"For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do", Romans 7:19. Exegesis, understanding, meaning and commentary of the bible verse.

The epistle to the Romans written by Paul, tells us about the problem of living as natural men following the whims and passing desires:
"For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisioner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:19-25

The reason of man always look at the good, when men live according to the flesh there is a division of the soul and the mind fights against itself, the mind at some point becomes a prisoner of itself, this is what Paul is talking about.
The opposition between the desires of the flesh and the spirit is fundamental to understand the thought of Paul:
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the spirit, set their minds on the things of the spirit. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Romans 8: 5-7
But what is precisely, the difference between living according to the flesh and living according to the spirit: an example of this difference is the parable of the good samaritan (Luke 10:25-37): the priest and the levite practice the sin, they live according to the flesh; the good samaritan lives according to the spirit, the samaritan lives according to the spiritual gift of righteousness, the golden rule, Mark 7:12: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
The parable explains that we have to choose between the flesh and the spirit, between the sin and the righteousness.
The baptism is the passage from a life full of sins to a life of righteousness, this is why the Law of Moses is not enough to enter the kingdom of god. To accept jesus is to accept the righteousness of the kingdom of god, following the example of the good samaritan: "always act by ethical principles".
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