NOT THE LETTER OF THE LAW
Romans 7:6
6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Do you have favorite chapters of the Bible? I can't pick just one favorite, but in almost every book, there is a chapter that I go back to time and time again. Romans chapter seven is not one of those chapters.
Paul is arguing his case that the old Jewish law of Moses is not the law we live under any longer. If you recall, one of the biggest challenges to Paul's ministry to the Gentiles was the Jewish believers who were adamant about keeping the law of Moses. Even those who had received salvation by faith in Jesus were still dogmatic about the law.
So Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was teaching that because of our new identification with Christ, we are in a new spiritual condition. No longer are we bound to keep the law as a way of being made right with God. Keeping the Ten Commandments is good but will not get us into heaven.
But here is the great news. Because of Jesus, we now desire to live in such a way that we wind up keeping the Ten Commandments. But we are living this way because of what has been done in us. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote that we serve in newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.
However, this takes pride right out of the picture. We can no longer look down on others because we are living right, and they are not. We are no longer under a hierarchy that is based on works where some are righteous, and some are not. Now, we live under grace, realizing that without Jesus, we were without hope and had no way to be made right with God. And because we remember where we came from, we can be understanding of those who are still without Christ.
Because of Jesus and what has been accomplished in us through the new birth, we can serve God out of our hearts because we have a desire to. Not because we have to. And it's all because of God's gift, so none of us has a reason to boast. We can live with a gracious perspective, thanking God for what He has done in us. Thanking God for our changed lifestyle because of our changed hearts.
PRAYER
Thank You, Heavenly Father, that I can serve You out of a changed heart. You have done a wonderful work in me through Jesus. And I am eternally grateful that I have been made right so that I might live right - in newness of the Spirit.