GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR MAN FROM START TO FINISH

Part IV: God's Righteousness Granted In Sanctification, Romans 6:1-8:39

B. The Believer's Removal From The Law's Jurisdiction

(Romans 7:1-6)

I. Introduction

A. Seventh-day Adventists claim that "(w)hile Christ's death ended the authority of the ceremonial law" that allegedly involved the sacrificial system and festivals like Passover and Pentecost, "it established that of the Ten Commandments," Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 1988, p. 243-244. They thus hold that Christians are required to observe Saturday, the original Sabbath Day, a rule in the Ten Commandments, Ibid., p. 249-264.

B. However, the punishment for violating the Sabbath Day was death (Exodus 31:15), so if Christ's death established the authority of the Ten Commandments, we face God's death penalty for not observing it today!

C. Romans 7:1-6 with Colossians 2:13-17 answers our concerns here, and we view these passages for edification:

II. The Believer's Removal From The Law's Jurisdiction, Romans 7:1-6.

A. In Romans 7:1-6, Paul addressed the question of whether the believer in Christ is under the Mosaic Law, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1604.

B. In doing so, he introduced the illustration of the institution of marriage under the Law, asserting that the Law had dominion over a man as long as he lived (Romans 7:1) so that his wife was bound by her marital bond to her husband as long as he was physically alive, Romans 7:2a.

C. However, were her husband to die, the woman was released from the law of marriage to her husband, v. 2b.

D. Accordingly, while her husband was still alive, if she married another man, she would be called an adulteress, a sin that was punishable by death, Romans 7:3a with Leviticus 20:10.

E. On the other hand, were her husband to die, she would be free from the law of her marital bond so that she might remarry another man and be free of the charge of adultery, Romans 7:3b.

F. Paul then applied this illustration to the Christian's relationship to the Law and to Christ, Romans 7:4-6:

1. By the believer's positional spiritual union with Christ in His death, he has become dead to the jurisdiction of the Mosaic Law, that he should be spiritually wed to another "husband," even to Christ Who was raised from the dead, that the believer might bring forth fruits or righteous living unto God, Romans 7:4.

2. Before one was saved when he was controlled by his sin nature, the sinful passions aroused by the Law's prohibition of his passions was at work in his body to bring forth fruit unto death (Romans 7:5), but now that the believer has been delivered from the Law, having died to that which held him captive, he is free to serve not under the former written code of the Law but in the new life of the Holy Spirit, Romans 7:6.

G. The Seventh-day Adventist would claim that Romans 7:1-6 refers exclusively to the "ceremonial law" and not to "the Ten Commandments," that we are still under the jurisdiction of the Ten Commandments (Ibid., Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 243-244), still obliged to observe the Sabbath Day, Ibid., p. 249-264.

H. However, Colossians 2:13-17 reveals that the "Law" from which believers are released is the entire Law:

1. Paul wrote that believers in Christ positionally died with Him and are made alive together with Him in reference to the "handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us," Col. 2:13-14.

2. Due to this removal of the Law's ordinances, we believers are not to let anyone judge us with regard to specific rules of the Mosaic Law that are named by Paul in Colossians 2:16.

3. Those rules include some alleged "ceremonial" law rules on meat, drink, holy days and new moons, v. 16.

4. However, one of those rules deals with "sabbath days," and the KJV italicizes "days" (days) because the word "days" is not in the Greek text, and a Seventh-day Adventist would claim that Paul wrote that we are not under the rule of the Sabbatical year observance, that Paul was not alluding to the Sabbath Day rule!

5. However, that argument does not do justice to the literary and historical contexts: (a) Paul had just referred to holydays and new moons that are days, and (b) there was no distinction between the ceremonial and moral laws of the Mosaic Law until the 13th century A. D. long after Paul's era, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 678. Paul thus had to refer to be referring to all the "parts" of the Law in this Colossians 2 passage.

6. Thus, Paul wrote that we are not under the Ten Commandments OR any OTHER part of the Law!

Lesson: In Christ, we believers are completely removed from all jurisdiction of all parts of the Mosaic Law!

Application: (1) May we rest and rejoice in our freedom in Christ from the Law's jurisdiction. (2) May we thus also live free of the Sabbath Day rule observance rule errantly promoted by Sevent-day Adventism.