Good morning, everyone. For our Bible study this morning,
let's just go ahead and get started. I will utilize all the time I
have. We preachers have a way of doing that and then sometimes
taking a little extra time. I will try not to do that this
morning. Turn to Paul's epistle to the Romans chapter seven,
if you would. Paul's epistle to the Romans
chapter seven. Now while you're turning and
before I read, well I want to read the first six verses of
Romans chapter seven. Before I read, let me preface
my study this morning from this passage with these words. This
text, that's Romans seven specifically, verses one through six, is not
about divorce, and remarriage. It mentions such things, but
this text is not about divorce and remarriage. If you want to
know what the scripture says about that, you really need to
go in other places in the scripture. If I were to summarize these
six verses, I would put them this way. Every person ever converted
by the gospel of Christ is loosed from the law and service to that
law by the body of Christ in order that every gospel converted
believer might be united to Christ and bring forth fruit to God
by a service that is totally distinct from legal service. Now let's read Paul's words in
Romans 7 verses 1 through 6. Paul, under the inspiration of
God Almighty, writes these words. 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. For the woman which hath a 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.
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. 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 that is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in
the flesh, the motions of sin which were by the flesh did work
in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now, but
now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we
were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not
in oldness of the letter. I realize that in some circles
this passage is probably very contentious, but it is not contentious
where people know the free and reigning grace of God in Christ
Jesus. If I were to give this study
this morning a title, it would be this, dead, you hear that,
dead, you hear that, dead to the law. How dead is dead? It's dead. There are no degrees
of dead. Dead to the law by the body of
Christ. First of all, I want to give
you five facts. based upon Paul's principle here,
that's Paul's writing, being divinely inspired by God, five
facts based upon Paul's principle of legal union. That's why he
uses the law here. He's showing the principle or
the precedent of legal union. It's binding nature, but it also
has a Lucy principle as well. So here's the first five facts
about the principles of legal union. Number one, deliverance
from the law's binding principle demands by default a death. That's a legal precedent. You
see what I'm saying? Deliverance from the law's binding
principle demands a death. That's a legal precedent. This
is hinted at in his first verse. Know ye not, brethren, for I
speak to them that know the law. And especially remember in Paul's
day, many of the Gentiles that were believers, they had no idea
what the law really said. They didn't know. But he said,
I'm speaking to some of you who know the law. How that the law
hath dominion over a man as long as he lives. Let me see what
it says. So again, remember, here's the
first fact. Based upon the principle of legal union, deliverance from
the laws binding principle demands a death. That's a legal precedent. Everything else flows from that.
If you missed that point, you'll be wrong everywhere else. Here's
the second point. A precise example then is given
by Paul of this legal union being dissolved. Look at verse 2, 4.
The woman which hath a husband is bound by the law, do you see
it? For the woman which hath a husband
is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. But, what a word. And this is
legal language now. This is the legal precedent even
based upon God's holy law given to Moses by Moses through Moses. But if the husband be dead, she
is loosed, loosed from the law of her husband. So there's a
precise example of this legal unions binding structure. And
now we look at the binding, look at it, verse three, look at what
it says here. So then, So then, he's going to summarize both
of these first two things. What we would say is the first
two verses. So then, if, while her husband liveth, she be married
to another, by law, what is she called? An adulteress. Doesn't matter the circumstances. Doesn't matter, the law says,
you married to someone, and specifically it's saying, now let me be honest
this morning, sad when a preacher has to say that, but that's what
we say. This is talking about a woman. If she's married to
a man, she's bound to that man as long as he's alive. And if
she joins herself in intimate union with another man, she is
called an adulteress. There are no exceptions under
the law. Someone says, well, Moses gave you the Bill of Divorce.
Moses gave us the Bill of Divorcement. Christ said from the beginning
it wasn't so. He said Moses gave you that even
in the law because of the hardness of your own heart. That's tough. But that's law. That's law. So remember, deliverance from
the law's binding principle demands a death. That's a legal precedent.
A precise example is then given of this legal union being dissolved.
But a precise example of legal union's binding structure is
given. If you go against the law, you're guilty no matter
what. It's just the way it is. But here's number four, and it's
a however. Oh, even under the law, look
at this however. Legal union's very structure
demands absolute dissolution of first union when there's a
death, thus enabling second union, right? Verse three again, so
then if while her husband lives, she'd be married to another man,
she should be called an adulteress. That's the strict letter of the
law, period, you could say. But, there's that word, but if
her husband be dead, she is freed. Did you see that? She is free
from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be
married to another man. The law was given, first of all,
to show us what sin is. But the law doesn't show us how
heinous sin is. The cross of Calvary shows us
how heinous sin is. The law defines sin and then
it puts a big period at the end of every sin. This is the way
it is. But even under law, there are
leucine principles. But it's only in lieu of death. You see? Only in lieu of death. She's not even adulterous. If
her first husband's dead, she can be married to somebody else,
and she's not an adulteress. And you know, you can take that
every step. If that man dies, Kelly, right on down the line,
marry another. That one dies, married, no adultery
ever involved, though she may have been married to multiple
men over the span of her life. Is that not what even the law
declares? There's the legal precedent. There's the legal principle.
