A New Way Forward

Intro

Imagine you have a job with the most demanding boss you can imagine. The employee handbook is a thousand pages long, and the rules are incredibly complex and strict. Every day you go to work filled with anxiety, trying your best to follow every rule perfectly. But you always seem to fall short. You miss a regulation, forget a procedure, and the boss is always there to point out your failure. This job doesn't bring you fulfillment; it brings you constant stress and a feeling of inadequacy. You are legally bound by your contract—you can't just walk away. The only way out of the contract is if the company itself were to shut down.

This is what life under the law feels like. It’s a contract we can't possibly fulfill, and it constantly reminds us of our failures. But what if I told you that, through a miraculous event, that entire company was dissolved? Your contract is now null and void. You are completely free. Not only that, but a new employer, known for his grace, love, and generosity, has offered you a new position. This isn't based on a rigid rulebook, but on a relationship with him. Today, we're going to look at the four new realities that become true for us when we are freed from the old "contract" of the law and enter into a new relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you have your Bibles please turn to the book of Romans and to chapter 7. As we continue our study through the book of Romans. Keep in mind that Paul has been spending a great deal of establishing how that we have all been saved by faith in Jesus and that the Law given to Moses in the Old Testament does not save anyone but only serves to reveal our total inability to earn our salvation. Paul is going to further explain this dynamic change from being bound to the law to being bound to Christ this morning.

Romans 7:1–6 ESV

1 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? 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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.

REALITY 1: You can be free from the law.

(ROMANS 7:1-3)

Romans 7:1–3 ESV

1 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? 2 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. 3 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.

ILLUSTRATION: Think of it like a mortgage on a house. For 30 years, you are legally bound to the bank. Every month, the payment is due. The bank has a legal claim on your property. You can't just decide you're done paying. But the day you make that final payment, a document is issued called a "Release of Lien." The bank's claim is officially and permanently terminated. You are free. The debt is paid. In the same way, through Christ's death, our "death" to the law has occurred. The law's claim on us, its power to condemn us, has been paid in full and legally released.

Application:

Many of us, even as Christians, live as if we are still making payments on a mortgage that has already been paid off. We try to earn God's favor through our good works, and we live in fear of condemnation when we fail. The application for us is to embrace our freedom. Look at your spiritual life. Are you operating out of a checklist of religious duties, hoping to please God? Or are you living with the joy of someone whose debt has been canceled? Your relationship with God is no longer defined by the law's demands but by Christ's finished work.

REALITY 2: You can belong to Jesus.

Romans 7:4 ESV

4 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.

They are free! They are no longer bound by that team's rules or obligated to play for them. But the goal of free agency isn't to be team-less forever. The goal is to use that freedom to join a new team. The freedom from the old contract is for the purpose of belonging to a new team. Imagine a player being freed from a losing team with a difficult coach, only to be signed by a championship team with a coach who loves and develops his players. He doesn't just play for them; he belongs to them. He wears their jersey, shares in their identity, and fights for their victory.

This is our story. We were freed from the law, not to be spiritual drifters, but to belong to someone far better: the resurrected Christ. We are transferred from the losing team of sin and death to the victorious team of the risen King.

Application:

Our identity is no longer "rule-follower" or "rule-breaker." Our new identity is found entirely in Christ. The application is to live out our new belonging. How do you introduce yourself or think about yourself? Do you see yourself primarily as a sinner struggling to get by? Or do you see yourself as someone who belongs to Jesus? When you belong to Him, you share in His victory, His righteousness, and His inheritance. Let your first thought in the morning be, "I belong to Jesus today," and let that define your choices, your attitude, and your confidence.

REALITY 3: You can bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:4–5 ESV

4 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. 5 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.

Imagine two apple trees. The first tree is planted in toxic, rocky soil. The owner pours fertilizer on it, waters it constantly, and fusses over it every day, demanding that it produce good apples. But because the soil itself is bad, the tree only produces a few small, bitter, rotten fruits. The owner's efforts, meant to help, only highlight the tree's inability to produce good fruit. This was us "in the flesh." The law, like the owner's efforts, only revealed that our sinful nature could only produce "fruit for death"—things like anger, pride, and selfishness.

Now imagine the second tree. It has been uprooted and transplanted into rich, fertile, life-giving soil. Now, connected to this new source of life, it naturally and effortlessly begins to produce beautiful, healthy, delicious apples. This is what it means to be united with Christ. He is the good soil. When we are connected to Him, we begin to produce "fruit for God"—love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.

Application:Stop trying to produce good fruit through sheer effort. It doesn't work. The application is to focus on the connection, not the fruit. Are you staying connected to Christ? Are you spending time in His presence, drawing life from His Word, and depending on His strength? If you focus on abiding in Him, the fruit will come as a natural result. If you feel your life is producing more "fruit for death," don't just try harder to be good. Instead, check your connection to the life source, Jesus Christ.

REALITY 4: You can belong to a new way.

Romans 7:6 ESV

6 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.

There are two ways to assemble a complex piece of furniture. The first way is "the old way of the written code." This is where you have a dense, confusing instruction manual with no pictures. You stare at it, trying to decipher every step, getting frustrated, putting piece 'A' into slot 'C' when it should have been 'B'. You are a slave to the manual, and the process is miserable.

The "new way of the Spirit" is completely different. Imagine the master craftsman who designed the furniture is in the room with you. He puts his hand on your shoulder and says, "Don't worry about the manual. Just work with me. Pick up that piece... now connect it here. Let me help you with that part." You are not following a dead set of instructions; you are in a living, breathing, dynamic relationship with the creator. He guides you, corrects you, and empowers you at every step.

Application:

The application is to live in dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit. Many of us treat the Christian life like that old, written manual. It’s a list of dos and don'ts. But God has given us His Spirit to guide us personally. Before you make a decision today, do you just consult the "rulebook," or do you pause and ask the Spirit for guidance? When you feel weak, do you just try harder, or do you ask the Spirit for power? We are called to serve not by the dead letter of a code, but by the living, active presence of the Spirit of God.

Conclusion

This morning we have walked through four realities from the text that you can be set free from the law, that you can belong to Jesus, that you can bear fruit for God, and that you can ultimately belong to a new way! It is much like the new way of life for the American Colonies on July 4, 1776.

On July 4, 1776, the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. With that declaration, they died to an old way of being ruled. They were no longer bound by the laws of a distant king. But they weren't left in a state of chaotic anarchy. They were now free to belong to something new—a new nation, with a new government, and a new identity. If a colonist, after 1776, continued to send his taxes to King George and obey British law, people would say he didn't understand what had happened. He was living by the rules of a kingdom that no longer had any claim on him.

Application:

The cross of Christ was our Declaration of Independence from the bondage of sin and the law. On that cross, you died to the law's claim on your life. Your old contract was terminated. And in His resurrection, you were raised to a new life, a new reality.

So today, which reality are you living in?

You are free. Stop living as if the law can still condemn you.

You belong to Jesus. Find your identity, your purpose, and your security in Him.

You can bear fruit for God. Stop striving in your own strength and stay connected to your life source.

You serve in a new way. Stop living by a checklist and start living in daily conversation with the Holy Spirit.

Don't live like a citizen of a kingdom that has no more claim on you. Embrace the freedom, the belonging, the fruitfulness, and the Spirit-led life that is yours right now through Jesus Christ.