October 5, 2025 - Released From the Law
Notes
Transcript
If you've been here for the past several weeks, you're well aware by now that Paul has been spending his time highlighting...
...FAITH and GRACE...
and reorienting the hearts of man - on WHAT the Law IS - and what it’s NOT - and what’s it’s PURPOSE is.
And just to help us reiterate this, let's revisit some of the key texts in Romans so far that show this:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
In chapter 3 verse 22, we read:
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
verse 24:
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
verse 25:
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
verse 26:
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
verse 28:
28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
verse 30:
30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Chapter 4 now...verse 3:
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
verse 13:
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
verse 16 speaks of faith and grace.
verse 20 speaks of faith.
Chapter 5, verse 2 - faith and grace
verse 18 - grace
verses 20 - 21 - grace
Paul here is saturating their minds with "BY Grace Through Faith"...
...and in doing so, he's been chopping down their approach to the Law.
And unless you think going to Pittsburgh and walking around in a Browns jersey would be bad...
Or choosing to walk down the streets of Cleveland with a YANKEES hat on would be bad...
...telling the Jewish nation that through faith in Christ, they are no longer under the Law...
...would have been far more contentious.
Why?
Because they knew the OT...
They knew what Deuteronomy 27:26:
26 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
It says - If you don't do all of this law, you will be cursed.
15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.
Curse after curse would come...
Can we see why the Jewish Nation so...highly esteemed this Law...
It was their life blood.
By the time of Jesus, and the time of the ministry of Paul, the rabbis had summed up the OT Law into 613 commands...
And so in order to be perfectly Holy, and maintain that holiness, they would had to have been on top of those 613 commands at all times...
The rabbis had divided them all into 2 parts...
The things you should do
and the things you shouldn't do...
There were 248 things you should do...
365 things you should NOT do...
And we thought Common Core was crazy...
We think our kids homework is crazy...
Is it any wonder then what we read in Acts 15:10:
10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
But this just helps to paint a clearer picture of the impact that Paul's words would have had on the Jewish Nation...
"Faith not works"
"Grace not Law"
"You're not under Law"
"not through the Law but through the righteousness of faith"...
And even this week, Paul continues...with this language...
1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?
2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.
3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
As we've seen throughout this book so far, Paul is a real master of communication.
He'll take a complex theological truth, and he'll shape it and mold it, and speak to it in such a way...
...that we're able to understand.
He was a master at revealing the meaning of truth...God's truth...
...and imparting that meaning into the human conscience.
And so this week is no different...
The Jewish Nation was having a hard time with this...as we've already seen how crucial the law was to them...
This week, having already discussed faith and works, grace and law, Paul is going to reach up and grab this truth...
...this truth that was going right over their heads...
...and he's going to bring it down to ground level.
That they might feel it, touch it...examine it from all angles.
And the way he's going to do this is to take this theological truth of...
faith not works
grace not law
and he's going to apply it to the relationship of marriage.
He wants them to see what their relationship IS now, to the law...
He wants them to understand what he means when he says - "You are not under law, but under grace"
1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?
SLIDE: The Law of God: Only Binding to Those Alive to God’s Law
The Law of God
The Law of God
So let's stop here...
Paul is well aware of the tension that this truth is causing amongst the Jewish Nation...
Paul was once a Pharisee...
His zeal for the law was unmatched!
He knows the tension here, and so he proceeds in a loving way - "do you not know...brothers..."
"Brothers..."
"Do you not know?"
Know what?
Do you not know that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?
NOW - From the PHYSICAL side of this - - We don't really need to spiritualize this statement here...
It's a fairly basic reality...
Drunk drivers kill thousands of people in this country every year...
And a lot of times, the drunk drivers themselves get killed...
But has anyone ever seen a defendant, in a casket (because he's dead), in a courtroom?
No...why?
No...why?
Because he's dead.
AND because he's dead, our judicial system has no authority over him...
He's no longer bound to the laws of our land.
He's dead...
So Paul's saying - The Law doesn't apply to dead people...it ONLY applies to people who are ALIVE. - and that’s just the PRACTICAL side of this...
