My mom never breaks the law. She never drives over the speed limit. She doesn’t litter. She doesn’t  jaywalk. She never lies. She never gossips. She never does anything wrong at all. Never. You might say my Mom keeps the law.  But I say, no, she doesn’t.

You see, my mom died 11 years ago. Today would have been her 90th birthday. She hasn’t broken OR kept any laws in 11 years. Mom has no relationship to the law.  She is dead. So she is dead to the law.

So are we. We have no relationship to the law whatever. We don’t break the law or keep it.  We are dead to the law, just like Mom.

Paul writes in Romans 8

…the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:2-3 NIV.

The old sin nature in us died on the cross with Jesus. When we accepted Christ as our Lord, we became born again into the law of the Spirit of God, which gives life. The old you and me were crucified with Jesus. The law is dead to us and we are dead to it.

 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

I believe knowing we now have no relationship to the law is vital to our understanding our true identity in Christ.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I still miss you and think about you every day. I can’t wait to see you again. Next time you see Jesus will you tell Him that I love Him?  Do they play bridge in heaven? If they do I know you’ll be at the table.