THE ILLUSTRATION WHICH ILLUMINATES

 

Romans 7:1-6  Do you not know, brothers - for I am speaking to men who know the law - that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. (NIV)

---

You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages

---

Paul used marriage as an illustration of the binding power of any law: and he later wrote about the powerful effect of the 'law of sin'. It was not his primary intention here to preach about marriage, and certainly not to suggest that marriage is in any way sinful. But God has used these verses to remind Christians of His intention that marriage should be for life.

Jewish believers in Rome understood this principle from the Old Testament law, and Gentiles would have known the personal and social pain which occurs when the sanctity of marriage was spoiled. God intends that a husband and wife should be bound to each other until one of them dies (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7-8, Ephesians 5:31). After that the surviving spouse is not married any longer and, although the memory will be treasured, it is not wrong to marry another. But before then, it is adultery.

In a fallen world where everybody is infected with sin and easily swallow Satan's lies of temptation, relationships can fail to live up to God's design. So it is important for married people to guard their relationships and, whatever the difficulties, to make the best of the precious gift they have been given. That is not just because a good marriage is better than a bad one, but because there is a God-given obligation which binds husband and wife to each other. Alas sometimes things go wrong: when wrong decisions have been made, the only doorway into God's healing grace is repentance. Where restoration is possible, it must be humbly pursued; where not, only God's grace can sustain sinners.

Prayer:  Holy God. Thank You for Your gift of marriage. Please forgive me when I have not treated Your design preciously, being careless in my own life or in the lives of others. Help me to be resolute in obeying You, honouring Your plan for human relationships, and daily taking strength from Your Word and Your Spirit. Help me to repent when I break Your law so that I may receive Your grace to sustain me and learn how to walk more closely with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.