Romans_7
Scripture
Romans 7:4
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
Observation - What does it say?
Paul opens this chapter with a discussion on our relationship to the law. He uses the analogy of marriage to illustrate his point. As a person is subject to their spouse, or ex-spouse, while they are still alive, so to are they free from that person in their death. Similarly, we are subject to the law while we are still alive. However, when we submit our lives to Christ then we are dead to sin and no longer bound to it.
Understanding - What does it mean?
Getting married was a lot of fun. You get all dressed up, you say a bunch of sappy things like “a ring is a symbol of love because it has no end,” and then you have a party where you are the center of attention. I loved getting married. And then, a couple months later, I had my first big fight with Jen. That moment was like an epiphany, but nowhere near as fun. The realization that you now have to put your money where your mouth is and prove that love has no end.
Marriage, like parenting, has been one of the greatest ways for me to learn about the character of God. When I chose to marry Jen, I chose to give up one lifestyle and embrace a new one. I had to kill off some of the bachelor habits that I had, like surfing four days a week, and bring life to a new part of me. Marriage was a new adventure that I had to embrace.
In our life with Christ, we embrace the newness of life. In Titus, Paul writes, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires…” Later in Romans he writes, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
In Christ we get the freedom to move away from the sin in our lives, which is the cause of our demise, and move towards the only one who can make us complete.
Life Application
Thank you Jesus for making me a new creation in you. Thank you for the sacrifice you paid to make me a new creation. I choose to be faithful to you and the life you provide me through the death on the cross.
- Tyler Galloway