In chapter 6 Paul told us what a Christian is. A Christian is united with Christ. In order to explain that so it could be easily understood, he used the example of a slave and his master. In other words Christians have been set free from being a slave of sin and have become slaves of God. In today’s passage Paul uses marriage as an example. In other words, Christians are united with Christ, are wedded to Christ, and are the bride of Christ. Until now they had been united with their husband, the law. This old husband, the law has died so they have been united with their new husband, Christ. They are living for Him. Today let’s look at three aspects of this marriage with Christ.
I. The old husband, the law (vs. 1-3)
First let’s look at the old husband. Let’s look at verses 1 to 3.
Chapter 7 of Romans is an explanation of 6:14. 6:14 is a short verse but Paul uses all of chapter 7 and the example of marriage to explain this verse. The point is that a marriage relationship is legal only when the person is alive. If that person dies, then you are free legally. In other words, after that you are free to marry whoever you want.
Until now we have been married to the law. Under the law we are a sinner. That’s because the law is used only for those who commit crimes. For example if a burglar steals then the law determines how he will be punished.
Before the law we are sinners. The 10 commandments command us to have no other gods than God. This is God’s command. Is there anyone that has never broken this command?
Col. 3:5
We have all broken this command. The 10 commandments also command us not to kill. However, Jesus said that whoever calls someone “Stupid” has already killed that person in his heart. If that is so, there is no one who hasn’t killed someone in their heart. Also the 10 commandments teach not to commit adultery. However, Jesus taught that anyone who looks at a girl with lust in his heart then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Before the law, we are sinners. Therefore, Paul said in 3:10-11 “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.“
We are all sinners under the law.
Paul is explaining this through the relationship of a husband and wife. In verse 1 it says, “Do you not know, brothers…that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?” And in verse 2 says, “by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive.” Before we like this wife, were bound to our husband, the law. He was like a tyrannical husband. If things don’t go as he wants them to, then he is in a bad mood. He fights with his wife and is abusive. If someone turns their back even a little from the rules he decided upon, then there are bad consequences. If the wife over sleeps, he hits her. If the rice is burnt, a stick goes flying. If he has to even listen to her for a few minutes, he closes the door and hides. To live with such a husband is physically impossible. However, if she runs away, he will follow her and catch her so she can’t get away from him. She can’t get away from him and is bound to him. Now people think easily about divorce, but in the time of Paul it was unheard of for a woman to request a divorce from her end.
However, in the Bible there is only one way that the wife can flee from being bound to her husband. That was by death. A married woman if her husband died, then the marriage relationship was dissolved. She is set free from her husband and is free. Even if she marries another man then there is no problem. With death all relationships end. Then how does the law end? Matt. 5:18 says, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” The law is the rule or norm of God so it never ends or changes. In marriage when the husband dies the relationship is dissolved. However, with the law it doesn’t work like that. You have to die yourself. If the husband is the law, and the wife is yourself, the way to break off the relationship is by dieing yourself. Therefore in 6:4 it says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death.” The confidence of the Gospel begins with us dieing.
Gal. 2:20
In order that by Christ we can receive a new life, and be set free from the yoke of the law we must die. If we die then we are set free is the Gospel. Without the cross we can not experience the joy of freedom. In every aspect of our life, it is by dieing once that we are set free from all the binds us. When we confess that we died then from then on we will live. The opposite way of saying it is if we want to live, we must die.
A person who died has nothing to say. He has no glory. A dead person has lost his self centeredness. He is left with only a heart of faithfulness. From this point we need to carefully consider this large earthquake disaster. What is the meaning of this large earthquake disaster? It is that we have died, isn’t it? It is that we would spiritually be enlightened to the fact that before the rage of nature we have no skills or no strength, and realize that we need to throw ourselves on the mercy of the Lord who made the heaven and earth, the real God. However, we don’t realize that and we are still say, “I’ll do it” or “Japan is strong”, etc. We haven’t really used the lesson of the earthquake to our advantage. The disaster of the accident at the nuclear plant is the representative of this. It was spoken proudly that no matter what disasters came Japan’s nuclear plant’s power supply was definitely o.k. However, only by one tsunami everything quit running. Indeed now is the time we should die. We have pride and think that we can do everything. We shouldn’t be like that but must give God the glory and realize that it was by the grace of God.
