Romanos 7
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
Romanos 7:1-3
MacArthur adds... Although Paul intends to include God’s written law, he is not referring to any specific law code, but to a principle that is true of all law—Greek, Roman, Jewish, or biblical. THAT THE LAW HAS JURISDICTION OVER A PERSON AS LONG AS HE LIVES: hoti o nomos kurieuei (3SPAI) tou anthropou eph oson chronon ze (3SPAI): Romans 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries That the law has jurisdiction - While a criminal is alive, he is subject to prosecution and punishment. When he dies he obviously can no longer be prosecuted or punished. Jurisdiction (2961) (kurieuo from noun kurios = master - power of control rather than physical strength) means to rule or have dominion over and speaks of individuals who exercise authority or have control over others (Lk 22:25, Ro 14:9, 2Co 1:24). To be lord of, to rule over, to have dominion over or to exercise lordship over. Scripture personifies various things which control human life including law (Ro 7:1), Sin (Ro 6:14) and death (Ro 6:9). Here clearly Paul personifies the Law as that which controls human life. What Paul is saying is that the law (speaking of law in general, not just the "Ten Commandments") is like a lord who rules over a man and that man remains subject to the lordship of the law as long as he lives (in Adam). The only thing that can severe a man's relationship with "Lord Law" is a death! And that death came about when the believer died with Christ on the Cross (Ro 6:6-11, cp Gal 2:20, Col 2:20). Since the believer has died with Christ, the power of the old ruler "Lord Law" has been broken (forever)! The law can no longer "prosecute or punish" us so to speak. This freedom from the ruling power which law previously exercised over us (When we were still "in Adam" and were not yet believers alive "in Christ" 1Cor 15:22), is one of the great truths of the Good News, the Gospel.
Romanos 7:1-3
MacArthur explains the concept of "adulterous generation" - The scribes and Pharisees (Mt 12:24, 38) represented the nation of Israel, which had wandered far from God’s Word and fellowship and which had become enmeshed in the superficial, self-righteous, and legalistic religion those leaders epitomized. The unbelieving Jews were not only physically and mentally but spiritually adulterous because they had breached the vows of their unique covenant relationship with God, a relationship the Old Testament frequently speaks of in terms of marriage (see Ps. 73:27; Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:6–10; 13:27; Hos. 9:1). Their idolatry, immorality, unbiblical traditions, and hardness of heart marked them as an evil people. During the Babylonian captivity Jews had forsaken formal idolatry, in the sense of worshiping physical objects carved from wood, stone, or metal. But in its place they erected idols of man-made tradition in which they trusted and put their hope. They had abandoned the Canaanite gods for ones of their own making and in doing so were just as much in rebellion against the true God as when they offered sacrifices to Baal or Molech. A Jew who faithfully served God under the covenant given to Moses would accept His Son when He came, because anyone rightly related to the Father could not fail to recognize the Son-just as did the godly Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25–38), John the Baptist (Matt. 3:14), and the twelve disciples, except Judas (Carl Bloch's famous painting of Judas retiring from the Last Supper)(Mt 4:20–22; Mark 3:13; Luke 5:27–28; John 1:41, 49). Because they knew the Father, they knew the Son and did not need a sign to verify His identity. (MacArthur NT Commentary) Matthew 16:4 "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them, and went away. MacArthur - The sign of Jonah (Jonah 1:17) was the final sign Jesus gave to the world, the sign of His victory over sin, death, and Satan through His resurrection. As He had declared to a group of scribes and Pharisees on an earlier occasion, “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt. 12:39-41). That sign, too, would be rejected by the Jewish religious leaders. When they heard of Jesus’ resurrection, they bribed the soldiers who guarded His tomb to say that His body was stolen by His disciples (Matt. 28:11-15). Mark 8:38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Romans 7:3 So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. James 4:4-note You adulteresses (noun although feminine applies to spiritually unfaithful women and men; anything that you put in your heart and mind in the place of the Living God equates with idolatry and leads one to behave to unfaithfully against the one true God Who Himself remains faithful!), do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 2 Peter 2:14-note having eyes full of adultery (i.e. always on the lookout for a woman with whom to commit adultery - beware of these surreptitious, smooth-talking snakes in the ministry beloved - Peter warns us!) and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed (an incredible statement - literally "trained" = gymnazo = work out in the gym and in the perfect tense identifies this flaw as their permanent condition), accursed children; Moichalis is used 6x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Prov. 18:22; 30:20; Ezek. 16:38; Ezek 23:45; Hos. 3:1; Mal. 3:5 Proverbs 30:20 This is the way of an adulterous (Heb = naaph; Lxx = moichalis) woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, "I have done no Ezekiel 16:38-note "Thus I shall judge you, like women who commit adultery (Heb = nāʾap̱); Lxx = moichalis) or shed blood are judged; and I shall bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy. Ezekiel 23:45 "But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses (Heb = nāʾap̱); Lxx = moichalis), and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands. Hosea 3:1 Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress (Heb = nāʾap̱); Lxx = moichalis), even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes." Malachi 