Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 7. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It is a rather strange analogy that we encounter in our text, Paul’s discussion of the “remarriage” of a divorced woman in contrast to the remarriage of a “widower,” one whose husband has died. But this is the context he uses to compare and contrast “religions” and “spirituality.”
- First he establishes the fact that we are all by nature under the Law of God, and that this is true so long as a person is “living.” But that if the person has “died” to the law he is no longer bound to it, married to it, but is now free to “belong to another.”
- This death to law takes place “through the body of Christ,” through His crucifixion and death – which we participate in through baptism. The end result is NOT that we are now single, but rather that we “belong to another,” to Christ Who has been raised from the dead.
- Paul asserts that it is only in this way that we “bear fruit for God.” Under law, while married to law and bound to it, we were still “living in the flesh, our sinful passions aroused by law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” This seems strange – but it is the reality because of our sinful nature.
- But the goal of God’s gift of redemption in Christ Jesus is that we be free, free to serve God, to be “SERVING IN THE NEW LIFE OF THE SPIRIT.” And we should note carefully that if we were to return to serving law this would involve a “spiritual adultery,” for we are now wed and married to Christ by faith, dead to law and alive to God. This is challenging, but important for us to contemplate! For in reality:
I. We Simply Cannot Serve God Under The Principles Of Law
A. Though The Law Is Good, Sinful People Are Only Inflamed By Law
Text: “Had it not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.”
B. In Fact, By Law Sin Is Increased And Becomes Sinful Beyond Measure
Text: “Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.”
Statement: We have all experienced these dynamics in our lives. The more we are forbidden, the more compelling our temptations become. This is much like addictions – whether to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or food. Sin is an addiction, and the more the law tells us not to do it, the greater our compulsion to engage in sin. So the answer to mankind’s sin is not the law, and never can be.
Application: And as long as we are “married” to law we cannot please God – we end up living in the flesh, in sinful passions aroused by the law, bearing fruit for death. But this is in fact what all other religions are, religions of law which bind human beings to principles of law – do good and you will be rewarded, do evil and you will suffer and perish. But in promoting principles of “law” these religions beget and inflame the very things they purport to be against! And even if one succeeds in taming some passions, that very success inflames an even deadlier passion – that of human pride, arrogance, and blind self-righteousness. Such people become immune to repentance and blind to all truth about themselves, unable to perceive that even their righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
Transition: This is certainly not what Christ came to establish, or what He calls us to. Rather He calls us to Himself, and to faith and trust in Him, His gracious mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. Paul is writing to believers when he asserts that:
II. You Have Died To Law In Christ’s Body – Which Was Once Indeed Dead, But Is Now Alive
Text: “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ.
Rom. 6:4 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death.”
A. And So You Now Belong To Another, You Are Married To Christ
Text: “You 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.”
B. And So Now By Faith In Jesus You Are Able To Bear Fruit For God
Text: “You belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”
Rom. 6:4 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we may live a new life.”
1. We are now dead to law, released from it, and no longer serve under it
Text: “If her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.”
Text: “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we no longer serve under the old written code.”
2. So also we are now dead to sin, but alive to God, through His gracious love and salvation in Christ Jesus
Text: “Apart from the law, sin lies dead.”
Rom. 6:11 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Statement: This “freedom” from law is frightening and unnerving. First, we think it means doing whatever we want, and we know that if we allow our sinful nature free reign it will drag us into all manner of great shame and trouble. Second, if the law does not instruct us, we wonder how we will ever keep right and wrong straight. And we know that this cannot be God’s will. However, Paul is not denying that the law is “holy, righteous, and good.” He is observing, however, that we do not serve that which condemns and inflames our sin. Rather, knowing God’s gracious love, mercy, and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, our faith is now directed to God, and our love and service is directed to Him.
Application: And the point of the analogy Paul uses is quite poignant: If we revert back to principles of law – whether in our relationship with God or in our relationships with one another – we are essentially committing spiritual adultery against the Lord Jesus Christ, our dear Savior. This would be dying to God and going back to marrying the law – which only exacerbates sin, brings condemnation and eternal death, and produces no fruit for God, but only sin and fruit for death. So we must learn to remain faithful to Christ, to remain faithful in His freedom, to grow in love by holding on to His great love for us. This is life; this is “SERVING IN THE NEW LIFE OF THE SPIRIT.”
Conclusion: It is a strange analogy but one that is forcefully poignant and can be understood by anyone who understands marriage. We are dead to law through the body of Christ, and we now belong to Him. He is faithful to us, and He calls us to remain faithful to Him. This means that we live each day in His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love, and that we never return to “law” principles in our relationships.
But once we understand the joy of “SERVING IN THE NEW LIFE OF THE SPIRIT,” we want nothing to do with reliance upon the law, and serving under law. We affirm that the law is holy, righteous and good, but we acknowledge that it is no proper spouse for sinners; the only proper spouse for sinners is the great Redeemer, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! And we consider it our great pleasure to belong to Him and to serve Him!
God grant such blessedness to us all, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.