1 KNOW ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
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.
4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

1Know ye not, brethren (for I speake to them that knowe the Lawe) how that the Lawe hath dominion ouer a man, as long as he liueth?

2For the woman which hath an husbaud, is bound by the law to her husband, so long as he liueth: but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of the husband.

3So then if while her husband liueth, shee be married to another man, shee shalbe called an adulteresse: but if her husband be dead, shee is free from that law, so that she is no adulteresse, though she be married to another man.

4Wherefore my brethren, yee also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, euen to him who is raised from the dead, that wee should bring forth fruit vnto God,

5For when wee were in the flesh, the motions of sinnes which were by the law, did worke in our members, to bring foorth fruit vnto death.

6But now wee are deliuered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serue in newnesse of spirit, and not in the oldnesse of the letter.

7What shall wee say then? is the law sinne? God forbid. Nay, I had not knowen sinne, but by the lawe: for I had not knowen lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not couet.

8But sinne taking occasion by the commaundement, wrought in me all maner of concupiscence. For without the Law sinne was dead.

9For I was aliue without the Law once, but when the commandement came, sinne reuiued, and I died.

10And the commandement which was ordained to life, I found to be vnto death.

11For sinne taking occasion by the commandement, deceiued me, and by it slew me.

12Wherefore the Law is holy, and the Commandement holy, and iust, and good.

13Was that then which is good, made death vnto me? God forbid. But sinne, that it might appeare sinne, working death in mee by that which is good: that sinne by the Commaundement might become exceeding sinfull.

14For wee know that the Law is spirituall: but I am carnall, sold vnder sinne.

15For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that doe I.

16If then I doe that which I would not, I consent vnto the Law, that it is good.

17Now then, it is no more I that doe it: but sinne that dwelleth in me.

18For I know, that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me: but how to performe that which is good, I find not.

19For the good that I would, I do not: but the euill which I would not, that I doe.

20Now if I doe that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sinne that dwelleth in me.

21I find then a Law, that when I would do good, euil is present with me.

22For I delight in the Lawe of God, after the inward man.

23But I see another Lawe in my members, warring against the Lawe of my minde, and bringing me into captiuity to the Law of sinne, which is in my members.

24O wretched man that I am: who shall deliuer me from the body of this death?

25I thanke God through Iesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I my self serue the Law of God: but with the flesh, the law of sinne.

 

1 Are you unaware, brothers (for I am speaking to people who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over one as long as one lives? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by law to her living husband; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law in respect to her husband. 3 Consequently, while her husband is alive she will be called an adulteress if she consorts with another man. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and she is not an adulteress if she consorts with another man. 4 In the same way, my brothers, you also were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, our sinful passions, awakened by the law, worked in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the newness of the spirit and not under the obsolete letter. 7 What then can we say? That the law is sin? Of course not! Yet I did not know sin except through the law, and I did not know what it is to covet except that the law said, "You shall not covet." 8 But sin, finding an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetousness. Apart from the law sin is dead. 9 I once lived outside the law, but when the commandment came, sin became alive; 10 then I died, and the commandment that was for life turned out to be death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it put me to death. 12 So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did the good, then, become death for me? Of course not! Sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin, worked death in me through the good, so that sin might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. 15 What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. 20 Now if (I) do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. 22 For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, 23 but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.24 Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.

v 1-3. In chapter six we were to account ourselves dead to sin. In this chapter we have death as it affects a marriage relationship. This is an important truth, that in God’s plan, a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if he dies she is free to remarry. For her to remarry while he lives places her as an adulteress in God’s sight. Likewise, we feel great compassion for a man whose wife has divorced him and left him with children to raise, and for him to remarry would seem to be such a help to the children, but again, if his wife still lives, this would make him an adulterer. That is not a painful, critical judgment on our part, that is a quote from God’s Word.
v4-6. The key impact of these verses is not a lesson on marriage, but to show how a proper marriage relationship is an illustration of our marriage to Christ.  By her husband’s death a woman ceases to be a wife, but she remains a woman. She has become dead to the law which bound her to her husband, and her death to the law was brought about by her husband’s death. Death terminates a marriage relationship, and death, in this case our death with Christ, ends our relationship to the law. The law is never binding on the dead. The purpose behind our death to the law is to make a marriage relationship with Christ possible for us. Now we should bring forth fruit to God, not fruit to evil and death. The law required us to serve in every minute detail, now we are free to serve Christ out of love.
v7,8. Paul again uses the method of asking a question, then answering  it emphatically. Of course the law cannot justify, but that does not make it  sin. It simply reveals what sin is. Neither does the law increase our desire to do what is wrong, but reveals or makes those desires apparent.
v9-14. Paul now begins to speak of his own personal experience. Paul once considered himself blameless concerning the law and lived with all good conscience, Acts 23:1. After conversion he had a better insight and recognized the law as condemning him to death. He saw the law as holy, just, good, and spiritual, and instead of having kept it, he was condemned by it. What he had not considered sin now became exceedingly sinful to him. From time to time Paul uses three terms:
Carnal - Fleshly, the Adamic nature and the believer who lives under it’s power.
Natural - The unrenewed man.
Spiritual - The renewed man living in the Spirit.
v15-25. These verses express the conflict raging within Paul which we too as believers many times experience. They are not just an autobiography, but because we too have the conflicts. We want to do what is right, but find ourselves doing things we know we ought not. Likewise, many things we know we ought to do, we find ourselves neglecting or even doing the opposite. He and we are trying to justify ourselves by our own actions, our own flesh. (v 24 Deliver from this death refers to Roman custom of tying a dead man to the back of his killer until he rots away and falls off.) Deliverance and victory over this dilemma is only through being yielded to Christ. To try to suppress our old nature is hopeless  legalism. To think that sin is eradicated is unrealistic, because if it was, we couldn’t sin if we wanted to. In chapter six we saw that God considers us positionally dead to sin, so we need to accept it by faith as an experiential reality.