When is a wife released from the law of her husband in the Romans 7 marriage analogy?
In the marriage analogy, a wife is released from the law of her husband when her husband dies. She is bound by that law as long as he lives, but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. This is the specific condition Paul uses in the illustration.
Les explains that Paul is not talking about the Mosaic law here but the civil law of the land, whether in Israel or America. He says a husband and wife are legally married, and that law is part and parcel of the marriage until it is dissolved by divorce or death. The woman is bound by the law to the husband so long as he liveth, but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. Les also illustrated how death ends legal claims, like a bank unable to foreclose after death or a jury going home when the accused dies.
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.
More Questions
How does Paul use the marriage illustration to explain being held to the law?
Paul's illustration of husband and wife in Romans 7 is that, just as a husband and wife are held together by the law of the land and cannot operate or function without that law being part and parcel, so the law binds a person until death.