and 3 using the principle of the law of the husband, which states that as long as he is alive, his wife is bound to him. Should he die, however, she is free to marry another. It is vitally important to see that the governing principle in the life of the believer is the law of the Spirit, 8:2, and He empowers us to live a life that expresses Christ. The law of Moses cannot give us strength to do this, hence there is the need for the teaching of chapter seven, to show that conclusively.

Structure of Section 10

10(a)	7:1	Death ends the dominion of the law
10(b)	7:2,3	Death ends relationship with the law
10(c)	7:4-6	Resurrection begins relationship with Christ

10(a)   7:1
Death ends the dominion of the law

7:1
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) again the apostle appeals to their Christian intelligence as he did in 6:3,6,9,16.
How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? Either the law of Moses or the law of Rome will illustrate the principle about to be stated, which is that laws only regulate living people. The word for man used here is “anthropos”, meaning man in general, an individual person, male or female.

10(b)   7:2,3
Death ends relationship with the law

7:2
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth- in verses 15-23 of the previous chapter the servant/master relationship was in view, with the emphasis on obedience. Here the husband/wife relationship is brought in, with the emphasis on faithfulness and fruitfulness. The law of marriage is stated at the beginning of creation, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24. The only One with authority to break the tie is the One who made it, and He only breaks it by the death of one of the partners.
Those who refuse this verse as an argument against divorce say that the apostle is merely using an illustration that is not in the context of instructions concerning marriage. But if there are exceptions to the “married for life” principle, it would undermine the apostle’s doctrine here regarding the law. If divorce is a possibility, then a woman is not bound to her husband as long as he lives, and consequently she is not living in sin if she marries another while he is alive. In the application of the illustration, this would mean that a believer could be linked to the law and to Christ at the same time. This destroys the apostle’s argument.
Moreover, if it is legitimate to divorce, then who is to say that Christ will not divorce believers? It is because He lives for evermore that the believer is safe, but if there is a way for a marriage to be broken, then the believer is not eternally secure.
But if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband- the law of the husband is not his command, but the principle involved in having a husband. The point is that death breaks the connection that was established by marriage. Loosed means discharged, cleared.

7:3
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress– so binding is this “law of the husband”, that it still operates even if she is unfaithful. She is “an adulteress by trade or calling” if she marries another while her husband is still alive. Note also that her unfaithfulness has not ended the marriage, for if it had, she would not be an adulteress.
But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man- only if her husband is dead is she free to marry again. She can be rightly married to a second man, but only if the first is dead.

10(c)   7:4-6
Resurrection begins relationship with Christ

7:4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ- note that he does not use the word “therefore”, (implying logical consequence), which would suggest that he is immediately applying the illustration of verses 2 and 3, but “wherefore”, (implying logical connection), because he is first of all using the principle of verse 1, which is that death ends the dominion of the law over a person. Christ took responsibility on the cross for our transgression of the law of Moses, and as a consequence was made a curse, which is far worse than simply being accursed. He has absorbed the consequences of our law-breaking in His own body, has died, and yet has risen again bodily, and by association with Him in that process we are delivered from the law in a righteous way. See Galatians 2:19, where the apostle says, “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” So the believer is dead to the law through the law. That is, the very demands that the law made upon us, which were fully met by Christ in His death, have served to be the means of our deliverance. If the law had not made its demands, Christ would not have died, and we would not have been delivered by His death. Nor would we have been buried and raised with Him to live a life free from the law.
That ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead- having used the principle in the illustration of verse 1, he now uses the illustration from verses 2 and 3 to show that the second man, Christ, is the one to whom we are linked, not the first “man”, the law.
The resurrection of Christ proves that the things He did in His death have satisfied the demands of God, enabling Him to link His people with Himself in a place where the law does not operate, namely resurrection ground. It is a risen man who has made us dead to the law. Compare the situation in Joshua 1:2, where we read, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan”. When the mediator of the law is dead, the new leader can go through a figurative death and resurrection experience with the people as they cross the Jordan.
That we should bring forth fruit unto God- not only are we expected to be faithful to our “husband” from henceforth, (for He will never go into death and thereby cancel our relationship with Him), but also we are to produce “children” by this marriage, which is what “bring forth fruit” means. The apostle referred to the Galatians as his little children, “of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”, Galatians 4:19. We should reproduce Christ in our lives.

