1. The Authority of the Law (7:1-6)

These verses actually continue the discussion that Paul began in Romans 6:15, answering the question, “Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?” He used the illustration of a master and servant to explain how the Christian should yield himself to God. In this passage he used the illustration of a husband and wife to show that the believer has a new relationship to the law because of his union with Jesus Christ.

The illustration is a simple one, but it has a profound application. When a man and woman marry, they are united for life. Marriage is a physical union (“They shall be one flesh” Gen. 2:24) and can only be broken by a physical cause. One such cause is death. (Matt. 5:31-34; 19:1-12 indicate that unfaithfulness also breaks the marriage bond, but Paul does not bring this up. He is not discussing marriage and divorce; he is using marriage to illustrate a point.)

As long as they live, the husband and wife are under the authority of the law of marriage. If the woman leaves the man and marries another man, she commits adultery. But if the husband dies, she is free to remarry because she is no longer a wife. It is death that has broken the marriage relationship and set her free.

Paul’s application in Romans 7:4-6 clinches the argument. He states two marvelous facts that explain the believer’s relationship to the law.