Romans 7:7 - Is the law sinful?

There is great debate about whether Paul is talking about his own personal experience, and whether he talking about pre or post Christian. We need to remember that his primary concern is about the Law and its proper place in the life of a Christian. However, he now starts using the word I, something he has not done since chapter 1. So it would seem that there is at least some personal element to what he is saying. Moreover, he is not interested in the place of the Law from purely academic standpoint, in fact not at all from an academic standpoint. Paul is concerned about eternal life, about receiving and living the life that God gives us through Christ. As to the matter of whether it is pre or post conversion I suspect it is at least part post-conversion. Prior to his conversion Paul was blinded to the truth, only after that were his eyes fully opened. Moreover, our salvation is not fully realised this side of eternity. We are all too aware of the battle with sin that goes on within us, but now it is a battle that we are starting to win. In order to do that, and to make more rapid progress, we need to have a right understanding.

So Paul has said that the Law cannot bring salvation, even more than that, we are divorced from the Law. So is the Law sinful? In speaking of the Law Paul certainly has the Law (rather than “law”) in mind as he quotes from the ten commandments. The Law brought a true realisation of what sin is. He quotes the commandment on coveting and it is interesting, and perhaps significant, that this is a commandment that deals with the inner man, not just our outward actions.