Romans 6:15-7:12
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 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. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Rev. Dwight Yoo
What it is (the law)
The values that the torah and God espouses are the same. It also includes traditions and rituals.
What the law can't do
It cannot make us right with God. The world is divided into two groups: slave to sin and slave to God. It cannot rescue us. We cannot please God through the law.
What the law does do
The law reveals our sin. God's law reveals what is required. It tells us what is right and what is wrong.
This generation wants to determine what is right and wrong for themselves. They want to set their own rules. Some say that society can set the standard, but there are times when society goes wrong. Germany under Hitler is an example of this.
In addition, the law provokes sin! Because of the sinful nature of our hearts, hearing the law provokes rebellion in us. This is not the law, it is what is in us.
The law condemns sin. There's alot of ink spilled over this. God judges all humanity by this law. It can be said that the law is good and meant to tell us the best way to live. But because we are sinners, the law kills us. A law over murder is meant to protect, but when we murder, it condemns us. So it is with sin.
What the law leads to
All these things are negative. So what is it good for? Why do we even care?
The law shows that sin is sin, and how we are sinful beyond measure. It is meant to show how utterly inept we are in doing what is right. It shows us our utter bankruptcy. When we see this, we are led to a person. Jesus, the one who lived the right life and died an undeserved death.
When we are married, we are tied for life. We were married to the law. And then we died in Christ. Our marriage to the law is broken. We are now married to Jesus.
So now what? We are now to relate to the law differently. We are now to bear fruit for God's glory. What does this mean?
We have new motives for following the law. We obey not from fear or self-confidence, but out of love. We don't live out of being afraid of condemnation. We don't need to be "good" christians. It comes from a heart of gratitude and love. This is exactly how it works in a mature and good marriage. We do these things because our joy is bringing them joy. So it is in Jesus. We do things because it bring Him honor and joy. The law becomes an internal desire rather than an external demand. That external demand is fulfilled by Jesus. The will of God rises in our hearts through the Spirit of God.
Simple application: Meditate on what Christ has done for us. So then the desire for God's fruit comes out of that.
The new use of the law...
We look in the bible and look at all things we should do. Then we try to do them. The bible is not meant to be a guidebook. It is not a how-to. It should lead us to Jesusand how God is working with us.
A new power source...
We will get a new heart and a new spirit. (Ezekiel 36:26-27) This is walking in the Spirit.
