Summary.
The preceding blogs presented Paul’s assertion that yielded believers do not sin because they have died to the law and thus are free from sin’s power. The whole of the old humankind died in the body of Jesus on the cross at Golgotha. Being dead to the law means being free from the law’s condemnation. Accordingly, yielded believers are slaves to God’s grace, Jesus Christ. The yielded believers possess new life, nature, and history in Jesus Christ. The yielded believers are convinced that they cannot serve two masters. “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Luke 16:13, NET. “Money” is the translation of the Aramaic word “mammon,” which means “the worldly possessions.” God must be held above everything that believers may possess or be connected to.
The yielded believers are committed to God because he has liberated them from their sinful nature through the body of his grace, Jesus Christ. Therefore, yielded believers are not slaves to sin. However, they are aware that their flesh is weak. Therefore, they cannot respond perfectly to grace always. “Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mathew 26:41, NET.
The yielded believers know that they benefit from being free from the Law’s and sin’s dominion. Christ’s love compels the believers that they have died to the law and are free from its dominion. Accordingly, yielded believers committed themselves to the righteousness from God as lifelong slaves. “But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.” Romans 6:22, NET.
The yielded believers serve God as slaves to the Only Master. They do so because they received a new spirit and life in Christ Jesus. Accordingly, the yielded believers have changed their minds and how they think. They now have the attitude of Jesus Christ. The yielded believers willingly follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in them. The universal principle of selfless love controls their attitude toward God and human beings. The yielded believers are a new creation in Jesus Christ.
How was our marriage to the Law dissolved? Read the next blog.
