Union with Christ: its Nature
A Sermon on Romans 7:4
Originally preached May 1, 1959
Scripture
4Wherefore, 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.
Sermon Description
The truth that all Christians are united with Christ changes everything. It is no overstatement to say that the doctrine of Christians’ union with Christ is one the most important truths for anyone to understand. It is this glorious doctrine that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds in this sermon on Romans 7:4 titled “Union With Christ: Its Nature.” Looking at the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he shows that those who believe in the gospel have been delivered from sin and darkness once and for all. While all are born in Adam, all who believe are born supernaturally into Christ Jesus. It means that the law of sin and death no longer reigns in the Christian, and that they are now part of God’s family and now forgiven from all sin. They are safe in salvation as Christ is loving and powerful. This doctrine is the ultimate hope against all depression, sorrow, and loneliness because it teaches that Christians have a great friend in Jesus. Listeners are encouraged to ask: “do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that He has died for sinners? Do you have assurance that God loves?” There is great hope to all who have truly forsaken themselves and put their trust in Jesus.
Sermon Breakdown
- Christians are united to Christ. This union with Christ is the basis for everything else.
- Christians have died with Christ. When Christ died, Christians died with him. This means Christians have died to sin, death, and the law.
- Christians are married to Christ. Because Christians have died to the law, they are free to be married to Christ. This new marriage has replaced the old marriage to the law.
- The marriage to Christ is real, complete, and permanent. It will last for eternity.
- Christians should not feel the same as when under the law. They should not feel afraid, condemned, or unhappy. They have no reason to fear death or judgment.
- Christians are subject to Christ, just as a wife is subject to her husband. Their lives are controlled by Christ, not the law.
Sermon Q&A
What is the Significance of Being Dead to the Law? A Look at Romans 7:4
What does it mean to be "dead to the law" according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, being "dead to the law" means that as Christians, we have been completely released from our former relationship to the law through our union with Christ. He explains that the proper translation is not that we "become dead" but that we "were made dead" to the law - a decisive, once-and-for-all action that happened when we died with Christ. This means we are entirely outside the jurisdiction of the law - it can no longer condemn us, it is no longer the ruling power in our lives, and we are no longer "married" to it.
How does Lloyd-Jones explain the Christian's union with Christ?
Lloyd-Jones explains that Christians are united to Christ in a profound, real, and complete union. He references Ephesians 5 where Paul calls it a "great mystery" that we are "members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones." This union means: 1. We died with Christ when He died 2. We rose with Him in His resurrection 3. We are now "married" to Christ in an indissoluble relationship 4. We are "one flesh" with Him in the most intimate relationship possible 5. We are to be entirely subject to Him, as a wife to her husband
Why does Lloyd-Jones emphasize that salvation doesn't break the law?
Lloyd-Jones strongly emphasizes that God never breaks His own law and "salvation in Christ doesn't break the law." He explains that the way we are freed from the law is completely legal - through death. Just as a woman is legally free to marry another when her husband dies, we are legally free from the law through our death with Christ. Lloyd-Jones states, "The death of Christ is a legal transaction. He is receiving the just and the full penalty of the law." This shows that Christianity doesn't dismiss or make light of the law; rather, it "establishes the law" by fulfilling its demands through Christ.
What are the negative consequences of our new marriage to Christ?
The negative consequences Lloyd-Jones describes are really about things Christians should no longer do: 1. We must never feel toward the law as we did when we were under it 2. We should never be afraid of the law - that would be disloyal to our new husband 3. We should never feel condemned by the law 4. Christians have no right to be miserable or unhappy 5. Christians should not fear death or judgment
Lloyd-Jones says feeling condemned after becoming a Christian is like "a wife who still feels under the condemnation of that first husband from whom she's been separated by death."
What is the nature of the Christian's permanent union with Christ?
Lloyd-Jones describes this union as permanent and indissoluble because: 1. Christ "being raised from the dead, dieth no more" - our husband cannot die 2. We who are in Christ cannot die either (spiritually) because we are "dead to the law" which is what prescribes death 3. It is a relationship that will "last throughout the countless ages of eternity"
He quotes Romans 8:38-39 to show that nothing can separate us from Christ's love - "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature."
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.