7:5
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law- the characteristic description of sinners is that they are “in the flesh”, see on 8:9. The believer, however, is in the Spirit. Motions are passions, evil desires. Because the mind of the natural man is not subject to the law of God, when the prohibitions of the law come to him he rebels, and does the contrary thing. It is not that the law incites to sin, but the heart of man is contrary to the righteous demands of the law. Perhaps the allusion is to the unfaithful wife of verse 3, who allowed the flesh to overcome her.
Did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death- each part of our body has characteristic sins of which it is capable, and when allowed to, the result is as when a mother bears children in a house where the plague is- they are doomed from birth. The contrast is with the “fruit unto God” of verse 4, which is Christ-likeness.

7:6
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held- in contrast to when we were natural men in the flesh we are now delivered from the law by the means described in verse 4. Note that this is the common position of all believers as far as God is concerned. Whether all are in practice delivered is another matter. We shall see the consequences of acting as if not delivered from the law from verse seven onwards.
The husband, the law, has “died”, and by so doing has released us from its dominion, as verse 2 had said. When he says the law has died, the apostle is using the word die in a figurative sense, meaning, “has lost its power to dominate us”. The law itself enshrines unchanging principles, and the apostle declares it to be spiritual in verse 14, and delights in it in verse 22. See also Romans 13:8-10. The law has been cancelled as a means of living a life of righteousness as far as the believer is concerned. As the apostle will write later on, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Romans 10:4. Christ has not ended the law as a way of condemning unrighteousness, for that is still one of its functions.
That we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter- lest we should think that our new-found freedom from the law allows us licence, the apostle reverts to the figure of servant/master. Newness of spirit is the new attitude of spirit which now motivates us; no longer is there the drudgery of law-keeping with its failure and misery. The phrase prepares the way for chapter 8. The psalmist appealed to God with the words, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me…and uphold me with thy free spirit”, Psalm 51:10,12.
The law is now outdated, for there is an oldness about it as far as being a means of attaining to righteousness, Romans 10:4, and the code of commandments written on stones has been replaced by the living example of Christ. It is Christ that is written on the heart of the believer, 2 Corinthians 3:3.

Section 11   Romans 7:7-25
Defence of the law and despair under the law

Subject of Section 11
In the first part of the section the apostle defends the law, lest it be thought that the fact that the believer is delivered from it implies that it had some defect. In the second half of the section, he shows that the believer who places himself under the law will soon be in despair.
The believer may be looked at in two ways. One, in accordance with God’s present reckoning of him, and the other, (because the body which he had before he was saved is still the same, even though now yielded to God), in accordance with what he was before he was saved.
In these verses Paul is presenting a situation that was personal to him, in which he tries to please God as a believer by the use of the law. So we might think of him going into Arabia subsequent to his conversion, (see Galatians 1:17, and connect with 4:24,25), and finding that even when there was nothing to attract him in the surroundings, yet still the desire to covet was within him. In isolation in Arabia, he would inevitably think of the law given at Sinai in Arabia.
Note the prominence of the words “I” and “me” in the remainder of the chapter, and the absence of the words “Spirit” and “Lord Jesus”, except in verse 25. We note also the expression in verse 25, “I myself”, as if Paul was on his own in trying to please God.
It would be a mistake to think of the matters detailed in the next verses as being normal Christian experience. The apostle is describing himself as one who is trying to please God through law-keeping. When he is doing this we could call him Unreal Paul, whereas when he is living as a believer should, he is Real Paul. True Christian practice is found at the beginning of chapter 8. These verses in chapter seven are a warning to those who believe they can please God by keeping the law.

Structure of Section 11

11(a)	7:7	The law is not sinful
11(b)	7:8-11	The law is condemnatory
11(c)	7:12,13	The law is holy
11(d)	7:14	The law is spiritual
11(e)	7:15-17	The law is good
11(f)	7:18-20	The law is ineffective
11(g)	7:21-23	The law is delightful
11(h)	7:24	The law is weak
11(i)	7:25	Grace gives the victory

