The Bible study moved on to Romans 7:1-6 last night, looking at the extent and limits of the law – the ‘long arm of the law’, as Garry put it! The extent of the law is that it only applies to those living; Paul goes on to explain the difference between a woman who marries another man while her husband is alive and one who re-marries on her husband’s death. In the first case, the law of marriage still extends to her and she is therefore an adulteress (Rom 7:3); in the second, the law of marriage has ceased to extend to her and she can re-marry legally.
Just as Christ died for us and we died in Him (ideas explored in Romans 6), so therefore we have been freed from the long arm of the law. Christ’s death has seen the law satisfied or fulfilled; the demands of the law have been met (it can only reach the grave!) But that does not mean we now live in anarchy. We are still, in many ways, following the law – led by the Spirit of God, however, not by a fearful compulsion that by following the law we succeed in ‘earning’ our place with God. As one commentary put it, “while the law still fulfils its function of guiding us to know God’s moral standard, we are free from enslavement to it as a way of righteousness.”
The law could be compared to a map, guiding us to a good destination, but putting the responsibility on us to use it wisely to reach that destination. God’s Spirit is a little like a Sat-Nav, actually speaking to us to guide us to a good destination. The Holy Spirit speaks, directs, instructs and corrects us and we are motivated to follow by the new law written on our hearts (Jer 31:33)
Listening to the Spirit – a topic developed later on in Romans – is not as easy as perhaps listening to the persistent (and sometimes irritating) voice on a Sat-Nav, however! Our own voices can also be heard; the enemy also speaks to us, whispering words of doubt and discouragement. How do we learn to recognise the “Voice of Truth” which guides us?
1 Tim 4:7 urges us to “have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” Training requires effort, hard work, perseverance and determination. Romans 7 reminds us that there is no such thing as absolute freedom; we will serve either the flesh or the Spirit; we will either ‘bear fruit for God’ (Rom 7:4) or for death. (Rom 7:5) Sometimes what God says us to us may seem ridiculous, challenging or dangerous (think of Hosea, urged to marry a prostitute or Gideon, told to reduce his army to the paltry number of 300 men, or Abraham, told to sacrifice his son, even though God abhorred child sacrifice). It takes practice, training, wrestling to discern God’s voice and often we will need to seek corroboration, asking for confirmation, even as Gideon did with his ‘fleece’. God is not afraid of our questions or doubts or our need for confirmation; the only thing that angers Him is our downright disobedience.
As we grow in faith and in our knowledge of the Shepherd, we learn to recognise His voice. (John 10:1-18) We want to please Him. The Holy Spirit gives power to obey God, a power the law by itself could never give. We have a new way of serving, “the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom 7:6)
We have been released from the law so that we may whole-heartedly serve God!