SQLite format 3@  O{tableTopicsTopicsCREATE TABLE 'Topics' (Title NVARCHAR(100), Notes TEXT) Z#!02 Romans 2{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blueyO500 Newell - Romans Verse by Verse{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22 Title: Romans Verse-by-Verse\par Creator(s): Newell, William R. (1868-1956)\par CCEL Subjects: All; Bible\par LC Call no: BS2665.N43\par LC Subjects:\par \par The Bible\par New Testament\par Special parts of the New Testament\par Pauline Epistles\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par ROMANS VERSE-BY-VERSE\par \par WILLIAM R. NEWELL\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } k#C01 Romans 1{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\ |    PO0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22 CHAPTER ONE\par \par Apostolic Introduction. Verses 1-7.\par \par Personal Greetings, and Expressions of Desire to See and to Preach to\par Saints in Rome. Verses 8-15.\par \par Great Theme of the Epistle: The Gospel the Power of God,--Because of\par the By-Faith-Righteousness Revealed Therein. Verses 16-17.\par \par The World's Danger: God's Wrath Revealed Against Human Sin. Verses\par 18-20.\par \par The awful Course of Man's Sin, and Man's Present State, Related and\par Described. Verses 21-32.\par \par 1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated\par unto God's good news, 2 which He before promised through His prophets\par in (the) holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son: who was born of\par David's seed according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God\par with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the\par  dead,--Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and\par apostleship, for obedience of faith among all the nations for His\par name's sake; 6 among whom are ye also,--called as Jesus Christ's: 7 to\par all those who are in Rome beloved of God, called as saints: Grace to\par you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.\par \par Verse 1: PAUL--We see Paul's name standing alone here--no Silas,\par Timothy or other brother with him. For Paul is himself Christ's\par apostle unto the Gentiles, the declarer, as here in Romans, of the\par gospel for this dispensation. Also, in revealing the heavenly\par character, calling, and destiny of the Church as the Body and Bride of\par Christ, and as God's House, as in Ephesians, Paul stands alone. When\par essential doctrines and directions are being laid down, no one is\par associated with the apostle in the authority given to him,\par \par We dare not glory in a man, not even in Paul, whose life and ministry\par are by far the most remarkable of those of any human being. [1] Yet\par our Lord Jesus said: "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth\par Me; and he that receiveth Me receiveth him that sent Me" (John 13:20).\par And Paul was especially sent to us Gentiles. At the first council of\par the Church, recorded in Acts 15, "They who were of repute" (in the\par church in Jerusalem), said Paul, "saw that I had been intrusted with\par the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the\par circumcision" (Gal. 2:7).\par \par Throughout church history, to depart from Paul has been heresy. To\par receive Paul's gospel and hold it fast, is salvation,--"By which\par (gospel) ye are saved, if ye hold fast the very word I preached unto\par you" (I Cor. 15:1, 2 margin),\par \par A bondservant of Jesus Christ--Paul was bondservant before he was\par apostle. Saul of Tarsus' first words, as he lay in the dust in the\par Damascus road, blinded by the glory of Christ's presence, were, "Who\par art thou, Lord?" And when there came the voice, "I am Jesus of\par Nazareth, whom thou persecutest," his next words were, "What shall I\par do, Lord?"--instant, utter surrender! It is deeply instructive to mark\par that although our Lord said, "No longer do I call you bondservants,\par but friends"; yet, successively, Paul, James, Peter, Jude and John (Re\par 1:1), name themselves bondservants (Greek; douloi),--and that with\par great delight! It is the "service of perfect freedom"--deepest of all\par devotions, that of realized redemption and perfected love. [2]\par \par Paul next names himself a called apostle, or "apostle by calling."\par Three times in these first seven verses the word "called" occurs, and\par three times more in the Epistle this great word is written: Chapter\par 8:28, 30 (twice). Compare Paul's three other uses of the word: I Cor.\par 1:2, 9, 24; and Jude's: Jude 1; and the one other occurrence: Re\par 17:14. "Called" means designated and set apart by an action of God to\par some special sphere and manner of being and of consequent activity. In\par the sixth verse of our chapter, the saints are described in the words\par "called as Jesus Christ's." They were given to Him by the Father (John\par 17), and connected with Him before their earth-history: "chosen in Him\par before the foundation of the world"; and in the seventh verse we read\par that they are "called as saints," or "saints by calling," which does\par not at all mean that they were invited to become saints--a Romish\par doctrine! But that they were saints by divine sovereign calling; holy\par ones, having been washed in Christ's blood; and having been created in\par Christ Jesus. It was their mode of being; even as the holy angels did\par not become angels by a process of holiness, but were created into the\par angelic sphere and manne r of being. Such is the meaning of the word\par "called" with Paul. [3]\par \par Separated unto God's good news--This expression is explained further\par in Galatians 1:15: "God separated me from my mother's womb and called\par me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him\par among the nations." In like manner were born Moses, who Stephen says\par was "fair unto God," --that is, manifestly marked out to be used by\par God (Acts 7:20, R. V., margin); and John the Baptist, of whom Gabriel\par said, that he would be "filled with the Holy Spirit even from his\par mother's womb . . . to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for\par Him." Likewise were Jacob, Samson, Samuel, and Jeremiah separated even\par before birth to an appointed calling.\par \par The sovereignty of God is thus seen at the very beginning of this\par great Epistle. And how well Paul carried out his separation to this\par high calling, the gospel, the goo d news about Christ! Yet there are\par those today, even today, who in ignorance and pride affect to despise\par the words of this great apostle,--as Peter [4] warns, "to their own\par destruction" (II Peter 3:16).\par \par Now as to this "good news of God," we see in our passage two great\par facts:\par \par First, that it is God's good news. Mark this well! It was God who\par loved the world; it was God who sent His Son. Note our Lord's\par continual insistence on this in the gospel of John (19 times!). Christ\par said constantly "I am not come of Myself, but My Father sent Me." It\par is absolutely necessary that we keep fast in mind, as we read in\par Romans the awful facts about ourselves, that it is God who is leading\par us up to His own good news for bad sinners!\par \par Second, (verse 2), that the good news was promised through His\par prophets in holy Scriptures--These are the Old Testament Scriptures,\par [5] with promises, types, and direct prophecies of good news to come,\par both to Israel and to the nations, concerning His Son. We shall find\par in Romans 3:21 that there is revealed "a righteousness of God" which\par had been "witnessed by the law and the prophets": witnessed by the\par law, in that it provided sacrifices and a way of forgiveness for those\par who failed in its observance; and witnessed by the prophets directly\par in such passages as these: "By the knowledge of Himself shall my\par righteous Servant [Christ] make many righteous" (Isa. 53:11); and,\par "This is His name whereby He shall be called: Jehovah our\par righteousness" (Jer. 23:6; 33:16); and again, "The righteous shall\par live by faith" (Hab. 2:4).\par \par Verses 3 and 4: Concerning His Son--Specifically (a) that He died for\par our sins according to the Scriptures, (b) that He was buried, (c) that\par He hath been raised the third day according to the Scriptures, (d)\par that He appeared to v arious witnesses. The good news Paul preached is\par therefore scientifically specific, and must be held in our minds in\par its accuracy, as it lay in that of the apostle. (See I Cor. 15:3-8)\par \par These great facts concerning Christ's death, burial, and resurrection\par are the beginning of the gospel; as Paul says: "I delivered unto you\par (these) first of all." [6]\par \par The gospel is all about Christ. Apart from Him, there is no news from\par heaven but that of coming woe! Read that passage in I Corinthians\par 15:3-5: "I make known unto you the gospel which I preached unto you:\par that Christ died, Christ was buried; Christ hath been raised; Christ\par was seen." It is all about the Son of God! This is the record of\par Paul's first preaching, after "the heavenly vision": "Straightway in\par the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God" (Acts\par 9:20).\par \par Who was born of David's seed according to the flesh, wh o was declared\par the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by\par resurrection of the dead--We have here two things: first, Christ as a\par Man "according to the flesh"; and as such fulfilling the promises as\par to "the seed of David"; second, Christ as Son of God, declared so to\par be with power by His resurrection,--and that "according to the Spirit\par of holiness," even that holiness in which He had existed and had\par walked on earth all His life. [7] Christ, the Holy One of God had,\par "through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God,"\par at the cross (Heb. 9:14). God the Father then acted in power and\par glory, and raised Him (Rom. 6:4, Eph. 1:19, 20 Christ was thus\par irresistibly, eternally "declared to be the Son of God"! Always when\par prophesying His death, Christ included His rising again the third day\par as the proof of all. In his last Epistle (II Tim. 2:8) Paul connects\par these same two facts about our Lord: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen\par from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel." [8]\par \par Jesus Christ our Lord--Ten times in Romans Paul uses this title, or,\par "Our Lord Jesus Christ," that full name beloved by the apostles and\par all instructed saints from Pentecost onward: for "God hath made Him\par both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified" (Acts 2:36).\par Jesus, His personal name (Matt. 1:21) as Savior; Christ, God's\par Anointed One to do all things for us; Lord, His high place over us all\par for whom His work was done; and as, truly, Lord of all things in\par heaven and earth (Acts 10:36).\par \par Verse 5: Through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience\par of faith among all the nations for His name's sake--Personal grace\par must come before true service. The grace Paul had received concerned\par both his personal salvation and his service as the great example of\par  divine favor. Paul's own words are the best comment on this: "I am the\par least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle,\par because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am\par what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not found\par vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the\par grace of God which was with me" (I Cor. 15:9, 10); and, "I obtained\par mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all His\par longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe\par on Him unto eternal life" (I Tim. 1:16). Paul's apostleship was marked\par out by the fact that he had "seen Jesus our Lord" (I Cor. 9:1), and by\par the "signs of an apostle," in "authority," (II Cor. 10:8; 13:10), in\par "all patience, by signs and wonders and mighty works" (II Cor. 12:12).\par Though desperately resisted by the Jerusalem Judaizers, he continually\par insisted, to the glory of God, upon "obedience of faith among all the\par nations." To obey God's good news, is simply to believe it. There is\par now a "law of faith" (3:27); and Paul ends this Epistle with this same\par wonderful phrase: "obedience of faith" (16.26). Paul was not\par establishing what is now called "the Christian religion"! Having\par abandoned the only religion God ever gave, that of the Jews, [9] he\par went forth with a simple message concerning Christ, to be believed by\par everybody, anybody, anywhere. And all was "for His name's sake"\par --Christ's. And why not! The Christ of glory had done the work, had\par "emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto\par death, yea, the death of the cross." He was the "propitiation for the\par whole world" (I John 2:2). We are likely to think of the gospel as\par something published for our sake only, whereas in fact God is having\par it published for the sake of His dear Son, Who died. It is sweet to\par enter into this, as did John: "I write unto you, little children,\par because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake" (I Joh 2:12).\par Preachers, teachers, and missionaries everywhere, should regard\par themselves as laboring for Christ's Name's sake, first of all.\par \par Verse 6: Among whom are ye also,--called as Jesus Christ's--The saints\par are connected with Jesus Christ,--"called as of Him"; as we read in\par Chapter 8:39: Nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of\par God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."\par \par Verse 7: To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called as saints\par [10] --Note that while God loved the whole world, it is the saints who\par are called the "beloved of God." They are His household, His dear\par children. Sinners should believe that God loved them and gave His Son\par for them; but saints, that they are the "beloved of God." The unsaved\par are never named God's "beloved." A man, even, may, and should, love\par his neighbors: but his wife and children are "his beloved."\par \par Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus\par Christ--Paul uses practically this same form of address over and\par over;--and he connects grace with peace in his apostolic greeting to\par all the saints to whom he writes,--as does Peter. Grace is always\par pronounced as from "God our Father" as the Source, and "our Lord Jesus\par Christ" as the Channel and Sphere of Divine blessing. Sometimes grace\par for the Church is considered in the benediction as wholly from Christ,\par as in I Corinthians 16:23: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with\par you" (see comment on "Rom. 16:20"). For our Lord Jesus Christ is "Head\par over all things to the Church"; and life and judgment are distinctly\par said to be in His hands: "That all may honor the Son, even as they\par honor the Father" (John 5:21-23). In writing to individuals,--Timothy,\par Titus, and "the elect lady," (II John 1) Paul and John insert the more\par personal word, "mercy"; for we are told that we each need mercy (Heb.\par 4:16). The saints, looked at as a company, have obtained, in general,\par mercy. Like Israel of old, the Church is now God's sphere of blessing.\par But each individual--even Paul himself--has need of peculiar mercy (I\par Cor. 7:25).\par \par Words fail to express the blessedness of being thus under God's grace,\par His eternal favor! Such, such only, have peace. All other "peace" than\par that extended by God and possessed by the saints, will "break up," as\par Rutherford says, "at the last, in a sad war."\par \par And how wonderful to be of those whose Father is God! to whom the\par apostle can say in truth, "God our Father." Only those who have\par received Christ have the right (exousia) to become children\par (tekna--born ones) of God (John 1:12).\par \par Grace and peace are eternally proceeding from God the Father and the\par Lord Jesus Christ,--through and by whom all blessing comes.\par \par 8 First of all, indeed, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ\par concerning you all, because your faith is spoken of throughout the\par whole world! 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the\par good news of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always\par beseeching in my prayers, if by any means at last I may be so\par prospered in the course of the will of God as to come unto you. 11 For\par I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, for\par your establishing: 12 that is, that I with you may be comforted\par mutually, through each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 For I do\par not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brethren, that oftentimes I\par purposed to come to you (and was hindered until the present time), in\par order that I might have some fruit in you also, just as among the\par other Gentiles. 14 To Greeks and to Barbarians both,--both to wise and\par foolish, I am debtor. 15 So to my very uttermost I am eager to preach\par the good news to you also in Rome.\par \par Verse 8: First of all, indeed, I give thanks to God through Jesus\par Christ concerning you all--"The apostle pursues the natural course of\par first placing himself, so to speak, in relation with his readers, and\par his first point of contact with them is gratitude [11] for their\par participation in Christianity," says DeWette. Paul is ever thanking\par God for any grace he found in any saint. He looks at all who are\par Christ's, through Christ's eyes, because your faith is spoken of\par throughout the whole world. Not fathered or founded by any apostle,\par the assemblies that God had Himself gathered from all quarters into\par the world's capital [12] had a faith in Christ which was "spoken of,"\par nay, announced as a wonder, throughout the whole Roman Empire.\par Announced, too, without steamship, without telegraph, without\par newspapers, without radio! God sees to it that a real work of His\par Spirit is published abroad, as it was with the Thessalonians: "From\par you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and\par Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth." So\par with every real revival: the whole world soon knows about it.\par \par Verse 9: Paul made unceasing prayer for these believers. He calls God\par to witness concerning this, as he frequently does when his soul is\par most exercised. See II Cor. 1:23; Philippians 1:8; I Thessalonians\par 2:5, 10. The expression, Whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of\par His Son, is striking and significant. Those who would make man to\par consist of but two parts, soul and body, cannot properly explain\par "spirit and soul and body" (I Thess. 5:23); much less "the dividing\par asunder of soul and spirit" (Heb. 4:12). The constant witness of\par Scripture is that man exists as a spirit living in a body, possessed\par of a soul. Paul's service to God was in his spirit, and therefore in\par the Holy Spirit, and never "soulical" (not psychikos, but\par pneumatikos-- I Cor. 2:14; Jude 19, Jas. 3:15. Paul did not depend on\par music, or architecture, or oratory, or rhetoric. He did not hold\par "inspirational" meetings to arouse the emotions to mystic resolves. He\par served God directly, in his spirit. It was the truth in the Holy Ghost\par he ministered, and the results were "that which is of the Spirit." The\par spirits of his hearers were born again; and the Spirit witnessed to\par their spirits that they were born-ones of God. Thus it was that Paul\par spoke of God's "witness" to him: it was to his spirit God witnessed.\par Furthermore, his serving was not by outward forms, as in Judaism, but\par in intelligent service (see 12.1), that is, knowing God and Christ\par directly by the Holy Ghost.\par \par Verse 10: Paul was pleading with God to bring him, in His good time,\par to these Roman Christians. His prayers, subject to God's will, always\par tended to this: unceasingly . . . always beseeching . . . to come unto\par you.\par \par Verse 11: His knowledge that he could through the marvelous message\par entrusted to him, impart unto them some spiritual gift, for their\par establishing, was the root of his deep longing to come to them.\par "Spiritual gift" does not refer to the "gifts" of I Corinthians 12;\par but to such operation of the Holy Spirit when Paul with his message\par should come among them, as would enlarge and settle them in their\par faith. In the words "some spiritual gift," "we see not only the\par apostle's modesty, but an acknowledgment that the Romans were already\par in the faith, together with an intimation that something was still\par wanting in them"--(Lange).\par \par Paul knew that there was in him by the grace of God peculiar apostolic\par power, by both his presence and the ministry of the Word, to "impart a\par gift" (Greek, charisma), or spiritual blessing. "I know that, when I\par come to you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ,"\par he says later (15:29). So it has been in their measure with all the\par great men of God, the Augustines, the Chrysostoms, the Luthers, the\par Calvins, the Knoxes, the great Puritans, the Wesleys, the Whitefields;\par and, even in our own memory, the Finneys and Darbys and Moodys, as\par well as the Torreys and the Chapmans; who, by their very presence,\par through the spirit of faith that God had given them, and through the\par anointing of the Spirit conferred upon them, have in a wondrous way\par banished the spirit of unbelief in great audiences; and made it easy\par for the saints to run rapidly in the way of the Lord; to become, as\par Paul says, "mutually comforted," the preacher and the saints together,\par each by the other's faith; with the result that saints became\par established, in the truth and in their walk, as they had not been\par before.\par \par We today, also, have the written Word and the blessed Spirit of God.\par We have, in the power of that Spirit, through these wonderful epistles\par written direct to us, the very words and power of the apostle. As he\par says to the Corinthians, "For I verily, being absent in body but\par present in spirit, have already, as though I were present judged,"\par etc. (5:3). For all who are willing to hearken to God, who gave Paul\par to be the minister of the Church, the body of Christ; and the minister\par of the gospel of grace and of glory,--to all, I say, who really\par hearken, Paul's voice becomes audible and intelligent. [13]\par \par Here, then, is the apostle who knew the great secret, the heavenly\par calling of the Church, writing to the saints at Rome, who, though they\par were of Christ's Body, and were, therefore, heavenly,--in creation,\par calling, and character, did not fully know these facts,--longing to\par see them that he might impart unto them "some spiritual gift, for\par their establishing"; and, at the end of the Epistle, announcing that\par God is able to establish them,--but, "according to the revelation of\par the mystery, which had been kept in silence through aionian times, but\par was now manifested." (See 16:25-27.)\par \par The burden of Paul's heart, therefore, is to make known to them this\par heavenly secret: that they were not connected with the earthly, the\par Jewish calling; but were in the Risen, Heavenly Christ; that, having\par died to the first Adam with his responsibilities, they were in the\par Second Man, the Last Adam, by divine creation; and were, therefore,\par heavenly. True, this heavenly truth is not fully developed in Romans,\par yet it was according to it that they were to be "established."\par \par Verse 12: His coming, therefore, he says, is, that I with you may be\par comforted mutually, through each other's faith, both yours and mine:\par but of course their blessing would be unspeakably the greater, because\par of the mighty gift and grace God had vouchsafed to this apostle for\par them. Paul's way of speaking here is most humble, gentle, and\par persuasive.\par \par Verse 13: Oftentimes I purposed to come to you (and was hindered until\par the present time)--He desired them to know this, for he longed for\par fruit in them, such as he was finding everywhere he went, among\par Gentiles. In this he is a perfect ambassador of Christ, longing to be\par used everywhere. That yearning to be used in telling the gospel lies\par deep in the heart of one who knows it, so if you want to hear some man\par of God, begin to pray God to send him to you!\par  \par As to Paul's having been "hindered" before from getting to Rome, we\par probably have an explanation in the course of labor that God had\par appointed to him: "From Jerusalem, and round about [through Asia\par Minor] even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the good tidings of\par Christ . . . Wherefore also I was hindered these many times from\par coming to you: but now, having no more any place in these regions, and\par having these many years a longing to come unto you," etc. (15:19, 22,\par 23). Sometimes it was Satan that hindered, (I Thess. 2:18); but here,\par evidently, superabundant labors, as directed of God, in other parts.\par Only those carrying God's message of grace to men know fully these\par great hindrances: the crying need of doors already open; the desperate\par opposition of the devil at the entrance to every door.\par \par That I might have some fruit in you also--Paul's constant yearning was\par for fruit unto God in the souls of others. This must. characterize all\par true ministers of Christ. In the degree that this yearning after fruit\par prevails, is the servant of God successful. "Give me Scotland or I\par die!" prayed John Welch, John Knox's son-in-law.\par \par Verse 14: To Greeks and to Barbarians both,--both to wise and foolish,\par I am debtor. Greeks [14] were those that spoke the Greek language and\par had the Greek culture, which had covered Alexander's world-wide\par empire; and in which culture the Romans themselves gloried.\par "Barbarians" were those not knowing Greek, and thus "uncultured." So\par also the "Scythians" (Col 3:11) were the especially wild and\par savage,--as we say, "Tartars."\par \par "Wise and foolish" is more personal, not meaning merely educated and\par uneducated, but of all degrees of intelligence. Since Paul is debtor\par to all, he is enumerating all. And he must begin to pay his debt by\par setting forth the guilt of all; which he does (1:18 to 3:20).\par \par In the words "I am debtor" we have the steward's consciousness, --of\par being the trusted bearer of tidings of infinite importance directly\par from heaven; and Paul was "debtor" to all classes. He does not here\par mention Jews, because, although full of longing toward them, he had\par been sent distinctly to Gentiles: "The Gentiles unto whom I send thee,\par to open their eyes," etc., (Acts 26:17). How different Paul's spirit\par here from that of Moses in the wilderness among murmuring Israel!\par \par "And Moses said unto Jehovah . . . Have I conceived all this\par people? have I brought them forth, that Thou shouldst say unto me,\par Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father carrieth the sucking\par child, unto the land which Thou swarest unto their fathers? . . . I\par am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy\par for me. And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I p ray thee, out of\par hand, if I have. found favor in Thy sight; and let me not see my\par wretchedness" (Num. 11:11-15).\par \par We must remember that Moses, beloved faithful servant of God, walked\par under law. The ninetieth Psalm is the very expression of the forty\par years in the Wilderness:\par \par \par "All our days are passed away in thy wrath:\par \par We bring our years to an end as a sigh,\par \par For we are consumed in thine anger,\par \par And in thy wrath are we troubled.\par \par Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee,\par \par Our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance."\par \par But here is Paul, gladly a "debtor" to all, with a message of glorious\par grace: "God was in Christ reconciling the world "unto Himself, not\par reckoning unto them their trespasses "Christ gave Himself a ransom for\par all"; Christ "tasted death for every man." And not only this, but the\par hope of the heavenly calling is set! before earthly men. We are here\par seeing "less than the least of all saints," the most wonderful servant\par God ever had, willing to "become all things to all men to gain some!"\par But remember, it is not a wonderful man speaking, but Christ in Paul\par (Gal. 1:16). Our Lord said of His own ministry: "The Father abiding in\par me doeth His works." And so of the ministry of the Lord's chief\par servant!\par \par Now when Paul proclaims himself a "debtor," what does he mean by this\par word? Was he a debtor in any different sense from what other and all\par Christians are? For we are all Christ's "witnesses." Let us see.\par \par When Moses had received the tables written with the finger of God, and\par the pattern of the Tabernacle for Israel, he was bound, he was a\par debtor, both to God and to Israel, to deliver those tables and that\par pattern, as given to him by God. To Paul, the risen, glorified Christ\par Himself had given the gospel by" especial "revelation" (Gal. 1:11, 12);\par and Paul, as we know, was especially to go to the Gentiles, (as Peter,\par James and John were to go to the circumcision). Just as definitely as\par Moses received the Law for Israel, so Paul received the gospel for us,\par and he was a debtor, both to God and to us, till he had that gospel\par committed to all. How unutterably sad to find many professing\par Christians shutting their doors in the face of Paul as he comes t his\par debt--comes to tell them the glories of the heavenly message given to\par him,--the unsearchable riches of Christ. In his last epistle Paul\par mourns that "all that are in Asia"--of which Ephesus was the capital!\par --"turned away from me." So soon! (II Tim. 1:15).\par \par Verse 15: So to my very uttermost I am eager to preach the good news\par to you also in Rome--How blessed is the readiness, yea, eagerness, of\par this holy apostle to pay his debt, to preach the good tidings t#o those\par also in Rome. Rome despised the Jews, and Paul was "little of\par stature," with "weak" bodily presence; and with "speech," or, as we\par say, "delivery," "of no account" in the proud carnal opinion of men\par (II Cor. 10:10). Moreover, he would be opposed by any Jews of wealth\par or influence in Rome. Furthermore, Rome was the center of the Gentile\par world: its emperors were soon to demand--and receive --worship; it was\par crowded with men of learning and culture from the whole world; it had\par mighty marchings;--great triumphal processions flowed through its\par streets. Rome shook the world.\par \par Yet here is Paul, utterly weak in himself, and' with his physical\par thorn; yet ready, eager, to go, to Rome!\par \par And to preach,--what? A Christ that the Jewish nation had themselves\par officially rejected, a Christ who had been despised and crucified at\par their cries,-- by a Roman governor! To preach a Way that the Jews in$\par Rome would tell Paul was "everywhere spoken against" (Acts 28:22).\par \par Talk of your brave men, your great men, O world! Where in all history\par can you find one like Paul Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, marched with\par the protection of their armies to enforce their will upon men. Paul\par was eager to march with Christ alone to the center of this world's\par greatness entrenched under Satan, with "the Word of the cross," which\par he himself says is "to Jews, an offence; and to Gentiles,\par foolishness."\par \par Yes, and when he does go to Rome, it is as a shipwrecked (though\par Divinely delivered) prisoner. Oh, what a story! There, "for two whole\par years" in his own "hired dwelling" he receives "all that go in unto\par him" (for he cannot go to them); and the message goes on and on,\par throughout the Roman Empire, and even into Caesar's household!\par \par And what is the secret of this unconquerable heart? Hear Paul: "Ye\par %seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me." "To me, to live is\par Christ"; "It was the good pleasure of God to reveal His Son in me";\par "By the grace of God I am what I am"; "I labor, striving according to\par Christ's working, who worketh in me mightily"; "I am ready to spend\par and be spent out (R.V., marg.) for your souls." There was no other\par path for Christ, nor is there any other for us His servants, but, "as\par much as in me is," "to my utmost." Those who belong in Paul's company\par are ever "assaying to go" (Acts 16:7), ever "ready"--to preach or to\par suffer (Acts 21:13).\par \par 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto\par salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to\par the Greek. 17 For God's righteousness on the principle of faith to\par [such as have] faith is revealed in it [the gospel]: just as it is\par written, "The righteous on the principle of faith shall live."\par \&par Here we have the text of the whole Epistle of Romans: First, the words\par "the gospel"--so dear to Paul, as will appear. Next, the universal\par saving power of this gospel is asserted. Then, the secret of the\par gospel's power--the revelation of God's righteousness on the principle\par of faith. Finally, the accord of all this with the Old Testament\par Scriptures: "The righteous shall live by faith."\par \par It will assist our study to notice at once the four "For"s in the\par apostle's argument: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel," [15] "For it\par is the power of God unto salvation," "For a righteousness of God is\par revealed in it"; and the "for" of the next verse, which makes this\par gospel necessary: "For the wrath of God is revealed against all\par ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men."\par \par Verse 16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel--First then, we have\par Paul's willingness, all unashamed, to go to Rome, mistress of th'e\par world, with this astonishing message of a crucified Nazarene, despised\par by Jews, and put to death by Romans. "The inherent glory of the\par message of the gospel, as God's life-giving message to a dying world,\par so filled Paul's soul, that, like his blessed Master, he `despised the\par shame.'" So, praise God, may all of us!\par \par For it is the power of God unto salvation--The second "For" gives the\par reason for Paul's boldness: this good news concerning Christ's death,\par burial, resurrection, and appearing, "is the power of God unto\par salvation unto every one that believeth." There is no fact for a\par preacher or teacher to hold more constantly in his mind than this. It\par is not the "excellency of speech or wisdom," or the "personal\par magnetism," or "earnestness," of the preacher; any more than it is the\par deep repentance or earnest prayers of the hearer, that avails. But it\par is the message of Christ crucified, dead, b(uried, and risen, which,\par being believed, is "the empower of God"! "The word [16] of the cross\par is to them that are perishing, foolishness; but unto us who are being\par saved it (the word of the cross) IS the power of God" (I Cor. 1:18).\par \par Again we repeat that it is of the very first and final importance that\par the preacher or teacher of the gospel believe in the bottom of his\par soul that the simple story, Christ died for our sins, was buried, hath\par been raised from the dead the third day, and was seen, IS THE POWER OF\par GOD to salvation to every one who rests in it,--who believes!\par \par The word gospel (evaggelion), means good news, glad tidings,-- of\par course, about love and grace in giving Christ; and Christ's blessed\par finished work for the sinner, putting away sin on the Cross. (There is\par no other good news for a sinner!)\par \par The other word, for "preached," is kerusso, which properly means to\par proclaim) as a herald, to publish. And if we would understand Paul's\par attitude in preaching the good news, we must not forget what he says\par in I Cor. 1:21: The reading in I Corinthians 1:21 should be, "God was\par pleased through the foolishness of the proclaiming to save them that\par believe." The word (kerusso) means, to announce as a herald, to\par proclaim. It does not carry the thought of the proclamation's content,\par of a glad message, as does the other word (evangelidzo). Therefore God\par selects the word kerusso to show in the great message I Corinthians\par 1:18-25 how he absolutely passes by the intellect of man, and sets\par aside all his possible reasoning, ability, philosophy and wisdom--in\par this amazing way: "by the proclaiming"! Here comes a small and weak\par Jew upon the assembly of the earth's "wise" at Mars' hill:\par "proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection." It is "foolishness" to them.\par Yet "certain men"--including one Mars' h*ill philosopher, and a\par prominent woman, and others with them, cleave unto him and believe the\par proclamation, and will spend eternity with God.\par \par No; when you reflect on God's plan of proclamation--of Christ, dead,\par buried, raised, living: it does get right past everything of man. A\par herald --he does not stop to argue--he has a message; yonder he is;\par here he comes; yonder he goes--and the message is left. Man is set\par aside!\par \par It pleased God through the proclaiming to save them that believe!\par Praise God! Anyone can hear good news!\par \par Therefore the herald does not hearken either to "Jews," who would say,\par "We have wonderful forms of religion.; we have a great temple!" No,\par the herald proclaims "a Messiah crucified" by these very Jews!--and\par passes on!\par \par Nor does he hearken to the "disputers of this age"--the "wise," who\par call to him, "We have a new philosophy to discuss--let us hear y+our\par philosophical system." No; he proclaims a crucified, dead, buried and\par risen Son of God, and passes on. And as many as are ordained to\par eternal life will believe. All others are offended, or stirred to\par ridicule.\par \par Paul's preaching was not, as is so much today, general disquisition on\par some subject, but definite statements about the crucified One, as he\par himself so insistently tells us in I Corinthians 15:3-5\par \par "The power of God unto salvation" is a wonderful revelation! As\par Chrysostom says, "There is a power of God unto punishment, unto\par destruction: `Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in\par hell'" (Matt. 10:28). "The use of the word `power' here, as in I\par Corinthians 1:24, carries a superlative sense,--the highest and\par holiest vehicle of divine power" (Alford). This story of Christ's\par dying for our sins, buried, raised, manifested, is the great wire\par along which runs God',s mighty current of saving power. Beware lest you\par be putting up some little wire of your own, unconnected with the\par Divine throne, and therefore non-saving to those to whom you speak. T.\par DeWitt Talmadge said at the funeral of Alfred Cookman, one of the most\par holy, devoted men of God America has known, "Strike a circle of three\par feet around the cross of Jesus, and you have all there was of Alfred\par Cookman."\par \par The gospel "is the power of God unto salvation." God does not say,\par unto reformation, education, progress, nor development; nor "fanning\par an innate flame." Salvation is a word for a lost man, and for none\par other. Men are involved either in salvation, or in its opposite,\par perdition (Philippians 1:28).\par \par To the Jew first and also to the Greek--The Jew had the Law. They had\par the temple, with its divinely prescribed worship. Heretofore, if a\par Gentile were to be saved, let him become a proselyte an-d come to\par Jerusalem to worship as did the Ethiopian eunuch. Christ came "to His\par own things" (John 1:11), to Jerusalem, to His Father's house\par (literally, "the things of My Father"). The apostles were to be\par witnesses--beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). The Holy Spirit fell\par upon the hundred and twenty at Jerusalem. Upon the persecution that\par arose in Jerusalem from Stephen, the disciples "were all scattered\par abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the\par apostles," but Jerusalem was the gospel's first center, then Antioch\par in Syria, whence Paul and Barnabas, afterwards Paul and Silas, went\par forth. Afterwards, the center of God's operations was Ephesus, the\par capital of proconsular Asia, where after being rejected by the Jews in\par many cities, Paul separates the disciples, and all distinction between\par Jew and Greek in the assemblies of the saints is gone. Then he goes to\par Jerusalem to be .finally and officially rejected--killed, if it were\par possible. God waits two years at Caesarea for Jewish repentance: there\par is none, but the direct opposite. Then the apostle, having been driven\par into the hands of the Romans by the Jews goes to Rome, the world's\par center, only to have the Jews reject his teaching (Acts 28). Thereupon\par it is announced: "Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation\par of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear."\par \par Therefore, in expressing to the Jew first, Paul is not at all\par prescribing an order of presentation of the gospel throughout this\par dispensation. He is simply recognizing the fact that to the Jew, who\par had the Law and Divine privileges, the gospel offer had first been\par presented, and then to the Gentile. As Paul says in Ephesians "And He\par came and preached peace to you that were far off [the Gentile], and\par peace to them that were nigh [the Jews]" (Eph. 2:/17). We might just as\par sensibly claim that Ephesians 2:17 gives Gentiles priority because\par they are mentioned first--"you that were afar" over the Jews who were\par mentioned last,--"them that were nigh."\par \par To claim that the gospel must be preached first to the Jew throughout\par this dispensation, is utterly to deny God's Word that there is now no\par distinction between Jew and Greek either as to the fact of sin (Rom.\par 3:22) or the availability of salvation (Rom. 10:12). Paul's words in\par Galatians 4:12 are wholly meaningless if the Jews still have a special\par place.\par \par The meaning of the word "first" (proton) is seen in verse 8 of our\par chapter: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all."\par That is, thanksgiving to God was the first thing Paul wrote to the\par Romans in this Epistle. Then he proceeds to other things. It is an\par order of sequence; just as the gospel came "first" to the Jew and then\pa0r to Greek, and now, since the "no difference" fact, is proclaimed to\par all indiscriminately, Jews and Greeks.\par \par Verse 17: For God's righteousness on the principle of faith to [such\par as have] faith is revealed in it [the gospel]: just as it is written,\par "The righteous on the principle of faith shall live."\par \par This third "For" gives another reason why Paul was not ashamed of the\par good news [17] : in this message concerning God's Son,--that He died\par for our sins, was buried, was raised,--there was brought to\par light,--made manifest--a righteousness of God which had indeed been\par prophesied, but was really (especially to the Jew under law) absolute\par news: [18] God acting in righteousness, as we shall find, wholly on\par the basis of Christ's atoning work,--to be believed in, rested upon,\par apart from all human works whatever. It was on the principle of faith\par [19] by means of a message, and those exercising faith1 in the message\par would be reckoned righteous,--apart from all "merit" or "works"\par whatever. This is the meaning of "from faith unto faith"--literally,\par out of faith [rather than works] unto [those who have] faith.\par \par The "For" of verse 17, For God's righteousness therein is revealed--in\par the gospel,--is also a logical setting forth of the reason why the\par good news concerning Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is the\par power of God unto salvation. And this verse is the essence of the text\par of the whole Epistle: "Therein God's righteousness is revealed."\par \par God could have come forth in righteousness and smitten with doom the\par whole Adamic race. He would have been acting in accordance with His\par holiness: it would have been "the righteousness of God" unto judgment,\par and would have been just.\par \par But God, who is love, though infinitely holy and sin-hating, has\par chosen to act toward us in righteousn2ess, in a manner wherein all His\par holy and righteous claims against the sinner have been satisfied upon\par a Substitute, His own Son. Therefore, in this good news, (1) Christ\par died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (2) He was buried, (3)\par He hath been raised the third day according to the Scriptures, (4) He\par was manifested (I Cor. 15:3 ff),--in this good news there is revealed,\par now openly for the first time, God's righteousness on the principle of\par faith. We simply hear and believe: and, as we shall find, God reckons\par us righteous; our guilt having been put away by the blood of Christ\par forever, and we ourselves declared to be the righteousness of God in\par Him!\par \par Habakkuk prophesied of it (Paul quotes him in verse 17); but ah, how\par little he dreamed of the fulness and wonder of it! It is the gospel\par that brings these to light!\par \par And now in the next section (verses 18 ff) will come Paul's fourth3\par "For": showing man's frightful state of guilt; and his need of the\par gospel:\par \par 18 For there is revealed God's wrath from heaven upon all ungodliness\par and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness\par [of life]; 19 because that which is known of God is manifest in them;\par for God made it evident to them. 20 For the invisible things of Him\par from the creation of the world, made known to the mind by the things\par that are made, are clearly perceived,--both His eternal power and\par divinity; so as to render them inexcusable: 21 because, though knowing\par God, they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor were they thankful\par [towards Him] but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless\par heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became\par fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the\par likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of\par qua4drupeds, and of creeping things.\par \par It will not only fail to help us, but will seriously harm us, to study\par the awful arraignment of God against human sin, unless we apply it to\par ourselves, thereby discovering our own state by nature. Therefore we\par have sought to make plain these terms which Paul uses, in view of\par today's sin. Christendom is rapidly losing sin-consciousness, which\par means losing God-consciousness; which means eternal doom: "As were the\par days of Noah . . . as it came to pass in the days of Lot . . . they\par knew not." Because iniquity abounds, the love of many professing\par Christians is waxing cold; so that we see a Sardis condition\par everywhere, "a name to live, while dead": on many faces, the horrid\par lack of spiritual life; the lightless, sightless eyes; the chill,--the\par corpse-like chill, of the lifeless, the unfeeling.\par \par On the other hand, among God's real saints, those born from above and\pa5r indwelt by the Spirit of God, there is everywhere, thank God, a\par gathering, an eagerness, a hunger for His Word, for news from\par Home,--for their citizenship is in Heaven!\par \par Therefore let all who have ears to hear give the utmost attention to\par what God says about our state by nature. Do not apply the threefold\par "God gave them up" of Romans One to "the heathen," as most do. Behold,\par we are those of whom God says: "There is no distinction: all sinned\par and fall short of the glory of God." ALL are brought under the\par judgment of God. O saints, beware of the "select" circles, the\par "we-are-better" societies of pride! For all human beings are alike\par sinners: for "The Scripture shut up all things under sin, that the\par promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe"\par (Gal. 3:22).\par \par The more you discover yourself to be a common sinner, the more you\par will realize God's uncommon grace! 6And the more deeply you despair of\par man, of yourself, the more simple and easy it will be to rest in\par Christ and in His work of salvation for you.\par \par Verse 18: Wrath revealed from heaven--This is the tenor of all\par Scripture as to God's attitude toward defiant sin. "Jehovah rained\par upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of\par heaven," we read in Genesis 19:24. We know that "God has appointed a\par day in which He will judge the world" (Acts 17:31); that He will\par "visit with wrath" at that time (Rom. 3:5).\par \par However, in the thrice-repeated "God gave them over" of verses 24, 26\par and 28, there is to be seen the character, the beginning, and the\par working of God's wrath in this world, in His judicial handing over of\par rebels to go further into rebellion. But the awful arraignment of\par humanity in Chapters One, Two, and Three; together with the particular\par account of their apostasy and lo7st condition, however terrible it be,\par is not a description of the finally damned, but of the\par at-present-lost: and, "The Son of man came to seek and to save that\par which was lost." "Such were some of you," says Paul to the\par Corinthians, after an enumeration of those who "shall not inherit the\par kingdom of God" (I Cor. 6:11). "Effeminate, and abusers of themselves\par with men," the very kind of sinners described in our chapter, are in\par this enumeration. Let us admit, therefore, the judicial "delivering\par over" of humanity which has "exchanged the glory" of the God they knew\par for horrid idolatrous conceptions,--a present judicial action of God\par on earth, where and when He "lets men go their own way." But let us\par distinguish this apart from the day of the revelation of the righteous\par judgment of God from Heaven. At the Great White Throne of Revelation\par Twenty there will be no liberty left to the creature to indulge his\par8 lusts as in this present world. The lusts, indeed, will remain, and\par probably intensify forever: "He that is filthy, let him be made filthy\par yet more"; but the ability to indulge lust will be eternally removed,\par and the damned placed under the visitation of Divine anger.\par \par Thank God, we may still cry with Paul, "Now is the acceptable time;\par now is the day of salvation!" Grace is still ready to reach the worst\par wretch on earth!\par \par Note that ungodliness is direct disregard of God, which to the Jew\par would connect itself with the first table of the Law, the first four\par commandments; while unrighteousness has reference to wickedness of\par conduct, in itself and toward other men. Note further that it is\par distinctly said that the human race, in order to live an unrighteous\par life, held down the truth. The meaning of the verb translated "hold\par down" is seen in its use in II Th 2:6: "Ye know that which\par res9traineth," referring to the present restraining of the sin and\par wrath of man by the Spirit of God. It is also true, turning this\par about, that man in his wickedness restrains the truth he knows. (See\par also same word in Luke 4:42, "would have stayed Him.") Almost all men\par know more truth than they obey. They call themselves "truth seekers";\par but would they attend a meeting where Paul preached the facts of this\par first of Romans?\par \par Verse 19: That which is known of God is manifest . . . God made it\par evident--Noah's father, Lamech, was for over fifty years a\par contemporary of Adam. Knowledge of God was held and imparted by\par tradition from the beginning. The fact that the "world that then was"\par became so corrupt as to necessitate destruction (Hebrew, "blotting\par out," Gen. 6:7, margin), only supports the awful account. Not only was\par the world bad unto judgment at the time of the Flood; but the world\par after Noah b:ecame such that God called out His own (from Abraham on)\par to a separate, pilgrim life. Sodom, and later the Canaanites, again\par filled up iniquity's measure and were "sent away from off the face of\par the earth" (Jer 28:16). Utter uncompromising, abandonment of hope in\par man is the first preliminary to understanding or preaching the gospel.\par Man says, "I am not so bad; I can make amends"; "There are many people\par worse than I am"; "I might be better, but I might be worse." But God's\par indictment is sweeping: it reaches all. "None righteous; all have\par sinned; there is no distinction." And the first step of wisdom is to\par listen to the worst God says about us, for He (wonderful to say!) is\par the Lover of man, sinner though man be. You and I were born in this\par lost race, with all these evil things innate in, and, apart from the\par grace of God, possible to us. "The heart is deceitful above all\par things, and is desperately wicked.;" Only redemption by the blood of\par Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, can afford hope.\par \par Verse 20: For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the\par world . . . are clearly perceived--"The heavens declare the glory of\par God." But humanity today prefers Hollywood's "sound-pictures" to\par seeing the "things" of the glorious God in the heavens,--beholding His\par works, and hearing their speech. How long since you have gone out and\par gazed at moon and stars, made by the blessed God, travelling in such\par quiet glory, beauty, power, and order? Men know, if they care to know,\par that an infinite Majesty made and controls this. Even His eternal\par power and divinity [20] --Paul connects the observing of the mighty\par and beautiful things of the universe with the consciousness of a\par personal God. [21] Human science, through its telescope, observes the\par vast courses of the stars, moving with amazing accuracy in thei result: as Alford well renders, "Their heart\par (the whole inner man, the seat of knowledge and feeling), became dark\par (lost the little light it had), and wandered blindly in the mazes of\par folly." Think of a whole race of created beings knowing, but refusing\par to recognize, their Creator! of their eating from His hand daily, but\par refusing even one thanksgiving! Yet such ungodly ones, such unthankful\par ones, are all about you, now.\par \par Verse 22: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools--\par Rejecting the light of God's knowledge in their consciences, men now\par arrogated to themselves wisdom, and became--what? Fools! [23] "The\par fear of the Lord is the beginning" --of both knowledge and wisdom\par (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Ps. 111:10; Job 28:28).\par \par The silliness of these "modern" shallow-pan days! How men are rushing\par back to the old pagan pit out of which God's Word and His gospel would\par have delivered? them! They suck up sin; they welter in wickedness; they\par profess to be wise! They sit at the feet of "professors" whose breath\par is spiritual cyanide. They idolize the hog-sty doctrines of a rotten\par Freud: [24] and count themselves "wise"! They say, "God is not a\par person; men evolved from monkeys; morals are mere old habits;\par self-enjoyment, self-expression, indulgence of all desires--this,"\par they say, "is the path of wisdom." It is the path of those who go\par quickly down to the pit and on to judgment! The very morals of Sodom,\par as our Lord foretold, are rushing fast upon us, and God will bring\par again the awful doom of Sodom (Luke 17:28-31).\par \par Now if someone objects, saying, This is a strange introduction to the\par gospel of God's grace, we answer, It lies here before us, this awful\par indictment of Romans One, and cannot be evaded! Moreover, until man\par knows his state of sin, he wants no grace. Shall pardon be spok@en of\par before the sinner is proved a sinner? While the evidence is being\par brought in, the whole attention of the court is upon that. If the\par evidence of guilt be insufficient or inconclusive, there is no\par necessity for a pardon!\par \par Preachers and teachers have soft-pedalled sin, until the fear Of God\par is vanishing away. McCheyne used to Say, "A holy minister is an awful\par weapon in the hands of God" A preacher who avoids telling men the\par truth about their sin as here revealed, is the best tool of the devil.\par \par Verse 23: And changed the glory of the incorruptible\par God--Incorruptibility is of the essence of God's being. From the\par beginningless eternity past to the endless eternity to come, He is the\par glorious self-existent One. Now came the high insult: having rejected\par knowledge of God, but unable to escape the consciousness that He\par exists, men, like Israel later, "changed their glory for the likeness\pAar of an ox that eateth grass" (Ps. 106:20). The more you reflect upon\par the infinite glory and majesty of the eternal God, the more hideous\par will the unspeakable insult to Him of any kind of idolatry appear to\par you! Men first likened God to man; but, being given over, they rushed\par rapidly downwards: a bird, a quadruped; and finally, a reptile!\par \par Vincent remarks "Deities of human form prevailed in Greece; those of\par bestial form in Egypt; and both methods of worship were practiced in\par Rome. See on Acts 7:41. Serpent-worship was common in Chaldaea, and\par also in Egypt, where the asp was sacred." Israel evidently learned\par calf-worship from Egypt's sacred bull. [25]\par \par 24 Wherefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts unto\par uncleanness, so that their bodies were dishonored among\par themselves:--25 such ones as they! who changed the truth of God into\par the lie! and worshipped and served the created thiBng rather than the\par Creator,--Who is blessed unto the ages! Amen.\par \par 26 On account of this, God gave them over to shameful passions: for\par their females [26] changed the natural use into that contrary to\par nature: 27 and in like manner also the males [27] having left the\par natural use of the females, were inflamed in their lust one toward\par another, males with males working out shame, and receiving in\par themselves the recompense of their error which was due.\par \par Verse 24: God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts. This is\par deeper than the mere lusts of the flesh. Flesh has natural desires,\par which may or may not be yielded to. The lusts of the heart continue\par after the flesh is dissolved; and even when, in the tormented bodies\par of the damned, the lusts of the flesh cannot be conscious or\par controlling, "the lusts of the heart" will forever exist.\par \par Notice that when man is delivered from Divine restCraint, the lusts of\par his heart plunge him into ever deeper bodily uncleanness, and bodily\par vileness. History backs up this fact with terrible relentlessness.\par What an answer is here to all the boasting of proud men of a\par "principle of development" in man; to the lying claim that man is ever\par "making progress." The "Golden Age" of Grecian literature, and that of\par Roman letters,--in both of them we find remarkable minds; but their\par works must be expurgated for decent readers! No printer, even in this\par corrupt age, would dare to publish books with literal descriptions of\par the orgies of "classical" days.\par \par Verse 25: For they changed the truth of God into the lie--That God is\par glorious, incorruptible, infinite, is the truth; that any image\par whatsoever, be it gold, silver, wood, stone; picture or symbol, is\par God,--God here names this the lie! [28] Any such thing, connected with\par worship, is a fearful travesty Dof the divine Majesty. Think of it!\par They worshipped and served the created thing rather than the\par Creator--who made the creature! This is that desperate hiding away\par from God by wicked-hearted man, called idolatry. (See Appendix III in\par the author's "Book of the Revelation.") [29] Who is blessed unto the\par ages. Amen. Paul's adding these humble, worshipful words after\par "Creator" both glorifies God and also differentiates Paul from the\par abandoned devotees of sin thronging the dark alley of human history;\par showing him to be a child of light, as is every real saint of God,\par though passing through a world of thick darkness.\par \par Verse 26: For the second time we read, God gave them over--and now,\par unto shameful passions--There are natural and normal appetites of the\par body: God is not speaking of these, or even of the abuse of\par these,--adultery or harlotry--in this verse. He is describing that\par state of unnaturalE appetites in which all normal instincts are left\par behind. And it is significant, that, as originally woman took the lead\par in sin, so here!\par \par Verse 27: Here men are seen visited with a like condign, judicial\par "giving up" by God, in which they forget not only the holy relations\par of marriage, but even the burnings of ordinary lust, and plunge into\par nameless horrors of unnatural lust-bondage, all, males and females,\par receiving in themselves the due recompense of their error. Compare\par "among themselves" of verse 24, with "in themselves" of verse 27:\par "These words bring out," as Godet remarks, "the depth of the blight.\par It is visible to the eyes of all." And Meyer also: "The law of\par history, in virtue of which the forsaking of God is followed among men\par by a parallel growth of immorality, is not a purely natural order of\par things; the power of God is active in the execution of this law."\par \par What a fearful Faccount is here! A lost race plunging ever deeper, by\par their own desire! Left in shameful, horrid bondage, unashamed,--not\par only immoral, but unmoral, hideous. Missionaries abroad can tell you\par of what they find; as can the Christian workers in our great cities.\par But you would be unprepared to believe what exists, in the private\par lives of many, even in country districts through Christendom. And if\par God has "made you to differ," thank Him only! It will not do to hold\par up your hands in self-righteous dismay, and say, These verses do not\par in any particular describe me. For God will show you and me that this\par is exactly the race as we were born into it, and out of which the only\par rescue is being born again. All these things pertain to lost, fallen\par man. Man is a tenant of the earth only by Divine grace, since the\par Deluge. [30]\par \par 28 And just as they did not approve to have God in [their] knowledge,\par God gave Gthem over to a mind disapproved [of Him],--to practise things\par not befitting [His creatures]; 29 having become filled with all\par injustice, destructiveness, covetousness, malice; full of envy,\par murder, strife, guile, malignant subtlety; secret slanderers, 30 open\par slanderers, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of\par bad things; without obedience to parents, 31 without [moral]\par understanding, without good faith, without affection for kindred,\par without [consent to] truce, without mercy: 32 who, conscious of the\par righteous decree of God that those practising such things are worthy\par of [the sentence of] death, not only keep on practising the same, but\par also are pleased with those that are practising them.\par \par Verse 28: Here we have for the third time the judicial utterance, God\par gave them over. This time it is to a settled state, a reprobate mind.\par There is such a solemn irony in the manner of speecHh in the Greek,\par that it should be brought out as well as the English will allow.\par Alford translates it: "Because they reprobated the knowledge of God,\par God gave them over to a reprobate mind." Conybeare renders it: "As\par they thought fit to cast out the knowledge of God, God gave them over\par to an outcast mind." We might render it: To a mind disapproved of God,\par since they did not approve knowing God. And given over to do what? To\par live lives, think thoughts, be such creatures, as are not befitting\par the universe of the blessed God; and most particularly not befitting\par man, who was created in God's image.\par \par In the following verses, 29 to 32, three things are seen: first, some\par nine phases or developments of human sin (verse 29); second, the kind\par of people it makes (verses 29 to 31); and third, the fearful human\par conspiracy or agreement of wickedness of man against God (verse 32).\par Let us mark each carefulIly. (The student of Greek may well study the\par roots of these twenty-two nouns and adjectives, given in the\par footnote). [31]\par \par And remember God says men are filled with all these things! And not\par only so: they are filled without restraint or limit! "With all\par unrighteousness, all destructiveness," etc.\par \par Verses 29 to 31: l. all injustice--Selfishness, enthroned against all\par rights of others.\par \par 2. destructiveness--The same word is used to describe Satan and his\par hosts: "the evil one," "hosts of wickedness," in Eph. 6:12, 16. It\par denotes wickedness in hostile activity.\par \par 3. covetousness--literally, the itch for more. "(a) Claiming more than\par one's due, greedy, grasping; (b) making gain from others' losses; (c)\par the act of over-reaching by selfish tricks. To take advantage of\par another's simpleness, to over-reach, defraud." - Liddell and Scott.\par Lightfoot says, "Impurity and covetousnessJ may be said to divide\par between them nearly the whole domain of selfishness and vice." Vincent\par distinguishes between covetousness and avarice: "The one is the desire\par of getting, the other of keeping." Paul constantly defines\par covetousness as idolatry, worship of another object than God; and\par associates it with the vilest sins (I Cor. 5:11; Eph. 5:3, 5; Col\par 3:5). Many professing Christians are withering in a blight because of\par this unjudged sin.\par \par 4. malice--"malignity, maliciousness, desire to injure" (Thayer).\par \par 5. full of envy--The apostle takes another full breath here, beginning\par anew this hell-meat catalog. Envy is the hate that arises in the heart\par toward one who is above us, who is what we are not, or possesses that,\par which we cannot have, or do not choose the path to attain. "Pilate\par knew that for envy they had delivered Him." He was holy and good,\par which they pretended to be, and knew thKey were not,--nor really chose\par to be.\par \par 6. murder--How strikingly the Holy Spirit brings these words, envy,\par murder, which sound so alike in the Greek,--phthonou, phonou--into the\par order and connection which they constantly sustain in life.\par \par 7. strife--Literally, beating down in wrangling and contention. How\par "full of strife," indeed, is this human race!\par \par 8. guile--Jesus called Nathaniel "an Israelite in whom is no guile"\par (John 1:47). The Greek word means "a bait for fish," and so, to catch\par with a bait, to beguile. So in what is called "business" today, men\par are baited and lured: and "society" lives by it! This is the human\par heart.\par \par 9. malignant subtlety--The Genevan New Testament renders it, "Taking\par all things in an evil sense."\par \par 10. secret slanderers--By this Greek word of hissing sound\par (psithuristas), the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) renders the\par Hebrew lLahash: "a snake-charmer's `magical murmuring.'" Let those\par privately peddling evil reports, remember that God views their tongue\par as the slithering of the adder! It is remarkable how secret slanderers\par can "charm" others (fitted thereto by their evil nature) into\par believing their slanders. We heard of a modest, excellent young woman\par secretly slandered by a jealous rival. She could not overcome the\par falsehood, and died within a year.\par \par 11. open slanderers--Literally, those who speak against, incriminate,\par traduce. See its use in I Peter 2:12. Many openly rail at\par others--especially if their own lives are condemned by theirs.\par \par 12. hateful to God--Hateful toward God, because haters of God. The\par word means to show as well as to feel such hatred: "The mind of the\par flesh is enmity against God."\par \par 13. insolent--People taking pleasure in insulting others.\par \par 14. arrogant--Full of haughty pride toMward others.\par \par 15. boasters--The very contrary of Him Who said: "Come unto Me--I am\par meek, and lowly of heart."\par \par 16. inventors of bad things--From the days of Cain's city onward (Gen.\par 4:16-22), men have progressed in evil; until Jehovah said Israel did\par evil that "came not into His mind" (Jer. 19:5).\par \par 17. without obedience [32] to parents--literally, not able to be\par persuaded by parents. What a photograph of the "youth" of our day!\par This appalling rejection of parental control is developing amazingly\par in these last days, just as God said it would (II Tim. 3:1,2). It\par brings a curse upon whole families, whole communities, and whole\par lands. Obedience to parents brings promised blessing: "Honor thy\par father and thy mother (which is the first commandment with promise),\par that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth"\par (Eph. 6:2, 3).\par \par \par "The eye that mockethN at his father,\par \par And despiseth to obey his mother,\par \par The ravens of the valley shall pick it out,\par \par And the young eagles shall eat it."\par \par --Prov. 30:17.\par \par This explains many an early death! Yes; and terrible deaths long\par delayed.\par \par 18. without moral understanding--The verb is used in Scripture only of\par moral and spiritual understanding (Matt. 13:14, 15, 19, 23, 51). This\par adjective (Rom. 1:31) means, without any understanding of Divine\par things; having no proper moral discernment. That is the awful\par condition of the human race; and, remember, you and I were born in it.\par \par 19. without good faith--Faithless, bound by no promise or covenant.\par This is a very heart-disease! The word denotes that wickedness that\par does not intend to carry out its pledged word, except for selfish\par ends. Broken business contracts, violated national treaties, light\par betrayal of personal coOnfidences,--all have this hideous condition as\par their root.\par \par 20. without natural affection--Without affection for kindred. Even a\par third century pagan poet, Theocritus, calls these "the heartless\par ones." How constantly we see, especially in the selfish lives of\par graceless "moderns," utter disregard of the natural ties which a kind\par God has used in "setting the solitary in families." Such are really\par moral morons; but the possibilities of all these things are in every\par one of us.\par \par 21. without [consent to] truce,--literally, not willing to consent to\par a truce, or cease hostilities. The present ruthless civil war in\par Spain, and the savagery of Japan in China, are examples. Indeed, only\par an "armistice," not a peace, was concluded after the World War; and,\par despite all "treaties" since, there persists a sort of international\par suspicion; proving that men know, as by instinct, the implacability of\par P human nature. [33]\par \par 22. without mercy--It is said that Nero as a child amused himself in\par pulling the legs and wings from insects. Perhaps you cry out at this,\par saying, I have always been tender-hearted towards animals. Indeed? And\par how about people? Are you tender-hearted towards them? to all of them?\par Think deeply on this: God "delighteth in mercy"; but "man's inhumanity\par to man makes countless millions mourn." Consider: A merciful God!\par unmerciful creatures!\par \par And now we come to the dark, wilful conspiracy of evil of this whole\par human race. For, remember, what we have been reading is not an\par indictment of the heathen merely, but of the race. It does indeed\par depict the progress of human wickedness, and how God gave the race\par over to those lusts that judicially followed their sin. Yet, as we\par shall find in the next chapter, it is humanity as such, as thus\par degraded, of which God is speaking.\parQ \par Verse 32: Who, conscious that such things are worthy of death, not\par only keep practising them but approve of others practising them.\par \par Here we are confronted with three terrible realities: (1) They have\par complete inner knowledge from God (Gr. epignontes) that their ways\par deserve and must have Divine condemnation and judgment; (2) they\par persist in their practices despite the witness of conscience; (3) they\par are in a fellowship of evil with other evil-doers!\par \par The Greek word here (syneudokouso) which we have rendered "are pleased\par with," "approve of"; the Revised Version renders "consent with";\par Bagster's Interlinear, "are consenting to"; Moule, "feel with and\par abet." "Not only commit the sins, but delight in their fellowship with\par the sinner," says Conybeare; "Not only practice them, but have\par fellow-delight in those that do them"--Darby; "Not only do the same,\par but applaud those that do them"--GRodet; "They not only do these\par things, but are also (in their moral judgment) in agreement with\par others who so act" --Meyer.\par \par What a description of this world of sinners, this race alienated from\par the life of God,--at enmity with Him, and at strife with one another!\par But all in a hellish unity of evil!\par \par THE WRATH OF GOD--IN ROMANS\par \par 1. The Greek word for wrath (orge) is used twelve times in this book\par of Romans, and always as connected with God. In all twelve occurrences\par in Romans it is referred to God: "The wrath of God is revealed"\par (1:18); "wrath in the day of wrath" (2:5); "Wrath and indignation"\par (2:8); "God visiteth with wrath" (3:5); "The Lair worketh wrath"\par (4:15); "Much more shall we be saved from the wrath [of God] through\par Him [Christ]" (5:9); "If God, willing to show His wrath, endured\par vessels of wrath fitted for destruction" (9:22); "Give place unto the\par wrath" [of God] S(12:19); "Wrath to him that doeth evil" (13:4); "Not\par only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake" (13:5).\par \par Now the fundamental word for "wrath" is orge, and it always looks, in\par Romans, toward the final, or last, Judgment; although including, as in\par 13:4, 5, God's governmental actions through present human authorities.\par \par This distinction between the outpouring of governmental wrath which\par precedes the Kingdom, and the final Assize at the Last Judgment is of\par primary importance. Paul is dealing in Romans with eternal things;\par with "no condemnation," on the one hand; and with final condemnation\par on the other. It is not the attitude and actions of God as the\par dispensational Ruler of earth's affairs, but the final Judge dealing\par with eternal individual destinies, of Whom Paul is writing.\par \par Mark carefully, therefore, that Paul, who is setting forth the gospel\par of grace, describes the blessedTness of those who receive that gospel\par as forgiven, justified, at peace with God. Romans is a court book.\par God, who adjudged all guilty under sin, gladly declares righteous and\par safe those who trust Him. Contrariwise, those who reject His mercy and\par grace are visited by the same Judge, even God, with wrath. Both the\par wrath in the one case, and the grace in the other, proceed from God's\par personal feeling. and just as there was personal Divine mercy and\par eternal tenderness toward the believer, so there is personal Divine\par wrath and eternal indignation against those who despise His love and\par mercy, as set forth in the death of His Son. It is righteous\par indignation, certainly; but it is personal indignation. Listen\par carefully to God's own words as to this future visitation of wrath\par upon the finally impenitent: "Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a\par jealous God" (Ex. 34:14); "Lest there should be among you man or woman\Upar whose heart turneth away from Jehovah, to serve other gods, and it\par come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless\par himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the\par stubbornness of my heart . . . . Jehovah will not pardon him, but then\par the anger of Jehovah, and His jealousy, shall smoke against that man"\par (Deut. 29:18-20); "Jehovah is a jealous God, and avengeth; Jehovah\par avengeth and is full of wrath; Jehovah taketh vengeance on His\par adversaries, and He reserveth wrath or His enemies"; "He will pursue\par His enemies into darkness" (Nahum 1:2, 8); "Vengeance belongeth unto\par Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19); "It is a fearful\par thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" (Heb. 10:31) "Can thy\par heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall\par deal with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken it and will do it" (Ezek.\par 22:14)\par \par V It is fatuous folly to seek to avoid the manifest, necessary meaning\par of such words. God, who alone has the right to avenge, will avenge!\par The very first chapter of the Prophets warns any willing to hear: "Ah,\par I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies!"\par (Isa. 1:24). Human justice is to be meted out by juries of men and by\par judges, uncolored by personal feelings. Not so with God! As is not the\par case in human courts, it is the Judge Himself who has been wronged. It\par is His light that has been refused for darkness. It is His salvation,\par and that by His Son's blood that has bee despised. And it will not be\par justice merely, but the infliction of penalty by an outraged Being\par whose Name is Love, now aroused to a righteous fury commensurate with\par the measureless guilt of the hideous haters of His holiness, the\par despisers of His mercy--it will be by the Hand of the Judge of all,\par Himself, that wrWath will fall upon the guilty.\par \par As for the "great" pulpiteers of Christendom, the favorites of the\par rapidly apostatizing denominations of this day, the men who, by their\par ecclesiastical politics or personal ability, or so called\par "scholarship," are "outstanding" and yet deny or ignore the wrath of\par God,--fear them not! They are false prophets, prophets of\par "peace,"--which can only be found in the shed blood of the Redeemer:\par the blood which they do not preach.\par \par Oh, that Day! that Day!--for these lying preachers of "peace, peace,"\par who have said, "God is too good to damn anybody." And shall God, in\par that Day, refuse to remember the agonies of His Son on the Cross?\par Shall He change that holy hatred of sin, wherein He forsook Christ and\par spared Him not?--all because miserable guilty Universalists,\par Unitarians, Millennial Dawnists, "Modernists," "Christian(!)\par Scientists(!)"--all the fawning "Hush, huXsh" preachers, have promised\par to men "a God that would not show wrath against sin!" A God who would\par indeed "spare all,-- yea, probably, even Satan, finally!"\par \par Let this awful word Orge, wrath, settle into the conscience of every\par soul; for God hath spoken it!\par \par And every Preacher and every Prophet of God has warned of it: Enoch\par (Jude 14,15); Noah (II Pet. 2:5); Moses (Deut. 32:35); the Psalmists,\par the Prophets (for example, Isaiah,-- all of Chapters 24 and 34); the\par Lord's forerunner, John the Baptist, with his "Flee from the wrath to\par come"; the Apostles,--from Romans to Revelation; and the great\par Preachers and Evangelists of the Christian centuries,--the men who\par have won souls--the Reformers, the Puritans, the Wesleys, Whitefields,\par Edwardses, Finneys, Spurgeons, Moodys,--all have told of man's guilt\par and danger, of the coming judgment, and of the wrath of God upon the\par impenitent and unbelieviYng.\par \par 2.This wrath is here in Romans 1:18 declared to be now, like the\par gospel, revealed from heaven; and that, now, against all ungodliness;\par and against all unrighteousness of men; in that they have resisted the\par truth they know.\par \par Heretofore, as at the Deluge, and that terrible day when "Jehovah\par rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah\par out of heaven," God had revealed His wrath on earth when men's cup of\par iniquity was full; as we read also in the case of the Canaanites (Gen.\par 15:16; Lev. 18:24, 25). Yet, God "overlooked" much that was evil, even\par in Israel (Acts 17:30; Matt. 19:8). But now, He "commandeth all men\par everywhere to repent,"--in view of a revealed coming day of judgment,\par "by the Man whom He hath ordained" (Acts 17:30, 31; Rom 2:16), and of\par which judgment He hath given certainty to all men by raising this\par coming Judge from the dead! The cross brought to Zan end God's\par "overlooking" sin, by judging it, even to the utter Divine forsaking\par of Him whom God sent to bear sin. Sin, therefore, is brought into the\par open; God's wrath from, heaven is now revealed against it all! If the\par blood of Jesus, God's Son cleanseth believers "from all sin"; then no\par sin has been left unjudged at the cross, and no sins will be unjudged\par upon the lost, at the Great White Throne, nor be "overlooked" today!\par \par This, then, is the first full, formal, and general, announcement of\par wrath from heaven. For heretofore God had man on trial. While Israel\par had "the house of God" on earth, and were being tested under law,\par there was (humanly speaking) the possibility of human recovery. But\par when they, with the Gentiles, crucified the Lord of glory,--killed the\par Righteous One, four things came to light: (a) the absolute character\par of man's sin; (b) the absoluteness of God's holiness which could not[\par spare the Son of His love, when once sin was laid on him; (c) the\par absoluteness of God's love and grace toward sinners, in publishing\par forgiveness and righteousness as a free-gift through\par Christ,--"beginning from Jerusalem--where men had crucified His Son!\par and (c) the revelation from heaven of Divine wrath against all\par ungodliness, all unrighteousness. It was not that God hated sin less\par in the past, in "the times of ignorance." But there had been\par "overlooking, forbearance." Now, with the full revelation of both\par human guilt and Divine grace by the Cross, `there must also be fully\par announced God's wrath from heaven against all sin. It is no longer an\par earthly, governmental affair,--as against high earthly offenders, such\par as Pharaoh, the Sodomites, or the Canaanites; but against all\par ungodliness, all unrighteousness. In grace God at the cross had come\par forth; not in Law or judgment, but as He was, in His\ being,--that is,\par absolutely, as Love, offering pardon and justification to men.\par Therefore, all He was, absolutely, in Heaven His dwelling-place,\par against the awful thing, sin, must, along with His pardoning grace, be\par revealed! The days of "winking at" ignorance are over; for, "He spared\par not His own Son!" So now, that God is against all sin must be\par revealed. The days of that protection from God's wrath that religion\par had afforded are over! For had not Judaism afforded a kind of\par protection? Jehovah dwelt in the thick darkness of the Holy of Holies\par of the tabernacle and the temple. An outward walk according to\par external enactments, secured the nation Israel, amidst which God\par dwelt. But no longer! "Your house is left to you desolate," said the\par Lord to the Jews. "The blood (for forgiveness), and the water (for\par cleansing) followed man's spear of hate thrust into the Redeemer's\par side." But by that very fa]ct we know that there is absolute wrath\par against man's sin! Only, flee not from this wounded Lamb; for here the\par wrath has struck! There is safety here,--though nowhere else in the\par universe!\par \par 3. It will fall to other pens than Paul's--to those of Peter and Jude,\par and especially to that of John, in the Apocalypse, to describe the\par particulars of time and mode of visitation of God's wrath; together\par with the places of confinement and punishment of the wicked, both\par before and after the Last Judgment. Peter will write of "Tartarus,"\par where God cast the rebel angels of (Genesis 6; II Pet. 2:4); and Jude\par will describe both the "everlasting bonds" of those angels, and also\par the "eternal fire" that overtook the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah;\par while John will show the risen Christ with the keys of death and of\par Hades (the detention-jail at present of lost human spirits); and John\par will describe also that awfu^l "lake of fire" which shall be the final\par portion of the devil and his angels, and of those who sided with him\par against God. (Compare Rev. 20:10; Matt. 25:41.)\par \par Paul, however, will set forth the scene as from God's court. Just as\par his gospel will show a God whose love is such that He gave Christ for\par wicked, hateful sinners, and offers to justify the ungodly who believe\par Him; so the contrary of justification--condemnation, becomes the\par portion of the rejecter of mercy\par \par Since grace is the outpouring of God's "heart of mercy," and is a\par personal feeling; so despised mercy arouses in God (and how\par necessarily), the opposite of mercy,--wrath! Paul's words will\par therefore be: grace, and over against it, wrath. Justification, and\par over against it, condemnation. Life, and over against it, death. He\par will say to the saints, "Ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and\par the end, eternal life." And, of the_ things whereof the saints are now\par "ashamed," --"the end of those things is death!"\par \par 4. But be it noted, there is absolutely no foot of Scripture ground to\par stand upon for those who, refusing the Bible doctrine of a God who\par "visiteth with wrath," bring in their subtle arguments for the "final\par restoration of all." Honest readers know that the very opposite is\par taught throughout the Scripture. There is no wrath upon believers.\par There is forever nothing but wrath for unbelievers. If you value your\par soul, regard with utter horror all trifling on this question. If you\par do not believe in Divine wrath, you are not subject to Scripture, and\par you are in fearful personal danger. The errorists begin very\par subtly,--as the Bullingerites began with the doctrine of\par "soul-sleeping." (See footnote to Romans 15:8 found on p. 526.) Then\par there are the "annihilationists," the "conditional immortality"\par falsifiers, the `Christadelphians, the "restorationists," the Seventh\par Day Adventists, and all the rest of the rabble. These false prophets\par are lulling millions upon millions into a deathful slumber from which\par only the crack of doom will rouse them. There are no "soul-sleepers"\par or "restorationists" in Hades! They know the truth now! And they are\par in nameless terror of coming Judgment and final eternal Hell.\par \par The God of the twentieth century is not the God of the Bible, but the\par God of the vain imaginations of shadow men,--men who will not look\par honestly at history (as, e.g., the Flood, or Sodom and Gomorrah); nay,\par who will not look honestly at present events! Preachers are found by\par the thousands who pooh-pooh the thought that the great calamities,\par such as the late war, and that now looming, are judgments of God; that\par great droughts or floods or storms are sent by Him. Like the hardened\par wretches whom Ezekiel saw, they saay, "Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah\par hath forsaken the land."\par \par If Paul, at the beginning of Church days, could write to Roman\par Christians that terrible arraignment of the human race with which this\par Epistle begins, and must begin, what shall be the attitude, and what\par the words, of any faithful preacher or teacher at this, the end of the\par Church times, after nearly 2000 years of unbelief, heresy, divisions,\par and general denial of the guilt and danger of lost men!\par \par Merely to give in this book the meaning of the words of Paul,--\par without applying them to the very soul and conscience of the reader,\par would, in view of the conditions prevalent today, be both fruitless\par and cowardly: fruitless, because the present day will not study, and\par least of all, thoroughly study, Scripture; and cowardly, because\par shrinking from applying truth would be seeking to be "fundamental"\par without offending anyone!\par \pabr "If thou warn the wicked . . . thou hast delivered thy soul," God\par speaks.\par \par The gospel of Christ is written in letters of heavenly light against\par the fearful black cloud of human guilt flashing with warnings of\par coming wrath!\par \par TO THE PREACHERS OF "THE SOCIAL GOSPEL"\par \par This is the doctrine that Jesus Christ came to reform society\par (whatever "society" may be!); that He came to abate the evils of\par selfishness, give a larger "vision" to mankind; and, through His\par example and precepts, bring about such a change in human affairs,\par social, political, economic and domestic, as would realize all man's\par deep longings for a peaceful, happy existence upon earth, ushering in\par what these teachers are pleased to call, "the Kingdom of God."\par \par 1. Now, in the first place, Jesus Christ came to save sinners, not\par "society." He said, "The Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive\par sins." Now,c sins are individual transgressions against a personal God;\par there is no such thing in Scripture as these social-gospellers dream\par of,--a condition of "society" to be "changed" or "ameliorated." All\par that really exists is the guilt of a vast number of really guilty\par sinners. "Society" does got exist before God at all; and it is a vain\par delusion of the devil that sins are dealt with en masse.\par \par 2. Sinners, having been pardoned, find themselves in a blessed\par fellowship, a really heavenly thing, constituted by the Holy Spirit,\par who indwells each of them. But to confuse this fellowship with what\par these social-gospellers call "society," is to forget that "except a\par man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."\par \par 3. It flatters men's vanity, of course, and shelters them from\par conviction, to be dealt with as "society," and not as guilty souls\par needing personal pardon through the shed blood of Christ. Theredfore\par this gospel (which is not a gospel, but a lie, a delusion of Satan),\par draws together vast concourses of unconverted men and women,\par "church-members" and "non-church-members." Its preachers are plausible\par and popular, for if "society" is going to be saved in a mass,\par individual repentance need not be mentioned. The Jesus of these\par men,--the Stanley Joneses, the Sherwood Eddys, the Frank Buchmans, the\par Bishop McConnells, the Kagawas, and a whole host of drifters and\par on-the-fencers, is not the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the\par world by an atoning sacrifice, not the One despised, forsaken, smitten\par of God, of the fifty-third of Isaiah! He is not at all the\par substitutionary Sacrifice drinking the cup of wrath for man's guilt!\par But He is "the Christ of the Indian Road"--or the American road, the\par Canadian road, the English road, as you please; walking by the\par wayside, teaching the multitudes, as in thee Four Gospels, BEFORE HE\par WAS REJECTED AND DIED. He is not the RISEN CHRIST, with all power in\par heaven and earth given unto Him, pouring forth the Holy Spirit and\par doing mighty works, as in the early church days.\par \par I affirm that the present day popular preachers DO NOT KNOW what human\par guilt, before God, is! DO NOT KNOW that Christ really bore wrath under\par God's hand for the sin of the world! DO NOT KNOW that He was forsaken\par of God, as the whole race, otherwise, must have been! I affirm that\par they are preaching as if an unrejected, uncrucified Christ were still\par being offered to the world! They preach the "character" of Jesus,\par saying "nice things" of Him, and telling people to "follow His\par example": while the truly awful fact that Christ "bare our sins in His\par own body on the tree," that He was "wounded for our transgressions,"\par that He was "forsaken of His God"; that "God spared not His own Son,\par but fdelivered Him up,"--and that "for our trespasses," is never told\par to the poor, wretched people! Nor are they warned of that literal lake\par of fire and brimstone into which "every one not found written in the\par book of life" will be cast, and that forever.\par \par One look into the lost eternity to which these last-days "preachers"\par are leading those who follow them, renders even the briefest\par consideration of these men who dare to call themselves "preachers of\par the gospel," beyond all enduring. As Jeremiah cries:\par \par "Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my\par bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath\par overcome, because of Jehovah, and because of His holy words.\par \par "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the\par prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak\par a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehgovah.\par They say continually unto them that despise Me, Jehovah hath said,\par Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the\par stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you\par . . . Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, even His wrath, is gone\par forth, yea, a whirling tempest; it shall burst upon the head of the\par wicked . . . I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not\par unto them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My\par council, then had they caused My people to hear My words, and had\par turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings"\par (Jer. 23:9, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22).\par \par And Ezekiel:\par \par "And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of Man, prophesy\par against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto\par them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of\par Jehovah: Thus saith the Lordh Jehovah, Woe unto the foolish\par prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!\par . . . They have seen falsehood and lying divination, that say,\par Jehovah saith; but Jehovah hath not sent them: and they have made\par men to hope that the word could be confirmed. Have ye not seen a\par false vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, in that ye\par say, Jehovah saith; albeit I have not spoken?\par \par "Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace;\par and there is no peace; and when one buildeth up a wall, behold,\par they daub it with untempered mortar: say unto them that daub it\par with untempered mortar, that it shall fall" (Ezek. 13:1, 2, 3, 6,\par 7, 10, 11, 12-14, 15).\par \par And,\par \par "When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die,\par and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that\par wicked man shall die in his iniquitiy, but his blood will I require\par at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to\par turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his\par iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul" (Ezek. 33:8, 9).\par \par You may say, Those were Old Testament prophets--Jeremiah and Ezekiel;\par and Those were messages to the Jews. Wait till you meet, as you will\par shortly, the God Who inspired these prophets. Let us see what you will\par say to Him,--you who profess to preach the gospel of Christ. and yet\par preach it not!\par \par And Paul saith: "Though we, or an angel from heaven should preach unto\par you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be\par anathema." "For I delivered unto you first of all that . . . Christ\par died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, . . . that He was\par buried; and that He hath been raised on the third day according to the\par Scriptures." This very declajration of the gospel after Christ died, is\par that atoning death of His. When you leave that out, and prate about\par the "beautiful life" of Jesus, you are deceived by the devil and are a\par deceiver of other souls.\par \par 4. We know that this "social gospel," the false news that humanity is\par to be reached in the mass, and not by individual conviction,\par individual faith, individual new birth by the Holy Spirit, is a lie,\par because Scripture directly contradicts any such notion:\par \par Hear Paul: "In the last days, grievous times shall come. For men\par shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty,\par railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without\par natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control,\par fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers\par of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness,\par but having denied the power therkeof: from these also turn away!"\par (II Tim. 3:1-5).\par \par Peter also: "In the last days mockers shall come with mockery,\par walking after their own lusts, and saying. Where is the promise of\par His coming?" (II Pet. 3:3, 4).\par \par Paul again: "Evil men and imposters shall wax worse and worse,\par deceiving and being deceived" (II Tim. 3:13). And our Lord plainly\par says:\par \par "In the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and\par brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same\par manner shall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed"\par (Luke 17:29, 30).\par \par How dare you call yourself a believer of Scripture, while you deny\par such plain words as these, and preach a fool's dream, that the world,\par with the devil still here, its prince and god; and man still\par unregenerate--that the world will by some "social gospel" gradually\par change in character? It is a llie! and those that preach it, preach a\par lie. The words of God shall be fulfilled, and not the mouthings of a\par McConnell or the fumings of a Fosdick.\par \par And, O social gospeller, if you are looking for a changed state of\par "society," who is going to help you bring it in? The Holy Ghost will\par not, for He has inspired men to write that the very opposite will\par occur! that men shall hate one another, and that the world will grow\par worse, to the very return of Christ. And we know that enlightened\par Christians will not go about to bring in what they know from God's\par Word is not coming in! And ignorant Christians cannot help you,--for\par they know not how. And we know that this selfish world will not go\par about to bring in your social dream: for you and we know they are set\par on their own interests, and will remain so. And Satan cannot do it, if\par he would!\par \par So, O social gospeller, who would go about to bring in a m"new social\par order," you are left to do it yourself, without that regeneration by\par the Holy Spirit which alone truly saves men; without any message of\par pardon for guilty souls through the shed blood of a Redeemer (for you\par do not preach that!) without the help and prayers of true believers:\par for, these pray, "Thy Kingdom Come"; but they know that Christ must\par return to earth to bring in that Kingdom; and they know that all other\par promises are false and lying hopes!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [1] Paul, being really the least, is the greatest of men! The Lord\par Jesus said, "Among those born of women there hath not arisen a greater\par than John the Baptist." But He added immediately, "Yet he that is\par lesser in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11).\par Paul names himself "less than the least of all saints," speaking in\par the Spirit. When John the Bapntist speaks of the place he had, it was,\par as "the friend of the Bridegroom"; but Paul, of his work, as that of\par espousing and presenting the saints as a chaste virgin to Christ"! We\par cannot conceive of a higher honor, than that given to this very least\par of Christ's bondservants,-- to present His Church to Him; as we\par believe it will be given Paul to do, at the Marriage of the Lamb! (Re\par 19:6-9; II Cor. 11:2)\par \par [2] It would be well also here, regarding Paul, to apply Mk 10:43,44:\par "Whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister." The\par Greek word for "minister" here is the one we translate elsewhere\par "deacon" (diakonos); but verse 44 goes further and deeper: "And\par whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all." Here the\par Greek word is the one always used for a slave under bondage--doulos.\par And so we find Paul saying to the Corinthians:\par \par "We preach not ourselves, but Chriost Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as\par your bondservants far Jesus' sake . . . Though I was free from all\par men, I brought myself under bondage to all (verb form of doulos:\par literally, I became bondslave to all), that I might gain the more\par . . . I will most gladly spend and be spent out for your souls." (II\par Cor. 4:5; I Cor. 9:19; II Cor. 12:15, Gr.).\par No other apostle calls himself "slave of all": Paul got the first\par place, by our Lord's own word,--not that any who choose to be slaves\par of all for Christ's sake may not he associated with Paul! Rut he is\par "less than the least," even yet! No wonder, then, that we find Paul\par speaking with an authority from the Lord such as no other apostle\par uses. Moses (who had authority in Israel) was "meek above all the men\par an the face of the earth." The Lord Jesus Himself is seen, when the\par Kingdom is handed over to Him, as a Lamb that had been slain (Re 5:6)\par is ever "meek andp lowly in heart." Thus Paul says, "I am nothing . . .\par I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an\par apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God." (Here, by the way,\par was sovereign grace! Christ's choosing His greatest enemy to be His\par greatest apostle!)\par \par [3] The verb to call (kaleo), is used in this way of Divine sovereign\par action about forty times; and the cognate noun (klesis), eleven times:\par always in the sense of Romans 11:29: "The gifts and calling of God are\par not repented of."\par \par [4] In the book of Acts, Peter and John, together with others of the\par twelve, and Philip and Stephen, give witness to our Lord's physical\par resurrection, and proclaim remission of sins to the Jews and\par proselytes. Then God, through Peter, (to whom the Lord had given the\par "keys of the kingdom of heaven") opens the door of faith to Gentiles\par (Acts 10). Paul, saved outside Jewish bounds, saw the gqlorified\par Christ, and heard His voice (Acts 9). He is sent forth by the Holy\par Ghost (Acts 13), with the gospel which belongs to this dispensation,\par wholly apart from the Law of Moses: witnessing first in synagogues,\par and afterwards, at Ephesus, (Acts 19), bringing believers out into\par separation from rebellious Judaism. Finally, at Rome (Acts 28),\par through the awful passage of Isaiah Six, he declares the Jews to be\par judicially hardened, and "this salvation of God sent to the Gentiles,"\par Since that day, Jews are invited to believe,--not as Jews, but as\par sinners!\par \par [5] "Compare "holy Scriptures" (graphais hagiais) here, with "sacred\par writings" (hiera grammata) of II Tim. 3:15, and with the words, "every\par Scripture is God-breathed" (pisa graphe theopneustos) of the following\par verse (II Tim. 3:16). We should, in II Tim. 3:16, supply the\par substantive verb, "is," after "Scripture"; and the words "and is"\par r after the word "God," with the resultant reading: "Every Scripture is\par inspired of God and is also profitable," etc. The reading in both the\par English and American Revisions here is a poor attempt at literalness\par which avoids the evident meaning of the Holy Spirit, and is,\par furthermore, not a possible translation in view of the Spirit's\par constant use of the word graphe in the New Testament as referring only\par to the Word of God. To say, "Every graphe inspired of God," etc., is\par to insinuate that there may be a graphe uninspired; whereas graphe is\par God's technical word for Scripture, for God's inspired Word, used 51\par times in the New Testament as a noun denoting always inspired\par writings. Its first occurrence is Matthew 21:42; its last, 2Pe 3:16.\par Other illustrations are Matthew 26:54, 56; John 10:35; and II Timothy\par 3:16. We may note also, as to "holy writings," that Paul, if\par addressing Jews, would have said the hosly writings, for they had them;\par but he is writing to Gentiles, therefore omits the article.\par \par [6] Let us beware, however, of misapplying I Cor. 2:2: "I determined\par not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."\par Paul goes on in verse 6, there, to say: "We speak wisdom, however,\par among them that are fullgrown"; and in 3:1: "I, brethren, could not\par speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in\par Christ. I fed you with milk." "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is the\par gospel for the sinner and babes in Christ; Christ Jesus and Him\par glorified is the gospel for instructing and perfecting believers (I\par Cor. 2:6-13).\par \par [7] "That same energy of the Holy Ghost which had displayed itself in\par Jesus when He walked in holiness here below, was demonstrated in\par resurrection; and not merely in His own rising from the dead, but in\par raising the dead at any time, though mtost signally and triumphantly\par displayed in His own resurrection."--W. Kelly. I have never seen a\par fully satisfactory explanation of the words (literally) "marked out as\par the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by\par resurrection of dead (ones)." The account of our Lord's death in\par Matthew 27:51-54 remarkably corroborates the truth of this great\par verse. The rent veil, the earthquake, the rent rocks, and the opened\par tombs: "And many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were\par raised; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection (for\par He was the First-fruits) they entered into the holy city, and appeared\par unto man)." And the awed testimony of "the centurion, and they that\par were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the\par things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the\par Son of God." And as Luke adds: "Certainly this was a righteous man!"u\par \par [8] "Christ was to be born as Seed of the woman, Seed of Abraham, and\par Seed of David: as the Seed of the woman to bruise Satan; as the Seed\par of Abraham, to bring in salvation to the whole household of faith\par (Gal. 3:16); and Christ was to be the Seed of David, in the actual\par fulfilment to Israel of all Messianic promises: for He was born into\par the "house and family" of David. In fact, He is named in the New\par Testament as Son of David a dozen times. It is from the sixteenth\par Psalm, concerning David, that Peter quotes in Acts 2:25-36; and Paul\par calls Christ David's Seed, quoting from the same Psalm in his first\par recorded sermon (Acts 13:16-41); although he addresses those Jews in\par Antioch as "children of the stock of Abraham." Christ was the Seed of\par the woman; He was also the Seed of Abraham; but He was born into this\par world of a virgin of the family of David (her betrothed husband being\par also of that vfami1y), so that they both went to enroll themselves in\par the city of David, Bethlehem (Luke 2:4, 5). "There is strong reason to\par believe that Mary, as well as Joseph, was a descendant of David. This\par was the persistent tradition of the early Church." --James Orr. "I do\par not doubt that Luke's is Mary's genealogy."--Darby.\par \par [9] "By "religion" (threskeia): we mean that worship which is\par conducted through ceremonies. Paul, indeed, calls that worship, in\par Galatians 1:13, 14 Judaism--(Ioudaismos). James 1:26 uses the word\par threskeia, which primarily means, fear of the gods. The fundamental\par thought in "religion" is the performance of duties. In fact, the\par English word "religion" from Latin, religio, a binding, that is, to\par bind duties on one, and is an accurate setting forth of the original\par meaning. Now this was exactly what was not done in the gospel.\par "Religious" duties as Such were wholly set aside, and faith inw the\par living Christ substituted. Strictly speaking, a believer is a man who\par has a Person, not a religion. The "Judaizers" were those professing to\par be Christians who were determined to fasten on Christian believers\par "Iaudaismos," as Paul calls it. The cross ended all that: the veil was\par rent, the way to God made wholly open, apart from "religious duties\par and ceremonies, days, seasons, months and years"!\par \par [10] We might render these expressions: "Jesus Christ's by calling,"\par "saints by calling." Calling, in this sense, is always of God the\par Father, who appoints to each creature its own manner, character, and\par sphere of being.\par \par [11] "When one puts alongside of this (thanksgiving and prayer) the\par similar language used by Paul to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the\par Colossians, and the Thessalonians,--what catholic love, what\par all-absorbing spirituality, what impassioned devotion to the glory of\par x Christ, what incessant transaction with Heaven about the minutest\par affairs of the kingdom of Christ upon earth, are thus seen to meet in\par this wonderful man!"--David Brown.\par \par [12] Matthew Henry well remarks, "The church at Rome was then a\par flourishing church; but since that time, how is the gold become dim!\par The Epistle to the Romans is now an epistle against the Romans."\par \par [13] "We must keep the personal-letter spirit of Romans before us, if\par we are to be truly benefited by it. So we shall seek not only to teach\par doctrine with Paul, but to exhort response with him. We must not only\par teach, "Paul said so and so to the Roman Christians"; but, "Paul says\par so and so to us." And we must remember that as Paul told Timothy to\par teach, exhort, charge, command, rebuke, to be urgent in season and out\par of season,--so must we exhort, command, rebuke, who teach Paul to\par others.\par \par [14] To the Jew the wholye world was divided into Jews (Ioudaioi) and\par Greeks (Hellenes), religious prerogative being taken as the line of\par demarkation. To the Greek and the Roman the world was similarly\par divided into Greeks (Hellenes) and Barbarians (Barbaroi), civilization\par and culture being now the criterion of distinction." --(Lightfoot.)\par \par [15] "All philosophy is a perfect delusion; intellect has nothing to\par do with God at all. Faith is never in the intellect; and, what is\par more, the intellect never knows a truth. Truth is not the object of\par intellect, but of testimony. This is where the difference lies. You\par tell me something and I believe you, but the thing that receives truth\par (a testimony) is not intellect. Real intelligence of God is in the\par conscience. The mind is incapable of forming an idea of God, and that\par is where the philosophers have gone wrong,"--This word by Mr. Darby is\par the very truth!\par \par [16] "Notice, zit is not the cross. Romanists put the cross on the top\par of the cathedral; millions wear a figure of the cross around their\par necks; but they may never have heard "the word of the cross." As Paul\par says further in I Cor. 1:23, "We preach Chest crucified, [not the\par cross, merely] unto Jews a stumbling block, and unto gentiles\par foolishness; but unto them that are saved, both Jews and Greeks,\par Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." As one has said,\par \par "Not to Thy cross, but to Thyself,\par \par My living Savior, would I cling!\par \par `Twas Thou, and not Thy cross, that bore\par \par My soul's dark guilt, sin's deadly sting.\par \par "A Christless cross no refuge were for me;\par \par A crossless Christ my Savior could not be:\par \par But, O CHRIST CRUCIFIED, I rest in Thee!"\par \par [17] "In these days of "respectable" Christianity, with its great\par cathedrals, churches, denominations, colleges, seminarie{s, "uplift\par movements," etc., you may say, Men no longer have any temptation to be\par "ashamed of the gospel." But lo, and behold, it is not the gospel they\par preach; but a man-reforming, world-mending message of fallen flesh!\par Who today preaches of the wrath of God? But Paul speaks of wrath\par twelve times in Romans, and says: "If God visit not with wrath, He\par cannot be the Judge of the world." Who preaches of the awful things we\par are about to find true of the Gentile world in the end of this\par chapter? Who preaches, that even among the moral philosophers, the\par "better" classes (in the first part of Ch. 2); or the "religious"\par world as represented by the Jew (last part of Ch. 2); or in the whole\par world (3:10-20), that "none is righteous," "none doeth good"? Who\par preaches that the whole world is under the Divine sentence of guilt,\par and that no man is able to put this guilt away? that the shed blood of\par Christ as th|e vicarious sacrifice for human guilt is absolutely the\par only hope of man? who preaches this, today? Here and there, one! It is\par blessed for you, brother, if you are preaching the gospel Paul\par preached, and are not ashamed thereof! It is blessed if you art not\par sucking the poison-honey of Modernism; nor allured by earth's Kagawas\par into the fool's paradise of the "social-gospellers"; nor deceived by\par the Neo-Romanists,-- the Man-Confessionalists, the Buchmanites\par (falsely called the "Oxford Movement"). Better be in prison with Paul,\par with Paul's gospel!\par \par [18] Note, it is the righteousness of God, not the righteousness of\par Christ. It is God's acting righteously upon the basis of Christ's\par redeeming work.\par \par [19] A word concerning the preposition ek as used in verse 17, "a\par righteousness of God from (ek) faith," etc., or "faithwise." There has\par been much objection to the translation of ek by "on the pr}inciple of";\par yet that is about the expression nearest to the truth of any we have\par found, unless it be "faithwise." Literally, ek means out of, or from.\par We ourselves use "out of" thus: "He acted out of prudence," --(as\par animated by that principle) or, "He gave out of kindness." But it is\par of imperative importance that we get the great fact quickly and\par forever fixed in our hearts that God declares men righteous not by\par faith as the procuring cause, for the blood of Christ was that; not by\par faith as the putting forth of a certain faculty innate in man, much\par less by the keeping of divine commands, however holy and just; but out\par of reliance upon His own word as true, and on that alone.\par \par [20] Divinity (theiotes)--what pertains to God; rather than deity\par (theotes)--"the state of being God":--the Godhead. That there is\par divinity, men know from creation; God,--the Godhead, Deity, is known\par by His saints.\p~ar \par [21] We cannot refrain from quoting here Joseph Addison's beautiful\par hymn. Would that it were widely learned and sung today!\par \par The spacious firmament on high,\par \par With all the blue ethereal sky,\par \par And spangled heavens, a shining frame,\par \par Their great Original proclaim.\par \par The unwearied sun, from day to day,\par \par Doth his Creator's power display,\par \par And publishes to every land,\par \par The work of an Almighty Hand.\par \par Soon as the evening shades prevail,\par \par The moon takes up the wondrous tale,\par \par And nightly to the listening earth\par \par Repeats the story of her birth;\par \par Whilst all the stars that round her burn,\par \par And all the planets in their turn,\par \par Confirm the tidings as they roll,\par \par And spread the truth from pole to pole.\par \par What though in solemn silence all\par \par Move round this dark terrestrial ball?\par \par What though no real voice nor sound\par \par Amidst their radiant orbs be found?\par \par In reason's ear they all rejoice,\par \par And utter forth a glorious voice:\par \par Forever singing, as they shine,\par \par "The Hand that made us is Divine."\par \par [22] Read "Does Science Support Evolution" by Dr. E. Ralph Hooper, for\par many years Demonstrator of Anatomy at the University of Toronto (The\par Defender Publishers, Wichita, Kansas, U. S. A.; 50 cents). It gives an\par astonishing amount of accurate testimony.\par \par [23] "Fools": "This is Paul, the writer's (that is, to say God's)\par estimate of the philosophers and religious leaders of the race. Paul\par knew the boasted wisdom of the Euphrates and of the Nile, the learning\par of Hellas, and of Rome. We know it today. But there is this\par difference: there are those in our time who see no generic difference\par between these ethnic sages and the prophets of God, while Paul\par declares the former to be but `fools'."--(Stifler).\par \par [24] Crucifying Christ in Our Colleges, by Dan Gilbert, shows the\par monstrous doctrines of this evil "educator," whose influence is so\par great with many colleges and universities in the United States today.\par May God keep Freud's filthy feet from our shores!\par \par [25] Mahatma Gandhi, he of the horrible, toothless, diabolical grin of\par conceited folly; having been educated in England, and having heard the\par gospel and read the Scriptures, and rejected their light: sits on the\par deck of the steamer returning from India--doing what? Forming mud\par images with his own hands! A self-advertising illustration of the\par idolater's heart-conception of the glorious incorruptible God.\par \par [26] The Greek words used here are not the noble ones meaning men and\par women; but those denoting sex only, as in lower creatures. (For many\par examples, see theleioi and arsenes in Liddell and Scott's Lexicon.)\par This passage has deep significance in this day of the "sex-craze":\par when, as some one says, "Human beings seem to be just beginning to\par realize that they are male and female." The first of Romans warns of\par what such a craze will end in!\par \par [27] The Greek words used here are not the noble ones meaning men and\par women; but those denoting sex only, as in lower creatures. (For many\par examples, see theleioi and arsenes in Liddell and Scott's Lexicon.)\par This passage has deep significance in this day of the "sex-craze":\par when, as some one says, "Human beings seem to be just beginning to\par realize that they are male and female." The first of Romans warns of\par what such a craze will end in!\par \par [28] The expression in II Thess. 2:11 is exactly the same: God sends\par them who refuse the love of the truth "a working of error, that they\par should believe the lie": in this final case it is the apotheosis of\par idolatry,-- Satan's false Christ, the Antichrist, himself a lost man,\par whom they worship!\par \par [29] There is no Scripture record of idolatry before the Flood. The\par solemn presence of the Cherubim at the gate of Eden, probably\par continued long. Sin was increasing, but the Spirit was striving with\par man (Gen. 6:3 Then the 120 years passed; man was given up and the\par Deluge-judgment came. After the Deluge, came Nimrod, son of Cush\par (hence Bar-Cush, which becomes Bacchus), and the Satan-invented plan\par of idols to obscure God,--by demons (I Cor. 10:20). God permitted this\par as a judgment on a race that did not desire knowledge of Him.\par \par [30] "Few, perhaps, realize what is going on right here in America\par (not Russia) in these last days. Read these two extracts: From\par Children of the Jungle, by Thos. Minbaugh, Prof. of Sociology,\par University of Minnesota. (Reprinted in Reader's Digest, 1935): "Child\par tramps learn all about life--and who can do that and ignore sex? More\par and more girls are following their brethren on the bum; about one\par tribe in ten has female members. About one child tramp in 20 is a\par girl, disguised usually in breeches, but just as appallingly homeless\par as the boys, and young-- under twenty. They live in the jungles and\par boxcars, serving as mistresses and maids, sharing the joys and sorrows\par of life on the roads. They treat all boys and men alike; the girls are\par available to any and all in the camp. Occasionally a pair of girls\par travel with a gang for weeks; others prefer variety. They go from\par jungle to jungle without discrimination; they know they will be\par welcome." From The Disinherited, by J. Pegano, Scribner's, also\par reprinted in Reader's Digest: "I visited the `jungle,' a mile or so\par out of town. All men who are `on the bum' have a certain similarity--a\par lean and sullen look. [Describes some] . . . and a hatchet-faced man\par whom I recognized to be what is known among men on the bum, as a wolf.\par A `wolf' is a man who picks up young boys on the toad, for reasons it\par is not necessary to go into. There are hundreds of `wolves' on the\par road, and thousands of boys fall a prey to them."\par \par [31] 1. adikia; 2. poneria; 3. pleonexia; 4. kakia; 5. phthonou; 6.\par phonou; 7. eridos; 8. dolou; 9. kakoetheias; 10. psithuristas; 11.\par katalalous; 12. theostugeis; 13. hybristas; 14. hyperephanous; 15.\par aladzonas; 16. epheuretas kakon; 17. goneusin apeitheis; 18.\par asunetous; 19. asunethetous; 20. astorgous; 21. asponpdous; 22.\par aneleemonas\par \par [32] `In the six words of which this is the first, God emphasizes the\par negative, or stubborn quality of badness Each of these words begins\par with the Greek alpha, which has the force here of alpha privative:\par denial or negation of the quality expressed in the word. Therefore we\par have translated the first letter in all six "without,"--a rendering\par consistent rather than elegant, as accuracy of interpretation, rather\par than "excellency of speech" should be sought here.\par \par [33] "I stood several years ago upon "Starved Rock," near LaSalle,\par Illinois, a beautiful hill with precipitous sides, where in 1769 the\par entire tribe of the "Illinois" Indians were starved, almost to the\par last man, and the tribe practically exterminated, by other Indian\par tribes besieging the rock. You say, But those were Indians: I am\par civilized. No, God says, "There is no distinction; for all sinned."\par And even Paul cried, "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh,\par dwelleth no good thing."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } 0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22 CHAPTER TWO\par \par The Great Principles according to which God's Judgment of Human Action\par Must Proceed.\par \par 1. Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man,--any one judging\par [others]: for in the very matter in which thou judgest the other man,\par thou art giving judgment against thy very self: tor the same things\par thou art practising,--thou who art judging!\par \par WE HAVE TRACED the awful history of the human race in iniquity and\par idolatry, especially since the Flood, and have seen that fearful\par indictment of above twenty counts which ends Chapter One.\par \par We now enter upon the greatest passage in all Scripture as to the\par principles and processes of God in His estimate, or judgment,\par concerning His creatures. If God is "Judge of all," and if the whole\par world is to be "brought under the judgment of God" (Rom. 3:19), God\par will surely take pains to make known the great principles of His\par action, so that men may know beforehand how He will decide and act.\par Otherwise, men would "imagine vain things" about the true God, and hug\par their delusions to their own damnation.\par \par The personal character of God's relations toward men, either in the\par matter of salvation or of damnation, is rapidly being forgotten by\par this generation. Yet, if God be God, He must be the Judge of All. Back\par of the whole revelation of His works and ways, in His Word, is God\par Himself. And it is only the fool that saith in his heart, "No God."\par Mark that it is in his heart, his desires, that he speaks; and not in\par his reason or judgment!\par \par God created man "in His own image." Since we are persons,--so is God.\par Since we have personal feelings,--so has God.\par \par Now every creature stands in relation to God according to what God is.\par God cannot change. Daniel Webster, in answer to the question: "What is\par the greatest thought that ever entered your mind?" said, at once, "My\par responsibility to my Maker!" You must meet God, and that as He is, not\par as you might wish Him to be. If you have Christ, you have already met\par Him! If you have not Christ, you have still to face God in His\par infinite holiness, and that arrayed against you, at the Judgment Day.\par \par Now this second chapter of Romans deals with those who do not believe\par that the awful things of the first chapter mean themselves.\par Consequently, we find two sets of such self-appointed "judges" of\par others [34] in Chapter Two:\par \par First, Those who discountenance the "openly bad" of humanity,\par considering themselves "better"--because of race, civilization,\par environment, education, or culture; and,\par \par Second, Those who discountenance the bad, thinking themselves\par "better," because of their religion,--the possession of the Divine\par oracles: these, of course, were, in Paul's day, the Jews (2.17).\par \par Concerning the first class, the "respectable" sinners, who esteem\par themselves "better," God lays down six great principles of His\par estimate or judgment of men; and adds a seventh concerning the second\par class, the "religious" sinners; of whom God declares that the world\par itself despises inconsistency between practice and religious\par profession.\par \par Now just because the history of our race has been so black, as shown\par in Chapter One ("God gave them up--God gave them up--God gave them\par up--"), we who read the record are ourselves in peculiar danger, for\par the doors into the death-chamber of self-righteousness so easily open\par to us! We readily fall into the delusion that God is speaking in this\par chapter concerning heathen idolaters, who finally descended to\par worshiping "creeping things,"--and that He cannot be speaking to us!\par \par But will you remember that God comes quickly, through this sad\par history, to man's settled state. For at the end of the history, the\par announcement concerning men is, "being filled with all\par unrighteousness!" By and by God will announce that there is `no\par distinction" as to sinners, and will publish the fact that there is\par but one way of salvation for all men alike,--and that through the shed\par blood of a Redeemer. But here, as we have above said, God is heading\par off from escape first the proud "judges" of others, of every\par sort,--the moralists, and moral philosophers, all the "moral"\par folks,--the "whosoevers" that "judge"; and, second, those who would\par escape the consciousness of guilt and judgment by running under a\par "religious" roof-- whether a Jewish shelter, as in Paul's day, or a\par "Christian" one, in our day.\par \par SEVEN GREAT PRINCIPLES OF GOD'S JUDGMENT\par \par 1. God's judgment is "according to truth" (verse 2).\par \par 2. According to accumulated guilt (verse 5).\par \par 3. According to works (verse 6).\par \par 4. Without respect of persons (verse 11).\par \par 5. According to performance, not knowledge (verse 13).\par \par 6. God's judgment reaches the secrets of the heart (verse 16).\par \par 7. According to reality, not religious profession (verses 17-29).\par \par ACCORDING TO TRUTH,--NOT HUMAN IMAGININGS\par \par Verse two of this chapter describes the first principle of God's\par judgment: it is "according to truth":\par \par 2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against\par them that practice such things. 3 And dost thou reckon this, O man,\par judging them that practice such things, and thyself doing the same,\par that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or dost thou even\par despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering,\par not knowing that the goodness of God is meant to lead thee to\par repentance?\par \par First, then, the judgment of God is "according to truth." Every man is\par naturally blind to his own state and sins. Not unless mightily\par convinced by the Holy Ghost, can any man imagine God's dealing in\par justice with him! The third verse brings this out. Godet (though\par seeking to confine this passage to the Jews) strikingly renders it:\par "Dost thou reason that thou wouldst escape,--thou? [35] A being by\par thyself? A privileged person?" And he adds, "The Greek word here used\par (logid-zomai--to reason) well describes the false calculations whereby\par the Jews persuaded themselves that they would escape the judgment\par wherewith God would visit the Gentiles."\par \par But Paul does not begin with the Jews as a class until verse 17. Here\par in the first part of the chapter he is seeking to arouse all men from\par that sense of security arising from self-love and self-flattery. [36]\par We must apply these searching sentences to all "respectable" persons,\par to all those who, being themselves impenitent, yet "judge" others.\par \par God sees the facts, nay, the motives behind the facts, of the life of\par every creature. Of course, this whole second chapter, and the first\par part of the third, is meant by God, whose name is Love, to drive us\par out of our false notions of Himself and His judicial procedure, into\par the arms of our Redeemer, Christ; who has borne wrath, the wrath of\par God, as our Substitute. But whether you are brought to flee to Christ\par or not, you must face the facts: God is a God of judgment, and a God\par of truth. See how He "spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up."\par It is not because God loves to judge and condemn, for He definitely\par says judgment is "His strange work" (Isa. 28:21). Nevertheless, He\par must judge, and it must be "according to truth," according to the\par facts, the realities which are, of course, known to Him. He needs no\par "jury" to decide any case. He is Himself Witness, Jury and Judge.\par \par Now, in the next two verses (3 and 4), we see God dealing with the\par accursed folly of the deceitful heart of man, who dreams that by\par merely judging others (though he practices the same things), he shall\par escape God's judgment. Some one says, "We hate our own faults when we\par see them in others." But this state goes beyond even that, for it puts\par God right off His throne, and makes Him connive with a guilty sinner,\par just because, forsooth, this sinner discerns clearly and decries\par loudly the sins of others,--while committing the same himself.\par \par Furthermore, such a "judge" of others becomes, in his self-confident\par importance, blind to God's constant mercy toward himself--not feeling\par the need of it; and in his self righteous blindness knows not that the\par "goodness" of God is meant to lead him to personal repentance instead\par of to judgment of his fellows. [37]\par \par Note the degrees or stages, also, of God's kindness during the\par earth-life of such a man: First, it is God's "goodness," in daily\par preserving him, providing for him, and protecting him. Second, Divine\par goodness being despised by him, God's "forebearance" is\par exercised,--God does not smite instantly the proud ingrate, but goes\par on in goodness toward him, withholding wrath even at times when\par disease, danger, or death threaten all about him. Third, all God's\par goodness and forbearance being despised, God's "long-suffering" keeps\par waiting, even over "vessels of wrath" (see 9:22).\par \par ACCORDING TO ACCUMULATED GUILT\par \par 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up for thyself\par wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of\par God--\par \par We have here the second principle, the cumulative character of\par continued impenitence. This shows how the hardened and impenitent\par sinner "lays up" during a prosperous earth-life constant "treasures"\par of wrath, [38] which will be revealed at the Great White Throne\par judgment of Revelation 20, when all the evil works of the lost will be\par shown in all their ramifications and evil influences, and effects upon\par others, as well as in the fearful personal guilt of hardness and\par impenitence against God's mercy. Not until the last evil result of a\par life of sin has been marked and weighed, can the final reward of the\par sinner be shown,--as all will be shown in that "Day." This is the\par outlook, probably, with most people we meet! How dread and awful that\par outlook for the sinner who has taken God's earthly gifts and blessings\par as a matter of course,--no brokenness of heart or contrition toward\par God! Nay, not even thankfulness! "Behold, this was the iniquity of\par Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease" (Ezek. 16:49,\par 50). And our Lord, in speaking of the utter carnal security of the\par Sodomites, says, "They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they\par planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it\par rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all; after\par the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of Man is\par revealed" (Luke 17:28-30).\par \par So they are today, in these last days: "Treasuring up unto themselves\par wrath" for that fearful "day of wrath."\par \par Remember, if the goodness of God toward you is not leading you to\par repentance, then every day, every hour, you live, drops another drop\par into the terrible "treasure" of indignation which will burst the great\par dam of God's long-suffering--in the great Day of Wrath, when God shall\par reveal His righteous judgment! (Of course, if you flee to Calvary, you\par will "not come into judgment" (John 5:24): for Judgment has already\par struck there!)\par \par ACCORDING TO WORKS\par \par 6 Who will recompense to each one according to his works: 7 to them\par that by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and\par incorruptibility, life eternal: 8 but to those who are contentious,\par and disobey the truth, being obedient to unrighteousness, shall be\par wrath and indignation, 9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of\par man that worketh evil, both of Jew first, and also of Greek; 10 but\par glory and honor and peace to every soul of man that worketh good, both\par to Jew first, and also to Greek.\par \par The third principle then, is, "according to works": "Who will judge\par every one according to his works." How could it be otherwise? You know\par that when a case comes to trial in courts of law, men first endeavor,\par through questioning witnesses, to discover the facts. Now God knows\par all the facts about every one of Adam's race, and His judgment must be\par in accordance with them. It is not that God desires you to be damned,\par but, contrariwise, to believe on His Son, upon Whom His judgment for\par human sin fell at Calvary. Nevertheless, those that come up at the\par Last Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) will be "judged out of the things which\par were written in the books, according to their works" . . . "They were\par judged every man according to their works."\par \par But, as we shall see, it is the life as a whole, the life-choice, that\par is in question here. Consequently, we read here of the two great\par classes: the patiently enduring, and the rebellious; those whose\par life-practice is good, and those who work evil; those who obey the\par truth, and those who reject it in order to remain in the\par unrighteousness they love.\par \par Verse 7: The "patient continuance in well-doing" is not at all set\par forth as the means of their procuring eternal life, [39] but as a\par description of those to whom God does render life eternal. Well-doing\par is subjection to and obedience to the light God has vouchsafed. [40]\par To Abel, "well-doing" meant approaching God by a sacrifice, as a\par sinner, as he had been taught to do. To Noah, "continuance in\par well-doing" meant building an ark to save his house and preserve life\par upon the earth, involving years of labor, and the ridicule of man. To\par Abraham, it meant leaving his country, his relatives, and his father's\par house, and becoming a stranger and pilgrim on earth. To Job, it meant\par his God-fearing, evil-rejecting life; and afterwards, in the midst of\par his great affliction, bowing before the presence of God in dust and\par ashes. To Matthew the publican, it meant rising from his business and\par following the Lord Jesus; to Cornelius the centurion, a life of\par patient prayer and generosity,--and then believing the gospel at\par Peter's lips. To Lydia, it meant humble and faithful attendance at\par "the place of prayer" till Paul came and "her heart was opened" to\par give heed to the gospel of grace spoken by the apostle,--whence\par followed her "obedience of faith."\par \par In every age since man sinned there have been those like Jabez, who\par was "more honorable than his brethren, and called upon God" (1 Chron.\par 4:9, 10); and like Joseph, who was "separate from his brethren." There\par always have been choosers of God and rejectors of God.\par \par Verse 8: We need only sketch in Scripture a few of the contentious,\par the factious [41] a Cain who was angry, and hateful at God's accepting\par Abel's sacrifice; an Esau who despised his birthright and hated to the\par end the people of God; a Pharaoh who said to Moses, "Who is Jehovah\par that I should hearken unto His voice?" A Saul who despised the word of\par Jehovah and sought to destroy His elect king, David; a Jehoiakim,\par apostate king of Judah, who "cut with his penknife" and burned the\par prophecies of Jeremiah; scribes and Pharisees, who rejected John's\par baptism of repentance,--and, consequently, our Lord's loving offer of\par eternal life for sinners through faith in Himself alone; infidel\par Sadducees, who obeyed not the truth, by ridiculing it, as Modernists\par do today. All about us we perceive them,--"the factious," those who\par oppose to Scripture their notions or arguments, and continue to obey\par unrighteousness. The world is filled with them, and they will fill\par hell shortly!\par \par And now we must faithfully read and believe what God declares will\par befall these "factious" unbelievers:\par Wrath--indignation--tribulation--anguish [42] thus is the fearful\par visitation of The Great Day upon the impenitent described, with\par concise but sweeping comprehensiveness: Wrath: this is "revealed from\par heaven" as the state of God's mind toward the unbelieving wicked--"the\par wrath of God abides upon him" (John 3:36). Indignation: this is\par vividly described in Nahum: "Who can stand before His indignation? and\par who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?" Or Ezekiel: "I have\par poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the\par fire of My wrath." It seems to be the outburst in visitation of wrath\par stored up. Then (verse 9), tribulation: Here the visitation strikes\par its object. The false peace of his hardened, impenitent earth-life is\par now horribly broken up by direct visitation from God in vengeance.\par Finally, anguish: which sets forth the result of that tribulation\par which meets the lost directly from an angry, indignant Creator and\par Judge. "I am in anguish in this flame," cried lost Dives, in Hades\par (God's prison for the lost until the Day of Judgment). What\par unspeakable horrors, then, will that Day bring!\par \par Verse 10: But God must again, in His heart of love, show in what\par sweet, heavenly contrast are those working good: glory, honor,\par peace,--to every such soul, Jew or Greek! The order of the words\par plainly points to that day when the righteous will be manifest. Then\par will be manifested in them that glory which they sought; there will be\par public honor; there will be everlasting peace!\par \par Now remember that although we have not yet come in this Epistle to the\par unfolding of the way of peace, yet it belongs to your peace to let\par this great passage we are studying fall full into your heart.\par \par WITHOUT RESPECT OF PERSONS\par \par 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as made\par a life-choice of sin, though without law, without law also shall\par perish; and as many as under law made a life-choice of sin, shall be\par judged by law. [43]\par \par Verse 11:The fourth principle, then, is, "Without respect of persons."\par Among men, there is almost nothing else but what James and Jude\par denounce as "showing respect of persons"--"for the sake of advantage."\par The rich, the educated, the travelled, the cultured, the prominent,\par the influential, the pleasing, the strong,--are all sought after. The\par poor, the ignorant, the weak, are despised and neglected. But not so\par with God. He sees men through His own eyes of holiness and truth\par always. He "seeth not as man seeth." It is a terrifying thought to\par earth's great,--but an infinitely comforting thought to every humble\par God-fearing soul,--that there is an impartial One, with no respect of\par persons, with whom they have to do!\par \par Distinction in responsibility, according to privilege enjoyed, is\par constantly carried through Scripture. But light is light,--not\par darkness at all. Light is an absolute quality. If persons were lost in\par a forest at night, the least glimmer of light seen somewhere would\par attract those who desired deliverance from darkness, and they would\par hasten toward it; while those that feared light because of works of\par evil in which they desired to persist, would shrink back farther into\par the darkness; loving darkness not for its own sake, but, as our Lord\par said, "because their works are evil."\par \par In both cases, whether of those that do not have the (Mosaic) Law, or\par of those living, as the Jews did, under it if they choose sin, there\par is doom. There will be no respect of persons at all. Those "without\par law" choosing sin "shall perish": those "choosing sin under law shall\par be judged by that law," and consequently go into more terrible\par damnation. [44]\par \par ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE, OR OBEDIENCE, NOT KNOWLEDGE\par \par 13 For not those hearing law are righteous before God, but on the\par contrary those doing law shall be accounted righteous. 14 (For when\par Gentiles not having law, by nature do the things of the Law, these,\par not at all having law, unto themselves are law; 15 for such show forth\par the work written in their hearts of the Law, their conscience bearing\par joint-witness [to this "work" in their hearts], and their inward\par thoughts answering one to the other, accusing [them] or else excusing\par [them].)\par \par Verse 13: Not those hearing law, but those practising, accounted\par righteous before God. The fifth principle is, that hearing God's Word\par is no advantage without obedience. Paul addresses the Jew directly,\par beginning at verse 17; but here, in verse 13, the principle is\par announced in general. It is not yet the Jew as possessing circumcision\par and the Law, as in verses 17 to 29 (for the word is hearing law--not\par the Law). But it is, in verse 13, the great fact, (true of Jews or\par Gentiles), that the possession of Divine truth can avail nothing with\par God apart from subjection and obedience thereto. There is no form of\par the "deceitfulness of sin" more insidious and more prevalent (because\par of its subtle power over the self-righteous heart) than that of\par settling down into false peace because of merely knowing God's truth.\par Nor does God in this verse say any will be justified by "doing" (for\par He tells us plainly elsewhere that none will be), but He is saying\par here that doing, not mere hearing, is what His judgment calls for. We\par shall find that the gospel will speak of the "obedience of faith":\par whereas disobedience and unbelief are interchangeable words.\par \par We know that the blood of Christ is the only procuring cause for our\par being accounted righteous, and faith the sole condition. Yet it is\par deeply instructive here to quote a passage like that of Luke 1:6,\par concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth: "And they were both righteous\par before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord\par blameless." Now their walk was not the ground of their acceptance,\par although only such as they are accepted! For they were subject to\par God's Word, not mere hearers, but doers. The first verse of the book\par of Job describes such another. Indeed, at heart all God's saints are\par such.\par \par Verses 14, 15: (For when Gentiles [ethne [45] --nations] not at all\par having law--that is Law as an external revelation from God (the Law if\par you will): these words alone, although there are many like passages,\par wholly refute the claim that God gave the Law to all nations. By\par nature, the things of the Law are doing--this does not mean that they\par are fulfilling the claims of the Law, for they do not have it, but\par that they are unconsciously aware, as moral beings, of what is right\par and wrong. These, law not at all having, to their own selves are law.\par We are giving the literal rendering of this passage. Note, first, that\par they do not at all have law, that is, external Divine enactment. Next,\par they are by their moral constitution, not by external enactments, "law\par to their very selves." Being such ones, as show out [by their actions]\par the work (of the law) written in their hearts--Here, note most\par carefully that it is not the Law that is written, for the word\par "written" agrees grammatically with "the work." It is a work that is\par written by God in the constitution of these whom He has "suffered to\par walk in their own ways" (Acts 14:16). For "as for His ordinances, they\par [the nations] have not known them" (Ps. 147:20). God is describing how\par He has constituted all men: there is a "work" within them, making them\par morally conscious. As we have said elsewhere, such a "work" would not\par be contrary to any succeeding revelation to Israel. Indeed, if the\par Israelites had not had this "work" within them, their moral\par constitution, the external enactments given by Moses might as well\par have been given to the stones of the wilderness. The conscience of\par these [nations] bearing fellow witness [with the Law,--though they\par have it not] and their inner-thoughts accordingly one with another\par accusing or else excusing)--Note that verses 14 and 15 are a\par parenthesis explanatory of verses 12 and 13: read verses 13 and 16\par consecutively to see this fact.\par \par ACCORDING TO HEART-SECRETS\par \par 16--in the day when God shall judge the secret counsels of men,\par according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.\par \par Verse 16: The sixth principle of God's judgment here is that it\par comprehends the very secrets of men. Within every human heart, in\par hours of consciousness, there is going on a constant dialogue, as we\par read in verse 15: "Their conscience bearing witness therewith, and\par their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them." There\par are those, indeed, in whom conscience has been "seared as with a hot\par iron," so that its voice is no longer heard in protest. In these,\par also, however, God continually reads the dark, secret things of sin.\par And in the coming "day" all secrets must come to light. For the\par wicked, what an outlook! Even the saints, when Christ appears the\par second time, will come before the judgment seat (bema) of Christ (II\par Cor. 5:10). And, while the question of their works as sins will not be\par brought up at all,--for it is "apart from sin" that He appears to His\par own (Heb. 9:28),--yet to these, nevertheless, it is said in I Cor.\par 4:5: "Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will\par both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest\par the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise\par from God." It will be a solemn enough time, even for the saints, to\par have the works of their lives since their salvation examined, yea,\par even concerning the "counsels of the hearts," their hidden motives.\par For the saints will receive only such "praise from God" as is\par righteously possible for each. But how unutterably awful even the\par contemplation of appearing unforgiven before a God Who will judge the\par secrets of men by Jesus Christ,--no longer a patient and willing\par Redeemer, but God's appointed Judge in righteousness! (Acts 17:31).\par \par In this great passage, verses 12 to 16, review carefully these facts:\par \par (a) Absence of degrees of privilege possessed by others, excuses no\par one.\par \par (b) The greater the privilege, however, the more searching and severe\par the judgment.\par \par (c) All have committed sin, but it is the life-choice of sin, the life\par looked at as a whole, that is considered, in this place.\par \par (d) Merely "hearing" the Law by a Jew (or, today, by Gentiles, the\par gospel) justifies no one. The Jew boasted in knowing the Law, but\par Christ said, "None of you keepeth the Law." Thus, today, millions\par conscious of "Christian" privilege, and making "Christian" profession\par are going steadily on to judgment. For the Jew did not obey the Law\par (which commanded righteousness), and the merely professing Christian\par has not obeyed the gospel, which commands personal faith in the shed\par blood of the Redeemer, and confession before men of faith in Christ\par Risen.\par \par (e) The Gentiles, by their very moral constitution, "by nature,"\par approve the things of the Law: that is, all men know it is wrong to\par lie, steal, and murder. I asked Chinese who had never heard the Law or\par the gospel if they knew these things were wrong; they all admitted\par they did. Consequently,\par \par (f) They are said to be "a law unto themselves, since they show the\par work of the Law, written in their heart." It is an inner moral\par consciousness "written" in man's heart, a "work," which while not the\par Law (though of course not contrary to it), must nevertheless, not be\par confounded with that operation of God in the future in the hearts of\par redeemed Israel, when He restores them: "I will put my Law in their\par inward parts [they will love it], and in their hearts will I write\par it." [They will not have to try to recollect the Law: they will have\par it constantly and always before them] for the "stony heart" will have\par been "taken away" (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-27). It is then that the\par (Mosaic) Law will be fulfilled in "every jot and tittle," by redeemed\par Israel.\par \par But the work of the Law appears in every human being; so that we read,\par \par (g) Man's conscience bears fellow-witness to this law-work in his\par moral constitution; consequently men daily, hourly, constantly, are\par having "inward thoughts" which have voices of accusation or approval,\par according as a man's conduct may be.\par \par To repeat, then, God here declares that there is a righteous "work"\par Divinely written and maintained in all men's hearts, from which they\par cannot escape; because their consciences "agree" with it (with this\par inner working). This "work" is evidently what lies at the root of the\par human conscience. The Law (of Moses) has never been written in the\par hearts of the Gentiles; but a Divine "work" is present in all men. The\par moral and spiritual constitution of man came 2,500 years `before\par Moses' Law; and the latter could only be the written expression of\par what existed before as a work, or witness, in man's being, to which\par his conscience attested. [46]\par \par ACCORDING TO REALITY, NOT RELIGIOUS PROFESSION\par \par The seventh principle of His judgment, therefore, is, that even a\par Divinely revealed religion provides no security to its professor if\par devoid of reality: whether the "Jews' religion" at the beginning of\par the dispensation, or the "Christian religion" (as it has come to be\par called), today (verses 17 to 29).\par \par 17 But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the Law,\par and gloriest in God, 18 and knowest His will, and approvest the things\par that are excellent, being instructed out of the Law; 19 and art\par confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them\par that are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of\par babes, having in the Law the form of knowledge and of the truth: 21\par thou therefore teaching another! art thou not teaching thyself? thou,\par preaching not to steal--dost thou steal? 22 thou, saying not to commit\par adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou, holding idols in\par abhorrence, art thou a temple-robber? 23 thou, who art glorying in the\par Law, through thy own transgression of the Law, art thou dishonoring\par God?24 For the name of God through you [Jews] is being blasphemed\par among the Gentiles, even as it is written! 25 For circumcision indeed\par does profit, if thou art a law-keeper: but if thou art a transgressor\par of law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision.26 If therefore the\par uncircumcision be observing the moral requirements of the Law, shall\par not the uncircumcision of such a one be reckoned for circumcision? 27\par and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it keep the\par Law, rise up in judgment against thee, who with the letter and\par circumcision art a transgressor of law? 28 For he is not a Jew, who is\par one in appearance: neither is that circumcision which is in\par appearance, in the flesh! 29 But on the contrary, he is a Jew who is\par one in secret; and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in\par letter; whose praise is not from men, but on the contrary, from God!\par \par In the above verses Paul directly addresses the Jew. He shows that the\par Jew "rested" on The Law,--on having it; and was proud that the will of\par the true God had been revealed to him; that he "knew" that will, and\par was therefore able to "approve the things that are excellent." He\par developed a confidence in himself as a guide, a light, a corrector of\par the foolish, a teacher, because in the law he had "the form of\par knowledge and of the truth." But did he apply it to himself,--his\par teaching, his preaching, his saying what folks should be, his\par abhorring idols, his glorying in The Law? Nay! the name of God was\par blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the selfishness, the pride,\par the covetousness, the general wickedness of the Jew!