Contents
📖 The Passage: Romans 7:1–4 (KJV)
1 “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?”
2 “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.”
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.”
4 “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
🔍 Literal Explanation — What Is Paul Teaching?
Paul is using a natural example (marriage law) to teach a spiritual principle — but the law itself is not abolished, it’s the legal relationship (under condemnation) that changes through death and resurrection.
🔹 1. The Law Has Dominion While One Lives
“…how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?”
➤ Just as a woman is bound by the marriage law while her husband lives, so is a person under the penalty of the law while in the flesh and in sin.
🔹 2. If the Husband Dies, the Woman Is Free from That Law
Paul is not saying the law of marriage is abolished — but that death breaks the bond. She is now free to enter a new covenant without being called an adulteress.
📖 Deuteronomy 24:1–4, Numbers 30:9 show this law in the Torah.
🔹 3. The Believer Dies with Messiah — and Is Free to Be Joined to Him
📖 Romans 6:6–7 (KJV)
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him… For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
When we repent, are baptized, and die to sin, we are no longer under the condemnation of the law — not because the law is abolished, but because the penalty for sin (death) has been satisfied in Messiah.
📖 Romans 6:1–2
“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”
✅ Key Point: Paul Is Not Teaching That God’s Law Is Gone
Paul is teaching:
- You are bound to the law as long as you live in the flesh
- When you die with Messiah, you’re no longer under the condemnation or curse of the law
- Now you are spiritually resurrected to obey Yah in newness of life
📖 Romans 6:4 (KJV)
“…even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
📖 Romans 7:12 (KJV)
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
🔥 The Contrast Paul Makes
| Natural Marriage | Spiritual Application |
|---|---|
| Woman is bound to husband while he lives | We are bound to the law’s condemnation while in sin |
| Death frees her to remarry lawfully | Death to sin frees us to be joined to Messiah lawfully |
| She is not an adulteress if husband is dead | We are not lawbreakers when we obey in the Spirit (Rom. 8:1–4) |
❗ Final Warnings & Precepts
📖 Romans 8:1–4 (KJV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit… that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us…”
📖 Hebrews 10:26–27 (KJV)
“If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth…”
➤ Judgment remains for those who return to sin — being born again is not a license to break Torah.
✅ Conclusion:
Paul is teaching that:
- The law remains, but we are no longer under its penalty if we have died to sin and walk in the Spirit.
- Just like a widow is free to remarry, we are now lawfully joined to Yahshua — to walk in obedience and bear fruit, not to sin without consequence.
📖 Romans 6:22 (KJV)
“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
WHY DO SO MANY BELIEVE PAULS WRITINGS MEAN THEY ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW?
This belief is false. It comes from misunderstanding Paul’s letters and twisting them to teach freedom from obedience, which the Scriptures explicitly warn against.
❌ False Claim:
“Since I’m dead with Christ, I’m no longer under God’s law.”
✅ Scriptural Truth:
You are no longer under the penalty of the law (death), but still fully under the responsibility to obey it.
📖 What Does “Not Under the Law” Really Mean?
When Paul says “not under the law,” he means not under the condemnation of the law — not under its curses, not justified by rituals, not depending on flesh — but now you obey it by the Spirit, not the letter only.
🔥 1. The Law Still Stands
📖 Romans 3:31 (KJV)
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
📖 Romans 7:12 (KJV)
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
📖 1 John 5:3 (KJV)
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
➤ The law is not abolished — it is the standard of righteousness.
🔥 2. “Under the Law” Means Under Condemnation for Sin
📖 Romans 6:14–15 (KJV)
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”
➤ Being “under grace” doesn’t mean you can break the law — it means you have been forgiven and are now expected to walk in obedience.
🔥 3. Paul Warned Against Misusing His Letters
📖 2 Peter 3:15–17 (KJV)
“…even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you…
in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
➤ People twist Paul to say you don’t need the law, but Peter says doing this leads to destruction.
📜 Real Meaning of Romans 7:1–4 and Similar Verses
Misinterpretation Scriptural Truth
Dead with Christ = No more law Dead with Christ = Freed from sin, not freed from responsibility
“Not under law” = No need to obey “Not under law” = Not under condemnation or rituals for righteousness
We’re married to Christ = no need for Torah We’re married to Christ to bring forth fruit of righteousness (obedience)
📖 Romans 6:22 (KJV)
“Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness…”
✅ Final Precepts That Refute the Error
📖 Hebrews 10:26–27 (KJV)
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins…”
📖 Revelation 14:12 (KJV)
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
📖 Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV)
“Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
🧾 Summary
False Grace Teaches Scripture Teaches
You don’t need the law The law is holy, just, and eternal
Born again means free from commandments Born again means empowered to obey
Grace cancels responsibility Grace removes condemnation but calls you to holiness
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