Once upon a time we were “married” to God’s law—and it wasn’t such a great marriage, was it? Never any peace, not for a single moment—because our own sinful desires and actions were constantly fighting with God’s law. It wasn’t the law’s fault— we can all see for ourselves that the commandments are good. But we are not good—not healthy, whole, and happy, the way God made us to be. We are broken people, unable to live by the law. And God knows this.

So He solved it with a death—Jesus’ death. Jesus took our sin, our brokenness, upon Himself, even though He Himself never did anything wrong. And then He took us, the people He loved, along with Him, all the way through His own death and resurrection—so that we could become God’s own beloved children, living in freedom and joy.

And not living alone! Because as Paul says, now that we have died and risen with Jesus, we are remarried—this time, not to the law which made us miserable, but to Jesus, our Savior. He is the One who gave Himself up for us, so that we could live in freedom, serving “in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” Today we do good, not because we “have to,” but because the Holy Spirit is living inside us, making our hearts more and more like our Savior’s. And we delight to make Him happy, because we love Him.

Those people who see their hope of being justified centered in their relationship to the law do not have happy marriages to the law. Married as they are to a law which is perfect, inflexible, demanding, and all-encompassing, they are soon driven to despair by their own incapability, in the same way that tender young brides have been known to be destroyed by domineering husbands whose attitude was matched only by their insensitivity. Paul outlined something of the pressures experienced by the brides of the law when he wrote, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”

Any law has jurisdiction over a person only as long as that person lives. Criminals cannot be brought to lawful justice after death, no matter how terrible their crimes. For instance, in the marriage contract a wife is required to be faithful to her husband all his life. If she fails in this regard, she is called an adulteress, but as soon as her husband dies, she is free to remarry without there being any suggestion of impropriety. She is “released from the law of her husband.” Just as the widow in Paul’s analogy in verses 2-3 was freed to remarry, the believer has been freed from his hostile relationship to a law that condemned him, and can, therefore, be remarried—this time to Christ. Paul’s application of the illustration is not altogether straightforward, but his obvious point is that, in the same way a widow is no longer under any legal obligation to her late husband, so the believer who was formerly married to the law is under no obligation to the law as a means of justification once the law dies.

No doubt in the church at Rome there were many people who had endeavored to keep the demands of the law, seeking thereby to earn the blessing of God. Yet they were conscious that if their blessing depended on their meticulous fulfillment, their failure promised their ultimate condemnation. Through the presentation of the gospel, however, they had learned that through the death and Resurrection of Christ they had been forgiven and reconciled to God, and, at the same time, “by the body of Christ” they had been released from the law as a means of reconciliation. Like the bereaved bride of the illustration, they had greeted this death with more relief than grief. In fact, they had rejoiced in their liberty to the extent they had used it to be “married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead”

Warming to his theme of marriage as an example, Paul goes on to talk about the “fruit” of the union between the believer and the risen Lord. The previous marriage had been “childless” because of the impotence of the law to reproduce anything but the “fruit to death” in a person devoid of the life of God. In complete contrast, the new marriage between the living Lord and the loving disciple has the glorious potential of bearing “fruit to God.”

The phrase “in the flesh” describes a person who is able to operate only in the sphere of fallen mankind—an unredeemed, unregenerate person. Although the believer can manifest some of the deeds of the flesh, he can never again be “in the flesh.”  The person living “under law” is dominated by sin; therefore, if there is to be any realistic release from sin, there must be a corresponding release from the law. That this is all part of the divine provision Paul now seeks to explain through his rare illustration. Believers are no longer bound by former obligations to the law; they are free to transfer their loyalty to Christ. Upon claiming their identity in Christ, the law is broken and can no longer control them. The believer, having died to the law, is “married” to Christ.

No doubt there were those who, on hearing Paul teach about the inadequacy of the law to reproduce a satisfactory life of righteousness, would leap to the conclusion that the law was sin—bad, contrary to God, the product of yet another human attempt to thwart the purposes of God. But Paul does not allow this conclusion and strenuously sets about showing that he has a profound respect for the law which is not at all diminished by his clear perception of its inadequacies.

In a very real sense, Paul owes his salvation to the Tenth Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet.”  To all intents and purposes, Paul was a perfect example of a fine young man. But there was one major skeleton in his closet. He was covetous or lustful, but no one would ever have guessed from external appearance. Hidden away inside the upright young Pharisee was the dark secret of an “involuntary movement” from God’s will to human desire, which, if the law had not described in detail and condemned out of hand, may have been overlooked or dismissed as a normal experience of all men. Sin uses the specific requirements of the law as a base of operation from which to launch its evil work. Confronted by God’s law, the sinner’s rebellious nature finds the forbidden thing more attractive, not because it is inherently attractive, but because it furnishes an opportunity to assert one’s self-will.