\par \par Paul goes on to declare that Jewish circumcision, which was the mark\par of that nation's separation to God, was good only if one were thus\par really separated to God, but that if not, the Jew was really an\par uncircumcised one; that he was excelled instead, and "judged," by\par those who, wholly outside circumcision, feared and walked with God.\par Paul finally declares that a man is not a Jew who is merely one\par outwardly, and that God does not regard mere outward circumcision:\par that the only Jew in God's sight is an "Israelite indeed," like\par Nathaniel, sincere and without guile; and that circumcision is a heart\par matter, in the real spirit of separation to God and regard for Him.\par (See the same phrase by which God describes a real Jew [en to krupto]\par in Matt. 6:3, 6, etc.)\par \par So much for the Jew who was the "religious" man, when Paul wrote\par Romans. But the "religious" man today is the "professing Christian,"\par and "church-membership" as they call it, has taken the place, in the\par thought of Christendom, of the Jew's consciousness of belonging to the\par favored Israelitish race.\par \par If we should thus apply this passage (17-29), must it not read\par something like this?--"If thou bearest the name of a Christian, and\par restest on having the gospel, and gloriest in God, and knowest His\par will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed\par out of the gospel; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of\par the blind, having in the gospel the form of knowledge and of the\par truth"--Then would follow the searching questions of verses 21 and 22;\par for do we not know teachers that teach others, but refuse to follow\par their own teaching? And preachers that denounce stealing, but are\par accused by the world of being themselves money-grabbers? [47] So it\par would read, "Thou who gloriest in the gospel, through thy disobedience\par to the gospel, dishonorest thou God? The name of God is blasphemed\par among non `church-members' [48] because of you! Church-membership [49]\par indeed profiteth if thou be an obeyer of the gospel; but if thou be a\par refuser of a gospel-walk, thy `church-membership' is become non\par `church-membership.' If therefore a non `church-member' obey the\par gospel, shall not his non `church-membership' be reckoned for\par `church-membership' ? And shall not non `church-members,' if they obey\par the gospel, judge thee, who with the letter and `church-membership'\par art a refuser of a gospel-walk? For he is not a Christian who is one\par outwardly, nor is that `church-membership' which is outward in the\par flesh; but he is a Christian who is one inwardly; and\par `church-membership' is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the\par letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God."\par \par Now before we proceed, remember yet once again, that God's great\par announcement of these principles of His throne is given to awaken men\par out of their false hopes about themselves, unto the truth about\par themselves; and is to be regarded as a description of God's judgment,\par as it must be--in order that men may be aroused, and not refuse His\par truth. But do not confuse Romans Two with Revelation Twenty! At the\par Judgment Day there will be no such preaching and reasoning with men as\par Paul here is doing, but damnation only--"according to their works--the\par things written in the books." O sinner, if God's rebukes are still\par coming to thee, there is sweet hope for thee! There will be no rebukes\par in that Great Day: but "visitation" only!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [34] Note: The Greek verb for "judging" in the first verse does not\par mean to estimate a man's value but to condemn his person.\par \par [35] The pronoun "thou" is emphatic in the Greek, indicating a fond\par conceit about oneself.\par \par [36] Bengel, agreeing with Meyer and Godet, gives a searching word\par here: "Everyone accused, tries to escape; he who is acquitted,\par escapes." And Meyer: "But it is not by an acquittal that the Jew (or\par any religious person) expects to escape; but by being excepted\par entirely from the judgment of God. According to the Jewish notion,\par only the Gentiles shall be judged; while all Jews, as the children of\par the kingdom--of Messiah,--shall inherit it!"\par \par [37] The goodness of God to us, remembered, reflected upon, heartily\par believed in, moves the heart, and changes the whole attitude toward\par God. The great preacher of repentance, John the Baptist, cried,\par "Repent, for the Kingdom" --all you Jews have been hoping for! "is at\par hand," He was stern, as was his Lord, only with religious pretenders.\par \par [38] There is an evident correlation between the phrase, `riches of\par goodness,' verse 4; and the Greek word translated `treasure up'. The\par latter word, as well as the dative of favor, seauto, `for thyself',\par have certainly a tinge of irony. What an enriching is that!"--Godet.\par Also Bengel: "Note the antithesis between `despising the riches of\par goodness,' and `treasuring up wrath'; between `hardness' and\par `goodness'; between `impenitent heart' and `repentance,' of verse 4.\par Also note that it is `against thyself' thou art treasuring wrath, not\par against others whom thou judgest. Finally, the unquestionable\par antithesis between `forbearance' and `revelation of judgment.'" And\par David Brown: "What an awful idea is here expressed,--that the sinner\par himself is amassing, like hoarded treasure, an ever accumulating stock\par of Divine wrath, to burst upon him `in the day of wrath and revelation\par of the righteous judgment of God'! And this is said not of the\par reckless, but of those who boasted of their purity!"\par \par [39] It must carefully and Constantly be borne in mind, as we have\par said above, that the question in this chapter is, the principles of\par God's judgment as Judge of all, and not the last assize itself, nor\par any account of the manner in which those said to be "working good"\par entered upon that path (which, of course, is always by a publican's\par trust in a God of mercy). But we are being shown in Chapter 2 how God\par must proceed in accordance with His being, toward two classes,--those\par subject to Him, and those refusing subjection. Alford well says: "The\par Apostle is here speaking generally, of the general system of God in\par governing the world,--the judging according to each man's\par works--punishing the evil, and rewarding the righteous. No question at\par present arises, how this righteousness in God's sight is to be\par obtained--but the truth is only stated broadly to be further specified\par by and by, when it is clearly shown that by works of law (erga nomou)\par no flesh can be justified before God. The neglect to observe this has\par occasioned two mistakes: (1) an idea that by this passage it is proved\par that not faith only, but works also in some measure, justify before\par God; and an idea that by well-doing here is meant faith in Christ.\par However true it be, so much is certainly not meant here, but merely\par the fact that everywhere, and in all, God punishes evil and rewards\par good."\par \par [40] God often, in His saving-grace, meets an enemy like Saul of\par Tarsus in the very heat of his opposition to Christ; or saves, and\par reveals His truth to, young men of wild dissipation like Augustine; or\par takes up and leads all the way to the Celestial City a profane Bunyan.\par Nevertheless, of these also, it could be said, as Paul spake: "I was\par not disobedient to the heavenly vision." After grace reached them,\par they too are described as "those who sought for glory and honor and\par incorruption." We repeat that verses 7 to 10 are not a revelation of\par the way of salvation, but a general description of the character of\par those that are saved.\par \par [41] Literally, it reads here, "those who are of contention"; that is,\par whose hearts, instead of believing and obeying, rise in opposition to\par the truth, contending inwardly against the truth and outwardly with\par them that proclaim it. The word "contentious" here evidently refers to\par the first conscious risings of man's wicked heart against God's\par revealed will. "`Of contention' defines unbelievers, as those who are\par `of faith' defines believers" (Hodge).\par \par [42] Wrath (orge) and indignation (thumos) is the true Greek order\par here. Alford's comment is excellent: "According to the arrangement,\par the former word denotes the abiding settled mind of God, as in John\par 3:36, towards them; and the latter, the outbreak of that anger at the\par Great Day of retribution."\par \par [43] Literally: "For as many as without law sinned, without law also\par shall perish; and as many as under law sinned, through law shall be\par judged." But the tense of the verb sinned, in both cases is the\par aorist; and cannot refer to the mere fact that they committed sin; for\par "all have sinned." The word "sinned" must refer to the general choice\par of sin as against righteousness and holiness. Therefore have we\par translated it "life-choice of sin," because the whole life is here\par looked at as a unit, and that life was a choice of sin, whether by\par Gentiles without the Mosaic law, or by Jews under it.\par \par [44] There is a poisonous vagary floating like a miasma through\par Christendom, that those who do not have the light of the gospel will\par be saved, either by a "second chance," or by "purgatorial\par fires,"--because, forsooth, "God is too good to punish sinners." Paul\par will answer these theories in Chapter 3 by an unanswerable question:\par "Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath? God forbid: for how then\par shall God judge the world?" Meaning, that wrath is inseparably\par connected with judgment, whatever the degree of light sinned against\par may have been. How indescribably more awful will be the doom of those\par who now constitute a third company--even those who reject the love and\par grace of God manifested in His Son! (Heb. 10:28, 29). Always remember\par that the contemplation of an especially heinous degree of iniquity and\par consequent judgment is accompanied in the deceitful human heart by the\par delusion that those not chiefly guilty shall somehow wholly escape.\par But verse 12 distinctly says as many as chose sin, even though they be\par "without law" (anomos--Cf.1 Cor. 9:21--without externally declared\par divine revelation), shall also perish. Now, the word perish here is a\par terrible word! When used in Scripture regarding human beings it never\par hints of annihilation, but rather the contrary: "And be not afraid of\par them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather\par fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna"\par (Matthew 10:28). What "destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" means as\par to time, is shown in Matthew 25:41-46: "Then shall He say unto them on\par the left hand, `Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which\par is prepared for the devil and his angels.' And these shall go away\par into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal\par life,"--compared with Revelation 20:10: "And the devil that deceived\par them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the\par Beast and the False Prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night\par unto the ages of the ages." Note the same word, aionios, eternal,\par concerning life and concerning punishment. "The ages of the ages" is\par God's constant phrase for the duration of His own endless existence;\par and for that of Christ, the Son; and for that of His saints. See Gal.\par 1:5 (the first instance of this phrase,--used 21 times in the New\par Testament). Revelation 4:9; 1:18; 22:5, need to be compared with\par 20:10, as examples.\par \par [45] This Greek word ethne, translated "Gentiles" in our versions,\par could always, and in some cases with great advantage, be translated\par "nations." It means. like the Hebrew goyim, nations foreign to\par Israel--not having, as had they, the true God.\par \par [46] Of course the Sabbath was not a part of this "work" in man's\par heart. For, although God. "blessed" the seventh day (Gen. 2:3), and\par "hallowed" it, it was because He rested from all His work on that day.\par And it was into His rest that men failed to enter. For God first\par revealed the Sabbath to man when He gave it to Israel by means of the\par manna, and explained it at Sinai (Ex. 19). It was God's special token\par of a covenant between Himself and Israel. No one can read Ex 31:12-17,\par with an open mind, and fail to see that the Sabbath was a new\par revelation to Israel at that time! (Compare Neh. 9:14) To Adam was\par given one simple test of his obedience--not a day, but a tree! Israel\par to whom God's rest was proposed twice, have ever failed to enter it\par (Heb. 4:3-8). See further discussion of the Sabbath in Chapter\par Fourteen.\par \par [47] The preaching of the gospel is called in the world a "learned\par profession," along with law and medicine, instead of a high calling of\par God. The world sneers at the ecclesiastical politics and self-seeking\par it sees displayed so often. Many professional evangelists, especially,\par have caused a stench by their reaching after men's pocket-books.\par \par [48] Of course we are not referring here to humble, repentant people\par who may not have become connected as yet with any company of\par believers: for we have found some few of this class. On the other\par hand, neither do we at all refer, in the questions above, to the\par cynical, self-righteous, critics of the church, and church-fellowship,\par who complain: "The church is full of hypocrites, therefore, I will\par have nothing to do with it." The folly of such as these is at once\par manifest: hypocrites are going to hell; and these men, who pretend to\par be shunning the hypocrites on earth, if they reject personal faith in\par and public confession of Christ, are on their way to join them\par throughout eternity! For whatever the failings of Christians, in their\par divisions into sects, their all too manifest weakness of faith, and\par their inconsistencies, true believers find themselves desirous at once\par of fellowship with other believers--be the weakness of those believers\par what it may!\par \par [49] We repeatedly call attention to the fact which every student of\par Scripture discovers, that believers are not known in Scripture as\par members of a local assembly, but members of the Body of Christ (Eph.\par 5:30): "members of Christ" (I Cor. 6:15); and, "members one of\par another" (Rom. 12:5). This is the only membership found in Scripture.\par Although men use the word "member" of this or that local assembly or\par "denomination," the word should be fellowship instead of membership.\par There is but one Body: "There is one Body and one Spirit." This should\par be the constant consciousness of all Christians. To conceive of a\par Presbyterian body, or a Baptist body, or a Methodist body, is to\par defeat at once the one great Body-consciousness which the Holy Spirit\par desires to create in all true believers, in answer to our Lord's Great\par Prayer in John 17:21: "That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father,\par art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us." This, of\par course, is the very farthest remove from the modernistic cry for\par "unity," (as they say), in which they would include all in an outward\par gathering together--whether believers, unbelievers (modernists), Jews,\par or what-not. The unity of the Body of Christ is in the Holy Spirit,\par and every believer is a member of that one Body of which Christ\par Himself is the Head. The essence of sectarianism is to be so committed\par to a system, or to a person, as to be unable to go on with God, in\par living faith. No man, no system is fully right. Only God's Word is\par perfect. If you are free, you will not be governed in reading God's\par Word by what any man may say, however excellent; or what any system\par holds. If you must run to this or that "authority," you are a mere\par sectarian. The Holy Spirit has come! "My children shall be taught of\par Me," God has said.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par \par } race, However, for the Guilty! God's Righteousness by Another Way\par than Law-through Faith in Jesus Christ. Verses 21-31.\par \par 1 What advantage then hath the Jew [over the Gentile]? or what has\par been the profit of circumcision? 2 Much every way: foremost of all,\par because they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 For what if\par some were faithless to the trust? shall we at all think that their\par faithlessness annulled God's faithfulness? 4 Be it not thought of!\par Yea, let God be true, though every man aliar; as it is written, That\par Thou mightest be justified in Thy words, And mightest prevail when\par Thou comest into judgment [by man]. 5 But if our unrighteousness\par commendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God\par unrighteous who visiteth with wrath? (I speak after the manner of\par men). 6 Be it not thought of! for then how shall God judge the world?\par 7 But if the truth of God through my lie abounded unto His glory, why\par am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 and why not (as we are\par slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say). Let us do\par evil, that good may come?--whose condemnation is just!\par \par OR TO PARAPHRASE this passage: "What preeminence then (if both Jewhood\par and circumcision are spiritual and inward only) hath the Jew? Or what\par has the Divine ordinance of circumcision amounted to? Much in every\par respect! But first and foremost that to that nation the oracles of God\par were entrusted. For what if some were faithless (to that trust)? Shall\par their faithlessness render inoperative the faithfulness of God (in\par carrying out those oracles)? Far be the thought! Yea, let God be found\par true, and every man, Gentile and Jew (found) false; as it is written\par (and that by king David, himself, confessing blood-guiltiness):\par \par `That Thou mightest be justified in Thy words,\par \par And mightest prevail when Thou are judged (by\par \par sinful man as to the justice of Thy ways.')\par \par "But (it is further objected) if the unrighteousness of us Jews has\par proved and publicly commended the righteousness of God both as to His\par holy nature and' as to His truth--(for He plainly prophesied Israel\par would sin) can we not say that God would be unrighteous to visit us\par Jews with wrath? (I am speaking thus,--though with horror--because it\par is the way men talk). Now away with the thought! [50] For how then (if\par it were unrighteous for God to visit a Jew with wrath) could God judge\par the WORLD? (as He indeed will). But (the Jewish objector continues) if\par the truth of God through my falsity has abounded unto His glory, why\par am I still judged as a sinner? and why not (since our Jewish\par evil-doings have in the past been made by God to bring about\par good)--why not keep doing evil that good may come? They are even\par slanderously reporting our teaching this awful doctrine!--because we\par preach righteousness by grace and faith and not by good works. The\par condemnation of those who bring such arguments is self-evident, and on\par the very face of it, is just!"\par \par Now to us, at this end of the dispensation, this insistence of God\par upon moral reality before Him of all, including the Jews themselves,\par "seems simplicity itself; but it was not so simple to those whom it\par seemed to strip of all their special and Divinely bestowed\par privileges." Paul assuredly tells us, in this third chapter, that\par there is "no distinction" before God between Jews and Gentiles as\par regards sinner-hood, but he will meet those objections which would\par arise (vv. 1-8) based in the Jew's mind on (a) the peculiar position\par of privilege given by God to Israel as Jehovah's separate people; and\par on (b) the righteous character of God Himself as conceived of by the\par Jew in his privileged position. These objections [51] are specious and\par daring--next to blasphemous: but they must be answered.\par \par The importance of this great passage cannot be overestimated, for if\par the Jew as that end of the dispensation, or any "religious" person at\par this end, be allowed to plead special privilege or light as exempting\par him from judgment, he will spiritually (of course not actually) escape\par the general sentence of verse 19, where "all the world" is brought\par under the judgment of God. If a man escapes in spirit from God's\par pronouncement of "guilty," he will never truly rely upon the shed\par blood of the Guilt-Bearer, Christ!\par \par Now there are three Jewish questions raised in this passage:\par \par Question I\par \par Verses 1 to 4: What advantage [52] or preeminence has the Jew and\par circumcision?\par \par Answer: That nation was entrusted with the oracles of\par God--inestimable, eternal advantage! despite their unfaithfulness.\par Every writer of the Bible is, we believe from this, an Israelite.\par Jewish faithlessness could not annul God's faithfulness in carrying\par out those oracles (whether of promise, prophecy, or judgment). God\par must be found true, though every man be false (to whatever God\par entrusts to him). Paul instances David's most humble confession and\par ascription of righteousness to God, after David's own great sin had\par shown David himself faithless to the royal covenant Jehovah had\par committed to him.\par \par Alford well says: "Because they have broken faith on their part, shall\par God break faith also on His? Rather let us believe all men on earth to\par have broken their word and troth, than God His. Whatever becomes of\par men and their truth, His truth must stand fast."\par \par The "faithlessness" here of the Jew is not his failure to believe\par God's oracles. (That subject Paul takes up in Chapters 9 to 11.) What\par is here before us, is the Jew's attitude toward the great primary\par privilege and responsibility of that nation as the depositary of the\par Divine oracles. In verse 5, Paul makes the Jews call their conduct\par "our unrighteousness." It consisted in:\par \par 1. National disobedience to God's oracles from Sinai onward.\par \par 2. Such neglect of these oracles, that at times (as in Josiah's day),\par a single copy of the Law was a rarity!\par \par 3. Pride, however, over their position as the possessors of these\par oracles, [53] even to the despising of nations that had them not,\par instead of ministering them to others (as Psalm 67 shows was Israel's\par real business).\par \par 4. Appalling ignorance of the spiritual meaning of the Divine oracles,\par and of the "voices of their prophets," so they even killed the\par Righteous One! (Acts 13:27).\par \par Question II\par \par Verses 5 and 6: If God makes use of human sin to set forth His glory\par (as He will) would it not be unrighteous to punish that sin with\par wrath? Here Paul enters into the Jewish consciousness: "If our\par unrighteous Jewish history has commended the righteousness of God,\par what shall we say? God went right on fulfilling what His oracles said,\par despite the unfaithfulness of us to whom they had been committed, and,\par in fact, by means of our sinful Jewish history God's prophecies\par concerning our disobedience were fulfilled before the whole world,\par from Moses on."\par \par Read here Deuteronomy 31:14 to 32:47. For it is about Israel that\par Deuteronomy 32:35 to 47 is written. The Jew, knowing well his past\par disobedient history, yet holds fast to his national place of outward\par favor, resisting Paul's word of Chapter Two, "He is not a Jew that is\par one outwardly"; and daring to regard God as "unrighteous" who would\par "visit with wrath" individuals of His favored nation--for they had\par only carried out God's predictions!\par \par Paul, in even bringing up such a question as God's acting\par unrighteously in visiting disobedient Israelites with wrath, instantly\par puts in the reverent parenthesis: "I speak after the manner of men";\par as, "putting himself in the place of the generality of men, and using\par an argument such as they would use."\par \par Answer: "Far be such a thought! for then (if God should be unrighteous\par in visiting a Jew with wrath) how shall God judge the world?" The\par Judge of all the earth will do right, and He will judge the whole\par world (Acts 17:31) which involves the infliction of wrath upon any and\par all impenitent, as all Scripture shows.\par \par Note that Paul assumes, and so do even these cavillers, that there\par will be a day of judgment: "God who visiteth with wrath." What the\par apostle is attacking is the false hopes of men to evade that judgment.\par Christ has been judged and smitten in our stead. But, alas, how a man\par hates to come to the cross as one "to whom that stroke was due" (Isa.\par 53:8). But if you manage to escape conviction of sin, and thus miss\par personal faith in the Crucified One, you will go to hell forever.\par \par Question III\par \par Verses 7 and 8: "If God's truth (as to His warnings and promises) was\par enhanced through my falsity--if He got glory through my (Jewish) sin,\par why does He find fault with me as a sinner?" Here the very words of\par the resisting Jew are, as it were, quoted.\par \par Answer: While such cavilling Paul will not deign to answer (for it\par answers itself!) Paul does return into the gainsaying Jews' teeth the\par constant slander against salvation by grace,--that it led to license:\par "The condemnation of such trifling is just! For it is evident both to\par the hearer and to the asker of such a question that doing evil that\par good may come, does not change the character of the evil, nor take\par away its guilt from him who commits it."\par \par "Slander" against the gospel of grace is still going on, and will go\par on until the Lord comes in righteousness. Moule well says, "The mighty\par paradox of justification (without works) lent itself easily to the\par distortions, as well as to the contradictions, of sinners. `Let us do\par evil that good may come' no doubt represented the report which\par prejudice and bigotry would regularly carry away and spread after\par every discourse and every argument about free forgiveness. It is so\par still: `If this is true, we may live as we like'; `If this is true,\par then the vilest sinner makes the best saint.'" [54]\par \par The Jews, deluded by pride, and falsely basing God's favor to their\par nation upon their own deserts, absolved themselves from judgment.\par Judgment they relegated to the "goyim," the "ethne," the Gentiles.\par Paul himself shows the Jewish consciousness in his rebuke to Peter in\par Gal. 2: "We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles."\par And the Pharisees said even of the common, non-religious sinners of\par the Jewish nation: "This multitude that knoweth not the Law, are\par accursed!" (John 7:49).\par \par But if we, professing Christians, consign this whole passage to the\par Jew, we fall directly into the same terrible trap. Whole multitudes\par today in Christendom, sheltered in their imagination by the fact that\par they have "joined" some church, resent the very doctrines that Paul\par here insists on. Thousands of so-called "church-members" not only have\par never been brought under real conviction of sin and guilt and personal\par danger, but rise in anger like the Jews of Paul's day when one\par preaches their danger directly to them!\par \par Now if God paid no attention whatever to the claim of the Jew to be\par exempt from judgment because he was a Jew, neither will He pay any\par attention to the claim of the "Baptist" or "Presbyterian,"\par "Episcopalian" or "Methodist,"--as such. For all men are alike guilty,\par common sinners! What avails before a holy God the special religious\par names sinners may call themselves? This book of Romans will do you and\par me no good if we apply it to Jews or Mormons only!\par \par 9 What then? are we [Jews] superior? Not at all! For we before laid to\par the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; 10 as\par it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none\par that understandeth [divine things], There is none that seeketh after\par God; 12 They all abandoned the way [of God], together they became\par unprofitable; There is none that practiseth goodness, no, not so much\par as one: 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they\par have used deceit: The venom of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose\par mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to\par shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the\par way of peace they have not known: 18 There is no fear of God before\par their eyes.\par \par Verse 9: What then?--in view of all said of the Jews from Chapter 2.17\par to Chapter 3.8.\par \par Are we Jews superior (as we generally think ourselves to be to\par them--that is, to the Gentiles?) Not at all! Paul here speaks as a\par Jew,--in sympathy with the Jewish nation, indeed, but rejecting wholly\par their boast of superiority, in view of the great general indictment of\par the whole human race, that began in this Epistle at Chapter 1.18 and\par continues to Chapter 3.20. This is what he means by having before laid\par to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.\par "To be under sin means to be under the power of sin, to be sinners,\par whether the idea of guilt, just exposure to condemnation, or of\par pollution, or both, be conveyed by the expression" (Hodge).\par \par Now this expression "under sin" is a remarkable and unusual one. We\par need to note the same expression and context in Galatians 3:22: "The\par Scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in\par Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." "All things under\par sin" is a larger expression than "guilty of sin," or, "in bondage to\par sin." It is a general state described, as of convicts in a prison, or\par disease-stricken people "under quarantine." An even stronger\par expression concerning human beings, Gentiles or Jews, asserts: "God\par hath shut up all unto disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all"\par (11:32); and the words, "The Scripture shut up all things under sin,\par that the promise . . . might be given," bear out this fact. Moule\par says, "Being brought under sin, (as the Greek bids us more exactly\par render), giving us the thought that the race has fallen from a good\par estate into an evil."\par \par That the Jews and Greeks alike, that is, the whole world, are "under\par sin," is next abundantly shown by Paul from seven Old Testament\par Scriptures. It will not do to say, as do some, that since the\par Scriptures were given only to the Jews, therefore the Jews only are in\par view here, in verses 10 to 18. For we read in Psalm 14, the very first\par Scripture here quoted:\par \par \par "Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men,\par \par To see if there were any that did understand."\par \par "Children of men" is a wider term than Jews. Furthermore, Romans 3:9,\par which begins this great arraignment, includes both Jews and Greeks as\par being "all under sin." This, therefore, is a world-wide indictment.\par \par FOURTEEN HORRIBLE THINGS ABOUT ALL MEN\par \par We shall find God speaking, in these fourteen counts, [55] first, as a\par Judge: verses 10 to 12; next, as a Physician: verses 13 to 15; and\par third, as a Divine Historian: verses 16 to 18.\par \par I\par \par First, then, as a Judge God describes man's condition:\par \par Verse 10: To begin with, There is none righteous [before God], no, not\par one (Ps. 14:1; 53:1; Job 9:2; Eccl. 7:20). No human being has in\par himself ever been righteous. Even Adam was not righteous: he was\par innocent--not knowing good and evil. Let us put far from our minds the\par fond falsehoods of philosophy, science, and human "religions," that\par there have been men of our race who have attained to a standing before\par God in righteousness.\par \par Verse 11: Next, There is none that understandeth [Divine things]. We\par have added the words "Divine things" even in the Scripture text,\par because this verb (suniemi) translated "understandeth" is one of those\par words which God reserves in Scripture unto a peculiar meaning. (See\par footnote on 1:31.) Note its use in Matthew 13:13,14,15,19,23,51, as,\par for instance, verse 19: "When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom\par and understandeth It not." It is used twenty-six times in the New\par Testament, the last time in Ephesians 5:17: "Understand what the will\par of the Lord is." Now humanity, by nature, "understands" nothing of\par God. Men think they do, and write vast books on the subject; but God's\par sentence remains: "There is none that understandeth." "In the wisdom\par of God the world through its wisdom knew not God." Believe just that:\par it is true.\par \par The third of these solemn counts is, There is none that: seeketh after\par God. You say, How can this be possible in view of pagan lands filled\par with temples, and worshipers thronging them? God's answer is: "The\par things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not\par to God" (I Cor. 10:20).\par \par Adam, sinning, turned his back and fled from a holy God. God had to\par take the place of the seeker: "Adam, where art thou?" So it has ever\par been. No human being has ever sought the holy God. Conscious of his\par creature weakness, and also of responsibility and guilt, and filled\par with terrors of conscience, or terrors directly demon-wrought; or\par perhaps under the delusion that some "god" (really, demon) might grant\par him this or that favor, man has built his temples and conducts his\par worship. Banish from your mind the idea that any human being has ever\par had a holy thought, or love for a holy God, in his natural heart!\par Grace "praeveniens et efficax" (grace "prevenient and efficacious") is\par the old phrase expressing the truth that God Himself takes the place\par of the seeker, convicter, persuader, giver, and final perfecter of all\par man's salvation. His sovereign grace goes ahead of, and brings into\par being, all human response to God.\par \par The fourth solemn count is that of universal human apostasy: They all\par abandoned the way [of God]. The same Greek word is used only twice\par elsewhere in the New Testament: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark\par them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling,\par contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them"\par says Paul (Chapter 16:17). The separation was to be absolute, and of\par choice. And in I Peter 3:11, the saints are told (quoting Psalm 34):\par "Turn away from evil, and do good,"--again a direct choice. In Psalm\par 14:3 it is: "They are all gone aside"; and in Psalm 53:3: "Every one\par of them is gone back." To Israel it was said: "Ye shall observe to do\par therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you" (Deut. 5:32). But\par Isaiah speaks of them (and we know the application becomes universal):\par "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his\par own way" (Isa. 53:6); while Malachi in the closing sad message of the\par Old Testament bewails: "Ye are turned aside out of the way" (2:8).\par \par To understand Romans 3:12, we must conceive of a race of creatures\par turned out of God's way, as really as are Satan's angels, or the\par demons. The whole race of man is by nature in that awful case!\par \par As a result you have the fifth count: They are together become\par unprofitable. [56] The human race is useless, and worse than useless,\par to God. This word translated "unprofitable" was used by the Greeks\par concerning rotten fruit, or whatever was utterly, irrevocably bad, and\par therefore useless. Ask any housewife what can be done with rotten\par fruit! In Psalms 14:3 and 53:1, from which this is quoted, it is\par translated "become filthy." Unless we hold firmly in mind these\par statements of truth concerning humanity, we shall fail to see what man\par is, and so what God's grace sets before him.\par \par The sixth count is, There is none that practiseth goodness, no, not so\par much as one. Corruption rather than holiness, selfishness rather than\par goodness, cruelty rather than kindness, is the way of apostate mankind\par everywhere. Thus declares the Judge who looks upon men as they are.\par \par II\par \par Verse 13: Next, God speaks as the all-wise, holy Physician, in\par diagnosis: Their throat is an open sepulchre. Doctors always insist\par first on looking down our throats: and we all know that the throat and\par tongue denote the state of health. There could be nothing more\par horrible than what we have here: death, decay, moral stench, and that\par not hidden, but open! Unhidden, unashamed putridity:--thus a holy God\par describes the throat of every one of us by nature! As Bishop Howe\par says: "Emitting the noisome exhalations of a putrid heart." We must\par remember we are here seeing man through God's all-holy eyes.\par \par With their tongues they have been using deceit [since man's fall]. The\par verb is in the imperfect tense, which denotes the habitual practice of\par the human race. This includes your tongue and mine, reader. But the\par case is still worse; for the Physician continues:\par \par The venom of asps is under their lips: The fangs of a deadly serpent\par lie, ordinarily, folded back in its upper jaw, but when it throws up\par its head to strike, those hollow fangs drop down, and when the serpent\par bites, the fangs press a sack of deadly poison hidden "under its\par lips," at the root, thus injecting the venom into the wound. You and I\par were born with moral poison-sacks like this. And how people do claim\par the right to strike others with their venom-words! to use their\par snake-fangs!\par \par Verse 14: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness (Ps. 10:7) :\par To prove this, you need only take your stand upon any street, and\par strike upon the mouth a passerby. As well strike a hornets' nest! How\par men do curse others! Bitterness is ever ready! What fearful folly for\par a race speaking thus to imagine that by "being baptized," and "joining\par the church" they are ready to "go to heaven," and be in the holy\par company on high, with the meek and lowly Son of God and the holy\par angels,--and all this without a thought of being forgiven, washed,\par born again!\par \par Verse 15: Their feet are swift to shed blood (Isa. 59:7): I saw a\par child under two years raise its puny fist against another, crying,\par "I'll kill 'oo!" Murder is so common, now, that new hideous\par expressions are invented: "I'll get him"; "Bump him off"; "Put him on\par the spot"; "Take him for a ride"; or, as the awful Communistic phrase\par puts it, "Liquidate him." When the restraining grace of God is\par withdrawn, it will be given to the Red Horse Sitter "to take peace\par from the earth, and that they should slay one another" (Rev. 6:4).\par Men's feet, like tigers', are ready and swift for blood-shedding: "For\par further details, read your daily papers!"\par \par III\par \par Third, God speaks as the All-seeing Historian of fallen man:\par \par Verse 16: Destruction and misery are in their ways (Isa. 59:7). What\par an epitome of human history. It is said that the ancient Troy of which\par Homer sang was built upon the ruins of an earlier Troy,--and that\par seven other Troys, each constructed upon the ruins of a former, have\par been found! As Meyer vividly renders: "Where they go is desolations\par (fragments) and misery (which they produce)." Those who so loudly\par proclaim that the human race is "improving," "progressing," are blind\par deceivers,--blind to history, blind to present day facts, blind to the\par rising tide of human violence. "As it was in the days of Noah," our\par Lord said, "so shall be the coming of the Son of Man." In those days\par of Noah the earth became "full of violence" (Gen. 6:11).\par \par Verse 17: And the way of peace they have not known. (Isa. 59:8). It is\par a terrible thing God here reveals, that not one of the human race\par knows, or is by nature pursuing, the path of peace. It does not seem\par to me that the Spirit of God speaks here of that peace with God on the\par ground of accepted sacrifice which Chapter 5:1 describes (and which is\par always a direct revelation of God to the soul), but rather in\par consistence with the context and with the passage in Isa. 59:8 from\par which it is drawn: "The way of peace they know not; [57] and there is\par no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths;\par whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace." The unregenerate man\par does not know, follow, or really desire to know the way of wisdom, all\par whose paths are peace (Prov. 3:17). Thomas Scott well says: "They know\par not the ways in which godly men walk, at peace with God and their\par neighbors; and so they go on in those paths which lead to misery and\par ruin both to themselves and to each other."\par \par Verse 18: There is no fear of God before their eyes (Ps. 36:1). This\par last is the most awful count of all, and explains all the others. "To\par fear God consists in having such a due sense of the majesty and\par holiness and justice and goodness of God, as shall make us thoroughly\par fearful to offend Him. For each of these attributes of God is proper\par to raise a suitable fear in every Christian mind."\par \par A friend once pointed out to me a champion prize-fighter of America,\par and I heard another man remark, "How I'd hate to be hit by him!" He\par could fear a fellow-man. But in a few moments the same man's mouth was\par using the name of God, and even of Jesus Christ, in profanity! There\par was "no fear of God before his eyes." It meant nothing to him that God\par had said, "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name\par in vain." But what will it mean when that man steps out of this life\par into the realities of eternity! Bengel aptly notes, "The seat of\par reverence is in the eyes." Godet says: "The words `before their eyes'\par show that it belongs to man freely to evoke or suppress this inward\par view of God on which his moral conduct depends." Haldane comments:\par "They have not that reverential fear of Him which is the beginning of\par wisdom, and which is connected with departing from evil. It is\par astonishing that men, while they acknowledge that there is a God,\par should act without any fear of His displeasure. They fear a worm of\par the dust like themselves, but disregard the Most High!" And Calvin\par says: "Out of the contempt of God cometh all wickedness. Seeing that\par the fear of God is the fountain of wisdom, when we are once departed\par from it, there abideth nothing right or sincere. If it be wanting, we\par are loosed unto all kind of licentious wickedness."\par \par This great passage then, (verses 9 to 18) needs to be pondered, prayed\par over, thoroughly believed, and preached continually, in these last\par days, when God-consciousness is dying out. It is no kindness, but a\par terrible wrong, to hide from a criminal the sentence that must surely\par overtake him unless pardoned; for a physician to conceal from a\par patient a cancer that will destroy him unless quickly removed; for one\par acquainted with the hidden pitfalls of a path he beholds someone\par taking, not to warn him of his danger!\par \par Verses 19 and 20 concern particularly that nation to whom the Law was\par given, for Paul plainly in verse 9 applies the passage through verse\par 18 to "both Jews and Greeks" as "all under sin." But now he turns\par directly to those who had the Law:\par \par 19 Now we know that whatsoever the Law says it is speaking to them\par that are under the Law [i.e., to the Jews]; in order that every mouth\par may be stopped, and all the world [Gentile and Jew"] may come under\par the judgment of God; 20 because out of works of law no flesh shall be\par declared righteous before Him; for through law comes knowledge of sin\par [not righteousness].\par \par In verse 19, we repeat, and not till then, does Paul turn again to the\par Jews as those who were under law [58] to shut off their possible\par escape from that general arraignment by Scripture of "both Jews and\par Greeks" beginning at the ninth verse. Thus every mouth was "stopped."\par Men's mouths keep talking of their own goodness or of someone else's\par badness, or of both,--as, for example, the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14.\par But the moral history of mankind delineated in Chapter One; and the\par stern principles of God's judgment which considered neither man's high\par notions of himself, nor his religious professions, as shown in Chapter\par Two; and now, in Chapter Three, the fourteen sweeping statements of\par Scripture concerning the whole guilty human race, with the double\par conviction of the Jews as not only sinners, but also transgressors of\par the very Law they gloried in,--all this stops men's vain mouths! For\par they are all brought into the presence of their Judge, and the\par sentence of guilty is upon them all. Not that they are brought in to\par have their just penalty executed upon them; but that they may be\par silent while God their Judge announces--astonishing thing!--that He\par has himself already dealt with the world's sin upon a sin-offering,\par Jesus, His Son; whom, we shall soon see, He set forth at the cross as\par a righteous meeting-ground between Himself in all His holiness and\par righteousness; and the sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, in all his\par guilt,--through simple faith in the shed blood of this Redeemer!\par \par Verse 20: Now Paul declares what the law cannot do, and what it can\par do. First, no one shall be declared righteous [justified] in God's\par sight by works of law ["doing right"]; and second, the business of\par God's Law is rather to make known to men their sin, and therefore,\par their need of a salvation which the Law cannot supply.\par \par In this verse we meet by far the most difficult Divine utterance for\par the human heart to yield to, that we have met in the entire Epistle.\par Even those "without law,"--"Gentiles that have not the Law" (of\par Moses--2:14), we find throughout history so committed to their own\par ideas of what is "right," and what will propitiate the demons that\par they worship, that they will desperately fight for their convictions.\par (See Paul at Lystra, and at Ephesus, in the Acts.) And how much more\par difficult the task becomes in dealing with those who, as the Jews,\par know that they have had a direct revelation from God,--"Thou shalt"\par and "Thou shalt not," and, "He that doeth these things shall live by\par them." When Paul told the Athenians that he acknowledged them to be\par "very religious" (their city indeed being filled with idols), but that\par they were ignorant of God, the Creator, who had raised up from the\par dead One who would be Judge in righteousness: "Some mocked: others\par said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again." Now, we say, if\par men are brought off only with great difficulty from the follies of\par idolatry, how much greater the task to persuade men to abandon their\par trust in a holy Law they know to have been given by the true God, from\par heaven, and on the fulfillment of which all their hopes for eternity\par have been dependent! [59] In just the same way Christendom has become\par fixed in its defense of its "religious" convictions. Scripture names,\par doctrines and ordinances--falsely explained--have seized hold upon the\par convictions of men, so that it is more difficult to dislodge them from\par their position than the heathen themselves. We know from Scripture,\par for example, that "days, seasons, months and years," do not belong to\par the Christian position in the least degree, but are Jewish or pagan in\par origin. Christmas, Lent, Easter, the whole "church calendar," forms,\par ritualism, the confessional, the mass, clergy,--where are these found\par in the Epistles of the New Testament? They are not found! Yet try once\par to dislodge them from those in whose hearts they have been planted!\par For their heart-hopes are bound up with these false traditions.\par \par None but those taught of God, and they with extreme difficulty and\par constant watchfulness, escape legal hope. For the question ever before\par the conscience is, If keeping God's Law avails me nothing for\par righteousness in His sight, why did He give it? WHY DID HE GIVE IT?\par \par And this difficulty becomes all the greater, the more the excellency\par of the Law is discovered! For our judgment sees these things of the\par Law to be "holy, and righteous, and good." And we know (if we are\par honest) that "God spake all these words"--of the Law.\par \par Therefore, the heart's only relief is to hear God's own Word\par concerning seven questions; to all of which the coming chapters of\par Romans will give answer: (1) To what nation did He give the Law; (2)\par Why He gave the Law; (3) What the Law's ministry was; (4) How it was\par set aside, or "annulled," for another principle entirely; (5) What is\par meant by the words "under grace"; (6) How the walk "in the Spirit"\par takes the place of walking by external enactments; and, (7) How that\par only in those not under law is "the righteous state" (dikaioma) of the\par Law fulfilled!\par \par Now it is apparent that to bring men off from their false hopes in\par their law-obedience, three things must become evident to them:\par \par (a) That law, having been broken, can only condemn.\par \par (b) That even were men enabled now to begin keeping perfectly any law\par of God, that could not make up for past disobedience, or remove\par present guilt.\par \par (c) That keeping law is NOT God's way of salvation, or of blessing.\par \par In connection with verse 20, we will emphasize only the third of these\par points, for that is what is insisted upon in this verse. We quote in\par the footnote below verse 20, and then a number of plain statements of\par Scripture to the same effect, that we may compare Scripture with\par Scripture: [60]\par \par The knowledge (or recognition) of sin comes through law,--by (1) its\par revealing what God approved in man, and what God disapproved and\par forbade; (2) causing man to undertake obedience; and (3) condemning\par him for failure to obey.\par \par To all seven of the questions above, the coming chapters of Romans,\par compared with other Scriptures, will, as we have said, fully give the\par answers. But it will be wise, perhaps, to look a moment more, in this\par place, at questions 2, 3 and 4:\par \par As to Question Two, Why God gave the Law, we call attention now, as\par elsewhere, to the fact that in His dealing with Abraham, and, in fact,\par in all His ways with the patriarchs, there was not the Law, but simply\par and only the promise. We plainly see in Rom. 5:14 that they were not\par under law. They walked by simple faith, which is, of course, the only\par principle according to which God has saving relations with man since\par he became a sinner. But (and this is important) God must show man his\par sinnerhood and this could not be done but by His revealing His\par holiness and righteousness, and asking man to conform his life and\par ways to that holy and righteous rule. God knew he would not and could\par not do this; but man did not know it, and must discover it through\par failure. Therefore and thereunto did God give the Law. "By the Law is\par the knowledge of sin."\par \par We have now partly answered Question Three, as to what was the\par appointed ministry of the Law. But the matter needs to be further\par emphasized. God names the Law a "ministration of condemnation and\par death" and not of righteousness. As Paul says in Chapter Seven, "Sin,\par that it might be shown to be sin, wrought death to me through that\par which was good" (the Law).\par \par As to Question Four, the Law was set aside or "disannulled." We have\par God's oft-repeated and most emphatic assertion, that this has been\par done: "There is a disannulling of a foregoing commandment because of\par its weakness and unprofitableness (for the Law made nothing perfect),\par and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, [Christ's death, burial\par and resurrection], through which we draw nigh unto God" (Heb. 7:18,\par 19). We repeat this over and over, because that is the way God\par does--He asserts and re-asserts this great fact: knowing man's\par self-righteousness will hardly suffer the Law to be taken away.\par \par Now it was not that God changed His plan, though to the thoughtless\par mind He might seem to have done so: (1) by beginning with man on the\par faith principle--from Abel onward; then (2) conditioning Israel's\par relationship and blessing upon their legal obedience; and then (3)\par "changing back" again, since the cross, to the way of simple faith\par apart from law. No, there has been no "change" in God. God's way with\par man has always been that of faith. Neither was the Law a thing\par additional to faith to secure God's favor; nor was God's "disannulling\par the foregoing commandment" an evidence that He had been seeking and\par expecting righteousness in man by the Law; and that now since the Law\par had failed He resorted to grace, apart from works of the Law. Not at\par all! The Law came in simply that the trespass might abound,--that is,\par that by breaking it man might discover his guilt and sinfulness; and\par his helplessness to relieve himself. Moses had prophesied in Leviticus\par and Deuteronomy that Israel would utterly fail, and that they would be\par provoked to jealousy by God's bringing in the Gentiles, "a foolish\par nation"; and that the remnant of Israel finally, its whole legal hope\par cut off, would be restored by God in sovereign mercy (Rom. 11:31, 32).\par \par We know we are saying these things over and over. An old German\par educator said: "The first principle of teaching is repetition; and the\par second principle of teaching is repetition; and the third principle is\par repetition."\par \par So we come to the next great section of the Epistle, Chapter Three,\par verses 21 to 31. This will describe God's righteousness through faith\par in Jesus Christ.\par \par JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IN CHRIST\par \par 21 But now apart from law, God's righteousness hath been\par manifested,--borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets: 22 God's\par righteousness, moreover, through faith concerning Jesus Christ unto\par all them that believe; for there is no distinction [between Jew and\par Gentile]; 23 for all sinned, and are falling short of the glory of\par God; 24 being reckoned righteous gift-wise by His grace through the\par redemption that is in Jesus Christ: 25 whom God set forth a\par propitiation [mercy-seat] through faith in His blood, unto showing\par forth His [God's] righteousness in respect of the passing over of the\par foregoing sins in the forbearance of God: 26 for the showing forth of\par His righteousness in the present time,--unto the being Himself\par righteous, and the One declaring righteous-the person having faith in\par Jesus. 27 Where then is the [Jewish] boasting? It is excluded. By what\par manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith. 28 For we reckon\par that a man is accounted righteous by faith apart from law-works. 29 Or\par is God the God of Jews only? [who had the Law]. Is He not the God of\par Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also: 30 if so be that God is one! And\par He shall declare righteous the circumcision on the principle of faith\par [instead of law], and the uncircumcision through their [simple] faith.\par 31 Do we then annul law through faith? Far be the thought! on the\par contrary, we establish law!\par \par We now come to the unfolding of that word which Paul in Chapter One\par declares to be the very heart of the gospel,--the reason it is "the\par power of God unto salvation": namely, "therein is God's righteousness\par on the faith-principle revealed to any having faith" (1:17).\par \par The first work of the apostle, as we have seen in studying Chapter\par 1:18 to Chapter 3:20, was to bring the whole world under the judgment\par of God, guilty, helpless. His second task (and it is a blessed one!)\par is to reveal God's coming out in rightousness at the cross unto us.\par Let us most diligently read, ponder, yea, and commit to memory verses\par 21 to 26; for it is God's great statement of justification by faith.\par Its first announcement is:\par \par Verse 21: But now apart from law God's righteousness hath been\par manifested,--borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets--The first\par words, "But now," should be hailed by us joyfully, as beginning an\par account of something heavenly different from our guilt and\par helplessness, detailed in the preceding part of the Epistle\par (1:18-3:20).\par \par The next phrase is: "apart from law" [61] --lay it to heart!\par Unfortunately, the King James Version misses the emphasis here. For\par the Greek puts to the very front this great phrase "apart from law"\par (choris nomou), and thus sets forth most strongly the altogether\par separateness of this Divine righteousness from any law-performance,\par any works of man, whatsoever. Luther's rendering was, "without\par accessory aid of law." In this revelation of God's righteousness, law\par was left out of account. Righteousness is on another principle than\par our right-doing!\par \par Now the great and most common error in setting forth God's\par righteousness here, is, to allow law at least some place. Men cannot,\par it seems, get over reasoning thus: that since God once promulgated the\par dispensation of law, which called for human righteousness. He must\par thereafter be bound by it forever. And this despite Divine assurance,\par over and over and over, that the present dispensation proceeds on an\par altogether different principle; that there has been a "disannulling of\par a foregoing commandment" (Heb. 7:18); for He who had the right to\par command had also the right to disannul. It was "because of its\par weakness and unprofitableness--for the Law made nothing\par perfect,"--that the "foregoing commandment" was set aside. It had\par served its purpose--to make the trespass "abound" (5:20). [62]\par \par It is not that God has not the right to demand legal righteousness\par from us: but that He does not do it. "Righteousness which is of God"\par speaks in a way diametrically opposite to man's law--obedience, of any\par sort whatsoever.\par \par Men who do not see or believe that the whole history of those in\par Christ ended at the cross (for they died there, with Christ) must hold\par that God is still demanding righteousness: for "the law hath dominion\par over a man so long as he liveth!"\par \par The "teachers of the Law" (I Tim. 1:7) say: "Behind God, as He talks\par with you in `grace' is His eternal Law. And He must carry out what He\par has expressed in that Law. But, because you are not able to perform\par it, He has `graciously' given Christ, to perform all its requirements\par for you. And the positive, or `active' requirements are, the\par observance of all the commands of the Law to the letter,--which (these\par teachers say) Christ has by His perfect life of obedience to the Law\par on earth, furnished for you. And the negative, or `passive' obedience,\par as they call it--that is, the penalty of death for your sins which the\par Law (say they) demanded, Christ has paid on the cross. So that, now\par your debts cancelled by Christ's death, you have Christ's legal\par `merits' as your actual righteousness before God: for God must demand\par (they say) perfect righteousness from you, as measured by His holy\par Law,"--etc., etc.\par \par This seemingly beautiful talk is both unscriptural and\par anti-scriptural.\par \par God says that the believer is not under law, that he is dead to\par law,--to that whole principle, being in the Risen Christ; and Christ\par is certainly not under law in Heaven! Believers are "in Him"; they are\par "not in the flesh" (Rom. 8:9). They were formerly in the flesh (in the\par old natural life of Adam); but are now "new creatures" in Christ\par Risen!\par \par If you put believers under law, you must put their federal Head,\par Christ, back under law; for "as He is, even so are we in this world."\par To do this you must reverse Calvary, and have Christ back again on\par earth "under law." For law, we repeat, was not given to a heavenly\par company, but to an earthly nation. Scripture says it was to redeem\par that earthly people (Israel) who were under law, that Christ was "born\par under the Law" (Gal. 4:4). You must thus, if you are "under law," be\par joined to a Christ belonging to Israel, a flesh and blood Christ; and\par must consent to be an Israelite--to which nation He was sent. But\par alas! You find that such a Christ is not here! That He said He must\par "abide alone,"--like the grain of wheat unless it "fall into the\par ground and die." To an earthly, Jewish Christ, you therefore cannot be\par united. And so your vain hope of having Moses and Christ is wholly\par gone. Therefore you must be united with a Risen Christ, or with none\par at all! But if to a Risen Christ, it is unto One who died unto sin\par (6:10); and those (Jewish) believers who were under the Law died with\par Him unto it (7:4). And you, if you are Christ's, are now wholly, as\par Christ is, on resurrection ground. This truth will be brought out\par fully in chapters Six and Seven; we can but note it here. [63]\par \par The words hath been manifested (of verse 21) Conybeare lucidly\par paraphrases, "not by law but by another way, God's righteousness is\par brought to light." God had always dealt righteously, although His way\par was not as yet plain. He pardoned many, and He did not seem wholly to\par judge sin even in the unsaved world. But at the cross "He spared not\par His own Son." Here was revealed, indeed, righteousness to the\par uttermost!\par \par Borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets--by the Law, in its\par sacrificial offerings; by the Prophets, in direct statements: "This is\par His name whereby He shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness" (Jer.\par 23:6); and again, "Thy righteousness"--21 times in the Psalms! as, "I\par will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only" (71:2, 15,\par 16, 19, 24); and Isaiah: "By the knowledge of Himself shall my\par righteous Servant make many righteous" (53:11). [64] Yet it was not\par brought to light how this should be, until "the fulness of the time"\par came, and God sent His Son to "suffer for sins, the just for the\par unjust," to "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself," that God's\par righteousness might be "manifested," both in His dealing with sin, and\par in glorifying His Son in heaven, who had glorified His Father on\par earth.\par \par It would have been righteous for God to smite Adam and Eve as He did\par the angels that sinned. He could have revealed Himself in\par righteousness of judgment in accord with His holiness and justice. He\par was not obliged to save any man. But it was God's will to reveal\par Himself: for He is Love.\par \par Therefore He now comes forth at the cross in love,--albeit He must\par there come forth also in righteousness,--for He Himself must\par righteously and fully judge sin upon the person of His own provided\par Lamb. The sword "awakened against His Shepherd, the Man who was His\par Fellow,"--the "fellow" of Jehovah of hosts! The Shepherd was smitten:\par "He was bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace [that\par would procure peace for us] was upon Him." God spared not His own Son,\par but delivered Him up, and the penalty for our sin was visited upon\par Him, Jesus, God's provided Sacrifice (Zech. 13:7; Isa. 53:5, 6).\par \par God is able to come forth to us now in absolute GRACE, sending out His\par messengers "preaching peace by Jesus Christ";--nay, preaching much\par more than peace. In effect, God says, "Utter and infinite oceans of\par grace shall roll over the place where judgment and condemnation were!"\par Forgiving us all our trespasses, He goes further: having raised up\par Christ from the dead. He says, I will now place you in my Son. I will\par give you a standing fully and only in Him risen from the dead! Not\par only did He bear your sins, putting away your guilt, but in His death\par I released you from your standing and responsibility in Adam the\par first. You who have believed are now new creatures in Christ: for I\par have created you in Him.'\par \par And because this is so, it is announced further: "Him who knew no sin,\par God made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the\par righteousness of God in Him." These astonishing words state the\par present fact as to all believers,--of all those in Christ: they are\par the righteousness of God in Him! [65]\par \par In the book of Romans, Paul is describing God's action toward a\par believing sinner in view of the shed blood of Christ. It is as if God\par were holding court with the infinite value and benefit of the\par propitiatory sacrifice and resurrection of Christ only and ever before\par Him. No other apostle will be called upon to set this forth fully as\par does Paul. Of course it could not be stated by the Old Testament\par writers in its fulness and clearness; for our Lord had not then\par offered Himself, and all the Law and Prophets could do was to declare\par sin temporarily "covered" (Heb., kaphar) from God's sight; and so the\par Old Testament believer was one who rested on what God would do, in\par view of these types and shadows and promises.\par \par John the Baptist, however, pointing to Christ, said, "Behold the Lamb\par of God that taketh away the sin of the world," something that had\par never before been! Therefore, after the cross, it is written, "Once in\par the consummation of the ages, hath He [Christ] been manifested to put\par away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"\par \par In the Old Testament, we repeat, sin is covered,--which is the meaning\par of the word kaphar, "atonement,"--used only in the Old Testament, and\par there constantly (some 13 times in one chapter--Leviticus 16), to\par express the covering from God's sight of sin: though the sin remained\par untaken away until Christ died. In the New Testament, therefore, sin\par is said to be put away by Christ's sacrifice. [66]\par \par God can, therefore, not only forgive the sinner, but also proceed to\par declare the believing sinner righteous, not at all meaning that he has\par any righteousness of his own, or that "the `merits' of Christ are\par imputed to him" (a fiction of theology); but that God, acting in\par righteousness, reckons righteous the ungodly man who trusts Him:\par because He places him in the full value of the infinite work of Christ\par on the cross, and transfers him into Christ Risen, who becomes his\par righteousness.\par \par We may look at the term God's righteousness from God's own side; then\par from that of Christ; and, finally, from that of the justified sinner.\par \par 1. From. God's side, the expression "God's righteousness," must be\par regarded as an absolute one. It is His attribute of righteousness. It\par can be nothing else. He must, and ever will, act in righteousness,\par whether it be toward Christ, toward those in Christ, or toward those\par finally impenitent, whether angels, demons, or men.\par \par 2. From Christ's side, it is His being received by God into glory\par according to God's estimation of His mediatorial work. Our Lord had\par said that when the Spirit would come, He would "convince the world\par . . . of righteousness, because I go unto the Father, and ye see me no\par more" (John 16); and He had said, "I glorified Thee on the earth,\par having accomplished the work Thou gavest me to do. And now, Father,\par glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory I had with Thee\par before the world was" (John 17). In answer to this prayer Christ was\par "raised from the dead through the glory of the Father" (Rom. 6:4), and\par was "received up in glory" (I Tim. 3:16). Now our Lord was man, as\par well as God. And when the Father glorified Him "with His own self,"\par with that glory Christ "had with Him before the world was," it was as\par man that God thus glorified Him. So that, at God's right hand, Christ\par set forth publicly the righteousness of God; for (a) as the slain Lamb\par He shows the holiness of God and God's righteousness fully\par satisfied,--since God had "spared not His own Son" when sin had been\par laid upon Him. The truth of God as to the wages of sin had been shown\par in Christ's death; thus the majesty of the insulted throne of God had\par been publicly vindicated, so that Christ's being raised and "received\par up in glory" set forth the righteousness of God; for it were\par unrighteous that Christ should not be glorified! And (b) Christ not\par only thus set forth the righteousness of God, but being God the Son,\par as well as man, He was that righteousness! Christ dead, risen,\par glorified, is the very righteousness of God!\par \par 3. From the believer's side, the justified sinner's side, what do we\par see? The amazing declaration of God concerning us is, "Him who knew no\par sin God made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the\par righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:21). The saints are said to be\par the righteousness of God, in Christ. Of course self-righteousness\par simply shrivels before a verse like this! All is in Christ: we are in\par Christ--one with Him!\par \par The expression "God's righteousness" then signifies:\par \par 1. God Himself acting in righteousness (a) toward Christ in raising\par Him from the dead and seating Him as a man in the place of absolute\par honor and glory; (b) in giving those who believe on Christ the same\par acceptance before God as Christ now has, inasmuch as He actually bare\par their sins, putting them away by His blood, and also became identified\par with the sinner--was "made to be sin for us" and, our old man was thus\par "crucified with Him." Just as it would have been unrighteousness in\par God not to raise His Son after His Son had completely glorified Him in\par His death; so it would also be unrighteous in God not to declare\par righteous in Christ those who, deserting all trust in themselves, have\par transferred their faith and hope to Christ alone.\par \par 2. Thus Christ, now risen and glorified, is Himself the righteousness\par of believers. It is not that He acted righteously while on earth, and\par that that is reckoned to us. This is, we repeat, the heresy of\par "vicarious law-keeping." He was indeed the spotless Lamb of God; but\par He had no connection with sinners until His death. He was "separate\par from sinners." "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die,\par it abideth by itself alone." It is the Risen Christ who is our\par righteousness. "Christianity begins at the resurrection." The work of\par the cross of course made Christianity possible; but true Christianity\par is all on the resurrection side of the cross. "He is not here, but is\par risen," the angel said.\par \par 3. Thus Christians find themselves spoken of as the righteousness of\par God in Christ. Not as "righteous before God," for that would be to\par think of a personal standing given to us, on account of Christ's\par death, rather than a federal standing, as in Him, united to\par Him,--which we are! John Wesley said a wise thing indeed: "Never think\par of yourself apart from Christ!"\par \par Now to be or become "righteous before God"; to have or obtain a\par standing that will "bear God's scrutiny," is the fond dream of very\par many earnest Christians. But however stated, and by whomsoever stated,\par that idea of our obtaining a "standing before God" falls short, and\par that vitally, of Paul's gospel of our being made the righteousness of\par God in Christ. It denies that we died with Christ; and that we have\par been made dead to the whole legal principle in Christ's death (7:4).\par Thus it leaves us under the necessity of "obtaining a standing" before\par God; whereas believers federally shared the death of Christ, and\par Christ Risen is Himself now our standing!\par \par Negatively, then (as Paul begins to declare in his first recorded\par discourse. Acts 13:39), "Every one that believeth on Him is justified\par from all things";--"justified in His blood" (Rom. 5:9); and\par \par Positively, Christ was "raised for our justification" (4:25): that we\par might receive a new place, a place in a Risen Christ,--and be thus the\par righteousness of God in Him, as one with Him who is that\par righteousness.\par \par God declares that He reckons righteous the ungodly man who ceases from\par all works, and believes on Him (God), as the God who, on the ground of\par Christ's shed blood, "justifies the ungodly" (4:5). He declares such\par an one righteous: reckoning to him all the absolute value of Christ's\par work,--of His expiating death, and of His resurrection, and placing\par him in Christ: where he is the righteousness of God: for Christ is\par that!\par \par Does Christ need something yet, that He may stand in acceptance with\par God? Then do I need something,--for I am in Christ, and He alone is my\par righteousness. If He stands in full, eternal acceptance, then do I\par also: for I am now in Him alone,--having died with Him to my old place\par in Adam.\par \par Earnest and godly men, wonderfully used of God, have brought out, as\par did the Reformers, that we are justified by faith, not works: without,\par however, going on to show, as does Paul, our complete deliverance, in\par Christ, from our former place in Adam, and from the whole principle of\par law.\par \par The Reformation statements were as follows:\par \par Luther: "The righteousness of God is that righteousness which avails\par before God." This means a "substantive righteousness,"--a quality\par bestowed which "avails." But I am not in these words seen as dead, and\par now in Christ only.\par \par Calvin: "By the righteousness of God I understand that righteousness\par which is approved before the tribunal seat of. God." Here again is a\par quality, not Christ Himself, who is made righteousness unto me, and I\par myself "of God," in Him (I Cor. 1:30). And according to Calvin I must\par stand before God's "tribunal"! But Christ at the cross met all the\par claims of God's "tribunal,"--and that forever; and I am now in Christ\par Risen!\par \par Again, Calvin, writing on II Cor. 5:21, concerning our being made or\par becoming "the righteousness of God in Christ," says: "In this place\par nothing else is to be understood than that we stand supported by the\par expiation of Christ's death before the tribunal of God." Here is still\par the thought of a future (or present) "tribunal." Only the negative\par side--expiation of guilt, is brought out. But this text in II\par Corinthians is positive: we are God's righteousness in Christ!\par Believers are not seen by Calvin as having died with Christ, and\par having no connection at all with Adam's responsibility to furnish a\par righteousness and holiness before God's "tribunal." Believers, says\par Paul, are not now "in the flesh" in their standing,--they are seen by\par God in Christ only! (Rom. 8:9). Calvin) and all the Reformers, and the\par Puritans after them, placed believers under the Law of Moses as a\par "rule of life"; because they did riot see that a believer's history in\par Adam ended at the cross. But Paul, in Gal. 6:15, 16, says that those\par in Christ are to walk as "new creatures": they are a new creation!\par "And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them!" This is\par God's prescription for your walk, whatever men may teach!\par \par We do quote Luther, that great man of God, in connection with Chapter\par Seven, in the expressions of his wonderful personal faith, as saying:\par "These words, `am dead to the Law' (Gal. 2:19) are very effectual. For\par he saith simply, `I am dead to the Law'; that is, I have nothing to do\par with the Law . . . Let him that would live to God come out of the\par grave with Christ." (Luther on Galatians; in which book is often shown\par a vigor and boldness of faith hardly to be matched since Paul!)\par \par Dr. Scofield in his note on Romans 3:21, says that the righteousness\par of the believer "is Christ Himself, who fully met in our stead and\par behalf every demand of the Law." Yet Scripture says that the Law was\par given to Israel; and that Gentiles are "without law," as contrasted\par "with Israel," who were "under the Law." Paul's words to us in Rom.\par 6:14: "Ye are not under law, but under grace," do not mean that we\par were once under law (as were the Jews) and have now been delivered;\par but rather mean that we, having died with Christ (our old man\par crucified with Him, and our history in Adam closed forever before\par God), are not placed at all under law! It is unfortunate that Dr.\par Scofield goes on to quote beloved Bunyan: "The believer in Christ is\par now, by grace, shrouded under so complete and blessed a righteousness\par that the Law from Mt. Sinai can find neither fault nor diminution\par therein. This is that which is called the righteousness of God by\par faith."\par \par Now it is at once evident that such a statement as Bunyan's leaves\par "the Law from Mt. Sinai" master of the field, lord over us. According\par to this the Law remains Inspector General of those in Christ! We are\par not "discharged" from it. We are still on earth, under legal trial,\par men "in the flesh." The gospel, however, is that we are, in Christ,\par not under the law-principle at all! "Ye are not in the flesh, but in\par the Spirit." Those who believe are not now under law, but under grace,\par being "in Christ." We are now in a Risen Christ, who as such "lives\par unto God"; and it is unthinkable that He is under law! The Word of God\par says that Christ was "born of a woman,"--thus reaching the whole race;\par and "born under the Law, that He might redeem them that were under the\par Law,"--that is, Israel. But to maintain that the Risen Christ is\par "under law" in Heaven, is both to deny Scripture (Rom. 6:4) and also\par to close our eyes to the manner of His risen life (6:10). Christ in\par Heaven lives under no legal conditions, but freely, in love unto God.\par And God has sent forth "the Spirit of His Son"--mark that!--into our\par hearts. This means not only the witness that we are adult sons (huioi)\par of God, but that the very same emotions of relationship and nearness\par to the Father belonging to Christ, God's Son, are ours--witnessed in\par our hearts by the Spirit of His Son!\par \par We find hardly any writers except indeed certain devoted saints among\par the "Friends of God" of the fourteenth century; and later, certain\par among the mystics like Tauler, Ter Steegen, Suso and the "prince of\par German hymnists," Paul Gerhardt; together with many early Methodists;\par and in the nineteenth century, certain of those remarkable men whose\par followers were later called "Plymouth Brethren," who have seen or\par dared believe our complete deliverance before God from Adam the First:\par that is, from our former place "in the flesh," "under law." The last,\par the Brethren, indeed speak with more Pauline accuracy. But these\par earlier saints, though much persecuted, exhibit marvelously in their\par lives and testimony that heavenly freedom of those taught of God their\par place in Christ! Hear one of them singing:\par \par \par "Thou who givest of Thy gladness\par \par Till the cup runs o'er--\par \par Cup whereof the pilgrim weary\par \par Drinks to thirst no more--\par \par Not a-nigh me, but within me\par \par Is Thy joy divine;\par \par Thou, O Lord, hast made Thy dwelling\par \par In this heart of mine.\par \par \par "Need I that a law should bind me\par \par Captive unto Thee?\par \par Captive is my heart, rejoicing\par \par Never to be free.\par \par Ever with me, glorious, awful,\par \par Tender, passing sweet,\par \par One upon whose heart I rest me,\par \par Worship at His Feet."\par \par --Gerhard Ter Steegen.\par \par The Law was given to man in the flesh; not to those on resurrection\par ground. Our relationship now to God is that of standing in the same\par acceptance as Christ; and we have the same Spirit of sonship as\par Christ!\par \par Now, Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,\par and the life that He now liveth, He liveth unto God. And He lives unto\par God as man. He is God; but He is also a Risen Man.\par \par It is into this Risen Christ, thus glorified, that God has brought us.\par [67]\par \par We do not need therefore a personal "standing" before God at all. This\par is the perpetual struggle of legalistic theology,--to state how we can\par have a "standing" before God. But to maintain this is still to think\par of us as separate from Christ (instead of dead and risen with Him),\par and needing such a "standing." But if we are in Christ in such an\par absolute way that Christ Himself has been made unto us righteousness,\par we are immediately relieved from the need of having any "standing."\par Christ is our standing, Christ Himself! And Christ being the\par righteousness of God, we, being thus utterly and vitally in Christ\par before God, have no other place but in Him. We are "the righteousness\par of God in Christ."\par \par Not to the cherubim, not to the seraphim, not to the elect angels, has\par been given such a place as this! They may be sinless,--they are. They\par may be holy,--they are. They may be glorious,--they are. But they are\par not "the righteousness of God"; for they are not in Christ. They were\par never cut off, as we have been, by a death that ended completely their\par former history and standing, and then placed in Christ!\par \par And so we come to a verse the very reading of which has been used to\par save and bring into the light thousands:\par \par Verse 22: God's righteousness, moreover, through faith concerning\par Jesus Christ unto all them that believe--If it were man's\par righteousness, it would be through something man accomplished. But it\par is God's righteousness; it is apart from out right-doing--that is,\par law-keeping altogether; for keeping law would be the only way man\par could get a righteousness of his own.\par \par But the moment we mention righteousness here, people can hardly be\par restrained from the notion that they are to have a new quality\par bestowed upon them. Since they have themselves lost this quality of\par righteousness, they are anxious to get it back,--the consciousness of\par it. But this is really self-righteousness,--and that at its worst.\par \par For we read here the words, "through faith in [or concerning] Jesus\par Christ." And people rush to talking of Christ's "merits" becoming\par theirs, being "imputed," or reckoned to them: so that they are,\par thereby, in a righteous state!\par \par But we shall see in Rom. 4:5 that God accounts righteous the believing\par ungodly as such; not those who are first to be in any wise "changed,"\par and then reckoned righteous; not those to whom certain "merits" of\par Christ are to be given, so that they are thereby righteous--not at\par all. But the believing ungodly are to be reckoned righteous--while\par they are still ungodly: it is that fact that makes the gospel!\par \par Justification is God's reckoning a man righteous who has no\par righteousness,--because God is operating wholly upon another basis,\par even the work of Christ. If Christ fully bore sin for man, and has\par been raised up by God, a believing man has reckoned to him by God all\par that infinite work of Christ!\par \par Thus, no change in the ungodly man is necessary for justification.\par [68] He believes, certainly. But faith is not a "meritorious" work. It\par is simply giving God the credit of speaking the truth in the gospel\par about Christ. It is Christ's shed blood, and that alone, which is the\par procuring cause of God's declaring an ungodly man righteous: while\par God's grace is the reason for it. Our faith is simply the instrumental\par condition. God counts our faith for righteousness, because by it we\par give God and Christ the full glory of our salvation. Faith in God also\par brings the heart into His light; for, when "with the heart man\par believeth unto righteousness," the heart, in thus believing, is turned\par to God directly, in the simplicity of a little child. When Adam\par sinned, he fled from God; when a sinner believes, he comes back!\par \par Now concerning this chiefest revelation of Romans, we must go to\par Scripture only. It will never do to accept men's writings as\par "authorities'" or as "standards,"--as men call them. For to do this is\par not to interpret the Scriptures, but to proceed along Romish lines.\par Nor will it do to rely on men's devotedness to God, however real, as\par proof of their reliability in statements of Divine truth.\par \par Take the Reformers: God brought them back, in principle, to the\par Scriptures as their only guide. (Would that there were the same\par devotedness and zeal today!) But, after mounting up to Heaven as it\par were, in personal grasp and use of the truth of justification by faith\par apart from all works, yet the Reformers put Christians back under\par Moses as a "rule of life," under law I "What is required? and what is\par forbidden?" in this Mosaic commandment, or that, is the burden of\par Christian living, according to this theology.\par \par  Godly and earnest men have thus held; but the only question is, what\par are the words of Scripture? We must "prove all things" men write, in\par the light of Scripture: for God says we are not under law: and that\par the "rule of life" is, that we are a new creation (Gal. 6:15, 16). Is\par the Pauline revelation that we died with Christ from all earthly\par "religious principles" (Col 2:20), (such as God declares the Mosaic\par system now to be: Gal. 4:9)--is this glorious fact once set forth in\par all the reformed "standards"? By no means! Believers were not seen by\par the Reformers as having had their history ended at the cross, and\par being now wholly in a new creation. Neither did the Puritans enter\par into this truth. This Pauline doctrine was not fully recovered until\par God wrought,--again in a reviving, almost a Reformation power, through\par godly and devoted servants of His, 300 years after Luther and Calvin.\par Truth is truth: and those seeking God's truth welcome it wherever they\par find it! Revealed Truth belongs to the whole Church, to every\par believer. Those attached to, and entrenched in tradition, will always\par be found fighting for that. [69]\par \par Simple faith, then, receives "God's testimony concerning His Son," and\par rests there. They used to say of Marshall Field in Chicago, "His word\par is as good as his bond." It was no credit to the merchants that\par trusted Mr. Field, but it was a great credit to him! It gave him the\par public honor of his integrity.\par \par God's righteousness, moreover, through faith concerning Jesus\par Christ--Here we must study carefully. The King James Version reads,\par "by faith of Jesus Christ." "Through faith" is more accurate, as the\par preposition is, dia, "through,'" as the Revised Versions, both English\par and American, read. Concerning the form, "of Jesus Christ," see Mark\par 11:22, Acts 3:16, Gal. 2:16, Jas. 2:1 where the same Greek\par construction appears.\par \par The expression "faith concerning Jesus Christ," literally, "faith of\par Jesus Christ" must be regarded either as:\par \par 1. Faith in the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ, as set forth at\par the beginning of the Epistle, involving of course appropriation of\par Christ with all His benefits for oneself; or,\par \par 2. Trust in Christ. But Christ has already died for sin, for the\par world; and trust, here, would mean relying on Christ to do something\par for the soul; either to put forth power to deliver; or, as they say,\par to become one's "personal Saviour"; or, "to see one through to the\par end," or the like. This is in accordance with man's gospel: "Jesus\par Christ will save you if,"--rather than in accordance with Paul's\par gospel of believing God's Word concerning Christ as having\par accomplished for us a work that was finished once for all on the\par cross.\par \par  3. The rendering received by many today in certain circles which would\par make "the faith of Jesus Christ" mean Christ's own believing on our\par behalf! which, they explain, is "exercising His own mighty faith,"\par instead of calling upon the strengthless hearts of men to believe. But\par this avoids our responsibility to believe God. They quote here Mark\par 11:22: "Have faith in God," as, "Have the faith of God"; a grotesque,\par unbiblical, impossible meaning! Our Lord said, "If thou canst believe,\par all things are possible to him that believeth." He did not say, "I\par will believe for you." Again He did say, "This is the work of God,\par that ye believe on Him Whom He [the Father] hath sent" (John 6:29).\par \par 4. Finally, some have thought to render, "the faith of Jesus Christ"\par as His faithfulness to us; which is not the meaning of the Greek, is\par out of place, and is contrary to the apostle's usage.\par \par We believe that the first meaning we have indicated--that is, faith in\par the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ as set forth at the\par beginning of the Epistle, is the true one here; for it accords\par perfectly with this first great expansion in Chapter Three, of the\par announcement of Chapter 1:1-3, "the gospel of God concerning His Son":\par the power of which is that "therein is revealed God's righteousness on\par the principle of faith."'\par \par Faith is not trust, and must be carefully distinguished therefrom, if\par we would have a clear conception of the gospel. Faith is simply the\par acceptance for ourselves of the testimony of God as true. Such faith,\par indeed, brings one into a life of trust. But faith is not "trusting,"\par or "expecting God to do something," but relying on His testimony\par concerning the person of Christ as His Son, and the work of Christ for\par us on the cross. So faith is "the giving substance to things hoped\par for." After saving faith, the life of trust begins. In a sense that\par will be readily perceived by the spiritual mind, trust is always\par looking forward to what God will do; but faith sees that what God says\par has been done, and believes God's Word, having the conviction that it\par is true, and true for ourselves.\par \par In saving faith, then, you do not trust God to do something for you:\par He has sent His Son, who has borne sin for you. You do not look to\par Christ to do something to save you: He has done it at the cross. You\par simply receive God's testimony as true, setting your seal thereto.\par [70] You rest in God's Word regarding Christ and His work for you. You\par rest in Christ's shed blood.\par \par It is GOD that justifieth (8:33), as it is God against whom we sinned.\par And it is God whom we find in Chapter 3:25 setting forth Christ on the\par cross as a righteous meeting-place (between the sinner and God)\par through faith in His blood. And again: "To him that worketh not, but\par believeth on Him [God] that justifieth the ungodly" (on the ground, of\par course, of the blood of Christ). "Righteousness shall be reckoned unto\par us who believe on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (4:5\par and 24). This, it seems, is what the Lord meant in His last public\par message to the Jews, John 12:44: "Jesus cried and said, He that\par believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me." Faith,\par indeed, lays claim to Christ and possesses Him, but it is through\par believing the testimony of God the Father concerning His Son.\par \par And this seems to me the meaning of the words in Chapter 3:22,\par "through faith concerning Jesus Christ." Peter also says not only that\par we have "the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the\par resurrection of Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 3:21), but: "through Him\par [Christ] ye are believers in God, that raised Him from the  dead, and\par gave Him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God" (I Pet.\par 1:21). Thus also, he says, "Christ also suffered for sins once, the\par righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God" (I Pet.\par 3:18).\par \par We must remember that it is the "gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1) in its\par general aspect, which we are now studying; and that it is "concerning\par His Son." Christ says also in John 5:24, "He that heareth My word, and\par believeth Him that sent Me hath everlasting life and cometh not into\par judgment."\par \par Now we believe concerning Jesus Christ: (a) that He is the Son of God,\par (b) that He has put away sin by His blood (as Paul will soon show);\par and (c) that He is and has become through simple believing our very\par own, so that what He has done was really done for us.\par \par You may say, this is simply "believing on the Lord Jesus Christ." Yes;\par but it is believing God concerning Chri st. In Chapter Four we find\par that Abraham believed God, and righteousness was reckoned unto him. We\par also "believe on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was\par delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our\par justification." Here the faith is in God, and is made possible by His\par raising Christ, upon whom He had placed our sins. Sanday says: "`By\par faith of Jesus Christ': that is, by faith which has Christ for its\par object." In the gospel of God concerning Christ, God announces not\par only Christ's person as Son of David, and Son of God; but also His\par finished work, that He has been set forth by God as a propitiation, a\par righteous meeting-place between the sinner and God. It is therefore\par God whom the sinner believes; and in believing God he appropriates\par Christ, and His saving work.\par \par There is another question in this 22nd verse which must be answered.\par The King James Version adds, after "The righteousness of God by faith\par of Jesus Christ unto all," the words "and upon all them that believe."\par The Revised Version omits "and upon all." This, we believe, is the\par correct reading. The righteousness of God is not put "upon" any one.\par That is a Romish idea,--still held, alas, among Protestants who cannot\par escape the conception of righteousness as a something bestowed upon\par us, rather than a Divine reckoning about us. But the best authorities\par omit these words "and upon all," as do the oldest manuscripts, and\par both the English and American Revised Versions. The words, "God's\par righteousness through faith concerning Jesus Christ unto all them that\par believe," describe it all, and fully.\par \par I know people argue that "unto all" describes the "direction of the\par blessing"; and "upon all" those who (as they put it) have the blessing\par actually "conferred upon them." But please notice the present passage\par  is setting forth the fact of a new, present revelation--God's\par righteousness by faith in Christ, as over against man's legal\par righteousness. Since we find this righteousness is God's accounting or\par holding righteous a man who believes, rather than a conferment of a\par quality upon a man, we must read the passage thus. It sets forth this\par present by-faith righteousness. It is God accounting a man (even as he\par is, "ungodly"--4:5) righteous in His sight. Do not destroy the gospel\par by adding to Romans 3:22 words which evidently have been supplied by\par some one ignorant of the truth. It is simply "God's righteousness\par through faith about Jesus Christ." [71]\par \par Righteousness is a court word. Righteousness is reckoned by God to\par them that believe. The faith of the ungodly man who believes is\par "counted for righteousness" (4:5).\par \par The words that close verse 22, "for there is no distinction," should\par be joined w ith verse 23: "for all sinned, and are falling short of the\par glory of God." Pridham well says, "The all-important point to be\par regarded here is the complete setting aside of the creature-title."\par That there is no difference as to the fact of sin, between Jews and\par Gentiles, is, of course, primarily before us in the words "no\par distinction." Exactly the same expression is found as to the\par availability of salvation in Chapter 10:12: "no distinction between\par Jew and Greek." We may well apply it to everybody, as does Pridham in\par his "no creature title." There is no distinction between\par sinners--between great offenders and small, with respect to this\par matter of sinnership. Not the degree of sin, but the fact of sin is\par looked at here. If you should visit a penitentiary, you would find\par some imprisoned for terrible crimes, and others for lesser offences,\par but you would find, in the eyes of the law, no innocent men!\par \par Verse 23: for all sinned, and are falling short of the glory of\par God--Note the difference in the tenses: "all sinned" is in the past\par tense, while "falling short" of God's glory is stated in the present\par tense. When Adam had once sinned, in Eden, he continually fell short,\par outside of Eden, as did all his race, by him and after him.\par \par While it is true, as both the old Version and the Revised translate,\par that "all have sinned"; yet I am more and more persuaded that inasmuch\par as the Spirit of God uses in verse 23 the same Greek word and tense as\par in Chapter 5:12, hemarton: that is, "all sinned" (aorist, not perfect,\par tense), God is looking back even here at Adam's federal headship\par involving us all. He looks at the race as fallen and lost and gone, in\par their federal head; and then as individually continuing in sins. [72]\par \par As a natural consequence, all that race "are falling short" of His\par glory. This "falling short" may mean (1) to fail to earn God's holy\par approbation (compare John 12:43); or (2) to come short, because of the\par loss of all spiritual strength through sin (Rom. 5:6), of that estate\par God prescribed for and must demand of man; or (3) guilty inability to\par stand before Him or in His glorious holy presence. Probably all these\par and more are included in the thought. We know that those now justified\par by faith in Christ "rejoice in hope of the glory of God,"--meaning\par that state of being glorified together with Christ, which is the high,\par heavenly hope of the Christian. It is in and through Christ alone that\par sinners ruined in Adam, and daily falling short of the glory of God,\par find redemption from sin's guilt and deliverance from its power.\par \par How sad and awful, then, man's condition! Suppose I should say, for\par example, to a New York audience, "Let us all go down to the Battery\par and jump across to England." Some vigorous young man might jump over\par twenty feet, `but he would "fall short" of England. And some little\par old lady might not jump one foot. But all would "fall short" of the\par coast of England. And, for that matter, the one who leaped the\par farthest would be in the deepest water! Paul, the chief of sinners,\par leaped to the farthest distance of self-righteousness, only to cry,\par "Wretched man that I am" and to find he must put his faith only in\par Christ!\par \par We now come to the greatest single verse in the entire Bible on the\par manner of justification by faith: We entreat you, study this verse. We\par have seen many a soul, upon understanding it, come into peace.\par \par Verse 24: Being declared righteous giftwise by His grace through the\par redemption that is in Christ Jesus--God having brought the whole world\par into His courtroom and pronounced them guilty (vs. 19),--"under sin,"\par now exhibits Himself in absolute sovereign grace towards the guilty!\par \par Being declared [or accounted] righteous--Justification, or accounting\par righteous, is God's reckoning to one who believes the whole work and\par effect before Him of the perfect redemption of Christ. The word never\par means to make one righteous, or holy; but to account one righteous.\par Justification is not a change wrought by God in us, but a change of\par our relation to God.\par \par Declared righteous giftwise--The Greek word dorean means, for nothing,\par gratuitously, giftwise, as a free gift. Paul, for example, uses the\par same word in reminding the Corinthians of his labors to make the\par gospel "without charge." "Freely [dorean] ye received, freely give,"\par said the Lord to the twelve (Matt. 10:8). "I will give unto him that\par is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (dorean),--for\par nothing (Rev. 21:6); and it occurs in almost the very last verse of\par the Bible:\par \par "Let him take of the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). Perhaps the\par most striking use of this word, dorean, is by our Lord: "They hated me\par without-a-cause" (dorean) (John 15:25). The cause of the hatred was in\par them, not in Christ. Turning this about: the cause of our\par justification is in God, not in us. We are justified dorean--freely,\par gratis, gratuitously, giftwise, without a cause in us! This great fact\par should deliver just now some reader who has been looking within, to\par his spiritual state, or feelings, or prayers, as a ground of peace.\par \par By His grace--We get our word "charity"--from the Greek word\par translated "grace" here (charis). True, our word "charity" has been\par narrowed down in our poor thought and speech to handing out a dole to\par the needy. But as used by God, this word grace (charis), means the\par going forth in boundless oceans, according to Himself, of His mighty\par love. who "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." The\par grace of God is infinite love operating by an infinite means,--the\par sacrifice of Christ; and in infinite freedom, unhindered, now, by the\par temporary restrictions of the Law.\par \par Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus--Remember that\par everything connected with God's salvation is glad in bestowment,\par infinite in extent, and unchangeable in character. Christ's atoning\par work was the procuring cause of all eternal benefit to us. Concerning\par the Greek word translated "redemption" here (apolutrosis) Thayer says:\par "Everywhere in the New Testament this word is used to denote\par deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive\par wrath of a holy God and the merited penalty of sin."\par \par The effect of redemption is shown in Ephesians 1:7: "In whom we have\par our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."\par Otherwise we were unpardoned and exposed to Divine wrath for ever.\par Compare Colossians 1:14: "In whom we have our redemption, the\par forgiveness of our sins"; as also Hebrews 9:15: "A death having taken\par place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the\par first covenant." Here Thayer's interpretation of this word\par "redemption" is again excellent: "Deliverance from the penalty of\par transgressions effective through their expiation."\par \par Before you leave verse 24, apply it to yourself, if you are a\par believer. Say of yourself: "God has declared me righteous without any\par cause in me, by His grace, through the redemption from sin's penalty\par that is in Christ Jesus." It is the bold believing use for ourselves\par of the Scripture we learn, that God desires; and not merely the\par knowledge of Scripture.\par \par Verse 25: Whom God set forth a propitiation through faith in His\par blood, unto showing forth His [God's] righteousness in respect of the\par passing over of the foregoing sins in the forbearance of God--This\par verse looks back to the whole history of human sin before it was\par judged at the cross,-- the vast scandal (so to speak) of the\par universe!--a holy God letting sin pass for four thousand years, from\par Adam to Christ. God had been righteous in thus passing over [73] human\par sin, both in pardoning without judgment, the sins of the Abels,\par Enochs, Noahs, and the patriarchs,--even all whom He knew as believing\par Him; and not only so, He was righteous in forbearing with the\par impenitent. His enemies: for He purposed both sending Christ to become\par the propitiation for the whole world; and He would also deal in due\par time in righteous judgment with those rejecting all His goodness.\par \par But now, in the gospel, His righteousness in all this is publicly\par shown forth; and the ground of it all seen--even the Lamb\par "foreordained, indeed, from the foundation of the world, but now\par manifested," and sacrificed. At the cross was sin seen at its height;\par and also the righteousness of God in dealing in judgment [74] with it.\par It was not until the gospel that all this was manifested. Although God\par had been dealing righteously in the past ages, it was first seen\par clearly when He judged human sin openly in the Great Sacrifice: where\par His own Son was not spared!\par \par Whom God set forth a propitiation--Let us consider now this word\par "propitiation," concerning the meaning of which there is much\par uncertainty in many hearts.\par \par Inasmuch as Christ died for our sins "according to the Scriptures" (I\par Cor. 15:3), we must go to those Scriptures (Old Testament, of course)\par to find what is there set forth concerning His death.\par \par Now the two goats, on the Great Day of Atonement, represent two great\par effects of Christ's sacrifice. To quote: "Aaron shall take the two\par goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting.\par And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for Jehovah, and\par the other lot for Azazel" ("removal"--the goat of removal of sins)\par [75] (Lev 16:7, 8).\par \par On the great Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) the high priest presented\par before Jehovah these two goats: one was slain, and its blood brought\par by the high priest into the tabernacle, through the holy place, and\par past the second veil into the holy of holies. There the high priest\par sprinkled the blood upon "the mercy-seat" (the covering of the ark of\par the covenant, where the Shekinah glory of God's presence was above the\par cherubim), and also before the mercy-seat, seven times. This was the\par blood of the goat upon which the lot fell "for Jehovah"; therefore we\par have here first the holy and righteous claims of the throne of God as\par to sin completely met. The golden covering of the ark was called the\par "mercy-seat" (Hebrew, kapporeth). In the Septuagint, the Greek\par translation of the Old Testament, this golden covering of the ark is\par always called by the same Greek word, hilasterion, [76] which we find\par translated "propitiation" here in verse 25; and "mercy-seat" in the\par only other New Testament occurrence of the word, Hebrews 9:5.\par \par Does "propitiation" (hilasterion), here in Romans 3.25, then mean that\par the death of Christ made expiation for human sin? Or does it mean also\par that Christ, having thus died, therefore becomes to the soul the\par "mercy-seat" where God in all His holiness, and the sinner in all his\par guilt, may meet?\par \par The latter may be included; for the type is thus carried out; inasmuch\par as the blood was sprinkled upon the mercy-seat (Lev. 16:14), the\par covering of the ark of the covenant, which was called the mercy-seat;\par the "mercy-seat" thus calling attention to the effect of the sacrifice\par as affording a righteous meeting ground between the sinner and God.\par But in Chapter 3.25 it was to show forth God's righteousness that\par Christ was "set forth,"--the fact that God, though forbearing 4000\par years, had not forgotten or abated His wrath against sin: so that it\par is Christ'?, actual death as an expiation of human sin that is seen\par here as showing God's righteousness. We may well read, "God set forth\par Christ propitiatory": thus showing Himself righteous, and also a\par gracious Justifier of sinners.\par \par The other question connects itself with what we have just said: Should\par we regard our faith as making the propitiation actual? Of course, the\par expiatory death of Christ becomes effectual only for those who\par believe, who rest upon it. But the expiation was made to God for human\par sin and the propitiation effected, apart from any man's faith therein!\par  This is a plain fact of revelation. Christ "tasted death for every\par man." "He gave Himself a ransom for all"--whether any avail themselves\par of it or not. Faith does not have any part in the propitiation, though\par it avails itself of it. Propitiation is by blood alone.\par \par It is forgotten that our God is a consuming fire. Many there are who,\par in the blindness of unbelief of the last days, proudly say, "We reject\par the Jehovah of the Old Testament." It is "the Jesus that loved little\par children," and "went about doing good," who "taught us to call God,\par Father":--this is the one in whom people say they believe. But will\par you remember that this same Jesus is called in the Old Testament\par Jehovah's Servant, and that under Jehovah's smiting hand of wrath He\par poured out His blood on Calvary and was laid in a tomb, dead, and that\par it is this Jesus, the Son of God, dead and risen, upon whom you are\par called to believe?\par \par Now, why did He thus die? or, if you wish, Why must He die, at all?\par Death is the wages of sin, and He had none! Why should He die?\par \par The answer to this question, false teachers crowd to give you. But we\par must find the answer in what Scripture says, or risk our eternity! For\par Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and His death is His one saving act.\par Concerning His person, therefore, and His death, you must learn what\par God says from His own Word, and believe it. I find thousands of people\par ready to say, "Christ died for us, to save us"; thousands, I say, who\par speak thus, but who are able to give no account whatever of salvation;\par who exhibit, upon being questioned, the most awful ignorance of the\par character and attributes of God, and of where lay the necessity for\par Christ's death, and what it really accomplished.\par \par The shed blood on the Day of Atonement witnessed that a death had\par taken place. The person for whom the blood was shed could not approach\par or stand for a moment in the presence of the infinitely holy God. When\par the high priest came in before Jehovah on the Great Day of atonement,\par carrying the basin containing the poured out life blood of the slain\par goat, he swung the censer, and the cloud of incense filled the holy of\par holies, covering from all human sight or approach, the mercy-seat\par where dwelt, upon the cherubim, the Shekinah Presence of God. He\par approaches and sprinkles the blood upon the mercy-seat, and before the\par mercy-seat seven times, and retires.\par \par Now, what does this witness? Not an angry, vengeful God, [77] but\par infinitely the opposite--One who would send the Son of His bosom as\par the spotless Lamb to pour out His blood for us sinners, and then\par ascend to His God and Father,--and, unspeakable grace, now our God and\par Father also!\par \par But, this laid-down-life witnesses that all approach to God on our\par personal part is impossible forever! To be made nigh unto God in the\par blood of Christ means that we come as those whose Substitute has been\par smitten unto death,--and that under forsaking and wrath by God\par Himself. There is peace through this blood, but a peace that leaves\par for us in our own right, no place whatever. Herein is the "offense" of\par the cross. Shall Christ be smitten for my sin? Then I deserve such\par smiting. Shall Christ be forsaken? Then I should have been forsaken.\par Shall Christ give up the ghost? Then all my hopes in myself have\par perished forever; for He who stood in my place has been smitten,\par forsaken; has died.\par \par All this men hate and will not hear.\par \par The essence of the truth concerning what men call "atonement," is that\par God's wrath fell upon Christ bearing our sins. Man's unbelief has\par sought in every way to avoid or mitigate this awful truth. But if\par Divine wrath fell not upon Christ, it must fall upon us; for God can\par not let sin pass. The preacher must study the Scriptures until he sees\par for himself from God's Word this most solemn of all Divine\par revelations: in the coats of skins--obtained by death as a covering\par for Adam and Eve in God's presence; in Abel's accepted sacrifice; in\par all the offerings of the patriarchs; and afterwards in those\par prescribed to Israel in Leviticus,--where neither remission of the\par penalty of sin to the offender nor the bringing of man into God's\par presence was possible except through blood-shedding; and alike\par strikingly in the Psalms of Christ's sufferings,--as 16, 22, 40, 69,\par 88, 102, 109; and in the prophets: "It pleased Jehovah to bruise Him,"\par "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him"; "Awake, O sword against\par My Shepherd, against the Man Who is My Fellow, saith Jehovah of\par Hosts"; and in the gospels--"The Son of Man must be lifted up"; "The\par cup [of what but wrath?] that my father hath given Me, shall I not\par drink it?" "My God, My God Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Throughout the\par New Testament, as in the Old, this is taught, that God's wrath for sin\par fell upon Christ upon the cross.\par \par It has ever been the first step to heresy--the denial that Divine\par wrath for sin fell on Christ. It was, indeed, certainly not anger at\par Christ's Person--He was obediently drinking a cup His Father had given\par Him. Nor was it anger at the sinner: "God so loved that He gave." But\par it was wrath against sin,--the going forth of the infinitely holy\par nature of God against sin. Alas, how little we feel its awfulness! How\par poor our knowledge of it; how weak our hatred of it! But wrath against\par it fell full on Christ. We beseech you, hold this fast. "God spared\par not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all."\par \par God is holy in His being: H e is righteous in His character.\par Righteousness appears in His dealings with others. The term\par righteousness is a relative one; it assumes the existence of others.\par It is a word of relationship: whether in attitude or in government,\par God will ever be righteous. But holiness is not a word of\par relationship, but of nature, of being. God is holy: if there were no\par creatures He would yet be holy, the Holy One, "Whose Name is Holy."\par \par It is in this holiness of God that we must look for the necessity of\par propitiation. That there must be propitiation does not indicate,\par primarily, that God is offended and must be appeased; but that God is\par holy and cannot by sinful creatures be approached. Only holy beings\par (like the seraphim, the cherubim of glory, and the elect angels) can\par possibly abide in His presence. Sin cannot come nigh Him. It is not\par that He hates sinners (He gave His Son to ransom them!) but it is that\par ! He is holy and cannot look upon sin. And if there be sin, there must\par `be wrath against it: not merely the vindication of God's offended\par government, but the infinite abhorrence of His holy nature! He\par "dwelleth in light unapproachable." It is death to draw nigh: not\par because God is vindictive,--He is love: but because He is holy, and we\par are sinful, unclean, unholy.\par \par True, we are also guilty: the penalty of sin is upon us. And that\par means judgment, and the infliction of wrath. But behind this, and\par deeper than even our guilt, is the abhorrence of a holy God of our sin\par itself. It is the abominable thing His holy being hates. We must be\par banished under wrath from His sight! Let all those who think to stand\par in the day of judgment before God think on this. The atonement arises\par out of a necessity in the nature of God Himself.\par \par Now in the type of the great Day of Atonement of Leviticus 16, we have\par " the two goats setting forth two great facts, which we must not\par confuse: First (and most important) the blood of the slain goat\par brought into God's presence in the holy of holies: the sprinkled blood\par being the witness that there has been death, a life laid down: [78]\par and no effort to come otherwise into God's presence,--no Cain-way,\par which does not recognize sin, or that holiness of God which was wrath\par and death toward sin. The blood of the goat sprinkled on the\par mercy-seat was the witness that all the claims of God, His holiness,\par His truth, His righteousness, and the majesty of His throne, had been\par admitted and met by a substitute which had laid its life down.\par \par Then, second, there was the transferring in type of the actual\par sins,--all of them, to the head of the scape-goat (the "goat of\par dismissal"), which was then led to the wilderness, never to be found\par again: thus setting forth the result of the d#eath of the first\par goat,--for the two are really one, in that the two set forth the\par effect of Christ's death: (1) toward God; and (2) toward sinners.\par \par It is this latter phase of Christ's work,--His taking away our sins\par forever, that we so constantly find in our hymns (and rightly). But it\par is the first phase that the Word of God calls "the lot for Jehovah"\par (Lev. 16:8, 9, 15). It is of first importance that God should be\par glorified where sin had so dishonored Him! Sin outraged His holiness,\par insulted His Majesty, defied His righteous government. And the cross\par made good all this, and publicly, before the universe. This was first.\par And second, God could now let `sinners, in all their guilt, turn to\par Him! And we should learn to look at the cross as first of all\par glorifying God; and not solely from the viewpoint of the blessed and\par eternal benefits accruing to us thereby!\par \par It is the character of Go$d and the character of sin that are before us\par in Leviticus 16, in the Great Day of Atonement. "That I die not"\par (verse 13) was upon the mind of the high priest as he swung the censer\par when entering the presence of Jehovah, the Holy One, to sprinkle the\par blood, "to make atonement for the holy place, because of the\par uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their\par transgressions, even all their sins." Note here that it is\par "uncleannesses" that are mentioned, even before "transgressions" or\par "sins"! Read carefully Leviticus 16,--especially verses 15 and 16.\par \par Taking the blood in before God, in the holy of holies, was not a gift\par to God! Nor was it that God "delighted in bloodshed"--the monstrous\par claim of God's enemies. Christ's blood witnesses that a life has been\par laid down (though that of a Substitute, a Lamb, God Himself in love\par has provided). So that a sinner, unable to be in God's presence at%\par all, and guilty, might, in the Name and Person of that Substitute, be\par in God's presence, pardoned and justified. So that the blood witnesses\par at once the infinite holiness and righteousness of God, and also His\par fathomless love! The words "made nigh in Christ's blood" should be in\par the constant consciousness of every Christian!\par \par Now in order that these things may be impressed on our hearts, we\par quote a few of the ever recurring references in Scripture to the\par holiness of God: its effect in godly fear upon the saints, and also\par its effect upon the wicked. We have placed these passages in a\par footnote. We beg you to stop and humbly read them; for the God of the\par Old Testament is the God of the New. Indeed, that great passage in the\par Sixth of Isaiah in which the seraphim veil their faces, crying, "Holy,\par holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts," is directly declared in the Twelfth\par of John to have been spoken of& the Lord Jesus Christ: "These things\par said Isaiah, because he saw His glory [Christ's] and he spake of Him"\par (John 12:39-41). The fact that the Son of God has come, sent by a God\par of love, and has borne sin for us, so that we who believe shall not\par come into judgment, but draw near to God by Christ's blood, does not\par at all change the character of the holy God; but, on the contrary,\par reveals His holiness as nowhere else! [79]\par \par Therefore we see m the word translated "propitiation" a propitiatory\par sacrifice that has expiated guilt; and therefore the "mercy-seat"\par where God is in all His holiness, and the effect of Christ's expiatory\par sacrifice, in the bringing into God's holy presence sinners, the\par defiled and guilty,--whose Substitute has borne their defilement and\par guilt, His blood becoming the witness thereto before God.\par \par We know that we read in Hebrews 9:8 concerning the sacrifices in that\par fir'st tabernacle: "The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into\par the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first\par tabernacle is yet standing." Besides, we also read in Hebrews: "Having\par therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the\par blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living\par way . . . let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith"\par (Heb. 10:19, 22). God's being and character do not change. The cross\par is the deepest witness of all to that fact!\par \par In every great revival in church history, as in the Old Testament,\par there has been a coming back into the consciousness of being guilty,\par lost sinners, dependent on the shed blood of a Redeemer. If the world\par has gotten past being recalled to that blessed sinner-consciousness in\par the presence of a God of mercy at the cross--there is nothing left but\par judgment!\par \par Verse 26: For the s(howing forth of His righteousness at this present\par season: that He might be Himself righteous, while declaring righteous\par the person having faith in Jesus.\par \par Both in verse 25 and verse 26 it is the effect of Christ's sacrifice,\par as displaying the Divine righteousness, that is before us. From Adam\par to Christ God had "passed over," not judged and put away, sin. The\par word translated "passed over" (paresis) in Chapter 3:25, is not the\par word for "remission," of Matthew 26:28, which is used fifteen times\par for the active pardon of sins; whereas the present word (paresis) is\par used in Romans 3:25 only. This word carries, in a sense, almost the\par same thought as the word "overlooked," in Acts 17:30. Of course there\par had to be, before the cross, such displays of Divine government as the\par Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues in Egypt,\par and the dispersion of rebellious Israel. Nevertheless, God did not\p)ar take up man's sin for judgment according to His own being, until the\par cross. There He held the public Judgment Day of human sin, displaying\par His absolute righteousness in not sparing His own Son. Before the\par cross, as Bengel says, "the righteousness of God was not so apparent,\par for He seemed not to be so exacting with sin as He is, but to leave\par the sinner to himself, to regard not." But in the atoning death of\par Christ, God's righteousness was fully exhibited in His wrath against\par sin as it was in His holy sight. He was shown righteous, at the very\par moment He was, in love, working out the deliverance of the sinner from\par the wrath due. He was the Justifier, and yet just!\par \par In the words, "at this present season," God directs our gaze back to\par the cross, where Christ was publicly set forth and judged for our sin;\par and also He covers this whole "season" of mercy the present\par dispensation. Old Testament belie*vers looked forward: they were\par forgiven on credit. But "this present season," is better. It is\par characterized by a righteousness already displayed in God's judging\par our sin at the cross; and therefore by God as the righteous Justifier\par of all who believe.\par \par Now our faith is that one act of our hearts that appropriates the work\par of Christ; and we stand, by virtue of that work alone in the immediate\par presence of the infinitely holy God. The words "most holy" occur about\par forty times in describing the sanctuary matters of the Old Testament;\par but faith in the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ who fulfills all\par those shadows, takes the place of all this: therefore, in the New\par Testament, our faith is called "our most holy faith"! (Jude 20).\par \par Verse 27: Where then is the [Jewish] boasting? It is excluded. By what\par manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith.\par \par Where then is the [Jewish] boast+ing? It is plain all through this\par discussion that Paul has the religious position and opposition of the\par Jews in mind. Boasting "was excluded at the moment when the law of\par faith, that is, the gospel, was brought in." [80]\par \par In view of this new gospel-revelation of the finished work of Christ,\par who did the whole work for us on Calvary, and that by God's\par appointment, everything is seen to be of God, and not at all of man.\par Therefore, even the Jews, to whom the Law had been given, had their\par mouths completely stopped, "because there was no work done," and no\par ground for boasting!\par \par By what manner of law? of works? Not at all! but by a law of faith.\par "Law" in this instance is rule, or plan. This "law," or principle, of\par faith, applies not only to our justification, but to every aspect of\par the believer's life thereafter,--"building up yourselves on your most\par holy faith." "That life which I now live i,n the flesh I live in faith,\par the faith which is in the Son of God."\par \par Verse 28: For we reckon that a man is declared righteous by faith,\par apart from Works of law--This verse is not a conclusion arrived at,\par but a reason given why boasting is excluded.\par \par Verses 29 and 30: Or is God [the God] of Jews only? [who alone had the\par Law]. Is He not [the God] of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also:\par since it is one God who shall declare righteous the circumcision on\par the principle of faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. To\par paraphrase: "Or is God the God of the Jews only? (as He must be, if\par justification is by the Law: for only to the Jews did God give the\par Law). Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also: since\par God is One (in His being, and alike to all nations). And He shall\par justify the circumcision (Jewish believers) out of simple faith (and\par not by their keeping Moses' Law thou-gh they had it from God), and the\par uncircumcision (Gentiles, who had nothing) through their faith (apart\par from His giving them the Law)."\par \par Verse 31: Do we then annul law through faith? Banish the thought! on\par the contrary, we establish law.\par \par It is the constant cry of those who oppose grace, and most especially\par that declaration of grace that our justification is apart from\par law--apart from works of law--apart from ordinances, that it\par overthrows the Divine authority. But in this verse Paul says, "We\par establish law" through this doctrine of simple faith.\par \par To illustrate: In the wilderness a man was found gathering up sticks\par to make a fire on the Sabbath day. Now, the Law had said, "Ye shall\par kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day." How,\par then, was this Law to be "established"? By letting the law-breaker\par off? No. By securing his promise to keep the Law in the future? No.! By\par finding someone who had kept this commandment always, perfectly, and\par letting his obedience be reckoned to the law-breaker? No, in no wise!\par \par How then, was the Law established? You know very well. All Israel were\par commanded by Jehovah to stone the man to death. We read:\par \par "And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses\par and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward,\par because it had not been declared what should be done to him. And\par Jehovah said unto Moses The man shall surely be put to death: all\par the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And\par all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him\par to death with stones; as Jehovah commanded Moses" (Numbers\par 15:33,ff).\par \par Thus and thus only was the commandment of Jehovah established--by the\par execution of the penalty.\par \par Paul preached Christ cruc/ified: that Christ died for our sins, that\par "He tasted death for every man." And that Israel, who were under the\par Law, He redeemed from the curse of that Law by being made a curse for\par them. Thus the cross established law; for the full penalty of all that\par was against the Divine majesty, against God's holiness. His\par righteousness, His truth, was forever met, and that not according to\par man's conception of what sin and its penalty should be, but according\par to God's judgment, according to the measure of the sanctuary, of high\par heaven itself!\par \par The Jew, prating about his own righteousness, went about to kill Paul,\par crying that he spake against the Law; whereas it was that very Jew who\par would lower the Law to his own ability to keep it, instead of allowing\par it its proper office; namely, to reveal his guilt, curse him, and\par condemn him to death, and thus drive him to the mercy of God in\par Christ, whose expiator0y death established law by having its penalty\par executed! [81]\par \par RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT WORKS\par \par If God announces the gift of righteousness apart from works, why do\par you keep mourning over your bad works, your failures? DO you not see\par that it is because you still have hopes in these works of yours that\par you are depressed and discouraged by their failure? If you truly saw\par and believed that God is reckoning righteous the ungodly who believe\par on Him, you would fairly hate your struggles to be "better"; for you\par would see that your dreams of good works have not at all commended you\par to God, and that your bad works do not at all hinder you from\par believing on Him,--that justifieth the ungodly!\par \par Therefore, on seeing your failures, you should say, I am nothing but a\par failure; but God is dealing with me on another principle altogether\par than my works, good or bad,--a principle not involving my works, but\1par based only on the work of Christ for me. I am anxious, indeed, to be\par pleasing to God and to be filled with His Spirit; but I am not at all\par justified, or accounted righteous, by these things. God, in justifying\par me, acted wholly and only on Christ's blood-shedding on my behalf.\par \par Therefore I have this double attitude: first, I know that Christ is in\par Heaven before God for me, and that I stand in the value before God of\par His finished work; that God sees me nowhere else but in this dead,\par buried, and Risen Christ, and that His favor is toward me in Christ,\par and is limitless and eternal.\par \par Then, second, toward the work of the Holy Spirit in me, my attitude\par is, a desire to be guided into the truth, to be obedient thereto, and\par to be chastened by God my Father if disobedient; to learn to pray in\par the Spirit, to walk by the Spirit, and to be filled with a love for\par the Scriptures and for the saints and2 for all men.\par \par Yet none of these things justifies me! I had justification from God as\par a sinner, not as a saint! My saintliness does not increase it, nor,\par praise God, do my failures decrease it!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [50] The Greek expression me-genoita, translated in both A. V, and R.\par V. "God forbid," does not contain the name of God, and should not be\par so translated. It amounts to "Banish the thought!" Literally, it is,\par "Be it not so!" or, "Let it not be conceived of!" Paul uses it\par frequently,--as much as nine or ten times in this Epistle--to denote\par instant and horrified rejection of a conception.\par \par [51] Probably Alford is right in viewing these objecting questions\par "not as coming from an objector, but as asked by the apostle himself\par anticipating the thought of his reader." I would suggest, however,\par that the questions beginning in this 3manner in verse 1 proceed to\par Paul's thinking Jew-wise in verse 5, and finally, in verse 7, quoting\par verbally what a Jew (not Paul) would say. This whole passage is\par generally regarded as one of the most difficult in the whole Epistle.\par But it will, as we spend work upon it, repay us, Bunyan says:\par \par "Hard texts are nuts--I would not call them cheaters:\par \par Whose shells do ofttimes keep them from the eaters."\par \par [52] We know that in this dispensation of Grace some Jewish\par "advantages" become actually a hindrance to one desiring to enter all\par Divine blessing wholly on grace grounds. This is set forth by Paul in\par Philippians 3:4-7 ff. There he enumerates seven natural advantages, of\par which, curiously, circumcision is the first mentioned, zealous\par persecution of the Church the sixth, and outward legal blamelessness\par the seventh! These were on the profit side (Greek, literally, "gains"\par side), of Paul'4s ledger, but he transferred them to the "loss" side:\par "What things were gains to me, these have I counted loss for Christ."\par \par [53] "As to the expression, "God's oracles" (Gr. logia) we quote:\par Olshausen: "No doubt in the first place the promises (Acts 7:38; I\par Pet. 4:11, etc.), and indeed especially those of the Messiah and the\par kingdom of God, to which all others were related . . . but the whole\par Word of God is also indicated by this expression. The Divine promises\par were confided to the Jews, since in what follows it is just this\par faithlessness (apistia) in the possession of these promises which is\par spoken of. The mention is made of Divine faithfulness (pistia) only in\par connection with this faithlessness." Tholuck; "Oracles (logia) here\par are primarily, Divine declarations; hence, particularly, promises and\par prophecies." Alford: "Not only the law of Moses, but all the\par revelation of God hitherto made of Himsel5f directly, all of which had\par been entrusted to Jews only." Meyer: "Paul means the Holy Scriptures\par and especially the prophecies of the Messiah and the kingdom. These\par are not destroyed by the Jews' unbelief."\par \par [54] "Godet says: "God cannot become guilty of any wrong toward any\par being whatever. Now this is what He seems to do to the sinner, when He\par at once condemns and makes use of him."\par \par [55] This awful list of fourteen facts about the human race, quoted\par from the Old Testament Scriptures, describes, of course, humanity as\par it is by nature. Therefore if we have believed the gospel, and are\par thus righteous before God in Christ, we have double reason to study\par these truths: first, that we may by understanding the facts, as God\par sees them, about ourselves, have a correct estimate of humanity,\par which, of course, unenlightened men never gain; and, second, that we\par may be constantly moved to give pra6ise to God for His measureless\par grace that reached even such as we were! Meyer's outline of verses 10\par to 18 is: "(1) A state of sin generally (verses 10-12); (2) practices\par of sin in words (verses 13-14); in deeds (verses 15-17); and (3) the\par sinful source of the whole (verse 18)." Haldane thus sums them up:\par "The first of them, verse 10, prefers the general charge of\par unrighteousness; the second, verses 11 to 12, marks the internal\par character, or disorders of the heart; third, verses 13 to 14, those of\par the words; the fourth, verses 15 to 17, those of the actions; the\par last, verse 18, declares the cause "of the whole."\par \par [56] It is striking how God uses the aorist tense here and in the\par previous count. The race is looked at from Adam down, and as partaking\par of his guilt, and wilfully in his path. Note also hemarton of verse\par 23: "all sinned, and are [as a result] falling short," We shall note\par this wor7d further, in Chapter 5:12.\par \par [57] This ignorance, of course, is itself a matter of guilt, as is\par abundantly shown in Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, 27: "If any of the people\par of the land sin unwittingly in doing anything . . . and be guilty."\par \par [58] Many insist that the words "the Law" of verse 19 include only all\par the quotations from Scripture from verse 9 to verse 18; and they would\par apply it only to the Jews, as alone possessing that Law, But God in\par verse 9 applies to both Jews and Greeks what is "written" in the\par following Scriptures (of verses 10-18). We would regard "the Law" in\par verse 19, then, in a stricter and more confined sense,--as when our\par Lord said to the Jews, "Did not Moses give you The Law?" Our Lord's\par general division was "The Law and The Prophets" (Luke 16:16); and in\par Luke 24:44 He speaks of "the things that are written in the Law of\par Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me." 8In John 10:34\par He uses the term "Your Law," covering even the Psalms. And yet, as we\par said above, the quotation from Psalm 14, includes the whole human\par race. And if it be argued that this psalm uses God's name Jehovah, His\par special name for Israel, we reply that in the parallel psalm, the\par Fifty-third, the name used is God, Elohim, the Creator of the whole\par earth.\par \par [59] Someone says, "It is not the good works men have done so much as\par the good works they persuade themselves they some time will do, in\par which they hope." For almost all know themselves to have failed; yet\par they promise themselves that they will be "better"; and the thought of\par being declared righteous by a work altogether outside of themselves,\par never once occurs to them!\par \par [60] By works of law shall no flesh be Justified in his sight; for\par through law cometh the recognition of sin (3:20). A man is justified\par by faith, apart f9rom works of law (3:28). To him that worketh not, but\par believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned\par for righteousness (4:5). Not through the Law was the promise made to\par Abraham . . . but through the righteousness of faith (4:13). For if\par they that are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void, and the\par promise is made of none effect (4:14). Through the obedience of the\par One shall the many be constituted righteous. And law came in\par alongside, that the trespass might abound (5:19, 20). Ye are not under\par law, but under grace (6:14). Ye were made dead to the Law through the\par body of Christ (7:4). We have been discharged from the Law (7:6).\par Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that\par believeth (10:4). Until this very day at the reading of the old\par covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed to them that\par it is done away in Christ (II Cor. 3:14). A man is not just:ified by\par works of law but through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16) If ye are\par led by the Spirit, ye are not under law (Gal. 5:18). Law is not made\par for a righteous man (I Tim. 1:9). For there is a disannulling of a\par foregoing commandment [by Him who gave it] because of its weakness and\par unprofitableness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in\par thereupon of a better hope, [Christ's work] through which we draw nigh\par unto God (Heb. 7:18, 19).\par \par [61] The absence of the definite article, the, before the word law, in\par 3:21, 28, 31; 4:13, etc., shows that it is the abstract principle of\par law that is before us rather than the specific, concrete, thing--the\par Law of Moses, the ten commandments. It will become evident to us that\par God is dealing with men now upon a different principle altogether than\par that of law: for grace confers the blessing, and lets the fruit flow\par from "faith working through lo;ve" by the power of the Spirit. Law\par demands fulfilment of conditions before blessing: grace announces that\par Christ has fulfilled all conditions.\par \par [62] "The Law has no such office in the present state of human nature\par manifested in history and in Scripture as to render righteous: its\par office is altogether different, viz., to detect and bring to light the\par sinfulness af man" (Alford).\par \par [63] Your body--you are waiting for the redemption of that. But your\par body is only the "tabernacle" in which you dwell,--it is not yourself.\par "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). "He that is\par joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (I Cor. 6:17).\par \par [64] Peter indeed declares that "God had foreshawed by the mouth of\par all the prophets that His Christ shoudl suffer" and "to Him bear all\par the prophets witness, that through His name every one that believeth\par on Him shall reeive remission of sins" (Act ascended; and have no righteousness to make out, but to\par glorify God as His child, being the righteousness of God in Christ\par already. My defects have nothing to do with my righteousness. They\par have with respect to my living to God and enjoying communion with Him"\par (Darby).\par \par [66] We call attention to the error in the King James Version at the\par end of Romans 5:11 where those translators render "atonement" when it\par should be "reconciliation" (katallange). Therefore, properly speaking,\par the idea of covering up sin ("atonement," kaphar, of the Old\par Testament) is entirely absent in any mention in the New Testament of\par the effect of Christ's sacrifice, which does not cover up but puts\par away sin from God's sight forever.\par \par [67] The "righteousness of God" is the justification of the sinner, is\par His own attribute of righteousness; that is, His acting in accordance\par with His own holy nature; manifested, howe?ver, not in demanding\par righteousness from the sinner, but in setting the believing sinner in\par His own presence, because of the righteous judgment of his sins\par already visited by God upon his Subtitute, Christ. And God is not only\par Himself righteous, in remitting the penalty of sin; but He sets the\par sinner in the very standing in which Christ is, with Him!\par \par [68] Of course, God will--does--give him life: it is "justification of\par life," in Christ. But he is justified, accounted righteous, while\par ungodly; and only by the blood of Christ. God will also finally,\par indeed, present him faultless. But he declares him righteous upon\par believing--while he is ungodly! If God changed him first, he would not\par be "ungodly."\par \par [69] We are glad to note, in Sanday and Headlam's Romans, this word\par regarding William Kelly's Notes on Romans: "His Notes are written from\par a detached and peculiar standpoint; but they are th@e fruit of sound\par scholarship, and of prolonged and devout study, and they deserve more\par attention than they have received." This is a fair and honest\par admission. For its irrefutable setting forth of truth, its Christian\par fairness and love, and its brevity, make Kelly's Notes invaluable. Men\par prefer "belonging" to a system: (1) Because where faith is not\par vigorous it comforts the flesh to find oneself among a party.(2) Where\par direct personal knowledge of Scripture is lacking it is a comfort to\par the heart to be told "authoritatively" what to believe--what the party\par to which one belongs, holds, (3) It is abhorrent to the flesh to walk\par by the Spirit. It is infinitely easier to be occupied with the\par "Christian duties" practiced or prescribed by your sect. (4) The flesh\par cannot bear to be little, despised, but desires to be of those that\par have the regard of "the Christian world" (an awful phrase!). (5) Even\par amoAng the most earnest Christians the temptation and the tendency have\par always been to seize upon those truths emphasized by the leaders of\par the sect they follow and claim those truths and principles as their\par own! But this in effect denies the unity of the Body of Christ, and\par that all truth belongs to the whole Church of God. Now all this is of\par the very essence of Sectarianism. If your Christian consciousness is\par of anyone but Christ as Head over all things to the Church, and of any\par body but the Body of Christ, of which all true believers are members,\par and you members of them--then you are on forbidden, sectarian,\par "carnal" ground: "For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am\par of Apollos; are ye not men . . . are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk\par after the manner of men?"\par \par [70] I often quote I Tim. 1:15 to inquiring sinners: "Christ Jesus\par came into the world to save sinners." In response to my questBion, they\par confess that "came" is in the past tense. Then I say, "How sad that\par you and I were not there, so that He might have saved us, for He has\par now gone back to heaven!" This shuts them up to contemplate the work\par Christ finished when He was here; upon which work, and God's Word\par concerning it, sinners must rest: that is faith.\par \par [71] I have found Mr. Darby's explanations of "God's righteousness"\par more clear and illuminating than those of any other. It is therefore\par unfortunate, as it seems to me, that he adds to verse 22 the confusing\par phrase, "and upon all." I ask, what is "upon all"? If, as Mr. Darby\par holds, the act of justification is a forensic one, a declaration about\par a sinner who believes, accounting him righteous (although he is not\par intrinsically so), then why add that this righteousness is "upon" him?\par For the human mind is unable to conceive of a meaning for such a\par phrase other than soCmething that a man does not possess being placed\par upon his person. But this is the exact meaning that Mr. Darby so\par constantly and justly wars against! The very thing Mr. Darby so\par assiduously avoids, that is, the bestowal on a person of a quality,\par (or of, as he says, "a quantum of righteousness"), he opens the way\par to, in retaining the phrase "and upon all." Bishop Moule, for example,\par remarks: "As to `unto all and upon all,' the Greek phrases\par respectively indicate destination and bestowal. The sacred pardon was\par prepared for all believers, and is actually laid upon them as a `robe\par of righteousness.'" We would expect such a comment as this from a\par churchman, or any one of the Reformation theologians, but it is the\par very thing that Paul does not say; and it darkens all counsel\par concerning justification. The expressions "the righteousness of\par Christ," "the merits of Christ," though not in Scripture, are\par coDntinually in the mouths even of earnest men, who do not see that our\par history in Adam ended at the cross, that we died with Christ, and now\par share His risen life; and that we therefore do not need to have\par anything whatever `put upon" us, nor any qualities or "merits" of\par Christ made the basis of God's blessing us. We were in Adam: we are\par now in Christ, standing in the full, the infinitely complete\par acceptance of Christ's own Person! We gravely fear that some brethren,\par in their resentment against the Revised Version (which we well know is\par not perfect, though incomparably more accurate than the King James),\par have kept this phrase "and upon all," in spite of the fact that the\par earliest manuscripts do not have it. Bishop Gore well remarks, "It is\par not an exaggeration to say that, in this and very many places of the\par epistles, the Revised Version for the first time renders the thought\par of the apostles again intelligiEble to the English reader. And if the\par Revised Version is not popular, this is, I fear, only a sign that the\par majority of English Christians do not really care to understand the\par meaning of the message with which, as a matter of words, they are\par familiar." Mr. Darby himself says that neither the Reformers nor any\par other human teachers, are an authority for him, so we, agreeing, say\par that Mr. Darby is in no sense an authority for any Christian. "Prove\par all things," said the Apostle. F. W. Grant admits that the earliest\par manuscripts omit "and upon all." He then says, "The earliest of all is\par corrected." But why was the earliest manuscript "corrected"? Some hand\par of legal unbelief "corrected" that manuscript, we certainly believe.\par Sanday frankly says: "These words, `and upon all,' are wanting in the\par best manuscripts, and should be omitted." As also agrees an excellent\par Plymouth Brother: "The best Uncial mss. omit `anFd upon all.' The\par context confirms the correctness of this, for the Apostle is writing\par of those who are justified (verse 24)" (C. E. Stuart).\par \par [72] Godet remarks, "The aorist hemarton, `sinned,' transports us to\par the point of time when the result of human life appears as a completed\par fact, the hour of judgment." With this Burton agrees, calling it a\par "collective aorist." See Sanday. This word is a verb, second aorist\par tense, meaning, in Paul's epistles to miss the mark; then, to err, to\par wander from the path of righteousness; then, to do or go wrong; then,\par to violate God's law,--to sin. As we all know, the aorist is a\par statement of past fact, not of present condition or fact; neither does\par it have the force of the perfect,--that is, of the finishing of\par prolonged action. The King James version translates the same verb-form\par in 5:12 also: "all have sinned," It is our contention that this too is\par an incGorrect translation, beclouding the meaning of Scripture. It is\par remarkable in 3:23 that a past tense should be used for the verb sin,\par and a present tense for the universal consequent result! As we find\par throughout Scripture, the sin of Adam is evermore in the Divine view.\par "Thy first father sinned," is God's continual testimony. The\par consequent translation of this aorist hemarton in 5:12 is, "all\par sinned"--that is, in Adam's act; and also in 3:23; "all sinned [in\par Adam] and [consequently] are falling short of the glory of God": the\par history of the whole race since. Of course it will be objected that\par individual sins and transgressions are treated in the first three\par chapters of Romans, and federal sin not until the second part of\par Chapter Five, where the two federal men, Adam and Christ, are set\par forth, and the effects of their representative acts contrasted. This\par is true, but why the same aorist form in both 3.23H and 5.12? Even if\par Paul used hemarton in 3.23 as summing up in one word the actions of\par both Gentiles and Jews as detailed in 1:18 to 3:18, we must still note\par that it is the aorist and not the perfect tense that he uses. It would\par then resemble the use of the same aorist, hemarton, in 2:12: "as many\par as sinned without law,"--the aorist here expressing the life-choice,\par looked at in the day of judgment as a past act (as see Godet above).\par This would make 3:23 say: all made the life-choice of sin,--which we\par know is not true of those whom God saves and delivers. So that it\par seems best to read "all sinned,"--as God's view of men looked at as\par being sinners, indeed; but their sin a past fact--soon to be connected\par definitely with Adam' (5.12, ff.)\par \par [73] "Passing by or over"; Xenophon uses this word thus: "A trainer of\par horses should not let such faults pass by unpunished"--Hipparchus\par 7.10.\par \par I[74] There are, respecting human sin, three judgment-days: (1) of the\par human race, in Eden; (2) of human sin, at the cross; and (3) of human\par rebels, at the Great White Throne of Revelation 20.\par \par [75] Azazel, the Hebrew word, means goat of dismissal, or departure,\par figuring most vividly the effect for Israel of the blood shed by the\par first goat: for the two goats are one in representing Christ's work in\par its double effect. First, as answering all the claims of the being and\par throne of a holy, righteous God; and, second, in removing the\par transgressions from the people "as far as the east is from the west."\par \par [76] The meaning of the Greek word hilasterion, translated\par "propitiation" in Romans 3:25 plainly is, propitiatory sacrifice. How\par else could it be for "the showing of God's righteousness"? If we\par translate it only "mercy-seat," we forget that it was the propitiatory\par sacrifice, in its death, which madeJ a mercy-seat possible. It was the\par slain goat, on the Day of Atonement, (in Lev. 16:15), the blood of\par which was brought in to be sprinkled upon and before the mercy-seat.\par The righteousness of Jehovah was proclaimed in the offering's death,\par and in the meeting, on the ground of this shed blood, of Jehovah and\par man, at the mercy-seat. Therefore righteousness is set forth in the\par death of the victim; mercy in its effect at the "mercy-seat." It will\par he noticed that all explanations (of hilasterion) rest on the thought\par that "Christ's death was sacrificial and expiatory; a real atonement,\par required by something in the character of God, and not merely designed\par to effect moral results in man. We may not know all that this\par propitiation involves, but since God Himself was willing to instruct\par His ancient people, by types, of this reality, we ought to know\par something positive respecting it. The atoning death of Christ iKs the\par ground of the `reconciliation,' since it satisfies the demands of\par Divine justice on the one hand, and on the other draws men to God.