Romans 6–8 is not a vague encouragement for moral improvement—it is a precise unveiling of how the risen Christ, as the Spirit, dwells in us and imparts His very life. Paul exposes the inner workings of the Christian life with the clarity of a spiritual scientist, laying out the principles at play: the law of sin, the law of the mind, the law of God, and above all, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
The Unavoidable Crisis: The Law of Sin and Death
Paul does not flatter our flesh. He reveals that within every believer, there is a war:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:22–24)
This is not a minor struggle or a call to try harder. The law of sin in our members is a dominating principle that brings us into captivity and produces nothing but inner conflict and wretchedness. The more we try to overcome it by the law of our mind or by striving to keep the law of God, the more our inability is exposed. God allows this crisis—not to shame us, but to bring us to the end of self-effort. The question, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” is not rhetorical. It is the necessary cry of every believer who has discovered the futility of self-reliance.
The Only Deliverance: The Law of the Spirit of Life
Paul does not leave us in despair. He reveals God’s answer:
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)
This is not a new demand, but a new principle of operation. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is a higher law that liberates us from the tyranny of sin and death. It is not our resolve, but Christ Himself—risen and indwelling us by the Spirit—who sets us free. This is not theory; it is the only way to move from captivity to freedom, from wretchedness to newness of life. The indwelling Christ is not a supplement to our efforts, but the sole source of deliverance.
Union with Christ: The New Creation Reality
The gospel does not merely offer us benefits; it unites us with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are not left to admire what He did from afar. We are made participants in His finished work. Through this union, our old man was crucified, and we are raised to walk in newness of life. This is not a metaphorical improvement, but a real transfer into a new creation.
This new creation reality answers every fundamental question of the Christian life:
- How is the Church distinct from Israel? By being the Body of Christ, joined to Him in resurrection life.
- What is Christ doing now? He is our life, ministering from the heavens and dwelling in us by His Spirit.
- What is salvation? Not merely forgiveness, but liberation from the law of sin and death by the indwelling Christ.
- What is justification? Not just a legal acquittal, but the basis for our union with Christ and participation in His life.
- What does it mean to have died and risen with Him? It means the old has passed away; all things have become new.
- What is the new creation? It is the reality of Christ as our life, operating in us by the Spirit.
What Is Lost If We Miss This?
If we reduce the Christian life to self-effort, law-keeping, or mere imitation of Christ, we forfeit the very deliverance God has provided. We remain trapped in the cycle of inner conflict and wretchedness, never tasting the freedom and newness of life that comes only from the indwelling Spirit. Worse, we undermine the finished work of Christ, treating His death and resurrection as distant events rather than the foundation of our present experience. To accept any other principle is to abandon justification, sonship, and our inheritance as new creations.
The Science of the Christian Life
Paul’s teaching is not optional or secondary—it is salvific. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the only principle that produces freedom, peace, and true transformation. God’s answer to our crisis is not a new law, but a new life. Christ, risen and indwelling, is the source and substance of everything God has given us. This is the “science” of the Christian life: not our striving, but His life in us.
If you want to see these truths unfolded in detail, read Romans 1–8: Christ Our Righteousness in Heaven – Our Life on Earth. Do not settle for anything less than the full liberty and newness of life that is yours in Christ.
