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“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
> “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
> Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
> — Romans 7:2–4 (NKJV)
The central theme here is spiritual marriage and spiritual release:
Bound and released. Life and the law. In death comes freedom. In the Spirit we draw.
Paul uses a simple, everyday illustration—marriage—to explain a profound spiritual reality:
The song’s lyrics are a poetic restatement of this spiritual principle:
We were once “bound” to the law. Through the death of Christ, we “died” to that old bond. Now we are free—free not for lawlessness, but for a new covenant relationship with the risen Christ, lived out in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is not a minor doctrine. It is central to Christian life, freedom from condemnation, and true fruitfulness.
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Romans is Paul’s most systematic explanation of the gospel. By the time he reaches chapter 7, he has already established:
Now, in Romans 7, Paul deals with a key question:
If we are saved by grace, what is the place of the law? Are we still bound to it as a covenant? What is our legal standing before God?
He writes to a mixed audience—Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. Many Jewish believers had been raised to see the law of Moses as the permanent framework of their relationship with God. Paul wants them to understand that the coming of Christ has brought a change of covenant status. Not because the law is evil, but because its role has changed.
The picture he uses is that of a married woman:
Paul is not teaching about marriage ethics here; he is using marriage as an illustration of covenant bond and legal release.
Then he applies it spiritually:
> “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” (Romans 7:4)
Believers were once under the dominion of the law as a covenant system. But through union with the crucified Christ, they have died to that covenant jurisdiction. The death that took place in Christ’s body is reckoned as their death. Now they stand free to be joined to Another—the risen Christ—in a new kind of union that produces spiritual fruit.
The song captures exactly this movement:
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Let us look more closely at two key words: “bound” and “released/free.”
### 3.1 “Bound” – *δέδεται* (dedetai)
Romans 7:2:
> “For the woman who has a husband is bound (*δέδεται*) by the law to her husband as long as he lives…”
The verb is from *δέω* (deo), which means:
This is covenant language. The woman is not merely emotionally attached, she is legally bound. The law holds her in a specific, defined relationship. She cannot simply choose to walk away. The law claims her.
Spiritually, before Christ, the law had a binding claim upon the people of God. It said:
That is what it means to be bound—under obligation, under claim, under authority.
### 3.2 “Released/Free” – *κατήργηται* (katērgētai) and *ἐλευθέρα* (eleuthera)
Romans 7:2 continues:
> “…But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.”
The verb here is *καταργέω* (katargeō), which means:
The relationship of law between the woman and her husband is made inoperative by death. The law as such has not vanished, but its binding application in that specific relationship is annulled.
Then in verse 3:
> “…But if her husband dies, she is free (*ἐλευθέρα*) from that law…”
*Eleuthera* means:
So when the husband dies, two things happen:
1. The specific law-bond is annulled—it ceases to operate (katargeō).
2. The woman’s status changes—she is now a free woman (eleuthera).
Apply this to believers:
The lyrics, “In death comes freedom,” are not emotional sentiment; they are precise theology:
Death to law-bondage, new freedom to belong to Christ.
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Let us follow the lyrics line by line and unfold their scriptural content.
### 4.1 Verse 1
> “So then, if she lives with another
> While her husband is alive,
> She is called an adulteress,
> But if her husband dies, she's free.”
This closely mirrors Romans 7:2–3. Paul’s point is legal and covenantal, not romantic.
Two spiritual principles arise:
1. You cannot belong to two covenant husbands at once.
Spiritually, you cannot be under the law as a covenant system and at the same time be fully married to Christ in the new covenant. Attempting to mix the two produces spiritual confusion and guilt—like spiritual adultery.
2. Release requires death, not mere decision.
The woman in the illustration is not free just because she wishes to be free. Freedom comes only through the death of the one to whom she was bound. Spiritually, our freedom from the law is not based on our willpower or religious sentiment, but on an objective historical event: the death of Jesus Christ and our identification with that death.
Cross-reference:
> “For through the law I died to the law that I might live to God.” (Galatians 2:19)
Notice: “I died to the law.” Not: “The law died.” The law remains as the expression of God’s righteousness, but I, in Christ, have passed out of its jurisdiction as a covenant system.
### 4.2 Chorus
> “Bound and released,
> Life and the law,
> In death comes freedom,
> In Spirit we draw.”
This chorus is dense with theology.
#### Bound and Released
We were:
> “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:7)
The same principle applies to the law. Death ends legal obligation. When we died with Christ, the jurisdiction of the law over us ended.
#### Life and the Law
The law itself is not evil:
> “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” (Romans 7:12)
But it has no power to impart life:
> “For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.” (Galatians 3:21)
The law can diagnose sin, define sin, condemn sin—but it cannot deliver from sin. Life comes only through union with Christ:
> “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)
#### In Death Comes Freedom
This is a spiritual law of God’s kingdom:
Freedom is on the far side of death.
The old nature wants freedom without death. God offers freedom through death and resurrection.
#### In Spirit We Draw
Now that we are released from the law as a covenant system, how do we relate to God?
