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Author: Will

Romans 7:3 – Free to Remarry

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Will

So then if, while the husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband should die, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Truth to Learn

We are no longer bound to obey the Law just as a woman is no longer bound to her marriage vows when her husband dies.

Behind the Words

The word translated “adulteress” is moichalis, which means “a woman who is unfaithful to her husband.” In other words, it means “a married woman who engages in sexual activity with anyone other than her husband.”

The words “marries” and “married” do not actually appear in the Greek text. The first part of this verse literally reads, “so, then, the husband being alive, an adulteress she shall be called if she should become another man's.” In the culture of the first century, a woman was a man’s property very much like a slave was his property. That’s not the way our society views it, however, so we have paraphrased the text at this point to make the verse more understandable to us.

Meaning Explained

God does not approve of divorce any more than He approves of stealing or coveting. He never intended for divorce to happen because marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and His church. He has told us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In other words, He will never divorce us. However, let me ease the mind of those of you who are divorced. God does forgive divorce just as He forgives any sin. Divorce does not make you any less a Christian than a brother or sister who has committed any other sin, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Now, having said that, let me repeat that God does not approve of divorce. So the metaphor that the Apostle Paul is using here is a picture of how God feels about the relationship between a man and a woman and about the relationship between Christ and the church. Paul says that if a woman is divorced from her husband and remarries, she is committing adultery. We need to take notice, however, that Paul is not teaching about divorce in this passage. He is teaching about being bound by the law just as a woman is bound to her husband until one of them dies.

Back in Romans 6:6, 7 Paul introduced the idea that before we were saved, we were under bondage to our sin nature (our old man). And, he told us that our sin nature was crucified with Christ when we were saved. He now uses the metaphor of marriage to show that when our sin nature was crucified, we became free to join ourselves to another, that is, to Christ.

That’s what Paul is referencing when he says, if a woman’s husband dies she is no longer bound by the marriage obligation and she is free to remarry. Death breaks the legal bond in a marriage and death breaks the bond that the Law had on us. Therefore, since we died to sin and the Law when we were saved, we are no longer under the obligation to obey the Law.

Application

There are numerous churches today that add so many rules and laws above and beyond what is taught in Scripture that the members become enslaved to the church. That’s not the way that God intended it. Thanks be to God for making us free!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 7:2 – To Obey or Not

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Will

For the married woman is bound by the law to the husband while he lives. But if the husband should die, she is set free from the law of the husband.

Truth to Learn

Salvation releases us from the requirements of the Law.

Behind the Words

The words “married woman” are translated from two Greek words; hupandros gunē. The word gunē means “a woman” and is often translated as “a wife.” The word hupandros is made up of hupo, meaning “under” and andros, meaning “a man,” though often translated as “husband.” Literally, hupandros means “under a man.” We see, then, that these two words refer to a woman who is under a man. In other words “a married woman.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul said that the Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. The implication is that he is freed from the law when he dies. He now carries that implication to the marriage relationship. Just as the man was under the dominion of the Law while he was alive, his wife is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But when he dies, the dominion of the law ceases for him as well as for his wife. She is now set free from the wedding bond and is free to marry another.

In the same way, as long as we were alive to sin we were bound by law to obey sin. But now that we have died to sin (when we were saved) we are no longer bound by that law, and we are free to be married to another, namely Christ.

You see, the early Christians, particularly those who were raised in the Jewish religion, did not yet understand that they were no longer obliged to obey the Law. They were trapped in a system that was trying to impose the restrictions of the Law on every believer. The point that Paul will get to in the next chapter is:

But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

When we got saved, we died to sin and to the requirements of the Law. We no longer have to fulfill the Law in order to obtain righteousness because God has imputed that righteousness to us as a free gift. Does that mean that we can live a lawless life because we are no longer under the dominion of sin? Paul would say, “No way!” What he will show us in this and the next chapter, is that we are actually under a higher law, a law of voluntary obedience to our new master and husband, Jesus Christ. We can choose to obey or not to obey.

Application

That’s the difference between a sinner and a saint. The sinner has no choice; since he is not able to obey God, he can only obey his or her sin nature. There are some Christians who get hung-up on free will, refusing to believe that God chose us, as Paul teaches. In reality, unsaved sinners don’t have a free will because they are slaves to the sin nature. Saints (born again Christians) do have a free will and that is the free will to obey God or not.

Which do you choose?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 7:1 – Our Savior, Our Husband

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Will

Or do you not know, brothers (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has Lordship over a man as long as he lives?

