Devotion #3: Married, Buried, Raised, and Remarried

“Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead.” Romans 7:4 

The Good News of Jesus starts at a funeral – yours and mine. That is kind of dark and morbid, but it is true. Paul’s startling words, “My brothers, you also have died” seem weird. Our death was not physical, as we would most often describe death. It was spiritual. The Apostle is writing to those who are now both physically and spiritually alive, but who were at one time deceased spiritually.  

The Holy Law of God has sentenced each of us to death. We could not, as we have seen over and over again in Romans, live to the holy standard of the Law. All our excuses and deflections were pointless. Even our righteous deeds are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  

How can we then fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law? We cannot. 

How, then, can we escape the rightful death sentence of our treason against God? Christ is the only answer. 

The imagery of Romans chapter 7 pictures us as married to the Law, ironically, the very declaration and proof of our guilt before the righteous Judge. The Mosaic Law, comprised of over 600+ laws, each points to the sinner’s guilt. Like a marriage, we were stuck to the Law “‘til death do us part.” However, Paul says, we “have died to the law through the body of Christ.” We died to the Law, and in doing so, our “marriage” to the Law ended. However, Christ did not leave us dead; we have experienced a spiritual resurrection. Now, because our “marriage” to the Law is over, we are free to “belong to another” (verse 4). We belong to Christ. We have a new marriage to Him who loved us, died for us, and rose again.  

While the Law was a constant reminder of our guilt and need for a Savior, Christ’s presence and promise to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) is a constant reminder of the Good News of how we were rescued and to Who we belong.