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Romans 8:1-2 says,
“There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law
of the Spirit of life has set you free in
Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
What is the law of sin and
death?
To understand what Paul meant by “the
law of sin and death” we have to
look at what he said earlier in the book of
Romans. Sin was in the world before the law
was given. Romans 5:13-14 says, “for sin
indeed was in the world before the law was
given, but sin is not counted where there is
no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over those whose sinning was not
like the transgression of Adam, who was a
type of the one who was to come.”
Sin
was not imputed until the Law of Moses was
given. Imputed means “to charge to one’s
account,” as by an entry made in a ledger.
In other words, sin was present in the world
from Adam to Moses, but God did not keep an
account of sins before the giving of the Law
because there was no written Law to obey or disobey.
Paul was not saying that people were
guiltless without the law, because he had
already said that those without the written
law are still judged by God (Rom. 2:12).
Since people still died they were still
guilty as a consequence of Adam’s sin. They
had transgressed the universal moral
principles written on their hearts and minds
before the Law was given at Mount Sinai
(Rom. 2).
Once God gave the law it
actually increased sin. Romans 5:20 says,
“Now the law came in to increase the
trespass, but where sin increased, grace
abounded all the more.” The Law magnified
sin and was added to point out the need for
our redemption. The law made sin even more
sinful by revealing what sin is in contrast
to God’s holiness. The Law given on Mount
Sinai was meant to make Israel more aware of
their own sinfulness and inability to keep
God’s perfect standards and served as a
tutor to lead them to Christ and his
righteousness (Rom. 7:1-7; Gal. 3:21-24).
Some people teach the
“two law” theory. They believe that
there were two separate laws, or covenants
that God gave to Moses for the nation of
Israel to keep. They say the Ten
Commandments and the ceremonial laws were
two separate and distinct laws or
agreements. Romans 7:1-7 says that the law
is no longer binding on us, “having died to
that which held us captive, so that we serve
in the new way of the Spirit and not in the
old way of the written code.” The written
code was made obsolete by the New Covenant
(2 Cor. 3:1-11; Heb. 8:6-13).
What law
is Paul talking about in Romans 7?
At conversion, believers die to the law
(Rom. 7:4), with the result that they are
now able to serve in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
They have a new life in the Holy
Spirit, not in the old way of the letter,
the old way of trying to gain life by means
of keeping the law.
Romans 7:6 says,
“But now we are released from the law,
having died to that which held us captive,
so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit and not in the old way of the written
code.” The passage clearly says that we no
longer live by the “written code”. Which law
is the written code? Romans 7:7 says it was
the law from the Ten Commandments that said, “You shall not covet.”
(Exod. 20:17; Deut. 5:21).
From Romans 7:1-7, there can be no
mistaking that the law Christians are to die
to, the law of the written code (2 Cor. 3:2-11), is the Ten Commandments
along with all of the other Old Covenant
laws. Romans 7:6 is perfectly clear, “we are
released from the law, having died to that
which held us captive, so that we can serve
in the new way of the Spirit and not in the
old way of the written code.”
The Ten
Commandments are the only set of laws ever referred
to as the Old Covenant because they
represent the entire covenant. Deuteronomy 4:13
says, “And he declared to you his covenant,
which he commanded you to perform, that is,
the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on
two tablets of stone.” So when the New
Testament says the Old Covenant is obsolete,
it is saying that the Ten Commandments, and every
other law contained in the covenant is
obsolete (Exod. 34:28;
Rom. 7:1-7; 10:4; Heb. 7:12-18; 8:13-9:4; 2 Cor. 3:11).
What is the curse of the Law?
The Bible tells us what the curse of the
Law is in Galatians 3:10, “For all who rely
on works of the law are under a curse; for
it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does
not abide by all things written in the Book
of the Law, and do them.”
The curse
is the penalty for not keeping God’s Law
perfectly. The Law is holy, but we are not
(Rom. 7:12). Both Paul and James tell us
that everyone who does not keep the Law
perfectly is under a curse for breaking it
(Gal. 3:10; James 2:10; cf. Deut. 27:26).
The problem we have is no one can
obey the Old Covenant Law perfectly. There
were 613 laws in the covenant and if a
person broke anyone of those laws they came
under the law’s condemnation and received
the curse. And since we have all broken the
Law, we are all under the curse.
When we try to achieve salvation
through obedience to the Law we actually
bring the Law’s condemnation and wrath upon
us.
The good news is that
Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law by becoming a curse for us.
Galatians 3:11-14 says, “Now it is evident
that no one is justified before God by the
law, for “The righteous shall live by
faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather
“The one who does them shall live by them.”
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us — for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged
on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the
blessing of Abraham might come to the
Gentiles, so that we might receive the
promised Spirit through faith.”
Romans 3:25-26 says that Christ was put
“forward as a propitiation by his blood, to
be received by faith. This was to show God’s
righteousness, because in his divine
forbearance he had passed over former sins.
It was to show his righteousness at the
present time, so that he might be just and
the justifier of the one who has faith in
Jesus.”
