Baptism (Part 3)

Freedom from Law

When I was young, I used to play Monopoly with my family. I remember that the most feared space on the board was the one that said, “Go to Jail.” There were also cards in the game that sent players to jail, and they too were feared.

But the one card every player wanted was the “Get out of jail free” card. It was so powerful that the terminology has passed into general usage outside of the game. Everyone wants a “Get out of jail free card” in all kinds of situations. But the law does not provide such a thing. 

Likewise, the laws of God do not provide a “Get out of jail free card.” People are born under the laws of God and they live under the laws of God until they die.

The problem is that while we live under the law, it is always there to condemn us and convict us of sin if we break the law. Sin is the breaking of God’s law.

But what if you could be separated from the law?

There is a way. It occurs at baptism when we die with Christ. We are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by this process, we are set free from sin and set free from the law.

The law only has power over those who are alive. When you die, the law loses its power over you. A dead person is not under the law, they are set free from the law.

When we die with Christ and believe in faith that we are truly dead with Him and resurrected as new creations in Christ, we are no longer confined by the laws of God. We have died to the law and it no longer has any power over us to convict or condemn us as sinners.

Consider these questions: 

• If with Christ you have died to the law, do you still think and act as though you are under the law? 
• If the law can no longer condemn you as a sinner, do you still condemn yourself? Why?

A prayer point: 

• Ask the Lord to give you clarity of understanding about where you stand with respect to the laws of God. Ask Him to show you how you have been set free from the laws and how the truth will truly make you free.