\par Independently of the former, the latter could not be more than a\par groundless human feeling" (Schaff and Riddle). "All that God was in\par His nature, He was, necessarily, against sin. For, though He was love,\par love has no place in wrath against sin, and the withdrawal of the\par sense of it--consciousness in the soul of the privation of God, is the\par most dreadful of all sufferings, the most terrible horror to him who\par knows it: but Christ knew it infinitely. But God's Divine majesty, His\par holiness, His righteousness. His truth, all in their very nature bore\par against Christ as made sin for us. All that God was, was against sin,\par and Christ was made sin. No comfort of love enfeebled wrath there.\par Never was the obedient Christ so precious; but His soul was to be made\par an offerinLg for sin, and to bear it judicially before God" (Darby).\par \par [77] The doctrine of atonement produces in us its proper effect when\par it leads us to see and feel that God is just; that He is infinitely\par gracious; that we are deprived of all ground of boasting; that the way\par of salvation, which is open for us, is open for all men; and that the\par motives to all duty, instead of being weakened, are enforced and\par multiplied. "In the gospel all is harmonious: Justice and mercy, as it\par regards God; freedom from the Law, and the strongest obligations to\par obedience, as it regards men" (Hodge).\par \par [78] "The great idea in all these offerings (of Leviticus) was that\par the life of the victim was accepted for the life of the offerer"\par Angus-Green.\par \par [79] Ex. 3:5: Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place\par whereon thou standest is holy ground. 19:22: And let the priests also.\par that come near to Jehovah, saMnctify themselves, lest Jehovah break\par forth upon them. 24:1, 2: Worship ye afar off, and Moses alone shall\par come near unto Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall\par the people go up with him. Ex 24:17: And the appearance of the glory\par of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes\par of the children of Israel. Lev. 9:7: And Moses said unto Aaron, Draw\par near unto the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy\par burnt-offering, and make atonement. 10:1-3: Nadab and Abiliu offered\par strange fire before Jehovah . . . And there came forth fire from\par before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah. Then\par Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that Jehovah spake, saying, I will\par be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I\par will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. Deut. 4:24: For Jehovah\par thy God is a devouring fire, a Jealous God. 5:4, 5: Jehovah spakNe with\par you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire . . . ye\par were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount. Isa.\par 33:14: The sinners in Zion are afraid: trembling hath seized the\par godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who\par among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? Heb. 12:29: For our God\par is a consuming fire.\par \par [80] As one has quaintly said, "The Feast of Mercy was on, and the\par damsel Grace was at the door, admitting everyone who came on the\par ground of mercy alone. Old Mr. Boasting, in a high hat and fine suit,\par presented himself. `Oh,' said Grace, as she quickly shut the door in\par his face, `There is no room for you here! The people here are feasting\par on the free gifts of God.' So Mr. Boasting was shut out!"\par \par [81] As to the "modernist," being more shallow by far than even the\par Sadducees of our Lord's day, he is not even exercised in his\par conscience concerning the Law, or the difference between law and grace\par as a means of righteousness,--of righteous standing with God. For,\par forsooth, the "modernist" has already a "character," an "innate\par nobility," though where the poor fellow gets these things, alas, who\par can discern? We know from Scripture that his first father was Adam;\par and that this "modernist," was, like David, "shapen in iniquity and\par conceived in sin." We have immeasurably more respect for a Jew, who is\par at least endeavoring by his imagined law-keeping to attain\par righteousness,--which presupposes that he knows he has it not! Even\par the Seventh Day Adventists, with their unscriptural bondage to law,\par are worried in conscience: the "modernist" is smugly secure, for what\par means Thus saith the Lord to him? But wait--till he faces the Great\par White Throne!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } &&Z#!02 Romans 2{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blueyO500 Newell - Romans Verse by Verse{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22 Title: Romans Verse-by-Verse\par Creator(s): Newell, William R. (1868-1956)\par CCEL Subjects: All; Bible\par LC Call no: BS2665.N43\par LC Subjects:\par \par The Bible\par New Testament\par Special parts of the New Testament\par Pauline Epistles\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par ROMANS VERSE-BY-VERSE\par \par WILLIAM R. NEWELL\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } k#C01 Romans 1{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue L#03 Romans 3{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22 CHAPTER THREE\par \par The Jews had God's Oracles--a Great Advantage: their Unfaithfulness\par Proves, not Hinders, God's Just Judgment. Verses 1-8.\par \par Sweeping Fourteen-fold Indictment from Old Testament Scriptures: All\par Men, Jews and Gentiles, Brought in Guilty before God; and so All\par Mouths Stopped. Verses 9-20.\par \par GR2 For if Abraham was justified on the principle of\par works, he hath whereof to boast. 3 But [we find] he is unable to boast\par before God: For what saith the Scripture? And Abraham believed God,\par and it [his faith] was reckoned unto him as righteousness. 4 Now to\par him that worketh the reward is not reckoned as of grace but, on the\par contrary, as a matter of debt. 5 But to one not working, but believing\par upon the God that justifieth the ungodly,--his faith is reckoned for\par righteousness.\par \par THE JEWS ESPECIALLY gloried in Abraham and David,--just as we all\par naturally glory in the assumed personal righteousness of great saints,\par as the ground of God's favor to them. But whatever blessing, says\par Paul, Abraham obtained, Scripture forbade the thought that he could\par glory before God; because he simply believed what God told him, that\par his seed should be in number like the stars of heaven. (Read Gen.\par 15:6) Abraham gSave God His proper glory as the God of truth. We cannot\par conceive of Abraham as boasting before his house and before the\par Hittites that he had performed an act creditable to himself in\par believing God!\par \par Paul now answers Jewish objectors to the doctrine of justification by\par simple faith; and he uses as examples those two great men of faith\par whose names were constantly on Jewish tongues,--Abraham and David.\par \par The question about Abraham, What has Abraham our fleshly forefather\par found? is practically the same as in Chapter Three, "What advantage,\par then, hath the Jew?" We do well, while standing absolutely with Paul,\par to understand with sympathy the state of mind of the Jew, who had the\par Old Testament Scriptures, and a national history of marvelous Divine\par instruction and providence, and also remarkable religious prominence\par everywhere, in Paul's day. "To Israel pertained the fathers" (Rom.\par 9:5); Paul hTere in Romans 4:1, places himself, therefore, among the\par Israelites, and says, "Abraham our forefather according to the flesh."\par [82]\par \par Verses 2, 3: Now argues Paul, if Abraham had been declared righteous\par before God on the works principle, he would indeed have had something\par to boast of! But the Scripture record showed there was nothing of\par which he could boast before God. For concerning Abraham more\par definitely and directly than of any other human being, God's word was\par specific: Abraham believed God, and it [his faith] was reckoned [83]\par to him as righteousness.\par \par To discover that the greatest saints have no other standing than the\par weakest saints, is a lesson that is difficult for all of us! So now\par for the Jew to find that great Abraham has nothing in the flesh, but\par must be justified by simple faith, like any sinner, is a great shock.\par There was no honor, no "merit," in Abraham's believing theU faithful\par God, who cannot lie. The honor was God's. When Abraham believed God,\par he did the one thing that a man can do without doing anything! God\par made the statement, the promise; and God undertook to fulfill it.\par Abraham believed in his heart that God told the truth. There was no\par effort here. Abraham's faith was not an act, but an attitude. His\par heart was turned completely away from himself to God and His promise.\par This left God free to fulfill that promise. Faith was neither a\par meritorious act by Abraham, nor a change of character or nature, in\par Abraham: he simply believed God would accomplish what He had promised:\par "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).\par \par Verses 4 and 5: Now to him that worketh the reward is not reckoned as\par a matter of grace, but, on the contrary, as a matter of debt. But to\par one not working, but believing upon the God that justifieth the\par ungodly,--Vhis faith is reckoned for righteousness.\par \par Here Paul writes two verses which every believer should commit to\par memory: for they state what no mind of fallen man ever imagines; for\par do not people naturally believe that the way to be saved is to "be\par good"?\par \par To him that worketh--To a man that works for wages, the wages are due\par as a debt. That is a simple enough principle. But do not seek to apply\par it to salvation! No one ever got righteousness by work or worth!\par Righteousness is not by doing right, strange and impossible as that\par may seem.\par \par But to him that worketh not--to him who "casts his deadly doing down";\par who, seeing his guilt, and his entire inability to put it away, ceases\par wholly from all efforts to obtain God's favor by his own doings, or\par self-denyings,--even by his prayers: but believeth on the God that\par declareth righteous the ungodly--not the godly or the good! But, you\par saWy, God cannot do that! God cannot declare a man godly if he is\par really ungodly. Now God did not say "godly," but He said\par righteous,--"declareth righteous those ungodly who believe." God can\par do that! For God can reckon to an ungodly man who dares cease trying\par to change himself, and relies on God just as he is, a sinner,--God can\par and does reckon to such a one the glorious benefit of Christ's death\par and resurrection on behalf of sinners. And of such a believing sinner,\par God declares his faith is counted as righteousness.\par \par It cannot be too much emphasized that the words, "the ungodly," in\par verse 5, wholly shut out any other class from justification. If we\par say, God, indeed, has in some special cases justified notoriously,\par openly, evidently ungodly ones; while His general habit is, to justify\par the godly (which is what human reason demands), then we at once deny\par all Scripture. For God says, "There is no distinXction; for all sinned;\par there is none righteous,--not one." And if you claim that God\par justifies the godly, we ask, on what ground? If you say on the ground\par of their godliness, you have left out the blood of Christ,--on which\par ground alone God can deal with sinners; and you have really denied\par this so-called "godly" man to be a sinner before God at all, since he\par is to be justified on another ground than is the openly ungodly\par sinner,--the shed blood of Christ.\par \par Do you not see that all this distinction between sinners is an\par abomination before a holy God? What does it matter whether you are a\par nobleman or a knave, if God has said He declares sinners righteous by\par Christ's blood? What matter whether you are an honorable woman or a\par harlot, if God says you are a sinner (and He does!) and that the only\par ground of being declared righteous is the blood of His Son?\par \par The burning question is, have you anYd I been so really convinced of\par the fact of our sinnerhood and guilt, and of our utter helplessness,\par and lost state, as to be able to believe on a God who can and does\par "declare righteous the UNgodly--those who believe, as ungodly, on Him?\par \par A child, without Christ, is "ungodly," in this sense. "Ye were by\par nature children of wrath," is an awful word, but a true word,--going\par back to our mother's womb, who, "in sin conceived us!" We were born\par into a lost, guilty race,--we were born part of that race! And it was\par written of all of us, concerning Adam's sin: "Through the one man's\par disobedience the many were made sinners."\par \par We are all ungodly! And when we place our faith in the God who is in\par the business of declaring righteous the ungodly--who trust Him as they\par are,--on the sole ground of the shed blood of Christ,--then we are\par justified,--accounted righteous, by God.\par \par No, it is not the reZgenerate, the born again man, who is declared\par righteous,--it is the ungodly. It is not the penitent man or the\par praying man, as such, but the ungodly. It is not the professing\par Christian who has "escaped the defilements of the world" (II Peter 2)\par through certain spiritual experiences (it may be of a high order), but\par the ungodly, who believes, as such, on the God who declares righteous\par the ungodly who believe on Him--AS SUCH!\par \par And of course it is not the "church-member,"--Baptist, Methodist,\par Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, or Plymouth Brother, as\par such,--but, the ungodly. This is not, either, putting a premium on\par ungodliness, but telling the truth! If you have not relied on God as\par an ungodly one, you have yet to be declared righteous; for He is the\par God who declares righteous the ungodly who believe on Him. [84]\par \par So we have seen in verses four and five the working method and the\par [ believing method contrasted. What a place heaven would be if men were\par allowed to pay their way! They would boast all through eternity, one\par about this, another about that. But the works method and the grace\par method are mutually exclusive. Each shuts out the other. Men must\par cease even seeking; they must cease all works--weeping, confessing,\par repenting, even earnest praying, and simply believe God laid their\par sins, their very own sins, all of them, on Christ at the cross. There\par comes a moment when a man ceases from his own works, hearing that\par Christ finished the work, paid the ransom, at the cross. Then he\par rests! Such a soul believes,--knowing himself to be a sinner, and\par ungodly,--but he `believes on God, just as he is, and knows he is\par welcome!\par \par Note that Scripture does not say that God justifies the praying man,\par or the Bible reader, or the church member, but the ungodly. Have you\par yourself belie\ved on the God that accounts righteous the ungodly? Have\par you ever really seen yourself in the ungodly class, a mere sinner, and\par as such trusted God, on only one ground, the blood of Christ?\par \par 6 Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God\par reckoneth righteousness apart from works [saying], 7 Blessed are they\par whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed\par is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.\par \par Verses 6 and 7: Now David also, in the Spirit, sets his seal to this\par blessed doctrine with great joy: saying twice in the beautiful Hebrew\par of Psalm 32: Oh, the blessednesses of the man! Of what man?\par \par First, of the man whose iniquities are forgiven--Forgiveness is more\par than mere remitting of penalty. Even a hard-hearted judge might remit\par a man's fine if it were paid by someone else, but forgiveness involves\par the heart of the forgiver. God's forgiven]ess is the going forth of\par God's infinite tenderness toward the object of His mercy. It is God\par folding the sinner, as the returning prodigal was folded, to His\par bosom. Such a one is blessed indeed!\par \par Then, whose sins are covered--"Covered" is the Old Testament word,\par (Heb. kaphar); for those sacrifices could never "take away" sins, but\par only "cover" from sight. "In those sacrifices there is a remembrance\par made [not a removal] of sins year by year" (Heb. 10:11, 3). There was\par a type of Christ's coming work, but the sins were yet there before God\par till Christ took them away on the cross. If then, one like David could\par pronounce blessed the man whose sins were "covered," out of God's\par sight in His mercy (though not yet removed), much more should we\par rejoice to know that Christ has been manifested "to put away sin by\par the sacrifice of Himself"! (Heb. 9:26).\par \par Verse 8: The third element David here descr^ibes, in "righteousness\par without works," is the inflexible purpose of God never to bring up\par again the sin of the "blessed" man: Blessed is the man to whom the\par Lord will not reckon sin. (Again the Hebrew repeats "Oh, the\par blessednesses!"--Ps 32:2). Many believers indeed, like David and\par Peter, have sinned deeply. But, as Nathan said to David on the very\par occasion of the announcement of both the King's sin and its being "put\par away," celebrated in this Psalm 32: "Jehovah hath put away thy sin;\par thou shalt not die." So have many been forgiven. High offences were\par David's indeed: adultery, hypocrisy and murder. But they were not\par "reckoned" against David. True, the king was chastened: "The sword\par shall never depart from thy house." At Nathan's parable David's\par indignation (how righteously indignant we can become at our own sins\par when we see them in others!) called for a four-fold payment by the\par rich man who too_k the poor man's lamb (II Sam 12:5, 6). And God\par allowed four sons of David's to be smitten: the child of Uriah's wife,\par then his first-born, Amnon; then fair Absalom; and, last, goodly\par Adonijah. Nevertheless, God had not "reckoned" the guilt against him!\par No wonder he pronounces blessed the man to whom God reckons\par righteousness apart from works! [85]\par \par Next we have the fact that even Divine ordinances like circumcision\par have nothing to do with righteousness,--any more than have good works;\par that even Abraham's circumcision was merely a seal of the\par righteousness of a faith he before had.\par \par 9 Is this blessing [of righteousness without works] pronounced upon\par the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To\par Abraham [a circumcised man] his faith was reckoned as righteousness.\par 10 Under what circumstances, then, was it reckoned? When he was in\par circumcision, or in uncircumcision? No`t in circumcision, but, on the\par contrary, in uncircumcision! 11 And he received the sign of\par circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had\par while he was in uncircumcision: that he might be the father of ALL\par them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision,--that\par righteousness might be reckoned unto them; 12 and the father of\par circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who\par also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he\par had in uncircumcision.\par \par Verses 9 and 10: Paul had to have Jews in mind, just as we today have\par to have "professing Christians" in mind. The Jew relied upon and\par boasted in the outward mark of circumcision (which God, in Genesis 17,\par prescribed to Abraham and his fleshly seed), entirely forgetting that\par God, fourteen or fifteen years before circumcision (Gen. 15:6), had\par accounted Abraham righteous wholly apart from circuamcision. [86]\par Circumcision was an outward sign or symbol, both to Abraham and to the\par world about him: to Abraham, that God was his God; to the world, that\par Abraham was separated from the world unto God. Just so baptism today\par is an outward sign that we are Christ's in faith and identification,\par and that we no longer belong to the world: but how deadly is the\par delusion that baptism in itself amounts to anything before God! [87]\par \par After the same manner with the Jews, the vast majority of those\par calling themselves Christians place reliance, alas, today, on some\par ordinance (or, as it is called, "sacrament"), saying, "Christ told us\par to repent and be baptized, did He not? Christ commanded us to take the\par Lord's supper." But remember that God justifies NOT those observing\par ordinances, but the ungodly who believe. If you are still regarding\par baptism, or the Lord's supper, or "the mass," or "christening," or\par b"confirmation," as having anything whatever to do with God's declaring\par you righteous, you do not understand being declared righteous as an\par ungodly one. And in the gospel, since the cross, you are not told\par first to cease being ungodly, and then believe; but, as ungodly, to\par believe!\par \par Neither baptism nor the Lord's supper (upon both of which, in\par distorted form, thousands have rested, as "sacraments" commending them\par unto God), has power to give any standing whatever before a righteous\par God: that belongs only to the shed blood of the Redeemer of guilty and\par hopeless ones such as are we all!\par \par Note that here, first, human works are set aside as a ground of\par righteousness; and then Divine ordinances also are just as fully set\par aside. Circumcision had been commanded to the Jew. The Jew trusted in\par it, and became utterly blind to the fact that even Abraham, "the\par father of circumcision," had been declcared righteous on another\par principle,--by simple faith, years before his circumcision!\par Uncircumcised, then, a common sinner (a "Gentile"--if there had been\par at that time "Jews"), Abraham just believed God: gave Him the honor of\par being a God of truth. And be it so that God saw that one day He would\par make Abraham as righteous in glory as He in that past day reckoned him\par in grace; yet it remains that God reckoned him what he was not, as\par yet, in experience; and that Abraham stood before God thus righteous\par the moment he believed! And not what Abraham would become, but what\par Christ would do on the cross for him was the ground of God's\par reckoning!\par \par Each year I live I become more impressed with the solitary grandeur of\par this great friend of God. Behold him! Late come from the very home of\par idolatry, he walks among the Hittites as a "Prince of God"--their name\par for him (Gen. 23:6). Behold him, to whom "the Gdod of glory" had\par appeared in his old place, Ur of the Chaldees; and to which blessed\par God he is so drawn by the cords of trust and love, that his whole life\par is as God's friend--walking with Him, ever learning of Him more and\par more; taking a mark of absolute separation to Him; ever building\par altars to Him, and calling on His name. Behold him, called to part\par with Isaac, his only son, readily giving him up to God!\par \par Verses 11 and 12: It was in order to become the father of ALL them\par that believe that Abraham received the sign of circumcision: that is,\par he would have been the father of uncircumcised believers apart from\par his own circumcision (for he himself believed while uncircumcised);\par but God desired a circumcised separate nation, and so would have\par Abraham also the father of circumcision to those who not only had\par circumcision, but also (rare thing among the Jews!) should walk in the\par steps of that feaith of their father Abraham which he had--while yet\par uncircumcised. [88] How few Jewish teachers or preachers can challenge\par Gentiles with the freedom and truth of the apostle Paul; "I beseech\par you, brethren, become as I, for I also am as ye" (Gal. 4:12). The\par Galatians were raw Gentiles, "without law." Paul cries, "I am as ye\par are: I have no reliance on circumcision; if ye Gentiles receive\par circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing!"\par \par The blessing of righteousness, then, comes not only without works, but\par also without ordinances, whether Jewish or Christian. And we see that\par only those Jews are really accounted circumcised in God's sight, who\par have heart-belief, as mere sinners, in the Redeemer. Faith, like true\par circumcision, is "that of the heart" (Rom. 2:29 and 10:10). According\par to this, there are very few real Jews on earth; yea, and relatively\par few true Christians, also; if righteousness be wholly bfy faith, apart\par from works, and apart from ordinances.\par \par 13 For not through law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that\par he should be heir of the world, but, on the contrary, through\par righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of law be heirs,\par faith is made empty, and the promise is made useless: 15 for law works\par out wrath [to sinful man]; but where there is not law [to transgress],\par there is no transgression [of it]. 16 On this account the inheritance\par is on the principle of faith, in order that it may be according to\par grace: so that the promise [which could not be broken], might be made\par sure to all the seed [of Abraham]: not to that which was of the Law\par only, but also to that which [although not having had Moses' Law] was\par yet of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of all of us\par [believers] 17 (as it is written, I made thee father of many nations)\par in the sight of Him whom he beliegved, even God [the God], who makes\par alive the dead, and calls things not existing, as existing.\par \par Verses 13 to 17: Here the further question of Abraham's "inheriting\par the world" is considered, and this again is only through the\par righteousness of faith: this expression not meaning that faith is a\par righteous, meritorious thing, but that, as explained before faith, not\par law, is the Divine mode of blessing.\par \par Verse 13: For not through law was the promise to Abraham or to his\par seed that he should be heir of the world, but, on the contrary,\par through righteousness of faith. "Heir of the world": Behold, then a\par new order of all things! Adam had failed, and his fleshly seed were\par fallen. Abraham has succeeded, to become the father of spiritual\par seed,--"of all them that believe": it will be a believing seed, not a\par natural seed. This man and that seed shall enter into the inheritance\par Adam forfeited for headshhip! What can "heir of the world" [89] mean?\par Nay, what shall it not mean? "The meek shall inherit the earth." And\par who are they? Not Adam's but Abraham's seed. Bishop Moule beautifully\par says: "Then and there, perhaps side by side with his Divine Friend\par manifested in human form, Abraham is told to count the stars under the\par glorious canopy, the Syrian `night of stars'; and he hears the\par promise, 'So shall thy seed be.' It was then and there, that as a man\par uncovenanted, unworthy, but called upon to take what God gave, he\par received the promise that he should be `heir of the world.' In his\par `seed,'--that childless senior was to be a King of Men, Monarch of\par continents and oceans. `All nations,' `all the kindreds of the earth'\par were to be blessed in him, as their patriarchal Chief, their Head, in\par covenant with God."\par \par How hardly do we banish the thought of human "merit" in God's great\par saints! ("Merit" isi a Romish term: away with it!) Faith is the ground\par of God's blessing. Abraham was a blessed man, indeed, but he became\par heir of the world on another principle entirely--simple faith. [90]\par \par Verse 14: For if they which are of law be heirs, faith is made empty,\par and the promise is annulled--Here Paul enlarges, that for God to bless\par the merit-folks, [91] would make God's promise-method impossible, and\par so our faith in His promises, empty and void. [92] Faith and law are\par contradictory principles, the apostle shows: absolutely diverse means\par of blessing.\par \par Verse 15: Law, Paul explains, given to sinners, simply brings forth\par God's wrath,--for sinners in the nature of the case will transgress.\par Law gives no life, and has no power over the flesh. So Paul calls law\par a "ministration of death and condemnation" (II Cor. 3:7, 9). Alford\par well says, "From its very nature, law excludes promise,--which is an\par acjt of grace, and faith, which is an attribute of confidence." Where\par law is not, neither is there transgression. This brings out several\par things: First, that it takes law to bring forth transgression of\par it,--though sin may be present. There can be no transgression of a law\par which exists not. The absence of law is the absence of transgression.\par The entrance of law (in the case of a fallen being) is the entrance of\par transgression. Second that there may be Divine dispensations where law\par is not the principle of relationship with God. Third, that to come\par into a spiritual place where there will be "no transgression," men\par must be removed completely from under the principle of law. (This will\par appear in Chapters Six and Seven. God indeed has an entirely different\par manner of life for those in Christ than being under the principle of\par law!) Fourth, that only the place of freedom from law is the place of\par the inheritance.\pkar \par Verse 16: Here we see anew God's great kindness. He desired that all\par the seed of Abraham, whether Jewish or Gentile believers, might have\par security,--that the promise might be sure to all the seed. Now if you\par introduce man's works (for man always says, "I must do my part"), you\par introduce an element of insecurity and uncertainty. For no man, trying\par to "do his part," is ever certain that he has done, or will do, his\par "part." Salvation is of God, not of man. It is of faith, and so, of\par grace; and thus, of God. For faith is unmixed with the vain promises\par and hopes of man to accomplish "his part"; but looks to what God has\par done, in sending His Son, to do a finished work on the cross; and to\par the fact that God has raised up Christ; and that Christ is our\par unfailing High Priest in heaven.\par \par Abraham is declared to be "the father of us all,"--of all who believe.\par Believers will come from all nations olf the earth, and Abraham is\par called "the heir of the world"; which he will be openly seen to be in\par the millennial kingdom that is shortly coming: "Ye shall see Abraham\par and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of God" (Luke 13:28).\par \par Verse 17: (as it is written, I made thee father of many nations) in\par the sight, of Him whom he believed, even God [the God], who makes\par alive the dead, and calls things not existing, as existing. The words\par "Abraham, who is the father of us all" in verse 16, are to be\par connected with "before Him whom he believed" in verse 17, the\par intervening words being a parenthesis. There is a great household of\par faith! Whether believers realize it or not, they are sharing Abraham's\par inheritance. The mighty promises of God to Abraham and to His Seed,\par Christ (Gal. 3:16), should be studied deeply and often by all\par Christians. "For if ye are Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs\par accordingm to promise" (Gal. 3:29). God lodged the promises in Abraham:\par Christ fulfilled the conditions (of redemption), and we share the\par benefits! Abraham got us by promise; Christ bought us by blood.\par Abraham is the "father of all them that believe," whether his earthly\par seed, Israel; or his heavenly seed, the Church; or any who shall ever\par believe. As to our regeneration, of course, God is the Father of all\par believers. But as to our relation in the household of faith, Abraham\par is our father: Abraham believed for us all. That is, he believed a\par promise that included us all.\par \par Believers may indeed be said to have a three-fold fatherhood: (1) that\par of Abraham, of the whole household of faith; (2) that of the teacher\par of the gospel who was used to win them to Christ ("For though ye have\par ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in\par Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel"--I Cor. 4:15); (3) tnhat\par of God, who is our actual Father, who begat us by the Holy Spirit\par through His Word. The first two fatherhoods, of course, are\par fatherhoods of relationship, so to speak; the last only is of life and\par reality. Yet the first two fatherhoods are also real, and should be\par recognized, --especially that of Abraham.\par \par Let us hold fast in our hearts the great revelation about God which\par closes verse 17: "God, who makes alive the dead, and calls the things\par not existing as existing." The translation in both the King James and\par the Revision Version surely comes short of the meaning here. The Greek\par literally is, God making alive dead ones, and calling things not\par being, being! It is as when God spoke to the darkness, back in Genesis\par One (Hebrew), the creative word, "Let light be!--and light was." It\par shone, too, "out of darkness"--not a ray that was projected from\par already existing light! His word was a creaotive fiat; and, answering\par it, "out of darkness" sprang the heretofore nonexistent, now created,\par light!\par \par Note that it is the God who makes alive [93] dead ones;--not those\par with some faint and feeble existence, but actually dead ones, those\par utterly gone! It is the God who calls non-existent things\par existent,--not, "as though" they existed, a translation which, not\par reaching the Divine view, really involves doubt. "Not being, being,"\par is what the text reads. It is as when God says of His words, "I make\par all things new,"--"they are come to pass!" (Rev. 21:5, 6). This is the\par God whose word Abraham trusted. It was in this character, that of\par Life-Giver to the dead, and the Caller of not-things existent, that he\par trusted Him. Thus Abraham was nothing (but dead), and the seed,\par non-existent! Yet Abraham believed God's word that he should be\par "Father of a multitude"; and obediently changed his own name fromp\par Abram to Abraham!\par \par Therefore the actual process and progress of Abraham's life of faith\par in such a God, is vividly set before us as our pattern. We should\par study it over and over. The character of faith will be the same, with\par this consideration: Abraham believed on God in view of what He said He\par would do; we believe on Him who has raised up Jesus our Lord from the\par dead.\par \par So, in His counsels and reckoning the believer, in Chapter Eight, is\par seen already glorified! Of course, in counting things not being as\par being, God is committed to bring into outward actuality all that He\par reckons; thus the believing ungodly not only is accounted righteous,\par but will one day be publicly manifested as the very "righteousness of\par God"! Indeed, justification involves God's giving him life, as see\par 5:18. But that is not the ground of his being reckoned righteous--that\par some day he will be in experience asq righteous as he is now\par reckoned--any more than that he is accounted righteous on the ground\par of his own good works. For justification is a sovereign, judicial--not\par creative-act of God, based wholly upon the death and resurrection of\par Christ. When a sinner is to be justified, then, righteous is that\par which he is not! But, he believing, God counts him, holds him as\par righteous. He has no more righteousness (as a quality) than when he a\par moment ago, believed. But he stands in all Christ's acceptance by the\par act of God, the Judge! Though we have said, God will make this\par standing good in glorious manifestation, yet no degree of\par sanctification or glorification is the basis of his being declared\par righteous, but the blood of Christ only, and His resurrection,--the\par sacrifice of Christ and God's sovereign act in view of it.\par \par For God to call the things not being as being; to extend to a man the\par complete valure of Christ's atoning work and "reckon" him justified and\par glorified in His sight, although not yet so in manifestation, is God's\par own business. Let us praise Him for His grace!\par \par 18 Who against hope in hope kept on believing, to the end that he\par might become a father of many nations, according to what was spoken:\par So shall thy seed be! 19 And not at all weakened in his faith, he took\par full account of his own body, as in a dead condition (he being about a\par hundred years old), and also the deadness of Sarah's womb, 20 but,\par looking unto God's promise, he wavered not through unbelief, but on\par the contrary became inwardly strengthened through faith, giving glory\par to God, 21 and being full of assurance that what He had promised. He\par was able to perform. 22 Therefore also it [his faith] was reckoned to\par him as righteousness. 23 Now this was not written for his sake only,\par that it [his faith] was thus reckoned to hims: 24 but for our sakes\par likewise; for it [our faith] will be reckoned [for righteousness] to\par us also who are believing on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the\par dead; 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for\par our justifying.\par \par Here, then, in verses 18 to 25 we have the difficult, though blessed\par and glorious, yea, and God-glorifying path of faith, exemplified in\par Abraham. He kept on in hope, believing contrary to all human hopes!\par There were many trials to his faith, the essence of the difficulty,\par however, always being to "look unto the promise of God" alone, and not\par to circumstances, or to the impossibility, according to the flesh, of\par the promise's being fulfilled.\par \par We inherit what Abraham believed for and received. Mark down two\par points, naming the first "A" for Abraham; and the second, "C" for\par Christ. Now draw a line from "A" to "C" and then onward, and let that\par t line represent the line of God's blessing. The promises of blessing\par were lodged in Abraham, and all conditions of blessing were fulfilled\par by Christ; and you and I merely step into the line of blessing from\par Abraham through Christ. It is good to be born into a good family on\par earth; how blessed to be in the great family of faith, the family of\par God, along with Abraham!\par \par Satan hates active faith in a believer's heart, and opposes it with\par all his power. The world, of course, is unbelieving, and despises\par those who claim only "the righteousness of faith." The example of\par professing Christians generally is also against the path of simple\par faith. Among the "seven abominations" that Bunyan said he still found\par in his heart, was "a secret inclining to unbelief." "Against hope,"\par against reason, against "feeling," against opinions of others, against\par all human possibilities whatever, we are to keep believing.\paru \par This is the very article and essence of faith, [94] that it reckons as\par God does,--that is, upon God as described here, giving life not to the\par feeble, but to the dead, to those who cannot be "recovered" or\par "helped" or so wrought upon or patched up as to become something that\par they were not before; but who are absolutely hopeless, dead!\par \par That God should call the things that are not as being, is what faith\par rejoices in! Only God could call things thus. Abraham becomes before\par our eyes the particular shining example of this.\par \par Verse 19: His own body as in a dead condition--"he considered" [95]\par it, and knew it to be thus, and was therefore wholly hopeless in\par himself. Moreover, Abraham knew Sarah was "past age," unable to bear a\par child. He had before him, then, himself as dead, and the deadness of\par Sarah's womb. But he also had before him the promise of God: "Thou\par shalt become a father of many vnations"; "So shall thy seed be."\par \par Verse 20: It was plainly and only a question of the veracity of God,\par and of His ability to carry out what He had promised. Abraham,\par therefore, believed [96] in Jehovah (Gen. 15:5, 6); and he wavered not\par through unbelief, but became inwardly strengthened through faith,\par giving glory to God; and also even Sarah herself "counted Him faithful\par who had promised; and received power to conceive seed."\par \par We find in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham not only considered the natural\par deadness of his body, but also brought up the question before the\par Lord: "Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and\par shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" But, Jehovah having\par answered his objection with a definite promise, Abraham thereafter\par refused to have his faith weakened by any natural thought of himself\par and Sarah, but set God's promise only before his mind, without\pawr wavering, [97] as "double-minded" people, in their doubting, do (James\par 1:6-8, R.V.). Indeed, his constancy was such that it evidently wrought\par upon the doubting Sarah, who learned that He was "faithful who had\par promised." [98] Sarah's incredulous but eager laugh (Gen. 18:12, 13,\par 15) Jehovah charged her sternly with; for He had before when Abraham\par laughed (Gen. 17:16-19), named the son whom she was to bear\par "Isaac"--which means laughter! Thus both Abraham and Sarah thought\par this thing "too good to be true"; but God in faithfulness brought it\par to pass. And we remember the happy laughter into which Sarah finally\par entered: "Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh; every one that\par heareth will laugh with me" (Gen. 21:5-7). Every time she spoke the\par name "Isaac" she could remember her doubt, and how gracious Jehovah\par had been to her.\par \par Verse 21: Being full of assurance that what He had promised. He was\par x able to perform. What a blessed assurance of faith, resting wholly\par upon God's performance of what He had promised,--how that puts us to\par shame! Since Abraham's day we have the written Word; and Christ has\par come Yet how often we doubt! [99]\par \par Verse 22: Now God tells us that His word concerning Abraham, that "his\par faith was reckoned as righteousness," was written not for him only,\par but for us, also,--for all Abraham's children. There is no more\par striking description of the principle and process of faith than in\par this passage. Look at the "also" of verse 22: Wherefore also it was\par reckoned unto him as righteousness. That evidently looks toward\par Genesis 22; at the end of Abraham's testing time, when he offered up\par Isaac. Let us see what is here:\par \par (1) We are not told that Abraham was reckoned righteous because of the\par vision of the God of glory that was vouchsafed to him in Ur of the\par Chaldees (Acts 7y:2). Nor do we read that he was reckoned righteous\par because he forsook his own land and was brought to the land of Canaan,\par nor because he built altars to Jehovah and worshipped him; nor because\par he had such high courage as to slaughter the kings and deliver Lot.\par All these things occurred before the amazing scene of Genesis 15:\par where God proposed to him something absolutely impossible of\par accomplishment, except in God Himself.\par \par (2) Abraham was reckoned righteous when he "believed in Jehovah," in\par His word, to bring about concerning Abraham something that could not\par humanly be--that he should be a "father of nations." God came to him\par years after this (Genesis 17), commanding him to change his name from\par Abram, "high father" (but desolate, like a lonely peak), to Abraham,\par "father of a multitude." And Abraham obeyed, and changed his name\par thus; although God had just rejected Ishmael, the only offspring he\parz had in sight, from being the seed of promise and covenant!\par \par (3) Abraham "gave glory to God," because he counted on God's bringing\par to pass His word, about that which only His glorious power could\par effect; a thing completely outside human possibility, but which all\par God's faithfulness and truth were pledged to accomplish. Thus Abraham\par let God in upon the scene, to act according to His own truth and\par power. Probably at that time he was the only man on earth who was\par giving God His due praise as the God of truth, who has "magnified His\par Word above all His Name" (Ps. 138:2). Our reason, yea, and our\par conscience also, keep telling us that right living is essentially\par better than right believing; but both conscience and reason are wrong!\par [100]\par \par (4) Jehovah reckoned Abraham righteous not because he was either\par righteous or holy, but acting absolutely, and entirely according to\par Himself--who "givet{h life to the dead" (Abraham was dead: he could\par beget no seed); and "calleth the things that are not" (Abraham was a\par sinner, not righteous in himself) "as though they were."\par \par (5) The purpose, then, of God concerning Abraham, Abraham thus allowed\par God to fulfil. Some day you will see Abraham just as righteous and\par holy in character and in evident fact, as His God, in that far day,\par reckoned him. It was not however, on the ground of what God would make\par him in the future that He reckoned Abraham righteous when he believed\par Him. The ground, as we see plainly in 3:25, was Christ set forth as a\par propitiation,--through faith in Christ's blood. For "God set Him forth\par as a propitiation . . . because of the passing over of the sins done\par aforetime" (that is, by Abraham and by all who lived before Christ's\par death).\par \par God had His own foreknown ground, Christ, as the Lamb "without blemish\par and without spot,|" foreknown "before the foundation of the world" (I\par Pet. 1:19, 20). We keep repeating these things because of the\par continual tendency of our wretched hearts to find some cause in\par ourselves, or in our own faithfulness, for God's reckoning us\par righteous.\par \par (6) Verses 23 and 24: Now it was not written for his sake only, that\par it was reckoned unto him, but for our sakes likewise, for it [our\par faith] will be reckoned [as righteousness] to us also who are\par believing on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. This is a\par blessed and sweet revelation for believers, that we, like Abraham,\par have righteousness reckoned to us; and that the story in Genesis was\par "written for our sake." The Old Testament is a living book for God's\par real saints!\par \par But we must remember that God's methods with faith are always the\par same. Abraham's faith was tried: are not we also told to expect the\par trial of our faith?} [101]\par \par There is also a beautiful message in the literal rendering of verse\par 24, that can scarcely be supplied in English: It was on account of us\par also, unto whom it [righteousness] is about to be reckoned, to those\par who believe--as if God were eager (as indeed He is) to write down\par righteous those who believe His testimony concerning His Son!\par \par Note two things here: First, it is upon God we believe. The very God\par who was, in the opening chapters of the Epistle, bringing all of us\par under His judgment, without righteousness and helpless to attain it,\par is here believed on; as our Lord Jesus indeed said in John 12:44: "He\par that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me."\par \par But, second, it is upon Him as having raised Jesus our Lord from the\par dead that we believe on God in verse 24. It is not merely on the God\par who set forth Christ to be a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, but\par~ it is on the God who has set a public seal to the truth of our Lord's\par last words, "It is finished," by raising Him from the dead. "He is not\par here, but is risen," was the angel's word that thrilled those saints\par early at His tomb. And since then He has been received up in glory,\par and the Holy Spirit has come, witnessing to the amazing fact that the\par One who hung on a Roman cross, numbered with transgressors by men, and\par forsaken of God in the just judgment of our sins, was raised and\par glorified by the same God who forsook Him on Calvary. This glorious\par fact should be held fast by our hearts. For not only does God's\par raising up Christ prove our sins to have been put away; but a Risen\par Christ becomes a new place for us! We were justified from all things\par by His blood; we are now set by God in Christ Risen!\par \par And thus we are prepared for the last great verse in this blessed\par chapter.\par \par Verse 25: Who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for\par our justifying. Here we have Jesus our Lord delivered up for our\par offences. Now the Greek word for "delivered up" occurs again in\par Chapter 8:32: "God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us\par all." The meaning is evident: on account of our trespasses, of what\par you and I have done, our Lord was delivered up by a holy God to bear\par our sin, with its guilt and penalty, even to God's forsaking His Son:\par for He must otherwise have forsaken us forever!--yea, to His smiting\par our Substitute instead of smiting us: "He was bruised for our\par iniquities."\par \par And was raised for our justifying--This must be the sense here: for we\par are not justified till we believe. Furthermore, if Christ's\par resurrection was merely to prove that we had been justified (as some\par teach), a verb-construction would have been used, which would signify,\par on account of our having been justified. But God uses the\par noun-construction (dikaiosis) meaning, "the act of justifying";\par showing that Christ's resurrection was for the purpose of justifying\par us, positively, in a Risen Christ, (Compare 5:10)\par \par Matthew Henry says: "In Christ's death He paid our debt; in His\par resurrection, He took out our acquittance." But Scripture goes much\par further in this matter of justification than the satisfaction of all\par claims of God's justice against us. We are set in a new place of\par acceptance, the Risen Christ, that has nothing to do with our old\par place. God will now go on to "create us in Christ Jesus." It will be\par "justification of life," as we shall see in Chapter Five.\par \par Only, we repeat, let us always remember that we are justified as\par ungodly, and now we are "new creatures in Christ Jesus.' Here, indeed,\par is a great mystery. God does not declare us righteous as connected\par with the old Adam--old creatures, we might say. Nor does He declare us\par righteous because we are new creatures. But God that calleth the\par things not existing as existing, acts in justification, declaring the\par ungodly who believe on Him, righteous: not because of any process of\par His operation upon the creature, but by His own fiat, reckoning to the\par beliving one the whole work of Christ on his behalf. This involves\par God's giving this ungodly believing one a standing in Christ Risen;\par and God will go on by an act of creation, to cause him to share\par Christ's risen life, which is justification of life. But it is as\par ungodly that he is declared righteous. We must hold fast to this, the\par first point of the gospel (I Cor. 15:3).\par \par We are indeed said to be justified by or in His blood (5:9), but if\par there had been no resurrection, His death would have availed us\par nothing. So Paul says that both Peter and he were "justified in\par  Christ" (Gal. 2:17): that is, in the Risen Christ, in view, of course,\par of His finished work on the cross. When our Lord said, "It is\par finished," He announced the penalty paid for every believer that shall\par be. But He lay under the power of death for three days and nights, His\par body in Joseph's tomb and His spirit in Paradise.\par \par Now justification involves not only, negatively, the putting away of\par our guilt; but, positively, a new place and standing. For the old Adam\par was utterly condemned, as his history, and the law, and finally the\par cross, fully showed. If I am a sinner, and my sins are transferred to\par the head of Christ my Substitute, and He bears the penalty of them in\par death, then where am I, if Christ be not raised? His death and\par resurrection are one and inseparable as regards justification. Christ\par being raised up, God announces to me, "Not only were your sins put\par away by Christ's blood, so that you are justified from all things; but\par I have also raised up Christ; and you shall have your standing in Him.\par I have given you this faith in a Risen Christ, and announce to you\par that in Him alone now is your place and standing. Judgment is forever\par past for you, both as concerns your sin, and as concerns My demand\par that you have a standing of holiness and righteousness of your own\par before Me. All this is past. Christ is now your standing! He is your\par life and your righteousness; and you need nothing of your own forever.\par I made Christ to become sin on your `behalf, identified Him with all\par that you were, in order that you might become the righteousness of God\par in Him."\par \par I must here quote the vigorous, triumphant words of Martin Luther,\par from his commentary on Galatians, touching these words, "delivered up\par for OUR trespasses": "Christ verily is the innocent, as concerning His\par own person, and the unspotted and undefiled Lamb of God, and therefore\par He ought not to have been hanged upon a tree: but because, according\par to the law of Moses, every thief and malefactor ought to be hanged,\par therefore Christ also, according to the law, ought to be hanged. For\par He sustained the person of a sinner and of a thief: not of one, but of\par all sinners and thieves. For He being made a sacrifice for the sins of\par the whole world, is not now an innocent person, but a sinner which\par hath and carrieth the sin of Paul, who was a blasphemer, an oppressor,\par a persecutor; of Peter, who denied Christ; of David, who was an\par adulterer and a murderer; and, briefly, Christ, who hath and beareth\par the sin of all men in His own body, not that He Himself committed\par them, but for that He received them, being committed or done of us,\par and laid upon His own body, that He might make satisfaction for them\par with His own blood. Therefore whatsoever sins I, thou, and we all have\par done and shall do, hereafter, they are Christ's own sins, as verily as\par if He Himself had done them. To be brief, our sin must needs become\par Christ's own sin, or else we shall perish forever.\par \par "Also learn this definition diligently (`Who was delivered for OUR\par trespasses'), that this one syllable being believed, may swallow up\par all thy sins: that thou mayest know assuredly, that Christ hath taken\par away the sins, not of certain men only, but also of thee. Then let thy\par sins be not sins only, but even thy own sins indeed.\par \par "Thus may we be able to answer the devil accusing us, saying, Thou art\par a sinner, thou shalt be damned. No, say I, for I flee unto Christ who\par hath given Himself for my sins. Therefore, Satan, thou shalt not\par prevail against me in that thou goest about to terrify me, in setting\par forth the greatness of my sins, and so to bring me into heaviness,\par distrust, despair, hatred, contempt, and blaspheming of God. Yea,\par rather, in that thou sayest, I am a sinner, thou givest me armour and\par weapons against thyself, that with thine own sword I may cut thy\par throat, and tread thee under my feet; for Christ died for sinners!\par Moreover, Satan, thou thyself preachest unto me the glory of God; for\par thou puttest me in mind of God's fatherly love toward me, wretched and\par damned sinner: `Who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten\par Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have\par everlasting life' (John 3:16). And as often as thou objectest that I\par am a sinner, so often thou callest me to remembrance of the benefit of\par Christ my Redeemer, upon whose shoulders, and not upon mine, lay all\par my sins; for the Lord hath laid all our iniquity upon Him' (Isa.\par 53:6). Again, `For the transgressions of His people was He smitten'\par (53:8). Wherefore, when thou sayest I am a sinner, thou dost not\par terrify me, but comfortest me above measure."\par \par So Paul closes his setting forth of this great resurrection side of\par our salvation, saying, He was raised for our justifying. Doubtless\par other and eternal ends were in view in God's raising up Christ; but\par lay fast hold of this, that in your case it was for the purpose of\par declaring you who believe righteous, that God raised Christ. And\par further, of giving you a hitherto unheard of place, to be in Christ,\par one with Him before God forever, loved as Christ is loved, seen in all\par the perfectness and beauty of Christ Himself, glorified with Him,\par associated with Him as companions, that He might be the First-born\par among many brethren!\par \par There is no limit to God's favor toward those in Christ!\par \par JUSTIFICATION--A REVIEW\par \par I. What It Is Not\par \par 1. It is not regeneration, the impartation of life in Christ; for\par although it is "justification of life"--meaning God will give life to\par the justified, he is justified as ungodly.\par \par 2. It is not "a new heart," or "change of heart,"--indefinite\par expressions at best, but having in them no proper definition of\par justification.\par \par 3. It is not "making an unjust man just," in his life and behavior.\par The English word justified, as we all know, comes from the Latin word\par meaning to make just or righteous; but this is exactly what\par justification is not, in Scripture.\par \par 4. It is not to be confused with sanctification; which is the state of\par those placed in Christ,--"sanctified in Christ Jesus"; and\par consequently the manner of their walk in the Spirit.\par \par II What It Is\par \par 1. It is a declaration by God in heaven concerning a man, that he\par stands righteous in God's sight.\par \par 2. God justifies a man, on the basis or ground of the "redemption that\par is in Christ Jesus" (3:24). See 5:6: We are "justified by [or in] His\par blood";--the blood the procuring ground, or means; God the acting\par Person.\par \par 3. God who has already acted judicially, in pronouncing the whole\par world guilty (Rom. 3:19), now again acts judicially concerning that\par sinner who becomes convinced of his guilt and helplessness, and\par believes that God's Word concerning Christ's expiatory sacrifice\par applies to himself; and thus becomes "of faith in Jesus" (3:26,RSV,\par margin): God's judicial [102] pronouncement now is, that such a\par believing one stands righteous in His sight.\par \par 4. Justification, or declaring-righteous, therefore, is the reckoning\par by God to a believing sinner of the whole value of the infiinte work\par of Christ on the cross; and, further, His connecting this believing\par sinner with the Risen Christ in glory, giving him the same acceptance\par before Himself as has Christ: so that the believer is now "the\par righteousness of God in Him" (Christ).\par \par Negatively, then, God in justifying a sinner reckons to him the\par putting away of sin by Christ's blood. Positively, He places him in\par Christ: he is one with Christ forever before God!\par \par \par Wondrous prize of our high calling!\par \par Speed we on to this,\par \par Past the cities of the angels,--\par \par Farther into bliss;\par \par \par On into the depths eternal\par \par Of the love and song,\par \par Where in God the Father's glory\par \par Christ has waited long;\par \par \par There to find that none beside Him\par \par God's delight can be:\par \par Not BESIDE HIM, NAY, BUT IN HIM,\par \par O BELOVED ARE WE!\par \par --C. P. C., in Hymns of Ter Steegen.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [82] The doctrine of Abraham as being the "father of all that\par believe," has yet to be announced,--as is done later in this same\par chapter.\par \par [83] (1)"It was reckoned unto him as righteousness"; here the word\par "reckoned" is logidzomai, a great word with Paul, used 41 times in the\par New Testament, 35 of which are in Paul's epistles, 11 of these here in\par Chapter Four. Where it is used as in verse 3, here, of God, it is\par always a court word, God acting as Judge and accounting or holding as\par righteous those who, as Abraham, believe in Him; or the contrary, as\par is implied in verse 8; "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not\par reckon sin,"--implying that there are those to whom He will reckon sin\par and its guilt. In Chapter 4:5, we see what is reckoned by God as\par righteousness: "his faith is reckoned as righteousness," This does not\par mean that faith is a meritorious act, as indeed it could not\par be,--being simply extending credence to One who cannot lie! Therefore,\par without being itself righteousness, it is reckoned as righteousness;\par the ground of such reckoning being of course the work of Christ on the\par cross. (Compare on this (Compare on this word the note on Chapter\par 5:11)\par \par [84] (1)We beg the reader's permission to relate below an experience\par of our own, as illustrating "To him that worketh not, but believeth on\par Him that declares righteous the ungodly": Years ago in the city of St.\par Louis, I was holding noon meetings in the Century Theater. One day I\par spoke on this verse,--Romans 4:5. After the audience had gone, I was\par addressed by a fine-looking man of middle age, who had been waiting\par alone in a box-seat for me. He immediately said, "I am Captain G--,"\par (a man very widely known in the city). And, when I sat down to talk\par with him, he began: "You are speaking to the most ungodly man in St.\par Louis." I said, "Thank God!" "What!" he cried. "Do you mean you are\par glad that I am bad?" "No," I said; "but I am certainly glad to find a\par sinner that knows he is a sinner." "Oh, you do not know the half! I\par have been absolutely ungodly for years and years and years, right here\par in St. Louis. I own two Mississippi steamers. Everybody knows me. I am\par just the most ungodly man in town"' I could hardly get him quiet\par enough to ask him: "Did you hear me preach on `ungodly people' today?"\par "Mr. Newell," he said, "I have been coming to these noon meetings for\par six weeks. I do not think I have missed a meeting. But I cannot tell\par you a word of what you said today. I did not sleep last night. I have\par hardly had any sleep for three weeks. I have gone to one man after\par another to find what to do. And I do what they say. I have read the\par Bible. I have prayed. I have given money away. But I am the most\par ungodly wretch in this town. Now what do you tell me to do? I waited\par here today to ask you that. I have tried everything; but I am so\par ungodly!" "Now," I said, "we will turn to the verse I preached on." I\par gave the Bible into his hands, asking him to read aloud: "To him that\par worketh not." "But," he cried, "how can this be for me? I am the most\par ungodly man in St. Louis!" "Wait," I said, "I beg you go on reading."\par So he read, "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that\par justifieth the ungodly." "There!" he fairly shouted, "that's what I\par am,--ungodly." "Then, this verse is about you," I assured him. "But\par please tell me what to do, Mr. Newell. I know I am ungodly: what shall\par I do?" "Read the verse again, please." He read: "To him that worketh\par not,"--and I stopped him. "There," I said, "the verse says not to do,\par and you want me to tell you something to do: I cannot do that." "But\par there must be something to do; if not, I shall be lost forever." "Now\par listen with all your soul," I said. "There was something to do, but it\par has been done!" Then I told him how God had so loved him, all ungodly\par as he was, that He sent Christ to die for the ungodly. And that God's\par judgment had fallen on Christ, who has been forsaken of God for his,\par Captain G----'s, sins there on the cross. Then, I said, "God raised up\par Christ; and sent us preachers to beseech men, all ungodly as they are,\par to believe on this God who declares righteous the ungodly, on the\par ground of Christ's shed blood." He suddenly leaped to his feet and\par stretched his hand out to me. "Mr. Newell," he said, "I will accept\par that proposition!" and off he went, without another word. Next\par noonday, at the opening of the meeting, I saw him beckoning to me from\par the wings of the stage. I went to him, "May I say a word to these\par people?" he asked. I saw his shining face, and gladly brought him in.\par I said to the great audience, "Friends, this is Captain G----, whom\par most, it not all of you, know. He wants to say a word to you." "I want\par to tell you all of the greatest proposition I ever found," he cried:\par "I am a business man, and know a good proposition. But I found one\par yesterday that so filled me with joy, that I could not sleep a wink\par all night. I found out that God for Jesus Christ's sake declares\par righteous any ungodly man that trusts Him. I trusted Him yesterday;\par and you all know what an ungodly man I was. I thank you all for\par listening to me; but I felt I could not help but tell you of this\par wonderful proposition; that God should count me righteous. I have been\par such a great sinner." This beloved man lived many years in St. Louis,\par an ornament to his confession.\par \par [85] This world hates the God of David, because it hates grace. The\par world rather likes David's taking Uriah's wife (for that is the\par world's manner of life!). But for Jehovah not to reckon this sin as\par damning guilt, and freely to forgive David,--and that so fully as to\par give "her that had been the wife of Uriah" another son, and bestow His\par special love on him (Solomon) to the extent of giving him a personal\par name, Jedidiah "for Jehovah's sake" (II Sam. 12:24, 25) and placing\par this woman Bathsheba in the official genealogy of Christ (Matt. 1:6);\par and, above all, for God to call David a man "after His own\par heart,"--all this rouses the ire of a vile, self-righteous,\par neighbor-judging, blind, grace-ignorant, impenitent world,--a world\par that has neither repented, nor means to repent, of the very sins, into\par which David fell, and of which he repented most deeply. God's record\par of David is "a man that will do all my purposes" (Acts 13:22, margin).\par How about it, critic of David's God? Have you repented? Do you desire\par to do all God's purposes? If not,--well, you will shortly meet the God\par of whom your false mouth has prated!\par \par [86] "Paul has turned the Jew's boast upside down. It is not the\par Gentile who must come to the Jew's circumcision for salvation; it is\par the Jew who must come to a Gentile faith, such faith as Abraham had\par long before he was circumcised . . . When Isaac was saved, he was not\par saved by his circumcision any more than was his father before him. God\par never promised salvation except to faith. He never promised a\par perpetual nationality except to circumcised men who believe"--Stifler.\par \par [87] "The sacraments and ceremonies of the Church, useful when viewed\par in their proper light, become ruinous when perverted into grounds of\par confidence. What answers well as a sign, is a miserable substitute for\par the thing signified. Circumcision will not serve for righteousness,\par nor baptism for regeneration"--Hodge.\par \par [88] These "steps of faith" of the uncircumcised Abraham would embrace\par all Abraham's story from his "call" in Genesis 12 to his circumcision\par in Genesis 17,--when he was 99 years old: (1) The revelation of the\par God of glory to Abraham, while yet in Ur of the Chaldees, and his\par evident turning from idols to Him. (2) Obedience to the command to get\par out of his country, from his kindred, and from his father's house (Ge\par 12:1-4); tarrying indeed at Haran on his way until his father died\par (Acts 7:4; Gen. 11:31). (3) The altar-worship of Jehovah in Canaan\par (Gen. 12:7, 8). (4) Choosing his portion with God: Lot's separation\par from Abraham (Gen. 13), and Abraham's arrival at Hebron\par ("fellowship"). (5) The victory over the kings (Gen. 14), (6)\par Accepting through Melchizedek the new revelation of "God Most High,\par Possessor of Heaven and Earth," and the rejection of riches from men\par (Gen. 14). (7) Believing God's bare word concerning his seed, and\par being thus "accounted righteous" (Gen. 15). "Notice that in the\par  seventh of these steps, there is the peculiar element of counting on\par God, as God, to do the impossible. On the God who calleth the things\par not being, as being! No doubt, there were further walkings and\par testings until the offering of Isaac in Chapter 22, after which we\par find no more testings: Abraham's faith had become perfected. So James\par writes (see above), "The Scripture was fulfilled that saith, Abraham\par believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness." This word\par "fulfilled" is deeply significant. There was and always is, the\par prophetic, as well as the declarative element in justification, (that\par is, in God's accounting a sinner righteous). It is "the God who\par calleth the things that are not as though they were," (Rom. 4:17) who\par acts in justification. The moment He declares sinners righteous, they\par are so, having immediately the standing of being in Christ before Him.\par But they will also be manifested, by and by, and be glorified with\par Christ. "Glorified" they are already in God's mind (8:30). What James\par insists on is that there will be a living walk, fulfilling the Divine\par declaration that the man is righteous. This living walk also is before\par Him whom we believe, even God (4:17). It has no reference whatever to\par men. The explanation by some that Abraham was "justified by faith\par before God and by works before men" is trivial! Both in Gen. 15:6,\par when God accounted him righteous, and in 22:15 to 18, Abraham was\par alone with his God. When James says, "By works was faith made\par perfect," he is expanding the statement, "Faith wrought with his\par works." Paul has almost the same Phrase: "In Christ Jesus, neither\par circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working\par through love" (Gal. 5:6). Of course saving faith is a living, acting\par thing, as against mere opinion or profession; and this again is what\par James is insisting on. Works are the result of a true faith; but they\par are not, like faith itself, a condition of salvation. What "works" did\par the dying thief perform? You say. None: he cast himself on Christ as\par he was. Good. So must you and I: only that! \par \par [89] Dean Alford with his usual clearness says: "The inheritance of\par the world then is not the possession of Canaan merely, either\par literally, or as a type of a better possession,--but that ultimate\par lordship over the whole world which Abraham, as the father of the\par faithful in all peoples, and Christ, as the Seed of Promise, shall\par possess: the former figuratively indeed and only implicitly,--the\par latter personally and actually."\par \par [90] 2.Now Paul completely shuts out the legalists from heirship with\par Abraham's seed. Because, as Weiss says, "If those persons were the\par possessors of the promise, who on the basis of a law had entered upon\par this inheritance of their father Abraham, (on the ground that it had\par been offered to them as a reward for the fulfillment of this law),\par then faith, which according to its essence is a confidence in the\par attainment of salvation, would be rendered void, and the promise,\par which has full assurance of that which is promised, would be made of\par no effect. For the law, in view of the sinful condition that prevails,\par can be completely fulfilled by none, and necessarily produces wrath.\par But the bestowal of that which is promised pre supposes the\par continuation of the graciousness of Him who made the promise; and this\par graciousness becomes equally impossible, as does the believing\par confidence--if law must be fulfilled to secure it!" When law comes in,\par it conditions everything upon obedience to it. It had to be\par "disannulled" when a better hope was brought in! (Heb. 7:18, 19)\par \par [91] The reason God hates your trust in your "good works" is, that you\par offer them to Him instead of resting on the all-glorious work of His\par Son for you at the cross. Reflect: 1. What it cost God to give Christ.\par 2. What it cost Christ to put away sin,--your sin, at the cross. 3.\par What honor God has given Him "because of the suffering of death." 4.\par What plans for the future God has arranged through Christ's having\par made peace by the blood of His cross, to reconcile "things upon the\par earth and things in the heavens, unto Himself." Now, by that\par uneasiness of conscience on account of which you keep doing "dead\par works," you neglect all God is, has done, and desires, for you; and\par substitute your own uncertain, fearful, trifling notions of "works\par that shall please God." You would make God come to your terms, instead\par of gladly accepting His great salvation and resting in the finished\par work of Christ. It is ominously bold presumption, when God is calling\par all to behold His Lamb, to be found asking God to behold your\par goodness, your works!\par \par [92] Greek, katargeo, from kata, "down from"; and ergon, "work";\par literally, therefore, to put out of work, or out of business, to\par render ineffective; a word often used by Paul, and most important in\par his exposition. Its uses in Romans are seen in Chapters 3:3, 31; 4:14;\par 6:6; 7:2, 6. It occurs in his epistles 26 times, and elsewhere only\par once, but that once is illuminative: "Cut it down: why doth it also\par cumber (katargei) the ground?" (Luke 13:7). The ground was unchanged,\par but rendered wholly unproductive through the shade of, and the use of\par all the moisture by, the fig tree. This is the exact meaning: a result\par otherwise to be expected is by some hindering power annulled. Remember\par this word!\par \par [93] This remarkable compound word (zoe, life, plus poieo, make) is\par translated in the King James Version by the poor word "quicken." The\par Revised Version is right. The King James Version uses the same feeble\par word, "quicken" to translate the mighty word of Ephesians 2:5, a\par marvelous word of three components: a preposition, ("together\par with,"--sun)--plus our compound word, "make-alive," of Romans 4:17,\par above,--the whole really meaning,\par "made-alive-together-along-with"--Christ' God enlifes us in Him,--us\par who once were in the other Adam, dead in sins! "Quicken" is not only\par pitiful, but lamentable in such a verse, as it hides the fundamental\par truth of a believer's union with Christ in life and position.\par \par [94] 1. I cannot refrain from quoting John Bunyan's Come and Welcome\par to Jesus Christ, in his contrasts of faith and unbelief: "Let me here\par give the Christian reader a more particular description of the\par Qualities of unbelief, by opposing faith unto it, in these\par particulars: 1. Faith believeth the Word of God, but unbelief\par questioneth the certainty of the same. 2. Faith believeth the word,\par because it is true, but unbelief doubteth thereof, because it is true.\par 3. Faith sees more in a promise of God to help than in all other\par things to hinder; but unbelief, notwithstanding God's promise, saith.\par How can these things be? 4. Faith will make thee see love in the heart\par of Christ when with His mouth He giveth reproofs, but unbelief will\par imagine wrath in His heart when with His mouth and word He saith He\par loves us. 5. Faith will help the soul to wait, though God defers to\par give, but unbelief will snuff and throw up all, if God makes any\par tarrying. 6. Faith will give comfort in the midst of fears, but\par unbelief causeth fears in the midst of comforts. 7. Faith will suck\par sweetness out of God's rod, but unbelief can find no comfort in the\par greatest mercies. 8. Faith maketh great burdens light, but unbelief\par maketh light ones intolerably heavy. 9. Faith helpeth us when we are\par down, but unbelief throws us down when we are up, 10. Faith bringeth\par us near to God when we are far from Him, but unbelief puts us far from\par God when we are near to Him. 11. Faith putteth a man under grace, but\par unbelief holdeth him under wrath. 12. Faith purifieth the heart, but\par unbelief keepeth it polluted and impure. 13. Faith maketh our work\par acceptable to God through Christ, but whatsoever is of unbelief is\par sin, for without faith it is impossible to please Him, 14. Faith\par giveth us peace and comfort in our souls, but unbelief worketh trouble\par and tossings like the restless waves of the sea. 15. Faith maketh us\par see preciousness in Christ, but unbelief sees no form, beauty, or\par comeliness in Him. 16. By faith we have our life in Christ's fulness,\par but by unbelief we starve and pine away. 17. Faith gives us the\par victory over the law, sin, death, the devil, and all evils; but\par unbelief layeth us obnoxious to them all. 18. Faith will show us more\par excellency in things not seen than in them that are, but unbelief sees\par more of things that are than in things that will be hereafter. 19.\par Faith makes the ways of God pleasant and admirable, but unbelief makes\par them heavy and hard. 20. By faith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob possessed\par the land of promise; but because of unbelief neither Aaron, nor Moses,\par nor Miriam could get thither. 21. By faith the children of Israel\par passed through the Red Sea, but by unbelief the generality of them\par perished in the wilderness. 22. By faith Gideon did more with three\par hundred men and a few empty pitchers than all the twelve tribes could\par do, because they believed not God. 23. By faith Peter walked on the\par water, but by unbelief he began to sink. thus might many more be\par added, which, for brevity's sake, I omit, beseeching every one that\par thinketh he hath a soul to save or be damned to take heed of unbelief\par lest, seeing there is a promise left us of entering into His rest, any\par of us by unbelief should indeed come short of it."\par \par [95] The King James Version along with certain commentators reads\par "considered not." William Kelly says: "There is excellent and perhaps\par adequate authority of every kind (mss., versions and ancient\par citations) for dropping the negative particle." It is remarkable in\par this nineteenth verse that whichever reading we adopt, the resultant\par statement is not inconsistent with the context, though the two\par readings are opposite as can be.\par \par [96] 1.The moral grandeur, yea, sublimity, of Abraham's position\par cannot be put into human description. Alone (except for Melchizedek)\par in a world that had left God, Abraham became by his faith, the silver\par thread that bound his seed to the God the world had deserted! Out from\par Eden man had gone, and then away from God's presence, to found, in\par Cain's city, a state of human affairs with God left out. Condemned and\par judged by the Deluge, they had built their proud Babel-tower.\par Scattered, again by Divine judgment, over the earth, they set up wood\par and stone "gods," and sacrificed to demons, glorifying the very lusts\par of their degradation: such was man's state, without God and without\par hope, in the world. And then--Abraham! Walking by a principle the\par world could not know, direct faith in God as He is,--as He reveals\par Himself step by step to this friend of His, Abraham comes quietly, but\par how wondrously, upon the scene. Even the Hittites, though they said of\par him, "Thou art a prince of God among us," yet knew him not,--neither\par Abraham, nor his blessed God. Faith in God cannot be understood, nor\par those who have it known, except by the men of faith. And because real\par faith in God enters into all the walk and ways of a trusting soul,\par such a one becomes, like Abraham, a "stranger and pilgrim on earth."\par The Lots, the Ishmaels, one by one, withdraw from Abraham. He dwelt at\par "Hebron," which word means "communion." Lot, though saved at last,\par walked as a worldling,--"by sight." Ishmael, as after him Esau, knew\par nothing of God. But Abraham knew, and progressed steadily in knowledge\par of his God, even to the ready offering of Isaac upon the altar. There\par was a seven-fold revelation of God to Abraham: First, it was as "the\par God of glory" that He appeared first in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2).\par Second, He revealed Himself to him as Jehovah (Gen. 12:8; 14:22; 15:2,\par 8),--although not opening to him, as afterwards to Moses in Israel the\par meaning of that Name (Ex. 3:15); third, as El Elyon, God Most High,\par "Possessor of heaven and earth": and the Disposer of lands, and kings:\par (Gen. 14:19 to 22; Dan 3:26; 4.2; 5:18, 21); fourth, as Lord (Adonai,\par Jehovah--15:2, 8); fifth, as El Shaddai, the Almighty God (17:1);\par sixth, as "the Everlasting God" (21:33); and seventh, as Jehova-Jireh"\par (22:14): The God who will Provide,--Especially, a Lamb for sacrifice\par (22:8). Christ, in His ministry on earth, said "Your father Abraham\par rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad!" And, finally,\par Paul tells us in Hebrews 11 that this great man of faith "looked for\par the city which hath the foundations, whose Architect and Maker is God"\par (Heb. 11:10),--that is, the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21; 22. Thus\par Abraham was taken into God's complete confidence--as he himself had\par had complete confidence in God! "The Friend of God"--what a title! No\par angel or seraph had that name!\par \par [97] The word translated "wavered" (Rom. 4:20), originally means to\par discriminate; then to learn or decide by discrimination; then to\par  dispute or contend inwardly; then to be at variance with oneself, to\par hesitate, doubt. See Thayer's Lexicon, where he finally translates:\par "Abraham did not hesitate through want of faith." Uncertainty, inward\par balancings and strugglings of faith with unbelief (as the father of\par the demoniac cried, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief") such\par was not the state of Abraham's soul. Having committed himself to God's\par promise, which was wholly beyond human possibility, he went steadily\par forward. This had the double result of giving glory to the God whom he\par believed, and of making Abraham himself stronger and stronger in\par faith. Two travelers on their way home came to a river frozen over,\par but evidently not as yet with thick ice. One said, "I am afraid that\par ice will not bear my weight," and he sat down in the cold. The other\par said, "I am going home," and strode forward over the ice with steady\par step. He had committed himself! He refused to look at circumstances;\par and every step strengthened his resolve to go ahead. He reached the\par other bank, and eventually his home. The other man stayed back in the\par cold. Mr. Moody used to say, "Unbelief sees something in God's hand,\par and says, I wish I had that. Faith sees it, and says, I will have\par it!--and gets it." As one has said:\par \par "The steps of faith fall upon the seeming void,\par \par And find the rock beneath!"\par \par [98] God let Abraham wait many years, over thirteen at least (compare\par Gen. 16:16 with Gen. 17:1) before He began to let him realize the\par promises in the birth of Isaac.\par \par [99] "We have also a precious suggestion of some reasons (if we may\par say so) why God prescribes Faith as the condition of the justification\par of a sinner. Faith, we see, is an act of the soul which looks wholly\par away from `self (as regards both merit and demerit), and honours the\par Almighty and All-graciousin a way not indeed in the least meritorious\par (because merely reasonable, after all), but yet such as to `touch the\par hem of His garment.' It brings His creatures to Him in the one right\par attitude--complete submission and confidence. We thus see, in part,\par why faith, and only faith, is the way to reach and touch the Merit\par (value and power) of the Propitiation"--Moule.\par \par [100] Ernest Gordon in the Sunday School Times says, "A French\par Unitarian preacher, M. Lauriol, in speaking at the recent synod of\par Agen, said, `Purity of heart and life is more important than\par correctness of opinion,' to which Dean Doumergue answers shrewdly,\par `Healing is more important than the remedy, but without the remedy,\par there would be no healing.'" Faith is the only faculty by which we can\par lay hold of God. "Let him take hold of My strength," is God's command\par (Isa. 27:5). But we cannot reach His greatness--we are dust. We cannot\par look upon His face, for He dwelleth in light unapproachable. We cannot\par apprehend His wisdom, for it is infinite, incomprehensible\par ,--"reasonings of the wise, (regarding God) are vain," Then how shall\par we lay hold of God at all? By believing Him! The weakest of men can\par believe what God tells him! Praise be to His Name! Faith, simple\par faith, connects us with the Mighty One! Paul says, "The faith of God's\par elect" involves "the knowledge of the truth which is according to\par godliness" (Titus 1:1). "Purity of heart and life" without the\par correct, accurate, constant teaching of doctrine,--"the doctrine which\par is according to godliness" (I Tim. 6:3)--is simply a philosopher's\par speculation or a Romanist's lie, or a "Modernist's" imagination.\par \par [101] Satan, our deadly foe, has one target at which he constantly\par aims,--the faith of a believer. We believe that Satan's whole effort\par is engaged directly against faith in Christ. Millions of\par demons--unclean spirits, dumb spirits, lying spirits--swarm the air of\par this earth to carry on, together with those angelic principalities and\par powers who fell with Satan, the terrible program, with its "lusts of\par the flesh" and "of the eyes," and "the vainglory of life," called in\par Ephesians 2:2 "the course of this world" (literally,--the aion of this\par cosmos, that is, the present stage of this world-order). But Satan\par himself, filled with hellish jealousy against the Son of Man who came\par and spoiled the strong man's house (in the wilderness temptation); and\par triumphed over all Satan's baits at Calvary, when He put away the sin\par of the world from God's sight (a fact which is true already, as Satan,\par and instructed saints, well know, and which will be made good openly\par soon, in the new heavens and new earth),--Satan himself, we say, is at\par present chiefly occupied blinding men to the redemption and glory that\par are in Christ, and in preventing and hindering the progress of every\par believer. Every one who confesses the Lord Jesus is openly challenged\par by the prince of this world. It is well that "the God of peace shall\par bruise Satan under our feet shortly!" But God meanwhile says, "Whom\par resist, steadfast in your faith!"\par \par [102] "Wherefore as condemnation is not the infusing of a habit of\par wickedness into him that is condemned, nor the making of him to be\par inherently wicked who was before righteous, but the passing of a\par sentence upon a man with respect to his wickedness; no more is\par justification the change of a person from inherent unrighteousness by\par the infusion of a principle of grace, but a sentential declaration of\par him to be righteous" (i.e., in his standing before God)--John Owen.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } ??a#/04 Romans 4{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER FOUR\par \par Abraham and David, in Whom the Jews Specially Gloried, Accounted\par Righteous by Faith, not by Law or Works. Verses 1-8.\par \par Righteousness is also Apart from Ordinances (as Circumcision). Verses\par 9-12.\par \par Abraham's "Heirship of the World," not at All by Law but by Promise;\par and So, Only, Believers Are All Made Certain of its Blessings. Verses\par 13-17.\par \par The Way and Walk of faith Wondrously Exemplified in Abraham the Father\par of All Believers. Verses 18-22.\par \par The Connection of Our Justification with Christ's Resurrection. Verses\par 23-25.\par \par 1 What then shall we say that Abraham our forefather according to the\par flesh hath found? Qerses we have the blessed results of\par justification by faith, along with the most comprehensive statement in\par the Bible of the pure love and grace of God, in giving Christ for us\par sinners.\par \par In the second part, verses 12 to 21, God goes back of the history and\par state of human sin, (which in Chapters 1:21 to 3:20 have been before\par us) to Adam, as our representative head, who stood for us, and whose\par sin became condemnation and death to us; and shows us Christ, as the\par other representative Man (whom Adam prefigured), by His act of death\par on the cross bringing us justification and life. The emphasis in this\par great passage will be in each case upon the fact that the act of the\par representative, and not of the one represented, brought the result to\par pass.\par \par 1 Therefore having been declared righteous on the principle of faith,\par we have peace towards God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 through\par whom also we have obtained access into this Divine favor wherein we\par are standing: and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only\par so, but we also exult in the tribulations [which beset us]: knowing\par that tribulation is working out endurance; 4 and endurance [a sense\par of] approvedness [by God]; and [the sense of] approvedness works out\par [a state of] hope: 5 and [our state of] hope does not make us ashamed:\par because God's love [for us] is poured out in our hearts through the\par Holy Spirit which has been given to us.\par \par 6 For Christ, we being yet helpless [in our sins], at the appointed\par time died for ungodly ones. 7 For hardly for a righteous man will any\par one die: for perhaps for a good [generous] man some one might venture\par to die. 8 But God commends His own love toward us, in that, while we\par were yet sinners, Christ died for us! 9 Much more then, having been\par now declared righteous by [means of] His blood, shall we be saved\par through Him from the [coming] wrath. 10 For if, being enemies, we were\par reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being\par reconciled, shall we be saved by His [risen] life.\par \par 11 And not only so, but we even exult in God through our Lord Jesus\par Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.\par \par Verse 1: Therefore having been declared righteous on the principle of\par faith--We must note at once that the Greek form of this verb "declared\par righteous," or "justified," is not the present participle, "being\par declared righteous," but rather the aorist participle, "having been\par declared righteous," or "justified." You say. What is the difference?\par The answer is, "being declared righteous" looks to a state you are in;\par "having been declared righteous" looks back to a fact that happened.\par "Being in a justified state" of course is incorrect, confusing, as it\par does, justification and sanctification. "Whatsoever God doeth, it\par shall be forever." The moment you believed, God declared you\par righteous, never to change His mind: as David says, "Blessed is the\par man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin" (Rom. 4:8). If therefore you\par are a believer, quote this verse properly, and say, "Having been\par declared righteous on the principle of faith I have"--these blessed\par fruits and results which are now to be recorded.\par \par The Epistle takes on a new aspect in each chapter: in Chapter Three,\par Christ was set forth as a propitiation for our sins; in Chapter Four,\par Christ was raised for our justification; in Chapter Five, we have\par peace with God through Christ, a standing in grace, and the hope of\par the coming glory.\par \par We have three blessings, then, in this first part of our chapter: (1)\par peace with God, in looking back to Calvary where Christ made peace by\par His blood; (2) a present standing in grace, in unlimited Divine favor;\par and (3) hope of the glory of God--of being glorified with Christ when\par He comes.\par \par We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ--"Peace" means\par that the war is done. "Peace with God" means that God has nothing\par against us. This involves:\par \par 1. That God has fully Judged sin, upon Christ, our Substitute.\par \par 2. That God was so wholly satisfied with Christ's sacrifice, that He\par will eternally remain so--never taking up the judgment of our sin\par again.\par \par 3. That God is therefore at rest about us forever, however poor our\par understanding of truth, however weak our walk. God is looking at the\par blood of Christ, and not at our sins. All claims against us were met\par when Christ "made peace by the blood of His cross." So "we have peace\par with God." [103]\par \par \par "If Thou hast my discharge procured,\par \par And freely in my place endured\par \par The whole of wrath Divine:\par \par Payment God will not twice demand,\par \par First at my bleeding Surety's hand,\par \par And then again at mine!"\par \par Our peace with God is not as between two nations before at war, but as\par between a king and rebellious and guilty subjects. While our hearts\par are at last at rest, it is because God, against whom we sinned, has\par been fully satisfied at the cross. "Peace with God through our Lord\par Jesus Christ" does not mean peace trough what He is now doing, but\par through what He did do on the Cross. He "made peace" by the blood of\par His cross. All the majesty of God's holy and righteous throne was\par satisfied when Christ said, "It is finished." And, being now raised\par from the dead, "He is our peace." But it is His past work at Calvary,\par not His present work of intercession, that all is based upon; and that\par gives us a sense of the peace which He made through His blood. [104]\par \par This peace with (or towards) God must not be confused with the "peace\par of God" of Philippians 4:7, which is a subjective state; whereas peace\par with God is an objective fact--outside of ourselves. Thousands strive\par for inward peace, never once resting where God is resting--in the\par finished work of Christ on Calvary. [105]\par \par \par "I hear the words of love,\par \par I gaze upon the blood;\par \par I see the mighty Sacrifice,\par \par And I have peace with God.\par \par \par " 'Tis everlasting peace,\par \par Sure as Jehovah's name;\par \par 'Tis stable as His stedfast throne,\par \par For evermore the same.\par \par \par "My love is oftimes low,\par \par My joy still ebbs and flows;\par \par But peace with Him remains the same,\par \par No change Jehovah know.\par \par * * *\par \par \par "I change, He changes not,\par \par God's Christ can never die;\par \par  His love, not mine, the resting-place,\par \par His truth, not mine, the tie."\par \par --(Bonar)\par \par Verse 2: Look a moment at the second benefit: Through whom also we\par have had our access into this grace wherein we stand--The word "also"\par sets this blessing forth as distinct from and additional to that of\par peace with God. Through Christ, in whom they have believed, there has\par been given to the justified "access" into a wonderful standing in\par Divine favor. Being in Christ, they have extended to them the very\par favor in which Christ Himself stands. Notice that the words "by faith"\par (as in A.V.) here should be omitted. It is not by an additional\par revelation, and acceptance thereof, that believers come into this\par standing in grace. It is a place of Divine favor given to every\par believer the moment he believes. In Chapter 6:14 we are to be told\par that we are under grace, not law. It is a glorious discovery to find\par how fully God is for us, in Christ. [106]\par \par Now, as to this third great matter: We rejoice in hope of the glory of\par God. This is the future of the believer: to enter upon a glorified\par state, glorified together with Christ, as it is in Chapter 8:17. It is\par not merely to behold God's glory, but to enter into it! "When Christ,\par who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall we also with Him be\par manifested in glory" (Col. 3:4). "The glory which thou has given Me I\par have given unto them" (John 17:22). We shall speak of this further, in\par its place in Chapter Eight. The translation "exult" rather than\par "glory," or "boast," suits Paul's meaning here. So in the next verse,\par we exult in our tribulations. It is an inner, joyful confidence,\par rather than an outward glorying or boasting before others, although\par this latter will often necessarily follow!\par \par Verses 3 and 4: And not only so, but we also exult in the tribulations\par [which beset us]: knowing that tribulation is working out endurance:\par and endurance [a sense of] approvedness [by God]; and [the sense of]\par approvedness works out a state of hope--So now we find that not only\par does the believer look back to peace made with God at the cross; at a\par God smiling upon him in favor; and forward to his coming glorification\par with Christ, but he is able also to exult in the very tribulations\par that are appointed to him. Paul constantly taught, as in Acts 14:22;\par II Thessalonians 3:3, that "through many tribulations we must enter\par into the kingdom of God," and that "we are appointed unto\par afflictions." The word means pressure, straits, difficulties; and Paul\par had them! "Pressed on every side, perplexed, pursued, smitten down";\par "in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in\par imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by\par evil report, . . . as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful,--yet\par always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing,\par and yet possessing all things!" (II Cor. 4:8, 9; 6:4-10). He regarded\par these as "our light affliction" said he, "which is for the moment, and\par is working for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of\par glory," (II Cor. 4:17); and so Paul "took pleasure" in them! (II Cor.\par 12:10).\par \par We need to take a lesson from the martyrs, who lived in the freshness\par and strength of the early faith of the Church of God, who often sang\par in the midst of the flames! We hear today of Just the same courage\par where persecution and trial are greatest. We can but give here a\par testimony from Russia that will reach all our hearts. It is a classic\par on suffering for Christ's sake. [107]\par \par The Divine process is as follows: God brings us into tribulations, and\par that of all sorts; graciously supplying therewith a rejoicing\par expectation of deliverance in due time; and the knowledge that, as the\par winds buffeting some great oak on a hillside cause the tree to thrust\par its roots deeper into the ground, so these tribulations will result in\par steadfastness, in faith and patient endurance; and our consciousness\par of steadfastness--of having been brought `by grace through the\par trials,--gives us a sense of Divine approval, or approvedness, we did\par not before have; and which is only found in those who have been\par brought through trials, by God's all-sufficient grace. This sense of\par God's approval arouses within us abounding "hope"--we might almost\par say, hopefulness, a hopeful, happy state of soul.\par \par Verse 5: And [our state of] hope does not make us ashamed: because\par God's love [for us] is poured out in our hearts through the Holy\par Spirit which has been given to us. Furthermore, then, no matter how\par much the world or worldly Christians may avoid or deride us, this\par hopefulness is not "ashamed," or is not "put to shame": because there\par is supplied the inward and wonderful miracle of the consciousness of\par God's love shed abroad in our hearts through that second mighty gift\par of God to us (Christ Himself being the first),--the indwelling Holy\par Spirit.\par \par Paul now takes up this "love of God" in what is, as regards Gods sheer\par grace, the highest place in Paul's epistles. It is the greatest\par exposition in Scripture of God's love, as announced in John 3:16: "For\par God so loved the world .that He gave--." Ephesians unfolds the\par marvelous heavenly calling into which God's grace has brought us. But,\par as to God's love itself, what it is, we must come to the present\par verses of Romans: as John says, "Herein is love, not that we loved\par God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for\par our sins" (I John 4:10).\par \par First of all, the indwelling Holy Spirit, given freely to all\par believers, sheds abroad in our hearts this love of God--making us\par conscious of it in a direct inner witness: and that especially in\par times of trial or need.\par \par A THREE-FOLD VIEW OF GOD'S LOVE FOR US--SINNERS\par \par Next, we see three stages of our sinnerhood, each connected in a\par peculiar, fitting, and touching way with God's love.\par \par 1. Verse 6: For Christ,--we being yet helpless [in our sins], at the\par appointed time died for ungodly ones--The fact of man's total moral\par inability is stated here in the gentlest possible terms. It is a\par bankruptcy of all moral and spiritual inclination toward God and\par holiness, as well as of power to be or do good. Yet into a scene of\par helplessness like this, God sends His Son,--for what? To die for the\par "ungodly." No return or response is demanded: it is absolute\par grace--for the ungodly.\par \par Verse 7: For scarcely for a righteous man will anyone die: though\par perhaps for a good man some one might even venture to die--Paul\par proceeds with his wonderful pean of praise concerning God's love:\par Among men, while for a sternly honest man no one would die, yet some\par one might be found to venture death for a "noble" person, one of\par generous-hearted goodness. But what of God's love?\par \par 2. Verse 8. God commendeth His own love toward us, in that, while we\par were yet sinners, Christ died for us--Now "sinning" is a stronger word\par than "strengthless": but it is strong in the wrong direction!\par Strengthless indeed toward God and holiness, we were all; yet vigorous\par and active in sin. And what did God do? What does God here say? It was\par while we were thus sinning that Christ died for us! And thus doth God\par "commend" [108] His peculiar love toward us. It is most astonishing,\par this announcement that God is "commending" this love of His for us,--a\par love "all uncaused by any previous love of ours for Him." [109]\par Salesmen "commend" their wares to those whom they deem able and\par willing to buy them. God "commends" His tender love to us; for He\par loved us as wretches occupied in sin, unable and unwilling to pay Him\par or obey Him. This is absolute grace.\par \par 3. Verse 10: For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God\par through the DEATH of His Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be\par saved in His LIFE.\par \par Now, "enemies" is a much worse word than either "strengthless" or\par "sinners"; it involves a personal alienation and animosity. "The mind\par of the flesh is enmity against God . . . not subject to the law of\par God, neither, indeed, can it be." What a condition! And yet, while we\par were going about avoiding and hating God, that same God was having His\par Son, Christ, meet all the Divine claims against us by His death on\par Calvary!\par \par Mark that, while we were enemies, He did this. No change of our\par hateful attitude was demanded by God before He sent His Son. "Herein\par is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent His\par Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Grace, brother,\par grace,--unasked, undesired, and, of course, forever\par undeserved,--Divine kindness! "When the kindness of God our Savior,\par and His love toward man appeared, not by works which we did ourselves,\par but according to His mercy. He saved us."\par \par Here, then, whoever you are, read your record: strengthless, sinning,\par hating: then you can begin to conceive of, if you will believe, this\par sovereign, uncaused love which God here in this great passage\par "commends" to you. Do not try to be "worthy" of it; for offers to pay,\par by an utter bankrupt, are not only worthless, but an insult to grace!\par Self-righteousness seeks to discover in itself some cause for that\par Divine favor that God declares has its only source in Himself and His\par love. "Strengthless"--"sinners"--"enemies"--such were we all, and God\par sent His Son to die for us as such!\par \par Now let us not dare try to get God to be reconciled to us through our\par prayers, our consecration, our works. We were reconciled to God while\par His enemies, through the death of His Son. One who has believed is\par overwhelmed to find that this reconciliation was effected while he\par himself was an enemy to God; and so the "much more" gets hold of his\par heart: I was reconciled by His death while I was an enemy: how much\par rather, now that I have accepted this reconciliation and share\par Christ's own risen life, shall God pour His salvation-favor upon me! I\par was an enemy then, and God gave Christ for me; now that I am God's\par friend, He cannot do less! [110]\par \par This is the important thing to see, in the matter or reconciliation:\par it was necessary for us to be reconciled to God Himself, to that\par holiness and righteousness in God, that was infinitely against sin.\par This was brought about in Christ's death.\par \par So, we read, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself"\par (II Cor. 5:19). "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by\par the death of His Son." All sin is contrary to God's holiness,\par righteousness, truth, and glory, but sin was put by God on Christ, and\par God "spared Him not." And now God says to His messengers: "Go be\par ambassadors on behalf of Christ. Tell sinners that I have smitten Him\par instead of them. Tell them I forsook Him on the cross, that I might\par not forsake them forever!"\par \par THE FOUR "MUCH MORES"\par \par There are in this remarkable chapter four "much mores" which it is\par interesting and profitable to note. Two are in this first section; and\par two in the second. First, we have the two "much mores" of future\par safety; verses 9 and 10; then the two "much mores" of grace's\par abundance: verses 15 and 17, which are developed in the other section\par of the chapter.\par \par Verse 9: Much more then, having been now declared righteous by [means\par of] His blood, shall we be saved through Him from the [coming]\par wrath--God has done the harder thing: He will do the easier thing. He\par has had Christ die for us while we were "yet sinners"; "much more"\par will He see that we, being now believers and accounted righteous in\par view of Christ's blood, shall be saved from the coming wrath through\par Him (Christ). [111]\par \par Notice that shed blood is the justifying ground, the procuring cause,\par of our being accounted righteous; and that instead of our being\par uncertain of preservation from the wrath which is coming at the Last\par Judgment, the fact that Christ died for us while were were still\par  sinners should give us a constant state of calm security!\par \par Verse 10: Much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His\par [risen] life--Again, God has done the harder thing--delivering Christ\par to death to reconcile us to Himself. He will certainly--much more! do\par the lesser thing for us: He will see that we share Christ's risen life\par forever; and thus, even in the hour of visitation upon the wicked, we\par shall be "saved by His life." (This will more fully come out in\par Chapter Eight, where the blessed Spirit supplies that life which is in\par Christ to us, as a very "law of life.")\par \par We were reconciled to God by God's having Christ meet in His death all\par the claims of His throne,--His majesty, His holiness, His\par righteousness, His truth. "Much more," being from our side reconciled,\par shall we be saved now and in the future by and in Christ's risen life\par which we now share!\par \par This "saved by His life" evidently looks forward to the coming Day of\par Judgment referred to in verse 9 [112] as the coming wrath, into which\par judgment our Lord has told us we shall not come (John 5:24). Indeed,\par Paul writes in I Thessalonians 1:10,--"Jesus, who delivereth us from\par the wrath to come"!\par \par And now the apostle closes up this section of the Epistle with a note\par of highest exultation:\par \par Verse 11: And not only so, but we also exult in God through our Lord\par Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation--He\par says. We exult in God. How great a change! Three chapters back, we\par were sitting in the Divine Judge's court, guilty--our mouths stopped,\par and all our works rejected! Now, "through our Lord Jesus Christ" and\par His work for us, we are rejoicing, exulting, in Him who was our Judge!\par This is what grace can do and does! And we see that it is simply by\par receiving the reconciliation that has been brought in by Christ. For\par the word here is not "atonement," which means to cover up, and is\par applied to the Old Testament sacrifices. The word reconciliation here\par (katallaga) is simply the noun form of the verb "reconcile," in verse\par 10. Compare "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not\par reckoning unto them their trespasses (II Cor. 5:19).\par \par To "receive" a complete, accomplished reconciliation,--how simple! We\par have seen men and women exult in God, thus! Every believer has this\par great right of exultation. This is a "song of the Lord" that lasts\par forever--"through our Lord Jesus Christ"\par \par GOD'S PLAN: THE "REIGN OF GRACE" THROUGH CHRIST\par \par Romans 5:12-21\par \par THE TWO MEN\par \par ADAM\par CHRIST\par \} Verse 14.\par \par THE TWO ACTS\par \par ADAM--one trespass: Verses 12,15,17,18,19.\par \par CHRIST--one righteous act (on the cross): Verse. 18.\par \par  THE TWO RESULTS\par \par By ADAM--Condemnation, guilt, death: Verses 15, 16, 18, 19.\par \par By CHRIST--Justification, life, kingship: Verses 17, 18, 19.\par \par THE TWO DIFFERENCES\par \par In degree\par Verse 15\par \{ God the Creator's grace by Christ, abounds beyond the sin of the\par creature, Adam..\par \par In kind or operation\par Verse 16\par \{\par \par One sin, by Adam--condemnation and reign of death.\par \par Many sins on Christ--justification and "reigning in life" for those\par accepting God's grace by Him.\par \par THE TWO KINGS\par \par SIN--reigning through Death: Verse 17.\par \par GRACE--reigning through Righteousness: Verse 21.\par \par THE TWO ABUNDANCES\par \par OF GRACE\par OF THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS\par \} Verse 17.\par \par THE TWO CONTRASTED STATES\par \par CONDEMNED MEN, SLAVES OF DEATH, BY ADAM\par \par JUSTIFIED MEN, REIGNING IN LIFE, BY CHRIST\par \par 12 Therefore it [salvation through Christ's work] is just as when\par through one man sin entered the world, and through the sin, death: and\par in that way death passed to all men, for that all sinned [in Adam]:\par for before the Law [of Moses] 13 sin was in the world: but sin is not\par put to account if there is not law [against it]. 14 Notwithstanding,\par death reigned-as-king from Adam until Moses, even over those not\par having sinned after the likeness of the transgression of Adam,--who is\par a type of the Coming One [Christ].\par \par 15 But not as the trespass, so also is the grace-bestowal (charisma).\par For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the\par grace of God, and the free-gift (dorea) of the One Man. Jesus Christ,\par abound unto the many! 16 And not as through one that sinned, so is the\par act of giving (dorema): for the judgment came out of one [trespass]\par unto condemnation; but the grace-bestowal (charisma) came out of many\par trespasses unto a righteous [or justifying] act (dikaioma) [at the\par cross].\par \par 17 For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned-as-king through\par the one, much more those accepting the abundance of grace and of the\par free-gift (dorea) of righteousness, shall reign-as-kings in life\par through the One, Jesus Christ!\par \par 18 So then just as [the principle was] through one trespass unto all\par men to condemnation; even so also [the principle is] through one\par righteous [or justifying] act [dikaioma] unto all men to justification\par of life! 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the\par many were set down as sinners, even so, through the obedience of the\par One the many shall be set down as righteous.\par \par 20 Law, moreover, came in alongside, that trespass [of law] might\par abound. But, where the sin abounded, the grace overflowed!\par \par 21 In order that, just as sin reigned-as-king by means of death: grace\par might reign-as-king, through righteousness, unto life eternal, through\par Jesus Christ our Lord.\par \par THE GREAT DOCTRINE OF THE TWO MEN\par \par We have seen, in Chapters One to Three, the fact of universal human\par guilt, that all thus are "falling short of God's glory"; and we have\par seen Christ set forth by God as a "propitiation through faith in His\par blood." We also found that believers were declared righteous; and seen\par connected with a Risen Christ, in Chapter Four. Then we saw, in the\par first part of Chapter Five, the blessed results of this "justification\par by faith."\par \par When we come to Romans 5:12, a new phase or view of our salvation\par appears. (Although note our comments on Chapter 3:23.) A general view\par of the passage will be helpful.\par \par The two men, Adam and Christ, with their distinct federal [113] or\par representative consequences, are before us. It is no longer what we\par have done--our sins, but the one trespass of Adam that is in view. And\par it is the work of Christ, also, looked at as an "Adam,"--His\par "righteous act" of death; with its effect of justification for us. So\par now we look back to the act that set us down as sinners, instead of to\par our own deeds; and to the act that sets us down righteous, apart from\par our own works.\par \par There is no more direct statement in Scripture concerning\par justification than we find in verse 19: Through the obedience of the\par One shall the many be constituted righteous [before God]. It is true\par that up to verse 11 the question has been one of sins rather than the\par thing sin itself. It is true also that in verse 18, in the expression\par justification of life, the resurrection-side of salvation is before\par us. But we need to mark that God, in the great passage from verse 12\par to verse 21, grounds our justification wholly in the work of Another\par than ourselves, even Christ; showing also the incidental place that\par the Law had--"that the trespass might abound"; thus opening the\par flood-gates of Grace!\par \par The key word of this great passage is "one." You will find it as\par follows (14 times in all) :\par \par "One man"--"one man"--"one man"--verses 12, 15, 19.\par \par "The one"--"the one"--"the One"--verses 15, 17, 19.\par \par "One"--"one"--"one" (trespass) "one" (righteous act)--verses 16\par (twice), 18 (twice).\par \par "Through--one act of righteousness"--verse 18. "Through--the obedience\par of THE ONE"--verse 19.\par \par "Through \{\par \par one trespass"--verses 15, 17, 18.\par \par one man's disobedience"--verse 19.\par "Through \{\par \par one act of righteousness"--verse 18.\par \par the obedience of THE ONE"--verse 19.\par \par It will never do to go about counting ourselves justified in the sense\par merely of having our own trespasses, those we have committed,\par forgiven; for this would amount to counting ourselves as innocent\par before we personally sinned, and to have become guilty merely because\par we personally sinned. But this is to forget that we all were made\par sinners `by Adam's act,--not our own. Nor does this mean that we got a\par "sinful nature" from our "first parents": "By nature" we were, indeed,\par "children of wrath," Paul tells us in Eph. 2; and David declares: "In\par sin did my mother conceive me." But Romans Five does not talk of a\par nature of sin received by us from Adam, but of our being made guilty\par by his act. We were so connected with the first Adam that we did not\par have to wait to be born, or to have a sinful nature; but when Adam,\par our representative, acted, we acted. Verse 19 plainly says, Through\par the one man's disobedience the many were set down as sinners, while\par the preceding verse says the principle was, through one trespass--unto\par all men to condemnation.\par \par "Condemnation" is a forensic word, it belongs to the court, not to the\par birth-chamber.\par \par The same Divine principle is illustrated in the fact that "through\par Abraham even Levi," Abraham's great-grandson, `who receiveth tithes,\par hath paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins of his father when\par Melchizedek met him" (Heb. 7:9). God says of Levi, who was not yet\par born, whose father was not yet born, whose grandfather (Isaac) was not\par yet born: "LEVI PAID TITHES!"\par \par The great truth of Romans 5:12 to 21 is that a representative acted,\par involving those connected with him.\par \par We see immediately how Paul in a seven-fold way insists on the fact\par that Adam's act of sin affected his race:\par \par 1. Through one man sin entered into the world (vs. 12a).\par \par 2. So in that way death passed unto all men, for that all sinned,\par [when Adam sinned] (vs. 12b).\par \par 3. By the trespass of the one the many died (vs. 15).\par \par 4. The judgment came out of one [trespass] unto condemnation (vs. 16).\par \par 5. By the trespass of the one, death reigned-as-king through the one\par (vs. 17).\par \par 6. Through one trespass [the effect was] towards all men to\par condemnation (vs. 18).\par \par 7. Through the one man's disobedience the many were set down as [or\par made to become] sinners (vs. 19).\par \par On the other hand, as regards Christ, we find:\par \par 1. That He is also an Adam--a representative or federal Man who acts\par for all, and in whom all in Him are seen. Adam is called a figure\par [Greek: typos--type] of Him that was to come--Christ (vs. 14).\par \par 2. That by the One Man Jesus Christ, the grace of God, and the\par free-gift [by that grace] did abound unto the many much beyond the\par evil results of Adam's sin (vs. 15).\par \par 3. That through our Lord's one righteous act [His death on the cross]\par the free-gift goes out to all men to justification of life, just as\par through [Adam's] one trespass the judgment came to all men to\par condemnation (vs. 18).\par \par 4. That through the obedience [unto death] of the One [Christ] the\par many [those who received the gift] shall be set down righteous [before\par God] (vs. 19).\par \par 5. That those who receive the abundance of [God's] grace and of the\par gift of righteousness shall reign-as-kings in life through the One,\par Jesus Christ,--much beyond death s reigning through the one [Adam]\par (vs. 17).\par \par We may now consider this passage briefly, verse by verse:\par \par Verse 12: This whole plan of salvation,--by Christ's work, not ours,\par which we have been considering in Chapters Three, Four and Five, gives\par rise to the "therefore" which introduces this verse: Therefore [this\par plan of salvation of all by a single Redeemer], is on the same\par principle as when through [the other] one man sin entered the world;\par and, with it, its wages, death. Paul proceeds to emphasize that it was\par in that way,--that is, by one man, that death passed to all men,\par because when Adam sinned, all sinned. It was a federal representative\par act. Evidently physical death is primarily in view. "Man's breath\par goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts\par perish" (Ps. 146:4). And read carefully the note below. [114] So death\par passed unto all men, for that all sinned--The word "so" refers to the\par sin of the one man, but the words all sinned must not be read "all\par have sinned" (as the King James Version unfortunately mistranslates).\par The whole point is that all acted when Adam acted: all sinned. We have\par remarked on the aorist tense, "sinned" (Greek: hemarton) in connection\par with its use in Chapter Three. To translate it here (5:12) "have\par  sinned" is utterly to obscure the Scripture, making man's "sinnership"\par to depend on his own acts rather than on Adam's--which latter is the\par whole point of the passage.\par \par Verses 13 and 14: Now comes the remarkable statement that although sin\par was in the world during the first 2500 years, from Adam to Moses, it\par is not put to account when there is no law. The Greek word "put to\par account" used here occurs only one other time--Philemon 18. It\par signifies to charge up something to anyone as a due. (The wholly\par different word "reckon" in Chapters 3:24 and 4:23, 24 regards the\par person; this word in 5:13 regards some item put to one's account.) It\par was to Adam, not to us, that God said: "In the day that thou eatest\par thereof thou shalt surely die." It was to Israel through Moses that\par God gave the ten commandments. The general argument of the apostle\par here is to show the effect of a federal or representative sin, in\par which an Adam acted, bringing an effect upon the individuals connected\par with him. Paul is about to prove that death passed to all men not\par because they sinned, but because Adam sinned. He is also about to show\par (verse 18) that all men were condemned by Adam's act,--were made to\par become sinners.\par \par To understand, therefore, the force of the words, sin is not put to\par account where there is no law,--or, as Conybeare enlighteningly\par paraphrases, "Sin is not put to the account of the sinner when there\par is no law forbidding it,"--we must remember:\par \par 1. That sin was in the world, between Adam and Moses.\par \par 2. That, according to Chapter One, the race had rejected light and\par were without excuse; though they were "without law" (anomos): for\par God's definition of sin is not "transgression of law" (I John 3:4,\par A.V.), but anomia, which means refusal to be controlled--self-will.\par \par 3. That there was a "work" (working) written in their hearts, to which\par their consciences bore witness, either accusing or else excusing them;\par and that this working necessarily corresponded morally to any law to\par be afterwards revealed by Jehovah.\par \par 4. That condign judgments, such as the Flood, and the overthrow of\par Sodom, and the destruction of the Canaanites, followed the "filling up\par of the cup of iniquity" at such times: for such sinners both trampled\par on their own consciences, and inherited the previous generations of\par guilt.\par \par 5. That, nevertheless, the sins between Adam and Moses did not bring\par about the sentence of death upon humanity, however much individuals or\par nations might hasten death's overtaking them. For these people, though\par they sinned, had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's\par transgression, which was a wilful violation of a direct command of a\par revealed God; as was Israel's making, through Aaron, the calf at\par Sinai: evolving judicial consequences to others besides themselves.\par For we read in Exodus 32:34 of a set future "visitation" on Israel,\par because of that sin at Sinai of their fathers: "In the day that I\par visit, I will visit their sin upon them"; this will be in "the time of\par Jacob's trouble," in the Great Tribulation--long after the\par calf-worship; indeed, still future!\par \par 6. We therefore must regard the human race as under a sentence of\par death they did not bring upon themselves: death reigned from Adam\par until Moses (vs. 14). Unlike Adam, and unlike Israel after Moses,\par those who lived between the two had no positive outward Divine law,\par the breaking of which would be a direct transgression and a\par threatening of death therefor. Nevertheless "death reigned"--even over\par them. Constantly before our eyes is the attestation to the same truth:\par babes that know nothing of right or wrong, die. Every little white\par coffin,--yea, every coffin, should remind us of the universal effect\par of that sin of Adam, for it was thus and thus only that "death passed\par to all men."\par \par We see then, that from Adam until Moses, death "reigned-as-king" [115]\par on account of Adam's sin. Paul has said(Rom. 4:15), "Where there is no\par law neither is there transgression"; so that those between Adam and\par Moses, not having direct commands of God, consequently had not\par transgressed known commands as Adam had done. Nevertheless, Adam's\par transgression had involved his whole race.\par \par Verse 14: Here Adam is declared a type of the One who was to\par come--that is, of Christ, the last Adam. We cannot sufficiently urge\par the study of this great passage: until the mind sees, and the heart\par understands--and that gladly, condemnation by the one, and\par justification by the Other. It is just as necessary to see this "by\par the one" doctrine regarding our spirits, as regarding our bodies. As\par to the latter, Paul says, "As in Adam all die, so also In Christ shall\par all be made alive"; "The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second\par Man is of heaven . . . And as we have borne the image of the earthy,\par we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (I Cor. 15:22, 47, 49).\par To discover that we are even now no longer connected with that first\par Adam in which we were born, but with the Risen Christ, the last\par Adam--this will be our joy in Chapters Six to Eight. But the\par foundation of this blessed truth is laid here in the Doctrine of the\par Two Men.\par \par We find in verses 15 to 17 a sort of parenthesis in which the results\par of Adam's trespass and Christ's act of obedience are shown to differ\par in two respects (but not at all in the principle of the one involving\par the many). In the first case (verse 15) there is the difference of\par degree in the result, because of the infinite chasm between the\par creature Adam, and the Creator--God and His Son Jesus Christ! So we\par read:\par \par Verse 15: For if by the trespass of the one [Adam] death came to the\par many; MUCH MORE did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of THE\par ONE MAN, JESUS CHRIST, abound unto the many! It takes faith to esteem\par this true now, seeing, as we do, the cemeteries all about us; death on\par every hand,--the general dire results of sin; but we must believe that\par the free gift will finally be seen, in its results, to be as far\par beyond the results of the trespass, as God and Christ are greater than\par the creature Adam! [116]\par \par Verse 16: And not as through one that sinned, so is the act of giving:\par for the judgment came out of one unto condemnation; but the\par grace-bestowal came out of many trespasses unto a righteous act. This\par tells us that out of Adam's one trespass came judgment, but that out\par of many trespasses laid upon Christ came not judgment, but a righteous\par act (dikaioma). [117] In short, all men acted,--sinned in Adam's act\par of sin. They that receive is on the principle of "the one for the\par many," but manifestly does not include all men, because some reject;\par although we find in verse 18 that the free gift "came" unto\par them,--"unto all men."\par \par Note what it is that believing ones "receive":\par \par First, abundance of grace: The cross having met righteously all the\par claims of the Divine being, and the Divine throne, against sinners,\par God has now spoken to us as He is, in abounding grace, for "God is\par Love." Over and over are "abound," "abundance" used here to express\par God's attitude; and the free motion, since the cross, of His\par infinitely loving heart toward sinners, in gracious kindness. Those\par who "receive" God's grace give Him the honor of His graciousness.\par \par  Second, Those that "receive" this abundance of grace have therewith\par the gift of righteousness. What a gift! Apart from works, apart from\par the Law, apart from ordinances, apart from worthiness, an out and out\par gift of righteousness from God! Many times in teaching this passage to\par Bible classes I have asked them to repeat three times over each of\par these expressions: "The abundance of grace," "the gift of\par righteousness." We earnestly commend this to you, dear reader! Try it.\par \par Alas, how few believers have the courage of faith! We have looked so\par long at our unworthiness that the very thought of pushing away from\par the shore-lines and launching out on the limitless, fathomless ocean\par of Divine grace makes us shrink and waver. When some saint here or\par there does begin to believe the facts and walk in shouting liberty, we\par say (perhaps secretly), "He must be an especially holy, consecrated\par man." No, he is just a poor sinner like you, who is believing in the\par abundance of grace! And if we hear some one praising God for the gift\par of righteousness, because he is now righteous in Christ before God, we\par are ready to accuse him of thinking too highly of himself. No, he is\par just a poor sinner like you and me, but one who has dared to believe\par that he has received an outright gift of righteousness, and is\par rejoicing in it.\par \par Verse 17: For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned-as-king\par through the one, much more those accepting the abundance of grace and\par of the free-gift of righteousness, shall reign-as-kings in life\par through the One, Jesus Christ! It is not only that you have life, and\par that eternal life, in Christ: but here in verse 17 we find two\par kingdoms:\par \par First, By the trespass of the one death reigned-as-king through the\par one. And is that not true? I travelled around this world from west to\par east, beginning from Chicago. As we went eastward to the older parts\par of the States, we saw the stones thicker and thicker in the\par cemeteries. Then in England and Scotland, still more cemeteries, with\par still more monuments to the reign of death. But when we got out to old\par China, I was literally appalled at the number of the tombs and the\par coffins! Surely death has reigned, through Adam!\par \par But second (for the fourth time in this chapter), God now uses the\par words "much more," applying them to those who accept the abundance of\par His grace and of His gift of righteousness, saying these shall\par reign-as-kings in life through the One, even Jesus Christ. Look now at\par this expression, reign-as-kings in life. I am writing this during the\par week of the coronation of George VI of England, and have heard of the\par splendors with which the ceremony was attended; and we do thank God\par for the British Empire, and honor, with her subjects, her monarch.\par But, ah, believer, look closely at these words of Paul, reigning in\par life. Here is a kingdom before which all of earth is dust. And who are\par the kings here? Believers! Those whose humble faith has "received the\par abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness": these shall\par reign-as-kings through Jesus Christ.\par \par God has "the ages to come" in which to manifest fully this mighty\par reigning! But it is already begun for those in Christ. Gideon,\par speaking of certain Israelites, asked the kings of Midian, "What\par manner of men were they?" "As thou art, so were they," they answered;\par "each one resembled the children of a king." "They shall reign forever\par and ever," is God's description of the saints of the New Jerusalem\par (Rev. 22:5). And their reign has already, in this life, begun; because\par they are in Christ the mighty Victor! Satan would fain keep from your\par ears this news, believer, that you stand in the abundance of God's\par grace; that you have received the gift of righteousness in Christ; and\par that you are to reign-as-a-king-in-life now and forever, through the\par One, Jesus Christ. May God awaken us to the facts! [118] Satan is\par deathly jealous of the Church of God, which is already in the\par heavenlies, from which he is soon to be cast out. He knows that the\par Church will share Christ's throne and soon reign with Him in\par indescribable glory. Therefore he will blind you, if he can, to your\par present place of royal power of life in Christ. It will, we are sure,\par be a matter of fathomless regret to many Christians, at Christ's\par coming, that their lives on earth were characterized by doubt, defeat\par and depression; rather than by victorious reigning in life in Christ.\par God has no favorites. Each one who is in Christ has a complete Christ.\par The exhortations of the Epistles are addressed alike to all. David\par Livingstone early wrote in his diary, "I have found that I have no\par unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would\par be an uncommon Christian." Concerning such it is written, "Considering\par the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7).\par Let us refuse to be content with a Christian existence that cannot\par finally be summed up as "He reigned in life through Jesus\par Christ,"--over sin, Satan, the world, difficulties, adverse\par surroundings and circumstances. Let us remember the apostles, the\par martyrs. Reformers, godly Puritans, the holy Wesleys, and Whitefields,\par the Havergals and Crosbys; and the humble saints we know, whose\par existence is described by Paul's glorious phrase "reigning in life\par through our Lord Jesus Christ."\par \par Verse 18: So then, just as [the principle was] through one trespass\par unto all men to condemnation; even so also through one righteous [or\par justifying] act [the principle is] unto all men to justification of\par life! Through one trespass [it was] unto all men to condemnation--The\par expression "the many" in verses 15 and 19 indicates the principle of\par the evil effect of the act of the one going forth to others; the\par expression "all men," of verse 18, emphasizes the extent of the\par application of that principle: absolutely all human beings were\par condemned when Adam sinned.\par \par Now do not question either God's right or His wisdom here, or His\par love. He had the right to have a judgment day of our whole race in\par Eden, in our head, Adam; and He did so. He always does right.\par Furthermore, He knew that creatures would ever fail,--there is no\par sufficiency in the creature, but only in the Creator. You and I would\par fail, as did Adam! and God desired that believers should be secure\par forever, by Christ's work. It was in love He held that judgment day in\par  Eden. In love He judged us, condemned us, in our federal head, Adam,\par that He might justify us in the work and Person of the other federal\par Head, Christ!\par \par The ordinary conception of justification does not go beyond the pardon\par of sin. This indeed is first; and we should also have confidence that\par our sins will never be reckoned against us--whether they be past,\par present, or future sins. This is seen in Chapter 4:7, 8; and in\par Chapter 5:9, we see ourselves "justified in His blood," "justified\par from all things," as Paul says in Acts 13:39. But this leaves the\par believer without a positive standing. We do not come to "justification\par of life" [119] until Chapter 5:18.\par \par Now it is Christ Risen who is made our "standing": so that, as we see\par else where, we do not need aught else: for we are in Christ.\par Justification provides therefore not only release from the penalty of\par sin, but also a place in the Risen Christ Himself. This begins to be\par indicated in Chapter Four, where righteousness is reckoned to those\par who "believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." It is,\par of course, necessarily comprehended in the astonishing phrase IN\par CHRIST JESUS,--used first in Chapter 6:11! And it is amplified and\par developed through the rest of Paul's epistles. In I Corinthians 1:30\par we see that Christ Himself, Risen, was made unto the believer,\par righteousness. Paul also in Galatians 2:20, 21 directly connects his\par having been "crucified with Christ" with righteousness. That is, the\par history in Adam of believers was ended at the cross. (Yet always\par remember that it was as ungodly ones that they believed!)\par \par In Colossians 1:12 we read: "Giving thanks unto the Father, who made\par us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."\par Then hear again that most stupendous utterance of all: "Him who knew\par no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the\par righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:21). It is this glorious\par revelation, which men have been loathe to read, teach, or refer to,\par which we must apprehend by God's grace, and by that grace believe!\par \par Now, how, in what sense, are we "the righteousness of God" in Christ?\par \par It is at once evident that to set us in His own presence in Christ as\par He has done, God must ( I ) reckon to us the infinitely perfect\par expiation of Christ in putting away our sin by His blood; (2) make us\par one with Christ in His death; and (3) place us in Christ Risen, even\par as Christ is received before Him. All this He has done; so that He\par says we are the righteousness of God in Christ. If we are in Christ,\par we are before God in Christ, "even as He,"--"accepted in Him."\par \par Verse 19: For just as through the disobedience ot the one man the many\par were set down as sinners, even so, through the obedience of the One\par the many shall be set down as righteous.\par \par Set down as sinners--the word "sinners," here, is not an adjective\par (sinful), but a substantive,--sinners. [120] Verse 19 first sums up\par the doctrine of our federal guilt by Adam's sin, then sums up our\par justification by Christ's death.\par \par The whole emphasis of verses 12 to 19 is upon the fact that the\par effect, whether in the case of Adam or in the case of Christ was\par produced by a federal head acting apart from any actions of those\par affected. There was a judgment held in Eden, by the righteous God, the\par pronouncement of which is, "unto all men to condemnation.'' [121]\par This, of course, has no reference to eternal damnation, which is a\par consequence of the rejection of "the Light which has come into the\par world"--men loving darkness rather than light "because their deeds are\par evil." But it does assert a judgment of sinnerhood, by the guilt of\par Adam's action, upon the whole human race.\par \par The whole lesson of this passage is, that just as we have Christ only\par as our righteousness, we have Adam only as sin and death to us. (God's\par Word, however, puts Adam's act and its effect first, as a type of\par Christ's work.) We repeat these things over and over, because of their\par importance, both for our settled peace, and also for our enjoyment of\par the normal, joyous Christian life.\par \par Even so through the obedience of the One--This was our Lord's death,\par as an act of obedience: [122] "He became obedient unto death, yea, the\par death of the cross." He was of course always obedient to His Father,\par but it cannot be too strongly emphasized that His life before the\par cross,--His "active obedience" as it is called, is not in any sense\par counted to us for righteousness. "I delivered to you," says Paul,\par "first of all, that Christ died for our sins." Before His death He was\par "holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners." He Himself said:\par "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth\par alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Do you not see\par that those who claim that our Lord's righteous life under Moses' Law\par is reckoned to us for our "active" righteousness; while His death in\par which He put away our sins, is, as they claim, the "passive" side, are\par really leaving you, and the Lord too, under the authority of the Law?\par \par "Justified in (the value or power of) His blood," and of that alone,\par gives the direct lie to the claim that man must have "an active\par righteousness" as well as "a passive righteousness." The specious\par assertion is, that "inasmuch as we have all broken the Law (although\par God says that Gentiles were `without law'--and those in Christ are not\par under it!) and inasmuch as man cannot by his works himself recover his\par righteous standing, Christ, forsooth, came and kept The Law in man's\par place (!); and then went to the cross and suffered the penalty of\par death for man's guilt so that the result is an `active righteousness'\par reckoned to man:--that is, Christ's keeping The Law in man's place;\par and, second, a `passive righteousness,' which consists in the putting\par away of all guilt by the blood of Christ."\par \par Now, the awful thing here is the unbelief concerning man's\par irrecoverable state before God. For not only must Christ's blood be\par shed in expiation of our guilt; but we had to die with Christ. We were\par connected with the old Adam; and the old man--all we had and were in\par Adam, must be crucified--if we were to be "joined to Another, even to\par Him that was raised from the dead." Theological teaching since the\par Reformation has never set forth clearly our utter end in death with\par Christ, at the cross.\par \par The fatal result of this terrible error is to leave The Law as\par claiment over those in Christ: for, "Law has dominion over a man as\par long as he liveth" (7:1). Unless you are able to believe in your very\par heart that you died with Christ, that your old man was crucified with\par Him, and that you were buried, and that your history before God in\par Adam the first came to an utter end at Calvary, you will never get\par free from the claims of Law upon your conscience. [123]\par \par I say again, that the Law was given to neither Adam. The first Adam\par had life: God did not give him law whereby to get life! Not until\par Moses did the Law come in, and then only as an incidental thing to\par reveal to man his condition. The Law was not given to the first Adam,\par nor to the human race; but to Israel only (Deut. 4:5-8; 33:1-5; Ps.\par 147:19, 20). Again, the Law was not given to the Last Adam! "The Last\par Man Adam became a life-giving spirit": this is Christ, Risen from the\par dead, at God's right hand, communicating spiritual life. Is He under\par law? It is only the desperate legality of man's heart, his\par self-confidence, that makes him drag in the Law, and cling to the\par Law,--even though Christ must fulfil it for him! "Vicarious\par law-keeping" is Galatian heresy!\par \par Our Lord said plainly that His work in this world was to die: "The Son\par of Man came to give His life a ransom"; and indeed, "through the\par Eternal Spirit He offered Himself without blemish unto God." True, He\par must be a spotless Lamb. But for what? For sacrifice! He did not touch\par our case, had no connection with us, until God laid our sins upon Him\par and made Him to become sin for us at the cross. Christ was not one of\par our race, "the sons of men": He was the Seed of the woman, not the\par man. He was the Son of Man, indeed, for God prepared for Him a body\par (Ps. 40; Heb. 10), by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But,\par though He moved among sinners, He was "separated from sinners," and\par had no connection with them `until God made Him their sin offering at\par the cross.\par \par Christ Himself, Risen, is our righteousness. His earthly life under\par the Law is not our righteousness. We have no connection with a Christ\par on earth and under the Law. We are expressly told in Rom. 7:1-6, that\par even Jewish believers who have been under law were made dead to the\par Law by the Body of Christ, that they might be joined to Another, even\par to Him who was raised from the dead. One has beautifully said,\par "Christianity begins with the resurrection."\par \par Verse 20: Law, moreover, came in alongside [of sin] that the trespass\par [of law] might abound--The reference to law here shows that Paul has\par justification from guilt, and not our state of sinfulness, in view.\par "Law entered alongside" (pareiselthen) [124] not, in this connection,\par to reveal sinfulness, but thatthe trespass of law,--the act of\par law-breaking might abound. The Law, being given to neither Adam, came\par in alongside sin,--after sin had been there 2500 years, that vain\par self-confident Israel (as a public example for us all!) might see\par God's standard for those in the first Adam, and promising to obey it,\par fail; and thus know sin in order that Grace might overflow. That so,\par where sin had reigned, Grace might reign-as-king, through the\par righteous work of Christ on the cross, unto eternal life, through\par Jesus Christ our Lord.\par \par Thus neither our sins nor our "sinful nature" has, in this passage,\par anything to do with our condemnation: but Adam's act only. And not our\par new life in Christ, nor our walking in the good works unto which we\par are created (Eph. 2:10), has anything to do with constituting us\par righteous, but Christ's act of death only (vv. 18, 19). As we have\par said, law "came in alongside,"--not as in any sense a means of\par salvation, but that Israel (and through Israel, all of us) might\par discover guiltiness by breaking law; for law gives no power to keep\par law!\par \par But, where sin abounded, grace did completely overflow. Grace began to\par work for Israel immediately after the Law was broken! For instead of\par cutting off Israel as a nation, God appointed Moses a mediator; and\par when sin came to a climax with the Jews' crucifying their Messiah, the\par Lord's words were "Father, forgive them." And as we shall read in\par Chapter Eleven, God will indeed yet forgive them,--will take away\par their sins and "bring in everlasting righteousness." Grace will yet\par over flow for Israel, nationally, as it has now overflowed to us as\par individual sinners, both Jews and Gentiles.\par \par "Where sin abounded, grace overflowed," for such is ever the result of\par the work of the cross. Paul, who had been Christ's greatest enemy, the\par chief of sinners, declares himself to be the great example of mercy\par and grace: "I obtained mercy," he says "that in me as chief might\par Jesus Christ show forth all His long-suffering, for an example of them\par that should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life." And again:\par "By the grace of God I am what I am" (I Cor. 15:10; I Tim. 1:16).\par \par We might turn to David and Manasseh in the Old Testament as examples\par of the overflowing heart of mercy of God. Or we might call up such\par examples in Church History as the reckless profligate Augustine, whom\par God made a shining light in His Church; or John Bunyan, the profane\par tinker, who wrote his wonderful experience of the Divine goodness in\par "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners"; or John Newton, once a\par libertine and infidel, "a servant of slaves in Africa," as he wrote of\par himself for his epitaph,--whom God transformed into one of the great\par vessels of mercy of the eighteenth century, and whose hymns of praise\par all the saints sing. It was Newton who wrote:\par \par \par "Amazing grace! how sweet the sound\par \par That saved a wretch like me."\par \par and who told his own experience--so really that of all the saints--in\par the words of the beautiful hymn:\par \par \par "In evil long I took delight\par \par Unawed by shame or fear,\par \par Till a new object met my sight,\par \par And stopped my wild career.\par \par \par "I saw One hanging on a tree,\par \par In agonies and blood;\par \par Who fixed His languid eyes on me,\par \par As near His cross I stood.\par \par \par "Sure, never till my latest breath,\par \par Can I forget that look;\par \par It seemed to charge me with His death,\par \par Though not a word He spoke.\par \par \par "My conscience felt and owned the guilt,\par  \par And plunged me in despair,\par \par I saw my sins His blood had spilt,\par \par And helped to nail Him there.\par \par \par "Alas, I knew not what I did,\par \par But all my tears were vain;\par \par Where could my trembling soul be hid,\par \par For I the Lord had slain!\par \par \par "A second look He gave, that said,\par \par `I freely all forgive!\par \par This blood is for thy ransom paid,\par \par I died that thou mayest live.'"\par \par On November 18, 1834, Robert Murray McCheyne, of St. Peter's Free\par Church, Dundee, Scotland, whose memory is like ointment poured forth,\par wrote his remarkable confession that his sins had caused Christ's\par death. The title, "Jehovah Tsidkenu," is the Hebrew for "The Lord Our\par Righteousness." Let it serve our use also, as it has that of\par thousands:\par \par JEHOVAH TSIDKENU\par \par \par "I once was a stranger to grace and to God,\par \par I knew not my danger, and felt not my load;\par \par Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.\par \par \par "I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage,\par \par Isaiah's wild measure, and John's simple page;\par \par But e'en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree,\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.\par \par \par "Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,\par \par I wept when the waters went over His soul;\par \par Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu--'twas nothing to me.\par \par \par When free grace awoke me, with light from on high\par \par Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;\par \par No refuge, no safety, in self could I see,--\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu my Savior must he.\par \par \par "My terrors all vanished before the sweet Name;\par \par My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came\par \par To drink at the fountain, life-giving and free--\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.\par \par \par "Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast;\par \par Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne'er can be lost;\par \par In Thee I shall conquer, by flood and by field--\par \par My cable, my anchor, my breastplate and shield!"\par \par We might multiply examples like these: but these words, "Where sin\par abounded, grace did completely overflow," with the salvation of Saul\par of Tarsus as the Scripture example, will suffice. I stood on the bluff\par at Memphis, Tennessee, and saw the mighty Mississippi, normally a mile\par wide, stretch over forty miles in flood, covering deep under its\par multitude of waters the land as far as I could see. So, where sin\par abounded, the grace of God overflowed everything. [125]\par \par Verse 21: In order that, just as sin reigned-as-king by means of\par death: grace might reign-as-king, through righteousness, unto life\par eternal, through Jesus Christ our Lord. This verse unfolds God's great\par object: that Grace should have a kingdom where Death had had its\par kingdom: and that, of course, through righteousness,--that is, that\par all Divine claims should be first righteously met at the cross, and\par thus that all should be "through Jesus Christ our Lord."\par \par The question of justification is still on in Chapter Five, and not\par until Chapter Six is "our old man"--all we were from Adam--brought in.\par Furthermore, to bring into Chapter Five our sinful state by nature, is\par to confuse our sinful condition with that condemnation which over and\par over God says was brought about by Adam's single act, and by that\par only. "The judgment came of ONE TRESPASS unto condemnation," etc.\par \par Now if you and I were condemned in Adam's sin, it is plain that to be\par justified we must be cleared not only of our own sins, but of our\par condemnation in Adam: our justification must cover all our\par condemnation.\par \par Our justification, is, therefore, in this great passage, related not\par to our personal sins, as in Chapters Three and Four; but to our guilt\par by and in Adam, from which we are cleared by Christ's death. And\par Christ being now raised, we, connected with Him at the cross, now\par share His life: so that our justification is called "justification of\par life" (vs. 18).\par \par It is true that we are not spoken of as "in Christ" until Chapter Six,\par where death with Christ is unfolded and our history in the first Adam,\par and our relation to sin, ended. But Paul speaks of being "justified in\par Christ" (Gal. 2:17). And certainly the subject in the last section of\par Chapter Five is justification: condemnation by Adam's trespass, and\par justification by Christ's righteous act of death.\par \par Thus, not until we come to Chapter Six is our walk, our\par sanctification, taken up. It is true that the doctrine of the two men\par (5:12-21) makes possible of understanding the great fact of Chapter\par Six,--that we died with Christ. But the subject of the latter section\par of Chapter Five is condemnation by Adam, justification by Christ.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [103] As to the Greek text having the subjunctive in verse 1, we\par believe that the Authorized Version and the American Revised Version\par are correct in reading "we have peace" rather than the English Revised\par Version, "Let us have peace." See Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Darby,\par Meyer, Godet and many others. The whole context proves that "we have\par peace" is correct, for the passage is not an exhortation, but an\par assertion of facts and results, true of all those declared righteous\par or justified.\par \par [104] The Romanist will go to "mass" and "confession"; and the\par Protestant "attend church"; but neither will find peace with God by\par these things. Prayers, vows, fastings, church duties, charities--what\par have these to do with peace?--if Christ "made Peace by His blood"!\par \par [105] The difference may be brought out by asking ourselves two\par questions: First. Have I peace with God? Yes; because Christ died for\par me. Second, Have I the peace of God in quietness from the anxieties\par and worries of life in my heart? We see at once that being at peace\par with God must depend on what was done for us by Christ on the cross.