Day One Romans 7:1-6
Pray: Invite God into your time and ask Him to speak to you, then read the passage.
Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. 4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. – Romans 7:1-6 (NLT)
Discover: Use the Discover section of your Recalibrate journal to write down your answers to the following observation and interpretation questions.
1. Who does Paul say he is addressing in verse 1?
2. Who is the “old husband” and who is the “new husband” in Paul’s analogy?
3. What kind of harvest did each “marriage” produce (verses 4-6)?
Respond: Use the Respond section of your Recalibrate journal to answer the following application prompts.
1. What does this passage teach me about God?
2. How does this aspect of His character change my view of self and others?
3. What should I do in response and when?
For Further Reading: A New Husband
For Families with Kids at Home:
In Romans 7:1-6, Paul says that because our old lives have died and been raised with Christ, we’re no longer bound by the law. This means we don’t have a relationship with God because we perfectly follow the rules, but because Jesus lived a perfect life and made a way for us! Take time to pray with your kids today and thank Jesus for living the perfect life we could never live in order to create a way for us to be friends with God.
*If you don't have a Recalibrate journal, you can use any journal available to you to write down your responses.
**TPCC does not necessarily endorse all For Further Reading/Learning sources. They are simply meant to be a helpful tool.