383. Made Free From the Law of Sin and Death

You cannot speak about law without speaking about transgression. Without a law there is no sin. Every person who is in Christ becomes a law. Therefore it is written that he who speaks evil of a brother speaks evil of the law.

Sin is firmly rooted in the flesh, but as long as I, with my will and my mind, do not allow it to come forth, it cannot accomplish anything. Another name for sin is evil desire, and when the lust or desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Conception requires two parties—in this case the lust and my will. If I had enough power and a strong enough will to say “No” to the lust, then I would certainly conquer it. But our will is weak and readily yields to the flesh, so the result is conception and sin. The connection between the will and the above-mentioned lust in the flesh is called the law of sin. See Romans 8:2.

In contrast to the law of sin that came because of the Fall, Jesus Christ came with “the law of the Spirit of life.” This law contains the power to overcome the law of sin—power to say “No” to our lusts. This is how I am made free from the law of sin. And where I am made free from the law of sin, I am also made free from the law of death, because only when sin is full grown can it bring forth death—the law of death. What is the significance of this? It means that when I am chastised for my sin and I do not humble myself, death is born. “If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom. 8:13.

When Christ is in us, the body is dead because of sin. Everything that comes out of this body must be put to death. “You died, . . . therefore put to death your members which are on the earth . . . .” Col. 3:3-5.

If we live our life according to the laws of the Spirit of life, we live a victorious, happy life. The sufferings we then experience are not sufferings in our conscience, but in our flesh. Sinners, on the other hand, suffer in their conscience. This is not the case for someone who is in Christ Jesus, and consequently there is no condemnation for him. On the contrary, he has peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.