The Epistle to the Romans
By Charles R Erdman
Chapter 3
|
B. THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVERS. Chs. 6 to 8 1. Dead to Sin and Alive Unto God. Ch. 6: 1-14
The doctrine of justification by faith always has been exposed to misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and abuse. Therefore, when Paul has completed his exposition of the doctrine, it is natural that he should state and answer three most familiar objections offered by its opponents. The first is that such a method of declaring men just, encourages sin, ch. 6: 1-14; the second, that it allows sin, chs. 6:15 to 7: 6; and the third, that it makes law a sinful or an evil thing, ch. 7: 7-45. The common fallacy in all these objections, and in most criticisms of the doctrine of justification by faith, consists in the failure to understand what is meant by faith. If faith denotes mere assent to dogmas or the repetition of a creed, then to accept one as righteous, in view of his faith, would be absurd and unjust; but faith describes a personal relation to Christ. For a believer, it means trust in Christ, obedience to Christ, love for Christ: and such trust and obedience and love inevitably result in purity and holiness and a life of unselfish service. Justification by faith cannot encourage sin, nor allow sin, nor discredit the law of God. It must result rather in righteousness and true obedience. Justification, therefore, issues in sanctification. The two may be separated in thought, but they are united in experience? For one who is justified by faith, there begins at the same time a new life of holiness. Of this new life Paul treats in this and the two following chapters, chs. 6 to 8. First of all, then, Paul notices the objection that justification by faith encourages sin: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" ch. 6: 1. Paul has been saying that the giving of the law resulted in definite transgressions and in the increase of guilt, but that these were met by God's gracious justification, so that "where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly." Shall we say, then, that such justifying grace encourages sin? If God forgives freely, and by such forgiveness magnifies his grace, shall we not sin more continually that thus his grace may abound? Paul at once repudiates the suggestion: "God forbid." Then he shows that such an intimation is contrary to experience and to reason: "We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?" We Christians by our confession and by our faith are identified with Christ. This vital union with him is such that we experience in the moral sphere all that he experienced in the physical, when he died and was buried and rose again. If we are united with him who died for our sins, we are understood to have "died to sin." We are supposed to be blind to its enticements, to be deaf to its commands, to be insensible to its power. Paul makes the truth more plain by a reference to Christian baptism: "Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? we were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life." These figures of speech are commonly taken as referring to immersion. This mode of baptism quite possibly may have been in the apostle's mind. However, such a reference should not prove that immersion is the only valid mode of baptism. The New Testament and the practice of the Early Church both indicate that baptism was administered by pouring (affusion) or by sprinkling, as well as by immersion. Nor is the mode of baptism the important feature in this reference. Paul here emphasizes not the rite or ceremony but the profession and the faith which accompany baptism, which alone give to it significance and meaning. According to this profession and in virtue of this faith, we Christians who have submitted to this rite have ended the old life of sin. As far as sin is concerned we are dead and buried, and "as Christ was raised from the dead" through the glorious power of God, so by the power of the risen Christ we should experience and should show a life of new virtue and holiness. "For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Paul further enlarges upon the idea of death to sin by reminding us that as Christians "our old man was crucified" with Christ. That is to say, our old dispositions and appetites and evil desires have been put to death. These are pictured as a "body of sin" which was put to death on the cross with Christ. Sin is described as the slave master who was in control of our former life; but since we died to sin, we are now declared to be liberated from this bondage. The Christian life, however, is not merely negative. It does not consist simply in freedom from sin. It is a new and risen life, lived by the power of the risen Christ. Therefore, Paul declares, "If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." As he died once for all and now lives unto God, we, too, are regarded as having died to sin once for all that henceforth and forever we may live in obedience to God. This is what the apostle means by his exhortation, "Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus." So we are to regard ourselves. We are not to imagine, however, for a moment that in reality such a death has taken place. Our evil passions and dispositions are still active and powerful. We must, however, disown their rule. We must trust in Christ for strength. The life of a Christian need not be one merely of ceaseless conflict; it should be a life of ever more continuous victory. This is the truth which Paul has in mind as he gives his closing exhortation. He urges us to make more real in our experience the ideal state which he has been describing. He urges us to disown the reign of sin, to refuse to obey its evil desires, not to offer our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness but, as belonging to those who have risen from the dead, to present our "members as instruments of righteousness unto God." The reason which he assigns for such an exhortation is that as believers in Christ, joined to him in a vital union, sin shall not have dominion over us, for, the apostle declares, "we are not under law, but under grace." Law, as Paul will proceed to show, has in itself no power to deliver. It rather becomes an incentive to sin, and it increases guilt. Grace, however, is sufficient for all our needs, and that method of justification which is by faith and issues from grace results in an experience which can be truly designated as dead to sin and alive unto God. 2. Free from Sin and Servants of Righteousness. Ch. 6 : 15-23
