Welcome back to Dangerous Heretics.
We’ve been talking about how Romans 7 is actually a description of life under the Old Testament law, and a picture of how hopeless that situation was. And we also spent some time talking about why it matters that we reject the idea that we have sinful nature still living inside us.
Next we’ll focus, since it may FEEL like I still fight with something evil inside me, on how to overcome in our lives and live the way Romans 8:1 says we can live.
We focus on the life of the mind. It is in the mind where the battle is won or lost. The process of mind renewal is as dramatic as that of a caterpillar being turned into a butterfly. Romans 12:2 says “do not be conformed to this world but be transformed…” The Greek word translated “transform” is “metamorpho’o” where we obviously get our word “metamorphosis.” This metamorphosis cannot happen if the old sinful nature has not been removed. So it all focuses on the renewal of the mind.
And how does that happen?
The mind is renewed as we dwell on the truths of God: “You laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created Him” (Colossians 3:9-10). This true knowledge of Jesus Christ is the key that unlocks all the physical and spiritual blessings that God intends of you: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).
Knowledge of Christ comes through personal relationship with him, which in turn comes from a life rooted in scripture, in prayer, and in meditation on Him and His purpose in our lives.
No condemnation.
None.
No sin nature, and no problem with sin.
God, in fact, is not even sin conscious!
We all know that salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned. It has nothing to do with our actions or “works” but with our faith in God’s grace. If we choose to live under Romans 7 then once again it’s all about works. It’s all about our sin conquering us, making us ineffective, causing us to mourn and wail about all the “the evil I don’t want to do, I do” stuff.
Romans 4:3-5 tells us very clearly that our works, whether sins or good works, mean nothing when it comes to our righteousness:
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
Taken to its logical conclusion, we get to the point where sin really doesn’t matter anymore, at least concerning our salvation and God’s opinion of us. And yes, although many of you may have cringed when I said that, just listen to the Apostle Paul:
“Just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account” ( Romans 4:6-8).
Of course sin damages our horizontal relationships, and can make our own lives miserable, but the condemnation we may feel from those sins, and the price we must pay for them, does not come from God. We shoot ourselves in the foot when we sin so of course it’s not God’s will. But since they are all already 100% forgiven, God is not sin-conscious, and neither should we be.
I think Romans 7 is powerful because it provides such a stark contrast between what we have with Christ in us and what we would have without Him. Taken together with power and triumph of Romans 8, we are presented with a life so magnificent, and so brilliantly designed, that only God Himself could have come up with such a scheme!
Let’s take a quick look at Romans 8. I already quoted this but it’s worth repeating:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2).
The law of sin and death brought condemnation. That was its job. That’s why Paul called the law righteous and holy. It did precisely what it was designed to do: prove to you that you can’t live a righteous life on your own.
The law pointed us to our need for Jesus, and Jesus paid for everything that you and I could not pay for. He redeemed us after we utterly failed to keep the law. He stepped in and fulfilled the law so we don’t have to any longer. He replaced the law with His grace and now we don’t have to keep the law, and in fact, those who try are under a curse:
“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10).
If you’re still trying to earn God’s favor by your actions or your good deeds, you are under a curse. That’s what the bible says. Therefore, when Romans 8:2 says “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” it means that you are set free from a life of striving for perfection.
You don’t need to strive to be sin-free any longer. You aren’t living under Romans 7 where you have this mortal, life and death struggle with sin every moment of every day until you cry out in despair “Who will set me free from this body of death?” Jesus already set you free, 2000 years ago. It’s a done deal. No more striving, no more condemnation, no more consciousness of sins!
Romans 7 is about the struggle with your flesh. But Romans 8:9 says “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
And this is how God sees you. He does not see you by your flesh, even when you make mistakes and commit sins. He sees you as “blameless and innocent” (Philippians 2:15) – and this is not in the sweet by and by after we receive our glorified bodies, it continues to say “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” In the here and now He sees you as blameless and innocent.
He sees you as blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:22).
He sees you as “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10).
He sees you as spotless (2 Peter 3:14).
He sees you as without stain (1 Timothy 6:14).
Does this sound like someone who is overcome by sin as described in Romans 7?
The way you understand your identity in Christ is probably the most powerful thing you can possibly understand about what it means to be a child of God. Your true identity is sinless and holy, pure and without any reason for condemnation from God. If you are feeling condemnation, it’s either coming from the enemy whispering lies in your ear, or from your old, unrenewed mindset.