11(a)   7:7
The law is not sinful

7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? The expression of verse 5, “the motions of sins which were by the law”, and the argument in general in the previous verses about the irrelevance of the law as an aid to Christian living, may give the impression that the apostle is condemning the law, which, after all, was given by God.
“What shall we say then” is a favourite expression of the apostle in this epistle, encouraging involvement by his readers, (“what shall we say?”), and causing them to think about what they are reading. He asks “Is the law sin?” If the result of the application of the law is fruit unto death, then perhaps there is a fault with the law, so that as soon as you introduce it into a situation, sin is the inevitable result. Is this why the apostle is so emphatic that we are not under it?
God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law- Paul will not have it that the law is evil, hence his strong double denial. Far from being sinful, the law exposes sin, so that a person knows it, and has no excuse. How can the law be sinful if it utterly condemns sin?
For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet- the heart of Paul and the particular command “Thou shalt not covet” were on a collision course, and showed up his lust, his strong desire to do what the law forbade him to do. So the law of Moses upholds God’s standards inflexibly and cannot be said to be sinful.

11(b)   7:8-11
The law is condemnatory

7:8
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence- the true alternative to the false idea that the law is sin, (hence the “but”), is that sin used the command as a means of waging its war on God. The word translated “occasion” was originally used of a base of operations in war. Instead of the law working out the will of God in Paul, it was sin that worked, and the result was all manner of concupiscence, which is evil desire. Sin and concupiscence are evil, but the law is not.
For without the law sin was dead- the sin-principle was inactive, (“dead”), not being provoked into using the law to incite Paul to sin whilst Paul did not try to please God through the law. Once he started to do that, things changed.

7:9
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

For I was alive without the law once- when Saul of Tarsus was converted he was given life from God apart from law-keeping. He could testify that God “called me by his grace”, Galatians 1:15. he could also say, “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14.
But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died- when he afterwards set out to please God by law-keeping, the commandment to not covet came to him with its full force. As a result, the law, which as far as Paul was concerned had died, verse 6, was in effect resurrected, for by trying to keep the law as a believer he had put himself back practically into a position where the law was not dead. As a result the law with its ministry of death dealt a death-blow to his earnest but ignorant desire to serve and please God by the law.

7:10
And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death- Christ had said to the lawyer, after he had summarised the law, “this do and thou shalt live”, Luke 10:28, so the law, if kept perfectly, would lead to life. But then the Lord spoke the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which the lawyer learned that, far from being the one who worked to help the robbed man, he was the robbed man, left half-dead by the roadside, and therefore unable to “do and live”, Luke 10:30-32. Just as the priest and the Levite, (the representatives of the ceremonial and civil law), would not save the wounded man, so the lawyer learns that neither religious ceremonies nor good works could help him. This lesson Paul had to learn also.
So the law that was designed to bring life, because it is being used in the wrong way, (that is, by a believer trying to please God by its agency), results not in life but in moral death. The apostle Paul is very clear in his epistle to Timothy that the law is not made for a righteous man but for sinners, 1 Timothy 1:9.

7:11
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me- similar words are used in verse 8, but whereas there the result was sins, here the result is death. This verse explains why Paul found the commandment to be unto death, verse 10.
Sin misled Paul into thinking that he could keep the law now that he was a believer, for “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. Thus sin used the command “Thou shalt not covet” to reduce Paul to inactivity as far as living to please God was concerned; he was in moral death.

11(c)   7:12,13
The law is holy

7:12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Wherefore the law is holy- because it is sin and not law that slays Paul, we may say as a logical consequence of the foregoing, (“wherefore”), that the law considered as a whole is totally free from evil, and safeguards the holiness of God, for it slew Paul when he failed to keep it.
And the commandment holy, and just, and good- the particular precepts of the law, illustrated by the one about covetousness emphasized here, partake of the character of the whole, being holy. They are also just, being designed to lead to a righteous life. They are good as well, for the whole law is fulfilled by loving God and one’s neighbour, as Romans 13:8-10 makes clear. See also the intelligent answer of the scribe in Mark 12:32,33, and the Lord’s response, verse 34.

7:13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Was then that which is good made death unto me? The apostle here anticipates an objection which will disparage the law. Was it the law itself that resulted in Paul being slain, verse 11? The answer is no, for the reason he next gives.
God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good- the law brought sin out into the open and exposed it for what it was, and as a result Paul was left for dead as far as pleasing God was concerned. Note the use of the word “working”, for Paul was trying to work good by the law, but sin was also working by using the law.
The meaning becomes clearer if we mentally insert the words from the previous sentence, “was made death unto me”, after the word good. So the idea is that sin, that it might appear sin, was made death to Paul, and the way it happened was that sin used God’s good law to slay him.
That sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful- the commandment in view here is the specific one of verse 7, “Thou shalt not covet”, but in other circumstances any of the commandments of the law would have the same effect. Sin is sinful by definition, but exceeds itself when it manages to deceive believers into thinking they can use the law to please God. That must be bad that uses God’s holy law to prevent a man from trying to please Him!

