1)    Introduction

a)    The Law of God was meant to establish true justice for all. It is still the Law of this world but people just cannot keep and enforce it, which is why Jesus Christ died. In spite of all its goodness, there are those who think that the Law of God was ‘done away’ as if it was some burden or curse. A cursory reading of Romans might give that impression but it is partly from misunderstanding what Paul meant by being “under law” when he said that “the law” has authority over a person as long as they are alive:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law [has dominion] over a person as long as he lives?

1)    NOTE: Some have tried to make a case that there is a difference in the phrase “the law” and “law”. This is a questionable claim because the Greek is not consistent in the use of the definite article the.

2)    Under the Law

a)    To illustrate this, Paul gave an example of a law that applied to a married woman[1]:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:2-3 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage [or law of the husband]. 3 So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is [released] from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress.

b)    Like the Law of Leprosy[2] or Law of Jealousies[3], the Law of the Husband is a statute in the Law of Moses:

i)       [NET 2.1] DEUTERONOMY 24:1-4 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something indecent in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 2 When she has left him she may go and become someone else’s wife. 3 If the second husband rejects her and then divorces her, gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, 4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the LORD. You must not bring guilt on the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

c)     The Law of the Husband (Law of Marriage in some translations since it also applies to husbands[4]) states that a husband who divorced his wife cannot remarry her if she was subsequently married to another man, even if her second marriage ended in divorce or the second husband died. However, if her first husband dies, the wife is “released” from the Law of the Husband. Paul applies this to the Law of God:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:4a So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ [in baptism], …

d)    Dying “to the law through the body of Christ” is a reference to the death of baptism. Paul said that “the law” no longer “has dominion over a person” because those who are baptized died “through the body of Christ.”[5] They are, as he put it, “released from the law.” This is why some believe that the Law of God has been ‘done away in Christ’. However, Paul was not finished:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

e)    The law Paul referred to is the Law given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai. Here Paul made the important distinction that the Law of God is not sin; instead, he said that by “the law is the knowledge of sin”[6] so the Law of God defines sin. This is where some get derailed. Paul was not suggesting the Law of God is an issue; the confusion for many is that justice requires a judgment according to the Law that “the one who sins shall die.”[7] Paul clarifies this in the previous chapter where he emphasized that death through baptism does not mean someone can go on sinning:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 6:1-5 What shall we say then? Are we to [continue] in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it [sin]? 3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of His resurrection.

f)      Paul said that a person “died to the law” in Romans 7:4 but here he said they “died to sin”. So which is it? Both. Justice according to the Law of God renders a judgment of death for sin. Baptism does not release someone from obeying the Law of God; it frees a person from the JUDGMENT for sin because the penalty of death for sin was satisfied. No one can “still live in [sin]” after baptism unless they are still subject to the Law of God. This same is true with the Law of the Husband. If the first husband dies, the wife is free to marry again. His death simply removes any judgment over her but the Law of the Husband still exists. When she marries again, she is once again subject to the Law of the Husband. The law did not go away; she is simply no longer under its judgment after the first husband dies.

3)    Law & Judgments

a)    The Law is enforced through a justice system that renders judgments with one of two possible verdicts: guilty or not guilty. Someone is either a lawbreaker or a law-keeper. A verdict of guilty requires a violator to be sentenced to a punishment or penalty.

b)    Laws require judgments that punish people for breaking them. Laws are meaningless without penalties and judgments. The enforcement power behind the Law of God is the death penalty for sin mandated in the Law:

i)       1 CORINTHIANS 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [to enact a penalty of death] is the law [because it defines sin and the penalty for it].

c)     When a criminal completes a prison sentence handed down by a judge, he is released because he has fulfilled the judgment against him. Likewise, baptism fulfills the judgment of death for sin according to the Law of God through uniting into the death of Jesus Christ by baptism. Some are tripped up because they fail to understand this. Continuing:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 6:6-7 We know that our old man was crucified [in baptism] with Him [Jesus Christ] so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from [the penalty for] sin.)

d)    This is unambiguous. No one is ever free from the Law of God. It always has authority over all living beings. Baptism releases someone from the penalty for sin because the judgment of death was carried out. Scripture says “it is appointed for men to die once.”[8] While this describes the natural end of all physical life, it also refers to the penalty for sin. Since all have sinned, all must die once for their sins, either through baptism or in the Lake of Fire—both are a release from the death penalty, not the Law of God. Paying a fine for speeding does not mean someone can continue to speed without being fined again. No one is ever free of traffic laws simply because they were punished once. They are always subject to the law and can be fined every time they exceed the speed limit.

