Romans 7:9-13
9 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me. 12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” 13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”
When the commandment came: Paul is not arguing that the commandment came while Paul was alive. Of course, it came during the life of Moses. But Paul is telling his story, his experience, with the law. Paul is simply explaining what the law did to him. While he tried to keep it, the law ultimately killed him because he couldn’t keep it.
Result in life: Paul and his Jewish contemporaries thought that the law would result it life. But Paul now knows that the Old Covenant was a ministry of death (see also 2 Corinthians 3:7). The law ultimately killed Paul. In contemporary language, we may think that certain Christian activities result in life. Perhaps we need to have a daily quiet time or make sure we pray a certain amount each day. However, such actions do not produce life within us. And if we make them into Christian laws, we will find ourselves not wanting to participate.
Cause of death: The law did not actually kill Paul. We know that Paul and all people were born spiritually dead (Romans 5:12). But the law showed his death. This is important evidence to suggest that this is not speaking of the normal Christian life. People cannot be spiritually dead and be Christians.
