Paul states in his letter to the Romans that there was something “in the members” of his body that he calls “my flesh,” which produced difficulty in his Christian life and made him a prisoner of sin. Martin Luther, in his preface to the book of Romans, commented on Paul’s use of “flesh” by saying, “Thou must not understand ‘flesh,’ therefore, as though that only were ‘flesh’ which is connected with unchastity, but St. Paul uses ‘flesh’ of the whole man, body, and soul, reason, and all his faculties included, because all that is in him longs and strives after the flesh.”
Sinabi ni Pablo sa mga taga-Roma na mayroong mga sangkap sa kanyang katawan na tinatawag niyang aking laman, na nagdudulot ng paghihirap sa kanyang buhay bilang mananampalataya at siya y ginawang bihag ng kasalanan. Si Martin Luther sa kanyang paunang salita sa Aklat ng Roma, ay nagkomentaryo sa paggamit ni Pablo sa salitang laman . Ayon sa kanya, Hindi mo dapat unawain ang laman, samakatwid, na tila ito ay laman na tumutukoy lamang sa pagiging marumi, ngunit ginamit ni Apostol Pablo ang salitang laman ng tao sa kabuuan, katawan, kaluluwa, katwiran, at lahat ng sa kanya, dahil lahat ng nasa kanya ay nagnanais at nagpupumilit para sa laman.