I read this last week about a pastor who was standing at the door. Romans chapter 7, beginning in verse 1, will be our text for today. The subject is, free from the law. Do you not know, brethren, for I am speaking to those who know the law? that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. For the married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is living. But if her husband dies, she is released from
the law concerning the husband. So then, if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead,
that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit, not in oldness of the letter. God's righteousness which saves us, and we call that justification, is also that righteousness which is experienced in our daily
lives, which we call sanctification. In chapter 3, verse 21, up through the end of chapter 5, the Apostle talks about God's saving righteousness. Beginning in chapter 6, on through chapter 8 then, he is speaking about God's sanctifying righteousness. This righteousness God wants us to know, both in position and in experience, And we can know it because of our union with Jesus Christ, chapters 6 and 7, and our being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, chapter 8. Let me
repeat that. God wants us to know and to experience His righteousness. We can because of our identity or our union with Jesus Christ, chapters 6 and 7, and our being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, chapter 8. Now as Paul preached this message of salvation by grace through faith without works, and apart from the law, the Jew in particular had two problems. These questions came to his mind. They heard Paul say, where sin abounds,
grace is what? Much more abounds. And so they logically figured, well, Paul, if you're saying if we sin this much that God's grace abounds that much, then shouldn't we sin this much so that God's grace will be magnified even more? That's what chapter 6, verse 1 asks. Shall we continue in sin, Paul, that grace may abound? And in chapter 6 he answers that question. As we come to chapter 7, the apostle deals with the second problem that the Jew had. What about
the law, Paul? Where does it fit in? If you're saying we are saved apart from the law, then what was its purpose in the first place? Where does the law fit into God's plans? And you must remember that this was important not only to Jew but to Gentile. Because the Roman church was made up of both. And the only written revelation they had from God at that time was the Old Testament. The New Testament was still in the process of being written. And so they studied the Old Testament.
The Jew knew it well. The Gentile who had been saved was learning about it. And so the apostle now wants them to see that the sanctions of that law of the Old Testament were no longer binding on their relationship to God. Now let me approach the overview of these chapters from a little different perspective. In chapter 6, he tells us the believer is free from what? From sin. In chapter 7, he tells us the believer is free from the law. So that's a way to divide these
two chapters. The subject of chapter 6 is sin. For example, look in verse 1, he uses that word. Are we to continue in sin? that grace may abound, may increase. So sin is the subject of chapter 6. In chapter 7, verse 1, he uses the keyword law. He says, I'm speaking to those who know the law. And so sin, the subject of chapter 6. Law, the subject of chapter 7. Now there are other parallels between the two chapters, and let me just go over them briefly, and you're
going to have to really listen closely. For example, look in verse 2 of chapter 6. He says, How shall we who what? Died to sin still live in it. And so he says we died to sin. In chapter 7, verse 4, in the text we read, he says that we were made to die to the law. So there's a parallel. Chapter 6, we died to sin. Chapter 7, we died to the law. Again in chapter 6, this time in verse 4, he says, we have been resurrected that we might walk in newness of life. See that? The
end of the verse. We ought to walk in newness of life. In chapter 7, verse 6, he puts it this way. We serve in newness of the Spirit. So he talks about a new walk in chapter 6. A new way of serving. Chapter 7. In chapter 6, verse 7, he says, He who has died is freed from sin. So we've died and we are free from sin. In chapter 7, verse 6, just the reverse, he says we have died to the law and therefore we are released from it. We are free from the law. So in chapter
6, we're free from sin. Chapter 7, free from the law. And one more parallel, verse 18 of chapter 6, says that we have been set free from sin. Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Chapter 7, verse 3, uses that same phrase, that we are free from the law, as in the illustration that he gives. And again, I point out verse 6, released. from the law, having died to it. To say it very simply, chapter 6 tells us how to stop doing bad things. Chapter
7 tells us how not to do good things. Chapter 6 tells us how to stop sinning. There are some things we are to know, we are to consider them to be true, and we are to present ourselves to God as His servants. Chapter 7 tells us how we are not to do good things. And essentially the apostle tells us in this chapter that we are neither saved nor are we sanctified by keeping the law. When we keep law, we are doing good things the wrong way. That's kind of the subject
we're going to look at this morning. The theme for our text today, verses 1 through 6, is found back in chapter 14, chapter 6 rather, verse 14, where he says, you are not under law. In other words, the apostle says, you are not under law as a means or a method of acquiring salvation or experiencing God's righteousness in your life. You are not under law. Now to enforce that truth, the apostle first gives us an illustration, verses 1 through 3. And then he applies it. The illustration,
very clearly, is marriage, right? He talks about marriage in verses 1 through 3. Now how does Paul use the illustration of marriage to show that we are no longer under law, that we're free from it? Well, as we look at the illustration, I want you to notice five things about it. I think five reasons why he uses this illustration. Reason number one, marriage represents a lifelong union between two parties. In the marriage vows, part of them say, so long as you both shall live.