3:5-note "Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers (Heb = naaph; Lxx = moichalis) and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien, and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts. John Witmer on adultery - VOLUNTARY SEXUAL RELATIONS by either a man or a woman in violation of the marriage bond constitutes adultery, a specific form of fornication forbidden by the seventh commandment in the Mosaic Law (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18; Luke 18:20). Adultery was punishable by death by stoning (Lev. 20:10-12; Deut. 22:20-27). The seriousness of the sin of adultery and the severity of its punishment spring from the sanctity of the marital relationship established by God with His creation of Eve as a “helper suitable” for Adam (Gen. 2:18, 20-23), and also from the intimacy of this union (2:23-24; Matt. 19:4-6; 1 Cor. 6:16). The sanctity and intimacy of the marital relationship also explain the seriousness of any form of illicit relations in God's sight, because in sexual union a man and a woman “become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; 1 Cor. 6:16). For this reason Jesus listed adultery as a sin as serious as murder, theft, or slander (Matt. 15:19). The unfaithfulness to the marriage vow displayed in adultery illustrates the spiritual unfaithfulness of Israel to God. Israel's covenantal relationship to God (Exod. 19:3-8; 24:3-8) is described as a marriage between God as the “husband” (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 31:32) and Israel as the “wife” (Isa. 54:6). Israel's unfaithfulness in forsaking the Lord to worship false gods was called adultery (Jer. 3:6, 8-9, 20), and Israel was called an “adulterous wife” (Ezek. 16:32). Because of Israel's spiritual adultery God will forsake and punish her (16:38), but only temporarily (Isa. 54:6-7; Ezek. 16:59-60). God's dealings with Israel in her spiritual adultery are illustrated by the prophet Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer (Hos. 1:2; 2:2; 3:1). Any forsaking of the Lord God is spiritual adultery (James 4:4). (Theological Wordbook) Related Resources: American Tract Society Adultery Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Adultery Baker Evangelical Dictionary Adultery Easton's Bible Dictionary Adultery Fausset Bible Dictionary Adultery Holman Bible Dictionary Adultery Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Adultery Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Adultery Adultery Smith Bible Dictionary Adultery Vines' Expository Dictionary Adulterer, Adulterous, Adultery Wilson's Bible Types Adultery Watson's Theological Dictionary Adultery 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Adultery International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Adultery Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Adultery McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Adultery The Jewish Encyclopedia Adultery Called (5537) (chrematizo from chrema = an affair, business, sum of money, Ac 4:37, 8:18, 24:26, property Mt 19:22) in the NT means to impart a divine message (an injunction or warning). Chrematizo in this sense speaks of a divine oracle or declaration (Lk 2:26), as well as a divine warning (He 12:25, 8:5, Mt 2:12, 22). In a second usage in the NT chrematizo means to bear a title and so to be called as in Acts 11:26 where "the disciples were first called Christians". (used with this sense here in Ro 7:3). In the Greek papyri chrematizo meant to transact business, of official pronouncements by magistrates and of a royal reply to a petition as well as an answer of an oracle or as describing a revelation from a deity. Josephus uses chrematizo in the sense of to receive a response from God. Chrematizo according to Thayer was used "in prose writings from Herodotus down; to transact business, especially to manage public affairs; to advise or consult with one about public affairs; to make answer to those who ask advice, present inquiries or requests," etc.; used of judges, magistrates, rulers, kings. In other uses (not used this way in the NT but in the Septuagint) chrematizo includes the basic meaning of to do or transact business (1Ki 18:27 - used 8 times in the Septuagint - 1 Ki. 18:27; Job 40:8; Jer. 25:30; 26:2; 29:23; 30:2; 36:2, 4) Here is an example from the Septuagint... Jeremiah 26:2 "Thus says the LORD, 'Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak (Heb = dabar - to speak; Lxx = chrematizo - declare) to all the cities of Judah, who have come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! There are 9 uses of chrematizo in the NAS and is translated as called(2), directed(1), revealed(1), warned(5). Matthew 2:12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, Luke 2:26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Acts 10:22 And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was [divinely] directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you." Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Romans 7:3 So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. Hebrews 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "See," He says, "that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain." Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. BUT IF HER HUSBAND DIES SHE IS FREE FROM THE LAW: ean de apothane (3SAAS) o aner eleuthera estin (3SPAI) apo tou nomou: Romans 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries But (de) is a term of contrast and is always a great opportunity to pause and ask what is being contrasted? If (ean) is a conjunction which is used as a marker of condition, with probability of activity expressed in the verb left open and thereby suited especially for generalized statements (BDAG). Death decisively changes a person's relationship to the law. Dies (599) (apothnesko from apo = marker of dissociation implying a rupture from a former association, separation, departure, cessation + thnesko = die) literally dies off and speaks of physical here. Free (1658) (eleutheros) (See related verb eleutheroo) is an adjective which means freedom to go wherever one likes, at liberty, possessing the capability of movement, exempt from restraint, obligation or liability, unconstrained, unfettered. In the Greek culture this word pictured one who can go wherever they please) (from Homer down). For example, in one secular writing we find this statement "the temple of Artemis at Ephesus is open (free) to all". The opposite idea of eleutheros is that which depicts or characterizes a state of enslavement. Chuck Swindoll has an excellent illustration of the meaning of the verb eleutheros.... Back in the nineteenth century our sixteenth president realized something radical must be done about slavery in our country. Unwilling to look the other way any longer, on September 22, 1862, he presented what came to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation, an official document condemning human slavery. Abraham Lincoln, realizing that slavery is completely against human dignity, officially abolished it from the United States on that day. Tragically, little changed in the daily life of our nation, even though the slaves were officially declared free. You know why; you’ve read the stories. The Civil War was still going on. The plantation owners never informed their slaves. The vast majority of the former slaves couldn’t read, so they had no idea what the news was carrying. There was no mass media then to announce those kinds of presidential pronouncements. And so for the longest time, slavery continued even though it had been officially brought to an end. The war ended in April 1865. Do you know when Lincoln’s declaration was officially enacted? When the people finally began to leave their enslaved lives and make their way toward freedom? December 18, 1865—more than three years after he first released his proclamation. Lincoln had been dead for months. The word traveled out of the streets of Washington and down into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, across the back roads of the Carolinas and into Georgia, then Alabama, then Mississippi, then Louisiana, then Texas, then Arkansas, announcing what had been true for more than a thousand days. Even then the word somehow either wasn’t believed or wasn’t acted upon. Those officially emancipated people, thinking slavery was the way they were condemned to exist, continued to live in bondage though they had been declared free men and women since the fall of 1862. (Embraced by the Spirit The Untold Blessings of Intimacy with God) BDAG (ref) gives two primary meanings for eleutheros as (1) pert. to being free socially and politically, free and (2) pertaining to being free from control or obligation, independent, not bound (1Co 9:1, Ro 6:20, 7:3). Zodhiates adds that eleutheros describes "One who is not dependent upon another, for the most part in a social and political sense. In a relative sense, free, separate from or independent of (Ro 7:3; 1 Cor. 9:19)." (Ref) Eleutheros is used of literal freedom from slavery (1Co 7:21) and of literal freedom as one who is not a slave (1Co 7:22, 1Co 12:13, Re 6:15, 13:16, 19:18, Ep 6:8, Col 3:11). Here in Romans 7:3, Paul uses eleutheros of the death of a spouse bringing freedom from the laws governing marriage. More often we find eleutheros used figuratively speaking of spiritual freedom (Jn 8:33, 36, 1Co 9:1, 19), as from enslavement to sin (Ro 6:20) or the yoke of the law (Ro 7:3). Peter teaches that spiritual freedom does not connote the freedom to do as we please (lawless) but to do as we should (obedience, pleasing God, 1Pe 2:16). As Schlier writes Faced with a lost existence, we can come to ourselves only by subjecting our own will to the will of another. We achieve self-control by letting ourselves be controlled (Ed: cp Ep 5:18-note). (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) The related verb eleutheroo (the ending " -oo" means not only will it be set free but it will be seen as set free) means to cause someone to be freed from domination. The picture is that of the emancipation of slaves. The idea is that the one set free is at liberty, capable of movement, exempt from obligation or liability, and unfettered. Although the act of setting free results in freedom and liberty we must understand that this new freedom is not a license to sin. In fact true liberty for the believer is now living as we should and not as we please. Along this same line, note the paradox in 1Co 7:22 of the free person who is a slave! Praise God that believers serve such a perfect Master. Eleutheros is used 23x in 23v in the NT... Matthew 17:26 And upon his saying, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Consequently the sons are exempt. (in context free from tax from kings of the earth Mt 17:25) John 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You shall become free '?" John 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make you free (eleutheroo), you shall be free indeed. Comment: What a great truth. I would strongly encourage you to memorize it and to meditate on what Jesus is saying, and to ask the Spirit of Christ to make this truth a practical reality in your life, especially if you are "struggling" with a particular besetting sin. This great promise is "Yea and Amen in Christ"!) Romans 6:20-note For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Romans 7:3-note So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. 1 Cor 7:21 Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. 1 Cor 7:22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord's freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ's slave. 1 Cor 7:39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 1 Cor 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 1 Cor 9:19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. Gal 4:23 But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. Gal 4:30 But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman." Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman. Ephesians 6:8-note knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. Colossians 3:11-note -- a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. 