e)    The same applies to the Law of God. It is possible for someone to sin after baptism because the Law of God continues to exist and always has authority even after the death of baptism. This is why Paul asked “How can we who died to sin still live in it [sin]?” Baptism fulfills the penalty of death and the person is no longer under that judgment but they must continue to obey the Law of God. Next, Paul explains what happens after being baptized into the death of Jesus Christ:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 6:8-11 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, He is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. 10 For the death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

f)      Those who are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ “died to sin” according to the Law but are raised “alive to God;” that is, they are raised from death to live a new life according to that same Law:

i)       [DOUAY] ROMANS 6:12-13 Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of [injustice] [G93 = adikia]; but present yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of justice [G1343 = dikaiosune] unto God.

g)    If we can still sin, the Law obviously still applies.

4)    Sins of Deception & Sins of Rebellion

a)    The purpose of baptism is that someone can die and fulfill a judgment of guilty for sin—the penalty of death. But they are then raised out of the baptismal grave to live a new life dedicated to living according to the Justice of God. What is justice?

i)       LUKE 1:6 And they were both [just] [G1342 = dikaios] before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

b)    Justice is just, equitable (not equal), and fair dealings with others according to the Law of God. When person is raised from baptism, they live according to the Justice of God specified in the Law. This is living “under grace”:

i)       [NET.1] ROMANS 6:14-23 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune]? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune]. 19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity [uncleanness] and lawlessness [iniquity] leading to more lawlessness [iniquity], so now present your members as slaves to [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] [of God] leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune]. 21 So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the [wages] of sin is death, but the gift [G5486 = charisma = grace] of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

c)     Paul uses the analogy of being “free from sin and become servants to God” to describe the change from being “under law” to being “under grace.” Baptism is the transfer of a slave from one slave master to another. Before baptism, all are under the slave master of sin. After baptism, God becomes their master. All were enslaved to sin because “through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”[9] But exactly how did everyone sin? It happened in the Garden in Eden:

i)       GENESIS 3:5 “[Satan speaking to Eve—] For God knows that in the day you eat of it [the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

d)    Eve was deceived by Satan and fell into sin. In contrast, Adam chose to sin:

i)       1 TIMOTHY 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman [Eve] being deceived, fell into [came to be in] transgression.

e)    The sin of Adam and Eve brought the death penalty into the world:

i)       ROMANS 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

f)      Adam was not deceived so what are sins that are not “according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam?” Eve had likely never encountered evil prior to Satan so when she was deceived, it seems she had an innocent desire to be wise:

i)       GENESIS 3:6 So when the woman [Eve] saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband [Adam] with her, and he ate.

g)    Instead of appearing sinister and poisonous, Satan pointed out that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil looked delicious. He then played upon her innocence (and ego) by saying it was a source of wisdom. She “fell into [came to be in] transgression” by deception. The wording indicates she did not sin intentionally but sincerely wanted wisdom. Adam, however, clearly did not have innocent motives because he “was not deceived.” Adam intentionally rebelled against God and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil.

h)    Eve was deceived into sin but Adam sinned by rebellion. There are two types of sins—sins of deception, also called “sins of ignorance” or “unintentional sins”[10] and sins of rebellion like those of Adam or Nadab and Abihu[11]. This is why Paul said that all have sinned, “even those who had not sinned [like Adam].” The whole world has sinned either by rebellion like Adam or by deception like Eve. Paul said he sinned because he was deceived:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:8-12 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the [tenth] commandment, sin became alive 10 and I died. So I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, [just] [G1342 = dikaios], and good.

5)    Justice of God Revealed

a)    Paul was deceived into believing that his sins were justified through his strict works according to the Law of God. That is why he said “without [apart from] the law sin was dead” but he died “when the commandment came.” What did he mean? It hints at something Jesus said:

i)       JOHN 15:22 “If I [Jesus Christ] had not come and spoken to them [the world—v18], they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

b)    Whatever Jesus Christ said carried such weight that it took away excuses for sin. What did He say? His exact words are not known[12], but Paul addressed it:

i)       ROMANS 1:17 For in it the [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just [G1342 = dikaios] shall live by faith.”

ii)     ROMANS 3:21-22 But now the [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. …

c)     Jesus Christ took away excuses for sin by revealing that sin is only justified according to the Justice of God. In fact, that was a prophetic fulfillment:

i)       ISAIAH 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My [justice] [H6666 = tsdaqah] to be revealed.

