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Timothy: Romans 7:1-6
God’s People Released from the Law

1 Or are you ignorant, brothers, (for I speak to those knowing Law), that the Law lords it over the man for as long a time as he lives?

2 For the married woman was bound by Law to the living husband; but if the husband dies, she is set free from the Law of the husband.

3 So then, if the husband is living, she will be called an adulteress if she becomes another man’s. But if the husband dies, she is free from the Law, so as for her not to be an adulteress by becoming another man’s.

4 So that, my brothers, you also were made dead to the Law through the body of Christ, for you to become Another’s, to the One raised from the dead, so that we may bear fruit to God.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sin were working in our members through the Law for the bearing of fruit unto death.

6 But now we have been set free from the Law, having died to that in which we were held, so as for us to serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of letter.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my beloved Father, I thank you for granting me another new day with the Eternal Living Word of God. Please keep me in Your love and grace so that I can live peacefully and contentedly on this new day. May Christ grant me renewed strength for my physical body, and may the Holy Spirit grant me wisdom as I meditate on the Word of God. I thank Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, I am writing down what I understand while meditating on Romans 7:1-6.

Dear Father, I understand that through Paul’s message, the Holy Spirit used the story of a woman who was bound by the law to her husband while he was alive but free to marry another if he died, to illustrate how God’s people are free from their old selves, united with their new selves which are raised up anew in Christ.

Dear Father, I understand that the married woman in the story represents myself, my ego, my soul. Her dead husband represents my sinful nature that was crucified with Christ on the cross. The new husband represents the new nature, pure and holy, that is born in me after I have accepted the Gospel of salvation. With this new nature, my entire being, soul, spirit, and body, is united with Christ and belongs to Him.

Dear Father, I understand that “you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ” means that God’s people were condemned by the law, and the punishment was carried out on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, their sinful nature died with Christ, and they are free from it. They are free to unite with the new nature from Christ, by His resurrection. Therefore, as one of Your people, I belong to Christ. I understand that by belonging to Christ, and uniting with Him, I bear good fruit for God, doing the good works that You has prepared for me.

Dear Father, I understand that the phrase “when we were in the flesh,” which uses the imperfect tense of the verb “were,” implies that as long as the soul of God’s people remains in their current fleshly body, the desire for sinful things will always affect every part of the fleshly body, prompting them to sin. God’s law clearly states what goes against His commandments, but the natural inclination of humans to sin urges them to commit those sins. In other words, sin relies on strict laws to incite humans to commit sins. For example, sin uses the prohibition of adultery and fornication to incite people to commit sexual sins. The classic example is Satan, who used God’s commandment to tempt Eve to sin through the serpent. However, those who have truly accepted the Gospel are given the power of God to overcome all the urges and temptations of sin.

Dear Father, I understand that the phrase “now we have died” means that the sinful nature of God’s people has died because Christ has taken their sinful nature upon Himself and suffered the punishment for them. Now, God’s people no longer rely on their own strength to keep the law outwardly while their hearts still desire to break it as they did before they were saved. However, they hate sin, love God’s commandments, and naturally obey God’s law because they have been made new with a new nature full of love, holiness, and righteousness. God’s people live according to the knowledge of their spirit about God, His will, and all the teachings of God recorded in the Bible. The Bible calls this “walking in the spirit, not in the flesh.” That is, living according to the understanding of the spirit rather than the desires of the flesh.

Dear Father, I understand that if I choose not to believe in the Gospel, I will die in my sins and be forever separated from You. This is death by the punishment of the law, which I will bear alone. However, if I accept the Gospel, my death for my sins will be through Christ, who will bear all my punishment for me. Only through Christ’s death will I be made new and holy and able to live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I am grateful for Your love and grace that You have given to humanity. Anyone who accepts Your grace and salvation will be forgiven, made clean by Christ, and given the Holy Spirit to live a new life that is pleasing to You, following Your commandments, and finding joy in Your law.

May I always belong to You, Father, and find joy in Your love. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
03/21/2023