Romans 7 is a pretty complicated passage for me to read but here is what I boil it down to. Man has a sinful nature we cannot escape. It follows us, and plagues us. Part of the Christian journey is admitting and dealing with this fact. God recognized that laws alone were not going to save us from our sinful nature. In fact, laws even somewhat pulled our attention to the opportunities for sin that surround us.

Jesus came to set us free from our sin but still recognizing that a sinful nature is ours and will continue to be ours. But once we accept Christ as our savior, the Holy Spirit helps us in our quest to squash our sinful nature.

Anyone have anything else to share? While my above link is to The Message, I found the New Living Translation may be a little easier to understand.