The 3 "R's" of our Relationship to Christ.

Intro:

Last week we looked at the idea of loyalty to Christ in our obedience to him. Chapter 6 concludes with these two verses Romans 6:22-23.

Romans 6:22–23 CSB

22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life! 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As a child I always enjoyed a good fairy tale story. Especially those involving a daring rescue of a fair maiden from the grasps of an evil king or prince. I must have watched the old “The Son of Monte Christo” a hundred times as a kid. I even had wooden swords that I would carry around in my belt and draw and strike at a momment’s notice any tree that look suspicously like a villain. Even though we all know how the story will end. The hansom prince after rescuing the fair maiden marries her and they live happily ever after, we all enjoy a good rescue story. Deep within our own soul we all realize to some degree that we need to be rescued.

through out the Bible God illustrates for us his rescue plan. Today Paul will use the illustration of marriage to demonstrate how Jesus rescues us.

The point of Romans 7 is not to give us a clear understanding of God's rules when it comes to divorce and remarriage(That is covered elsewhere) but rather Paul is drawing out this illustration from the both the roman law as well as the Judaism. In other words, Paul's purpose in this text is not to give us instruction on divorce and remarriage but rather to illustrate our new relationship in Christ based on the laws of the day.

Now for those of you in here that maybe have been married to someone else before your current spouse weather due to death or divorce you have experienced this teaching in a different way. I can imagine that when a person is remarried the nature of the relationship is different then the previous one. You must learn how to navigate the needs of your spouse. You must learn to differentiate between the norms of the past relationship and what will be normal now. So it was with the Jewish believers. Much like a person who is remarried, It was hard for them to let go of all that the past relationship to law was and enter into the new relationship with Christ. So today we are going to look at the 3 “R’s” of our new marriage to Christ.

Release from the law

Revealed need

Renewed to bear fruit.

1. Release from the Law

Romans 7:1–3 CSB

1 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? 2 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. 3 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.

Paul assumes his audience knows the laws of the land, whether Roman or otherwise. So then he asks them this rhetorical question: “Don’t you know that the law rules over someone as long as he lives? Now this idea of marriage is one of the most important concepts for a Christian to understand.

If a person’s spouse dies then they are no longer bound by the law of marriage.

Now to the Jew there is an O.T. Implication that many in our modern day miss.

Let’s look at some of the marital laws in the O.T. and then God’s relationship to Israel.

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 CSB

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. 2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he dies, 4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

So this is pretty strait forward. If you divorce your spouse than your ex-spouse goes and marries another, divorce that person, you cannot go back to your original spouse. This law was not because God has a lax view on marriage but rather because we live in a broken world and this was to protect the sanctity of marriage.

Now through out the Old Testament Israel relationship with God was often referred to as a marriage covenant. Israel was to be faithful to her covenant to God. Now watch this..

Jeremiah 3:8 CSB

8 I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.

No remember the law...If a person divorced and married another they legally could not remarry thier first spouse. Israel gave herself to another husbands(gods) The covenant was broken, the divorce taken place. Israel by it’s actions goes and marries another. Therefore they cannot be married again to Yahweh God. So then what does God do in order that he might redeem Israel and be joined to them again?

He dies. Now they are no longer bound to the law. They can return to a new covenant with the same husband. The terms are different but the God is the same.

So what is Paul saying? Stop going back to a dead covenant. It has been broken. It has ended. Now be joined to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:2 CSB

2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ.

So now we are promised to Christ. To be joined with Him forever in heaven.

Revelation 19:7–8 CSB

7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

Ephesians 5:27 CSB

27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

We have been made free from the law of sin and death and and are now free love and live for the one who has rescued us.

Which brings us to the next “R”. The law reveals our need for rescue.

2. Revelation of Our Need

Romans 7:7–13 CSB

7 What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. 8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life again 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. 13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

Imagine a little child who is told they cannot touch a bright, shiny object on the table. Instead of simply accepting the answer, their curiosity kicks in and they want to touch it even more. It's fascinating how our desire often grows stronger when we're told not to do something! Just like that child, we too can rebel against guidance, forgetting that rules are often there to protect us.

This is what Paul is saying here. The law was meant for our protection but instead of the law gaurding us from evil in our depraved nature it increased our desire to rebel. The law is holy but we are not. Our response to the law, always wanting to go our own way show us our need for redemptions.

The law revealed to us our need for redemption.

3. Renewed to Bear Fruit

Romans 7:4–6 CSB

4 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. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death. 6 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.

If you think back to your marriage vows they could primarily be summed up as I will always put you my spouse above my dreams, aspirations, and needs. Now most of us fail fantastically in upholding that standard. Yet it is something to strive for. Like a newlywed that strives to please thier wife or husband so are we to strive to live for Christ. Why to fulfill the purpose of our calling to bear fruit.

The primary purpose of the gospel is our salvation

But the primary function in our lives is to bear fruit to Image Christ.

Notice the comparison between the new and old marriage covenants.

Due to our sin nature the law which is good had a different effect than its intended purpose. Our sin nature twisted it and instead of us aligning with the law to image God. Instead it made us even more determined to disobey, like a child that is told “no”. We became fixated on what was forbidden leading us to not a greater life but one that breeds death.

This is what its meant by Romans 7:5

Romans 7:5 CSB

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

The fruit of our disobedience brings death.

But In Christ we are set free from the law and its effects upon our twisted souls. We have been redeemed and set free to serve.

Application question:

Do you see yourself as married to Christ? Do you see your lifes purpose as bearing fruit to Christ?

TV is full of sitcoms where the husband is portrayed as doing as little as possible in the relationship to get by. Often forgetting things like anniversaries or pretending to be sick in order to get out of taking the kids to a school activity so that he can stay home and watch the game on tv. While these situations may make for entertaining TV, they show us the opposite of what it looks like to be commited to our marraige vows. They show us the opposite of what a fruitful marriage is supposed to look like.

I think if we are honest, at times, all of us in our relationship with Christ can be like a tv husband, doing the bare minimum to get by. We go to church for two hours a a week then go about living life they way we want. Well say “yes” to the occasional Christian chore to ease our conscience but the truth is our vow to Christ is often the last thing on our mind.

When repenting and turning from your sin and accepting the gift of salvation you received new vows. As we looked at last week. These vows are not my will but your will be done.

In what way are you sacrificing your will for Christ’s? Are you seeking for new ways to serve him? Are you using your gifts and talents for him? In this marriage relationship do you appear more as a commited spouse or more like a selfish tv husband?

The law showed us our our need but we were released from the law and and have been made alive, renewed in Christ to bear fruit for him.