Double jeopardy. No, not the second round of the game show hosted by Alex Trebek. It's the legal principle that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same charges after a legitimate acquittal or conviction. In the US, the fifth amendment of the Constitution bars double jeopardy.
According to Paul, God's law has a similar principle. "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God" (v19). The apostle uses the idea of double jeopardy to get his point across to the Galatians that we are now free in Jesus to live a life wide open for God.
Dying to live. Living to die.
Paul tells us that "through the law I died to the law." When he holds God's perfect law up to his own life, it reveals just how horribly imperfect he is. The glaring light of God's holy Word is like spiritual luminol that reveals every drop of sin in our lives. The law makes it blatantly obvious that we are sinners. Guilty.
As Matt Chandler uses a medical analogy to help us understand the law. He sees the law as a diagnostic tool like an MRI, CT scan or x-ray. Doctors use these machines to find out what's going on inside our bodies and see what's wrong. The law and its impossible standard of perfection and behavior are means of diagnosing my sin sickness.
Back to the courtroom, we stand unquestionably guilty of a capital crime. The judge hands down the only possible sentence. Death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). Death. I am a dead man walking.
But the executioner leads Someone else out of the courtroom in my place. It's Jesus! Sinless Jesus. Spotless Jesus. The perfect Lamb of God dies in my place. He willingly takes the full brunt of God's wrath for my sin, your sin and every sin ever committed. And as a result, the penalty for my crime is paid in full. Case closed.
That's what Paul means when he tells us that through the law he has died to the law. Once the court of heaven convicted and executed the guilty, the law has no further claim on him. The apostle uses the analogy of a widow being free to remarry after the death of her husband (Rom 7:1-6). The law no longer bars her from marrying another.
Verdict delivered. Sentence executed. Justice satisfied. Since Jesus died to the law in our place, double jeopardy is no long possible. "Do you knot know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Rom 6:2). We died when He died. He died so that we could live. The game has radically changed as a result. "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14).
Dying to live. Living to die.
Paul goes on to say that as a result of dying to the law, he is now able to live to God. Because of Jesus' substitutionary death in my place, I'm now able to put the pedal to the metal for the Lord. I can live wide open for Him.
The apostle states this idea in a slightly different way to his Roman posse. "My brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God" (Rom 7:4). Dead to the law. Living for God.
Dying to live. Living to die.
God's Word is loaded with paradox. Don't confuse this with contradiction. Contradiction is when two things oppose each other in such a way that they can't exist together. Paradox just SEEMS to be a contradiction. Yet because of our Great God, these two apparent opposites coexist wonderfully and beautifully. So it is with death and life.
Dying to live. Living to die.
So what do we do with this? How does that impact my life today? This truth allows us to live with no fear of failure. No concern about what others think of you. No worries about tomorrow. Jesus has died so that we could live. Buckle up. Pull your straps tight. And hit the accelerator to live for God.
Dying to live. Living to die.
©2012
Jay Jennings
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