From Romans: The 'Science' of the Christian Life
Orientation
Many approach the Christian life as a religious performance, trading the liberty of sonship for the bondage of self-effort.
- The Christian life is not sustained by our effort, law-keeping, or religious performance.
- This mindset forfeits the ground of our inheritance and places us back under slavery.
- God's design is for liberty, not bondage; for sons and heirs, not slaves and orphans.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
— Romans 6:14
Clarification
The Christian life is not a mystical experience or religious striving, but a clear understanding of what God has accomplished.
- Romans 5-8 reveals the 'science' or operative principles of the Christian life.
- We are not improved or rehabilitated, but transferred out of Adam and placed into Christ.
- All of Paul's exhortations presuppose that we know and reckon upon these spiritual facts.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)
— Romans 6:6
Structure
The divine sequence of the Christian life is a transfer of realms, resulting in Christ's indwelling life.
- God justifies the ungodly, making them His children.
- He transfers us out of Adam and into Christ.
- Christ Himself indwells us to be our very life, enabling us to live in liberty.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
— Galatians 2:20
Weight-Bearing Prose
Romans 1-4 establishes the courtroom scene: God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. He sets forth Christ as the public manifestation of His righteousness, forgiving and reconciling ungodly sinners. This justification is the sole basis for our sonship. From this foundation, Romans 5-8 unfolds the mechanics. We have been planted together in the likeness of Christ’s death and resurrection. Our old man is crucified with Him; the body of sin is destroyed. This is a finished fact, not a process to complete. The result is that we are no longer servants of sin. We live in a new realm—in Christ. The Pauline category is our transfer out of Adam and into Christ. Christ indwells the believer as life itself. This is the operative reality that defines our existence and is the necessary ground for all proper engagement with Pauline exhortation. To default from this reality is to fall into religious legalism, which undermines justification itself by making God’s righteousness contingent on our works rather than Christ’s blood.
Integration
Your standing is secure in Christ’s finished work. The crucifixion of the old man is a fact for you to know, not a goal for you to achieve. Christ is your life. This truth is your anchor and your rest. There is no pressure to perform, only the invitation to understand what God has already done. Your liberty as a son and heir flows from His indwelling life, not from your effort. Re-anchor here. This is your safe landing place, grounded in the assurance that your life is hid with Christ in God.