Is Paul describing himself as a believer or an unbeliever in Romans 7:15?
Paul is describing himself as a believer in Romans 7:15. He writes as one who has reckoned old Adam crucified and dead, yet still experiences old Adam's influence in the Christian life. The passage reflects the believer's struggle, not an unbeliever's condition.
Les explains that Romans 7:15 can be hard to comprehend, but he understands Paul to be writing as the believer. The believer has reckoned old Adam as crucified and dead, as Paul has been teaching, yet old Adam is still left as an influence even in the Christian life. Les acknowledges there are two ways of looking at this, but he maintains that old Adam is crucified and declared dead in the mind of God. The moment a person believes the Gospel, God saw them in the person of Christ on the cross, which is possible because with God nothing is impossible.
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
More Questions
What explains the believer's experience of doing what he hates in Romans 7:15?
The confusing experience in Romans 7:15—doing what you hate and failing to do what you want—is explained by the two natures at work in the believer.
Why should believers look at Paul's dilemma in Romans 7?
Looking at Paul's dilemma in Romans 7 can comfort believers that they are not alone when they know they should do something but don't do it, and when they know they shouldn't do certain things but do them.
What does Paul mean in Romans 7:15 when he says, 'that which I do, I allow not'?
In Romans 7:15, Paul describes the conflict where the spirit side condemns what he lets old Adam do ('it's wrong, don't do this'), and the other side of the coin is that he does the very thing he does not want to do.