What does Paul establish in Romans chapters 1-7 before Romans 8?
Paul establishes the groundwork in Romans 1–7: how people ended up in sin and under condemnation, and how Christ died so they might be justified and forgiven. Chapter 7 then presents the dilemma of overcoming the old Adam and living in defeat, setting up Romans 8’s answer—the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Les explains that in those first seven chapters Paul lays all the groundwork: how we ended up in sin and under condemnation, and how Christ died that we might be justified from all that and forgiven. Then chapter 7 carries the dilemma of how to overcome the old Adam and how to keep it in defeat. The answer comes in Romans chapter 8: the Holy Spirit, that indwelling Spirit now becomes our Law, if you want to put it that way. Les also notes the context involves the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments, and the whole sphere of Judaism, because the Law was weak through the flesh.