\par It is not a matter of experience, but of revelation. On the contrary,\par the peace of God "sets a garrison around our hearts and thoughts in\par Christ Jesus," when we refuse to be anxious about circumstances, and\par "in everything (even the most `trifling' affairs) by prayer and\par supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made known unto\par God." Every `believer is at peace with God, because of Christ's shed\par blood. Not every believer has this "peace of God" within him; for not\par all have consented to judge anxious care and worry as unbelief in\par God's Fatherly kindness and care.\par \par [106] Sanday quotes Ellicott's translation: "Through whom also we have\par had our access," and adds, "`have had' when we first became\par Christians, and now while we are such." And Darby comments: "We are\par not called on to believe that we do believe, but to believe that Jesus\par is the Son of God, by whom we have access, and are brought into\par perfect present favor, every cloud that could hide God's love removed;\par and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God."\par \par [107] 1. A letter that lately came out of Northern Siberia, signed\par "Mary," reads: "The best thing to report is, that I feel so happy\par here. It would be so easy to grow bitter if one lost the spiritual\par viewpoint and began to look at circumstances. I am earning to thank\par God for literally everything that comes. I experienced so many things\par that looked terrible, but which finally brought me closer to Him. Each\par time circumstances became lighter, I was tempted to break fellowship\par with the Lord. How can I do otherwise than thank Him for additional\par hardships? They only help me to what I always longed for--a\par continuous, unbroken abiding in Him. Every so-called hard experience\par is just another step higher and closer to Him." Another recent letter\par from "Mary" reads, "I am still in the same place of exile. There is a\par Godless Society here; one of the members became especially attached to\par me. She said, "I cannot understand what sort of a person you are; so\par many here insult and abuse you, but you love them all" . . . She\par caused me much suffering, but I prayed for her earnestly. Another time\par she asked me whether I could love her. Somehow I stretched out my\par hands toward her, we embraced each other, and began to cry. Now we\par pray together. My dear friends, please pray for her. Her name is\par Barbara" In a letter a month later, "Mary" writes; "I wrote you\par concerning my sister in Christ, Barbara. She accepted Christ as her\par personal Savior, and testified before all about it. We both, for the\par last time, went to the meeting of the Godless. I tried to reason with\par her not to go there, but nothing could prevail. She went to the front\par of the hall, and boldly testified before all concerning Christ. When\par she finished she started to sing in her wonderful voice a well-known\par hymn,\par \par \par `I am not ashamed to testify of Christ, who died for me,\par \par His commandments to follow, and depend upon His cross!'\par The very air seemed charged! She was taken hold of and led away." Two\par months later, another letter came from "Mary": "Yesterday, for the\par first time, I saw our dear Barbara in prison. She looked very thin,\par pale, and with marks of beatings. The only bright thing about her were\par her eyes, bright, and filled with heavenly peace and even joy. How\par happy are those who have it! It comes through suffering. Hence we must\par not be afraid of any sufferings or privations. I asked her, through\par the bars, `Barbara, are you not sorry for what you have done?' `No,'\par she firmly responded, `If they would free me, I would go again and\par tell my comrades about the marvelous love of Christ. I am very glad\par that the Lord loves me so much and counts me worthy to suffer for\par Him.'" The Link\par \par [108] "Proves, as in 3:5" (Meyer); "establishes" (Godet); "confirms"\par (Calvin); "manifests" (Haldane); "gives proof of" (Alford);\par "demonstrates" (Williams); "commendeth" (Sanday). The English word\par "commendeth" happily covers the double meaning of the Greek: (1)\par approving or establishing things, and (2) recommending persons (16:1).\par \par [109] "In sovereign grace He rises above the sin, and loves without a\par motive, save what is in His own nature and part of His glory. Man must\par have a motive for loving, God has none but in Himself, and `commendeth\par His love to us' (and the `His' is emphatic as to this very point), in\par that, while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us; the best thing in\par heaven that could be given for the vilest, most defiled, and guilty\par sinners" (Darby).\par \par [110] To illustrate reconciliation: Suppose I am the master of a\par school and I make a rule that there is to be no profane swearing. I\par write that rule on the blackboard, and the whole school sees and hears\par it. The penalty I announce, too: there is to be a whipping if any one\par breaks the rule. Now, there is a boy named John Jones in my school, a\par boy I am fond of. At recess-time he swears. Everybody hears him; I\par  hear him; everybody knows I hear him. When I call the school to order,\par all the scholars are looking at me to see what I will do. I have a son\par of my own in that school room, a beloved son, Charles. I call him, and\par we go outside to counsel, while the school waits. I say, "Son, will\par you bear John Jones' whipping for him? He doesn't believe that I love\par him. He thinks I hate him because he has broken my rule. There must be\par a whipping. I must be true to my word, but you know how I love John."\par My son says, "Yes, father, I'll do anything for you that you wish. And\par I love John Jones, too." I bring my boy, Charles, out before the whole\par school, and I say, "This is John Jones whipping I am giving to my son\par Charles. The law of the school was broken by John Jones. I am putting\par the penalty on my boy. He says he will gladly do this for me, and for\par John." Then I whip my son Charles; and I do not spare him. I whip him\par  just as if he were John Jones, just as if he had broken the rule\par himself. When the whipping is over, I say to some scholar, "Go and\par tell John Jones I have nothing against him,--nothing at all. And ask\par him to come and give me his hand." This breaks John Jones up, and he\par comes forward, in tears, and says, "I didn't know you loved me that\par much! I thank you from my heart!" Now he is reconciled from his side,\par to me. But you see I reconciled him to myself, first. I had to deal\par with his disobedience, or be myself unrighteous.\par \par [111] 1.Concerning Christ's bearing in our place God's wrath against\par sin, let us say: To regard God as "angry," or as demanding that Christ\par suffer "the exact equivalent of all the agonies the elect would have\par suffered to all eternity," is to miss the whole meaning of\par propitiation. 1. Remember it is God Himself who "loved us and sent His\par Son to be the propitiation for our sins." God held no enmity against\par us. God loved us. 2. Therefore, strictly speaking, it was not\par punishment which Christ bore on the cross, but wrath. Punishment is\par personal,--against the offender; but wrath upon Christ was against the\par thing--sin. Christ bore that wrath which God's being and nature always\par and forever sustains toward sin. The sinner cannot come nigh Him, but\par must die, must perish in His holy presence,--not because God hates\par him, but because God is the Holy One. Therefore did Christ die,--and\par that forsaken of God under wrath--because He was bearing our sins in\par His own body on the tree. So it was, that, sin being placed on Christ,\par judgment and wrath fell upon Him. So it is, also, that the believer\par has not been "appointed unto wrath" (I Thess. 5:9): the wrath has\par fallen on Christ. 3. The conception that Christ on the cross was\par enduring all the agonies of the elect for all eternity grew directly\par  out of the Romish legalism from which the Reformers did not\par escape,--to wit: that we still have connection with our\par responsibilities in Adam the first; that our history was not ended at\par the cross. But the shed blood brought in before God on the Day of\par Atonement simply witnessed `that a life had been laid down, ended.\par "The sufferings of all the elect for all eternity" could never take\par the place of the laid down life of the great Sacrifice. God did not\par ask for agonies: sin simply could not approach Him! There must be\par banishment of the sinner from His presence--unless a substitute should\par come, who, taking the place of the sinner, and bearing his sin, could\par lay down his life. Such was Christ. He "laid down His life that He\par might take it again," But remember both parts of this great utterance:\par (a) "He laid down His life," bearing our sin, putting it away from\par God's presence forever. But even Christ, when bearing our sin, could\par not, as it were, come nigh God, but was forsaken, under holy wrath\par against sin. Not the agonies of Christ could avail, but that, bearing\par sin, He laid His life down, poured out His soul unto death. Thus He\par owned God's holiness to be absolute and infinite, and said, "It is\par finished." (b) Now in taking up His life again, it was not that life\par which, according to Leviticus 17:11, was "in the blood," because the\par blood was "all one with the life" (Lev. 17:14), and therefore "given\par to make atonement for souls,"; "it was not the blood-life" which He\par took up, but newness of life" in resurrection! God indeed permitted\par man to inflict the terrible sufferings of crucifixion upon His Son.\par But those sufferings were not "the cup" that His Father had given Him\par drink. The cup was the cup of Divine wrath against sin, and it\par involved His being "cut off out of the land of the living" under the\par hand of Divine judgment.\par \par [112] The Greek preposition en in verse 9, is not fully or exactly\par rendered by tht English word "in"; for the Greek en here includes: in\par the shed blood of Christ (vs. 9), as the ground before God of our\par justification; in view of that blood's power as seen by God the\par Justifier; in the eternal availingness of that blood before God; and\par the consequent eternal redemption it has procured. Likewise, in the\par same construction in verse 10, we translate, "in His life": meaning\par that the believer shares that risen life of Christ; that in the power\par of that endless life the believer will abide both now and forever: as\par John says, "we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He\par is, even so are we in this world,"\par \par [113] Federal: in this book we use this word as indicating the action\par of one for all in a representative manner; or for the consequences of\par such action.\par \par [114] Death is a Divine decree: "It is appointed unto men once to die\par and after this cometh judgment," Death involves four consequences:\par First, the utter ending of what we call human life. Second, falling\par consciously into the fearful hands of that power under which men have\par during their lifetime lightly lived, unprotected from the\par indescribable terrors and horrors connected therewith. Third, being\par imprisoned in Sheol or Hades--in "the pit wherein is no water," as was\par Dives in Luke 16. Compare Zech. 9:11. fourth, exposure to the coming\par judgment and its eternal consequences. Of course, the believer is\par rescued from all this--even physical death,--from bodily. "falling\par asleep," if Christ comes during his lifetime! while it is true of all\par saints, those who keep Christ's word, that they shall "never see\par death" (John 8:51). Death and judgment are past for the believer,\par Christ his Substitute having endured them. Nevertheless, in this day\par of mad pleasure-seeking, it certainly behooves all of us to reflect on\par the fearful realities connected with death! (See also Note on Chapter\par 6:23.)\par \par [115] We say, "reigned-as-king," because the Greek word means that.\par Not the power of sin to hold in bondage, as in Chapter Six, is here\par meant; but the royal word, basileuo, is used, denoting sovereignty,\par not mere lordship.\par \par [116] David Brown (in Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's excellent\par commentary) disagrees here, saying: "The `much more' here does not\par mean that we get much more of good by Christ than of evil by Adam (for\par it is not a case of quantity at all); but, that we have much more\par reason to expect,--or, it is much more agreeable to our ideas of God,\par that the many should be benefited by the merits of one; and, if the\par latter has happened, `much more' may we assure ourselves of the\par former." But after all this does not disagree with what we have above\par said, for it is Adam, the sinning creature, on the one hand; and the\par infinitely great and good God, and His grace by His Son Christ, on the\par other. Measure, quantity, must enter in: as, indeed, in saying of God\par "we have much more reason to expect," Dr. Brown tacitly admits. "Much\par more," says Paul, "did the grace"--of whom? GOD. This emphasizing God\par brings out everything!\par \par [117] To the student of Greek (and to others, also), it is most\par instructive to note Paul's use of the words connected with\par righteousness: dikaios means righteous; dikaiosune means\par righteousness; dikaioo is to declare righteous; dikaiosis means\par justification, or the act of declaring one righteous; dikaioma, the\par "righteous act," that makes justification possible.\par \par [118] When Israel inquired of the Lord about Saul, the eon of Kish,\par who had been anointed as their King (for they could not find him), the\par Lord answered, you remember' "Behold, he hath hid himself among the\par stuff." "And they ran and fetched him thence" (I Sam. 10:22-23). How\par sad if some of us who have received the abundance of grace and of the\par gift of righteousness, and whom God desires to be reigning in life in\par Christ, have gotten ourselves hidden "among the stuff,"--of earthly\par goods, and ambitions, "religious" traditions, and the literature of\par this world!\par \par [119] The expression "justification of life" seems to stand over\par against that condemnation and death which came by Adam's trespass. It\par is a characterizing word: What is offered unto all men, through\par Christ's act of righteousness at the cross is not only a cancellation\par of guilt, but life in the Risen One. For, since Adam's sin, there was\par only spiritual death in his race. The words of John 1:4, regarding\par Christ, "In Him was life," describe the only source of life for man.\par And justification must be of life: for those justified are most\par certainly taken, out of their place of death in Adam, and given a\par place of life in Christ.\par \par [120] The Greek word (hamartolos) means not merely one possessed of a\par sinful nature or tendency, but one who is regarded as having committed\par sin. The same word is used in 3:7 and 5:8. "Substantive, hamartolos, a\par sinner; common acceptance, LXX, New Testament, etc."--Liddell and\par Scott. This word is used in N.T. to designate sinners 41 times'\par beginning with Matthew 9:10; five times in Luke 15:1-31, and four\par times in John 9:1-41; and only four times in an adjectival sense (Mark\par 8:38; Luke 5:8; 24:7; Rom 7:13).\par \par [121] Human reasoning is futile and dangerous here. Men form\par themselves into "schools of theology" over this subject, each founding\par a "system" upon his notion of how Adam's trespass affected all. But\par that a man may act before he is born in person of his responsible\par forbear is evident, as we have shown, in the case of Levi, in Heb.\par 7:9.\par \par [122] Vaughan (as so frequently) gives a rendering of startling\par accuracy concerning disobedience and obedience in verse 19: "The one\par (parakoees) is properly, mishearing; the other, hupakoees, submissive\par hearing." Disobedience in its essence is refusal to hearken; and\par obedience is bowing the ear to submissive listening.\par \par [123] "Both Calvinists and Arminians think that the flesh is not so\par bad that it cannot be acted on for God by Christ using the Law of God\par and giving it power through the Spirit"--This is Wm. Kelly's shrewd\par and correct comment.\par \par [124] It is very striking to note that in verse 13 where we read\par "through one man sin entered into the world," the word for entered is\par eiselthen; and now law enters alongside,--the word being the\par same--eiselthen--with the preposition para, alongside, prefixed. And\par so, "through law is the knowledge of sin." Sin entered, and law,\par entering alongside, revealed the sin.\par \par [125] Two entirely different Greek words are translated, in the\par Authorized Version, "abounded." But the first, used of sin, means to\par increase, he augmented; while the Second, used of grace, means to\par abound beyond measure, to overflow. Second (Thayer) These words come\par from entirely different roots, and should have been so distinguished\par in translation. But one who undertakes to express in English the depth\par of the Hebrew, and the extent of the Greek language, will soon\par discover the frequent poverty of the English tongue. Hebrew seems to\par be the language in which God first spoke with men; it is the vehicle\par of praise. But to the Greeks He gave that great intellectual\par development of their "Golden Age" in which their endeavor to perfect\par their language extended even to public assemblies where the most exact\par possible phrasing to express an idea was decided by contest. So when\par our Lord came as "the Savior of the World," that coming, according to\par the grand old Hebrew prophecies, was recorded in the Greek, which\par Alexander the Great had spread throughout the known world. The Romans,\par to whom had been given the power to govern, themselves admitted that\par they must borrow from the Greeks not only their philosophy, but also\par their method and manner of literary expression. Then also when the\par Roman Empire went into collapse, and the dark "Middle Ages" came in,\par the so-called Renaissance was the bringing of the Greek classics into\par crude Europe after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. And above all,\par the translation directly from the Greek New Testament manuscripts of\par our English Scriptures; for men had so long depended upon the faulty\par Latin (or Vulgate) translation. Perhaps the greatest wonder the last\par century and a quarter has seen is the translation into over 800\par tongues and dialects of these same Hebrew and Greek Scriptures--with\par such transforming power that It is written of one Bible-bearing\par missionary, a man of God, in the South Sea Islands: "When he came,\par there were no Christians; when he left, there were no heathen." How\par wonderful that God should have a language of spiritual praise and\par worship--the Hebrew; and a language exact, intellectually rich,--the\par Greek, in which He could express the great doctrines concerning His\par Son! And both languages capable of being reproduced as to their spirit\par and meaning, not only in English, German, and French, but in the\par dialects of the most benighted heathen tribes,-- "every man in his own\par language."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } d#505 Romans 5{\rtf1\ansi\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER FIVE.\par \par The Glorious Results of Justification by Faith: Peace With God, a\par Standing in Grace, Sure Hope of Coming Glory, Present Patience, Joy in\par God. Verses 1-11.\par \par The Two Representative Men, Adam and Christ, Contrasted: Condemnation\par and Death by Adam to All in Him, Justification and Life by Christ to\par All in Him. Verses 12-19.\par \par By the Law, Sin Became Trespass; but GRACE TRANSCENDED ALL! Verse 20.\par \par Grace Now Reigns, "Through Jesus Christ our Lord." Verse 21.\par \par THIS GREAT CHAPTER naturally falls into two parts:\par \par In the first eleven v End, Eternal Life,--God's\par Free Gift in Christ Jesus Our Lord. Verses 15-23.\par \par 1 What then shall we say? Are we to keep on in sin in order that grace\par may be abounding? Far be the thought! 2 Such ones as we,--who died to\par sin! how shall we any longer be living in it?\par \par 3 Or [in the very matter of our baptism] are ye ignorant that all we\par who were baptized unto Christ Jesus unto His death were baptized? 4 We\par were buried therefore [in figure] with Him through that baptism unto\par death; in order that, just as Christ was raised from among the dead\par through the glory of the Father, thus also we might be walking in\par newness of life.\par \par 5 For if we became united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, so\par shall we be also [in the likeness] of His resurrection: 6 coming to\par know this, that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that the\par body of sin might be annulled, that we might no longer be in\par slave-service to sin: 7 for the person who hath died [as have we] is\par justified from sin.\par \par 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also be living\par with Him [in this world]: 9 knowing that Christ having been raised\par from among the dead dieth no more: death over Him no longer hath\par dominion. 10 For in that He died, unto sin He died once for all; but\par in that He is living, He is living unto God. 11 Thus do ye also reckon\par yourselves dead indeed to sin, but alive to God, in Christ Jesus.\par \par WE COME NOW to the second part of Christ's work for us--our\par identification with His death. [126]\par \par It is not until we come to Chapter Six that the question of a holy\par walk as over against a sinful walk, comes up. For the blessed verses\par which describe the results of the discovery of peace with God, and of\par "justification of life" and "reigning in life" through Christ, as\par revealed in Chapter Five, are things of experience, of\par rejoicing,--even in the hope of the glory of God Himself! But the\par question of a holy walk under this "abounding grace" is now brought\par up, in Chapter Six, in the answers to two questions: First, Shall we\par keep sinning that grace may keep abounding? and, Second, The fact\par having been revealed that we are not under the principle of law but\par under that of grace, shall we use our liberty to commit sin? That is,\par Shall we use our freedom from the law-principle for selfish ends?\par \par The answer to the first question is, that for all who are in Christ,\par the old relationship to sin is broken,--for they federally shared\par Christ's death to sin, and are to reckon it so, and walk in "newness\par of life" unto God. The answer to the second question is, that anyone\par "yielding his members" becomes servant that to which he\par yields,--whether of sin unto death, or of righteousness unto\par  sanctification.\par \par Verse 1: Are we to [127] remain in sin that grace may be abounding?\par This question arises constantly, both in uninstructed believers, and\par in blind unbelievers. The message of simple grace, apart from all\par works, to the poor natural heart of man seems wholly inconsistent and'\par impossible. "Why!" people say, "If where sin abounds grace overflows,\par then the more sin, the more grace." So the unbeliever rejects the\par grace plan.\par \par Moreover, the uninstructed Christian also is afraid; for he says, "If\par we are in a reign of pure grace, what will control our conscious evil\par tendencies? We fear such utter freedom. Put us under `rules for holy\par living,' and we can get along."\par \par Another sad fact is that some professing Christians welcome the\par "abounding grace" doctrine because of the liberty they feel it gives\par to things in their daily lives which they know, or could know, to be\par  wrong.\par \par Verse 2: Such ones as we, who died to sin! how shall we any longer be\par living in it?\par \par Here we have, (1) such ones as we (hoitines). This is more than a\par relative pronoun: it is a pronoun of characterization, "placing those\par referred to in a class" (Lightfoot). Paul thus has before his mind all\par Christians, and he places this pronoun at the very beginning: "such\par ones as we!"\par \par (2) He characterizes all Christians as those who died. The\par translation, "are dead" is wrong, for the tense of the Greek verb is\par the aorist, which denotes not a state but a past act or fact. It never\par refers to an action as going on or prolonged. As Winer says, "The\par aorist states a fact as something having taken place." Note how\par strikingly and repeatedly this tense is used in this chapter as\par referring to the death of which the apostle speaks: [128] Mark most\par particularly that the apostle in verse 2 does not call upon Christians\par to die to sin but asserts that they shared Christ's death, they died\par to sin!\par \par (3) Paul here therefore affirms that it was in regard to their\par relationship to sin that believers died. He is asserting concerning\par Christians that they died--not for sin, but unto it.\par \par (4) Paul now asks the question: "How shall those whose relationship to\par sin has been broken by their dying, be still, as once, living in sin?"\par The answer to this can only be, It is an impossibility. In this second\par verse, therefore, the apostle is not making a plea to Christians not\par to live unto sin; but asking how they who died to sin could go on\par living in it. It is as if one would say, Those who died in New York\par City, shall they still be walking the streets of New York City?\par \par This does not mean that all Christians have discovered, or walk in,\par the path of victory over sin; for in this second v erse Paul is\par answering directly the bald bold insinuation of verse 1--that grace\par abounding over sin warrants and enables one believing that doctrine to\par go right on in his old life! We know from other Scriptures the\par impossibility of this: "Whosoever is born of God doth not practise\par sin, because His [God's] seed abideth in him, and he is not able to\par practise sin, because he is begotten of God." [129]\par \par Note the repeated declarations in this Sixth Chapter of our actual\par identification with the death of Christ:\par \par Verse 2: "We who died to sin."\par \par Verse 3: "We were baptized into His death."\par \par Verse 4: "We were buried with Him through baptism into death "\par \par Verse 5: "We became united with Him in the likeness of His death."\par \par Verse 6: "Our old man was crucified with Him."\par \par Verse 7: "He that hath died is justified from sin."\par \par Verse 8: "We died with Christ."\par \ par Verse 11: "Reckon yourselves dead unto sin, but alive unto God in\par Christ Jesus."\par \par Verse 13: "Present yourselves unto God as alive from the dead."\par \par The same great federal fact is brought out in Colossians 2:20: "If ye\par died [aorist tense, past fact, again] from the religious principles of\par the world"; and Colossians 3:3: "For ye died [aorist tense again] and\par your life is hid with Christ in God."\par \par It is most evident that the apostle is not here speaking of some state\par that we are in, but of a federal fact that occurred in the past, at\par the cross.\par \par It was upon this federal fact that Paul's whole life hung, as he\par testified to Peter: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no\par longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20).\par \par Such ones as we, who died to sin! How shall we go on living in it?\par Paul expresses his very soul in that opening word--"Such ones as we !"\par Believers were seen by him as risen ones,--dead with Christ to sin.\par How shall we any longer be living in sin--if indeed we died to it?\par This perplexes many, this announcement that we died to sin,--inasmuch\par as the struggle with sin, and that within, is one of the most constant\par conscious experiences of the believer. But, as we see elsewhere, we\par must not confound our relationship to sin with its presence!\par Distinguish this revealed fact that we died, from our experience of\par deliverance. For we do not die to sin by our experiences: we did die\par to sin in Christ's death. For the fact that we died to sin is a\par Divinely revealed word concerning us, and we cannot deny it! The\par presence of sin "in our members" will make this fact that we died to\par it hard to grasp and hold: but God says it. And He will duly explain\par all to our faith.\par \par Verse 3: Or [in the very matter of our baptism] are ye ignorant that\par all we who were baptized unto Christ Jesus unto His death were\par baptized?\par \par Here the apostle turns them back to their baptism, that initial step\par in public confession of the Lord upon whom they had believed. Did they\par not realize the significance of that baptism--that it set forth their\par identification with a crucified and buried Lord? For in their baptism\par they had confessed their choice of Him, as against sin and the old\par life. But Christ having been "made sin on our `behalf," had died unto\par sin; had been buried, and had been raised from the dead through the\par glory of the Father; and now lived unto God in a new, resurrection\par life.\par \par Therefore they could see in their baptism the picture of that federal\par death and burial with Christ which Paul sets forth so positively in\par the second verse: "Such ones as we, who died."\par \par We must first of all receive the statement of our death unto sin with\par Christ (verses 2 and 11) as a revealed federal fact; and then allow\par the Apostle to press the symbolical setting forth of that federal\par death by the figure of water-baptism. For these early Christians had\par not been befuddled regarding the simple matter of baptism,--as later\par generations have been! To them it was a vivid and happy memory,--the\par day they dared step out, against the whole world, and often in the\par face of persecution and even death, and confess the Lord Jesus,\par definitely and forever, as their own Savior and Lord.\par \par Now, says Paul, in that very matter of your baptism, you set forth\par what I am teaching you, that you who are Christ's died with Him. Not\par only so, but your baptism set forth further that you were buried with\par Him: for was it not a vivid portrayal of your death and burial, when\par you went down into the waters which signified--not cleansing, but\par death? "Water," says Peter, "which after a true likeness doth now save\par you--even baptism: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but\par the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of\par Jesus Christ." Eight souls. Peter here says, were saved in Noah's day\par in the Ark--type of Christ. For those eight were, in the Ark, brought\par safely through the waters of judgment which drowned the world; as we\par were bought, through Christ, safely through the judgment of sin at the\par cross; and now have "a good conscience toward God"--through God's\par having raised up Christ: all of which, baptism sets forth--"after a\par true likeness" (I Pet. 3:20, 21).\par \par Scripture here connects baptism with death, not with cleansing; with\par burial, not with exaltation; with the ending of a former connection\par that we may enter a new one.\par \par Or [in the very matter of our baptism] are ye ignorant that all we who\par were baptized unto Christ Jesus unto His death were baptized? We find\par therefore, here in Romans 6:3:\par \par 1. That Paul, along with all believers of his day, had been baptized.\par He offers no explanatory word, thus showing that the matter of having\par been baptized was a common consciousness among Christians.\par \par 2. That it was unto Christ Jesus that believers had been baptized. The\par preposition "unto" (eis) seems best rendered here as in I Corinthians\par 10:2, where we read that the fathers of Israel were all "baptized unto\par (eis) Moses." Those Israelites were not baptized into Moses, but were\par indeed judicially associated by God with the Mosaic economy,--"into a\par spiritual union with Moses, and constituted his disciples." So\par believers are baptized unto Christ Jesus, which we believe, must be\par the meaning here. They were indeed so "baptized unto the name of the\par Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5), that they thereafter bore His Name (James\par 2:7, marg.). But we must not confuse this water-baptism of Romans Six,\par which stands for the identification of believers with Christ in death,\par burial, and resurrection; with that Holy Spirit baptism of I\par Corinthians 12:13. For our identification with Christ-made-sin, and\par our death in and with Him) must never be confounded with what follows\par our Lord's ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit,--baptism into\par the one Body. These are two absolutely different things. One has to do\par with taking us out of our old man, justifying us from sin, as well as\par from sins. The other, the Spirit's baptism into "one Body," has to do\par with the glorious heavenly position God gives us in a Risen Christ.\par \par To seek to have a man baptized by the Spirit into Christ before he has\par been identified with Christ at the cross in death and burial, is\par really to ignore man's awful state in the old man which God had\par condemned to crucifixion with Christ made sin. So with the\par Bullingerites and many others: they do not distinctly see or solidly\par preach our identification with Christ in death and burial. "Buried\par with Him in baptism"--how can these words of Colossians 2:12 possibly\par apply to the work of the Holy Spirit? We beg all to consider this.\par Death to sin, and burial with Christ, water-baptism, and that alone,\par sets forth.\par \par 3. Unto His death were baptized. Neither must we confuse baptism unto\par Christ Jesus here with that actual identification in Christ's death of\par which baptism is a symbol. That our old man was crucified with Christ\par is one thing; baptism, quite another. However much baptism portrays\par our death with Christ, it in no wise brings about that death. If we\par had not died with Christ, there would be no meaning to baptism.\par \par Certainly baptism sets forth the fact of our death with Christ.\par Christian baptism in water is the Scripture picture,--not of our being\par cleansed, nor of our being introduced into the Body of Christ by the\par Holy Spirit (which is an entirely different matter); and not, of\par course, of our regeneration. But it is a setting forth of the great\par fact that we federally died and were buried with Christ, unto sin,\par unto the world, and unto all of the old creation; and are now raised\par with Him and share His risen life;--on new ground altogether.\par \par Verse 4: We were buried therefore with Him through the baptism unto\par [His] death. Here the apostle declares that all believers by the very\par matter of their baptism, proclaimed themselves as having been so\par identified with Christ's death that they were buried: that their past\par was ended,--not, of course, by the ordinance, though the ordinance\par confessed and proclaimed it. [130] And now the object of our\par identification with Christ's death is set forth: in order that, just\par  as Christ was raised from among the dead through the glory of the\par Father, thus also we might be walking about in newness of life.\par \par Christ on the cross not only bare our sins in His own body, but He was\par also made to be sin,--to be the thing itself. Then God the Father,\par through His glory, raised Him from the dead,--"that working of the\par strength of His might which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him\par from the dead." This was the most marvelous display of glorious.\par Divine power ever known. The words "through the glory of the Father,"\par bring into action all that God is. Christ had fully glorified God in\par all that He is, in His earthly life, and on the cross (as we saw in\par Chapter 3:24 and 25). Then God raised Christ from the dead in glorious\par triumph. And thereafter Christ walked for forty days on earth "in\par newness of life." He was "the First-born from the dead." He was the\par Last Adam, now become (though having His flesh and bones body) "a\par spirit making [others] alive," the Second Man, "a new starting point\par of the human race." The old man was crucified with Christ, and all\par that belonged to "man in the flesh" was ended before God there on\par Christ's cross. Now the "glory of the Father" is put forth in raising\par Christ and placing Him in that risen "newness of life" never known\par before, and in receiving Him up in glory!\par \par Walking in newness of life. Note that walking presupposes the\par possession of life. The literal translation of this word is seen in I\par Peter 5:8, "walking about." [131] Now mark in this verse that it is\par Christ who is raised from the dead, and the saints are to walk,\par consequently, in "newness of life"--showing at once their union with\par Him; that as He was raised, so also they, when they are placed in Him,\par walk about in newness of life.\par \par Note that it is life--not a mere manner of living. Then it is newness,\par or a new kind of life, for that is the meaning of the word.\par Resurrection life was never known until Christ was raised from the\par dead. Lazarus, and the widow of Nain's son and Jairus' daughter, were\par brought back into this present earth-life. Indeed, it is written\par concerning Jairus' daughter, that when the Lord said, "Maiden, arise!"\par her "spirit returned," and she rose up instantly. The spirit had left\par the body, the earth-life had ceased; it was now resumed.\par \par But in Christ's resurrection this was not so. He was the First-born\par from the dead, the First-fruits of them that slept. It was not back\par into the old flesh and blood earthly existence that He came. He had,\par indeed, His body: "Handle Me and see." "Have ye here anything to eat?"\par Yet He had poured out His blood. The life of the flesh was in the\par blood (Lev. 17:11). He had laid that life down. He is now a heavenly\par Man. He is in the heavenlies. And He is there as to His human body:\par "God . . . wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and\par made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenlies." Poor human\par reason attempts to follow here; but this revelation is addressed to\par faith only. The disciples "were glad when they saw the Lord." Into the\par upper room He came, and stood in the midst; and "He showed unto them\par His hands and His side." And Thomas was told, "Reach hither thy\par finger, and see My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into\par My side: and be not faithless, but believing"; and further, "Blessed\par are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."\par \par It is in this newness, this new kind of life, which they now share,\par [132] that believers are to walk about in this world. They are one\par with this Risen Christ! Being "joined unto the Lord," they are "one\par spirit" with Him now; and shall have bodies, shortly, conformed unto\par the body of His glory (I Cor. 6:17; Phil. 3:20, 21).\par \par Verse 5: For if we became united with [Him] in the likeness of His\par death, so shall we be also [in the likeness] of His resurrection: Here\par Paul looks back to verse 2, to the fact he declared true concerning\par all believers, that they died to sin; and he now insists that that\par death is a fact about true believers only--those who have been vitally\par enlifed with Christ. The word means to grow together [133] --as a\par graft in a tree, so that the graft shares the tree's life. The meaning\par of Verse 5 may be paraphrased: If we became actually united with Him,\par which, in our baptism--the "likeness of His death," we profess; so we\par shall also be united in the likeness of His resurrection: (so\par therefore to be walking in newness of life!). Conybeare well remarks\par concerning verse 5: "The meaning appears to be, If we have shared the\par reality of His death, whereof we have undergone the likeness" (in\par baptism).\par \par Now when the apostle says we are to be united with "the likeness of\par His resurrection," he refers to the walking in "newness of life" just\par spoken of in the preceding verse. (For this verse explains that.) To\par be joined in life with the Risen Christ, and thus daily, hourly, to\par walk, is a wonder not conceived of by many of us. But it is the\par blessed portion of all true Christians. They shared Christ's death,\par and now are "saved by [or in] His life"--as we read in Chapter 5:10.\par But not only saved: we walk here on earth by appropriating faith, in\par the blessedness of His heavenly "newness" of resurrection life! This\par is what Paul meant when he said, "To me to live is Christ"; "our\par inward man is being renewed day by day"; "I was crucified with Christ;\par Christ liveth in me . . . the life I now live in the flesh I live by\par the faith of the Son of God."\par \par Of course this fifth verse may look on, also, to that day when our\par bodies will share this resurrection-life,--as we have seen in the\par verse before; but the context here shows Paul is speaking of our\par "walking about in newness of life" in Christ today!\par \par We reap the exact effect of what Christ did. Did Christ bear our sins\par in His own body on the tree? He did. Then we hear them no more. Was\par Christ made to be sin on our behalf and did He die unto sin? Truly so.\par Then Christ's relation to sin becomes ours!\par \par Verse 6: Coming to know this, that our old man was crucified with Him,\par in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we might no\par longer be in slave service to sin. The word translated "coming to\par know," means, in the Greek, coming into knowledge ,--a discriminating\par apprenhension of facts. See note below. [134]\par \par Our old man--This is our old selves, as we were in and from Adam. It\par is contrasted with the new man (Col. 3:9, 10)--which is what we are\par and have in Christ. The word our indicates that what is said, is said\par of and to all those who are in Christ. The expression "our old man,"\par of course is a federal one, as also is "the new man." The "old man,"\par therefore, is not Adam personally, any more than the "new man" is\par Christ personally. Also, we must not confuse the "old man" with "the\par flesh." Adam begat a son in his own likeness. This son of Adam, as all\par since, was according to Adam,--for he was in Adam; possessed of a\par "natural" mind, feelings, tastes, desires,--all apart from God. He was\par his father repeated. Cain is a picture before us of the meaning of the\par words, "the old man." Moreover, since man's activities were carried on\par in and through the body, he is now morally "after the flesh." Inasmuch\par as his spirit was now dead to God, sin controlled him both spirit and\par soul, through the body. And thus we read a little later, in the Sixth\par of Genesis, upon the recounting of the horrible lust and violence that\par filled the earth, God's statement: "In their going astray, they are\par flesh!" (R. V. margin.) What a fearful travesty of one created in the\par image of God, and into whose Divinely formed body God had breathed the\par spirit of life, so that he was "spirit and soul and body" (I Thess.\par 5:23); and with his innocent spirit able to speak with his Creator!\par with his unfallen soul-faculties, and with body in blessed harmony.\par \par When we are told, for instance, in Colossians, that we have put off\par the old man, we know that we are being addressed as new creatures in\par Christ, and that the old man represents all we naturally\par were,--desires, lusts, ambitions, hopes, judgments: looked at as a\par whole federally: we used to be that--now we have put that off. We\par recognize it again in the words "Put away as concerning your former\par manner of life the old man" (Eph. 4:22).\par \par 1. First, then, our old man was crucified (Romans 6:6). That is a\par Divine announcement of fact.\par \par 2. Those in Christ have put off the old man.\par \par 3. He still exists, for "the old man waxeth corrupt after the lusts of\par deceit" (Eph. 4:22).\par \par 4. He is to be put away as belonging to our former manner of life: for\par we are in Christ and are "new creatures; old things are passed away;\par behold they are become new" (II Cor. 5:17).\par \par Now as regards the flesh:\par \par 1. While our old man has been crucified, by God, with Christ at the\par cross,--the federal thing was done; yet of the flesh we read, "They\par that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions\par and the lusts thereof" (Gal. 5:24).\par \par 2. The flesh has passions and lusts.\par \par 3. It has a mind directly at enmity with God.\par \par 4. As we shall see in Chapter Seven, the flesh is the manifestation of\par sin in the as yet unredeemed body. "Our old man," therefore, is the\par large term, the all-inclusive one--of all that we were federally from\par Adam. The flesh, however, we shall find to be that manifestation of\par sin in our members with which we are in conscious inward conflict,\par against which only the Holy Spirit indwelling us effectively wars. Our\par bodies are not the root of sin, but do not yet share, as do our\par spirits, the redemption that is in Christ. And as for our souls (our\par faculties of perception, reason, imagination, and our\par sensibilities),--our souls are being renewed by the indwelling Holy\par Spirit. Not so the body. "The flesh," which is sin entrenched in the\par body, is unchangeably evil, and will war against us till Christ comes.\par Only the Holy Spirit has power over "the flesh" (Chapter 8:1).\par \par Our old man was crucified--The matter of which we are told to take\par note here is the great federal fact that our old man was crucified\par with Christ. Perhaps no more difficult task, no task requiring such\par constant vigilant attention, is assigned by God to the believer. It is\par a stupendous thing, this matter of taking note of and keeping in mind\par what goes so completely against consciousness,--that our old man was\par crucified. These words are addressed to faith, to faith only.\par Emotions, feelings, deny them. To reason, they are foolishness. But\par ah, what stormy seas has faith walked over! What mountains has faith\par cast into the sea! How many impossible things has faith done!\par \par Let us never forget, that this crucifixion was a thing definitely done\par by God at the cross, just as really as our sins were there laid upon\par Christ. It is addressed' to faith as a revelation from God. Reason is\par blind. The "word of the cros s" is "foolishness" to it. All the work\par consummated at the cross seems folly, if we attempt to subject it to\par man's understanding. But, just as the great wonder of creation is\par understood only by faith: ("By faith we understand that the worlds\par have been framed by the Word of God,"--Heb. 11:3) so the eternal\par results accomplished at the cross are entered into by simple faith in\par the testimony of God about them.\par \par No, it is no easy or light thing that is announced to you and me, that\par all we were and are from Adam has been rejected of God. Scripture is\par not now dealing with what we have done, but with what we are.\par \par And really to enter spiritually into the meaning of this awful word,\par Our old man was crucified, involves, with all of us, deep exercise of\par soul. For no one by nature will be ready to count himself so\par incorrigibly bad as to have to be crucified! But when the Spirit of\par God turns the li!ght upon what we are, from Adam, these will be blessed\par words of relief: "Our old man was crucified."\par \par Now here is the very opposite of the teaching of false Christianity\par about a holy life. For these legalists set you to crucifying yourself!\par You must "die out" to this, and to that. But God says our old man, all\par that we were, has been already dealt with,--and that by crucifixion\par with Christ. And the very words "with Him" show that it was done back\par at the cross; and that our task is to believe the good news, rather\par than to seek to bring about this crucifixion ourselves.\par \par The believer is constantly reminded that his relation to sin was\par brought about by his identification with Christ in His death: Christ\par died unto sin, and the believer shared that death, died with Him, and\par is now, therefore, dead unto sin. This is his relationship to sin--the\par same as Christ's now is; and believing this is to be his" constant\par attitude.\par \par Difficulty there will be, no doubt, in taking and maintaining\par constantly this attitude: but faith will remove the difficulty, and\par faith here will grow out of assiduous, constant attention to God's\par exact statements of fact. We are not to go to God in begging petitions\par for "victory,"--except in extreme circum stances. We are to set\par ourselves a very different task: "This is the work of God, that ye\par believe" We may often be compelled to cry, with the father of the\par demoniac, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!" But it is still\par better to have our faces toward the foe, knowing ourselves to be in\par Christ, and that we have been commanded to reckon ourselves dead to\par sin, no matter how great and strong sin may appear. Satan's great\par device is to drive earnest souls back to beseeching God for what God\par says has already been done!\par \par "Our old man was crucified with Ch#rist." This is our task: to walk in\par the faith of these words. Upon this water God commands us to step out\par and walk. And we are infinitely better off than was Peter that night,\par when he "walked on the water to come to Jesus"; whereas we are in\par Christ. And our relationship to sin is His relationship! He died unto\par it, and we, being in Christ Risen, are in the relationship Christ's\par death brought about in Him, and now to us who are in Him: whether to\par sin, law death, or the world.\par \par If I did not die with Christ, on the cross, I cannot be living in Him,\par risen from the dead; but am still back in the old Adam in which I was\par born!\par \par Christ died once--once for all, unto sin. He is not dying continually.\par I am told to reckon myself dead--in that death of Christ. I am\par therefore not told to do my own dying, to sin and self and the world:\par but, on the contrary, to reckon by simple faith, that in His death$ I\par died: and to be "conformed unto His death." But, to be conformed to a\par death already a fact, is not doing my own dying,--which is Romanism.\par If you and I are able to reckon ourselves dead--in Christ's death: all\par will be simple.\par \par That the body of sin might be annulled--The word for "annulled" is\par katargeo. See note on Chapter 4:14. The meaning is, to "put out of\par business." The "body of sin" refers to our bodies as yet unredeemed,\par and not delivered from sin's rule; as Paul says in the Eighth Chapter:\par "If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin." Now we shall\par find that we have no power to deliver our body, our members, from "the\par law of sin" (See Chapter 7:8-24). But since our old man has been\par crucified with Christ, all the rights of sin are gone; and the\par indwelling Holy Spirit can annul "the body of sin"; thus delivering us\par from sin's bondage. We know the Spirit is not mentioned here% (as He\par will be constantly in Chapter Eight); but inasmuch as it is His work\par to apply all Christ's work to us, we speak of His blessed annulling of\par the power of indwelling sin. It is blessed to know that we do not have\par to crucify the old man: that was done in Christ's federal death at the\par cross. Nor do we have to "annul" the "body of sin": that is done by\par the blessed Spirit as we yield to Him.\par \par Verse 7: For he that hath died hath been declared righteous from sin!\par \par We must seize fast hold of this blessed verse.\par \par Let us distinguish at once between being justified from sins--from the\par guilt thereof--by the blood of Christ, and being justified from\par sin--the thing itself.\par \par "Justified from sin" is the key to both Chapters Six and Seven and\par also to Eight! It is the consciousness of being sinful that keeps back\par saints from that glorious life Paul lived. Paul shows absolutely no\par & sense of bondage before God; but goes on in blessed triumph! Why? He\par knew he had been justified from all guilt by the blood of Christ; and\par he knew that he was also justified, cleared, from the thing sin\par itself: and therefore (though walking in an, as yet, unredeemed body),\par he was wholly heavenly in his standing, life and relations with God!\par He knew he was as really justified from sin itself as from sins. The\par conscious presence of sin in his flesh only reminded him that he was\par in Christ;--that sin had been condemned judicially, as connected with\par flesh, at the cross; and that he was justified as to sin; because he\par had died with Christ, and his former relationship to sin had wholly\par ceased! Its presence gave him no thought of condemnation, but only\par eagered his longing for the redemption body. "Justified from\par sin"--because, "he that hath died is justified from sin." Glorious\par fact! May we have faith to ente'r into it as did Paul! [135]\par \par It is the deep-seated notion of Christendom that gradually we become\par saints,--gradually worthy of heaven: so that sometime,--perhaps, on a\par dying bed, we will have the right to "drop this robe of flesh and\par rise."\par \par But Scripture cuts this idea off at once, by the declaration that we\par died, and that we are now, here, justified from sin! "Giving thanks\par unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance\par of the saints in light." The saints in light are those in glory, and\par they are there for one reason alone: the work of Christ on the cross.\par \par How unspeakably sad is our little faith! And I am speaking of true\par believers, certainly.\par \par 1. Many have turned truly to God, but not knowing the finished work of\par Christ, that is, that He actually bare their sins and put them away,\par are never sure of their own salvation.\par \par 2. Many have app(ropriated gladly Christ's finished work, as respects\par the guilt of their sins, and they no longer have apprehensions of\par judgment, knowing that He met all God's claims against them on the\par cross. But as to their relation to sin itself, it is an\par "O-wretched-man" life that they live, for they see honestly their own\par sinfulness and unworthiness, but have never heard how they are now in\par a Christ who died to sin, and that they share His relationship now,\par dead to sin and alive to God (6:10, 11).\par \par 3. Thank God, there are some who have seen and believed in their\par hearts that their relationship to sin itself was completely changed\par when God identified them with Christ in His death. Their relationship\par to sin was broken forever; and they present themselves unto God as\par alive from the dead, and, through an ever increasing faith, walk about\par on earth in newness of life; knowing that the same God who declared\par th)em justified from the guilt of their sins through Christ's shed\par blood, has now declared that, in being identified with Christ in His\par death to sin, they are themselves declared righteous [136] from sin\par itself!\par \par As we have elsewhere remarked, relief from guilt and danger, through\par the shed blood of Christ, comes first. And the conscience concerning\par judgment being relieved, the heart ever rests in the blood of Christ.\par But to have God tell us further, that we, having died with Christ, are\par declared righteous from sin itself, is a new, additional, and glorious\par revelation, which sets us in the presence of God not only declared\par righteous from what we have done, but declared righteous from what we\par were--and as to our flesh, still are! We should have no more dejection\par and self-condemnation when we see our old selves; for we have been\par declared righteous from that old state of being, as well as from what\par * we had done! Very excellent and godly men, not recognizing this\par blessed fact, have spent much time before God "bemoaning the\par sinfulness" of their now revealed old nature. But this was really not\par to recognize the Word of God that we have been justified, declared\par righteous, from the old state of being, from sin itself! [137]\par \par If Gabriel, the presence angel, were to appear before you, your\par natural thought would be. He is holy, sinless; and I am unholy,\par sinful. Therefore, I am not worthy to stand in his presence. But this\par would be completely wrong. If you are in Christ, you stand in\par Christ,--in Christ alone,--even as He! The presence of sin in the\par flesh has no more power to trouble your conscience, than have your\par sins: for both were dealt with at the cross! Your old man was\par crucified, sin in the flesh was condemned (8:3) at the cross. And Paul\par definitely declares that we have now come "to the innumer+able hosts of\par angels," as well as that we have been made meet to be "partakers of\par the inheritance of the saints in light"!\par \par One of the most astonishing things (and yet, why astonishing?) that\par came to us in the study of the book of the Revelation was, that once\par the apostle John had "fallen as one dead" at the feet of the glorified\par Christ, in Chapter One, and the Lord had "laid His right hand" upon\par him, saying, "Fear not, I am the First and the Last, and the Living\par One, and I became dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have\par the keys of death and of Hades" (Rev. 1:17, 18)--after that, John, all\par unconsciously, but really, fears nothing, and no one! Not even the\par vision of the glorious throne in heaven before which the four living\par ones and the four and twenty elders are falling down, crying, "Holy,\par Holy, Holy," stirs John with the least emotion of fear or shrinking.\par In fact, he is foun,d weeping because no one can take the sealed book.\par Not once is he concerned about his own moral or spiritual condition.\par He goes boldly up to the mighty angel in the Tenth Chapter, requesting\par according to Divine direction, that he give him the little book in his\par hand. Twice he falls at the feet of the angelic messenger that is\par revealing these glorious things to him, but it is not on account of a\par sense of moral or spiritual unfitness, but rather a being enraptured,\par overwhelmed with the glory of the scene.\par \par Now why is this? Or how could Paul be caught up to the third heaven,\par into Paradise, and hear unspeakable words?\par \par Simply because the work of the cross was complete! Not only were sins\par put away by the blood of Christ, but our connection with Adam was\par ended, our old man was crucified, we died to sin; our former history\par was completely over, before God. Thus it is written, as we quoted,\par "Gi-ving thanks unto the Father who made us meet to be partakers of the\par inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12).\par \par Now as to the fact, all this is as true of us here on earth, as it\par will be in the ages to come. Our realization of the truth may be\par small; yea, sad to say, our faith may be weak; but the fact is the\par same!\par \par How utterly marvelous, then, to know that we have been justified from\par sin itself. Not only has it lost all right and power over us, but we\par are declared righteous from the hideous thing itself; we are standing\par with God, in Christ, outside the region of sin, "children of light,"\par yea, even called "light in the Lord" (Eph. 5:8).\par \par Verse 8: But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also be\par living with Him [in this world].\par \par Here we take it for granted that we died; that our old man was\par crucified with Christ. And we go on to the expectation of a blessed\p.ar life in Christ. For it is not only that we shall "live with Him" in\par resurrection glory when He comes, but even now we walk in newness of\par life in Him, as verses 10 and 13 set forth. This is no uncertain\par confidence, because "Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no\par more." The brief lordship of death over Him is ended forever, and it\par is His death and life we share.\par \par Meyer well paraphrases: "Whosoever has died with Christ is now also of\par the belief that his life, i.e., the positive, active side of his moral\par being and nature, shall be a fellowship of life with the exalted\par Christ; that is, shall be able to be nothing else than this." And\par Rotherham: "If we jointly died with Christ,--we believe that we shall\par also jointly live with Him." And Conybeare: "If we have shared the\par death of Christ, we believe that we shall also share His life."\par \par This word, shall also be living with Him, must finally/ include,\par doubtless, the consummation of our salvation at the coming of Christ,\par and the fashioning anew of our mortal bodies. But the word refers\par directly to that expressed by Paul in Galatians 2:20: "I have been\par crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ\par that liveth in me." Here in Romans Six it is called a living with Him,\par as over against our death with Him. Hodge well says: "The future tense\par is used here, referring not to what is to happen hereafter, so much as\par to what is the certain consequence of our union with Christ." And\par Alford: "The future (`we shall also live with Him') as in verse 5, is\par used, because the life with Him, though here begun, is not here\par completed."\par \par And now the reason for this assurance that we shall keep on sharing\par the risen life of Christ, is given:\par \par Verse 9: Knowing that Christ having been raised from among the dead\par dieth no mo0re: death over Him no longer hath dominion.\par \par Knowing--"This participle justifies the `we believe' of verse eight."\par We know (eidotes) both that our present spiritual participation in\par Christ's risen life will continue, and also that our mortal bodies\par will be finally delivered, in view of the fact we are conscious of,\par that Christ has been once and irrevocably raised; that God "loosed the\par pangs of death"; that "He raised Him up from the dead, now no more to\par return to corruption,"--for it was written, "Thou wilt not give Thy\par Holy One to see corruption." Sin never had dominion over Him; and\par death could have had no dominion except that our sin was transferred\par to Him! Death, therefore, the "wages," had a brief dominion, but now\par that is ended forever; and we are in Him,--also forever! Therefore\par death with its dominion is for the believer forever passed away. Our\par identification with Christ in death at the cr1oss made possible of\par fulfillment His wonderful promise in John 8:51, "Verily, verily, I say\par unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death." If a\par believer falls asleep (God's word for a believer's physical death) his\par spirit goes to be with Christ: there is no "dark valley." On the tomb\par of an early Christian were these words: "I sinned, I repented, I\par trusted, I loved; I slept, I shall rise, I shall reign!"\par \par It is a terrible thing to contemplate--that death once held the Prince\par of Life, the Lord of all. Yet behold the Lord of Life, under the\par dominion of death! But He is not making atonement during those three\par days and nights,--that was all finished on the cross. [138] And now,\par praise God, we read, Death no more hath dominion over Him. He liveth\par unto God, in a glad resurrection life which shall never end. This is\par the life that we share, for we shared His death.\par \par Verse 10: There2fore we must go on to verse 10 and read God's statement\par of Christ's death unto sin: For in that He died, unto sin He died once\par for all; but in that He is living, He is living unto God.\par \par Now we beseech you, do not change God's word "UNTO," here! Do not\par confuse with this passage those other Scriptures that declare that\par Christ died FOR our sins. For this great revelation of Romans 6:10 is\par that Christ died UNTO sin! There is here, of course, no thought of\par expiation of guilt. That belongs to Chapters Three to Five. Here, the\par sole question is one of relationship, not of expiation. Christ is seen\par dying to sin, not for it, here.\par \par What is meant by that?\par \par In II Corinthians 5:21, God declares: "Him who knew no sin God made to\par be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in\par Him." Christ is made to be what we were, that we might become, in Him,\par what He is! Might not Chri3st, the Sinless One, bear the guilt of our\par sins and that be all? Nay, but we were connected federally with Adam\par the first--with a race proved wholly unrighteous and bad. And that we\par might be released from that Adam-state, there must be not only our\par sins borne, but we ourselves released from the old-Adam headship,--all\par we had from Adam: which involved the responsibilities we had in\par him--responsibility to furnish God, as morally responsible beings, a\par perfect righteousness and holiness of our own.\par \par Now God's way was, not to "change" the old man, but to send it to the\par cross unto death, and release us from it. No one who remains in Adam's\par race will be saved! "Ye must be born again!" should sound the tocsin\par of alarm, yea, terror, to every one not yet in Christ. For God's\par method was to set forth a Second Man, a Last Adam,--Christ; (with whom\par indeed all God's eternal plans were connected), whom God would n4ot\par only set forth to make expiation of guilt, but would make to become\par sin itself: thus to get at what we were, as well as what we had done.\par Our old man would thus be crucified with Christ, so that all the evil\par of the old man, and all his responsibilities also, would be completely\par annulled before God for all believers. For they must righteously be\par released from Adam, before they are created in Christ, another Adam!\par And this must be by death.\par \par Thus God would say to believers, to those in Christ, "Your history now\par begins anew!" just as He said to Israel at the Passover: "This month\par shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month\par of the year to you." So Paul triumphantly writes, "If any man is in\par Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold,\par they are become new." What a day was that when Christ, made to be sin\par itself, died to it, and was forever d5one with it! So that now He lives\par unto God in light and joy eternal without measure!\par \par Verse 11: Therefore the eleventh verse becomes a necessity: God must\par say to us: Thus [because of the facts of the preceding verse] do ye\par also reckon, yourselves dead, indeed, to sin, but living to God, in.\par Christ Jesus! [139] Your relationship to sin is exactly the same as\par Christ's! Why? Because Christ is now your only Adam: you are in Him!\par His act of death unto sin involved all who are connected with Him.\par \par Thus, in His death, all Christ's connection with sin was broken,\par ended, forever. Not only did He no longer bear sin; but He had died\par unto sin. When He was raised, it was as One who lived unto God, in an\par endless life with which sin had nothing to do,--resurrection-life,\par newness of life!\par \par And, because believers were united with Him in His death, they too\par died to sin in and with Him. And their re6lationship to sin is now\par exactly His relationship: they are dead to it. They are also "alive\par unto God" in Christ Jesus.\par \par This is not a matter of "experience," but of fact. The truth about\par believers is, that they are dead to sin and alive to God, being in\par Christ! And they hear it said by God, and are asked to reckon it so!\par Their path of faith is plain: "Reckon [140] ye also yourselves to be\par dead unto sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus."\par \par John Wesley truly counselled:\par \par \par "Frames and feelings fluctuate:\par \par These can ne'er thy saviour be!\par \par Learn thyself in Christ to see:\par \par Then, be feelings what they will,\par \par Jesus is thy Saviour still!"\par \par Lay to heart the very words of the eleventh verse: Reckon yourselves\par dead indeed to sin, but living to God, in Christ Jesus. There are two\par words signifying death in this passage. The word for dead (nekros7)\par here in verse 11, does not refer to the act or process of dying, but\par to the state or effect produced by death. The other word (thnesko)\par signifies the act, and occurs in verses 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10; and\par is used when Christ's dying, or our dying with or in Him, is set\par forth. It is, therefore, with the already accomplished death unto sin\par of our great Substitute and Representative, Christ, that\par believers--those now in Christ--find themselves connected; and as we\par said above, the believer is to reckon himself dead (nekros) unto sin,\par but alive unto God,--because he is in Christ Jesus, who died unto sin\par once for all; but now, in resurrection life, is living unto God. You\par will realize anew the meanings of these two words for death, when you\par notice, in verses 4 and 9, that Christ, having died (thnesko) was\par raised "from among dead ones" (nekroi). Christ's body lay in Joseph's\par tomb. He was not now dyin8g: that was over. He was dead. And so we are\par not told to die to sin: because we are in Christ who did die to it;\par and therefore we also are dead to it, in His death; and reckon it so.\par \par This should make the believer's task simplicity itself. The only\par difficulty lies in believing these astounding revelations! That we\par should be dead to sin, and now alive unto God as risen ones, sharing\par that newness of life (verse 4) which our Lord began as "the First-born\par from among the dead," is at first too wonderful for us. We see in\par ourselves the old self-life, the flesh--and straightway we forget\par God's way of faith, and turn back to our "feelings." We say, Alas, if\par I could escape from this body, I would be free. But that is not at\par present God's plan for you and me. We wait for the redemption of our\par body. This body is yet unredeemed. Nevertheless, we are to reckon\par ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto God. Not dea9d to sin, notice,\par through prayers and strugglings, nor dead to sin in our feelings or\par consciousness; but in that death unto sin which Christ went through on\par the cross, and which we shared, and in that life which He now lives in\par glory!\par \par Indeed, when we come down to verses 12 and 13, we shall find Paul's\par definite directions to us to present ourselves unto God "as those that\par are alive from among dead ones." (All out of Christ are of course\par "dead ones," in God's sight.)\par \par This is really the heart of the struggle in the matter of our\par walk,--of our having our "fruit unto sanctification." It is hard to\par reckon and keep reckoning that we shared Christ's death to sin, and\par that we are alive unto God in Him. Yet, there is no establishing of\par our souls along any other line! To turn back from this sheer faith\par that we died with Christ and now are alive to God in Him, is to turn\par back--to what? t:o the weary, hopeless struggle Paul tells us in\par Chapter Seven he "once" went through to make the flesh obey God; or\par else back to groanings before God, begging Him to give us personal\par deliverance. And all the time God is saying, The word of the cross is\par the power of God. It is God's word as to what was there done that will\par establish your heart. God says you died with Christ. Reckon it so. "If\par ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (Isa. 7:9).\par [141]\par \par Now if the declaration in verse 2 that we died to sin meant that sin\par is now absent from our flesh, there could be no exhortation in verse\par 11 to "reckon" ourselves dead to sin. If the fact that we died to sin\par with Christ means that sin is gone from these bodies of ours, there\par would be no thought of "reckoning." The statement would simply have\par been, "Sin is absent,--no longer a present thing with you!" The word\par reckon is a word fo;r faith--in the face of appearances.\par \par The same place for faith is left in the matter of our justification.\par Christ is "the propitiation for the whole world" (I John 2:2). But in\par Romans 3:25 it is said, "God set Him forth as a propitiation through\par faith in His blood."\par \par So in Romans 6:2 it is said that we died to sin, while here in the\par eleventh verse we are told to "reckon ourselves dead to sin." The\par reckoning does not make the fact, but is commanded in view of the\par fact.\par \par It has pleased God to call for our faith, both in connection with\par salvation and with deliverance. Therefore, if we would obey and please\par God, let us follow His method! Let us learn to reckon ourselves\par dead,--that Christ's death to sin was our death; and is the present\par relation of us who are in Christ, unto sin.\par \par The path of faith is always against appearances,--or, if you will,\par against human consciousne the old man. This has been so in all ages. But the temptation is very\par strong in Christians, in times of great spiritual uplifting, to regard\par the old man as having disappeared.\par \par But it is the very essence of a holy walk according to Scripture, to\par receive God's testimony concerning the old man's having been\par crucified. To reckon ourselves dead to sin while conscious of sin in\par our members, is faith indeed; and is walking according to God's Word,\par instead of according to our feelings. "Those that are of Christ Jesus\par have crucified the flesh and its lusts": because they know that the\par federal thing, the "old man," has been crucified (Gal. 5:24). It is in\par the power of the faith that God has dealt with all that we were, that\par we are able to deal with the manifestations of the self-life.\par \par Nevertheless, this life in this present world, is not the Christian's\par place of resting. Christ will bring him rest? at His second coming (II\par Thess. 1:7).\par \par It is to those who are described in the opening chapters of\par Romans,--guilty, under Divine judgment; and also in the flesh, under\par the old man; far from God, without hope,--to such the gospel message\par has come! These statements that we belong up there, in Christ, are\par issued by the High Court of Heaven, itself. God says that no matter\par how things may seem, we died with Christ, and share His newness of\par life; and we are to present ourselves unto God as those alive from the\par dead. [142] The glorious promise follows: "Sin shall not have dominion\par over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace." We have not been\par brought to a Sinai, to a hard, demanding master, but are under the\par sweet favor in which Christ Himself is, being ourselves in Him, yea,\par the very righteousness of God in Him!\par \par 12 Let not sin, therefore, be reigning-as-king in your mortal body,\pa@r that ye should obey the desires of it [the body]. 13 Neither be\par presenting your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness.\par But on the contrary present yourselves to God as being alive from\par among the dead; and your members to God, as instruments of\par righteousness. 14 For sin shall not have lordship over you. For you\par are not under law, but, on the contrary, under grace.\par \par Verse 12: Do not, therefore, be allowing sin to reign-as-king in your\par mortal body, that ye should obey the desires of it (the body):--and\par the Greek is emphatic: "Be not at all allowing sin to reign!"\par \par 1. Notice first, our present body is mortal, that is, subject to\par physical death. We are waiting for the redemption of the body, at\par Christ's coming.\par \par 2. Sin is present in our members, and ready to reign-as-king, if\par permitted. That is, our bodies have not yet been redeemed from the\par possibility of sin's beinAg king, if we permit such kingship.\par \par 3. It is through the lusts or desires of the body that sin is ready to\par assume control. The body has many desires not in themselves evil.\par Paul, speaking of foods, says, "All things are lawful for me; but I\par will not be brought under the power of any" (I Cor. 6:12). It is when\par natural desires are yielded to in self-will or self-indulgence, that\par sin uses the desires of the body to assert sin's power and establish\par its reign.\par \par 4. The believer is directed to reject this reigning of sin, which\par would involve our obeying the desires of the body.\par \par 5. Note the important word, "therefore." This looks back at the first\par part of Chapter Six, in which our death with Christ unto sin has been\par asserted, our relationship to sin being now the same as Christ's--we\par have done with it in death and burial. Notice that these present\par verses of exhortation are built wholly Bupon the fact that we died with\par Christ: we reckon ourselves dead because we participated in Christ's\par death. Therefore we dare refuse sin's dominion. We owe sin nothing. We\par are dead to it; justified from it, and living in another sphere!\par \par Verse 13: Neither be presenting your members unto sin as instruments\par of unrighteousness. But on the contrary present yourselves to God as\par being alive from among the dead; and your members to God, as\par instruments of righteousness.\par \par The moment we come to exhortation, we have to do with the will;\par whereas believing is a matter of the heart: "With the heart man\par believeth." In learning that I am dead to sin, all I need to do is to\par listen to God's marvelous unfolding of the fact that I was identified\par with Christ in His death, and in my heart believe it. My will has\par nothing to do with that. When God says, "Your old man was crucified\par with Christ," that is DivineC testimony. It is a revealed fact. I hear\par it and from my heart believe it, because God is true. I reckon myself\par to be "dead unto sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus," because God\par has said that I was.\par \par But when it comes to the application of this stupendous fact, my will\par is addressed: "Let not sin therefore reign." Well, some one asks, if I\par am dead to it, how can it still reign? We answer, By your presenting\par your bodily members unto sin for sin to use, as "instruments of\par unrighteousness." Your tongue, for instance, which James calls "an\par unruly member,"--you have only to hand it over to sin, and it will\par talk angrily, lyingly, filthily.\par \par Now, what is God's way? Present yourselves unto God, as those in a\par Risen Christ, those "alive from among the dead." Of course, this will\par test your faith: you will not feel dead to sin. Your old man will seem\par anything but crucified. But the path of trueD faith is always one of\par obedience; and God has commanded you to reckon yourself dead unto sin\par and alive unto Him (as a risen one) in Christ Jesus. It is in this\par character, of being alive from the dead, that you are commanded to\par "present yourselves unto God."\par \par Now two things about this word "present":\par \par First, as to its meaning here: it does not in Chapter Six signify\par consecration: but the taking of an attitude in accordance with the\par facts. In Chapter Twelve, it is true, the same word is used to signify\par consecration to God (12:1). But here, "present" (A.V., "yield"),\par signifies an attitude to be taken in recognition of the facts:\par "Present yourselves as those alive from among the dead." We are not\par here looked at as giving ourselves to God, but as believingly assuming\par the aspect toward God of those in Christ--those who died to sin in\par Christ's death, and are now alive in Christ unto God.\parE \par If the colonel of a certain regiment of soldiers,--say the One\par Hundredth, should give notice to all his regiment to repair to his\par headquarters at a stated hour for review, they would "present"\par themselves there as members of the One Hundredth Regiment. It would be\par as such and in that consciousness that they would come. So believers\par are to take the attitude toward God of risen ones because they are\par risen ones. They are in Christ, they are alive from among the dead\par This is the fundamental consciousness of a believer, as described in\par the Pauline Epistles: "If then ye were raised together with Christ,\par seek the things that are above, where Christ is . . . For ye died, and\par your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1, 3). If you do not have\par risen life, you are not in Christ; for those in Christ are all alive\par from among the dead.\par \par Second, the command to present ourselves thus unto God is in thFe\par aorist tense, which indicates a definite entering upon this attitude\par of presenting ourselves as risen ones to God. As to sin it is, "Do not\par be presenting (present tense of habitual and continued action) your\par members unto sin." The exhortation is believingly to take the attitude\par of a risen one in Christ, and thus present yourself once for all to\par God. Whether in prayer or thanksgiving, or praise or service, you are\par alive from the dead. It is not that you make yourself alive by\par presenting yourself unto God; but that since you are in Christ, you\par are alive to God in risen life, and you thus present yourself. And it\par becomes an habitual attitude,--you keep on presenting your members\par unto God as a habit of life. He will now use them as "instruments of\par righteousness"; as, before,--you well remember! your members were\par instruments of sin.\par \par Then comes a glorious promise, and also a royal pronouncemenGt:\par \par Verse 14: For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not\par under law, but under grace.\par \par Note the two "fors." The first "for" announces the Divine decree that\par sin's lordship over us shall be ended. The second reveals the happy\par condition of things in which such a release is possible: we are not\par under the legal principle,--which first demanded duty, and then\par offered blessing; but we are under the grace principle,--which confers\par blessing first, and, behold, fruits follow!\par \par It is deeply significant here that even to us, new creatures in\par Christ, and recipients of the Holy Spirit, it is definitely announced\par to us that we are not under law,--else bondage and helplessness would\par still be our lot. Note, God does not say we are not under the\par Law,--the Mosaic Law: (Gentiles never were!) But, God says we are not\par under law,--under the legal principle. In the opening part of Chapter\pHar Seven, Paul will show the Jewish believers, (who had been under law),\par that only death could release them from their legal obligation; and\par that they had been made dead to the Law, through being identified with\par Christ in His death.\par \par Only when we believe that our history in Adam, with all its\par responsibilities and demands to produce righteousness, ended at the\par cross, shall we find ourselves completely free to enjoy these words of\par heavenly comfort--UNDER GRACE! [143]\par \par Study carefully the contrast between Romans 6:14 and I Corinthians\par 9:21. Paul declares in the former passage, "We are not under law." The\par Greek here is, hupo nomon. This expression evidently indicates placing\par one under external enactments--under that principle. Now in I\par Corinthians 9:21, Paul, in describing his ministry to souls, says, "To\par those without law (anomois), I became as without law (anomos), not at\par all being wIithout law Godward, but, on the contrary, en-lawed\par (ennomos) to Christ,"--as the members of a body to the head,\par controlled naturally by the one spirit and will.\par \par There is every possible difference between the two,--between being\par "under law," and "en-lawed." Israel under law, placed under the Law at\par Sinai, with a veil between them and God, had to think of their\par behavior, in all its details, as affecting their relationship to God.\par The Law was "written on tables," by the hand of Divine authority. It\par was external to them: there was no union between them and Jehovah; nor\par was the Holy Spirit within them (although He was upon certain of them,\par for certain service, at certain times).\par \par But, with us, all is different. We are in Christ, members of Christ.\par The Spirit of God's Son, also, has been sent forth into our hearts,\par crying, "Abba, Father!" We are "no longer bondservants, but adult\par sons" (GalJ. 4:4-7). Our relationship is settled. [144]\par \par "Walking by the Spirit," who indwells us, takes for us today the place\par that observing the things written in the Law had with Israel. "Being\par dead to the Law, and discharged therefrom," says Paul, "we bring forth\par fruit unto God"; "We serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of\par letter" (7:4, 6).\par \par When Paul says (as above) in I Corinthians that he was "en-lawed to\par Christ," the Greek word ennomos signifies that blessed control by the\par Holy Spirit proceeding from Christ as the Head, which corresponds to\par the control of our natural bodies by our physical heads. This, of\par course, is the very opposite of being "under law" in the sense of\par verse 14. To speak of a believer's being "under the Law to Christ,"\par would be no more true, than to say that your hand has a set of\par external rules by which it obeys your head and seeks to render itself\par pleasing to Kyou! No, your hand is en-lawed to your head, in that it is\par one with your head; your spirit dwells in every member of your body,\par and the head intelligently directs every member.\par \par I am more and more inclined to the belief that in order to a\par consistent interpretation of the New Testament, we must scrupulously\par regard Israel only as having been placed under The Law, though\par doubtless all men have moral responsibility. See Paul regarding this\par below. [145]\par \par Whether then it be the Jew under law, or the race of Adam under\par conscience, the freedom that is in Christ means deliverance from\par trying to "be good" to be accepted of God. Sinners are accepted freely\par on account of Christ's sacrifice, and placed in Him Risen. For such,\par therefore, as are in Christ, the walk is one of rejoicing\par faith,--appropriating Christ,--and nothing else. The Law of Moses has\par nothing to say to a believer! We know the legalLists and the pretenders\par to human righteousness will cry out at this. But God says about the\par Law two things that cannot be escaped:\par \par First, that the Gentiles were not under Moses' Law, that Law having\par never been given to them, but to Israel only.\par \par And, second, that God, who gave to Israel the "foregoing\par commandment"--the Law--has "disannulled" the same, and brought in by\par another way, even simple faith in Christ, "a better hope," through\par which alone all believers, Jew or Gentile, "draw nigh to God" (Heb.\par 7:18, 19).\par \par Not behaving, but believing, is God's way: behaving follows believing!\par \par I know that true faith is a living thing, and has two feet, and will\par walk; but it will be "walking in works"--not working in works!--"Good\par works that God afore prepared." Walking by faith in "prepared" works;\par discovering in this walk of faith, the beautiful will of God day by\par day; treadiMng this fresh and living path, is the believer's great\par secret! The children of Abraham all follow their father in walking by\par faith!\par \par The believer is not under law, not under external enactments, not\par under conditions; but he has already an eternal standing in\par grace,--that is, in already secured Divine favor, by a sovereign act\par of God; which has not only reckoned to him Christ's atoning work, but\par has placed him fully in the place of Christ's present acceptance with\par God!\par \par The believer today is neither in the Old Testament with the\par Patriarchs, nor with Israel at Sinai; nor walking with the disciples\par during our Lord's earthly life and kingdom ministry! The believer\par lives now after the cross, and in the full right and power of all that\par Christ did there. God gave Israel at Sinai a Law,--a holy, just and\par good Law, but they kept it not. The Lord Jesus when on earth said to\par His disciplesN, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself,\par and take up his cross, and follow Me"; but they all failed and fled.\par Why? Man was still under testing. The cross ended that; revealing, as\par it did, utter wickedness in man; and, also, complete weakness in the\par disciples,--in God's saints!\par \par Then what? Christ is raised from the dead through the glory of the\par Father: that we may walk in newness of life. Not only are our sins\par forever put away by His blood, but we ourselves find our history in\par Adam over, we being dead with Christ, crucified with Him.\par \par Then the Holy Spirit is given at Pentecost as the power of this new,\par heavenly walk. Men were then, for the first time, transferred into the\par Risen Christ. They shared His risen life; for they had been identified\par with Him as an Adam, a federal man, in His death, at the cross; and\par were now placed by God in Christ Risen: yea, they were "created," now,\pOar in Him; and even made members of His Body,--which, of course, is an\par additional favor, based on their identification with Him, as an Adam,\par at the cross.\par \par Now Paul could say, in triumph, "I through law died to law!" "I have\par not [desire not] the righteousness of law; yet I know nothing against\par myself." "Thanks be to God, who always leadeth us in triumph in\par Christ"; "For me to live is Christ"; "Thanks be to God who giveth us\par the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And he could say this\par right in the teeth of sin, and of the Law which gave sin its power! (I\par Cor. 15:56, 57). Both sin and the Law had passed away for Paul, at the\par cross, as victors over him!\par \par Yet, alas, most believers are not walking on the resurrection side of\par the cross, and by the "new creation rule" of Galatians 6:14, 15: "Far\par be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,\par through which the worPld hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the\par world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a\par new creation. And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon\par them, and mercy!"\par \par If you had been in heaven fifty years, and were then sent down by God\par to earth to live and witness for fifty years, then to be taken back to\par Heaven:--how would you live? Would you fall under daily doubt as to\par whether you should count yourself as belonging to Heaven? Would you\par not, rather, be a constant witness, both in walk and word, that you\par really belonged in and to Heaven?\par \par Now God says He has "made us alive together with Christ and raised us\par up with Him, and made us to sit with Him in the heavenlies in Christ\par Jesus" (Eph. 2:5, 6). Are you going to try to add to that glorious\par heavenly calling the Law,--that was given to Israel down here on earth\par to make them know their sin? A Law uQnder which God says you are NOT?\par May God forbid such folly in any of us! For we all tend toward it.\par \par May Colossians 1:5, 6 be fulfilled in us all: "The word of the truth\par of the good news which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the\par world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also,--since the\par day ye heard and knew THE GRACE OF GOD IN TRUTH"!\par \par 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under\par grace? Be it not thought of! 16 Do ye not Know that to whom ye present\par yourselves as bondservants unto obedience, his bond-servants ye are\par whom ye obey,--whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto\par righteousness?\par \par 17 But thanks be to God, that whereas ye were bondservants of sin, ye\par became obedient from the heart to that pattern of doctrine [salvation\par by the cross] unto which you were handed over [by God in the gospel].\par 18 And being set free from sin, ye Rwere made bondservants to\par righteousness.\par \par 19 I am speaking in human terms on account of the [moral]\par strengthlessness of your flesh: for just as ye did present your\par members as bondservants to uncleanness, and to lawlessness unto\par [further] lawlessness, so now present your members bondservants to\par righteousness unto sanctification.\par \par 20 For when ye were bondservants of sin, ye were free in regard of\par righteousness. 21 What fruit then had ye at that time in the things\par whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death! 22\par But now, being made free from sin, and being put into bondservice to\par God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal\par life!\par \par 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal\par life in Christ Jesus our Lord.\par \par Verse 15: What then? Are we to sin, because we are not under law but\par under grace? Far be the Sthought!\par \par Here Paul warns against the abuse of that liberty which the believer\par has: He shows that those who commit sin come under the bondage of sin\par as master; even as the Lord said in John 8:34: "Every one that\par committeth sin is the bondservant of sin."\par \par The two questions in Chapter Six: "Are we to continue in sin that\par grace may abound?" (verse 1); and, Are we to sin because we are not\par under law but under grace? (verse 15); are distinct, but not really\par diverse, questions. For each considers that same lawlessness, that\par same independence of the Creator, which is ever the creature's great\par temptation. The fact that these two questions are written down here is\par the proof of this. Now Paul, with holy abhorrence, repudiates at once\par both these thoughts:\par \par The answer to the first question is: We are in the Risen Christ, and\par we shared His death; our relation to sin is broken forever; we walkT\par "in newness of life."\par \par Verse 16: Do ye not know that to whom ye present yourselves as\par bondservants unto obedience, his bondservants ye are whom ye\par obey,--whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?\par \par And the answer to the second question is: God has set believers free,\par to serve Himself. The only other master is sin. And bondage to sin\par results from serving sin. But the Word of God says to the believer. Ye\par are not under law, but under grace.\par \par Many people who have been convicted of the guilt of sin and have\par relied on the shed blood of Christ as putting away that guilt, have\par not yet, however, seen a state of sin as abject slavery. The strength\par of sin is just as real as its guilt. No creature can free himself from\par the bondage of sin. Sin brought to fallen man the inability to do\par anything else but sin (Gen. 6:5). Although contrary to conscience, to\par reason, to Udesire for liberty; in spite of the terror inspired by the\par tragic examples about them,--yea, despite awful warnings and\par expectations of personal impending ruin, men continue in sin and its\par bondage.\par \par But there is another "obedience,"--that unto righteousness. And the\par case turns on the words, to whom ye present yourselves as servants.\par Although we cannot free ourselves, or change our own spiritual\par condition, the great fact of human responsibility is plainly written\par here. God, who would have all men to be saved, is always ready to have\par them present themselves to Him. And it is by means of the gospel that\par we do so,--whether to take our place as sinners, in the first\par instance; or, after we have believed, when we present ourselves to Him\par and our members as instruments of righteousness.\par \par We all know this, be our theological training what it may. We all know\par we are doing wrong if we do not obeyV the gospel of God concerning His\par Son. "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will convict the world\par in respect of sin . . . because they believe not on Me" (John 16:8,\par 9).\par \par Let us remember then, that the obedience unto righteousness of verse\par 16, is "the obedience of faith," always.\par \par Verses 17, 18: But thanks be to God, that whereas ye were bondservants\par of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that pattern of teaching\par [salvation by the cross] unto which ye were handed over [by God in the\par gospel]. And, being set free from sin, ye were made bondservants to\par righteousness.\par \par Now, our becoming obedient from the heart to the Word of the cross\par involves a work of Divine wisdom and power far beyond that involved in\par the creation of the world! For how shall a creature remain, and behold\par his utter judgment on the cross? How shall he despair eternally of\par himself, and yet find hoWpe? How shall he continue a free being and yet\par consent to be bound forever,--"with cords of a Man, with bands of\par love"? How shall he walk with confidence into the Court where very\par thoughts come into judgment? Moral and spiritual impossibilities are\par greater than physical impossibilities. It was impossible that where\par nothing at all existed the physical universe should leap into\par being--out of nothing but God's word! Man, having sinned, ran from\par God. Men yet sin and flee from God. Now God's holy nature. His\par infinite righteousness, bar the way back. But Christ comes, sent of\par the Father. And there is the blood of the cross. And from the North\par and South, and East and West, men, women,--and children, too, come,\par obeying from the heart this impossible news: of peace by the blood of\par His cross,--peace for those `whose sins slew Christ! They come to be\par gladly bound with the unbreakable "bands of love, the cords of aX\par Man"--Christ Jesus! (See Hos. 11:4.)\par \par And we see that mighty work of response to grace in such hearts abide\par and endure. We see God's willing "bondservants" pouring out their\par lives in glad service, in all lands, to all limits!\par \par Now, this becoming obedient from the heart to that pattern of doctrine\par of salvation by the blood of the cross, and the freedom from sin that\par goes with it, may be enjoyed even in this life, "without stint or\par limit." For "all things are possible to him that believeth."\par \par Note that the Old Version misses the entire sense of this seventeenth\par verse in translating: "that form of doctrine which was delivered unto\par you," whereas the true rendering is, that form of doctrine unto which\par ye were handed over (or, delivered). For the verb is in the plural--ye\par were delivered over! This statement instructs us deeply in the Divine\par arrangements. The Israelites, for example, weYre delivered over to\par Moses and the Law. It was not only that the Law was delivered by Moses\par to them; they were themselves delivered over to a legal\par dispensation--to a "mold of doctrine," which had the Ten Commandments\par as the foundation, and the "ten thousand things of the Law" spoken in\par accordance therewith. The Jews knew they were under the Law. They had\par been handed over to it, to its demands, and to its whole economy.\par Likewise, believers now are delivered over to a form or pattern of\par teaching. Summarily, this is the Gospel,--particularly, the work of\par Christ on the cross. Believers have been handed over by God to the\par mighty facts, not only that their guilt was put away on the cross, but\par that they, as connected with Adam, died with Christ; that their\par history in Adam is thus entirely ended before God; and that they now\par share the risen life of Christ, and are before God as risen ones\par (Romans 6:10,Z 11). And all believers are comprehended in these great\par truths, whether they apprehend them or not! It is the first duty of\par every teacher of God's saints to open to them the glorious facts\par already true about them, and unto which great mold or form of\par doctrine, they have been "delivered over" by God. [146]\par \par Now in verse 17 we see that these Roman believers had become obedient\par from the heart unto this mold of doctrine,--that of salvation by\par Christ on the cross. They had yet much to learn concerning their\par salvation, (and Paul was coming to "establish" them). But they had\par seen and accepted redemption by the blood of the despised Lamb of God:\par which involved everything,--of separation from a sinful world, as well\par as of safety from Divine judgment.\par \par Verse 18: Being set free from sin, ye were made bondservants to\par righteousness. It will help us to note carefully that in this verse is\par the first [description of "experience" in this Sixth of Romans. Bit it\par is the result of that "obedience of faith" in which these believers\par had received the good news of their salvation by Christ crucified; for\par lo! they found themselves thereby "set free from sin,"--sin was no\par longer their master. [147]\par \par Verse 19: I am speaking in human terms on account of the [moral]\par strengthlessness of your flesh--Paul here explains why he is using\par this word "bondservants" throughout this passage. He declares the\par "infirmity of our flesh" to be such, that we must necessarily be in\par bondservice--either to sin or to God. Rome was full of\par slaves,--indeed, many of the Christians to whom he was writing were\par slaves, as seems to be indicated in Chapter Sixteen (which see). In\par the Roman Empire, freedom was a most difficult thing to secure (Acts\par 22:28). So Paul speaks in human terms, "after the manner of men," and\par he says that \we are strengthless naturally, that we must be servants,\par either of God or of sin.\par \par Man hates this fact. He boasts his independence, whether it be in the\par realm of intellect--"free thought!" in the matter of private\par wealth--"independent!" or in the manner of government--"free!" But it\par is all really a delusion. We indeed rejoice at the intellectual\par shackles thrown off at the Renaissance, and at liberty of thought and\par expression, wherever found among men. We also honor those who, like\par Boaz, are "mighty men of wealth,"--for God has permitted it to be so;\par and we rejoice at that relief from governmental tyranny which is yet\par found in some parts of this earth.\par \par But what we most earnestly assert is that not only Paul here, but our\par Lord Himself, and Scripture generally, sets forth that only those that\par know the truth and walk therein, are free. The Jews (in John 8:33 ff)\par horribly rebel against our] Lord's saying: "If ye abide in My word,\par then are ye truly My disciples: and ye shall know the truth, and the\par truth shall make you free! . . . Every one that committeth sin is the\par bondservant of sin . . . If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be\par free indeed." There is no freedom out of Christ. "Whose service is\par perfect freedom" is the beautiful expression of obedience to God.\par \par We must see this necessity of service to God or service to sin for our\par own lives. When John wrote to believers, "We know that we are of God,\par and the whole earth lieth in the evil one" (I John 5:19),--what a\par revelation was that!\par \par These Roman Christians had formerly, like the pagans among whom they\par lived, presented their members bondservants to uncleanness [in every\par inward thought], and to lawlessness unto [further] lawlessness [in\par outward practice]. A blacker page of iniquitous abominations history\par does not wri^te than that of the Roman Empire of Paul's day. And out of\par these fearful states of sin, God had de livered these believers!\par Compare I Corinthians 6:9-11.\par \par Verses 20 and 21: For when ye were bondservants of sin, ye were free\par in regard of righteousness. What fruit had ye at that time in the\par things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is\par death!\par \par And in those former evil days, they had been, as Paul says, free in\par regard of righteousness. They were altogether given to iniquity,\par without any check whatever. [148] And those were fruitless days of\par which they were now ashamed. Free and fruitless! what a pair of words\par to describe the life of one who is going on daily toward eternity! Let\par each believer look back to those days when God was "not in all his\par thoughts." The pleasures and treasures of sin we sought--free in\par regard of righteousness, like the beasts which perish. What s_aved one\par can say of his unsaved life, I can treasure this or that as fruit? of\par any particular iniquity, I cherish good results from it? What fruit\par had you? Shame, only: things of which ye are now ashamed. Furthermore,\par we were going on steadily in that path unto the end, which was death,\par and that eternal. Remember the relentless but true description of\par sin's horrid birth and end, in James 1:14,15.\par \par Now from all this, God has in sovereign grace rescued us, and should\par we not, do we not, gladly enter upon the path of loving service, yea,\par bondservice, to Him?\par \par Verse 22: But now, having been freed from the fearful Master, Sin, and\par brought into a sweet, willing bondservice to God, there was not only\par the daily delightful fruit, which those given over to sanctification\par were ever bearing; but there was the consciousness that every day\par brought nearer, the full realization of that blessed eternal\`par life,--which they already possessed, but the full enjoyment of which\par was the end of the path of God's saints!\par \par They were now and would be forever under the domination of that motive\par which is the strongest of all,--LOVE. Their service to God would be no\par longer one of seeking to fulfil certain enactments by Him (as under\par law) but a glad willingness, such as Christ expressed toward His\par Father in the prophetic words of Psalm 40:8: "I delight to do Thy\par will, O my God!" There is no relief comparable to this surrender to\par the all-wise and all-loving will of God! Our Lord prescribes for those\par "laboring and heavy-laden," first, to come to Him, and He will give\par them rest (that is, salvation); and then, having come, to take His\par yoke upon them (the yoke of Him who is meek and lowly in heart) and\par they shall find rest to their souls (that is surrender)!\par \par Verse 23: For sin, which they had once served,a was a terrible\par Paymaster' Sin's wages was death,--appointed so by God Himself. What a\par hideous employer--Sin! What a horrid service! What hellish wages! Yet\par sin is the chosen master of all but Christ's "little flock"! Of sin's\par flock, it is written: "Death shall be their shepherd."\par \par Death, as we read in verse 23, is the "wages of sin." Men. speak of it\par lightly. But it is indeed "the king of terrors" for the natural man\par (Job 18:14). A well-known writer says: "Man finds in Death an end to\par every hope, to every project, to all his thoughts and plans. The busy\par scene in which his whole life has been, knows him no more. His nature\par has given way, powerless to resist this master (death) to which it\par belongs, and who now asserts his dreadful rights. But this is far from\par being all. Man indeed, as man alive in this world, sinks down into\par nothing. But why? Sin has come in; with sin, conscience; with sin,\par bSatan's power; still more with sin, God's judgment. Death is the\par expression and witness of all this. It is the wages of sin, terror to\par the conscience, Satan's power over us, for he has the power of death.\par Can God help here? Alas, it is His own judgment on sin. Death seems\par but as the proof that sin does not pass unnoticed, and is the terror\par and plague of the conscience, as witness of God's judgment, the\par officer of justice to the criminal, and the proof of his guilt in the\par presence of coming judgment. How can it but be terrible? It is the\par seal upon the fall and ruin and condemnation of the first Adam. And he\par has nothing but this old nature.\par \par "But Christ has come in. He has come into death--O wondrous truth, the\par Prince of life! What is death now for the believer? `Death is ours,'\par says the apostle, as all things are. By the blessed Lord's entering\par into it for me, death,--and judgment too, is become my csalvation. The\par sin, of which it was the wages, has been put away by death itself. The\par judgment has been borne for me there."\par \par But the grace-bestowal (charisma) of God--here is the same dear word\par as in Rom. 5:15,16. It is the expression which describes what is\par behind God's gift,--his grace (Greek, charis). And what is, here,\par God's grace-bestowal? Eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! What a\par bestowment of grace is this! Sins borne, pardoned, gone,--and more! A\par welcome in Heaven,--and more! Life granted to a lost soul dead in\par sins,--and more! Eternal life,--to last as long as God its Giver. But\par more,--life in Christ Jesus our Lord Himself! Sharing His life, who is\par the Well-Beloved of the Father, sharing "the love wherewith God hath\par loved Christ." Life, eternal life, in Christ Jesus,--God's grace-gift!\par \par The wages of sin as over against the free gift of God!\par \par Mark this, that God will dkeep the contrast constantly before us, even\par at the end of this chapter, between what is earned and what is given.\par In verses 21 and 22, "the end" of two paths is seen: one, death; the\par other, eternal life. But it must finally be said here, at the\par chapter's close, that while death is earned wages, eternal life is a\par FREE GIFT!\par \par And also note the blessed Sphere of this Eternal life: In Christ Jesus\par our Lord. Every advance in the glorious truth of salvation is marked\par by Christ's own Name!--from His being "set forth" by God as "Christ\par Jesus,--a propitiation through faith in His blood (3:24, 25); raised\par as Jesus our Lord from the dead (4:24); our exulting in God through\par our Lord Jesus Christ (5:11); and grace reigning through righteousness\par and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (5:21); reckoning\par ourselves dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus (6:11);\par and now the gift of God, eteernal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6:23).\par And victory will come, in Chapter 7:25: "I thank God through Jesus\par Christ our Lord." And, at last, no separation "from the love of God\par which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"! (8:39).\par \par A FEW WORDS ABOUT GRACE\par \par I\par \par The Nature of Grace\par \par 1. Grace is God acting freely, according to His own nature as Love;\par with no promises or obligations to fulfil; and acting of course,\par righteously--in view of the cross.\par \par 2. Grace, therefore, is uncaused in the recipient: its cause lies\par wholly in the GIVER, in GOD.\par \par 3. Grace, also is sovereign. Not having debts to pay, or fulfilled\par conditions on man's part to wait for, it can act toward whom, and how,\par it pleases. It can, and does, often, place the worst deservers in the\par highest favors.\par \par 4. Grace cannot act where there is either desert or ability: Grace\par does not help--it isf absolute, it does all.\par \par 5. There being no cause in the creature why Grace should be shown, the\par creature must be brought off from trying to give cause to God for His\par Grace.\par \par 6. The discovery by the creature that he is truly the object of Divine\par grace, works the utmost humility: for the receiver of grace is brought\par to know his own absolute unworthiness, and his complete inability to\par attain worthiness: yet he finds himself blessed,--on another\par principle, outside of himself!\par \par 7. Therefore, flesh has no place in the plan of Grace. This is the\par great reason why Grace is hated by the proud natural mind of man. But\par for this very reason, the true believer rejoices! For he knows that\par "in him, that is, in his flesh, is no good thing"; and yet he finds\par God glad to bless him, just as he is!\par \par II\par \par The Place of Man under Grace\par \par 1. He has been accepted in Christ, whog is his standing!\par \par 2. He is not "on probation."\par \par 3. As to his life past, it does not exist before God: he died at the\par Cross, and Christ is his life.\par \par 4. Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all the human\par exigencies beforehand: His action was independent of them, not\par dependent upon them.\par \par 5. The failure of devotion does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed\par grace (as it would under law). For example: the man in I Cor. 5:1-5;\par and also those in 11:30-32, who did not "judge" themselves, and so\par were "judged by the Lord,--that they might not be condemned with the\par world"!\par \par III\par \par The Proper Attitude of Man under Grace\par \par 1. To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great\par secret.\par \par 2. To refuse to make "resolutions" and "vows"; for that is to trust in\par the flesh.\par \par 3. To expect to be blessed, though hrealizing more and more lack of\par worth.\par \par 4. To testify of God's goodness, at all times.\par \par 5. To be certain of God's future favor; yet to be ever more tender in\par conscience toward Him.\par \par 6. To rely on God's chastening hand as a mark of His kindness.\par \par 7. A man under grace, if like Paul, has no burdens regarding himself;\par but many about others.\par \par IV\par \par Things Which Gracious Souls Discover\par \par 1. To "hope to be better" is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.\par \par 2. To be disappointed with yourself, is to have believed in yourself.\par \par 3. To be discouraged is unbelief,--as to God's purpose and plan of\par blessing for you.\par \par 4. To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in\par ourselves.\par \par 5. The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and\par not from failure of devotion.\par \par 6. Real devotion to God airises, not from man's will to show it; but\par from the discovery that blessing has been received from God while we\par were yet unworthy and undevoted.\par \par 7. To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's\par order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man's blessing depend\par on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our\par devotion may follow, but does not always do so,--in proper measure.\par \par Baptism in Romans not Baptism by the Spirit\par \par As to the Holy Spirit's "baptizing us all into one Body" (I Cor.\par 12:13): we are said indeed to be baptized by Him into the Body,--but\par only after we died with Christ made sin:--a theological distinction,\par no doubt, but a most necessary one.\par \par Christ as Head of the Body, the Church, comes after Christ as the\par Second Man, the Last Adam, It would not be accurate, or indeed,\par possible, to speak of Christ as the Head of the Bodyj bringing about\par our death with Him, any more than to say that Christ as the Head of\par the Body had borne our sins. The Body, the Church, came after Christ,\par as the Last Adam, had put away our sin, and by His "one act"\par constituted us righteous; and after we had died with Christ made sin.\par \par In a man's history before God, he is not made a member of Christ's\par Body before he has died with Christ made sin! Let us trace this:\par \par 1. An ungodly man, as such, believes on God about Christ, and is\par justified,--declared righteous.\par \par 2.His justification, however, involved the resurrection of the Lord\par Jesus Christ, who was "delivered up for his trespasses, but was raised\par for his justifying" (Romans 4:25).\par \par 3. His justification, therefore, becomes what is called in Chapter\par 5:18 "justification of life."\par \par 4. Now, it is not as a member of Christ's mystical Body that we can\par assert justificatkion of him. Doubtless he is made member of Christ\par Risen, but,\par \par 5. When he is told to reckon himself dead unto sin and alive unto God\par in Christ Jesus, it is not as a member of Christ's Body that he is\par thus to reckon, but as one who was in Adam, on whose behalf Christ was\par made to be sin and died unto sin.\par \par 6. Doubtless by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body, and are\par made to drink of the one Spirit; but this truth of I Corinthians 12 is\par not fundamental truth, but positional truth, A man cannot say, Because\par I am a member of Christ's Body, therefore I am made dead to sin, But\par he can say, I was in Adam the First, guilty, a man "in the flesh," in\par "the old man." But by God's grace I am now in Christ, the Last Adam.\par This is fundamental truth, And it is fundamental truth that Romans\par contemplates. As we state elsewhere, there will be saved Israelites,\par and others, besides Church saints, wlho will partake of the benefits of\par Christ's death and resurrection; but who will not be of the Body of\par Christ.\par \par 7. Therefore, in carrying out the believer's walk as directed in\par Roman's Six to Eight, we must go back of and beyond our consciousness\par of the Body of Christ, to Christ as an Adam, a federal, representative\par Man. Our standing is in Christ as the Last Adam; our membership: in\par that blessed corporate company called the Body of Christ, Christ being\par the Head.\par \par In other words, we had no right to be put into Christ the Head of the\par Body until we had died with Christ made sin, died to our position in\par the other Adam. You will notice when Paul describes his personal\par manner of life, he says "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is\par no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." This is not Body\par truth, but federal truth, which is fundamental, Body truth comes after\par federal trumth, Federal truth has to do with our relationship to God.\par We are either in Adam or in Christ, before God.\par \par Only in Romans 12:4, 5 is the Body of Christ referred to; for Romans\par is fundamental, and deals with our relation to God,--as in Adam or in\par Christ; and therefore does not deal with the corporate character of\par the Church as such.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [126] There are five parts to our salvation: 1. Christ's propitiatory\par work toward God through His blood: bearing the guilt and condemnation\par of our sins. 2. Christ's identification with us as connected with\par Adam, "becoming sin for us," releasing us from Adam, our federal head:\par "our old man" being crucified with Christ. 3. The Holy Spirit's whole\par work in us, as "the Spirit of grace," involving conviction,\par regeneration, baptism into Christ's Body; being in us as a "law of\par life" against indwellning sin, the Witness of our sonship; our Helper,\par Intercessor, and, finally, the mighty Agent in the Rapture. 4.\par Christ's present work in Heaven; leading our worship and praise as our\par Great High Priest; and protecting us should we sin, as our Advocate\par with the Father (as against our accuser). 5. Christ's second coming to\par redeem our bodies, and receive us to Himself in glory: The Rapture.\par \par [127] It is what is called the deliberative subjunctive here; "May\par we?" or "Should we? But best rendered in English by the form we have\par chosen: "Are we to"-- "is such the path?" And so in verse 15.\par \par [128] Verse 2, "We died to sin" (an aorist tense,--definite past\par fact). Verse 6: "Our old man was crucified with Him" (another aorist\par tense); not "is crucified," as in the Old Version, which expression is\par a relic of Romanism, and the meaning of which no one knows. Verse 7:\par "The one having died" (aorist again; and moeaning anyone in Christ) "is\par declared righteous from sin." Verse 8: "If we died [aorist] with\par Christ." Verses 10 and 11: "The death that He died. He died unto sin,\par once for all. (Aorist tenses, the second specially emphasized by "once\par for all.")\par \par [129] Of course, John deals with the new life; Paul, with the new\par relationship, the new creation. See II Corinthians 5:17: "If anyone is\par in Christ,--a new creation! the old things are passed away; behold,\par they are become new." The seed of God the new creature, being of God\par does not consent to sin: however weak and ignorant of the truth of the\par deliverance of the cross they may be, there is always the absolute\par difference between those in Christ and those not in Christ.\par \par [130] 1.Godet remarks: "Burial is the act which consummates the\par breaking of the last tie between man and his earthly life. This was\par likewise the meaning of our Lord's entombment.p Similarly, by baptism\par there is publicly consummated the believer's breaking with the life of\par the present world, and with his own natural life." And he relates this\par striking incident, which proves how these sayings of the apostle,\par apparently so mysterious, find an easy explanation under the light of\par the lively experiences of faith: A missionary was questioning a\par converted Bechuana as to the meaning of a passage analogous to Romans\par 6:5,--namely, Colossians 3:3. The Bechuana said to him: "Soon I shall\par be dead, and they will bury me in my field. My flocks will come to\par pasture above me. But I shall no longer hear them, and I shall not\par come forth from my tomb to take them and carry them with me to the\par sepulchre. They will be strange to me, as I to them. Such is the image\par of my life in the midst of the world since I believed in Christ."\par \par [131] Unfortunately, we do not have this word "walk" in this Paulinqe\par sense in ordinary English use. Men have substituted the word "live,"\par and that in a legal sense: "Live the Christian life," "Live as you\par ought to live," etc.\par \par [132] Many quote Paul's words in I Corinthians 15:31: "I die daily,"\par to prove the Romish idea of our "dying daily to sin." But we need only\par remember that the great message of I Corinthians 15 has to do with the\par body, to refute this. Indeed the preceding verse and the following\par verses (30 and 32) show what Paul meant by "dying daily." "We stand in\par jeopardy every hour,"--meaning the physical dangers that beset his\par ministry. And, "If after the manner of men we fought with beasts at\par Ephesus,"--referring to the terrible outward trials he had faced and\par yet would face. To make the words "I die daily" mean an inward\par spiritual struggle with sin, is to falsify Paul's plain testimony: "I\par have been crucified with Christ"; "Our old man was crucifried with\par Him"; "He that hath died is righteously released from sin"; "Reckon ye\par yourselves dead unto sin." Paul indeed says he desired to be\par "conformed unto" Christ's death (Phil. 3:10); but as one who had\par federally shared it: and not as one who sought to approximate, ,or\par imitate, Christ's death! This last is Romanism. But Paul was a\par believer,--in the work of the Cross!\par \par [133] The Greek word is sumphutoi--used only here. It was confounded\par by the King James translators with sumphuteuo, translated in Rom. 6:5,\par "planted together," whereas the proper word means to be actually\par enlifed together with.\par \par [134] The Greek word for "know" (gignosko) here, means to get to know,\par come in the knowledge of, become acquainted with the fact. It is an\par entirely different word from the one translated "knowing" in verse 9\par (eido), meaning "a clear and purely mental conception, in contrast\par both to conjsecture and to knowledge derived from others" (Thayer). In\par this latter verse the fact spoken of is a matter of common knowledge.\par We, by God's word here, come to know (verse 6) that our old man was\par crucified with Christ; whereas we know as a necessary thing that\par Christ, being raised, dieth no more (verse 9). This is not a fact we\par "come to know," as in the matter of our vital connection with His\par death, verse 6. The manner in which we "come to know" our old man was\par crucified is by faith in God's testimony to fact!\par \par [135] "Justified from sin" does not mean "sinless perfection,"--but\par something utterly different, and infinitely beyond that! It is\par different, in that it does not refer to an "experience" of deliverance\par from sin, but a passing beyond, in death with Christ at the cross, the\par sphere where the former relationship to sin existed! We are justified,\par accounted wholly righteous, with respect to the thting sin itself!\par This, therefore, is infinitely beyond any state whatever of\par experience. It is a newly-established relationship to sin, which the\par saints have because they died with Christ: in which they stand in\par Christ as He is toward sin. They are "meet to be partakers of the\par inheritance of the saints in light." They are heavenly. Their old\par relation to sin is over forever. They are justified from it. They\par rejoice, indeed, and have a most blessed "experience." But they do not\par say sin is gone from their flesh: but that they, having died, are\par declared righteous from it; that they are cleared, before God, of all\par condemnation because of sin's presence in this unredeemed body; and\par delivered from all sin's former rights and bondage over them.\par \par [136] The Greek word is the perfect tense of the verb dikaioo, to\par declare righteous.\par \par [137] The author many years ago edited a little book called Extraucts\par from the Journal of David Brainerd--the wonderful missionary to the\par Indians in New Jersey in the eighteenth century, whose prayer-life has\par inspired hundreds; whose devotion to Christ was sublime. But many,\par many pages of his diary were found to be occupied with bemoaning\par (often alone on the room-floor, or in the forest, before God) his\par sinful state. For example, "May 13, 1742. Saw so much of the\par wickedness of my heart, that I longed to get away from myself. I never\par before thought there was so much spiritual pride in my soul. I felt\par almost pressed to death with my own vilencss. Oh what a body of death\par is there in me! Lord, deliver my soul. "May 15. Indeed I never saw\par such a week as this before; for I have been almost ready to die with\par the view of the wickedness of my heart. I could not have thought I had\par such a body of death in me. "June 30. Spent this day alone in the\par woods, in fasting and prvayer; underwent the most dreadful conflicts in\par my soul that ever I felt, in some respects. I saw myself so vile, that\par I was ready to say, `I shall now perish by the hand of Saul.' I\par thought, and almost concluded, I had no power to stand for the cause\par of God, but was almost afraid of the shaking of a leaf. Spent almost\par the whole day in prayer, incessantly. I could not bear to think of\par Christians showing me any respect." God forbid that we should\par disparage in the least such a very saint as Brainerd, whose Memoirs\par draw out our hearts with their sincere godliness as do almost no other\par uninspired writings. Yet Paul's attitude is the Divine example. He\par believed what he wrote--that he had been justified from sin itself. So\par that all struggles from self-condemnation were over. He knew that in\par him was "no good thing"; but that he had been justified from even\par indwelling sin. George Whitefield used to say, "When I wsee myself I\par seem to be half devil and half beast," and again, as he passed through\par great crowds on his way to preach: "I wondered why the people did not\par stone so vile a wretch as myself." You may say, This is just the\par Seventh of Romans, and Paul had that experience. Yes, Paul had it; and\par found that in him, in his flesh, there was no good thing. But, having\par come to this vision of himself, and agreeing with God as to the evil\par of the flesh, he found deliverance in Christ and afterwards rejoiced\par in Him alway. There is no hint in his epistles of a continued\par struggle, nor of the slightest consciousness of Divine condemnation\par because of the presence of the flesh within. He walked in the\par consciousness of justification not only from guilt, but from sin\par itself! therefore, the Risen Christ, rather than ill thoughts of his\par old self, filled his vision! The trouble with most of us is, we do not\par believe we arxe utterly bad. Or if, like Brainerd or Whitefield, we see\par and own it, we do not see ourselves where God sees us, only in Christ.\par \par [138] Our Lord's last words were, "Father, into thy hands I commend my\par spirit." As Peter writes: "Being put to death in the flesh, but made\par alive in the spirit, in which [quickened spirit] He went and preached\par unto the spirits in prison," etc. (I Pet. 3:18, 19). Christ's human\par spirit, we know, from His own word, was to be "three days and three\par nights (Matthew 12:40) in the heart of the earth." This of course does\par not refer to His body, which lay in Joseph's tomb on the surface of\par the earth.\par \par [139] The A.V. translation, "through Christ Jesus," is unfortunate, as\par it does not, as does God's Word, emphasize the place of blessing in\par which we now are--in (Gr. en) Christ Jesus. It is not, in this verse,\par what shall be done through Christ for us; nor only what has been done\ypar through Him; but the place of federal blessing in which we now are,\par that is in view: we are lit Him who died to sin, and His death was\par ours.\par \par [140] 2. This word "reckon" is a favorite word of Paul's in Romans,\par where he uses it 19 times, and only 16 times in all his other\par epistles. The Greek word (logidzomai) might be called both a court\par word and a counting-room word. Paul uses it as a court word as to\par God's action in accounting the believer righteous. In this sense it is\par used 11 times in Romans Four alone--where it should be studied: see\par verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24. Again, this word\par logidzomai is used to express man's belief and consequent attitude as\par illustrated in Romans 14:14: "To him that reckoneth anything to be\par unclean, to him it is unclean." Here, we repeat, an expression of\par belief, and of an attitude in view of that belief, is included in this\par word. This is izts meaning in Chapter 6:11: "Reckon ye also yourselves\par to be dead unto sin." The belief of the fact and the attitude in view\par of the belief, are both involved in the word "reckon" in this verse.\par (Consult note on Chapter 4:3.)\par \par [141] On our way to the Far East, out in the Indian Ocean, our ship\par entered on what has always seemed to me the blackest night I have ever\par known. It was the dark of the moon, and the clouds had hung heavy all\par day, and now the very pall of darkness! One of the ship's officers\par invited me to the bridge. Answering the captain's greeting, I said to\par him, "Do you know where you are?" "Yes," he said. "We have sailed by\par `dead reckoning' all day, and now I will show you where we are." And\par he took me into the chart room. Bending over the chart, he said, "We\par are within several miles of where my finger points. We have a watch\par aloft, of course; but the sea is very deep here; there are no\pa{r obstacles. We shall sail on through by `dead reckoning.'" I laid the\par lesson to heart. It is difficult to accustom ourselves to\par "dead-reckoning,"--right through the darkness, in what seems so untrue\par to the facts of our consciousness. But, obeying God, we reckon\par ourselves dead to sin, and alive unto Him in Christ Jesus. And God\par will bring us through!\par \par [142] A solemn question: To those who refuse or neglect to reckon\par themselves dead to sin as God commands, we press the question. How are\par you able to believe that Christ really bare the guilt of your sins and\par that you will not meet them at the judgment day? It is only God's Word\par that tells you Christ bare your sins in His own body on the tree. And\par it is that same Word that tells you that you, as connected with Adam,\par died with Christ, that your old man was crucified, that since you are\par in Christ you shared His death unto sin, and are thus to reckon |your\par present relation to sin in Christ--as one who is dead to it, and alive\par unto God. If we claim that this is too difficult, because we feel the\par consciousness of sin dwelling in us, then reflect that it is only by\par faith that we know that our sin's guilt was borne by Christ. And it is\par by faith alone that we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin. Let us\par beware, then, lest we be found making a secret truce with indwelling\par sin, while yet hoping to be saved from the guilt of the sins we have\par committed by Christ's shed blood. Again, we repeat, if we are in\par Christ, we are in a Christ who was made to be sin on the cross and\par died unto it. This, therefore, is our relationship to sin; and God\par expects all of us to assert by simple obedient faith this revealed\par fact,--to reckon ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto God, in Christ\par Jesus. A danger to be avoided: It is not as having died with Christ\par that we are }justified from the guilt of sin; but it is after we have\par been justified by His blood, as ungodly, that we are told this second\par great truth,--that our old man was crucified with Christ--that we died\par with Him. I have seen professing Christians begin to be exercised in\par conscience regarding the guilt of sin, who, when they heard that those\par in Christ were dead to sin, immediately seized hold of this latter\par truth, and that with great relief. This false peace lasted, in some\par cases, a good while, and gave its possessors much complacence and\par sweetness of spirit, for they went on in secure Christian profession.\par But, not having been previously really convinced of their personal\par guilt before God, and consequently not having fled for refuge to the\par shed blood of Christ, they became finally the very chiefest targets of\par the devil, and were sometimes driven back into black despair itself.\par God had announced, long before,~ their common guilt with the worst\par wretches: "None righteous,--no, not one"; "All under sin." But these\par had somehow slipped in past that message; and had taken hold of this,\par that they were "dead unto sin." For a true believer, this is a blessed\par word of deliverance. But for one who is Christianly religious, who has\par not really rested, as a guilty ungodly one, in Christ's shed blood,\par this is a truth dangerous above all. And when Satan attacks such\par souls, what shall they do? They cannot plead "I am dead to sin,"\par against the devil! Saints overcome him only by the blood of the Lamb.\par Only the blood of Christ will avail against Satan, or as a real ground\par of peace, in your own conscience (Heb. 9:14). Christ made peace by the\par blood of His cross. If you have not yet learned to rest in that only,\par for eternal peace with God, and as the answer to all Satan's power,\par let all else alone until you have learned this: if it be at the cost,\par even, of confessing openly that you have never known true peace\par before!\par \par [143] Many honest souls cannot believe that obedience to God can be\par secured in any other way than by law. They say, "Set a man completely\par at liberty, and you cannot control him." But consider: 1. No human\par being has ever been really controlled by the principle of law. Israel,\par whom God placed under law, and that "with marvelous and glorious\par manifestations of His own presence and authority," immediately\par renounced the obedience which they had promised. 2. Consider the\par relationship of a bride and a bridegroom: it is one of love, and\par delighted seeking of mutual benefit. It is not a relationship of\par enactments of law at all. The husband does not go about the house\par tacking up rules for the wife to "observe": and upon the observance of\par which the relationship shall continue! Such rules are for servants!\par Yet, you find the wife eagerly asking the husband what he would like\par for dinner, and how, in any other way, she can make him comfortable\par and pleased. And all this arises from the principle of love, not law!\par 3. Now God declares, and that repeatedly, that we have been removed\par from under the principle of law "in Christ's death." And now, being\par under grace, we bring forth "fruit to God," We serve in "newness of\par the spirit": which can only mean that, (like the wife thrilled with\par delight at the prospect of pleasing her husband), the very spirit of\par service, which is personal devotion, animates the believer. 4. But we\par really have no hope of any person's willingness or ability to see the\par power of this newness-of-spirit plan, this love-plan of God's, until\par such a one has seen and believed that he died with Christ,--that he\par was so bad that his entire "old man" was sent to the cross to be\par crucified; so that now he is married to Another, to Him that was\par raised from the dead, that he may bring forth fruit unto God. That God\par can be a Savior-God and not be a Law-giver, is beyond the reach of the\par human mind to conceive, and is to be received by faith alone. That in\par those not under law is brought about all--and much morel than the Law\par demands, is foolishness to all but faith!\par \par [144] Seven things believers enter into since the cross, and the\par coming of the Holy Spirit that were not true of believers before, may\par be stated here: 1. Sin has been put away on the cross. (It had been\par only "covered" year by year before that.) 2. Our old man has been\par crucified with Christ,--opening the way for complete deliverance from\par the power of sin, by the indwelling Spirit. 3. Christ has been\par glorified (Acts 1:3; John 7:39). 4. The Holy Spirit has been given, at\par Pentecost, dispensationally; and upon hearing and believing the\par gospel, individual believers are hereafter sealed by this "Holy Spirit\par of promise" (Eph. 1:13); who witnesses in them, as "the Spirit of\par God's Son," their adult sonship. 5. God began at Pentecost to create\par "new creatures in Christ Jesus" (II Cor. 5:17): "a kind of\par first-fruits of His creatures" (Jas. 1:18). Christ, the First-born\par from among the dead, is the Head of this new creation. 6. Believers\par were, at Pentecost and thereafter, "baptized into one Body," the Body\par of Christ,--becoming members of Christ and members one of another, a\par marvelous thing and a new! 7. After Pentecost the "house of God" was\par not at Jerusalem, but "in the midst" with believers anywhere,--even of\par twos or threes gathered in Christ's Names for there He Himself is\par (Matthew 18:19, 20); and there the Holy Spirit is (I Cor. 3:16; Eph\par 2:21, 22).\par \par [145] "We [Jewish Old Testament saints, contrasted with Gentile\par [believers] were kept under the Law . . . The Law was our tutor to\par lead us unto Christ--to be justified by faith. But now that faith is\par come, we [Hebrew believers] are no longer under a tutor" (Gal. 3:23,\par 24). "Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the\par Law; ye are fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4). "If ye are led by the\par Spirit, YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW"! (Gal. 5:18). "Christ abolished in\par His flesh the enmity [between Jew and Gentile], the Law of\par commandments contained in ordinances" (Eph. 2:15). " . . . For there\par is a disannulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness\par and unprofitableness, (for The Law MADE NOTHING PERFECT), and a\par bringing in thereby of a BETTER hope, through which we draw nigh unto\par God" (Heb. 7:12, 14, 18, 19).\par \par [146] The word "delivered" is the word constantly used, for instance,\par of our Lord's being handed over to His enemies (Matthew 20:18, 19;\par John 19:11, 16); and of the disciples' being delivered over to\par councils (Matt. 10:17, 19). It is used of the Jews' being "delivered\par over to serve the host of heaven," in Acts 7:42 (most significant as\par to its force in Rom. 6:17); and I Corinthians 11:23 contains the word\par in both its significances: Paul delivered over to the Corinthians\par directions concerning the Lord's supper; Christ was delivered over to\par His enemies. It is the same Greek word in both cases. This distinction\par is vital, because people conceive of the Gospel as something delivered\par to them to "live up to," or to lay hold of by their own wills, rather\par than as of a body of truth unto which they, as believers, have already\par been blessedly handed over! "Obedience of faith" can be nothing else\par than walking in the light of facts Divinely revealed.\par \par [147] To make the words "free from sin" of Chapter 6:18 denote what is\par called "eradication of the sin-principle," a sinlessness in the flesh,\par is a terrible perversion. Paul constantly preached and testified the\par contrary. Our bodies will not be redeemed (no matter how much we may\par be blessed or filled with the Holy Spirit) until "the redemption of\par the body" at Christ's second coming. Till that time, sin will be in\par the flesh, although those who "obey from the heart" in simple faith\par that word of the cross unto which they have been delivered, will find\par themselves in a state of blessed relief from sin's bondage. For\par Scripture does teach heart-cleansing, a "pure heart," as we have\par elsewhere shown.\par \par [148] "There seems to be a grave but cutting irony in this allusion to\par their old condition, when the only freedom they knew was in respect to\par righteousness! They were slaves of sin, and had nothing to do with\par righteousness!"\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } ii#{06 Romans 6{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER SIX\par \par We Died with Christ: Our Baptism being Witness; and are to Reckon\par Ourselves Dead unto Sin and Alive unto God in Christ Jesus. Verses\par 1-11.\par \par Presenting Ourselves to God as Risen Ones, not under Law but under\par Grace, Sin loses Its Dominion over Us. Verses 12-14.\par \par Grace Not to be Abused, for Sin Always Enslaves, and would End in\par Death; Obedience brings Freedom, with theeath with Christ Made Sin; now joined to the Risen Christ: thus\par Bearing Fruit to God and Rendering Glad Service. Verses 1-6.\par \par Paul's Vain Struggle to be Holy by the Law,--Before he knew of\par Indwelling Sin and his Helplessness against it; and that he had Died\par with Christ to Sin, and to the Law, which gave Sin power. Verses 7-24.\par \par Deliverance seen through Christ; and the Flesh declared Hopeless.\par Verse 25.\par \par 1 Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men acquainted with\par law), that the law rules over a man as long as he liveth?\par \par 2 For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband\par while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the\par law of the husband. 3 So then, if while the husband liveth, she be\par joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but, if the\par husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress,\par though she be joined to another man.\par \par 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the Law, through\par the body of Christ, that ye should be joined to Another,--to Him who\par was raised from among the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto\par God.\par \par 5 For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which were\par through the Law wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto\par death. 6 But now we have been annulled from the Law, having died to\par that wherein we were held: so that we serve in newness of spirit, and\par not in oldness of letter.\par \par HERE WE HAVE a chapter of two sections,--(1) verses 1 through 6; and\par (2) verses 7 through 25: both of which we are prone to misunderstand\par and misapply, unless we exercise much prayerful care.\par \par In the first section, God shows how those that were placed by Him\par under law were released from that relation by sharing in the death of\par Christ; so that, joined to a Risen Christ, they bear fruit; and,\par released from law, they give glad and willing service.\par \par In the second section, we have Paul describing his struggle under the\par Law, as a converted Israelite, before he knew the great facts of this\par first part,--that in Christ he was dead to the Law: "I was alive apart\par from law once." It is the struggle of one that is born again, and\par "delights in the Law of God," seeking to compel the flesh to obey\par God's Law. The end, of course, is a cry of utter despair (for the Law\par was a "ministration of death"); and a new view of Christ, as the One\par through whom is found deliverance from sin's power and from the Law\par that gave it that power! [149]\par \par The Gospel-Announcement of Chapter Seven:\par Dead to and Discharged from Law\par \par Verse 1: Or--the opening word of verse 1 connects the first six verses\par of Chapter Seven directly with verse 14 of Chapter Six, "Ye are not\par under law but under grace." (For the last part of Chapter Six is\par parenthetical,--a warning against abuse of our "not under law"\par position.) Therefore connect these words "Ye are not under law" with\par the "Or" of verse 1, Chapter Seven. Conybeare aptly paraphrases: "You\par must acknowledge what I say, (that we are not under law) or be\par ignorant," etc.\par \par The King James, by its failure to translate the chapter's opening word\par "Or," to which God gives the emphatic position in this argument,\par obscures the whole meaning of the passage and context. Unless we\par connect Chapter 7:1 with Chapter 6:14, (as the proper translation "or"\par does), we cannot properly understand the passage.\par \par Are ye ignorant, brethren--Some one remarks that when Paul uses this\par expression concerning the saints, it often turns out that they are\par ignorant! (Compare Rom. 6:3; 11:25; I Thess. 4:13, etc.)\par \par (For I speak to men acquainted with law)--In this first verse it is\par law in general, [150] because this whole verse is connected with\par Chapter 6.14: "Ye are are not under law," (not under that principle)\par referring, of course, to all believers.\par \par That the law rules over a man as long as he liveth--Paul here declares\par that the claims of law endure throughout a man's life,--death being\par the only deliverance. The Roman world well knew the reach and\par authority of human law--of which Paul is here speaking.\par \par Verses 2, 3: For the woman that hath a husband--Here Paul uses the\par fundamental law of domestic relationship to illustrate the fact that\par only death breaks a legal bond. This is the evident, simple meaning in\par this passage. This husband-and-wife illustration is marvelously\par chosen. It is of world-wide application--instantly understood\par everywhere; and it sets forth perfectly what the apostle desired--that\par is, to describe the dissolution of a relationship by death, thus\par making possible a new relationship.\par \par Now the simple, and to me obvious path of interpretation is to proceed\par immediately to the fourth verse, spending no more time on verses 2 and\par 3 than will suffice to appreciate their force as an illustration of\par the fact announced in verse 1, that only death breaks a legal claim.\par We should proceed, therefore, according to the principle illustrated\par in verses 2 and 3, to the application of the principle in the case of\par those believers who had been openly placed by God under a law: that\par is, Jewish believers.\par \par For in the example of the woman and her husband, there seems no real\par intention on Paul's part, other than to set forth the fact that death\par ends a relationship, and sets one free to enter upon a new\par relationship; as we have, to Christ Risen.\par \par If Adam was our federal head, Christ now is so. And this was made\par possible by our death with Christ made sin.\par \par The obligation that governed our former condition as in Adam, no\par longer calls for righteousness or holiness of our own in the flesh: we\par have died as to that place in Adam; and are in the Second Man, the\par last Adam, Christ,--who is Himself our righteousness and\par sanctification.\par \par If we undertake to apply verses 4 to 6 directly to any but Jewish\par believers, we encounter this difficulty: that it is distinctly said,\par and that repeatedly, that the Jews, being under the Law, were in\par contrast to the Gentiles, who were "without law." These verses then\par must first be applied to those who were under the Law, knew themselves\par to be under it, and were exercised by its commands. Otherwise verse 5\par becomes unintelligible:\par \par When we [Jewish believers] were in the flesh [they were now in Christ,\par and so in the Spirit] the arousings of sins which were through the Law\par wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.\par \par These words would not be written by Paul concerning Gentiles, but they\par express exactly the state of Jewish believers as exemplified in the\par latter part of our chapter. And now for the gospel, which lies in\par verses four and six:\par \par Verse 4: Wherefore my brethren, ye also were made dead to the Law\par through the body of Christ.\par \par As touching Gentile believers, this latter fact was to be reckoned on\par for the disannulling (Chapter 6:6) of "the body of sin," relieving\par them of sin's bondage. But for the Jewish believer, there was the\par additional fact that he was under the Law, which bound his conscience,\par and gave sin very peculiar power over him. For he must obey the Law,\par for it had been given his nation by Jehovah, and they had covenanted\par at Sinai to let their obedience be the condition of their relationship\par to Him.\par \par To the Jewish believer, then, the announcement is now directly made\par that he was made dead to the Law through the body of Christ, in order\par to be to Another, to the risen Christ, thus to bring forth fruit to\par God; and that he has been [verse 6] discharged from the Law\par [literally, annulled with respect to the Law], thus bringing him out\par into service in newness of spirit. [151] This was the startling\par announcement made to those who, for 1500 years had known nothing but\par the Law: they had died to it all; the Law knew them no more.\par \par Now what Paul affirms in Romans 6:14 covers, of course, both the\par Gentile and Jewish believer: "Ye are NOT UNDER LAW": that is, not\par under that principle in any sense. The Gentiles had moral obligations\par as responsible children of Adam, though not under the Law, indeed,\par "without law." There was the work of the Law in their hearts (as we\par saw in Chapter Two), with which their consciences bore witness. To\par Gentiles, therefore, the announcement that in Christ they are not at\par all under the principle of law, sets them free to delight in Christ,\par and to surrender to the operations of the Holy Spirit within them. The\par additional announcement is made to those under the Mosaic Law that\par they have the same liberty, having died to that wherein they were\par held.\par \par The great lesson which each of us must lay to his own heart, is, that\par those in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are not under law as a\par principle, but under grace,--full, accomplished Divine favor--that\par favor shown by God to Christ! And the life of the believer now is (1)\par in faith, not effort: as Paul speaks in Galatians 2:20: "The life\par which I now live in the flesh, I live in faith, the faith which is in\par the Son of God"; (2) in the power of the indwelling Spirit; for\par walking by the Spirit has taken the place of walking by external\par commandments; and (3) exercising ourselves to have a good conscience\par toward God and men always: particularly, not wrongly using our\par freedom.\par \par While the form of the language in the first six verses makes it\par evident that the Mosaic Law was before Paul's mind, at the same time\par it is of profit to us because: (1) We all have a moral responsibility\par to produce a righteousness and holiness before God and we cannot; (2)\par Both Jew and Gentile are included in the tremendous statement of\par Chapter 6:6, "our old man was crucified."\par \par Through the body of Christ--This is a peculiar manner of speech. God\par speaks not here of propitiation or justification, which are through\par the blood of Christ (Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph 1:7). But God speaks here of\par that identification with Christ in which; in God's view, all believers\par were brought to the end of their history at the cross, so that their\par former relationships (to sin, law, the world), are ended. It is to be\par noted that both concerning Christ's death for us, and our death with\par Christ, Christ's own body is mentioned. As to the first, we remember I\par Peter 2:24: "Who His own self bare our sins in His body upon the\par tree." And as to the second, the present verse: made dead . . .\par through the body of Christ. [152]\par \par That ye should be joined to Another, to Him who was raised from among\par the dead. The great lesson to learn in this whole passage lies in what\par we might call the two Christs: first, there is "the body of Christ,"\par of Christ made sin, and our old man crucified with Him: our history in\par Adam thus ended before God; and, second, Christ raised from the dead.\par It is this latter Christ to whom we are now vitally united, to Him\par only.\par \par That we might bring forth fruit unto God. In this Risen Christ, as we\par saw in Chapter 6:22: "Ye have your fruit unto sanctification"; or\par Philippians 1:11; "being filled with the fruits of righteousness which\par are through Jesus Christ," brought about--made to bud, blossom, grow\par and ripen, through the indwelling Spirit: or "the fruit of the Spirit\par is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,\par meekness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22)--what a cluster of grapes that is:\par fruit unto God, indeed!