Romans 7:1-6 - Released from the Law, Bound to Christ
📖 Passage
Romans 7:1–6
Read Romans 7:1–6 (NKJV)
🧠 Context & Background
Paul continues addressing Jewish Christians, using the law to illustrate the believer’s new relationship in Christ. By comparing the binding nature of the law to marriage, he shows how death brings release and freedom to enter a new covenantal bond.
🌿 Key Themes
- Law’s Binding Authority – The law rules only as long as a person lives.
- Illustration of Marriage – Death releases one from the old covenantal bond.
- Union with Christ – Believers are joined to Christ to bear fruit for God.
- New Way of the Spirit – Freedom is not lawlessness, but Spirit-empowered obedience.
📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Romans 7:1 — Law’s Authority Limited by Death
“Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?”
- Paul reminds his hearers that law has jurisdiction only over the living.
- Death severs legal authority; a dead man is free from law’s claims.
- This principle prepares for the believer’s release from the Law through union with Christ.
Romans 7:2 — Marriage Analogy Introduced
“For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.”
- Marriage illustrates the point: law binds while life remains.
- Death releases the woman from her obligation to her husband.
- The analogy shows how death changes covenant obligations.
Romans 7:3 — Released to Belong to Another
“Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.”
- The analogy clarifies freedom through death: death dissolves the first bond, allowing union with another.
- Applied spiritually, death with Christ frees believers from the Law’s condemnation.
- Believers are released to belong to Christ without accusation of unfaithfulness.
Romans 7:4 — Died to the Law, Alive to Christ
“Likewise, my brothers, you also 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, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”
- Through Christ’s death, believers died to the Law’s binding authority.
- Now joined to the risen Christ, we belong to Him as a new covenant spouse.
- The purpose: to bear fruit for God—holy lives flowing from union with Christ.
Romans 7:5 — Old Life in the Flesh
“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”
- In the flesh, the Law exposed sin but could not free from it.
- Sin twisted even good commandments into occasions for rebellion.
- The result of life under the Law was death, not righteousness.
Romans 7:6 — New Life in the Spirit
“But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”
- Believers are released from the Law’s condemnation through Christ’s death.
- Service to God is now empowered by the Spirit, not external compulsion.
- The new covenant brings inward transformation instead of external bondage.
🔍 Trusted Insight
“Paul shows that the law can reveal sin but not conquer it. Only through union with Christ are we freed from sin’s dominion to bear fruit for God.” — RC Sproul
Summary: The believer, once bound under the law, is now released through Christ’s death and united with Him in new life, empowered by the Spirit.
🧩 Review Questions
- Why does Paul use the analogy of marriage to explain release from the law?
- How does being “dead to the law” lead to fruitfulness for God?
- What is the difference between serving in “the newness of the Spirit” versus “the oldness of the letter”?
- How does this passage deepen our understanding of sanctification?
🌎 Worldviews
Biblical worldview — Believers have died to the Law through the body of Christ, so they now belong to Him who was raised from the dead. The Law revealed sin but could not produce righteousness; only union with Christ bears fruit for God. The old way of written code is replaced with serving in the new way of the Spirit.
Today’s worldview
- “Religion is about keeping rules” — Many still see spirituality as box-checking (church attendance, rituals, moral performance). Paul says belonging to Christ frees us from mere rule-keeping into Spirit-empowered obedience (Romans 7:6).
- “I can redefine marriage and commitments as I choose” — Culture trivializes covenant faithfulness. Paul uses marriage to illustrate the binding nature of the Law, showing that death severs obligation and brings a new covenant with Christ (Romans 7:2–4).
- “Rules make me righteous” — Legalistic religion assumes more rules = more holiness. Paul insists the Law only aroused sinful passions (Romans 7:5); real fruitfulness comes from grace in union with Christ.
- “Freedom means no boundaries” — Modern thought equates freedom with self-rule. Paul redefines freedom: dying to the Law doesn’t mean lawlessness but joyful service to God in the Spirit.
🙋 Application Questions
- Do you see your obedience as driven by external law or internal Spirit renewal?
- In what ways are you bearing fruit for God in your daily life?
- How does union with Christ reshape your view of freedom and responsibility?
🔤 Greek Keywords
- κυριεύει (kurieuō) – “to have dominion, rule over.”
- κατήργηται (katērgētai) – “to be released, abolished, rendered inoperative.”
- πνεῦμα (pneuma) – “Spirit,” indicating the new covenant reality.
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📚 Cross References
- Galatians 2:19–20 — Dying to the law, living through Christ.
- Colossians 2:20 — Freedom from worldly regulations.
- Galatians 5:22–23 — Fruit of the Spirit contrasted with works of the flesh.
- Jeremiah 31:33 — Law written on the heart under the new covenant.
📦 Next Study
Next Study → Romans 7:7–25