The various theological interpretations of Romans 7 can generally be grouped into four primary positions: the pre-conversion view, the post-conversion view, the redemptive-historical view, and the transitional view. Each of these approaches reads the passage through a distinct interpretive lens. I personally lean toward the transitional view, which aligns closely with Wesleyan and broader holiness theology.
However, the most popular interpretation in contemporary Protestant evangelical contexts is the post-conversion view. This reading understands Romans 7:14-25 as describing the normal, ongoing struggle of the mature believer who, though regenerated, continues to experience an internal conflict between flesh and Spirit. In this view, Paul’s use of the first-person singular (“I”) reflects his Christian experience, portraying a perpetual tension in which believers desire to do good yet find themselves continually hindered by sin, almost as if operating with a divided self.
Nevertheless, Holiness: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Theology argues that this is neither the predominant conviction of the early church nor of many modern scholars. Thomas McCall notes that “classical Christian exegesis has largely veered away from such an interpretation,” citing Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Basil, Theodoret, Chrysostom, Jerome, Ambrose, Cyril of Jerusalem, Macarius, and others who did not understand Paul to be referring to his own Christian experience. Gerald Bray similarly observes that most of the Church Fathers believed Paul was adopting the persona of an unregenerate person, not articulating the struggles of a Spirit-filled believer, since conversion was understood to deliver a person from the dilemma described. Modern New Testament scholarship often concurs with this early consensus. Craig Keener affirms that “the majority of scholars today contend that Romans 7:14 25 cannot refer to the Christian life.”
This perspective coheres with Paul’s argument in Romans 6 and 8, where he describes believers as those who have died to sin, been made alive to Christ, and empowered by the indwelling Spirit to live victoriously. Thus, this interpretation presents a far more optimistic vision of Christian transformation, emphasising the redemptive power of the cross and the restoration of the image of Christ through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. It affirms that believers are no longer slaves to sin but are enabled to walk in holiness as they yield to the Spirit and live in the reality of their union with Christ.