So file this thought:
The Law doesn't apply to dead people...it ONLY applies to people who are alive.
And so from here, Paul's going to expand on this thought...
And he decides to use an analogy...
He says - in order to help you in understanding that the Law does NOT apply to dead people, but only people who are alive...
...let's look at marriage.
2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.
3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
Again, Paul uses a pretty simple analogy here to help us understand...
That as long as 2 people (man and woman) who are married and are alive, they are bound to one another under the law of marriage.
To the extent that if a married woman lives with another man while her husband is still alive...
...she is declared an adulteress...having committed adultery.
She at that point is under the law of marriage.
You guys know the saying right - -
"I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part,
Till death do us part, because when a death occurs, the law is no longer binding...
But if her husband dies...she's free from that law.
But how free is she?
1 Corinthians 7 says she can remarry, as though she had never been married.
The main point Paul wants to get across is this:
Bound by law concerning her husband, and then released from the law concerning her husband.
The law does NOT apply to dead people, but only those who are alive...
Now, at this point, the Jewish Nation hearing Paul, would have thought...
OK, NOW WE'RE TALKING PAUL!
We feel the same way...
We're ALIVE, so the Law applies to us...
It's EXTREMELY important that we adhere to it so God will accept us...
"You just said it Paul...the Law applies to people who are alive...and only upon death does the law become void!"
And at this point, Paul would have said - "I'm not finished yet..."
"See you're mistaken my brothers..."
"You're mistaken!"
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
You HAVE died...You're mistaken!
You have died TO the Law...
NOT through your own works..
...your own merits...
...your own accomplishments...
NO...but how?
NO...but how?
(v4)...through the body of Christ.
THERE IT IS!
His death has become our death!
And so what does this mean in regards to what has already said today?
It means - a death has occurred in this marriage...between us and the Law
SLIDE: The Law of God: Through Faith in Christ We have Died to the Law
The Law of God
The Law of God
THROUGH FAITH we've died (THROUGH THE BODY OF CHRIST)...
AND are now free from that Law...
No longer UNDER the Law IN THAT RELATIONSHIP...
(back to v4) - you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another...
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
belong to another - New Master (from last week)
to whom specifically?
"to Him who has been raised from the dead"
Jesus Christ - the righteousness of God
Jesus Christ - our new Master.
And so back to Paul's analogy in verses 1-3...
the analogy of marriage...
Mankind, by default, is in a marriage relationship with the Law...
And the same rules apply...
The only way that we can ever be appointed this New Master...
The only way that we can ever GET OURSELVES out from under the EVER-BINDING LAW which leads to death...
...is to understand that WE CAN'T GET OURSELVES out from under it's hold...
See - a DEATH needs to occur in this marriage...it's the only way!
And not a physical death!
You must DIE to yourself, understanding that you CAN'T do it!
ONLY thru Faith alone, in Christ alone, can this happen!
When we put our faith and trust in Christ for what He did, and we understand who We are before Him, we DIE to ourselves...
...and in DYING to ourselves...
...the bondage to that which held us captive, is broken.
We're free now...
This is what we read of in Galatians 2:20: **not on screen
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
So we see here that Paul died...he's free from the Law. He no longer lives....he's free.
But free to do whatever he wants?...
Free to trample the Law?
Free to pursue sin?
No, since Paul has died through Christ's death, WHO - now lives through Paul? In Paul? Christ now lives in Paul.
And when Christ lives in me, the world will experience that...
Let's see what Paul says:
end of v4:
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
That we may bear fruit for God.
Good works.
Do you know how we bear fruit for God?
Obey the Law.
Odd isn't it.
*For those of you who have kids...or if you don't have kids, you no doubt are the child of someone...so let's talk thru this...
When we think about our relationship with our kids...i hope you feel this same way...
But for me...
There is a foundation of love between my kids and me, that is completely separate from the things that they do or don't do in life.
There's this foundational piece of love that is not, and will not be affected by the things that they do or don't do in life...
So, in life, they can do things that please me, or they can do things that don't please me.
