Living theChristian Life is a Bible study series thatexplores Paul’s teaching about Christian growth and sanctification in Romans6:1–8:17.

IntroductoryThoughts

After a lengthydiscussion of the need for and basis of justification by grace through faith inChrist (i.e., salvation or conversion), Paul now explains how this same truthshould transform our mindset and lifestyle as Christians (i.e., sanctificationor Christian growth). The believer’s close identification with Christ’s death,burial, and resurrection places him or her in a new position. He is no longer aslave to sin but serves Jesus Christ instead.

Passage: Romans7:1-4

In English(NKJV)

v.1       Or do you not know,brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominionover a man as long as he lives?

v.2       For the woman whohas a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But ifthe husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.

v.3       So then if, whileher 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 noadulteress, though she has married another man.

v.4       Therefore, mybrethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, thatyou may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that weshould bear fruit to God.

Key Words andInsights

Mounce’sComplete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006) together with an interlinearBible, like The NKJV Greek English Interlinear New Testament (ThomasNelson, 1994) is an excellent way to get accurate definitions for your Biblestudy based upon Greek and Hebrew meanings.

Some words wehave already considered from our study of Rom 6, so you can refer to thoselessons or to Mounce for their definitions. As you study this passage, youshould review the meanings of these words even though they are not listed onthis study guide.

• (ἀδελφός): “brother, near kinsman orrelative; one of the same nation or nature; one of equal rank and dignity; amember of the Christian community.” Those is word is male in gender, it refersgenerically to all Christians regardless of gender and emphasizes our mutualrelationship as spiritual children in God’s family.
• (ἀνήρ):“a male person of full age and stature; a husband.”
• (δέω): “bind, tie; obligated.” Like the slavery analogy in Rom 6,this marriage analogy also emphasizes a sense of personal obligation, but in amore familial sense.
• (καταργέω): “to render useless or unproductive;to render powerless; to cancel; to bring to an end; to destroy; to free from.”
• (γίνομαι): “to come into existence, be created; to be born; to comeinto a particular state or condition.”
• (χρηματίζω): “to have dealings, transactbusiness; to negotiate; to be given a title, label, or classification.”
• (μοιχαλίς): “an adulteress,” someone who hasviolated her marriage obligations and proven to be unfaithful.
• (σῶμα): “the body of an animal or person.” In this case it refersto the body of Christ as a general reference to his death, burial, andresurrection in our place.
• (ἕτερος): “other, another, some other; thenext.” It usually describes something that is the next one in a series, as in“the next one” or “one after another.”
• (καρποφορέω): “to bear fruit, yield.” Thisrefers to both actual fruit or the outcome of certain actions and behavior.

Questions for Meditation and Reflection

Who are “those who know the law” (v.1)?

This is not a reference to the Mosaic law in particular, nor is ita reference to Roman law in particular either. Instead, it is a reference tocivil law in general, people who live in a society governed by a common law.

How does a person escape the authority of the law over the lives(v.1)?

The only way to escape the jurisdiction of civil law is to die.

What new illustration does Paul use to explain how this works(v.2)?

Family law and marriage in particular

What does the example of “adultery” illustrate for us (v.3)?

We might expect Paul to use this example as an illustration of whatit means to sin as a Christian and to act unfaithfully towards God, but hedoesn’t in this instance. Instead, he uses this example to illustrate what itwas like to be a nonbeliever who was obligated to sin. The only way to bereleased from that obligation to sin was to die.

How have we “died” and escaped the authority of the law over ourlives (v.4)?

We died through Christ “vicariously.” He died as our substitute,taking the consequences and penalty for our sins in our place. Therefore, whenhe resurrected from the dead, we resurrected with him. Here’s the point – wereturned to life yet, because we died with Christ, our new status renders usfree from the law of sin. Though we are alive “again,” we are no longerobligated to sin.

To whom are we now “married” (v.4)?

We are “married” to Christ. Technically, this is an illustrationjust as slavery is an illustration. We are not formally “married” or “enslaved”to Christ, but these illustrations provide a necessary point of reference thathelps us comprehend the nature of our relationship to God as believers. (Weknow this in part because it is not technically possible to be slaves to God,married to God, and children to God all at the same time.) As such, we learnthat we have a formal, intimate, mutual – yet spiritual – relationship withChrist. This relationship places us into a close relationship with the Godhead.This relationship both frees us from the obligation to sin and obligates us todo the will of God instead.

What is the purpose for this new relationship (v.4)?

The purpose for this new relationship is to “bear fruit to God.”This essentially means that God desires for us to devote ourselves to hispurpose for our lives, producing the character and qualities of Christlikenessin through our words and actions. The fruit of the Spirit would be a relatedconcept (Gal 5:22-23).

Another meaning is also possible if the marriage illustration iscarried forward. If it is, then this could be interpreted as “offspring” ratherthan “fruit.” In this sense it would portray God’s purpose in liberating us fromsin to be for us to reach and disciple more believers. Even if this is notPaul’s specific meaning here, it would still fit in as one of the many otherfruits of Christlikeness, so it reasonably applies no matter what.

Questions for Personal Application

1. What is it like to live “under the dominion of the law”? Think back to your pre-conversion days and describe this experience in your own words.
2. How does the illustration of marriage help us understand our new relationship to God in a way that the slavery illustration does not?
3. What kind of fruit has God been producing in your life since your conversion?
4. What kind of fruit is God working to produce in your life right now?