Rom 7:5 (NIV) For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. You are not only moving into a new life, you are moving into new laws, rules, and commandments for living that life. Just like we wouldn’t be able to apply the same rules to a married life that we would use in a single life, we can’t use the same ones for living the Christian life that we used in our old life. Different sports have different rules; different professions must use different systems; and, different cultures use different customs.

Rom 7:6 (NIV) But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. By still living as a human WHILE living as a child of God, you will find that there will be some confusion as to which rules, laws, and requirements to apply to each situation. So, let’s take a look at each part of this verse and see if we can learn a new way of living.

Now, by dying to what once bound us: When you did something wrong, bad, or evil to yourself, other people, or to God’s plan, you sinned against the LAWS of God. But, when you were too young to know the difference between right and wrong, there was no awareness of any laws. However, when your conscience became aware of right and wrong, if you did it anyway, which we all did, you sinned. The moment you committed your first sin, was the moment you died in your relationship with God. Death means separation not ceasing to exist. Rom 6:23 (NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law: The first thing that had to happen to you at salvation, justification, and being born again was, you had to be released from a law that made you responsible for carrying it out. You had to be brought under a law that allowed you to look to Jesus to empower you to carry it out. So, salvation, justification, and the new birth made you like you were before you knew the difference between right and wrong.

Now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law SO THAT we serve in the new way of the Spirit: So, what are we going to do; shall we feel free to break the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17); are we now free to go murder someone (Exodus 20:13)? The old laws still apply; but, through an entirely different system. The new way of the Spirit gives us power to obey the old laws for a completely different reason.

The penalty for breaking ANY PART of the old law was death or separation from God. This was because that person had just contracted the spiritual disease of sin. They became contagious and had to be quarantined from God’s family and Kingdom; that is death or separation.

Now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code: Reading something, memorizing something, learning something, and understanding something isn’t the same as BEING something. You BECAME a child of God; you didn’t just learn about being a child of God. You ARE a citizen in God’s Kingdom; you aren’t just learning information about His Kingdom. The new way of the Spirit is all about GETTING, BECOMING, and LIVING the laws, rules, and commandments of God. They aren’t being forced on you; you are learning all of their benefits and allowing them to flow through your life.

Rom 7:12 (NIV) So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. There never was a problem with the laws, rules, and commandments of God. They were pointing us in the direction of wonderful things; but, they didn’t have the power to help us see how wonderful they were; and, they didn’t have the ability to empower us to live them. So, Jesus came and produced a new way of the Spirit by dying and raising from the dead. We may not understand all the spiritual implications of that, but, we can take advantage of them anyway.

Rom 7:13 (NIV) Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. If a doctor points out to you that you have a deadly disease, they are serving an important purpose. If they can prescribe a cure, they are serving a wonderful purpose. Even if they can’t administer that cure but have to recommend another doctor, they are still serving a vital purpose.

The laws of God can’t cure us; but, they can make sin utterly sinful, if we will allow them to. If God can’t and won’t allow anyone into His family or Kingdom who is doing wrong, bad, or evil, we need to know it. But, if He didn’t provide us with laws, rules, and commandments that pointed out what was keeping us out, we would be separated and quarantined with no way of finding out why. However, if God DID give us those laws, rules, and commandments and they made us guilty if we didn’t obey them, we would still be kept out of God’s family and Kingdom even though we knew why; we just couldn’t do anything about it.

Jesus produced a cure for all of our breaking these laws, rules, and commandments. All we have to do is pray Matthew 6:9-13 and obey Romans 10:8-10 and we get saved, justified, and born again. But, we have a God-given free will; so, everyone has to have the right to decide whether or not they want to CONTINUE to be cured. Each person’s decision decides whether or not they remain cured or are contaminated with the very contagious, deadly spiritual disease of sin. And, that condition decides whether or not God will allow them into His family and Kingdom. If you EVER do ANYTHING on purpose that you feel is wrong, immediately go to Jesus and repent by asking Him to forgive you.

Mat 7:12 (NIV) So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Through Jesus, God gave you a clean record so you would be able to have a relationship with Him. This record isn’t clean just because He removed all the wrong, bad, and evil deeds you did, are doing, and will do, it is also clean because He has credited you all right, good, and righteous deeds; God has credited you with perfection. He did this so you could be trained and empowered by Him to start doing those things that are being credited on your record with Him, and so you could stop doing those things that were cleansed off of it. BUT, we aren’t doing all those good things and we haven’t stopped doing all those bad things to ourselves and others.

Rom 7:15 (NIV) I do not understand what I do. For what I WANT to do I do not do, but what I HATE I do. What is this new or untrained Christian doing that he hates; and, what are they not doing that they want to be doing? They have a clean record with God so they can have access to Him; but, they haven’t learned how to do right, good, and righteous things to themselves, others, and God’s plan. NOW, we must learn how to do right, good, and righteous things to ourselves, others, and God’s plan. And, we must learn how to stop doing wrong, bad, and evil things to ourselves, others, and God’s plan.