Immensely freeing!
Romans 7:1-6
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
The believer is effectively dead to the Law through the crucifixion of Jesus. Our relationship to the law and the sin it produces is completely severed. Believers are no longer trapped under the Law which comprised of rules that human beings are simply not able to keep. Rather believers have entered a new relationship with Jesus who was raised from the dead. This new relationship with Jesus brings forth different fruit to that of life under the Law of Moses.
Thinking and reflecting on the above truth can be immensely freeing! Believers are no longer harnessed to life under the law but joined to life with a resurrected Jesus. Believers are free to live a new life in the freedom of God. This new way of life will bear much fruit for God whereas the law brought out our sinful nature. The fruit of the spirit are love, goodness, patience, gentleness, self-control, peace, faithfulness and joy. Our relationship with Jesus changes our very make up and what our life produces.
Thank you Lord that Jesus put the law to death on the cross and his resurrection brought about a new way of life for us. Amen
Written by Ps. Ainslie Woods