Romans 7:3

“So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”

Romans 7:3 is part of a larger passage in which the Apostle Paul addresses the relationship between the law and the believer’s freedom in Christ. In this specific verse, Paul uses the analogy of marriage to illustrate a spiritual truth.

In the preceding verses, Paul discusses how believers have died to the law through the body of Christ. He compares this death to the death of a spouse. In Jewish law, a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is considered an adulteress. However, if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is free to marry another without being labeled an adulteress.

Paul uses this analogy to explain that through faith in Christ, believers are no longer bound to the law. In the context of the passage, the law represents the old covenant, which emphasised obedience to a set of rules and regulations but could not bring salvation or righteousness. Paul emphasises that the law served a purpose, but it was unable to save or deliver believers from sin. Instead, believers are now united with Christ, who fulfilled the law on their behalf and provided salvation through his death and resurrection.

By highlighting the analogy of marriage, Paul emphasises the transformative power of faith in Christ. In the same way that the death of a spouse releases a person from the marriage covenant, believers have died to the law through their identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. This death to the law liberates believers from the futile attempt to attain righteousness through adherence to the law. Instead, they are now free to enter into a new covenant relationship with Christ, one based on grace, faith, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The ultimate message of Romans 7:3 is that believers are no longer under the law but are united with Christ through faith. They are freed from the condemnation and guilt of the law, and they now live in a new covenant relationship with Christ, marked by grace, love, and a desire to obey God out of gratitude for what He has done.