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.

No sections of the material address the topic of being dead to the law. The material instead explains that to be under the law means to be under its condemnation for sin. It states that Jesus Christ was never under this condemnation except at His crucifixion. It adds that a repentant Christian who receives forgiveness through the blood of Christ stands perfect and sinless before God.

Paul states in Galatians 2:19 that through the law he is dead to the law in order to live unto God. The law reveals a person as a sinner under its curse and claims its due, prompting repentance. Once the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is applied through faith, the individual is justified by the Father and made alive to God. This process does not eliminate the law but shows that the law itself cannot justify, grant life, or impart power to obey. It can only condemn, guide conduct, and describe the character of God. This declaration forms part of Paul's response to the claim that justification by Christ permits continued sin. He insists that Christ is not the minister of sin and that returning to the former way of life after forgiveness makes the person a transgressor. The same principle appears in Romans, where those dead to sin through baptism must not allow sin to reign, because they are under grace rather than under the law's condemnation. The law therefore retains its role in exposing sin and directing the believer toward righteousness, yet it must be joined with faith in Jesus Christ for justification to occur. When faith is genuine, it produces works that demonstrate both the object of that faith and the presence of God's love shed abroad by the Holy Spirit. These works, including obedience to the commandments, express love toward God and neighbor and form the character required for the image of God. Righteousness imputed at justification must become real and lived, accomplished through voluntary yielding to the Spirit that empowers obedience. Thus the believer is dead to the law's power to condemn while remaining fully obligated to keep the law as the expression of faith and the means by which God's righteousness is formed within.