Romans 7:7 - A Mini Education on the Law: Christ, Our Lord (Conciliation Series, Part XXXIII)

 Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

What, then, shall we declare? That the law is sin?

But what of our Lord? We understand that God’s nature is indeed the law, but what’s Christ’s role in all of this? We must consider all of this through Christ’s work on the cross, or we are not truly discovering more of the present secrets.

Christ, being the Image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15,) the Effulgence of His glory, and the Emblem of His Assumption (Heb. 1:3-4,) is revealed to be the One giving the Israelites the law on Sinai. He is the relative Authority behind the law, as it is through Christ that God created all (1 Cor. 8:6, Col. 1:15-17.) This means that the moral beings that we are, being made in the Image of God (Gen. 1:26,) as well as His likeness (Gen. 1:26,) are created through Christ.

This is crucial because it reveals that God’s relationship to the law is Christ’s relationship to the law. Christ is inherently in the form of God (Phil. 2:6,) and operates in complete accord with God’s will. Natural, moral, and Mosaic law are all established by God through Christ. The statements that Yahweh makes to Moses all throughout Exodus concerning the revealed moral nature of the law, as well as instruction to create the tabernacle, the holy of holies, and the priesthood, were given by God through Christ.

However, Christ’s relationship to the law is not limited to this. When Christ is incarnated as a Man (Heb. 10:5,) He fulfills the law (Matt. 5:17.) He reveals Himself as the Image of the Lawgiver, in repeatedly giving proper and righteous interpretations of the law (Matt. 5:21-22, 31-32, 33-34, 38-39.) No regular man could have done this, as we’ve studied (Rom. 3:10-11, 5:12.) He further shows His delegated authority over the universe in showing us His ability to control natural laws (Matt. 8:27.) And it is even explicitly stated that, while on earth, He speaks as One having authority (Matt. 7:29.)

In this, He clearly shows that He has the authority to enforce the law’s penalty. That said, the penalty, when not enforced, must then be suffered by the One enforcing, because forgiveness does not erase consequence. Thus the ultimate example of His authority was shown by suffering the full penalty of the law, in all its forms – the Jews paid for Him (Matt. 26:15.) He was beaten by the Romans (John 19:1-3.) And He was, of course, murdered by the Jews (Matt. 27:1-50.) Despite not breaking a single law, He suffers all of its penalty, making His death sacrificial in nature.

While all of this may technically be supplementary material, it does pertain to Romans 7:7, and casts a new light, and a more foundational understanding, of our evangel. Recall Romans 3:24-25–

Being justified gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus (Whom God purposed for a Propitiatory shelter, through faith in His blood, for a display of His righteousness because of the passing over of the penalties of sins which occurred before in the forbearance of God)…

The righteousness of God was displayed in Christ’s deliverance. He is delivered, in law, but this is not, as the CLV implies, because He passes over the penalties of sins. Here’s an excerpt from our brother Martin Zender, in his ZWTF Vol. 3, Iss. 24, of his Romans series, concerning this word:

“The Greek word translated “penalties” in Romans 3:25 is hamartema. The English elements of this three-part Greek word are UN-MARK-EFFECT. (Sin means “to miss the mark,” hence, UN-MARK.) The effect of missing the mark (hamartema, UN-MARK-EFFECT,) is death. Thus, in my opinion, “the penalties of sins” ought to be translated this way: “the effects of sins.” It better agrees with the meaning of the Greek word. Additionally, this rendering derails all supposition that Christ was punished.”

You saw it too? Yeah, hamarte-ma. The suffix ‘-ma’ is indeed displaying the effect of sin itself, being the offense. The offense is passed over, in Christ’s sacrifice, which is why He forms a propitiatory shelter for us through faith. This justification is through His blood. Per my previous article (which you should have read, you ruffian,) because Christ did suffer law’s penalty, God successfully finished establishing the principle that the sinner deserves to suffer (Rom. 1:32.)

Moreover, it becomes clear that, if He is able to suffer the entirety of the law’s penalty, as well as follow it, then His authority is clearly and unequivocally demonstrated. He fully shows us that He has the authority to forgive sins, which One cannot do if they are not establishing the law. The Lord that established it also suffered its curse, handling it righteously – no greater display of morality can be proven than by the Image of the invisible God suffering justice at the hands of the invisible God, Who, at the time of Jesus’ death, was the sole, divine Judge over His creation. God required and inflicted Christ’s suffering at the cross, and then endured Christ’s suffering with Him there. It is the suffering that displays His righteousness and His law.

That said, it follows that we must consider what changes in His relation to law post-ascension. If He has the authority to fulfill law, enforce its penalty, and forgive sin, both before and during His life on earth, then what after His life on earth?

Well, first, He clearly isn’t under law anymore, because a) one who dies has been justified from Sin, and b) one is under law until he dies. Christ died, observing and enduring law’s righteous penalty, and justifies all from Sin through it. Now that we have been baptized into His death, we are in the same boat.

Moreover, the exaltation and authority that He is given after His resurrection is the ability to judge through the law (which is why we do not have ‘Judgment Day’ anytime before the 1,000 year kingdom has been fulfilled.) Observe John 3:17–

For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.

While on earth, Christ does not judge, but saves the world. Afterward, however, see John 5:22-23, 27–

For neither is the Father judging anyone, but has given all judging to the Son, that all may be honoring the Son, according as they are honoring the Father…

…And He gives Him authority to do judging, seeing that He is a son of mankind.

It is because He experiences an earthly sojourn firsthand (explicitly that He is given authority because of His status as a son of mankind.) Thus the Lord of the law has been perfected in His suffering, rounded out in humility (Heb. 2:10, 5:9, 7:19, Phil. 2:7-8.)

How is this perfection effected? Well, that takes us right back to the core of Romans, being ‘faith.’ The ‘Propitiatory shelter’ was through the faith in His blood, through which the law is sustained (3:31,) and by which is the basis of our justification (5:9.) In that, Christ is not ‘without law’ anymore. He is not under Mosaic law, but He is not without faith’s law (3:28,) which demands obedience, yes (1:5,) but the penalty is grace (5:20,) which does not ‘forgive and forget,’ but justifies from, and educates you through, the sin.

We see, in this, why faith is so crucial to us. Without His faith, the love of God is not poured in our hearts (5:1, 5,) and the spiritual life, the righteousness, the holiness, the freedom from law – none of it would be possible. It is only through faith that law sees its true complement: love.

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Now, with everything we have considered, we must return to our original question. Is the law sin? Paul?

May it not be coming to that!

Obviously.

- GerudoKing