Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
No Longer Bound to the Law
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
When Paul said “…you who are familiar with the law…”, he was speaking to Jews who had accepted the message of Jesus Christ and were mixing their Jewish religious practices (the Law) which the message of grace. Religious practices can become bondage and distract from the message of grace.
- You must pray in a certain place, posture or to a certain person.
- You must eat fish on Friday.
- You must not use musical instruments in your worship.
- You must bring your pay stub so we can verify your tithe.
- You must not celebrate the commercial Christmas.
- You must use a certain methodology in baptism.
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