Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 8:2

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." — Romans 8:2 (ASV)

We are hardly prepared by the contents of ch. 7 for the glorious pronouncement that there is no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus, and we find it hard to associate the “therefore” with anything in the immediately preceding context. The connection must thus be sought in the entire sweep of the thought as developed from ch. 3 on. The natural antithesis to condemnation is justification. Justification is such a basic truth to Paul that he brings it even into his discussion of the Christian life (8:33–34; cf. 8:10). It is the basis and starting point for sanctification. Believers must be assured of acceptance with God before they can grow in grace and conformity to Christ.

Furthermore, the construction of vv.2–4 carries us beyond the thought of freedom from condemnation to the application of the redeeming work of Christ by the Spirit to the believer’s life in such a way that the dominion of sin is broken and the reign of godliness assured. The noun “condemnation” has its counterpart in the verb “condemned” (v.3), which is followed immediately, not by a statement about the legal standing of believers, but by one concerning their manner of life (v.4). Thus, there is both a forensic and a practical force in “no condemnation.” Verse 2 immediately picks up this practical, dynamic aspect by concentrating on the freedom from the imperious rule of sin and death, a freedom now available to believers through the operation of the Spirit. The word “law” is used figuratively here in the sense of “principle” (cf. 7:21, 23). Clearly it would be impossible for Paul to refer to the law of Moses as “the law of sin and death,” even though it provokes sin (7:7–8) and produces death (7:9–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6–7); the Mosaic law in itself is holy (7:12). In the present passage, therefore, “law” indicates the certainty and regularity of operation that characterizes sin (which leads to death) and the Spirit (which leads to life). “Life” (GK 2437) emphasizes both supernaturalness and spontaneity—hence the superiority of the Spirit’s operation over that of sin. The Spirit gives us freedom from the enslaving power of sin.