Righteousness described in Romans

All the Law could do is make us conscience of sin.

The Law was the minister of death it had no power in itself to keep it. 

Romans 3:19 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

We were not created to be self sufficient.

2 Corinthians 3:3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 

The Spirit saves us , Not the Letter of the Law!

Romans 8:39 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.

2 Corinthians 3:6 who has made us able to withstand sin in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. For the letter of the law kills but the Spirit gives us life.

The law was set aside in the Cross and the Spirit within us was given to be our  teacher and helper  to guide us.

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Jesus blotted out the ordinances of the law (over 600) made by the Jews. Christ nailed them to the Cross. He satisfied all the law and the commandments and gave us grace. We have a new high priest of the the most high God in the order of Melchizedek the king of Salem and of the city of peace. The law could make nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by which we draw closer to God. GRACE. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brings grace to to all who accept Him.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the ultimate example of integrity, remaining blameless and obedient in the face of suffering and "even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). Jesus' integrity served a tremendous purpose in God's eternal Kingdom: Those who believe in Him obtain forgiveness of sins and eternal life (1 John 3:5).

Without a doubt, God uses His people's integrity to accomplish His purposes. With faith in Christ as our firm foundation (Matthew 7:24-25), we pray and seek God's guidance in every circumstance. We strive to make choices that align with His Word. We value honesty, righteousness, self-control, patience and goodness and make a conscious effort to act according to these principles. First 5

Righteousness in Romans.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. NKJB

Paul answers a potential objection to his teachings on grace—namely, that if the law caused sin to increase, which led to more grace, then continuing in sin would lead to even greater outpourings of grace. Paul rejects this on the basis that the reign of sin in the believer’s life has definitively ended. Believers are no longer under the power and control of sin; therefore, they must not live as though they are still under it.

Paul asserted that God’s gift reversed the effects of Adam’s sin, making believers alive to Him but also dead to sin. He expounds upon that transformation throughout the rest of this chapter. Possibly shorthand for “baptized into the name of Christ Jesus,” indicating being baptized into union with Christ Jesus. Baptism is the practice through which believers identify with the second Adam, Christ. Paul uses water baptism by immersion as a metaphor for the believer’s new life in Christ—identifying with Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism symbolizes participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Believers are now called to use their freedom to pursue righteousness. Believers are justified or acquitted from the consequences of sin.

When God raised Jesus from the dead, He transformed His earthly body into a glorified human body that is no longer susceptible to death and decay. In this state, Christ represents the immortal life that awaits those who have faith in Him. The power and influence of sin manifested itself in death. Ironically, by submitting to death, Christ died to the power and influence of sin. Christ lives outside the realm of sin; though He submitted to death once, He will never do so again. Like Christ, believers live for God and are empowered to do His will. Righteous conduct honors God as Creator, acknowledges His power evident in creation, and trusts Him to do what He promised.

Paul presents another reason why sin will not exercise control over believers. “Law” refers to the set of regulations God gave to Moses that identified sin but did not help overcome it. Grace, on the other hand, refers to the unmerited favor of God and His empowering presence to overcome sin. Faithlife Study Bible

Romans 6:6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Faithlife Study Bible

Romans 7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. NKJB

Those who know the law refers primarily to Jewish Christians, but also might include Gentile Christians who knew the law of Moses from the synagogue. 

Only death can terminate the bond between a person and the law. Paul illustrates this principle using a marriage analogy. The law of the husband refers to the law that binds a wife to her husband in marriage. Those who have participated in the death of Christ experience freedom from the law. The law identified sin, but it did not offer salvation or empowerment for obedience. Paul reasons that since believers have been freed from the law, they are also freed from its condemnation. 

The law identified sin and established boundaries for moral conduct—which ironically, because of people’s propensity to sin, resulted in more transgressions. 

The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to serve God without the boundaries of the law. Faithlife Study Bible

Romans 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. NKJB

Law Cannot Save us from Sin

Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. 

The law sets moral boundaries that otherwise would be unknown.

Paul describes either a non-Christian who is under the law or a Christian struggling with sin. If the passage concerns an unbeliever, then it reflects the struggle to do what is good while living under the power of sin and without God’s Spirit. If it concerns a believer, then it depicts the Christian who, despite the Spirit’s indwelling presence, struggles to live according to righteousness because of the powers of sin and death. Both interpretations find support from within the text of Romans, and both ultimately agree that believers must contend with the power of sin as they learn to live according to righteousness.

Romans 8:1 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. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. NKJB

Condemnation refers to the penalty for sin, which is separation from God. 

Paul’s assertion that there is no condemnation for believers summarizes the primary message of this chapter: Christ has brought life to those who deserved death and freedom to those who were guilty under the law.  There is no condemnation for justified believers in Christ Jesus because they have peace with God. Paul asserts there is no condemnation for those in Christ; through Jesus’ death, believers are no longer under the authority and condemnation of the law. In this way, Jesus rescued sinners from the body of death. 

The law could not help a person overcome sin or escape the penalty for sin. 

Paul contrasts the “law of the Spirit of life” with the “law of sin and death” The law was unable to make people righteous before God. Jesus became human and experienced the weakness and vulnerability of human nature to sin, yet He did not sin. Through Christ’s sacrificial death, God carried out His judgment upon sin, thereby breaking its power to control. 

In the likeness of sinful flesh refers to Jesus’ physical body. Jesus’ humanity was an essential part of God’s plan to fulfill the law and break the power of sin. Through the death of Christ, believers receive righteousness; through the Spirit, they are empowered to obey the essence of the law—to love. Throughout this section, Paul contrasts two ways of living: The flesh leads people to oppose God, so they are unable to obey Him; the Spirit dwells within believers and empowers them to do God’s will. 

It describes a mindset that opposes God—one that hates what God loves and loves what God hates. This could refer to the law of Moses or to God’s will in general. Those who live according to the mindset of the flesh cannot align themselves positively with God’s will. Paul argued that people disobey God’s law because of the indwelling power of sin. Here, he asserts that the indwelling and empowering presence of the Spirit helps believers to resist the flesh and please God.  

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, working through His Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.