These days it's being changed by some to say, so long as you both shall love. Which cheapens the whole idea of marriage. The vow should say, so long as you both shall live. It is a lifelong commitment. And that is emphasized in verse 2 when it says, the woman is bound. That word, that verb, means permanently bound. Marriage is intended by God to be a lifelong relationship, union between two parties. Reason number two for the illustration, it is a physical union
which is broken by a physical cause. In the context of the illustration, it's death. He says that death breaks the physical union called marriage. Now people say, well, what about divorce? What about remarriage? Well, that is not Paul's subject here. There are those people who take this illustration and say, this is God's only law about marriage. And that is not true. What he's giving us here is the general principle that marriage is to be a lifelong relationship. But there are exceptions
to that. In the beginning, marriage was not just to be lifelong, but it was to be a permanent thing, wasn't it? There was no death. But sin entered the picture. Sin ruined the ideal because death came and ended that relationship. Just as sin has marred and ruined every other aspect of God's creation, it has marred and affected marriage as well. In my ministry I teach that God does allow divorce. And the reasons are physical. It is a physical union. It is broken only by
a physical cause. God allows divorce on the one hand in the case of adultery. Matthew chapter 19, Jesus says that. Argued as it may be argued, and it is argued. That's what he says. And in 1 Corinthians 7, he indicates that when two people are married and one of them becomes a believer and the unbeliever deserts, leaves, says, I don't want any more of you. You're a different person than I married. that that believer is free from the law of marriage. Divorce is allowable in
that case. Beyond that, there is no allowance for divorce. The idea of incompatibility is outlawed. There is no such thing as that in God's word. But for those two specific physical reasons, in addition to death, there is an end to the marriage union. But in the context of the illustration, the apostle... He was simply pointing out the general principle that marriage is intended by God to be a lifelong relationship. It is broken by physical death. In heaven, the marriage relationship
will not be carried on. Yes, I think we will know those who are our spouses, our children, aunts, uncles, so on in heaven. We're not going to be more ignorant there, surely, than we are here. But you see, the relationship there will be a different kind of relationship, a different basis. Will there be the redeemed, glorified children of God? Though we may remember our earthly relationships. But physical death breaks the union. Reason number three, when death breaks
the union, it is broken forever. In other words, it cannot be rekindled. Once death occurs on the part of one of the parties, that marriage is ended forever. The one who has died cannot be resurrected and brought back so that the marriage could continue. Death ends it for good. And then reason number four, he uses this illustration because when marriage is broken, the possibility
exists for another union. In the illustration, in other words, the survivor, in the case of the illustration, the wife, has the right for remarriage. Doesn't have to use it, but she can be joined in another union. In the Lord, of course, if she's a Christian. So when the marriage is broken, the possibility exists for a brand new union. in the blessing of God. There is no adultery
involved in that kind of thing. And then in verse, in the fifth reason, why he uses this illustration is because the purpose of marriage is in part propagation. That is, we're to bear fruit. God said in the garden that man and woman were to replenish the earth, be fruitful, multiply in other words. As for the completion of the two, yes. But it's for the carrying on of the human
race there is to be fruit. And I hope you wrote those five reasons down as we talk about the five reasons why he uses this illustration of marriage. Because now we're going to carry it over into the application. And I'm going to give five corresponding truths dealing with the application spiritually that we are free from the law. Truth number one. When we were unsaved, or as he says in verse 5, in the flesh, and by the way that becomes a very important term, you might want
to underscore that. When we were unsaved in the flesh, we were under the law. That is, we were married to the law, united to it. It was, spiritually speaking, our spouse. Now what did the law do for us? What did our marriage partner, spiritually speaking, do for us? Three things. Number one, it aroused our sinful passions. That's what he says in verse 5. When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions were aroused by the law. God did not give the law to subdue our sinful tendencies.
