Romans 8:1-2 NASB
¹Therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Study
Therefore
Whenever there is in the Bible a “therefore” the Bible shows before it a “wherefore”.
Let us see what Paul wrote us before this
Romans 7:14-25 NASB
¹⁴For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
¹⁵For what I am doing, I do not understand;
for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
¹⁶But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
¹⁷So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
¹⁹For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
²⁰But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
²¹I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
²²For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Then follows his therefore
¹Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Illustration
Sin and death are partners of one throne and issue one law (cf. Romans 8:14, 21).
To obey the one is to obey the other.
In former days Paul was compelled to do the bidding of sin.
But the Holy Spirit has set him free by making His own will the rule of Paul’s life.
Just so a conqueror, by setting up his own laws in a conquered country, makes the former laws invalid. That the country obeys the new laws is a proof of conquest.
Similarly, the presence and guidance of the Spirit have made Paul free from the rule of sin. This is not a change of bondage, but freedom from all bondage.
For the law of the Spirit is the will of our Maker, and therefore the law of our being.
And to obey the law of our being is the only true freedom. “In Christ.”
Paul’s deliverance took place
▪︎ objectively in the human body of Christ (Romans 3:24);
▪︎ subjectively, by Paul’s spiritual union with the risen Saviour (Romans 6:11).
Anecdote
We see this principle at work in the material world.
A higher law comes into play and overrides ordinary law.
Thus dynamic law subjugates mechanical force, as in the steam engine;
chemical law, in turn, annihilates dynamic force;
and intellectual power is superior to vital law, and moral to intellectual.
The lower laws take effect upon the lower natures.
The mechanical law of gravitation affects stones;
but let a higher law of affinity come into operation, and those stones will be transformed into other combinations, such as gases, which will be above the laws of gravitation, and will form food for plants, etc.
Mechanical law, however applied, cannot convert stones into bread.
Chemical law can.
If you mechanically pound ice or melt it, you can get nothing but water; but chemistry transforms it into power, and gas, and food.
In the text the apostle is presenting to us in the kingdom of grace what is taking place in the kingdom of nature — law conquering law — e.g., a human body subject to chemical law ferments, putrefies, decays;
but the vital law holds all these in check.
It is only when the higher vital law is gone that the lower law reigns.
Devotional
Can you imagine the day when we see Jesus and He says to you,
You are mine!
My righteousness and glory are yours!
Enter into your Father’s eternal reward!
If we are in Christ, we don’t face judgment, only welcome, with God our Father!
- His Spirit lives in us.
- His grace has set us free from the power of sin and death.
- His Son has paid the price for our sins.
- We are the beloved children of God!
Prayer suggestions
- Thank God for His mercy and grace which are endless.
- Thank God for His steadfast and redeeming love which never ceases.
- Thank God for His love, which is new and fresh every morning.
- Thank God for His Spirit that fills your life
- Thank God for the new hope that He gives you.
- Thank God for reviving you me to face another day.
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