20250713 Romans 7:1-6 From the Law’s Widow to the Bride of Christ

Welcome to Vertical Church

Acts 2:42 (LSB)

And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

We began our church with the desire to fulfill the mandate of this verse. To devote ourselves to what the early church was devoted to.

Devoted to the teaching of the word of God

Devoted to genuine Christian relationships and the fulfilling of commandment of Christ to love the household of faith

Devoted to the proclamation of the gospel through the ordinances of believers baptism and communion

Devoted to the prayers through singing and public prayer

The 5 Solas - God alone is our source of Salvation

We believe Scripture alone is the Word of God

We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

WE believe that live and exist for the glory of God alone

We are called Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and God focused

With that in mind, Let us worship God

Call to Worship

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own,  but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil;

and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation.

Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

How many things are necessary for you to know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

Three things: first, the greatness of my sin and misery; second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such redemption.

Scripture Reading - Romans 7:1-6

Romans 7:1–6 LSB

1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. 4 So, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Introduction: Romans 7:1-6 From the Law’s Widow to the Bride of Christ

As we begin our study of Romans 7, the central theme is the believer’s relationship to the Law of God. In this chapter, and in the first four verses of chapter 8, the word “Law” (nomos) is used a total of 24 times. The Law of God is mentioned eight times in verses 1-6, six times in verses 7-13, six times in verses 14-25, and four times in the first four verses of chapter 8. It is impossible to read these verses and not see the constant focus upon “the Law.” In these verses, Paul is clearly defining the believer’s new relationship to the Law of God after his conversion to Jesus Christ. In addition, the word “commandment” (entole), which means an order or charge issued by a superior, is used six times in this chapter, Romans 7. When Paul uses the word “commandment,” he is referring to one of the Ten Commandments, which are the foundation of the Law of God. As Paul uses the term, “commandment” is used synonymously for “the Law.” The Law does not give suggestions or options for how man should possibly consider to live. Rather, it contains authoritative commandments from God to be obeyed. The word “principle” is also found in chapter seven, and is translated from the same Greek word for “Law” (nomos). When you add all these together, the word “Law” or “commandment” is used a total of thirty-two times in Romans 7:1-8:4. Unquestionably, this is the dominant theme running through these verses in Romans 7 and the beginning of Romans 8.

The Old Testament Law

The Law was given directly to Moses and is found recorded in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

The legal code issued by God can be divided into three sections.

The Moral Law

The first section is the moral law, which is how to live a godly life or how to pursue personal holiness. It is rooted and grounded in the Ten Commandments. These moral laws are still in effect today with one minor exception. In the New Testament, Paul makes his case that children are still to obey their parents in Ephesians 6:1-3 by quoting the Law issued in Exodus 20:12. We still must honor our father (Ephesians 6:4). Believers must still tell the truth under the New Covenant (Matthew 5:37). We are not to steal. We are not to covet. In Romans 13:8-10, Paul argues that we are to love one another, and he quotes the Law from Exodus 20:13-17, in order to bind the conscience of New Testament believers. We must have no other gods before God Almighty. We must not take the Lord’s name in vain. We must not make something to aid our worship of God. If anyone says those commandments are not still in effect, they are dead wrong. The moral law of God is still in effect and are binding upon His people.

The Ceremonial Law

Second, there is the ceremonial law, which is the sacrificial system made up of the high priest, priests, sacrifices, offerings, the day of atonement, a scapegoat, and the rest. The ceremonial law was fulfilled in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He abolished the ceremonial law. That is why we do not attend churches today where a pastor cuts the throat of a lamb, lays it on the altar, and sprinkles its blood on the mercy seat. Christ was both our high priest and our sacrificial Lamb as He offered Himself upon the cross to make atonement for our sins (John 1:29). Everything in the Law, as it related to the ceremonial sacrifice, was to be a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ. The ceremonial law was fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is no longer in effect.