Truth to Learn

Christians are in a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ.

Behind the Words

The word translated “brothers” is adelphos, which is made up of a, denoting unity and delphus, meaning “a womb.” Literally it means those who have come from the same womb. In the New Testament it is used metaphorically of all Christians.

The Greek word translated “has lordship” is kurieuō, which we looked at a couple of times in chapter six (verses 9 and 14). It is the verb form of kurios, meaning “master, lord, or owner.” Thus, kurieuō refers to “lordship or ownership.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous chapter, Paul told us that sin should not have lordship over us because we are not under the Law but under Grace (Romans 6:14). When we got saved, we died to sin and now we live to God as our new ruler. In this chapter he will tell us why we are still affected by the Law even though we are not under obligation to it.

The metaphor that he used in the previous chapter was that of the master-slave relationship. In actuality, it is more than a metaphor because God is the Master of all creation and all things are in subjection to Him. In this chapter he uses a different metaphor, the marriage relationship. And once again, it is more than a metaphor, because those of us who are saved are declared to be the Bride of Christ.

Paul now shows how this new relationship is related (or not, as the case may be) to the Law. He starts out this section of his letter with another rhetorical question. He uses the question as an attention grabber. He says that he is speaking to those who know the Law. This certainly would apply to any Roman Christian who had been converted from the Jewish religion. All Jews know the Law. So when he asks, “Are you ignorant, brothers, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” the answer is clearly, “No, I’m not ignorant of that fact!” He will talk more about the marriage relationship in the next few verses.

We moved from a master-slave relationship with God to a marriage relationship when we were saved. Marriage is a picture of the intimate relationship that God wants to have with each one of us. One of my favorite proofs of this comes from the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 3:5,6 we are told:

trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

The word translated “acknowledge” is the Hebrew word yawdah, which means “to know someone relationally and intimately.” It is the same word translated as “knew” in Genesis 4:1:

And Adam knew Eve his wife. And she conceived and bore Cain …

Therefore, we could translate Proverbs 3:6 as, “In all your ways become intimately familiar with God, and He will make your paths straight.” That’s what God wants from each and every one of us who is a born again Christian; He wants an intimate relationship with us!

Application

Do you want God to direct your paths? If so, then you need to have an intimate personal relationship with Him? That requires a lot of effort on your part.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:23 – Free Eternal Life

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Will

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Truth to Learn

God offers all of us a free gift of inestimable value.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “wages” is opsonia, which is the plural form of opsonion. This word is a compound word made up of opson, which means “meat” and a form of oneomai, which means “to buy.” According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, “It primarily signifies whatever is bought to be eaten with bread, provisions, or supplies from a soldier's pay. Metaphorically, it means general wages, recompense.” It is what a soldier has earned for being a soldier.

“Gift” is translated from charisma, which means “a gift of grace or an undeserved benefit.” In the New Testament, this word is only used in reference to an undeserved gift or favor from God.

The Greek for the gift that God gives us is, Zoe aionios. Zoe is the word for “life” and aionios means “belonging to the continuance of time.” In other words, it means “perpetual, everlasting, or eternal.”

Meaning Explained

This verse is one of the pinnacles of Paul’s teaching in the Book of Romans. It is the second step in what has been called “The Romans Road,” the road to salvation. The first is found in Romans 3:23:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Now, after having talked at length about the fact that we used to be slaves to sin, Paul has just taught us that we are now the slaves of God. We learned that when we were slaves to sin, we were dead (separated from God).

In this verse Paul tells us why we were dead when we were the slaves to sin. He says:

For the wages of sin is death,

Paul is saying that death is what we earned for our sin (and we worked hard for it!). But, Paul says, God does not pay us what we have earned if we have received His gracious gift through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Instead of giving us what we deserve (what we’ve earned), God gives us a free gift that we don’t deserve (and didn’t earn).

If you stop to think about it, there is no greater gift that God could possibly give to us than an eternal existence with Him. The one constant in this earthly existence is the fact that we all will die physically someday and we will be separated from our earthly body. But because of this marvelous gift that God has given us, we will continue our existence in His presence in a heavenly body. We will join with all of our loved ones who have likewise received God’s gift, and together we will glorify God for eternity.

Application

God offers a free gift to all who will believe and that gift is eternal life! Wow!

Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the price for your sins? I certainly hope so!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:22 – Set-apart to Him

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Will

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Truth to Learn

God has set Christians apart and has given them eternal life.

