Dr. Steve Behlke
November 10, 2009

Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

In our church, we spent last week's sermon on Romans 7:1-6. Paul says Christians have been made to die to the Law, and that we have been released from the Law, and so we're no longer under the Law or it's jurisdiction, in order that we might be united wholly to Jesus Christ.

I.e., We are released from the Law—and it's rewards and penalties—to relate to God exclusively through Jesus Christ.

In spite of this awesome truth, many Christians, in their personal experience remain under the Law, which hinders knowing God and His transforming love through faith in Christ alone. Dying to the Law hardly even registers on the list of gospel realities for many of us. And if it does, few Christians imagine that they themselves are legalists or under the Law.

Gosh, even the Pharisees didn’t see themselves as legalists! So we probably don’t have great objectivity in this matter. How then can we know if we’re living under the Law or not?

Since Romans 5-8 are so focused on our identity the answer must be tied to our sense of identity and worth. Here are some questions we'd be wise to answer, 

• Do you base your sense of identity on your performance—on how well you do spiritual things?  
• Do you associate God’s favor with your behavior? "If only I do this then God will do that."
• After you sin are you prone to self-loathing? "O I just hate myself!#@@" 
• When you sin do you rationalize it, minimize it, or blame others for it? 
• Do you have a holier-than-thou attitude toward those who sin in ways that you aren't even tempted to sin? 
• Here's a biggie: Can you admit your sins, even to safe people, or do you put every effort into hiding your sin?

Even though it's hard to be honest, even with ourselves, how did you fare? See each one of these may show that our sense of identity may not be in Christ but in the Law.

We have died with Christ to the Law. In Paul's illustration, Romans 7:1-4, we are released from the Law through Christ's death to be relationally united—married—to Christ. Paul, in Romans 10:4, adds that "Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes."  

The point is that God wants us to relate to Him according to His grace and not our performance, filled with every confidence in Him and not in ourselves, knowing that we are loved and holy and accepted because of God's grace in Christ, not if we behave ourselves. 

In this relationship, free from the Law's accusations and threats and condemnations, but in this grace relationship with Christ where God's love is promised according to His faithfulness and not our performance, trust builds.

Love is experienced.

Sins take a backseat.

We learn to depend on Christ for all things.

And assured of His love, not having to work for it, not losing it when we fail, but assured of God's love in Christ, we are freed from obsessing over our sins and fixing ourselves in order to regain intimacy with God, we are freed to be loved and to love others as Christ loves us.