Why wasn't Paul convicted by the law while he was a Pharisee?
Paul was not convicted by the law as a Pharisee because he was so religious and self-righteous that he considered himself above the law, not a lawbreaker. The law was not touching him; it rolled off like water off a duck. He was alive without the law until the commandment came.
Les explains that Paul, as a Pharisee, was a religious zealot and self-righteous man who paid no attention to the law and was practically above it. Because he was so pharisaical, he had no conviction that he was a lawbreaker, and the law was not convicting him as he went on his religious way. It was rolling off him like water off a duck. He was functioning as a Pharisee and was alive without the law. But when the commandment came, old Adam woke up, and Paul's old Adam died.