The Romans 7 Dilemma pt. 5

In the last post I was trying to make the point that an unbeliever can't love the law of God from the "inner being". In making that point I was taken back by the consistency of the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul. Now, let's look at a couple of passages where we know for sure Paul is talking about himself as an unbeliever, and compare them to Romans 7 to see which view would be more consistent.

The first passage is in the first chapter of his epistle to the Galatians. In vs 11, Paul is defending his authority and apostleship by explaining how he was called by God to the ministry. He starts by giving a short testimony of his conversion. "For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers." - Galatians 1:13-14. Does this sound anything like Romans 7:18 - "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is , in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out"? It seems to me, the implication of Galatians 1 is that Paul demonstrating his own rightousness by carrying out the "right doing" of violently persecuting the church of God. How about Philippians 3? "If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more; circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; AS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS UNDER THE LAW, BLAMELESS." - Philippians 3:4-6. The implication of these verses has to be that this is how Paul saw himself when he was an unbeliever because in Romans 8:5 he says "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh". This is a far cry from "Wretched man that I AM!".

Comparing the verses that we know Paul is an unbeliever in, to the Romans 7 dilemma I think makes it pretty clear that Paul cannot be talking from before salvation.