Romans chapters 6, 7 and 8 are about how a saint should live. Chapter 6 tells how we are "dead to sin"(vs 11), chapter 7 shows we are "dead to the law" (vs 4), and now chapter 8 will show us how we are "alive unto God".

     Look back in chapter 7 at the condemnation of a believer who is trying to keep the law. The purpose of God’s law is to condemn sin, (Rom 3:19,20) and if we live under the law, it will condemn sin in us too. Now Paul will tell us how to live without that condemnation.

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

     If we walk "after the Spirit" (the mind of Christ, I Cor 2:12-16) , we walk by faith in what God’s word says to us. (II Cor 5:7; Rom 10:17) It says that our sin is paid and that we are totally justified because of Christ. (Rom 3:22-25; 4:24,25; 5:1,8-10) Therefore God does not condemn us for our sin. (Rom 8:33,34) However if we walk " after the flesh" by thinking that we ourselves can keep the law, we will be condemned by our failure, as Paul describes in chapter 7.

     This concept is critical to our walk with God. The key is how we think of ourselves in relation to God. Do you see yourself as forgiven and righteous in Christ, or as a struggling sinner? Which way does God want you to see yourself? We will either be joyful and thankful, or condemned and depressed, depending on our view of ourselves.

     We need to constantly guard our thinking (II Cor 10:5), and renew our minds (Rom 12:2), so that we see ourselves as we really are in Christ, instead of as the failure that our flesh will always be. (II Cor 5:16,17; Rom 8:7-9)

     There is no reason to omit the last part of this verse as the new bibles do. Some people want to use this verse to prove eternal security, so they don’t want the last part of this verse to be there. But the context of this verse, as you can see, is about how to live after we are eternally saved, it is about serving God, not eternal security. Eternal salvation was dealt with in chapters 3-5. And the law does condemn us for failure if we try to serve God by making our flesh conform to His standards.

     Remember the "law of my mind" in Rom 7:23,25 ? Here, the " law of the Spirit of life" is the law of God’s mind. His way of thinking brings life and spiritual vitality. Thinking His way frees us from the "law of sin and death". The law of sin is the fact that sin dwells in my body regardless of how much I want to stop sinning. (Rom 7:17,18,21,23,25) And sin always produces death. (Rom 6:23) But the law of sin can be overcome by the law of God’s Spirit. How? By thinking with God’s Spirit, (I Cor 2:12-16), by seeing ourselves and others the way God does. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Phil 2:5) "And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind," (Rom 12:2)

     We learn God’s viewpoint from His word. His word works in us to transform us (I Thes 2:13) into Christ’s image. (II Cor 3:18) This is how "Christ liveth in me." (Gal 2:20) When I don’t use worldly values and human viewpoint, but I use God’s values and His Spirit to think with, then He is the one who is doing the living in me.

(Vs 3.) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

     The law could not stop people from sinning. The law only applies to the flesh, (Gal 5:18) in which "dwelleth no good thing". (Rom 7:18) So the law can not produce good works. When Jesus came in the flesh, (John 1:1,14; Heb 2:14-17), but did not sin, (Heb 4:15) He "condemned sin in the flesh". He kept the law perfectly, thereby proving that it can be done, and that the problem was not in the law but in the people. " Sin in the flesh" has now been " condemned" - meaning judged, sentenced and paid for. "He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself". (Heb 9:26) So now we no longer have to be run by the sin in our flesh. In fact, even better than that...

(Vs 4.) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

     When we walk after the Spirit, by thinking God’s way, we will automatically do the righteousness that is in the law. Thinking with God’s Spirit (Mind) results in the righteous behavior that the law could never achieve from the flesh. (Gal 5:16-18,22,23; Eph 5:9) The motivation is God’s love, (II Cor 5:14,15; Eph 5:1,2; II Tim 1:7), not fear of breaking a commandment as in time past. (Deut 4:10; 28:15...; 31:11-13)

     "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Gal 5:13,14; Rom 13:8-10) God’s kind of love means to value and esteem. Paul prays "that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent." (Phil 1:9,10) In other words, he prays we will know what to value and esteem. God values and esteems people, (Titus 3:4; Rom 5:8) and wants them "to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (I Tim 2:4) That is what is important to God - not that they live a pain-free life or have all they want. So as we take on God’s values and learn to love as He does, we will seek the unseen eternal things of the inward man, (II Cor 4:16-18; Col 3:1,2) for ourselves and for others. (I Cor 10:33; II Cor 5:20; Phil 2:2-4) That automatically results in fulfilling all but one of the 10 commandments. (Ex 20:3,7-17; Deut 5:6-21). The 4^th commandment about the Sabbath was a sign specific for Israel, (Ex 31:12-17) and does not apply today (Col 2:16; Rom 14:5,6) because Israel has been temporarily set aside. (Rom 11:12,15,25-29) For example, in Eph 4:20-29, see how putting off the old man’s thinking and putting on the new man, results in not lying and not stealing.

     When we maintain that we are totally forgiven because of Christ (Col 2:13; Eph 1:7) and we are not under the law, (Rom 6:14), many accuse us of giving people a license to sin. But think! People are sinning anyway. The law doesn’t stop sin. But grace gives a means to do what the law never could do - it enables people to resist sin and do God’s righteousness. This is worth learning !