The freedom found in Romans 8

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

The life-altering announcement of “no condemnation” rings in our ears from verse 1 and now it only gets better. FREEDOM – Free from the law of sin and death. FREEDOM – when in the past all I knew was the law and my short-comings in fulfilling it. FREEDOM – not of my own doing but freedom that comes in the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ.

It reminds me of one of my favorite songs:

There is a wall that has been standing, since the day that Adam fell
Sin is where it started, and Sin is why it held
Speaking as a prisoner, who was there and lived to tell
I remember how it fell ….
This is how it feels to be free. This is what it means to know that I am forgiven

 

The law has its role. It shows me the holiness of God. It reveals my sin. It reminds me time and again of my need for something that is not in me. It hits me again and again with legal evidence

that I need Jesus Christ. The law was never intended to be transformative; it can’t bring life and it cannot save. The law serves its purpose as God intended it to.

One of the things I like to do when I have a day off and the weather is nice is wash our family car. We have a black car so everything shows up. It’s true that there’s nothing like a dirty black car; and on the flip side there is nothing like a shiny clean black finish sparkling in the sun. It looks great when it’s been washed. There is something I’ve noticed though after all my work on the outside of the car – I find out time after time that my girls like touching the windows while we travel. How do I know? The sun shines down and once the outside is clean starts to show the dirty little secrets on the inside.

The law is like the light that shines on my newly washed car and reveals that little fingers love touching the windows. Smudges, finger-printed drawings and follow-up attempts to erase away evidence of the forbidden crime are now revealed for all to see. Not cool. I hear the echoes of my instructive speeches even now. For my kids the echo sounds more like the teacher from the Snoopy cartoons, “Blah, BLAH, blah-blah-blah.”

It’s important to remember what the problem is. The problem is not the law; it’s not the sun that revealed the life-smudges. The sun didn’t do it, the law didn’t do it. It only revealed what had taken place. The sun reveals a window that needs attention, and the law reveals a life that needs help. Not self-help; but Savior-help. That new law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees me from the guilt of sin and its ultimate end, death. FREEEDOM, set free to live in Christ and for Christ eternally.

• So which law do we live under: the law of sin and death or the law of the Spirit of life in Christ?
• Can we let the law reveal and let the Spirit of life in Christ reign?
• Why not continue to be amazed at all that true life in Christ does in us rather than trying to force law imposed change?
• Wasn’t that why the New Covenant was given?

Have you worshipped the Lord lately in light of the fact he has set us free?