Week 26 - Weekend Program For Children

Date : 7th & 8th January, 2024

Text: Romans 7:1-6

THEME: No Longer Bound to the Law

“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.

Though this passage talks about marriage, using it as an example, it has deeper understanding and meaning that we can apply to our lives, even as children and teenagers. God is writing to us Christians , and he uses the example of a married couple (husband and wife )to explain something important. He says that in a marriage, there is an agreement that binds the husband and the wife together; as long as both are alive, they are bound by this agreement and need to fulfill their responsibilities towards each other.

This idea of marriage is connected to our relationship with the law. Before we became Christians, we were under the law, under its influence, just like a husband has control or strong influence over his wife, telling her what to do. In the same way, we were under the law, am speaking of all who have put their faith in Christ, we were under the law, past tense, but without the power to fulfill all the obligations of the law. The law offers us no help, but condemns us instead, which leads to more sin and death.

But the good news is that when we come to Christ by faith, when we become Christians, something amazing happens. We died to the law and it’s power, no more held captive by it; now, we are free to serve God not by obeying the letters of the law, ticking off the boxes of “achievements” but by living in the spirit by faith with the power to bear fruit to God.

Just like the wife in a marriage is no longer bound to her husband if he dies, she doesn’t have to obey him anyone, she is free to marry someone else without being accused of adultery - being unfaithful. We are no longer bound to Mr. law, because we died to the law and it’s power. Through the death of Christ, we were made free. “To be dead to the law means that we're not under the old covenant justification or sanctification by works. We live by faith.” Heshimu Colar.

When we were married to the law, lived under its dominion, we were cut off from God, so everything we did was evil. The law - the old husband had huge obligations and demands, but he will not lift a finger to help, we had no help, it was too much for us to bear, so we failed and kept failing and the law condemned and kept condemning us, resulting to more sin and death. But we died to the law, to the old husband, and been resurrected to live unto Christ, our new husband.

When we were under the law, we could do no good. We had no grace and no faith. We couldn’t please God, it was impossible! Romans 8:8, The law never worked in us by the Spirit. Thank God! We are no longer controlled under the law. We are under grace, we are no longer under sin, because we are justified by faith, resurrected to newness of life in Christ. We must see our relationship with the law as finished- dead, it’s over!

A sinner’s relationship with the law produces condemnation and sinfulness; no one will be justified before God by the works of the law. The law shows how sinful we truly are. But again, thank God! our marriage with Mr. law is over, we died to the power of the law when we died with Christ, now, we are United with Him who was raised from the Dead - Christ.

Through our marriage to Mr. law we gave birth to sinful deeds, that was all we could do, sin! and sin led to guilt, condemnation and death. But now, we are married to Christ, the Holy Spirit helps us to bear fruit to God - give birth to good deeds. We must dedicate ourselves to our new husband - Christ and seek to please him; unlike Mr. law, He provides us with the help we need to make this possible through the power of His Spirit.

Let’s talks about the purpose of this new life- new marriage; once we belong to Christ, we have a new purpose in life. We are no longer just living for ourselves, but we live to bear fruit for God. We want to do things that please Him and live in a way that reflects His love and goodness. So, in summary, when we become Christians, we are no longer under the law but under grace. Christ sets us free and gives us a new purpose to live for.

As children, teenagers, this can be a powerful reminder to live our lives in a way that honors God, brings glory to Him, and bears fruit to God. What are the fruits we can bear for God as a result of this new union with Christ? Is it marriage, children, houses, cars, promotion, power over witches (witches falling and dying), big ministry like becoming an evangelist, building a big church, becoming a missionary, singing in church chore, etc

What are the fruits we can bear because of our new union with Christ, our new husband - Christ? The Answer is found in Galatians 5:23-23. Let’s List them - Love , Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. We will have time to study these fruits when we get to Galatians 5.

Let us pray.