Here's the glory. Here's what Paul's been getting
at in this whole thing. Here's the fifth point. Paul
now shows the gospel equivalent of this binding and least loosing
legal principle. First of all, what does he say?
The death has occurred. The death. Before he speaks of
deaths. Could be multiple deaths. All
kinds of deaths. Binding takes place in the legal
union of marriage. When death happens, that bondage,
that legal union, is dissolved. It's as though it never existed
in the law's eyes. But now Paul says, the death
has occurred, and first union, that's union to the law, is dissolved. Look at the first part of verse
four, wherefore, that's why he spoke about the law, he's getting
somewhere, do you see it? Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ. Do you see
it? A death? No, even more, the death
has occurred. Somebody has been released from
their first union, that's to law, and it's dissolved. It's over with. Now, I don't
say this to criticize anybody. You don't even have to go to
the grave and put flowers on it. That union's done. It's over with. Even under the
law of Moses, that woman whose first husband died can go marry
another. She doesn't have to go put flowers
on the first one's grave. As a matter of fact, if they're
sitting at their breakfast table, do you not think that the second
husband, as we might naturally think of it, would be a little
perturbed if she brought out breakfast and brought out three
plates rather than just two? Well, who's this third plate
for? Well, that's for my first husband. Really? He's gone. Now, think about that for a moment.
Think about that for a moment. The death, Paul says, has occurred. And first union, that's union
to the law, is dissolved. Even the law says that. Paul says, when it comes to the
righteousness of God, the law and the prophets give witness
to the true righteousness of God. They're not opposed to God's
righteousness. They're in perfect accord with
God's righteousness. The law is but a manifestation
of God's righteous demands for men. Now look, Paul then goes on to
say that that death, that is the death now, all kinds of other
physical deaths, but we're talking about a different kind here.
It's still a death, but there's a death. It's the death. That
death was designed to free us to a second union. See it? A second marriage. That's what
he's talking about. A second marriage, and that marriage
has design. Look at it, the last part of
verse four. Let me read the first part so we get the whole sense
of it. 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 was raised from
the dead, who is that? That's the Christ whose body
the death took place, you see it? That we should be married
to another, even to him that is raised from the dead, that,
here's a design, you see it? That we should bring forth fruit
unto God. Four things here concerning this.
Remember, the death, The death, that death that was designed
to free us from that first union. And it's true intent, it's true
design is not just to free us, but to free us so that we might
be married or joined to another. You see that? That death, that
death is the death. It is our death to the law. The law is not dead. The law
still stands. It stands honored. And it's still
holy, just, and good. But notice Paul's phrase here. The death is our death to the
law by the body of Christ. This is so in at least three
ways. The first way that we are dead,
no, our death to the Lord. Now, somebody says, well, Paul's
mixing up words. No, Paul's explaining what true free reigning grace
is. And he's saying the legal precedent is still held up. A
death has occurred. First bondage is disarmed. It's
gone. Now you're free to be joined
to another and to bring forth fruit in that union. It's true. Here's three, at least three
ways. There are more than that, but I don't have enough time.
I wouldn't have enough time if I spent the rest of my life here
trying to define all this. But be that as it may, let me
give you at least three ways in which this is true. First
of all, we're dead to the law by the body of Christ, by Christ's
preceptive obedience. Turn quickly to John 17. You
know what that passage is. I know you know that here. This
is truly our Lord's prayer. This is truly the Lord's prayer.
It's His prayers, our great high priest. And He said these words,
just one verse for the sake of time. He's speaking to the Heavenly
Father, the thrice holy God. And He says, I have glorified
Thee on the earth. You see that? That means he was
glorifying God the Father in his human body, with a human
spirit, with a human soul. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished. You see it? I have finished the
work which thou gave me to do. Twice in scripture, we will find
him talking about finishing something. Once is right here, seconds when
he died on that cross. That's his preceptive obedience. In other words, he fully honored
the first husband. Never does Christ, as the second
husband, dishonor the first husband. He fully honored the first husband
in his preceptive obedience, his actual obeying God's law. That's one way in which we're
free, free from the law, free from the law by the body of Christ.
Secondly, by Christ's penal obedience. Now look at the book we're in,
Romans chapter 8, And verse 3, first of all, we are dead to
the law by the body of Christ held by his preceptive obedience.
Secondly, by Christ's penal obedience, verse 3 of Romans 8, for what
the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh.
