A Look at Romans 7 – The Law & Sin

I felt compelled to write the next group of devotionals on a topic that I believe will be a benefit to most, if not all, of my readers. We all struggle with sin. None of us are perfect, however, we are perfect in God’s sight because of Christ’s blood, which removes all our sins. I hope you are benefited by this new devotional study. rkeller

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Romans 7:1-3 New Living Translation

“Now, dear brothers and sisters— you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? ² For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. ³ So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.”

         Theologians have differing opinions regarding the beginning 3 verses. Some say they are not speaking of marriage per se, but only using it as an illustration of the jurisdiction the Law covers. Divorce appears to be a sticky subject with no clear, agreed upon understanding shared except for the following: there appears to be no moral obligation of either party to remain married if one becomes converted to Christianity and the other stays an unbeliever. In that case the believer is permitted to marry again. In 1 Corinthians 7:8 _(NLT), Paul suggests those not married stay celibate as he has. It is suggested in the footnotes that those who aren’t married were the men and pointed to both those divorced and those never married. ⁽¹⁾

            Later on in this chapter Paul talks about not being under the control of the Law any longer. Just what Law is Paul talking about? Most times the Law is considered the first 5 books of the Bible also known at the Pentateuchor the Torah. It is referred to as the Law of Godor the Book of the Lawas shown in Nehemiah 8:3 New Living Translation (NLT) “(Ezra) faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.”

            During this devotional study we will go over the entirety of Chapter 7 from Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome. The study will culminate in Paul’s honest admission regarding his struggle with sin. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to dig into this portion of scripture for my next devotional topic. I’m looking forward to it. I trust you will all find it helpful. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resources:www.biblegateway.com; MacArthur Bible Study; Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 

⁽¹⁾1 Corinthians 7:8 NLT – “So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am.”