In fact, the law was given that transgressions might increase, that sin might really be exposed. And so our spouse, so to speak, the law, stimulated our sin. And we get more into that next week in what Paul says in that text. What else did the law do for us? Well, it bound us with its obligations that we were unable to keep. The law is able to express what we should do, but it cannot empower us to do it. It holds us down and fast. That's what it says in verse 6. That
we were bound in the law. And the third thing the law does for us or did for us before we were saved is that it condemned us to death. The law said do this and you will live. We couldn't do it. Therefore the law says you shall die. That's why the apostle in 2 Corinthians 3 .9 calls it the ministry unto or of condemnation. In verse 5 here, he talks about the fact that we bear fruit for death because of the law working in us. So what did the law do for us? Well, it bound
us. It held us down with its obligations. It aroused our sinful tendencies and caused us to be stimulated to sin even more. And it condemned us to judgment, to death, eternal separation from God. So truth number one is that when we were unsaved, we were married to that spouse. We were united to it. Truth number two. This spiritual union with the law was broken by spiritual
identification with Christ in his death. We're talking now not about a physical union, as in the illustration, but about a spiritual union. And he tells us that that spiritual union we had with the law was broken because we died with Christ. Look in verse 4. My brethren, you also were made to die to the law. How? Through the body of Christ. In other words, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, we what? We died with him. We've said that before in chapter 6, applying
it there to sin. He says we died with Christ in his body when he died. And when we were saved, we were identified with him at that death. And that old marriage, that old union to the law was severed. It was broken. Actually, in the illustration that he gives, we correspond to the husband, not to the wife. Because you see, the law didn't die. We died. when we were saved. Are you following me? This is such important truth, and it really takes people who are thinking
to get it. And it's a little warm in here, and you may be tempted to let your mind wander, so stick with it here and let the Spirit of God speak to you. When you and I were saved, we were identified with Jesus Christ and His death. And when we died with Christ, that old relationship to the law was severed. Truth number three. Once broken, that union was forever ended. As he says in verse 6, we have been released from the law. That is discharged from it, delivered from it.
It's not that we have become anti -law. It's just that now there's no relationship with the law that once condemned us. We have nothing to do with it. There's no need for it. The law is for the unrighteous. Truth number four. A new union now exists because of our resurrection with Christ. Now this is where the illustration that he uses breaks down. Because once a husband or a wife dies, they're gone. But when you and I died with Jesus Christ, we died to that old
union with the law. And then we were resurrected at the same time. So that we can have a new marriage, a new union. And he tells us in verse 4 that that union is with Jesus Christ. Look at it. You were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead. If you are saved today, you are united with Jesus Christ. You are one with him in his resurrection life. And that brings us to truth number five that
corresponds to the illustration. The purpose of our union with Jesus Christ is that we might bear fruit for God. Look at verse four. He says, you've been joined to him who was raised from the dead. Why? that we might bear fruit for God. That contrast to what he says in verse 5, where he says that we once bore fruit for death. That was under the law. But now being married to Jesus Christ, the purpose of that is that you and I
might bear fruit for God. And he talks about this further in verse 6 by saying, we have been released from the law, having died to that, by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit. You see, the law was unable to produce righteousness, but grace working in us does produce it. And now we serve God, not in the capabilities of our flesh, but in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. That's what he means here. The word newness there doesn't
mean new in time. It means new in quality. We don't serve God under that which is worn out, that is the legal obligations of the law, the letter. But we serve God a new way, the new way of the Spirit. God does not now give us an external code and say to us, live up to that and you'll be righteous. But He lives in us. He brings His own righteousness to us. The Holy Spirit lives in us. And now we serve Him not because of some external demands, but rather because of an internal
