On what basis does the Christian life operate successfully? The typical church leader or pastor today would reply; “Of course, it’s by you keeping the Ten Commandments – then God will bless you.”

While God’s written word explicitly maintains that the Mosaic Law, which He gave to the Nation Israel only, is “holy, and just [right before God], and good” (Rom. 7:12), there’s a problem… the problem is that we, as fallen humans with the Adamic Sin-nature, are incompatible with “the Law” that includes those ‘Ten Commandments.’

We can attempt to obey all Ten Commandments, but ultimately, we fail, we will always sin at some point. Then we’ve fallen under “the curse of the law” as seen here: “… whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in One point (of the law), he is guilty of All (the law)” (James 2:10). It’s as if you get caught speeding once, and you’re a speeder… sin once and you are a lost sinner. If we break any one commandment of God, the Bible says we are guilty of breaking every commandment of God. That’s a life of constant failure and misery! Of course religion would say… “just try harder.” That doesn’t sound like the joyful life of peace and rest that the Lord wants for us Christians.

The Biblical fact is that each of us was born naturally unholy, unjust, and corrupt. Who of us is not mostly self-centered, self-seeking, thinking mostly in terms of… what effect the issue at hand has on me. As we age, however, we cover it up, thinking, “how does this make me look?” We are innately self-interested persons… until Christ saves us begins His renewal of our soul’s mindset.

This hypocrisy reigns through the Adamic inborn Sin-nature… being bolstered by religion’s false ‘Law and performance’ requirement. As Berta Buxton (1844) wrote concerning the innate hypocrisy of fallen mankind, “the 11^th commandment - thou shalt not be found out!” We don’t like our evil heart being found out or exposed, but King David’s sins were exposed and he admitted the truth.

“…I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psa. 51:5)

Actually, “the law” was not given that we could or should keep it; it was given to be a mirror, so that we would recognize and know our real helpless condition and need of a righteous Savior to live in us.

“by the deeds of the law…shall no flesh be justified…: by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Rom. 3:20)

Thankfully: “he (the Father) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin (had no experience of sinning); (so) that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

How exactly does Christ make us righteous? There are 2 aspects.

1. First; Jesus died to reconcile us to God by His cross. And He nailed “the law” to His cross.

“(Jesus died) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and (Jesus) took it (the Law) out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” (Col. 2:14)  

“For if, when we were enemies, we were ‘reconciled’ to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved (Gk. sozo, completed)) By His life.” (Romans 5:10)

2. We should remind ourselves that as regenerated believers, the mindset of our “old man” (Rom 6:6), though still in memory, no longer has power over us because we effectively died “with Christ” the very moment we first believed. We were simultaneously baptized (not into water) but “into (Christ’s) one body,” and “into His death” (below). His death was also the death of our “old man.”
3. (1Cor. 12:13a)
4.  

Paul wrote of the way of victory; “I (my old self) am Crucified With Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I but Christ Liveth In Me…” (Gal. 2:20). Our death “with Christ” makes us free from the tyranny of “Sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3b). “He that is dead is free from Sin (from Sin’s dominion)” (Rom 6:7).