Romans 7:6

Paul summarized Romans 7:1-5 here. We died to the Law just as we died to sin (Romans 6:5). The same Greek word (katargeo) occurs in both verses. Christ’s death as our representative changed (lit. rendered idle) our relationship to both entities. It is as though God shifted the transmissions of our lives into neutral gear. Now something else drives our lives, namely, the Holy Spirit. Sin and the Law no longer drive us forward, though we can engage those powers if we choose to do so and take back control of our lives from God.

The contrast between the Spirit and the letter raises a question about whether Paul meant the Holy Spirit or the spirit of the Law (cf. Romans 2:27-29). Both meanings are true, so he could have intended either one or both. The definite article "the" is not in the Greek text. On the one hand, the spirit of the Mosaic Law, restated by Christ and the apostles, is what we are responsible to obey (Romans 6:13-19) rather than the letter of the Mosaic Law. On the other hand, we serve with the enablement of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which most Old Testament believers did not possess. [Note: See Leon Wood, The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.] "Newness" or "new" (Gr. kainoteti) suggests something fresh rather than something recent. Our service is more recent, but Paul stressed the superiority, freshness, and vitality of the believer’s relationship to God having experienced union with Christ.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit was Paul’s primary referent since he developed the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life in chapter 8. But spirit and flesh probably refer to the new and old covenants respectively. [Note: Moo, p. 421.] The verse, of course, is saying nothing about the non-literal as contrasted with the literal interpretation of Scripture.

Paul did not say, We have been released from the ceremonial part of the Law. The Mosaic Law was a unified code that contained moral, religious, and civil regulations that regulated the life of the Israelites (Exodus 20 -Numbers 10). God has terminated the whole code as a regulator of Christians’ lives (cf. Romans 10:4). Christians have received a new code that Paul called the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). It contains some of the same commandments as the old Mosaic Code, including nine of the Ten Commandments. The one that Jesus did not carry over was the fourth commandment about Sabbath observance. Nevertheless the Law of Christ is a new code. Thus Paul could say that God has released us from "the Law" of Moses. The Law of Christ consists of the teachings of Jesus Christ that He communicated during His earthly ministry that are in the New Testament. It also consists of teachings that He gave through His apostles and prophets following His ascension to heaven. [Note: See Charles C. Ryrie, "The End of the Law," Bibliotheca Sacra 124:495 (July-September 1967):239-47.] This is one of several passages that reveal that as Christians we have no obligation to keep the Law of Moses (cf. Romans 10:4; Romans 14:17; Mark 7:18-19; John 1:17; Acts 10:10-15; 1 Corinthians 8:8; 2 Corinthians 3:7-11; Hebrews 7:12; Hebrews 9:10; Galatians 3:24; Galatians 4:9-11; Galatians 5:1).