A New Day... A New Way Part 2

Last week, we began chapter 7 of Romans and… I didn’t get very far! Let’s recap our passage and dive back into our study.

Romans 7:1–4 NIV

1 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

We are talking about change… the kind of change that is life altering, life long change. The kind of change presented here is an important one.

Paul is speaking to Jewish believers and he is trying to help them navigate a big change in their lives.

They used to belong to the law… but now they belong to Jesus. Again, Jesus did not abolish the law… He fulfilled it. This is a continuation of the journey… this is the closing of one chapter, and the opening of another.

Christ is now the One we follow.

Jesus will not lead us to do anything outside of what the law demanded. In fact, grace often expands the demands of the law by going to the heart of the command.

Jesus moved the people of God into a new covenant. He speaks of this in Matthew 26:28

Matthew 26:28 NKJV

28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The old has gone, the new has come. The old was fulfilled with the death of Jesus. The new came to life with His resurrection from the grave. His blood was what made it all possible.

So we are speaking of a changing of covenants… a closing and opening of chapters. Paul likens it to a new marriage after a spouse has died. This change in Jesus… was made possible through His death. This change comes from His death. And as verse 4 said… in Christ, we now belong to another - to Him who was raised from the dead - that we might bear fruit for God.

And here is where we paused…

Our belonging to Jesus or our walk in Jesus will be evident in the way we live… and in the way we lead. It is a natural evidence that come with out following Jesus. Or at least it should be. Remember, Paul is addressing a problem here. The people were not responding as naturally as they should have been.

So why doesn’t this happen more often and more naturally?

Because instead of trying to introduce the world to Jesus, We try to introduce them to what used to be. We can become fixated on what we’re supposed to do instead of who we are supposed to be.

Consider this in light of Paul’s illustration of marriage: I’ve never lost a spouse. And I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow that comes with such loss. I pray I never do. But If I did, and I remarried… I wouldn’t start conversations by introducing my wife that passed on before introducing my new spouse. That would be beyond awkward and completely disrespectful to my new wife.

It seems unimaginable and yet it happens far too often. This is what happens when believers try to introduce the world to God through law and not grace. We’re holding on to the old covenant… the covenant Christ FULFILLED.

In Christ Jesus, the old chapter or covenant has been closed… not erased or abolished… but closed. Sin still remains as sin… but our redemption is not found in the law… but in the One who overcame and fulfilled it.

In Christ, we now belong to another. Jesus leads us bear fruit for the Father. What does that kind of leading and living look like?

Serve in the Way of the Spirit

Romans 7:5–6 NIV

5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

As Paul continues, he points out a contrast between the fruit we used to bear before Jesus, and the fruit we now bear in Christ.

Verse 5 states several things to be aware of regarding living life in the realm of the flesh.

First… what does that mean, in the flesh?

Other translations say sinful nature. This is living apart from God… given into our fleshly or sinful impulses. Those impulses are given definition by the law of God.

The sinful nature is not something we can overcome on our own. This does not mean “good” people cannot exist outside of God… but no level of “good” will ever make a person righteous in the eyes of God. If that were a possibility, then the work Christ did on the cross was meaningless.

Galatians 2:21 NIV

21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

The sinful nature will always lead to death… and it will only produce death which brings up something else to note.

Secondly, the realm of the flesh bears fruit for death.

Death can only produce death. Before Jesus came into our lives, we were bearing fruit that led to death. That might be hard to accept, but it is biblical truth tonight.

The good news is… the blood of Christ can redeem what sin and death meant to destroy. Jesus CONQUERED death and His blood can turn any situation meant for death around. He can change the trajectory and reality of our lives. But that change can only come by “dying to what once bound us.”

Next, Verse 6 points out a contrast… old and new… law and Spirit. One chapter… is unlike the next. It is a continued story for sure… but a completely new narrative. And I’ll show you why.

Before Jesus:

The law was… the law. A system of worship and sacrifice was established. Payments for sin had to be made… blood had to be spilled.

The Spirit of God was housed within a specific room… a place separated from the people of God. Why?

A righteous God cannot fellowship with unrighteous people. So the priest would enter the room and offer sacrifices for the atonement of the people.

The people were lead by the law… not the Spirit.

After Jesus’s Death and Resurrection:

The FULL payment for our sin had been made. The requirement of the law had been satisfied. No more blood would be required for our sins.

The veil that separated the room where the Spirit of God was housed… was torn in two by the hand of God. The Spirit of God… was no longer separated from the people of God.

The temple of the Spirit was no longer a physical building, but was now the hearts of those who are covered by the blood of the Lamb.

Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave moved us into a new covenant with God that meant being lead of His Spirit and not the law.

Church… When we serve law over Spirit, we try to place the Spirit of God back in a room… behind a veil… separated from the people Jesus came to save… as if Jesus’ blood wasn’t enough!

We cheapen the work Christ did on the cross. We are led by the wrong mentality. The law condemns… Jesus sets free.

Serving in the new way of the Spirit places our focus on the power of the blood of the Lamb… not the law. The law was overcome by the Lamb! The law was never intended to be God’s final answer to sin… Jesus was and is that answer.

So the question tonight is… do we find ourselves serving the written code as Paul calls it… or serving in the new way of the Spirit?

God opened the door for this change through the giving of Jesus. Jesus paid for this change with His life. God doesn’t want us living in the past… because there is no hope in things past. He wants us living in the new covenant… a new era of redemption and freedom from sin.

When serving in the new way of the Spirit, we do not have to worry about God’s Spirit leading us into sin or destruction. He will ALWAYS lead us to the life Christ promised and delivered to us - life more abundantly.

And… He will encourage us to lead others into this new life as well.

Let’s not put the Spirit back in a box… let’s live in and operate in the new chapter that Christ Jesus has made open to us!