Every soul must know something of the degrading, mysterious slavery of sin. It is felt to be at once a fault and a misfortune. One voluntarily yields to the voice of evil, and at the same time finds himself unable to refuse. Deliverance comes through faith in Christ whose service is true freedom. Such is the message of Paul as he here describes true Christians as free from sin and servants of righteousness. He is answering a second supposed objection to the doctrine of justification by faith, namely, that it allows sin. The first objection was that if justification is due to the grace of God and not to the merit of man, it really encourages sin, for the greater the sin, the greater would be the manifestation of divine grace, ch. 6:1. This second objection, however, is somewhat different. It proposes the difficulty that if one is justified who has not kept the law, then one must be free to break the law. "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace?" ch. 6:15. Paul at once indignantly rejects the suggestion. "God forbid," he exclaims, and he proceeds to show that faith in Christ does not make one free to sin, but free from sin: "Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?' To yield obedience and service to any person is to become a slave of that person, and as no one really can serve two masters, either he is a slave of sin, a slavery resulting in death, or he is a servant of Christ, a service which results in righteousness. Paul thanks God, however, that his readers who once were servants of sin have yielded themselves to Christ and are giving hearty obedience to that standard of life and conduct in which they were instructed as Christian converts, so that "being made free from sin" they have become "servants of righteousness," vs. 17, 18. Paul explains that in thus speaking of slavery he is using a figure of speech taken from familiar human relations, and that he employs so unpleasant a metaphor because he wishes to make plain to the defective spiritual apprehension of his readers their true relation to sin and to righteousness, and to exhort them to make real in their experience all that they profess as followers of Christ and all that is possible for them through the grace of God. If indeed they have been justified, if their faith is real, if they truly belong to Christ, there must be no divided allegiance. As they formerly devoted themselves to the service of moral defilement and increasing lawlessness, so now they must devote the members of their bodies to the service of righteousness, so to become more and more truly consecrated to God. Paul is the more earnest in his exhortation in view of their previous service of sin and its pitiful results in contrast with the possibilities of their present service of Christ. When servants of sin they had been "free in regard of righteousness," not that righteousness had no claims upon them, but that they had been heedless of its demands. The results had been such as are remembered only with deepest shame, and such as could result only in death. By way of contrast, however, Paul encourages his readers by the assurance that "now being made free from gin and become servants to God," they can put forth activities which will result in a progressive state of increasing holiness which will have its ultimate issue in eternal life. Vs. 21, 22. Paul enforces his exhortation and his encouragement by the solemn statement and blessed assurance: "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." "Sin is still represented here as a cruel slave master who repays those under his power only with death. Such wages are earned; death is deserved by the servants of sin. It required no inspired apostle to make this statement. It is attested by every human conscience and by the universal experience of men. Sooner or later in the heart of every sinner there reλchoes the sad refrain, "The wages of sin is death." However, "the free gift of God is eternal "life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This phrase which closes the chapter comes like a revelation from above. "Eternal life" is offered to all. It is not described by the term " wages." It cannot be earned. It can be received only as "the free gift of God." It is for all those who put their trust in Christ, who are united with him by faith, who in reality are "in Christ Jesus our Lord." 3. Free from Law and United with Christ. Ch. 7: 1-6
Paul is still defending the doctrine of justification by faith against the supposed objection that it allows sin. The supposition is that if a man can be declared just without the works of the law, then he is free to break the law. "Paul declares, on the contrary, that justification by faith issues in a life of holiness, and that justification and sanctification are inseparable. He shows that by faith in Christ one is severed from his sin-stained past and is turned with radiant hope toward a new and holy life. He has in the preceding chapter drawn an illustration from the institution of slavery, and has shown that one who is united to Christ has been delivered from the bondage of sin and has been made a servant of righteousness. In this paragraph he is using the illustration of marriage, and is showing that by faith in Christ one is dead to the former influences of the law and is so united with the living Christ as to produce conduct pleasing unto God. Thus he shows that the life of faith is a life of freedom both from sin and the law, yet it is a life of purity and holiness and spiritual power. In here dealing with the matter of law, Paul addresses particularly the Jewish converts or others who like them were familiar with the revealed law of God. He lays down the familiar principle that "the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth." Law is limited, however, by life. Its dominion is ended by death. Only while one lives is one bound by the law. Under this general principle Paul gives a specific example. It is that of a woman who is bound by the law during the lifetime of her husband, "but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband." That is to say, she dies to that law, she is freed from that law, "so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man." In like manner, Paul insists, those who are " made dead to the law through the body of Christ" are free to be united with the risen Christ in a blessed union which will result in "fruit unto God." This death to the law through the body of Christ refers to the experience of those who trust in the work of the crucified Saviour as the ground of their acceptance with God and have no confidence in their own righteousness or in the good deeds which they have done. Upon them the law has no claims; even as upon obedience to it they base no hopes. They have been crucified with Christ and so are dead to all the rebukes and the demands of the law. The result is that such believers can be joined in vital union to him who was raised from the grave. The issue of such a union with Christ is contrasted with the results of the former alliance with law. "For when we were in the flesh," writes Paul, "the sinful passions, which were through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." That is, before our acceptance of Christ, while we were in bondage to sin and were under the power of the law, those passions which result in sin and which are aroused and strengthened by the law itself, acted upon the powers of body and of mind to produce results which led only to death. By way of contrast, Paul declares that "now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter." That is to say, our release from the law, our death to it as a way of securing acceptance with God, our freedom from its commands and its condemnation, have enabled us to render God a new service which is spiritual in its essence and not mere attempted obedience to an ancient code. It is service through the power of a living Christ and not a mere human and hopeless endeavor to conform to a written statute. The main message of this paragraph is perfectly clear. It is true, however, that there exist the most widely divergent interpretations of Paul's illustration from marriage. Many writers, in fact, treat the illustration rather as an allegory. They regard the "husband" in the illustration as our corrupt nature and the "wife" as our real and higher self. When, therefore, the old nature, or as Paul uses the phrase, our "old man'" dies, the soul is free to marry another, even Christ. Still other interpreters regard the wife as the Christian Church. In spite of these divergent views, the essential truth is the same. Paul wishes us to understand that if we are to attain holiness and virtue, it can never be through any attempted obedience to external law, but rather by vital union with the living Christ. 4. The Inward Struggle. Ch. 7:7-25
Every man is conscious that conflicting forces of good and evil are contending fiercely for the mastery of his soul. He is ready to confess that in his struggle victory all too seldom rests on the side of the good and that the evil commonly overcomes. Every heart assents to the confession of the ancient poet,
("I see the good, and approve it, and yet pursue the wrong"), and also agrees with the verdict of the pagan sage: "He that sins does not do what he would, but what he would not that he does." This conflict between the lower and the higher self forms the fabric of all drama and all fiction, and of all the tragedy and the misery of human life. No one ever felt this struggle more keenly or painted it so strikingly as the Apostle Paul. However, his discussion extends to a realm far higher than that of other writers. He does not depict the struggle merely between the human conscience and the will, in which all men are engaged. He describes rather the battle against evil fought by a soul which has been enlightened by the law of God and renewed by the Spirit of God, a battle in which hopeless defeat is turned into victory by the triumphant power of Christ. The occasion of this matchless passage from the pen of the apostle is his defense of the doctrine of justification by faith. Three possible objections are proposed: First, that it encourages sin, ch. 6:1; secondly, that it allows sin, ch. 6:15. Paul replies that, on the contrary, true faith in Christ delivers the believer from bondage to both sin and the law. This leads to a third supposed objection: If one declares that in order to lead a holy life it is necessary to be delivered from the law, this is to make the law an evil and an unholy thing. "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? ch. 7:7. "God forbid," cries the apostle; and then he proceeds to show that the law is good in its own sphere and for its proper purpose. It was designed to reveal sin, not to relieve from sin. It can give relief neither to the soul suffering under the conviction of sin, vs. 7-13, nor to the soul struggling against the power of sin, vs. 14-25. In each of these two instances Paul phrases his reply in the form of a personal experience. Nothing could be more vivid; yet, while so peculiarly individual, nothing could be more universal in its application. Paul reverts in memory to a time, when, as a proud young Pharisee, he was at ease, confident that he was keeping the law of God because he was so carefully observing its outward forms. ' However, there came a day when there dawned on his mind the full spiritual meaning of the law, specifically of the commandment, "Thou shalt not covet." The result was twofold. First, it revealed to Paul how much of evil desire really lay lurking in his heart. This he never before had realized. There was, however, an even more terrible result. The very command, "Thou shalt not," made him the more eager to do the thing forbidden. Before the commandment came, sin was "dead"; it was comparatively dormant, inert, and inoperative; but when the commandment came, it gave an impulse to sin. "Sin revived, and I died," that is, died to my complacent self-satisfaction. I died to true holiness and happiness and hope; fell deeper and deeper into guilt; I faced only misery and doom and eternal death. Paul states here a distressing law of human perversity, namely, that a knowledge of "right, and a command to obey, instead of producing virtue, are strong incentives to vice. As an old Roman writer declared: "We always endeavor to obtain that which is forbidden, and desire that which is denied," or, as another confessed: "The permitted is unpleasing; the forbidden consumes us fiercely." Does this prove the moral law to be an evil thing? By no means. The law is "life"; obedience to it would issue in purity and happiness and peace. The law is "holy" and "righteous" and "good." It is no fault or defect of the law that it is the occasion of conviction and of condemnation. The whole fault lies in man, and in the principle of sin, which really works the disaster. So, Paul declares, in his case, sin was allowed to work out its deadly result in order that sin might be made to appear in all its horrid and hideous character. No, the law cannot relieve of sin, but by it sin is revealed, vs. 7-13. Nor can the law deliver one who is struggling against sin not even one who has accepted Christ as a Saviour, unless one, looking away from the law and ceasing to trust in his own ability to keep the law, will cast himself wholly upon the saving power of Christ. "The trouble again is not with the law: "For we know that the law is spiritual," is pure and holy, the very gift of God. The trouble lies with poor, weak human nature. "But I am carnal," writes the apostle, under the power of bodily appetites and lusts, "sold under sin," like a captive in war sold into the service of a cruel tyrant who denies to his victim all freedom and all power of self-control. This Paul makes clear by describing the conflict he has known in fighting against the evil tendencies and appetites which continue to strive for mastery over the soul even of a Christian. This description is measurably true of every human being who is conscious of the struggle between the higher and the lower self; but Paul is here describing himself as a servant of Christ, as one who delights in the law of God, as one who really wishes to do good. Even he finds in himself "a law," a compelling power, bringing him as a captive under the dominance of sin. In himself, in his nature aside from the influence of God, there is "no good thing"; at least, he is so powerless that, do what he will and love virtue as he may, still he finds his experience to be such as he describes in the classic phrase: "The good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.? No amount of knowledge, no effort of the will, are sufficient to give victory over sin. "Wretched man that I am!" cries the apostle; "who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?" Who can set him free from those evil appetites and desires which use as their instrument this human body with its weaknesses and its lust, and bring one now and ever under the power of death? Like a shout of triumph comes the reply: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.'" The thanksgiving is offered through Christ, but it is because through him, and him alone, victory is assured. ; Then Paul summarizes the solemn message of this section, vs. 14-25, by declaring that as long as a Christian trusts only in his own unaided powers and seeks thus to keep the law of God, no matter how truly he may love that law, he is certain to be defeated in his struggle for virtue, and to be sold as a captive to sin. "So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Victory is possible only through faith in Christ. He alone can make us conquerors, , and to him be all the praise. 5. Life in the Spirit. Ch. 8: 1-17 a. The Possibility of Holiness. Ch. 8: 1-11
If the Epistle to the Romans rightly has been called "the cathedral of the Christian faith," then surely the eighth chapter may be regarded as its most sacred shrine, or its high altar of worship, of praise, and of prayer. Its splendors are all the more striking because, as readers, we have just emerged from the darkness and the terror of the seventh chapter, with its experiences of moral failure and defeat. However, as we were leaving that dark chamber, there fell on us a dazzling ray of heavenly light promising deliverance through Christ; here, we stand in the full liberty of the children of God, and enjoy a prospect of that glory of God which some day we are to share. Thus this chapter centers our attention upon two great realities, both secured by the Spirit of God: first, the power for holy living, vs. 1-17, and second, the hope of eternal glory, vs. 18-39; and these two are very closely related, for the power of the Spirit, which enables believers to be holy, is an earnest of their heavenly inheritance. The presence of this power, therefore, makes holiness possible, vs. 1-11, and for this very reason, makes it more plainly an obligation and a duty, vs. 12-17. The first sentence of the chapter turns the thought back over the truths already traversed and indicates that here the structure of the epistle is reaching its climax and its crown: " There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." This freedom from "condemnation," this justification, is "by faith," as has been shown by all the chapters which precede; or, to use the expression here employed, it is "to them that are in Christ Jesus." To be "in Christ Jesus" is to enjoy that vital union with him which, on the part of the believer, means trust, obedience, submission, love. The result first mentioned is the "justification" of which Paul has been writing; but other results are to be mentioned, such as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and all the consequent train of blessings. This freedom from condemnation refers to (1) past sins, (2) the possession of a sinful nature, (3) the possibility of overcoming sin. (1) There is little possibility of holiness until one has the joyful assurance that his sins have been forgiven and that he has peace with God, ch. 5:1. Pilgrim makes little progress until he reaches the cross and feels the burden of his sins roll away. (2) Many Christians, however, need to be assured that guilt no longer rests upon them because of the sinful nature of which they are so painfully conscious. Christ Jesus has atoned for our sin as well as for our sins, and if we are in him, then, though we know the evil of our own hearts, we can rejoice in our present acceptance with God. (3) Nor need the sinful nature of a believer be allowed to express itself in sinful acts, which would bring one under condemnation. Holiness is possible. Each one can truthfully apply to himself the words of Paul: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." By the word "law," Paul here means not the law of Moses but the power, the operation, the influence of the Holy Spirit, who delivers the believer from the power or dominion of the tyrant, "Sin," and from his dread awards, or "wages,' namely, "death." By way of contrast, the Spirit here is called "the Spirit of life," for he