Sunday School Notes: Romans 7:1-4
1 Or do you not know, brethren–for I speak to those who know the law–that the law rules over a man for as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman is bound by law to [her] husband while he lives; but if [her] husband should die, she is released from the law concerning [her] husband. 3 Therefore, then, while [her] husband lives, she is called an adulteress if she should be with another man. But if [her] husband dies, she is free from the law, such that she is not an adulteress while being with another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you have also been put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may be with another, the one raised from the dead, so that we may bear fruit to God.
We actually read through to verse 7, and touched on some of the themes in verses 5-7, but not in any depth, so we will leave that until next week. This week, we primarily focused on verses 1-4.
The topic of “law” has come up a number of times already. First, we noted that a good portion of Paul’s readership were probably Jewish Christians, and, from what Paul says, we can deduce an attitude of superiority among them due to the fact that they have the Mosaic Law. Throughout, Paul has emphasized the fact that we cannot earn favor with God through the law. It is faith in Christ’s work on the cross alone that makes us right with God. His grace alone is what we need. In 6:14 Paul reminded them that they are not “under the Law [or “law”]” but “under grace.”
When Paul speaks of “law,” does he always mean the Law of Moses? The Greek doesn’t really help us answer this, since the same word, nomos, is used for both secular and religious law. We are left, therefore, looking to the context in which Paul uses the word to determine his intention. In the context of Romans 7, and particularly the analogy he draws in verses 1-4, he could mean either. He gives a general principle in verse 1 that would apply to any culture: laws only exist while those to whom the law applies are alive. His parenthetical statement (“I speak to those who know the law”) could indicate that he has his Jewish readers in mind. And while the marriage example may well fit a secular culture, we know it certainly applied with regard to the Jewish marriage laws.
The analogy Paul draws between our situation with regard to Christ and “the law,” and marriage law is simple. According to the law, a woman is bound to her husband for as long as he lives. If she should have an intimate relationship with another man, she is an adulterer. But if her husband dies, and she takes another man, she is not an adulterer because her legal bond to her former husband has been broken by death. In the same way, we were bound to the law (and sin–a connection he will draw out in the next section), and that shackle could only be broken by death. Through Christ’s death, we have died with him to sin. As a result we are now free to be united to Christ. Paul doesn’t state this explicitly, but I think it can be implied: if you are now united to Christ, if you attempt to “be with” the law, you are committing adultery!
A couple of interesting linguistic points. First, the word Paul uses in verse 2 for “married,” hupandros, literally means “under a man.” Not only does this reflect the biblical perspective of marriage, whereby the wife is submissive to her husband (a concept that is not welcomed in our culture, but truly is a wonderful thing when handled according to Scripture), but it further emphasizes that tie the woman has to her “man.” Second, the phrase in verse 4, “you have been put to death to the law” is my translation of the Greek humeis ethanatôthête tô nomô. The NASB renders this. “you were made to die to the Law,” which, while legitimate, I feel is a little wimpy. The Greek is an emphatic aorist passive, which I think requires a translation with a bit more punch. Especially since the use of the passive voice is pointing to the work of God: it was God in Christ that put them to death with regard to the law.
This passage has been used as a proof-text to say that Christians can only remarry if their spouse dies. Divorce, for whatever reason, does not free a person to take another spouse. We decided that it would be a mistake to use Romans 7 to argue this point, since Romans 7 really isn’t discussing marriage and divorce. Paul is simply using the fact that the marriage bond is broken by death to make his point about our connection to Christ versus the law. Whether or not you can make an argument from Scripture concerning when Christians can remarry really depends on a careful study of passages that teach about marriage. First Corinthians 7 is an excellent place to start, as well as Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 5:27-32 and Mark 10:2-12.
The way Paul has spoken of the law–or the Law–in previous passages, and in the following verses (7:5ff) might give the impression that Paul had a very low opinion of the Law. It seems that he is saying it causes us to sin, and that it leads to death. And yet we know the Law was given by God, and he will go on later in the chapter to speak of the Law as a positive thing. So what are we to make of what Paul says about the Law? This will be our starting point next week.
