Romans 7:1: The Law Is Binding On A Person Only As Long As He Lives

Romans 7:1
[1] Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? (ESV)

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, Paul has a message for you. You are not under law but under grace. It has always amazed me how Christians who have been saved by the grace of God feel the need to put themselves back under law. In this chapter of Romans Paul speaks extensively on the law and its relationship to the believer.

I have known Christians who have gone back into the Old Testament and decided that they should celebrate Jewish ceremonial laws, observing dietary restrictions, and participating in all the feasts and festivals. Is this truly necessary? Is it offensive to God if we go back and try to fulfill the law? How does grace change our approach to the law? These questions will be looked at throughout Romans 7.

The first concept that we need to understand about the law is that it is binding on people as long as they live. This seems like a painfully obvious point. But like everything that the Apostle Paul says he has a reason for saying it. He is laying down some groundwork for our understanding. If one were to die the law no longer binds him.

In relationship to the law Christian believers are in a peculiar position. We have died to the law! We have been reborn. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Romans 6:7 says, "If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him." We are no longer bound by the law because we have died with Christ.

Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Are you adding Old Testament laws to your daily life? You are dead to the law. It has no power over you.