Romans 7:1-6

Romans 7:1-6

You Have Died to Law and Now are Free in Christ

Rom 7:1  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

Rom 7:2  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

Rom 7:3  So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

Rom 7:4  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

Rom 7:6  But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

  

1. Only the Living Have to Answer to the Law. The Dead are Beyond the Reach of Justice – vs. 1*
1. Paul is speaking to the believer that thinks his sanctification can be accomplished by following a morality. The truth is no amount of morality, whether it be God’s or man’s, can reform a man’s soul.

                                                              i.      Romans 6:14 

                                                            ii.      Romans 8:3 

2. A Woman Whose Husband has Died Owes Him No Allegiance. – vs. 2-3*
1. Paul knows that there is such thing as divorce, but universally it is accepted that marriage should be ‘until death do you part.’ He is demonstrating that is only death that can separate us from the dominion of morality.

                                                              i.      God’s intention for the marriage covenant is that it be permanent and only be broken by death.

1.      Genesis 2:23-24 

2.      Mark 10:2-9 

3. If We are Dead to the Law, then We Are no Longer Under its Legal Binding. – vs. 4*
1. While it may appear that Paul is confused here as to who is dead, the law or us as believers, he is actually not. In fact, his point is precisely made. If we are dead to the law than we are free to marry another. Death breaks the legal binding of the law and sets us free.

                                                              i.      1 Corinthians 7:39 

2. We can be legally married to Christ so that we can bring forth the fruit of God

                                                              i.      2 Corinthians 11:2 

                                                            ii.      Ephesians 2:10 

4. The Law Only Encourages More Sin and Death – vs. 5*
1. Morality cannot save man, nor can it purify him. In fact, if you give rules to an unregenerate man it will only fan the flames of rebellion in his heart. We can only overcome sin by yielding to the work of the Spirit in our heart.

                                                              i.      James 4:5-8 

5. We Are Freed Through Death to the Law, So We Can Serve the Holy Spirit – vs. 6*
1. The only way to live a godly ethic, which is the true spirit of the law, is by the help of the Holy Spirit. Without the work of regeneration in the heart, a man will only misinterpret and eventually misuse the moral law of God for his own wicked ends.

                                                              i.      Ezekiel 36:25-27 

                                                            ii.      Galatians 5:22-26 

                                                          iii.      Galatians 5:13-14