We can now see the effects of Paul’s teaching us in the first eleven verses of Romans 6 that we died with Christ!
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” Romans 6:6-7 (NLT)
So, now we know why believers are not under law but instead under grace. We died with Jesus on the cross, and the Law only applies to those who are living. When we rose from the dead with Jesus, we were placed under a new method, a new orientation, a new covenant of grace, and now God will only treat us according to grace for the rest of our lives!
In other words, the Law no longer has any legal authority over us; as we are not under it any longer, now we are under grace. “So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ” (Romans 7:4).
Why is it important to know that we are no longer under the Law through our death with Jesus on the cross? Because, as we noted above, the law is what gives sin power over us.
“For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.” 1 Corinthians 15:56 (NLT)
Question 4. According to 1 Corinthians 15:56, to what is the Law connected?
The law gives sin its power in our lives, and the wages of sin is death. The more we try to keep the legal requirements of God, the more sin is stirred up in us, and the more power it has over us. This connection between the law and sin explains the failure of diets with all their restrictions and all man's programs with rules focused on changing our behavior. The law gives sin power in our lives! We only harm ourselves when we turn to the law.
But oh what joy, that through the death of Jesus on the cross, and our death in Him, we are no longer under the law; rather, we are under grace! And grace forgives and crucifies sin in our lives, grace overcomes and dominates sin, setting us free from its power (Romans 12:21). The law gives power to sin, but grace breaks the power of sin and sets us free!
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)
Question 5. What teaches us to say no to our passions and to live self-controlled lives?