\par \par Now--however the principle may apply to all believers--Paul evidently,\par in verses 4, 5 and 6, has the Jew under the Law definitely before him;\par for he says "Ye were made dead to the Law." It is implicitly asserted\par here that those under law could not bring forth fruit to God. Because,\par in order to bring forth such fruit, they had to be made dead to the\par Law. This cannot be sufficiently emphasized, for all about us we find\par those who are earnestly seeking to bear fruit to God, while "entangled\par with the yoke of bondage," not knowing themselves dead to the legal\par principle.\par \par But before our very eyes those publicly placed under law, yea the\par Mosaic Law directly from God, did not bring forth fruit in that\par condition. Else would God have had them die wholly out of that\par position with Christ on the cross?\par \par No, it is only those who see themselves to have died with Christ and\par to be now joined to a Risen Christ in glory, that fully bring forth\par fruit to God.\par \par It Is a glorious day when a believer sees himself only in a Risen\par Christ--dead, buried and risen; and can say with another, "I am not in\par the flesh, not in the place of a child of Adam at all, but delivered\par out of it by redemption. The whole scene of a living man, this world\par in which the life of Adam develops itself, and of which the Law is the\par moral rule, I do not belong to, before God, more than a man who died\par ten years ago out of it."\par \par Verse 5: For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which\par were through the Law wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto\par death. Now in this one verse is seen the whole of the great struggle\par detailed by the apostle in the latter part of this chapter: When we\par were in the flesh--Note, it does not say, in the body, for we are all\par that! Being in the body has no moral significance, but the words are,\par in the flesh--the condition of those not saved, as we see from Chapter\par 8:8, 9: "For ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that\par the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." This does describe a moral state\par or condition,--absence of life, absence of the Holy Spirit, and\par control by the fallen nature.\par \par The passions of sins which were through the Law--To those in the flesh\par controlled by the evil nature through a body dead to God, legal\par restraint was intolerable. As we shall see in the last part of the\par chapter, sin was there, but quiescent, until the Law came, demanding\par obedience and holiness. Thus came the arousings [or passions] of\par sins--sins of all sorts. It is evident that the Jew who had the Law,\par is distinctly and especially before the apostle's mind here. For these\par words could not be written of "Gentiles who have not the Law" (2:14,\par 15); although these very two verses assert that there was a "work"\par written in the hearts of the Gentiles, which is called "the work of\par the Law," unto which their consciences bear fellow-witness. (See\par carefully, comment on Chapter 2:14.) Nevertheless, it cannot be said\par that verse 5 describes accurately any but an Israelite to whom the Law\par was given, and in whom the commandments of that Law directly aroused\par the opposition of sin in the flesh.\par \par Wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death--Even in the\par last part of the chapter, in Paul's great struggle--after he is saved,\par we find a law of sin in his members, against which he is powerless,\par and which would have engulfed him in everlasting hopelessness, except\par for the revelation of deliverance in Christ. Here, in verse 5, where\par an unsaved man, a man in the flesh, is in view, fruit unto death is\par brought forth by those "arousings of sins" which came through the Law\par \par Verse 6: But now we have been annulled from the Law, having died to\par that wherein we were held: so that we serve in newness of spirit, and\par not in oldness of letter.\par \par This word which we have rendered annulled, is Paul's old word\par katargeo,--"put out of business." In Chapter Six we read that "our old\par man was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be\par annulled"--put out of business. That blessed message could be given to\par all believers, Jew or Gentile. For it is a federal one, as the words\par "our old man" reveal. But the Jew had not only the body of sin: he had\par distinctly given to him the Mosaic Law. Therefore it is written, in\par Chapter 7:6, that he has been annulled, put out of business, from that\par Law, having died [153] to it.\par \par The Law which once "held" him now had nothing to do with him, for he\par had been put out of the Law's domain, out of the place of business in\par which the Law operated, that is, on natural children of Adam, on men\par in the flesh. What a glorious deliverance!\par \par Now let us who are Gentile believers most carefully note two things:\par (1) that the Jewish believer, who was put publicly, and under\par sanctions of death, under the Law, by God at Sinai, has been declared\par by that same God to have died to that wherein he was held, so that the\par Law has no more business with him. (2) That therefore, however deeply\par taught by tradition that we Gentile believers are under law, we must\par throw that tradition all away. For if the Jew, who was Divinely placed\par under the Law, has been made dead to it and discharged therefrom, put\par out of the sphere and domain of the Law, then what presumption for a\par Gentile to claim that he is under that Law before God!\par \par So that we serve!--Wonderful paradoxes of the gospel! In verse 4,\par having died, they bear fruit; and here, having been discharged, they\par serve. What an unspeakable satisfaction filled the apostle's heart, at\par finding himself serving God, in all the capacities of his love-filled\par being, the more he felt his complete freedom from that Law that once\par "held" him. In the old days, it was, "I verily thought I ought to do";\par now it is, "I delight to do." As we say elsewhere, the instructed\par believer finds himself doing the will of God as it is in heaven, that\par is, in the very spirit of service, and not by forms, or\par  ordinances--which are earthly "rudiments." Oldness of letter it once\par was--minute particulars of legal observances according to the\par tradition of the fathers; newness of spirit it had become when the\par apostle learned that he had died out to the whole legal sphere, to the\par Adam-position--man in the flesh, [154] unto whom the Law had been\par given at Sinai.\par \par Truly Paul could say to his Jewish fellow-believers, God has here,\par concerning the Law, conferred on us a heavenly degree of D.D.: "Dead,\par Discharged." (Beware that you do not turn into an LL.D. and go about\par "desiring to be teachers of the Law, understanding neither what you\par say, nor whereof you confidently affirm!" (I Tim. 1:7)\par \par Now unto us Gentile believers, what a breeze from the delectable\par mountains this passage is! For our poor consciences are always--sad to\par say--ready to hear of some new "duty" or "path of surrender," or\par "dying out" to this or that: not satisfied with God's plain\par announcement that we died to sin, are not under law: that even those\par whom He placed under The Law had died to it, and been discharged\par therefrom! And that we are to present ourselves to Him as "alive from\par the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto\par God--`whose service is perfect freedom.' " [155]\par \par Paul's Law-struggle--before he knew the Gospel-revelation,\par that he had died to the Law\par \par 7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Banish the thought! On the\par contrary, I had not become conscious of sin, except through law: for I\par had not perceived evil-desire, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not\par have evil-desire. 8 But sin, seizing occasion through the Commandment,\par wrought out in me all manner of evil-desire. For apart from law sin is\par dead.\par \par 9 And I was alive apart from law once. But upon the coming of the\par Commandment [to my conscience] sin sprang into life, and I died. 10\par And the Commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto\par death: 11 for sin, seizing occasion, through the Commandment beguiled\par me, and through it slew me.\par \par 12 So that the Law indeed is holy, and the Commandment holy, and\par righteous, and good.\par \par 13 Did then that which is good become death unto me? Banish the\par thought! But sin, that it might appear as sin, by working out death to\par me through that which is good;--that through the Commandment sin might\par become exceeding sinful!\par \par 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under\par sin. 15 For that which I am working out, I do not own: for not what I\par am wishing this am I doing: but what I am hating--this I am\par practicing. 16 But if what I am not wishing, I am practicing, I am\par consenting unto the Law that it is right.\par \par 17 So, therefore, no longer is it I that am working it out, but sin\par which is dwelling in me. 18 For I know that there does not dwell in\par me, that is, in my flesh, a good thing: for the wishing is present\par with me, but the working out that which is right, is not. 19 For not\par what I am wishing am I practicing--that is, the good; but on the\par contrary, what I am not wishing--that is, the evil, this I am doing!\par 20 But if what I am not wishing, this I am practicing, no longer is it\par I that am working it out, but on the contrary, sin which dwelleth in\par me.\par \par 21 I find then the law, that to me, desiring to be practicing the\par right, the evil is present. 22 For I delight in the Law of God after\par the inward man: 23 but I see a different law in my members, warring\par against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the\par law of sin which is in my members.\par \par 24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of\par this death?\par \par 25 I thank God, [for deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord.\par \par So then, I myself with the mind, indeed, serve God's Law; but with the\par flesh sin's law.\par \par Before beginning the study of this great struggle of Paul's, let us\par get it settled firmly in our minds that Paul is here exercised not at\par all about pardon, but about deliverance: "Who shall deliver me from\par this body of death?" The whole question is concerning indwelling sin,\par as a power; and not committed sins, as a danger.\par \par Mark also that while (as we shall show) the indwelling Holy Spirit is\par the Christian's sole power against the flesh, He is not known in this\par struggle; but it is Paul himself against the flesh--with the Law\par prescribing a holy walk, but furnishing no power whatever for it.\par \par Even the fact of deliverance through Christ from the Law (described in\par the fourth and sixth verses), is most evidently not known during this\par conflict with the flesh, (This fact itself marks the conflict as one\par that preceded the revelation to the apostle of his being dead to the\par Law, not under law: for such knowledge would have made the struggle\par impossible.)\par \par Therefore this conflict of Paul's, instead of being an example to you,\par is a warning to you to keep out of it by means of God's plain words\par that you are not under law but under grace.\par \par But now you will adopt one of two courses: either you will read of and\par avoid the great struggle Paul had, under law, to make the flesh\par obedient by law,--with its consequent discovery of no good in him, and\par no strength; with his despairing cry, "Who shall deliver me?" and the\par blessed discovery of deliverance through our Lord Jesus Christ and by\par the indwelling Spirit: and this is, of course, the true way,--for you\par are not under law. It is the God-honoring path, for it is the way of\par faith. It is the wisest, because in it you profit by the struggle and\par testimony of another, written out for your benefit.\par \par The second course, (and alas, the one followed by most in their\par distress and longing after a holy life), is to go through practically\par the same struggle as Paul had,--until you discover for yourself\par experimentally what he found. In this latter course you will be like\par Bunyan's pilgrim who fell into the Slough of Despond. You will enjoy\par reading the quotations below from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. We\par suppose you have this priceless book: but quote, to save the trouble\par of reference.\par \par If we (as Gentiles who were not put under the Law by God), were able\par to believe, simply to believe, I say, that we died federally with\par Christ, we should enter into the blessed state of deliverance\par belonging to a risen one, who knows `both that he died and that he is\par in Christ--not under law: and the "struggle" would be avoided. Rather,\par there would be a walk of faith, both in Christ's work, and the Holy\par Spirit's indwelling power. [156]\par \par And, if we can learn from Paul's struggle in this Seventh Chapter, the\par lessons Paul seeks to teach us--of the fact that we cannot be what we\par would, because of the inveterate, incurable evil of our flesh--of "the\par sin that dwelleth in us," and that deliverance is "through Christ\par Jesus our Lord,"--through faith in Him, as having become identified\par with us as we were, and having thus effected our death, with Him, to\par sin, and all the "I must" claims of our old standing: so that we count\par ourselves dead to sin, and alive unto God in Christ Jesus,--it will be\par well! We shall be blessed!\par \par But if we refuse to learn the lessons Paul would teach us here--of the\par great facts of our deliverance in Christ from "the power of sin which\par is the Law" (I Cor. 15:56), we shall not only fail of personal\par deliverance from sin's power, but we shall soon be traducing all the\par glorious doctrines of Paul, and be sinking to the doctrine that we\par must expect to go on sinning and getting forgiveness "till we\par die,"--which is, of course, putting our own death in the place of\par Christ's death: for God says we died with Him, and are now free in Him\par Risen!\par \par Verse 7: What shall we say, then? Is the Law sin?--Paul has been\par telling us in Chapter Six of having died to sin, and now, in the first\par section of Chapter Seven, he tells us of having been made dead to the\par Law and discharged therefrom. His enemies (and he must always keep\par them in mind--the enemies of grace)--would immediately accuse him\par thus: "You say we died to the Law; therefore you class the Law with\par sin." Banish the thought! is Paul's answer--his usual holy, horrified\par rejection of what is false. On the contrary, I had not become\par conscious of sin except through law: That is, forbidding a thing to\par one who cannot abstain from that thing, is the way to make him know\par his bondage--his own helplessness. "By the Law is the knowledge of\par sin."\par \par For I had not perceived evil-desire, except the Law had said, Thou\par shalt not have evil desire--Here Paul begins to show the spiritual\par character and reach of the Law. He will proceed through the rest of\par the Chapter to show in detail the spiritual effect of the Law on him.\par \par The direct reference in this word "desire" is to Deuteronomy 5:21,\par where the correct translation is, "Neither shalt thou desire thy\par neighbor's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant,\par his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's." Now, Saul of\par Tarsus had been occupied with the outward things, positive and\par negative) of the Law. But when God quickened to his heart the real\par meaning of the word covet, or desire--showing him that "desire not"\par forbade the reaching out of the heart after anything other than loving\par God with all the heart, soul, and mind, and his neighbor as himself;\par he discerned for the first time that such desire is sin. For desire,\par in a creature, for aught else but God's glory, is sin. Imagine Gabriel\par in God's presence entertaining desire for something for himself [157]\par : It would be the beginning of another Lucifer!\par \par It will be well, by the way, for all legalists--for those who seek\par either righteousness or holiness through the Law, to HEAR the Law:\par "Thou shalt not have evil desire"!\par \par Verse 8: But sin, seizing occasion through the Commandment, wrought\par out in me all manner of evil-desire. For apart from law sin is dead.\par \par That indwelling sin which was in Paul's members,--left there by God,\par had no means of making itself known to Paul, except by a quickened Law\par that became direct Divine Commandment to his very self. Then, indeed,\par when God revealed to Paul, (already renewed but not knowing the\par incurable evil of the flesh) the spiritual nature and character of His\par holy Law, together with the demand on his conscience to fulfil\par it,--then came Sin's chance! Paul had no strength,--only the renewed\par will: Let Paul undertake--as he will--to fulfil what was commanded!\par Then it will be seen that "the strength of sin is the Law": that sin\par will prove itself stronger than Paul, through the Commandment!\par \par Wrought out in me all manner of evil-desire. This discovery that\par desire is sin would not be confined to the letter of the tenth\par commandment, "Thou shalt not desire, or covet": but would in Paul's\par inner consciousness extend itself through the whole Decalogue: For the\par Law is one!\par \par To illustrate the words apart from Law, sin is dead: Suppose a man\par determined to drive his automobile to the very limit of its speed. If\par (as is not quite yet done!) signs along the road would say, No Speed\par Limit, the man's only thought would be to press his machine forward.\par But now suddenly he encounters a road with frequent signs limiting\par speed to thirty miles an hour. The man's will rebels, and his\par rebellion is aroused still further by threats: Speed Limit Strictly\par Enforced. Now the man drives on fiercely, conscious both of his desire\par to "speed," and his rebellion against restraint. The speed limit signs\par did not create the wild desire to rush forward: that was there before.\par But the notices brought the man into conscious conflict with\par authority.\par \par For apart from Law, sin is dead--Sin, like a coiled serpent, is in the\par old nature, but cannot get at the conscience to condemn it: for\par indwelling sin has no means of "springing into life," as sin, apart\par from law: it is quiescent, dormant, "dead."\par \par Every impulse of the flesh, the old natural life, is sin. Take desire,\par or coveting: who is to know that this inward, universal, natural\par desire is sin, till the Law says to the conscience, "Thou shalt not\par covet"? This command not to covet does not remove the covetousness,\par but rather calls attention to it. And in forbidding it, immediately\par puts into conflict the renewed human will with the power of indwelling\par sin,--in this case with covetousness.\par \par Now, however quickened or renewed the human will may be, strength,\par power against sin, does not reside in the human will. Furthermore,\par human strength is not God's way to overcome indwelling sin. That power\par resides always and only in the indwelling Holy Spirit.\par \par Verses 9, 10: And I was alive apart from law once: but when the\par Commandment came, sin revived, and I died; and the Commandment, which\par was unto life, this I found to be unto death:\par \par The words alive apart from law once--to what stage of his life does\par this refer? We have noted that the Law had not come as a spiritual\par thing, as commandment, to him in his unregenerate state. Now let us\par mark that it was not "the Commandment" that came to save him: it was\par Jesus of Nazareth, in absolute grace, who appeared to him on the\par Damascus road. Surely if absolute grace ever met a man, it met Saul of\par Tarsus that day! And the questions that came out of his mouth, "Who\par art thou, Lord?" "What shall I do, Lord?" have nothing whatever to do\par with law. He has met a Person, not a code! And when Ananias comes to\par Saul as he prays, in Judas' house in Straight Street, he speaks\par nothing to Saul of law: but, "The Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto\par thee in the way which thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mayest\par receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit."\par \par Then Saul immediately begins his joyful, triumphant testimony in the\par synagogues in Damascus that "Jesus is the Son of God." That was no\par time for the Commandment to come. God is not speaking to him yet of\par indwelling sin, but of full and free pardon and justification, through\par the shed blood of a Redeemer. This fills his soul during the first\par stage of his Christian life.\par \par Then he goes away into Arabia, and God begins to exercise him,\par evidently--as we have shown--no longer concerning sins, for they are\par pardoned; but concerning indwelling sin.\par \par It is to that happy, first stage of his Christian life, we believe,\par that Paul refers when he says, "I was alive apart from law once." He\par says, "I was alive." Paul would not affirm that a man dead in\par trespasses and sins was "alive"!\par \par But let us go over the ground very carefully.\par \par Apart from law--these words "apart from law" (Greek, choris nomou) are\par exactly the same as in Chapter 3:21 concerning justification! They\par indicate therefore, a state of no connection with law. Justification\par was on grounds where law did not come; and Paul's first condition\par after salvation was also thus, as we shall see.\par \par Paul connects with this word "once" the Law's becoming quickened to\par his soul: When the Commandment came. No: this could not have been\par during the Tarsus, or Gamaliel, or persecuting days: for Paul says of\par those very days, "I verily thought I ought to do many things contrary\par to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth." There was no hint there, surely, of\par a conflict with indwelling sin! But only a steady certainty that he\par was right. Those who would make the struggle of Romans Seven in any\par sense that of an unregenerate Jew under the Law should remember that\par for a Jew there was no such struggle! An unregenerate Jew was occupied\par with outward things, and rested there! If he were ceremonially\par "clean," and kept the "feasts, new moons, and Sabbath days," there was\par no "struggle" in his heart. Why should there be? Was he not of the\par chosen people? and walked he not "according to the ordinances"? Paul\par was a Pharisee--"a Pharisee of Pharisees"--being "more exceedingly\par zealous for the traditions of the fathers." Let him alone at that!\par There was no "struggle." He was satisfied, serene, apart from any\par spiritual knowledge of the Law! The Law was a terrible thing. It was a\par "fiery Law." When Israel heard it, at Sinai, they stood afar off, in\par terror, and said to Moses, "Let not Jehovah speak with us any more,\par lest we die"!\par \par The Jews, in Paul's day, (as today) held it in the letter. They knew\par nothing of its holy, "spiritual" character. They were occupied with\par the length of a "Sabbath day's journey"; or the question of how many\par nails a man could have in his sandals without "bearing a burden on the\par Sabbath"; and of "washing their hands to the elbows" before eating\par (Mark 7:3, marg.). There is not the slightest reason for differing\par Saul of Tarsus from those other Pharisees who would let the sick,\par palsied and demon-possessed remain under Satan's bondage-- if only\par their Sabbath were observed their way! (There is nothing so merciless\par as self-righteous religion: witness all History!) See Saul holding the\par clothes of Stephen's murderers! See him "breathing out threatening and\par slaughter"--mark it--slaughter, wholesale murder, toward "any that\par were of the Name" of Jesus.\par \par What perfect theological folly to conceive that the struggle of Romans\par Seven had been all along in Saul's heart! That such a monster of\par murder was at the same time "delighting in the Law of God after the\par inward man"! No, no! That was before the holy Law, with its\par "Commandment" for an inner personal holiness,--free, even, from\par unlawful desire (epithumia) had been quickened to him! Saul of Tarsus\par could have headed the Spanish Inquisition, and have had no qualms of\par conscience! He was on his way to Damascus as a regular, merciless Duke\par of Alva, to crush Christ's confessors,--with a good conscience: "I\par verily thought I ought to do."\par \par Paul certainly distinguishes here between his early Christian life of\par rejoicing in the new-found Redeemer, and that later experience in\par which God exercises him about indwelling sin and deliverance\par therefrom.\par \par But upon the coming of the Commandment [to my conscience] sin sprang\par into life, and I died.\par \par Here is seen that crisis described by so many godly saints. it is what\par some people call "coming under conviction for holiness." "Ye are yet\par carnal," Paul wrote to the Corinthians. Here he is discovering that\par state in himself. To Paul, converted, but still thinking himself under\par law, God uses "the Commandment." He discovers to Paul the spirituality\par of the Law and lets it command him to be and do. This Paul undertakes,\par not knowing of the sin dwelling in his members. So, Sin sprang into\par life, with the result that,--I died, as the following verses describe:\par it is the death of all hopes in himself, in his flesh.\par \par And the Commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto\par death--its proper ministry, condemnation and death (II Cor. 3:7,\par 9)--to all hopes in flesh, even in the flesh of people born again, as\par Paul was.\par \par Verse 11: For sin, seizing occasion, through the Commandment beguiled\par me, and through it slew me.\par \par Sin is personified all through this passage: Let Paul, says Sin,\par undertake to fulfil this Commandment! Let him keep on trying it!\par  \par How wonderful the consistency of Scripture! Paul was not under Law,\par being in Christ. God was not "beguiling" Paul in commanding what He\par knew Paul could not fulfil. But God permitted Sin to "beguile" him, by\par leading him to rely on his own power to obey, that Paul might find his\par utter powerlessness, and finally despair of delivering himself.\par \par And through it slew me--That is, killed off all his hopes in himself,\par his "flesh." We all know how endlessly "resolutions" are formed by\par earnest Christians--honest resolutions to be "better" Christians, to\par "quit" this or that sin or bad habit: and what failure and despair is\par the result of relying on our own wills!\par \par But to Paul, failure was terrible: for there was the Law, the Law of\par Moses, given by God, under which he had been born and brought up, and\par constantly instructed. The Law was his hope. And now it helps him? Not\par at all! Indeed it becomes the very means by which Sin attacks him. And\par Sin slays him--that is, all hopes in himself lie vanquished dead! And\par that by means of a holy instrument! for, Paul cries:\par \par Verse 12: The Law is holy, and the Commandment holy, and righteous and\par good--Here Paul positively refutes the charge that he dishonored God's\par Law. Nay, more, the Commandment (entole), the direct application to\par him of the Law, with its fatal consequences to himself, to his\par self-hopes, he defends. This is the mark of a saint: he upholds God,\par and condemns himself.\par \par Verse 13: But now he answers the further question: Did then that which\par is good become death unto me? And again his answer is, Banish the\par thought! But it was indwelling sin that wrought death to me,--using\par indeed, that which was good. Through the Commandment, thus, Sin was\par shown to be sin. The more fully and widely the Law resolved itself in\par new and fresh commands to Paul's soul, the more intense and desperate\par became indwelling Sin's horrid opposition to it. Thus was Sin's\par hideous countenance seen in full! It became exceeding sinful!\par \par In general, we may say that in verses 14 to 17, the emphasis is upon\par the practicing what is hated,--that is, the inability to overcome evil\par in the flesh; while in verses 18 to 21, the emphasis is upon the\par failure to do the desired good,--the inability, on account of the\par flesh, to do right.\par \par Thus the double failure of a quickened man either to overcome evil or\par to accomplish good--is set forth. There must come in help from\par outside, beyond himself! This, of course, is the indwelling Spirit, as\par the eighth chapter so vividly portrays.\par \par In narrating in particular the account of his great struggle in verses\par 14 to 23, we find the apostle arriving at three definite conclusions.\par \par First, In doing what he is not wishing, but practicing what he is\par hating, his conclusion is: "If what I am not wishing, that I am doing,\par I am consenting unto the Law that it is right." Verses 14 to 16.\par \par Second, It is indwelling sin, and not his real self, that is working\par out this evil: "But if what I am not wishing, this I am practicing, no\par longer is it I that am working it out, but on the contrary, sin which\par dwelleth in me." Verses 17 to 20.\par \par Third, There is the terrible revelation of a positive Law (or settled\par principle) of sin in his members, defeating him despite his inward\par delight in the Law of God:--"bringing me into captivity under the law\par of sin which is in my members." Verse 23.\par \par For we know that the Law is spiritual: but I [158] am carnal, sold\par under sin. For that which I am working out, I do not own: for not what\par I am wishing this am I doing: but what I am hating--this I am\par practicing.\par \par The Law is spiritual: but I am carnal--"Spiritual" may include:\par \par (1) Addressed to man by God, who is "spirit";\par \par (2) To "the spirit of man that is in him" (I Cor. 2:11);\par \par Therefore:\par \par (3) Consisting of communications adapted to and only understandable by\par beings of a spiritual realm or sphere.\par \par (4) "Spiritual," also, in the moral sense; holy because communicated\par by a holy God.\par \par Thus Law is spiritual.\par \par But I am carnal: Paul speaks of himself here as he is by nature. He\par does not say body-ish (sema, body, as opposed to pneuma, spirit) but\par "carnal": The word sarkinos, translated "carnal," comes from the root,\par sarks, "flesh."\par \par 1. If Paul had been speaking of himself before being quickened, he\par would have used the word natural: "the natural man receiveth not the\par things of the Spirit of God" (I Cor. 2:14).\par \par 2. "Carnal" is not used to describe an unregenerate person, but a\par Christian not delivered from the power of the flesh: "I, brethren\par could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as\par unto babes in Christ" (I Cor. 3:1).\par \par 3. In this connection, note that while Paul's condition at the time of\par this struggle was that of being carnal, there are those that are\par spiritual: "He that is spiritual judgeth all things" (I Cor. 2:15).\par "Ye who are spiritual, restore" (Gal. 6:1).\par \par 4. Therefore, by the word "carnal" Paul was describing a state out of\par which there was deliverance.\par \par We know that carnal, sold under sin--is evidently meant by the apostle\par in this fourteenth verse to indicate the state of human nature as\par contrasted with God's holy spiritual Law.\par \par Sold under sin: This is slave-market talk: and it describes all of us\par by nature. Instead of being spiritual and therefore able to hearken\par to, delight in and obey God's holy spiritual Law, we are turned back,\par since Adam sinned, to a fleshly condition, our spirits by nature dead\par to God, and our soul-faculties under the domination of the still\par unredeemed body. Now Paul, though his spirit was quickened; and his\par inward desires, therefore, were toward God's Law; found to his horror\par his state by nature "carnal," fleshly, "sold under sin." How little\par humanity realizes this awful, universal fact about man--"sold under\par sin"!\par \par "Sold under sin" is exactly what the new convert does not know!\par Forgiven, justified, he knows himself to be: and he has the joy of it!\par But now to find an evil nature, of which he had never become really\par conscious, and of which he thought himself fully rid, when he first\par believed, is a "second lesson" which is often more bitter than the\par first--of guilt!\par \par For that which I am working out, I do not own [as my choice]: for not\par  what I am wishing this am I doing [159] , but what I am hating, this I\par am practicing.\par \par We must constantly remember throughout this struggle that it is not a\par description by the apostle Paul of an experience he was having when he\par wrote this Epistle! but an experience of a regenerate man before he\par knows either about indwelling sin or that he died to sin and to the\par Law which gives sin its power; and who also does not know the Holy\par Spirit, as an indwelling presence and power against sin. God let Paul\par have this experience. And he now writes about it that we may read and\par know all the facts of our salvation: not merely of the awful guilt of\par our sins, and our forgiveness through the blood of Christ; but also of\par the moral hideousness of our old selves; and our powerlessness, though\par regenerate, to deliver ourselves, from "the law of sin" in our\par members.\par \par Therefore Paul said that in that struggle he found himself "working\par out" a manner of life he refused to "own"--to admit as his real\par choice. For, he says, Not what I am wishing, that am I practicing. The\par word "wish" or "desire" is not quite strong enough for the Greek word\par here, (thelo); but the word will is too strong; for "will" has come in\par English to have the element of carrying a purpose through; which Paul\par was unable to do. His holy wish never mounted the throne of I will.\par \par Verse 16: But now he gains a further step: But if what I am not\par wishing, I am practicing, I am consenting unto the Law that it is\par right. The wicked man does what he is wishing; and is willing to\par condemn God's Law if it interferes with him. But Paul cries in this\par struggle, "I have just discovered that I am not at all in my heart\par opposing the Law; but am in my heart of hearts consenting that it is\par right." And that is a very real step. In the matter of forgiveness,\par the thief on the cross took that step, in saying to his fellow, "We\par receive the due reward of our deeds." And Paul, forgiven but\par undelivered, cries, The Law is right! My heart consents to God's Word\par and God's Way,--however far I am from following it! And now he pursues\par his advantage:\par \par So therefore, no longer is it I that am working it out, but sin which\par is dwelling in me.\par \par Verse 17: "No longer I!" That was a wonderful discovery! For a\par forgiven Saul, who had gone on in joy awhile without inward trouble,\par it was indeed a terrible awakening to become again convicted--not now\par of sins, but of indwelling sin, of a hateful power that seemed one's\par very self--but was really "our old man." [160] But he is making\par discoveries about himself--amazing things, brought out for the first\par time in Scripture. He is going much further than "consenting to the\par Law that it is right" (verse 16); for now, instead of being completely\par over whelmed by this holy, righteous Law; he arrives at (and writes\par down for us!) a conclusion that is daring: Since I am doing what I am\par not wishing, there must be another and evil principle working within\par me. For it is not my real self that is working out this evil, but sin\par which dwelleth in me. An unwelcome, hateful presence!\par \par Verse 18: For I know that there does not dwell in me, that is in my\par flesh, a good thing: for the wishing is present with me, but working\par out that which is right, is not.\par \par Here is that man who wrote in Philippians Three, "If any man hath\par whereof to glory in the flesh, I yet more!" And he gave there seven\par facts he could glory in,--beyond the greatest Greek, or Roman, or\par English, or any Gentile--"I yet more"! but now saying, "In me dwelleth\par no good thing." And also: "I can will, but cannot do!" This great\par double lesson must be learned by all of us! (1) There is no good thing\par in any of us--in "our flesh"--our old selves. (2) We cannot do the\par good we wish or will, to do. Most humbling of all confessions.\par Renewed, desiring to proceed--we cannot! We are dependent on the Holy\par Spirit as our only spiritual power, just as on Christ as our only\par righteousness!\par \par Alas, how incompletely are these two facts taught and learned! We have\par seen hundreds of eager young believers who are being told to\par "surrender to Christ," that all depended upon their yielding, etc. But\par these dear children, what did they know of the tremendous truths Paul\par has taught in the early part of Romans, before asking that believers\par present themselves to God as alive from the dead? (Rom. 6:13). He has\par taught the terrible, lost guilty state of all men; their inability to\par recover righteousness; then Christ set forth as a propitiation through\par faith in His blood as their only hope; then identification, as\par connected with Adam, with Christ in His death; and the command to\par reckon themselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus;\par together with, the fact that they are not under law, but under grace.\par \par All this before the real call for surrender for service, in the\par Twelfth Chapter is given at all!\par \par Our hearts are weary with the appeals to man's will,--whether the will\par of a sinner to "make a start," "be a Christian," etc.; or the appeal\par to the will of believers who have not yet been shown what guilt is,\par and what indwelling sin is. For God's Word in Romans 7.18 tells us\par that while to will may be present with us, to work that which is right\par is not present. Paul told those same Philippians that believers were\par such as had "no confidence" in the flesh, and that it is God that\par worketh in us, "both to will and to work, for His good pleasure."\par [161]\par \par Verse 19: For not what I am wishing am I practicing--that is, the\par good; but on the contrary, what I am not wishing--that is, the evil,\par this I am doing.\par \par Now this verse must not be for one moment misapplied, that is, it must\par not be made to describe Paul's "manner of life in Christ Jesus," which\par was, as we know, victorious, and fruitful and always rejoicing. But\par verse 19 does indeed express concerning Paul, and all of us, all the\par time, our utter powerlessness in ourselves (though Christians) against\par the evil of the flesh: whether we are consciously under Moses' Law, as\par was Paul, or convicted by the power of an awakened conscience that we\par ought to have deliverance from our sinful, selfish selves, and walk in\par victory in Christ. Verse 19 is not normal Christian experience,\par certainly. But it may describe our very case, if we have not learned\par God's way of faith.\par \par Verse 20: But if what I am not wishing, this I am practicing, no\par longer is it I that am working it out, but on the contrary, sin which\par dwelleth in me.\par \par Paul reasserts the blessed fact (which is, alas, no comfort to him as\par yet!) that it is no longer the real "I," but indwelling sin, that is\par working out this hated life of defeat.\par \par Verse 21: I find then the law [or principle] that to me, desiring to\par be practicing the right, the evil is present.\par \par He now states as a settled conclusion, what he has experimentally\par discovered. And we all need to consent to the fact--even if we have\par found God's way of deliverance, that evil is present. It is the denial\par of this fact that has wrecked thousands of lives! For evil will be\par present until the Lord comes, bringing in the redemption of our\par bodies.\par \par Verses 22, 23: For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man:\par but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my\par mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in\par my members.\par \par Here is first, delight, second, discernment, and third, defeat.\par \par 1. First, delight: in God's Law, Paul delights--this is a strong and\par inclusive word. And, after the inward man,--thus revealing himself as\par regenerate throughout this struggle: No unregenerate man would say,\par (unless profane) "It is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth\par in me:" For,\par \par (1) An unregenerate man is not conscious of a moral power which is not\par himself: for he has but the one nature,--he is "in the flesh."\par \par (2) An unregenerate man could not say, "What I hate, that I do." For\par only born-again people hate evil. "Ye that love Jehovah, hate evil"\par (Ps. 97:10), and David could say of himself, "I hate every false way"\par (Ps. 119:104). But of the wicked he wrote, "He abhorreth not evil"\par (Ps. 36:4).\par \par (3) An unregenerate man could not say, "What I would not, that I\par do,--I consent to the Law that it is good." An unregenerate man\par resists the Law, that he may "justify himself." A regenerate man\par consents to the Law's being good, no matter how it judges what he\par finds himself doing! (verse 16).\par \par (4) The unregenerate man could not say, "I delight in the Law of God\par after the inward man." For by nature all men are "children of wrath,"\par "alienated from the life of God"; and "the mind of the flesh is enmity\par against God, not subject to the Law of God." Before his conversion,\par Saul, as we saw, could help to stone Stephen,--"verily thinking he\par ought" to do it; but Paul was not then seeking holiness (as the man in\par Romans Seven is), but was secure in his own righteousness as a\par legalist.\par \par (5) The unregenerate man could not say, "Wretched man that I am!" For\par he could not see his wretchedness! His whole life was to build up that\par which was the flesh.\par \par (6) If you claim that the "wretched man" of Romans Seven is an\par unregenerate man under conviction of sin, the complete reply is, that\par this man of Romans Seven is crying for deliverance,--not from sin's\par guilt and penalty, but from its power. Not for forgiveness of sins,\par but help against indwelling sin. This man is exercised, not about the\par day of judgment, but about a condition of bondage to that which he\par hates. The Jews on the Day of Pentecost, and the jailor at Philippi,\par cried out in terror, "What shall we do to be saved?" It was guilt and\par danger they felt. But this man in Romans Seven cries, "Who shall\par deliver me" (not from guilt) but, "from this body of death?" No one\par but a quickened soul ever knows about a "body of death"!\par \par (7) But perhaps the most striking argument of all is in the closing\par words of Chapter Seven--verse 25: "Therefore then I myself with the\par mind, am subject to God's Law, but with the flesh to sin's law." Here\par we have both spiritual life and consciousness; also, discernment. and\par discrimination of both his real true new self, which chooses God and\par His will and of the flesh which will continue to choose "sin's law":\par and all this conclusion after he has realized deliverance from the\par "body of death" through our Lord Jesus Christ!\par \par 2. Second, discernment: I see a different law in my members. It is the\par unwillingness to own this different law, this settled state of enmity,\par toward God, in our own members, that so terribly bars spiritual\par blessing and advancement. As long as we think lightly of the fact of\par the presence with us of the fallen nature, (I speak of Christians) we\par are far from deliverance. In the law of leper-cleansing (Lev. 13:2\par ff), "if a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising," or even\par "a white rising"--he was unclean. (See the various degrees of the\par plague.) But, "If the leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the\par leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head\par even to his feet, as far as appeareth to the priest; then the priest\par shall look; and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he\par shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned\par white: he is clean"! It is significant that at the conclusion of the\par Sermon on the Mount, (Matt. 8:1-4) two things should be there: (1) A\par leper--showing the Law could cleanse no one. (2) A leper, as Luke the\par physician tells us, "full of leprosy" (Luke 5:12). It is because\par people do not recognize their all-badness that they do not find Christ\par all in all to them.\par \par 3. Third, defeat: There is no strength or power in ourselves against\par the law of sin which is in our members. God has left us as much\par dependent on Christ's work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness!\par It is wholly because we died with Him at the cross, both to sin and to\par the whole legal principle, that sin's power, for those in Christ, is\par broken.\par \par Verse 24: Wretched man that I am! The word here translated "wretched"\par meant originally, "wretched--through the exhaustion of hard labor,"\par (Vincent). But the word reads in the Septuagint of Isaiah 33:1,\par Jeremiah 4:30 "desolate, bound for destruction," as also in Revelation\par 3:17. The hopelessness of Paul's condition, unless he be delivered, is\par thus appallingly revealed!\par \par Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? Note now at once\par that all self-hope has ceased! It is not, How shall I deliver myself?\par or even, How shall I be delivered? But it is a frantic appeal for a\par deliverer! Who shall deliver me? Instinctively and absolutely Paul\par knows that no process will deliver him. The awful shallowness of the\par "Christian Scientist," who would get rid of all evil by\par "demonstrating" with the human will against it is seen at once! So is\par the silly (and damning) folly of the Buchmanites, the "life-changers."\par Where do such folk come in, in such a struggle as this of Paul with\par this body of death? They simply do not come in, for they know nothing\par of it. The Holy Spirit is not in their vain self-processes, any more\par than in the mumblings of human priests,--pagan or popish.\par \par The body of this death--what a fearful description of the\par body!--unredeemed, unchanged, under the law of sin in all its members.\par No matter what the "delight" of the quickened human spirit in the\par things of God may be, to dwell undelivered in such a body is to find\par it a "body of death."\par \par Verse 25: I thank God, [for deliverance] through Jesus Christ our\par Lord. Ah! The answer to Paul's self-despairing question, "Who shall\par deliver me?" is a new revelation,--even identification with Christ in\par His death! For just as the sinner struggles in vain to find\par forgiveness and peace, until he looks outside himself to Him who made\par peace by the blood of His cross, just so does the quickened soul,\par struggling unto despair to find victory over sin by self-effort, look\par outside himself to Christ--in whom he is, and in whom he died to sin\par and to law! Paul was not delivered by Christ, but through Him; not by\par anything Christ then or at that time did for him; but through the\par revelation of the fact that he had died with Christ at the cross to\par this hated indwelling sin, and law of sin; and to God's Law, which\par gave sin its power. It was a new vision or revelation of the salvation\par which is in Christ--as described in verses 4 and 6 of our chapter.\par \par The sinner is not forgiven by what Christ now does, but by faith in\par what He did do at the cross, for, "The word of the cross is the power\par of God." Just so, the believer is not delivered by what Christ does\par for him now; but in the revelation to his soul of identification with\par Christ's death at the cross: for again, "The word of the cross is the\par power of God."\par \par It will be by the Holy Spirit, that this deliverance is wrought in us;\par as we shall see in Chapter Eight. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, and\par by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," is God's order.\par \par To sum up Paul's Great Discoveries in this Struggle of Chapter Seven:\par \par 1.That sin dwelt in him,--though he delighted in God's Law!\par \par 2.That his will was powerless against it.\par \par 3.That the sinful self was not his real self.\par \par 4.That there was deliverance through our Lord Jesus Christ! [162]\par \par I thank God [for deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! Paul had\par cried, Who shall deliver me? The answer is,--the discovery to his soul\par of that glorious deliverance at the cross! of death to sin and Law\par with Him! So it is said, "Through Jesus Christ our Lord." The word of\par the cross--of what Christ did there, is the power of God--whether to\par save sinners or deliver saints!\par \par But ah, what a relief to Paul's soul--probably out yonder alone in\par Arabia, struggling more and more in vain to compel the flesh to obey\par the Law, to have revealed to his weary soul the second glorious truth\par of the Gospel--that he had died with Christ--to sin, and to Law which\par sin had used as its power!\par \par And now the conclusion--which is the text of the whole chapter! So\par then--always a quod erat demonstrandum with Paul! I myself, with the\par mind, indeed--this is the real renewed self, which the apostle has\par over and over said that "sin that dwelleth in him" was not! "With the\par  mind"--all the spiritual faculties including, indeed, the\par soul-faculties of reason, imagination, sensibility--which even now are\par "being renewed" by the Holy Spirit, day by day. Am subject to God's\par law [or will]--all new creatures can say this. But with the flesh\par sin's law. He saw it at last, and bowed to it,--that all he was by the\par flesh, by Nature, was irrevocably committed to sin. So he gave up--to\par see himself wholly in Christ (who now lived in Him) and to walk not by\par the Law, even in the supposed powers of the quickened life--but by the\par Spirit only: in whose power alone the Christian life is to be lived.\par \par PAUL'S STRUGGLE NOT CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE\par \par It is of the utmost importance clearly to see that the great struggle\par of the latter part of Romans Seven is neither a purely Jewish one, nor\par a normal Christian walk, nor a necessary Christian experience.\par \par It is not a purely Jewish struggle. Jewish struggles are set forth in\par the Psalms, and are a conflict with outward enemies, or the\par questioning cry (as in Ps. 88) as to why God seems far off, or even,\par for the present, seemingly against the supplicator (typically--the\par Remnant in the Last Days). But not even in the deepest Psalm of\par trouble is there ever a hint of two natures within the struggler! (For\par example. Ps. 10, or Ps. 88, or Ps 77, or even such Psalms as Ps. 51,\par Ps. 32.)\par \par Neither is this struggle a normal Christian experience. For, (1) there\par is no mention of Christ until the legal struggle is ended in\par self-despair,--and, (2) There is no mention whatever of the Holy\par Spirit--whose recognized presence and power make possible proper\par Christian experience: which is "walking by the Spirit."\par \par That it is not a normal Christian walk, we have also shown from Paul's\par own triumphant life.\par \par And that it is not a necessary Christian experience, is seen from the\par fact that Paul is, in this struggle, occupied with the Law,--under\par which God says believers are not! (6:14.) The complete Gospel\par believed, makes such a struggle unnecessary and indeed impossible. For\par the gospel reveals (as in Romans 6:1-11 and 7:1-6, and all Chapter 8)\par (1) that we died with Christ and are now alive unto God in Christ\par Risen; (2) that those under Law were made dead to and discharged from\par the legal economy; (3) that the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer\par has taken over the conflict with the flesh; and is the whole power of\par a triumphant walk; (4) that therefore there is no condemnation to\par those in Christ Jesus, and no separation from God's love to those in\par Him!\par \par Doubtless we often see other Christians having a Seventh-of-Romans\par struggle, and shall easily find ourselves falling into such a\par struggle. But as the gospel concerning our death with Christ both to\par sin and to the legal principle becomes clear to us, and our faith\par therein becomes strong; and our reliance upon the Holy Spirit becomes\par more constant, we shall walk as Paul did:--"Thanks be unto God who\par always leadeth us in triumph in Christ."\par \par The path of faith is the most hateful path possible for the flesh.\par Faith gives the flesh no place--leaves no "part" for man's will and\par energy. The flesh will go to any degree of religious self-denial, or\par self-inflicted sufferings--anything but death!\par \par But faith begins right there: we died with Christ, we live in Him! We\par have no righteousness, no strength,--and desire none: Christ is our\par righteousness, and "when we are weak, we are strong."\par \par Thus the walk of simple-hearted faith is indeed in another realm from\par the struggle of Romans Seven. God give us to have faith "as a little\par child," a cloudless, unmixed vision, as had Paul at last!\par \par When the demand, however, arises in our hearts that we be what we find\par written in the Epistles, the effect is the same exactly as in Paul's\par case as regards the discovery of powerlessness. The "Holiness" people\par call it, as we said, "becoming convicted for holiness." The conscience\par becomes suddenly awakened. We see that we have been content with a\par righteous standing, without a really holy walk. If we have seen that\par we died with Christ; and are properly instructed, we shall, upon such\par awakening,\par \par (1) Know that there is deliverance in Christ for us, whether we are\par yet able, or not, in living faith to reckon that we are dead unto sin\par and alive unto God.\par \par (2) We shall be, or become, willing to have God show us how, or\par wherein, we are still holding fast to any sin, or any indulgence of\par the flesh.\par \par (3) We shall be brought, by God's grace, to agree to the sentence of\par death that has already been pronounced on this particular thing, when\par our old man,--all our old self, was crucified with Christ.\par \par (4) Then we shall enter into the place of reckoning ourselves dead to\par sin, and to this darling sin, and to all sin,--as God commands His\par saints who have died with Christ.\par \par (5) We may have, if necessary, a struggle here: as James shows:\par \par "Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is\par enmity with God? . . . God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to\par the humble. Be subject therefore to God; but resist the devil, and he\par will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you!"\par \par And now see his following words:\par \par "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners"--those saints indulging known sin.\par "And purify your hearts, ye doubleminded"--those believers who have\par been half for the world, while half for heaven. "Be afflicted, and\par mourn and weep." (Not that God is unwilling, but that we are!) "Let\par your laughter" (which has been the fool's laughter of this condemned\par world!) "be turned to mourning, and your joy" (which has been the joy\par of worldlings, not of heaven-bound saints) "to heaviness. Humble\par yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall exalt you!"\par \par This is the path for worldly Christians. Not that the grace of God is\par insufficient: but they have been rejoicing with a condemned world! And\par they must come out of that, though in bitterness.\par \par However, the bitterness need not be,--if we are willing! "If ye be\par willing and obedient, ye shall eat the fruit of the land." And nothing\par will persuade our hearts like the goodness of God, in the gift of His\par Son, and the work of the cross, already accomplished on our behalf.\par \par Whether, then, it be a soul under law, or one in greater light: there\par will be the discovery of our own utter powerlessness, and of\par deliverance--from sin and self, in our Lord Jesus Christ! And this is\par the object of the revelation of Paul's great struggle,--not mere\par information, but application of these lessons to ourselves. For if we\par go through Chapters Six and Seven unexercised of soul, how shall we\par learn the blessed walk in the Spirit of Chapter Eight?\par \par For "the flesh" is there--in Chapter Eight--all unchanged! And unless\par we practically learn,--learn for and regarding our own selves--the\par great lesson that in ourselves, in "the whole natural man," there is\par no good; that even when we will to do good, evil is yet present, and\par dominant! and that help for us, for our very selves, must come from\par without: unless we learn this holy self-despair; we will not enter\par into actual spiritual deliverance in Christ: but will only be "puffed\par up" by our study. For mere knowledge "puffeth up." But we all know\par that Paul was not puffed up when he cried, "O wretched man that I am!"\par And if Paul found a body of death to be delivered from, you and I have\par that same body of death! And we too must be brought to say, "I thank\par God through Jesus Christ our Lord." It may be that you will be found\par like the remarkable case below, related by Mr. Finney [163] : and be\par ready to step immediately into any new revelation of blessing in\par Christ [164] It should be a true illustration of every believer!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [149] "I," "me," "myself" are used 47 times in the 19 verses of\par Chapter Seven,--capital "I" 28 times! In Chapter Eight, "me" occurs\par once; and that, "Christ made me free"; "I" twice, and that, "I reckon\par that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared\par with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward"; and, "I am\par persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of\par God." In Chapter Eight "we," "us," "our," and like words occur 41\par times! For in Chapter Eight we are conscious at last of the blessed\par indwelling Spirit: and so, of all other saints. While the legal\par struggle is carried on in a terrible loneliness.\par \par [150] When "law" as a principle is spoken of, we have used the small\par "l"; when the Mosaic Law is evidently meant, a capital "L"; and when\par the use of the latter is emphatic, we have several times written it\par "The Law."\par \par [151] The expressions dead to the Law (vs. 4) and discharged from the\par Law (vs. 6) cannot possibly be referred directly to Gentiles, who had\par never been alive to the Law--it never having been given to them; and\par who could not be discharged therefrom, because they were not under it.\par \par [152] To any one who has examined their writings, there is the\par inescapable conclusion that the Reformed theologians--truly godly\par men--have kept the vision of believers confined generally to the\par propitiatory work of Christ, not seeing--at least, not setting forth\par clearly, the ending of our history in identification with\par Christ,--thus freeing us from sin, law, and the old creation, and\par setting us wholly on resurrection ground, in Christ Jesus. God's\par identifying us with Christ in His death was just as sovereign an act\par as was God's transferring our sins to Christ. It did not proceed from\par His incarnation: for He was "holy," and "separated from sinners."\par There was absolutely no union with sinful humanity except at the\par cross! There was no "union with humanity" with Christ in His earthly\par life! We would be horrified at the teaching that Christ was bearing\par our sins from His incarnation! But, if these were "laid on Him" at the\par cross, so also was "our old man" then, at the cross, and not before,\par  so identified with Him as to be crucified with Him. It was God's\par sovereign, inscrutable act, in both matters: done at the cross, not\par before!\par \par [153] Note that the King James Version wrongly renders that the Law\par died. But the verb number is plural, as the Revised Version and all\par the best mss. read. It was believers who died, not the Law!\par \par [154] But inasmuch as the endeavor is widely made to make the Law "the\par first husband," it seems well to urge the fact that this would be to\par depart from the illustration entirely. For the fact to be illustrated\par is, that law rules humanity till death. The illustration is this\par universal one of a woman bound by law to a husband; not to the Law as\par a husband! Death now intervenes, and "the law of the husband" binds\par her no more. The Law was seen only as governing a\par relationship,--between husband and wife. A common conception would\par make the Law the husband! But the husband and wife are both ruled over\par by law: and if we make the Law the husband, what law would be over\par that Law? Furthermore, it is said, "if the husband die," This word\par excludes all idea of the Law being a husband: for God's Law does not\par die, God would not speak thus. And again, if we are to carry out this\par illustration, we must find one with whom the person to be set free\par (here called "the woman") is lawfully connected, and that connection\par broken by death. Now who, or what, is this? Does not the whole\par passage--from Chapter 5:12 onward tell us plainly? With whom were we\par first connected except Adam the first? All our standing and our\par responsibilities were in him. Our relation to him was such as nothing\par but death could break! We were responsible to furnish God a perfect\par righteousness and holiness in the flesh. No matter if we could not: we\par ought to do so. Our inability does not at all diminish our\par responsibility. Now, what did God do? "Our old man was crucified." We\par shared Christ's death as made sin for us. We died to our whole\par position in Adam, and to our obligations connected with him. However,\par inasmuch as the Mosaic Law was a complete economy under which God\par placed His chosen nation, we do not wonder that many who carry the\par illustration to its limits have regarded the Law as the "first\par husband." We do not desire to quarrel with these expositors: only let\par them confine the Mosaic economy where God confined it--to Israel. Let\par Israel's deliverance therefrom be to the Gentile believer a glorious\par illustration of his own blessed position--not under law as a\par principle, but under grace (6:14).\par \par [155] Note carefully that It is to God that we are to present\par ourselves, and that as in Christ (Rom. 6:11, 13), We are not told to\par present ourselves to Christ, for we are already vitally in Him.\par \par [156] Wherefore Christian was left to stumble in the Slough of Despond\par alone; but still he endeavored to struggle to that side of the slough\par that was furthest from his own house, and next to the Wicketgate; the\par which he did, but could not get out because of the burden that was\par upon his back. But I beheld, in my dream, that a man came to him,\par whose name was Help, and asked him. What he did there? Sir, said\par Christian, I was bid to go this way by a man, called Evangelist, who\par directed me also to yonder gate, that I might escape the wrath to\par come: and as I was going thither I fell in here. HELP; But why did you\par not look for the steps? [The great and precious promises of God,]\par CHRISTIAN: Fear followed me so hard, that I fled the next way and fell\par in. Then said Help, Give me thy hand; so he gave him his hand, and he\par drew him out, and set him upon sound ground, and bid him go on his\par way. Then I stepped to him that plucked him out and said: Sir,\par wherefore, since over this place is the way from the City of\par Destruction to yonder gate, is it that this plat is not mended, that\par poor travelers might go thither with more security? and he said unto\par me, This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended: it is the\par descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin\par doth continually run, and therefore it was called the Slough of\par Despond: for still as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition,\par there arise in his soul many fears and doubts, and discouraging\par apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this\par place. And this is the reason of the badness of this ground, It is not\par the pleasure of the King that this place should remain so bad; his\par labourers also have, by the directions of his Majesty's surveyors,\par been for above these sixteen hundred years employed about this patch\par of ground, if perhaps it might have been mended: yea, and to my\par knowledge, said he, here hath been swallowed up at least twenty\par thousand cart-loads; yea, millions of wholesome instructions, that\par have at all seasons been brought from all places of the King's\par dominions, (and they that can tell, say, they are the best materials\par to make good ground of the place), if so be it might have been mended;\par but it is the Slough of Despond still; and so will be, when they have\par done what they can. True, there are, by the direction of the Lawgiver,\par certain good and substantial steps placed even through the very midst\par of this slough; but at such times as this Place doth much spew out its\par filth, as it doth against change of weather, these steps are hardly\par seen; or if they be, men through the dizziness of their heads step\par besides; and then they are bemired to purpose, notwithstanding the\par steps be there: but the ground is good when they are once got in at\par the gate.\par \par [157] The word epithumia (desire) is used 37 times in the New\par Testament,--in all but three of these passages denoting evil-desire.\par The three exceptions, however, indicate that the context must\par determine the meaning in any case. (Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:23; I Thess.\par 2:17: contrasted, for example, with Mark 4:19; John 8:44; Rom. 1:24;\par Titus 2:12; James 1:14; I John 2:16; II Pet. 3:3).\par \par [158] "The apostle does not say, `We know that the Law is spiritual\par and we are carnal.' Had he done so, it would have been to speak of\par Christians, as such, in their Proper and normal condition." Romans\par Seven is not the present experience of any one, but a delivered person\par ascribing the state of an undelivered one. A man in a morass does not\par quietly ascribe how a man sinks into it, because he fears to sink and\par stay there. The end of Romans Seven is a man out of the morass showing\par in peace the principle and manner in which one sinks in it" (Darby).\par \par [159] Three Greek verbs expressing conduct are used in these verses:\par (1) prasso, do! (2) poieo, practise, make a business of; (3)\par katergadzomai, work out to a result (whether by personal choice or\par nature). By translating literally we can better get the vivid sense of\par the original.\par \par [160] For, though our old man was crucified with Christ, put in the\par place of certain, though not instant death--we find, though we have\par "put him off" (Col. 3:9) we must "put away," as to every thing of the\par former life, "the old man" (Eph. 4:22). And, to be put away, he must\par be discovered to us, and this is what is so vividly set before us in\par this struggle. Note, it is never said the old man is dead, but that we\par died. We were federally identified with Christ, and passed on with Him\par into burial, and. now share His Risen life. The old man is not to be\par "counted dead" (as some very dear brethren have put it): but to be\par counted crucified--his place being there only.\par \par [161] The author must be permitted to say that he had part in the\par Student Volunteer Movement for foreign missions of fifty years ago;\par that he saw hundreds of earnest and honest students "volunteer" for\par the mission field. But afterwards, in teaching the book of Romans,\par especially in China, he had many a missionary say, "We never knew this\par gospel before." It is nothing short of tragic to send men and women\par out against the hosts of hell in heathendom without teaching them\par through and through and through and through this mighty gospel Paul\par preached!--which gospel he says is "the power of God unto salvation."\par And he comes to further detail in saying, "The word of the cross is\par the power of God." Education, medication, sanitation, and general\par sweetness--what does Satan care for that. The word of the cross is the\par great wire along which runs the dynamic of God--and it runs along no\par other wire. If God is permitting great investments of money, men and\par time along other lines to be swept away, let us remember that the real\par Church of God, having the Holy Ghost, does not need great outward\par things. Paul built no colleges, schools, or institutions--which may be\par useful, never essential, But Paul's last epistle, just before his\par martyrdom, says "The Lord stood by me and strengthened me; that\par through me THE MESSAGE might be fully proclaimed, and that all the\par Gentiles might hear."\par \par [162] Archbishop Leighton, on Rom. 8:35, says, "Is this he that so\par lately cried out, `Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?'\par that now triumphs, O happy man! `who shall separate us from the love\par of Christ?' Yes, it is the same. Pained then with the thoughts of that\par  miserable conjunction with a body of death, and so crying out, who\par will deliver? Now he hath found a Deliverer to do that for him, to\par whom he is forever united. So vast a difference is there betwixt a\par Christian taken in himself and in Christ!"\par \par [163] In his remarkable Autobiography Mr. Charles G. Finney relates\par the case of a lady who had always been marked for simplicity and\par uprightness of spirit. She had been, when a young woman, very highly\par regarded, but when she heard the gospel, she believed it, immediately\par entering fully into the admission of her guilt before God, and\par trusting Him implicitly on the ground of the shed blood of Christ, But\par in Mr, Finney's meetings she heard that God had commanded her to yield\par herself to Him and be filled with the Holy Spirit. She instantly\par complied again. And her husband came to Mr. Finney saying, "I cannot\par understand my wife. She was the most perfect creature I ever knew,\par when we were married. Then she was converted, and has been absolutely\par exemplary ever since. But she says now that at your meeting the other\par night she yielded herself in a new way to God; and I myself can see\par the most astonishing change, but cannot account for it at all." (We\par relate from memory.) This was a case of simplicity of heart and mind,\par perhaps not often found. Since the work on the cross, anyone can\par appropriate just as simply the whole benefit of Christ's work.\par \par [164] But if you find yourself not spiritual, not even ready of heart\par to become so, can at least pray the prayer Mr. F. B. Meyer--of blessed\par memory! taught so many: "Lord, make me willing to be made willing!"\par There is a blessed walk in the Spirit for you! Believe that. And cast\par yourself upon the grace of God! He will bring it to pass!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } u #08 Romans 8{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0߅##307 Romans 7{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER SEVEN.\par \par Release from the Legal Principle Illustrated: Jewish Believers, to\par whom the Law of Moses was given. Dead to that Law by Identification in\par D\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER EIGHT.\par \par The Holy Spirit's Work in the Believer: as Against the Flesh, verses\par 1-13; as Witnessing our Sonship and Heirship--even though Suffering,\par verses 14-25; As Helping our Infirmity by Intercession, verses 26, 27.\par \par God's Great Purpose in His Elect: Conformity to Christ's Image, and\par Association with Him: Their Heavenly Destiny. All Earthly Providences\par for their Good. Verses 28-30.\par \par Triumphant Response of Faith to These Things! Verses 31-34.\par \par No Separation from God's Love, since it is IN Christ Jesus our Lord!\par Verses 35-39.\par \par 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ\par Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed me\par from, the law of sin and of death.\par \par 3 For, (the thing the Law could not do, because it was powerless on\par  account of the flesh) God, having sent His own Son in the likeness of\par sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 that the\par righteous result of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not\par according to flesh, but according to Spirit.\par \par 5 For those who are according to flesh, the things of the flesh do\par mind; but those according to Spirit, peace. 7 Because the mind of the\par flesh is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God,\par neither indeed can it be: 8 and those being in the flesh cannot please\par God.\par \par 9 But ye are not in flesh but in Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of\par God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he\par is none of His 10 And if Christ is in you, the body, indeed, is dead\par on account of sin; but the Spirit is life on account of righteousness.\par 11 But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead\par dwelleth in you. He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall\par give life also to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwelleth\par in you.\par \par WE HAVE NOW COME to that great chapter which sets forth that part in\par our salvation which is exercised by the third Person of the Godhead,\par the blessed Holy Spirit. Without Christ's work on the cross there\par would be no salvation, and without the presence and constant operation\par of the Holy Spirit, there would be no application of that salvation to\par us,--indeed, no revelation of it to us!\par \par Let us therefore with the profoundest reverence, and greatest\par gladness, take up the study here in Romans Eight of that work of the\par Holy Spirit which is directly concerned with our salvation: for Romans\par is a book of salvation. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the message\par that concerns salvation. Christ Jesus and Him glorified is that which\par concerns our perfecting as believers. The latter, other epistles will\par unfold more fully. But the teaching of the work of the Holy Ghost in\par Romans regards His fundamental operations,--just as it is fundamental\par phases of Christ's work that are presented here.\par \par The Eighth Chapter of Romans is the instinctive goal of the Christian.\par Whether or not he can tell why--whether or not he can give the great\par doctrinal facts that give him comfort here, he is, nevertheless, like\par a storm-tossed mariner who has arrived at his home port, and has cast\par anchor, when he comes into Romans Eight!\par \par The reasons are:\par \par 1. He finds himself in the hands of the blessed Comforter, the\par indwelling Spirit, in whose almighty and loving ministry he finds\par "life and peace."\par \par 2. He finds himself, without cause in himself, called "God's\par elect,"--involved in a great Divine purpose, that will end in his\par being conformed to Christ's image, Christ being "the First-born among\par many brethren."\par \par 3. He finds himself beloved in Christ; and therefore never to be\par "separated" from that love.\par \par And these are both the "upper and nether springs" of eternal comfort.\par \par This Eighth of Romans, then, comes after the work of Christ--after His\par atoning blood has put the believer's sins away; after he has seen,\par also, that he died with Christ,--to sin, and also to that legal\par responsibility he had in Adam; after the words, "Sin shall not have\par dominion over you, for ye are not under Law, but under Grace"; and,\par finally, after the hopeless struggle of the apostle has shown "the\par flesh" to be incurably bad; and that there is a blessed deliverance,\par which, though not changing "the body of this death," nevertheless\par gives freedom therefrom "through our Lord Jesus Christ."\par \par Verses 1, 2: There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are\par in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus\par freed me from the law of sin and of death.\par \par Therefore looks back to the struggle of Chapter Seven, and the\par thankful shout of verse 25; and not to the expiatory work of Christ\par for us in Chapters 3:21-5:11. Those that are in Christ Jesus, and none\par others, can be before us in all this section.\par \par It is on account of the Spirit's acting as a law of life, delivering\par the believer from the contrary law of sin and death in his yet\par unredeemed members, that there is no condemnation. It is of the utmost\par importance to see this. The subject here is no longer Christ's work\par for us, but the Spirit's work within us. Without the Spirit within as\par a law of life, there would be nothing but condemnation: for the new\par creature has no power within himself apart from the blessed\par Spirit,--as against a life of perpetual bondage to the flesh,--"the\par end of which things is death" (6:21).\par \par Now the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer as set forth in\par Chapter Eight is fundamental, essential to the believer's salvation\par and must be understood by all of us, for Romans is the book of\par foundation truth.\par \par In Christ Jesus--Here the verse should end, as see note below. [165]\par The words in Christ Jesus express that glorious place God has given\par the believer. The question is not at all now one of justification, but\par one of position, in Christ Risen, "where condemnation is not, and\par cannot be." There cannot be degrees here: men either are in Christ, or\par not in Him.\par \par There is no condemnation--Those in Christ Jesus have more than\par justification from all things by His blood. They have "justification\par of life," which means that they share His risen life. No\par condemnation--means, no condemnatory judgment. The question of rewards\par for work for our Lord will indeed come up at His judgment seat--bema\par (II Cor. 5:10); but it is after the Church is caught up that this\par judgment occurs, when Christ comes, "apart from sin, to them that wait\par for Him." Blessed hope! (See Heb. 9:28.)\par \par For [166] the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, freed me from\par the law of sin and of death. "The law" in both occurrences here\par indicates "a given principle acting uniformly." Now as to "the law of\par sin and of death," the latter part of Chapter Seven made abundantly\par clear what that was--the power of sin working in our unredeemed bodies\par against which even man's renewed will was powerless.\par \par But now, another "law" has come in: not only has the believer life in\par the Risen Christ, but to him has been given the Holy Spirit as the\par power of that life: so that the Spirit becomes the Almighty Agent\par within the believer, securing him wholly, making effectual in\par experience that "deliverance which Paul saw when he cried in Chapter\par 7:24, 25: "Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? I thank\par God [for deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord." Of course, the\par deliverance [167] is through Christ, for it is Christ's own risen life\par the believer now shares. But it is the blessed Holy Spirit as "the\par Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," who makes the deliverance an\par experience. That is, the constant operation of the Spirit makes\par effectual in those who have life in Christ Jesus, that deliverance\par which belongs to those in Christ.\par \par How wonderful, how limitless, the patience of the blessed Spirit of\par God! Moment by moment, day by day, month by month, year by year,\par through all the conscious and unconscious processes of tens of\par thousands of believers, the Spirit acts with a uniformity that is\par called "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." In the newest\par convert, in the oldest saint, He gives freedom from the law of sin and\par of death! "Sin in the flesh, which was my torment, is already judged,\par but in Another; so that there is for me no condemnation on account of\par the flesh. . . . We lose communion with God, and dishonor the Lord by\par our behavior, in not walking, according to the Spirit of life, worthy\par of the Lord. But we are no longer under the law of sin, but, having\par died with Christ, and become partakers of a new life in Him and of the\par Holy Spirit, we are delivered from this law."\par \par Verses 3, 4: For, (the thing the Law could not do, because it was\par powerless on account of the flesh), God, having sent His own Son in\par the likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:\par that the righteous result of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who\par walk not according to flesh, but according to Spirit.\par \par Several things appear at once from this passage:\par \par 1. God did a thing that the Law could not do.\par \par 2. The thing that God did was to make possible a holy life for those\par walking by His indwelling Spirit.\par \par 3. The reason that the Law was unable to bring about this holy life,\par lay in the flesh (Greek, sarks), the "mind" of which (verse 7) is\par enmity against God, and not subject to His Law or Will. Thus, though\par the Law was holy, just, and good, in itself, it only irritated by its\par commands a sinful flesh that was not subject to it.\par \par 4. God's plan (which, we must remember, is "apart from law," without\par law's help or "rule," but the very opposite--3.21; 6:14; 7:4, 6) was\par to send His own Son, who had a body "prepared for Him" (Heb. 10:5),\par and was born according to the angel's words to Mary in Luke 1:35:\par \par "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most\par High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born\par shall be called holy, the Son of God." So, although sinless, our\par Lord Jesus Christ was born in the likeness of "flesh of sin,"--in\par the likeness of the bodies of the children of Adam, bodies under\par bondage to sin.\par \par 5. God's purpose, as revealed in this passage, was to get at sin as\par connected with human flesh, and deal with it at the cross in the way\par of righteous condemnation, so that sin would no longer have rights in\par human bodies. The preposition "for" (Gr. peri) in the words and for\par sin is the common word in the Septuagint for sacrifices for sin. But\par it refers here in Romans 8:3 not so much to atonement for sin's guilt\par before God,--that has already been fully set forth in Chapters Three\par to Five. The question here (and in Chapters Six to Eight entire)\par regards the thing Sin itself rather than its guilt. [168]\par \par It is of the very first importance for the believer to recognize the\par two great facts which Paul develops concerning Christ's work on the\par cross:\par \par First, His blood shed for us in expiation of our guilt. Considering\par this, one always thinks of the righteous claims of God's throne\par against us, and of their being satisfied, fully met, by Christ's shed\par blood; and of our being thus brought nigh to God.\par \par Second, Our death with Christ, as "made sin for us." Because of our\par condition of sinfulness, as connected with Adam, and thus "in the\par flesh," we died with Christ. When we believed upon Him, Christ became\par our Adam, and God dated our history back to Calvary, and commanded us\par to reckon ourselves dead to sin because we died with Him\par federally,--thus our history in Adam was ended before God: so that He\par plainly says to us, "Ye are not in flesh"--where once we were:\par Chapters 8:9 and 7:5. Compare Eph. 2:1-3.\par \par Now, in Chapter 8.3, God goes more explicitly into having Christ\par identified with us, made to become sin on our behalf, our old man\par crucified with Him. It was that God might thus condemn sin in the\par flesh, dealing with it judicially: as connected potentially with the\par whole human race, and actually with believers.\par \par When Adam sinned, his federal relationship involved all his posterity\par in condemnation (5:18, 19), but he also "begat a son in His own\par likeness." ALL since Adam have participated in the fallen nature of\par Adam. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one."\par "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive\par me." "We [now believers] were by nature children of wrath."\par \par Now, human thoughts and philosophies, being under, and recognizing,\par this proneness to evil, and referring it to the body as the conscious\par abode of sin and source of sin's lusts and temptations, have praised a\par disembodied state as the only desirable one. Not only the Manicheans\par and the Buddhists, but real Christians who ought to know better, have\par regarded a disembodied spiritual state as their hope: "This robe of\par flesh I'll drop, and rise," etc. "Modernists" today, generally,--as\par unbelievers in all periods, deny the resurrection of the material\par body.\par \par But in Romans 8:3 God tells us that sin as connected with flesh has\par been condemned, dealt with; although it has not yet been removed. Some\par pious and very earnest people have spoken of and sought after\par "eradication of the sin-principle from the body." But the redemption\par of the body lies in the future, at Christ's coming. Meanwhile, "We\par that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we\par would be unclothed, [disembodied spirits] but that we would be clothed\par upon . . . with our habitation which is from Heaven" (our glorified\par bodies at Christ's coming): "that what is mortal may be swallowed up\par of life" (II Cor. 5:4).\par \par But the foundation both for the resurrection of the sleeping saints\par when Christ comes, and for the changing of living believers, lies here\par in Romans 8:3: sin has been condemned as connected with human flesh.\par This gives God, speaking reverently, the righteous right to transform\par and catch up into glory the bodies of His saints.\par \par It also gives the Risen Christ the glorious right to live in these\par bodies of ours while they are on earth; and to walk in us, therefore,\par daily, in resurrection victory! The only condition of such victorious\par life, is that we ourselves walk by that indwelling Spirit which has\par been given to us.\par \par Again, speaking reverently, the Spirit has no commission in this\par dispensation to go beyond the work done by our Lord on the cross. But\par that work on the cross was perfect, and far-reaching indeed. Not only\par  did Christ there put away our guilt before God by His blood, but there\par our old man was crucified with Him: sin was condemned as having any\par connection with human flesh!\par \par And for sin--The evident reference to the second phase of the\par sin-offering is apparent in these words. The question in this verse is\par not one of atonement for guilt, but of the dealing in judgment with\par that which was not to be atoned for! The evil of our natures is not\par atoned for, but judged, at the cross. The first phase of the\par sin-offering of Leviticus Four is the sprinkling of the blood before\par Jehovah, outside the veil of the most holy place, and the putting of\par the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before Jehovah,\par which golden altar, according to Heb. 9:3, 4 pertained to the holy of\par holies, the Shechinah presence of God; and the pouring out at the base\par of the brazen altar at the door of the tabernacle, the rest of the\par blood; together with the burning of the fat--symbol of the inner\par affections--upon that brazen altar.\par \par This first phase is seen to represent the power of the shed blood of\par Christ to bring us nigh to God--always the first thing.\par \par Then the second phase is seen in verses 11 and 12 (Lev 4), where\par \par --"the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a\par clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood\par with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt."\par \par Here, surely, is something further than the putting away of guilt by\par the shed blood. The fire, burning to ashes that sin-offering, seems to\par indicate God's holy dealing with sin itself, after the shed blood has\par made the offerer nigh. It surely has a most solemn significance, for\par there is no atonement to be made for our evil nature.\par \par At the cross, God having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful\par flesh, and having laid on Him as our Substitute our sins, now secures\par that opportunity which He sought--to deal with sin itself as connected\par with flesh. And He did deal in judgment. Sin, as connected with flesh,\par is a condemned, though not yet removed, thing. [169]\par \par The thing the Law could not do--was accomplished by God! The law was\par powerless on account of the flesh. The Law holy, just and good, could\par command; but the flesh was not subject to it, and could not be.\par Therefore the Law could forbid, rebuke, reprimand, and curse, sin; but\par could not effectually condemn it, as connected with the flesh. When\par Christ comes, thank God, we shall be freed from the very presence of\par sin. But it has already been condemned in the flesh, and should be\par reckoned so by us all. Just as really as our sins were put away by the\par blood of Christ, so was sin in the flesh condemned, judgment executed\par  on it.\par \par In Romans 8:3, God so "condemned" sin,--so dealt with it, that it was\par thereafter a convict--as regards the flesh.\par \par This had no more been done before, than our sins had been borne\par before! Not until the Cross were sins borne, and not until the cross\par was Sin judicially dealt with in the flesh. Sin has thus no more\par rights in us now, than it will have in our glorified bodies!\par \par As we shall see in verse 9, believers are not in the flesh before God,\par at all. This is the second glorious truth; the first being that\par because sin as connected with human flesh has been dealt with by God,\par all danger from it, all possible condemnation for those in Christ\par Jesus, is over.\par \par Verse 4: That the righteous result of the Law [which the Law sought in\par vain] might be fulfilled in us--Now let us say at once that a\par righteous state of living, while it is to be brought about in the\par Christian, is not what God primarily seeks; but rather "that we should\par be holy and without blame before Him IN LOVE." This will begin to be\par developed in Romans, but more thoroughly in other epistles.\par Nevertheless, our first occupation must be with the truth as set forth\par in God's order. The Law commanded a wholly righteous walk toward God\par and toward our neighbor. But David said:\par \par \par "I have seen an end of all perfection;\par \par Thy commandment is exceedingly broad."\par \par Throughout the Psalms, and all the Old Testament Saints' experiences,\par we find that there is under the Law, an almost constant striving and\par groaning after a righteous state,--seen, but not experienced, because\par the Law consisted of outer enactments, to be fulfilled by man. The Law\par furnished no power. Now in Romans 8:4 we have three things: first,\par this righteous state or result; second, the fact that it was not\par fulfilled by us--we have no more power in ourselves than had the Old\par Testament saints: but it is fulfilled in us--it is the passive voice:\par be fulfilled. Third, it is fulfilled in us as we consent to reject the\par flesh and choose to walk according to the Spirit. In the Spirit lies\par all the power. With us, the responsibility of choice--a blessed,\par solemn one!\par \par Verse 5: For those who are according to flesh, [170] the things of the\par flesh do mind; but those according to Spirit, the things of the\par Spirit.\par \par The word phronousin, "mind," does not here have reference to intellect\par or understanding, but to the attention or occupation of the being,\par caused by its natural disposition. And we find thus two classes;\par first, those according to flesh. This we believe includes here all\par those not born of God, that is, still in a state of nature, in which\par class Ephesians 2:3 shows believers once to have been: "We also once\par lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of\par the thoughts." Second, those according to Spirit. These are God's true\par children, the Holy Spirit, of whom they were born, indwelling all of\par them.\par \par The distinction between these two classes is as real as that between\par the sheep and goat nations at Christ's coming, or between those\par written in the book of life and those not written, at the last\par judgment. An unconquerable sadness rises in our hearts at the fact\par that after these centuries upon centuries of Divine dealing with man,\par and especially since the gospel has been preached, as Paul declares,\par "in all creation under heaven" (Col. 1:23), there are yet those like\par Cain, Esau, Balaam, Saul, Judas, that are according to flesh. Alas,\par this description includes the mass of our race, for it is only "a\par little flock" that can be described as being according to Spirit.\par \par Now all those according to flesh cherish, desire, are occupied with,\par and absorbed in, talk of, think of, follow after, the things of flesh;\par those according to Spirit, likewise discern, value, love, are absorbed\par in, the things of Spirit. [171]\par \par Those according to flesh "mind" the flesh's things: its physical\par lusts,--gluttony, uncleanness, slothfulness; its soulical\par lusts,--mental delights, pleasures of the imagination, esthetic\par indulgences, or "tastes"--whether art, music, sculpture, or what not;\par its spiritual lusts,--of pride, envy, malice, avarice: in a word,\par every unclean thing, and every good thing used by unclean\par persons,--that is, persons not cleansed by the blood of Christ, not\par new creatures in Him. Then, too, there is the "religion" of the flesh,\par which includes all not of and in the Holy Ghost.\par \par And there are those who are according to Spirit,--who "mind" the\par Spirit's things: salvation, the person of Christ, the fellowship of\par the saints, the Word of God, prayer, praise prophecy, the blessed hope\par of Christ's coming, walking as He walked before men. True, many, many\par of these fall woefully short (as they well know); yet they mind the\par things of Spirit, the things of God, to some degree, while others will\par have nothing of them.\par \par The reason immediately appears:\par \par Verse 6: For the mind (phronema--noun form of the verb of verse 5) of\par the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit, life and peace. It is\par terrible to contemplate a mind, disposition, purpose, so set on death\par (which is its end) that it can be said to be death. It is a most\par solemn contemplation that we who are in Christ were once in the flesh,\par the mind and disposition of which we could not and would not change,\par and which was death itself!\par \par The King James rendering in this verse is hopelessly obscure. God does\par not say that "to be carnally minded" is death, but that the mind of\par the flesh, in which they are, is death. Further, He does not say, "to\par be spiritually minded is life and peace," as if it were a state into\par which the believer came; but He does say, the mind of the Spirit is\par life and peace. In neither case does God speak of people, but of the\par flesh and of the Spirit. If you are according to Spirit, having been\par born of God, there is indwelling you a mighty One, the Comforter,\par whose whole mind, disposition, and manner of being and ruling within\par you, is life and peace. This "life" is the life of the Risen Christ,\par which the Spirit, as "the Spirit of grace," supplies (Heb. 10:29, Gal.\par 3:5); and this "peace" is that of Christ as spoken of in Isaiah: "Of\par the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end."\par \par Verse 7: Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God: for it\par is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Here the\par disposition (mind) of the flesh is shown to be the reason why that\par disposition is death. Perhaps no one text of Scripture more completely\par sets forth the hideously lost state of man after the flesh. For the\par disposition (mind) of the flesh is enmity itself toward God! There was\par indeed, as we saw in Chapter 5:10, reconcilement to God while we were\par enemies, but it did not in any wise consist in changing the nature of\par the flesh. On the contrary, we were transferred by death with Christ,\par into the Risen Christ, the flesh remaining unchanged. Your estate\par while in the flesh was as lost by nature as that of the demons. For\par nothing worse could be said of them than that they are enmity toward\par God and are not able to be subject to His law. God certainly has given\par the flesh up, and nothing but sovereign mercy ever redeemed a human\par being. [172]\par \par Verse 8: And those who are in flesh cannot please God--This is God's\par sweeping announcement concerning all mankind that are out of Christ.\par In this sense, all in the flesh are out of Christ. Those in the flesh,\par even if, like Cain, they would worship God, would come in their own\par way,--the flesh's way, which God cannot accept. Terrible prospect! in\par a state forever displeasing to Him in whom is all blessing. Such are\par all not born of God.\par \par Verse 9: But ye are not in flesh but in Spirit, if so be that the\par Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Here the great mark of a true Christian\par is, that the Spirit of God dwells in him. If he is indwelt by the\par Spirit of God, he is not "in flesh," but instead an entirely different\par kind of being,--"in Spirit." The Spirit becomes now the element in\par which the believer lives, like water to the fish, or air to the bird,\par vital, supplying, protecting.\par \par Practically, there are those, like the men of Ephesus--"about twelve\par (Acts 19:1), who were disciples," but did not have the Holy Spirit,--a\par fact Paul instantly discerned. Their answer to his question in verse\par 2, is wrongly translated in the King James. They really said, "We did\par not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was" (or, "was given": it\par is exactly the same form as John 7:39, "The Spirit was not yet;\par because Jesus was not yet glorified"). John the Baptist had constantly\par taught about the Holy Spirit, that He that should come after him would\par give them the Holy Spirit. It was concerning the coming of the Holy\par Spirit at Pentecost that these at Ephesus were ignorant. They were\par honest: they were converted men; they had been baptized with John's\par baptism of repentance. John had said that they should, however,\par believe on Him that should come after him--on Jesus. Now Paul takes\par them and instructs them that Christ's redeeming work having been fully\par finished on the cross, the Holy Spirit was come, and was given to all\par believers.\par \par "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on\par them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (vs. 6).\par \par Now they were in the full Christian position. Thousands upon thousands\par of earnest, professing Christians have, we believe, like these, not\par yet heard "that the Holy Spirit was," that is, had definitely come on\par the scene at Pentecost, to be given to every believer. He is here! The\par gift of Him and His indwelling constitutes the distinctive mark of\par Christians.\par \par Many sincere people are yet spiritually under John the Baptist's\par ministry of repentance. Their state is practically that of the\par struggle of Romans Seven, where neither Christ nor the Holy Spirit is\par mentioned, but only a quickened but undelivered soul in struggle under\par a sense of "duty," not a sense of full acceptance in Christ and\par sealing by the Holy Spirit. [173]\par \par But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.\par \par Now this sentence would seem at first to rule out what we have been\par saying in the foot-note on the Holy Spirit. But, that the apostle is\par not speaking of those who will shortly have the Spirit of Christ, they\par being sincere, godly souls, is at once evident when we remember that\par Cornelius, and those twelve men at Ephesus, were sincere disciples as\par far as their light went: and in them God is simply showing us the\par processes of the work of salvation in real saints. Whereas, when Paul\par says none of His, he is speaking in an absolute way of those who are\par Christ's and those who are not. Those who are Christ's either have or\par will have the Spirit. Sad to say, it may not be until on a death-bed,\par when at last the soul renounces all hope but the shed blood of Christ,\par and is then sealed by the Spirit. Notice also here that the Spirit is\par called the Spirit of Christ. This is, of course, the Holy Spirit, (not\par the mind or disposition of Christ). [174] He is called the Spirit of\par Christ, because Christ promised and sent Him: "The Comforter, whom I\par will send unto you from the Father,--the Spirit of truth, which\par proceedeth from the Father," (John 15:26); "Having received of the\par Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Christ] hath poured forth\par this which ye see and hear" (Acts 2:33). And also because He manifests\par Christ: "He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall\par declare it unto you" (John 16:14). Those therefore who belong to\par Christ have thus His Spirit given to them, always, as we said above,\par (if they are not still in the preparatory states of repentance, or\par legal struggle against sin, as in Romans Seven) when they rest\par believingly in Christ and His work!\par \par Dwelleth in you--This word dwelleth is a touching word, used five\par times of the Spirit's making His home within us, in every redeemed\par one!\par \par Verse 10: And if Christ is in you, the body indeed is dead, on account\par of sin; but the Spirit is life, on account of righteousness.\par \par Here in this tenth verse we have the answer to our Lord's prayer in\par John 17:21, 22: "I pray . . . that they may all be one; even as Thou,\par Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us: . . .\par that they may be one, even as we are one."\par \par We have seen in an earlier chapter how we came to be in Christ: that\par God, having ended our history before Himself as connected with the\par first Adam, at the cross, created us in Christ, the Last Adam, the\par Second Man. Thus was the one part of our Lord's intercession answered.\par We are in Christ. But the other part of the great mystery is here\par before us in Romans 8:10: Christ is in us. Although, as we know, He is\par within us by His Spirit, yet it is Christ Himself who is in us. That\par the Spirit can make Christ present in us, we see in the beautiful\par words of II Corinthians 3:17, 18: "Now the Lord is the Spirit: . . .\par We . . . are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even\par as from the Lord the Spirit. Or, as Paul says in the solemn words of\par II Corinthians 13:5: "Know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus\par Christ is in you?" [175]\par \par Our Lord said in John 14:10, 11: "Believe Me that I am in the Father,\par and the Father in Me." Christ and His Father were distinct persons,\par yet one, in being, life, love, and purpose. "I and the Father are\par one." "The living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father."\par "The Father loveth the Son . . . I love the Father." "I glorified Thee\par . . . glorify Thou Me with Thine own self." A similar marvelous union\par our blessed Lord asked and obtained for us with Himself: "That they\par may be one, even as We are one!" "That they may be in Us" (John\par 17:21-23).\par \par Returning to Romans 8:10: There is a double fact stated concerning\par those in whom Christ by His Spirit is. First, the body is dead.\par Second, the Spirit is life. It is evident that our bodies here are\par contrasted with our spirits, and these as in the Holy Spirit. It is\par well that we thoroughly understand and believe that our bodies are in\par no sense redeemed as yet. They are "dead" as regards any emotion\par Godward; and this "because of sin." Those who teach and seek\par "eradication of the sinful principle," as they call it, would do well\par to ponder this tenth verse.\par \par The other blessed fact, that the Spirit is life because of\par righteousness, is enough for our present walk. "Him who knew no sin\par God made to become sin on our behalf, that we might become the\par righteousness of God in Him." Not only are our sins put away and we\par ourselves "justified from all things"; but we have been created in\par Christ Jesus. The new creature, Paul tells us, "hath been created\par after God in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Eph. 4:24). It is\par striking in Romans 8:10 that the noun life is opposed to the adjective\par dead. Our spirits before they were new-created in Christ, were alive\par so far as existence is concerned but had no life as God counts\par life--for that is only in Christ and by the Spirit.\par \par We read "Spirit" in this verse, meaning the Holy Spirit. The sense\par being, that the Spirit, by whose power we were made partakers of the\par risen life of Christ, acts constantly as "the Lord the Spirit," (as\par quoted above from II Cor. 3:17) as the maintainer and supplier of that\par life of Christ in us. The Holy Spirit alone could be called life! We\par recognize that the human body and the human spirit seem to be\par contrasted in the verse before us. [176] Yet we remember Galatians\par 5:25: "We live by the Spirit"; and Romans 8:2: "The law of the Spirit\par of life in Christ Jesus"; and "The mind of the Spirit is life" (verse\par 6). Our spirits are now alive--and that to God! But "Christ is our\par life"; and the Administrator of that life in us is the Spirit of God.\par \par Verse 11: But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead\par dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall\par give life also to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit that dwelleth\par in you.\par \par The body--the mortal body--is the subject of this verse. Our spirits\par have been shown to have life,--now: while the body is still dead--as\par to God: But now God announces that to these bodies, so dead to God,\par holiness and heaven, is by and by to be given life!\par \par First, we are reminded that the Spirit of that God who raised up Jesus\par is dwelling in us. Now, Jesus is our Lord's personal name: "Thou shalt\par call His name Jesus." It was Jesus whom they crucified, and buried in\par Joseph's tomb. With Jesus, before His death and resurrection, we were\par not joined; but with Christ Jesus, the Risen One! This is His\par resurrection Name: indeed, He is never named thus until the Epistles.\par \par Now we are asked to reflect on that place of weakness and deadness in\par which Jesus once was. But God raised Him up from the dead. And the\par Spirit of the God who thus raised Jesus is dwelling in us!\par \par So that, although our bodies are yet dead on account of sin,--dead to\par God,--the Spirit of Him who raised up Christ Jesus from the\par dead,--Christ Jesus, in whom we now are,--this God will give life also\par to these poor mortal bodies of ours! And it will be by His Spirit who\par now indwells us! (This word "mortal" means, subject to physical death;\par and is used in Scripture only of the body.)\par \par What an unutterable comfort! "Whether we wake or sleep," this blessed\par indwelling Spirit of God will give life to these mortal dead-to-God\par bodies of ours, so that they shall be as alive Godward as our redeemed\par spirits now are!\par \par It is present comfort beyond measure to know that when the day comes,\par God will do this blessed giving of life to our bodies through His\par Spirit that is now dwelling in us!\par \par Mortal bodies--"Mortal" and "immortal," always, as we note above, in\par Scripture refer to the body. It is "this mortal" which will "put on\par immortality" when Christ comes. "What is mortal shall be swallowed up\par of life" (I Cor. 15:35, 54; II Cor. 5:4).\par \par What blessed phases of our salvation lie in the hands of the\par indwelling Spirit!\par \par "Who shall deliver me?" That question of Chapter Seven is abundantly\par answered here in Chapter Eight! Not only from guilt, by the shed blood\par of Christ (in Chapter Five); but from the "law of sin" in the members,\par over which even man's quickened will was so impotent; and from a\par "mind" that is death, into the mind and walk of the blessed indwelling\par Spirit Himself: into a mind that is "life and peace." But further,\par now, we find that God, by that same indwelling Spirit, will bring our\par very mortal bodies,--now dead to God, and subject to death, to share\par that life in Christ which our spirits now have!\par \par 12. So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh,--according to\par flesh to be living! 13 For if ye live according to flesh, ye are about\par to die: but if, by the Spirit, ye put to death the doings of the body,\par ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by [the] Spirit of God, these\par are sons of God. 15 For ye received not a spirit of bondage again unto\par fear; but ye received a Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,\par Father. 16 The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we\par are children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God, and\par joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may\par be also glorified with Him.\par \par Verse 12: So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the\par flesh--according to flesh to be living. "So then" has all the great\par truths in mind from Chapter 6:1 to this verse! Identified with Christ,\par our old man was crucified with Him, our connection with Adam the first\par being thus broken by death. Next we share His newness of life as being\par in Christ Risen. Next the Spirit of life is caused to indwell us, by\par His almighty power setting us free from the law of sin and of\par death--because all rights of sin as connected with flesh were\par cancelled at the cross. Finally, although our body is still dead to\par God, yet the Spirit of Hi m who raised Jesus personally dwells within\par us, guaranteeing that He who raised Christ federally and caused us to\par share His risen life will make our bodies also alive toward Him when\par Christ returns. And meanwhile the indwelling Spirit becomes an\par "earnest" of the coming redemption of our bodies. "So then"--let the\par power of all these mighty truths govern our thoughts here.\par \par Now note the form of statement in verse 12: We are debtors--(indeed we\par are) to God, to Christ and to the indwelling Spirit! But this\par debtorship to God is not here pressed at all. But rather the negation\par of any debtorship whatever to the flesh! in view of our wonderful\par deliverance just recited. We are indeed debtors, but not to the\par flesh--according to flesh to be living. God formed man's body, first,\par calling: him man (Gen. 2:7). Then he breathed into his nostrils the\par breath (literally, spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. His\par bodily functions we all know. His soul-life put him in touch with the\par world into which by Divine creation he had now been introduced, but\par man was essentially a spirit, living in a body, possessing a soul. It\par was with his spirit that God communed and in which alone man was\par God-conscious.\par \par Now when man sinned, all was overthrown! The body, that was to be the\par tabernacle of this Divinely inbreathed or created spirit, took\par immediate lordship. The life of God was withdrawn from man's spirit.\par He had died to God! The spirit became the slave of the body; and the\par propensities of the latter, normal and controlled before, became the\par whole urge or driving force of man's existence! His soul, also, which\par included his five "senses,"--which perceived and enjoyed the external\par universe; with his reason and imagination, became controlled by what\par God called "the flesh." "The thoughts of man's heart," becam e "only\par evil and that continually."\par \par Now in the new birth the dead spirit (dead to God) is by Divine\par creation made alive, or enlifed with Christ; and the Holy Spirit\par becomes the sphere of man's newly created spirit; for whatever the\par believer's progress may be, he is no longer in flesh but in Spirit!\par \par The body's demands are the same as ever, because the body is not yet\par redeemed; and to live after the desires of the body--"according to\par flesh" Paul warns:\par \par Verse 13: For if ye live according to flesh, ye are about to die--Here\par is a terrible warning: (1) It is one of the great red lights by which\par God keeps His elect out of fatal paths. (Compare I Cor. 15:2, Col.\par 1:23.) (2) It shows how those who have received a knowledge of the\par truth and are addressed by the apostle as among God's people, may yet\par be choosing a flesh-walk--which involves the refusal of the\par Spirit--refusal to be  led by Him, as are all God's real sons (verse\par 14). (3) Death, here, is of course eternal death, as in Chapter Six:\par "The end of these things is death"; and here in Chapter Eight: "The\par mind of the flesh is death." (4) Note that expression "about to die"\par (mellete). Those following a flesh-walk are not yet viewed as dead, so\par let them hear and repent quickly, lest they become as those professing\par Christians became in Jude 12: Autumn trees without fruit, twice dead,\par plucked up by the roots,"--summer ended, a fruitless autumn, and\par Divine cursing. or "twice dead" means that there was an awakening, a\par quickening, and a tasting, as in Hebrews Six; tasting of the heavenly\par gift--eternal life; then, final apostasy, and withdrawal of all\par gracious influences; the very roots, as in the barren fig tree,\par plucked up and withered. Born again? No. Yet "escaping the defilements\par of the world," only to choose to go back to a "tw ice-dead" condition.\par Surely the mind of the flesh is death!\par \par But if, by the Spirit, ye put to death the doings of the body, ye\par shall live--Here is a most definite word that the body is under the\par control of sin; and a most definite statement as to the manner of a\par holy life.\par \par 1. The deeds, or doings of the body are naturally selfish, and so,\par evil, for the body is not redeemed. (See same word "deed" in Luke\par 23:51.) The body would have its every desire gratified--because it so\par desires. It has no governor in itself but the sin by which it is still\par dead--to God and all holiness. Even the lawful needs and desires of\par the body become sinful and deathful if the body is allowed to rule. In\par Chapter 6:12 we hear: "Let not sin reign in your mortal body that ye\par should obey the desires of it" (the body). The beasts and birds follow\par the instincts and desires of their bodies, being without spirit,\par  conscience or sin. But man cannot do so. For he has,--yea, he is,\par essentially a spirit,--though he dwells in a bodily tabernacle, and\par has a conscience, under the eye of which all his consents or refusals\par pass, and that constantly. And to let his unredeemed body govern him,\par is to fall far below the very beasts: for he lets sin reign in his\par mortal body, when he lets the lusts of the body control his decisions.\par \par 2. Now God says the "doings" of the body are to be put to death. Not\par that our bodies are not dear to God. They are,--and if we are Christ's\par our bodies are members of Christ (I Cor. 6:15). But they are not\par redeemed as yet. And God has left us in these unredeemed bodies, that\par we may learn--(1) the badness of our old self-life, as we see that in\par our flesh there dwelleth no good thing; (2) the exceeding sinfulness\par of sin,--and learn to hate and abhor it; (3) the sweet and blessed\par path of relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit,--nay, even of using His\par Almighty and willing power by acts of simple faith; for it reads, "If\par WE, by the Spirit, put to death the doings of the body."\par \par For we must note most carefully that a holy life is to be lived by us.\par It is not that we have any power,--we have none. But God's Spirit\par dwells in us for the express object of being railed "upon by us to put\par to death the doings of the body." Self-control is one of that sweet\par cluster called "the fruit of the Spirit," in Galatians 5:22.\par \par How confidently Paul walked in this power of the Spirit! "In the Holy\par Spirit," he says, in II Corinthians 6:6,--"in pureness," etc. And\par again, "I will not be brought under the power of any" bodily\par desire,--however lawful. And again, "I buffet my body, and bring it\par into subjection; lest, having preached to others, I myself should be\par rejected" (I Cor. 6:13; 9:27).\par \par A holy life without a controlled body is an absolute contradiction;\par not to be dreamed of for a moment. Indeed, God goes further here, and\par says, "Ye shall live,--if ye by the Spirit put to death the doings of\par the body": the opposite path being, "If ye live according to flesh, ye\par are about to die!"\par \par When we announce that the Scripture teaching is that walking by the\par Holy Spirit has taken the place of walking under the rule of the\par Mosaic law, there remains to be examined, and that most carefully,\par just what walking by the Spirit means.\par \par 1. It does not mean to desert the use of our faculties of moral\par perception or of moral judgment.\par \par Although there doubtless are occasions in which the believer, being\par filled with the Spirit, acts in a wholly unanticipated way; and\par although there may be times when he will be carried quite out of\par himself in ecstasies of joy or love; and although the believer walking\par by the Spirit will normally be conscious of the almighty power within,\par of triumph over the world and the flesh: nevertheless the feet of the\par believer will never be swept from the path of conscious moral\par determination. He will always know that so far as decisions of moral\par matters are concerned, he has still the sense of moral accountability,\par or, perhaps better, responsibility. The believer's own conscience will\par protest against any such letting go of himself as has been\par unfortunately found throughout Church history when people have\par submitted themselves to such ecstatic states that moral judgment and\par self-control were cast to the winds.\par \par We do indeed read of most remarkable experiences, and that in deeply\par approved saints, in which their spirits were overwhelmed by the vision\par of Divine things, and we must adduce that in such experiences they\par were rapt and ecstatic; but never to the losing of that self-control\par which, we read in Galatians 5:22, is a fruit of the Spirit. Even in\par the exercise of the gifts spoken of by the apostle in I Corinthians 12\par to 14, it is definitely declared, "The spirits of the prophets are\par subject to the prophets."\par \par It is in the abandonment of the sense of moral responsibility into\par unscriptural surrender of the mental and spiritual faculties,--into\par other control than self-control directed by the Holy Spirit, that such\par awful extravagances have occurred in Church history.\par \par 2. To be led by the Spirit does indeed involve the surrender of our\par wills to God. But God, on His side, does not crush into fatalistic\par abandon those very faculties with which He has endowed men. On the\par contrary, the surrendered saint immediately finds His faculties\par marvelously quickened,--his faculties both of mind and of sensibility.\par All the powers of his soul-life (which include his intellect, tastes,\par feelings, emotions, and recollective memory) are renewed. His will\par being yielded to God, God now "works in Him to will" as well as "to do\par of His good pleasure,"--in which the surrendered saint rejoices.\par \par But while it is indeed God who works in us even to will, yet it is\par true that walking in the Spirit is still our own choice: "If ye by the\par Spirit put to death the doings of the body"--we read. The Holy Spirit\par is infinitely ready, but God leads rather than compels.\par \par There is deep mystery, no doubt, in the great double fact of God is\par working in us to will, and on the other hand, of our choosing His\par will, moment by moment. We can only affirm that both are taught in\par Scripture, and we ourselves know both to be blessedly true.\par \par Verses 14, 15: For as many as are led by [the] Spirit of God, these\par are sons of God. For ye received not a spirit of bondage again unto\par fear;--Let us look first at the words "sons of God"; and second at\par what is meant by being "led by the Spirit"; third, let us see that our\par being thus in the Spirit's sphere and control is the proof of the\par reality of our sonship.\par \par 1. "Sons" means "adult-sons," sons come of age (see footnote, verse\par 15). The term, when referring to saints, is applied in Paul's epistles\par both to Christ (Rom. 1:3, 4, 9); and to those associated with Him\par since His resurrection (Gal. 4:4-7); therefore to His own saints,\par sealed by the Spirit--those sons whom God is "bringing unto glory."\par \par 2. Being "led by the Spirit" does not refer here to service, nor to\par "guidance" in particular paths. It refers to that general control by\par the blessed Spirit of those born of the Spirit, living by the Spirit,\par in the Spirit. He is the sphere and mode of their being, and is their\par seal unto the day of redemption.\par \par 3. That our being thus in the Spirit's sphere and control is the proof\par of the reality of our sonship, is evident from what has been said; but\par let us avoid the thought that assurance of our sonship is based on our\par perfect obedience to the Spirit. Nothing is based upon us. If one of\par God's true saints disobeys, it is the office of that same Spirit to\par convict him of his sin, interceding in Him "according to God" (Rom.\par 8:27), while Christ intercedes for him above (I John 2:1).\par \par Israel received a spirit of bondage when they were placed under the\par Law. And how sad that perhaps the most of Christians regard themselves\par as under the Law and so under bondage. In this they are like the\par world, which fears Christ as (they think) a hard taskmaster. Now the\par result of a spirit of bondage was fear. When Israel walked in the\par wilderness with Jehovah dwelling in darkness in the holy of holies in\par the tabernacle, they were taught to fear. For Jehovah was teaching a\par sinful people His holiness and separateness from them, and how to draw\par near Him only by sacrifices.\par \par But when Christ came, all was different. He came not noticing or\par marking sin. Quickly the common people became glad. Proud religion\par called Him "a friend of publicans and sinners"--and He was. We have no\par words to express the limitless graciousness of God manifested in the\par flesh--in Christ.\par \par But how much beyond even those favored to see "the days of the Son of\par Man" on earth is the position of those in Christ Risen: sin put away\par forever, released from the old Adam life and responsibilities, and now\par the Spirit sent witnessing in our hearts--the very Spirit of God's\par Son. A spirit of fear and bondage is as out of place now as if one\par caught up with Christ in the Rapture were afraid to face God, in whose\par Son he is!\par \par Ye received a spirit of adult-sonship, [177] whereby we cry Abba,\par Father!\par \par Verse 16: The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we\par are born-ones of God.\par \par The manner of communication between the Holy Spirit and our spirit is\par a profound mystery. Indeed all man's vaunted knowledge is challenged\par by Jehovah's word to Job: "Who hath given understanding to the mind?"\par We do not speak now with the mere purpose of ridiculing man's vaunted\par knowledge, but simply to state facts. Human philosophy and science\par know absolutely nothing about the quality or nature of spirit.\par \par God, in this passage in Romans, does not address Himself at all to\par human intellect, but to the consciousness of His saints. [178] The\par Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit. There is no certainty\par comparable with this!\par \par "With our spirit"--We are not told that the Spirit bears witness to\par our spirit, as if the knowledge that we are God's children were some\par unheard of, undreamed matter to our own spirits. But He beareth\par witness with our spirit, showing that the child of God, having had\par communicated to him God's own nature (II Pet. 1:4), Christ's own life\par (I Cor. 6:17), is fundamentally, necessarily conscious of the glorious\par fact of filial relationship to God. Along with this consciousness, the\par Spirit indwelling witnesses, enabling us, moving us, to cry, "Abba,\par Father." There is life before this, just as the new-born babe has life\par and breath before it forms a syllable. It is significant that the\par Spirit indwelling is the power whereby we cry, Abba, Father,--by His\par enlightenment. His encouragement, His energy.\par \par The operations of a man's mind either in philosophy or in science\par constitute an eternal quest for certainty. The conclusions of\par philosophy are based upon theories and hypotheses and are always being\par challenged and perpetually overthrown by succeeding new schemes of\par philosophy. And even the dearest discoveries of science await new\par explanations--of the very constitution of the universe they are\par invented in.\par \par But with the child of God--the born-again family, there is no such\par uncertainty! A child of God knows. And the blessed Holy Spirit, by\par whose inscrutable power he was born again, keeps forever witnessing\par with his consciousness,--and that through no processes of his mind,\par but directly, that he is a born-one of God.\par \par This is most natural and could not be otherwise. Children in an\par earthly family grow up together as a family, their parents addressing\par them as children, their brothers and sisters knowing them to be such.\par It is the most beautiful thing in the natural world!\par \par How much more certain, yea, how much more wonderful and beautiful, is\par the constantly witnessed relationship of His children to God: the\par Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are born-ones\par [179] of God. Believers will find themselves calling God Father, in\par their prayers and communion. This witness will spring up of itself in\par the heart that has truly rested in Christ and His shed blood.\par \par Conversely, if we find ourselves always in our prayers saying Lord,\par Lord, and never Father, we should be concerned, and should go back to\par the beginnings of things,--that is, to the record concerning our\par guilt, in Romans Three, and our helplessness, and to the fact that God\par has set forth Christ as a propitiation; and resting there, in His shed\par blood, we should boldly call God Father, and cultivate that habit.\par \par Nor, in our judgment, should Christians permit themselves habits of\par address in prayer not authorized and exemplified in Scripture. Our\par Lord Jesus prayed saying, "Father," "My Father," "O righteous Father."\par He did not say, "Almighty God," nor did He use the name "Jehovah," as\par Israel did in the Psalms and elsewhere. He said, "Father." And He said\par to us, "When ye pray, say, Father." (Note Luke 11:2 in the Revised\par Version.) "We have our access," says Paul, "in one Spirit unto the\par Father." "To us there is one God, the Father" (I Cor. 8:6). Today,\par also, some devoted Christians address God as "Father-God." But why not\par say, "Father," as our Lord directed and the Spirit witnesses? To say\par "Father-God," makes the first word an adjective!\par \par Some may say, "It is foolish and unnecessary to make such\par discriminations." But if God "sent forth the Spirit of His Son into\par our hearts, crying, Abba, Father," we speak to the Father as did our\par beloved Savior Himself. This is infinite grace, and should be\par appreciated and cultivated by us. Moreover, if you were going into the\par presence of the King of England, you would take thought for a proper\par form of address. How infinitely rather when you address God!\par \par Verse 17: If born-ones, then heirs--We have noted that the word for\par children here, tekna, is different from the word for adult-sons\par (huioi) of verse 14. The word indicates the fact that we are really\par begotten of God through His Word by His Spirit, and are partakers of\par His nature. Heirship is from relationship. The young ruler who came\par running to the Lord saying, "What good thing shall I do that I may\par inherit eternal life?" was a perfect example of a legalist. Indeed,\par Nicodemus, beloved man, "understood not these things"--of being born\par again. Now, if a man is really a child of God by begetting and birth,\par he becomes indissolubly God's heir! This is a fact of such\par overwhelming magnitude that our poor hearts hardly grasp it. It is\par said of no angel, cherub, or seraph, that he is an heir of God.\par Believer, if you will reflect, meditate deeply, on this, I am born of\par God; I am one of His heirs! earthly things will shrink to nothing.\par Now, J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., has inherited his father's wealth: why?\par Because he was his father's born son. The young ruler said, "What must\par I do to inherit?" a contradiction in itself!\par \par Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ--I could not have the\par presumption to write these words if they were not in God's holy Book.\par That a guilty, lost, wretched child of Adam the First should have\par written of him, a joint-heir with Christ, the Eternal Maker of all\par things, the Well-beloved of the Father, the Righteous One, the Prince\par of life--only God the God of all grace could prepare such a destiny\par for such a creature!\par \par And, we may humbly say, perhaps, that God could only do this by\par joining us in eternal union with His beloved Son, as the Last Adam,\par the Second Man; having released us from Adam the First and all his\par connections, at the cross, and having placed us in Christ Risen, in\par all the boundless and everlasting rights of His dear Son, whom He has\par "appointed heir of all things!" Ages after ages of ever-increasing\par blessing forever and forever and forever, lie in prospect for\par believers--for the joint-heirs!\par \par If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with\par Him.--Here two schools of interpretation part company, one saying\par boldly that all the saints are designated, and that all shall reign\par with Christ; the other, that reigning with Christ depends upon\par voluntary choosing of a path of suffering with Him. Well, the Greek\par word eiper translated "if so be," will support either of these\par interpretations. [180]\par \par "That we may also be glorified together." This is the key to our\par question: WHO are to be glorified with Christ when He comes? In\par Chapter Five Paul says (and that of, and to, all the saints), "We\par rejoice in hope of the glory of God." And in II Thessalonians 1:10 we\par read, "When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be\par marveled at in all them that believed." And in I Corinthians 15:23:\par "Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at His coming."\par And again (Col. 3:4): "When Christ our life shall be manifested, then\par shall ye also [evidently all the saints!] with Him be manifested in\par glory." Again (I John 3:2): "Now are we [all the saints] children of\par God . . . We know that, if He shall be manifested, we [all the saints]\par shall be like Him; for we shall see Him even as He is!"\par \par Such passages leave no room at all for a "partial rapture!" All the\par saints will share Christ's glory.\par \par Now, as to places in the Kingdom, what reward we shall have, what\par responsibilities of kingdom government (in the 1000 years), we sha ll\par each be able to bear, or be entitled to, our "suffering with" Christ\par Jesus, seems to determine. "If we died with Him [as did all believers]\par we shall [all] also live with Him [in glory]; if we endure, we shall\par also reign with Him" (II Tim. 2:12, R. V.)\par \par Now the Greek word used in Romans 8:17 for "suffer with" (sumpascho)\par is used just once more in the New Testament: in I Corinthians 12:26:\par "If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." Here Paul is\par speaking of the Body of Christ into which all believers have been\par baptized by the Spirit (I Cor. 12:12, 13): "As the [human] body is\par one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being\par many, are one body; so also is Christ; For in one Spirit were we all\par baptized into one Body." Here note all believers are in this Body. And\par then, verse 26: "Whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer\par with it." Here (and mark again! this is the only occurrence of the word\par besides Rom. 8:17) "suffering with" is not a voluntary matter, but one\par necessitated by the relationship. If someone should tread upon your\par foot, your whole body would be exercised. So it is with Christ and His\par members.\par \par Now as to the other word, of II Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we shall\par also reign with Him"; this word is entirely different: but (and note\par this), the subject of which it treats is different. Being a joint-heir\par with Christ, and being a member of His Body, and therefore, sharing\par necessarily those sufferings that every member of a living Christ will\par suffer in a world where Satan is prince, is one thing; gaining the\par ability to have victory over Satan and the world, entering gladly into\par the conflict those sufferings involve, and enduring, is perhaps an\par additional thing, fitting one for reigning with Christ, though all His\par members are joint"-heirs with Him.\par \par (Notice "endure"--(Gr. hupomeno)--of II Timothy 2:12 in several\par instances: Heb. 12:2, 3, 7; Jas. 1:12; 5:11; I Cor. 13:7.)\par \par 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not\par worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to\par us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation is waiting for\par the revealing of the sons of God.\par \par 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but\par by reason of Him who subjected it in hope: 21 because the creation\par itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the\par liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the\par whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.\par \par 23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of\par the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our\par adoption, to-wit, the redem#ption of our body. 24 For unto [a state of]\par hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth\par for that which he seeth?\par \par 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience\par wait for it.\par \par Verse 18: The word I reckon (logidzomai), is a favorite with Paul. It\par expresses faith in action. Paul had known abundant sufferings: read II\par Corinthians Eleven, and all his epistles. But like our Lord, "the\par File-Leader" (archegos--Heb. 12:2) of the column of believers, who\par endured the cross in view of the joy set before Him, despising the\par shame, Paul "reckoned" in view of the coming glory: which should be\par the constant attitude of all of us.\par \par The sufferings of this present time--"This present time"; it is\par necessary to have God's estimate of these days in which we live or we\par will be deluded into man's false thoughts. Note: "this present evil\par age" (Gal. 1:$4); "the days are evil"; "this darkness" (Eph. 5:16;\par 6:12); "the distress that is upon us"; "the fashion of this world is\par passing away" (I Cor. 7:26, 31).\par \par Are not to be compared with the glory--These Words need to be pondered\par in view of passages like Heb. 11:35-38; "tortured . . . mockings and\par scourgings . . . bonds and imprisonment, stoned . . . sawn asunder\par . . . tempted . . . slain with the sword . . . went about in\par sheepskins, in goatskins . . . destitute, afflicted, evil-treated\par . . . wandering [through] the earth." In spite of the horrors of the\par days of Nero, Diocletian and the rest; and the nameless terrors of the\par Spanish Inquisition: the "glory which shall be revealed" so swallows\par up these brief earthly troubles, that they shall not be named nor\par remembered in that day when Christ shall come.\par \par It is difficult, impossible, to depict in language all of, or any real\par measure of, wh%at is meant by the glory which shall be revealed toward\par us. In fact, as we know, we are to be glorified with Christ, to share\par His glory, and appear with Him in glory. [181] In Colossians 3:4 we\par read, "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall\par ye also with Him be manifested in glory"; and in II Thessalonians\par 1:10: "When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be\par marveled at in all them that believed." Such passages show that not\par only will the saints behold Christ's glory, but, beholding, they will\par share that glory, and be glorified with Him. This is the great object\par before God's mind now, to "bring many sons unto glory" (Heb. 2:10),\par that they may be conformed to Christ's image (Rom. 8:29).\par \par In constant view of that glory to be revealed in and through the\par Church, the sufferings which God called the saints to go through, no\par matter what they were, seemed as nothing.\par & \par Verse 19: For the earnest expectation of the creation is waiting for\par the revealing of the sons of God.\par \par The world knows nothing of this astonishing verse. All the saints\par should always have it in remembrance! Man's philosophy and science,\par taught in their schools, continually prate of "evolution" and\par "progress" in the present creation. And they go back in pure\par imagination millions of years and forward millions of years, telling\par you confidently how things came to be, and when, and what they will\par come to be; but they know nothing. Here God tells us unto what\par creation is coming--for what it is waiting: "earnestly." Whether\par inanimate things on earth (for even the rocks and hills shall sing for\par joy shortly!) or whether the moving creatures on earth or sea; or\par whether, may we say, the hosts on high--all are waiting in expectation\par for that "unveiling of the sons of God." For the word here translat'ed\par "revealing" is apokalupsis, a removal of a covering,--as when some\par wonderful statue has been completed and a veil thrown over it, people\par assemble for the "unveiling" of this work of art. It will be as when\par sky rockets are sent up on a festival night: rockets which, covered\par with brown paper, seem quite common and unattractive, but up they are\par sent into the air and then they are revealed in all colors of beauty,\par and the multitude waiting below shout in admiration. Now the saints\par are wrapped up in the common brown paper of flesh, looking outwardly\par like other folks. But the whole creation is waiting for their\par unveiling at Christ's coming, for they are connected with Christ, one\par with Him, and are to be glorified with Him at His coming.\par \par Verse 20: For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own\par will, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope:\par \par Now God, in His infinite wisdom,( thus subjected the creation, [182]\par --that is, the earth. "The whole creation" must refer to the earth,\par for the Cherubim, the Seraphim, and the holy angels were not\par "subjected to vanity"!\par \par Vanity--Here look back to the garden of Eden, and to Adam's first sin,\par the judgment of which fell not upon the man, but we read: "Cursed is\par the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of\par thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee." Here\par we find God subjecting the whole creation to "vanity,"--that is, to\par unattainment. The book of Ecclesiastes dwells long, with a mournful\par tone upon this vanity, this unattainment; things "putting forth the\par tender leaves of hope" only to have the "sudden frost" of disease and\par death end earthly hopes. "Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and\par there is no abiding," as David said in his great prayer (I Chron.\par 29:15).\par \par No)t of its own will, but by reason of Him who subjected it in\par hope--God had a vast plan, reaching on into eternity, and "hope" lies\par ahead for creation: for the Millennium is coming, and after that, a\par new heaven and earth.\par \par Verse 21: Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the\par bondage of corruption--Now although we who are in Christ are new\par creatures, yet God has left our bodies as the link with the present\par "groaning" creation. Meanwhile, how "the bondage of corruption"\par appears on every side! Death--are not all creatures in terror of it,\par seeking to escape it? Every decaying carcass of poor earth-creatures\par speaks of the `bondage of corruption." What ruin man's sin has\par effected throughout the creation, as well as upon himself! It was\par God's good pleasure, that when man sinned and became estranged from\par his God, all creation, which was under him, should be subjected to the\par "bondage* of corruption" along with him, in decay and disease and\par suffering, death, and destruction, everywhere,--of bondage, with no\par deliverer.\par \par Into the liberty of the glory of the children of God--As Paul shows)\par we already have liberty in Christ,--the liberty of grace. The "liberty\par of the glory of the children of God" awaits Christ's second coming.\par How blessed it is to know that into that glorious liberty, creation,\par which has shared "the bondage of corruption," will be brought along\par with us!\par \par Contrast the state of creation now with the Millennial order described\par in Isaiah 11:6-9: The wolf dwelling with the lamb the leopard with the\par kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, and the\par little child leading them. The cow and the bear feeding, their young\par ones lying down together; the lion eating straw like the ox; children\par playing over the serpent's hole: "They shall not hurt nor de+stroy in\par all My holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of\par Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea."\par \par Verse 22: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth\par in pain together until now.\par \par We know--Always this is the expression of Christian knowledge. This\par earth's poets, philosophers, scientists, face to face with death with\par a capital D,--in every crushed ocean shell, in every rotten log, in\par the very minor keys in which the voices of beasts and birds are\par pitched, seem never even to get a glimpse of the bondage of corruption\par in which all creation is groaning; but talk in sprightly ways of\par "progress," of "evolution"! How far from understanding the creation\par around them are human beings all,--except Spirit-taught Christians!\par "Their own poets" write thus,--of a "groaning creation":\par \par \par "The year's at the spring,\par \par And day's at the morn;\par \,par Morning's at seven;\par \par The hill-side's dew-pearled;\par \par The lark's on the wing;\par \par The snail's on the thorn;\par \par God's in His heaven--\par \par All's well with the world!"\par \par To think of writing "All's well," in a world where all are dying!\par Christians, and only Christians see the present creation with new\par vision, as the work of their dear Father. As Wade Robinson's hymn\par says,\par \par \par "Heaven above is softer blue,\par \par Earth around is sweeter green!\par \par Something lives in every hue\par \par Christless eyes have never seen:\par \par \par Birds with gladder songs o'erflow,\par \par Flowers with deeper beauties shine,\par \par Since I know, as now I know,\par \par I am His, and He is mine."\par \par Groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now--Ever since Adam's\par sin, the curse lies on all the earth. The earth and the creatures are\par away fr-om God. All is estranged, consequently "groaning" and\par "travailing" are everywhere. (But travailing, though painful, looks\par toward a birth!)\par \par Until now--No "evolution," "progress,"--but the opposite,--until\par Christ shall come with the "liberty of the glory."\par \par Verse 23: And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the\par firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,\par waiting for our adoption, to-wit, the redemption of our body.\par \par Let us note that the Spirit does not take us out of sympathy with\par groaning creation, but rather supports us in such sympathy! Being\par ourselves, as to the body, in a groaning condition,--"longing to be\par clothed upon with our house which is from heaven" (II Cor. 5:2) we are\par able to sympathize with the creatures about us, which is a precious\par thing! No one should feel as tender as should the child of God toward\par suffering creation. No one should b.e as gentle. Not only should this\par be true about us as concerns unsaved people: as Paul says, "Be gentle,\par showing all meekness toward all men," but, I say, we should be tender\par and patient toward animals, for they are in a dying state--until our\par bodies are redeemed.\par \par What a marvelous position, then, is the Christian's! On the heavenly\par side, the side of grace, in Christ, sharing in His risen life,\par delivered from sin and law and all worldly things. On the other hand,\par not yet partaker of glory (though expecting and awaiting it), but kept\par in an unredeemed body,--not fitted yet for heaven: and in which the\par longing spirit, knowing itself "meet to be partaker of the inheritance\par of the saints in light," can only "groan"!\par \par This groaning is not at all that of the "wretched man" of Romans\par Seven. For not only is spiritual victory known; but the "redemption\par body" is longed for and awaited as that whi/ch the Lord's coming will\par surely bring!\par \par Thus, then, does the Christian become the true connection of groaning\par creation with God! He is redeemed, heavenly; but his body is\par unredeemed, earthly. Yet the blessed Holy Spirit as the "firstfruits"\par of coming bodily redemption, dwells in him. Thus the believer and the\par whole creation look toward one goal the liberty of the coming glory of\par the sons of God! [183]\par \par Ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we\par ourselves groan--Here then is a wonderful scene: (1) new creatures in\par Christ, whose citizenship is in heaven; (2) the presence of the Spirit\par within them as "firstfruits" of their coining inheritance--witnessing\par of it, giving them to taste of its glory; (3) a state of groaning\par despite all this; (4) a waiting for bodily redemption.\par \par Waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body--The\par instructed Chri0stian, knowing that his body belongs to the Lord, and\par is not yet redeemed, longs for, yearns for, groans for that day when\par his body will be placed in a position of openly acknowledged sonship\par and glory, even as his spirit now, is. Till that day he cannot be\par satisfied.\par \par This scene is deeply touching. One who, redeemed, belongs in heaven,\par yet kept in a body in which he groans with groaning creation.\par Then--amazing goodness! the blessed Spirit, we may say, represents\par God's tender feeling toward His creation, abiding, as He does, in us\par the while our bodies are not redeemed. We repeat and repeat that the\par Christian's hope is not disembodiment, or mere "going to heaven." For,\par knowing that "our citizenship is in heaven; we patiently wait for a\par Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our\par humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory." There\par is an element, we1 fear, of cowardice, as well as of unbelief in\par setting our hope on "getting to heaven," and leaving, so to speak, our\par body behind. God began with man's body in Eden (Gen. 2); and He will\par end with redeeming our bodies. The heart of God and of Christ,--yea of\par the indwelling Spirit (Rom. 8:11) is set upon that. Let our hearts,\par also, be set upon it.\par \par Verse 24: For unto [a state of] hope were we saved: but hope that is\par seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth?\par \par This places us, along with all creation, in hope. For, as verse 24\par announces, unto [a state of] hope were we saved. There is a longing\par for and expectation of something better, no matter what spiritual\par blessing comes to the believer. This that is longed for, is, of\par course, "the liberty of the glory," that belongs, by God's grace, to\par the children of God (verse 21). Creation will share this "liberty."\par Therefore we have a2 double feeling toward creation: sympathy with its\par suffering, and joy in its prospect of sharing the "liberty of the\par glory" into which we shall shortly come.\par \par Verse 25: But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with\par patience wait for it.\par \par Now hope is expecting something better! The very fact that we have not\par seen it realized as yet, begets within us that grace which is so\par precious to God--patience. But note, it is not patience in the\par abstract that is set forth here: but patient waiting for the coming\par liberty of the glory of the children of God.\par \par 26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we\par know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh\par intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered! 27 and He\par that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,\par because He maketh intercession for the saints according to God3.\par \par 28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for\par good, to them that according to His purpose are called ones. 29 For\par whom He foreknew He also foreordained conformed to the image of His\par Son, that He might be the First-born among many brethren! 30 and whom\par He foreordained, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also\par justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.\par \par Verse 26: And in like manner also--We have just read that "we that\par have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan within ourselves," waiting\par for that blessed day of "the liberty of the glory of the sons of God."\par These words "in like manner," refer to that operation within us of the\par Spirit, which makes us in real sympathy, one with the groaning\par creation about us. "In like manner," then, with this truly wonderful\par help, the Spirit "helps our infirmity,"--in its ignorant and infirm\par dealing wit4h God. Note, the word "infirmity" is singular number: for\par we have nothing but infirmity! We know not how to pray as we ought.\par Oh, beware of the glib and intimate chatter of the "Modernist"\par preacher in his prayers! He would flatter both the Almighty and his\par hearers, and most of all, himself, in his "beautiful" and "eloquent"\par addresses to God! Not so with Paul, and the real saints of God, who\par have the Holy Ghost. There is with them the sense of utter and\par boundless need, and along with this the sense of ignorance and\par inability. Yet, still, bless God! there is, with all this, the sense\par of the limitless help of the Holy Spirit!\par \par The Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which\par cannot be uttered--We know that Christ maketh intercession for us at\par the right hand of God, but here the Spirit is making intercession\par within us: The Spirit, who knows the vast abysmal need of every one of\par 5 us, knows that need to the least possible particular.\par \par Groanings which cannot be uttered--expresses at once the vastness of\par our need, our utter ignorance and inability, and the infinite concern\par of the blessed indwelling Spirit for us. "Groanings"--what a word! and\par to be used of the Spirit of the Almighty Himself! How shallow is our\par appreciation of what is done, both by Christ for us, and by the Spirit\par within us!\par \par Which cannot be uttered--Here then, are needs of our, of which our\par minds know nothing, and which our speech could not utter if we could\par perceive those needs. But it is part of God's great plan in our\par salvation that this effectual praying should have its place--praying,\par the very meaning of which we cannot grasp. Men of God have testified\par to the spirit of prayer prostrating them into deep and often\par long-continued "groanings." We believe that such consciousness of the\par Spirit's 6praying within us is included in this verse, but the chief or\par principal part of the Spirit's groaning within us, perhaps never\par reaches our spirit's consciousness.\par \par Verse 27: And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind\par of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according\par to God.