Free from the Law of Sin

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

A person cannot be dead and alive at the same time. The believer has died to the flesh and has become a new creation in Christ with new life. That life is provided through the shed blood of Jesus and is protected through the indwelling of the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:12-14 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

The word sealed means “stamped for security or preservation” in the Greek.

The believer is no longer ruled by the sin nature he inherited from Adam. He is empowered through the Spirit to gain victory over sin.

Romans 8:3-4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

One purpose of the law was to guide us into righteous living. It provided loving guidelines, but had no power to help us obey those guidelines. Obedience was subject to the flesh, the choice of the person as to whether to obey or not. There is a verse in chapter 7 that gives insight in this area.

Romans 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

“concupiscence” = a longing for what is forbidden, desire; lust

“taking occasion by the commandment” – I think the best way to explain this is to think about the general response of one who has been forbidden something. The more we are told we shouldn’t do something; the more we want to do it. Isn’t that finally what got Eve into trouble. We’ll do our best to justify why we should do exactly what we have been forbidden to do. Any parent can testify to this common human reaction.

So what Paul is saying is that his sin nature produced in him a stronger and stronger desire to do exactly what he knew he shouldn’t. Through the law God was providing a fence of protection to avoid unnecessary trouble and pain in our lives.

In His great mercy God decided to make a way for us to be able to fulfill the righteousness of the law. He sent “His own Son” to earth as a man. The word likeness means “resemblance, similar.” He was born without the sin nature inherited through Adam (just like Adam was first created); He was born the seed of the woman—not the man.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

“for” sin – through (all over); (to “pierce”); through (as adverb or preposition), i.e. across:—beyond, farther (other) side, over.

I was a bit surprised when I looked up this word. It seems to be saying that God’s Son, Jesus, was sent in the flesh to get man beyond the reach of sin, to “pierce” the sin nature. How? By condemning sin in the flesh through His victorious life of righteousness and obedience. He was tempted in every way that we are tempted; He can truly empathize with every struggle or sorrow or frustration or (fill in the blank) with which we are confronted in this life. Yet, He responded in victory—never yielding to sin.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Through His willing sacrifice on the cross and glorious resurrection, we (believers) can now experience victory over our own sin nature. Our choice is to walk, live our life, in obedience to the guidance of the Spirit of God that indwells us. Our desire is to live so as to reflect the character of Jesus and the righteousness of the law.

Again, there is a wealth of truth in these three verses.