You’ve Been Set Free

Let me paint a picture for you.

Imagine a woman trapped in a terrible marriage. Her husband is demanding, controlling, and impossible to please. Every day he hands her a list of expectations—hundreds of them—and every day she fails. She tries harder. She works longer. But no matter what she does, it's never enough. He points out every flaw that she has, and every failure. He never lifts a finger to help her. He just stands there with his arms crossed and says, "You're not good enough."

She's exhausted and defeated. She's crushed under the weight of an impossible standard. And the worst part? She can't leave. She's bound to this man by law. As long as he's alive, she's stuck.

But then one day, something happens. The husband dies. She didn’t want him to die. But it happened. And suddenly, everything changes. She's free. The law that bound her to that man no longer applies. She's released. And for the first time in her life, she's able to enter a new relationship—one built not on demands and failures, but on love and grace.

Now, that's not just a story. That's your story if you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior. That's what Paul is describing in Romans 7:1-6. And the husband in that analogy? That's the Law. The Law of Moses. The Old Covenant system of rules and requirements that pointed out your sin but never gave you the power to overcome it. I know I painted him out to be a bad husband, but he was just demanding and pointing out every flaw. All he ever said was, “You’re not good enough.” That’s what the law does.

And the new husband? That's Jesus Christ.

Paul is about to show us that something happened at salvation that fundamentally changed our relationship to the Law. We are no longer married to a system that condemns us. We are now united to a Savior who transforms us.

Here's the main idea I want you to hold onto this morning:

You have been released from the Law's demands so that you can live in a new relationship with Christ that produces real life-change.

That's it. The old marriage is over. The new marriage has begun. And the life that flows out of this new relationship is something the old one could never produce.

Let me read our text. Romans 7:1-6

Romans 7:1–6 NKJV

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

In chapter 6, Paul explained that believers have died to sin and been raised to new life. Sin is no longer our master. God is, and He works in our lives according to grace.

But that raises a huge question—especially for Jewish believers in Rome who had grown up under the Mosaic Law. If we're no longer under the Law, what's our relationship to it? Is the Law bad? Did God make a mistake when He gave it? And if we're free from the Law, does that mean we can just live however we want?

Paul anticipates every one of those questions. And in Romans 7:1-6, he uses an analogy from marriage to explain what happened to our relationship with the Law when we came to Christ. He's not trashing the Law. He's showing that the Law served a purpose—but that purpose has been fulfilled. And now, through our union with Christ, we've entered into something far better.

Something happened to you at the cross that changed your legal standing before God. And until a person understands what happened, they’ll keep trying to earn what's already been given—and they’ll keep failing under the weight of a system that was never designed to save them.

Let’s look back at verses 1-3. Romans 7:1-3

Romans 7:1–3 NKJV

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Understand That the Law's Authority Over You Has Ended (vv. 1-3)

Paul opens with a phrase we've seen before: "Or do you not know?" Paul uses a word that we get the word “agnostic” from. “Are you unaware of this? Are you ignorant?" He's not being condescending. He's pointing out that many believers live in bondage to a system they've already been freed from—simply because they don't understand what happened.

He says, "The law has dominion over a man as long as he lives." The word "dominion" is kyrieuei (κυριεύει), from kyrieuō—to rule as lord, to exercise authority. This is the same word Paul used in Romans 6:9 when he said death no longer has "dominion" over Christ, and in 6:14 when he said sin shall not have "dominion" over you. Paul is establishing a principle that everyone in the room would understand: the law's jurisdiction extends only over the living. When a person dies, the law's authority over that person is terminated.

To illustrate, he uses the example of marriage. A married woman, he says, is "bound" to her husband. It's a strong word. It describes a legal and covenantal bond. As long as her husband is alive, she is legally tied to him. If she takes up with another man while her husband is still living, she will be called an adulteress, a woman who violates her marriage covenant.

But if her husband dies, everything changes. She is "released" from the law of her husband. The Greek word is, to render inoperative, to nullify, to make of no effect.

Paul used it back in Romans 6:6 when he said that our old man was crucified with Christ so that the "body of sin might be done away with"—same word. It doesn't mean the law disappears. It means the law's binding authority over that particular relationship is cancelled. The law of marriage still exists. It just no longer applies to her because death has intervened.

