Everlasting Life 
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Romans 8:2, when correctly read, is a most blessed
passage of Scripture. To get the sense we should place a dash between the
words “Spirit” and “of.” Thus it would read:
“For the law of the Spirit — of life in Christ Jesus, hath made
me free from the law of sin and death.”
When a sinner places his trust in Christ as Savior he is justified
before the bar of God, because Christ’s death and righteousness are
imputed to him. This is a judicial matter
But at the same moment something else happens: the Spirit regenerates
and gives new life (Tit. 3:5). This is a law, an inexorable, unchangeable
law. The sinner who sincerely places his trust in Christ as Savior is given
life by the Holy Spirit. It is always so; it is never otherwise.
I John
5:12 says: “He that hath the Son hath life….”
John
3:36 says that “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life” and Col. 3:3 declares that the believer’s life is
“hid with Christ in God.”
Thus the Apostle could say: “The law of the Spirit, [that of]
life in Christ, hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Adam forfeited his life by sin, but the believer’s new life can never
be forfeited, for this life is nothing less than the life of Christ, in
whom the sinner has already died and paid for his sins — and in whom
he now stands perfect and complete before God.
It is a law, a fixed unchangeable law, that sin brings forth death
(Rom.
5:12;
6:23; et al). This is called “the law of sin and
death,” but the believer has already died for sin in Christ and has
been given new life by the Spirit. Thus “the law of the
Spirit,” that of “life in Christ,” has made the simplest
believer “free from the law of sin and death.”
Thank God for “the law of the Spirit,” everlasting life
through the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by
Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of
these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this
word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the
newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for
many years, so that local, national and international events are
discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date
such articles, we have left them just as they were when first
published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially
since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper
articles."
We hope that you'll agree that while
some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths
taught therein are timeless.