The Civil Law

The third aspect of the Law, the civil law, concerns how God’s people were to function as a society under the theocracy of the nation of Israel in the Promised Land. That part of the Law is not binding upon believers outside of the Promised Land without a king of Israel ruling over us. However, there is much for us to learn from the civil law. Our whole western system of jurisprudence is based upon the timeless principles based upon the civil law issued to Moses. For example, the death penalty should be still in effect. If you take someone else’s life, then your life should to be taken by the government. In Romans 13, we will we see that God has given the sword to the government to use to be an avenger of the wrongdoer. The sword of capital punishment is still in the hands of the civil government. When you talk about the Law, you must break it down into these three divisions – the moral, ceremonial, and civil distinctions – or else it will be very confusing.

4 Uses of the Law

Coming out of the Reformation, John Calvin articulated three specific uses of the law.

The first use was to give the knowledge of sin.

We may know that we are sinners because we have been measured by the Law and shown to fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:20 says, “through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” That is why we should use the law in our evangelism. That is why Jesus used the Law in His evangelism with the rich young ruler, who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said to keep the commandments. In our evangelism classes, we would never say that to someone, but Jesus did. The intent was to reveal the knowledge of sin to the rich young ruler.

The second use of the Law was to establish law and order in society.

No society can survive without law and order. There must be a standard for right and wrong. This is found in the moral law of God. I understand that in the United States, we are not a Christian nation. But we must have some standard of what is right and what is wrong. It can be found, in synopsis, in the second half of the Ten Commandments. It establishes the home, the work ethic, truthfulness and honesty, and more. This is why during the Reformation there was the reestablishment of the Protestant work ethic. People became productive, prolific workers as a result of the Reformation because they preached the Law.

The third use of the Law was to guide believers in Christian living.

This is the divinely-marked path of sanctification. It reveals the heart of the moral will of God. It is not something to discard. If you discard the moral law, you just discarded the roadmap that leads to personal holiness. It is the lamp that reveals the narrow path, showing the essential benchmarks in how to live a life that honors God.

The fourth use of the Law, which is, it gives the knowledge of God.

We know what God is like by reading the Ten Commandments. In the Law, we see that He is sovereign. He has the right to impose law upon us. He is the authority over our lives. In the Law, we see the holiness of God, because in it He makes distinctions between what is good and what is evil. In the Law, we see the love of God, because He is pointing us in the direction of His blessing. It will lead you into fuller expressions of God’s blessing. But if you go away from the Law in disobedience, you will experience God’s loving discipline. In the Law, we see the sufficiency of God, that if you will not covet, but work hard, He will provide for your needs. Two Dangerous Extremes In the church today, there are two extremes that Christians can fall into when thinking about the Law. One extreme is legalism, which comes in many different shapes and forms. It is much like saying “Baptist” today, which can cover everything from A to Z. There are three main ways to break down legalism. Number one is that you have to keep the Law in order to be saved. Paul has repudiated that position so thoroughly that none of us should be in danger of thinking that we have to keep the Law in order to be made right before God. However, that is one extreme form of legalism. Number two is to believe you have to keep the ceremonial or civil law in order to be sanctified. There are some Christian teachers who pull ideas from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy and want to impose them upon the daily lives of believers. We must understand that that part of the Law has been abolished. Number three is where people add more commandments to the Law. They come up with their own traditions and preferences, but they do not have a biblical chapter or verse for their standards. They claim that someone must wear certain clothing, not dance, not wear certain jewelry, but they have no explicit biblical text to substantiate their claims. That is all legalism. There is no biblical premise for their man-made rules. It is fine if you want to personally live that way. But if they impose it on someone else, saying they are not a good Christian if they do those things, they are a card-carrying legalist. If they have no biblical support, they have added to the Law.

The word OR in verse 1 means that we need to look back at Paul’s concluding thoughts in chapter 6

In chapter 6 he has told us that we are no longer slaves to sin but are now enslaved to God

Romans 6:20–23 LSB

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Romans 7:1-6 Paul answers two questions:

How does God allow me to no longer be a slave to sin and now a slave to Christ?

Why should I consider it wonderful to be God’s slave?

(1) How does God allow me to no longer be a slave to sin and now a slave to Christ?

Romans 7:1–3 LSB

1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

(2) Why should I consider it wonderful to be God’s slave?

Romans 6:22–23 LSB

22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:4–6 LSB

4 So, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Oh may this bounteous God through all your life be near you, with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer you; and keep you in His grace, and guide you when perplexed, and free you from all ills in this world and the next. Amen.