Meaning of Romans 7:2

In Romans 7:2, Paul uses the analogy of marriage and its dissolution through death to illustrate a fundamental principle of spiritual reality: the binding nature of law and the release from it. He explains that just as a wife is legally and socially bound to her living husband, and this bond is broken only by his death, so too are believers bound by the Mosaic Law. This binding, however, is not an eternal condemnation but a temporary state from which release is possible. The death of the husband signifies a transition, a legal severance that permits remarriage. Paul's point is to demonstrate that while the Law has a legitimate claim over a person during their "lifetime" under its dominion, that dominion is broken upon a spiritual death and resurrection, analogous to the death of the husband, which frees the individual to be joined to another, namely Christ.

Context and Background

This verse is situated within a larger argument in Romans 5-8 concerning the believer's relationship with sin, the Law, and Christ. Paul has just discussed the abundance of grace in Romans 5, and in Romans 6, he addresses the question of whether believers should continue in sin because grace abounds. He emphatically denies this, explaining that through baptism into Christ's death and resurrection, believers have died to sin and are now alive to God. Romans 7 begins by directly addressing the Law, which has been a central theme in Jewish understanding of righteousness. Paul's analogy of marriage is designed to explain how believers, who are now united with Christ, are no longer under the Mosaic Law in the same way they were before. The Law, in its power to condemn, had a binding claim, but Christ's death severs this.

Key Themes and Messages

• The Binding Nature of Law: The verse highlights that laws, whether civil or divine, create obligations and covenants that are binding as long as the specified conditions are met. In this case, the condition for the wife's binding is the husband's life.
• Release through Death: The critical element is that death provides a legitimate and universally recognized release from such bonds. This is not a loophole but a natural and legal cessation of obligation.
• Analogy for Spiritual Freedom: Paul is drawing a parallel between this earthly legal reality and a spiritual one. The death of the husband serves as a metaphor for a death that liberates the believer from the Law's condemnation.

Spiritual Significance and Application

The primary spiritual application is to understand that believers are no longer under the condemning power of the Mosaic Law. While the Law reveals God's standard and exposes sin, its power to bind us to condemnation is broken through our union with Christ. Just as a widow is free to remarry, believers, having "died" with Christ, are now free to be united with Him in a new covenant relationship. This freedom is not license to sin but liberation to live a life of righteousness empowered by the Holy Spirit, a life that fulfills the spirit of the Law through love.

Relation to the Broader Biblical Narrative

This passage connects to the overarching biblical narrative of God's redemptive plan. The Old Covenant, mediated through the Law, was a preparatory stage, highlighting humanity's sinfulness and inability to meet God's perfect standard. The New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ's death and resurrection, offers forgiveness and a transformed heart, enabling believers to live in true righteousness. The analogy of marriage also resonates with descriptions of the Church as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33, Revelation 21:2), emphasizing the intimate and exclusive union believers have with their Savior.

Analogies

• A Contract: Imagine a contract with a specific duration or a condition for termination. Once that duration ends or the condition (like the death of a party) is met, the contract is void.
• A Lease: A lease agreement binds a tenant to a landlord for a set period. Once the lease expires, the tenant is free to move or enter into a new agreement.
• Citizenship: When someone is a citizen of one country, they are bound by its laws. If they renounce that citizenship and become a citizen of another country, they are no longer bound by the laws of the former.

Relation to Other Verses

• Galatians 3:23-25: "Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming of faith was to be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." This passage directly supports the idea that the Law served a temporary purpose and that believers are no longer under its guardianship.
• 2 Corinthians 3:6: "...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." This verse contrasts the letter of the Law, which can lead to condemnation, with the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
• Romans 6:1-4: As mentioned in the context, these verses explain that believers' baptism into Christ's death and resurrection signifies their death to sin and the Law's dominion.
• John 14:6: Jesus states, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This points to Christ as the sole mediator and the source of a new covenant relationship that supersedes the old legalistic framework.