Behind the Words

Throughout this chapter Paul has been making a play on words between “death” and “holiness.” Have you noticed? It’s not so obvious in English, but it is in Greek. The Greek word for “death” is thanatos, which, as we’ve mentioned before, carries with it the idea of separation. Separation of our soul from our mortal body is physical death, whereas separation of our soul from God is spiritual death.

The Greek word for “holiness” is hagios, which means “to be set apart from common use to or for a special purpose.” This is the same word that is also translated “sanctified.” Do you see the subtle difference? Death is separation from something while holiness is being set apart to something. Spiritual death is separation from God; holiness is being set apart to God.

Meaning Explained

This verse is Paul’s answer to the previous two verses and all three taken together are a summary of what Paul has been saying for this entire chapter. In verse twenty Paul said:

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

Before we were saved we had no choice but to obey sin because we were its slaves. In answer to that he now says:

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God …

As born again Christians we are free from the bondage of sin and have become the slaves (the personal property) of God himself. We are no longer owned by sin, but we’re not free to just do as we please either because we are now owned by God; He is our master and we are to submit to His will.

In verse twenty-one Paul said:

What fruit did you have … For the end of those things is death.

The fruit of the sin of our former way of life was death (separation from God.) In this verse he says:

But now … you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

The fruit of our salvation now is holiness (being set apart to God for His use), which results in eternal life.

Now let me tie this all together. Throughout this chapter Paul has been saying that before we were saved, we were slaves to sin and we were separated from God (we were spiritually dead.) Now that we have received His gracious gift of salvation we are set apart to God (we are spiritually alive for eternity).

Application

When we fully comprehend what Paul is saying in these verses. it should produce in us the greatest praise for Him because of what He has done. Hallelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:21 – Grace for Shame

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Will

Therefore, what fruit did you have in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Truth to Learn

Our sinfulness separates us from fellowship with God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “fruit” is karpos, which can refer to the fruit of a tree (or other crop) or that which results from our actions. It is this latter meaning of “fruit” that is implied in today’s verse.

“Ashamed” is from the Greek word epaischunomai, which is made up of epi, meaning “upon” or “on account of” and a form of aischunō, which means “to be ashamed.” Hence epaischunomai refers to the shame that someone has brought upon himself or herself.

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that when we were slaves to sin (before we were saved) we were free from (not in bondage to) righteousness. The clear implication is, now that we are slaves to righteousness we are free from sin and should not obey it like a master. Remember also, back in verse fifteen Paul asked the rhetorical question, “What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” Since that verse he has been arguing that we certainly should not continue in sin because we now have a new master and we are not under the obligation to sin like we previously were.

In the current verse Paul is making another point in reference to his rhetorical question. Since we once were in bondage to sin we know its effects, we’ve tasted its bitterness, and we’ve reaped its fruit. He is implying here that having once experienced these effects and knowing our tendency to sin, we should not indulge in it now. We can look back at the sinful life we used to live and see that not only are the “pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25) not lasting, but the consequences of these sins are lasting and we are ashamed of them. Therefore, why would we even consider going back to a state where we were controlled by our sinful impulses?

We are very aware of the end result of our sinful past, and a life characterized by sin, produces death. “But,” you may say, “I’m now saved so I have eternal life and will never die again spiritually.” This is absolutely true, but the definition of death is separation. To die physically is to be separated from this mortal world. To die spiritually is to be spiritually separated from God (that’s the worst part of the punishment of Hell, eternal separation from God). If you are truly saved, then you will never, ever, ever, ever be spiritually separated from God because He has adopted you into His family and has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you. But – when we sin (after we have been saved) we are separated from fellowship with God and that type of separation (death) can only be overcome by humbling ourselves and confessing our sin to God.

Application

We’ve all done things in the past that we are not very proud of, haven’t we? So the real question is, “Do you have anything that you need to confess to God right now?” He’s ready to forgive you and restore fellowship with you if you do. That’s grace!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:20 – Our Old Master

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Will

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

Truth to Learn

Before we were saved we could not pursue righteousness.

Behind the Words

The word translated “free” is the Greek word eleutheros. We looked at the verb form of this word in verse 18. In the current verse it is the noun form, which means “one who is capable of movement;” in other words, one who is independent or unrestrained.

Meaning Explained

This verse is short and is a restatement of what Paul has been saying repeatedly in different ways for most of this chapter. Before we were saved, we were in slavery to our sin nature. We had no choice but to sin because our sin nature owned us; therefore, we had no choice but to obey our sinful impulses.

