Reflection of the Week – 30 June 2026

Romans 7:17 sounds a bit like Paul is absolving himself of personal responsibility ... But look more closely, and maybe something else is going on.

Posted Jun 30, 2026 in Faith

It wasn't really me ...

Romans 7: 15–25a

Romans 7:17 sounds a bit like Paul is absolving himself of personal responsibility: “it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me”. At first glance, that looks like an ancient version of “the devil made me do it” – a tidy way to escape responsibility for our own choices.

But look more closely, and maybe something else is going on. Paul doesn’t end this passage feeling relieved. Instead, he ends it groaning, “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me?” That’s not really the voice of someone who’s relieved to have found a clever loophole. It sounds more like he feels that his excuse hasn’t actually worked – who has failed to appease his conscience won’t be talked down, however hard he has tried.

I think this is something we probably all recognise: the gap between who we want to be, maybe who we think we are, and what we actually do in practice. Anyone who has resolved to be more patient and then snapped at someone they love; anyone who has resolved to me more organised and yet is still drowning in chaos, knows this gap personally. But that’s enough confessions from me. Paul’s language about “sin dwelling within” isn’t really about dodging blame – it’s about being honest that willpower or commitment alone often isn’t enough to close that gap. Knowing the right thing and doing it are not the same skill.

That honesty matters, because it’s not where Paul stops. He doesn’t conclude that nothing can be done. His very next thought, leading into Chapter 8, is a turn toward grace and the Spirit’s help. Recognising our divided selves isn’t an excuse to give up; it’s what makes us reach for something beyond sheer self-discipline.

So here’s the challenge this passage leaves us: to not use “that’s just how I am” as a place to settle but instead see it as merely a starting point – naming the struggle without minimising it, and without pretending it disqualifies us from grace or growth. The question Paul asks is real: who will rescue us? This week, let’s ask ourselves where the gap is between who we want to be and what we do, and how we might actually ask for help in closing it, rather than just confessing it and moving on.

– Clive Conway

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