How is it that believers escape the vulnerable reality outlined in Chapter 7 and live into the freedom from sin that is offered in Jesus? It is not through greater personal willpower. It is not through clever mind-tricks or just getting more information. The power to live in freedom from sin is found in the Spirit of life.
“Therefore, there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” —Romans 8:1-2
Paul’s argument in the first 17 verses is that life in Spirit….or the Spirit of Life….does a few things:
Gives us a new mindset—a mindset that brings LIFE and PEACE (v.5-8)
Gives us a new perspective on life and eternity (v.9-11)
Gives us a new obligation—go live according to the Spirit! (v.12-13)
Gives us a new identity—we are children and co-heirs with Christ (v.14-17)
It is the power of the Spirit, the Life of the Spirit, the filling of the Spirit in our lives that breaks us free from the ongoing struggle with sin and leads us into the freedom and life that God desires for us.