1Peter 2:16-note Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Revelation 6:15-note And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; Revelation 13:16-note And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, Revelation 19:18-note in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." Eleutheros is used 18 times in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Ex 21:2, 5, 26, 27; Deut. 15:12, 13, 18; 21:14; 1Ki. 21:8, 11; Neh. 13:17; Job 39:5; Ps. 88:4; Eccl. 10:17; Jer. 29:2; 34:9, 14, 16, all these uses speaking in the context of literal freedom, as illustrated by this passage... Deuteronomy 15:12 "If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. TDNT (abridged) informs us of the concept of freedom politically and philosophically... A. The Political Concept of Freedom in the Greek World. By definition, freedom means self-disposing in independence of others. 1. This sense is partly fashioned by the contrast to slavery. Slaves belong to others, not themselves. Slavery is accepted as an institution; hence freedom arises both theoretically and practically only for those who are politically free. It is the freedom of the politeía as an association of the free. 2. Freedom, for Plato and Aristotle, is essential to a state. The best constitution guarantees the greatest freedom (Thucydides). This freedom is freedom within the law, which establishes and secures it. As an embodiment of the claim of the politeía, law protects freedom against the caprice of the tyrant or the mass. But freedom means alternation of government as free people both rule and are subjects. Democracy achieves this best by allowing the same rights to all citizens (cf. Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus). It implies equality of voice, honor, dignity, and power. It comes vividly to expression in freedom of speech. As Demosthenes says, there is no greater misfortune for free citizens than to lose this. Yet the concept of freedom in Attic democracy contains the seeds of its own decay, for by promoting individual development it undermines the law on which it rests. Freedom becomes the freedom to do as one likes. The law of the self replaces the law of the politeía. Plato perceives this clearly (Laws 3.701b/c). It leads to the rise of demagogues and opens the door to tyranny. 3. Freedom also has to be secured against external foes. It means independence and hence the defense of the politeía against “barbarians.” eleuthería can thus be a general expression for the autonomy of the state. At a later stage it becomes a slogan for the common “freedom” of the states which the individual states all claim to champion even in their inner struggles. In this regard it is hardly distinguishable from autonomía. B. The Philosophical Concept of Freedom in Hellenism (Stoicism). 1. In Hellenism, and especially Stoicism, the extolling of freedom increases. The true Cynic prefers freedom to all else. He persistently criticizes tyrants and bewails their fear and misery, which make them slaves too. He also attacks their courtier-parasites. 2. Freedom, however, is now much more than political freedom. It is that of the individual under the law of nature. This is regarded as a reversion to the original meaning. The formal sense is the same, but freedom now takes the form of independent self-determination (Ed: This is a good description of unsaved men and women). To find freedom we must explore our nature. We cannot control body, family, property, etc., but we do control the soul (Ed: The deception of philosophy!). External things seek to impose a false reality on us. Hence we have to withdraw from them in a restriction of desires and an abandonment to pressures. This might seem to bring bondage but in fact results in liberation. For true liberation of this kind, there has to be liberation from the passions that represent the world in us (Ed: Something only found in Christ, Jn 8:36). In particular, we must be rid of the dominant fear of death (Ed: Impossible for all outside of Christ!). We find freedom as we neutralize passions and surrender to the ineluctable power of circumstances (Ed: In truth as the believer surrenders to the Spirit of Christ, cp Gal 5:16-note). That this freedom can seldom be fully attained is recognized. Its fruit is assurance of soul (Ed: Again, impossible outside of a saving knowledge of Christ, cp 1Jn 5:12, 13). Those who seek flight in inwardness enjoy the freedom of impassibility and in so doing fulfil what they are as parts of God, or children of God, or God himself (Ed: As we see in the deadly deceptive teachings of the modern New Age movement, a return to the ancient lie regarding "spirituality" that "You can be like God" - Ge 3:4, 5!). (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) (Borrow Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament : abridged in one volume) From (575) (apo) is a marker of dissociation, implying a rupture from a former association and thus a cessation or completion, reversal. It describes any separation of one thing from another by which the union or fellowship of the two is destroyed. To illustrate the binding character of the law, Paul presents the case of a woman who is married to a husband and remains bound by law in this relationship as long as the husband is living. During this time she is not free to seek another attachment. This may be done only in the event that the husband dies. By design, the status of the wife as subject to the husband is presented by the term hupandros, a rather rare word meaning literally "under a husband." This pictures more readily than "married woman" what Paul is seeking to bring out. Particularly in Jewish life this was the actual legal status of the wife, for she could not divorce her husband; divorce was a privilege granted only to the man. If the husband died, she was then released from "the law of marriage" (literally, "the law of the husband"). This may sound as though the husband instituted the marriage law, but this is not the idea intended.