Have You Died?

November 5th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Nov 5, 2024

Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 7:4-5 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

Paul’s marriage illustration in 7:2-3 was given to show how death releases people from law, for once a person dies, he or she is free from the law! He says, “…you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ” (v. 4). “Made to die” is a Greek aorist (past tense), telling the finality of death—dating back to one’s past conversion as it relates to Christ’s death on the cross. “Made to die” is also in the passive voice showing that the Christian’s surrender to Christ —death to the Law, is the divine act of God alone, not man’s decision. So, “made to die to the Law through the body of Christ” means that one’s salvation is all God’s doing, not man’s.

Verse 4 states that death to the [Mosaic] Law must precede one’s coming to Christ, for until one dies to works for salvation, whether the Mosaic decrees or the simple laws of the land, they can never belong to Christ. Like the marriage illustration in vv. 2-3, the only way a person can be free to remarry without committing adultery is for their spouse to die. So too, true believers must be able to point backwards to a time when they surrendered to Christ after dying to the false notion that obedience to law brings salvation. Paul makes it very clear in v. 4 that dying to law is necessary “so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead.”

The last phrase of v. 4 is pivotal since it teaches that until a person dies to the belief that good works can actually bring salvation and provide the key to heaven, they can never “bear fruit for God.” When one understands this truth, only then can they truly please God. Like a seed that must die when it goes into the soil in order to grow into a large fruit-bearing tree, so too does the person who trusts in Jesus Christ. They must first die to their works, then they can grow up and bear fruit. The problem with unbelievers throughout history is that they attempt to bear fruit based upon being good—by keeping laws. Yet no one is good, not even one (Rom. 3:10-12). All of one’s financial giving and charitable deeds mean absolutely nothing if bringing glory to Christ is not the sole motivation for doing such. In other words, if fruit-bearing works are one’s effort for salvation and not from salvation, then the fruit is rotten—just filthy rags (Isa. 64:6).

In v. 5 Paul reflects back on the sinful condition of his audience prior to their dying to the Law. First, they were “in the flesh”—a reference to sin and the natural, fleshly evil man is prone to. Paul thus means that they reasoned like unredeemed men apart from the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9). Second, their lives were characterized by “sinful passions”—the inclination of their flesh. “Passions” (Gr. pathēma) is often translated “sufferings” in the NT. The “sinful” adjective that precedes “passions” signifies that they are the result of man’s sinful flesh, or his depravity (cf. 3:10-12). Third, this leads into the larger context of the Law that arouses the flesh to sin since it forbids all those things that humans naturally desire in their flesh. Fourth, unbelievers are characterized by “work” (Gr. energeō) that only leads to death, for their works cannot please God unto salvation. Therefore, by shunning God’s grace offered by Christ, unbelievers use their bodily members to produce only one thing: unfruitful works that lead to eternal death.

Food for Thought

Since eating fruit is good for us, we should eat it. Nourished by a healthy root, fruits are full of vitamins, fiber, etc., and they in turn nourish our bodies. Spiritually speaking, what kind of fruit does your life produce if you call yourself a Christian? Is your life thus nourished daily with the Word of God, and does it reproduce by nourishing others? If it doesn’t, shouldn’t it?