Let's open our Bibles to Romans 7:1-6.

Through our union with Christ, we have died to the law so that we are free to bear fruit for God in the Spirit

Through our union with Christ, we have died to the law, which only produced sin and death

Dying to the law does not mean that we are free from specific moral commandments

By being identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, we died to the law so that we are legally free to be joined to Christ

Dying to the law means that we are free from the demands of the law as an impersonal system for approaching God

The system of law brought everyone who tried to live by it under a curse because no one could keep the law perfectly

Dying to the law means that we are free from the condemnation of the law

The law brings the knowledge of sin and puts us under God's wrath

Dying to the law means that we are free from the inability of the law to produce obedience

The power of the law to arouse our sinful desires is broken

The Holy Spirit now gives us the power to obey

Having died to the law, we are now joined to Jesus Christ, which produces fruit for God in the Spirit

Our union with Christ is a transforming relationship

"But now" points to the great change from before we met Christ to now

Our union with Christ is a love relationship

Our motive changed from duty that condemns us to love that accepts us

Our union with Christ is a liberating relationship

Before Christ we were in captivity in every sense of the word

Our union with Christ is a fruitful relationship

We learn what is pleasing to the Lord

Our union with Christ is a powerful relationship

The Spirit enables us to put to death the deeds of the flesh

Our union with Christ is a holy relationship

We are freed from the law so that we may be enslaved to God