19 ^bFor I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, ^cit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For ^dI delight in the law of God, ^ein my inner being, 23 but I see in my members ^fanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from ^gthis body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And ^dhe who searches hearts knows what is ^ethe mind of the Spirit, because¹ the Spirit ^fintercedes for the saints ^gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^hfor good,² for ⁱthose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he ^jforeknew he also ^kpredestined ^lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ⁿjustified, and those whom he justified he also ^oglorified.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, ^vwalk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^wthe desires of the flesh. 17 For ^xthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^yto keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are ^zled by the Spirit, ^ayou are not under the law. 19 Now ^bthe works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^cdivisions, 21 envy,¹ drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^dthose who do² such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But ^ethe fruit of the Spirit is ^flove, joy, peace, patience, ^gkindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 ^hgentleness, ⁱself-control; ^jagainst such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^khave crucified the flesh with its ^lpassions and desires.