Freedom from the Law

Welcome

Good morning, everyone, and welcome!

I hope that each of you are well and pray that your hearts are ready to praise the Lord and hear from His Word today.

Call to Worship

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Church, we were once captives to the law of sin and death.

But our Lord Jesus has come and set us free.

Let us praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Prayer

Stand for worship

Introduction

Thank worship team

Slideshow from 2022.

Author: The Apostle Paul

Audience: Jewish and Gentile Christians in the city of Rome

Date: 56-58 AD, during his third missionary journey.

Occasion (years earlier):

Romans Rome

In A.D. 49 Emperor Claudius, out of exasperation with squabbles among the Jews about Chrestus (probably a reference to Jesus’ claims to be the “Christ”), issued an edict that required all Jews to leave Rome. Jewish-Christians (like Priscilla and Aquila; cf. Acts 18:2) would have been included. Overnight, therefore, the church in Rome became virtually 100 percent Gentile.

(An edict is a law)

Purpose: To prepare for an upcoming visit and to impart a spiritual blessing (Rom. 1:11-12).

In the passage that follows, Paul is in the midst of writing about the righteousness of God.

He introduced the problem of sin in Rom. 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.”

Then in chapter 6, Paul explained in detail the participatory death that believers partake when they follow Jesus.

Now here in chapter 7, Paul is answering a long-debated question (especially among the Jewish Christians returning to Rome): “What about the Law?”

Let’s first read our passage and then we will break down the verses.

Passage

Romans 7:1–6 (CSB)

Since I am speaking to those who know the law, brothers and sisters, don’t you know that the law rules over someone as long as he lives? For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. So then, if she is married to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she is married to another man, she is not an adulteress.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

The law Paul is referring to here is the Mosaic Law.

Those who are not in Christ are under the penalty of the law.

That's a serious problem.

(Remember that all have sinned and fall short)

Romans Romans 7:1–25: How the Gospel Delivers from Law

“When it is a question of our justification, we have to put away all thinking about the Law and our works, to embrace the mercy of God alone, and to turn our eyes away from ourselves and upon Jesus Christ alone.”

John Calvin

Let’s dive in.

Limits of the Law (7:1-3)

In this first half of the passage, Paul gives us an example of the limitations of the law’s authority over someone. To do so, he uses the common legality of marriage.

Control (v. 1)

Romans 7:1 CSB

Since I am speaking to those who know the law, brothers and sisters, don’t you know that the law rules over someone as long as he lives?

Paul's audience, whether Jew or Gentile God-fearers, would have been familiar with the Torah.

By calling them “brothers and sisters,” it is as if he is putting his arms around them as he shares this message.

Comparison (vv. 2-3)

Romans 7:2 CSB

For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband.

This law would have been familiar to Paul’s audience. 

What likely flashed in their minds was Deut. 24:1: “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.”

Romans 7:3 CSB

So then, if she is married to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she is married to another man, she is not an adulteress.

If her husband is still alive and she has not gotten a divorce, she stands in direct violation of God’s law.

But we must be careful how we interpret Paul’s example.

Romans: Verse by Verse The Metaphor of Marriage: Released When the Husband Dies (7:2–3)

If we envisage the wife as a believer and the husband as the law, then we could say that the law died so that we would be free to become the bride of Christ (which was the interpretation of church fathers like Origen, Augustine, or Chrysostom).

But the law did not die. It is very much alive.

Paul did not intend to offer a spiritual significance to the husband or the wife here, but simply to allude to the known law of marriage and use it to explain that death releases one from the law.

In his letter, he has previously said this in Rom. 6:7: “since a person who has died is freed from sin.”

According to the Mosaic Law, one must be dead or divorced before remarried. In a similar fashion, we cannot serve God in the flesh (by marrying Christ while still living in our unrepentant sin).

We cannot serve two masters; you cannot obey your sinful desires and obey God at the same time.

Paul later arrives at this idea in Rom. 8:7-8: “The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Paul’s main point here in 7:1-3 is that death releases someone from the Law’s authority.

And here comes my favorite part: because Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the Law, those of us who put their faith in Christ are spiritually dead to the law and sin, and are born again into life by the Spirit.

From Death to Life (7:4-6)

Church, we have been transferred from death to life.

Dead (v. 4)

Romans 7:4 CSB

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Planting an apple tree.

The gospel is the seed, the Word of God is the water, and when we spiritually mature, we ought to bear fruit.

But what exactly is this “fruit”?

Paul says in Gal. 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

Christian Theology, 3rd ed. The Nature of Religion

For accepting Jesus as Lord means making him the authority by which we conduct our lives.

Jesus says in Matt. 12:33, “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”

As followers of Christ, we represent Him to the world who does not know him.

Desires (v. 5)

Romans 7:5 CSB

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death.

As sinners, we naturally break the law.

James 1:14-15 say this: “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”

Speed limit & cookie jar

To be a “Christians” means to follow Christ. This is behavioral, not merely intellectual.

It is important to note two things:

1. We are not saved through good works of the law.

Some people falsely believe that if they are a good person, they will go to heaven.

But God’s Word just told us that we are all sinners. Not a single one of us is good.

Our good works are evidence of a changed heart that is obedient to God.

Romans: Verse by Verse Freedom from Condemnation under the Law, Part 1: The Unbeliever and the Law (7:1–12)

None can be justified by observing the law (3:21, 27–28), and righteousness is attained only by faith, not the law (4:13–16). The law’s purpose was not to bring salvation but to identify sin.

If it was not for God’s Law, we would not know right from wrong, good from evil.

We would not know how to please our Holy and Righteous God.

2. We are saved through Jesus’ work on the cross.

Romans: Verse by Verse The Authority of the Law: Only for the Earthly Life (7:1)

As a result of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf, the saints in Christ have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the domain of light.

Death under Adam, Life under Christ

In other words, we are not under the condemnation of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we are under His grace.

Deliverance (v. 6)

Romans 7:6 CSB

But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 7

newness of the Spirit The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to serve God without the boundaries of the law.

Paul writes also in Gal. 5:18: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Back in Rom. 6:6, Paul had said: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin.”

Through Christ, believers receive the Holy Spirit, empowering them to rebel against their sinful nature.

We are no longer married to our sinful flesh. When Christ died, He put our sin to death so that we may become married to Him.

Summary

As Christians, you are freed from the penalty of the Old Testament Law.

You belong to Christ and He expects you to bear fruit for His kingdom.

You are dead to sin and alive in the Spirit.

Application

Romans Contemporary Significance

What all this means in practice, then, is that we should look to the New Testament for those commandments that express God’s moral will for us as new covenant Christians. Its teachings, properly interpreted, are to be obeyed. But this does not mean that we should no longer read the Old Testament law. It remains God’s Word, given, as all Scripture, for our enlightenment (2 Tim. 3:16).

While we are no longer condemned under the Law, we obey God’s Law to glorify Him.

This means we do not murder, cheat, steal, lie, bear false witness…etc.

1. We are to live a life that emulates Jesus Christ and bear fruit for His kingdom.

As our Lord said in Matt. 5:16, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

2. We obey the Law not for salvation, but to give glory to God and point others to Him.

As we reflect on 2022 and dive into the new year, what sins do we need to leave behind?

If you aren’t sure, ask the Holy Spirit to show you.

Prayer Obedience, Great Physician, Wonderful Counselor

Closing Hymn/Song

Closing