‘For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. ‘

Romans 7:5

Legalism will always lead a person to question if they are good enough to enter God’s heaven. But we do not need to worry because Christ was good enough on our behalf. Believing in the gospel alone by faith alone means we have been set free from the condemnation of the law. That isn’t a license to sin, which is the first thing the Pharisees will scream.

Romans 7:5 emphasizes that before we were saved, all sins committed under the law were building up to spiritual death. However, believers are delivered from the law and serve in the newness of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit replaces the law, empowering us from within. We no longer need the ten commandments (we don’t throw them out now way – the ten commandments are the very mind of God; but we can’t keep them for salvation, no one can, only Christ could and because He did now we can too by the Holy Spirit that indwells us) to keep us on track, as we cannot do it ourselves anyway. The only power the law had was to condemn. Don’t allow legalism to lead to constant misery, as believing in the gospel sets us free from the law’s penalty of death.

Romans 7:6

‘But now we (believers) have been delivered (DELIVERED, DELIVERED, from WHAT?) from the law (to repeat we were delivered NOT saved by the law), …having died to what we were held by (the law keeper is under the severe penalty of death because of the law. The law was the ministry of death),…(but because we believed the gospel we identified with Christ’s death on the cross and what was nailed to the cross? THE LAW! THE LAW! Colossians 2:14)…so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit (when we believe the gospel the Holy Spirit comes into our heart and the Holy Spirit takes the place of the law. So we do not need the ten commandments in front of us 24/7 to keep us on track. We can’t do it anyway. But now we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and empowering us from within. The only power the Law had was to condemn.)…not in the oldness of the letter (or the law).’