11(d) 7:14
The law is spiritual

7:14
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

For we know that the law is spiritual- it is common Christian knowledge that since the law is from God, it cannot be anything other than like Him in character. Moses introduces the commandments of the law by saying, “God spake all these words”, Exodus 20:1. That being the case, they must be spiritual. The word spiritual could be summed up in the words of verse 12, “holy, and just, and good”.
But I am carnal, sold under sin- the problem was that, considered as mere unaided flesh, the Unreal Paul was unholy, unjust and bad. Note the repetition of “I” in the passage, for he is describing his attempt to please God by his own efforts. He was but weak flesh, if unaided by the Spirit. Since he has temporarily abandoned the practice of using the Spirit to please God, he can only be said to be carnal or fleshly. As such he was not only sold (by Adam) to sin as a slave-master, but sold under, for sin dominates ruthlessly. So it is not carnal as opposed to spiritual, but carnal as considered as mere flesh, without the aid of the Spirit.

11(e)   7:15-17
The law is good

7:15
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

For that which I do I allow not- that which the Unreal Paul does through law-keeping, when the Real Paul surveys it, he disowns as not what he would want to be known by. The reason being that as a believer the Real Paul knows what pleases God.
For what I would, that do I not- that which he really wants to achieve as something he would want to be known by as a believer he fails to accomplish because he, the Real Paul, does not do what he wills to do.
But what I hate, that do I- the reverse is true, for what he does do he hates. This is not the same as a believer failing to achieve the results he should because he is not obeying the prompting of the Spirit. The man of this verse is obeying the prompting of the law, with disastrous results, for that law gives him no power to overcome indwelling sin.

7:16
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good- the apostle now draws a conclusion from the experience of verse 15. Because Real Paul disapproves of what he has done, then he has consented unto the law that it is good, for the law condemns his shortcoming, and so does he. The general knowledge concerning the law as being spiritual is confirmed in his experience. If he is for good, and against evil, then he is in agreement with the law, which commands good and condemns evil.

7:17
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me- having begun a life in the Spirit at conversion, but now having lapsed into trying to please God by law-keeping, the real “I”, the Real Paul as we are calling him, is not in control. It is the sin-principle that dwells within him that dominates him. This is the cause of the trouble.
Of course, Paul must take responsibility for his actions; he cannot excuse sin by saying he is not the doer of it. In the extraordinary situation Paul finds himself in, sin has over-ridden him and taken charge, forcing him to do things he knows are not Christian. It is in this sense that he is not responsible for the sin he commits, for the Unreal Paul, the man acting as if he does not possess the Spirit, does not in fact exist.

11(f)   7:18-20
The law is ineffective

7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing- there is no room in the flesh for anything other than sin. There is no benign influence there at all. There is nothing in the flesh that corresponds to the good law of God. The apostle is now concentrating attention on how to achieve worthwhile things, and knows that nothing beneficial can come from the flesh within. Note the parenthesis, showing that there are two persons Paul calls “me”. There is the “me” that is centred in his flesh, the Unreal Paul, and the new “me”, the Real Paul, who wills to do good, as the next phrase shows.
For to will is present with me- this expression is another indication that Paul is speaking as a converted man, for unsaved people do not will to do God’s will, for their mind is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be, 8:7.
But how to perform that which is good I find not- as he looks within himself for resources to please God, he can find no power to do what is good and right in the sight of God. He is limiting his search to what is within himself in these verses, and is not taking account of the fact that he is indwelt by the Spirit of God. He will tell us the power to do good in the next chapter, when he does take account of the fact that the Spirit of God dwells within him.

