A Study of The Book of Romans

Lesson 42 Chapter 7:1 – 4

Verse 1 “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?”

Paul now speaks more to the law now that he has spoken much about grace, and salvation in Jesus Christ.
Here Paul compares the law to marriage.

a. If a man assumes he can live the law then he must understand it is to be kept all of his life.

b. If a woman and a man are united in marriage it is to be a life time commitment. (we will look more at this in verse 2.

c. The word’s “dominion over” means rule over or lord over, as marriage should be.

The meaning here is this if one lives under the law then there is no separation from it for one’s life, however through Jesus Christ we are not under the law but under grace. Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Verses 2-3 “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (3.) So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”

Paul uses the illustration of marriage; if two people are united in marriage it is to be a life time commitment. However as we know it is not always so, but it was designed to be.

a. Today marriage is like a TV bought at Wal-Mart if you don’t like it then return it or trade it in on a new one. However it is designed to be a lifetime commitment. This is also true with the law one cannot simple divorce themself from it.

b. As to marriage and divorce; while some hold to the thought that divorce is never scriptural I disagree, I believe there are at least two scriptural grounds for divorce.

c. (1.) Matthew 19:9 “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” – fornication means - harlotry (including adultery and incest – or whoring around either by thoughts or by actions. Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

d. The word “adultery” means - who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another.

e. So let’s separate the two words fornication and adultery – fornication is a single person sleeping around or basically whoring around. – adultery includes at least one of the two being married.

f. In Matthew 19:9 if fornication did not include adultery then this verse would include only single people; however if fornication did not include married people then there would be no need to put away his wife. In other words two single people can fornicate but two single people cannot commit adultery.

g. (2.) In 1 Corinthians 7:15 “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.” - So if one is married to a unbeliever and the unbeliever leave then a divorce is granted and re-marriage is granted. – However this hurts the case for those that believe there is no scriptural exception for divorce.

h. John Gill said the following; “is bound by the law to her husband; to live with him, in subjection and obedience to him, - so long as he liveth; except in the cases of adultery, Matt. 19:9, and desertion, 1Cor. 7:15, by which the bond of marriage is loosed, and for which a divorce or separation may be made, which are equal to death:”

And in verse 3 if divorce is not for a scriptural reason then it is considered adultery unless one of the married die’s then the commitment is dead also.

Verse 4 returns us to our real thought here. “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”

However just as the death of a spouse cancels a marriage agreement Jesus Christ cancels our law commitment. “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ…” by dead body means – slain body – or His crucifixion.
The lost are bound to the law; the saved are free from that bond.
A true believer belongs totally to Christ just as a man and woman belong totally to each other and to stray from that is adultery just as Christ plus anything else (works, baptism or etc.) is spiritual adultery.
“…that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” We are to live holy lives because of this. This does not mean we will be totally holy in the flesh because we all still sin but in Christ our sins are forgiven even those after salvation which we all have.