I don't know about you, but sometimes when I read passages within the letters of Paul I end up more confused than when I went in. That fact only becomes exasperated by parenthetical comments within the passage where Paul says, "I’m speaking with ordinary metaphors because of your limitations." (v.19)
Ordinary metaphors for whom?
It might help to understand that the letter to the Romans is thought to be the last letter Paul wrote. He is planning to go on a trip to Rome to ask for money to travel, and he has to ask for money from people he's never met. The church in Rome was not a centralized entity yet and instead was a conglomeration of little churches spread throughout the countryside. Paul could only write one letter and so writes that letter as middle of the road as he can. These things all combine to make scholars say that the letter to the Romans is probably Paul's most theologically mature writings.
That being said, Paul is trying not to offend anyone with his words, but can't help be his passionate exhortist self.
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So, just what is Paul trying to say in this passage? His message really is simple - live your lives in such a way as to follow the pattern of Jesus Christ's life as set forth in his teachings. Don't be held to the strictness of laws, or rules, or demands which cause a division among yourselves. Instead, hold yourself to living a life with compassion towards those in need, justice for the oppressed, and unconditional acceptance of who people are and where people are in their life.
Why Paul couldn't have just said it that way, I don't know. But then, Paul wouldn't be as interesting to read if he really spoke with metaphors we can understand, would he?
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