“Dead to Sin — Alive Through Christ”

Romans 7: 1-13

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for this mornings meditation is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 7, verses 1 through 13, particularly these words, “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.”  This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends.  The Law of God is a frightening thing.  It scares us to think about just what the end result of sin will be — especially while our conscience is working overtime telling us just how sinful we are.  God himself said, “I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”  God said, “The soul that sins, it shall die.”  God said, “The wages of sin is death.”  The Bible reminds us, “There is not one just man on earth who does good and sins not — no not even one.”  And in the end verses of this very chapter, Paul himself asks, “Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  The reading of the law — the emphasis of the law — leads us to one important question, “How can I escape from the law, and the consequences of breaking that law — death?”  How can we be liberated from the law?

Why do I need to be liberated from that law?  That’s pretty obvious.  The law does not produce life, but death.  Paul says in our text that the law actually brings out sin in us because it points out to us just what sin is.  Those of us who are parents can understand that.  Just tell your child what “not to do” and you better get out of the way or they will knock you down trying to do it.  The parent says, “Don’t you eat that cake in the kitchen, it is for company tomorrow night.”  And the child says, “What cake?  There’s a cake?  Where is it?”  Little minds start wondering what the cake would taste like — and little minds make plans on how to get to that forbidden cake before it is served.

It started in the Garden of Eden.  God said “Don’t eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden.”  They knew the law — “Don’t eat of that tree” — and they knew the results — “You will die”.  And even though it’s not recorded for us in Scripture, I bet you, Adam and Eve’s first thoughts were: “Tree, which tree?”  So when the devil tempted Eve, it was an easy step to see that the tree was good for food, and to be wise like God was something to be desired, so she ate the forbidden fruit and gave to her husband and he ate — And guess what??  They died!!

By one man sin entered into the world,  and death by sin.  And the strength of sin is the law.  So how do we break free of the law, and sin, and death.

Paul uses an example so obvious, it seems to go without saying.  A woman is bound to her husband by the law for as long as he is alive.  But if he dies, she is free to marry someone else.  Death changed everything.  Because of our sins, you and I were bound by the law to sin and death — but Christ died on a Cross for us, taking our place in death — so that we might be free from the law, sin and death; in order to marry again, in order to serve another, our Lord and Savior who gave himself for us.

The law, because of our sins, demands our death.  But Paul in our text tells us that we are free from that death penalty and the slavery to sin.  Listen to Paul’s words:  “Likewise, my brother’s, 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.”

You and I and all Christians, have been set free from the power and slavery of sin and death by God’s own act.  Our freedom is not because of anything that we have done.  We have not won our freedom because of what we have done or by any good works of our own.  It’s not because we believe right doctrine or teach right doctrine.  It is purely, totally, and completely God’s act in Christ Jesus, his Son, our Lord.  You and I “Died to the law through the body of Christ.”  When Christ’s body hung upon the cross, when God spared not His own Son but gave Him up for us all, when Christ took on Himself for all of us the curse of the Law that rightly belonged to each of us — that is when we died to the Law and died to sin.  The curse of the law was broken.  The debt of the law was paid.  The law could no longer put us to death, because we died to sin with Christ on that cross.  Christ’s love, God’s love, has made his death, the death of us all.  Paul told the Corinthians, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”  (2 Cor. 5: 14&15)

The same act of God that delivered us from the dominion of sin has freed us from the dominion of the Law, and for the same purpose; that we might live to Him who died and rose for us, and thus, we might bear fruit for God, the fruit of a life drawn from His life and lived to his glory.

No such life is possible under the Law, because the Law cannot transform our “sinful flesh:  The law cannot make sons of God out of Sons of Adam.  In the sons of Adam, the Law can only arouse those sinful passions that lead us into sin.  And with each sinful act, the reign of death is strengthened and enriched.  Sinful mankind, you and I, in our revolt against God “bear fruit which produces death.

But our death in Christ has changed all that.  Death has released us from the old order under which we could only revolt against God and die.  The old order of the written code of the Law, which could command us, but could not give us power to obey, has given way to the new order, the order of the Spirit, promised to those who are his.  Now, since we are dead to sin and alive to Christ, the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with his gifts, sanctifies, and keeps us in the one true faith.  Being dead to sin, but alive to Christ means that in Him we can do all things, not in our own strength — but through the strength that he gives to each of us.  We died with Christ in our Baptism and so we live the life we now have to Him who gave himself for us.

May this peace of death to sin and the law — and new life lived to Christ through the Holy Spirit — be and abide with you always.  To God be the glory!  Amen.

And may the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.