DM#8: Dead to the law

Doctrine of the Mysteries #8

Dead to the law

We have determined that Romans chapter 6 is an incredibly important, mile-marker chapter. It sets a strong precedent for a believer who is committed to learning and living the mystery doctrine. After telling us that through faith in the gospel of grace, we have justification and access to the grace of God, Paul immediately gets into the details of what we should know, and how we should start to think. He places a responsibility upon us to learn a few things which are intended to renew our pattern of thought, things that will help us to understand our new position in Christ, and spiritual truths that will become cornerstones within the foundation he will lay throughout Romans.

Having informed us that we are dead to sin, Paul enlightens us of our relationship with the law. There are a few surprises in store for the uninformed reader.  

Rom 6:15-17  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.  (16)  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?  (17)  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

SPIRITUAL LESSONS

Paul uses that statement again, “God forbid!” He is cautioning you not to think carnally. We cannot reason spiritual truth in a carnal mind. We must consider what we are being taught from our new positional stance with God, through Jesus Christ.

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 3: Positional Grace)

Start this post series from the beginning, here.

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 3: Positional Grace)

Before we get into ‘grace’, it is worth reminding you that righteousness and grace illuminate each other. So, to really appreciate what we will learn regarding God’s grace, it is important to keep in mind that God is absolutely righteous, and that men are guilty sinners, far off the mark of earning or achieving a righteousness that meets His standards. Our only hope of salvation is by the grace of God because His righteousness demanded a price that was beyond our means to pay.

God’s grace exists because of a sacrifice that was nailed to a cross to appease His righteousness. It is this one act that allowed God to preserve His justness, but also enable Him to justify the ungodly. The cross is arguably the greatest paradox as it showcases God’s grace for us but reveals the wrath of God for the sins that were placed upon Christ. God shows His love towards us, which contradicts with the hatred for our rebellion, displayed in the cross. The cross contrasts God’s forgiveness to us by punishing His Son. Through the cross, we have life because Christ died, and by the cross we are saved, because Christ was sacrificed to purchase that grace.

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 2: An Overview of Grace)

Start this post series from the beginning, here.

The Four Cornerstones of Romans (Part 2: An Overview of Grace)

The letter to the Romans is the foundation of the Christian faith. The letter contains four key cornerstones that stabilize and secure the faith of a believer. When all four of these cornerstones are set in place, the believer will be grounded in the faith and able to grow up in Christ, know God’s will and do it, walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, and be fruitful in every good work.

The first cornerstone, in Romans chapters 1-3, instructs of God’s righteousness. Paul outlines the reality of man’s utter depravity and guilt before God, and the fact that we are all hopelessly lost and doomed to hell. Understanding the righteousness of God and the fact that men cannot earn or achieve justification, sets us up to fully appreciate the second cornerstone, God’s grace, which Paul writes about in Romans 5-8.

In this post I will outline how Paul develops a three-levelled understanding of God’s grace, and how it is of critical importance to understand grace in its totality, so that you do not skew the true meaning and power of this free gift and it’s liberating truth. I will expound on each level of grace in posts to come.

So, what are the three levels of grace that we learn about in Romans chapters 5-8?

Being In Christ Part2 201127

What does it REALLY mean to be 'In Christ'?

According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, when you hear the Gospel and respond positively to the faith that wells up inside you, and you call upon God, ---in that moment you are sealed into the body of Christ (in Christ) by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.12:13) and you become a new creation (or a new creature, KJV 2 Cor.5:17). But, notice the word "if" in the verse. This makes it conditional! It is only if we are in Christ that we are a new creation! In order to understand what "a new creation" means, we need to dig into what is means to be "in Christ".