Romans 7:8

"But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead" (Romans 7:8 RSV).

Comment:

You cited the King James Version of this passage, which reads, "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead." I find the RSV translation above to be more helpful. The major difference, of course ,is the question of covetousness versus concupiscence. (I confess I had to look up the latter word to be sure I knew its meaning.)

Paul is writing to Rome in advance of his planned trip there to encourage the Christians already there to receive him and his teachings. Remember, this is long before there was any conformity in the Christian faith. Beliefs—especially about the nature of Jesus Christ—varied widely from one part of the Mediterranean basin to another. Paul uses his letter to Romans to set forth his own understanding of the meaning and message of Jesus. In Chapter 7, he is addressing the question of whether adherence to the Law of the Hebrew scriptures is necessary once one has understood and accepted the Christ. Paul taught that the new consciousness that Jesus brought and demonstrated in effect supersedes the tradition of the Law. The Law, Paul writes, served the purpose of guiding us to Christ Consciousness,and kept us under control while we were on the path. But that doesn't mean that any and all behavior is now acceptable. The very idea of 'sin' only exists in opposition to the Law; it is the Law itself that creates 'sin' by defining unacceptable behavior. There is no sin in Christ Consciousness because we will intuitively choose only the Good. This was not a widely held belief at the time, and indeed the Church as it developed held firmly to the idea of 'sin' as bad behavior.  

So the Law, in effect, creates the idea of sin, and Christ Consciousness frees us from fear-based choices based on obedience to the Law. When we are in complete Christ Consciousness we make choices—often the same choices—out of love. We don't kill, for example, not because the Law tells us not to, but because our innate Christ Nature that sees only love makes the very idea impossible.

Blessings! Rev. Ed