Romans 7:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.

NIV: But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

NASB: But sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

CSB: And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead.

NLT: But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.

KJV: But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

NKJV: But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

Paul has rejected the claims of his critics that he believes the law itself to be sinful. Instead, he wrote in the previous verse that the law introduced him to sin. He learned, in a formal sense, what it means to covet another person's possessions from the law of Moses (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Now he describes how sin took advantage of that command to cause him to become covetous.

Two ideas are at work here. One is that human beings are naturally rebellious in our sinfulness. As soon as we hear about a legal restriction, we want to break it. The very existence of a law provokes us to want to sinfully cross that line. In that sense, the mere existence of the law is something our sin nature will use to encourage us to sin.

The other idea is this: God's law shines a spotlight into our hearts that allows us to discover the existence of sins we didn't even know about before. They were still sins, and they were still in our hearts, but the law reveals them to us. This relates to Paul's earlier comments about how without a law there is no "trespass," though there is still sin. With this in mind, Paul concludes the verse with a simple, profound statement: Apart from the law, sin lies dead. As Paul wrote in chapter 5, "sin is not counted [recognized] when there is no law" (Romans 5:13). Sin exists whether the law is known, or not, but knowing the law both highlights and, in some ways, tempts us with respect to sin.

Romans 7:7–25 explores the relationship between the law of Moses and human sin. Paul insists that the law is how he came to know and understand sin, in general, and his own sin specifically. He also explains how knowing the law does not make a person holier; it can actually tempt us to sin even more! Paul changes his perspective in this passage, speaking in a first-person-here-and-now manner, as a Christian, wanting to do what is right and finding himself doing what is sinful instead. Paul recognized his natural inability to do right and realized his need to be delivered from sin by God through Jesus.

In Romans 7, Paul describes the relationship between Christians and law of Moses and between the law and human sinfulness. Because we died spiritually when we came to faith in Christ, Christians have been freed from our obligation to follow the law. Paul insists, though, that the law is holy and good in the sense that it reveals to all who try to follow it just how very sinful we are. The law shows us that no matter how good our intentions, we still end up in sin and in need of the deliverance available only through faith in Jesus.

Romans 6 revealed that those in Christ have died to sin and are no longer slaves to it. Romans 7 begins by showing that, in Christ, we have also died to our obligation to follow the law of Moses. Paul makes clear, though, that the law is holy and good because it reveals to us just how sinful we are. Paul describes how his failed attempts to follow the law convinced him more fully of his need to be delivered from his sinfulness by God through faith in Christ. Romans 8 will explore many of the benefits of being in Christ.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.