d)    Justification is a judgment of God that renders a not guilty verdict. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law[13] by revealing that justification is only by the Justice of God! This was the mystery since the beginning that was finally revealed:

i)       ROMANS 16:25-26 Now to Him [God] who is able to establish you according to my [Paul’s] gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith–

e)    Why was the Justice of God a mystery? There are two types of justice: works of people to justify sin and works of God to justify sin. When Paul said “concerning the justice which is in the law, [I am] blameless,”[14] he was describing his works to justify himself according to the Law:

i)       ACTS 22:3 “I [Paul] am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

f)      Paul tells us exactly what Jesus Christ revealed about the Justice of God:

i)       ROMANS 8:7-8 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please [be in agreement with] God.

g)    Jesus Christ revealed that works of men to justify sin cannot please God because they fall far short of the perfection of God[15]. Revealing that justification is by the Justice of God took away excuses for sin because He made it clear that “there is none just,”[16] even people like Paul who lived in strict obedience to the Law. When Paul understood this he said, “when the commandment came [was revealed], sin revived and I died.” Paul realized he was “sold [as a slave] under sin”[17] through the deception that works of people according to the Law can bring about salvation:

i)       GALATIANS 3:19, 21-23 What purpose then does the law serve? It [the Law] was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. … 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has [concluded] all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.

h)    The challenge for those seeking justification by their own works is that it requires perfect obedience to every point of the Law but a single sin brings a judgment of death:

i)       PSALM 119:172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are [justice] [H6664 = tsedeq].

ii)     JAMES 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

i)       Everyone has sins of ignorance or rebellion or both. The justice of people and the Justice of God are works of two opposing systems of justice. The justice of man is rooted in a mind that cannot avoid sin but the Justice of God is rooted in His mind, which is agape love:

i)       ROMANS 13:8, 10 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. … 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

ii)     1 JOHN 4:16-17 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment [the justice of God]; because as He is, so are we in this world.

j)      The scribes and Pharisees rejected the Justice of God because they were both deceived and rebellious. Worse than that, Jesus Christ called them hypocrites because they usurped the supreme authority of God over the people:

i)       MATTHEW 23:13, 15 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. … 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

k)     John the Baptist warned the scribes and Pharisees of the judgment upon them:

i)      LUKE 3:7 Then he [John the Baptist] said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

l)       However, this warning was also revealed by Jesus Christ. Not only did He reveal the Justice of God but He also revealed the Wrath of God:

i)       ROMANS 1:18-19 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and [injustice] [G93 = adikia] of men, who suppress the truth in [injustice] [G93 = adikia], 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

m)  This is why Jesus warned people of the justice of the scribes and Pharisees:

i)       MATTHEW 5:20 “For I [Jesus Christ] say to you [the people], that unless your [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] exceeds the [justice] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

n)    Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of God by revealing that the justice of mankind is not pleasing to God and does not justify sin. For this reason, God had to provide another means for salvation—the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ! And that is why baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation—it is the only means by which the judgment of death for sin is carried out so that people can then be justified according to the Law of God.

o)    PURPOSE OF BAPTISM: Baptism is the miracle of God by which a sinner 1) DIES according to the judgment for sin according to the Law of God, 2) is FORGIVEN by God through the remission of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, 3) is JUSTIFIED (judged innocent by a verdict of not guilty) by God’s grace, and, 4) is RAISED to live according to the Justice of God. Baptism transfers a sinner from the justice of man to the Justice of God. They are “freed from sin” and now “under [the] grace” of God’s justification.

6)    Justification is Judgment

a)    So what changed with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? His sacrifice brought about a change in the mind of a sinner, something animal sacrifices could not do:

i)       HEBREWS 10:1-4 For the law [of Moses], having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

b)    Everyone can recall sins so what does it mean not to have a consciousness or reminder of sins? It is not about past memories, it is how someone purposes and lives their life. There are two opposing justifications: justification by our works according to the “Law of Sin Unto Death” and the other is justification by God’s works according to His “Law of Justice,”[18] also called the “Law of the Spirit of Life”:

i)       ROMANS 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

c)     Justification is rendering a judgment with a verdict of guilty or not guilty for sin. Justification by works of people is according to the Law of Sin Unto Death. But “our justice is like filthy rags”[19] that renders a judgment with a verdict of guilty. Justification by the works of God is according to the Law of Justice who renders a judgment with a verdict of not guilty, making the sinner innocent. There is one Law but two contrasting justice systems with two opposing judgments.

