The eighth chapter of Romans is an extraordinary chapter. It begins with the declaration of “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit” (v. 1) and concludes with “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv. 38-39).
In its context, this chapter documents the vast superiority of living as a Christian under Christ’s reign of grace over being a Jew under the Law of Moses and the tyranny of the law of sin and death.
Unlike the gospel, the Law with its focus on God’s holiness only condemns. By design, its emphasis is on how sin separates and alienates humanity from God.
What the Law could not do in that it was weak through human failure, the gospel does: no condemnation by sin (v. 1), life and peace (v. 6), divine sonship (vv. 14-16), glorification (v. 17), hope (v. 24), help in weakness (v. 26), certain knowledge of God’s providence (v. 28), and no separation from the love of Christ (v. 35) and God (vv. 38-39).
Clearly, the New Testament deserves its divine moniker of “the better covenant”.
