Released to Be Bound
Romans 7:1-6
📖 Scripture
1 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?
2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.
3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.
6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
📝 Scripture Summary
Paul explains that the Law has authority over someone only while they are alive. He uses marriage as an example. Believers die to the Law through Christ so they may belong to Him. They now serve in the new way of the Spirit, not the old way of the written code. The purpose is to bear fruit for God.
💡 Memory Verse
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
– Romans 8:15
🔎 Reflection
Transforming Union (7:1–4)
Paul uses the analogy of marriage to illustrate the believer’s relationship to the Law and then to Christ. He explains that just as a married person is bound to their spouse while they are both alive but is free to marry another if their spouse dies, believers are “bound” to the Law, but only while alive to it. Jesus’ death and resurrection brings Christians into a new reality where we are no longer under the Law’s condemning authority. Because Christ’s death on our behalf satisfies the Law, we have died to the Law and are now alive to God through union with Christ’s resurrection. Our union with Christ carries the transformational power that makes us dead to the old order so we can fully live in the new.
Think about the new life that is now yours in Christ. How would you describe the difference between this new life and your old life?
Christ Within You (7:5–6)
Paul emphasizes that through union with Christ, believers “serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (v. 6). This new way is not made of external rules; it is brought about by an inward transformation that produces free, genuine obedience. The old ties to the Law are replaced by a vibrant relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. This shift means obedience is no longer a burden but flows naturally from the love and life of Christ within us, enabling us to live authentically Christ-like lives. We love and obey Christ because of the great love He demonstrated toward us. And we have the power to live lives of obedience because Christ’s Spirit is at work in us.
How did you respond to the idea of serving God before you believed in Christ? How is your response different today?
🌟 Today’s Inspiration
“No saving good, no eternal good, no God-exalting good, no soul-satisfying good comes to us except as we are connected to Christ.” – John Piper
🙏 Prayer
Jesus, thank you for freeing me from the Law’s condemnation and giving me new life through Your Spirit. Help me walk daily in this freedom, serving You with a joyful heart. In Your name, amen.
🖋 Essay
Fasting Journal
After breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, it is right to get rid of all the things that symbolized your unity. Today, let us delete or throw away the things that symbolize our unity with the world. Then, express to Jesus—through prayer and worship—how much you long for intimacy with Him.
– Pastor Sam An