d)    Before the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, sins were forgiven by the blood of animals[20] because “according to the law almost all things are purified [covered and cleansed] with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”[21] There is forgiveness because blood covers sins but animals do not change the mind of a sinner away from a life of sin to a life of obedience unto grace. There is a cost for the animal that is sacrificed but it cannot pay the “price” or ransom for people because they are worth far more than an animal.

e)    In contrast, Jesus Christ was a human being capable of sinning. He bore the sins of mankind into the grave because He was sinless. He was a vessel empty of His own sins into which God placed the sins of mankind[22]. There is forgiveness through His blood and the sinner is justified according to the Justice of God. There is no cost to sinners but the life of Jesus that paid the ransom for our lives was a price can never be repaid so it became an eternal debt.

f)      Paul often used the analogy of bondage and slavery when discussing the Law of God, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and sin and justice. For example, he personified sin as a slave master that has the power (1 Cor. 15:56) to kill those enslaved to it (Rom. 7:9). His epistles to the Corinthians used the metaphor of slavery because that was something quite familiar to them. This is why he portrays the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the purchase price for slaves:

i)       1 CORINTHIANS 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

g)    Even though sins were forgiven with animal blood, the sinner was still owned by the slave master called Sin. However, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ purchases someone enslaved to sin and they become a bondservant to a new Master—God. In ancient Israel, someone who could not repay a debt became a bondservant of the one to whom it was owed until the debt was paid. However, the debt owed to God for being ransomed from sin can never be repaid, which is why someone is a bondservant to God for life. All of this occurs with baptism that is a ransom from death[23] as a slave of sin to become a bondservant of God. This requires a change of consciousness (heart and mind) to live as a bondservant according to the Justice of God, not by our own justice:

i)       HEBREWS 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

h)    How is the consciousness changed? By the indwelling of His Holy Spirit:

i)       ROMANS 8:4, 10 that the [just] [G1345 = dikaioma] requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the [Holy] Spirit. … 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the [Holy] Spirit is life because [or for the purpose] of [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune].

i)       Through baptism, a person shifts their conscience from their own justice to the Justice of God by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God said that He “dwells with him” through the Holy Spirit “to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”[24] The word revive means to bring back to life. He brings sinners back to life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the death of baptism, and justification of sin by His resurrection whereby He blots out their sins forever[25]:

i)       ISAIAH 43:25 “I [the LORD], even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.

j)      How are they blotted out? They were taken to the grave by the body of Jesus Christ. But more than that, He was resurrected to a sinless body that was cleansed of the sins of the world. He was a sinless man who was “in all points tempted [to sin] as we are, yet without sin”[26] so His death can substitute for ours.

k)     The Law of God defines both sin and justice. Those “under law” and those “under grace” are subject to the same Law of God. If sin exists, then the Law of God exists. If judgment exists, then the Law of God still exists. If grace exists, then the Law of God still exists. Therefore, the Law of God is universal and applies to everyone—including those with the Holy Spirit:

i)       1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-21 For since I [Paul] am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law [of sin]) to gain those under the law. 21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.

l)       If the Law of God was ‘done away in Christ’, then Paul would be free from it; however, he clearly said “I am not free from God’s law.”

7)    Law of Grace

a)    So why is the Law of God called the Law of Grace? First, understand that all justice, whether it is judgment for death or eternal life, is according to works. What?!? How can that be when Scripture clearly says “by grace you have been saved … not [by] works?”[27] Obviously, those under Law of Sin rely upon their own works to justify sin. Those under the Law of Justice rely upon God’s works to justify sin. Works are still required but it is God who does the works that justify sin[28]:

i)       PHILIPPIANS 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

b)    All workers want to receive wages.[29] The wages for the works of mankind to justify sin are death. The wages for the works of God to justify sin are eternal life. Those who are justified by God have faith in His works:

i)       ROMANS 4:5-6 But to him who does not work but believes on Him [God] who justifies [G1344 = dikaioo] the ungodly, his faith is accounted for [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune], 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God [regards as] [just] [G1343 = dikaiosune] apart from works:

c)     The works of people do not justify sins because they are “dead works.”[30] Only the works of God justify sins. The wages for the works of God are eternal life but, since He does the works, they would have to be paid to Him[31]. Those under the Justice of God have no works so they do not receive wages. Since God already has eternal life, He GIFTS the wages of His works—eternal life—to us by His grace (charity, benevolence).

