Romans 8:1-2

Bible Snippets Series

I was trying to think of a way to explain Romans 8:1-2 in ways that a very logical-minded non-Christian would understand.

The gospel, or message, of Jesus Christ should be good news. If we are to reach others with good news, we can’t inject or explain things in ways that put people on edge, make them defensive, or make them wary.

Romans 8:1-2 is supposed to be statement of great news:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

But what does it mean?

Condemnation we understand. Everyone has felt shame before, either from inside or outside. Everyone has experienced “being in the wrong.” This verse is proposing that there is a way we can be protected from this sort of condemnation.

Christ Jesus we can understand or at least grasp. Those who are “in” Christ Jesus are simply those who want to believe in Jesus. It encompasses anyone who believes in Jesus when he offers words of hope, instruction, and salvation.

What is the “law of the Spirit” and why does the Spirit “give life?” Let’s start with the “law of sin and death.” I think the scientific mind can accept that we are bound by natural, physical laws. One obvious result is that we are bound to death. Our cells die, our organs will fail one day, our bodies will decay, etc.

Sin is a word that encompasses more than “moral failure” or “making a mistake” or “doing wrong.” It’s a Christian-ese phrase for “anything that is not what God intended.”

And is it possible that God never intended for a “biological death” in the sense that pure materialists see death as the end to a human life? The Scriptures (particularly Genesis, but also NT imagery of the “new heavens and earth” one day) suggest this might be true.

So what is the “law of the Spirit” and why does it give life? First off, Jesus is God, and the Spirit is also God, and the Father is God. So a simplification is that the “law of the Spirit” is the “law of God.” And what’s a law? A system or way of being.

Using the language of “system” and “law” here, I might offer:

“When you believe in Jesus and accept the system of living and being that is consistent with God’s original desire for the world, you are freed from biological death, as well as condemnation or shame of any sort!”