Romans 7:13

Romans 7:13. Did then that which is good, i.e., did the commandment itself, which was ‘good,' designed for beneficial results, become death unto me. This the Apostle denies: The law itself was neither sin (Romans 7:7) nor the cause of death.

But sin; sin became death unto me.

That it might appear sin. This was the design, namely, that it might be shown to be what it really is; compare the last clause.

Working death to me through that which is good. This was the mode in which sin was made to appear sin: by making use of what is good to produce death in men, it reveals more fully its own hideous character. ‘As it is the sovereign right of good to overrule evil results for good, so it is the curse of sin to pervert the effects of what is good to evil' (from Lange).

That sin, etc. This clause is parallel to the preceding one, expressing again the purpose.

Through the commandment, i.e., ‘ that which is good.'

Exceeding sinful. ‘Such is the design of the law, so far as the salvation of sinners is concerned. It does not prescribe the conditions of salvation.' Neither is the law the means of sanctification. It cannot make us holy. On the contrary, its operation is to excite and exasperate sin to render its power more dreadful and destructive' (Hodge). Because this is so true, it seems unlikely that what immediately follows is the distinctive experience of a Christian.