\par \par It is God the Father here that is "searching the hearts." How we used\par to shrink from the thought of such Divine searching! But here God is\par "searching hearts" to know what is the mind of the indwelling, holy\par Spirit concerning a saint, to know what the Spirit groans for, for\par that saint; in order that He may supply it.\par \par For in the plan of salvation, God the Father is the Source, Christ the\par Channel, and the Spirit the Agent.\par \par Because He maketh intercession for the saints according to God--We\par feel that the introduction of the words "the will of" before the word\par Go7d, merely obscures the meaning. "According to God"--what an\par all-inclusive, blessed expression, enwrapping us as to our salvation\par and blessing, wholly in Divine love and power. We know not how to pray\par as we ought; but the Spirit makes intercession in us, "according to\par God," according to His nature (of which we are partakers); according\par to our needs, which He discerns; according to our dangers, which He\par foresees--according to all the desires He has toward us.\par \par Verse 28: And we know that to them that love God all things work\par together for good--The words we know are used about thirty times as\par the expression of the common knowledge of the saints of God as such,\par in the Epistles: (in Romans, five times)--indicating always Christian\par knowledge; also I Corinthians 8:4, I John 5:19,--and John 21:24, are\par perfect examples. Lodge members, having been "initiated," go about as\par those that "know." The Christian is t8raveling to glory along with a\par blessed company that can say "We know," in an infinitely higher and\par surer sense. [184] And here, what a knowledge! that to them that love\par God all things work together for good!\par \par Now as to them that love God John tells us in his first Epistle, "We\par love, because He first loved us"; and, "Herein is love, not that we\par loved God, but that He loved us"; and "We know and have believed the\par love which God hath in our case." Real faith in the God who gave His\par Son, will, Paul tells the Galatians (5:6)), be "working through love."\par Only those can and do really love God whose hearts have been\par "sprinkled from an evil conscience"--delivered from fear of God's just\par judgment. The question therefore, comes right back to this: Have we\par believed, as guilty lost sinners, on this propitiation by the blood of\par God's Son on the cross? Is that our only hope? If so, I John 4:16\par becomes tru9e: "We know and have believed the love which God hath in\par our case," and verse 19 follows: "We love, because he first loved us."\par We cannot work up love for God, but His redeeming love for us,\par believed in, becomes the eternal cause and spring of our love to God.\par \par Now we find in Romans 8:28 a great marvel: all things work together\par for good to these believing lovers of God. This involves that billion\par billion control of God's providence,--of the most infinitesimal\par things--to bring them about for "good" to God's saints. When we\par reflect on the innumerable "things" about us,--forces seen and unseen\par of the mineral, vegetable, and animal worlds; of man at enmity with\par God; of Satan, and his principalities and powers, in deadly array; in\par the uncertainty and even treachery of those near and dear to us, and\par even of professed Christians, and of our own selves,--which we cannot\par trust for a moment; upon our unredee:med bodies; upon our general\par complete helplessness:--then, to have God say, "All things are working\par together for your good,"--reveals to us a Divine providence that is\par absolutely limitless! The book of Proverbs sets forth just such a God:\par for it describes the certain end, good or bad, of the various paths of\par men on earth--every minute detail ordered of God. So also Ephesians\par (1:11): "The purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel\par of His will"; and David: "All things are Thy servants" (Ps. 119:91);\par as also the whole prophetic Word,--yea, the whole Word of God; for the\par God of Providence is in all of it!\par \par For good--Dark things, bright things; happy things, sad things; sweet\par things, bitter things; times of prosperity, times of adversity. The\par "great woman," the Shunammite, with her one child lying at home dead,\par answers Elisha's question, "Is it well with the child?": "It is well."\par ";A soft pillow for a tired heart," Romans 8:28 was called by our\par beloved Brother R. A. Torrey.\par \par To them that are called according to His purpose--We come now up on\par the high, celestial mountains of Divine Sovereign election, and find\par those who love God are further defined as those that are "called" (not\par "invited," [185] but given a Divine elective calling) according to His\par Purpose. Meditation upon the purpose of the eternal God greatens every\par soul thus occupied. God is infinite; man, a bit of dust. If God had a\par purpose, a fixed intention, it will come to pass, for He has limitless\par resources,--as David says, "All things are Thy servants."\par \par We have been dealing in the first part of the chapter with the human\par will and its consent to walk by the Spirit. Not so from the 28th verse\par to the chapter's end. It will be all God from now on! Purpose means an\par intelligent decision which the will is bent to accafely in, and there\par is no separating them from His love which was given them in Christ\par Jesus, in whom they were "chosen before the foundation of the world."\par \par Now do not seek to mix these two things; and still more emphatically\par we say, do not try to "reconcile" them! Profitless controversy and\par partisan feeling will be the only result. Who told us to "reconcile"\par in our little minds, these seemingly contradictory things? Have we\par ceased to believe where we do not understand?\par \par Every system of theology undertakes to subject the words of God to\par categories and catalogs of the human intellect. Now, if you undertake\par to "reconcile" God's sovereign election with His free offer of\par salvation to all, you must sacrifice one truth or the other. Our poor\par minds may not "reconcile" them both, but our faith knows them both,\par and holds both, to be true! And Scripture is addressed to faith, not\par to reason.\par? \par Verse 29: For whom He foreknew He also foreordained conformed to the\par image of His Son, that He might be the First-born among many brethren.\par \par For whom He foreknew--This for looks back at the word purpose, and\par opens out that great word before us.\par \par And first we have, foreknew. This foreknowledge of God.--what is it?\par In seeking its meaning we dare not turn to men's ideas, but to\par Scripture only. [186] In Amos 1:2 to 2:8, Jehovah gives in detail His\par exact knowledge of the sins and of the coming judgments of Syria, the\par Philistines, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab; and then also of Israel. But to\par Israel He says, "You only have I known, of all the families of the\par earth." What did such language mean? That He had acquaintanceship with\par "the whole family which He brought up out of the land of Egypt." Of\par Israel again--especially the godly Remnant, He speaks: "God did not\par cast off His people which He fore@knew." Now, even of Christ it is\par written in I Peter 1:20, "He was foreknown indeed before the\par foundations of the world." This is the same Greek word as in Romans\par 8:29. Now Christ was the Eternal Son of God, the Eternal Word. But,\par "The Word become flesh": that occurred when He came into the world.\par And as thus manifested, "He was foreknown." It was not a mere Divine\par pre-knowledge that He would be manifested; but a pre-acquaintanceship\par before His manifestation,--with Him as such! From which\par "foreknowledge," or pre-acquaintance, flowed the most intimate\par prophecies of Him, His lowly coming, His rejection, and the manner of\par His death. All this is wrapped up in this word foreknowledge!\par \par He also foreordained--Foreknowledge is first--by the God that "calleth\par the things not being, being" (4.17, Gr.). Then, the marking out a\par destiny befitting such foreknown ones. The words "to be" need not be\par here: buAt we may read, foreordained conformed to the image of His Son.\par Here we come to words of plain meaning, but limitless reach! Christ\par the Son, for whom and by whom all things were made; Christ the Son,\par the appointed Heir of all things; Christ the Son--center of all the\par Divine counsels! Christ the Son, God's Son, the Son of His love!\par Conformed to His image,--nothing lacking, nothing short: like\par Christ--conformed to His image: in glory, in love, in holiness, in\par beauty, in grace, in humility, in tenderness, in patience! Our very\par bodies at last alive unto God! For we know that this also shall be:\par "When Christ, our life shall be manifested, then shall ye also with\par Him be manifested in glory!" And thus to be with Christ, like Him\par forever and ever! Only God can show, and only simple faith respond to,\par grace such as this!\par \par That He might be the First-born among many brethren--In Christ, like\par Christ, breBthren there with the First-born! This is the highest place,\par shall we not say, that God could give creatures! God puts us there:\par and of Christ it is written, "He is not ashamed to call them\par brethren"; because we are "all of one with Christ! (Heb. 2:11). "This,\par in fact, is the thought of grace, not to bless us only by Jesus, but\par to bless us with Him".\par \par Verse 30: And whom He foreordained, them He also called--Since we are\par here considering God's unfolding of His purpose (of verse 28), we must\par regard called from God's side,--who counts things not being, being.\par Further, calling is here that determination by God of the sphere and\par mode of life those should have whom He foreknew and foreordained. This\par "calling" belongs to Eternity past; as "calling," for example in II\par Thessalonians 2:14; Gal. 1:6, belongs to experience in present time.\par \par And whom He called, them He also justified--God does not here speaCk of\par that entering upon justification by faith--of which this Epistle is\par full. For only believing souls are accounted righteous, justified, as\par we well know. Yet in God's counsels are all His elect already before\par Him, accounted righteous--justified. This is wonderful truth: and its\par power to stay the soul will be seen in the last part of this great\par Chapter!\par \par And whom He justified, them He also glorified--This is the necessary\par end of this amazing series--glorified! Thus must these foreknown ones\par be ever, before God, since God foreknew them in Christ. None has yet\par been glorified in manifestation. Indeed, Christ Himself has not yet\par been "manifested"; although He has entered into His glory. And it is\par in this glorified Christ that God chose us long ago,--before the\par foundation of the world! God, who could thus connect us with Christ,\par can also say of us, I have glorified them! And so the saints go oDn to\par a glory already true of them by the word of their God!\par \par 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is\par against us? 32 He that even spared not His own Son, but delivered Him\par up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all\par things? 33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? [It\par is] God that justifieth: who is he that condemneth? 34 Christ Jesus\par [God's own Son] is the one that died,--yea rather, that was raised\par from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who is also making\par intercession for us! 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?\par shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or\par nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written,\par \par On account of thee we are killed all day long:\par \par We were reckoned as sheep for the slaughter.\par \par 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him\paEr that loved us!\par \par 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor\par principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39\par nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to\par separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\par \par Concerning this great passage, Bengel says, "We can no farther go,\par think, wish." Olshausen emphasizes "the profound and colossal\par character of the thought"; and Brown says: "This whole passage, to\par verse 34 and even to the end of the chapter, strikes all thoughtful\par interpreters and readers as transcending almost everything in\par language."\par \par Paul here arrives at the mountain-height of Christian position! And\par that, so to speak, by way of experience. He does, indeed, in the word\par "us" bring all the saints with him. There was first our state of awful\par guilt--and Christ's work for us, and justificFation thereby. Then came\par the knowledge of indwelling sin, and the Spirit's work within us, and\par deliverance from sin's power thereby. Now he has arrived upon the\par immovable mountain-top of Divine sovereign election, and he sees God\par Himself for us! Not at all meaning, here, God merely on our side in\par our struggles, but God's uncaused unalterable attitude with respect to\par those in Christ. God is for them: nothing in time or in eternity to\par come has anything whatever to do with matters here. Our weak hearts,\par prone to legality and unbelief, with great difficulty receive these\par mighty words: God is for us. Place the emphasis here where God places\par it--on this great word "for." God is for His elect. They have failed,\par but He is for them. They are ignorant, but He is for them. They have\par not yet brought forth much fruit, but He is for them. If our hearts\par once surrender to the stupendous fact that there are those whom GGod\par will eternally be for, that there is an electing act and attitude of\par God, in which He eternally commits Himself to His elect,--without\par conditions, without requirements; whose lives do not at all affect the\par fact that God is for them--then we shall be ready to magnify the God\par of all grace!\par \par Verse 31: What then shall we say to these things? By "these things"\par Paul evidently indicates not only the whole process of our salvation\par by Christ, from Chapter Three onward, with that great deliverance by\par the help of the Holy Spirit set forth in this Eighth Chapter; but he\par also points most directly to what He has been telling us of the\par purpose of God: "Whom He foreknew, foreordained, called, justified,\par glorified!" Now it is a sad fact that many dear saints have said many\par poor, even lamentable things, to these things of Divine sovereign\par foreknowledge and election. Some, indeed, will not hear "these\par H things," as Paul sets them forth. Let us not be of this company! What\par shall we say to these things? To doubt them is to deny them: for God\par asserts them--from foreknowledge to glorification. To question whether\par they apply to us is to question--not election, but the words\par "whosoever will," of the gospel invitation. You can let God be\par absolutely sovereign in election, and yet, if you find the door opened\par by this sovereign God, and "whosoever will" written over it by that\par same sovereign God, by all means enter! Set your seal to this, that\par God is true, by receiving His witness (John 3:33). Do not allow any\par "system of theology" to disturb you for one moment! What will you say\par to these things? Say, with Paul: God is for me: He spared not His own\par Son--for me! This question, What shall we say to these things? is a\par testing word, as well, as a triumphant word.\par \par Concerning "these things," if we simply rejoIice, with Paul, saying,\par "God is for me, who is against me?" it is well! But if we cannot\par rejoice in Divine, sovereign foreknowledge, foreordination, and\par calling, this also is the fruit of subtle unbelief and\par self-righteousness. "I know," said Spurgeon, "that God chose me before\par I was born' for He never would have chosen me afterwards!" Let us not\par be of the Little-faiths, or of the Faint-hearts; but let Mr.\par Greatheart himself, even Paul, set forth the case: If God be for us,\par who is against us? This "if" does not imply doubt, but amounts to\par since. We are expected to have heard understood, and believed all the\par previous marvels of our salvation written in this epistle. The\par conclusion is: GOD IS FOR US. The Creator of the universe, the\par Upholder of all things, the Redeemer God Himself, for us!\par \par Therefore the challenge: who is against us? Paul knew as none have\par ever known, the power and malignity Jof Satan and his hosts, the\par persecuting energy of the haters of the gospel, the relentless\par watchfulness of the Roman Empire-- that had flung justice to the\par winds, and crucified Paul's Lord, and ever stood ready, upon occasion,\par to seize him. Yet he challenges all! It is not a question of logic, as\par the King James puts it: "Who can be against us?" But it is a direct\par challenge in the lists: to all and any in the whole possible universe:\par literally. If God for us--who against us?\par \par Verse 32: He that even [187] spared not His own Son, but delivered Him\par up for us all--This is the God who is for us; and this is the proof!\par Spared not--what that word shows! Of the infinite price of redemption!\par of the measureless unconquerable love of God that would not be stopped\par at such frightful cost! "His own Son"; His only Son; His well-beloved\par Son,--from all eternity! And for us! Ah, how wretched we are, even in\par oKur own sight! guilty, undone, defiled, powerless, worthless,--for us\par all! Verily, "the most miserable of sheep!" (Zech. 11:7).\par \par Then, delivered Him up--We remember immediately the same word in\par Chapter 4:25: "delivered up for our trespasses." Yea, we know for why:\par but unto what? gainsaying, mocking, spitting, scourging,\par crucifying--by men; and to the awful cup of wrath for our sin at God's\par hand--infinitely more appalling that any creature stroke! Yet God\par spared not--His own Son, but delivered Him up!\par \par For us all--Here the saints are spoken of. (Paul never uses "us" of\par any others!) And who are the saints? Sinners who have heard God's good\par news concerning His Son, and have simply believed! Only faith can walk\par here! Unbelief, coming to the fearful gulf between the infinitely holy\par God and the awful guilt of the sinner, shrinks back; while faith,\par seeing Christ crucified, cries, God is for me! and paLsses gladly over\par the bridge God made--who spared not His own Son!\par \par How shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?--The great\par gift, the unspeakable gift, being made, all must follow! "How shall He\par not, with Him?" If you buy a costly watch at the jeweller's, he sends\par it to you in a lovely case which he gives you freely--with your\par purchase. It is as in Chapter Five, with the "much mores." God has not\par spared His Son: what are all else to Him? God has opened to us His\par heart, He has spared not,--giving us His best, His all--even Christ.\par Now, with Him, all things come! God cannot but do this. Shall He give\par us His dear Son, and then hold back at trifles? For "all things" of\par this created universe,--yea, even all gifts or blessings God may give\par us, here or hereafter, are but nothing, compared with Christ!\par \par "All things": It will greatly please God for us boldly to beg Him for\par this or tMhat, saying: Thou didst not spare Thy Son, but gavest Him for\par me. Now I need a thing from Thee; and I ask it as one to whom Thou\par gavest Christ! "How shall He not?" not, "How shall He?'--as doubt\par would put it! Let "all things" be all things indeed to thee,--only\par seeking wisdom in asking. This verse is a great feeder of faith!\par \par Verse 33: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Note\par (1) It is God's elect whom this passage concerns. (2) God's elect not\par only believe, but are confident! For there can be no charge laid\par against them. (3) They boldly challenge any and every foe, concerning\par any possible charge against them before God! It is not that those\par triumphing are without fault in themselves--they know that! But God is\par for them! They are His "elect," and we know from the next chapter that\par the purpose of God according to election is not of works": but on the\par contrary, "of Him that calleth" N(Romans 9:11). As absolutely as\par righteousness is "not of works," so neither is election! Both have God\par Himself as the only Source! So, "the purpose of God according to\par election stands!"\par \par It is God that justifieth: [188] who is he that condemneth?--Here the\par emphasis is upon God. He is the Judge; and He has declared His\par elect,--those "of faith in Jesus," righteous. Now will any condemn?\par Shall any stand before God's High Court and condemn whom He has\par justified? Never! Satan may accuse us in our consciences; but the day\par of our condemnation was past forever--when Christ our Substitute "bore\par our sins in His own body on the tree!" When it is announced as toward\par all possible foes: "It is God that justifies," we feel in our hearts\par God taking our part!\par \par Verse 34: Christ Jesus [God's own Son] is the one that died,--yea,\par rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of\par GoOd, who is also making intercession for us!\par \par Some would render the answer to the question of verse 33, "Who shall\par lay anything to the charge," etc., entirely in the question form:\par "Shall God that justifieth? Shall Christ that died?" We have not\par yielded to rendering it thus; for this question-form does not fit the\par bold challenge here: for this whole passage is governed by the great\par word: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? And\par further, verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? God\par then, is seen "for us," as justifying; His own Son Christ Jesus as\par dying and as interceding for us. All of which commits God to us\par irreversibly! The Yea, rather, that was raised from the dead, follows\par the exact order of the development of the truth of Christ's work in\par this epistle: set forth as a mercy-seat through faith in His blood in\par Chapter Three; God seen raising Him who was delivered onP account of\par our trespasses in Chapter Four. There is no crucifix, no Romanism,\par here; no dead Christ, but One raised.\par \par Nay, more, Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God,--We have here the\par first of seven historical statements in the Epistles that He is there,\par [189] and not merely there in the place of honor and power, but\par occupied (as ever) for our benefit: who also is making intercession\par for us. In verse 8:22, the indwelling Spirit is making intercession\par for the saints; in verse 31, God is for us; in verse 34, Christ Jesus\par is making intercession for us. What a wonderful salvation this is, in\par which all three persons of the Trinity are constantly occupied in our\par behalf! [190]\par \par Verse 35: When Paul says. Who shall separate us from Christ's love?\par and then begins to enumerate things, it is plain that in the word\par "Who" he has in mind the great enemy who opposes "things" to God's\par sainQts! Satan is "prince of this world," and "god of this age": this\par the apostle always has before him: "that no advantage may be gained\par over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices." So he says:\par Who shall separate us? shall tribulation? Thirty-seven times this word\par rendered "tribulation" (thlipsis) and its verb are used to denote\par those direct troubles that afflict the saints,--because of the gospel!\par Satan has sought,--and, oh, how desperately,--but has never succeeded\par in separating one saint from Christ's love by tribulations! (See this\par word in Matt. 13:21; I Thess. 1:6; 3:3; John 16:33.) And God sees to\par it that the path of the Christian is a narrow, "straitened one!\par (Matthew 7:14 has the same word--"narrow." See also II Cor. 4:8; 7:5)\par \par And now the next word--distress. This word (stenochoria) is rightly\par translated "anguish" in Chapter 2:9; for there it evidently means a\par fixed place in whicRh "every soul of man that doeth evil" is held while\par Divine judgment is visited. The word means a narrow, cramped place,\par where one is "in straits." For the lost this is unendurable; for the\par saved, it. only affords room for God's help, when naught else can\par avail. So, distresses--how terrible soever--cannot separate from\par Christ's love. (See the note on the Russian women in Chapter Five.)\par Remember Christ, the Lord of glory, had not a place to lay His head:\par He knows what distresses are!\par \par Or persecution--(diogmos). This is a word used ten times in the New\par Testament, and always in reference to the gospel. It's verb means, "to\par make to run," or "to run swiftly to catch" those pursued; so, to\par persecute. No saint thus persecuted has yet been forsaken by\par Christ,--nor ever will be! "If they persecuted Me, they will also\par persecute you." Christ never forsakes, but has the sweetest fellowship\par with those peSrsecuted by the world,--directed (under God's permissive\par decree only!) by Satan. Christ is always saying, "Be of good cheer!"\par (Acts 23:11.)\par \par Famine--comes next. And you would think that the Lord of all would\par ever provide liberally for His saints. Not always! The "present\par distress" is on. Christ the Heir was cast out of Israel's vineyard and\par slain! The Head of the new Body has indeed been glorified. But why\par should not the members of His Body know by experience what the Head\par passed through and thus find fellowship with the Head? Thus they come\par to have one heart with Him! "Famine?" Yes. But not to separate us from\par Christ's love! "I know how to be in want," says Paul. Twelve times is\par "famine" (limos) mentioned in the New Testament: though only twice\par (here in Rom. 8:35; II Cor. 11:27--this last concerning an apostle!)\par does it directly touch the saints. In Acts 11:28, indeed they get\par relief (thouTgh by other saints, not by government agency!). Yea; you\par may be hungry in this Christ-rejecting world, `and yet be beloved of\par your Lord. "The meek shall inherit the earth"--but not yet! Not till\par He comes back!\par \par \par "All here is stained with blood!--\par \par Thy blood, O glorious Christ!\par \par And man and Satan do today\par \par Whate'er they list!"\par \par (Yet do not forget that, amidst it all, God lives! The God of Elijah\par still looks after His own!)\par \par Or nakedness--In I Corinthians 4:11, Paul says, "Even unto this\par present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are\par buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place." (Read the whole\par passage.) How ashamed we feel, who are not as devoted to our Lord as\par was Paul, to hear him speak thus! This whole part of Romans Eight\par shows us as partakers with a Christ the world cast out.\par \par Or peril--Eight times in one verse, II CorUinthians 11:26, does Paul\par use this word. Read that verse, remembering the same word in I\par Corinthians 15:30: "We stand in jeopardy [peril] every hour." In\par Paul's bringing you this gospel, Jewish hatred, Roman jealousy, pagan\par blindness (Acts 14:8-20) and false brethren (Acts 15) beset him\par round,--striving that "the truth of the gospel" might come unto us!\par God grant we cherish it! Many have suffered, that we might have these\par wondrous truths!\par \par Or sword--The first use of this word (machaira) is connected with our\par Lord Himself: Matthew 26:47: "A great multitude with swords and\par staves" to take Him; while Acts 12:2 ("Herod . . . killed James the\par brother of John with the sword"), and Hebrews 11:37 ("They were slain\par with the sword"), give only examples of the attitude of this world\par toward Christ and His saints. The world hates the saints; though\par sometimes those making most hideous use of the sword haVve worn "the\par sign of the cross." That was the world's religion; and, like Cain, it\par killed God's people. But, even in the hour of death most terrible,\par Christ was there: they were not separated from His love!\par \par Verse 36:\par \par Even as it is written,\par \par On account of Thee we are killed all the day long: \par \par We were reckoned as sheep for the slaughter.\par \par Here, then, is the description of God's saints: "killed perpetually,"\par and "sheep for slaughter." We know that this quotation is taken from a\par Psalm (44:22) which describes that terrible hunting down by the\par Antichrist of the godly remnant of Israel in the days of the Great\par Tribulation. But today--all the day [of grace] long, this is the real\par state of real saints: killed, and slaughter-sheep! To the student of\par God's Word, the many years of outward peace--from persecution,\par horrors, and death,--that have come to us is the unusual, tWhe\par astonishing thing. Look at the "deaths oft" of the early Church, the\par martyrs; and again when truth burst out afresh at the Reformation!\par (See [1]footnote p. 475)\par \par But now again! look at Russia, look at Germany, look all around!\par Ruthless hatred of God's saints is breaking out everywhere, as of old!\par \par Now, we ought not to view such things with alarm, but, on the\par contrary, to remember that Christ has not yet set up His kingdom,\par [191] nor will till His second coming! Satan is the prince of this\par world, and shall yet be exhibited as the "god of this age"--see\par Revelation Thirteen. For,\par \par "The whole earth wondered after the Wild Beast [Satan's man, the\par Antichrist]; and they worshipped the dragon [Satan] . . . and there\par was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue\par and nation. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him,\par every one whose name hathX not been written from the foundation of\par the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain."\par \par Let the saints rouse quickly from these false dreams of "peace." The\par saints are sheep for slaughter! Name yourself among them, and cease\par contending for your "rights" in a world that has cast out Christ!\par Persecution is shaping itself up again throughout Christendom--yea,\par even in the United States. Intolerance unto death for any who will not\par bow to a totalitarian state is ready, as in the days of the Roman\par emperors (who demanded worship) to assert itself,--is asserting\par itself, throughout the world. This "totalitarian" movement is setting\par the stage for Antichrist more rapidly than you dream! Therefore get\par ready. Put up over your mirror the motto: "I am Christ's: a sheep for\par slaughter."\par \par Verse 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through\par Him that loved us!\par \Ypar What a wonderful book this Word of God is! "Sheep for slaughter"\par naming themselves more than conquerors! [192]\par \par Now note three things in this verse: (1) We are conquerors in all this\par terrible situation, in all these things. (2) We are more than\par conquerors. (3) It is altogether through Him that loved us, and not\par through human energy of any kind, that we are more than conquerors.\par \par Now, what is it to be "more than conquerors?" (a) It is to come off\par conqueror in every difficulty, (b) It is to know that Divine, and\par therefore infinite, power has been engaged for us in the conflict, (c)\par It is the absolute confidence that this infinite and therefore\par limitless Divine help is granted to us against any possible future\par emergency, (d) It is to "divide the spoil" over any foe, after\par victory! (Isa. 53:12.)\par \par Him that loved us--Note first the past tense. That preaching which\par always emphasiZzes the present love of God or Christ for the soul, as\par the great persuading power over the human heart, falls sadly short.\par When our Lord described God's love for the world, it was, "God so\par loved that He gave His Son." Again, "Herein is love, that God loved\par us, and sent His Son." Again, when Paul describes Christ's love for\par His own it is by pointing to His sacrifice. Here (in Rom. 8:37) the\par cross is indicated, as in verse 32 of our chapter: "He that spared not\par His own Son."\par \par Further, when Christ's love for the Church is described, it is again\par the past tense--"Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for it"\par (Eph. 5:25). And, "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me"\par (Gal. 2:20). It is this past tense gospel the devil hates,--for "the\par Word of the Cross is the power of God." Let a preacher be continually\par saying, "God loves you, Christ loves you," and he and his congregation\par will by [and by be losing sight both of their sinnerhood and of the\par substitutionary atonement of the cross, where the love of God and of\par Christ was once for all and supremely set forth,--and in righteous\par display!\par \par Now whether God or Christ is indicated in Him that loved us in this\par verse, what we have said holds true.\par \par Frankly we personally feel that the rendering "the love of God" in\par verse 35, is correct. And this because it is the love of God that is\par emphasized throughout this passage, from verse 31 to the end. For\par note, it is God that is for us, God spared not His Son; God\par justifieth. And it is Christ Jesus whom He had "not spared," that\par died, that was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and who\par intercedes. From such love of God (as good authorities read in verse\par 35), no difficulties can separate us.\par \par We know, however, that verse 39 definitely declares that it is "the\par love o\f God which is in Christ Jesus" from which nothing can separate\par us.\par \par Therefore, we are also quite strongly drawn to read "the love of\par Christ" in verse 35, because (1) Christ's work for us has just been\par described in the immediately preceding verse; and also (2) because of\par the glorious historical fact that the martyrs were directly conscious,\par in the midst of the flames and when they were thrown to the beasts, of\par the presence and love of Christ, their Redeemer, Lord and Head.\par \par But, however we read, both are correct!\par \par Verse 38: For I am persuaded--Before we quote the last two verses of\par this triumphant paean, let us lay to heart this word persuaded, for it\par is the key to Paul's triumph as he goes shouting up these mountain\par heights of Christian faith. "Persuaded" is a heart word. The\par difference between knowing a truth and being heart-persuaded of it,\par Paul brings out in Chapter 14:14: "I ]know, and am persuaded in the\par Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself." (See that passage.)\par Many people know, for example, that in this dispensation all\par distinctions of meats have been removed; yet their consciences are not\par relieved. Weakness and fear still trouble them--about meats and days\par and many things. To know a Bible truth, you have only to read it: to\par be "persuaded of it in the Lord Jesus" involves the fact, first, that\par the truth in question touches your own personal safety before God;\par and, second, that your heart has so been enlightened by the Holy\par Spirit, and your will so won over--persuaded"--that confidence,\par heart-satisfied persuasion, results.\par \par Now Paul says in Romans 8:38: I am persuaded--Dear saints, had not\par Paul passed through all these terrible things of verse 35,\par tribulation, anguish, persecution,--all? Look at the scars on his\par body! Assurance? He had it: "In the sig^ht of God speak we in Christ"\par (II Cor. 12:19); "Seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh\par in me" (II Cor. 13:3). Confidence? Hearken to his last epistle: "The\par Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto His\par heavenly kingdom: to whom be the glory unto the ages of the ages" (II\par Tim. 4:18). "Persuaded?" His mind, his conscience, his heart, his\par whole being, were sublimely committed to what he is about to say. The\par days of doubt and uncertainty were forever passed for him!\par \par Verses 38, 39: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor\par angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,\par nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall\par be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus\par our Lord.\par \par How we do misquote this verse, putting it according to natural\par thought, "neither life nor death." But God _says, neither death nor\par life. To the instructed believer, the fear of death is gone (see\par Hebrews 2:14, 15). Christ partook of it: "That through death He might\par bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;\par and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their\par lifetime subject to bondage."\par \par But life! Ah, life is so much more difficult than death!--life with\par its burdens, its bitternesses, its disappointments, its uncertainties;\par often with its physical miseries,--as Job said, "My soul chooseth\par strangling and death rather than these my bones." But just as death\par cannot separate us from this unchangeable love of God in Christ,\par neither can any circumstances of life do it!\par \par Nor angels--Whether we speak of the elect angels--the angels of God's\par power, in the presence of whom the saints have felt overwhelmed by\par their utter unworthiness (as Daniel, Dan 10:8-17);` or whether it be\par the malignant angels, who chose Satan's captaincy, and are a unity\par with him in evil;--no angels can separate us from that love of God\par which is fixed forever in Christ.\par \par Nor principalities--Here we touch a mysterious word. We know from\par Ephesians 1:21 that there is an ordered realm of unseen authorities\par whether of good or of evil (Eph. 2:2; 6:12). But with none of them\par have we anything to do, for whatever they are, they cannot separate us\par from God's love in Christ.\par \par Nor things present nor things to come--In Job's case, Satan dealt in\par "things present"--and they were as bad as hellish enmity could make\par them. But they did not separate from God's love, for look at "the end\par of the Lord," with Job. In the cases of David and Elijah, Satan dealt\par in "futures": David said, "I shall now one day perish by the hand of\par Saul." Yet shortly he sat on the throne! And Jezebel threatened, a"I\par will make thy life as the life of one of them [the slain prophets] by\par tomorrow about this time." When Elijah saw that, (alas, these "thats"\par of the devil!) "he arose, and went for his life." Yet God took him up\par by a chariot of fire into heaven!\par \par Nor powers--The word translated "powers" [193] here is dunamis,\par energy: and has reference evidently to those uncanny and horrible\par workings of Satan and his host seen in spiritism, theosophy, and all\par kinds of magic. Indeed, this very word is used in Acts 8:10 concerning\par Simon the Magician: "They said, This man is that power (dunamis) of\par God which is called Great." All kinds of bewitchment, sorcery,\par necromancy, "evil eye," and "mystic spells" cast upon people are\par included. Now I know that sorcery, the "evil eye," "spells," are\par potent over the unsaved. But, it is a sad fact that many dear saints\par are troubled by these things. They are afraid--of Fridaby the\par thirteenth, of passing under a ladder, of seeing a black cat, of\par breaking a mirror! Now this simply leaves God out! Who rules in\par earth's affairs, Satan or God?\par \par People say to me, "Do you believe there is anything in spiritism?" I\par say,"I certainly do--the devil's in it!" But none of these "powers"\par can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our\par Lord. There is no such thing as "luck." Let us cease to dishonor God\par by mentioning it! "God worketh all things after the counsel of His\par will." I have seen professing Christians "knock on wood" if making\par some confident statement! (I am ashamed as I write this.) Let us be\par "persuaded" of the love which God, without cause in us, has\par unchangeable toward us in Christ Jesus our Lord. No matter how real,\par insidious, terrifying these demon powers may be, we are safe in\par Christ! If you want to be free from superstition and fears, do as\pcar James directs: "Ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live\par and do this or that." That brings God in!\par \par Verse 39: Nor height, nor depth--The astronomers would frighten us\par with their figures of the vastness of the universe But Christ has\par passed through all the heavens, and is at the right hand of God! And\par God has loved us in Christ--there is no separation from that love. But\par "depth"--Ah, poor mortals we are afraid, even of earthly cliffs and\par chasms. Yea, but Christ descended into "the lower parts of the earth,"\par into "the abyss" at "the heart of the earth" (Eph. 4:9; Rom 10:7;\par Matt. 12:40). Moreover, He has said that His Church would not enter\par the gates of Hades (Matt. 16:18). And they shall not! But even if God\par had arranged that they should, Christ says to John, "Fear not; I am\par the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and\par behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have dthe keys of death and of\par Hades!" This is indeed a glorious salvation! No "depth" can separate\par us from God's love in Christ.\par \par Nor any other created thing--There! That should banish all our fears,\par no matter what they be. The ability of the human heart to conjure up\par possible trouble and disaster is without limit, it seems: but this\par word gives us peace. No created thing shall be able to separate us\par from the love of God, which is in. Christ Jesus, our Lord.\par \par Notice that this love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Why God set\par His love upon us, we cannot tell. Why He chose us in Christ before the\par foundation of the world, connecting our destiny eternally with Christ\par His beloved Son, we cannot tell. But, "Whatsoever Jehovah doeth, it\par shall be forever." We must therefore hold in mind this fact, that God\par has loved us even as He loved Christ (John 17:26): for He loved us in\par Him.\par \par Soeme dear saints seem to think that it is a mark of humility to doubt\par the security of God's elect. But Romans has surely shown us the way to\par be certain! Do not try to assure your heart that you are one of God's\par elect. If you are troubled with doubts, go and sit down on the\par sinner's seat, and say, "God declares righteous the ungodly who trust\par Him. I renounce all thoughts of my own righteousness, and as a sinner\par I trust the God who raised Christ from the dead,--who was delivered up\par for my trespasses." This is the path our God in Romans shows us.\par Uncertainty about election arises from some kind of\par self-righteousness!\par \par As we have elsewhere noted, the saints are those who have received Him\par whom God in His great love gave to the world, and they by Divine grace\par welcomed this only-begotten Son whom God has given. Therefore the love\par of God in Christ Jesus is forever theirs. However the world of men may\par f treat this astonishing unspeakable gift which God has proffered, and\par may go on rejecting Christ till a day when it must be eternally\par withdrawn; yet God's elect, the saints, "those who have believed,"\par find themselves borne upon the irresistible tide of this Divine\par affection which "is in Christ Jesus," out into an eternity of bliss!\par "God is love," and "the Father loveth the Son." And now these\par connected with Christ find themselves wrapped in this same eternal\par affection shown by God to His dear Son.\par \par When we fail utterly, and are overwhelmed, then is the time to say: We\par have been accepted in Christ--only in Christ, wholly in Christ. Our\par place is unchanged by our failure. We are ashamed before God, but not\par confounded. Just now His eyes are on us in Christ, as they ever have\par been. His love is as deep and wonderful as ever, being "the love\par wherewith He loved Christ"! We do not resolve to "do better," fgor we\par are weak. We trust the grace of God in Christ and cast ourselves anew,\par and all the more wholly, upon His grace alone. We trust Him never to\par forsake or fail us: for He hath loved us in His beloved Son; and God\par will never forsake Christ! For His sake will He deal with us now and\par ever.\par \par How hard it is to turn away from its object the love even of a man, a\par creature, a bit of dust! How eternally impossible, then, that the\par infinite God should be turned away from His love to those that are in\par Christ Jesus!\par \par The wonderful text of this passage, GOD IS FOR US, fills our amazed\par and grateful hearts more and more.\par \par MY HIGH TOWER\par \par By Paul Gerhardt: A.D. 1676\par \par \par IS GOD FOR ME? I fear not, though all against me rise;\par \par I call on Christ my Savior, the host of evil flies.\par \par My friend the Lord Almighty, and He who loves me, God!\par \par What enemy shhall harm me, though coming as a flood?\par \par I know it, I believe it, I say it fearlessly,\par \par That God, the Highest, Mightiest, forever loveth me;\par \par At all times, in all places, He standeth at my side,\par \par He rules the battle fury, the tempest and the tide.\par \par \par A Rock that Stands forever is Christ my righteousness,\par \par And there I stand unfearing in everlasting bliss;\par \par No earthly thing is needful to this my life from Heaven,\par \par And nought of love is worthy, save that which Christ hath given.\par \par Christ, all my praise and glory, my Light most sweet and fair,\par \par The ship wherein He saileth is scathless everywhere!\par \par In Him I dare be joyful, a hero in the war\par \par The judgment of the sinner affrighteth me no more!\par \par \par There is no condemnation, there is no hell for me,\par \par The torment and the fire mine eyes shall never see;\par \par For me there isi no sentence, for me death has no stings,\par \par Because the Lord Who saved me shall shield me with His wings.\par \par Above my soul's dark waters His Spirit hovers still,\par \par He guards me from all sorrow, from terror and from ill;\par \par In me He works and blesses the life-seed He hath sown,\par \par From Him I learn the Abba, that prayer of faith alone.\par \par \par And if in lonely places, a fearful child, I shrink,\par \par He prays the prayers within me I cannot ask or think;\par \par In deep unspoken language, known only to that Love\par \par Who fathoms the heart's mystery from the Throne of Light above.\par \par His Spirit to my spirit sweet words of comfort saith,\par \par How God the weak one strengthens who leans on Him in faith;\par \par How He hath built a City, of love, and light, and song,\par \par Where the eye at last beholdeth what the heart had loved so long.\par \par \par And there is mine inheritance, mjy kingly palace-home;\par \par The leaf may fall and perish, not less the spring will come;\par \par As wind and rain of winter, our earthly sighs and tears,\par \par Till the golden summer dawneth of the endless Year of years.\par \par The world may pass and perish, Thou, God, wilt not remove--\par \par No hatred of all devils can part me from Thy love;\par \par No hungering nor thirsting, no poverty nor care,\par \par No wrath of mighty princes can reach my shelter there.\par \par \par No Angel, and no Heaven, no throne, nor power, nor might,\par \par No love, no tribulation, no danger, fear, nor fight,\par \par No height, no depth, no creature that has been or can be,\par \par Can drive me from Thy bosom, can sever me from Thee.\par \par My heart in joy upleapeth, grief cannot linger there--\par \par While singing high in glory amidst the sunshine fair!\par \par The source of all my singing is high in Heaven above;\par \par Thek Sun that shines upon me is Jesus and His Love!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [165] The Revised Version correctly omits "who walk not after the\par flesh but after the Spirit." Since the King James translation, over\par 300 years ago, many., and the best, most accurate, ancient Greek\par manuscripts which we have, have been recovered; and earnest, godly men\par have gone steadily ahead with the tedious but fruitful work of\par correcting errors that had crept in in copying. For, as we all know,\par we have not the original manuscripts of Scripture: God has been\par pleased to withhold these from creatures so prone to idolatry as the\par sons of men. We must close verse 1 with the words "in Christ Jesus,"\par for four reasons: (1) The evidence of the Greek manuscripts is\par overwhelmingly in favor of the omission of the clause "who walk not\par after the flesh but after the Spirit" from verse 1,--as thel evidence\par is universally for including these words in Verse 4. (2) Spiritual\par discernment also agrees, for the introduction of these words in verse\par I makes our safety depend upon our walk, and not upon the Spirit of\par God, But all in Christ Jesus are safe from condemnation, as is plainly\par taught throughout the epistles. Otherwise, our security depends on our\par walk, and not on our position in Christ. (3) The clause is plainly in\par proper place at the end of verse 4,--where the manner of the\par believer's walk, not his safety, from condemnation, is described. (4)\par That the clause at the end of verse 1 in the King James is a gloss\par (marginal note by some copyist) appears not only from its omission by\par the great uncial manuscripts, Aleph, A, B, C, D, F, G; A, D (corr.);\par with some good cursives and ancient versions (see Olshausen, Meyer,\par Alford, J. F. and B., and Darby's excellent discussion in his\par Synopsis, in lmoc); but it also appears from the similarity of this\par gloss to like additions made through legal fear, found in other\par passages. That God chose to have His Word translated and still\par authoritative is seen from the use in the New Testament of the Greek\par translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Septuagint. We should\par thank God for those devoted men who have spent their lifetimes in\par profound study of the manuscripts God has left us, and who have given\par us so marvelously perfect a translation as we have. We should\par distinguish such scholars absolutely and forever from the arrogant\par "Modernists" (or, in former days, the "Higher Critics"). who undertake\par to tell us what God ought to say in the Bible, rather than with deep\par humility seeking to find out what God has said.\par \par [166] Here we have at the very beginning of the chapter, one of the\par most common words of argument in Paul's epistles--for (Gr. gar). It\par n occurs some 17 times in this Eighth Chapter, and about one half as\par many in Chapter Seven, etc. In general, it assigns the reason. Let us\par not be among those who avoid Paul's epistles because of the mental\par attention they demand. Most people would rather read a novel or go to\par the picture shows than study. A chapter with 17 "fors" in it, is\par closely knit, and must be patiently followed. Unmeasured blessing will\par result.\par \par [167] John Wesley's testimony is well known, concerning the beginning\par of his life of real faith (in his 35th year, after 13 years in a\par relatively common-place ministry): "In the evening I went very\par unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading\par Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before\par nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart\par through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I\par did truost in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was\par given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from\par the law of sin and death. For the next 53 years Wesley was "the\par outstanding figure and the greatest force in the English speaking\par world." But notice that he realized at Aldersgate Street, the two\par great elements of our salvation: (1) forgiveness of sin's guilt; and\par (2) deliverance from sin's power--from the law of sin and death!\par \par [168] "The expression is purposely a general one, because the design\par was not to speak of Christ's mission to atone for sin, but, in virtue\par of that atonement, to destroy its dominion and extirpate it altogether\par from believers. We think it wrong, therefore, to render the words (as\par in margin) "by a sacrifice for sin" (peri hamartias) for this sense is\par too definite, and makes the idea of expiation more prominent than it\par is"--Jamieson-Fausset-Bropwn.\par \par [169] God condemned, or, as you might say, executed sin in the flesh\par for us by the death of Christ. He did not die only for my sins (though\par that's true), but for my sin. The root of sin that is in my nature,\par and that which worries and distresses the heart of the sincere\par believer daily, is put away for faith by death, and we are dead to it\par . . . God has settled the question, condemned the sin in you, which\par you condemn. But where has He done it? Outside of yourself altogether\par . . . He takes away the condemnation of sin in the nature, by God's\par judgment being executed on the sinless flesh of His own Son. Thus sin\par in my flesh is judged, as well as my committed sins"--Darby, Notes on\par Romans, in loc.\par \par [170] We find the definite article "the" in the Greek before the word\par Spirit, where the Holy Spirit's person or personal action is\par emphasized. But where His power, or nature as a sphere of qbeing, and\par not His person, is before us, the article generally disappears. To\par translate literally several instances in this chapter: The Holy Spirit\par is introduced in verse 2 as "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"; but\par in verse 4, it is "who walk not according to flesh but according to\par Spirit." In verse 5, "they that are according to Spirit, the things of\par the Spirit." Here "according to Spirit" is a matter of characterizing;\par whereas in "the things of the Spirit," the Holy Spirit's person is\par brought to the fore. He has certain things--"the things of God none\par knoweth save the Spirit of God" (II Cor. 2:11). Again, in Romans 8:9,\par "Ye are not in flesh but in Spirit."\par \par [171]\par \par \par "Man earthy, of the earth, an hungred feeds\par \par On earth's dark poison tree--\par \par Wild gourds, and deadly roots, and bitter weeds;\par \par And as his food is he.\par \par And hungry souls there are,r that find and eat\par \par God's manna day by day;\par \par And glad they are, their life is fresh and sweet,\par \par For as their food are they!\par \par --Ter Steegen.\par \par [172] Very many years ago a deep revival was in progress in New Haven,\par Conn., and in Yale College there. Many, especially of the society\par class, were falling under profound conviction. Several young ladies\par who had found peace in the blood of Christ, went to a very prominent\par friend,--a young woman whose generosity, grace and kindness had\par endeared her especially to her circle of friends. They besought her to\par come to the revival meetings. When she objected, they protested, "But\par God has a claim on you. He loves you. He gave His Son to die for you,"\par Fiercely she burst forth, stamping her foot: "I hate God!"\par \par [173] Of earnest "church members" today have all the Holy Spirit? Here\par and there is one who has the witness, "Abba, Fatsher"; who testifies\par boldly that Jesus Christ is his Lord; who has a burden of prayer for\par the lost; who has a yearning for the fellowship of the saints, and a\par hunger for God's Word. What about the rest? They are occupied with\par various "Christian" activities. Or, having in most cases, (I speak of\par earnest souls) a Seventh of "Romans experience, not knowing themselves\par fully accepted of God on the ground of Christ's work, and not knowing\par the deliverance that is through Christ Jesus by the indwelling Holy\par Spirit from the power of sin and selfishness and worldliness, and\par sometimes--awful to say! not willing to come out and be separate from\par that world which crucified their Lord (and is not sorry!), they become\par part of the present ecclesiastical system,--as Jews were of that\par system. You ask, are such people Christians? If they have finally\par broken with sin, and are "praying to God alway," they belong, indeed,\par t in the company of Cornelius (Acts 10), who was a devout man, but was\par not yet in the Christian position. Two steps led him to the Christian\par position: first, faith in Christ that his sins were remitted. (Acts\par 10:43); second, the gift of the Holy Ghost, which followed (Acts\par 11:15-18.) Of course, we cannot agree with the Pentecostal people that\par only those that speak with tongues have the Holy Ghost. We believe\par that gift was given at Cornelius house to convince Peter, as we read\par in the following chapter (Acts 11:17) that they had "the like gift,"\par that had been conferred on the hundred and twenty on the Day of\par Pentecost. That gift was the Holy Spirit; and not a\par gift--charisma--which the Spirit Himself afterwards conferred. The\par same thing applies to Acts 19:6: "The Holy Spirit came on them; and\par they spake with tongues, and prophesied." The essential thing was the\par conferring of the Holy Spirit, and not the uSpirit's operations\par thereafter. (What we say does not mean that we "forbid to speak with\par tongues"--which God forbids us to forbid:--I Corinthians 14:39;--and\par concerning "prophesying" we comment in Chapter Twelve.)\par \par [174] "It is astonishing to find many commentators insisting on\par "Spirit" with a small "s" here, stating that it is "the human spirit,\par . . . essentially that part of man that holds communion with God"\par (Sanday). But such a notion defeats the whole meaning of the passage,\par which is, that that possession by the believer of the Holy Spirit in\par person is the seal and mark of a true believer over against those that\par are merely "soulical" (literally, "psychical"); as in Jude 19: "These\par are they who make separations, sensual, [Greek: psychikoi], having not\par the Spirit." Paul says to the Ephesians concerning Christ: "In whom,\par upon believing, [aorist] ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of\par promvise, which is an earnest of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:13, 14).\par Having the Holy Spirit is the unvarying apostolic sign of the true\par Christian. "Hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which\par He gave us" (I John 3:24). Compare Gal. 3:2, 3; I Cor. 12:3, 13.\par \par [175] "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27), is called by the\par apostle there "the riches of the glory of this mystery"--the great\par revelation which Paul's gospel contains. But it is a terrible error to\par confine the revelation of that mystery to what are called "the prison\par epistles," beginning with Ephesians. The two sides of the gospel, We\par in Christ, and, Christ in us, are constantly set forth from Romans on.\par The very words of our verse in Romans (8:10): If Christ is in you, are\par as wonderful as we find! In Galatians also (2:20): "It is no longer I\par that live, but Christ liveth in me." And in II Corinthians 13:3:\par "Christ that speaketh win me"; and in Gal. 1:16: "To reveal His Son in\par me." (These last two refer especially to testimony.) In Ephesians 3:14\par to 21 we have the great prayer, "that Christ may make His home down in\par your hearts through faith." He lives in all saints (II Cor. 13.5),\par just as all saints are in Him. But the Ephesians passage is like\par Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man\par hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup\par with him, and he with Me." Let us beware of the false teaching, that\par only the so-called "prison epistles" are "church truth." For in all\par Paul's epistles we find this great double truth, we in Christ, and\par Christ in us. Each epistle has its particular object and phase of\par truth, certainly, but they are one; and are all for the Church, the\par one Body!\par \par [176] lt is "body" (soma), not flesh (sarx). It it were sarx, we would\par at once know the Holy Sxpirit is meant,--from Galatians 5.17.\par \par [177] We have sought in vain for some simple English expression to set\par forth the Greek word so poorly rendered "adoption." This word is\par huio-thesia: from, huios, "son come of age"; and thesia, a placing, or\par setting a person or thing in its place. In earthly affairs, "adoption"\par is the term applied to the selection as child and heir of one not born\par of us; and the execution of legal papers making such child our own,\par inheriting legal rights, etc. But God's children are begotten and born\par of God, and are called tekna, "born-ones," of God. Thus are they\par directly related to God, "partakers of the Divine nature" (II Pet.\par 1:4). All God's children, whether in Old Testament days or today, are\par thus born. But the word huios means, a child come of age; no longer\par "as a servant" (Gal. 4:7). And huiothesia means God's recognizing them\par in that position! This will be consummated yfully at the coming of\par Christ, when our bodies, redeemed, and fashioned anew, shall be\par conformed to Christ's glorious body. Meanwhile, because we are already\par adult sons (huioi), God has given us a spirit of adult-sonship! No Jew\par called God "Father," or "Abba"; but "Jehovah." (Indeed) fearfulness,\par even prevented, generally, the use by the Jews of God's\par memorial-name--Jehovah--for that nation: they called Him\par Adonai--"Lord." And the English translations of the Old Testament,\par except the A.R.V., do the same thing,--only printing Jehovah as\par "LORD"--in capitals! But this is no translation; and is legal\par fearfulness.) "Because ye are adult-sons (huioi) God sent forth the\par Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6,\par 7). Even as to the strong Roman law concerning "adoption" of those not\par born in the family, (and Paul is writing to Romans) the following is\par instructive: "The process ofz legal adoption by which the chosen heir\par became entitled not only to the reversion of the property but to the\par civil status) to the burdens as well as the rights of the\par adopter--made him become, as it were, his other self, one with him\par . . . We have but a faint conception of the force with which such an\par illustration would speak to one familiar with the Roman practice; how\par it would serve to impress upon him the assurance that the adopted son\par of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the\par heavenly Father." (Merivale, quoted by Vincent.)\par \par [178] 1.Much unnecessary and unfruitful questioning as to what is the\par witness of the Spirit has arisen. It is plain both in this passage\par (verses 15, 16) and from the great verse in Galatians 4:6: "Because ye\par are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,\par crying, Abba, Father," that the "witness of the Spirit" is the\par producing o{f the consciousness of being born of God, of belonging to\par His family, in Christ. And for us today who are in Christ, there\par should be the consciousness, not merely of babes, but of adult-sons.\par "God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba,\par Father," It is a sense of the very relation to the Father which Christ\par Himself has as Son! Mark, in this we do not "know" the Son, for He is\par the second person of the Deity; but we do know the Father, and the Son\par "willeth to reveal Him" by sending the blessed Spirit for that\par purpose. (See Matt. 11:27.) How beautifully sweet is the recognition\par of its parents by a babe, a child! unconcious, instinctive, yet how\par real! Now the witness of the Spirit is to the fact of our\par relationship. How foolish it would be, and how sad, if a child should\par fall into the delusion that it must have certain "feelings" if it is\par to believe itself a child of its parents. The |unconscious certainty of\par the relationship is the beauty of it. There are, indeed, certain tests\par Divinely given us, by which to assure ourselves. Most of these,\par perhaps, are in the great Epistle of Fellowship, First\par John;--"fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ": "I\par have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father\par (2:13). Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made\par manifest what we shall be. We know that, if He shall be manifested, we\par shall be like Him; for we shall see Him even as He is (3:2). Hereby we\par know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He gave us" (3:24).\par \par [179] This word tekna means "born-ones," offspring. The several other\par Greek words for child are used accurately in Scripture: brephos,--an\par unborn child or a newborn child (Luke 1:44 and 2:12 and 16); nepios,\par babes or small children,--children not come of age (Matt. 21:16; I\par } Cor. 3:1; 13:11; Gal. 4:1, 3; Eph 4:14), as over against adults or\par those come of age; pais, paidion and paidarion, children, generally;\par and with regard to their need of training and teaching. (The verbal\par for paideo means to train children, or to cause any one to learn; thus\par arises its use in Hebrews 12:6.) Finally, huios, which is the word of\par sonship, of adult understanding: Paul contrasts this word, with nepios\par in both Galatians 4:6, and I Corinthians 13:11, as adulthood over\par against childhood, or infancy. These distinctions are not absolute,\par but practically so.\par \par [180] Eiper--"if so be that," Is used six times in the New Testament;\par Romans 8:9 and 17; I Cor. 8:5; 15:15; II Thess. 1:6; I Pet. 2:3. An\par examination of these references shows that this word eiper can only be\par interpreted in one passage, I Cor. 15:15, as introducing a\par non-existent state of things; and here it is only most evidently for\~par the sake of argument only: "if so be that the dead rise not." This use\par in Rom. 8:9, the text proves to be in connection with a positive\par asserted fact. "if so be the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." This word\par eiper can be rendered in all six passages by "if, as is supposed." I\par would suggest the rendering, "inasmuch as," for Rom. 8:17.\par \par [181] The expression "the glory which shall be revealed toward us," is\par translated "in us" in the King James. This preposition (eis) is used\par twice, for example, in II Thess. 2:14: "Unto which also He called you\par through our gospel unto the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus\par Christ," This "glory" is to be revealed "to usward": not only to us,\par but in us, and therefore through us, to an astonished universe; and\par that forever!\par \par [182] The expression creation seems to refer to this earth, even\par although the words in verse 22 are the whole creation. In Colossians\par 1:23, Paul speaks of the gospel having been preached "in all creation\par under heaven." God announced as a result of man's sin, "Cursed is the\par ground for thy sake; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto\par thee," The creation--the old version here reads "creature," which is\par not accurate or clear. The reference is especially to the present\par world and the order of life upon it.\par \par [183] Major D. W. Whittle--of blessed memory! used to say, "The\par trouble with most Christians is that they are not willing to groan!\par Unwilling to face constantly the fact of being `in a tabernacle' our\par earthly body, in which we groan, being burdened; and thus to long for\par the coming of Christ in the redemption of their bodies, most\par Christians get weary and long for death--disembodiment, which is not\par the Christian's hope. Or else they turn back for some kind of\par satisfaction ,to the things of this poor wretched dying world. Or they\par seek to have sin `eradicated' from their bodies."\par \par [184] As for the "Modernist," his shallow, ignorant, blatant boast if,\par "We do not know; we are not sure," thus giving continual open evidence\par that he does not belong to that company of whom John writes: "We know\par that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that\par we know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His\par Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."\par \par [185] "Called" here does not mean invited,--as in Proverbs, for\par instance. "Unto you, O men, I call"; for this would be an appeal to\par man's will instead of a description of those who are the objects of\par God's will, His purpose. "Called," in the sense of Romans 8:28, is\par illustrated in I Corinthians 1:24: where "Christ crucified" is\par declared to be a "stumbling-block" to Jews (to people whose thought\par was religion) and "foolishness" to Greeks (to those whose life lay in\par philosophy): but to `the called themselves" (Gr. margin) "Christ the\par power of God and the wisdom of God." Here "the called" are seen to be\par a. company whose mark is neither religious response nor intellectual\par apprehending; but the electing grace of God which has so marked out\par the sphere of their being, that they are named "the called." They are\par called according to His (God's) purpose! Now, that purpose is not\par merely an expressed Divine desire, but a fixed and vast will, that\par itself subordinates, necessarily, all things; submerges all\par opposition; effects its object. God's purpose, in regard to "the\par called," His "elect," does, indeed, arise out of His desire, as well\par as being according to His infinite wisdom. This is shown in:\par \par \par "Jehovah hath chosen Zion;\par \par He hath desired it for His habitation.\par \par Here will I dwell; for I have desired it" (Ps. 132:13, 14).\par Also, "Because He [Jehovah] loved thy [Israel's] fathers, therefore He\par chose their seed after them" (Deut. 4:37). Even those "chosen in\par Christ before the foundation of the world," are said to be "loved in\par Christ Jesus our Lord." "Go is love, " and acts according to that\par nature. Out of His infinite, holy desire arose His Purpose. Reverse\par this order, and you have the god of the fatalist, not of the Bible.\par \par [186] "It is important to observe that the apostle does not speak of a\par passive or naked foreknowlege as if God only saw beforehand what some\par would be, and do, or believe. His foreknowledge is of persons, not of\par their state or conduct; it is not what, but `whom' He foreknew"\par (Kelly).\par \par [187] Both the R.V. and the King James neglect to translate the little\par particle (Gr. ge) which gives this passage its peculiar emphasis:\par Literally: "God for US . . . . who even spared not His own Son!" went\par even that length.\par \par [188] Note that the last statement of verse 33--"It is God that\par justifieth," is connected with the opening question of verse 34. The\par verse division is unfortunate, and beclouds the meaning. The second\par sentence of verse 34, Christ Jesus is the one that died, etc., is\par entirely separate from and an advance upon, the preceding verses.\par \par [189] The other instances: Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12;\par 12:2; Col. 3:1.\par \par [190] Christ Jesus making intercession for us at the right hand of God\par in Heaven, is not properly Romans truth, but is brought in here simply\par to show His eternal commitment to our cause. We say this because the\par remnants of Romish unbelief lie in most or all of us. For instance,\par take the lines,\par \par \par "O blessed feet of Jesus, weary with seeking me,\par \par Kneel at God's bar of judgment, and intercede for me!"\par  What a mixture and hodge-podge such words are! Christ is not\par "appeasing God" in Heaven. That was all done forever on the cross\par where our sins were put away. Our Lord as our High Priest in Heaven\par now leads our worship and praise, and looks after us in our infirmity.\par The book of Hebrews opens out this. But it is that same book which\par says, "He, when He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat\par down on the right hand of God" (10:12). The work on which faith rests\par has been done, and those who rely on Christ's work on the cross will\par find their needs taken care of by Christ in Heaven.\par \par [191] As we say elsewhere, the mouthings of the "Modernist" who knows\par not the prophetic Word (and would not bow to it if it were shown to\par him) must not be listened to for a moment. The "Stone" of the Second\par of Daniel strikes that great prophetic Image of Gold, Silver, Brass,\par Iron, and Iron-Clay feet, with a sudden unexpected impact, destroying\par the whole Gentile order of things,--away down in the feet and toes\par period. The Kingdom of the Most High is then, and not till then, set\par up. We all know that those born again shall "see the Kingdom of\par God"--indeed, are in that Kingdom, as spiritually existing. But no\par others, no "social order," no man-made conditions, are in the Kingdom!\par Further, to those born .again, God says, "The Kingdom of God is\par righteousness and joy and peace, in the Holy Ghost." Outside the\par Spirit, the Kingdom of God does not exist. Indeed, the Kingdom has not\par yet been given to Christ in heaven by the Father. When it is given to\par Him (Rev. 5; Psalm 2:7-9), He will Himself come and set up His Kingdom\par in power according to Matthew 13:36-43; 25:31-46. Read these words of\par Christ, and believe them,--hearkening to no "peace, peace" words of\par the "Modern" dreamers.\par \par [192] It is evident that those whose description is "killed all the\par day long" "sheep for slaughter" will never become more than\par conquerors, or conquerors at all, through moral influence," human\par "merits," "the ballot box," "the betterment of humanity," "interracial\par understanding"! No, not with Satan prince and god, here! And he will\par be such until cast into the abyss (Rev. 20) at Christ's coming.\par \par [193] In Ephesians 6:12, in the expression "principalities and\par powers," the first word, (archai) is the word translated\par "principalities" in Romans 8:38, meaning one in high position in the\par unseen world. The second word, "powers," in Ephesians 6:12, is the\par Greek exousia,and is directly connected with "principalities," being a\par word indicative of authority, rather than energy. See Matthew 10:1;\par Acts 26:10,12.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } h Israel. God had committed Himself to\par bless this nation; and lo, now it is nationally set aside, while\par Paul's message goes out to all nations without distinction between Jew\par and Greek! Where, then, is the Divine faithfulness? How reconcile\par God's former condition of blessing,--through circumcision, the Law\par with its observances, the temple with its presence of Jehovah in the\par Holy of Holies, and the separateness of the elect nation, Israel, from\par all others:--how reconcile all this with such a by faith "no\par difference" message as Paul has been preaching to us--in the first\par eight chapters? A message, indeed, which he resumes from Chapter\par Twelve to the close, magnifying God's present mercy to the Gentiles;\par and ending up the Epistle as he began it, with the words: "My gospel,\par (revealing a heretofore hidden secret), is sent forth unto all the\par nations unto the simple obedience of faith"!\par \par The question, therefore, is, how to reconcile the "no distinction\par between Jew and Greek" message that Paul is here preaching, with God's\par former manner of speech to Israel, concerning which the Psalmist\par sings:\par \par \par "He showeth His word unto Jacob,\par \par His statutes and His ordinances unto Israel.\par \par He hath not dealt so with any nation;\par \par And as for His ordinances, they have not known them"\par \par (Ps. 147:19, 20).\par \par And not only so, but the whole book of Psalms, for that matter; yes,\par and the prophets, also!\par \par Now it will not do merely to go back to Israel's idolatrous history,\par and denounce the nation; or even to our Lord's awful utterance, as He\par finally left their temple:\par \par "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth\par them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy\par children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her\par wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you\par desolate" (Luke 13:34, 35).\par \par It will not do to say they were a disobedient people, and God has\par rejected them entirely, and has brought blessing out to the Gentiles\par instead. Nor will it do, in these three chapters, merely to go forward\par to Ephesians (2:14-16) and say, "Christ is our peace, who hath made\par both [Jew and Gentile] one, and has broken down the middle wall of\par partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity [between them],\par even the Law of commandments in ordinances; that He might create in\par Himself of the two One New Man, so making peace; and might reconcile\par them both in One Body unto God through the cross." Furthermore, it\par will not do to go on into Colossians and say concerning this new man,\par the Body of Christ, that "there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision\par and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ\par is all, and in all" (Col. 3:11). All these things are true for us who\par are in Christ. But it is the facts as they are set forth in Romans,\par that we must examine if we are to study Romans. And God, here in\par Romans, sets forth His ways in the past, and His ways in the future,\par with this chosen earthly nation, Israel.\par \par That God should so signally honor this nation Israel as to reveal His\par awful presence on Sinai, and speak in an audible voice to them, giving\par to them and them alone His holy "fiery Law,"--this fact must have its\par true place with us.\par \par "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee,\par since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one\par end of heaven unto the other whether there hath been any such thing\par as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever a\par people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire,\par as thou has heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take Him\par a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials by signs, and\par by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an\par outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that\par Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" (Deut.\par 4:32-34.)\par \par I say, for God to do all this, and then publicly set this nation\par aside, and send a Paul to all nations without distinction of Jew or\par Gentile, preaching salvation apart from the Law, and by simple faith,\par instead of by "the Jews' religion"; promising blessings, and that even\par heavenly blessings, inconceivably beyond those promised to\par Israel,--this was an astounding thing! The trouble with us Gentiles\par is, that we have become accustomed to it, we take it for granted.\par God's plans and ways with Israel do not concern most Christians.\par \par There is no more striking example of the deadly and deadening\par self-confidence into which human beings so quickly drift when they\par find themselves objects of Divine goodness: "Man that is in honor, and\par understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish" (Ps. 49:20).\par \par One has only to look about Christendom to see at once the evidence of\par this fateful delusion. Behold the "state" churches, the great\par cathedrals, the vested choirs and magnificent music; and the "church\par calendars" with their man-invented feast days, "holy" days,\par "Christmas-tides," "Lenten" periods, "Easter" services,--all that goes\par to make up the so-called "Christian religion"! And the high talk of\par the Gentiles about Israel as God's "ancient people": whereas God has\par never had and never will have any people, any elect nation, but\par earthly Israel!\par \par When we reflect that, after He has "caught up in the clouds" His\par Church saints, our Lord is coming back to this earthly people Israel,\par and will establish them in their land, with a glorious millennial\par temple and order of worship, to which the Gentile nations must and\par will submit: then we see that the present time is altogether\par anomalous! It is a parenthesis, in which God is making a "visit" to\par the Gentiles, to "take out of them a people for His name";--after\par which, James tells us, our Lord "will Himself return," and "build\par again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen" (Acts 15:16), on Mount\par Zion, in Jerusalem, where David lived.\par \par Romans Nine, Ten, and Eleven become an essential part of Christian\par doctrine in this respect: that while they do not set forth our\par salvation or our place in Christ, as do the first eight chapters, yet\par they unfold to us our relative place in God's plans, along with\par national Israel's place. They also reveal to us several matters\par absolutely essential to our proper estimate of God and His ways; and,\par properly believed, they "hide pride" from us: bringing in as they do\par the great fact that both ourselves and (in the future), the saved\par Remnant of Israel, are the objects of sovereign Divine mercy. We\par discover ourselves in Chapter 9:23 to be "vessels of mercy," as will\par future Israel discover themselves to be, by the example of the mercy\par shown to us. The grace of God has been spoken of in this Epistle often\par before; but not until these chapters is mercy named; and until mercy\par is understood, grace cannot be fully appreciated.\par \par In Luke 1:78 (margin) we read of the "heart of mercy" of our God; and\par in Ephesians 2:4, that God is "rich in mercy." God proclaimed His name\par to Moses: "Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to\par anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth" (Ex. 34:6). God's\par mercy is the sovereign going forth of His heart to us sinful wretched\par creatures; His grace follows, in His pardoning our guilt; and His\par loving-kindness is His proceeding with us in abundant goodness\par thereafter.\par \par 1 I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing\par witness with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and\par unceasing pain in my heart. 3 For I could pray that I myself were\par [cast out] accursed from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen\par according to the flesh: 4 who are Israelites; whose is the [Divine\par national] adoption and the [earth-manifested] glory, and the\par covenants, and the custodianship of the law, and the sanctuary\par service, and the promises; 5 whose are the fathers, and of whom is\par Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed unto the\par ages. Amen.\par \par This most remarkable paragraph naturally divides itself into two\par parts:\par \par 1. Verses 1 to 3: Paul's constant yearning pain for the unbelieving\par Israelites, his brethren and kinsmen,--a yearning to which he declares\par the Spirit bears witness, which could, were it right, go the length of\par his being lost if they could be saved! Thus Moses prayed: "If thou\par wilt not forgive them, blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy book, which\par Thou hast written!" (Ex. 32:32, 33.) [194] Dear old Bengel searchingly\par says, "It is not easy to estimate the measure of love in a Moses and a\par Paul. For our limited reason does not grasp it, as the child cannot\par comprehend the courage of warriors!"\par \par 2. Verses 4 and 5: The rehearsing of eight matters which belonged to\par Israel,--yea, and yet belong to Israel, in spite of all their\par unfaithfulness. As Jehovah says to Jeremiah:\par \par "If these ordinances [of the sun, of the moon, of the stars and of\par the sea] depart from before Me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of\par Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus\par saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations\par of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all\par the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah"\par (Jer. 31:35-37).\par \par Therefore, first, let us deeply reflect on this thing of Paul's\par unceasing pain over Israel, lest in our Gentile shallowness we miss\par the correct judgment of the importance of this event before God, that\par Israel, among whom He had dwelt, became disobedient, and were broken\par off from blessing; and lest in our own affections we become so\par narrowed as to have no yearning over Israel. Shall we let Paul, our\par great apostle, have this "unceasing pain," this "great sorrow," in his\par heart, all alone? Nay for Paul would not have shared the fact with us\par except he expected our sympathy in the Spirit. Let us not be like\par those thousands of grace-hating Jews in Paul's day who kept following\par him in his blessed ministry, declaring that he was an apostate Jew,\par one really denying the faith of his fathers, bitter against his own\par race in order to curry favor among the despised Gentiles. They spread\par the report that Paul "taught all men everywhere against Israel and the\par Law and the temple" (Acts 21:28). How Christ-like was the love in\par Paul's heart, that persisted even to be willing to be lost, for the\par unbelieving Israelites who were reviling him!\par \par Second, let us enumerate and examine the eight respects in which the\par apostle here declares the nation of Israel differed before God from\par all other nations:\par \par 1. The Divine national adoption--"Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my\par son, my first-born" (Ex. 4:22). "Thou art a holy people unto Jehovah\par thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for His own\par possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth"\par (Deut. 7:6). "You only have I known of all the families of the earth"\par (Amos 3:2). Let the nations, British, Americans, French, Germans, or\par whatever they be, lay this to heart before it is too late! For as to\par God's election of Israel as His chosen nation, it is absolute and\par eternal, [195] as He says in Isaiah 66:22: "As the new heavens and new\par earth [of Rev 21 and 22] shall remain before Me, so shall your seed\par and your name [Israel] remain."\par \par 2. The glory--We all know how God's presence accompanied Israel as a\par pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night through the sea and\par through the wilderness, and then filled the tabernacle! No other\par nation has had or will have God's presence thus. God said:\par \par "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them\par . . . And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in\par the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee . . .\par And there I will meet with thee" (Ex. 25:8, 21, 22).\par \par And concerning the dedication of Solomon's temple we read,\par \par "It came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to\par make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah, and\par when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and\par instruments of music, and praised Jehovah, saying. For He is good;\par for His loving-kindness endureth forever; that then the house was\par filled with a cloud, even the house of Jehovah, so that the priests\par could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory\par of Jehovah filled the house of God" (II Chron. 5:13, 14).\par \par 3. The covenants--With "covenants" Gentiles have absolutely nothing\par actively to do. [196] In Genesis Fifteen God made a covenant with\par Abraham, and gave to his earthly seed the token of circumcision. In\par Genesis Twenty-two, God "confirmed" the promise to Abraham's Seed,\par which is Christ (Gal. 3:16). With David God made an earthly\par kingdom-covenant,--that one of David's descendants should sit upon his\par throne forever (II Sam. 7:13); as we find Gabriel announcing to Mary\par in Luke 1:32, 33. God says He will make a New Covenant in the future\par with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (Heb. 8:8-12 ,\par quoted from Jer. 31:31, ff), in connection with which He promises to\par "bring Israel back into their land," to "take away the stony heart out\par of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, to put His Spirit\par within them, to cause them to walk in His statutes, and keep His\par ordinances, and do them" (Ezek. 36:24-27).\par \par 4. And the custodianship of the Law--It was a great thing to be\par entrusted with God's holy Law, as we have seen in Chapter 3:2. Let me\par here repeat that every writer of Scripture is an Israelite. No other\par nation has ever been even directly spoken to, as a nation, by God:\par except to be warned, as were Egypt by Moses, and Nineveh by Jonah.\par There were written messages,--as Isaiah 13-23; but these were given to\par Israel, concerning other nations.\par \par 5. And the sanctuary-service--The Greek word here (latreia), refers to\par those religious ordinances prescribed to Israel by God in connection\par with the tabernacle-worship, and afterwards the temple-worship, which\par will be resumed in the Millennium, as we read in the last nine\par chapters of Ezekiel. (The ordinances and offerings then will be\par memorial, rather than prophetic, as in the days before Christ died.)\par \par Note carefully that such outward form-worship belongs to the nation of\par Israel, and not to Christianity. To introduce it into Christianity is\par to return to paganism. For Paul plainly classifies the forms and\par ceremonies of Judaism as now belonging with "the weak and beggarly\par religious principles" which heathen Gentiles engage in! (Gal. 4:9,\par 10.)\par \par Until the "Aryans" (whoever they are) have been led out from all other\par races by God Himself in manifest presence, and have had a "fiery law"\par given them from heaven as had Israel, let them stop their mouths, and\par also stop their ears from any vain pagan prophet! And let the Gentiles\par all humble their miserable pride. What have they to do with the Law\par that God committed to Israel? or with the Jewish Sabbath, which God\par said was a token of His covenant with that chosen people? (Ex.\par 31:12-17.)\par \par 6. And the promises--God's salvation-promises were lodged in Abraham;\par His kingdom-promises, in David. No promises were made to Gentile\par nations as such. For the gospel now proclaimed is not a promise, but\par the announcement of a fact to be believed; and it is not preached to\par nations as such, but to individuals--good news to sinners everywhere.\par But to Israel, promises, thousands of them, were committed,--as a\par nation.\par \par Now we do not have to become "Israelites" in any sense whatever to\par enjoy God's salvation in Christ. [197] The nation of Israel has been\par set aside for the present as the vessel of Divine blessing to the\par world, while the Gentiles, as set forth in Chapter Eleven, have now\par the privileged place, and Jews and Gentiles come individually, upon\par believing, into a heavenly inheritance. Nevertheless, "the promises"\par pertain nationally to Israel, and to no other nation as such.\par \par 7. Whose are the fathers--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are directly\par referred to; and Jacob's sons also, especially Joseph, and Judah the\par vessel of royal promise and blessing to Israel (Ps. 77:15; 80:1; 81:5;\par Gen. 49:8,10; Heb. 7:14). Our hearts include Moses, Samuel, David, and\par the prophets when we think of Israel and remember "the fathers." But\par it is especially to Abraham, "the father of all them that believe,"\par that our grateful memory turns; for, although we have no connection\par with Israel, we do have indeed a vital connection with Abraham, as his\par "children."\par \par 8. And of whom is Christ as to the flesh--who is over all God blessed\par unto the ages! Amen. [198] In Chapter 1:3 God's Son is said to be\par "born of the seed of David according to the flesh"; in John 1:14, we\par read: "The Word became flesh"; in Hebrews 2:16: "He taketh hold of the\par seed of Abraham"; and in Matthew 1:1, it is: "The book of the\par generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham."\par \par Now this is an astonishing honor to Israel,--infinitely outranking all\par others: our Lord, "the Mighty God" (Isa. 9:6), is, "according to the\par flesh," an Israelite! For two other things are immediately affirmed of\par Him: He is over all, and He is God blessed unto the ages. The words\par "over all" are partly explained in I Corinthians 15:27: "He [God the\par Father] put all things in subjection under His [Christ's] feet." But\par in John 1:1, 3: "The Word was God. All things were made through Him."\par As in Col 1:16, 17: "All things were created through Him and unto Him;\par and by Him all things consist" (hold together); so that Christ is\par indeed "over all, God blessed forever"! (As to this ascription of\par deity to Christ, see Kelly's Notes on Romans, pp. 165-171.)\par \par And now Paul falls back upon the sovereignty of God, accomplishing\par thereby three things:\par \par First he defends himself (and all of us) against the charge of\par teaching that God had been unfaithful in His promises toward Israel;\par (2) he shows that Israel's own Scriptures had foretold their temporary\par rejection, and the salvation of the Gentiles; and (3) he shows the\par great future blessing which will come to Israel, in God's sovereign\par MERCY. Let us read the text:\par \par 6 But it is not as though the word of God hath come to nought. For\par they are not all Israel, that are of Israel; 7 neither, because they\par are Abraham's seed, are they all children: but. In Isaac shall thy\par seed be called. 8 That is, It is not the children of the flesh that\par are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for\par a seed. 9 For this is a word of promise, According to this season\par willI come, and Sarah shall have a son. 10 And not only so; but\par Rebecca also having conceived by one,--by our father Isaac: 11 for\par [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good\par or bad, that the purpose of God, according to election might stand,\par not of works, but of Him that calleth, 12--it was said unto her, The\par elder shall serve the younger. 13 Even as it is written, Jacob I\par loved, but Esau I hated.\par \par The great revealed truth of the sovereignty of God perplexes many,\par disturbs others, and some take occasion to stumble at it.\par \par Verse 6: But it is not as though the word of God hath come to\par nought--Paul here refers to those great promises God had made to\par Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob; conferring blessing upon their\par seed, announcing Himself as God of Israel, giving them by oath the\par land of Palestine, placing in David's line the promise of perpetual\par royalty on earth; prophesying a great and glorious future for Israel,\par not only in the coming Millennium, or 1000 years kingdom here, but in\par the new earth which follows that (Isa. 66:22). Paul's immediate\par explanation (for it looked as if these Divine promises had lapsed) was\par that not all that are of Israel are really Israel before God.\par \par Verse 7: Neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all\par children: but. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. I know, said our\par Lord, that ye are Abraham's descendants; but if you were Abraham's\par children you would do the works of Abraham. "If God were your Father,\par ye would love Me. Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:37 to 44).\par To regard religious privilege as spiritual reality is the very\par deadliest delusion. The real sons of Abraham are defined in Gal. 3:7:\par "Know therefore, that they that are of faith, the same are sons of\par Abraham." However, in the present passage, the point is not that\par Abraham's real children are those that believe, but that Divine\par sovereign calling lies behind all. As God said to Abraham concerning\par Ishmael, "Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and thou\par shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him\par for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. And as for\par Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him and will make\par  him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. But My covenant will\par I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set\par time in the next year" (Gen. 17:19-21). The direct quotation is from\par Gen. 21:12, when Ishmael was cast out. "In Isaac shall thy seed be\par called." This is Divine sovereign action. Now Paul explains it:\par \par Verse 8: That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are\par children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a\par seed. What does the apostle mean by "The children of the promise are\par reckoned for a seed"? It is most necessary that we perceive that Paul\par is speaking here, not of man's believing a promise and therefore being\par written down as one of God's children; but on the contrary, of the\par promise (of God to Christ) that characterizes the existence and\par calling of all the real children of God. He expounds this in the next\par verse.\par \par Verse 9: For this is a word of promise, According to this season will\par I come, and Sarah shall have a son--The quotation is from Genesis\par 18:10. Read the connection there carefully. Isaac, the coming child,\par did not believe the promise in order to be born! But, God promised\par Isaac to Abraham, and kept His promise by a miracle. When Isaac was\par born, therefore, he was a child of promise,--a promised child, in\par God's sovereign will.\par \par Verses 10, 11: And not only so, but Rebecca also having conceived by\par one, even by our father Isaac--for the children being not yet born,\par neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God\par according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that\par calleth,--\par \par In the former passage it is brought out that Isaac was a child of\par promise, not merely of natural generation. In the present passage the\par Divine sovereignty--"the purpose of God according to election"--is\par seen extending still further than birth, to the disposition of the\par condition and affairs of the children thus promised. The elder shall\par serve the younger, is not only a prophecy that Jacob would inherit and\par obtain the Divine blessing, and that his seed (as in the days of David\par and Solomon) would be temporarily triumphant over the Edomites, Esau's\par descendants; but also looks far into the future beyond the brief\par triumph of the Herodians, the Edomites, in the days of Christ and the\par apostles, to the day when, as Balaam was forced against his will to\par prophesy:\par \par \par "There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob,\par \par And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,\par \par And shall smite through the corners of Moab,\par \par And break down all the sons of tumult.\par \par And Edom shall be a possession;\par \par Seir also shall be a possession, who were his enemies;\par \par While Israel doeth valiantly" (Num. 24:17, 18).\par \par \par "And they [Israel and Judah when the Lord returns, agrees Isaiah],\par shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab, and the children of\par Ammon shall obey them" (Isa. 11:14).\par \par Verses 12, 13: The elder shall serve the younger, and, Jacob I loved,\par but Esau I hated--These words are chosen from the first and from the\par last books of the Old Testament. As to "Jacob I loved, but Esau I\par hated," a woman once said to Mr. Spurgeon, "I cannot understand why\par God should say that He hated Esau." "That," Spurgeon replied, "is not\par my difficulty, madam. My trouble is to understand how God could love\par Jacob!" All men being sinners, we must allow God to "retreat into His\par own sovereignty," to act as He will. You and I may say, Esau proved\par himself entirely unworthy of the covenant blessings, for he despised\par them. This, however, will be seen to be a shallow view of the\par statement of the eleventh verse, that the prophecy of their future was\par told to their mother while the children were yet in her womb, not\par having done anything good or bad. For the Divine statement concerning\par His own election, and His providence that carries out that election,\par is very plain, that it is not of works but of Himself, who gives the\par creature his calling. We have already in Romans seen and believed that\par righteousness is not of works but of Divine grace--uncaused by us. Now\par let us just as frankly bow to God's plain statement that His purpose\par according to election is likewise not of human works. That is to say,\par the favor of God to the children of promise (to those whom He has\par given to Christ) is not procured by their response to God's grace, but\par contrariwise, their response to God's grace is because they have been\par given to Christ.\par \par 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Far be\par the thought! 15 For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I\par have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 16\par So then. it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but\par of God that hath mercy. 17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For\par this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee My\par power, and that My name might be published abroad in all the earth. 18\par So then He hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.\par \par We have now come upon that passage of Scripture against which the\par human mind--or rather heart, rebels most of all. For it sets the\par creature as he really is before God; not, indeed, as an automaton, nor\par in fatalistic compulsion,--otherwise there were no morals, and no\par appeal in the gospel.\par \par Nevertheless, it will be our only safe path to receive just as God\par writes it down, the truth we find here.\par \par Verses 14,15: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with\par God? Far be the thought! For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on\par whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have\par compassion. We have only to remember the circumstances under which God\par thus spoke to Moses, to see the righteousness of God's sovereignty in\par mercy. There had been the awful breach at Sinai: Israel had "changed\par their glory for the likeness of an ox that eateth grass." The eternal\par ineffably glorious Jehovah in His indignation had said to Moses: "Let\par Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may\par consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation" (Ex. 32:10).\par Moses pleads for the people, and the next day offers, if God will\par forgive them, to be himself blotted out of God's book! He said to the\par people: "I will go up unto Jehovah; peradventure I shall make\par atonement for your sin" (Ex. 32:30). Forty days and forty nights this\par devoted man lay on his face interceding for Israel, and God brought\par about, as we know, Moses' mediatorship for Israel. (Study carefully\par Ex. 33; 34: especially Ex. 33:12-17; Ex. 34:1, 27, 28, 32.) God shows\par Moses himself favor; and finally extends it to all the people. And\par note, it is in this connection, and under these circumstances, and in\par answer to the personal request of His beloved servant: "Show me, I\par pray thee, thy glory," that Jehovah says, "I will make all My goodness\par pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee;\par and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy\par on whom I will show mercy" (Ex. 33:18, 19).\par \par Now who can find fault with that? Unless Jehovah shows mercy, Israel\par must all righteously perish. There was no resource left in man! God,\par whose name is Love, must come out to man and come in mercy, or all is\par  over! And here we earnestly ask you to read the remarkable words of\par Darby, in the foot-note below. [199] It will accomplish in the heart\par which weighs it carefully that reconciliation of the sovereignty of\par God with God's love and grace which is possible alone to faith; and it\par will also enlighten the mind concerning God's dealings with Israel as\par recorded in these three great chapters of Romans.\par \par Verse 16: So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that\par runneth, but of God that hath mercy--Oh, that this great verse might\par sink into our ears, into our very hearts! Perhaps no statement of all\par Scripture so completely brings man to an utter end. Man thinks he can\par "will" and "decide," God-ward, and that after he has so "decided" and\par "willed," he has the ability to "run," or, as he says, to "hold out."\par But these two things, deciding and holding out, are in this verse\par utterly rejected as the source of salvation,--which is declared to be\par God that hath MERCY. Human responsibility is not at all denied here:\par man ought to will, and ought to run. But we are all nothing but\par sinners, and can do,--will do, neither: unless God come forth to us in\par sovereign mercy. [200]\par \par Verses 17 and 18: For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh For this very\par purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee My power, and\par that My name might be published abroad in all the earth. So then He\par hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.\par \par Now in Pharaoh's case, it is customary to emphasize the fact that he\par said: "Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let\par Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go"\par (Ex. 5:2).\par \par But we must go back of that to Exodus 4:21: "And Jehovah said unto\par Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before\par Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand: but I will\par harden [lit., make strong] his heart, and he will not let the people\par go."\par \par "And I will harden Pharoah's heart and multiply My signs and My\par wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you,\par and I will lay My hand upon Egypt, and bring forth My hosts. My people\par the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments"\par (Ex. 7:3, 4).\par \par Now it is not necessary nor right to make God the author of Pharaoh's\par stubbornness. No more is it right to insist that if God be a God of\par love He must save everybody, as all sorts of Universalists claim. Ex.\par 7:13, 14 records Pharaoh's attitude after the first "wonder"; and then\par God's report of Pharaoh's heart-condition,--for God sees the heart:\par "And Pharaoh's heart was hardened [lit., was strong], and he hearkened\par not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken."\par \par "And Jehovah said unto Moses, `Pharaoh's heart is heavy.'" Now the\par Hebrew word translated "heavy" or "hard" here, is frequently used of\par that which weighs down, as in Exodus 17:12: "Moses' hands were heavy";\par and in I Kings 12:10: "Thy father made our yoke heavy." See especially\par Isaiah 1:4: "A people laden [lit., heavy] with iniquity." On the\par whole, therefore, we are compelled to see that Pharaoh's heart was\par left by God simply in its natural state,--heavy with iniquity. Unlike\par Jehoshaphat (II Chron. 17:6), his heart had never been "lifted up in\par the ways of Jehovah." Unlike David, he had not even felt the weight of\par his sins, for David complains, in Psalm 38:4:\par \par \par "Mine iniquities are gone over my head;\par \par As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me."\par \par The word heavy here is the same Hebrew word which God uses to describe\par Pharaoh's heart, in Exodus 7:14.\par \par God had a perfect right to allow Pharaoh to remain (where we all would\par have remained, apart from Divine sovereign mercy!), in a disobedient.\par God-defying attitude: "Who is Jehovah that I should obey Him?" Pharaoh\par fulfilled the Divine counsels. The plagues his rebellion brought on,\par and his overthrow at the Red Sea, are celebrated in Exodus 15:14: "The\par peoples have heard, they tremble." The pagan Philistines, even in\par Samuel's day said: "These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with\par all manner of plagues in the wilderness" (I Sam. 4:7, 8). Jehovah's\par name was indeed through this unregenerate rebel, Pharaoh, "published\par abroad in all the earth," just as He said!\par \par What God's Word tells us as to His dealing with Pharaoh, explains "He\par hardeneth." But nothing else than a subject heart of faith will enter,\par with reverent footstep, into the twice repeated words, "whom He will,"\par here. And we say boldly, that a believer's heart is not fully yielded\par to God until it accepts without question, and without demanding\par softening, this eighteenth verse.\par \par Paul in the Spirit forestalls the natural operations of man's proud\par heart:\par \par 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He still find fault? For who\par withstandeth His will? 20 Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest\par against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why\par didst Thou make me thus? 21 Or hath not the potter a right over the\par clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and\par another unto dishonor?\par \par In His infinite wisdom and knowledge God reads with unerring accuracy\par the operations of the human heart: "Man looketh on the outward\par appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart." Man says, If I am not\par one of God's elect, an object of His mercy, then I cannot do right,\par and God should not blame me. I asked an intelligent man in western\par Michigan if he had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He burst out\par into loud laughing, saying, "If I am elect, I will go to heaven; and\par if I am not elect, there is no use in my worrying about the question!"\par I rebuked him sternly, with these words: "`God commandeth men that\par they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as He hath appointed a day\par in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He\par hath ordained.' `God's commands are God's enablings,' and if you will\par hearken to Him, you will be saved. But you will not dare to say to God\par in that day, I could not come because I was not of the elect; for that\par will not be true! The reason you refused to come, will be found to be\par your love of sin, not your non-election!" God says, "Whosoever will,"\par and the door is open to all, absolutely all. God means "Whosoever":\par and that is the word for you, sinner; and not election, which is God's\par  business, not yours!\par \par Verse 20: Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?\par Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it. Why didst thou make\par me thus? Literally, this reads: "O man, yes! but rather,--you! who are\par you, replying against God?"\par \par Alford well says: "The words `yea, rather,' take the ground from under\par the previous assertion and supersede it by another: implying that it\par has a certain show of truth, but that the proper view of the matter is\par yet to be stated. They thus convey, as in Luke 11:28, a rebuke,--here,\par with severity: `That which thou hast said may be correct human\par reasoning,--but as against God's sovereignty, thy reasoning is out of\par place and irrelevant; the verse implying. Thou hast neither right nor\par power to call God to account in this matter.' These verses are a\par rebuke administered to the spirit of the objection, which forgets the\par immeasurable distance between us and God, and the relation of Creator\par and Disposer in which He stands to us."\par \par And Stifler warns: "He who replies against God must mean that it is\par God's hardening that deprives a soul of salvation; that if God did not\par interpose with an election and take some and leave others to be\par hardened, all men would have at least an equal opportunity of\par salvation. This is false. If God did not elect, none would be saved,\par for there is `none that seeketh after God' (Rom. 3:11). And, men are\par not lost because they are hardened; they are hardened because they are\par lost; they are lost because they are sinners.\par \par "God is not responsible for sin. He is under no obligation to save any\par one. Obligation and sovereignty cannot both be predicated of God. If\par He saves any one it is a sovereign act of mercy."\par \par Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it. Why didst thou make\par me thus?\par \par Thus speaks also Jehovah by Isaiah:\par \par "Woe unto him that striveth with His Maker! a potsherd among the\par potsherds of the earth! . . . Ye turn things upside down! Shall the\par potter be esteemed as clay; that the thing made should say of him\par that made it. He made me not; or the thing formed say of him that\par formed it, He hath no understanding?" (Isa. 45:9; 29:16.)\par \par In the Scriptures, those who meet God, fall into the dust. "I am but\par dust and ashes," said Abraham, and Job: "Mine eye seeth Thee, and I\par abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."\par \par A "thing," yea, and a formed thing, owing its very being to a Creator!\par Have we thus considered ourselves? Our only proper creature-attitude\par is one of faith, not questioning. As\par \par \par "Frail creatures of dust,\par \par And feeble as frail,\par \par In Thee do we trust,\par \par Nor find Thee to fail."\par \par These are days of man-vaunting, and God-despising. But they shall soon\par end, and the very earth on which man's legions marched in such pride,\par shall flee away "before the face of Him who sits upon the Throne"!\par (Rev. 20:11.)\par \par Verse 21: Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same\par lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?\par As concerns the right of the Divine Potter over the human clay, we\par need to go with Jeremiah to "the potter's house": "I went down to the\par potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. And\par the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do\par with you as this potter? Such as is the clay in the potter's hands, so\par are ye in my hand, O house of Israel" (Jer. 18:3-6). God called man\par "dust" in Eden (Gen. 2:7; 3:19). And, "The nations are as a drop of a\par bucket and are accounted as the small dust of the balance" (Isa.\par 40:15). When the apothecary would weigh an article accurately, he\par whisks out with a breath from the balances any former dust remaining\par therein: and there go the nations, all,--as regards greatness before\par God! Yet here is one atom of this "small dust" replying against God,\par saying, "What right has He to do thus with me?"\par \par Now it will not do to answer, "God is love"; "God so loved the world."\par True, indeed. But God is God, and the nations are "less than nothing,\par and vanity," as you read in Isaiah 40:17, and in many other\par Scriptures. God has rights high above all our poor comprehension. We\par know that God will always act righteously. We are not God's judges!\par God has a right "from the same lump of human clay to make one part a\par vessel unto honor, another unto dishonor." No godly person challenges\par that right. Nay, godly people most reverently bow to it! "What would\par the ability to fashion be worth, if it were under the dictation of\par that which is to be fashioned?"\par \par 22 What if GOD, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power\par known, endureth with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto\par destruction: 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory\par upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory, 24 even us,\par whom He also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the\par Gentiles?\par \par Verse 22: What if GOD--the greatness of the Creator and the\par nothingness of the creature! God's will is supreme and right, even to\par His being willing to show publicly His wrath--both at the day of\par judgment, and on through eternity. His holiness and righteousness will\par be exhibited to all creatures in His visitation of wrath upon the\par wicked:\par \par And to make His power known--Job in astonishing words describes God's\par power as seen in creation and providence, but adds:\par \par \par  "Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways:\par \par And how small a whisper do we hear of Him!\par \par But the thunder of His power who can understand?"\par \par (Job 26:14.)\par \par But the day is coming when His power will be publicly exhibited in\par overwhelming and eternal visitation upon the vessels of wrath. Let us\par ponder this great passage:\par \par What if GOD, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known,\par endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto\par destruction?\par \par Here we find:\par \par 1. That certain were fitted unto destruction. It is not said that God\par so fitted them. [201] But in Chapter Two we find those who "despise\par the goodness and forbearance and long-suffering of God, not knowing\par that the goodness of God was meant to lead them to repentance." Of\par such it is said that they "treasure up for themselves wrath in the day\par of wrath."\par \par 2. God had, we next read here, in their earth-life dealt with these\par with much longsuffering. They never learned however, as Peter urged,\par to "account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (II Pet.\par 3:15). This longsuffering is the enduring on earth of ungrateful\par rebels by a God surrounded in Heaven by the glad, obedient hosts of\par light!\par \par 3. They thus became vessels of wrath: those in and through whom God\par could publicly and justly display His holy indignation against sin and\par godlessness,--for a warning to all ages and creatures to come.\par \par 4. Thus these came to that destruction unto which their sin had duly\par fitted them. Now this "destruction" is not at all that cessation of\par being, of which we hear so much from Satan's false prophets in these\par days. But it is, according to II Thessalonians 1:7, 9, an eternal\par visitation of Divine anger "in flaming fire" from the very presence of\par the Lord Himself! It not only involves the final withdrawal of all\par mercy and long-suffering, but the eternal infliction of Divine\par punishment upon the bodies of the damned.\par \par 5. The terribleness of this is seen in the fact that this\par "destruction," this visitation of punishment upon the persons of the\par lost, will be made the occasion of God's exhibiting publicly both His\par holy wrath against sin, and also His power in the punishment of it.\par His hatred of sin is absolute,--and these will be made to experience\par it; His power is infinite, and these will be compelled to be an\par example of it.\par \par 6. In the words What if GOD--should proceed thus? all\par creature-questionings are stilled into awful silence, if not today,\par some day!\par \par Verse 23: Then at the next words: And that He might make known the\par riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, we are just as silent as\par before, though in boundless, endless gratitude: for apart from mercy,\par we too had become "vessels of wrath." As Paul says in verse 29: Except\par the Lord had dealt in mercy with us, we also "had become as Sodom!"\par \par Note carefully that while it is God's wrath and power that are to be\par made known in the "vessels of wrath"; and though the glory of God\par would be thus in His justice exhibited, He yet does not use the word\par glory in connection with the damnation of the wicked. In Exodus 15:11\par Moses and the children of Israel do indeed celebrate the overthrow of\par Pharaoh, as setting forth God's praise, saying,\par \par \par "Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods?\par \par Who is like thee, glorious in holiness,\par \par Fearful in praises, doing wonders?"\par \par Yet we must ever remember that God is love, from past eternity, and\par now, and forever. So that it is written: "He delighteth in\par mercy"--lovingkindness: (Micah 7:18); and, "As I live, saith Jehovah,\par I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked\par turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33:11). God will not exult over the\par lost! witness Christ weeping over Jerusalem, and sorrowing over Judas\par (John 13:21); and the "lamentation" even over the fall of Lucifer\par (figured in the King of Tyre, in the remarkable passage of Ezekiel\par 28:11ff.).\par \par But when God speaks in verse 23 of the vessels of mercy it is at once\par said that He afore prepared them unto glory, that is, for entering\par into His own glory (Romans 5:2), and that they will be the means of\par making known through eternity to come the riches of His glory. So He\par speaks in Ephesians 2:4 to 7 of His being "rich in mercy." If it is\par true of us that where our treasure is our hearts will be; it is\par infinitely more true of God! God's treasured riches are mercy and\par grace. Judgment, the execution of wrath, He calls His "strange work,"\par His "strange act" (Isa. 28:21). Mercy is the work dear to His heart!\par \par Mark well here this word "afore." For the whole process of our\par salvation is viewed from that blessed future day when we shall enter,\par through Divine mercy, into that glory unto which God "afore" appointed\par us, and for which He "afore" prepared us, in the work of Christ for\par us, and the application to us of that work, by the blessed Holy\par Spirit. All was "afore" arranged by God!\par \par Verse 24: Even us, whom He also called, not from the Jews only, but\par also from the Gentiles. How constant, in Paul's consciousness, the\par owing all to God's sovereign grace. "Prepared unto glory" [202] --in\par past eternity, in sovereign election, and having a calling befitting\par that "preparing." Surely no one can miss, in this apostle, the supreme\par consciousness that he is God's,--not by his choice, but God's own\par choice,--an eternally settled thing, uncaused by Paul! All believers\par will have the same consciousness, when they find, (as Paul found),\par along with their Divine election, that there is in them, in their\par flesh, "no good thing"!\par \par Now the apostle, having declared that these "vessels of mercy" were\par "called," both from Jews and Gentiles, adduces several plain\par Scriptures (which the gainsaying Jews should have laid to heart).\par \par 25 As He saith also in Hosea,\par \par I will call that my people which was not my people;\par \par And her beloved, that was not beloved.\par \par 26 And it shall be, that in the place where it was said unto them,\par Ye are not My people,\par \par There shall they be called sons of the Living God.\par \par 27 And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel,\par \par If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,\par \par The Remnant shall be saved:\par \par 28 For He is bringing the matter to an end, and cutting it short in\par righteousness;\par \par Because a matter cut short will the Lord make in the earth.\par \par 29 And, as Isaiah hath said before,\par \par Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,\par \par We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah.\par \par Verse 25: I will call that my people which was not my people; and her\par beloved that was not beloved. Paul here, in a most remarkable way,\par takes from the prophet (Hosea 2:23) a passage that distinctly refers\par to Israel: as Peter, quoting the same place says: "Ye are an elect\par race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, who in time past were no\par people, but now are the people of God." For here we see the "Remnant\par according to the election of Grace," addressed by Peter, their\par Apostle. The nation after the flesh was apostate; but God views\par believing Israelites as perpetuating--not the national place, which\par has been forfeited for the present--but His lovingkindness to those\par which He had called His "people"; His "elect nation." "To you first,"\par Peter said to Israel after Pentecost, "God, having raised up His Son,\par sent Him to bless you." So that Paul and Peter are in perfect\par agreement that Hosea 2:23 fits believing Israelites.\par \par And then we have Hosea quoted again! But now it is Chapter 1:10, last\par part.\par \par Verse 26: And it shall be, that in the place where it was said unto\par them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called sons of the\par living God. Here now come the Gentiles,--according to verse 24. No\par Gentile nation was ever called a people of God! Nor are the Gentiles\par today called such. Although in the Millennium all the Gentiles "upon\par whom the Lord's Name is called," will seek Him (Acts 15:17); yet\par Israel are his elect people, always.\par \par But now "some better thing" has been provided for us (Heb. 11:40) both\par Jewish and Gentile believers of this "day of salvation": Sons of the\par Living God! See Galatians 4:1-7. The Spirit of God's Son cries Abba,\par Father, in our hearts, who "partake of the heavenly calling."\par \par God's infinite grace takes up those who were once (and that by our\par Lord Himself) called "dogs"--as compared with the "children"--nation\par of Israel, and gives them a heavenly calling: far above that of\par earthly Israel,--even when restored! "Sons of the Living God"--oh, let\par us give praise unto Him!\par \par Verse 27: And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the\par children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the Remnant shall be\par saved. Here the apostle takes another prophet, Isaiah, and quotes\par again from two passages; and again from the later one first. The 27th\par verse is from Isaiah 10:22. Some estimate the Jewish population as\par 20,000,000 (though that probably is too high). If we read Ezekiel\par 20:33-38, we see the Lord Jehovah, "with wrath poured out" bringing\par Israel out from the nations (He is beginning this now!); and cutting\par off "the rebels" amongst them,--the rebels against the national Divine\par calling as a separate nation to Jehovah. Only the Remnant will be\par left; for, as Isaiah says, "a destruction is determined!" How solemn\par these words! And let them sink into our foolish Gentile hearts; for\par only a "few men left" of all the nations, will enter the Millennium.\par \par Verse 28: For He is bringing the matter to an end, and cutting it\par short in righteousness: Because a matter cut short will the Lord make\par in the earth. The ways of God should be the study of the saints. He\par waits long,--He forbears--He is silent: then He suddenly puts into\par execution an eternally-formed purpose! Thus it was at the Flood, and\par in the destruction of Sodom, and afterwards of the Canaanites. Also\par now, for a long season, God has been letting the nations go on in\par comparative quiet, filling up the earth with much the largest\par population ever known; and despite their various persecutions the Jews\par have also been relatively secure from that Divine "indignation" which\par all students of Scripture know is yet to be brought to a terrible\par "end" upon them. The awful words of Ezekiel 20:35, 36 are to be\par fulfilled--"cut short in righteousness." The expression there "the\par wilderness of the people,"--where the Jews will have no national\par friend or refuge whatever, except Palestine; and Jehovah "entering\par into judgment" with them, "like as He entered into judgment with their\par fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt" (when he turned them\par back from Kadesh-barnea to die in the wilderness)--all this remains to\par be done,--and in "a short work."\par \par The Remnant shall be saved [the majority having been slain in the\par  Great Tribulation] for He is ending up the matter [of His dealing with\par Israel] and cutting it short [in the time of "Jacob's trouble"--the\par "forty-two months"; the "time, times, and a half";--three and a half\par years, of Daniel's Seventieth Week] in righteousness, because a matter\par cut short will the Lord make on the earth.\par \par Every student of Scripture should be familiar by this time with the\par general "mould of prophecy." Therefore we have boldly inserted in\par brackets the evident meaning here. It is the great crisis of prophecy\par here in view, the closing up not only of the times of the Gentiles,\par but of God's dispensational dealings with national Israel, the Remnant\par of whom--a "very small Remnant"--will be saved; preserved through the\par Great Tribulation to bless the earth after the Lord returns. Any\par reader of Scripture will be astonished, and deeply edified if he will\par take a concordance and study God's Word about the Remnant. [203]\par \par God is now letting matters run on in general, both among the Gentiles\par and Israel. This will shortly be utterly changed, even to what\par scientists call the "laws" of the powers of the heavens--and a short\par work will the Lord make upon the earth. (See Author's book on The\par Revelation, p. 140, ff).\par \par This involves, of course, that the most of the natural children of\par Israel will be cut off; that it will be only the elect Remnant who\par will be saved and share in the Millennial Kingdom; which, as the\par prophecies concerning the "Remnant" abundantly testify, that Remnant\par will enjoy. (See last nine chapters of Ezekiel; Isa. 10:21, 22; and\par Chapter 35; Jer. 31:1-14.)\par \par Verse 29: Israel might object to the doctrine of "the Remnant," the\par "election of grace" by God; but the quotation in verse 29, from Isaiah\par 1:9 shows that if God had not intervened in sovereign grace, they\par would have all become as Sodom [in iniquity], and been made like unto\par Gomorrah [in their damnation]. It was sovereign goodness that saved\par [204] any Israelites,--just as it is sovereign goodness that saves any\par Gentiles.\par \par Thus it becomes plain (for Israel is but a sample of the human race)\par that opposition to the truth of Divine elective mercy arises from\par ignorance of or blindness to the utter sinfulness and wholly lost\par state, of mankind. All would go to perdition unless God in mercy\par intervened!\par \par 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, those not at all pursuing\par after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness\par which is of faith: 31 but Israel, pursuing after a law [which should\par give] righteousness, did not arrive at [such a] law. 32 Wherefore?\par Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They\par stumbled at the Stone of stumbling; 33 even as it is written,\par \par Behold, I lay in Zion a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence:\par \par And he that believeth on Him shall not be put to shame.\par \par We here have a most remarkable passage, full of the deepest\par consolation on the one hand, and warning on the other.\par \par Here were the Gentiles, deep in the sin described in Chapters One and\par Two, occupied with superstition and idolatry. Paul said in Athens, a\par city full of idols, "I perceive that in all things ye are very\par religious" (lit.,"demon-fearing"). There was no seeking after\par righteousness before a holy God! Paul quotes in Chapter Three those\par Psalms which declare there is "none that seeketh after God." For the\par Gentiles, of Antioch in Pisidia, for example, were not pursuing after\par righteousness; but here come Paul and Barnabas, preaching; and "the\par whole city is gathered together to hear the Word of God." And when the\par Jews reviled the blessed gospel of grace,\par \par "Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, it was necessary\par that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye\par thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life\par [How terrible!--dying men refusing life!] lo, we turn to the\par Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying,\par \par I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles,\par \par That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the\par earth.\par \par And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the\par word of God: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.\par And the word of the Lord was spread about throughout all the\par region" (Acts 13:44, 46-49).\par \par Here is good news for bad men!--men who had never read the Old\par Testament Scriptures, nor "pursued after righteousness"; yet, though\par Gentiles, hearing the gospel and believing, they walk right into\par righteousness by faith, past the Jews, who had been pursuing\par after--what? a law that should give them righteousness. Note, we are\par not told that even the Jews were pursuing after righteousness, but\par after a law by which, through their self-efforts, they hoped to attain\par righteousness! They did not, like the Gentiles, as sinners, simply\par believe the good news of a God of grace. But although their own Law\par would have convicted them of sin if they had really heard [205] it,\par yet they kept pursuing after a Law whose requirements they could not\par meet but in possessing and pursuing after which, they gloried! It was\par all as-it-were-works,--a dream!\par \par They did not arrive at that law,--it was always just ahead, out of\par reach! Why? Because they never directly trusted God! Having the\par conceit of the self-righteous,--that some day they would attain God's\par final acceptance of their works, they never thought of needing God's\par mercy, or of "simply trusting" Him, as they were,--as David does in\par Psalm Fifty-one!\par \par So when Christ came, saying, "Transfer your trust from yourselves to\par Me! Moses gave you the Law, but none of you keepeth the Law":--they\par turned in fury and slew the Righteous One!\par \par So the Jews stumbled. Now, it takes a spiritual mind and a subject\par heart to read with profit what is here. Were there Divine commands in\par the Law? Certainly. Were there hopes connected with fully keeping\par them? Certainly. "The man that doeth the righteousness which is of the\par Law shall live thereby" (Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5). Were there those that\par professed righteousness by the Law? Yes, on every side: Pharisees,\par priests, scribes,--who also became the crucifiers of Christ! But what\par else do we read in the Old Testament? We read from Genesis 3:15\par throughout Scripture that there was a Seed, the Seed of the woman, the\par Seed of Abraham, the Seed of David, through whom alone salvation and\par blessing would come. "This is the name by which He shall be called,\par Jehovah our righteousness." As David cried, "I will make mention of\par Thy righteousness, even of Thine only" (Ps. 71:16). But also it was\par also plainly written of Him, "They shall smite the Judge of Israel\par with a rod upon the cheek"; and that He would "hide not His face from\par shame and spitting"; that He would be "despised and rejected"; that\par His hands and feet would be "pierced," but that "through the knowledge\par of Himself, God's Righteous Servant, [Messiah] should constitute many\par righteous" (Isa. 53:11). So He, Christ, the meek and lowly One, who\par went about doing them good, who healed them, loved them, and finally\par died for them,--became to them the Stone of Stumbling! And it was in\par Zion, where they had the Law, that this Stone of stumbling was to be\par laid. Now the only way to have Him is to believe on Him: otherwise, He\par was a Rock of offence. He offended all the claims of the Jews as\par "children of Abraham"; He offended all their false claims of\par righteousness, by the light which He was,--the Holy One. He offended\par the leaders of Israel, by exposing their sin. He offended the hopes of\par an immediate, carnal, earthly kingdom, by showing that only those poor\par in spirit and pure of heart would be in that kingdom. In short, He\par offended the nation by overthrowing its whole superstructure of works\par built on sand,--as-it-were-works!\par \par However, there were those that believed on Him--the "poor of the\par flock," and they were not then, and shall not be put to shame. (See\par comment on Chap. 10:11.)\par \par Even so, today, the true gospel of Christ crucified, bringing out our\par guilt and the danger of Divine wrath, offends men who would like to\par come and "join the church" in their respectability! Respectability of\par what? Of filthy rags! [206]\par \par It is a humanly incurable delusion of the human heart that salvation\par is within the natural reach; and that at any time if a man will "make\par up his mind like a man," and "hold out to the end," God will certainly\par accept him. But this conception leaves out entirely the word "mercy."\par The very name of this plan is Vain Confidence. It has doomed and\par damned its millions. For, salvation being altogether of God, the soul\par who is bugging the delusion that it is "of him that willeth," "of him\par that runneth," is making God a liar and walking in blind pride.\par \par You ask. Is there not a place for human responsibility? Does not God\par command all men to repent? Does He not say: "Whosoever will, let him\par take the water of life freely?" He does. But the Ninth of Romans is no\par place to discuss that subject, and that because God does not here\par  discuss it. You say, If Christ "gave Himself a ransom for all"; and\par God "would have all men to be saved"; if Christ "tasted death for\par every man," if "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself,\par not imputing unto them their trespasses," and is now sending out His\par ambassadors to beseech men to be reconciled to God--how can these\par statements be reconciled with God's words in verse 18: "So then He\par hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth"?\par \par Friend, who set you or me to "reconcile" (which means to reduce to the\par compass or our mental grasp) the sayings of the infinite God of truth?\par If I wait to believe the statements of God the Creator until I can\par "reconcile" them with my creature conceptions, that is not faith, but\par presumption.\par \par Moreover, unless you receive both doctrines: on the one hand, that of\par the death of Christ for all, and the actual, bona fide offer of\par salvation through His cross, to all who will believe; and, on the\par other hand, that of the absolute sovereignty of the God who "hath\par mercy on whom He will, and whom He will, hardeneth," you will neither\par believe Scripturally either doctrine, nor clearly preach either. You\par will be either preaching a "limited atonement"--that Christ died only\par for the elect; or, on the other hand, refusing to surrender to God's\par plain statement of His sovereign election, you will preach that Christ\par having died for all, God's election depends on man's will. A shallow\par preacher in California cried, "It is election day: God is voting for\par you and the devil is voting against you, and you cast the deciding\par vote!" Of such antiscriptural statements the folly is evident. God\par distinctly says in Chapter 9:16: "It is net of him that willeth"; and\par in verse 11: "That the purpose of God according to election might\par stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth."\par \par You say, "What then shall we teach?" We answer: Teach the words of\par Scripture and let it go at that. God can "reconcile" His own Word!\par \par Many years ago a widely-known and beloved teacher of God's Word said\par to me, "I do not like to assert a truth too positively; I like always\par to teach a truth modified by any seemingly contradictory truth." I had\par myself observed in his discussion of a Scripture doctrine his citation\par of "authorities": "So-and-so says this; on the other hand, So-and-so\par says that: now take your choice." But in his later years, because he\par was a constant and devoted reader of God's Word, his manner of\par teaching quite changed: he was willing to take such a passage as the\par Ninth of Romans and teach it as it is, and say, "Thus saith the Lord";\par and leave it there. And when there came up another line of truth that\par could not be "reconciled" with the first, in the mind of men, he\par taught this second truth also just as God stated it, and left it\par there.\par \par Now if there is any passage of God's Word in which He seems to say: I\par am Myself assuming all responsibility for what I here announce, it is\par this same Ninth of Romans.\par \par But remember it's closing words: "He that believeth on Him [Christ]\par shall not be put to shame!" God's simple-hearted, trusting saints are\par quite ready, having received God's great gift of Eternal Life in\par Christ, to await the day when they shall "know fully"--as they have\par been known. Meanwhile, they walk by faith, with humble hearts, subject\par to what God says.\par \par GOD NECESSARILY SOVEREIGN IN SALVATION\par \par 1. Man was lost--he could not save himself.\par \par 2. He was guilty--none could pardon him but the God he had sinned\par against.\par \par 3. He was by nature "a child of wrath" not deserving good; nor being\par able to change his nature.\par \par 4. He was allied with God's Enemy; and had a mind at enmity against\par God: a mind not subject, nor able to be subject to God's law or will.\par \par 5. He knew he was doing things "worthy of death"; but not only\par persisted in them, but was in league-approval with those of like\par practice; he was "of the world," not of God.\par \par 6. Therefore, if any move be made toward man's salvation, it must come\par from God, not man.\par \par 7. God, being God, knew beforehand that the attitude of every man by\par nature toward his overtures would be to oppose them.\par \par 8. Since any real response to these overtures, therefore, must come\par from God's grace, He must elect to overcome effectually man's\par resistance, either\par \par (a) In no case,\par \par (b) Or, in every case,\par \par (c) Or, in certain cases.\par \par 9. To hold God unable to overcome man's resistance in any case is to\par limit His power.\par \par 10. But to hold that God is unwilling to have certain saved is to deny\par His repeated word--"Who would have all men to be saved and to come to\par the knowledge of the truth"; "As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I\par have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn\par from his way and live."\par \par 11. Therefore, it would seem that only in those cases in which it\par would no longer be consistent with God's glory--that is, consistent\par with His holiness and righteousness, and His just government of His\par creatures, would God withhold, or refuse longer to employ. His\par gracious operations in behalf of any creature.\par \par 12. But, when we consider Election, we must remove our thoughts wholly\par from this world, the first Adam, the sin of man, and his "attitude"\par toward God. The purpose of God according to Election is "not of works,\par but of Him that calleth." It is outside human history altogether. It\par is of God.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [194] Bishop Moule remarks upon the impossibility of Paul's really\par making such a prayer: "To desire the curse of God would be to desire\par not only suffering, but moral alienation from Him, the withdrawal of\par the soul's capacity to love Him. Thus the wish would be in effect an\par act of `greater love for our neighbor than for God.' Again, the\par redeemed soul is `not its own': to wish the self to be accursed from\par Christ would thus be to wish the loss of that which He has `bought and\par made His own.' But, the logical reason of the matter apart, we have\par only to read the close of Chapter 8, to see how entirely a moral\par impossibility it was for Paul to complete such a wish."\par \par [195] The envy of other races and nations towards God's elect nation\par Israel has always existed. But there is a mild phase and a virulent\par  phase of this Gentile sin-disease that should be noted: First, the\par mild phase: this is Anglo-Israelism, the teaching that the\par Anglo-Saxons, especially Britain and America (Britain as Ephraim and\par America as Manasseh!) are the "lost ten tribes" who, carried away East\par across the Euphrates in God's Judgment,--turned East into West and\par landed at the British Isles! No; British and Americans are lost, but\par they are not The Ten Tribes! Second, the virulent phase of this\par jealousy and envy towards elect national Israel appears in\par "anti-Semitism," or anti-Jewism; and has lately been carried to new\par depths of pagan infamy by Hitler in Germany. For this phase of Gentile\par envy rejects Scripture. Mr. Hitler hates the Jews and declares for\par "pure Aryan blood"--(pray where would you find it?). Carrying his\par boasting hatred to its logical conclusion, he rejects the Word of God\par as authority, and turns back to the old pagan gods of Northern Europe.\par Now all hatred of national Israel arises from rebellion against Divine\par sovereign election. We know that Israel has failed God: but God\par declares He will not fail them finally, whereas the hate of modern\par Gentiles (wiser than God--for are they not the "moderns"?) would seek\par to crush Israel and exalt Gentiledom. Of course, it will end in the\par Antichrist, but the Lord Jesus will end him, and all Gentile boasting,\par at "the forthshining of His arrival" (II Thess. 2:8, Rotherham).\par \par [196] It is indeed an infinitely blessed fact that all who believe\par share in the benefits of that "everlasting covenant" of Heb. 13:20,\par made between the Father and the Son, on these conditions: that if the\par Son would come to earth and die for our sins, the Father would bring\par Him again from the dead as the great Shepherd of the sheep, Paul says\par in I Corinthians 11:25, "In like manner also the cup, after supper,\par saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood." (The "New Covenant\par with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" has not yet been\par made; for we read that it will be made after these [Gentile] days. See\par Acts 15:13-16.) When our Lord said therefore, "This cup is the new\par covenant in My blood," He must, we believe, refer to that covenant of\par Heb. 13:20; to which covenant, as we have said, the Father and the Son\par were parties. Even concerning the New Covenant to be made in the\par future with Israel, God says in Rom. 11:27: "And this is the covenant\par from Me unto them, when I shall take away their sins." It is no longer\par blessing conditioned on their obedience, but it is the day of Jehovah\par s "power" to Israel (Ps. 110:3), not merely a "visitation" (Luke\par 19:41-44).\par \par [197] Some accurate book setting forth the absolute difference between\par the Church and Israel should be read, such as Israel and the Church,\par by James H. Brookes; or Mr. Blackstone's (W. E. B.) always excellent\par Jesus Is Coming.\par \par [198] The questions concerning both Romans 9:5 and I Timothy 3:16 have\par arisen from the mists of doubt rather than from the heights of\par childlike faith in God's revelation of the deity of Christ. See\par Alford's excellent and exhaustive note on 9:5, from the end of which\par we quote: "No conjecture arising from doctrinal difficulty is ever to\par be admitted in the face of the consensus of mss. and versions. The\par rendering given above is, then, not only that most agreeable to the\par usage of the Apostle, but the only one admissible by the rules of\par grammar and arrangement. It also admirably suits the context: for\par having enumerated the historic advantages of the Jewish people, he\par concludes by stating one which ranks far higher than all,--that from\par them sprung, according to the flesh, He who is God over all, blessed\par forever."\par \par [199] Here the apostle shows Israel from their own history that they\par must leave God to His sovereignty or else they must lose their\par promises; and then that in the exercise of this sovereignty He will\par let in the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. If, says Paul, you\par Israelites will take your promises by descent, we will just see what\par comes of it. You say, we be Abraham's seed, and have a right to the\par promises by descent; for these Gentiles are but dogs, and have no\par right to share with us in God's promises. Well, if God has His\par sovereignty, He will in grace let in these Gentile dogs! But now I\par will prove to you that you cannot take the promises by descent. In the\par first place, `They are not all Israel which are of Israel'; yet if it\par is by descent you must take in all Abraham's seed, And if you take in\par Abraham's children, then you must take in Ishmael--those Arabians! Oh\par no, say they, we cannot allow that; what! Ishmaelites in the\par congregation of Israel, and heirs of promise? Yes, if by descent! You\par must take it by grace; and if it is by grace, God will not confine\par this grace to you, but will exercise it toward the Gentiles. "But now,\par to go further down in your history, you have Jacob and Esau; and if\par you go by descent, you must let in the Edomites by the same title as\par yourselves. But in verses 5 and 9, it says, `The children of the\par promise are counted for the seed': so that it must rest on Isaac and\par Jacob, and Ishmael and Esau remain outside: therefore your mouth must\par now be closed as to descent, for your mouth is bound up by God's\par saying, `Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.' He has chosen,\par according to His sovereign title, to bless you, and on that alone your\par blessing depends; as your own history shows, and your own prophetic\par testimony proves. You cannot rest it on a mere title by descent. But\par further, see how their (the Jews') mouth is stopped: for when did God\par say, `I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy'? When every\par Israelite had lost all title to everything God had to give, then God\par retreated, if I may use the expression, into His own sovereignty, that\par He might not cut them off." [See Exodus 33:19, after the great breach\par made by Israel's worshipping the golden calf, while Moses was standing\par in the mount with Jehovah!] "By this act, Israel had forfeited\par everything: they had cast off the promises, which they had accepted on\par the condition of their own obedience (Ex. 19:8), and the God who made\par the promises, and who alone could fulfil them. Could God overlook this\par sin? Israel had undertaken to have the promises by their obedience; if\par God had dealt with Israel in righteousness, every one must have been\par cut off. What could God do, but retreat, as I said, into His own\par sovereignty? There He had a resource; for if any of them are to be\par spared, it must be in this way of mercy. `I will have mercy on whom I\par will have mercy.' Man is entirely lost, so now God says, I will act\par for Myself. Taking a truth in connection with all other truth gives it\par its right and proper place, and its own Divine force. "Say now, you\par Jews, (and you, my reader, ask yourself the question), will you be\par willing to be dealt with in righteousness? No, you would not! Then do\par not talk about it, until you can go to God on that footing. But if you\par have such a conviction of sin as stops your mouth about righteousness,\par and so excludes all boasting, you will rejoice in the `mercy' and\par `compassion' of God, who retreats into His own sovereignty, that He\par may know how to spare; because in this sovereignty He can show mercy."\par \par [200] God has come forth at Calvary! He has set forth Christ as a\par  propitiation through faith in His blood. Here is infinite love,\par displayed when human sin was at its topmost height of frightful guilt\par and malignity. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"\par (Luke 23:34) were the words spoken in tenderness to God the Father by\par God the Son at the moment wicked hands were nailing Him to a cross of\par agony--spoken by One whose face was "marred more than any man."\par Therefore in the gospel is power to turn men's hearts, for it is the\par goodness of God that leadeth us to repentance. "That repentance and\par remission of sins should be preached in my Name," said our risen Lord,\par He of the pierced hands and feet and side!\par \par [201] Nevertheless, we must let certain Scriptures lie Just as they\par are, whether or not they consort with our conceptions, or whether we\par find ourselves able to "reconcile" them with our "theological system"\par or not. We quote a few of these Scriptures:\par \par The wicked are estranged from the womb;\par \par They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Ps. 58:3).\par \par Jehovah hath made everything for its own end;\par \par Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil" (Prov 16:4).\par \par They stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were\par appointed" (I Pet. 2:8).\par \par "Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and\par commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall . . .\par die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not\par be remembered (Ezek 3:20).\par "Because they had not executed Mine ordinances, but had rejected My\par statutes, . . . I gave them statutes that were not good, and\par ordinances wherein they should not live" (Ezek 20:24,25). However,\par even in these passages, solemnly terrible as they are, we must\par separate God's actions from man's responsibility. God is not the\par author of evil; He tempteth no man; "He would have all men to be saved\par and come to the knowledge of the truth."\par \par [202] Hodge's remarks here are excellent: "The passive participle may\par be taken as a verbal adjective, fit for destruction. Of the vessels of\par wrath, it is simply said that they are fit for destruction; but of the\par vessels of mercy, that God prepares them for glory. Why this change if\par the apostle did not intend to intimate that the agency of God is very\par different in the one case from what it is in the other? God does not\par create men in order to destroy them. God did not make Pharaoh wicked\par and obdurate; but as a punishment for his sin, he so dealt with him\par that the evil of his nature revealed itself in a form, and under\par circumstances, which made him a fit object of the punitive justice of\par God."