Christ satisfied God’s justice by
dying in our place and made a complete
atonement for our transgressions.
Paul gave
two explanations for why Christ’s death
brought about God’s righteousness. The first
was to show that God is just but that he
willingly passed over our former sins. The
second purpose was for God to demonstrate
His righteousness and His authority to grant
justification to sinners who put their trust
in Jesus.
Despite
the fact that we did not deserve it, the
curse of the Law was placed on Christ in
order for the righteousness of God to be
applied to us (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ kept the Law perfectly
so that we could be reconciled to God. When
we accept Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf,
God transforms us into a new creation
through His Spirit who indwells us.
When a person becomes a new creation, they
receive the benefits of being restored by
Christ into what God originally intended for
them to be (Gen. 1:26; 1 Cor. 15:45-49). When a believer becomes a new
creation their life will change because they
are being transformed more and more everyday
into Christ’s likeness (2 Cor. 3:18).
Instead of living for themselves, they can
begin to live for Christ in ways that
striving to keep the law could never achieve.
2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “and he
died for all, that those who live might no
longer live for themselves but for him who
for their sake died and was raised.”
Christians no longer
live according to the flesh, rather, they
have the Spirit of God living inside them
who empowers them to live in ways that are
pleasing to God.
The Law no
longer has the power to condemn us!
1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, that we might
die to sin and live to righteousness. By his
wounds you have been healed.”
And Romans 8:1-4 says, “There
is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the
Spirit of life has set you free in Christ
Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God
has done what the law, weakened by the
flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,
he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that
the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
It is hard for someone who is still
living in their flesh to accept the fact
that when they try to keep the law they
actually come under the curse and fail
miserably. But the good news is that Jesus
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
and became a curse for us so that we could
be reconciled to God and have eternal life
by putting our trust in what Christ has
already accomplished for us through the
cross (John 3:16, 36; 11:25;
Rom. 6:23; 10:13).
When we put our trust in Jesus Christ
alone and
the work He has done for us we are reconciled to God.
Romans 5:6-11 says, “You see, at just
the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very
rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone might possibly
dare to die. But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have
now been justified by his blood, how much
more shall we be saved from God’s wrath
through him! For if, when we were God’s
enemies, we were reconciled to him through
the death of his Son, how much more, having
been reconciled, shall we be saved through
his life! Not only is this so, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.” (NIV)
The Greek word for reconciled is “katallássō.”
It means “to change. To reconcile. Used of
the divine work of redemption denoting that
act of redemption insofar as God Himself is
concerned by taking upon Himself our sin and
becoming an atonement. Thus a relationship
of peace with mankind is established which
was hitherto prevented by the demands of His
justice.” [1]
Romans 6:4-7 says, “We were therefore buried
with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, we too
may live a new life. If we have been united
with him like this in his death, we will
certainly also be united with him in his
resurrection. For we know that our old self
was crucified with him so that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone
who has died has been freed from sin.” (NIV)
Because
believers are united with Jesus both in His
death and resurrection, they participate in
the new creation. They receive the benefits
of being restored by Christ to what God had
originally created them to be (Gen. 1:26;
1 Cor. 15:45-49; 2 Cor. 5:16-21).
Lost people need to hear that their
sins can be forgiven! Once we understand that
our salvation is sure because it is all
rooted in what Christ accomplished for us;
we will want to share the good news with
those around us.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you
confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved. For it
is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that
you confess and are saved.” (NIV)
People need to know how simple the gospel
is! People need to understand that salvation is not achieved through human
efforts but comes by God’s grace alone,
through faith in Christ alone, when
we are born again by the power of God’s
indwelling Spirit who transforms us into
Christ’s image
(Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 8:9; 12:1-2; Titus 3:5;
1 Cor. 6:19).
“We are Christ’s
representatives on earth. We speak for the
King of heaven, or rather let Him speak
through us. Our message is clear: be
reconciled to God through faith in Jesus
Christ! Evangelism is not an option; it is
our primary role as Christians.”
[2]
Christ wants
to redeem us! Christ wants us to stop
trusting in our good works, and start
trusting in His merits alone.
Remember what John 3:16-18 says, “For
God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world
through him. Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not
believed in the name of God’s one and only
Son.” (NIV)
When we are in Christ, we
are set free from the Law to live by the
Spirit without fear of condemnation. When we
are in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and
lives inside of us and begins to mold us
into Christ’s likeness. And when we are in
Christ, we can have the assurance that we
will be with God for all time.
Do
you want to be set free from the curse of
the law, which is the law of sin and
death? There are only two roads that lead to
eternal life; one is to keep the law
perfectly, something the Bible says no one can
do, and the other way is to accept
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and
walk according to His Spirit (John 3:6;
Gal. 5:25; Rom. 8:14).
Matthew 7:14
says, “But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.” (NIV)
Which
road to eternal life do you choose?
References:
1. The Complete
Word Study Dictionary, The - New Testament:
“katallássō.”
2. The Disciple’s
Study Bible: 2 Corinthians 5:20.
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