The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus liberates believers from the law of sin and death by establishing justification through faith rather than works, as Paul explains in Romans 8:2 and throughout Romans. Beckett argues that the Hebrew word for "law" encompasses doctrine and gospel teaching, and that Paul contrasts the law of works—which encourages human boasting and cannot justify—with the law of faith, which grants conscious knowledge of justification through Christ's imputed righteousness alone. The New Covenant promises, quoted from Hebrews 8:10-12 (drawing on Jeremiah), assure believers that God writes His laws upon regenerate hearts and accomplishes salvation through His merciful initiative rather than conditional human obedience.
What does the Bible say about the law of the Spirit?
The Bible states that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
In the context of the New Covenant, as articulated in Hebrews 8:10-12, God promises to transform His people internally, which reflects the significant shift from external adherence to the law towards an internalized spiritual vitality. Believers are liberated from the condemnation of the law and enabled to live righteously through the Spirit. This law of faith, contrasting the law of works, eliminates boasting and emphasizes justification through Christ alone, making the Gospel central to understanding our relationship with God.
How do we know the law of faith is true?
The law of faith is established by Scripture, particularly through the teachings of the Apostle Paul, demonstrating that justification comes through faith in Christ (Romans 3:27).
The transformational nature of the law of faith is also tied to the New Covenant promise found in Hebrews 8, where God declares His intention to write His laws in the hearts of His people. This internalization of the law through the Spirit is a confirmation that the law of faith is not only true but also divinely instituted. Believers find assurance in God's promise of mercy and the unwavering faithfulness of His covenant, allowing for a confident response to His grace.
Why is the law of the Spirit important for Christians?
The law of the Spirit is vital because it provides believers with freedom from sin and empowers them to live according to God’s will (Romans 8:2).
Equipped by the Holy Spirit, Christians are given the ability to live righteously, fulfilling God’s commandments not through human effort but by divine empowerment. This means that rather than relying on our own works, we embrace the transformative work of the Spirit that conforms us to the image of Christ. Moreover, the law of faith, which is the chief aspect of the law of the Spirit, leads to a personal relationship with God, where believers enjoy full assurance of His promises. The law of the Spirit fundamentally shapes the believers' identity and purpose as they pursue holiness and cultivate a deeper fellowship with God.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2)
The law of the Spirit sets us free from the law of sin and death, what a wonderful statement of scripture, what a wonderful truth. Seemingly, from my study, the Hebrew word referred to as ‘law’ in this instance and many others can signify any ‘doctrine’, ‘teaching’ and often signifies the Gospel itself. It is the same Hebrew word denoted in Isaiah 2:3:
“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem”
In my reading to understand what the law of the Spirit is I was led back in Romans and back to the Old Testament and the prophecy of Jeremiah of the work of the Spirit in the New Covenant, which is also used by the writer of Hebrews. I am continuously amazed at how one thought; one truth leads to another, what an amazing gift to us, the Word of God .
We find the Apostle Paul (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) addressing this issue of the law of the Spirit in the book of Romans as he lays down the truths of man’s total depravity, the impotence of the law for justification and begins to give his great discourse throughout this book of the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we come to chapter 3 he is comparing the Jew and the Gentile and pointing to the fact that ALL are under sin and there are NONE righteous, Jew or Gentile. The Jews had the external advantages of the oracles of God even so they are in the same state as the Gentile, no one will be justified in His sight by the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:27 “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay but by the law of faith.
There is no boasting either for the Jew or the Gentile. The Jew could boast of their having the laws of God, of their circumcision, their being the covenant nation of God and the Gentile could boast of their being the branches grafted in. The point that Paul is making is that there is NO boasting, it is totally excluded. The law of works can't exclude boasting because actually the law of works encourages boasting, the natural man thinks that through his works he attains righteousness and by his own righteousness he attains salvation. So it is by the Law of Faith that we come to a conscious knowledge of our justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ alone, the Gospel, not the law of works.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:10, 11, 12)
These are the promises of the New Covenant, that God will write His laws upon the hearts of His people, the chief law being the law of faith and He is the author and finisher of it. The covenant that the children of God, the elect are in is a promissory covenant and one that God Himself has initiated and there are no conditions, instead there is the promise of God Himself to fulfill it because He says….’I will write my laws in their heart, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, I will remember their iniquities no more and I will be their God. What a glorious truth to know that we are in God's everlasting covenant, solely by and for His good pleasure.
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