Wanted: Dead and Alive

Aim: To do God's will through death to law and life in Christ.

Exegesis: Death to the law brings us life in Christ. We died in Jesus' crucifixion (vv. 1-4a); we came alive in Jesus' resurrection (v. 4b); we are motivated by Jesus' love (vv. 5-6). Life in Christ brings us a proper appreciation of the law, in that it is God's tutor of us (v. 7), slayer of us (vv. 8-11), and standard for us (v. 12).

Key verse: v. 6 ''But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.''