Understanding Christianity

Romans 7 is considered one of the most difficult and controversial chapters in Romans. Why do we still sin? Why do we still do the things we know we shouldn’t do? Why do we struggle with doing the things we should do and fail to do them? IF we have died to sin, been set free from sin, and our old man has been crucified, then should not we conclude that we will never sin again? That we can reach a plane of sinless perfection? Is Paul talking about himself and his current struggle with sin as a regenerate Christian? Or. . . is Paul describing what his life was like BEFORE his salvation. In other words, is this section describing what we normally experience as Christians who struggle with sin, or is this describing what our life was like before we got saved and were still “in Adam?” The early church fathers, Arminians like Jacob Arminius and John Wesley, for the most part, believe Paul is talking about the life BEFORE one is a Christian—the unregenerate, lost person. On the other hand, Augustine, Thomas