I Cor. 1:25
It is true that “the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom.” (I Cor. 1:25) What is necessary for us mankind is to die to ourselves. We need to walk humbly before God who made heaven and earth.
On the other hand we should not have the feeling that we are no good. We become depressed when even something small does not go well. We fell that we have no possibilities. However we feel that way because we think we have done it. If we have died, that type of feeling would never arise. Pride is sinful. Those who have died to self centeredness are not prideful. Intrinsically, God’s servants do not brag, and are not depressed. They are only faithful. They do only what they have to do a step at a time, and faithfully do what they need to do. They leave their lives in God’s hands, and follow the Lord’s will in each step of the way. This is a life of a servant, the life of a person that is nailed to the cross.
II. A new husband, Christ (vs. 4)
Next let’s look at our new husband. Look at verse 4
Here Paul says that we have “died to the law through the body of Christ”.(4)
We have died through the death of Christ. As a result the marriage relationship with our husband, the law, has been dissolved. Therefore, we can be united with another person. That is Jesus. We are united with Christ and produce fruit for God. Jesus is the husband and we are the wife, the bride. That means that the law does not control us. Our new husband, Jesus, controls us. Of course that doesn’t mean to take lightly our real husband. If Jesus controls us we will want to serve our real husband more and more. Here what it is saying is that just as when a person dies, the marriage relationship is dissolved so in the same way our marriage relationship with the law is dissolved. We are set free from its control. We are living under the control of our new husband.
We are controlled by love. Paul said about the relationship between Christians and Christ, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25)
Here Paul is telling the husbands to love their wives, “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25) Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life up for us.
The Christian life is this kind of life. We sin or even if we fall, our husband full of Grace, Jesus, forgive us, and hugs us. Not only that but He shows us a new road, and leads us on that road. He does not come like a devil with a led stick and beat us because we have not done the cleaning. He is not an abusive husband. He is full of love and grace. Therefore, we have made a clean break with our old husband, the law and have been united with our new husband so it is not necessary to be like the Gentiles and worry about what to eat and drink, and about what we are going to wear. Our Father in heaven, Jesus who is full of grace, already knows what we need, and in addition to these things, will give us everything.
III. Living in grace (vs. 5,6)
The third point is let’s live in grace. Look at verses 5 and 6.
This says, “But now” (6) Christians have made a clear break with their old life and have entered into a completely new life. That is a life united with Christ, as Christ’s bride, a life abundantly full of the grace and love of Christ. We shouldn’t live in the old way of the written code” (6)being concerned about our outward faith, but through the leading of the Holy Spirit have a balanced life abundantly full of love and grace. If we are being led to that kind of life, wherever we go, we want to walk in our life feeling grace, not by the law. When we are controlled by grace there are abundant blessings flowing and works of life occur. Many people will come flooding into the church.
In the home too, we should not be judging each other, but we should desire that God’s word will be used in the midst of grace. We shouldn’t use the Word of God to tell others what to do. When the law controls the family there is no peace. When grace controls the family blessings are overflowing. The Word of God can be used as a law and it can be used for grace. Let’s use it for grace. When we apply the Word of God to ourselves, it becomes grace. When we apply it to others, it becomes a law to convict others.
Child rearing is the same. In homes that are controlled by the law there are many cases where the children turn and go the wrong way. In homes that are controlled by grace, the children grow up healthy.
A lifestyle of accepting others with an open heart and pouring out grace is the type of person that God blesses and pours out lots of grace upon. As a bride of Christ the blessings that we experience in this world come from the grace of God.