The Perspective on Law in the Book of Romans

Key Concepts:

1. The Law is spiritual, holy, righteous, good and brings life (Rom. 7:10-14).
2. Death reigned from the time after Adam sinned to the time of Moses. Nonetheless, when law came, death reigned no longer (Rom. 5:14). For the law not only allows people to acknowledge and confess their sins, but also redeems them from sin through the offering of animal sacrifices (However, such grace was only fulfilled after Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself).
3. Men cannot be justified through carrying out the law due to the weaknesses of the flesh, and not because the law itself is useless – the problem lies then with the weakness of the flesh which cannot overcome sin, not with the law which brings life (Rom. 8:1-4; 7:5, 14, 18, 24).
4. Christ came and, by condemning sin in his flesh, overcame sin and death through the power of resurrection. As a result, those whose sinful bodies are destroyed at the time of baptism can henceforth carry out the righteousness of the law with the help of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 6:6; 8:1-4)

Jesus came to “Fulfill” the Law

1. Through Adam’s sinning sin entered into this world, and death came to all men and ruled over them.
2. It is not true that without the law men would not sin, for all who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law (Rom. 2:12).
3. Gentiles are not aware of their sins because they do not have the law. Under those circumstances they have no hope of salvation and shall perish (Rom. 2:12; Eph.2:12).
4. In the time of Moses God gave the law to the chosen people so that death would reign no more. It is through law, therefore, that people know “what sins are” and can strive for progress. Moreover, God established, through the law, His grace of “redemption by the shedding of blood”.
5. In the past I lived in sin and was ruled by it (that is why sin was dead [i.e. inactive], for the whole world was subjected to its vanity). But as soon as the law came I knew that I “shall not covet” and tried to escape from the bondage of such sin. However, once sin realized that I intended to escape from the power of “death”, it became active and killed me through all kinds of temptation. Hence I died (Rom. 7:7-11).
6. We cannot carry out the righteousness of the law because our flesh is weak (Rom. 8:3). “What a wretched man I am!” I cannot do the good I want to do but do the evil instead. Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:15-24) Therefore, the reason that “I cannot do good” is not because the law is useless, but rather that my body of death is weak and powerless!
7. Through the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, I, who belonged to the flesh and could not carry out the law, am dead to the law. As a result, I am free from the bondage of the law. (Rom. 7:4-6)
8. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful body, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful body but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-4).

Conclusion

1. Without the law, men will still perish because of sinning (Rom. 2:12).
2. When the law was declared, it overcame death, and death reigned no more (Rom. 5:14).
3. Though he knows what sin is through the law, man, because of weaknesses of the flesh, cannot do what is good and remains enticed by sins (Rom. 7).
4. No one who is of the flesh can be justified before God by carrying out the law (Rom. 3:20).
5. The Lord Jesus condemned sin in His flesh. From then on I, who was reborn through justification by faith, am able to carry out the righteousness of the law with the help of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-4).
6. Therefore, the law is good, holy, spiritual, and gives life. By the precious blood of Jesus I am justified by faith so that my sinful body might be destroyed (Rom. 6:6). From then on we can carry out the righteousness of the law by following the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-4).
7. Receiving the “grace” of God does not mean continuously thanking God for forgiving our sins yet again. The grace of God is that He freely forgives our sins through water baptism so that our sinful bodies are destroyed. At the same time, God bestows upon us the power to become “more than conquerors”, so that the righteousness of the law can be fulfilled in those who have been reborn and live by the Spirit. Grace gives us the power to be victorious over sin because “if God is with us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 6 & 8)
8. Comparisons between the ‘Two male goats for the sin offering’ and the redemption of Jesus Christ (Lev. 16; Heb. 9):

Two male goats: one for God, and the other is the scapegoat.

1.     

The male goat for the true God in heaven: The blood of the goat will be brought into the Most Holy Place in order to make atonement for the sins of the people, but its body will be burnt outside the camp. Our Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself to God without blemish and entered into the Most Holy Place to wash away our sins by His blood. while suffering outside the city gate (Heb. 13:11-12).

2.     

The scapegoat: Aaron, the high priest, lays both hands on the head of the goat. The goat, carrying all the sins, will be taken to a solitary place. Likewise, the Lord Jesus also bore our sins and sacrificed his life for us, condemning sin in His body (Rom. 8:1-4) and entering into death.

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