Are human beings too weak to resist sin?

Romans 7:14, Romans 7:25

Yes, and Paul does not evade this painful issue in Romans 7:14. He writes meekly: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. The Greek makes the connection between the two parts of this sentence clear—something that is completely lost in some translations such as the NLT, which chose the phrase all too human to translate the Greek word sarx, which literally means flesh. In modern English the use of the word flesh is indeed a somewhat strange rendering of what we would normally call human nature or inclination. In the original Greek it is clear that Paul is here contrasting the law which is spiritual (pneumatikos), with human beings, who are of the flesh (sarkikos). The law is God-given and it breathes the holiness of the Spirit. To the contrary, human beings are full of passions and desires (Romans 6:12) and people often give them free reign instead of subjecting them to the will of God’s Spirit. Paul is not saying that human beings were created as fleshly or carnal. Rather, he is speaking from observing the reality of life under the dominion of sin, and as such he writes very personally and humbly: I am of the flesh. Given that this is the current nature or character of human beings, he, too, was sold under sin. An unguarded city will always be overpowered. The law is able to keep human beings close to God, but they lack his true inner presence and holiness. For this reason, they are too weak to remain with God and as such sin gains power over them, also under the law.

In concluding the entire pericope of Romans 7:13–24, Paul limits himself to this: So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Romans 7:25). This tragic confession of service to the law of sin immediately follows a joyous expression of thanks for Jesus Christ as Lord in Romans 7:25a. The contrast is quite clear in the original Greek, for Paul here contrasts his own weakness with the strength of the One who delivers him from sin. He begins this sentence with an emphatic, I myself which stands in stark contrast with his immediately preceding confession of Jesus Christ as Lord.¹