Do you see the principle? Death breaks the legal bond. Death ends the contract. Death releases you from obligations that were once binding.

Now, Paul isn't giving a marriage seminar. He's setting up an analogy. And here's the point: you were once bound to the Law. The Law had dominion over you. It made demands. It pointed out your failures. It held you accountable. And as long as you were "alive" to that system, you were stuck in it. You could never measure up, but you could never get out.

But then something happened. Death intervened. Not the Law's death—your death. When Christ died on the cross, you died with Him. And that death broke the legal bond between you and the Law. You are no longer bound to a system that could only condemn you. You have been released.

Here's the first thing we need to understand: Understand that the Law's authority over you has ended.

Many of us are still living as though the old marriage is intact. We wake up every morning, and the first voice we hear is a list of demands. "You need to do more. You need to try harder. You need to be better. You're failing. You're not enough." And we assume that voice is God's voice. But it's not. That's the voice of the old legal system. That's the voice of the Law—an arrangement that was never designed to give you life.

If you're in Christ, that contract has been terminated. You are not under a performance-based system anymore. You are under grace. The demands of the Law were fully met in Christ, and you are free.

This week, ask yourself: "Am I living like someone who's been released, or am I still trying to earn approval from a relationship that’s already dead?" If the loudest voice in your spiritual life is condemnation, guilt, and "you're not enough," you're listening to the wrong voice. The old marriage is over.

Understand that the Law's authority over you has ended.

Now look at verse 4. Romans 7:4

Romans 7:4 NKJV

4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

This is the turning point of the passage. Paul moves from the analogy to the application. He says, "You have become dead to the law through the body of Christ."

You can now…

Embrace Your New Union with Christ (v. 4)

The phrase "become dead" is means, to put to death, to make dead. It's in the passive voice, which means this is something that was done to you, not something you did yourself. You didn't kill your relationship to the Law. God did.

Through the death of Christ on the cross, your bond to the Law was severed. When Jesus hung on that cross, He bore the full penalty of the Law on your behalf. Every demand of the law was satisfied. Every requirement was fulfilled. Every debt was paid. And when He died, your obligation to the Law died with Him.

But Paul doesn't stop at death. He never does. Because in God's economy, death always leads to new life. He says you became dead to the Law "that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead."

The word "married" here means, to become, to come into being. It carries the idea of entering into a new relationship, a new state of existence. You didn't just leave one marriage. You entered another one. You didn't just get freed from the Law. You were joined to Christ. You became a new creation.

And notice who this new husband is: "Him who was raised from the dead." Your new relationship isn't another set of rules. He isn't another list of requirements. He isn't another system that points out your failures. Your new relationship is with a living Person—the risen Christ. And this relationship is fundamentally different from the old one.

The old spouse—the Law—made demands but never helped you meet them. He stood over you with his arms crossed and said, "Do better." But your new relationship—Jesus Christ—comes alongside you and says, "I will give you the power to live differently." The old relationship was based on performance. The new relationship is based on love. The old relationship produced guilt. The new relationship produces fruit.

And that's exactly what Paul says: "that we should bear fruit to God." This is the language of agriculture—of something alive and growing. Under the old system, all you could produce was failure. But in this new union with Christ, you produce fruit. Real, lasting, life-giving fruit. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. The kind of character that only comes from being connected to the living vine.

Jesus said it Himself in John 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

Fruit isn't something you manufacture through effort. Fruit is something that grows naturally out of a living connection. A branch doesn't strain to produce grapes. It just stays connected to the vine, and the fruit comes. That's what your relationship with Christ is designed to produce.

First, we understand our relationship with the law has ended. Second, what we need to do is: Embrace your new union with Christ.

Some people are still acting like single people spiritually. You were freed from the Law, but you never fully embraced your new relationship with Christ. They’re living in the gap—no longer under the old system, but not really walking in the new one either. You're free, but you're not fruitful. And that's because fruitfulness doesn't come from independence. It comes from being connected in a meaningful way to Jesus.

This week, ask yourself: "Am I actually connected to Christ, or am I just free from the Law?" There's a difference. Freedom from something is only half the story. Freedom for something—for a living, thriving, fruit-bearing relationship with the risen Jesus—that's the whole story.