> “…So that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6)
We “draw” near to God in the Spirit:
The Christian life is not lawless. It is Spirit-ruled. But the basis of that rule is internal transformation, not external regulation.
### 4.3 Verse 2
> “She is not an adulteress,
> If she marries another man.
> So, brothers and sisters,
> You died to the law through Christ.”
Notice the turning point: only death legitimizes the new union.
Spiritually:
Romans 7:4 states it directly:
> “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
Key truths:
1. Dead to the law
The law no longer stands over you as the covenant standard determining your standing before God. Your standing is now in Christ, by grace.
2. Married to Christ
Christianity is not only legal justification; it is marital union. The church is described as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25–27; 2 Corinthians 11:2). This is a covenant of love, intimacy, and shared life.
3. Fruit to God
The goal is not mere freedom from guilt, but fruitfulness—character transformation, good works, effective ministry. The fruit is produced not by our effort under the law, but by Christ’s life in us through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).
### 4.4 Chorus (Repetition)
> “Bound and released,
> Life and the law,
> In death comes freedom,
> In Spirit we draw.”
Repetition here is good theology. These truths must be internalized. Many believers oscillate between grace and law because they have never fully recognized that they died to the law. They try to maintain two marriages: one to the law, one to Christ. The result is condemnation, confusion, and lack of fruit.
Scripture insists: you cannot be under law and under grace at the same time as ruling principles (Romans 6:14).
### 4.5 Outro
> “Through Christ we are new,
> In Spirit we soar,
> Bound and released,
> Forevermore.”
#### Through Christ We Are New
This echoes 2 Corinthians 5:17:
> “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The “old things” include:
We are not “renovated sinners,” we are new creations in a new covenant.
#### In Spirit We Soar
When the law ruled, it was like walking on the ground under heavy weight—constant demands, no power. Under the Spirit, we are lifted above, like an aircraft that overcomes gravity by a higher law—lift and thrust.
> “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)
We “soar” not because the law of gravity (sin and death) has ceased to exist, but because a higher law (the Spirit of life) is now at work.
#### Bound and Released, Forevermore
Our union with Christ is eternal:
We are forever released from the law as a covenant basis of righteousness, and forever bound to Christ in a covenant of grace.
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This doctrine must not remain theoretical. It must be applied.
### 1. Acknowledge Your Death with Christ
You must accept by faith what God says is true:
> “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him…” (Romans 6:6)
> “You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ…” (Romans 7:4)
Proclamation of faith is vital. Say, out loud and deliberately:
Faith is activated by confession (Romans 10:10).
### 2. Renounce Mixed Covenants
Many believers live in a hybrid system: partly law, partly grace. They trust Christ for salvation, but for their daily standing with God they revert to:
Paul warns:
> “You who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
You must consciously renounce reliance on the law as the basis of acceptance before God. You may say:
I accept fully the righteousness of Christ as my only basis of acceptance.”
This does not produce lawlessness; it produces Spirit-led holiness.
### 3. Embrace Your Marriage to Christ
You are not simply freed from something; you are freed for Someone.
Deliberately cultivate your relationship with Christ as Bridegroom:
Remember the purpose:
> “…that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” (Romans 7:4)
Make this personal:
I belong to You. My body, my mind, my future are Yours.”
### 4. Walk in the Newness of the Spirit
Romans 7:6:
> “…So that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Practically, this means:
1. Rely on the Spirit’s inner promptings rather than an external code.
2. Feed on the Word as Spirit-breathed truth.
The Spirit uses Scripture, not to bind you under legalism, but to shape Christ’s character in you.
3. Present yourself to God as available (Romans 6:13).
The Spirit-filled life is not vague mysticism; it is a life ordered by the Spirit through the Word, motivated by love, not driven by fear of punishment.
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### Proclamation (Confession of Faith)
Say this aloud with determination and faith:
> **“Through the body of Jesus Christ, I have died to the law.
> I am no longer bound by the law as a covenant of righteousness.
> I am released from its condemnation and its curse.
> I am married to Another—
> to Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead.
> His life is in me by the Holy Spirit.
> I do not serve in the oldness of the letter,
> but in the newness of the Spirit.
> In death I have found freedom.
> In the Spirit I draw near to God.
> Through Christ I am a new creation,
> and I will bear fruit to God,
> bound to Christ and released from the law,
> now and forevermore.
> Amen.”**
### Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank You that in Your body on the cross, You took my place under the law’s curse and the law’s condemnation. I thank You that when You died, I died with You, and that through Your death I have been released from the law as a covenant system.
Father, I confess my tendency to return to self-effort and rule-keeping as the basis for my acceptance before You. I renounce that now. I choose to trust solely in the finished work of Christ and the righteousness that comes by faith.
Holy Spirit, write these truths deeply into my heart. Lead me into the newness of the Spirit. Reveal Jesus to me as my covenant Bridegroom. Produce in me the fruit that pleases God—love, holiness, obedience flowing from the inside out.
I present myself to You, Lord—spirit, soul, and body—as one who has been bound and released: bound to Christ, released from the law, to live in freedom, holiness, and fruitfulness for Your glory.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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