There is much debate about whether or not Paul is describing his pre or post Christian experience. The answer may well be both. None of us live purely by the Spirit, there are always times when we slip back into living by the flesh, living by law. It always ends in failure, and the key point that Paul is making in Chapter 7 is that living by law is doomed to failure.
The problem is not the law, the problem is sin. The Law is perfect, telling us what is right and what is wrong. Paul uses the example of coveting, presumably an area where he struggled. The law said it was wrong, so sin seized the opportunity to do wrong.
Sin lives in our human nature, in our flesh and takes the opportunity to do wrong. Sin can only live when it knows what is right and what is wrong. We have a natural tendency to do wrong, and sin produces death.
Because of sin, law brings death. The law is truly good, but living by law (seeking to do good by our own strength) always results in failure. Law shows up sin for what it is.
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