power. The power of the Holy Spirit. Now we're going to be coming back over some of these things because they're kind of deep. And they're hard to grasp the first time. I pray God will give you spiritual ears to hear it. I want now to apply in two or three specific ways what I've been talking about. Let's talk about some life
action. Number one, as you think about this truth that you are free from the law, that you are no longer under legal obligation to God, as you think about that truth, be careful of extremes. and seek a balance. There are extremes present in fundamentalism and evangelicalism these days, and both extremes are unscriptural. On the one hand, there is the extreme of license. These are those people who say, well, praise God, I'm free from the law, now I'm going to do what I
want to do. I will do as I please. I don't have to obey any law anymore. God doesn't care how I live. And so they feel that this truth, you are no longer under the law, gives them the license to do as they will. That's wrong. That's unbalanced. And it leads to self -centered living and careless and sinful living, which does not please God. The other extreme is what we call legalism. And this perhaps is more prominent than the first, but it says basically, this person would say,
I must keep rules to please God. And he goes a step further and he says, and you must keep my rules in order to please God. The legalist measures the spirituality of other people by a list of do's and don'ts that he creates. The legalist judges on the basis of outward appearance rather than on the basis of inward realities. And I'll tell you what, the legalist eventually becomes a hypocrite. And the reason for that is that he's unable to live up to the own code
that he creates. And so he pretends to, he builds a shell about him. But he lives a different way. He's a hypocrite. And ultimately it can lead to a complete collapse. And I can illustrate that for you today. A people that I have known who were very legalistic in their approach to the Christian life and who down the road completely gave it up and went the other direction because of the dissatisfaction of legalism. Legalism
leads to a critical, judgmental attitude. based upon personal preference, not upon what the Word of God says. And so being free from the law doesn't mean that I am free to be lawless. But it means rather that now God has put in me an inward control, so I don't need an outward restraint. God has written His law where? Upon my heart. And I want to do the right thing. And I am empowered to do the right thing because the Holy Spirit is in me. I don't always. But I want to. The power
is there if I will but appropriate it. We do not please God when we either live carelessly or we live under a set of do's and don'ts that are man -made. Now there are times when we voluntarily do live under certain rules. We have to live under the rules of government. The government says you're going to pay a higher Social Security tax next year. Can you imagine writing to the director of Social Security saying, Sir, you are a legalist, and I am free from the law, and
therefore I refuse to pay that tax. You know what will happen? You'll be in trouble. We live in a society in which we must keep the laws. We voluntarily submit ourselves to the laws of government for the glory of God. You go to college, your college may have certain rules. They may tell you when to be in. They may tell you the kind of clothing you can wear, the places you
can go or you can't go. You're going to go to your dean of students and say, you know, dean, you're a legalist, and I am free from the law. Take your rules and shove them. I'm going to live the way I want to do. You know what's going to happen? He's going to shove you right out of school. You know why that is? Because you have voluntarily chosen to go to that college and to live under their rules, which they've established for good reasons. And for the glory
of God, you should do that. Comply to the home. You say, my folks aren't going to tell me when I have to be in. I'm free from the law. I'm a Christian, and my parents are legalists. They have rules. We see once again, parents have the right to set rules. And for the glory of God, we voluntarily submit to those rules. Sometimes churches have rules, too. And we need to voluntarily submit to those rules. I know of one church in,
well, I won't even name the city, where... It is unlawful for people to wear wire -rimmed glasses because that is unspiritual. You say, where do they get that? Where are they coming from? Well, I think they're coming off the wall, frankly. But that's what they say, see? If a person goes to that church, he better wear plastic glasses, I suppose. There are times where I'm saying is that we need to voluntarily live under rules.