I could not honor that first husband. I never did. And neither did you. You dishonored
him all the time. Whether you know it or not, you
dishonored him. But look, for what the law could
not do and that it was weak through the flesh, God sent in his own
son in the likeness of sinful flesh. And what did God do for
sin? He condemned sin in Christ's
flesh. This ain't talking about Jesus Christ come along preaching
against sin. I was taught that when I was a little kid in false
religion. Yeah, that's, this is talking about Jesus preaching
against sin. No, this is talking about Jesus Christ suffered the
condemnation of sin in his own body. I can't explain that to
you, but that's what the book teaches. So we're dead to the
law by the body of Christ. How? In his preceptive obedience,
in his penal obedience, and you'll see that again referred to by
Paul in verse 32, he that spared not his own son, so like God
the Father, he delivered him up, delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? But here's the third thing. We
are dead to the law by the body of Christ, by Christ's intercessory. Obedience. Think about it. Look
at verse 34, chapter 8. Who is he that condemneth even
the law of the first husband? Can he condemn? He's been fully
honored and satisfied. Both preceptively and penally. The law has had its holy precepts
honored in obedience, and then what it demands for disobedience
has been honored, too, in the death of Christ. Christ covered
all sides for us, brothers, sisters. He covered every side for us.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, and oh,
how we preach that, but yea, rather. Yea, rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand, look at, who is even
at the right hand, who also maketh, you see, he's doing something,
you see, maketh intercession for us. So, our first union to
law had only one bloom and one fruit. That's verse 5 of chapter
7. Our legal union to law had only
one bloom and one fruit. Look at it, chapter 7, verse
5. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin which were
by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
And that's just the way it is, brothers and sisters. That's
all we could ever bring forth under the law. Our union to our
first husband, the law, all we ever did was our fruit, sin. and death, sin and death, sin
and death. We were promiscuous. Our first union to law had only
one bloom and one fruit. Oh, but look, the legal precedent
stands intact in his honor. We are now delivered from the
deadness of what once bound us, that is under the law, delivered
by Christ and His death, now to serve in a totally new, distinct
way. Verse 6, But now are ye delivered
from the law, that being dead wherein ye were held, that we
should serve in newness of spirit, and not And not, now notice that,
and not in oldness of the letter. Some teach, but they are wrong.
They are dead wrong. When God saves you, He then enables
you to keep the law. An old husband's dead. He's been
honored. You can't do any better than
Christ did. Stop trying. Stop sitting out
the third plate. Leave it in the cupboard. Bring
out the plate for you and your husband, your second husband,
Christ. That's it. That's it. Quit putting flowers on the law's
grave. The law's still very much alive.
You're dead to it. You are dead to the law. Not
the law's dead. You're dead to the law by the
body of Christ. I couldn't have come up with
this if this had been me trying to figure this out. This is the
wise, sovereign purpose of God. But that summary begs my second
point, and I must be brief. What then is this distinct service
of second union? The legal precedence there, first
union is dissolved by death. It allows a full, free second
union. It's designed for. a full, free
Second Union. Right? That's what it's designed
for. Perfectly allows Second Union.
Made for Second Union. So this begs the second point.
What is this distinct service of Second Union? First of all,
let me point out, there is fruit. There is service. We may not see it as we think
we ought, but we see through a glass darkly, brothers and
sisters. Our second husband sees the fruit. He's the ordainer
of it. He's the cause of it. He is Solomon in Song of Solomon. And the Shulamite is ravished
by Him, and He is ravished by her. There is fruit. This is God's
sovereign design. Some accuse us of not preaching
that. That's just not so. And others abuse that and say,
well, if it's all free grace, I'll just go out and serve myself,
serve sin, serve Satan. It don't work that way. That's
not the purpose and design of second union. You're joined to
Christ and you will bring, you will bring forth fruit unto God
and not according to old legal service. It's a totally distinct
service. We're not freed from the law
so that we can be married to Christ so we can go serve the
law. We're freed from the law to be married to Christ to serve
Christ. It is a newness of spirit as
opposed, as opposed to the oldness of the letter. I must move quickly
here. Here's one motivating principle. Every gospel converted believer
has this one new motivating principle. There's a lot of other things.
You've got the new man, the new nature created in righteousness
and true holiness. But I don't have time to go into
it. Here's the one thing that reigns in the heart of all God's
people. It's called faith. Paul is distinct in Galatians
3.12, but the law is not of faith. The law is not of faith. If you
are joined to Christ and you're trying to then serve the law,
you're leaving faith. It's the only way you can do
it. The law is not of faith. You're being dishonoring to your
second husband by trying to remember that first one. You're dead to
that first one. You're dead to that first one.
Think about it. Faith. Faith. By faith we live. By faith we obey. By faith we
walk. In faith we die. Right? All of it. From beginning to
end. Once we're joined to Christ in
marital union, we're to serve Him. And what's that one motivated
principle? Faith. Just believe Him. Honor
Him. Brag about Him. Talk about Him. Have the breakfast ready for
Him. Have the dinner ready for Him.
Go to work to pay the bills for Him. To build a place where you
can come and worship Him. And somebody says, but don't
you have to have some law around to keep people in line? Did Abraham
have? I want you to think about this.
Abraham had no Bible. He had no law of Moses. And yet
he lived by faith, obeyed by faith, walked by faith, and died
in faith. Now if that's good enough for
him, bless God, it's good enough for us. Father, teach us these
lessons. Help it not to be just dull and
dry, Lord, but to be a rejoicing of our soul in Christ's name.
Amen.