Romans 7.3-If A Jewish Woman's Husband Dies, She Is Not An Adulteress If She Remarries
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday August 19, 2008
Romans: Romans 7:3-If A Jewish Woman’s Husband Dies, She Is Not An Adulteress If She Remarries
Lesson # 211
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 7:1.
This evening we will study Romans 7:3 in which the apostle Paul teaches the Roman Christians that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, then she is not an adulteress if she remarries.
In Romans 7:4, Paul teaches that in the same way that a wife is discharged from the marriage contract with her deceased husband and free to marry another so the Christian has been discharged from the Law and was married to Christ when they were entered into union with Him through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 7:1-3, “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 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.”
Romans 7:3 is divided into two sections with each section containing two parts:
The first section is an emphatic inferential statement: “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.”
This statement is divided into two parts: (1) Protasis of a third class condition: “if while her husband is living she is joined to another man” (2) Apodasis: “She shall be called an adulteress.”
The second section contained in Romans 7:3 is an adversative clause: “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.”
This too is divided into two parts: (1) Protasis of a fifth class condition: “if her husband dies” (2) Apodasis of a fifth class condition: “She is free from the law so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.”
Romans 7:3, “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.”
“So then” is composed of the “inferential” particle ara (a&ra) (ar-ah), “so” and the “transitional” or “resumptive” use of the post-positive conjunction oun (ou@n) (oon), “then.”
Together, ara oun emphasize the logical connection between Paul’s statements in Romans 7:1-2 with his statement to follow in Romans 7:3.
“If” is the conditional particle ean (e)avn) (eh-an), which introduces the protasis of a third class conditional statement that presents a hypothetical situation of a Jewish married woman entering into marriage with another man while her husband is still living.
“While her husband is living” indicates when a Jewish woman would be considered by Jewish law as an adulteress if she married another man.
“She is joined” is the verb ginomai (givnomai) (ghin-om-i), which is idiom for getting married.
“She shall be called” is the verb chrematizo (xrhmativzw) (khray-mat-id-zo), which means, “to be publicly known as.”
“An adulteress” is the adjective moichalis (moixaliv$) (moy-khal-is), which refers to a woman who has committed adultery.
Adultery refers to “sexual intercourse with a person who is not your spouse.”
Marriage was established by God in the Garden of Eden when He brought the Woman to Adam to be his helpmate (See Genesis 2:18-25).
Therefore, committing adultery would be sin against God because it would violate the divine institution of marriage.
The Word of God prohibits adultery.
Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.”
Adultery begins in the heart.
Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
The act of adultery takes place when the thought of adultery is acted upon.
James 1:13-15, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Committing adultery is a manifestation of not loving your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:8-10, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Under the Mosaic Law, both the adulterer and the adulteress received the death penalty.
Leviticus 20:10, “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
The Lord Jesus Christ taught if you look lustfully at another man’s wife, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart.
Matthew 5:27-28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Both the Old and New Testament Scriptures condemn adultery (Proverbs 1:10; 6:20-35; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Hebrews 13:4).
Adultery was a problem throughout Israel’s history (Jeremiah 7:9-11; 9:1-6; Ezekiel 22:1-16).
Romans 7:3, “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.”
“But” is the “adversative” use of the conjunction de (deV) (deh), which introduces a statement that presents a contrast with Paul’s statement that appears in the protasis.
In the protasis, Paul presented a hypothetical situation in which a Jewish married woman is known publicly as an adulteress if she marries another man while her husband is still living.
His statement in the apodasis presents the idea that if her husband dies, she would not be considered an adulteress if she married another man.
“If” is the conditional particle ean (e)avn) (eh-an), which introduces the protasis of a fifth class conditional that teaches a spiritual principle taught in the Mosaic Law that if a Jewish woman’s husband dies, she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
“Dies” is the verb apothnesko (a)poqnhv|skw) (ap-oth-nace-ko), which refers to physical death.
“She is free” describes this woman as being legally free from her marriage contract with her deceased husband or in other words, she is free from her marital obligations to her deceased husband.
“From the Law” means that a Jewish woman is totally and completely discharged from her marital obligations once her husband dies.
Romans 7:3, “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.”
“So that she is not an adulteress” indicates that a Jewish woman would not be considered an adulteress as a result of her husband dying and her remarrying.
“Though she is joined” indicates that a Jewish woman is not considered an adulteress under the Mosaic Law “if” she remarries after her husband dies.
In Romans 7:4, Paul teaches that in the same way that a wife is discharged from her husband’s authority when he dies and free to marry another so the Christian has been discharged from the authority of the Law and was married to Christ when they were identified with Christ in His physical death through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 7:4, “Therefore, my brethren, 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.”