Romans 7

Released from the Law

1 Listen, my people, you all know the law applies to a person only while they are alive, right, I am talking to folks who know what is up with the law.

2 For example, a married woman is tied to her man by law as long as he is alive. But if he dies, she is free from that law.

3 So if she hooks up with another dude while her man is still alive, she is cheating. But if her man dies, she is free from that law, and she can marry another dude without it being wrong.

4 So, you all, it is like that with you and the law too. You died to the law through Christ’s body so you could be with another, the One who was raised from the dead. That way, we could live lives that give fruit to God.

5 When we were running wild in sin, the law made our sinful desires even more lit, and that led to death.

6 But now, we are free from the law because we died to what held us back. Now, we serve God in a new way, through the Spirit, not the old way of just following rules.

The Struggle with Sin

7 So, what is up then, Is the law sinful, Nah, for real! The law just shows us what sin is. Like, I would not have known what coveting was if the law did not say, “Do not covet.”

8 But sin took that rule and ran with it, making me want everything. Without the law, sin would not even be a thing.

9 Once upon a time, I was living life, no worries. But when the law came into play, sin came alive and I died.

10 The law that was supposed to bring life actually brought death because sin tricked me through the law and killed me.

11 The law itself is holy, and its commands are holy, righteous, and good.

12 So, did what is good (the law) bring death to me, Nah, sin did that. It used what is good to bring death, so sin could be exposed for what it really is, mad wicked.

13 The law just shows how wild sin really is.

14 The law is spiritual, but I am human, straight up sold out to sin.

15 I do not even understand myself half the time. I do not do what I want to do, but I keep doing the things I hate.

16 If I am doing what I do not want to do, that is me admitting that the law is good.

17 So, it is not even me doing it; it is the sin living in me.

18 I know that nothing good lives in me, at least not in my flesh. I want to do good, but I just cannot seem to pull it off.

19 I do not do the good I want to do, but instead, I keep doing the bad stuff I do not want to do.

20 If I am doing what I do not want to do, it is not really me doing it, but the sin that is living in me.

21 So I find this rule: when I want to do good, evil is always lurking around the corner.

22 In my heart, I vibe with God’s law.

23 But I see another rule at work in my body, warring against my mind and locking me up to the law of sin that is living in me.

24 Man, I am messed up! Who is going to rescue me from this dead body I am dragging around,

25 Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord! So, here is where I am at: with my mind, I am serving God’s law, but with my flesh, I am stuck serving the law of sin.