Stop trying to produce fruit on your own. Start abiding in Him. Spend time in His Word. Talk to Him in prayer. Surrender your day to Him before it starts. The fruit will come—not because you tried harder, but because you stayed connected.

Embrace your new union with Christ.

Now verses 5-6. Romans 7:5-6

Romans 7:5–6 NKJV

5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

We’ve been freed to…

Serve in the Power of the Spirit, Not the Pressure of the Law (vv. 5-6)

Paul gives us a before-and-after picture. Before Christ, he says, we were "in the flesh." The word "flesh" is sarki (σαρκί), from sarx. In Paul's writings, sarx doesn't just mean your physical body. It refers to your old, unregenerate nature—the part of you that was dominated by sin and unable to please God. When you were "in the flesh," you were operating under the old system. And Paul says something shocking about that system: the Law actually aroused sinful passions.

The word "aroused" is, from energeō— to energize, to work, to be active, to produce energy. We get our English word "energy" from this root. Paul is saying that the Law didn't just fail to stop sin—it actually energized sin. It stirred it up. It provoked it.

Think of the "Do Not Touch, Wet Paint” sign I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Before you saw the sign, you had no desire to touch the wall. But the moment you saw the sign appeared, something inside you wanted to reach out and touch it. The sign didn't create the fresh paint. The sign didn't create your rebellious impulse. But the sign activated it. That's what the Law does. It tells you what's wrong, and something inside your fallen nature says, "I want to do that."

And what did this produce? "Fruit to death." Under the old system, the only fruit you could bear was rotten fruit. Death fruit. Guilt, shame, failure, and spiritual decay.

But now—and that word "now" is an emphatic form of "now" that means "right now, at this present moment"—something has changed. Paul says, "We have been delivered from the law." The word "delivered" is the same word used in verse 2 for the woman being "released" from her dead husband. We have been released, freed, discharged from the Law's binding authority.

And why? "Having died to what we were held by." It's the picture of being held in custody, like a prisoner. The Law held you down. It restrained you. It kept you in a cycle of failure and condemnation. But now, through your death with Christ, you've been set free from that prison.

And here's the purpose: "so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."

Paul isn't saying we've been freed from all service. He's saying we've been transferred from one kind of service to another. We used to serve under the "oldness of the letter.” This letter refers to the written code—the external, carved-in-stone commands of the Mosaic Law. That system was old, it had been replaced, it was powerless to change you from the inside.

But now we serve in the "newness of the Spirit.” The word newness means new in quality—not just newer in time, but fundamentally different. This is a completely different operating system. Under the old system, you had external rules and no internal power. Under the new system, you have the Holy Spirit living inside you, writing God's desires on your heart, empowering you from within to do what the Law could never enable you to do.

It's the difference between pushing a car and driving a car. Under the Law, you were pushing. You were straining. You were trying with everything in you to move forward, and you were exhausted. But under the Spirit, the engine is running. The power is internal. You're not pushing anymore. You're being propelled by a power that is not your own.

Warren Wiersbe says it this way: "The Law was an external thing, written on tablets of stone. The Spirit is an internal power, working in the heart. The Law could command, but it could not enable. The Spirit empowers us to obey from the inside out."

Here's the third thing we can do now that we’re free: Serve in the power of the Spirit, not the pressure of the Law.

This is where so many believers get stuck. They know they're saved by grace. They know they're not under the Law. But when it comes to daily living, they default right back to the old system. They try to obey God through willpower, discipline, and sheer determination. And when they fail—which they always do—they feel crushed. They feel like they're back in the old marriage, listening to the old husband say, "You're not good enough."

But that's not how the Christian life works. The Christian life is not about trying harder. It's about relying on something internal. It's not about external pressure. It's about internal power. The Holy Spirit lives in you, and He is the one who produces change. Your job is to yield to Him, walk with Him, and depend on Him.

This week, when you feel the pull to try harder in your own strength—stop. Take a breath. And pray this prayer: "Holy Spirit, I can't do this on my own. I was never meant to. Fill me. Lead me. Empower me. Produce in me what I could never produce in myself."

Serve in the power of the Spirit, not the pressure of the Law.

Conclusion

You've been set free. Now live like it.

Because the One who raised Jesus from the dead is the same One who lives in you—and He is more than enough.