is the Author of love and joy and peace and holiness and eternal life. Not by struggling in our own strength can we live holy lives, but by the power of the Spirit, as we appropriate. to ourselves all that has been secured for us by Christ? He has made provision whereby we are enabled to keep the law of God, and in him holiness is possible: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." The reason why the law could not "condemn sin" and make it powerless, was because poor human nature was powerless to resist' temptation and was ever inclined to evil. The law could reveal sin and condemn sin, but it was unable to solve the problem of sin. It was "weak" because it was dealing with frail and sinful men. "It was weak through the flesh." God, however, brought deliverance, by "sending his own Son," who assumed human nature with all its characteristics, excepting its sinfulness. Thus he came "in the likeness of sinful flesh." He came "for sin," that is, to expiate sin, and quite as truly to expel sin. "In the flesh," that is, by taking upon himself human nature, yet denying to sin any power over him, and finally, by his death, he "condemned sin," revealed its true nature, deposed it from its dominion, and delivered from its thralldom all who put their trust in him, so that, in his death, believers have at once the ground of pardon and the pledge of purity. The great purpose of his mission, therefore, was that "the ordinance of the law," the just requirement of the Mosaic moral code, "might be fulfilled in us." This is possibly the strongest, fullest, clearest statement in reference to the doctrine of justification by faith that the apostle has made. Contrary to all the supposed objections, this method of justification, neither encouraging sin nor allowing sin, nor making the law a sinful thing, was the only possible method by which sinful men could overcome sin and obey the law. The very purpose of justification is sanctification. The very end in view, according to God's way of saving men, is the complete fulfillment of all that the law of God demands. This fulfillment of the law can be made, however, only by those "who walk not! after the flesh, but after the Spirit," that is, who live not according to the corrupt passions and evil inclinations of human nature but according to the guidance and the regulating power of the Holy Spirit. The necessity for walking according to the Spirit is evident from the contrast between these two modes of life. Persons who yield to the appeal and are under the influence of sinful desires, think of, and care for, and seek to obtain only those things which belong to the flesh; while those who "walk after the Spirit" have their practical interests in the sphere of the things that are spiritual. The results are quite as different. Of the one it is "death," both of the soul and the body; of the other, it is "life," and a sense of harmony and peace with God. In fact, it is particularly in their relation to God that these two modes of life are most contrasted. Those that are "in the flesh" are hostile to God, disobedient to God, and incapable of obeying God. On the contrary, Christians are under the influence not of the "flesh" but of the Spirit, because the Spirit of God dwells in them. This is true of every Christian. All may not yield themselves in equal measure to the influence of the Spirit; some may more frequently grieve him and disobey him; but he never leaves the Christian. To speak of a Christian who has not the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is a contradiction in terms: "But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," v. 9. Therefore the presence of the Holy Spirit is attended with blessed results, for while the body of a believer is still subject to the law of death and certain in time to die, yet "his spirit is instinct with a new and heavenly life because "of the very fact of the righteousness which has been received by faith. Not only so, but the presence of the Holy Spirit is an earnest and pledge of the resurrection of the body; for if the Spirit of God "that raised up Christ Jesus "from the dead" dwells in the believer, then surely God will raise from the dead the body of the believer. Of this certain resurrection the Spirit may be regarded as the Agent ("through his Spirit"), or more probably the Pledge ("because of his Spirit,' v. 11, margin); for a body " which has been sanctified as a temple of the Holy Spirit will not be left permanently under the power of death, " but will be raised in immortal glory. Such a glorious destiny of spirit and of body awaits all those who are "in Christ Jesus." b. The Duty of Holiness. Ch. 8: 12-17
Two opposite tendencies are manifested by Christians in the matter of holy living. Some grow indifferent and fall back under the slavery of sin; others strive to do right only because they are afraid to do wrong, and they stand in constant dread of God whom they serve in the attitude of slaves. Against both of these tendencies Paul warns his readers, as he reminds them that holiness is a duty, and that it can be attained only by allowing the Holy Spirit to rule the life, as one lives in trustful fellowship with God as his loving Father and looks forward to a heavenly inheritance in glory. Paul has been setting forth the high privilege of Christians for whom holiness has been made possible by the incarnation and the saving work of the Son of God, and by the indwelling power of the Spirit of God. However, high privilege always involves grave responsibility. If holiness has been made possible for Christians at so great cost, and if they have been called also to a heavenly destiny, then surely, for every Christian, holiness is a duty, an obligation, a debt. "So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." To the old life of sin, to its evil passions and appetites and indulgences, we owe no debt of obedience. Our real debt is to the Spirit who empowers us for holy living, to whom therefore we owe submission and service. If we live according to the "flesh" we shall not fulfill the glorious destiny Paul described when assuring believers of that future glory in which even their bodies are to share. