Inquiry. I would like to take a look at the text of Romans 8:3-4.

Answer. Ok.

Inquiry. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:3-4.

I have often heard this text quoted, and it has always been a source or trouble to me.

Answer. Why?

Inquiry. Because we are told that those who walk after the Spirit are given the power to be righteous, and I know from my own experience that I am anything but righteous, which means that I am either not walking in the Spirit, or I am lacking something.

Answer. This is another text which is commonly abused by many teachers and preachers within Christianity to emphasize both the necessity and reality of our law keeping for salvation. It is often used as a powerful means of arguing against the gospel of true grace.

By emphasizing and taking out of their true context the words - "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." there are many so called Christian teachers today who use this text to try and prove that Christ came to give us the power and ability through the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfil the righteousness of the law, by which they mean - that by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can and are re-created or regenerated into righteous people who have the power to keep the law.

Inquiry. So why did Paul tell us that by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the ability to keep the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.?

Answer. HE DIDN'T! He didn't say any such thing! Paul knew far better then to speak such nonsense. He revered God far too much to utter such a thing. And he knew only too well, by his own living experience, as he tells us in the closing verses of Romans 7, that his own life in the flesh was anything but actually righteous.

Inquiry. So what is he saying?

Answer. Fact number 1. The Greek word for "righteousness" in the New Testament is usually the word "dikaiosune". This word is used on 94 occasions in the New Testament, and generally understood to mean "righteousness", "justice" or "law keeping".

Fact number 2. The word "righteousness" from the Romans 8 text - "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," is not the word "dikaiosune". It is a translation of the Greek word "dikaioma".

IT IS NOT THE SAME WORD!

The Bible translators chose to use the word "righteousness", but the word "dikaioma" does in fact have a different meaning to the word "righteousness" as we generally understand it to be.

Inquiry. What is the difference?

Answer. The word "dikaioma" is only used twelve times in the whole of the New Testament. It is translated as "righteousness" on four of those occasions, and in other places is also interpreted as "judgement", "justification" or "ordinance".

A more correct meaning of the word is actually - "a judicial sentence".

Inquiry. What difference does this make?

Answer An unbelievable difference! It alters the meaning drastically!

Inquiry. I do not really see how.

Answer. What is the judicial sentence of the law?

Inquiry. I am not sure what you mean.

Answer. DEATH! The judicial sentence of the law is death! The law demands death from all who break it.

Inquiry. Okay, so death is the judicial sentence of the law. So, how can it be understood that the judicial sentence of the law - DEATH - has been fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit?

Answer. Paul has already taken great pains in the whole of the sixth chapter to explain this to us. He has already shown us how that Christ DIED for us, so that we should also reckon ourselves to be DEAD with Him, the ordinance of baptism being the type.

It is as if he is saying -

Do you not understand the meaning of Christian baptism? Do you not understand that our descent into the water and our ascending out of the water symbolizes our being baptized into Christ's death. When He died it was as if we died, because we take His death for our own. His death was the death for sin. Sin has been paid for by Christ. And our baptism into His death is our recognizing that our sin cannot condemn us any longer because its penalty has been paid for by Christ!

He died for our law breaking! So how can we, who accept and believe that He has done such a thing, imagine that we can find life by keeping the law any longer?

Paul's argument is really quite logical and simple - if you continue to live in the law and trust in your works of the law for your righteousness you cannot at the same time truly believe that you were baptized into Christ's death. One of these two things it must be - you are either accounted righteous by God by keeping the law, or you are accounted righteous by God because Christ has died for your sins. And those who have been baptized into Christ's death believe that they are accounted righteous because Christ has died for sin and the law has been fulfilled by Christ. Therefore, when we accept that Christ died for us, and has removed the penalty of death from us, it is as if we become dead to the law. The law condemns us to death for sin, but if we enter into Christ's death for sin, then we become dead tot he law. The judicial sentence of the law - death is fulfilled in us.

He has already told us earlier in Rom. 6 -

"Knowing that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:6.

Knowing what?

Knowing that our old man is crucified with Him.

Which old man. The old man that committed sin?

NO! The old man that existed before we had the knowledge of Christ our Saviour! The old man which we buried by being buried in baptism with Christ! The old man who was dead in trespasses and sins by breaking the law! The old man who looked at the works of the law in their life as either condemning them to death or bringing them life.

Why is our old man crucified with Him?

"that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

Does this mean that all sin in our body might be eradicated? that we should be given the power to not commit sin any longer?

NO! NO! NO! A thousand times NO!

Paul is saying no such thing! Indeed he is going to spend the whole of chapter seven telling us that he means no such thing. He is going to go to great lengths to tell us how he was still as sinful as he ever was, and that the law of sin which worked in his members continually made him cry out "O wretched man that I am!"

Inquiry. So what is he saying? And how are we to understand that - "that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

Answer. How is the body of sin destroyed?

By being put to death!

And how is it put to death?

By spiritually entering into Christ's death!

So how do we not serve sin?

By destroying the law of sin and in our heart!

How do we not remain in bondage to sin any longer?

By destroying the law of sin and death in our heart!

How are we not to be in bondage to sin?

By not being in bondage to the law of sin and death!

Paul's teaching is clear and precise. The law is the strength of sin! The law brings death! The law brings the curse! If you still believe that the law of sin and death has any power over you, or that you can be and may be condemned because of the sins that you commit, then you do not accept that Christ's death for your sins was sufficient, therefore you have not been baptized into Christ's death for sin! But if you have been baptized into Christ's death for sin and accepted that He has died for your sin, then YOU ARE DEAD TO SIN! The judicial sentence of the law - DEATH, has been fulfilled in you!

This is how the body of sin is destroyed and we no longer serve sin - By destroying the power of sin - the law. By no longer looking at the works of the law in our life as making us righteous or good enough to be accepted by God, or as our fitness to enter into eternal life. Neither by saying that unless we do any such good works of the law we will be rejected.

This becomes even more clear, when he says -

"For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:7-11

Did you hear those beautiful words?

Inquiry. Yes.

Answer. HE THAT IS DEAD IS FREED FROM SIN! - SO IF WE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST - RECKON YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN ALSO!

His argument is very clear.

If Christ has died for sin, neither sin nor death has any more dominion over him. He cannot die again because he has already died. Death holds no threat over Him any more because He has already been killed once. The law which demanded death as a punishment has no more power over Him, because He has already paid the penalty, and he was raised again from the dead! He triumphed over death by being raised from the dead. So being raised from the dead what threat does death now hold over Him?

NONE!

So, if we understand and believe that Christ has already taken our place and died for our sin, then what else remains to keep us from eternal life?

We cannot say that our committing sin can go against us, for Christ has already died for sin. We cannot say that our failure to fulfil the law can go against us, for Christ has already fulfilled the law for us. And all who understand and believe that Christ has died for sin are spiritually baptized into His death. Death has no more dominion over Him and it has no more dominion over any who are dead with Christ!

What threat has death for sin got over you if Christ has already been delivered for your sins, and your offences?

So Reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, dead unto the power of sin - the law. For if Christ has already died for sin then what is there left to condemn us before God? We cannot say that sin still remains if the penalty for sin has been paid! We cannot say that death still remains if Christ has already died for us instead, and we are dead with Christ. We cannot say that we still need to be righteous in ourselves when His righteousness is imputed to. What is left? What still remains?

NOTHING!

And this is how the judicial sentence of the law - DEATH - is fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit!