"For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man" (Romans 7:2-3)

Throughout the New Testament Paul uses the illustration of marriage to show us awesome truths. The intuition of marriage existed before the fall in the perfect state of the garden and continues in every tribe, nation and society no matter how remote. This dates back to early recorded history. Marriage is something that is universal in our understanding.

There are so many parallels between marriage and Christ and the Church in the Bible, so to understand these, gives us insight into Christ. Today, Paul is contrasting our marriage relationship to the Law and how death frees us from that so that we may belong to another without being unfaithful. In Genesis, when Eve was given to Adam, he said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." ( Genesis 2:23-24 ). Do you see that the result of marriage is a uniting together, no longer two but one flesh. Marriage is holy, even among unbelievers. The same union happens when two become one flesh, God blesses that union.

By law we are bound to our spouse until death because the two has become one flesh. In the same way, by law, we are bound our sin nature because that union came when we were born into this world. It is our default nature and we operate as one with it. The only way to be separated from that nature is to die to it. Paul said in Romans 6 "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin" ( Romans 6:6 ). Meaning that when we believed in Jesus as our savior our sin nature was crucified with Christ. He goes on to say in verse seven, that "anyone who has died has been freed from sin" ( Romans 6:7 ) If we died to it, then by law we are no longer bound to it. We are free to be joined to another without being unfaithful.

This is so important, not only did God redeems us legally ( Romans 7:1 ) he did it in a way that allowed us to remain faithful to what we were bound by. Now, by Christ's gift of grace, through association in His death, we are freed from that old nature of sin ( Romans 6:3 ). We were set free in order to be bound to another ( Romans 6:4 ). The law has no legal claim on us because we died to be freed of it ( Romans 7:1 ). Today I pray that you know you are free in Christ, I pray that you understand you are his bride and have become one with him through faith in his blood. May this revelation change your life, amen!

Previous: Romans 7:1  Next: Romans 7:4

Original article published October 28, 2009.

"Do you not know, brothers-for I am speaking to men who know the law-that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?" (Romans 7:1)

This seems like an obvious statement, it makes sense that the law or legal claims only have authority over us while we are living. After all, it would be hard to collect taxes from a deceased person. When a person dies all claims of that life are nullified. Our possession get redistributed, our money gets pass down to our family members and we take nothing with us from this world .

This is a concept that everyone understands, both young and old. That is why Paul uses this example so that we can understand our new state of existence. In the previous chapter, Paul wrote to us that we had died to sin and we were made alive in Christ. He explained why we have no obligations to that previous nature. Now Paul is switching gears slightly and he is going to clarify how this transformation happened legally. This is important to understand that our redemption happened lawfully, which means it will hold up in God's court of Law. God does not operate outside of his established precepts, so he used legal methods to redeem us from the control of the kingdom of Satan.

When we are born into this world, we were born with a sin nature because of what happened in the garden with Adam and Eve. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" ( Romans 5:12 ). Adam plunged mankind into the kingdom of darkness.

Now it is important to understand that when Satan stole Adam's authority, which God had given him in the beginning ( Genesis 1:28-30 ), he took it legally. Which meant that God could not take it back unless he took it back lawfully, otherwise our redemption would not have worked. That is why he sent Jesus in human form. Because humans were under the control of Satan's Kingdom. So when Jesus came, he came under the control of that kingdom. Because the only way to break free of it was to fulfill the Law which held us in bondage to it. We know that Jesus fulfilled the entire law because he lived a perfect sinless life. So when he died upon the cross he broke the power of darkness and the sin nature that held us hostage to Satan. Then he rose again and since he died once to sin he can never died again. ( Romans 6:9-10 ) Now he lives forever in heaven before God making intercession for us. ( Hebrews 7:24-28, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 10:12-14 ). So Jesus came in human form, fulfilled the law, broke the power of Satan's kingdom over us, rose again, lives forever as our high priest. All legal claims of Satan over him were broken forever.

Jesus offers us the righteousness that the law ascribed to by giving a new spirit when we put our faith in Him. This is called being born again. No longer do we have the spirit or sin nature that we were born with. We have Jesus' nature, what we received when we believed in Jesus as our Savior. Jesus died to die to sin so that we could also be free of it by association with him. Our old nature is gone and we have been freed from it forever ( Romans 6:6-7 ).

Therefore, since we have died to sin, the Law no longer has authority over us either. This happened completely legal in ever sense of the word. All claims that the Law had on us previously where annulled when we died with Christ. Since we were also raised with him we now belong to another. ( Romans 6:11 ). Today may you marvel at how complete and legal your redemption was, then stick around in the next couple of weeks to find out how this association with Jesus and your new nature affects your entire existence.

For further reading please visit these articles:
Romans 5:12 - The Law of Substitution
Romans 5:13 - Absent of the Law, Sin is Not Imputed
Romans 5:15 - The Gift of Righteousness Far Surpasses the Trespass
Romans 5:16-19 - The Sin Nature, The Source of All Grief, is Defeated in the Born Again Believer
Romans 5:20-21 - Trespasses Brought the Law, the Law Brought Death

Previous: Romans 6:23  Next: Romans 7:2-3

Original article published October 27, 2009.