◄ What Does Romans 7:4 Mean? ►

In the previous chapter Paul had contrasted the relationship of the Christians' 'new-life-in-Christ', with the 'old life-in-Adam'. He explained that before salvation we were dead IN sin but after salvation we are dead TO sin. Before we were saved we were separated from Christ by sin.. but after having been saved by grace through faith we were forgiven of our sin, joined to Christ and positioned in Him

In the previous chapter Paul explained that as believers we died with Christ and were risen with Him -we died to SELF and the old sin nature.. so that by faith we are born-again into God's family and our life is hidden with Christ in God.. However in this next chapter we are also reminded that because we are in Christ we are also dead to the LAW. In Christ we are dead to sin and dead to the Law.

The Law exposes sin in our lives, which places us under the curse of the Law, which is death - i.e. separation from God. The curse of the Law rests on all humanity.. and everyone is under condemnation because we have all broken God's Law. But Christ became sin for us. Christ was cursed by the Law on our account and He paid the penalty of the Law, which we broke. He died in our stead to fulfil the Law on our account. Jesus Christ paid the price for every sin we committed.. and He took the punishment for every broken Law - through His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.

The redemption price for every sin we ever committed and each righteous Law we have broken.. has been paid-for, once for ALL.. by Christ. He died to pay the penalty for our sin.. but He also died to break 1)the power of sin, 2) bondage to Satan and 3) the curse of the LAW - and He did it on our account. As members of His body, we died to the Law, because we are in Christ and part of His body. We are made righteous in Him. He died on the cross in our stead, and as members of His body we not only died to sin..but we died to the Law - which means that we were freed from its condemnation.

God ordained that by faith in Him we died to sin and we died to the Law.. as we are joined together with Him by faith. We are made one with Him by grace through faith.. and we are positioned in Him and clothed in His righteousness. By grace through faith we were united forever with Christ Who was raised from the dead in order that we might have His everlasting life living in us.. through time and into eternity - And because we are in Him we are enabled to bear good fruit to the glory of God.

The unsaved cannot bear fruit for they are not in Christ. Only those that are positioned in Christ by grace through faith can bear fruit to the glory of God. Only those that are born from above can produce the spiritual fruit of righteousness.. for it is not by works of the Law that a man is justified or reckoned righteous - but only through faith and absolute reliance on Jesus Christ. It is through the crucified body of Christ that we are dead to the Law, freed from its curse and released from the righteous condemnation of God.

We who are saved by faith are dead to the Law and its consequences because we are part of the body of Christ - and when we abide in Him and He in us we bear much fruit to the glory of God. We praise God that we have been made one with the Lord Jesus Who was raised from the dead so that we might bring forth the fruit of righteousness - to His praise and glory,

Heavenly Father, thank You that I have been united with Christ by faith and that because of that union with Him.. I have died to sin and am dead to the curse of the Law. Thank You that Christ rose from the dead to give me His life, so that as I abide in Him and He in me I may bear much fruit to the glory of God - in Jesus name I pray, AMEN.