Romans 8:2

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

The law ... as used here, has troubled the commentators, especially those who were concerned with removing the concept of law from Christianity and making it a system of "faith alone." Nevertheless, Paul here used exactly the same word that previously was applied to the Mosaic institution; and this affords dogmatic proof that there are indeed rules, regulations, commandments, and ordinances connected with faith "in Christ" that are in the fullest sense of that word, "the law of God." The new system of Christianity is here called "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"; and, although a law of liberty, deliverance, and freedom from bondage, the requirements of it may not be ignored, but must be observed. Nor is this an isolated reference to Christianity in which such terminology is discovered. Paul himself wrote of certain persons who were spoken of as "without law," that is, without Moses' law; but of the same persons, Paul said they were "under law to Christ!' (1 Corinthians 9:21). Thus, freedom from Moses' law does not mean freedom from the higher law "in Christ." All people are under obligation to obey Christ. Paul called such obligations "the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2); James called them "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25), "the royal law" (James 2:8), and "the law of liberty" (James 2:12). Thus, the very gospel itself is "a law" that mortals are required to observe and obey upon pain of eternal condemnation if they neglect, refuse, or fail to do so (1 Peter 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9). Any and all of the commandments of Jesus Christ are components of that "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," which Paul mentioned here. That the commandments of Jesus Christ are actually endowed with binding and legal status as the irrevocable law of God appears in the words of the Master himself, and in that very portion of the scriptures usually recognized as the very constitution of Christianity. Christ said,

Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

If then Christianity is, at least in part, a system of law, what about the question of legalism? Who is a legalist? A legalist is one who obeys the rules and regulations of Christianity, at least to some extent, and then falls into the error of supposing that he has thereby merited salvation, and as a result of such error develops an attitude of self-righteousness similar to that of the ancient Pharisees. Never in a million years could it be correct to define a legalist as one who shah "do and teach" the commandments of Christ, for Jesus said of such a person as that, that he "shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." The practical use of the term "legalist" today is as an epithet hurled at persons who reject the heresy of salvation by "faith only."

There are two laws in view in this verse, the law of Moses from which people have been liberated through Christ, and "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," the latter being synonymous with what might be called the law of the gospel of Christ. There is a sharp contrast between these two laws, one being called the law of sin and death, the other being referred to as the law of the Spirit of life. Although both systems are quite properly referred to by the Holy Spirit himself as "law," the difference between them is the difference between noon and midnight. On the very first day that the law of Moses went into effect, three thousand. souls disobeyed it and were put to death (Exodus 32:28); on the very first day the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus went into effect, three thousand souls heard the word of God, believed in Christ, repented of their sins and were baptized for the remission of sins, thus being saved (Acts 2:3747). Three thousand died at the unveiling of the law of Moses; three thousand were saved at the unveiling of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Some writers make the "law of sin and death" here apply to the law Paul mentioned in Romans 7:23; but these words apply also. if not exclusively, to the law of Moses. Barrett's paraphrase of this verse is:

For the religion that is made possible in Christ Jesus, namely, that of the life-giving Spirit, liberates from the old religion which is abused by sin and leads to death.[4]

Moule likewise understood this as a reference to the law of Moses, thus:

To call that sacred Code, the Decalogue, "the law of sin and death" is not to say that it is sinful and deathful. It need only mean, and we think it does mean, that it is sin's occasion and death's warrant, by the unrelieved collision of its holiness with man's fallen will.[5]

The Spirit of life ... is the Holy Spirit, because of no other spirit could it be said that such is the Spirit of life. He is the blessed Spirit, a member of the godhead, who takes up residence in Christian hearts in consequence of their being sons of God (Galatians 4:6), and in fulfillment of the apostolic promise of such an indwelling to all believers who will repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38f), and is thus identifiable as the "Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). Thus the residence of the Holy Spirit in Christian hearts is not for the purpose of making them sons of God, but in consequence of their already being so; despite this, the continued indwelling of the Spirit is of such vast consequence that true sonship cannot exist without it (Romans 8:9). Moreover, even the resurrection of the believer at last is dependent upon this same Spirit, as indicated in Romans 8:11.

[4] C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1957), p. 153.

[5] H. C. G. Moule, The Epistle to the Romans (London: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd.), p. 211.