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?
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.
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.
The basic premise of Romans 7:1-4 is that while a law of any type is in force, individuals within its influence are subjected to it.
A motorist driving through different parts of Miami Dade County, is subjected to different “laws of speed limits” while driving through the county.
Secondly, a law works on the principle that specific circumstances engender specific results. The law of gravity articulates that any time that we drop an apple from a certain height, it will always result in its falling to the ground.
Romans 3; 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
Faith is a law.
As a law, faith allows us to receive certain things which can be brought by faith. If we have a negative faith and expect the worse, unfortunately some of the very things that we believe for, we will receive on the premise that faith is a law.
For the law of faith to truly work it must be faith that is centered upon the voice of the Holy Spirit, or the rhema word of God.
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the ( RHEMA) word of God.
Paul goes on to say in Romans 7 that as long as a woman is married to a specific man she is subjected to the “law of marriage to that particular spouse”. The “law of marriage to that particular spouse” came into force, when the couple took their wedding vows. These vows bind the couple to the “law of marriage to that particular spouse” as long as both of them are living.
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.
If one of them dies, the remaining spouse becomes free from the “law of marriage to that particular spouse”, and is released to be married to another.
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.
If infidelity occurs while both spouses are alive, the person performing it is called an adulterer. However, if one of them had died, the indictment of adultery is not valid.
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.
Verse 4 tells us that by the death of the body of Christ on the cross we experienced a death to the law.
At the moment that we invite Christ into our lives, we automatically are placed “In or Inside of Christ”, and experience all things that He went through. When He died, we died, when He was raised up, we were raised up by virtue that we are INSIDE of Him.
Therefore, when Christ died on the cross, by virtue of our being INSIDE of Christ, we died with Him.
A dead person, a corpse, becomes free from sin, sickness, and from being subject to any law. When do we see a corpse cursing or taking drugs? When do we see a corpse with cancer? Everything dies. Apart from going in to the futuristic heavenly realm, there is no one human being freer than a corpse. This is why our death with Christ is so important. It has freed us from all things that do not pertain to God.
Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Because we died IN Christ we became free from being subject to any earthly law, on the premise that a corpse cannot be subordinated to any law.
What law are we free from?
Romans 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.
Paul begins his great work of explaining “the law of sin and death” which he culminates in Romans 8:2. It will take a few days of blogging to get through this vital and great discussion.
Roma 8: 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Paul says that when we were in the flesh the strong passions of sins which are produced by the law bring forth fruit unto death.
What is the flesh that Paul talks about? For the unbeliever, he is always in the flesh, he has no other choice but to be in it, and to sin. For the believer however, she has two options. She can conduct her life in the Spirit or in the flesh.
To live in the flesh, is an to attempt by the Christian to serve God through human strength, or by mentally birthed agendas. On the other hand, to live Christianity by the Spirit, is serving God by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.
At any point that a Christian chooses to obey God outside of the voice of the Holy Spirit he goes back to the flesh.
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.
The law that Paul discusses in Romans 7 is the comprehensive law, composed of over itemized 600 laws which God gave to Israel through the mouth of Moses.
The purpose of this law was to show humanity its sinfulness. If God had not given the law, people would have had no idea that they had a sin problem. If one drive through a foreign state and no speed limit signs are visible, you have no idea what speed to drive in. If a cop stopped you because you were driving too fast, you could successfully argue your innocence because the state had not made itself responsible to post the speed limit signs. Without the knowledge of a law you are innocent of breaking the law, and innocent of sin. Without a law, you are not guilty of a particular sin, by its breaking it.
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.
Therefore the activation of sin can only come when there is some law to point it out if we indeed violate it. This is the premise of verse 5.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
If God had not conveyed to the Jews that it was wrong to covet a neighbor’s property or wife, through a law, they would have been innocent of all coveting.
8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Without the law, sin is dead. In other words, without a law to point out to certain transgression, that transgression, is indeed not a transgression, because there is no law to point it out. The person can commit that particular transgression for the rest of his life, and if there is no law to point it out, the person will always abide in innocence. Therefore, without the law sin is dead; it is not sin.
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
The dunamis power or the full ability of sin, to be sin, comes by the law which points it out and makes it sinful.
God had to bring the law into activity to convict humanity that indeed it is an exceedingly sinful lot. God knew that it was impossible for humanity to obey the 600 laws. The purpose of the 600 laws was to show humankind how exceedingly sinful we are and point His finger towards the future coming of Jesus Christ, through whom deliverance of all sin would come.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
The next time you drive through that same state, and they have posted a speed limit sign, and you break the speed limit, now you are in trouble. Verse 11 tells us that the particular law or commandment will definitely get me into trouble, whereas before, I was free to speed without that particular law.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding ( hyper or transcendentally sinful.)
Once again, the purpose of the law is to show us our exceeding, or better said, our “hyper” sinfulness.
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.
Notice carefully what Paul tells us in verse 5. Only when we walk ACCORDING THE FLESH, the passions of sin, which are produced by the law that points them out, are activated. That is so vital.
Conversely, if we are IN THE SPIRIT the motions of sin which are pointed to us as sin, by the law, ARE NOT ACTIVATED!!! Wow! We will understand this reality in the days to come.
What if we are in the Spirit then, instead of being in the flesh? What happens then?
This is the beauty of what Jesus did. By his death on the cross we were loosed from having to obey God in the flesh. This is what liberty from the law means.
Once again, for the Christian, he is no longer forced to follow God by the flesh. Following God by the flesh will activate the motions of sin, but following God by the Spirit will not activate the motions of sin.
Remember that I told you that to walk according to the flesh, for the Christian, it to attempt to obey God outside of the voice of the Holy Spirit.
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.
By Christ’s death and resurrection we can now learn to obey God by the still small voice of the Spirit. Our old husband, the one who forced us to obey God in the flesh is now dead. We are free from the law of this husband. We are now married to a new husband. This husband, the resurrected Jesus, has liberated us, through His dead body so that we now obey God by the voice of the Holy Spirit and become free from the strong motions of sin.
We will continue more tomorrow.