One of the things Paul has been pointing out is that there is no gray area when it comes to who our master is. It is either sin or righteousness. We can’t be part way in between. While we were the slaves of sin, we were free ones with regard to righteousness, not under its control. That is, righteousness could not influence us because we were owned by sin.

The argument that Paul has been making all along is that since we are no longer slaves to sin, that is, sin does not own us nor control us, we should be in subjection to our new master, righteousness. Unfortunately for us, though, is the fact that we have a choice as to whom we submit and old habits are hard to break. Now that we are freed from sin, we should gladly obey our new master, righteousness. But we seem to fight our new master far more than we did our former master. It’s easier to be lazy and submit to our sin nature than to put the effort into obeying righteousness.

But, and this is Paul’s point, we have no right to continue in our lazy obedience to sin because we have a new master who wants us to turn from our old ways and commit ourselves to Him. We have a responsibility to obey righteousness, not just because it would be polite, but because that’s what our Master wants us to do, and we are under obligation to obey Him.

Did you ever wonder why the world seems to be getting more sinful and wicked with each passing year? It’s because those who are of the world are slaves to sin and are constrained to obey their master. As a result, sin continues unchecked, growing stronger and more pervasive with each passing day.

But consider this, in heaven we will not have a sin nature and we will obey righteousness perfectly. We will not have to fight our tendency to sin. That’s part of what will make heaven so rewarding. We will always do what is right and our actions will always be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

But we’re not there yet. We still have our sin nature. So, to boil it down to the essence of what Paul is teaching here, we are to submit to our new Master and commit to doing His will. Instead, we constantly try to break free from righteousness so we can “do our own thing,” which is called sin.

Application

The laziest thing for a Christian to do is to just sit back and skate through life. But, now that we have the ability to obey righteousness, we also have the obligation to obey righteousness. Let’s commit right now to resisting our old master and submitting ourselves to our new Master.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:19 – Seeking Holiness

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Will

I speak as a man because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness unto holiness.

Truth to Learn

We should stop giving ourselves to the lordship of sin; instead, we should be giving ourselves to the lordship of righteousness.

Behind the Words

The word translated “as a man” is the adjective anthrōpinos. This word is based on anthrōpos, which literally means “manfaced,” but is most often translated “man” or “human being.” The adjective form means “belonging to man; his manners, custom, nature or condition). Hence, it refers to “that which characterizes man, as opposed to animals, angels, or God.”

“Weakness” is from the Greek word astheneia, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “without” and a form of sthenos, meaning “strength.” Hence astheneia means “without strength,” “weakness,” or “sickness.”

Meaning Explained

Paul opens up this verse with an odd phrase, “I speak as a man.” What he means by this is that he is using an illustration from everyday human life that everyone will understand. You will recall that several verses back we talked about the fact that slavery was so universal in the Roman Empire that everyone understood it.

Paul now goes on to explain why he is using such a base illustration: “because of the weakness of your flesh.” There is some debate over what this expression means. Some say that “flesh” refers to the sin nature, which is how Paul uses this term in many other places; however, this doesn’t make sense in this particular context because the sin nature is not weak. In fact, it is very strong. Others believe that he is using the term “flesh” to refer to the spiritual intellect and what he means is that he is using such a base illustration because of the spiritual immaturity of the Roman Christians and their inability to grasp great spiritual truths in their present condition. I tend to favor this latter interpretation.

Paul’s current point is that we have believed a teaching (doctrine) that is molding us to the image of Christ. Because of that, we have been made free from sin and have become the slaves of righteousness. Therefore, just like we used to yield our members (the various parts of our bodies, including our mind) to uncleanness and to lawless acts (which lead to more lawless acts), so we should now yield our members as slaves to righteousness (or righteous acts) which results in holiness.

The concept that Paul is driving home over and over again is that we have no right to live in sin, under the total influence of our sin nature. After all, sin no longer owns us; God owns us if we are truly saved. And because God owns us, we should yield (or submit) ourselves to Him. As we do, we begin to acquire His holiness (we become molded into His image) as we become more and more set apart from sinfulness.

Application

This desire for righteousness and holiness should be the desire of all Christians. We should all want to become more like Christ by submitting to Him. Is this the desire of your heart?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:18 – Slaves of Righteousness

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Will

And having been set free from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.

Truth to Learn

When we were saved we were released as a slave to sin. At the same time, we became the slaves to righteousness.

