YOU ARE MARRIED TO CHRIST - Romans 7

 YOU ARE MARRIED TO CHRIST - Romans 7

“do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her 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 no adulteress, though she has married another man.” - Romans 7 : 1-3

Paul in Romans 7 now explains and emphasizes that those who are in Christ, are now married to Christ and therefore, are dead to the law. Christ fulfilled the law at the cross and released us from its marriage contract and we are free to marry the love of our hearts, in a wonderful glorious new marriage of beauty, intimacy and adventure. There is a clear distinction that someone can only be in one or other and not both. You cannot just go to marry grace when you are already married to the law. 

So what does this mean? It means that we can never go back to being under the law. It means we can’t be in Christ and be under the Law. Unfortunately, many Christians are confused about this and try to relate to God through grace, but also adding the law into the ingredients! We can try to do this but according to Roman 7 we are in reality committing spiritual adultery. According to God we are now married to Christ, therefore the law has no bearing on our lives. In fact, the law is like a jealous ex-wife who tries to entice us away from Christ! It is this enticement that draws us into condemnation and tries to capture our hearts with guilt. The root cause of all spiritual adultery is condemnation. 

The Old Testament story of Isreal is about the law and the prophets proclaiming and pointing to Christ. They don’t point PAST Christ. Once we come into Christ then the law has done its purpose, we are released from the Law and come into a whole new way of life. Our new creation nature does not require the law because the new covenant is the fulfillment of the law. 

“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve In newness of spirit, and not in oldness of letter.” Romans 7:6

We have come into a new position in Christ which has changed everything. Our spirit has been reborn and made righteous and given a new nature. This means that an external law acting as an external restraint, giving us external motivation, is no longer needed. Because now we have an internal motivation which is Christ living in us, with his nature in us and his righteousness given to us. This is the new and living way of the Spirit.