\par \par [203] See Gen. 45:7; Isaiah 1:9; 10:21,22; 11:11, 16; 46:3; Jer. 23:3;\par Ezek. 6:8; Amos 5:15; Mic. 2:12; 5:7, 8; Zeph. 2:7, 9; 3:13; Zech.\par 8:6, 11, 12.\par \par [204] ln these passages brought by the Spirit from the Old Testament\par and fitting present times precisely, we are again face to face with\par the marvels of God's inspiration. William Kelly well says: "What a\par witness of Divine truth, of indiscriminate grace, that the gospel, in\par itself unprecedented and wholly distinct both from what was seen under\par the Law and what will be when the Kingdom appears in power and glory,\par does nevertheless find its justification from words both of mercy and\par of judgment uttered hundreds of years before by the various servants\par God sent to declare His message to His people! But, as they blindly\par despised them and rejected His word then for idols, so now they\par fulfilled them yet more in the rejection of Christ and hatred of the\par grace which, refused by them, was sought and received by Gentiles, and\par thus yet more proved the word Divine, to the confusion of the unbelief\par which is as blind as it is proud and selfish" (Kelly, Notes on Romans,\par in loc).\par \par [205] So Paul to the Galatians: "Tell me, ye that desire to be under\par the law, do ye not HEAR the law?" (Gal. 4:21.) Paul himself, he tells\par us, was "alive apart from the Law once,"--although he knew the Law and\par gloried in it and observed its outward ordinances. But the day came,\par as he showed in Chapter 7, when he "heard" it; it became a distinct\par spiritual command to his soul to do the righteousness commanded.\par \par [206] Sir Robert Anderson relates: "A lady of my acquaintance, well\par known in the higher ranks of London society, called upon me one day to\par ask for police help, to relieve her from certain annoyances. Her\par evident distress at my inability to give her the protection she\par sought, led me to remark that the peace of God in the heart was a\par great antidote to trouble. "Ah," said she, "if I were only like you!"\par "If it depended on my merit," I replied with real sincerity, "it is\par you who would have the peace, not I", Presently her manner changed,\par and with tears in her eyes she told me something of her spiritual\par struggles. If she could be more earnest, more devout, more prayerful,\par she was sure that God would accept her. "I was greatly interested," I\par remarked, "by what I heard about the supper you gave the tramps last\par week. Did they offer you anything for it? Of course, they had no\par money, but they might have brought you some of their coats and\par shirts!" "If you had only seen their coats and shirts!" she exclaimed\par with a smile. "Filthy rags they were. I'm sure," said I, "and what you\par don't believe is that in God's sight `all our righteousnesses are as\par filthy rags.'"\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } \\@ #m09 Romans 9{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER NINE.\par \par Paul's Great Sorrow for Unbelieving Israel--Unbelieving Despite an\par Eight--Fold Preeminence. Verses 1 to 5.\par \par The Real Israel, however, were an Elect, not a Natural Seed: God's\par Sovereignty in Election Defended. Verses 6 to 29.\par \par The Astonishing Conclusion! The Gentiles, not Following after\par Righteousness, Attain to it by Simple Faith; Israel, Following after a\par Law--Method, Stumble at the By--Faith Way,--at Christ! Verses 30 to\par 33.\par \par IN ROMANS NINE, Ten, and Eleven, Paul turns aside from that glorious\par exposition of Grace, in the first eight chapters, to the explanation\par of God's present dealing withem that they have a zeal for God, but not at all according to\par knowledge. 3 For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to\par establish their own, they did not subject themselves to God's\par righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the Law unto righteousness,\par to every one that believeth.\par \par BRETHREN,--HERE PAUL addresses all saints concerning his yearning for\par national Israel's salvation. The words my heart's desire are\par literally, "the dear pleasure of my heart." Israel's salvation was to\par Paul a thing of delight to contemplate and hope for. Moreover, as\par always, Paul puts his wish for them into prayer to God: in which all\par spiritual longings should end!\par \par Verse 2: He bears them this witness, and gladly, that they had a zeal\par for God, but he most strongly denies that there was any real knowledge\par of God and His ways in that zeal. Mohammedans have zeal. When I passed\par through the Azhar Mosque, in Cairo, a Moslem merchant was kneeling,\par forehead on the carpet, in prayer. Four hours later I saw him still\par kneeling! And outside were over 10,000 students, diligently learning\par the Koran! Zeal must not be Mistaken for knowledge in Divine things.\par See Josephus quoted below. [207] It is perhaps unkind in this place,\par (so tender with Paul), to cite the religious zeal of pagan or\par Mohammedan. But Paul himself classes the "beggarly elements" of Jew\par and pagan together! (Gal. 4:8-10), since the cross.\par \par Verse 3: But it is certainly a terrible thing we see. Here is the Jew\par with God's own Book, the Old Testament Scriptures, in his hand, and\par blind to that Scripture's revelation of his guilty, lost state before\par God. The Jews were in a fearful condition in two ways:\par \par First, they were wholly ignorant of the one great, vital fact sinners\par must know: that righteousness, life, and all things are a free gift of\par the grace of God; and that the Law was meant only to make them\par discover their sin and their own helpless need of the outright gift of\par righteousness from God. The expression ignorant of God's\par righteousness, does not mean that the Jewish people were ignorant of\par holiness and righteousness as attributes of God,--in fact, they prided\par themselves on the knowledge of such a God as over against the hideous\par pagan gods. But the righteousness of which they were wholly ignorant\par was that while "God Himself was just," He was also "the Justifier of\par the ungodly" of all who "believed on Jesus." As we said in Chapter\par Nine, the Jews had seized upon their possession of the Law as in\par itself giving them a standing with God. Our Lord could have spoken to\par almost any Jew as He did to the woman at Sychar's well: "If thou\par knewest the gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee!" For of a\par gift of righteousness they had no conception.\par \par The Law dispensation was necessarily unfruitful, "making nothing\par perfect," because it neither imparted life, nor gave strength to\par fulfil its demands. As Paul writes to the Hebrews, there was a\par "disannulling" of it, and a "vanishing away" of the legal covenant\par (Heb. 7:18; 8:13).\par \par When Christ came, although born under the Law in order to redeem\par Israel (Gal. 4:4, 5), yet He Himself, from the very beginning, took\par the place of the Law! In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7)\par He declared: "It was said . . . but I say." He came, indeed, not to\par destroy but to fulfil, and inasmuch as Israel was under the curse of\par the Law, He redeemed them that were under the Law `by becoming Himself\par a curse for them (Gal. 3:13).\par \par Although Christ in His ministry, ("lest we cause to stumble,"--Matthew\par 17:27) paid due heed to Moses' directions (as in the case of the\par leper--"Go show thyself to the priest"), yet He never, for example,\par enforced the Sabbath: indeed He freely wrought healings on that day,\par in the face of the murderous hatred of the legalists.\par \par The Law was designed not to bring about self-righteousness or\par self-hope, but contrariwise, self-despair. The law witnessed to a man\par his need of a mediator--as at Sinai (Deut. 5:23-27). Christ Himself is\par the righteousness of God. When He died, bearing the sin of the world,\par the Law's demand for human righteousness was over, ended, closed up,\par set aside. Christ has now been "made of God unto us righteousness": we\par want no other. But it is not easy to subject ourselves unto God's\par righteousness: for God justifies the ungodly. Justification is a gift\par for very beggars, the only hope for the guilty, lost and undone [208]\par The Jews, ignorant of God's gift of righteousness utterly refused thus\par to subject themselves. They said "We know that God has spoken to\par Moses, but as for this man [Jesus], we know not whence He is!"\par \par John the Baptist's ministry is full of meaning here. It is both a\par precious and an awful thing--the results of John's testimony. Luke\par tells us: "All the people, when they heard [John], and the publicans,\par justified God [when John preached repentance and confession of their\par sins], being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and\par the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not\par baptized of him" (Luke 7:29, 30). It is touching to the spiritual\par heart to find, for Instance, that all five of those converted in the\par first chapter of John were John's disciples.\par \par Second, to this day they seek to "establish their own righteousness."\par But in this path that "seemeth right unto a man" is the way of death,\par yea, of direct rebellion against God. [209]\par \par They (the Jews) were desperately set on establishing, building up that\par which God had cast down, that is, human righteousness. They heard with\par deaf ears their own prophets' voices: "There is none righteous, no not\par one." "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Therefore, the\par Jews were, and are today, worse off than the heathen. Their\par Law--"whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart" (II\par Cor. 3:15). According to Isaiah 25:7, there is "a covering that\par covereth all peoples, a veil that is spread over all nations" (to be\par removed in Millennial days, thank God!). But over the face of the\par Israelite there is now not only the common blindness of man to his own\par condition as a sinner, but, added to that, the false confidence the\par Jew has in his own righteousness because the Law was given by Jehovah\par to his nation. [210]\par \par Verse 4: Christ is the end of the Law unto righteousness to every one\par that believeth. There has been much discussion of the meaning of the\par word "end" here. Let us see if Scripture does not clear up this matter\par for us. When Christ died, He bore for Israel the curse of the Law, for\par they, and they alone, were under the Law. Divine Law, being broken,\par does not ask for future good conduct on the part of the infractor; but\par for his death,--and that only. Now Christ having died, all the claims\par of the Law against that nation which had been placed under law were\par completely met and ended. So that even Jews could now believe, and\par say, "I am dead to the Law!"\par \par To him that believeth, therefore, Jew or Gentile, Christ, dead,\par buried, and risen, is the end of law for righteousness,--in the sense\par of law's disappearance from the scene! Law does not know, or take\par cognizance of believers! We read in Chapter Seven (verse 6) that those\par who had been under the Law were discharged from the Law, brought to\par nought, put out of business (katargeo), with respect to the Law! The\par Law has nothing to do with them, as regards righteousness.\par \par The Scripture must be obeyed with the obedience of belief: "Ye are not\par under law [not under that principle] but under grace" (the contrary\par principle). "Ye are brought to nothing from Christ [literally, "put\par out of business from Christ"], ye who would be justified by the Law;\par ye are fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4). Paul writes in Heb. 7:18,\par 19: "There is a disannulling of a foregoing commandment, because of\par its weakness and unprofitableness (for the Law made nothing perfect),\par and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, through which we draw\par nigh unto God." Again, "Christ abolished in His flesh the enmity\par [between Jew and Gentile], even the Law of commandments contained in\par ordinances" (Eph. 2:15); again, speaking as a Hebrew believer, Paul\par says, "Christ blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was\par against us which was contrary to us: and He hath taken it out of the\par way, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:14).\par \par If these Scriptures do not set forth a complete closing up of any\par believer's account toward the Law, or to the whole legal principle, I\par know nothing of the meaning of words.\par \par The words Christ is the end of the Law, cannot mean Christ is the\par "fulfilment of what the law required." The Law required obedience to\par precepts--or death for disobedience. Now Christ died! If it be\par answered, that before He died He fulfilled the claims of the Law, kept\par it perfectly, and that this law-keeping of Christ was reckoned as over\par against the Israelite's breaking of the Law, then I ask, Why should\par Christ die? If the claims of the Law were met in Christ's earthly\par obedience, and if that earthly life of obedience is "reckoned to those\par who believe" the curse of the Law has been removed by "vicarious\par law-keeping." Why should Christ die?\par \par Now this idea of Christ's keeping the Law for "us" (for they will\par include us among the Israelites! although the Law was not given us\par Gentiles), is a deadly heresy, no matter who teaches it. Paul tells us\par plainly how the curse of the Law was removed: "Christ redeemed us,"\par (meaning Jewish believers), "from the curse of the Law, having become\par a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13). And how He became a curse, is seen in\par Deuteronomy 21:23: "He that is hanged is accursed of God." It was on\par the cross, not by an "earthly life of obedience," that Christ bore the\par Law's curse!\par \par There was no law given "which could make alive," Paul says; "otherwise\par righteousness would have been by it." Therefore those who speak of\par Christ as taking the place of fulfilling the Law for us,--as "the\par object at which the Law aimed" (Alford); or, "the fulfilment or\par accomplishment of the Law" (Calvin); give the Law an office that God\par did not give it. There is not in all Scripture a hint of the doctrine\par that Christ's earthly life--His obedience as a man under the Law, is\par "put to the account" of any sinner whatsoever! That obedience, which\par was perfect, was in order that He might "present Himself through the\par eternal Spirit without spot unto God," as a sin-offering. It also was\par in order to His sacrificial death, as "a curse," for Israel.\par \par The gospel does not begin for any sinner, Jew or Gentile, until the\par cross: "I delivered unto you first of all, that Christ died for our\par sins" (I Cor. 15:3).\par \par And for those under the Law, that was the end (telos) of the law. The\par Law had not been given to Israel at the beginning as a nation. They\par came out of Egypt, delivered from Divine wrath by the shed blood of\par the passover; and from Egypt itself by the passage of the Red Sea;\par Jehovah being with them. Go now to Elim with its "twelve wells of\par water and three score and ten palm trees": there the nation is\par encamped with their God. They have yet not been put under law at all.\par The Rock is smitten, giving them drink, and Manna, the bread of\par heaven, is given, all before Sinai!\par \par Therefore we must believe God when He says in Romans 5:20: "The Law\par came in [not as an essential, but] as a circumstantial thing." (The\par Greek word, pareiselthe, "came in along-side," can mean nothing else.)\par \par In Paul's explanation of God's dealing with Israel in 9:31-33;\par 10:5-10; 11:5,6, the meaning of this word telos "end," appears: that,\par when an Israelite believed on Christ he was as completely through with\par the Law for righteousness as if it had never been given. He had\par righteousness by another way!\par \par The vast discussion among commentators concerning the expression "the\par end of the Law," would never have been, had it been recognized: (1)\par that God gave the Law only to Israel--as He said; (2) that it was a\par temporary thing, a "ministration of death," to reveal sin, and\par therefore the necessity of Christ's death; (3) that Christ having\par come, the day of the Law was over--it was "annulled" see Heb. 7:18.\par \par It is because Reformed theology has kept us Gentiles under the\par Law,--if not as a means of righteousness, then as "a rule of life,"\par that all the trouble has arisen. The Law is no more a rule of life\par than it is a means of righteousness. Walking in the Spirit has now\par taken the place of walking by ordinances. God has another principle\par under which He has put his saints: "Ye are not under law, but, under\par grace!"\par \par 5 For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is\par of the Law shall live thereby. 6 But the righteousness which' of faith\par saith thus. Say not in thy heart. Who shall ascend into heaven? (that\par is, to bring Christ down:) or, 7 Who shall descend into the abyss?\par (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The\par word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word\par of faith, which we preach: 9 because if thou shalt confess with thy\par mouth Jesus to be [thy] Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God\par raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: 10 for with the heart\par man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is\par made unto salvation.\par \par The apostle now takes us into a great contrast between the way of the\par Law and the way of faith. He first quotes Leviticus 18:5, where God\par said to Israel: "Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine\par ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in [or by] them: I am\par Jehovah." You ask, Why did God make such a statement if no one was to\par  obtain life by the Law? The answer is two-fold. First, in the plain\par utterance of Galatians 3:21: "If there had been a law given which\par could make alive, verily righteousness would have been of the Law":\par God never placed in the Law the power to give life! Second, the Law is\par called a ministration of death and condemnation: "But if the\par ministration of death, written, and engraven on stones, came with\par glory . . . if the ministration of condemnation hath glory" (II Cor.\par 3:7-9). It was never intended that people should' gain hope by it, but\par rather that they should despair and be driven to cast themselves upon\par God's mercy, as did David (Psalm 51:1-19). Thus the Law becomes a\par "youth-leader" leading unto Christ (Gal. 3:24). Now, we humbly beg\par you, permit these Scriptures to "shut you up,"--according to Gal.\par 3:22! God had a right to put Israel under the Law for 1500 years from\par Moses to Christ; and He did so, knowing they could obtain neither\par righteousness nor life by that Law, since both were through faith in\par Christ only: and, "the Law is not of faith" (Gal. 3:12).\par \par Now follows a most remarkable use by Paul of a Scripture out of Moses'\par own mouth which he spake to Israel concerning the Law, and which Paul\par here applies to Christ. It will be best to quote the passage from\par Deut. 30:11-14 in full:\par \par "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too\par hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that\par thou shouldest say. Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it\par unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it\par beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea\par for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may\par do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, .and in\par thy heart, that thou mayest do it."\par \par Moses, who had been with Israel forty years, and had been their\par mediator in bringing the Law down from Mount Sinai unto them, is about\par to die. He is leaving with them not only the ten commandments, but\par also all the statutes, ordinances, precepts and judgments connected\par with them. Now what will be the natural reaction in the hearts of\par Israel, when Moses goes up to the top of Pisgah and dies, and Jehovah\par buries him? It will be this: "Moses, who brought us this Law, is gone!\par Moses received this Law from Jehovah, who came down from heaven to the\par top of Sinai in great majesty and display of glory. Now Moses is dead;\par and all we have left is, these written words! Our circumstances are\par altogether different from those of our fathers, who saw the awful\par presence of Jehovah on Sinai and heard His voice. Who will go up to\par heaven for us now, and come down, and make us hear this Law, in the\par same way our fathers heard, that we may do it? Or, if there be someone\par away beyond the sea, some wonderful teacher (like Moses) whom we can\par send for, to come across the sea and bring it to us, and make us hear\par it, that we may do it--."\par \par Now Moses' answer to all this is, "The word is nigh unto thee-- in thy\par mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." That is, the written\par words of the Law the people knew: they could repeat them; they were\par told to teach them diligently unto their children, and, as David did,\par "hide them in their hearts " that they might not sin. It was all\par simple, indeed. And, of course, there were those, like Joshua, who\par said, "As for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah"; or who, like\par Zecharias and Elisabeth in Luke 1:6, were "righteous before God,\par walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."\par \par But the great point Moses makes with Israel is that there was the Law,\par in simple, plain words. They needed no sign, no manifestation; that\par had all been done at Sinai. But the great difficulty in the human\par heart (with Israel just as with us), is simple subjection to God's\par words. See how the Jews in our Lord's day kept asking of Him, "Show us\par a sign from heaven." [211]\par \par Verse 6: Now Paul knows the human heart to be the same today as in the\par days of Moses, so he lifts out of Deuteronomy Moses's words about the\par Law and applies them to faith in Christ: The righteousness which is of\par faith [instead of asking a sign] saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who\par shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:). This would\par be the natural working of the heart of a Jew. The Messiah, Christ, was\par to be sent to him from God; in fact, the nation had kept looking for\par Him. But the perpetual rising of unbelief, apart from "a sign from\par heaven," was there.\par \par It is very striking, as has been observed by others, that the Spirit\par of God should select the verses quoted above from Deuteronomy. For\par this chapter plainly prophesies that the Jews will be scattered among\par the nations because of their despising of God's Law. So that all hope\par from the Law will have perished, and they will be cast wholly upon the\par mercy of God:\par \par "among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee,\par and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice\par . . . with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; that then Jehovah\par thy God will turn thy captivity, . . . and will bring thee into the\par land which thy fathers possessed, . . . and He will do thee good."\par \par Into this dead, hollow shell, then, of legal hope, Paul here in Romans\par Ten, takes verses 11 to 14 of Deuteronomy Thirty, and puts faith in\par Christ in place of the Law! Israel will at last, at the end of the\par age, be cast upon the mercy of God! And then they will understand\par these great chapters, Romans Nine, Ten and Eleven, were written\par concerning them!\par \par Verse 7: So that the Jew said in his heart. Who can ascend to heaven\par to bring Him down unto me? Then further, Christ being proclaimed that\par He had been sent already, and had borne their iniquities according to\par prophecy,--that He had died,--there would come the question in the\par Jewish heart: Who shall go down into the abyss and bring Him up from\par the regions of the dead [212] that I may see Him and thus believe on\par Him?\par \par Verse 8: Now, answering all these inquiries, these sign-askings, came\par the simple word of faith preached by Paul. This expression, "the word\par of faith," involves the whole story of the gospel: that Jesus was the\par Christ, that He had come, died for sin, been buried, been raised, and\par been seen by many witnesses after His resurrection (I Cor. 15:3-8).\par \par Verses 9 and 10: Paul speaks, then, in these verses--as if addressing\par a Jewish hearer: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord\par [literally, Jesus, Lord; or, Jesus to be (thy) Lord], and shalt\par believe in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be\par saved. It is assumed the whole gospel has been preached to this\par hearer. And now is he persuaded that this Risen Jesus, was really the\par Messiah? And, though rejected by Israel, that He is Lord over\par all,--the Deity? And is his Lord? And is he willing so to confess Him\par as his own Lord before men?\par \par With thy mouth--We remember that in our Lord's ministry among the\par Jews, "Even of the rulers many believed on Him; but because of the\par Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the\par synagogue: for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God"\par (John 12:42, 43).\par \par Then does this Jewish hearer, in short, being persuaded of Jesus'\par Lordship and confessing it, believe in his very heart that God raised\par Him from the dead? For Christianity, as we have said, "begins with the\par resurrection." No matter how thoroughly persuaded a Jew might be that\par Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in His birth, life, ministry, and\par death; there remained this stupendous task of faith, to believe in the\par heart that God had raised Him from the power and domain of death, of\par that which was the wages of sin,--the "King of Terrors" (Job 18:14) of\par the whole world!\par \par Those thus confessing Christ's Lordship, and believing in the heart\par that God had raised Him, would be saved! The explanation of the\par apostle of what has happened in such a case is, that with the heart\par the man, believed unto righteousness; while with the mouth the faith\par of the heart is boldly followed in confession, resulting in salvation.\par \par You may ask, would not a Jew (for these chapters particularly concern\par Jews) who had "believed unto righteousness" have, thus, salvation?\par [213] It is better to let the Scripture language stand. God here\par connects the word salvation with the word confession, not with the\par word faith. Peter, in his second epistle, speaks of those who "had\par known the way of righteousness," which is always faith,--and then\par afterward "turned back from the holy commandment delivered unto them"\par (II Peter 2:20, 21); while our Lord in Luke 8 says of the rocky-ground\par hearer that he "believed for a while, and in time of temptation fell\par away." Therefore, while in both parts of Romans 10:10, Paul refers to\par the man of verse 9 as one who is to be "saved," it is well to let the\par verse remain as it is. The Lord when on earth among the Jews asked\par that they confess Him publicly; the Spirit still asks this. Not only\par Jews but Gentiles must confess Him; although the form of presentation\par of the truth in Chapter Ten is as it would apply to a Jew, to whom had\par been offered a Messiah, concerning whose claims he had to decide,\par according to several Old Testament Scriptures. The Gentiles did not\par have the Scriptures, and the matter of the presentation of the gospel\par to them was much more simple. But "confession with the mouth" will\par follow "the faith of God's elect," Jew or Gentile.\par \par Now, as ever when dealing with the Jews, Paul turns to their\par Scriptures, and quotes eight times from the Old Testament, before this\par Tenth Chapter is out--thirty times altogether in these three chapters\par (9,10, and 11)!\par \par 11 For the Scripture saith. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be\par put to shame. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek:\par for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon\par Him: 13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be\par saved. 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not\par believed? and how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?\par and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 and how shall they\par preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are\par the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!\par \par Verses 11 and 12: The Scripture saith: the believer learns to love\par this word, "the Scripture" (our old word graphe!). The manner in which\par its Author, the Holy Spirit, makes the Scriptures of the Old Testament\par speak, in the New, is comfort without limit! And here is Isaiah 28:16\par again, which was quoted (from the Septuagint) in the last verse of\par Chapter Nine. The Jews should have seen from that word whosoever\par believeth that simple faith in their Messiah was God's way, and that\par the message meant "whosoever."\par \par  They should have been warned also that inasmuch as believing was God's\par way--the path in which those who walked would not be put to shame;\par those who chose the way of works, of self-righteousness, would surely\par be put to shame. This word "ashamed" or "put to shame" is in the\par Hebrew, to flee--from fear. Those who have exercised simple faith in\par Christ, and abide thus in Him, shall "have boldness: and not be\par ashamed before Him [Christ] at His coming"--";boldness in the day of\par judgment; because as He is, even so are we in this world" (I John\par 2:28; 4:17).\par \par This "whosoever" message is further developed in verse 12, where we\par see the familiar words no distinction between Jew and Greek. We\par remember this as the exact expression used as to universal sinnerhood\par in Chapter 3:22; which is now used as to salvation. For, first, He is\par Lord of all, and second, He is rich unto all that call upon Him.\par \par These great words must be laid to heart. They bring great comfort,\par directly to any Jews who desire the Savior, and also to the hearts of\par all of us, Jew and Gentile, because the universal availability of\par salvation is so gloriously opened out here, based as it is upon the\par universal lordship of Christ. As Peter said at Cornelius' house to\par Gentiles, "The word which He sent unto the children of Israel,\par preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)."\par It is a great day when a human heart turns to this Savior who is Lord\par of all, for he immediately finds Him "rich unto all."\par \par Verse 13: And then the great word by the prophet Joel is brought\par forward: Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved\par (Joel 2:32). Now who could miss the meaning of this simplest of all\par messages? Now, (if we should preach on this verse!) First, salvation\par is promised. Second, it is a be-saved, not save-yourself, salvation.\par Third, it is the Lord who is to do it. Fourth, He does it for those\par who call upon His Name. Fifth, He does it for the whosoevers, for\par anybody. What a preacher, Joel! But note that Paul is writing to Jews,\par and is giving Old Testament texts. For Paul's great gospel message is\par to hear and believe "the word of the cross, which is the power of\par God." This message goes away beyond that of the Old Testament. Paul\par preached the good news of a work finished. It was for the\par "whosoevers": and Joel's use of that word should have convinced any\par Jew of God's purpose of salvation to any one, to all. But Paul does\par not mean that his gospel was "Call on the Lord." His gospel was,\par Christ died for our sins: He was buried, and was raised, for you: hear\par and believe.\par \par These "whosoevers" should have taught the Jews that the way of\par salvation was not by their Law or any special way for them, but for\par any and all. Alas, the word "whosoever" was too wide for the narrow\par Jewish mind in Joel's day and Paul's day and is so today. [214]\par \par Verses 14 and 15: But now Paul takes these two "whosoever" verses, and\par from them answers the Jew, who not only relied on his law-keeping\par instead of on simple faith to save him, but also denied that either\par Paul or any of the apostles had any right to proclaim salvation by a\par simple message,--a message that left out the Law and Judaism. If\par salvation were to come unto them that "call on the name of the Lord"\par argues Paul, calling is impossible to one who has not believed on the\par Lord; and believing is impossible to one who has not heard the message\par about the Lord; and hearing is impossible unless some one comes\par preaching the message; and preaching is impossible except the\par messenger be Divinely sent! And again Paul clinches it with the\par Scripture (Isa. 52:7): How beautiful are the feet of them that bring\par glad tidings of good things! Moses' Law was not glad tidings, but a\par ministration of death and condemnation. "The Law worketh wrath." But\par the gospel--"Glad tidings! Good things!" And God who knows, calls\par "beautiful" the feet that carry such news. Are our feet\par "beautiful"--in God's eyes?\par \par Paul now, with a saddened heart, goes back to the record of Israel's\par refusing the glad tidings:\par \par 16 But they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith,\par Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So faith is from a report, but\par the report through the word of Christ. 18 But I say, Did they not\par hear? Yea, verily,\par \par Their sound went out into all the earth,\par \par And their words unto the ends of the world.\par \par 19 But I say. Did Israel not know? First Moses saith,\par \par I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation,\par \par  With a nation void of understanding will I anger you.\par \par 20 And Isaiah is very bold, and saith,\par \par I was found of them that sought Me not;\par \par I became manifest unto them that asked not of Me.\par \par 21 But as to Israel he saith, All the day long did I spread out My\par hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.\par \par Verses 16, 17: Astonishing thing,--refusing good news! Men will\par hearken to good news along all other lines,--business, pleasure,\par social preferment, ambition, physical health. Go to any stock exchange\par and see them watch the ticker tape; or behold the political candidates\par sitting up all night for election news favorable to them. But the\par apostle mourns along with Isa. 53:1: Lord, who hath believed our\par report? Probably men's unbelief is the greatest final burden before\par God of every man who speaks for God, "Lord, they do not believe." They\par said to Moses, "You take too much upon yourself!" (Num. 16:3); to\par Ezekiel, "Is he not a speaker of parables?" (Ezek. 20:49) ; to Amos,\par "The land is not able to bear all your words: Flee away to Judah and\par eat bread"--you are just looking for money! (Amos 7:10-13); to\par Jeremiah, "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name\par of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee" (Jer. 44:16-19). And hear\par that weeping prophet tell of his trouble:\par \par "Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud; for Jehovah hath spoken. Give\par glory to Jehovah your God before He cause darkness, and before your\par feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light,\par He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.\par But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your\par pride; and mine eyes shall weep sore, and run down with tears,\par because Jehovah's flock is taken captive" (Jer. 13:15-17).\par \par Our Lord said to those of the multitudes that gathered to hear Him,\par \par \par "This people's heart is waxed gross,\par \par And their ears are dull of hearing,\par \par And their eyes they have closed;\par \par Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,\par \par And hear with their ears,\par \par And understand with their heart,\par \par And should turn again,\par \par And I should heal them" (Matt. 13:15).\par \par And He prophesied that His preachers would find "wayside hearers,"\par "rocky ground hearers," "thorny ground hearers"; and then, in one out\par of four cases, a "good ground hearer."\par \par Verse 17: So faith is from a report; but the report through the word\par of Christ--The Greek term here for "word" is hrema, not logos. It\par literally is, "saying," "speech," as in John 3:34; 14:10; Acts 11:14.\par Faith, indeed, however, does come from a report; and there must be a\par message and a messenger, sent of God; as we have seen. But Christ\par accompanies this preached word by His Almighty "voice," as we know\par from John 5:25: "The hour cometh, that the dead shall hear the voice\par of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." It is a "quickened"\par word, that creates living faith.\par \par It is here that the missionary urge comes! Christ must, indeed, utter\par His creating word from Heaven to the dead soul, saying, Live! But in\par II Corinthians 5:18, 19, 20, we see that while "God was, indeed, in\par Christ reconciling the world unto Himself," He has "committed to us\par [Greek, "placed in us"] the word of reconciliation." So that God is\par entreating by us: we beseech (people) on behalf of Christ, "Be ye\par reconciled to God!"\par \par Faith, indeed, comes of hearing. Do not imagine men will be saved in\par any other way. Earnest, prayerful Cornelius is commanded (and that by\par an angel) to send for "Simon whose surname is Peter, who shall speak\par to thee words by which thou shalt be saved" (Acts 11:14). "It pleased\par God by the foolishness of preaching [lit., the preached thing--Christ\par crucified] to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21 marg.). Note also\par that "faith cometh." If you hear, with a willing heart, the good news,\par that Christ died for you; that He was buried; that He was raised from\par the dead:--by truly "hearing," faith will "come" to you. You do not\par have to do a thing but hear! So there is God's part--He gave, by the\par Spirit, the written Word. And Christ's part,--He speaks, quickening\par the Word. And your part: "He that hath ears, hear."\par \par Verse 18: But Paul goes on to mourn: But I say, Did they [Israel] not\par hear? Yea, verily. And then he makes a quotation from a wholly\par unexpected Scripture, even Psalm 19:4:\par \par \par Their sound went out into all the earth,\par \par And their words unto the ends of the world. [215]\par \par Verse 19: Paul proceeds: Did Israel not know?--concerning this\par whosoever-plan, this believing-plan, this calling upon the Lord's name\par and being saved? Yea, even about this constant warning by their own\par Scriptures that if they were unfaithful God would extend His mercy to\par the Gentiles? First, he calls Moses to witness (Deut. 32:21):\par \par \par I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation,\par \par With a nation void of understanding will I anger you.\par \par That which is no nation--compared with the marvelous place and\par privileges of the race of Israel, it could be said of every other\par people, "It is no nation, a nation void of understanding" (of the\par things of God). I will anger them--for Israel can be reached in no\par other way--either then or now! God seeks to provoke them to jealousy:\par beware how you palaver over them.\par \par Verse 20: Now finally Paul calls Isaiah again to the witness stand;\par  and Isaiah gives a double testimony: he is indeed very bold in his\par prophecy of Gentile salvation:\par \par \par I was found of them that sought me not;\par \par I became manifest unto them that asked not of me.\par \par Then Isaiah becomes exceedingly mournful as to wretched Israel's\par disobedient and gainsaying attitude (see verse 21).\par \par How Jews could read this passage and remain unmoved, in their\par traditions, formalities, and unbelief, only faithful preachers can\par imagine,--who have had to deal with the titanic possibilities of evil\par and unbelief in the human heart.\par \par As showing how far Christendom has lost the whole spirit of the\par gospel, we remind you that everywhere people have the idea they ought\par to "seek" salvation; they are everywhere told they ought to "go to\par church." [216]\par \par How many now reading these words believe that Romans 10:20 is God's\par program for this Gentile day? You say, Should we not seek God? No! You\par should sit down and hear what is written in Romans: first, about your\par guilt, then about your helplessness, and then about the inability of\par the Law to do anything but condemn you; and then believe on Christ\par whom God hath sent; and then praise God for righteousness apart from\par works, apart from ordinances! hear how God laid sin, your sin, on a\par Substitute, His own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and that now, sin\par being put away, God has raised Him from the dead. Seek God? No! God is\par the Seeker, and He has sought and is now seeking those that asked not\par of Him, and has been found of those who sought Him not!--but simply\par heard the good news and believed! Praise His Holy Name!\par \par Verse 21: But, alas, poor Israel! Jehovah, through Isaiah, speaks thus\par of them: All the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient\par and gainsaying people (Isa. 65:2). What yearning, what love, what\par pleading, what patience! And it is The Creator, God Himself, here,\par spreading out His hands! Towards whom? Towards a disobedient people; a\par people that, being rebuked, did deny and gainsay their prophets, and\par even their own Messiah,--as they do unto this day! [217]\par \par It should astonish and warn us--every unbelieving Jew we see! Astonish\par us, that the human heart should treat God so! And warn us: for, as we\par shall see in the next chapter, we Gentiles are now being "visited" by\par God,--this same God of Love: and He is stretching out His hands to\par usward! May we early yield to Him!\par \par And here, lest we miss the lesson for us, in considering wretched\par Israel's rejection of their Messiah, let us read a message to our own\par hearts:\par \par THE GREAT UNKNOWN\par \par \par WHY dost Thou pass unheeded,\par \par Treading with pierc\'e8d feet\par \par The halls of the kingly palace,\par \par  The busy street?\par \par Oh marvellous in Thy beauty,\par \par Crowned with the light of God,\par \par Why fall they not down to worship\par \par Where Thou hast trod?\par \par Why are Thy hands extended\par \par Beseeching whilst men pass by\par \par With their empty words and their laughter,\par \par Yet passing on to die?\par \par \par Unseen, unknown, unregarded,\par \par Calling and waiting yet--\par \par They hear Thy knock and they tremble--\par \par They hear, and they forget.\par \par And Thou in the midst art standing\par \par Of old and forever the same--\par \par Thou hearest their songs and their jesting,\par \par But not Thy name.\par \par The thirty-three years forgotten\par \par Of the weary way Thou hast trod--\par \par Thou art but a name unwelcome,\par \par O Savior God!\par \par \par Yet amongst the highways and hedges,\par \par Amongst the lame and the blind,\par \par  The poor and the maimed and the outcast,\par \par Still dost Thou seek and find--\par \par There by the wayside lying\par \par The eyes of Thy love can see\par \par The wounded, the naked, the dying,\par \par Too helpless to come to Thee.\par \par So Thou art watching and waiting\par \par Till the wedding is furnished with guests--\par \par And the last of the sorrowful singeth,\par \par And the last of the weary rests.--\par \par C. P. C. (in Hymns of Ter Steegen).\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [207] 1."The Jew knows the Law better than his own name . . . The\par great feasts were frequented by countless thousands, . . . Over and\par above the requirements of the Law, ascetic religious exercises\par advocated by the teachers of the Law came into vogue . . . Even the\par Hellenised and Alexandrian Jews under Caligula died on the cross and\par by fire, and the Palestinian pr isoners in the last war died by the\par claws of African lions in the amphitheatre, rather than sin against\par the Law. What Greek would do the like? . . . The Jews also exhibited\par an ardent zeal for the conversion of the Gentiles to the Law of Moses.\par The proselytes filled Asia Minor and Syria, and--to the indignation of\par Tacitus--Italy and Rome." Surely the Jews of Josephus' day had a "zeal\par for God."\par \par [208] 1."This is what God calls `subjecting ourselves to God's\par righteousness': finding a righteousness which is neither of nor in\par ourselves, but finding Christ before God and the proud will, through\par grace, submitting to be saved by that which is not of or in ourselves.\par It is Christ instead of self--instead of our place in the flesh."\par Roland Hill, at the close of a great meeting, saw a lady riding in an\par elegant carriage, who commanded her coachman to halt, and beckoned Mr.\par Hill to approach her. "Sir,"  she said, "my coachman came to your\par meetings and says you told him how to be saved; so that he is now very\par happy. Please tell me how a lady of the nobility is to be saved, for I\par also desire to be happy." "Madame," said the preacher, "Christ died\par for the whole world. God says there is no difference. All are to be\par saved through simple faith in Him." "Do you mean," she said haughtily,\par "that I must be saved in the same way as my coachman?" "Precisely.\par There is no other way." "Then," she said, "I will have none of it!"\par and she made her coachman drive away.\par \par [209] As Stifler so well says: "The Jews claimed that in following the\par Law they were submitting to God, for He gave the Law. No, says Paul;\par in so doing you are not submitting to the righteousness of God. `For\par Christ [whom God gave and you reject] is the end of the Law for [with\par a view of] righteousness to every one that believeth.' The Jew's\par  system was one of doing; but God's was one of believing, one of grace.\par Law and grace are mutually exclusive and antagonistic systems. Because\par the Jew held to Law he was not in subjection to God. The proof that he\par was not is the great principle of grace here recorded."\par \par [210] It is with unutterable sadness that we contemplate the even\par worse condition of the Laodicean Church of today! "Wretched, poor,\par miserable, blind, naked"--and knowing it not! Christ on the outside of\par the door! Yet outwardly rich, and increased with goods!\par \par [211] It is so to this day, and sad to say, the tendency to demand\par "signs" is increasing rather than lessening. If a man come announcing\par "healing meetings" (although no such "meetings for healing" are known\par in Scripture), the place will be crowded. History is full of spiritual\par wreckage caused by "Lo, here," and "Lo, there!"\par \par [212] Our Lord plainly said he would be thr ee days and three nights in\par the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40). This was not Joseph's tomb\par (which was on the surface of the earth), but the Hebrew Sheol (Greek,\par Hades), which is always in Scripture located below the earth's\par surface--even "the lower parts of the earth" (Eph. 4:9). To another\par compartment of these "lower parts" the wicked also went; as see Ps.\par 63:9. That this was in the general region called Hades, the rich man\par of Luke 16:22, 23 proves. (Always read the Revised Version about the\par words Sheol--Hades: for it transliterates them. The King James simply\par obscures them by various renderings.) While Christ's body lay in\par Joseph's tomb "not seeing corruption," His soul (or quickened spirit,\par I Peter 3:18)--as Peter and Paul, quoting Ps. 16:10, plainly show\par (Acts 2:31; 13:34, 37) was duly brought up again "from the depths of\par the earth" (Ps. 71:20).\par \par [213] 1.Faith is directly connected with the word "righteousness" or\par "justification," about twenty times in the New Testament, but faith is\par directly connected with the word "salvation" only four times; and\par these four instances (Rom. 1:16, I Pet. 1:5, 9, 10) themselves show\par that whereas righteousness expresses the present standing of a\par believing one; salvation is a larger and more inclusive word--in the\par sense of Rom. 13:11: "Awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation\par nearer to us than when we believed." (In this verse our bodily\par redemption at Christ's coming, is included). And, I Peter 1:5:\par "Guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the\par last time." This shows that although we do "receive the end of our\par faith, the salvation of our souls" (I Pet. 1:9), the word salvation in\par general includes not only the salvation of our souls, but also the\par consummation of our final deliverance at Christ's coming. I do not\par find "salvation," then, connected in Scripture with any but those who\par shall thus be found in Christ at His coming. The words of Paul in\par Corinthians (I Cor. 15:1-4) outlining His gospel, are, "Ye are saved,\par if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you." In the preceding\par verse, he declares that they had "received" the gospel which he had\par preached unto them. But this gospel was not to be let go. As our Lord\par says concerning the good ground hearers in Luke 8:15: "These are such\par as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast,\par and bring forth fruit with patience." In I Thess. 5:21 the same word\par is translated "hold fast that which is good." It is solemnly used also\par in Heb. 3:6, 14 and 10:23. This is no argument against Divine\par election, or the eternal security of the saints. But it is a truth\par that must be, and really is, faced by every godly soul. Over and over,\par of course, in the Gospels, the word for saved (sodzo) is used. The\par word of our Lord is, "Thy faith hath saved thee," (or, A.V. "made thee\par whole"--same Greek word). It is also used concerning salvation:\par Matthew 19:25, Acts 2:21, 16:30, 31. Paul also uses this word in Rom.\par 5:9, 10; 10:13, etc. What we are urging is that we connect in our own\par thinking, and confession of our Lord,--the word "faith" with\par righteousness, as Scripture in the Epistles so constantly does. In\par times of darkness and weak faith such as this, the rescue from doom is\par uppermost in the believer's mind; whereas God would have his standing\par in Christ uppermost! How constantly we hear in a testimony meeting, "I\par have been, or I was, saved ten years," etc.; and how very seldom, if\par ever, the testimony is: I have been declared righteous by faith, and\par have peace with God. I am righteous before God, through my Savior's\par death. I thank God I have been made the righteousness of God in\par Christ. The old Methodists used to testify to their\par justification,--"justified state," they called it. But then\par old-fashioned Methodist preachers, preached of coming judgment, of\par eternal punishment, of the sinner's terrible danger; and they boldly\par spoke of pardon as what the sinner needed. We believe God has given\par still more light upon Scripture since those days, but would God we had\par the moral earnestness and the wonderfully bright experiences of the\par old-fashioned Methodists! Again we say, God generally connects faith\par with righteousness. Let us do likewise.\par \par [214] And alas, also, there are those who insist that the Jew has a\par special place right through this dispensation; that he must always be\par "first," that there is a difference, although God says plainly in\par Chapter Three that there is no difference between Jew and Greek as to\par sinnership, guilt; and no difference as to the lordship of Christ and\par the availability of salvation to the "whosoevers," Jew or Gentile. If\par Paul were among us today, he would abhor and decry the special,\par esoteric methods of approach to the Jew in vogue in some pretentious\par quarters today. Become all things to the Jew, to win him, certainly.\par Paul did. But tell him the truth, that he is just a whosoever, and\par nobody else! The terrible prophecy of Ezekiel 20:33-38 (read R. V.\par only, here) is about to be fulfilled concerning the scattered millions\par of Israel: "As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely with a mighty\par hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I\par be king over you. And I will bring you out from the peoples, and will\par gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a\par mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out;\par and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there\par will I enter into judgment with you face to face." What the poor,\par wretched Jewish exiles need this hour is a Paul to go right in amongst\par them with a "whosoever" message for sinners, not a "literary-approach"\par Paul, but the exact opposite, with perhaps "bodily presence weak and\par speech of no account," but "provoking them to jealousy" by boasting in\par a Messiah whom their nation has lost,--a nation to whom God is not now\par offering a Messiah, but instead salvation, as common whosoevers,\par no-distinction people, ordinary guilty sinners, I protest that in Acts\par 28 God through Paul officially closed the door to the national offer\par of the gospel to the Jews, and that thereafter to treat the Jew as\par having a special place with God, is to deny Scripture.\par \par [215] The use of the plural "their"--"their sound," "their words,"\par here, is immediately evident in the familiar Psalm itself:\par \par \par "The heavens declare the glory of God;\par \par And the firmament showeth his handiwork.\par \par Day unto day uttereth speech,\par \par And night unto night showeth knowledge.\par \par There is no speech nor language;\par \par Their voice is not heard.\par \par Their line is gone out through all the earth,\par \par And their words to the end of the world,"\par "Their" voice is the vast chorus of the created universe, and of\par course plural. But Paul has just been speaking here of hearing coming\par by Christ's word. But, Christ is Himself the Creator of all this\par universe! For "all things were created by Him and for Him." We must\par keep this fact in mind and allow the words of the Psalm to witness to\par the universality of the testimony concerning Christ. The emphasis on\par into all the earth; unto the ends of the earth must have included\par Israel, The "invisible things of God were clearly perceived from the\par creation of the world, even His everlasting power and divinity,"--as\par we saw concerning all men in Chapter One,--but the Jews had\par immeasurably more! God had come down and spoken to them on Mount\par Sinai; then their prophets, and then the Son, the Heir, had come; yea,\par and through the apostles and Stephen they had had the testimony of the\par Holy Spirit directly from Christ on high! So Israel had indeed\par "heard"! Therefore, in quoting Psalm Nineteen, Paul holds Israel to\par the "voice" of creation as if no other people existed. It was their\par Psalm!\par \par [216] It is an excellent thing to go where God's saints gather; and to\par "meetings for unsaved people. But attending meetings saves no one.\par There is a Savior! And good news about Him to be believed for\par yourself!\par \par [217] "And he (Manasseh) set the graven image of the idol, which he\par had made, in the house of God, of which God said to David and to\par Solomon his son. `In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen\par out of all the tribes of Israel, will I Put My name forever': . . .\par And Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that\par they did evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before\par the children of Israel." "All the chiefs of the priests, and the\par people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the\par nations; and they polluted the house of Jehovah which He had hallowed\par in Jerusalem. And Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent to them by\par his messengers, rising up early and sending, because He had compassion\par on His people, and on His dwelling-place." But alas, we read: "They\par mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and scoffed at\par His prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against His people,\par till there was no remedy" (II Chron. 33:7, 9; 36:14-16).\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par }  %#10 Romans 10{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER TEN.\par \par Paul's Prayer for Israel, who had Zeal, without Knowledge of, or\par Subjection to, God's Righteousness: Fundamental Contrast between the\par Righteousness of Doing and That of Believing. Verses 1-10.\par \par The Believing Method was According to Israel's Own Scriptures,--unto\par which They did not Hearken: as God had Foretold. Verses 11-21.\par \par 1 Brethren, the dear wish of this heart of mine, and my prayer to God\par for them, [Israel] is for [their] salvation. 2 For I bear witness to\par tsdom and Knowledge; God the\par One Source, Channel and End of All Things! Verses 33-36.\par \par ALL THE SAD RECORD of Chapters Nine and Ten concerning Israel having\par been shown, the apostle now turns to that question which naturally\par arises in our Gentile hearts (for in 11:13 he says, "I am speaking to\par you that are Gentiles").\par \par 1 I say then. Did God cast off His people? Far be the thought! For I\par also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of\par Benjamin. 2 God did not cast off His people which he foreknew. Or\par understand ye not what the Scripture saith in [the portion concerning]\par Elijah? How he pleadeth with God against Israel: 3 Lord, they have\par killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left\par alone and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto\par him? I have left for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the\par knee to Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time there is a Remnant\par according to the election of grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no\par more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.\par \par Verse 1: Here Paul rejects with horror--Far be the thought! that God\par had finally abandoned, "cast off" His people Israel. [218] Let every\par Christian reject the suggestion with equal horror,\par \par First, Paul says, I myself am proof: an Israelite; not a Jewish\par proselyte either, but of the seed of Abraham, and a Benjamite,--not\par one of the ten tribes which separated from Judah!\par \par Verse 2: Then Paul defines the Israel that is not rejected: God's\par people whom He foreknew. In "You only have I known," He is not\par speaking of knowing about them or their affairs, but of the fact that\par to them only had He made Himself known; because they were foreknown of\par Him; that is, acquainted with beforehand,--before their earthly\par history began!\par \par (See note on Romans 8:29.) In Amos 3:1, 2 we read:\par \par "Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of\par Israel, against--the whole family which I brought up out of the\par land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known, of all the families\par of the earth: . . . "\par \par Now in the preceding chapter of Amos, there is a remarkable series of\par messages of judgment concerning the various nations surrounding\par Israel. In each case the exact reasons for the judgment are detailed\par by God, beginning with Damascus (1:3), then Gaza (1:6), Tyre (1:9),\par Edom (1:11), Ammon (1:13), Moab (2:1), then Judah (2:4); and finally,\par the northern kingdom, (to which Amos spoke), Israel (2:6): showing\par that God knew the exact conduct of each nation. Therefore, when God\par says concerning Israel, "You only have I known," He is not speaking of\par knowing about them or their affairs, but of the fact that to them only\par had He made Himself known; [219] (as Paul says to the Galatians: "Now\par ye have come to know God,--or rather, to be known by God"). But here\par we have a fore-acquaintanceship with Israel. This foreknowledge is\par described in Romans 8:29 (which see), where the term is used in a\par wider sense, and therefore must include the foreknowledge of the\par Remnant "according to the election of grace"--of the nation of Israel,\par spoken of here.\par \par Verses 3, 4: Again Paul lets the Scripture "speak," and here we find\par Israel's greatest prophet pleading against Israel! Because they had\par killed Jehovah's prophets and destroyed Jehovah's altars, Elijah\par believed himself left alone, and believed they were seeking his life.\par [220] But how utterly outside and beyond Elijah's conception of things\par was God's reply that He had left for Himself a "Remnant" (even 7000!)\par who had utterly refused Baal-worship. Here is Divine sovereignty\par marvelously illustrated! The nation is apostate, under Ahab and\par Jezebel; Baal's prophets number hundreds; and Elijah had fled the\par land,--back to Horeb, where the Law was given! Now comes the\par revelation that Divine sovereign intervention has been timely, ample,\par definite and perfect. God has preserved seven thousand. This reminds\par us immediately of the sealing of 144,000 of Israel in Revelation\par Seven. Unbelief or shallow interpretation would say this merely\par indicates some indefinite number. Well, then, go on to say, the 7000\par of Elijah's day were an "indefinite number,"--and see where your false\par wisdom (which is really unbelief) will bring you!\par \par Verse 5: Even so, says Paul, at this present time also there is a\par Remnant (of Israelites) being preserved by God, although the nation\par has crucified their Messiah, and rejected the testimony concerning Him\par by the Spirit through the apostles--an infinitely worse condition of\par things than Ahab's Baal worship! Only sovereign grace will do here; so\par it is a Remnant according to the election of grace. This "Remnant" are\par put now into the Body of Christ: they become "partakers of a heavenly\par calling" (Heb. 3:1). Every saved Israelite has abandoned his\par Israelitish hopes, and believed on Christ as a common sinner! Of\par course only a few Israelites--a "remnant," do this.\par \par Verse 6: Paul insists, (as he does continuously throughout his\par Epistles): If it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace\par is no more grace--Here is perhaps the most direct and absolute\par contrast in Scripture of two principles: for grace is God acting\par sovereignly according to Himself; works is man seeking to present to\par God a human ground for blessing. The two principles are utterly\par opposed. As Paul, in his conflict with Peter in Galatians 2:15, 16 and\par 21, says: "Even we, Jews by nature, and not `sinners of the Gentiles'\par believed on Christ Jesus. I do not make void the grace of God, for if\par righteousness is through law, Christ died for nothing!" And as Peter\par said at the first Church council, "We [Jews] believe that we shall be\par saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they"\par (Gentiles) (Acts 15:11).\par \par 7 What then? That which Israel is in search of [righteousness], that\par he [the nation] obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the\par rest were hardened: 8 according as it is written, God gave them a\par spirit of drowsiness, eyes that they should not see, and ears that\par they should not hear, unto this very day. 9 And David saith,\par \par Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,\par \par And a stumblingbiock, and a recompense unto them,\par \par Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,\par \par And bow Thou down their back always.\par \par Verse 7: Here, then, in this chapter, is the very height of Divine\par sovereignty: not only electing people, but even deciding the very time\par when they should come on the scene of this world's history. "Israel\par after the flesh" nationally was in search of righteousness,--that was\par their very business, in the preservation and application of the Law.\par But that was not the way of righteousness. We have seen that their own\par Scriptures set forth that "calling on the name of the Lord," and\par believing on the "Stone" (Christ) at whom others in legality\par "stumbled," was the true way. So the nation obtained not\par righteousness. But the election obtained it. And, as to the rest?\par God's answer is, they were hardened.\par \par But remember Chapter Nine and do not "reply against" God,--and hear a\par "Thou--who art thou?" from Him; but note carefully, how and why they\par were thus "hardened."\par \par Verse 8: Paul now says (quoting Isa. 29:10): Ac cording as it is\par written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not\par see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day.\par \par The process of that awful thing, spiritual hardening, is thus\par depicted. in Israel as nowhere else, for hearts harden most quickly\par when men are trusting in their place of special privilege, without\par fellowship with the God who gives it. (Thus, we fear, it is with\par thousands in Christendom, and even among those who have the Lord's\par table most frequently before them. What but a deadly snare to the soul\par is the table of the Lord, without real communion with the Lord of the\par table!)\par \par Verse 9: So it is written of Israel's "table": Let their table be made\par a snare. This is quoted from David, in Ps. 69:22, and evidently refers\par to the "table" at which the Israelites were privileged to eat with\par Jehovah. This was indeed a high and special privilege which Is!rael\par had: they ate with God. In Exodus 24:11, we read: "They saw God and\par did eat and drink"; and from the Passover of Exodus 12 onward, they\par ate in their sacred feasts. We know the priests "ate before God":\par Leviticus 6:16; 7:18, 20. But not only was this true of the priests,\par but of the people in their peace offerings (Lev 7:18,19;23:6); and in\par their feasts, as in Leviticus 23:6 and Numbers 15:17-21; 18:26,30,31;\par Deuteronomy 12:7, 18; 14:23; 27:7.\par \par For the "table" of the Israelite was connected by Jehovah with\par Himself. Certain things the Israelite might eat, others not; because\par he was one of a holy nation unto Jehovah. But the Israelite quickly\par began to trust not in Jehovah, but in his manner of eating, as did\par Peter: "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common\par and unclean." Without true faith, therefore, their very table of\par privilege became a snare. [221]\par \par It i"s to be noted carefully that each time the solemn Sixth of Isaiah\par is quoted, the sovereignty of God in hardening whom He will is\par increasingly emphasized. We see in Matthew 13:15, that it is the\par people's heart that had "waxed gross": their ears were "dull of\par hearing" because of lack of interest; their eyes they had closed,--not\par desiring to turn and understand, lest they should .perceive, and hear,\par understand, turn, and be healed of God! Then, in the fourth Gospel, at\par the end of our Lord's public testimony, (John 12:39): "They could not\par believe, for that Isaiah said,\par \par \par "He hath blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart;\par \par Lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart;\par \par And should turn,\par \par And I should heal them."\par \par This is judicial action, following the people's attitude.\par \par In the third occurrence of the words of Isaiah Six (in Acts 28), Pa#ul\par officially shuts the door to national Israel: "Well spake the Holy\par Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers," --quoting this\par Isaiah Six, and declaring: "Be it known therefore unto you, that this\par salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they also will hear."\par [222]\par \par Verse 10: As to Israel, nationally, it is written. Let their eyes be\par darkened, that they may not see. And bow Thou down their back always.\par It will be so until that future day, described in Zechariah 12:10,\par when God "pours upon them the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and\par they look unto Him whom they have pierced."\par \par We dare not believe in any of the modern reports of national Jewish\par "turning to the Lord." They will go into yet greater darkness (after\par the Rapture of the Church). There will be the former evil spirit of\par idolatry "taking with itself seven other spirits more wicked than\par itself," enteri$ng in and dwelling in this present evil generation of\par Israel! (Matt. 12:45). Do not be deceived. At our Lord's coming, and\par not until that beleagured nation sees "the sign of the Son of Man in\par Heaven" (Matt. 24:30),--which will be that "looking upon Him whom they\par pierced" of Zechariah 12, will they have faith. Thomas, in John 20,\par who "would not believe except he see in Christ's hands the print of\par the nails," is an exact type of the coming conversion of Israel. Until\par then, let us "provoke to jealousy" all of them we can, by boasting in\par Christ and His Salvation; and so we may save a few of them,--as\par sinners, the "Remnant according to the election of Grace."\par \par 11 I say then. Did they stumble that they might fall? God forbid: but\par by their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to\par jealousy. 12 Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their\par loss the riches of the Gentiles; how m%uch more their fulness? 13 But I\par speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of\par Gentiles, I glorify my ministry: 14 if by any means I may provoke to\par jealousy them that are my flesh, and may save some of them.\par \par 15 For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world,\par what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16 And if\par the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so\par are the branches.\par \par 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild\par olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them\par of the root of the fatness of the olive tree: 18 glory not over the\par branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root,\par but the root thee.\par \par 19 Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be\par grafted in. 20 Well: by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou\p&ar standest by thy faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: 21 for if God\par spared not the natural branches, neither will He spare thee. 22 Behold\par then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell,\par severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in His\par goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if\par they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is\par able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wast cut out of that which\par is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature\par into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which are the\par natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?\par \par Verse 11: Did they stumble that they might fall? Some individuals,\par alas, do,--both of Jews and Gentiles. Some are offended and turn away\par forever. But not finally the Israelitish nation! Banish the thought!\par We shall soon in this chapter se'e God's future salvation for that\par nation. But here the apostle notes that their fall was made the\par occasion of salvation to the Gentiles; and this again is to provoke\par them to jealousy--that they may be saved. God's manifest blessing to\par Gentiles causes the careless, self-satisfied Jew to awake,--first to\par ridicule Gentile testimony; then,--seeing the reality of Divine\par visitation to the despised Gentile, to arouse to a deep jealousy:\par [223] "They have what we ought to have; but we have lost God's favor!"\par \par Verse 12: Their fall is the riches of the world; their loss the riches\par of the Gentiles. Before they fell, if a Gentile wanted to know the\par true God, he must become a "proselyte." He must journey up to\par Jerusalem three times a year; and even then he could not worship\par directly. He must have Levitical priests and forms. Contrast with this\par the day of Pentecost. Every man heard in his own tongue in which he\p(ar was born, the wonderful works of God! And by and by Paul goes freely\par forth, apart from the Law, and "religion," to all the Gentiles:\par \par \par "Christ the Son of God hath sent me\par \par Through the midnight lands:\par \par Mine the mighty ordination\par \par Of the pierc\'e8d hands!"\par \par See Ephesus, and Corinth, and then Rome, and the whole world, "rich,"\par by Israel's fall! Wherever you are, you can call on the Lord, and walk\par by the blessed Holy Spirit, and witness of a free salvation to all and\par any who will listen! No "going up to Jerusalem" to keep feasts, and\par worship Jehovah afar off, but drawing nigh to God in Heaven through\par the blood of Christ, at any time, any place, under all circumstances!\par In everything, invited to "let your requests be made known unto God!"\par That is riches, indeed! If you do not now hold it so, you shortly\par will: for you will need the Lord, ere long! And He is so nigh)!\par \par Alas, how much Israel lost in refusing Christ's "day of visitation" to\par them. How He wept over that! (Luke 19:41-44). We cannot blame God for\par Israel's rejection of their Messiah, and their "fall." He foretold it,\par indeed: but Christ said, "Ye will not come to Me, that ye may have\par life!"\par \par But rather, let us see in the blessing that has resulted to us, "the\par heart of mercy" of God! (Luke 1:78, margin.) He will show "kindness"\par somewhere. And, if the invited guests have had themselves "excused,"\par let us who belong in "the highways and hedges" run quickly to the\par feast when we are bidden!\par \par If their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss has been\par "riches to the world" and to the Gentiles, how much more their\par fulness?\par \par In the days of David and Solomon, there were prodigal riches,--both of\par God's glorious presence (II Chron. 5:11-14) and of worldly wealth and\par ho*nor (I Kings 10, entire). But this presence, and this blessing, was\par for Israel. Now, as our Lord told the Samaritan woman, the hour has\par come, when "neither in this mountain nor at Jerusalem" do men go to\par worship the Father: but salvation has come out as "riches" to the\par whole world and to Gentiles, who had the place of "dogs" before (as\par compared with Israel).\par \par Now if this blessing be so great for the world, with Israel "fallen,"\par how much more, when the time of restoration, and of fulness for\par Israel, be come!\par \par Verses 13, 14: I speak to you that are Gentiles [224] --There were\par many Jewish saints at Rome. But these three chapters of Romans (9, 10\par and 11), are peculiarly fitted to our Gentile instruction. And\par particularly so is this word: In as much as I am an apostle of\par Gentiles, I glorify my ministry: if by any means I may provoke to\par jealousy them that are my flesh, and may save some of t+hem. I boast,\par before the Jews, of how God works among the Gentiles, of His saving\par them, filling them with His Spirit, and with peace; using them in\par saving others, establishing them in heavenly joy. And why do I thus\par magnify my Gentile ministry? To provoke my fellow-Jews to jealousy--of\par an inward peace they have not, that they may desire it: and, perhaps,\par choose it!\par \par Verse 15: The casting away of them . . . the reconciling of the\par world--As long as God held fellowship with Israel on the ground of the\par old legal covenant, Gentiles were out of His direct favor, unless they\par became Jewish proselytes. Upon Israel's rejection of their Messiah and\par not until then (for Christ came first to Israel,--as see Matt. 10:5)\par could God "reconcile" the world to Himself. See II Corinthians 5:19:\par "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself."\par \par The casting away of them--reconciling the world; receivin,g of\par them--life from the dead!--Paul speaks God's words; and God never\par exaggerates! Therefore, in understanding (so far as we may) these\par great words, we have only to compare our wretched Gentile state before\par the blessed reconciliation news, with our present Gentile blessing\par under the gospel,--as the fruit of the "casting away" of the\par Israelites; and then judge what blessing will come when God "receives"\par them! It will indeed be "life from the dead"! For this world has never\par seen what shall then be seen: "The earth shall be full of the\par knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9). Not\par even in Eden, before man's sin, was that seen! And all this waits the\par "receiving" of God's earthly people, elect Israel! God must have them\par back in their land, to become "a joy to the whole earth." When Jehovah\par finally speaks ever lasting comfort to His people Israel and to\par Jerusalem, it is written,- "And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed,\par and all flesh shall see it together" [225] (Isa. 40:1-5).\par \par Verse 16: And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the\par root is holy, so are the branches--The firstfruit here seems to me to\par be the believing Israel of the old days, as in Jer. 2:2, 3: "Thou\par wentest after Me in the wilderness, . . . Israel was holiness unto\par Jehovah, the firstfruits of his increase"; and the lump to be the\par whole "Israel of God," of Galatians Six; that is, Israel, in God's\par sight as an always beloved nation; though now the saved "Remnant\par according to the election of grace" comes out of that nation into a\par risen, heavenly Christ, into a higher calling, where there is neither\par Jew nor Gentile. And, as has been said, the Gentile "is placed upon\par the root," not upon the trunk nor upon the branches. He became neither\par a Jew, nor of Israel. Blessing, however, had been promised t.hrough\par Abraham to "all the families of the earth."\par \par Now it is important to see that the root is Abraham, the depositary of\par the promises. The tree of Divine blessing grows up by these promises\par to Abraham, and His Seed, which is Christ. The natural branches, that\par is, those who first partook of the tree's root and fatness, were Jews.\par You cannot say that the tree is the Jewish nation, but rather that it\par is those partaking of the Divine blessing from Abraham through Christ.\par The most of the Jews were thus, because of unbelief, broken off. Those\par Jews who believed, as we know (the election of grace), came to partake\par of the heavenly calling in the Church "the assembly of God." Again,\par when that assembly is taken away to heaven, and God grafts back the\par remnant of the Jewish people, into their former ("their own") olive\par tree, Divine blessing on earth will have the earthly character it had\par before Church/ days: Israel will be the land, Jerusalem the city, and\par the temple- worship the form (see Ezek. 40-48).\par \par Verse 17: Some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild\par olive, wast grafted in. This simply means that we, as Gentiles, have\par been set in the place of blessing from Abraham. It does not mean that\par all Gentiles are in the Body of Christ,--for it is not of that Body as\par such that Paul is here speaking: but of Gentiles as having been put\par into that place of Divine blessing where Israel once stood. Nor do the\par words some of the branches mean that any whole tribe of Israel will be\par wholly lost; for all twelve tribes appear in Ezekiel, in the\par millennial kingdom. The word thou is generic, of Gentiles: but of\par course is addressed to individuals--those of the Gentiles who would\par hear. The warnings here are addressed not to brethren in Christ, but\par as being of the Gentiles."\par \par Verse 18: 0It is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee--How\par few of us Gentile believers understand and bear in mind that we are\par beneficiaries of those promises which God lodged in Abraham as a root\par of promise,--all the promises we inherit in Christ! This is\par illustrated by Gal. 3:7: "They that are of faith, the same are sons of\par Abraham"; and even the gift of the Holy Spirit is "the blessing of\par Abraham in Christ Jesus" coming upon the Gentiles (Gal. 3:14).\par \par There is a very great danger, as Paul shows in Romans 11:18, that we\par Gentiles glory over the Jewish branches, and forget it is not thou\par that bearest the root, but the root thee. Abraham was the root, the\par vessel of promise, and we (if we are in Christ) are his children.\par \par Verse 19, alas to say, voices the general consciousness and the\par consequent conduct of Christendom through the so-called "Christian\par centuries": Branches were broken off, that 1I might be grafted in! The\par despising of the Jews, and the horrid persecuting of them by\par Christendom, is one of the three great scandals of history. [226]\par \par Verses 20, 21: The only wise attitude for Gentiles is now prescribed\par by our apostle--Well, by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou\par standest by thy faith. Be not high-minded, but fear; [227] --In other\par words, it was not the Gentiles' importance over that of the Jews, but\par the Jews' unbelief, that caused some--for the present all but a\par "remnant"--to be broken off: and the Gentile "stands" by his\par faith,--not by his superiority to the Jews! "High-mindedness" is the\par contrary of the "fear" here enjoined (the root of which is\par humility,--consciousness of unworthiness). And why fear? Verse 21\par tells plainly: God spared not the natural branches [the Jews], neither\par will He spare thee [Gentiledom]; if Gentiledom walks in forgetfulness\par of its s2innerhood, and of God's "goodness,"--in self-importance,\par pride, and high-mindedness.\par \par Verse 22: Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them\par that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue\par in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off--This is a most\par solemn word, indeed! It calls the Gentile world to behold the goodness\par and [its opposite] severity of God! Toward them that fell, severity:\par in spite of what had been the privileges of having Jehovah's temple\par among them; and the former faithfulness of the nation, and afterwards\par of individuals, Israel fell into self-righteousness, pride, and\par rejection of their Messiah. Toward such, "severity." Christ beheld\par Jerusalem and wept over it, for judgment is God's "strange work." But,\par we beg you, get Josephus, or any history, and read what befell the\par Jews when Titus took Jerusalem; and see Matthew Twenty-three, and our3\par Lord's anguished words: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the\par prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! Behold, your house\par is left unto you desolate!"\par \par Now it is the common talk through Christendom that the Jews were God's\par "ancient" people; and that now the Gentiles are God's favored ones.\par People love to hear sermons on the "goodness" of God, but resent talk\par of Divine severity toward the Gentiles! But have the Gentiles proven\par themselves different from the Jews in their conduct toward God?\par Christendom is today sinning against greater light than ever Israel\par had!\par \par God says to the Gentile: Toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue\par in His goodness--Now what is "the goodness" referred to here?\par \par We remember our Lord's saying to the twelve apostles, when He first\par sent them out to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," "Go not into\par any way of the Gentiles, and e4nter not into any city of the\par Samaritans" (Matt. 10:5). He had come as "a minister of the\par circumcision" to His own. But when they had rejected and crucified\par Him, the Risen Lord said: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the\par gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15) ; "Ye shall be My\par witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Saniaria, and unto\par the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).\par \par So, the Holy Spirit having been given at Pentecost, Peter is shortly\par sent to the house of the Gentile, Cornelius: who believes the simple\par gospel of Christ, and, on "all them that heard the Word the Holy\par Spirit fell." Then Barnabas and Saul, Silas and Timothy, and the rest,\par go on to the Gentiles, turning the world "upside down" with the gospel\par of grace. No need for a "religion" now; they had Christ. No need for a\par temple,--they, the assembly, were "the temple of God"; for, as Stephen\par witnessed--and5 was stoned for it--"The Most High is not [now] dwelling\par in temples made by hands." No need for a ritual: they had the Holy\par Spirit, and worshipped by Him instead of forms! No need of a special\par priesthood,--all believers were alike priests, and drew near unto God\par by the shed blood, Christ Himself, over the house of God, leading\par their worship, as the Great High Priest in heaven. No need of seeking\par "merit,"--they were in Christ, already accepted in Him,--yea, made the\par very righteousness of God in Him!\par \par Now this was God's goodness toward Gentile believers.\par \par And, as for the Gentiles all: they were no longer called "dogs," as\par contrasted with the favored race of Israel (Matt. 15:26). There was a\par complete change in the relationship of Gentiles as such toward God.\par They were put into the place of privilege and opportunity of Divine\par blessing: an "acceptable time," a "day of salvation," in God's\par "6goodness" was extended to them. If one had sought to instruct a\par Gentile in the Old Testament days, he must have said, "God is the God\par of Israel: become a proselyte; go up to Jerusalem; keep the feasts\par according to the Law." If one should go to a Gentile in the coming\par Millennium, the like instruction would be necessary, for all the\par nations must then go up to Jerusalem by their representatives "to\par worship the King, Jehovah of Hosts" (Zech. 14:16-18).\par \par But now? No! An ambassador for God says anywhere, to the worst\par heathen, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."\par \par This is the Divine goodness.\par \par Now, have the Gentiles continued in that goodness?\par \par For if the Gentiles have not so continued, God's severity must be\par shown to them, as before to Israel: thou SHALT BE CUT OFF.\par \par What then is the record? It is ghastly!\par \par First, as to sending out the gospel: Afte7r nearly 2000 years, much of\par the human race knows nothing of Christ.\par \par Then, as to salvation by grace preached to lost men, apart from law\par and from ordinances, we see, instead, "good character" preached up as\par the way of acceptance; the simple supper of the Lord called "these\par holy mysteries," and baptism, instead of a glad confession of a known\par Savior, relied on as a "means of regeneration."\par \par Instead of simple gatherings (as at the first), of believers unto the\par Name of Christ their Lord, relying on the presence of the Holy Spirit\par solely, (as at the first), we see great Judao-pagan temples, and an\par elaborate "service." And would this were in Rome only!\par \par Instead of the free, general common priesthood of believers, in the\par fellowship of prayer and faith (as in apostolic days) we see thousands\par upon thousands of professing Christians that have never prayed nor\par praised openly in the assembl8y of His saints; myriads who do not have\par even the assurance of salvation (though Christ, who bore sin for them,\par has been received up on high). Contrast with this Acts 2:42: "They\par continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the\par breaking of bread and the prayers."\par \par We see open, general, horrible idolatry, in both the Greek and Roman\par cathedrals; and a growing tendency to put up "crosses" instead of\par preaching "the word of the cross," in so-called "Protestant" places!\par \par We see great State Churches, a thing unknown and impossible in\par Scripture; and we see professing Christians divided into\par "denominations," each with its own "program,"--ignoring wholly Paul's\par words in I Cor. 1:12, 13; 3:2-4; and not at all walking in the\par consciousness of the One Body. Indeed, instead of the unity of the\par Spirit, they are ready to establish horrible outward earthly union, of\par all "professing9 Christians," "modernists," and Jews--in short, all\par "religionists." [228]\par \par So that the Gentiles will be "cut off" from that place of Divine\par privilege which they now have (and which Israel nationally has lost),\par and Israel will be restored to the privileged place, as before. Of\par course this "cutting off" does not mean that individual Gentiles\par cannot be saved! But, as in the Old Testament, and in Matthew, Mark,\par and Luke, Israel will be honored as the center and spring of Divine\par blessing on earth; the Gentiles becoming again subordinate to\par Israel,--as to spiritual things; and having again to "go up to\par Jerusalem" to worship Jehovah. The Church, the Body of Christ, will of\par course have been translated to heaven before this order of things\par comes in. The Church is "the fulness of the Gentiles," of Romans\par 11:25.\par \par Thus, instead of continuing in God's goodness. Gentile "Christendom"\par has set: up the "Christian religion"; and has settled down upon earth\par as if the Church belonged here; and as if Christ might not come at any\par moment! If you dream Christendom has continued in the humble gospel of\par grace, and the goodness of God in giving His Son to shed His blood for\par lost sinners, just examine the "religious" pronouncements in the\par press!\par \par Verse 23: They also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be\par grafted in again--We know from a multitude of prophecies that Israel\par will not continue in unbelief! Thank God for this! They must, of\par course, see to believe. But Zechariah 12:10 declares that in a future\par day they shall "look on Him whom they pierced"; while the eighth and\par ninth verses of Zechariah's very next chapter say, that, while "two\par parts of the nation shall be cut off and die," the third part shall be\par left,--"refined as silver" and "tried as gold is tried. They shall\par call o;n My name, and I will hear them: I will say. It is My people;\par and they shall say, Jehovah is my God."\par \par "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord!"--and not the false\par dreams of men that tell you "God is through with Israel forever." They\par make God a liar when they say that! For read Jeremiah 31:23-40: What\par does God mean otherwise than what He plainly says in that passage?\par [229] Thank God, that while the Gentiles are going into darker\par unbelief every day, there will be a spared Remnant of Israel!\par \par Verse 24: Thou, a wild olive, grafted contrary to nature into a good\par olive tree--In the process of grafting we select a shoot of a\par fruit-bearing limb of a desirable tree, and opening the bark of an\par inferior tree of the same species, we insert the shoot, tying it in\par well. Then, behold, this inferior tree supplies sap to this good\par shoot, but the engrafted shoot goes on to bear its own good variety\this reason that Paul addresses us here as "Gentiles." [230]\par Paul is claiming nothing for the Jewish believer as over against the\par Gentile believer,--in Romans Eleven. He even says to the Galatians: "I\par beseech you, brethren, become as I am, for I also am as ye are." But\par inasmuch as God had lodged His promises in Abraham and in his Seed\par ("which is Christ"), Paul in all faithfulness must not only tear up by\par the roots the Jewish hopes based on natural descent, and refer all to\par God's sovereign grace; but he must also tell us Gentiles the facts.\par Those eight wonderful points of advantage spoken of by Paul at the\par beginning of Chapter Nine as pertaining to Israel (and which still do\par pertain to them), he cannot allow us Gentiles to ignore, lest we come\par into a sense of personal importance (such as puffed up Israel), and\par say, Branches were broken off that we might be grafted in.\par \par Now God did not, does not, mak?e Israelites out of us Gentiles! He had\par a secret purpose kept from all the ages--of giving to His Son a Bride\par composed of Jewish and Gentile believers who should be received as\par mere guilty sinners, on purely grace grounds; and should have the\par highest calling of any creatures--to be members of Christ Himself,--a\par thing never promised to Israel.\par \par While not speaking here of our heavenly calling in Christ, Paul yet\par must tell us plainly that Israel were the natural, earthly branches of\par the tree of promise, some of which, through their unbelief, were\par broken off. It is the matter of sharing Divine mercy, and not of the\par Christian calling, which is being discussed.\par \par Let us ask ourselves, and frankly answer, these questions:\par \par Did God once have a house on earth?\par \par The answer must be. Yes.\par \par Where? At Jerusalem, certainly. Our Lord at the beginning of His\par ministry called that t@emple "My Father's house"; and at the end of His\par ministry "My house"; and finally said to the blind leaders of Israel:\par "Your house is left unto you desolate."\par \par Will God restore to Israel His earthly House?\par \par He will, as we know, at Christ's coming back to earth. And we are told\par it will be upon Mount Zion in Jerusalem. See James' prophecy in Acts\par 15, quoted from Amos 9:11, 12.\par \par But meanwhile, between our Lord's absence in Heaven and His second\par coming, does God have a house?\par \par We know that He does.\par \par What is that house? Paul says that the Church (ekklesia) is now God's\par House. "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to\par behave themselves in the house of God, which is the Church of the\par living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15). The\par house of God is the Church of the Living God. Here God the Holy Spirit\par dwells both in individual believAers, Jew and Gentile; and also, in a\par corporate way, in the Assembly of God's saints.\par \par This House was formed first on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy\par Spirit came down to dwell in those believers. And from thence: "From\par Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of\par the earth"--"where two or three are gathered" in the name of Christ.\par \par Will this Church or Assembly ever be connected with Israel?\par \par In no wise! Christ has built His Assembly, the Church, and is building\par it. But He first broke down the middle wall of partition, "the Law of\par commandments, in ordinances"--the thing which differentiated Israel\par from Gentiles: and in which Israel gloried. From both Jewish and\par Gentile believers Christ is now creating ONE NEW MAN!\par \par But whence do these blessings come?\par \par From the promises made to Abraham! Abraham was the root, and from the\par promises to him comes tBhe fatness.\par \par But after the Church has been taken to Heaven, God will again bless\par Israel.\par \par 25 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest\par ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath\par befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be Come in; 26 and\par so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written,\par \par There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;\par \par He shall turn away ungodlinesses from Jacob:\par \par 27 And this is the covenant from Me unto them,\par \par When I shall take away their sins.\par \par 28 As touching the gospel, they are enemies for your sake: but as\par touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. 29 For\par the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of. 30 For as ye in\par time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by\par their disobedience, 31 even so have these also now been disobedient,\paCr that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy. 32 For\par God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that He might have mercy upon\par all.\par \par Verse 25: For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this\par mystery--Note that in saying "brethren," Paul is speaking now to the\par saints as such: for even real saints, while not to be "cut off," may\par become "puffed up." Now we have elsewhere remarked that God had\par certain secrets, which He tells His saints,--and of which they do not\par well to be ignorant,--as, alas, so many of them are! Here then, is\par stated to us one of these Divine mysteries, or secrets: and it will\par protect us from Gentile pride, in these days of the dazzling greatness\par of the Gentile times depicted in Daniel (e.g., Dan. 2 and 3)--lest ye\par be wise in your own conceits (as behold the vauntings of a blind\par Hitler [231] and his Gentile "Aryans," and the boastings of a\par Mussolini of DRoman-Gentile-greatness!) that a hardening in part hath\par befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.\par \par Note here:\par \par 1. There is a definite fulness of Gentiles--the very number of which\par God knoweth--to "come in," that is, to be saved: for this word\par "fulness" is not spoken as to privilege, but as to election.\par \par 2. In order for these Gentiles to come in, a "hardening," judicial and\par sovereign, hath befallen national Israel.\par \par 3. All talk, therefore, of Israel's national turning to the Lord,\par until this Gentile fulness be come in, is vain. The fearful days of\par Armageddon will have to come, ere Israel, nationally turns to God.\par Read Zechariah 12-14.\par \par 4. Israel's hardening is in part,--for some, "the Remnant according to\par the election of grace," are now being saved. National hardening is in\par view here.\par \par And so--after this Divinely revealed order, we read,\Epar \par Verse 26: And so all Israel shall be saved--This is the real, elect,\par spared nation of the future,--"those written unto life" (Dan. 12:1;\par Isa. 4:3, margin). The mystery comprehends this fact (as we have said\par above, and as the apostle amplifies in verse 31) for the salvation of\par national Israel was impossible, except on purely grace lines. God had\par given them the Law: that was necessary to reveal sin. But they utterly\par failed. Now comes in the fulness of the Gentiles--by grace: and so,\par after that, and on the same grace line as were the Gentiles, all\par Israel shall be saved! Most of that earthly nation will perish under\par Divine judgments, and the Antichrist: but the Remnant will be\par "accounted as a generation." Our Lord told His disciples that this\par present unbelieving generation of Israel would not pass away till all\par the terrible judgments He foretold would be fulfilled. But that that\par generation--"IFsrael after the flesh" will pass away we know; and a\par believing generation take their place. See Psalm 22:30; 102:18.\par Jehovah at last "arises, and has pity on her,--for the set time has\par come!" So we read the Psalmist's words:\par \par \par "This shall be written for the generation to come;\par \par And a people which shall be created shall praise Jehovah."\par \par This is the real Israel of God, of whom it is written, "All Israel\par shall be saved."\par \par Verses 26, 27: And now, as is usual with Paul, the Old Testament\par prophecies of Isaiah throng into his mind, by the Spirit:\par \par There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;\par \par He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:\par \par And this is the covenant from Me,\par \par When I shall take away their sins.\par \par There are three aspects of Christ's second coming: (1) For the Rapture\par of the Church; (2) For the Judgment of the Nations; (3) For theG\par Deliverance of Israel.\par \par The second of these aspects, Christ's coming to judge the nations, has\par been recognized through the centuries, almost to the exclusion of the\par first and third aspects of our Lord's coming. Christ has been regarded\par as the Judge; and this of course He will be, as Revelation Nineteen\par shows Him,--"King of kings, and Lord of lords--in righteousness\par judging and making war," "treading the winepress of the fierceness of\par the wrath of God, the Almighty." But the creeds of Christendom have\par taught one "general judgment," and thus they have overlooked two most\par essential things: first, The special relationship of Christ's coming\par to His real Church; and second, The relationship of His coming to the\par nation of Israel, and to the elect spared Remnant of that nation--to\par the real Israel.\par \par Concerning the first, the Rapture of the Church, we have only to read\par I Thessalonians 4H:13-17:\par \par "--The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with\par the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead\par in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left,\par shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the\par Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." And also:\par "--We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a\par moment, in the twinking of an eye, at the last trump: for the\par trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,\par and we shall be changed" (I Cor. 15:50 ff).\par \par To whom does this phase of His coming refer? We read in Eph. 5 that\par Christ will "present the Church unto Himself, a glorious Church, not\par having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing"; and that "we wait for a\par Savior from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall fashion anew the\par body of our humiliation, that Iit may be conformed to the body of His\par glory" (Phil. 3:20, 21); and that Paul called those whom he had won to\par Christ as his "hope and crown of glorying before our Lord Jesus, at\par His coming" (I Thess. 2:19). Now the calling of the Church and that of\par Israel are never confused in Scripture. Israel as a nation does not\par belong to heaven, but to the land which God has given them forever, by\par a solemn covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this "Rapture,"\par or catching of the Church up to Christ, is a hope belonging to the\par Church: not to Israel.\par \par The third stage of our Lord's return is for the restoration of Israel\par to that Divine favor connected with the "New Covenant" and the\par national "taking away their sins." This presupposes the absence from\par earth of the Church: for God cannot have the two testimonies on earth\par at the same time! In the Church there is no distinction of Jew or\par Greek, neither hJas the Church outward religious ceremonial service\par (latreia), which belongs to Israel (Rom. 9:4). Furthermore, the Church\par has a commission to all nations, including Israel, to evangelize them.\par None of these things can belong to the Church when Israel shall have\par been restored. The Church will have been caught up to meet the Lord in\par the air (I Thess. 4:17), and will have glorified bodies like Christ's;\par while Israel will be His nation upon the earth, in Palestine.\par \par Then what about Israel's hope? All through the prophets, we find their\par hope is to be gathered back to their own land, and established there\par with their Messiah in their midst--Jehovah "dwelling with them in\par majesty"; their eyes "seeing the King in His beauty"; and complete and\par eternal deliverance there from all their enemies and from all their\par own iniquities. So verse 26 reads: There shall come out of Zion the\par Deliverer. Hear what James tellKs us in Acts 15 in giving the\par dispensational program of God (which no denominational "standards" nor\par "a millennial" sophistry can change!): "Brethren, hearken unto me:\par Simeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out\par of them a people for His name." (The present dispensation). "And to\par this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written:\par \par \par "After these things I will return,\par \par And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen;\par \par And I will build again the ruins thereof,\par \par And I will set it up:\par \par That the residue of men may seek after the Lord,\par \par And all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called,\par \par Saith the Lord, Who maketh these things known from of old."\par \par (From the First Church Council Records: Acts 15:13-18.)\par \par Now even instructed Christians, who know about the Rapture of the\par Church, and the Judgment of the LLord upon the nations shortly after\par that Rapture, when He comes on down to earth, are apt to neglect or\par under-emphasize the fact that He comes to earth for the Deliverance of\par His people Israel. But the prophets are full of this subject. Perhaps\par no passage is more overwhelming than the last chapter of Habakkuk--the\par prophet's marvelous vision of our Lord's glorious return! [232]\par \par It is a picture of the Remnant of Israel, who put their trust in\par Jehovah amid the overwhelming awfulness of the "Great Tribulation";\par the stupendous signs in sun, moon, and stars at the end of that Great\par Tribulation; and the unutterable glory and majesty of the Day of\par Wrath. Read 46th Psalm(R. V. is better). It is again the godly Remnant\par of Israel, in those days.\par \par We have just listened to the coronation ceremonies of the King of\par England (1937), and have been deeply moved, and filled with\par thanksgiving that God has Mpreserved to this day an Empire that\par publicly acknowledges the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We\par pray for the continuance of that Empire as long as it be God's will,\par for the British flag wherever flown has protected the gospel of\par Christ.\par \par Nevertheless, dark days are coming, when all nations, under the direct\par influence of. demonic powers, will be "gathered together unto the war\par of the great day of God the Almighty," "into the place which is called\par in Hebrew Har-Magedon"-- gathered "to cut off Israel from being a\par nation" (Rev. 16:12-16; Ps. 83:4; Zech. 14; Joel 3:9-15). But while we\par read:\par \par "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of\par Jehovah is near in the valley of decision! The sun and the moon are\par darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And Jehovah will roar\par from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the\par earth shalNl shake" (Joel 3:14-16)--\par \par We also read these words of comfort from God to Israel:\par \par "But Jehovah will be a refuge unto His people, and a stronghold to the\par children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God,\par dwelling in Zion my holy mountain." [233]\par \par We make no excuse for spending time here, for the Holy Spirit devotes\par very many pages to this exact subject of Jehovah's, Deliverance of His\par people Israel by the coming back to earth to them of their Messiah in\par great power and glory.\par \par Let us then study these three phases or aspects of our Lord's return\par with balanced time and care: the Rapture of the Church; the Judgment\par of the Nations; and the Deliverance of Israel.\par \par Verse 27: weThis is the covenant from Me when I shall take away their\par sins-- give the literal rendering. It will be no longer a conditional\par covenant, as at Sinai; but one of grace--"from ME!" See JerOemiah 31;\par [234] Ezekiel 36 and 37; and Daniel 9:24,--in which we see six\par distinct blessings come to Israel at the end of the Divine\par "indignation" against His nation; Isaiah 32:1, 8, 16, 20; all of\par Isaiah 35. This is the "New Covenant" of Jeremiah 31, quoted in Heb.\par 8:8 to 12. It will not be "according to the covenant that God made\par with their fathers." Blessing will not depend then on man's obedience;\par but it will; be sovereign mercy, at last extended to a whole spared\par nation (Jer 31:33, 34; Rom. 11:28, 29).\par \par Verse 28: We should remember two things,, always, when we see an\par Israelite: first, As touching the gospel, they are enemies for your\par sake; and second: As touching the election, they are beloved for the\par fathers' sake (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Gentile believers are so\par prone to forget both these things, especially if they behold a poor\par wretched son of Israel, or a proud and self-vauntingP one, or even a\par wealthy one! Anti-Semitism, or Jew-hatred, arises, first, from Gentile\par rebellion against the Divine national election of Israel; and second,\par from envy toward them because of their wealth and power. Let no\par Christian give way to anti-Semitism. Of course, we must "judge\par righteous judgment," form unbiased opinions, of their beliefs; for\par many of them, like Spinoza in rationalism, and Marx and Engels in\par Communism, have been peculiarly used of the devil. Nevertheless, we\par dare not yield to Gentile hatred of Israelites. For our Lord is, after\par the flesh, of Israel; and God has vast gracious blessing for them\par shortly!\par \par Verse 29: For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of (by\par Him). These words are a source of endless joy. We may trust a God who\par refuses to allow the utter failure of Israel--nay, the idolatrous\par wickedness and apostasy of Israel--to alter His determination ofQ\par blessing. The "gifts" are such as were recited in Chapter 9:4, 5; and\par the "calling" is, that Israel is a holy nation unto God Himself. And\par He will see that it is so, not only in the coming kingdom, the\par Millennium; but in the new creation: "For as the new heavens and the\par new earth, which I will make,.shall remain before Me, saith Jehovah,\par so shall your seed and your name Israel remain" (Isa 66:22).\par \par Verses 30-32: For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now\par have obtained mercy by their [Israel's] disobedience, even so have\par these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you\par [Gentiles] they also may now obtain mercy. For God hath shut up all\par unto disobedience that He might have mercy upon all--God brings in the\par principle upon which He will bless Israel when He makes His New\par Covenant with them at Christ's second coming. It seems that we\par Gentiles are to be to Israel an eRxample of Divine mercy, by which at\par last they will understandingly see the "heart of mercy" of their God!\par (Luke 1:78, margin).\par \par Our Gentile history is summed up in the words "disobedient to God";\par our present position in the words: "have obtained mercy by their\par [Israel's] disobedience"; and now Israel nationally have been more\par disobedient even than the Gentiles: disobedient to God's Law, to His\par warning prophets, to His own dear Son, their Messiah, whom they\par crucified; to the witness of the Spirit through Stephen and the\par apostles of the resurrection of the Messiah. But at last they will\par "obtain mercy," [235] a new principle for them!\par \par Having proved utterly disobedient, having lost all claim on God, they\par will at last be met by God on the same great principle of mercy, and\par mercy alone. So that in the future age, the Millennium, and on\par forever, [236] this nation will carry in its heart the Stwo great\par principles that give God all the glory: first, that they were beloved\par of Jehovah, who had set His love upon them, the only reason being in\par Himself. "Because Jehovah loveth you, and because He would keep the\par oath which He sware unto your fathers" (Deut. 7:7, 8). Second, the\par consciousness of their own complete failure: of a history of\par ingratitude, rebellion, wickedness, idolatry, refusal of instruction\par and correction, and finally, of despising and rejecting their own\par Messiah (II Chron. 36:14-16; Ps. 106). They will be brokenly conscious\par forever of being the objects of the absolute uncaused mercy of Jehovah\par their God! Thus they will be able to trust and rejoice in Jehovah, as\par the true Church-saint now trusts and rejoices and glories in God as\par the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who associated us with His own Son\par in the same sovereign mercy!\par \par It must be carefully marked and deeply ponTdered, this great account of\par sovereign mercy,--mercy first to us, and by and by to Israel,--"the\par MERCIES of God," by means of which God will win our hearts,\par "beseeching us" by His apostle, to present our bodies a living\par sacrifice to Him (12:1). It is not only that God has dealt with us in\par grace,--unearned favor; but that He has shown mercy when all was\par hopeless! We may venture to say that it is only in those who learn to\par regard themselves as the objects of the Divine mercy, of uncaused\par Divine compassion, that the deepest foundations for godliness of life\par will be, or can be, laid.\par \par Now the apostle bursts forth into most rapturous utterance concerning\par the ways of God--in view of His mercies;--as shown to us as traced in\par Chapters One to Eight; and yet to be shown to Israel, as told in\par Chapters Nine to Eleven:\par \par 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of\par GoUd! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing\par out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His\par counsellor? 35 or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be\par recompensed unto Him again? 36 For of Him, and through Him, and unto\par Him, are all things I To Him be the glory unto the ages! Amen.\par \par When one turns from the contemplation of what we have been reading in\par Romans to man's poor books,--there is immediate revulsion and constant\par weariness! The poverty! the shallowness! of this world!--whether its\par philosophy, its science, its poetry, yea, or its religion, all is\par vanity! As Paul says, "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with\par God"; "The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise that they are vain"\par (I Cor. 3:19, 20).\par \par Verse 33: Paul is overwhelmed at the depth of the riches both of the\par wisdom and the knowledge of God;--and here is where we all join Paul:\pVar in adoring contemplation of God's counsels,--the wisdom with which He\par brings them forth, and the knowledge of man and of his heart and his\par history, past, present, and future, that He displays in it all.\par \par Verse 34: For who hath known the mind of the Lord? None, till He\par choose to unfold it! We are, as we see in verse 25, ignorant of God's\par secrets; and we have no means, except He please to tell us, of\par discovering His mind. Bless God that He has "made known unto us the\par secret ["the mystery"] of His will, according to His good pleasure\par which He purposed in Christ" (Eph. 1:9). Men today come from Italy and\par boast loudly if they have had a talk with the "dictator" there; or\par from Germany, and say, The great "leader" of Germany let me in to his\par plans; or from Washington, and boast that they have had "inside\par information" concerning those that are prominent there. But what are\par these rulers all? Bits of Wdust! God declares that in His sight the\par nations are "accounted as the small dust of the balance," and that\par "the rulers of this age are coming to nothing" (Isa. 40:15; I Cor.\par 2:6).\par \par Now may God give us grace to realize at least a little of our mighty\par privilege in having revealed to us the mind of the Lord, the God of\par hosts.\par \par \par "Thus saith Jehovah,\par \par Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,\par \par Neither let the mighty man glory in his might,\par \par Let not the rich man glory in his riches;\par \par But let him that glorieth glory in this,\par \par That he hath understanding, and knoweth Me,\par \par That I am Jehovah who exerciseth loving kindness,\par \par Justice, and righteousness, in the earth:\par \par For in these things I delight,\par \par Saith Jehovah" (Jer. 9:23, 24).\par \par Or who hath been His counsellor? As God said to Job: "Where wast thou\par when I laidX the foundations of the earth?" We know, if we are\par Christ's, that we are in Him, of whom Isaiah wrote, "His name shall be\par called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince\par of Peace" (Isa. 9:6). Of Christ God speaks: He is "The Man that is my\par Fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts" (Zech. 13:7). Christ has been made the\par Wisdom of God unto us: there is no other real wisdom! When the present\par creation has passed away,--with the very "laws" that are said to\par "govern" it; and God creates a new heaven and a new earth, all but\par God's saints will be eternally ignorant! For all the natural man knows\par is the present creation: whereas of the new creation God says,\par "Behold, I make all things new!" This will include the very mode and\par manner of existence: and what does "science" know about that? Of our\par Lord's resurrection body, for example! And with none of God's saints,\par or of His angels, or of the seraphim orY the cherubim, took He counsel,\par when He created all things! Nor does He take counsel of any, in the\par New Creation!\par \par Verse 35: Or who hath first given to Him and it shall be recompensed\par unto Him again? How beautifully this puts us in our place! "What hast\par thou that thou didst not receive? And if thou hast received it, why\par dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" (I Cor. 4:7). Men\par love to think of themselves as "creators" of this and of that. But man\par has created nothing. He is the user, for a few days, of this present\par creation of God. He may even "discover" some substance or force that\par God long since created. Man must needs boast of his "inventions," his\par "creations," his greatness, and especially his "progress." But alack,\par the undertaker comes along and hauls him away!\par \par Yes, says Paul, if somebody has actually supplied something to God,\par God will quickly recompense him! He will bZe in no creature's debt!\par \par Verse 36: For of Him (God)--as the one great Cause and Source; and\par through Him as the mighty Worker who without creature-assistance\par brings into effect, into realization, one by one. His counsels; and\par unto Him as the right and proper, and necessary object and end--(for\par how could a creature be a final object?--it would ruin the\par creature--make a Satan of him; and it would be unrighteous for the\par creature to be made the end or object of the glory of the\par Creator!)--are all things--note, all things! In this the saints exult!\par Against this, the serpent and his seed constantly fight and war. If\par Satan cannot get himself worshipped, he will beget in man's wicked\par mind a philosophy of "evolution"--a theory that all things came about\par by blind uncaused "development." But men, professing themselves to be\par wise, always become "fools." [237]\par \par All things--The sun, the moon, the st[ars of light, the earth, the\par atmosphere, the trees, the animals, our bodies,--for those who study\par the human frame agree with David, "I am fearfully and wonderfully\par made!" Our minds,--with powers, as Locke says "capable of almost\par anything."\par \par \par "Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?\par \par Or who hath given understanding to the mind?"\par \par (Job 38:36).\par \par Our spirits also,--which can be spoken to directly by the Spirit of\par God Himself, putting us thus into intelligent conversation with the\par infinite Creator of all things: Yea, "of Him, through Him, unto Him\par are all things!"\par \par And now the ascription of His proper honor forevermore: To Him be the\par glory unto the ages! What a prospect for a redeemed sinner! In the\par ages to come--ages of worship without end, in which glory will be\par ascribed to God,--and that with ever-increasing delight! And the word\par of eager, glad heart-\consent ends it all: Amen.\par \par We find, then, in Romans Eleven:\par \par 1. That God has not cast off Israel, a Remnant being always\par preserved--this Remnant now, "the election of grace."\par \par 2. That all but the election were hardened,--to let the fulness of the\par Gentiles come in: for the purpose of provoking Israel to\par "jealousy,"--that they might discover Jehovah's mercy.\par \par 3. That although broken off from the stalk of blessing, they will be\par grafted back into "their own olive tree."\par \par 4. That this will be at the coming to Zion in Jerusalem of the Lord\par Jesus Christ; and that then a New Covenant will be made with Israel.\par \par 5. That the Gentile will be cut off from the present privilege-place,\par for not continuing in God's "goodness" (His grace to sinners); and the\par place of direct Divine blessing again be taken by Israel, who will\par return from their unbelief.\par \par 6. That this most] solemn fact should warn Gentiles against individual\par self-confidence, and especially against the fearful delusion that\par Israel has been "cast away" forever, and that the Gentiles have taken\par their place! God has made no covenants with any nation but Israel; and\par that nation He will restore, the Gentiles becoming then dependent on\par blessing, through Israel, throughout the future.\par \par 7. That instead of being unfaithful to His promises to Israel, God has\par simply exercised His sovereignty (1) in cutting off Israel for the\par present; (2) in calling in the fulness of the Gentiles on the\par principle of mercy only; (3) in taking away from Israel, whom He\par exalted and to whom He gave His law, all claims upon Him either by\par national descent, personal righteousness, or any covenant commitments\par (for they rejected their promises and crucified their Messiah) : thus\par shutting them up to the one great principle of mercy.\par \^par It cannot be too much emphasized that Chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven\par do not teach that the Church as such has succeeded the Jews in the\par place of blessing; but do show that Gentiledom has received the place\par of privilege and opportunity, and consequently of responsibility, that\par Israel once had. Through not continuing in the Divine "goodness,"\par Gentiledom will be cut off as directly blessed of God, and will be\par blessed through restored Israel only, in the future, after Christ's\par return, the Rapture of the Church, and the setting up of the\par Millennial Kingdom.\par \par This blessing of Gentiles will be much wider and greater when Israel\par is restored. But the blessing will be of another order,--and not so\par high an order as that enjoyed by believers today, who are members of\par Christ's Body! Now, "there is no difference between Jew and Greek."\par But, when the Lord returns to Zion: "In those days ten men shall take_\par hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of\par the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we\par have heard that God is with you!" (Zech. 8:23).\par \par To gather, as we now may do, in the name of the Lord Jesus and with\par the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit, and with direct communion\par with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Assembly of God, the\par Church, is indescribably a greater privilege than going as part of a\par national delegation up to Jerusalem to "worship the King, Jehovah of\par Hosts"; although at that time the glory will be openly manifest at\par Jerusalem. Then it will be walking by sight, which is ever a lower\par path than walking by faith. No Gentile--nor Israelite either, for that\par matter,--will say in the Millennium, "For me to live is Christ!" God\par has today "made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with\par Him, and made us sit in the `heavenlies in Christ Jesus." We are in\par Christ, and Christ is in us, "the hope of glory!"\par \par Alas, alas, how little do we appreciate our place as Church saints!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [218] The Eleventh of Romans should at once and forever turn us away\par from the presumptuous assertions of those who teach that God is\par "through with national Israel,"--that it has "no future as an elect\par nation" in Palestine. Mr. Philip Mauro makes the astounding\par statements: "The last word of prophecy concerning this people Israel\par as a nation was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman\par armies," and "the `all Israel' of Rom. 11:26 is the whole body of\par God's redeemed people." . . . "Zion is where the Lord Jesus is." While\par in utter blindness to the prophetic message he claims, "Paul quotes\par the words, `Behold, I lay in Zion' as being fulfilled in this present\para era (Rom. 9:33)"! "Those who insist upon what they call `literal\par fulfilment' of the promised blessings that were to come to Israel\par through Christ, have completely missed the mark!" Yet even Augustine,\par back in the fourth century, said, "Distinguish the dispensations, and\par all is easy." That there is a future for the nation of Israel in their\par land upon this earth, all faithful believers know very well. Let the\par saints steadily go forward into the increasing light, of these last\par days, no matter who turns about and takes the back track into the\par darkness of ignorance of medievalism or even the relatively faint\par dispensational light of the Reformation. I would earnestly commend\par those who desire a full discussion of Mauro's attack on\par "Dispensationalism" (for it is a typical one!) to read Dr. I. M.\par Haldeman's review of Mauro's book, "The Kingdom of God." It is able\par and unanswerable.\par \par [219] God cablls the Church His "saints," not a "people"; see Rom. 1:6,\par 7; I Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1. He never refers to the Church, as a "people,"\par or nation. I Peter 2:9 is not an exception, but rather a proof of this\par fact, for Peter is writing to the elect of the Diaspora, (the\par individual Jewish believers of the Jewish Dispersion), in Asia Minor,\par just as James also wrote, "To the twelve tribes which are of the\par Diaspora." In both James and Peter, there is still the sufference by\par God of Jewish things; as in Acts they are allowed to keep the feasts,\par and are in the temple: although these were all past, in God's sight,\par and the temple left "desolate." God was acting in great patience, with\par Jewish believers. But Paul brought a new message, that the Church was\par not earthly, nor national, nor Jewish, in any sense; but a "new body,"\par and altogether heavenly. So the Jewish saints now are called\par "partakers of a heavenly calling" (Hecb. 3:1).\par \par [220] There is always the tendency, in a faithful man of God in dark\par days, (a tendency diligently cultivated by the devil!) to imagine\par himself alone. So he hunts the solitude befitting his imagined\par solitariness. But the voice of God came to Elijah, "What doest thou\par here?" Embarrassing question, that! It should bring out every\par Christian monk from his monastery!\par \par [221] An ominous comment on this--this "table made a snare,"--is the\par story of the Last Supper: Judas was, it appears, sitting so near to\par Jesus, that "the sop," which should mark the betrayer, was handed to\par him without attracting the attention of the rest. (It has been my own\par belief that, while John was sitting on one side of our Lord, Judas was\par on the other side! It was the hideous presumption of callous sin.)\par "And after the sop, then entered Satan into him." And, "having\par received the sop, he went out . . . and it was dnight" (John 13:21-30).\par Judas typifies Israel. Indeed, he so became the spiritual\par representative of apostate Israel that rejected Christ, that we need\par only turn to that 69th Psalm, (Christ's great "reproach" Psalm) from\par which Paul is quoting here in Romans 11:9, 10, to see this. The 21st\par verse of this Psalm says, "In My thirst they gave Me vinegar to\par drink." Evidently it is Christ speaking. Then verse 22, and following:\par "Let their table become a snare,"--and through verse 28, that wicked\par generation, symbolized in Judas, is shown. And just as Satan entered\par into Judas at the table,--when he presumed most on his place as a\par chosen apostle, so it was Israel's very relationship to, knowledge of,\par and communion with, Jehovah, at their feasts and temples, that they\par presumed upon! Read Jeremiah 7:1-11.\par \par [222] Since this awful use of Isaiah 6, the gospel has no Jewish\par bounds or bonds whatever! And it eis presumption and danger, now, to\par give the Jews any other place than that of common sinners! "No\par distinction between Jew and Greek," says God. Those that preach thus,\par have God's blessing. Those that would give any special place whatever\par to Jews, since that day, do so contrary to the gospel; and, we fear,\par for private advantage. Tell Jews the truth! Their Messiah was offered\par to their nation, and rejected. And God is not offering a Messiah to\par Israel now, but has Himself rejected them: all except a "remnant," who\par leave Jewish earthly hopes, break down into sinners only, and receive\par a sinner's Savior,--not a "Jewish" one! Then they become "partakers of\par a heavenly calling."\par \par [223] How amazingly different Paul's method of "provoking the Jews to\par jealousy," from that pursued by many Jewish mission workers today! The\par Jew must have a "special" place as a Jew! In some quarters they are\par even organizingf "Jewish assemblies" and in other quarters advocating\par "the literary method of approaching Israel"! All this, we cannot but\par feel, is abominable kow-towing to Jewish flesh, and hinders their\par salvation. Jews now are common sinners, who have for the present been\par set aside nationally, and must come to rely, as individual sinners,\par hopelessly guilty and helpless, upon the shed blood of Christ, and'\par upon Him risen from the dead. It is an awful thing to make present day\par "Jewish" claims, when God says Jews are for the present, no different\par from Gentiles, before God: but are just--sinners!\par \par [224] The moment Paul says this, we know he is not addressing either\par Jewish believers or Gentile Christians as such--those "in Christ," for\par in Christ is neither Jew nor Greek. So he must be speaking to us\par Gentiles as having at present (not as the Church, but the Gentiles as\par over against the Jews) come into God's general fagvor--which the Jews\par had, but of which they are at present deprived. Gentiles, not Jews, at\par present are the field of God's operations on earth. They are favored,\par as Israel once was. And they have, therefore, like responsibilities.\par If Israel was "cut off" through unbelief, Gentiledom must beware lest\par not abiding in that "goodness" in which God has set the Gentiles (that\par is, in that direct Divine favor,--without law, or religion, in which\par Cod has put Gentiledom), it also shall be cut off! For God did not\par give Gentiledom a Law, with its "10,000 things," as He gave Israel. He\par gave Gentiledom the gospel only. He gave them Paul; and the message of\par GRACE. Now, if they go back to "religion," or if they forget or\par neglect God's great salvation, it is to desert God's "goodness"; and\par thus to be shortly "cut off." And they have done just that,--as we\par know too well! If Gentiledom has "continued" in God's uncaused grache\par and goodness, what meaneth then this bleating in our ears--of\par liturgies, masses, holy days, even prayers for the dead? What meaneth\par all this buzz of "administering sacraments," of "vestments," of "holy\par orders," of priestcraft? Why these vast cathedrals? This lavish\par outpouring for great "religious" establishments? The apostles had none\par of this! God commanded none of it. Nay, He forbade it! "The Most High\par dwelleth not in temples made with hands"! The Jews stoned Stephen, who\par dared to say so! And see the Popes burning like witnesses! And\par "Modern" Denominations turning faithful preachers out of churches! No;\par Gentiledom has deserted the "goodness" of God, for a Judao-pagan\par system With "Christian" names. And Gentiledom will be cut off.\par \par [225] It must ever be remembered that the calling of the Church, the\par Body of Christ, is a heavenly one; as Israel's is not. Though by God's\par grace partaken of ani ineffably higher place--members of Christ\par Himself, yet we, more than any, should regard Israel's coming\par blessing; for we have, as they will have, mercy: the sweetest\par conferment of God on sinners!\par \par [226] "The first scandal was the persecution of their own prophets by\par the Jews, God's own nation; the second was the hatred unto death\par against the witnesses and truth of the gospel by papal Rome (the\par professed church of God!) with its Inquisition tortures and stake; the\par third I have named above, the hatred of the Jews by professing\par Christians,--by those who professed faith in a Savior who is Himself\par "an Israelite after the flesh." I do not here mention pagan\par persecutions, either of Jews or of Christians, for such were to be\par expected. Dean Milman, in his History of the Jews, (and such a book\par could be read with great profit in these days of rising\par anti-Semitism), calls the persecution of the Jews djuring the middle\par ages "A most hideous chronicle of human cruelty (as far as my\par researches have gone,--fearfully true). Perhaps it is the most\par hideous," he goes on, "because the most continuous to be found among\par nations above the state of savages. Alas! that it should be among\par nations called Christian, though occasionally the Mohammedan\par persecutor vied with the Christian in barbarity . . . Kingdom after\par kingdom, and people after people, followed the dreadful example, [of\par hatred and persecution of the Israelites], and strove to peal the\par knell of the descendants of Israel; till at length, what we blush to\par call Christianity, with the Inquisition in its train, cleared the fair\par and smiling provinces of Spain of this industrious part of its\par population, and self-inflicted a curse of barrenness upon the\par benighted land." We may remark that the present fratricidal slaughter\par in Spain is simply a fulfillmentk of God's words to Abraham and his\par seed: "Him that curseth thee will I curse." In its persecutions both\par of Jews and of Christians, Spain sowed the wind: it is now reaping the\par whirlwind!\par \par [227] Some, who deny the eternal safety of the saints, apply the\par warning of verses 20, 21, as if it were a personal, instead of a\par generic one,--a warning to individual believers, instead of to\par Gentiledom as such. But this is not only bad theology, but a missing\par of Paul's whole point here. It is bad theology, for our Lord says of\par His sheep, that they "shall never perish" and when Paul warns\par believers of being "high-minded" (compare I Tim. 6:17 with Rom. 11:20)\par it is not to threaten doom to them, but to counsel them how to walk.\par Then, it is bad interpretation: for the whole passage in Rom.\par 11:19-24, deals not with the Church, (where there is no) distinction\par between Jew and Greek!) but with Jew-position and Gelntile-position in\par God's affairs on earth. Israel, unbelieving, was cut off for awhile\par from his place of Divine favor and blessing. Gentiledom comes into\par favor instead of Israel, for a while; and "the Church came into the\par administration of the promises in the character of Gentiles, in\par contrast with Jews." It is to a characteristic Gentile, that Paul\par speaks in Rom. 11.19: "Thou wilt say, Branches were broken off, that I\par might be grafted in." He speaks generically, to this characteristic\par Gentile, when he warns, in verse 22: "Toward thee, God's goodness, if\par thou continue in His goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be [as was\par Israel before Gentiledom] cut off." Now we know, from God's prophetic\par Word, that Gentiledom will, indeed, be cut off, as was Israel, and\par Israel be restored to his former place, as the sphere and channel of\par God's blessing to earth. So that, when Paul says, "I speak to you that\par arem Gentiles," he is talking, not to God's saints as such, much less\par to the Church which is the Body of Christ; but to Gentiledom, which\par has been given to be, in God's "goodness," the place of His blessing,\par while Israel is for the time set aside. Another proof of this is in\par the very admonition itself: "Be not highminded, but fear." If this (as\par some claim) is merely a warning to individual saints to avoid pride,\par why should it be addressed to Gentile saints only? Had Jewish\par believers no danger of pride? No; it is not of the Church at all, nor\par of His real saints, that God speaks here: but of Gentiledom.\par \par [228] "That God is withdrawing from "denominational" Christianity is\par very evident "Modernists" control some denominations completely and\par the hideous unbelief at "modernism" is infiltrating slowly every\par denomination. Honest souls familiar with the facts all know this and\par are perplexed what to do. But God nwill take care of His\par testimony,--indeed is doing so, by means of Bible conferences, Bible\par classes, and gatherings for prayer in private homes--more and more\par after the early Church pattern. As for Laodicean "property," the great\par churches, schools, libraries, and what not, the devil is falling heir\par to them fast,--which need not alarm the saints, for the early Church\par had none of these things, but Christ and the Holy Ghost and God's Word\par only!\par \par [229] It is a blessed fact that God's real saints, the true Church,\par are coming more and more, daily into the light, and back to the simple\par faith of the beginning. This is most especially evident in the\par attitude of true believers in their expectancy of the coming of the\par Lord--a spirit that characterized the early Church for 300 years!\par Nevertheless, what we say is true, as reads Isaiah: "Darkness shall\par cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples."\paro \par [230] In discussing the heavenly calling of the church in Ephesians\par 2:11-15 Paul refers to us thus: "Remember that once ye, the Gentiles\par in the flesh, who are called `Uncircumcision' by that which is called\par `Circumcision,' in the flesh, made by hands; that ye were at that time\par separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and\par strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and\par without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were\par far off are made nigh in the Mood of Christ. For He is our peace, who\par made both one, and brake down the middle wall . . . having abolished\par in His flesh the enmity, the Law of commandments . . . that He might\par create in Himself of the two ONE NEW MAN, so making peace." In the\par first part of Ephesians 2, we are seen "dead through our trespasses\par and sins," and are "made alive together with Christ, and raised up\par with Him and madpe to sit with Him in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus";\par but in the second part of the same chapter, our Gentile place as "far\par off," "aliens," is contrasted with the place of Israel, who were\par "nigh." But mark: God does not Himself recognize in Ephesians the\par distinction between circumcision and uncircumcision: He merely says\par that the Gentiles are called "Uncircumcision" by that which is called\par "Circumcision." For the circumcision had become in God's sight\par uncircumcision. "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly"; so that it\par is merely a distinction circumcised sinners made with regard to\par uncircumcised sinners. In the real fact, "There is no distinction\par (between Jew and Gentile), for all have sinned and come short of the\par glory of God."\par \par [231] "We find in Scripture (Ezekiel 38 and 39) a horrid confederation\par of evil headed by the "prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal," which Bible\par students commonly qaccept as Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk; with which is\par allied Persia, Cush, Put, Corner, and the house of Togarmah--"even\par many peoples with thee." They go to cut off re-established Israel,\par just before the Millennial days described in Ezekiel 40 to 48, Now we\par know from the Second Psalm and many other Scriptures, that the nations\par of earth will all finally rebel, and that intelligently, against\par Jehovah, and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds\par asunder, and cast away Their cords from us." We do not wonder, then,\par that these North-European nations are first to come out into open\par God-defying: Russia with its atheism, and then Hitler, with his\par arrogant anti-Scripture conceit concerning Aryans, willing to go back\par to the pagan deities of Northern Europe. The word of prophecy connects\par these northern nations--including Germany--in a great confederacy:\par however far apart they may seem to be at presentr.\par \par [232]\par \par \par God came from Teman,\par \par And the Holy One from Mount Paran.\par \par His glory covered the heavens,\par \par And the earth was full ot His praise.\par \par \par * * * *\par \par He stood, and measured the earth;\par \par He beheld, and drove asunder the nations;\par \par \par * * * *\par \par Was Jehovah displeased with the rivers?\par \par Was Thine anger against the rivers,\par \par Or Thy wrath against the sea,\par \par That Thou didst ride upon Thy horses,\par \par Upon Thy chariots of salvation?\par \par Thy bow was made quite bare;\par \par The oaths to the tribes were a sure word.\par \par Thou didst march through the land of Israel in indignation;\par \par Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.\par \par Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people [Israel],\par \par For victory with Thine Anointed [Christ].\par And then (Verse 13) there iss the smiting of "the wicked man"\par (Antichrist), and the piercing of "the head of his warriors." This is\par exactly what we find, of course, in Revelation 19:19 to 21! And see\par the faith even in those terrible days preceding Christ's return.\par \par "I heard, and my body trembled, . . .\par \par Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble [the Great\par Tribulation].\par \par For the coming up of the people that invadeth us [all nations: see\par Zechariah 14:1, 2; Joel 3:9-17].\par \par For though the fig-tree shall not flourish,\par \par The vines . . . the olive, . . . the fields . . . the flock [be] cut\par off,\par \par Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah,\par \par I will joy in the God of my salvation"*\par \par [233] The words "out of Zion shall come forth a Deliverer" have\par puzzled many, and indeed there are real difficulties here. The\par quotation is from Isaiah 59:20, "a Redeemer will come to Zion." But\par ltet us look at certain facts: There are two mountains in Jerusalem,\par one Mount Moriah, where the former temple was built; and the other,\par the higher, Mount Zion. Here, when David became king, the Jehusites\par had a stronghold. David's first desire when made king over all the\par people was to take this stronghold of the enemy (II Sam. 5:7; I Chron.\par 11:5). It was thereafter called "the city of David, which is Zion" (I\par Kings 8:1). Now in the quotation from James in Acts 15, we find that\par the Lord upon His return "will build again the tabernacle of David,"\par meaning on Mount Zion, not Moriah (for typical things shall have\par passed away). And concerning Zion we read in Isaiah 4:3, 4: "And it\par shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that\par remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is\par written among the living in Jerusalem; when the Lord shall have washed\par away the filth of the daughters uof Zion, and shall have purged the\par blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the Spirit of justice,\par and by the Spirit of burning." The expression of Rom. 11:26, 27:\par "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away\par ungodlinesses from Jacob" becomes clearer, verse 26 showing Christ\par delivering Israel from their ungodlinesses, and verse 27 showing\par Christ establishing His earthly Temple and Throne on Mount Zion, and\par "uttering His Voice" from thence. See Amos 1:2.\par \par [234] There is a beautiful view of God's mercy to His people in the\par time of the Tribulation, in Jeremiah 31:2: "Thus saith Jehovah, The\par people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even\par Israel, when he went to find him. rest" (margin). In Revelation 12:14\par we see the woman, Israel, fleeing into the wilderness and nourished\par for three years and a half in a marvelous way, as during the 40 years\par in thve wilderness in Sinai after Egypt. Note that Jeremiah says, "The\par people that were left of the sword." This cannot refer to Israel as\par coming up from Egypt, but must look toward that "Remnant" left after\par the terrible cutting off of the most of fleshly Israel, as seen in\par Ezek. 20:32-38, R.V.; Isa. 10:22, 23. This Remnant flees when\par Antichrist is revealed, and escapes death at his hands. Isaiah 16:3\par and 4, the Moabites are commanded by God to protect these fleeing ones\par of Israel; "Make thy shade as the night in the midst, of the noonday;\par hide the outcasts; betray not the fugitive. Let Mine outcasts dwell\par with thee; as for Moab, be thou a convert to him from the face of the\par destroyer." The words immediately following, "For the extortioner is\par brought to nought, destruction ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed\par out of the land. And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness;\par and One shall sit thereon in trwuth, in the tent of David, judging, and\par seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness"-- these words (Isa.\par 16:4, 5) reveal the Deliverance that is about to come at that time.\par \par [235] To render verse 31 (as the Latin Vulgate, Luther, Darby, and\par others, insist on doing), "been disobedient to our [Gentile] mercy,"\par not only is a straining of the text, but also wholly defeats\par understanding of the passage. The Gentile world in verse 30 is seen as\par disobedient to God, that is, living in sin and idolatry. But the\par disobedience of the Jews, (verse 31), was the rejection of their\par Messiah and particularly of the apostolic testimony of His\par resurrection. When the Jews believed, it was called "being obedient to\par the faith" (Acts 6:7); and, "God hath Riven the Holy Spirit to them\par that obey Him" in believing (Acts 5:32). Notice that the question of\par Gentile salvation had not at that time come up at all! In the\par x synagogue at Ephesus some of the Jews were "hardened and disobedient,\par speaking evil of the Way" (Acts 19:9). It was rejecting the way of\par salvation by faith apart from works, and faith in God's message\par concerning the Christ whom their nation had rejected and\par crucified--this constituted Jewish disobedience. Romans 11:32 must be\par connected with Galatians 3:22: "The Scripture shut up all things under\par sin, that the promise of faith in Christ Jesus might be given to them\par that believe," with "God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that He\par might have mercy upon all." This does not make God the author of\par disobedience;--man, whether Gentile or Jew, is responsible for that.\par As for the Gentiles, God, since Babel, "suffered all the nations to\par walk in their own ways" (Acts 14:16). Then He met them in the way of\par sovereign mercy, which they were not seeking. As for the Jews, God\par brought them unto Himself, gave them Hiys Law, sent His prophets and\par His Son, and they despised all, even the offer of national pardon.\par Thus, the Jews were "disobedient" to God's way with them. But, by the\par example of Gentile mercy, they also will obtain mercy.\par \par [236] But there is another deep truth also; Christ was made to become\par sin, and died unto sin, and unto all connection with man in sin. When\par our Lord was raised as the First-born from among the dead, it was in\par the "power of an endless life." He showed Himself alive, indeed, to\par His disciples, saying, "Handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh\par and bones, as ye behold me having" (Luke 24:39), and He even ate with\par them. Nevertheless, His body was on resurrection ground, as heavenly\par as His spirit. And we shall have bodies like unto His glorious body,\par but it will be only when we shall be "changed," at our Lord's coming;\par when "this corruptible puts on incorruption, and this mortal puzts on\par immortality." Even as regards God's counsels toward the spared Remnant\par of Israel during the Millennium, as well as toward all the\par earth,--while the eyes of the Remnant shall "see the King in His\par beauty," and His glory shall be seen over the millennial temple by all\par nations; yet, as it seems to me, not until after the Millennium, will\par even Israel share that new creation place that the Church now, and the\par saints of Revelation 20:4, enter on before and during the Millennium.\par See Isaiah 65:17, 18; 66:22. Of course, both the Remnant and those of\par the nations who bow in real worship during the Millennium, will share\par spiritual life in Christ, for then will be completely fulfilled\par Pentecost, which Isaiah describes as the time when "the Spirit is\par poured out on us from on high" (Isa. 32:15); but it is not until "the\par new heaven and the new earth" wherein the seed and name of Israel\par shall remain (Isa. {66:22), that even that nation will be fully on new\par creation ground, such as the Church, members of Christ, are now as to\par their spirits, and will be shortly, as to their bodies, at the\par Rapture. When today poor blinded Jewish rabbis and elders claim "Jesus\par of Nazareth" as belonging to them, as "one of their prophets,"\par "perhaps the greatest one," it causes in the heart of the instructed\par Christian, only a lament. Christ was indeed, as to His flesh, born of\par them; but they rejected and crucified Him; and He is passed into a new\par creation, and is the last Adam, a Second Man, with whom the Jewish\par nation as such has as yet no connection, any more than have\par unbelieving Gentiles. "Except a man be born from above he CANNOT SEE\par the kingdom of God!"\par \par [237] Hear Voltaire, the brilliant French infidel in the eighteenth\par century, speak of Sir Isaac Newton (one of the greatest minds and\par godliest men of history): "Look at the mighty mind of Newton. When he\par got into his dotage he began to study the book called the Bible; and\par it seems, in order to credit its fabulous nonsense, we must believe\par (says Newton) that the knowledge of mankind will be so increased that\par we shall be able to travel at fifty miles per hour. The poor dotard!"\par (Newton had been studying and writing upon Daniel 12:4: "Many shall\par run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased," when he made this\par prediction.) At Daytona Beach, in Florida, a few miles from my home, a\par man recently traveled nearly six times fifty miles per hour! So it\par seems Voltaire was the fool, the "dotard," and not Newton! And the\par very room in which Voltaire asserted, "A hundred years after I am dead\par the Bible will be an unknown book"--is now a wareroom of the British\par and Foreign Bible Society!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } ]] %y11 Romans 11{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER ELEVEN.\par \par Israel not Finally Cast Off: an Election Saved--Paul Being Proof.\par Verses 1-6.\par \par Others Hardened,--as Scripture Foretold. Verses 7-10. "Fulness of\par Gentiles" Comes in Meanwhile. Verses 11,25,28.\par \par Gentile Salvation to Provoke Israel to "Jealousy"--Since They are the\par "Natural Branches" of the Tree of Promise. Verses 11-18.\par \par Gentiles Must Continue in Divine "Goodness"; Other' wise Gentiles to\par be "Cut Off" from Place of Present Blessing. Verses 19-25.\par \par All Real Israel to be Saved at the Return to Them of Christ Their\par "Deliverer." Verses 26-32.\par \par Rapturous Praise of the Ways of God's Wi~n Christ, with Varying Gifts. Verses 3-8.\par \par Our Walk toward Others, whether Believers, or Enemies. Verses 9 to 21.\par \par 1 I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to\par present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which\par is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this\par age: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may\par prove [in experience] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will\par of God.\par \par Verse 1: I BESEECH YOU--What an astonishing word to come from God!\par From a God against whom we had sinned, and under whose judgment we\par were! What a word to us, believers,--a race of sinners so lately at\par enmity with God,--"I beseech you!" Paul had authority from Christ to\par command us,--as he said to Philemon: "Though I have all boldness in\par Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting, yet for love's sake I\par rather beseech." Let us give heart-heed to this our apostle, who often\par covered with his tears the pages whereon he wrote. As he said of his\par ministry, "We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though\par God were entreating by us: we beseech--!"\par \par And what does he cite to move us to hearken to the great appeal for\par our devotion to God which opens this section of Romans--this part that\par calls for our response to the great unfoldings of God's salvation in\par the previous chapters? I BESEECH YOU BY THE MERCIES OF GOD!