From Romans: The Newness of Life in Christ
Orientation
The law was never given as a ladder for self-improvement, but to expose our fallenness and bring us to agree with God's righteous judgment.
- The law reveals our true condition, not a path to self-salvation.
- Its purpose is to drive us to the cross, where we are crucified with Christ.
- This agreement with God's judgment is the starting point for true liberty.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
— Romans 8:1
Clarification
Being crucified with Christ is not a call to moral reform, but God's decisive act to end the old man and deliver us from striving.
- Forgiveness and justification are based on our union with Christ in His death, not our efforts.
- The 'oldness of the letter' refers to futile fleshly striving under law, which we are delivered from.
- This is a positive, liberating act of God, not a threat.
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
— Romans 7:6
Structure
Christ's resurrection inaugurates a new reality where the Spirit dwells in us, guaranteeing present life and future resurrection.
- The indwelling Spirit is the source of newness of life, not our willpower.
- Our bodies, though mortal, are promised future quickening by the same Spirit that raised Jesus.
- This newness is entered by presenting ourselves to God, expecting His power to work.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
— Romans 8:11
Weight-Bearing Prose
The Pauline argument is clear: the law’s function is pedagogical, bringing us to agree with God’s judgment on fallen humanity. This agreement is realized in our co-crucifixion with Christ, the Last Adam. Here, the old man is terminated, not rehabilitated. This is the basis for justification—God’s righteous act, not our moral attainment. From this justified position, God begins something new through Christ’s resurrection: the Spirit dwells in the believer. This indwelling is the engine of the Christian life. The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This reality demands a corresponding presentation of ourselves to God as living sacrifices. This ‘renewing of the mind’ is a rational agreement with God’s verdict and life, leading to transformation and the ability to discern His will. The outcome is deliverance from the entire sphere of condemnation, death, slavery, and fear into the liberty and spirit of sonship. Walking according to this Spirit—not the flesh—is the defining mark of being in Christ Jesus, with no condemnation. The final contrast is between the reign of death through Adam and the reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness in Christ.
Integration
This is all God’s work. You are joined to Christ in His death and resurrection. The Spirit dwelling in you is the sure guarantee. There is no pressure to manufacture this newness; it is the reality into which you have been brought. Your part is simply to present yourself to Him, to agree with what He has already done. From that place of rest and assurance, He produces the walk. The atmosphere of sonship replaces the atmosphere of fear. Your standing is secure in Christ—no condemnation. Let this truth anchor you. Christ is your life, your righteousness, and your hope of resurrection. Abide here.