The age-old statement concerning the law, “This do and you shall live,” shows that “life” is available only when the “doing” is being done. Paul found the doing of the law more than he was capable of performing, and so, instead of raising him to the exhilarating experience of the presence of God, it took him farther down the road to despair and dismay. The more he longed for perfection, the more he lacked in performance, and the more sinful he recognized himself to be, the more “holy and just and good” the law became in his eyes. When tempted, people might restrain themselves with discipline, while still desiring to act. The law not only defines evil deeds but illuminates evil attitudes and intentions, as illustrated by the commandment, “Do not covet.”

Perhaps one of humanity’s greatest needs is to recognize that sin is “exceedingly sinful.” Paul sees the law as particularly helpful in this regard, because sin took something as wholesome and perfect as the law and made it the means for sin to become rampant. When the law declares evil acts in unsaved people, those people often feel driven to do those very things. The Holy Spirit fills the believer with an internal desire to serve God so he or she is not driven by external rules.

Spiritually, humankind has been delivered from the law, while naturally, humankind has been doomed by it. The verbs in verses 7-13 are past tense, reflecting Paul’s life before conversion. The verbs in verses 14-25 are present tense, describing Paul’s experience after conversion. The Greek word for “opportunity” was originally used to describe a base of operations for an expedition. Sin uses the law as a beachhead from which to launch its evil work; it triggers sinful nature.

The Word of God reveals to us the character of God—His holiness, righteousness, justice, goodness, kindness, and more. As a reflection of Him, the Word both celebrates His perfect nature and reveals to us our own fallen nature. The law can reveal sin but it cannot remove the sin it triggers. The law’s function is not to reward those who keep its precepts but to punish those who break them. The death penalty is either appended to or associated with every one of the Ten Commandments.

Sin uses the specific requirements of the law as a base of operation from which to launch its evil work. Confronted by God’s law, the sinner’s rebellious nature finds the forbidden thing more attractive, not because it is inherently attractive, but because it furnishes an opportunity to assert one’s self-will.

The technological advancements made by mankind in the last century or even the previous 20 years are astounding. Yet, with all our technology, we still have to wait for lettuce to ripen and for olives to mature. Lettuce ripens a month and a half after planting, but the wait is at least four years for an olive. Some of us, like the lettuce, are maturing quickly while others, like olives, are improving more slowly. Something changed in you when you were saved, and still… God is making changes to you.

Only by looking to Jesus for help in our daily struggles can we find joy, freedom, and victory. So today, accept the fact that you’re capable of any and every sin. Acknowledge your vulnerability and admit your need for God’s help, and you’ll be in a better position to guard yourself against pride. The moment you say, “I’ve got this”—that’s when you’re in trouble. We all desperately need the help that only our Savior Jesus Christ can give. And praise the Lord, for He gives it freely!

We should all be bearing fruit. There may be times when you need to endure pruning before you bear fruit. Pruning redirects energy to the right places. If you are not being fruitful, maybe you need to redirect your energy toward the Lord. Don’t just come to church, be the church. Be praying, giving, serving – joining hands with your church to achieve something far greater than any of us could alone.

Has your Christian walk become a task list or benchmark you use to seek validation? Do you find yourself excusing a lousy attitude by comparing yourself to others who seem worse off than you? And when the Spirit finally convicts your forced obedience do you wonder if you are even capable of serving with joy?

While God’s holiness does elicit our obedience, we miss the mark when we obey outwardly but inwardly rebel. God’s intention when giving us the law is essential to consider before forcing ourselves to comply when we lack the understanding to do so with joy. As Paul points out in Romans 7:7, the law is meant to expose our sins and highlight our desperate need for a Savior. Paul reminds readers that the law is holy and pleasing and intended for our benefit, and its intention was for our benefit.

It is through understanding what God requires of us and the knowledge that, on our own, we are not capable of perfectly keeping the law. God’s law helps reveal to us all the ways we sin against a holy God. We all enter the world as sinners, yet, the law shows us our continued desire to sin and rebel against God’s commandments.

Now that we’ve discussed the bad news, let’s get to the good news! Humans can’t perfectly keep the law, but we still have an opportunity for redemption. The realization of our depravity has paved the way for our redemption! Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can receive salvation through faith. And that’s not all; this salvation also provides those who believe with the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps them in their weakness .

(An audio version of this post can be found by clicking this link: Romans 7 verses 1-12 Divorced from the Law, Remarried to Christ)

Bibliography

1. Jermiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 1553-1554)
2. Briscoe, D.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 138-145)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Pastor David McGee, “Pruning.” Retrieved from theword@aboutthebridge.com
6. Dr. Kari Vo, “Remarried to Jesus.” Retrieved from www.lhm.org
7. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “A More Excellent Way.” Retrieved from web@ltw.org
8. Laura Bailey, “Delightful Obedience.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com