Chapters 7-8 of Romans are among the most important words in the Bible for us in the twenty-first century. In these chapters, Paul wrestles with the issues of human consciousness, human will, and the Trinity. In chapter 7, he reflects a profound understanding of our struggles as human beings, whether we are a first-century Jew in Palestine or a twenty-first-century American Christian. He writes these words in chapter seven to the church at Rome and to churches everywhere in every age:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can wi…