Wherefore, my brethren, also you are dead to the law through the body of the Christ, to come to be unto a different one, to the One Who was raised out from the dead, in order that you should bear fruit to God, Romans 7:4
Since Christ’s death and resurrection have been imputed to us, we are no longer subject to obedience to the sin nature. Just as a wife is free to marry another when her husband dies, so we, who are in Christ, are free from bondage to the sin nature.
The Law gives strength to the sin nature, bringing us back under subjection to its desires and making it impossible to live by faith through grace while we are seeking to adhere to its standards (1 Corinthians 15:56).
Our sin nature is the nature we inherited from Adam, which is separated from God in spirit—our rational center—because of Adam’s trespass, and is subject to physical death due to his sin (Romans 5:12). This nature rejects the standards of God (Romans 8:7) and demonstrates no kindness toward others (Romans 3:12; note: the word “good” in this passage denotes kindness). It is a nature that walks in the way of destruction and misery, not knowing the way of peace (Romans 3:16–17).
However, since we are dead to the sin nature and alive to God, we are able to bear fruit unto God—fruit that results from living out the righteousness we possess in Christ. This fruit is described in Galatians 5:22–23 as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, objectivity of mind, and self-control.