In Romans 7, the apostle Paul expounds on the concept of being dead to the law, building on the principles introduced in Romans 6. He begins by stating that the law has dominion over a man only as long as he lives, meaning the law has the power to condemn us as sinners and to death only while we are alive. Once we have died, the penalty for sin is paid, and the law no longer has authority to condemn us. Using the analogy of marriage, Paul illustrates that just as a woman is bound by the law to her husband only while he lives, and is free from that bond upon his death, so too are we freed from the law's condemnation through the death of our old man of sin. At baptism, this old man was put to death and buried with Christ, and because He died in our stead, the law regards us as having died, thus releasing us from the penalty of sin. Paul continues to explain that, having become dead to the law through the body of Christ, we are now free to be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. Before conversion, our sinful natures brought us under the death penalty, but now, delivered from the law's power to condemn, we serve in the newness of the Spirit, keeping God's laws in their full spiritual intent and purpose through the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit.