Spiritual Adultery (Romans 7)

[Fred]

1. A woman is married to one man. She is not committing adultery.
2. A woman's husband dies, and she marries another man. She is not committing adultery.
3. A woman is married to two men at the same time. She is committing adultery.

Romans 7:1-6
1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to those who know the Law,) how that the Law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
2 For the woman who hath a husband is bound by the Law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is released from the Law of her husband.
3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be joined 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 joined to another man.
4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ; that ye should be joined 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 sinful passions, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are released from the Law that being dead wherein we were bound; that we should serve in newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Since Christians have been "released from the Law" (Romans 7:6) they are no longer under any obligation to the laws of the Old Covenant. Those who claim to be Christians and say any (or all) of the Old Covenant laws must be obeyed by a Christian commit spiritual adultery (see point #3 above). If they were really Christians, they would be subject only to the laws of the New Covenant, and not remain married to the laws of the Old Covenant.

BDAG (3rd Edition): to cause the release of someone from an obligation (one has nothing more to do with it), be discharged, be released. In our lit. pass. καταργοῦμαι ἀπό τινος of a woman upon the death of her husband κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός Ro 7:2. Of Christians κ. ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου be released fr. the law vs. 6. (katargeō, the boldface and underlined are mine)

 

[mikesw]

Paul uses an analogy here. When encountering an analogy, you have to be careful when trying to pick out side details of the original model behind the analogy --in this case it is the death of women's husband. In this usage of the analogy, she is not committing adultery since the law has come to its completion.
We see in Romans 14 that the "weak" still held to Jewish practices do to uncertainty of the freedom in Christ. They were not ready to take off the training wheels. This message basically applied to gentiles who came to Christ as participants in a Christ-following synagogue and took on the law as an obligation. These Jewish Christians also did that without knowing they were freed from the law too.
People still need to take off the training wheels. So, you are right in pointing out your concern.

 

[mikesw]

oops. I think I missed my main point.
I was supposed to have conveyed that In this usage of the analogy, she is not committing adultery since the law has come to its completion. So even if we do things of the law and feel obligated to those, we are not committing adultery. This is so because of the fact the law does not apply in a condemnatory fashion for us anymore.
Anyhow, I could not edit that in to the previous post since you liked that post already. We'll see if you still like it -- no problem either way. I'm just sharing a nuance here.