May 21, 2018
The Example
Romans 7:1–3
Selena Thompson
Central Truth
The law states that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). But, when we accept that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, we die with Him and are given a new, eternal life with Him; therefore, we are no longer bound by the law.
Romans 7:1–3
Released from the Law
1 Or do you not know, brothers 1 7:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 4 —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 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. 2 7:2 Greek law concerning the husband 3 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.
Dive Deeper | Romans 7:1–3
In my life I have witnessed over and over this adulteress Paul talks about in verse 3, both literally and spiritually. There were those who were married, but didn’t act like it; and those who said they were Christians, but still lived in sin. In 2013, I became one of them! In my shame and guilt, I cried out to the Lord, and He showed me in my brokenness that I was a slave to sin. "[I]f you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey . . . .” (Romans 6:16)
Paul is talking about sin that has dominion over us, not about infidelity, although for me, that was the sin and worldly thinking that had authority over me. Paul is explaining the dissolution of a relationship through death in order to make a way for a new relationship. It’s an example so we understand the finality of our sins with Jesus’ death on the cross.
To understand this, we must accept that in order to have a new life we must have had an old life. Through re:generation, Watermark's 12-step biblical recovery ministry, I learned that my old life was full of shame, guilt, anger, and self-protection; and it was killing me. But God offers the free gift of life eternally with Him (Romans 6:23). We must also accept that we are “under the authority” of whom or what we obey just like a wife is under the authority of her husband, but a death ends that. We don’t physically die to become a Christ follower, but our sinful life does (Romans 6:6). We are now “under the authority” of Christ as our new Husband, Head of our life, and Master of our heart.
I still have feelings of anger, guilt, and shame. When my flesh points toward self-protection, I must remind myself of truth:
God loves me so much He sacrificed His Son for me;
I have a new life in Christ;
I am bound by righteousness;
Jesus paid the price on the cross;
I no longer have to carry the shame of being called an adulteress;
I am no longer a slave to sin.
This month's memory verse
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
– Romans 6:13
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe you have a new life in a Savior named Jesus Christ? Why or why not?
2. We are slaves to the one whom we obey. To whom or what is your obedience directed? Are you under the authority of righteousness or sin?
3. How can community help you process what you allow to have authority in your life? Ask them to point out areas where you are vulnerable to straying back into an “old life” way of thinking.
4. If you understand this example and agree that Jesus died and was resurrected for your sins, what are you doing to tell others of this great news? How are you using your life as a living example that being bound to the Savior brings life eternal?