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,
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