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live." These "deeds of the body," these sins to which we are tempted by our bodily appetites, must be done to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. Every day has its battles for a follower of Christ, every hour its struggle; but by trustful surrender to the Holy Spirit, constant victory can be enjoyed. Then in the truest sense "shall live." This is so because all who "are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God"; they enjoy life in its fullness, they are objects of his special favor. This relation to God as his "sons" implies a trustful intimacy. As Christians, we have "received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear," not such a spirit as might rule a slave, a spirit of dread and terror, such a spirit as possibly we felt before when we were living under law or possibly under the mastery of sin. On the contrary, we have "received the spirit of adoption," a spirit which inspires and befits those who have been adopted as sons. In such a spirit of filial trust and confidence and love, we draw near to God in prayer, and cry, "Abba, Father." The Aramaic word for father, "Abba," was on the lips of our Lord in the hour of his agony, and became familiar to all believers, so that the added word, "Father," is here less like a translation or an explanation than a repetition, the repetition of a child crying, "Father, father, O father!" To such a consciousness of nearness, of acceptance, and of affection, the Spirit himself adds his own witness, assuring us, even as our own spirit assures us, that we, who are all that is implied by the word "sons" are also "children of God." "Sons' is the term more commonly employed by Paul. It denotes a legal relationship, one of privilege and of right. "Children" is the term more usual in the writings of John, and denotes kinship, nature, birth, origin. Strictly speaking, one becomes a "son" by adoption, a "child" by a "new birth." We have received a spirit of trust and fellowship, befitting those who have been brought into the family of God by his gracious adoption; yet it is also the spirit of those who realize their vital relation to God as his own children, born of his Spirit. Here, however, the relations of law and of kinship are closely united; for Paul at once argues that "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." According to Roman law, though not Jewish, all children, including adopted children, received equal shares of an inheritance. Thus, as his "sons," we are to share the heavenly glory of God; as his "children," we are to partake, more and more fully of his divine nature. To such an inheritance, however, a condition is here attached: "If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him." V. 17. These sufferings are probably not merely the trials and distresses incident to all human life, but rather the hardships and sacrifices and persecutions we suffer for the sake of Christ, and specifically in his service. Those who thus suffer, or who endure all distresses patiently as his servants, will surely share his heavenly glory, a glory he had with the Father " before the world was." Holiness, then, is a duty. It is not merely a privilege of the few, but because the privilege of all, it is an obligation for all; and this obligation is emphasized by the facts here set forth, namely, that as the sons of God, believers are guided by his Spirit, they enjoy fellowship with him as their Father, they are joint heirs with his Son. Surely such considerations as these cannot fail to make them eager to fulfill more perfectly their obligation to lead holy lives. 6. Patience in Suffering. Ch. 8 : 18-30 a. The Hope of Glory. Ch. 8: 18-25
Paul is always a prophet, in the sense that he speaks for God to men; occasionally, however, he prophesies in the more popular sense of predicting future events. This he does with no such mention of details as to cast doubt upon the fulfillment, but rather with such dignity and reserve as to argue divine guidance and authority. Evidently his purpose never is to gratify idle curiosity, or to indulge in fruitless dreams. His intention is always practical. He seeks either to inspire purity of life or patience in suffering, or to justify the dealings of God with men. Twice in this chapter he has mentioned the future glory of believers, but only in references which were logically related to his argument. First, in speaking of the sanctifying power of the indwelling Spirit, he concludes that his presence in believers is a pledge of the resurrection of their bodies, v. 11; and second, in describing the sonship of believers, he argues that this assures their share in the heavenly glory of Christ, v. 17. In this second instance, however, he adds a condition: those who are to share the glory of Christ must first share his sufferings; and all that Paul adds as to future glory is designed to make Christians patient in present sufferings. The first reason he assigned for such patience is the surpassing greatness of the glory: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward," V. 18. Paul has just stated that the path to glory lies through pain. But what of that, he is now saying, "For the pain is not worth a thought in view of the radiant splendor which some day will break through the dark clouds to surround and transfigure us." "I reckon" denotes not doubt but a confident assurance. "The sufferings of this present time" include all the persecutions and trials and distresses and afflictions which are endured for the sake of Christ. "The glory" is that which is to transform the bodies and the souls of believers at the coming, the future appearing, of Christ. That glory is certain to appear. "The revealing of the sons of God," their future manifestation in heavenly splendor, is absolutely assured. One proof is seen in the expectant attitude of all nature, turned eagerly toward that predicted event in the glory of which nature itself is to have a share. "For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God." V. 19. With arresting boldness of poetic imagery, Paul personifies all animate and inanimate creation. Centuries ago all nature was condemned to disappointment, to a sense of futility and emptiness, was made a slave to decay and corruption, "was subjected to vanity." This was contrary to "its own will'; it was due to no fault of its own; God fixed this doom upon it. But at the same time he inspired the hope, that, as nature had been made to share in the bondage of corruption because of the fall and sin of man, so, too, it yet would partake of the freedom from evil and decay which constitute the future "glory of the children of God." Vs. 20, 21. The very groans and travail pains of universal nature are prophetic not of death but of new life; they are the birth throes of a better order of things. V. 22. Paul thus teaches not the destruction but the renewal of nature. He indicates that its present is neither its original nor its final state, but the present contains the prophecy of a more glorious future. The experience of Christians points in the same direction. These sighs of irrational creation are shared by the sons of God, whose very groans are prophetic of the glory which yet is to be theirs. For we are sighing for that full harvest of blessedness of which the Spirit is the first fruit and earnest. Just because we have this pledge, we yearn only more intensely for the complete realization of our "adoption, which will consist in the redemption of our body." For when our bodies are delivered from death by resurrection, or by instant transformation at the appearing of Christ, then our glory will be complete, v. 23. Such an expectation of completed "adoption" on the part of Christians is in perfect keeping with the conditions under which they accepted salvation. They accepted it not in complete possession but also in prospect; not as a fully accomplished reality, but, so far as the body and external conditions were concerned, as a hope: "For in hope were we saved." Our salvation, thus, from the first, was qualified with a hope of blessings yet to be ours. Had the object we longed for already been realized, hope would have ceased to exist. " Hope that is seen is not hope." As our perfect blessedness is future, we cannot expect to enjoy it now. However, in view of this future "revealing of the sons of God," we wait in earnest expectation, and learn what it is to be patient in suffering. b. The Divine Help and Purpose. Ch. 8:26-30
Against a dark background of present suffering, Paul has been depicting the future glory of believers; he has been encouraging them to be patient in their suffering because of the surpassing greatness of the coming glory. Here he adds two further reasons for patience, namely, the help being given by the Spirit of God and the knowledge of the loving purpose of God. "And in like manner," that we, in spite of our sighs and sufferings, may "with patience wait' for the promised glory, "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity "our natural weakness which might make us faint and despair under the trial and delay. There is one particular form of help which Christians all need, and which Paul proceeds to specify, namely, help in prayer: "For we know not how to pray as we ought" we are ignorant of the right content and form of prayer. This is one of the most common and conscious of our limitations; "but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." This intercession of the Spirit is not apart from, but in and through our consciousness. As Augustine said, "Not in himself, and with himself, but in us he groans, for he makes us groan." He inspires in our hearts yearnings and aspirations and desires which are too deep for words. V. 26. ) However, these prayers, so imperfectly expressed, are certain to be heard and answered, for "he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." "He that searcheth the hearts" is a phrase that well might fill us with fear, but here it is designed to give comfort and hope. In spite of all our failure and weakness and discouragement, God looks down deep into our hearts and he sees there the secret and unexpressed desires for holiness and happiness and glory which his own Spirit has inspired, and he interprets these sighs, breathed into our hearts by his Spirit, as prayers offered for his own people, and in accordance with his own will. Surely in no experience of life can we rely upon divine aid more confidently than when in the exercise of prayer; and when we feel even too weak to pray, we can rest confident that a divine Intercessor, a Helper, a Comforter, is voicing the longings we lack strength to express. A third reason, vs. 18, 26, for patiently enduring suffering with Christ, for his sake, and in his cause, is found in the conviction, held in common by all Christians, "that to them that love God all things work together for good," v. 28. Few statements of Scripture are more familiar than this, or more full of comfort. Some ancient manuscripts introduce the word "God" a second time in this' brief phrase: "And we know that God coφperates for good in all things with those that love him.'" In both cases the not by inherent force, not by fate or chance, but by divine control. Thus not only does the divine Spirit help us in our weakness, but divine Providence works with us "for good in all things." This comforting conviction is strengthened by experience and observation, but it is founded upon faith in the constant care of a loving Father. The "all things" refers first to sufferings, and the "good" to future "glory"; but we need not restrict the meaning. No experience incident to human life should be regarded as beyond the permission and power of God, or incapable of being used by him to promote our truest "good." There is one restriction, however. This "good" is "to them," or this coφperation for good is with them only "that love God." All things worth mentioning are against those who do not love him, all his holiness and his justice and his power and his changeless law and his eternal judgment; but those who seek to do his will, those who accept his salvation, those who rest in his grace, can be sure of his loving care in the darkness as well as in the light, and can know that through all the mysteries of life he is perfecting a plan of eternal glory. To strengthen our faith further, Paul describes those who, from the human point of view, "love God," as those who, from the divine side, "are called according to his purpose"; and then he states five successive steps by which this divine "purpose" is being carried into effect. (1) It includes an act of divine intelligence reaching back into eternity; even then God "foreknew" us and regarded us with favor. (2) It is expressed also as an act-of the divine will: "Whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son"; so that believers are destined ultimately to bear the moral and spiritual likeness of their Master and Lord. The final purpose of this foreordaining, or predestinating act, is the glory of the