d)    The works of God are for the perfecting of His agape love in us[32]. We are under the Law of Grace—the benevolent agape love of God—because eternal life is a gift[33], not wages for works. It is an amazing grace because: 1) no one can repay the debt owed for being ransomed from death by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, 2) it is God who does the works that justify sinners, and 3) we do no works so eternal life is a gift. All who are baptized are now waiting for God to finish His works:

i)       2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 All Scripture is … for instruction in [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune], 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

ii)     EPHESIANS 4:13 till we all [… become] a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

e)    NOTE: The works of God are justification of sin. However, Good Works are also required for salvation because “faith without [good] works is dead”—Jas. 2:17. Good Works cannot justify sins because salvation is by believing the works of God will bring salvation.[34] Instead, Good Works benefit others. They reflect the perfecting of agape love that is in those with whom He works. Good Works are required; they are proof that God’s works are being accomplished. Good Works earn a reward, not salvation.

8)    Rest From Labors

a)    Those who are baptized are no longer slaves of sin who are forced to do the works of justification but slaves of God who does the works that justify our sins. Since God does the works, He has given those under the Law of Justice Unto Life rest from works:

i)       HEBREWS 4:3-4, 10 For we who have believed [and are baptized] do enter that rest, … 4 For He [God] has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; … 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

b)    The Law of Grace refers to the forgiveness and remission of sin (removal by a judgment of not guilty) through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, justification of sin by the works of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and eternal life that is a gift of God’s grace:

i)       ROMANS 4:5-8 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies [G1344 = dikaioo] the ungodly, his faith is accounted for [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune], 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God [regards as] [justice] [G1343 = dikaiosune] apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not [regard as] sin.”

c)     And there it is. Before Jesus Christ came in the flesh, “sin was in the world but there was no accounting [justification by the Law of Justice] for sin.”[35] During those times, “God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”[36] That is why Jesus Christ had to reveal that justification unto salvation is only possible under the Law of Justice Unto Life. It also brought God’s judgment into the world—beginning with the house of God[37]—and God now “commands all men everywhere to repent.”[38] The sacrifice of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible is proof of the immeasurable agape love and amazing grace (benevolence) of God.

9)    Marriage of Christ

a)    Finally, there are two more points. First, the example of the Law of the Husband was not only an analogy of those who are released from the judgment of death for sin by baptism into the death of Jesus Christ; it also portrayed a new marriage:

i)       [NET 2.1] ROMANS 7:4b … so that you could be joined [in marriage] to another, to the One [Jesus Christ] who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.

b)    Being “joined to another” is an obvious reference to Jesus Christ:

i)       2 CORINTHIANS 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I [Paul] have betrothed you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

c)     Betrothal had the same commitment as marriage in those days so a betrothed couple came under the Law of the Husband. Baptism is a betrothal of people to a new Husband[39]—Jesus Christ; the Son of God.

10) Marriage of the Ten Tribes

a)    Second, the death of Jesus Christ solved another problem—the promise of God to remarry the Ten Tribes of Israel whom He divorced[40]:

i)       HOSEA 2:2, 16, 19-20 “Bring charges against your mother [Israel], bring charges; for she is not My wife, nor am I [the LORD] her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; … 16 “And it shall be, in that day,” says the LORD, “that you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me [‘Baali’] … 19 “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in [justice] [H6664 = tsedeq] and [judgment] [H4941 = mishpat], in lovingkindness and mercy; 20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.

b)    The prophets of old were confounded because God divorced the Ten Tribes who had run off with pagan gods. But He also promised that He would again marry the Ten Tribes; however, the Law of the Husband prevented it. God could only marry the Ten tribes after divorcing them if God had died, something the prophets could not imagine. When Paul understood that the their Husband was Jesus Christ who died, he rejoiced because all Israel could at last be rejoined unto Him:

i)       ROMANS 11:23, 26, 33 And they [Israel] also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. … 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; … 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

11) Conclusion

a)    The Bible is greatest love story of all. It is works of agape love by God in His begotten children. His works will bring about the joy yet to come:

i)       1 PETER 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith–the salvation of your souls.

b)    And that, brethren, is something to always be abundantly thankful for:

i)       1 CORINTHIANS 15:56-57 The sting of death is sin, and the [power] of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

12) May God’s grace and peace be upon you!