Skip to reading
Atomic Bible
Romans 7:8
But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.
from God’s Law Is Holy, Romans 7:7-12
What it says

Sin, seizing the commandment as its opportunity, produced every kind of covetous desire in him. Apart from the law, sin is dead.

What it is doing

This verse names sin’s opportunism: it uses a good commandment as its springboard.

In context

7What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 8But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death. 11For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.