Romans 7:8-10 - Living sin

7:8

The Law brought sin alive. Being told not to covet produced in Paul the desire to covet. Sin is almost alive. We need to realise that sin is not just something we do, it is something we become, and is an active entity and without Christ we are enslaved to it. Apart from the Law, sin is dead. We need to understand that the fundamental feature of the Law is that it comes from God, from the heart of God. So it energises the rebellious nature within.

7:9

It is difficult to know exactly what Paul means when he says I was once alive apart from the Law. Perhaps he means that before he knew about the Law he was alive. Then he learnt about the Law. Far from setting him free or giving him life, it brought death, for it made him aware of what sin was. So he became more aware of his sinfulness, and the sin within him became all the more active. So he died. As an aside, there are debates regarding earlier chapters about whether death is physical or spiritual. Here Paul must be speaking about spiritual death.

7:10

Now the Law promised life yet it produced death. There is a fundamental point here, one which Paul will say more about shortly. The Law is good, there is nothing wrong about its commands. Some no longer apply, such as the ceremonial and sacrificial ones, but the morality and spirit of the Law is good. If a man, or a nation, had been able to fully keep the Law they would indeed have found life.