Romans 7:3
A focused desk for reading, commentary, cross-references, original language notes, and your own observations.
Romans 7:3
3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Chapter Context
Romans 7 is a theological epistle chapter in the New Testament that explores themes of sacrifice, judgment, love. Written during Paul's third missionary journey (c. 57 CE), this chapter should be understood within its historical context: Christians in Rome navigated tensions between Jewish and Gentile believers under imperial watch.
The chapter can be divided into several sections:
- Verses 1-5: Introduction and setting the context
- Verses 6-12: Development of key themes
- Verses 13-20: Central message and teachings
- Verses 21-25: Conclusion and application
This chapter is significant because it reveals key aspects of God's character through divine actions and declarations. When studying this passage, it's important to consider both its immediate context within Romans and its broader place in the scriptural canon.
Verse Study
Romans 7:3
3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Analysis
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress—The future passive chrēmatizō (χρηματίζω) means "she will be publicly labeled/divinely warned." Adultery (moichalis, μοιχαλίς) violates covenant fidelity, a repeated Old Testament metaphor for Israel's idolatry. Two simultaneous covenantal allegiances constitute spiritual adultery.
But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law—Eleuthera (ἐλευθέρα, "free") emphasizes liberation, a key Pauline theme (Galatians 5:1). Freedom comes through death's dissolution of the first covenant relationship, not through the law's relaxation. So that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man—The second marriage is morally legitimate because death terminated the first covenant. Similarly, believers' death with Christ allows union with the resurrected Christ without covenantal conflict.
Historical Context
Jewish law strictly prohibited adultery (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 22:22), and Roman law similarly condemned it as damaging to social order. Both cultures recognized remarriage after a spouse's death as entirely proper. Paul's analogy would resonate powerfully with his audience's understanding of covenantal faithfulness.
Reflection
- In what ways might attempting to maintain allegiance to both law-righteousness and grace-righteousness constitute spiritual adultery?
- How does the death-before-remarriage sequence in this analogy illuminate the necessary order of dying to self before living to Christ?
- What would it look like to live in the freedom of your 'second marriage' to Christ without guilt from your former relationship to law-condemnation?
Word Studies
- Law: νόμος (Nomos) G3551 - Law
Cross-References
- Parallel theme: Exodus 20:14, Matthew 5:32