Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

You are married until you die or until your spouse dies, and then you are released. You were married to the law until Jesus died for your sins, and then you met Jesus. You’re dead to the law and can now live under grace. Jesus died to set you free. You don’t belong to the law; you belong to the Lord.

Our flesh is our physical and rebellious old nature. Passions are not bad in and of themselves, but “sinful passions” are bad. You can be passionate about marriage or adultery. You can be passionate about the fruits of the Spirit or for getting drunk on spirits. Passions can direct you to or from God quickly.

“We are released from the law” (v. 6)—we live under grace through Jesus. Paul juxtaposes living under the law and living under grace. Law in the Word and law in the world are two different things. Law in the Word may refer to all of God’s laws, the Ten Commandments, or even right and wrong. God is the Lawgiver—He is over everyone and everything. He says things are right or wrong, and it doesn’t matter where you live, who you are, or what you think.

In all his letters, Paul uses the word nomos (law) about 121 times. In Romans, the concept of law is the universality of right and wrong.

1. Law reflects the character of the Lawgiver. When we open the Bible, God says no adultery, so God must like faithful relationships. No stealing means God likes us to have only what He has given us, and we should not take something He’s given to someone else. God says to forgive because He likes forgiveness and grace in relationships.

2. Law restrains some evil. In Romans 2, Paul said we have an internal witness of a conscience. We don’t do certain things because God wrote His law on our hearts, and our consciences tell us now that it’s wrong. In addition, God gives the government, which has laws to restrain some evil.

3. Law reveals our sin. Law gives categories to our sins. When you were a brand-new Christian, there were sins you committed that you didn’t even know were wrong. The law names our behavior.

Is God’s law bad? No, but we are. The law shows us two things: who God is and who we are. God is good; we are bad. God is right; we are wrong. The law shows us our sins, problems, faults, failures, and flaws. Similar to how an MRI can diagnose us, the law can only diagnose us; it can’t change, help, or treat us. It can only show us the problem.

Today’s Reflection

Are your passions pure or sinful?