Romans 7:11

11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

Romans 7:11 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 7:11

For sin taking occasion by the commandment
As in ( Romans 7:8 ) ,

deceived me;
either by promising pleasure or impunity: the same effect is ascribed by the Jews to the evil imagination or corruption of nature, which they say is called an enticer, (Mda htpmv) , "that deceives man" ^F7:

and by it slew me;
mortally wounded me: not the law, but sin by the law, deceived and slew him; so that as before, the law is cleared from being the cause of sin, so here, from being the cause of death; for though the law is a killing letter, the ministration of condemnation and death, yet it is not the cause of it; but sin, which is a transgression of the law, is that which deceives or leads out of the way, as the word signifies, and then kills. The metaphor is taken from a thief or a robber, who leads a man out of the way into some bypath, and then murders him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 141. 3. & 150. 1.

Romans 7:11 In-Context

9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,

10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.

11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.