“Sin Which Dwells in Me”

My scariest movie moment happened at a drive-in theater in 1986. I was in a car with some friends, watching a new release called Aliens. Seen it?

We had no idea what the movie was about, so imagine our shock when a man eating a meal began choking and convulsing violently. I won’t describe the horrifying thing that happened next—just in case children are reading this—but we screamed in absolute terror.

In space, no one can hear you scream, but they sure heard us that night at the drive-in.

I am reminded of that horrific scene when I read these words:

So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. (Romans 7:17)

What does it mean to say, “Sin dwells in me”? The mind boggles. Is Paul describing a sin nature, a sin parasite, or some kind of sin… alien?

Before we answer that, let’s look at a couple of other interesting phrases in Romans:

1. Our old self was crucified with him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with (Romans 6:6)
2. Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24)

If you don’t have a whole-Bible theology, you might think that you have a sin virus inhabiting your sinful body giving birth to sinful fruit. You might think you have two natures inside dueling for supremacy. You can keep that sin nature subdued for a while, but one day it’s going to burst forth like a freaky you-know-what.

Let me put your mind at rest.

Christian, you do not have a sin nature or a sin virus inside you. The only thing that dwells in you is the mighty Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9, 11).

When Paul says, “Nothing good dwells in me” (Rom. 7:18), he does not mean, “Something evil dwells in me.” He means your flesh is incapable of living the good life that God wants for you:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:18–19)

Our body of sin?

Perhaps you have heard that your body is bad, sinful, or unsaved. It’s not true. Your body belongs to the Lord. It is the holy temple of the Holy Spirit.

When Paul speaks of the “body of sin” (Rom. 6:6), he is referring to our physical or mortal body, a.k.a. our body of death (Rom. 6:12, 7:24). Our physical body is the battleground where we engage with sin and experience its deathly effects (Rom. 6:13, 19, 7:5, 23–24, 8:10).

Your body connects you to the world where sin resides. Sin tempts us through our natural senses, and it is with the members of our body—our eyes, hands, tongues, etc.—that we sin.

Our body parts or members are not sinful, but they can be used for sinful purposes (Rom. 6:13). When the old desires of the flesh collide with the new desires of your spirit, the conflict is waged in your members (Rom. 7:23).

Is my body saved or unsaved?

Like the law of gravity, the law of sin affects our bodies. But this does not mean your body is evil. Your mind and body are gifts from God. They are tools that can be used as instruments of righteousness or unrighteousness (Rom. 6:13).

Some may say, “My spirit is saved, but my body remains unsaved,” which is like saying God only does partial salvations. How can we glorify God in our bodies if they are unsaved (1 Cor. 6:20)? How can we present our bodies as holy sacrifices to the Lord if they are unholy (Rom. 12:1)?

When Paul refers to the “sin which dwells in me,” he is simply saying that the influence and effects of sin are felt in our physical bodies.

Sinful passions… work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5)

Your enemy wants you to be double-minded and uncertain about this. He wants you to think that you have two natures dueling inside you, or that parts of you are unsaved and need work, or you are infected with sin virus and there’s nothing you can do about it. When you stumble, he will say, “Your behavior is bad because you are bad.”

It’s not true. You are not a bad person. You are not even partly bad.

Your body belongs to the Lord

Learn to see yourself as God sees you. One with the Lord, you are as holy and righteous as he is. No sin dwells in you, and your body is the glorious temple of the Holy Spirit.

Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6)

Your old self was incapable of resisting sin. But the person you used to be died with Christ so that you might walk in the new and better way of the spirit (Rom. 6:4–6). Put it all together and Paul is saying something like this:

Something happened (your old self was crucified), and now something needs to happen (your body needs to be rendered ineffective as an instrument of sin), so that something else will happen (you will no longer be a slave to sin).

Paul is not saying your body needs to be destroyed (you still need it). He’s saying use your body to serve the Lord (Rom. 6:13, 21–22, 12:1).

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Read these passages in context on the Grace Commentary and discover the treasures of grace. The Grace Commentary is a great place to find answers to common questions, like these:

1. What is the word of God?
2. Why say a man is justified by works and not faith alone?
3. How will God repay us according to our deeds?
4. Why didn’t the religious leaders stone Jesus like the stoned Stephen?
5. Why did Paul call himself a bond-servant if he knew he was a son?
6. What is a measure of faith?
7. How do we work out your salvation “with fear and trembling”?
8. What is the significance of David’s Key?
9. What does it mean to refer to “the God of hope”?
10. What are the works of faith?

The Grace Commentary is growing in leaps and bounds. Did you know that we recently added 100,000 words with another 100,000 words soon to come? More here.