As a slave to sin, we were under the full power and authority and control of sin, which is something that we do not want, but had no choice in the matter, and had to live with it.
Once we believed in Christ, we through off the shackles, from a positional point of view, and will have them permanently removed, when we leave this world.
The principle that Paul has already made, regarding whether or not the law is itself good or evil, is supported here in this verse, by the very attitude of people in general, which is a reference to slaves, being trapped in their slavery, and not liking it.
Therefore, as sinners we commit sins, even though we don’t like that, and then by default, that attitude places us in agreement with the law, which defines the perfect or sin free life, which is what we really want.
The law here, is a general phrase referring to the principle of truth, but also is in reference to the Mosaic law, as was the common use of that phrase, back in Paul’s day.
As we studied before, if there was no law, then there would be no violation. But since there is a law, then we can identify what is and is not a violation. And by so doing, we can identify what is good and not good, what is preferable and not preferable.
And by default, doing something that we don’t want to do, namely sin, likewise identifies us with a preference that the law defines.
So the summary of this verse is, that the law identifies and describes and defines sin.
And our status in this life, being bound by the sin nature within our physical body, causes us to do things, namely sin, that we otherwise would prefer not to do.
Again, the moral of this study is that, sin is powerful. And on our own we are powerless against it. The only way out of it, is by means of something or someone else, which is Jesus Christ, for salvation, and Bible doctrine, for our functional spiritual life.
