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“Crucified with Christ, I Live” (1)
But did Paul’s relationship to the law change? Did the law change? Did the law change its demands? Did the law say to Paul, “Do your best, and I will cut you some slack”? Did the law say to Paul, “Do not worry—God grades on a curve”? Did the law say to Paul, “You are better than others and God appreciates your sincere efforts to keep me”? No, the law does not change and it cannot change. The law is the unchanging standard of God’s righteousness. There is nothing wrong with the law, but there was everything wrong with Paul; there is everything wrong with us.
Did the law die, then? Was the law abolished or abrogated? Did God say, “I see that you cannot keep my commandments; therefore, I will no longer require it”? Did God cancel his requirements and then accept something less than perfect obedience instead? The answer is no! The law is still in force and all sinners who are under the law must perish, therefore.
The answer is that Paul changed. The law did not die, but Paul died. “I am dead to the law” or “I died to the law” (v. 19). Paul’s relationship to the law changed because he died; when Paul died, the law lost its power over Paul. The law, says Paul, cannot condemn me; it cannot curse me; it cannot damn me; and it cannot hold me captive.
