Romans 7:1-6: The New Way of the Spirit

Romans 7:4, 6.. "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...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 live life. One is by the way of the law, and the other is by the way of the Spirit, Unbelievers live their lives by way of the law, but true believers live their lives by the way of the Spirit. What does this mean? Let us find out.

In the book of Romans, Paul has been talking for quite some time about the law's relationship to the Gospel and Christianity. When he speaks of the "law," he is certainly speaking about things like the ten commandments and the other commandments in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but for the most part, he is speaking of the "law" as a principle. That is, he is refering to the "law" as "a set of rules" or "the commandments that tell what is right and what is wrong." He has previously argued that we are not saved by this law, but rather by grace. However, now that we are in salvation and fully saved by his grace, how does the law apply to us?

We saw in chapter six that we ought to obey the law, not because we are trying to be saved, but because we have been saved. There is a new way of life that is available to us, that is, being obedient to Christ instead of disobedient to him. However, that raises a question. If we are to obey the law, does this not mean that the law is holding us captive once again? Surely not, argues the apostle.

The law is good, which we will see later (Romans 7:7). But although the law is good, the law is not God. Though we ought to obey the law, now that we are under grace, the law does not rule over us. We are set free from the bondage of the law, that is set free from its consequences if (and when) we fail to obey it (Romans 7:6).

But why? Why has God set us free from the law? If the law is in fact good, why should we not stay under it? Paul answers this question in verse 4:

"...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..."

Even though the law is good, if we serve the law first and foremost before we serve God, this will simply enslave us, because we cannot fully serve the law. However, if we serve God, we may "bear fruit" for him, instead of bearing fruit for ourselves by self-rightously abiding by the law. The "new way of the Spirit" (Romans 7:6) is that we serve God first and foremost, along which comes obeying the law, but we do not serve the law first and foremost. For to do so would to be self-condemning. But rather, because we have been set free from the law, we are not held captive to it any longer. We obey it because it is good, but we do not obey it because we are enslaved to it. We are enslaved to God--the only Master that will cover our sins with his mercy when we fail to obey.

So, are you enslaving yourself once again to the law, that which God has set you free from? The law came that we might realize our sin (Romans 7:7), but the law did not come that we might gain salvation through obeying it. Are you trying to obtain righteousness by obeying the law, or are you trying to obtain righteousness by serving God? There is a difference. The first is rooted in pride, the second is rooted in humility. So serve God above all else, that you will have mercy to cover you when you fall.