Behind the Words

“Having been set free” is translated from the Greek verb eleutheroō, which derived from the noun eleutheros, meaning “one who is capable of movement.” In the Roman world a slave was not permitted to travel without the permission of his or her master. However, someone who was freeborn, or a slave who had been given his or her freedom, could travel about without restraint. Thus, someone who could travel about (who was capable of movement) was considered free. It is expressed here in the aorist tense which implies past action which took place at a point in time (not continuous action) and it is in the passive voice which means that it is something done to us (we were set free).

The words “you became slaves” are translated from the Greek verb douloō. This may look somewhat familiar because we looked at the noun form of this word, doulos (one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another), back in verse sixteen. Douloō means “to enslave.” It is expressed in this verse in the aorist tense indicating action that took place at a point in time in the past.

Meaning Explained

Once again, let’s start out by seeing what Paul is not saying. Paul is not telling us that Christians will never sin again. What he is saying is that we don’t have to be enslaved to sin.

Back in verse fourteen he said:

sin shall not have lordship over you.

The reason that sin will not have lordship over us is because we have been set free from sin. We don’t have to obey our old master because we have been set free from him. Then, in verse sixteen Paul told us:

you are slaves of that one whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness

When we were slaves of sin we had to obey that master. But, since we have been set free, we are now able to move away from sin and “leave it in the dust.” As a result, we don’t have to obey sin any longer.

If we combine yesterday’s verse and today’s verse we see that Paul is telling us that when we believed that doctrinal form that molded us like Christ we were immediately freed from the bondage of sin and made the property of righteousness. This is a reference to the point in time when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and became a Christian. At that time we were set free from the authority of sin and we became the property of righteousness (that is to say, the One who is righteousness).

In the next verse, Paul will tell us that since we are slaves to righteousness (righteousness is our master), we should yield ourselves to the lordship of that righteousness by obeying Him.

Application

This is easy to talk about, but it is not so easy to do, is it? Even though we want to obey our Lord and submit ourselves to His righteousness, we constantly seem to be slipping away and going back to our old master. Lord, help us learn to flee from sin and yield ourselves to righteousness.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 6:17 – Getting Into Shape

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Will

But thanks be to God that you were slaves of sin, but you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

Truth to Learn

We are molded into Christ’s shape by Biblical teaching.

Behind the Words

The words “thanks be” are translated from the Greek word charis, which refers to “a favor done without expectation of anything in return.” However, this word is also used to express the joy or gratitude (thanks) arising from the favor received.

The word “obeyed” is hupakouō, which we have looked at recently. It literally means “to hear under.” It refers to hearing, and obeying the teaching of an instructor.

“Form” is translated from tupon, which is equivalent to the Hebrew word cabala, meaning a mold that is used to create a “copy” or “type” of the original.

The word “doctrine” is from the Greek word didachē, a noun derived from the verb didaskō, meaning “to teach.” Hence, the word didachē refers to something that has been taught. It is frequently translated as “a teaching,” “a precept,” or “a doctrine.” Some Christians have a negative attitude toward doctrine, seeing it as unbending dogma. But, as you can see here, it simply refers to something that is taught.

Meaning Explained

In talking about this verse we have to begin with what Paul is not saying. He is not giving thanks to God that we were all slaves to sin. Being a slave to sin is neither desirable nor commendable. It is a state of helpless devotion to things that are contrary to all that God is. What Paul is saying is, “Though you were slaves of sin, you have been delivered from that state.” That’s what Paul is giving thanks for. He is thankful for every one of us who has believed the gospel message and has been saved from our sins and from the mastery of sin.

The second half of this verse has been misunderstood due to a mistranslation in the past. Literally, it says,

you obeyed, from the heart, unto which you were delivered, a form of teaching.

Now, obviously we don’t talk that way in English, so we rearrange the words a bit. Now it says,

from the heart you obeyed a form of teaching unto which you were delivered.

The “form of teaching” is that which was begun by Christ and taught to His apostles, who in turn taught it to others. It includes the gospel message (by which we were made into the image of Christ), but it also includes teaching about how to live our lives. This teaching acts like a mold or a form, shaping us into a copy of the original and that original is Christ himself. As we obey this teaching we become a “type” of Christ (hence, we are called Christians). We were freed from sin and we were delivered to the new teaching. And because we have received the shaping effect of that teaching, we have been delivered from the bondage of sin.

Application

I know this is a confusing verse and difficult to understand. What we need to learn from it, however, is that we need teaching from the Bible in order to allow ourselves to be shaped into an image of Christ. Let’s all get into His shape!

In God's service, for His glory,