Lord, "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren"; for the supreme glory of Christ consists in the salvation of that brotherhood of the redeemed among whom he stands forth as the supreme and the unique "Son of the Father." (3) This gracious purpose, formed in eternity, is carried out in time by a divine call given by his Spirit to those for whom God has such a destiny in store. (4) "And whom he called, them he also justified" "he freely forgave, their sins and declared them to be righteous. (5) "And whom he justified, them he also glorified." That past tense, "glorified," in reference to an experience which at least in its fullness is still future, has been termed "amazing," "the most daring anticipation of faith that even the New Testament contains'; but the future glory of believers is a present reality in the mind and purpose of God. Some foregleams of that glory they already enjoy, and its hope is so assured that through all this chapter it is being emphasized, to encourage patience in suffering on the part of those who are "heirs of God, and ' joint-heirs with Christ." In all this majestic movement whereby these successive stages of the divine purpose are carried into effect, nothing is stated as to the agency or activity or responsibility of believers. Here the thought is of God. That Paul also believed and taught the freedom of the human will, the responsibility of man, and the need of repentance and faith and love, must not be forgotten. Nor does he ever seek to reconcile these two spheres of truth. However, in seeking to encourage us to patience in suffering and to confident expectation of future glory, he wisely fixes the attention wholly upon that which must be ultimate in all our thinking and our thanksgiving, namely, upon the mysterious, loving, eternal purpose of God. 7. The Assurance of Salvation. Ch. 8:31-39
This is probably the most majestic passage which has come to us from the Apostle Paul. It is the climax of his argument. He has shown that believers in Christ are justified by faith, that their justification results in holy living and finally issues in eternal glory. Now follow this triumphant hymn which voices for believers their confident assurance of salvation. For them there can be no loss, vs. 31, 32; upon them can rest no condemnation, vs. 33, 34; to them can come no separation from the love of God in Christ Jesus, vs. 35-39. There is, however, an immediate connection between this "pζan of exultant praise" and the verses which immediately precede. Paul has been tracing the successive steps by which God carries out his eternal purpose toward them that love him. " What then," asks the apostle, "shall we say to these things?" In view of this divine plan of mercy, what conclusion can we draw other than that of comfort and of confidence? There can be no doubt of the power of God; no enemy can withstand his purpose: "If God is for us, who is against us?" Nor can there be any doubt of God's love. As Abraham spared not Isaac, so he "spared not his own Son," his only Son, the One who alone shared his divine being. Is this not absolute proof that he is ready to "freely give us all things" needed for our salvation? As he is able, so he surely is willing to save. There then can be no loss" for the believer. Vs. 31, 32. "Nor can there be any condemnation. Even of believers it is true that "conscience does make cowards of us all," in the sense that we are made fearful and despondent and ashamed as we remember our failures and faults and sins; but if God has declared that we belong to him, and if he has pronounced us just, what accusation need be feared: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Likewise, as no one can reopen the case against us, so, too, no contrary verdict need be feared. Christ is our Defender, our Advocate, our Saviour, our Hope, "who is he that condemneth?" If we have sinned, Christ died for our sins, and his resurrection is a pledge and proof of our acquittal; if we feel our weakness before temptations, we remember that he is in the place of supreme power "at the right hand of God"; and, also, in virtue of his atoning work he ever "maketh intercession for us." As our trust is in him, we allow our souls to be distressed by no terrors from the past. Vs. 33, 34. Nor does the prospect of the future fill us with fear. Nothing it may bring can separate us from the love of Christ. "Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Surely, for Paul and his friends in Rome, these were no empty words. They knew so well, and were yet to know, what it means to suffer for the sake of their Lord that they could well apply to themselves the description, given by the inspired psalmist, of innocent sufferers in his day:
With all these things in view, so certain was Paul of the unfailing love of Christ, that he could exclaim, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." In just what particular we can be " more . than conquerors" Paul leaves us to conjecture; whether in "the overwhelming defeat of our enemies," or in our "surpassing" or "triumphant victory," or in our "unconquerable strength," he does not say; possibly he means that all these trials only give us more thrilling experiences of the love of Christ which was manifested in his death for us, and is revealed towards those who live for him. In any case, Paul confirms this sense of "jubilant triumph" by a statement of his own unalterable conviction that in the whole universe there is nothing which Christian faith need fear. No form or phase of being can break the golden chain that binds the heart of God to his loved ones. Not "death" with its terrors or "life" with its changes; not any condition of existence; not "angels," nor any hierarchy of invisible beings, whether good or evil; nothing within the sweep of time either "present" or "to come," however powerful; nothing in the illimitable spaces above or beneath; nothing in all the vast creation shall be able to sunder us from that divine love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our comfort, our consolation, our blessed assurance of salvation rest, in the last analysis, not upon anything in us, but rather upon the power and steadfastness of almighty love.
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
-
Site Navigation
Home
What's New
Bible
Photos
Hiking
E-Books
Genealogy
Profile
Free Plug-ins You May Need
Get Java.png)
Get Flash
Get 7-Zip
Get Acrobat Reader
Get TheWORD