We Still Choose to Live Under the Law of Sin & Death (Part 2)

And then came Jesus

This is part two of a blog discussing how most Christians today still don’t choose to live from the spirit of God. Please read part 1 first.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.Romans 8:1-4

Jesus did several absolutely crucial things to us through all of his work.

He forgave us all our sinsColossians 2:13

Unfortunately the forgiveness of sins is the only thing we ever hear about. However it is crucial. All sins have been atoned for in the same way that it was done under the law of Moses. This means that all the death that comes from the law of sin and death we are spared from. Jesus didn’t stop there though. As I’ve said before, would a God as good as ours just leave you there in your sin? Sure he forgave your sins but does he force you to remain that way until he comes back? no, he doesn’t.

Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been reconciled to God.

we were reconciled to him through the death of his SonRomans 5:10

Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.Romans 5:11

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation2 Corinthians 5:18

Through Jesus’ sacrifice we are also cleansed of our sins. He takes away the damage and filth that comes from sin.

the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.1John 1:7

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to deathHebrews 9:14

Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been delivered from the tyranny of the part of us in bondage to sin.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.Romans 6:5-7

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.Galatians 2:20

Through the resurrection of Christ we now have life, the life of Jesus within us.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with ChristEphesians 2:4-5

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.Romans 6:4

We are far more than just forgiven our sins. We have been saved from the bondage of sin and brought to life through Gods spirit.

I find too many people speaking about forgiveness as the main and only thing Jesus did. I believe that secretly this is a way to be absolved from any responsibility. We are all broken but God forgave us so its okay. To those people they may not care about upholding Gods law, but they are still subject to the law of sin and death.

A lot of people love to use Romans 7 as a proof text explaining that we are all filthy and will always be under the bondage of sin because even Paul wasn’t always free of it.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?Romans 7:14-24

We totally forget the next chapter is inseparable from this one. What Paul says next makes everything make sense.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.Romans 8:1-3

I don’t believe that Paul was at all saying that he is still in this state fighting and losing, continually sinning. He was expressing his state when he was still under the law. If you are truly saved through Christ, you are no longer forced to obey sin, you have freedom. I think most of us haven’t really accepted that freedom and truly crucified our flesh like Paul has.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.Romans 6:6-7

The old self is dead. If you’re still living in constant sin then maybe you never actually crucified the old self.

We are still living under the law of sin and death

for the longest time I never understood the importance of the spirit. I assumed that when I was baptized, the spirit just comes and I don’t really have to do anything to get the benefits of it. That’s not true. We have to accept these benefits and understand what Jesus has done for us. If we are not saturated in that truth we can’t have that freedom. We get all these things but we are still damaged from sin and we are granted healing from the work of Christ but we need allow God to come in and heal the places in our hearts that are still broken. In that process, we become more and more sanctified and gain more and more freedom each wound that is healed.

Chances are around 99% of you reading this haven’t even begun this process and even though you have been saved, you’re still trying to be good moral people based only on struggling with your flesh which we know will never work. We love to say that Gods still working on me but how often are we blocking his ability to work on us? We cant assume that God is growing us because that requires both of you to be fully invested in the process.

fruits of the spirit

Let’s look at the fruits of the spirit. What does a christian look like that is full of the spirit of God?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.Galatians 5:19-25

We often view the fruits of the spirit as a cute little list of things that Paul says we should be doing. I don’t ever hear it represented the way Paul is using it. These are things that we get when we are one with the spirit of God. This is not a list of things you need to be doing but what you start doing naturally if you are connected to the spirit. You don’t have to force yourself to be good and do these things. It’s a part of your nature. Sin over time becomes something that makes us ill to think about. It ceases to be a struggle at all. Every day you don’t have to make a conscious choice to be patient and kind, its just your default setting. This is why Paul is frustrated with those that go on sinning. It means that you haven’t moved to maturity through submission to the spirit.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.Romans 6:1-14

One of the things I do every morning in my prayer comes strait from this passage. I offer every part of my being as an instrument of righteousness to God. This among other things is part of the process to gaining holiness. You may look at all this and think yeah well I have most of the fruits of the spirit most of the time and I sin every one in a while but I’m doing pretty good.

Can you honestly say that you’re better today than you were last year? Are you growing and naturally reflecting more of the fruits of the spirit or are you simply yelling at yourself more for all the things you should be doing?

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?1 Corinthians 3:1-3

The only explanation for that kind of stagnation that is all over the church is that we are not living from the spirit but staying in the same place like a hamster on a wheel. Paul saw this at work in the Galatians and clearly felt strongly about it.

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!Galatians 5:2-12

Jeez Paul. They should emasculate themselves? Yeah really. Make no mistake. There is a special place in hell for those that twist the truth. Those that are trying to be justified through the law have fallen away from grace. That’s the definition of being lost. People who choose to live that way are as damned as the rest of the world, Ouch. This stuff is as serious as it gets.

We all need to take a hard look and ask if we’re truly living through Gods spirit or if in good intention and passion still chasing after God with our whole flesh which is incapable of submitting to him.

I will soon be adding yet another part to this series discussing what I have done to gain at least a marginal amount of freedom through the spirit. Keep an eye out for it.

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