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.
It’s absolutely revolutionary! Paul’s words completely uproot common conceptions of religious devoutness.
Religious efforts in Paul’s day (and our own) looked like attempting to follow the law and adhere to its requirements.* The law, however, could not solve the sin problem — it simply highlighted sin and revealed transgression.* It could not bring salvation from it. This is the reality.
The revolution comes in how the problem was solved: God.
The God whom we attempted to serve well through the law (but failed) came down and did it for us! In fact, He did not just do it for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but He continues to do it for us!
The law no longer has a hold on the believer as the believer is dead with Christ, thus the believer is dead to the law.* This allows the believer to be married to Christ! This new arrangement calls the believer to live according to the Spirit. The service Jesus demands is a thing of the spirit, demanding the involvement of our human spirit, but we cannot live it without the help of the Spirit of God!* The Spirit of God aids us in serving God well!
This new life of living according to the Spirit is a new freedom! The free person, however, is not free to sin, but free to wholeheartedly live as a slave to Christ.* The free person now may serve God with all that they are.
Live the revolution!
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to stop allowing the law to beat you up, but instead turn to Him in wholehearted service. Perhaps today God wants you to step out of the religious norms of “doing enough” and step into the relational posture of loving and serving God with everything.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 296–297). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 172–173). InterVarsity Press;
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 275–276). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (p. 220). Zondervan Publishing House.