Breaking Away From the Original Ecology of the Law
Romans 7:1-6; 2/23/2025; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
What is the original nature of the law? This is the situation when the law came into the world, which is what I often call the “state of time and space.” Where did the law come from? Who promulgated it? Who received it? What was the result? What is the impact? What is the historical origin? Why should we separate from it today? Let’s look at the first point:
Innate bondage
From the perspective of the process of biblical revelation, the Bible has gone through various historical stages including the general revelation in Genesis Chapters 1 to 11. From the ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob went down from Canaan to Egypt, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, entering the wilderness, returning to Canaan, went through judged, establishing a kingdom, destroying the homeland, being plundered, living in the nations, God’s promises, returning home, the fullness of time, and the coming of Christ. First, the testimony in history. God’s instructions to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were the prototype of the law. The rebuke to Cain was an extension of the law. The human judgment of the great flood before Noah was a type of the final judgment of the law. The experience from the patriarchs to the Israelites was the initial stage of the formation of the law and left many traces of immaturity. After the Jews returned from captivity, the Pharisees dressed the law in the cloak of legalism, and were rebuked by the Lord Jesus as hypocrites. This is the original ecology of the law that Paul wants us to think about and face, that is, it has been incompletely received in history, but it can still be regarded as an immortal achievement of preservation and inheritance. The fact that the Israelites preserved the Law of Moses intact is indeed God’s grace that benefits all peoples!
Secondly, acceptance in the incompleteness. The process of Moses going up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments was full of twists and turns. The Israelites waited for forty days. When they could no longer wait any longer, they made a golden calf and worshiped it. When Moses came down from the mountain and took a look, he was so angry that he broke the tablets of the Ten Commandments. In order to practice the Ten Commandments, the Jews even compiled 613 commandments. Gradually, these 613 commandments even became equal to the Ten Commandments. This became a burden on the lives of the Israelites. On the one hand, the Israelites wanted to please God by keeping the law. However, on the other hand, the Israelites failed to keep the law completely, creating an uncontrollable tension in their lives. This is also the reason why the hypocrisy of the Pharisees has room for survival among the Israelites.
Finally, the law among the living. Paul says here: “Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? (Romans 7:1)” This was a blind spot in the thinking of the Israelites. They never thought that the purpose of the law was to establish it for the Son of Man. Jesus said: “So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.(Mark 2:28) ” This sentence has profound meanings. First, it refers to the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ, and He exercises the authority of the Son of God as the Son of Man. On the other hand, it means that the law was established for living people. He said: “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)” This is the key to unlocking the mystery of the law and the guarantee for us to live out the law by faith. Let’s look at the second point:
The transition between life and death
The function of the law is to point out that people are guilty, and the wages of sin is death. Therefore, the essence of the law is the contest or transformation between human life and death. First of all, when you live, you must face the law. As long as people live, they must face the law. Paul took the relationship between husband and wife as an example. He said that a woman is bound by the law of her husband while her husband is alive. If the husband dies, the woman is freed from the law of her husband. This metaphor is very vivid, right? While her husband is still alive, a woman crawls into bed with another man, and Paul calls her an adulteress. When her husband dies, a woman is freed from her husband’s law. If she remarries, she can no longer be called an adulterer. This is true of the relationship between husband and wife, and it is true of other things as well. Everyone living in the world is bound by different laws, without exception. The law comes from God, and there is no problem with the law itself. The problem is our attitude toward the law.
Secondly, death means freedom from the law. When a person dies, he is released from the law. This statement is true, but if it is just this, it does not fully understand the scriptures. What Paul means is that Christ’s incarnation, sacrifice of his life on the cross, and resurrection from the dead have satisfied the requirements of the law and fulfilled the law punishing man’s sins. From then on, the wages of sin is death. It has no effect on those who have believed in Christ Jesus. Death no longer functions as a law for God’s children. This is the core content of the gospel and our hope! Because people believe in Jesus Christ, they can pass from death to life! The sting of death can no longer devour our lives.
Finally, resurrection can bear fruit to God. Resurrection and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit are the result of the life of the saints. At the same time, this is also a choice between life and death. People who live under the law value behavioral norms, moral requirements, and ethical perfection, but in the end they are on the road to death. If a person lives under the salvation of Christ, he overcomes the bondage of death by faith, transcends the regulations under the law, and turns to please God and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In fact, it is a fruit with nine aspects, none of which can be missing. Resurrection life bears the fruit. Otherwise, there will be no fruit. Let’s look at the third point:
The release of spiritual honesty
The Bible says that the results of our life come from the heart. Therefore, the honesty of our spirit becomes the evidence for our account to God. First, the evil thoughts arising from the law. How can the law give rise to evil thoughts? Will it be a bit confusing? This is truly a great contribution of Paul’s theology! The law was given by God and does not itself produce evil thoughts. However, when the law encounters sinners, it points out their sins. For example, the law says, Thou shalt not be greedy. When the sinner hears this, hey, what is greed? Isn’t it fun? When to try it? The sinner’s heart is stirred up, and what follows is dancing with excitement. Observed from a phenomenological perspective, sinners who did not commit any crime originally manifested the crime of greed.
Secondly, you are now free from the law. What does it mean to be free from the law? Does this mean that we no longer have to obey the law? Being lawless and doing whatever you want? Just like Black Lives Matter in the United States, is it not considered a crime to rob a supermarket under $950 in California? As soon as these words are said, some people will start to feel excited in their hearts, thinking about when to go to California or New York? New York is even more interesting. Illegal immigrants can live in other people’s homes at will, but their owners can’t drive them away, otherwise it’s illegal. What kind of world is this? What Paul means is that Christ has died and the law’s function of causing death has been eliminated. From then on, people who were originally condemned to death by the law because of their sins are now freed from the law through the redemption of Christ!
Finally, according to the newness of spirit. Paul said, according to the newness of spirit, not according to the old way of manners. The spirit in the original text refers to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is to be according to the newness of the Holy Spirit and not according to the old way of ritual. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and His presence is a promise of God to all who believe in Him. The newness of the Holy Spirit means that it is no longer me who lives now, that is, the old me who still follows the rules in everything, but Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit at any time, living in my life, inspiring me, guiding me, leading me, renewing me, and saving me!
Conclusion
Well, thank the Lord! It turns out that the original nature of the law, when we are still weak, actually causes us to have evil desires caused by the law, leading to death! However, because of the sacrifice of Christ, we are freed from the judgment of the law and live out the likeness of Jesus Christ with integrity in spirit and according to the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray……
1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?
2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.
3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.