7:19
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

For the good that I would I do not- this is almost a repetition of verse 15, (as if he is going round in circles), but with the added thought that what he wished to do was good. In verse 15 he was showing that he was “sold under sin”, as he said in verse 14. Here, he is showing that he finds that situation to be contrary to his real desires, and that he does not find within himself the resources to do better, for he said in verse 18, “how to perform that which is good I find not”.
But the evil which I would not, that I do- note that he now labels as evil what he said he hated in verse 15. This confirms that he is in agreement with the law of God in the matter, as he has already declared in verse 16.

7:20
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me- the word “would” is a form of the word “will”. So the apostle is saying that what he did was not as a result of him as a man in the Spirit, the Real Paul, willing or determining to do it, (for in fact he willed to do otherwise), but rather, it was the will of the flesh, his sinful self. As far as God is concerned, the believer is not in the flesh but in the Spirit. As such, he has the power to live in a spiritual way and not a fleshly way.
Note he says it is “no more” I that do it, for before he was saved it was his natural way of acting. Now he is saved, however, it is unnatu  ral to act in this way, so what was true before is no longer true.
If we abandon the help of the Spirit, and seek the help of the law, then we shall find that the will of the flesh takes over, and we act contrary to God for the reasons the apostle has given in verses 7-16. When Paul declares that he did not do the sin, he does not mean to excuse himself for sinning. Rather, he is pinpointing the source of the sin, his flesh, his sinful self. We must remember that what Paul is describing is not normal Christian experience. It is only because he is describing an abnormal situation that Paul can divide himself up, so to speak, and distance himself from his flesh.

11(g)   7:21-22
The law is delightful

7:21
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me- the word law is used in different ways in these verses; here it simply means the principle that operates in a given set of circumstances. His experience has enabled him to find or discover something. What he discovers is that despite wishing to do good, there is evil residing in his heart waiting to operate. It is present all the time; it is not a passing feeling. We should learn from his discovery, so that we do not have the miserable experience he did.

7:22
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man- this is yet another indication that Paul is writing as a believer. The inward man is his real person, what Peter calls the “the hidden man of the heart”, 1 Peter 3:4, the one we have been calling the Real Paul. The believer delights in the principles of righteousness enshrined in the law of Moses, but that does not mean he is subject to that law as a rule of life. The apostle will show in the next chapter that grace has provided a better way to please God.

7:23
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind- by seeking to please God by law-keeping, he has exposed himself to danger. He has now discerned the workings of the contrary principle which is based in his body, and which uses the various members of his body to sin. The principle he delights in is the law of God, but the other law within him is hostile.
The fact that he speaks of this law being at war with him shows the seriousness of the situation. It also shows he speaks as a believer, for there is no conflict within the unbeliever, for sin holds total sway over him.
And bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members– because he is trying to win the battle against evil in his own strength, Paul loses, and becomes a prisoner of war. The war is between the law of sin in his members which incites to sin, and the law of his mind, which favours good, holiness and righteousness, the characteristics of God’s law. This does not mean that the law of sin is stronger than the law of God. What it does mean is that the believer acting without the help of the Spirit is no match for sin.

1l(h)   7:24
The law is weak

7:24
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

O wretched man that I am! Like those unfortunate people who are captured, taken as prisoners of war, and paraded through the streets of the victor’s capital as the trophies of his triumph, Paul was reduced to misery, when as a believer he ought to have been full of joy.
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? He is not referring to the fact that his body is mortal, subject to death and tending to death. He means that as a prisoner he is not at liberty to please God, which for the believer is what true life is. It is a mistake, therefore, to depart from the Authorised Version and read “this body of death”.
The emphasis is on the sort of death to which sin, using his body, has brought him. It is not physical death in this context, (although it is that in other settings), but moral death. As a believer, Real Paul is miserable about the state of things to which his course of action has led him. He needs a stronger power to deliver him from sin within.

1l(i)   7:25
Grace gives the victory

7:25
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord- in anticipation of the next chapter he gives God thanks. Only when Jesus Christ is recognised as being Lord will the dominion or lordship of sin be defeated, and true Christian joy be known.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin- summarising the whole section, the apostle can affirm that he himself, the True Paul, is able to serve the law of God. intelligently, for he serves with the mind. He has not dismissed the law as being of no value, but serves its best interests by showing that it is designed, not to facilitate Christian living, but to condemn sin.
He also admits that if he abandons the help of the Spirit, and seeks to please God by law-keeping, then he will be subject to the law of sin, and that is a tragedy. The way to avoid that tragedy is detailed for us in the next chapter.