This passage begins with a very honest confession from Paul. The most widely held view on these verses is that Paul is talking about a believer’s struggle with sin, not an unbeliever’s struggle. In fact, most believe that Paul is describing his own thoughts and feelings. Verse 20 speaks to our identity. We have been given new life in Christ. Verse 21 goes on to say that even if our new life gives new desires, our old self stays close to us, tempting us to do evil. Therefore, we must constantly be on our guard.

This passage is a raw and honest description of how frustrating it is to battle the sin in our lives. We can hear Paul’s screams of frustration through these words. To give an example, let’s say you do something good. Maybe the Lord put on your heart to go pray for someone or encourage a sad friend or maybe pay for someone’s meal. So, you walk in obedience and do it. Seconds afterward, you pat yourself on the back and you beam with pride because you have done a good deed. You gave the glory to yourself instead of giving all glory to God. This is the example that comes to mind when reading verse 21. Evil is so close to us, and our thoughts can turn to evil in an instant. This is where we must search our hearts and ask God to save us from our flesh.

Describe a time when you were doing good, but in an instant your thoughts and actions turned to evil.