It's not that we're without rules. In fact, the apostle says, though I am not under the law, I am still under the law of Christ. 1 Corinthians 9. But the blessed truth is, as far as the Old Testament obligations and the whole mental framework of trying to please God by living up to certain rules that are man -made, all of that is bunked. And we begin to understand that we are free from the law. But be careful of extremes and seek a balance in that, will you? Immaturity goes
to extremes. Maturity finds the balance. Second application. Be willing to place yourself under law if the situation demands it so that you may witness effectively. In other words, be willing to give up your rights if necessary so that you can be an effective witness. That was Paul's attitude when he wrote what he did in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 19 to 23. We don't have time to look at it today. Paul says there, when I am with those who are without law, then I live that way.
When I'm with those who are under the law, then I submit myself to the law so that I can effectively minister to them. And he practiced that. In Acts 21, when he went back to Jerusalem, you remember after his third missionary journey, There was the rumor going around that Paul was anti -Moses. He was anti -law. And it was harming his ministry among the Jews. And so Paul chose to go to the temple and to pay for the vows of some men who were believers who had taken a certain Jewish
vow, the Nazarite vow. And when Paul did that, was he contradicting himself when he preached in other places free from the law? No. But so that he might minister to the Jews, he was willing to submit himself to the law in that case. Not compromising his convictions. Sometimes there are rights or freedoms that we grasp tightly to and we say, I will not do this or I will not do that. I don't care what. And maybe in that very area where God is saying, look, are you
willing to submit your rights? that you might minister effectively. Let me just kind of give you an illustration of this. Last September, I was invited to preach in a church in Ohio, a very fine church, a growing church, ministering effectively, I believe. But in that church, they believe the King James Version is the one that the Apostle Paul wrote. And to use another version, in their church would be akin to committing the unpardonable sin, probably. I'm exaggerating
a little there, but not much. When I went there to preach, I was preaching out of the New International Version here in this church. And you know what I was tempted to do? To march to the pulpit down there with the NIV and teach those people a thing or two about Christian freedom. There was nothing wrong with that translation, the NIV. And it's not sinful to preach out of a different version. And I'd tell them a thing or two about the king. And you know what the Spirit of God said to me?
He said, Galen, if you're going to minister to those people, don't get in a fight with them. You take your New Schofield Bible down here and preach out of the King James Version. And that's what I did. Now, did I compromise? I don't think so. I don't agree with them and their position on the King James Version. But I'm willing to preach out of the King James Version if that's where they are, because I want to minister effectively to those people. How can you apply that to your
life? What rights is God telling you today you need to give up in order to be a more effective Christian? Where are you off balance in your Christian life? Where are you reacting rather than being spiritual and balanced and mature? Finally, I would say, be sure that you're a genuine Christian. And I emphasize this because, folks, I am alarmed. I'm alarmed in our day that being born again has become so popular that there are people who think they are born again who are
not. There are people who think that by... Doing good things or law keeping, if you please, they're going to be acceptable to God. My friend, a real Christian is one who's had a radical change. He's died. He's been resurrected. He has a new relationship to God based on grace, not doing good things. He has a new purpose to bear fruit for God. He has a new power within him, the power
of the Holy Spirit. Is that you? Or are you somehow still thinking that by doing good things or keeping the law, you're going to earn your way to God? We are not saved, nor are we sanctified by the law. You are not under the law. Are you saved? Are you a Christian? Do you have that confidence with Him? Father in Heaven, I pray that you'll make the application of this truth to our lives
as you see the needs. And I pray that we may begin to understand in a mature, balanced way what it means in your word when it says you are no longer under the law. There are some of my brothers and sisters here who have struggled for years under legalism. They've been discouraged because they haven't been able to live up to the rules that men have set for them. I pray that they may understand that their only law is the law of Jesus Christ. And it's a law that
you've written into their hearts. Free them, I pray, from the discouragement and the obligation of rule keeping. And free others, I pray, from the equal mistake of living carelessly in sin, thinking that it makes no difference how we live. Help us to respond to you, Lord, this morning as we ought to. In Jesus' name, amen.