11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. (Romans 7:11 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
As if Apostle Paul had said, “ Sin, or the corruption of my heart and nature, being stirred up by the commandment which forbids lust and condemns it, enticed me, and persuaded me, and prevailed over me to yield to the lusts of my own heart, and then condemned me, and slew men for yielding to them.”
See here the true and genuine nature of sin: it first deceives and then destroys: It deceived me, says the apostle, and then slew me. Sin does perfectly besot the creature and renders it injudicious: it befools and deceives us, it pollutes and defiles us, it does debase and degrade us, and, without repentance, damns and destroys.
God keep us from being hardened in sinning through the deceitfulness of sin; let no profit tempt us, no pleasure entice us, no power embolden us, no privacy encourage us to adventure upon any known sin; for its embraces are deadly, it leads to death, and ends in death; after it has deceived us, it certainly destroys us, Sin taking occasion, deceived me, and by it slew me.