Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
October 10, 2021
Opening Prayer
That the Word May Work in Us
O God, almighty and all-merciful,
once chaos gave way
before Your command,
and Your creation stood forth
structured, wonderful,
to call forth melody
from all
the singing stars.
Our wild rebellion
shivered and blackened
all that,
called a chaos down
more
fearful than the first;
and you have spoken
a Word more powerful,
Your Word of love,
Your Son,
and You have made us –
ah, gift intolerable –
the firstfruits
of
Your new and righteous world.
You have made us sons.
Ah, gift intolerable –
how shall we show
forth
the
splendor of the world to come,
the home
of righteousness
which
shall one day live here
unbroken
and entire?
We cannot – but Your Word can.
Oh, let it work in us,
that Word implanted in
our midst,
Your creative Word,
and let us bring forth summer fruits for You.[1]
Romans 7
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? 2 For a married woman is bound by law
to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the
law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be
called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive.
But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another
man she is not an adulteress.
v. 1
Brothers – the custom at the time (and until very recently)
was to use the masculine pronoun for groups. This is not addressed only to men,
as is seen in using an example of a widow. Salvation is for both genders – and
all expression and confusions thereof.
The law is what we naturally know. Watch kids playing in the
school yard to see how people love to make and negotiate rules. As adults we
call this politics.
-
Our hearts are always drawn to the Law
-
The Heidelberg Disputation describes this as
being a Theologian of Glory
o
It is a self-made, self-described glory … like
rules on the school yard.
The law is binding – it is lord/rules/masters/dominates
-
This is the same word from ch. 6 talking about
sin in 6:14.
-
“For sin will no longer have dominion* over you,
since you are not under law but under grace.”
-
“… the law dominates/is lord of a man/person for
as long a time as he lives.”
v. 2
The word married literally means “under a man.”
The word husband is literally “man.”
The same is true of the word wife, which is not in this
text, but means “woman.”
Paul uses an example from marriage. What happens to a woman
if her husband dies?
-
This is an important part of the life of the
church – for men and women.
-
Women often handle this better than men.
-
1 Corinthians 7:8-9 - To the unmarried and the
widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I
am. 9 But if they cannot exercise
self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn
with passion.
-
1 Timothy 5:14 - So I would have younger
widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the
adversary no occasion for slander.
-
A word of caution as we think about a sad topic.
o
My Grandma Kate.
o
“’Till death do us part.”
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