Romans 7:14-20

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:14-20, NIV

I've been studying the book of Romans the past few months and have been reading through John R.W. Stott's The Message of Romans. One of my favorite passages from Romans is 7:14-20 (above). However, I found myself disagree with Stott's view of this passage.

Stott states that since the person Paul refers to in this passage is still a slave to sin, unable to do what is good, that this person is only "half-saved": they love the law, but they lack the Holy Spirit. They are regenerate, but still under the Law.

First, since Paul here is writing in first person, I've always assumed that Paul is speaking of his own struggles, not telling the struggles of someone else through the first person. In fact, up until this point, Paul has easily described other's arguments without using the first person narrative. So I'm not sure why it's assumed that now he's still expressing the view of a third party, only using the first person.

Second, this passage has always brought great comfort to me. I always interpreted it as a Christian (this being Paul himself) who still faces the daily struggle of sin: yes, I want to do good, to follow Christ, but I still mess up. However, Stott throws this out, stating that the person Paul is describing isn't a mature Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He seems to imply that mature Christians don't struggle with, or become ensnared in, sin.

I agree, what's described isn't "normative" Christian life: we aren't slaves to sin in the sense that we have no power to reject and act contrary to our sin nature. However, we still retain a sin nature, and we can easily fall prey to our sinful desires that are part of our being human. While Christian life isn't marked by a constant struggle, there is a struggle present.

I'm not a "professional" Bible scholar, so maybe my interpretation is the faulty one, not Stott's. I just have trouble wrapping my head around the idea of being regenerated, but still under the law, and the term "half-saved" simply makes me twitch.