Thoughts on the Epistle to the Romans (118) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Do you not know, brethren, (for I speak to those who do not know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.
Romans 7:1.2

Thoughts on the Epistle to the Romans (118)
Paul has emphasized that a Christian stands under grace, not under the law, with the result that sin no longer rules over him (ch. 6, v. 14).

The early Christians were unsure on this point. Paul travelled to Jerusalem to clarify the matter. There it was decided, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, that believers from the heathen world should not be classified as under the law. Whether believers from the Jews still stood under the law had not yet been clarified.

At the beginning of chapter 7 Paul addresses Jewish Christians in particular. They were

acquainted with the idea of a law through the Mosaic law. The first six verses are of a fundamental character. They show in what way a Christian has been freed from the bondage of the law and brought into association with Christ. Just as Christ's death and the believer's dying with Him changed everything relating to sin, so, too, Christ's death had radical effects on the Christian's relationship to the law.

A law can be applied only to living persons. It has no power over the dead. Paul cites the divine law of marriage as an example. Accordingly, married partners are bound to each other, until the death of one partner terminates the bond of marriage.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today's reading: Luke ch. 24, vv. 13 - 35