For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Truth to Learn
Sin is deceptive and causes separation between us and God.
Behind the Words
“Taking occasion” is translated from aphormē. This is a compound word made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and hormē, meaning “an onset or an impetus.” When put together we get a word that means “an opportunity or casual circumstance producing a tendency toward something else.”
The word translated “deceived” is a form of the Greek word exapataō, which is another compound word. This one is made up of ek, used as an intensifier and apataō, meaning “to seduce or deceive.” Hence exapataō means “to deceive completely, to beguile, to seduce” or “to lead out of the right way into error.” This is translated from the same word used in 2Corinthians 11:3 where it is rendered “beguiled” in reference to Satan,
But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness ….
Meaning Explained
This verse is almost a repeat of verse eight but with a slight variation. Whereas in verse eight Paul said that sin completely produced in him all kinds of lust, in this verse he says that it deceived him.
What Paul is saying is that his corrupt and rebellious tendencies being excited by the Law, led him astray causing him to sin in spite of himself. As a result of his sin, as he said before, he was killed spiritually; that is, he became spiritually separated from God.
Do you find that you sometimes feel deceived by your own inner tendencies? Do you find that you do things that you know are wrong but you do them anyway? In just a few verses we will see that Paul faced this same struggle and the resulting frustration at his inability to control his sinfulness.
The bottom line is that we all sin in this way. But thanks be to God, the Apostle John has told us what to do about it:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8,9)
Faithful means that God will always do it (forgive us), and just means that His righteousness requires Him to do it. When we sin, we turn away from God and walk another direction. When we confess our sins and repent, we turn around and begin walking with Him again.
Application
Are you struggling right now with, as the writer of Hebrews put it in Hebrews 12:1, that sin which so easily ensnares you? You are not alone, my friend. When sin deceives you and you realize it, simply confess it and get back in the race. Remember that God casts our sins away as far as the east is from the west, so each time we sin it is as if it is the first time to God. The only one who knows your sin history is you.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved
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