If they do something that pleases me, then I'm pleased in them...BUT it IN NO WAY causes me to love them more...
...even if they do something that pleases me.
If they do something that displeases me, then I'm not pleased with them...BUT THAT IN NO WAY causes me to love them less...
This foundational love that I have for them is completely separate from the things that they do.
AND SO the reason that Paul can look at the Jewish Nation and say - come out from under the law...
NO - the law is not a bridge that gets you to God!
You're trying to get to God by walking on the Law...
IT'S NOT A BRIDGE...
It's not even a bridge to nowhere...it's a bridge to somewhere...
and that somewhere is DEATH and DESTRUCTION...
Get OFF that bridge!
Get OFF!
The only bridge that gets you to God is FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE!
IT'S the foundational piece that you need!
By putting our faith in Jesus - we DIE to ourselves...You need to DIE to yourself, that you might live
You NEED to die to yourself
And in DYING to yourself, you RECEIVE the foundational piece of FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE...
THIS IS THE BRIDGE between you and God.
ONLY on the bridge of FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE, can you please God - by obeying the law.
And so when we receive the foundational piece of FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE...
...As we walk thru life, we either please God or we don't please God...
BUT IT IN NO WAY affects the foundation! Found in Christ!
We're sealed!
Once saved always saved!
Once we're His, NOTHING can separate us from the love of God.
And so here is what Paul is saying -
SLIDE:
Come out from under the law, trying to obey the law, so that you can please God by obeying the law.
Can you see why the Jewish Nation wasn't getting it?
"Come out from under the law, trying to obey the law, so that you can please God by obeying the law."
Even if this statement makes you say 'what'?
It should also make you say - "Oh, ok, I see that the law is not the problem."
SLIDE:
Paul wants them to see that God is pleased, not when man uses the Law as a bridge to get to God, but when man, walking on the bridge that is ‘faith alone in Christ alone’, obeys the Law.
And so know this - God IS pleased with the LAW.
The LAW is a good thing.....that can be horribly misused!...but it is a good thing!
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
The Law is:
perfect, reviving the soul
sure, making wise the simple
pure, enlightening the eyes
clean, enduring forever
true, righteous altogether
The Law is all of these things, and there is great reward in keeping them...
BUT ONLY on the bridge that is faith alone in Christ alone.
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
If we kept going we would read in verse 70:
"I delight in Thy law, or Your law, I delight in Your law."
Verse 72, "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."
Verse 97, "O how I love Thy law."
Verse 113, "But I love Thy law."
Verse 36, "My eyes shed streams of water because they do not keep thy law."
Verse 142, "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness and Thy law is truth."
verse 165, "Those who love Thy law have great peace."
Verse 174, "Thy law is my delight."
Do you hear the New Affections being spoken here?
Last week we mentioned that thru Faith, God gives us New Affections for Him.
All throughout the Psalms we read - I Delight in Your law...
New Affections for Christ on display...
Walking on Faith Alone in Christ Alone, pleasing God by obeying the Law...
verse 5
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
I hope you guys remember the book-ends of this book of Romans.
In the first chapter and in the last chapter we read this little phrase that points to what Paul was hoping for in the Romans...
The Obedience of Faith
Not just obedience...
But Obedience of Faith
SUMMARY:
The Law of God
Only Binding on Those Who are Alive to God’s Law
Through Faith in Christ We have Died to the Law
THEREFORE - WE ARE RELEASED FROM GOD’S LAW
Faith obeys God, by serving in the NEW WAY of the Spirit...
Faith does not obey God by serving in the old way of the code...
The Jewish Nation was trying to serve God on the LAW Bridge.
They treated the Law as a bridge to get them to God.
They were not serving in Faith...
They were serving by way of the written code.
And that way leads to death...
Only through Faith alone in Christ alone, can we please God by obeying the Law.
God is pleased with our Law keeping, ONLY when it is done on the bridge that is Faith Alone in Christ Alone.
The obedience of faith takes place on the foundation of faith....IN Christ.
ONLY through faith, are we released from the Law - the penalty that comes with the Law...SO THAT we can please God by obeying the Law.
Let's pray...
