Free from the law to belong to Christ
Free from the law to belong to Christ
Free from the law to belong to Christ
John Newton once wrote that at the bottom of most religious errors lies a misunderstanding about one's relationship to the law. As Christians we need to understand our relationship to the law. We are no longer under the law but under grace. The law is no longer a husband to us but we have been set free from it and now belong to another. We now have a new husband who speaks to us differently, not condemning us for our failures, but saving us by his grace.
But the law does continue to play a role. Paul tells us of one thing the law does really well, and one thing the law does really badly. The thing the law does really well is show us our sin, the thing the law does really badly is fix our sin and make us more righteous. The law works like a mirror, it judges us and shows us what we look like. The law is no good at making us look better. In fact Paul says that without the grace of God the law actually makes us worse. Vs 8 “But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.”
The solution to our sin is not the law, the solution is Jesus Christ. Rom 8:3-4 “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.”
If you are struggling with sin, don’t go to the law to fix it. Don’t put up around your house all the verses in the bible that tell you who evil your sin is and how you shouldn’t to it. Rather go to Christ and ask for grace to be forgiven and helped. With Him you will walk in the new way of the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13)
Bible Text: Romans 7:7-13 | Preacher: Ian Goodman | Series: Romans—The Greatest Letter Ever Written | John Newton once wrote that at the bottom of most religious errors lies a misunderstanding about one’s relationship to the law. As Christians we need to understand our relationship to the law. We are no longer under the law but under grace. The law is no longer a husband to us but we have been set free from it and now belong to another. We now have a new husband who speaks to us differently, not condemning us for our failures, but saving us by his grace.
But the law does continue to play a role. Paul tells us of one thing the law does really well, and one thing the law does really badly. The thing the law does really well is show us our sin, the thing the law does really badly is fix our sin and make us more righteous. The law works like a mirror, it judges us and shows us what we look like. The law is no good at making us look better. In fact Paul says that without the grace of God the law actually makes us worse. Vs 8 “But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.”
The solution to our sin is not the law, the solution is Jesus Christ. Rom 8:3-4 “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.”
If you are struggling with sin, don’t go to the law to fix it. Don’t put up around your house all the verses in the bible that tell you who evil your sin is and how you shouldn’t to it. Rather go to Christ and ask for grace to be forgiven and helped. With Him you will walk in the new way of the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13)