For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
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Interpretation
There is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin, which is necessary to repentance, and therefore to peace and pardon, but by trying our hearts and lives by the law. In his own case the apostle would not have known the sinfulness of his thoughts, motives, and actions, but by the law.
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This thought runs through Romans 7:7-11.