But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all manner of covetousness. For without the law sin was dead.
All Commentaries on Romans 7:8 Go To Romans 7
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Not every sort of lust existed before the prohibition increased it. For since the prohibition increases lust when the Deliverer’s grace is missing, it is clear that not all lust existed beforehand. But when, in the absence of grace, lust was forbidden, it grew so much that it reached its own kind of completeness, to the point that it appeared in opposition to the law and added criminal offense to the transgression. When Paul says: “Apart from the law sin lies dead,” he does not mean that it does not exist but rather that it lies hidden. He makes this clear [in verse ]. The law is therefore good, but without grace it only reveals sins; it does not take them away.
