The root of all sin is pride. My conclusion is this: why we keep sinning is because we get on the jazz from crossing boundries set by God. In a sense we are making ourselves like gods by saying I don't follow that boundary, I can cross it, I am higher than you God.

I understand completely what you have been going through, as I have gone through the same very difficult experience myself for years. In fact I have often wondered "why" I have not been able to mortify the deeds of the flesh, walk after the Spirit, and yield not my members as weapons of unrighteousness. However, I have been able to move beyond this wretched state through belief in God's only solution to this problem. The solution to the plight of Romans 7 is to be found in Romans 6. The anser is simply to actually and precisely believe what God has said concerning the Old Man (the flesh you were born into) - that it is already dead - IF you have been identified with the absolute righteousness act of the Lord Jesus dying on the cross - if you have, and you confess and believe that there is no possible way to improve upon your flesh, then you have been identified with his death. Your Old Man has from God's perspective become truly and literally dead - though your flesh may want to tell you otherwise. I am not sure if you have seen 'A beautiful Mind' - but John Nash (the lead in this movie) is living a life that seems to be very important in his service to his Government in a time of war - and he is quite content with this life, without any conflice - but then it is revealed to him that this work and life is actually not as it appears - his mind has made up an alternate reality that is contrary to the truth - at this point conflict is introduced into his life, as he must now determine and decide on what is the "true" reality - that is a similar situation that we are in. On the one hand, God tells us that this body that we were born into is no longer alive, and the life that we live we now live trough the Lord Jesus in resurrection life; however, our flesh (and everyone we know) tells us that we are not dead, but very much alive in this flesh. Who shall we believe? If we believe God, then we have a good chance of no longer serving Sin, but if we do not enter into this belief, then we are destined to continue under the dominion of Sin -- remember, that he that is dead is freed from sin. Also, notive how Romans 7 starts with a discussion of a woman who, while she is married to a husband is (under the Mosaic law) an adulteress if she marries another man while her first husband is alive - yet, if her first husband dies then she is free to marry and serve another. Now, she could act as some older people do who have been married to the same person for years, when their spouse dies and they are then re-married, the new spouse gets to hear about, and must at times submit to what the previous (now dead) spouse liked or did not like. The spouse that remains has not set themselves free from the law or dominion of the wishes of their now dead spouse - much to the dismay of their new spouse. The same happens to us when God says that our Old Man (the body that we were born into) has dead, but we choose not to believe this fact. We continue to submit to the desires and dominions of the dead man, instead of living in newness of life in service to our New Man - who is created into a unity with and a reflection of the Lord Christ Jesus - and which CAN NOT sin. That is correct - the New Man can not sin - as it is 100% justified - having the very righteousness of God in Christ. You can not become more Holy or Just than this. So, if you want to hve freedom from the dominion from sin, then you must learn and then precisely believe exactly what God has said about you in relation to Him as it pertains to Christ Jesus. All of this can be found in Romans 3-8. Do not try to "interpret" the verses, but instead believe exactly what God has said, and by doing this you will have success in this life, as well as the life to come. I hope this has helped in some small way. By His Grace, Jason Plummer