In Romans 7:7-25, Paul does not report his own difficulty in obeying the Jewish Law. In Romans 7, Paul tells the story of a pagan’s attempt and failure to obey the law (become a Jew) without Jesus Christ. This old literary technique is called “prosopopoeia”.
- “The contradictory ‘I’ in Romans 7 is the pagan/pagan who seeks to become a Judaizer without Christ, that is, to keep the Law. [And this person] can only overcome his difficulties by being in Christ, through his pistis, that is, his trust in Christ…” | Paula Fredriksen
- In any case, it would be absurd for Paul to talk about the impossibility of his own obeying the law. After all, in another letter he boasts of being circumcised at eight days old, of being a Hebrew, of being a ‘Pharisee’ in his adherence to the Law, and of being perfect in keeping the Law.
“The tortured Paul [of Romans 7] never existed. Nowhere other than in Romans does Paul call himself a failed Jew. Indeed, there are places where he boasts of his excellence as a Pharisee.” |Was Paul a Jew? https://tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/who-was-paul
