John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 8. But sin taking occasion by the commandment , etc..] By the commandment is meant, either the whole moral law, or that particular commandment, thou shalt not covet, ( Exodus 20:17), which, the Jews say, comprehends all; God, (say they f125 ,) caused them (the Israelites) to hear the ten words, which he concluded with this word, thou shalt not covet; wb ywlt lwk , for all of them depend on that: and to intimate, that whoever keeps this commandment, it is as if he kept the whole law, and whoever transgresses this, it is all one as if he transgressed the whole law; and no doubt but it does refer to any unlawful thought of, desire after, and inclination to anything forbidden in the other commandments. By sin is meant, not the devil, as some of the ancients thought; but the vitiosity and corruption of nature, indwelling sin, the law in the members that took occasion by the law of God; so that the law at most could only be an occasion, not the cause of sin, and besides, this was an occasion not given by the law, but taken by sin; so that it was sin, and not the law, which wrought in [him] all manner of concupiscence . The law forbidding every unclean thought, and covetous desire of unlawful objects, sin took an occasion through these prohibitions to work in him, stir up and excite concupiscence, evil desire after all manner of things forbidden by the law; hence it is clear that not the law, but sin, is exceeding sinful: for without the law sin was dead ; not that, before the law of Moses was given, sin lay dead and unexerted, for during that interval between Adam and Moses sin was, and lived and reigned, and death by it, as much as at any other time; but when the apostle was without the law, that is, without the knowledge of the spirituality of it, before it came with power and light into his heart and conscience, sin lay as though it was dead; it was so in his apprehension, he fancied himself free from it, and that he was perfectly righteous.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 7-13 - There is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin, which is necessar to repentance, and therefore to peace and pardon, but by trying ou hearts and lives by the law. In his own case the apostle would not have known the sinfulness of his thoughts, motives, and actions, but by the law. That perfect standard showed how wrong his heart and life were proving his sins to be more numerous than he had before thought, but it did not contain any provision of mercy or grace for his relief. He is ignorant of human nature and the perverseness of his own heart, wh does not perceive in himself a readiness to fancy there is somethin desirable in what is out of reach. We may perceive this in ou children, though self-love makes us blind to it in ourselves. The mor humble and spiritual any Christian is, the more clearly will he perceive that the apostle describes the true believer, from his firs convictions of sin to his greatest progress in grace, during thi present imperfect state. St. Paul was once a Pharisee, ignorant of the spirituality of the law, having some correctness of character, withou knowing his inward depravity. When the commandment came to his conscience by the convictions of the Holy Spirit, and he saw what is demanded, he found his sinful mind rise against it. He felt at the sam time the evil of sin, his own sinful state, that he was unable to fulfil the law, and was like a criminal when condemned. But though the evil principle in the human heart produces sinful motions, and the mor by taking occasion of the commandment; yet the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good. It is not favourable to sin, which i pursues into the heart, and discovers and reproves in the inwar motions thereof. Nothing is so good but a corrupt and vicious natur will pervert it. The same heat that softens wax, hardens clay. Food of medicine when taken wrong, may cause death, though its nature is to nourish or to heal. The law may cause death through man's depravity but sin is the poison that brings death. Not the law, but sin discovered by the law, was made death to the apostle. The ruinou nature of sin, and the sinfulness of the human heart, are here clearl shown.
Greek Textus Receptus
αφορμην 874 N-ASF δε 1161 CONJ λαβουσα 2983 5631 V-2AAP-NSF η 3588 T-NSF αμαρτια 266 N-NSF δια 1223 PREP της 3588 T-GSF εντολης 1785 N-GSF κατειργασατο 2716 5662 V-ADI-3S εν 1722 PREP εμοι 1698 P-1DS πασαν 3956 A-ASF επιθυμιαν 1939 N-ASF χωρις 5565 ADV γαρ 1063 CONJ νομου 3551 N-GSM αμαρτια 266 N-NSF νεκρα 3498 A-NSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Sin. Personified.Occasion (aformhn). Emphatic, expressing the relation of the law to sin. The law is not sin, but sin found occasion in the law. Used only by Paul. See 2 Cor. v. 12; Gal. v. 13; 1 Tim. v. 14. The verb ajformaw means to make a start from a place. Aformh is therefore primarily a starting-point, a base of operations. The Lacedaemonians agreed that Peloponnesus would be ajformhn iJkanhn a good base of operations (Thucydides, i., 90). Thus, the origin, cause, occasion, or pretext of a thing; the means with which one begins. Generally, resources, as means of war, capital in business. Here the law is represented as furnishing sin with the material or ground of assault, "the fulcrum for the energy of the evil principle." Sin took the law as a base of operations. Wrought (kateirgasato). The compound verb with kata down through always signifies the bringing to pass or accomplishment. See ch. ii. 9; 1 Corinthians v. 3; 2 Cor. vii. 10. It is used both of evil and good. See especially vers. 15, 17, 18, 20. "To man everything forbidden appears as a desirable blessing; but yet, as it is forbidden, he feels that his freedom is limited, and now his lust rages more violently, like the waves against the dyke" (Tholuck).
Dead. Not active.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
7:8 {Finding occasion} (aformen labousa). See #2Co 5:12; 11:12; Ga 5:13 for aformen, a starting place from which to rush into acts of Sin, excuses for doing what they want to do. Just so drinking men use the prohibition laws as "occasions" for violating them. {Wrought in me} (kateirgasato en emoi). First aorist active middle indicative of the intensive verb katergazomai, to work out (to the finish), effective aorist. The command not to lust made me lust more. {Dead} (nekra). Inactive, not non-existent. Sin in reality was there in a dormant state.
