The law is spiritual, but I, on the other hand, am carnal. Rom. 7:14. There is a common, widespread belief that the law is something evil, something from which to be liberated as quickly as possible. However, the Scriptures say that the law is holy, and the commandments are holy, just and good. Rom. 7:12. When a person wants to be set free from what is holy, just and good, it is evident that he loves what is unholy and unjust more than the holy and just law that passes judgment over such a life. However, those who are unjust and ungodly are never set free from the law and its curse, because it was given for their sake. The only way we can be freed from experiencing the law as law is to become as holy and just as the law. Then we have become a law to ourselves, and its judgment is taken away. However, this does not happen instantly. We died to the law (its curse) through the body of Christ (Rom. 7:4), but we did not die to the spirit of the law—the spirit that is holy, just and good. The law is the will of God, but it could never be fully executed because of the weakness of the flesh—indwelling sin. However, what was impossible for the law as a law, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin, and condemning sin in the flesh. Rom. 8:3. In order to destroy sin in the flesh, Christ had to be made like us. After we have been united with Christ in the body of His flesh, we are set free from the curse of the law, and we become partakers of the law of the Spirit. The purpose and goal of this law is the destruction of sin in the flesh, or, if you will, the destruction of the body of sin. Rom. 6:6. The law in the body of Christ made a way directly into the sanctuary. When we become partakers with Christ in this law, sin will also be attacked in our mortal flesh. We share with Christ in His sufferings; our inner sinful nature is constantly surrendered to the death of Christ so that the life of Christ can be manifested in our mortal flesh. When this process is taking place in our body, the curse of the law is taken away. We have come under the law of Christ, the goal of which is to make a new and living way through the veil—that is, His flesh. Within this body is a vast land; there is so much room in Christ that we can walk in Him. There are those who claim to be free from the law as soon as they sense that the condemnation in their conscience has been taken away. Indeed, there are even people who believe that they have come to a place where Romans 7 no longer applies to their life. They have renounced it, claiming that from now on, they live in Romans 8. If we examine this more closely, we will find that the reason they make this deduction is because they “feel” like they have been freed from the “curse of the law.” Are we then perfect when the curse of the law is taken away? We can have a perfect attitude, but this does not mean that our life is perfect. I do not believe it will be easy to keep up with Paul in running this race, and his testimony was that he had not yet attained, nor was already perfected. Phil. 3:12. Even though his conscience was pure and free from the curse, he was still not perfect. But if he was not perfect, then all his works were not perfect either. If he did works that were imperfect, they must have had their root in something. Since they could not have had their root in the Spirit, they must have had their root in sin in the flesh. Thus, Paul could have a pure conscience even though his works and his life were not perfect. However, I do not believe that Paul loved the works he did that were not according to God’s will. Not at all! He hated them! By the grace of God, I also have tasted of the gift of the Holy Spirit, but in spite of that, I quite often do works that I hate. Why can we hate them? Because of the light of the Spirit. If I hate what I do, then I agree with what Paul writes in Romans 7. Some people will likely say, “I never do what I hate.” What a pitiable state. May God free us from such deception. A humble soul will always find something to judge in his life. We can even read in Romans 8:13: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” What are these deeds of the body that must be put to death by the Spirit, which we continue to have even though we live in Romans 8? How do they work? The deeds of the body that are spoken of in Romans 8 are explained and developed in Romans 7:23. “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Both you and I are taken captive by the law of sin in our members; we quite often do things that we absolutely did not intend to do. These are the “deeds of the body,” which must be put to death by the Spirit. Because of the weakness of the flesh, we were unable to stop them before they happened; therefore, we must put them to death afterward. These deeds of the body must not be confused with the works of the flesh, which are manifest sins. Gal. 5:19. If I do what I hate—what I do not want to do—it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I hate it and God hates it, so we agree on that point. Therefore, there is no condemnation for these works—as long as we put them to death by the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. I do not side with the deeds of the body. On the contrary, I put them to death; therefore I am free. All sin in the world comes through lust. When lust conceives, it gives birth to sin. This sin leads to death and must not be confused with the deeds of the body. “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Ps. 32:2.Johan O. Smith