\par \par Let us call to mind these MERCIES of which Paul speaks:\par \par 1. JUSTIFICATION,--including pardon, removal of sins from us,\par trespasses never to be reckoned, a standing in Christ,--being made the\par righteousness of God in Him!\par \par 2. IDENTIFICATION--taken out of Adam by death with Christ,--dead to\par sin and to law, and now IN CHRIST!\par \par 3. UNDER GRACE, NOT LAW--Fruit unto God,--unto sanctification, made\par possible.\par \par 4. THE SPIRIT INDWELLING--"No condemnation," freedom from law of sin;\par witness of Sonship and Heirship.\par \par 5. HELP IN INFIRMITY, and in any present sufferings, on our way to\par share Christ's glory.\par \par 6. DIVINE ELECTION: Our final Conformity to Christ's Image as His\par brethren; God's settled Purpose,--in which, believers already\par glorified in God's sight!\par \par 7. COMING GLORY--beyond any comparison with present sufferings!\par \par 8. NO SEPARATION POSSIBLE--God loved us in Christ.\par \par 9. CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S FAITHFULNESS confirmed by His revealed plans\par for national Israel.\par \par Present your bodies--This has been used to divide believers harshly\par into two classes,--those who have "presented their bodies" to God, and\par those who have not. But this is not the spirit of the passage. For God\par "beseeches" us to be persuaded by His mercies. He does not condemn us\par for past neglect, nor drive us in the matter of yielding to Him. We\par must believe that these Divine mercies have persuasive powers over our\par wills. It is not that we can move our own wills; but that faith in\par God's mercies, personally shown us, has power. It is "the goodness of\par God" that moves us,--when we really believe ourselves the free\par recipients of it!\par \par So Paul beseeches us to present our bodies to God. We might have\par expected, Yield your spirits, to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. But\par Paul says, bodies. Now if a man should present his body for the\par service of another, willingly, it would carry all the man with it.\par [238] In the case of a slave, his master owns his body; so he does\par what his master says: often with inner reluctance. We are besought to\par present our bodies,--that is, willingly to do so. God, who made and\par owns us, and Christ, whose we' are (see chapter 1:6,--"called as Jesus\par Christ's")--God, I say, might have said, Come, serve Me: it is your\par duty. That would have been law. But instead, grace is reigning, over\par us, and in us; and Paul says to us, I beseech you, present your\par bodies. And there and then, in a believing view of God's mercies, we\par find our hearts going forth. For there is great drawing power in the\par knowledge that someone has loved us, and given us such Divine bounties\par as these mercies!\par \par A living sacrifice--This is in contrast with those slain offerings\par Israel brought to God. God's service is freedom, not slavery; life,\par not death. Holy, acceptable unto God--We remember that God said of\par Israel's offerings: "Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy" (Ex.\par 29:37). It is very blessed to know that any believer's yielding his\par body to God is called a "holy, acceptable sacrifice,"--well-pleasing\par unto God Himself! That any creature should be able to offer what could\par "please" the infinite Creator, is wonderful; but that such wretched,\par fallen ones as the sons of men should do so, is a marvel of which only\par the gracious God Himself knows the depth!\par \par Which is your spiritual service--Here "spiritual" or "intelligent"\par religious service (logike latreia) is contrasted with that outward\par religious service Israel had in former days. They had the temple, with\par its prescribed rites, its "days, and months, and seasons and years,"\par its ordinances and ceremonial observances. Indeed, it was right that\par they should carry out these ordinances as God directed. But, while it\par was "religious service" (which is what latreia means), it was not\par intelligent service. It was not logike latreia; but consisted of\par "shadows of the good things to come" (Heb. 10:1-14). There was a\par ceaseless round of "services"; but God dwelt in the darkness of the\par Holy of Holies; and sin was not yet put away. But now Christ has come,\par propitiation has been made; Christ has been raised; the Holy Spirit\par has come; and "intelligent service" is now possible. And giving over\par our bodies to God is the path into it. [239]\par \par Verse 2: And be not fashioned according to this world (literally, age,\par aion). This present age, Paul calls "evil," declaring in Galatians 1:4\par that our Lord Jesus Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might\par deliver us out of this present evil age (aion) according to the will\par of our God and Father." Believers, before they were saved, "walked\par according to the course of this world [literally, "according to the\par age (aion) of this world-order"--cosmos) according to the prince of\par the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2). Here you have the cosmos, or\par world-order, since Adam sinned; and since then each particular phase\par of the Satanically arranged and controlled world-order now on, called\par  the aion. In I Corinthians 7:31, this is called the\par "fashion,"--literally, scheme, of this world-order. "We know," writes\par John, "that we are of God, and the whole world [lit., world-order],\par lieth in the evil one." It is necessary to grasp intelligently this\par fearful state of things, in order to obey the apostle's exhortation\par not to be conformed to it: a world-order without God!\par \par We read that Cain "went out from the presence of Jehovah and builded a\par city" (Gen. 4), which became filled with inventions--"progress":\par music, arts; its whole end being to forget God,--to get along without\par Him. And ever since, Satan has developed this fatal world-order, with\par its philosophy, (man's account of all things,--but changing from time\par to time); it's science (ever seeking to eliminate the supernatural);\par its government (with man exalting himself); its amusements (adapted to\par blot out realities from the mind); and its religion (to soothe man's\par conscience and allay fears of judgment).\par \par The Spirit by Paul asks the saints not to be fashioned [240] after\par this [Satanic] order of things, but on the contrary to be transformed\par by the renewing of their mind. The word for "transformed" is\par remarkable: our word "metamorphosis" is the same word, letter for\par letter! In Matthew 17:2 it is used of Christ: "He was transfigured,"\par which Luke 9:29 explains: "The fashion of His countenance was\par altered." That is, from the lowly, despised One in whom was "no\par beauty" to attract the eye of man, He was transformed to appear as He\par will appear at His return to this earth (for of His coming and kingdom\par the transfiguration was a figure, II Pet. 1:16-18). Thus Psalm 45\par depicts Him at His second advent:\par \par \par "Thou art fairer than the children of men:\par \par Grace is poured into Thy lips!"\par \par Infinite, endless grace, beauty, and glory, will then be publicly\par displayed in Christ.\par \par Now, to be "transformed" or "transfigured" into the image of Christ is\par the blessed path and portion of the surrendered believer in the midst\par of this present evil world. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding\par as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same\par image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit" (II Cor.\par 3:18). Note that neither in world-conformity, nor in Christian\par transformation, are we the actors: the verbs are passive, in both\par cases. It is, "Be not fashioned," and "Be transformed." In the first\par case, Satan and the world have abundant power, they know to fashion\par anyone found willing; But how are we to be transformed? The answer is,\par By the renewing of your mind; and here we come again upon that\par wonderful part of our salvation which is carried on by the Holy\par Spirit; and we must look at it attentively.\par \par Paul sweepingly describes this salvation as follows (Titus 3:5): "God\par according to His mercy saved us, through the washing of regeneration\par (1) and (2) renewing of the Holy Spirit." Here the first action\par signifies the whole application to us of the redemptive work of\par Christ,--the "loosing from our sins in His blood" (Rev. 1:5), and the\par imparting to us of Christ's risen life so that we were made partakers\par of what is called here "regeneration." [241] Then the second action is\par called a "renewing," and is carried on by the Holy Spirit. Now what\par does this signify? It cannot refer to our spirits, for our spirits\par were born, created anew, under the first action here described; so\par that we were put into Christ, as says II Corinthians 5:17: "If any man\par be in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away;\par behold, they are become new." And, "That which is born of the Spirit,\par  is spirit" (John 3:6). Nor can this "renewing" refer to our bodies;\par for, although they are indeed quickened and sustained by the\par indwelling Spirit, according to Romans 8:11; yet there is never a hint\par (but quite the contrary), that the believer's body will be "renewed"\par during this present life.\par \par There remains then to be the object of this "renewing," the soul,\par which includes the mind, with its thoughts; the imagination,--so\par untamed naturally, the sensibilities or "feelings"; the "tastes," or\par natural preferences,--all which, since the fall of Adam, are naturally\par under the influence and power of the sinful flesh, and must be\par operated upon by the Holy Spirit, after one's regeneration. The\par memory, also, must be cleansed of all unclean, sinful recollections.\par And that it is the soul that is renewed, [242] is abundantly confirmed\par both from Scripture and from human experience.\par \par Man, we remember, "became a living soul," after his body had been\par formed, and there had been communicated to him a spirit, by God's\par direct in-breathing (Gen. 2:7). Man's spirit dwelt in his body; but\par the body itself could not contact understandingly the world into which\par Adam had been introduced. Nor could his spirit do so directly. The\par soul-life, however, put him in touch with creation. It had five\par "senses": sight, hearing, feeling, smell, and taste. Man's spirit was\par thus put into intelligent relationship with the creation about him. He\par had also another faculty,--reason. The spirit of man perceives things\par directly,--apart from a "process of thought." But God placed man in\par circumstances in which he could use this faculty of observation and\par discrimination,--of reasoning,--which faculty he was to employ as to\par the creation about him. There were also the "sensibilities," and the\par esthetic faculty,--to see the beautiful and enjoy it. Imagination,\par too,--what a fertile field for unspiritual, earthly life! Memory,\par also, we must not overlook, for although memory belongs to the spirit\par (even to lost spirits,--Luke 16:25), yet since man sinned, the memory\par of saved people must be "renewed," so that freedom -from horrid\par recollections shall be given, and the blessed inclination to retain\par that which is good, remain.\par \par The whole "mind," therefore must become the object of the Spirit's\par renewing power. The entire soul-life, in human existence, must come\par under the Spirit's control.\par \par Paul's word, "the renewing of the mind," takes in the whole sphere of\par conscious life for the child of God. This also appears from the use of\par the word "renew" by Paul in other places. The "new man" being a new\par creation in Christ, all the graces and beauties of Christ belong to\par him; just as, before, the evil he inherited from the first Adam was\par his, because he was federally connected with him. Now, however, he is\par to "put on" the new man by simple appropriating faith. But, in order\par that he may do this, his soul-life must be laid hold of, "renewed," by\par the Holy Spirit: "That ye put away, as concerning your former manner\par of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit:\par and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new\par man, [243] that after God hath been created in righteousness and\par holiness of truth" (Eph. 4:22-24).\par \par Paul further develops this in Col 3:9 and 10:\par \par "Ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the\par new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge, after the image of\par Him that created him."\par \par The Colossians are viewed as having put off the old man (when they\par were created in Christ), and put on the new man (which hath been\par created in righteousness and holiness of truth), and is now ever being\par renewed unto perfect knowledge (epignosis), that experimental,\par spiritual revelation of the Risen Christ which Paul so coveted for the\par Ephesians, as we see in his great prayer ending thus:\par \par "That ye may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge; that\par ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:19).\par \par These three distinct aspects of sanctification therefore appear:\par \par 1. That effected and perfected once for all by our Lord in His death:\par "We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus\par Christ once for all . . . For by one offering He hath perfected\par forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:10, 14). This is the effect\par of the shed blood of Christ: it has satisfied all Divine claims\par against us, and has redeemed us from sin unto God, separating us unto\par God forever with an absolute, infinite tie.\par \par 2. That which results necessarily from our being in Christ\par Risen,--"new creatures" in Him. Thus the Corinthians, though in their\par spiritual condition and experience yet "babes in Christ," are\par addressed by the apostle as those "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (I Cor.\par 1:2).\par \par 3. That wrought in the mind, the soul-life, and its faculties, by the\par Holy Spirit, who seeks to bring "every thought into captivity to the\par obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5).\par \par The first two aspects are fundamental, and equally true of all\par believers. The third, Paul longed to have brought about fully in all\par believers: "Admonishing every man and teaching every man in all\par wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ" (Col 1:28).\par \par \par "Come ye out from among them [unbelievers] and be ye separate, saith\par the Lord,\par \par And touch no unclean thing,\par \par And I will receive you [in the way of fellowship]\par \par And will be to you a Father [in fellowship, as I am in relationship],\par \par And ye shall be to Me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."\par \par \par "Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves\par from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the\par fear of God" (II Cor. 6:17, 18; 7:1).\par \par \par "And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your\par spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the\par coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess. 5:23). [244]\par \par That ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of\par God--This word "prove" means to put to the proof, as in Eph. 5:8 to\par 10: "Walk as children of. light, proving [or finding out by\par experience] what is well-pleasing unto the Lord." The man in Luke\par 14:19 used the same word: "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go\par to prove them." The "will of God" here may be rendered "what is willed\par by God" (Meyer); or, as Sanday says, "The will of God is here not the\par Divine attribute of will, but the thing willed by God, the right\par course of action." This passage involves two facts: first, that God\par had a plan for our lives, which He is very willing and desirous we\par should discover; and, second, that only those who surrender themselves\par to Him, rejecting conformity to this age, can discover that will. All\par of us in times of desperate need, or crisis, are anxious to find God's\par path for us. And, in answer to the cry of even His unsurrendered\par saints. He may and often does graciously reveal the path of safety and\par even of temporary blessing to them. But only those who have\par surrendered their bodies as a living sacrifice to Him, enter upon the\par discovery of His blessed will as their very sphere and mode of life.\par \par That ye may prove--Note that it is not that you are seeking after\par "victory," or "blessing," or even instruction in truth; but you are to\par enter into the will of Another,--even God.\par \par Note, further, that in order to "prove," or experimentally enter into,\par God's will, there must be "the renewing of the mind" by the indwelling\par Holy Spirit. It is all-important to understand that only a yielded\par will can desire, discover, or choose God's will.\par \par Further, we should, along with this, be impressed continually with the\par blessed fact that God's will for us is infinitely loving, infinitely\par wise, and gloriously possible of fulfilment; while our own wills are\par selfish and foolish and weak: for often we are impotent of\par accomplishing even our own poor objects!\par \par Good, acceptable, perfect--Good for us, acceptable to God; and that\par which, being itself perfect, leads to our perfecting, as Epaphras\par prayed for the Colossians: "That ye may stand perfect and fully\par assured in all the will of God" (4:12).\par \par Some would render it, "The will of God, even the thing that is good,\par acceptable and perfect": as if we entered upon it all, once we yielded\par our bodies to God. Also, it has been suggested that we enter first\par into God's "good" will: for, although we are ignorant and clumsy at\par first, God in His goodness gladly calls our work "good." Then, when we\par learn further, our work becomes in a higher sense "acceptable."\par Finally, we stand "perfect and fully assured in all the will of God."\par \par Both these views are true. God's will is always good, acceptable and\par perfect; and, when we begin to surrender to it, it is all that, at\par once, for us. On the other hand, we do progress in it! It takes faith\par to surrender our wills. We must be brought to believe in our very\par heart that God's will is better for us than our own will. And, as we\par once heard a man earnestly testify, "If you can't trust One who died\par for you, whom can you trust?"\par \par We beg you to seek out some saints (for there are some!) who have\par yielded themselves to God, and study their faces: you'll discover a\par light of joy found on no other countenances. Cling to such. Converse\par with them. Learn their secret. Be much with them. And follow such as\par follow Christ. Blessing lies that way!\par \par 3 For, I say, through the [apostolic] grace that was given to me, to\par every one that. is among you, not to be estimating himself beyond what\par he ought to estimate; but to be so estimating himself as to have a\par sober estimate, according as God to each one of us divided a measure\par of faith.\par \par We have used here Rotherham's rendering, "estimate," instead of the\par common rendering, "think." It is remarkable that God crowds (in the\par original) this one word, "have an opinion," or "estimate," four times\par into this one sentence! It is also striking that this command, not to\par have a higher opinion of ourselves than we ought to have, is the\par first, the opening one of all the exhortations which follow. Let us\par lay this to heart!\par \par Note what this proves: (1) That over-estimation of one's importance\par among the saints is a fundamental temptation. (2) That God has granted\par to each one of His saints a certain allotment, or "measure," of\par faith,--that is, of the ability to lay hold on the mighty operations\par of the Spirit of grace. And note carefully that God does not say,\par according to the measure of knowledge, but "of faith." (3) That only\par the one who comes into a personal discernment of God's special will\par through surrender to Him, will come to have a "sober estimate" of his\par own place. (4) That it is a distinct command of the apostle\par (emphasized by allusion to the mighty apostolic charge and grace given\par by God to him direct to us), that being surrendered to God, we come\par into a sober estimate of our place,--of our "measure of faith." This\par great verse is now to be followed by its explanation:\par \par 4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members\par have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, are one Body in\par Christ; and as to each one, members of all the rest! 6 And having\par gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether\par prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; 7\par or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry: or he that\par teacheth, to his teaching; 8 or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting:\par he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with\par diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.\par \par Verses 4 and 5: For even as we have many members in. one body, and all\par the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are one\par Body in Christ; and as to each one, members of all the rest!\par \par Here is Paul's first mention of this great doctrine of the Body of\par Christ, a doctrine which he alone, among the apostles, sets forth, he\par being the one chosen "minister of the Church" (Col 1:24, 25),--as to\par its real, heavenly, corporate character. Note now the comparison: (1)\par Our human bodies have many members. (2) These members, however,\par constitute a unity: they are one body. (3) Each member is a member of\par all the others. (4) All our members have not the same work to do.\par \par Even so with us in Christ: (1) We are many, but (2) we are one Body in\par Christ. "Body" is not here an illustration, but an actuality. "He that\par loveth his own wife, loveth himself, . . . even as Christ also the\par Church; because we are members of His Body. For this cause shall a man\par leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two\par shall become one flesh. This mystery is great: but I speak in regard\par of Christ and of the Church" (Eph. 5:28-32): "The Church which is His\par Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:22, 23).\par This union is so absolute that Paul writes: "As the body [245] is one,\par and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many,\par are one body; SO ALSO IS CHRIST" (I Cor. 12:12). We deceive ourselves\par and delude others when we use the word "body" as connected with the\par Church of God, of any but the true, elect members of Christ, indwelt\par by the Spirit. And that consciousness (that is, the consciousness of\par the One Body of Christ of which Christ Risen in glory is the Head and\par they, the living, Spirit-indwelt members, are the fulness), should be\par held by us continually to the exclusion of anything earthly or merely\par local or sectarian. Thus we should find ourselves at once in\par fellowship with true believers everywhere, for they with us are\par members of Christ, and they and we are members one of another.\par \par (3) We are individually "members one of another." Compare I\par Corinthians 12:27: "Now ye are the Body of Christ, and individually\par members thereof." Being members of the Body of Christ, we necessarily\par are members of one another; as my right hand, being a member of my\par body, is a member of my left hand. Mark that Paul makes this\par "membership one of another," an additional (though necessary) truth to\par the fact of the one Body in Christ. Note carefully that Scripture\par never speaks of "church members," as men today do; nor of "membership"\par in or of a local assembly; but only of membership in the Body of\par Christ, and of membership one of another. We are members of the\par heavenly Head, Christ, and therefore members one of another by an\par operation of the Spirit of God, not by action of man. In local\par assemblies, according to Scripture, we have fellowship, as already\par members of Christ and of one another. The importance of seeing this is\par immeasurable. For the great fact that we are one, actually members of\par other believers, is made by the Spirit of God the basis of our love\par toward one another! As Paul says in Eph. 4:25: "Putting away\par falsehood, talk truth each one with his neighbor; for we are members\par one of another." Your right hand has never yet had a fight with the\par left: on the contrary, each constantly helps the other! And, as to\par suffering, "Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with\par it."\par \par Verse 6: And having gifts, different according to the grace that was\par given unto us--For each believer there is some particular "gift," to\par be bestowed by the already indwelling Spirit, (as those yielding\par themselves to God find) to make each believer a direct benefit to the\par Body of Christ: "To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit\par to profit (the whole Body) withal, . . . the Spirit dividing to each\par one severally even as He will." The various gifts are bestowed by the\par Spirit for "ministration" to the Lord Jesus, and the "working" in each\par case is by God Himself. Read I Corinthians 12:4 to 11.\par \par Now, these differing gifts are "according to the grace that was given\par unto us." In Romans 12:3 Paul speaks by the apostolic grace given unto\par him, and to each believer there is also an individual differing\par "grace," given to each for the particular service to which God calls\par him. In accordance with this "grace," there is, therefore, a "gift,"\par by the indwelling Spirit. (This is not the gift of the person of the\par Spirit, but is a gift communicated by the already given Spirit.) [246]\par For the receiving and using of these gifts, there is necessary the\par element of faith, which is bestowed by God in exact accordance with\par the gift given each one. The bestowal is called, "the grace that was\par given to us." [247] It will not do to say, if we find ourselves not in\par possession of certain gifts, "They are not for us: they belonged only\par to the "Early Church." This is a three-fold presumption! (1) It is\par excusing our own low state; and worse: (2) It is blaming the result of\par the failure of the Church upon God,--an awful thing! (3) It is setting\par up the present man-dependent, man-sufficient state of things as\par superior to the days when the Holy Spirit of God was known in power.\par \par It is true that God, in His infinite grace, accepted, at the hands of\par the Jews, at the end of the 70 years' captivity, the temple of\par Zerubbabel, saying: "Build the house, and I will take pleasure in it,\par and I will be glorified." It is true that our Lord called that temple\par (though built in its grandeur by Herod, the Edomite--descendant of\par  Esau, not Jacob!) "My Father's house," and "My house," for He had not\par yet finally deserted it, (as He did at last in Matthew 23.38). But the\par Jews of our Lord's day gloried in that temple: though there was in it\par neither the Ark of the Covenant nor the Shechinah Presence of Jehovah.\par The glory had departed; but the Jews forgot all this, just as many\par Christians today, though often quite "Bible students,"--practically\par forget or ignore the immediate Presence of the Holy Ghost, with His\par all-necessary gifts: saying, "These belonged to the `early days'; but\par we have the written Word now, and do not need the gifts, as did the\par Early Church."\par \par And this self-sufficiency is leading, has led, to the same form of\par truth-without-power, that the Jews had in Christ's day.\par \par We are not hereby saying, Let us bring back these gifts. But we are\par pleading for the self-judgment and abasement before God that\par recognizes our real state. The outward church today is Laodicean,\par "wretched, poor, miserable, blind, naked"--and knows it not! And the\par Philadelphian remnant have only "a little strength." Let us be honest!\par We have substituted for the mighty operations amongst us of the Holy\par Ghost, the pitiful "soulical" training of men. We look to men to\par train, to "prepare" preachers, and teachers, and "leaders," for a\par heavenly company, the Church, among whom the Holy Ghost Himself dwells\par as Administrator. Let us not dare to claim that the Holy Ghost is no\par longer willing to work in power amongst us. Because, for Him to do so\par is God's plan! Indeed, He is so working where not hindered. Let us\par confess the truth. Our powerlessness is because of unbelief,--the\par inheritance of the sins of our fathers, the inheritance of a grieved\par Spirit. It may be true that He does not work as He once did; but let\par us admit two things: we dare not say, He is not willing so to work;\par and, we dare not say. It is God's plan that He does not! We can only\par say, We have sinned! So did Daniel (Dan 9). So did Ezra (Ezra 9). So\par did they of Nehemiah's day (Neh. 9). Our days are days of failure,\par just like those. Nor will it do, (as with so many enlightened saints),\par merely to "see and judge the failure of the professed Church" and\par gather in the name of the Lord, and remember His death in the breaking\par of bread every Lord's day. All this is good. But we must judge\par ourselves if we do not have real power amongst us. And the power of\par the Spirit, in a day of apostasy like this, will bring us into a deep\par burden over the state of things, and into prayer, such as the great\par men of God made in the three great chapters to which we have just\par referred!\par \par --Whether prophecy [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of\par our faith--Paul's exhortation, as we shall see, is here devoted to the\par believer's exercising any gifts "according to the proportion" of his\par God-given confidence, or "faith," in the exercise of it: not\par over-estimating himself, but soberly estimating, and thus proceeding.\par (It is taken for granted, of course, that all are fully willing to\par exercise any gift; and will not, through unbelief or false humility,\par hold back therefrom. [248]\par \par We can easily see in a Luther or a Calvin, in the sixteenth century,\par in a Bunyan in the seventeenth century; in a Wesley in the eighteenth,\par in a Moody in the nineteenth, such apostolic operation. Wesley spoke\par from God to all England, as did Luther to Germany. Moody, we know, was\par first an evangelist, loving and reaching the lost. But God, who is\par sovereign, gave him spiritual authority in the consciences of\par Christians throughout the whole world. We know what debt under God all\par those who have the truth today owe to Darby, through whom God\par recovered more truth belonging to the Church of God, than through any\par other man since Paul, and whose writings are today the greatest\par treasure of truth and safeguard against error known to instructed\par believers. Such men had more than an evangelist's or teacher's gift.\par There was spiritual authority they themselves did not seek, attending\par their ministry. This fact discerning believers,--those free from\par tradition's bias, readily see and gladly admit. Paul defines the\par prophetic gift in I Corinthians 14:3: "He that prophesieth speaketh\par unto men edification, and comfort, and consolation." New Testament\par prophets and apostles laid the foundation of the Church,--the prophets\par speaking directly by inspiration from God. But while the early\par apostles and prophets had their peculiar ministry in a foundational\par way, yet both gifts remain in the Church (see Eph. 4:11-13) along with\par  evangelists, pastors and teachers. Now since the prophet speaks under\par the moving of the Spirit, he is to do so "according to His faith."\par Dean Alford makes the evident distinction, "The prophet spoke under\par immediate inspiration; the teacher (didaskalos), under inspiration\par working by the secondary instruments of his will and reason and\par rhetorical power." We have ourselves sometimes heard those speaking in\par "testimony" or "praise-meetings" whose words were not, properly\par speaking, teaching; but yet entered in the power of the Spirit\par directly into the heart of the hearers, edifying, exhorting, and\par consoling,--a high ministry indeed, though in the "secondary\par character" of it, as compared to the words of the early apostles and\par prophets. Such an one could, of course, speak profitably only when\par speaking in the Spirit, and thus, "in proportion to his faith."\par \par The remarkable foot-note above, from J. N. Darby, is a frank and\par explicitly plain statement of truth. Mr. D. repeats over and over\par (seven times, at least, in the pages from which our excerpts are\par taken--Coll. Writ. 1, 350; III. 217-9) that the written Word is\par complete. No honest heart, however, knowing history, can fail to admit\par that God has, in mercy, raised up, from time to time, men who have\par administered His Word in such apostolical and prophetic power. That He\par will again do so, we do not doubt. For there is an ever-recurring need\par of these gifts. Probably, a constant need!\par \par Verse 7: Or [personal] ministry, let us occupy ourselves in our\par ministering [to the needs of the saints]--God graciously places this\par word "ministering" [diakonia] between prophesying and teaching. In\par Acts 6 we have the word twice, applied first to physical things: "the\par daily ministration" (of food to the widows); and second to spiritual\par things: "We will continue . . . in the ministry of the Word." But here\par in Romans Twelve, its being placed as it is, indicates that those who,\par like the house of Stephanas, in I Corinthians 16:15, minister to the\par saints' material needs, should set themselves to such ministering. It\par is the whole-hearted exercise of this gift, when it is given, that is\par urged by the apostle. Perhaps there is no gift so liable to lapse into\par haphazard exercise, as this Christ-like gift!\par \par Or he that teacheth, to his teaching--Proper Christian teaching is not\par mere "Bible study"; but, first of all, clear explanation direct to\par believers' hearts, of Christ's work for us, and of the Pauline\par Epistles that directly concern the Church of God as the Body of\par Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, one with Him. Proper teaching would see\par that the saints become familiar with the wonders of the Old Testament,\par and love it. The prophecies, both of the Old Testament and of the book\par of The Revelation should also be taught, remembering that "the\par testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy"; and that every true\par Christian teacher should be able to say: "It was the good pleasure of\par God to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him" (Gal. 1:16);\par "that in all things Christ might have the pre\'ebminence"; "that we may\par present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." This is the kind of work\par that was done by Priscilla and Aquila, when they had heard Apollos in\par the Ephesian synagogue: "They took him unto them, and expounded unto\par him the Way of God more accurately." It is being done whenever one who\par knows the truth really brings another into it. Oh, for more such\par teaching! We leave so much unapplied,--so much that the dear saints\par never really enter into! [249]\par \par Verse 8: Or he that exhorteth, to his exhortation--The gift of\par exhortation is distinct from that of. teaching (though both may be\par found in the same person). Exhortation is an appeal to the will;\par teaching, to the mind. Exhortation is a precious gift--invaluable!\par whereby the Holy Spirit directly persuades the hearing heart into\par obedience to the truth which it has heard. A true exhorter, also, must\par be walking the path he calls others to follow!\par \par He that giveth, with singleness [of heart toward God]--The literal\par meaning of giving here is that of imparting, of sharing our substance\par with others; and the manner of such giving is to be without secret\par reluctance, for "God loveth a cheerful giver" (II Cor. 9:7); also\par without false pretense, such as Ananias and Sapphira had; finally,\par with an eye single to God. In fact, in Ephesians 6:5 this same word\par "singleness" is used in the phrase "in singleness of your heart, as\par unto Christ."\par \par He that ruleth, with diligence--Ruling is first a gift, then an\par office, like those of elders and deacons (I Tim. 3:4, 12), who must,\par of course, first "rule well their own house." Just as prophesying,\par teaching, and exhorting were gifts by the Spirit; and as giving is a\par grace given of God (II Cor. 8:1, 4, 7); so the work of elders and\par deacons were offices: "If a man seek the office of a bishop"--or\par overseer: called also "elder," as see Ac 20:17, 28;--as being more\par matured in Christian faith and experience; while the term "bishop" or\par "overseer" designates the duties of the office--to oversee). Dean\par Alford objects to interpreting "ruleth" here (Rom. 12:8) of rulership\par in the Church, saying, (as a true churchman would), "It is hardly\par likely that the rulers of the Church, as such, would be introduced so\par low down in the list, or by so general a term, as this!" But in the\par enumeration of the gifts in I Corinthians 12:28, we have this order:\par "Apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps"; and then,\par "governments," next to the last term in the list! Of course man, who\par glories in office, would want this order changed.\par \par Gifts were a direct bestowment (charisma) of the Spirit; moreover,\par they were general, while the "rulers" were confined to their own\par assemblies. Prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11)\par were that wherever they were; but an elder or deacon held his own\par office in his own assembly only.\par \par The ruler was to attend, with constant diligence, to his work; not,\par indeed, "lording it over" the Lord's heritage, but according to\par Peter's direction: "The elders among you I exhort . . . tend the flock\par of God which is among you" (that was their business--to take care of\par the Lord's sheep in the assembly where they were), "exercising the\par oversight, not of constraint, but willingly." They were to watch; to\par be ready at any sacrifice of personal comfort to look after needy\par sheep: "nor yet for filthy lucre." (They were not to have money in\par mind, although elders that "ruled well" were to be "counted worthy of\par double honor," especially if they were able to instruct in the Word;\par God would look after their financial needs): "neither as lording it\par over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to\par the flock."\par \par Truth to tell, Christ's sheep are ill-tended these days! they are\par "scattered upon the mountains." Elders that "rule well," with humble\par diligence, day and night, are desperately needed. Every believer has a\par right to the consciousness of being personally shepherded by Divinely\par raised-up elders; and cared for even in material things by faithful\par deacons. "And when the Chief Shepherd shall be manifested," the rulers\par who have ruled with godly diligence shall receive a crown of glory! (I\par Peter 5:1-4.) Concerning false shepherds, see the awful words of\par Jeremiah 23:1-4, Ezekiel 34--the whole chapter! and Isaiah 56:10 to\par 12. (These chapters make us tremble!)\par \par He that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness--Showing mercy is of course\par the bounden duty of those to whom God has shown mercy. But mercy\par toward others may be shown with the long, sombre face of one driven by\par a duty in which he is not happy. Yet the joyfulness of spirit in which\par one helps another is often of more real blessing than the help itself.\par Godet well remarks, with many others, that the words "he that showeth\par mercy" denote the believer who feels called to devote himself to the\par visiting of the sick and afflicted. There is a gift of sympathy which\par particularly fits for this sort of work, and which is, as it were, the\par key to open the heart of the sufferer. The phrase "with cheerfulness"\par literally reads in hilarity!\par \par 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to\par that which is good. 10 In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned\par one to another; in honor preferring one another; 11 in diligence not\par slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope;\par patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13\par communicating to the necessities of the saints; pursuing hospitality.\par 14 Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice\par with them that rejoice; weep with them. that weep. 16 Be of the same\par mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but be\par carried away with things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own\par conceits.\par \par 17 Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable\par in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible,--as much as in you\par lieth, be at peace with all men. 19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved,\par but give place unto the wrath [of God]: for it is written, Vengeance\par belongeth unto Me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 But if thine\par enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so\par doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. 21 Be not overcome\par of evil, but overcome evil with good.\par \par Verse 9: Let love be without hypocrisy--The world is full of effusive\par expressions of affection,--and so, we fear, are many professing\par Christians--without real love in the heart: "Talking cream and living\par skim milk," as Mr. Moody phrased it. "Let us not love in word, neither\par with the tongue; but in deed and truth" (I John 3:18). Abhor that\par which is evil--This is impossible to the unregenerate, and only\par intermittently possible for the carnal Christian; but to one who has\par obeyed the first two verses of this chapter and surrendered to God, it\par is a holy instinct! "Ye that love Jehovah, hate evil" (Ps. 97:10). To\par be a good Christian, a man must be a good hater! Cleave to that which\par is good--Here is not only the negative, the abhorrence of evil; but\par the positive, the discerning and holding fast that which is good. As\par Paul says in Philippians 4:8: "Brethren, whatsoever things are true,\par whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just,\par whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever\par things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any\par praise, [in a person] take account of these things." Trust the\par anointing which you have received (I John 2:20, 27) for discernment;\par and trust the study of the Word of God, to teach you what is really\par good.\par \par Verse 10: In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to\par another--Of course all Christians "love the brethren" --that is a sign\par of spiritual life (I Joh 3:14). But to be tenderly affectioned--how\par few are! "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each\par other, even as God also in Christ forgave you." Beloved, are we\par willing to be made tender? It is God's will for all believers. In\par honor preferring one another--How beautiful a grace! Really to prefer\par from your heart other believers before yourself, to be glad when\par others are honored above you. [250] Farrar well renders, "Love the\par brethren in the faith, as though they were brothers in blood." Vincent\par prefers the A.V. rendering, "kindly affectioned," perhaps properly,\par since our word kind was originally kinned, and "kindly affectioned"\par is, having the affection of kindred!\par \par Verse 11: In zeal not sluggish--The words have no reference whatever\par to worldly "business" or affairs, but wholly to spiritual matters.\par Luther renders, "In regard to zeal, be not lazy," which is the\par meaning. Alford renders, "In zeal not remiss,"--saying, "Not\par business", as in the Old Version, which seems to refer it to the\par affairs of this life; whereas, it relates as in all these verses (11\par to 13), to Christian duties as such." Satan would use the doctrine of\par grace, or the assurance of faith, to settle down believers into\par spiritual slothfulness. Watch against that. Fervent in spirit, serving\par the Lord--The word translated "fervent" (used of Apollos in Acts\par 18:25), means ardent, or burning. Be ardent in spirit in our Lord's\par service. It is the opposite of dignified, cold, unemotional. Christ\par has loved us with infinite fervency. Let us serve Him in the same\par spirit.\par \par Verse 12: In hope rejoicing--Our hopes are bound up with our Lord's\par coming, in prospect of which we should constantly be filled with\par exultation. In tribulation remaining patient--Patience in trial is the\par only path to our perfecting; wherefore James says we should count\par "manifold trials to be all joy"; and, "let patience have its perfect\par work, that we may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." In\par prayer steadfastly continuing--So did the early Christians (Acts\par 2:42,46,47; 6:4; 12:5, 12). But do not forget to watch expectantly,\par and to give thanks in your prayers. (Col 4:2.) Ten will attend Bible\par teaching, and one hundred Sunday preaching, to two or three who "in\par prayer steadfastly continue": but be thou of that two or three; for\par they prevail, and to them Christ reveals Himself; and they become\par channels of blessing to countless others.\par \par Verse 13: To the needs of the saints contributing--"So to make\par another's necessities one's own as to relieve them."\par \par When you obey this injunction and begin wisely to inquire about the\par saints' needs, you will be astonished at two things: first, at the\par actual pressing necessities of many saints all about you; and second,\par at the way God will supply your own necessities as you minister to\par them. When the Holy Spirit took complete possession of the early\par Church, "Not one of them said that aught of the things which he\par possessed was his own; but they had all things common"; with the\par result that "neither was there among them any that lacked." Now this\par shows the basal spirit of Christian giving. It is not "saying in our\par hearts" that what we have is "our own," but holding all in stewardship\par to the Lord, ready to be ministered, as He shall direct. It is true\par that Paul, in his epistles, which give the constitution of the Church\par of God, does not direct those that are rich in this world's goods to\par "sell all that they have"; but to "do good, to be rich in good works,\par ready to distribute, willing to communicate." This passage (I Tim.\par 6:17-19) should be most carefully regarded as at once the Divine\par protection against the awful "community of goods" of socialism and\par communism, because the Bible teaches constantly the rights of\par personal, private property; and also as the foundation principle of\par our giving.\par \par Pursuing hospitality--Here the word for hospitality is literally love\par to strangers, "stranger-loving," and the translation "given to" is not\par strong enough. In its forty or fifty occurrences in the New Testament,\par this word is very frequently translated "pursuing," which is the\par literal meaning. You have it three times in Philippians 3: in verse 6,\par "persecuting the church"; in verse 12, "I follow after"; and in verse\par 14, "I press on" The meaning here, then, is, pursuing\par hospitality,--persecuting folks, even strangers, with kindness! What a\par wonderful testimony of love, hearty obedience to this simple\par exhortation to pursue hospitality would be! We have in Hebrews\par Thirteen three uses of this Greek root phil (meaning love): (1) "Let\par love of the brethren (philadelphia) continue"; (2) "Forget not to show\par love unto strangers" (philoxenia); and, (3) in verse 5, "Be free from\par silver-loving" (philarguros). If you are tempted to philarguros,\par philadelphia and philoxenia will cure you! "Given to hospitality,"\par then, means far more than being "willing to entertain" those who may\par call on you. It indicates going after this business, pursuing it,\par following it up! The Lord will reward some day even a cup of cold\par water given in His Name. Let us make "Strangers' Inns" of our homes.\par We are not staying here long. And the Lord may send "angels" around\par when we least expect! "Forget not to show love unto strangers, for\par thereby some have entertained angels unawares." [251]\par \par Of course it is taken for granted in all these exhortations that we\par have presented our bodies to God according to the opening verses of\par the Chapter; and thus by the indwelling Holy Ghost are enabled to walk\par in His revealed will, as those could not who were under law.\par \par Verse 14: Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not--Here is\par a verse that needs no comment, in view of our Lord's words of Lu 6:27,\par 28: "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that\par curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you"; and of His\par blessed example. But note, in our present verse it is not mere outward\par blessing that is commanded, but refraining from inward reservations,\par or private expressions, for sometimes we speak sweetly to opposers,\par but our after words prove that we did not allow our hearts to go out\par in love to those enemies. And by the way, do not stumble if you find\par other Christians speaking ill of you, even persecuting you. Bless\par them, too!\par \par Verse 15: Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that\par weep--Now here is a verse that takes us out of ourselves. The literal\par  rendering is, Rejoice with rejoicing ones, and weep with weeping ones.\par Believers, of course, are especially meant in both cases. There will\par always be some that are weeping. Blessed is he who, like the Lord at\par Lazarus' grave, can enter into others' sorrow even unto tears!\par \par "Alas, there is such a phenomenon, not altogether rare, as a life\par whose self-surrender, in some main aspects, cannot be doubted, but\par which utterly fails in sympathy. A certain spiritual exaltation is\par allowed actually to harden, or at least to seem to harden, the\par consecrated heart; and the man who perhaps witnesses for God with a\par prophet's ardor is yet not one to whom the mourner would go for tears\par and prayers in his bereavement, or the child for a perfectly human\par smile in his play. As to the Lord Himself, the little child, the\par wistful parent, the widow with her mite, the poor fallen woman of the\par street, could lead away' his blessed sympathies with a touch"--Moule.\par \par Verse 16: Minding the same thing one toward another--Let us quote\par several comments by beloved writers: "Be of one mind amongst\par yourselves"--Conybeare. "The harmony which proceeds from a common\par object, common hopes and common desires"--Sanday. "The loving harmony\par when each in respect to his neighbor has one thought and\par endeavor"--Meyer. "Aspiring after the same aims, aiming at the same\par object for one another as for ourselves. Having the same solicitude\par for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the brother as for one's\par own"--Godet. "Actuated by a common and well-understood feeling of\par mutual allowance and kindness"--Alford. Evidently the reference is not\par to uniformity of thought, but to charity of attitude.\par \par Not minding high things, but being carried away along with the\par lowly--This sixteenth verse is in close connection with the spirit of\par verse 15. It is the spirit of Philippians 2:2 to 5: "Be of the same\par mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind [not of\par one opinion, but one heart-intent]; doing nothing through faction or\par through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better\par than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of\par you also to the things of others. Have this mind in you which was also\par in Christ Jesus." "High things" are a continual temptation. Carefully\par read here the excellent remarks of Godet: "There frequently forms in\par the congregations of believers an aristocratic tendency, every one\par striving by means of the Christian brotherhood to associate with those\par who, by their gifts or fortune, occupy a higher position. Hence small\par coteries, animated by a proud spirit, and having for their result\par chilling exclusiveness. The apostle knows these littlenesses and\par wishes to prevent them; he recommends the members of the church to\par attach themselves to all alike, and if they will yield to a\par preference, to show it rather for the humble." Lay these words well to\par heart. They are continually needed.\par \par The word rendered "carried away with" really means the opposite of its\par King James rendering "condescend to." The idea of one pardoned\par sinner's thinking of "condescending" to another! The word really means\par "to be carried away along with," as has been every Bernard, Assisi,\par Luther, Zinzendorf, Bunyan, Wesley, Whitefield, Spurgeon, Moody. All\par the saints filled with the Spirit have found themselves among the\par lowly of this earth. For that matter, there is not, and never has\par been, a real assembly of God of wealthy upper class people only! "Not\par many mighty, not many noble are called." The rich have to come where\par the poor are to hear the gospel. Once received, the gospel of Christ\par is the blessed and only real leveler of us all. Beware always of any\par "religious" movement cultivating the rich!\par \par Be not wise in your own conceits--Paul in Chapter 11:25 used exactly\par the same expression, warning us as Gentile believers of the danger of\par being "wise in our own conceits." This searching expression, "wise in\par one's own eyes," or "conceit," occurs five times in the Old Testament,\par and two here in Romans,--seven in all. Of such a one, Solomon says,\par "There is more hope of a fool than of him." He is first cousin to the\par sluggard, and to a blind rich man; and all of these are related to\par "them that know not God." See Proverbs 26:5, 12, 16; 28:11; 3:7. The\par self-conceited are not among those who are "weeping with them that\par weep."\par \par Verse 17: Render to no man evil for evil--This takes for granted that\par some will do you evil. Satan and the world hate God's saints who walk\par with Him; and will do them all permitted evil. Now do not lay it up\par against the doer, if evil has been done you. Alas, some real believers\par are thoughtless; some jealous, some envious, some possibly even\par spiteful. Put far away the expectation of "getting even" with anybody.\par "If any man have"--really have--"a complaint against any, even as the\par Lord forgave you, so also do ye" (Col. 3:13). The Lord forgets, as\par well as forgives! (Heb. 8:12).\par \par Taking care by forethought for comely [or seemly] things before every\par one (literally, all men,--whether Christians or not)--"Before the eyes\par of all men taking care for what is good" (Meyer). This exhortation has\par no special reference to "making provision for ourselves or our\par families in an honest manner," as some have thought (from the Old\par Version). It means to take careful forethought for such a course of\par Christian behavior ("honorable things") as will commend itself to\par all--whether Christians or not. We forget, most of us, thus to view\par our lives as a whole, day by day, detecting and rejecting whatever in\par ourselves others might criticize as not honorable.\par \par Verse 18: If it be possible--as much as in you lieth--be at peace with\par all men--Paul himself did cause trouble everywhere, as did our Lord,\par who said, "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came\par not to send peace, but a sword." But neither Paul nor his Lord was\par ever the selfish cause of trouble. It is not always possible for a\par Christian to be at peace with all men, but he can be a peace-lover; a\par peace-liver; and often a peace-maker, among men. As James says, "The\par fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace."\par Perhaps the most fruitful cause of trouble for a Christian is his\par claiming "his rights," forgetting Paul's description of us Christians\par throughout this dispensation:\par \par "For Thy sake we are killed all the day long;\par \par We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter." [252]\par \par Verse 19: Avenge not yourselves, beloved; but give place unto the\par [coming] wrath [of God]--Believers are here seen sorely tempted to\par seek to bring about by their own hand that righting of matters which\par belongs to God only. The motto of Scotland, "Nemo me impune\par lacessit"--"No one treads on me unpunished!"--applies to man in the\par flesh throughout the world. Note Paul's word, "Give place unto the\par wrath,"--to the coming wrath of God in the day of wrath, of Chapter\par 2:5. As for "the wrath of man," we know it "worketh not the\par righteousness of God" (James 1:20). Oh, how hard, yea, how impossible,\par for those who have not yielded their bodies a living sacrifice to God,\par to leave the visitation of wrath wholly in God's hand!\par \par For it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto Me; I will recompense,\par saith the Lord--Let us not dare seek to steal from God what He so\par distinctly asserts to be His province alone,--vengeance, [253] --the\par dealing out just desert to evil action.\par \par God's "vengeance" must require that infinite knowledge of conditions,\par of motives, of results upon others, which God, the just Judge, alone\par possesses. And He has faithfully promised to "recompense." The Greek\par of this word is startling: it means to pay back, personally and\par accurately. Both Romans 12:19 and Heb 10:30 quote the passage in\par Deuteronomy 32:35 which prophesies the coming vengeance of God. The\par word is also used in II Thessalonians 1:6. In these shallow, sinful\par days, men have forgotten that there is a day of reckoning; but the\par saints must not forget. "Forestall not God's wrath," says Meyer, "by\par personal revenge, but let it have its course and its sway. The\par morality of this precept is based on the holiness of God. Hence, so\par  far as wrath and love are the two poles of holiness, it does not\par exclude the blessing of our adversaries and intercession for them."\par \par Verse 20: But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him\par to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his\par head--Here are specific directions for active love toward an\par enemy,--praying for him meanwhile, as Christ commanded: "Bless them\par that persecute you, pray for them that despitefully use you." There is\par no more terrible danger than that of cherished revenge; and nothing\par marks out so blazingly a Christian path as love toward a foe. The\par Indians who inhabited America when the white man came, hated one\par another, tribe against tribe. The war paint, the warpath, the\par tomahawk, the scalp lock,--and pride in it all! was the hell-mark\par wherewith Satan branded these poor heathen,--and where are they today?\par No less devilish are the ghastly family "feuds" in certain parts of\par America. No less significant is the kind of man admired in some\par regions: "He won't take a word from anybody"; "He'll fight at the drop\par of the hat," and the like.\par \par Now the promise is most striking indeed, that in a deed of kindness to\par an enemy we shall "heap coals of fire upon his head." Of course, as\par always, when the literal statements of God's judgment are made, we are\par apt to shrink in timidity and unbelief, and seek to evade the\par actualities. But remember exactly what we are dealing with: we are\par asked to step aside from self-avenging, and "give place" to God's\par coming vengeance and recompense. Of course, we continue loving our\par enemies and praying for them, hoping they may repent. Thus we are\par sharing the feeling of God Himself, who "takes no pleasure in the\par death of the wicked, and would have all men to be saved."\par Nevertheless, we know in our hearts that many will refuse Divine\par mercy, and go on to that day of vengeance. And what do we read in the\par Scriptures about "coals of fire" at that time?\par \par \par Let burning coals fall upon them;\par \par Let them be cast into the fire,\par \par Into deep pits, whence they shall not rise (Ps. 140:10).\par \par \par Upon the wicked He will rain snares;\par \par Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup\par (Ps. 11:6).\par \par It is a trifling exposition that would make the "coals of fire" of\par Romans 12:20, quoted from Proverbs 25:21, 22, a mere figure--and\par meaning, really, nothing!\par \par The knowledge and constant remembrance by the saints of the coming\par literal doom of the wicked, is both a deep incentive to a holy walk,\par and a strong motive for loving and praying for them. But let us not\par forget that the more we are "a sweet savor of Christ unto God" as we\par preach the gospel, the more we become "a savor from death unto death\par in them that are perishing" (II Cor. 2:14-16). Paul significantly,\par just here, adds the words: "And who is sufficient for these things?\par For we are not as the many, corrupting the Word of God" (II Cor.\par 2:17). Our Lord Himself said, "If I had not come and spoken unto them,\par they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin." It\par is a fearful thought that in our kindness to enemies--enemies of our\par Lord and of ourselves for the gospel's sake, we may be increasing\par their doom: but the responsibility is theirs; the obedient kindness,\par ours!\par \par Verse 21: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good--"Evil"\par here directly connects itself with that hatefulness in others of verse\par 20; but it also includes all the evil in the world, through which the\par Christian walks as a stranger and a pilgrim. This plan of setting\par forth a positive path of "good" before His saints, instead of a mere\par negative "Thou shalt not," is the constant way of God in grace.\par Compare, "Let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor,\par working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have\par whereof to give to him that hath need" (Eph. 4:28). It is not merely,\par Stop stealing; but, Begin giving! Just as in the following verse of\par Ephesians we read: "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth,\par but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give\par grace to them that hear." Merely to stop doing wrong things will\par finally make a monk out of you; doing good, will put you in Paul's\par company. No one is "overcoming" in the sense of Rom. 12:12, save those\par whose time is filled with good: praise, prayer, and thanksgiving\par towards God; and loving ministry towards men!\par \par \par "There is a faith unmixed with doubt,\par \par A love all free from fear;\par \par A walk with Jesus, where is felt\par \par His presence always near.\par \par There is a rest that God bestows,\par \par Transcending pardon's peace,\par \par A lowly, sweet simplicity,\par \par Where inward conflicts cease.\par \par \par "There is a service God-inspired,\par \par A zeal that tireless grows,\par \par Where self is crucified with Christ,\par \par And joy unceasing flows.\par \par There is a being `right with God,'\par \par That yields to His commands\par \par Unswerving, true fidelity,\par \par A loyalty that stands."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [238] A man desiring to enlist in the British army comes, after the\par physical examination, to present himself to the enlisting officer. He\par is still his own man. Then the enlisting officer gives him "the king's\par shilling"--as enlistment money. He signs an attestation as to his age,\par place of birth, trade, etc., and takes the oath of allegiance: "To be\par true and faithful to the king and his heirs, and truth and faith to\par bear of life and limb and terrene honour, and not to know or hear of\par any ill or damage intended him without defending him therefrom."\par Having accepted the king's money, and taken this oath, he is now\par legally the king's own soldier.\par \par [239] It is sad and terrible to see how professing Christianity has\par departed from all this blessed "intelligent service" in the Holy\par Spirit, back into the darkness of man-prescribed religion! Imagine\par Peter setting up holy days, in the Book of Acts; as, "Ash Wednesday";\par "Good Friday"; "Lent"; "Easter"! It would all have been denial of\par their new connection with a Risen Christ, and of the Presence of the\par Comforter! It would have been turning back to Judaism, yea, to\par Paganism, for the name "Easter" is simply "Ishtar," the great goddess\par of Babylon. (See on all these things, Hislop's Two Babylons.) We will\par either yield ourselves to God, and be led by the Holy Spirit into the\par "intelligent service" that belongs to this dispensation and to the\par true Christian; or we will be hiding away from God in the false\par "Christian" forms and ceremonies "Christendom," with its religion, has\par taken on. God abhors "ceremonies,"--since the blessed Holy Ghost has\par come, and has brought liberty!\par \par [240] "Fashioned" is literally, schemed-together-with. It is the very\par word of I Corinthians 7:31: scheme (Greek, schema), made into a verb,\par with the conjunction along-with (sun), for prefix. The devil will rope\par you into his "scheme," unless you surrender your body to God to be by\par Him delivered.\par \par [241] The Greek word for "regeneration" (palingenesia), occurs only\par twice in the New Testament, here in Titus 3:5, and in Matthew 19:28.\par Mr. Darby's contention that this word is "not used in Scripture for a\par communication of life, but for a change of state or condition," seems\par refuted by the fact that the Greek word for renewing (anakainosis) in\par this same verse, is also used but twice--Titus 3:5 and Romans 12:2.\par Its cognate verb is also used twice: II Cor. 4:16, and Col 3:10. In\par all four instances, it has to do with the operation of the Holy Spirit\par upon one already born again. So that, if the word translated\par regeneration in Titus 3:5 does not have in it any reference to the\par "communication of life," there is no real definition of salvation at\par all in this verse: but the verse claims to be such a definition! As to\par the use of "regeneration" in Matt. 19:28, and the assertion that the\par word here is "evidently a change of state and condition, and not\par communication of life," the very opposite is what Scripture asserts\par concerning Israel at that time, for this passage concerns the saved\par Remnant at the opening of the Kingdom. Of this Remnant, God says,\par "They shall be all righteous," "they shall be those written unto life"\par in Jerusalem. It will certainly be the communication of life, yea, the\par receiving of them will be "life from the dead," when they shall have\par "looked on Him whom they have pierced."\par \par [242] The word for "renew" (anakainoo) is used only by Paul. It means\par to "grow up new, afresh" (Thayer),--like foliage in the spring. Man's\par spirit having already been created anew, and being joined to the Lord;\par and witnessed to and cared for by the Holy Spirit; man's\par soul-faculties are now to be taken over by that same blessed Spirit;\par so that the whole mind and disposition and tastes of the man will\par become conformed to the fact that he is a new creature.\par \par [243] This new man is not Christ personally, any more than our old man\par was Adam personally. However, we sustained such a relation to Adam\par that the "old man" was ours, as much as "by nature" we were Adam's\par children. So since we are in Christ, the "new man" belongs to\par us,--being that sum total of the marvelous Divine graces and\par dispositions "created" for, and to be realized in, the believer in\par union with Christ. Note that believers have "put off" the old man; but\par are here told to "put him away,"--be not influenced by him.\par \par [244] 5.A "clean heart" is taught in the Scripture most plainly. Even\par in the Old Testament David prays, "Create in me a clean heart." In\par Acts 15:9, Peter speaks of the occasion of the Holy Spirit's falling\par upon those of Cornelius' household, as, "cleansing their hearts by\par faith." And Paul says in his charge to Timothy, "The end of the charge\par is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned"\par (I Tim. 1:5). And further, to Timothy, "Flee youthful lusts and follow\par after righteousness, faith, love, peace with them that call on the\par Lord out of a pure heart" (II Tim. 2:22). Now it will not do, in\par interpreting the Bible, an infinitely accurate Book, to deal loosely\par or confuse terms. When David said, in Psalm 108:1, "O God, my heart is\par fixed," repeating it in Psalm 57:7, "My heart is fixed, O God, my\par heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing, yea, I will sing\par praises"--I say in such an utterance the Psalmist is not claiming that\par there was not iniquity present with him, but that his heart was by\par Divine grace fixedly choosing God and His will: as he says in Psalm\par 18:23, "I was also perfect with Him, and I kept myself from mine\par iniquity." Here he recognizes evil present with him, but his heart is\par fixed for God. To confuse the flesh with the heart is a vital mistake.\par Paul says we have no confidence in the flesh. But on the other hand we\par may have complete confidence toward God, at least when our faith has\par been "perfected" (I Thess. 3:10). The heart is the throne-room of the\par being. When it is really handed over to God, "the peace of Christ\par rules" therein. If no provision is made for the flesh, but instead the\par Lord Jesus Christ is put on (Rom. 13:14); if we obey II Cor. 6:14 to\par 7:1, refusing "unequal yokes" with unbelievers, refusing to have\par "portions" with unbelievers, "keeping ourselves from idols,"\par "cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,"\par "perfecting holiness in the fear of God," and consenting to be\par "separated" to God and "touch no unclean thing,"--then God "walks in\par us." Our hearts are wholly given to Him and "do not condemn us." Such\par a surrendered believing heart is called in Scripture, a "pure heart."\par To be among those thus "cleansed" by simple faith, and to have such a\par pure heart, should be the longing desire and purpose of every\par believer. Do not confuse, therefore, a clean, perfect heart toward God\par as taught in Scripture with the supposed "eradication of the\par sin-principle" from the flesh. The flesh is unchanged until Christ\par comes. But God will cleanse our hearts, by faith, ind the Holy Spirit\par will form Christ fully within us.\par \par [245] Of course there is all manner of looseness of talk by those who\par do not discern, hold, and continually speak in terms of, the one Body\par of which Christ Risen is the Head. We do not have any right to use the\par word "body" of any but the true, mystical Body of Christ: those who\par have been "by the one Spirit baptized into One Body." The confusion of\par the Scripture doctrine of the true Church, the Body of Christ, with\par the Church's outward relationships, responsibilities, and testing, as\par the House of God on earth, has given rise to innumerable evils. The\par Church which is Christ's Body is the blessed company of all true\par believers from Pentecost to its Rapture at Christ's coming. The House\par of God is "the pillar and stay of the truth" upon earth, just as\par Israel was before the cross. But Just as there was an elect Remnant,\par Simeons and Annas, Zachariahs and Elizabeths,--the true Israel--in our\par Lord's day; while the temple, the House of God, had been invaded by\par all manner of corruption and merchandising, having been built up by\par Herod the Great, a son of Esau;--so, today, the true Church is not\par what you see gathering into meetings all about you, but that company\par of true believers known to God, all of whom have been baptized by the\par Spirit into One Body, and who also are indwelt by the Spirit. All\par others, however prominent "church members" they may be, are simply\par part of the "great house' of II Timothy 2:20, where vessels "unto\par dishonor" as well as those "unto honor exist; which the "house of God"\par set forth in I Timothy 3:15 has, through man's failure, become.\par \par [246] Of course, it will be to many, as it was to the author, a\par startling revelation, that the Spirit is ready to engift each believer\par for Divinely appointed service! Those mentioned as "unlearned" in I\par Corinthians 14:23 were evidently believers, but ungifted; or, as\par Alford says, "plain believers," persons unacquainted with the gifts of\par I Corinthians 12.\par \par [247] Alford well says, "The measure of faith, the gift of God, is the\par receptive faculty for all spiritual gifts; which are, therefore, not\par to be boasted of, nor Pushed beyond their province, but humbly\par exercised within their own limits."\par \par [248] "An apostle was sent direct, as an architect, authorized by\par Christ to build His Church. Apostles were authorized, on the part of\par Christ, to found and to build, and to establish rules in His Church.\par In this sense there are no longer apostles. "But it appears to me,\par that in a lower sense, there may be apostles and prophets in all ages.\par Barnabas is termed an apostle. Junius and Andronicus are called\par apostles, and it is said of them that they were `of note amongst the\par apostles' (Rom. 16:7); so that there are others who were not named.\par "As regards the revelation of God, it is complete; as regards any\par authority to found the Church it no longer exists; neither the twelve\par nor Paul have had any successors. The foundation cannot be twice laid.\par But one may act under an extraordinary responsibility as sent by God.\par We may cite as examples, without pretending to justify all that they\par did, a Luther, a Calvin, a Zwingli, and perhaps others. So for\par prophets; although there be no new revelations of truth, there may be,\par as proceeding from God Himself, a power of applying to the\par circumstances of the church, or of the world, truths hidden in the\par Word; such as, in practice, might render the ministry prophetic.\par Moreover all those who expressed the mind of God `to edification' were\par called prophets, or at least, `prophesied.' "Prophets, who were\par associated with apostles as the foundation, because they revealed the\par mind of God, may, it appears to me, in a subordinate sense, be\par believed to exist,--those who not merely teach and explain ordinary\par and profitable doctrine,--but who by a special energy of the Spirit\par can unfold and communicate the mind of Christ to the Church where it\par is ignorant of it (though that mind he treasured up in the\par Scripture)--can bring truths, hidden previously from the knowledge of\par the Church, in the power of the testimony of the Spirit of God, to\par bear on the present circumstances of the Church and future prospects\par of the world, and thus be practically prophets (though there be no new\par facts revealed, but all are really in the Word already), and thus be a\par direct? blessing and gift of Christ to the Church for its emergency\par and need, though the Word be strictly adhered to, but without which\par the Church would not have had the power of that Word" (Darby).\par \par [249] Many years ago, at the Keswick Convention, in England, I was\par returning, about seven o'clock, from an early morning walk. I passed\par the "Drill Hall," and down came MacGregor (G.H.C.) and greeted me. I\par said, "Your face looks pale; are you not well?" "Oh yes,--only a bit\par weary," said he. Then, by questioning further, I found he had just\par then finished with the last case left from the previous night's\par meeting! That was teaching indeed. He had patiently labored all night\par long to expound to one after another "the Way of God more perfectly!"\par It is our privilege just now to have beneath our roof a beloved sister\par in her eighty-fourth year whose energies for over forty years have\par been constantly used in teaching others. Although having to support\par herself by public school teaching, yet with a steadfastness that is\par deeply touching, one thing she does with every one with whom she comes\par in contact: she teaches each the gospel. Many people, and even\par preachers, have come to her for instruction, even when she was\par confined to her bed in sickness or infirmity. There they sat patiently\par listening to her words concerning Christ. Her great passion is to\par "make all men see" Paul's wonderful explanation of our identification\par with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. [Later: Alas for\par us,--not for her! our beloved Mrs. S---- has gone triumphantly Home!]\par \par [250] For "love of the brethren," and "tenderly affectioned" there are\par two beautiful records in the Greek: philadelphia, and philostorgos,\par the latter used of the closest family ties.\par \par [251] I doubt if the. reference in "unawares" is to Abraham in Genesis\par 18. for he at once recognized the Lord, and knew His attendants. The\par statement seems rather an absolute one of inspiration, involving such\par a possibility for any of us!\par \par [252] One who had visited the Chicago stock yards on a slaughter-day\par said to me, "Our guide took us to where the swine were being\par slaughtered. Here there was squealing and grunting everywhere, and the\par moment the men laid hold of one for slaughter, it gave a wild shriek,\par and the uproar was terrible. By and by we approached another building\par and heard no sounds; and we found that here the sheep were being\par slaughtered, without complaining--in silence!"\par \par [253] Quaint old John Trapp says: "In reason, revenge is but justice;\par Aristotle commends it. The world calls it manhood; it is doghood,\par rather!"\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } II_ %)12 Romans 12{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER TWELVE.\par \par Paul's Great Plea for Personal Consecration to God, in View of His\par Mercies; God's Perfect Will for Each Believer thus Discovered. Verses\par 1 and 2.\par \par For We are One Body i}God. 2 Therefore he that sets himself against the authority,\par withstandeth the ordinance of God: and those [thus] withstanding shall\par receive for themselves judgment.\par \par 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And\par wouldest thou have no fear of the authority? Practice that which is\par good and thou shalt have praise from the same. 4 For it is God's\par servant to thee for good. But if thou dost practice that which is\par evil, be afraid! For not in vain doth it bear the sword! For God's\par minister it is, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil.\par \par 5 Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the\par wrath, but also for conscience' sake. 6 For this cause ye pay tribute\par also; for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this\par very matter. 7 Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is\par due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.\par \par WE HAVE HERE a passage of great importance in these lawless days!\par \par Verse 1: Let every soul be in subjection to the authorities in power\par [or, the constituted authorities]. For there is no authority but from\par God; and those that exist are put in, place by God.\par \par Every soul here, of course, means every believer: this Epistle is\par addressed only to believers (see 1:1-8). The authorities in power are\par the civil authorities ordained of God into whose hands God has\par committed external human government. (We say external, as opposed to\par inward, spiritual, which lies outside Caesar's province.)\par \par To be in subjection to the higher powers, means to render them their\par due respect and obedience according to verse 7: tribute to whom\par tribute, etc.\par \par There is great necessity at this hour to emphasize to all Christians\par this solemn exhortation of the apostle. Lawlessness,-- contempt for\par authority--is upon us like a flood. This lawlessness (anomia) is the\par essence of sin. We have already called attention to the fact that the\par Old Version translation of1John 3:4: "Sin is the transgression of the\par Law," is wholly astray. Not parabasis, transgression; nor paraptoma,\par offense; but a much deeper word, anomia,--literally, lawlessness: the\par spirit of refusing control,--this does God define as sin! Sin was in\par the world 2500 years before the Law. Already existing sin caused the\par Law's "Thou shalt not." Lawlessness is behind and below all\par law-breaking!\par \par That the lawlessness of the last days is coming upon us, we see\par everywhere! In the contempt of treaty obligations on the part of\par nations; in the disregard for old-time honesty in private contracts;\par in the "breaking loose" of "flaming youth" from parental restraint,\par and the rush to "expressionism," whether in school "dramatics" or in\par disdain of "old fogy" morals; in the calling the sin of lasciviousness\par and adultery by "modern" names,--such as "petting," "sex-experience";\par in the flood of murder magazines and "mystery" novels; in the\par unwillingness of the public to have crime really punished,--showing\par public sympathy with sin!\par \par It is because of this latter that law-enforcement breaks down. For, on\par the whole, judges, prosecuting attorneys, sheriffs, and police, would\par have criminals dealt with firmly: but the "technicalities" of legal\par procedure are seized upon by evil, unscrupulous men to defeat law. And\par who would be so foolish as to claim that things could be so if the\par entire community were, in their hearts, righteously abhorrent toward\par all law-breaking?\par \par Perhaps the most glaring of all instances of last-days lawlessness, is\par the tolerance of Red Communism. We do not now speak of Russia; but of\par the fact that Communistic doctrines (which openly declare war upon all\par Divinely appointed order) are held,--even by professing Christians! in\par England, the United States, Canada, and all over the world. You have\par no more right to "sit down" upon another's property, against his will,\par than any common thief has to enter your home to plunder! God's Word\par defends the rights of property, just as the right to life. "Thou shalt\par not steal" and "Thou shalt not kill," are in the same code of law.\par Christians need to read and heed Matthew 20:1 to 15. The "householder"\par there "agrees" with the "laborers": these had the right to sell their\par labor at an "agreed" price; while he had the right to decide what he\par could profitably pay them, and "agree" to pay it. And he recognizes\par what they had earned as theirs: "Take up that which is thine, and go\par thy way" (verse 14). But as concerning that which was his, and which\par they had not earned, he says, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I\par will with mine own?" He paid them what they had earned, and sent them\par off his property! Now Christ gave this lesson! And He calls the eye\par "evil" (verse 15) that would covet what it had not earned!\par \par No wonder Marx and Lenin and the Communists hate the Bible! It\par convicts them of covetousness and thievery! Read Matthew 20:1 to 15\par again; and see what you think our Lord would have said of those\par laborers, if they had "sat down" in that vineyard, claiming, "It\par really belongs to us, `the workers'; and we will not move until this\par householder raises our wages to what we ask!" You see, the only way\par for Communism to exist, is to destroy all hold of the Bible on men!\par Communism is the devil's opium for a people willing to let go the Word\par of God!\par \par Let Christians beware of the specious lies of all movements of force\par ("direct action," the Reds call it!) to right the wrongs of this\par present world. There are wrongs, as James tells us\par \par (Jas. 5:1-6), but the Christian is told to be "patient until the\par coming of the Lord" (Jas. 5:7, 8). Pray and wait. Things will get\par worse and worse, until "violence fills the earth," as in "the days of\par Noah." But God will deliver you--if you trust Him, and do not put\par forth your hand with "violent men." I pray you, read Proverbs 1:10-15,\par where you have a vivid picture of all the "share the wealth"\par movements! Let the Lord's people avoid them as the very plague! If,\par instead of "godliness with contentment," earthliness and covetousness\par seize your heart, you are really setting in on Lenin's and Stalin's\par path--which ends in hell! and makes a land a bloody horror meanwhile.\par \par The "restlessness" of today is really that deep "lawlessness" which\par God calls sin: "SIN IS LAWLESSNESS!" The Man of Sin is called "the\par lawless one" in II Thessalonians 2:7 and 8, where we are told that\par "the mystery of lawlessness" is already working, but that there is One\par (the Holy Spirit, we believe), that "restraineth now" until He be\par "taken out of the way." "And then shall be revealed the lawless one."\par This is the coming Antichrist.\par \par Now since God's saints know that lawlessness and violence, lust and\par covetousness, are characteristic of the last days, and know from\par Daniel's prophetic interpretation of the Great Image Nebuchadnezzar\par saw, that we must be nearing the time of the end of the age, how\par peculiarly needful that we all lay to heart these instructions\par concerning magistrates!\par \par Magistrates are put in place, set up, or ordained, of God. Never mind\par if they are bad ones, the word still stands, "There is no power but of\par God." Remember your Savior suffered under Pontius Pilate, one of the\par worst Roman governors Judea ever had; and Paul under Nero, the worst\par Roman Emperor. And neither our Lord nor His Apostle denied or reviled\par the "authority!"\par \par The authority is called a servant (diakonos) of God to us for good\par (verse 4): and those exercising this authority, are called ministers\par (leitourgoi) of God for good: He [the power or authority set up by\par God] is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil\par (verse 4 and again in verse 6). Against the evil-worker, the ruler is\par an avenger for wrath, not bearing a vain sword like some lodge officer\par on parade, but bearing a sword given to him by the covenant of Genesis\par Nine,--a sword with, necessarily, the death penalty wrapped up in it,\par to be exercised when necessary: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man\par shall his blood be shed," God said to Noah, when He lodged\par governmental authority in human hands. For the support of this\par governmental work, we pay "tribute"; for They are God's ministering\par officers, attending continually upon this very thing (verse 6).\par \par Thus there is in this passage to be considered, the governmental\par authority as an abstract thing established by God; and then the\par personal ruler's exercising his rights and duties under the authority.\par God established human government, and then appointed certain men to\par administer it.\par \par Verse 2: Therefore he that sets himself against the authority,\par withstandeth the ordinance of God: and those [thus] withstanding,\par shall receive to themselves judgment.\par \par It is only in spiritual matters--"things that are God's"-- that "to\par obey God rather than men" is our path. The things pertaining to God\par are those that concern our obedience to our confession of the faith of\par our Lord Jesus Christ,--that is, all. matters of our Christian\par conscience. Caesar has no right to touch my conscience. If I yield to\par him there, I am a traitor to the truth. We should emulate the old\par martyrs here, and even those who are suffering for the truth under\par Caesar's wickedness in our own day: for instance, under pagan\par Hitlerism in Germany, or atheist communism in Russia, where, often,\par the most noble witnesses of Christ are found. But, as to our persons\par and our property and our lives, that is, as regards earthly things, we\par are subject to the powers that God has put in place or ordained; and\par should not "withstand" them. Those who do so withstand, will bring on\par themselves guilt and Divine chastening. The Christian, above all men,\par should be in quiet subjection to constituted authority.\par \par Verse 3: For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the\par evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the authority? Keep practicing\par that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same.\par \par This is the rule in general. Of course, Satan will stir up special\par trouble against those who are proclaiming the gospel, which he\par desperately hates; as he stirred up unjust accusation and persecution\par against the apostles and the Lord Himself. Also, "the will of God may\par so will," that some may suffer for well-doing (I Pet. 3:17). This\par whole passage, however, regards the general path of the believer with\par reference to Divinely constituted authorities; rather than the\par peculiar enmity of Satan and the world toward the message of the\par gospel. Every Christian, in his life, should be praiseworthy in the\par eyes of rulers, and, if consistent, he generally is so.\par \par William Kelly well says: " `Authorities in power' is an expression\par that embraces every form of governing power, monarchical,\par aristocratic, or republican. All cavil on this score is therefore\par foreclosed. The Spirit insists not merely on the Divine right of\par kings, but that `there is no authority except from God.' Nor is there\par an excuse on this plea for change; yet if a revolution should\par overthrow one form and set up another, the Christian's duty is plain:\par `those that exist are ordained by God.' His interests are elsewhere,\par are heavenly, are in Christ; his responsibility is to acknowledge what\par is in power as a fact, trusting God as to the consequences, and in no\par case behaving as a partisan. Never is he warranted in setting himself\par up against the authority as such." [254]\par \par Verse 4: For it [the authority] is a servant of God to thee for good.\par But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for not in vain does it\par bear the sword.\par \par To "bear" is, literally, to bear constantly, illustrated in the\par provincial Roman magistrates' habitual wearing of the sword. It was\par also borne before them, in public processions, as a symbol of their\par right to punish by death. This is in accordance with God's covenant\par with Noah, after the Flood, which covenant remains in force: "Whoso\par sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Those who decry\par "capital punishment," are themselves withstanding the Word of God as\par to the very foundation of human government.\par \par For a minister of God it is! an avenger for wrath to him that doeth\par evil.\par \par There are people in every community who live in constant terror of\par government, because of their evil-doing. Let no Christian be in such a\par position! You say, Would the magistrate have a right to deal with a\par real Christian, if he became an evil-doer? Most certainly; and would\par be bound to do so. Peter says: "Let none of you suffer as a murderer,\par or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other man's matters," showing that\par Christians as such, have no protection from human law. But Peter's\par exhortation has not kept some true Christians out of these things;\par insomuch, indeed, that God's established government on earth would not\par or should not permit them to go unpunished here, (if murder or crime\par had been done); although the blood of Christ was their entrance into\par Heaven!\par \par Verse 5: Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection,--not only because\par of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake.\par \par Believers are to be in subjection, not only to avoid earthly\par governmental dealing, but because of a loving conscience toward\par God,--knowing that in being subject, they are doing right, as well as\par avoiding trouble.\par \par The constituted authorities include all the civil officers, state,\par county, and municipal; together with the police, militia, and military\par forces. There are many indeed in these foolish days who call\par themselves "pacifists," and decry the work and office of the soldier.\par Yet we believe they would with alacrity telephone for the police if\par they found marauders breaking into their houses! Police protect towns\par and cities. State constabulary and militia, under the hand of the\par governor, protect life, liberty, and order in the state; and a\par national army does likewise for the nation.\par \par It is God who has allowed the formation and growth of nations, and\par given them "the bounds of their habitations"; and the "authorities"\par who govern them do so by Divine command. They "bear the\par sword,"--whether for order within the nation, or for defense toward an\par outward enemy. Therefore it is folly to call the work of a soldier\par evil, and to confuse personal murder with the public execution of\par justice. When "soldiers on service" (Luke 3:14, margin), asked John\par the Baptist: "And we, what must we do"? his answer was not, Resign\par your commissions, or Leave the army. On the contrary he recognized\par their work as honorable, saying to them only: "Extort from no man by\par violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully; and be content with your\par wages" (generally, with soldiers, small enough!)\par \par Cornelius, the centurion of Acts 10, "a devout man, one that feared\par God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed\par to God always," heard the gospel at Peter's mouth and believed it, and\par was filled with the Holy Spirit; and he kept right on being a soldier,\par a minister of God's service along the line of government. Such men as\par General Havelock, General "Chinese" Gordon of the British Army;\par General O. O. Howard and General "Stonewall" Jackson, of American\par Civil War fame; and General Allenby, in the World War, have performed\par nobly and ably their soldier's duty,--the while maintaining a\par Christian's walk with God. [255]\par \par Verse 6: For this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers of\par God, attending continually upon this very matter.\par \par Here the apostle uses the word from which we get "liturgy"\par (leitourgoi) in describing these "authorities." God uses the same word\par in Hebrews 1:14 regarding the angels, calling them "ministering\par spirits"; and also concerning the "ministering" of the Old Testament\par priests (Heb. 10:11). In these days of restlessness toward restraint,\par and flouting of authority, we need to meditate much on the fact that\par the constituted authorities are liturgists of God: not indeed at all\par in spiritual things, but none the less God's own ministers in\par governmental things. It is on this account that those governed pay\par tribute; for these ministers of government must be supported.\par \par Verse 7: Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due];\par custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.\par \par Here "tribute" (taxes) comes first. How great the temptation to avoid\par rendering this that is due! Next, "custom"; "tribute" (pharos) is\par generally a tax paid by subjects to a ruling nation (Luke 20:22);\par while custom (telos) is a tax on us, or duty on our goods, by our own\par nation. Alas, how we loathe having the customs officers "go through"\par our effects!\par \par But let us remember that even customs are "dues," by God's\par appointment. Fear to whom fear--"Fear" does not here designate terror,\par but (which removes terror) a conscientious regard for and awe of men\par in whose hands God has placed governmental authority,--whether police,\par magistrates, judges, governors, presidents, or kings. [256]\par \par Honor to whom honor--Honor is our attitude of reverence for the\par persons of those who have authority over us; as also toward those who\par stand in any place of earthly dignity. As Peter says so beautifully,\par "Honor all men [for they are made in the image of God]. Love the\par brotherhood [of saints]. Fear God [with whom you have constantly to\par do]. Honor the king" [whom you may never see, but whom you hold in due\par regard in your heart] (I Pet. 2:17). Not only law-officers, but those\par men to whom God has committed wealth, or outstanding ability; or who\par have risen honorably among their fellows, should receive the honor due\par them. Let Christians be first to give "honor to whom honor is due."\par Leave to the base the despising of others!\par \par 8 To none owe anything, except to love one another: for he that loveth\par the other hath fulfilled law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit\par adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not\par covet, and if there be any other com mandment, it is summed up in this\par word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh\par no ill to one's neighbor: love therefore is law's fulness.\par \par Verses 8 to 10: To none owe anything, except to love one another--The\par word "owe" here is the verb of the noun "dues" in verse seven. The\par connection is direct: when you pay up all your dues, whether private\par debts or public, and have only this constant obligation before\par you,--to love one another, "Love must still remain the root and spring\par of all .your actions; no other law is needed besides. Pay all other\par debts; be indebted in the matter of love alone." So Paul continues:\par For he that loveth the other hath fulfilled law. Notice carefully that\par it is love, and not law-doing which is the fulness (Greek, pleroma) of\par law! The one who loves has (without being under it) exhibited what the\par Law sought! For the law said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;\par and lo, love has, from another principle, even love and grace,\par zealously wrought no ill to others. Love, therefore, is shown to be\par the fulness (not, "the fulfilling") of the law. It is only those not\par under law that are free to love others. Love, and not righteousness,\par is the active principle of Christianity. And lo, one loving, has\par wrought righteousness! Thus, only those not under law show its\par fulness. Of course, the believer is in a "new creation," and is to\par walk by that infinitely higher "rule of life" (Gal. 6:15, 16), and not\par by the Law. Nevertheless, in loving he has fulfilled the lower law!\par \par 11 And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to\par awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer to us than when we\par [first] believed. 12 The night is far spent, and the day is at hand!\par Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the\par armor of light. 13 Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in\par revelling and drunkenness, not in chamberings and wantonness, not in\par strife and jealousy. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and as\par for the flesh,--do not make provision to fulfil its lusts!\par \par Verse 11: And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for\par you to `awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer to us than\par when we [first] believed.\par \par The hope of the imminency of our Lord's coming, with the consummation\par of salvation in bodily redemption and glorification, is constantly\par used by the apostles in exhorting believers to a holy walk in love.\par This present verse sets before us the awful tendency to sink down (as\par did the ten virgins!) into slumber and sleep,--into a state of\par spiritual torpor in which no Christian duties are effectively done.\par Believers are to "know the season." Our Lord sternly arraigned the\par Jews of His day for their ignorance concerning "the time"; "When ye\par see a cloud rising in the West, straightway ye say, There cometh a\par shower; and so it cometh to pass. And when ye see a south wind\par blowing, ye say, There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to\par pass. Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth\par and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this\par time? And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?"\par \par There their Messiah was, in their midst, and they knew Him not! Why?\par Because they did not apply themselves to know the time they were in,\par although they could have known it, both from the prophetic Word which\par was being fulfilled before their eyes in Christ; and also "of their\par own selves," if they had set themselves to judge truly of the moral\par conditions about them and the necessities of action involved therein.\par If the Jews even then were called by our Lord "hypocrites," for\par applying their God-given discernment to the signs of the weather, and\par neglecting to apply it to spiritual things, and so going on blindly to\par judgment; how much more this should arouse us who have so much greater\par light and knowledge, in view of Christ's death and resurrection, and\par the presence of the Holy Spirit; and the certainty of our Lord's\par coming, and our uncertainty as to the day and hour!\par \par Verse 12: The night is far spent, and the day is at hand! Let us,\par therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us Put on the armor\par of light.\par \par As long as our Lord was on earth, He was the light of the world (John\par 9:5). Since He is gone, it is spiritual night. But He now says, "Ye\par [believers] are seen as lights in the world, holding forth the word of\par life" (Phil. 2:15, 16). Of course, it was night for the human race\par from the moment Adam sinned; and deeper night, as sin increased.\par \par Our Lord's coming brought a brief day--a "day of visitation," and of\par actual blessing, if they received Him. His return to earth is spoken\par of as "the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings,"\par when it will again be day! It is good to know, in our wrestling with\par "the principalities and powers, the world-rulers of this darkness,"\par that the night is far spent, the day is at hand. The word translated\par at hand is from the verb to "draw nigh," as in Matthew 21:1. Paul uses\par it in Hebrews 10:25: "So much the more as ye see the day approaching":\par and it is the same word in I Peter 4:7: "The end of all things is at\par hand" (drawing nigh). No matter what others say about the second\par coming of Christ, the apostles and the early Church lived in the\par expectation of it! Read Dean Alford's excellent comment below:\par remembering that as an expositor of Scripture he is rightly held in\par the very highest regard with respect to scholarship, sanity, and\par honesty, as well as devotedness to God. [257]\par \par Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness--In Ephesians Five,\par after speaking of the "sons of disobedience," Paul says: Be not ye\par therefore partakers with them; for ye once were darkness, but are now\par light in the Lord: walk as children of light. Now Paul had said the\par saints had put off the old man (when they were put into Christ). Now\par they are to put away, or cast off as not of their new life, all evil\par things. See Colossians 3:8, 9,;Hebrews 12:1,--for it is the same Greek\par word as the one there rendered "lay aside." The "works of darkness"\par are to be "put away," "cast off." And since "our old man was crucified\par with Christ," we see we can put them away! Let us put on the armor of\par light. This is a marvelous exhortation! Modern warfare has\par contemplated throwing upon the enemy mighty electric lights of such\par overwhelming brilliancy as to completely dazzle them. We all know how\par approaching automobile lights often `blind us. In the remarkable\par passage of Luke 11:33-36, our Lord says: "If therefore thy whole body\par be full of light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly full of\par light, as when the lamp with its bright shining shall give thee\par light." This is the redeemed one whom Satan hates and fears,--one\par filled with light, armored with light. A blaze of light is harder to\par approach than swords or bullets. Our Christian armor, piece by piece,\par is described in Ephesians 6:11-18. But here it is more our "walking in\par the light, as God is in the light," that is in view. Since we are\par "light in the Lord," let us so walk and war!\par \par Verse 13: As those in the day, let us be walking becomingly --Men\par choose the night for their revels; but our night is past, for we are\par all "children of the light and of the day" (I Thess. 5:5). Let us\par therefore do only what is fit for the light and for the day. We belong\par to that "day" which our Lord's coming will usher in,--and that\par shortly! Therefore, let us walk as those already in the daylight of\par that day! Not in riotings and drunkennesses--Nocturnal revels such as\par characterized the Roman Empire of Paul's day, and the myriad\par drunkennesses of modern "night parties," are in view here. How needful\par the warning to keep clear of these things in this hour when the time\par of "the iniquity of the end" (Ezek. 21:25, 29) is drawing nigh! Young\par people, rushing on to damnation, with "dates" beginning at 10 or 11 or\par even midnight, and ending perhaps at dawn, know well what "revellings\par and drunkennesses" are. Let the saints in horror shun them!\par \par And the next things of the text follow these, as they have always\par followed them: Not in chamberings and wantonness--The word translated\par "chamberings" occurs three other times: Luke 11:7, Romans 9:10,\par Hebrews 13:4. Its being in the plural number here, and associated with\par the word generally rendered "lasciviousness," suggests its horrid\par meaning. Schaff and Riddle well say: "Various forms of secret vice are\par here indicated by the plural. These sins are closely connected with\par the preceding (revellings and drunkennesses), often caused by them.\par The word translated `wantonness' points to an abandoned sensuality."\par David said: "The floods of ungodliness (Heb. Belial) made me afraid"\par (Ps. 18:4). So earth's steadily increasing tide of Noah's-day\par wickedness would terrify us, did we not know that the Lord is coming,\par to deliver His saints and to judge this very wickedness!\par \par Not in strife and jealousy--Brawls, troubles, "wounds without cause";\par hatreds and jealousies, follow this train of self-indulgent sins.\par "Strife and jealousy," here, may also particularly indicate those\par strifes, envyings, and jealousies which so frequently remain not put\par away among believers: "Wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old\par leaven [that is, revellings and vices of the world of the wicked],\par neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness," (I Cor.\par 5:8)--which, alas, Paul has to warn against over and over among\par Christians: "Whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye\par not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men?" (I Cor. 3:3).\par "Put away anger, wrath, malice, railing" (Col. 3:8).\par \par Verse 14: But on the contrary, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and\par for the flesh,--do not make provisions, to fulfil its lusts.\par \par The full title of our Lord Jesus Christ awakes, almost startles us,\par here: Jesus is His personal name (Matt. 1:21); as Christ, the anointed\par One, He does His saving work; as Lord, He is over all things. The full\par title was announced by Peter at Pentecost: "God hath made Him both\par Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." All true believers\par have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27) for He is their life; and the\par Corinthians were told that--Jesus Christ was in them (II Cor. 13:5).\par It is striking that the first use of our Lord's full title is by Peter\par in Acts 11:17, in connection with the gift of the Holy Spirit in the\par upper room: "The gift God gave unto us, when we believed on the Lord\par Jesus Christ." They had before believed on Jesus, as the Jewish\par Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God: but evidently when He had\par ascended into glory, God led them to a surrendering of earthly hopes,\par and an appropriating of their Lord, in His now exalted and glorified\par character, as the Lord Jesus Christ, in a phase of faith never know\par before. It is this Christ Paul commands us to put on--the Lord Jesus\par Christ! Not as our righteousness are we to "put Him on": for He is\par Himself the righteousness of all believers. But it is as to our walk\par and warfare that we put Him on. We are to be panoplied with Christ!\par \par There is an instructive passage in Colossians Three, giving light on\par this command to "put on." In verse 3 there, the Holy Spirit says\par through Paul, "Ye died." (It is an aorist tense, asserting a fact.)\par The believer now shares Christ's risen life, and is told (as we have\par repeatedly seen) that he is "alive from the dead," a new creation. In\par the ninth verse of the same chapter, we have the words, "Ye have put\par off the old man"; and in verse 10, "Ye have put on the new man"! Then,\par in verses 5 and 8, "put to death," "put away," your "members which are\par in the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion; anger, wrath,\par malice," and all such things. It is in and by the fact that we died\par with Christ that we have "put off the old man": as is said in\par Colossians 2:11, also, concerning our participation in "the\par circumcision of Christ" [258] (His cutting off in death), we put off\par "the body of the flesh."\par \par Then, (and not until our realization by faith of this federal death\par with Christ), are we ready in confidence to "put away" all those\par things that belong to our former manner of life, the old things) and\par to "put on, as God's elect, holy and beloved (of Him.), a heart of\par compassion, kindness, humility, meekness" (Col. 3:12, ff).\par \par "Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ" is, therefore, our path, not only\par prescribed, but gloriously attainable. For we are in Him! and that\par federal "new man which hath been created in righteousness and holiness\par of truth" (Eph. 4:24) belongs now to us. Even as "the old man"\par belonged by natural birth to us in the First Adam, so does the "new\par man" belong to us who are in Christ, the Last Adam!\par \par Make not provision for the flesh--The word "provision" here is\par literally "forethought." It denotes the attitude of mind we used to\par have toward the flesh, as secretly expecting to gratify it, if not\par immediately, yet at some time. It is the opposite of the spirit of\par Galatians 5:24; it is Saul sparing Agag.\par \par To fulfil its desires--The flesh has endless lusts and desires,--all\par clamoring for indulgence. Besides the lower lusts, and our natural\par self-sparing slothfulness, there are all the forms of self-pleasing:\par self-esteem, "sensitiveness," love of praise, man-fearing, fleshly\par amiability, flattery of others for selfish ends, pride, "dignity,"\par impatience of non-recognition by others, sheer empty conceit, and a\par thousand other "desires of the flesh," for which no provision is to be\par made. Often we can, if we will, see beforehand and shun circumstances\par that would give the flesh an advantage to indulge itself. But it is\par only by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ as the positive attitude of\par the soul, that we shall find ourselves able and willing to refuse any\par provision for the flesh. [259]\par \par CONCERNING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT\par \par 1. God for His own reasons forbade any human hand to execute Cain, the\par first murderer. Iniquity increased, and God brought the Deluge.\par \par 2. After the Deluge, God announced a complete change of earth's\par governmental affairs. In the words of Genesis 9:5 and 6, "Surely your\par blood, the blood of your lives, will I require; at the hand of every\par beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of\par every man's brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth\par man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God\par made He man." God here puts the sword of the magistrate into man's\par hand as not before. Furthermore, the "everlasting covenant" with Noah,\par of which the above quoted words were a part, God said would last\par "while the earth remaineth" (Gen. 8:20-9:7).\par \par 3. Under the Law of Moses, 1000 years later, God reaffirmed the\par governmental duty of punishing murderers with death: "Ye shall take no\par ransom for the life of a murderer that is guilty of death. For blood,\par it polluteth the land, and no expiation can be made for the land for\par the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it"\par (Num. 35:31, 33).\par \par 4. Note that in the above quotation, the crime of murder is said by\par God so to pollute the land, that there can be "no expiation made for a\par land" for this crime, save by the execution of the murderer.\par \par 5. It is said that upwards of 200,000 known man-killers are alive in\par America. "To realize," said Judge Kavanagh of Chicago, "the prevalency\par of this invisible class (murderers at large in the United States), it\par is only necessary to consider that they are more than we have of\par clergymen of all denominations, or male teachers in our schools; or\par all lawyers, judges, and magistrates, put together; and three times\par the number of our editors, reporters, and writers; and 52,000 more\par  unconfined killers than we have policemen." Only by the stern carrying\par out of the command of God regarding the murderer, can this crime be\par checked.\par \par (In England, where more than 90% of murderers are executed after a\par fair but speedy trial, even the police do not carry revolvers except\par by special license!)\par \par 6. To claim that it is "not Christian" to execute murderers, is to\par deny directly Paul's plain word here in Romans Thirteen, that the\par magistrate "beareth not the sword in vain," being "a minister of wrath\par to him that doeth evil," and one of whom evil-doers are commanded to\par be afraid.\par \par 7. It is therefore an appalling disservice to home, state, and nation,\par to call that murder which God has commanded to be done--the execution\par of shedders of human blood. It is a libel on Christianity to claim\par that the current anti-capital-punishment cry is Christian. It is not\par Christian, but rebellion against God. "We suffer," said the penitent\par thief to his impenitent companion on the cross, "the due reward of our\par deeds!" That penitent thief said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me"; and\par our Lord's answer, "Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise," shows\par anew the great truth that government in this world, and salvation in\par the next, are two absolutely distinct things. Only the ignorant\par confound them.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [254] In those cases where Christians have been able to withdraw from\par intolerable situations, this rule is in no wise broken. The Huguenots\par fled from France to England, and the Puritans from England to America,\par for freedom of conscience,--much as the Lord said, "If they persecute\par you in one city, flee to another." Escape is sometimes possible, and\par is not rebellion.\par \par [255] Pacifists and "Internationalists" are (sometimes doubtless\par ignorantly) deadly enemies of God's order. It is a cowardly and a\par decadent generation that is willing to enjoy a heritage purchased at\par the cost of blood and tears, and then with an ignorant or basely\par perverted conscience say, "I do not believe in war or in fighting,"--a\par generation ignorant, first, of the very Scripture we are now studying,\par which tells us that magistrates, bearing no vain swords, are ministers\par of God; ignorant, second, of the lessons of history.\par \par \par "Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,\par \par Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."\par Effeminacy, dilettantism, and loss of patriotism, have always gone\par together. The hordes of barbarians from the North came down on a Rome\par enfeebled by luxury and hideous sin, and we know the result! Today\par America is filling up with the same sort of moral weaklings! We abhor\par war; but war there will be. We say to pacifists": Study the Scriptures\par and history, and be awakened from a fool's dream of unrealities. To\par those "conscientiously objecting" to bearing arms, we say: Study God's\par Word here in Romans 13. The magistrates, the rulers, are ministers of\par God, bearing not the sword in vain." Pacifist principles are doomed to\par defeat, for they are anti-Scriptural. You ask me, Would you fight? If\par called to military service by my government, I should answer that my\par ministry is preaching God's gospel of grace; but that I should gladly\par go to the battle front, and be placed in any position of danger, and\par should minister the gospel even to an active enemy, or to a prisoner\par from the enemy's ranks, with the same earnestness which I should hope\par to show toward men of my own country. On the other hand, I should\par abhor even the thought of divulging my country's secrets to my\par country's enemy. This would be rebuked by God Himself, who established\par nations, and gave them the duty of protecting their citizens and their\par borders. Strange dupes are American "pacifists" and\par "internationalists!" Christians who desire to know the conditions of\par the age, and how rapidly "The iniquity of the end" is rushing toward\par us should read pages 68 to 140 of A. C. Gaebelein's Conflict of the\par Ages. While we are not to be perplexed by the terrible things\par happening in the world: for the Lord said, "When ye hear of wars and\par rumors of wars see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must\par needs come to pass." Nevertheless, we should not be as the leaders of\par Israel--blind to the days in which they lived. All these new forms of\par power--Communism, Facism, Naziism; and also the subtle powers of evil\par working in America are preparing the way for the Antichrist. Several\par easily procurable books, such as Tainted Contacts by Col. E. N.\par Sanctuary; The Red Network, by Elizabeth Dilling; and Pastors,\par Politicians, and Pacifists, by L. F. Smith and E. B. Johns, expose the\par poison of this "deadly white snake," pacifism; and should be in the\par possession of every believer. In parallel columns on pages 100 to 107,\par in Tainted Contacts, Communists, Socialists, Internationalists, and\par Pacifists, are shown to be bed-fellows of common aims. The "Federal\par Council of Churches," (perhaps the most insidiously serpentine in its\par operations of any organization in America) is seen to be hand-in-glove\par with all these evil influences. Again we say, Read the Scriptures, and\par re-read them! They alone enlighten, reprove, correct, instruct.\par \par [256] 1."This ideal of the apostle neither confounds church and state,\par nor places them in antagonism, but properly co-ordinates them in\par Christian ethics. Romanism subordinates state to church; Erastianism\par [as today Fascism and Communism--W. R. N.], subordinates the church to\par the state, usually confounding them; Puritanism also confounded them,\par but with more of an acknowledged theocratic principle--Schaff and\par Riddle. We may add that the Reformation did not fully escape, in this\par respect, from Romanism and Judaism. Calvin established a theocratic\par state at Geneva, holding fast to civil powers in religious things,\par which led to the burning of Servetus! While Zwingli, in Switzerland,\par took the sword, and perished by it. We may further add that in our own\par day the perpetual meddling with governmental affairs carried on at\par various government centres by the church lobbies (I write in America)\par reveals that ignorance of the Church's heavenly calling, and that vain\par hope to "mend" this present world, which so darkens the counsels of\par government itself, and increases daily that deep-seated resentment by\par the powers that be against those who claim spiritual directive\par authority over government. The upshot has always been and will always\par be disastrous; for the State finally rises up and wades to\par independence of "religious" interference through rivers of blood!\par \par [257] "A fair exegesis of this passage can hardly fail to recognize\par the fact that the Apostle here as well as elsewhere (I Thess. 4:17; I\par Cor. 15:51), speaks of the coming of the Lord as rapidly approaching.\par Prof. Stuart, (Comm. p. 521), is shocked at the idea, as being\par inconsistent with the inspiration of his writings. How this can be, I\par am at a loss to imagine. "OF THAT DAY AND HOUR KNOWETH NO MAN, NO NOT\par THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN, NOR THE SON: BUT THE FATHER ONLY" (Mark 13:32).\par And to reason, as Stuart does, that because Paul corrects in II Thess.\par 2:1-3, the mistake of imagining it to be actually come, he did not\par himself expect it soon, is surely quite beside the purpose. The fact\par that the nearness or distance of that day was unknown to the Apostles,\par in no way affects the prophetic announcements of God's Spirit by them,\par concerning its preceding and accompanying circumstances. The `day and\par hour' formed no part of their inspiration:--the details of the event,\par did. And this distinction has singularly and providentially turned out\par to the edification of all subsequent ages. While the prophetic\par declarations of the events of that time remain to instruct us, the\par eager expectation of the time, which they expressed in their day, has\par also remained, a token of the true frame of mind in which each\par succeeding age (a fortiori) should contemplate the ever-approaching\par coming of the Lord. On the certainty of the event, our faith is\par grounded: by the uncertainty of the time our hope is stimulated, and\par our watchfulness aroused."\par \par [258] The circumcision with hands, of our Lord, when He was a babe\par eight days old (Luke 2:21), is here distinguished from His death, as\par cut off from natural life,--a "circumcision made without hands," and\par in which we have such part that we are now called "the circumcision"\par (Phil. 3:3). Jewish circumcision was a striking token of that death to\par the flesh which was executed at the cross.\par \par [259] Bishop Moule beautifully says: "Put on, clothe, and arm\par yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, the living Sum and\par true Meaning of all that can arm the soul. It is by living our life in\par the flesh by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20), that is, to say, in\par effect, by personally making use of the crucified and living Savior,\par Lord, Deliverer, our Peace and Power, amidst all the dark hosts of\par evil can do against us. Full in the face of the realities of sin--of\par Roman sin, in Nero's day--St. Paul has written down across them all,\par this spell, this Name: `Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.' Take first a\par steady look, he seems to say, at your sore need, in the light of God;\par but then at once look off, look here. Take your iniquities at the\par worst; this can subdue them. Take your surroundings at the\par worst,--this can emancipate you from their power. It is the `Lord\par Jesus Christ' and the `putting on' of Him. We can `put Him on' as\par Lord, surrendering ourselves to His absolute, while most benignant,\par sovereignty and will,--deep secret of repose. We can put Him on as\par `Jesus,' clasping the truth that He, our human Brother, yet Divine,\par saves His people from their sins. We can put Him on as `Christ' our\par Head, anointed without measure by the eternal Spirit, and still\par sending of that same Spirit into His happy members,--so that we are\par indeed one with Him and receive into our whole being the resources of\par His life."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } !7%Y15 Romans 15{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER FIFTEEN.\par \par Believers to Rec0%14 Romans 14{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red(%;13 Romans 13{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER THIRTEEN.\par \par Subjection to Rulers, as Ordained of God. Verses 1 to 7.\par \par No Debt but Love: What that Achieves! Verses 8 to 10.\par \par Awake! Christ's Coming Nears! Put on Christ Now! Verses 11 to 14.\par \par 1 Let every soul be in subjection to the authorities in power. For\par there is no authority save from God; and those that exist are put in\par place by 0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER FOURTEEN.\par \par Strong and Weak Believers Neither to Despise nor to Judge Each Other.\par Verses 1 to 12.\par \par Perfect Liberty in this Dispensation; but Each Must Walk According to\par Conscience. Verses 11 to 23.\par \par 1 But him that is weak in faith, receive ye, yet not for decision, of\par [his] scruples [ for him]. 2 One man hath faith to eat all things: but\par he that is weak eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth set at nought\par him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not judge him that\par eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest the\par house-servant of another? to his own Master he standeth or falleth.\par Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him\par stand.\par \par 5 One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day\par [alike]. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6 He that\par regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth,\par eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth\par not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.\par \par 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. 8 For\par whether we live, we live unto the Lord: or whether we die, we die unto\par the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For\par to this end Christ died and lived again, that He [and none else] might\par rule over both the dead and the living.\par \par 10 But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost\par thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the\par judgment-seat of God.\par \par 11 For it is written,\par \par As I live, saith the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow.\par \par And every tongue shall confess to God.\par \par 12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.\par \par PAUL, IN THIS Fourteenth Chapter, and the following one, directs his\par instruction chiefly "to the `strong,' who can bear it, while\par indirectly showing the state of the `weak'! Those weak in faith, like\par babes, are not able to take much nourishment at once; while those who\par are strong are often not willing to receive what seems to reflect upon\par their vigor. To have faith before God, secretly, hiding it from the\par weaker brother, for his sake, until he becomes stronger, is not easy:\par it requires walking in love, which is always costly to the one loving!\par \par Verse 1: But him that is weak in faith receive ye, yet not for decison\par of [his] scruples [for him]--As to receiving and welcoming into our\par fellowship believers less instructed or with weaker faith than\par ourselves, let us note what our attitude should be, (1) toward those\par less instructed or of weaker faith than ourselves; and (2) toward\par those with greater knowledge, and liberty of conscience, than\par ourselves.\par \par There are those who are "weak" in faith. They have true faith, they\par have Christ; but, because of traditional or legal teaching; or perhaps\par through Satan's accusations on account of former sins; or through not\par grasping the fact of their death with Christ and their present and\par eternal union with Him; or possibly because of habits of introspection\par and self-accusation, or even through unsubdued sin,--for some or all\par of these reasons, they are "weak."\par \par Such weak ones are to be received. Of course, in these days, when that\par sweet powerful fellowship of the early Christian assemblies, that\par consciousness of the presence in the assembly of the Holy Spirit, and\par so of the Risen Christ, is rare, there is difficulty in making clear\par the meaning of the word "receive. Ecclesiastical procedure has so\par usurped the place and prerogatives of the saints' acting by the\par conscious will of the Holy Spirit, as largely to obliterate the\par meaning of these words, "receive ye." People say, Was not so and so\par received into the church by the pastor and officers? "Official action"\par has supplanted the saints' blessed ministry of receiving, as described\par here.\par \par Nevertheless, we must go directly to Scripture in this serious,\par practical matter. By "receiving" the weak brother, is not meant\par allowing him to "join the church"; but acknowledging him, by the\par discernment of the Spirit, to be a man of faith (even though his name\par be Mr. Ready-to-halt). Thus he and we are members one of another,\par being in Christ. And there is the same welcome in the assembly to this\par feebler member as to the most gifted teacher of the Word among us. It\par is not that he has been "officially recognized," but that he has been\par discerned generally and w elcomed, in the Spirit.\par \par He is to be received,--but not to decide for him his conscientious\par scruples. No one's conscience but his own can direct him. He may be\par taught the Word, however, and God will bring him along. He must not be\par forced. If he have faith, though it be but weak faith, he is among us\par not by our action, but by Christ's.\par \par What a terrible contrast to the teaching of this Scripture is\par presented by the "close communion" people, and the "exclusivists," of\par all sorts. Unless a man pronounces "shibboleth" their way, there is\par not the thought of receiving him. This is the Pharisaism of the last\par days. And sad to say it is most found among those most enlightened in\par the truth, for "knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up." We are\par profoundly convinced that if those who now "exclude" so readily those\par differing from them were filled with love, filled with the Holy Ghost,\par not only wou ld there be deliverance from the awful wickedness of\par "exclusiveness," but there would be hundreds, even thousands, of\par hungry believers flocking into fellowship, where they would be\par lovingly greeted just as they are! Further teaching for them can wait:\par but receive them!\par \par Where faith in Christ in the least degree is found, we should be\par thankfully delighted, and should welcome such believers. All believers\par have not the same knowledge, nor the same freedom from tradition, nor\par the same strength of appropriating faith. We have no right to say to\par believers, "Sit back, until we are satisfied about you." This puts\par your will between believers and fellowship with God's saints.\par \par Verse 2: One man hath faith to eat all things: but he that is weak\par eateth herbs.\par \par In this verse Paul illustrates the strength and weakness of faith in a\par way that not only the Jewish believers of his day, but also peop le in\par our day, instantly understand. Faith to eat all things: "Faith" here\par means knowledge and heart- persuasion that Jewish distinctions of\par meats do not exist in this dispensation, which knowledge, one having,\par could eat any food with thankfulness, and with no scruples. Though\par certain flesh had been forbidden to an Israelite, and may be still\par regarded as an improper food by many, yet the strong believer\par remembers how our Lord Himself "made all meats clean" (Mark 7:19); and\par how Peter, insisting on regarding "all manner of four-footed beasts\par and creeping things and birds" as "common and unclean," heard God say\par thrice over, "What God hath cleansed, make not thou common." [260]\par \par To eat all things--At man's creation, God gave him the "green herb"\par and the fruits of "trees yielding seed." After the Flood, God gave man\par "every moving thing that liveth," to be food for him (Gen. 9:3).\par Today, all thes e foods are for us: herbs, fruits, flesh (and that of\par "all manner of four-footed beasts and creeping things of the earth and\par birds of the heaven"--Acts 10:12); and Paul also commands Timothy to\par "use a little wine for his stomach's sake, and his often infirmities."\par \par Christian freedom, then, takes no account of former restrictions of\par either food or drink, except for the weak brother's sake. "All things\par are clean" must be allowed to cover all things, whether of food or\par drink. The only restricting thought is of the "weak" brother who does\par not see this. [261]\par \par But he that is weak eateth herbs--Mark this! The "vegetarian," if so\par by conscience, is a "weak" brother. There even, are those today who\par esteem themselves particularly "strong," in abstaining from eating\par flesh, although God says, meats were "created to be received with\par thanksgiving, by them that believe and [also] know the truth. For\par  every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be\par received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the Word of\par God and prayer" (I Tim. 4:3-5). To make distinctions of meats where\par God has set aside such distinctions, is sad weakness indeed,--and\par sometimes presumption. However, presumptuous people are not in view in\par Romans 14:2, but simply those whose faith is not strong enough to\par enable them to eat the food they have been accustomed to regard as\par "forbidden."\par \par Verse 3: Let not him that eateth set at nought him that eateth\par not--Here is a solemn charge to the stronger brother. He that is\par strong in the liberty of faith is directed not to "set at nought" the\par weaker one. This applies not to eating only, but to the matter of\par regarding days, and to any other things people have "scruples" about.\par How a strong man loves to walk with a little child, holding his hand\par gently, and not ridiculing or scorning his weakness! Let us walk thus\par with weaker brethren!\par \par And let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth--The weaker\par brother is not to "judge" the stronger. And note, in the case of the\par stronger, are used the words, For God hath received him. Doubtless God\par has received the weaker brother also. But do you know it is much more\par difficult for us really to believe in our hearts that God approves a\par man of wide Christian liberty, than to believe that God approves a man\par of many conscientious scruples? Yet the man of wide, strong faith, is\par honoring the work of Christ, as the man of trembling conscience has\par not yet come to do!\par \par Verse 4: Paul writes this verse directly regarding this judging,\par whether secret or open, of Christ's stronger servants by weaker ones;\par and thus he encourages Christian freedom: Who art thou that judgest\par another's house-servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth.\par Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him\par stand-- despite the criticisms and judgings of those who have not his\par faith.\par \par It is striking, and tenderly suggestive, that the word "servant" in\par this verse is "household servant," or, as we have shortened,\par "house-servant." How would we, as masters of houses, feel, if, having\par invited a number of guests to dinner, we should overhear one of these\par guests criticizing the servant who waited upon him! Now Christ is Head\par over God's house, and all believers are servants of Christ. Let no one\par undertake to judge, therefore, a servant of Another--before whom we\par shall all shortly stand!\par \par And meanwhile, no matter what are our failures, or the attitude of\par others toward us, the fact remains that our Lord "hath power to make\par us stand," before Him,--our only Judge. What a deep comfort these\par words are!\par \par Verse 5: One man regardeth one day to be above another: another\par regardeth every day [alike]. Let each man be fully assured in his own\par mind. Here Paul takes up the "day question,"--a live one to this hour!\par You instantly say. Is not the Lord's Day above others? No, not in\par itself, as a "holy" day, in the sense that the Sabbath was and will be\par to Israel. Paul shows this plainly in his exhortation of Colossians\par 2:16: "Let no man judge you . . . in respect of . . . a sabbath day."\par For, says he, you died with Christ unto earthly religious things; and\par must not now "observe" them. This passage shows that the first day of\par the week is not the "sabbath" at all. All those days of Judaism were\par "shadows." "But the body is Christ's." But you say, I am not a Jew;\par the day has been changed. To which I answer, you speak as might a Jew;\par for the day has not been "changed." There is but one weekly Sabbath\par known in Scripture and that is the seventh day. It will even be\par observed again weekly, in the land of Israel, after "the six working\par days," of every week in the coming age, the Millennium (Ezek. 46:1, 3,\par 4). Because men have been wrongly taught or influenced, whether by\par Judaizing believers in the early Christian centuries, or alas, by\par Reformers and Puritans since the Reformation, most Christians regard\par the first day of the week as "the weekly Sabbath," a "holy\par day,"--which entirely defeats its proper Scripture use. It substitutes\par a stern legal must for grace's sweet word, privilege. "The so-called\par Puritan teaching here has been rightly called `an adulterous\par theology'; because it sought to marry believers to both husbands, to\par the Law and to Christ" (Scofield).\par \par Howbeit, let us remain in the spirit of this fifth verse, which is one\par of love: Another regardeth every day (alike). The weak brother, still\par influenced in his conscience by legal considerations, held the first\par day of the week [262] as peculiar and sacred in itself. He invested it\par with the restrictions of a Jewish sabbath, insead of hailing it with\par fresh joy each week as an opportunity for remembering, with other\par Christians, his Lord; and our place in the new creation with Him.\par \par Now, the strong believer regarded every day alike. Each day alike was\par an opportunity for him to be filled with the Spirit, and in everything\par by word or deed giving thanks unto God the Father through Him. No day,\par thus, was holy in itself, above another! Privilege there was on the\par Lord's Day, but no bondage. Paul's instruction is, Let each man be\par fully assured in his own mind. Moses never could have said a thing\par like that! There is a sense in which these words reveal our liberty in\par Christ as does no other single passage. The Law allowed no liberty of\par action in such things: its very spirit and essence was bondage to a\par letter. Conscience was judged beforehand by the letter of the Law;\par conduct was prescribed. When a man gathered sticks on the Sabbath, he\par was stoned! Not so, now! Not being under the Law, or the legal\par principle, but in the Risen Christ, under God's eternal favor, we have\par entered upon what the Spirit, in Chapter Twelve, calls our\par "intelligent service." Here is an amazing sphere of holy freedom in\par which each of us, learning the truth, is treated as a king in the\par realm of his own mind. Instead of being told what he must or must not\par do, he is freely exhorted to assure his own mind and heart fully, and\par walk as Christ's free man. Read Alford's trenchant note below. [263]\par \par 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that\par eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that\par doth not eat, unto the Lord he doth not eat, and giveth thanks to God.\par 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. 8 For\par whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto\par the Lord; whether therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For\par to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might rule over both\par the dead and the living.\par \par Verse 6: These verses, of course, contemplate true believers only,\par those who "give God thanks."\par \par Here we have some regarding the day as holy in itself, Jewish\par believers especially, not fully delivered from the Law, would have\par tender consciences about days. But if they knew the Lord, it would be\par toward the Lord their consciences could be exercised, and they must be\par considered in love on that account; love would see through their eyes!\par \par Again, there were those with greater knowledge and liberty who\par "regarded not the day," knowing that every day, for those risen in\par Christ, is alike: the first day of the week being not a sabbath, but\par rather the celebration of our Lord's resurrection which delivered us\par from legal things. Ignatius (martyred about 115 A.D.) said, "Those who\par were concerned with old things have come to newness of confidence, no\par longer keeping Sabbaths, but living according to the Lord's Day, on\par whom our life, as risen again, through Him, depends." And Justin\par Martyr, (martyred about 168 A.D.) when reproached by Trypho with\par "giving up the Sabbath," said, "How can we keep the Sabbath, who rest\par from sin all the days of the week?"\par \par Let those of legal tendencies mark this: that a man may regard not\par what we regard, and do so "unto the Lord." Then the man who has\par liberty to eat all things, eats "unto the Lord," and gives God thanks.\par And again, (let the stronger brother consider) there are those that\par eat not as "unto the Lord," giving God thanks.\par \par Verses 7, 8, 9: The argument of verses 7, 8 and 9 is that each one of\par us is living or dying absolutely unto the Lord,--whose we are. We are\par not in any sense one another's lords! but belong to Christ alone, who\par died and lived that He might rule over us all,--and not we be lords of\par each other! or of the faith of others! Therefore comes the searching\par question:\par \par Verses 10-12: But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou,\par again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand\par before the judgment-seat of God.\par \par For it is written:\par \par As I live, saith the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow, [not to men].\par \par And every tongue shall confess to God.\par \par So then each one of us shall give account concerning himself to\par God--[not to men].\par \par The best manuscripts read "the judgment-seat of God" in verse 10: thus\par accommodating the words to the quotation from the Old Testament (Isa.\par 14:23). This word "God" is also used in Romans 14:12, as we see;\par although we know from II Corinthians 5:10, it will actually be before\par the judgment-seat of Christ that believers will be called. (Always\par remembering that Christ is God the Son.) Also, that "the Father has\par given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).\par \par Of course we know from our Lord's words in John 3:18 and 5:24, that\par condemnatory judgment cannot be applied to believers here, for, "He\par that believeth on Him is not judged"; "Verily, verily, I say unto you,\par He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath\par eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of\par death into life." In Revelation 20, also, the saved, the "blessed and\par holy," partake of the first resurrection; and over them the second\par death, the penalty of the lost, 1000 years later, has "no authority."\par  Nevertheless, we must not allow this blessed fact to dull the force of\par the solemn question propounded to us by our beloved apostle Paul, as\par to how we dare either judge or despise our brother? seeing that such\par action involves presumptuous forgetfulness both of the fact that we\par are not judges; and of the other fact that we shall all, though saved,\par stand before the judgment-seat of God and each "give an account of\par himself" to Him. In II Corinthians 5:10, of this judgment-seat (bema)\par for believers this is said: "We must all be made manifest before the\par judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in\par the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad."\par In I Corinthians 3:13-15, we see that "if any man's work shall abide\par . . . he shall receive a reward." It is a matter of reward for our\par service, and not salvation, that is here in question. "If any man's\par work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be\par saved; yet so as through fire"-- that is, losing, as one whose house\par is burned, all his goods, though himself delivered. The whole emphasis\par here in Romans 14:12, is that each gives an account concerning\par himself--not of others; and to God instead of to man!\par \par The reading "judgment-seat of Christ," Romans 14:10, would seem to\par agree both with II Corinthians 5:10, and the whole spirit of the\par preceding verses here, especially verse 9. We know also that the\par Father has committed to the Son all judgment, both of believers and\par unbelievers (John 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31). But that it is before God\par (instead of a fellow-man) that all will bow, is being emphasized; and\par Christ is God, and will, we believe, as Man be the Judge, even at the\par Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11-15.\par \par 13 No longer, therefore, let us [Christians] be judging one another.\par But do judge ye this, rather, that no man put an obstacle in his\par brother's way, or a snare. 14 I [personally] know and am persuaded in\par the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save that to him\par who reckoneth anything to be. unclean, to that one it is unclean. 15\par For if because of thy food thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no\par longer in love. Destroy not with thy food that one for whom Christ\par died!.\par \par 16,17 Let not then your good be evil spoken of. For the kingdom of God\par is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the\par Holy Spirit. 18 For the one herein serving Christ is well-pleasing to\par God, and approved of men.\par \par 19 So then let us pursue things which make for peace, and things\par whereby we may edify one. another. 20 Overthrow not for food's sake\par the work of God? All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for\par that man who eateth with stumbling. 21 It is noble not to eat flesh,\par nor to drink wine, nor [to do] anything whereby thy brother stumbleth,\par or is offended or is made weak. 22 The faith which thou hast, have\par thou to thyself before God. Blessed is he that doth not judge himself\par in that which he alloweth! 23 But he that doubteth is condemned if he\par eat, because he eateth not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is\par sin.\par \par Verse 13: No longer, therefore, let us [Christians] be judging one\par another. But do judge ye this, rather, that no man put a\par stumbling-block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling.\par \par Here now is indeed a field for judging! And it is ourselves, not our\par brother, which we are to judge! And it is ours to see to it that no\par one of us is, or is doing, aught that binders or stumbles any brother.\par If these comments persuade any Christian to stop judging others and\par begin to judge himself, it will indeed be a fruit unto God! A\par stumbling-block is something in us that grieves a weaker brother; an\par occasion of falling, signifies that which we may freely do, but which\par another, undertaking, may in doing act against his own conscience, and\par therefore sin. Literally, the word means "snare," or "trap."\par \par Verse 14: I know [personally], and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus,\par that nothing is unclean in itself: save that to him that reckoneth\par anything to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.\par \par Paul states in verse 14 his own knowledge and liberty,-- which is our\par pattern. Note carefully that knowledge comes first: "I know."\par "Persuasion in the Lord Jesus," that is, full heart liberty, or\par freedom of conscience, is second. There must be both,--not only\par knowledge of the Christian's freedom, but heart and conscience\par persuasion, if we would walk in the liberty that belongs to the\par Christian. To such a one, nothing is unclean "of itself." Distinction\par of meats (as under Judaism) is entirely gone; distinction of days (as\par under Judaism) is entirely gone. It is only to those whose lack of\par knowledge or weakness of conscience "accounts" or holds a thing to be\par unclean,--or, as we say, "wrong," that it is so. What a glorious\par deliverance! No place is left for "religious fussing." Christ, and the\par freedom that is in Him, fills all heaven, our whole horizon, at every\par moment: "To me, to live is Christ."\par \par But to the conscience not yet delivered (and real freedom of\par conscience is more rare than we think!) many things seem to be\par "unclean" in themselves: that is, Christians feel it is "wrong" to do\par them. You and I may have full light to the contrary: yea, these also\par may see the written Word that "nothing is unclean in itself" in this\par dispensation. But the conscience cannot be commanded. It must be\par persuaded, by the blessed Spirit--in the Lord Jesus. When one is thus\par set free, his walk is not forced, but happy and natural.\par \par Verse 15: For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, [264] thou\par art no longer walking according to love. Do not with thy meat destroy\par that one for whom Christ died. "If Christ so loved as to die for him,\par how base in you or me not to submit to the smallest self-denial for\par his welfare!" This verse often occasions the question, How could a\par "brother" be in danger of destruction? Let me quote on this passage\par from Charles Hodge, one of the greatest Calvinistic writers:\par "Believers (the elect) are constantly spoken of (in Scripture) as in\par danger of perdition. They are saved only if they continue stedfast (in\par faith). If they apostatize, they perish. If the Scriptures tell the\par people of God what is the tendency of their sins as to themselves,\par they may tell them what is the tendency of such sins as to others.\par Saints are preserved not in spite of apostasy, but from apostasy." To\par this agree Paul's words: "Ye are saved if ye hold fast the word which\par I preached unto you" (I Cor. 15:2). "If so be that ye continue in the\par faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the\par gospel" (Col. 1:23). Before us, in verse 15, lies the awful fact that\par the destruction of one who is called a brother lies within the power\par of our use of our liberty--if it causes him to "stumble."\par \par This does not touch the security of those born of God and `"sealed to\par the day of redemption." God says even of the carnal Corinthians, that\par "God was faithful, through whom they were called," "who would confirm\par them unto the end" (I Cor. 1:8, 9). But we are not saved as\par automatons! God gives us a gospel to be believed, and a walk to be\par walked, corresponding to that gospel. That God can (and often does)\par rescue those whose w alk is a failure is seen in the stern, but saving\par dealing with the brother of I Corinthians 5:1-5. But this same epistle\par records the solemn warning quoted above: "Ye are saved if ye hold fast\par the words." Modernists, like all infidels, make light of "holding fast\par the pattern of sound words" (II Tim. 1:13). But God told earnest,\par praying Cornelius to send for Peter, who should "speak unto him words,\par by which he should be saved" (Acts 11:13, 14). Faith begins and lives\par by God's words only!\par \par Verse 16: Let not then your good be evil spoken of--(literally,\par blasphemed): "Good" here refers to the use of Christian liberty by\par those who are strong of faith, which is indeed good and delightful to\par God in itself; but in the use of which one must take heed that it be\par not judged and spoken evil of by the weaker brethren. We must always\par have the weaker in mind. You may have very blessed liberty in Christ;\par an!d that is good! But watch, in using your freedom, lest some one not\par having your freedom calls your path wickedness! Don't lose your\par liberty, but use it carefully. (See verse 22.)\par \par Verse 17: Now Paul writes a great verse, giving such a reason for this\par careful walk as ought to win all of us:\par \par For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness\par and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one thus serving Christ,\par is well pleasing to God, and approved of men.\par \par In saying the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, Paul at one\par word sweeps the whole Christian platform clear of the rubbish of all\par the traditions of men. Men bow, for example, to the Pope's\par "no-meat-on-Fridays." But let these mark well that all such things\par have nothing whatever to do with the kingdom of God! The kingdom of\par God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Man cannot\par even see the ki"ngdom of God except by a new, "down from above"\par (anothen) BIRTH (John 3:3)! And, since the Holy Spirit came at\par Pentecost, believers are said to be in the Spirit--no longer in the\par flesh--to which the earthly distinctions of meats and days pertained.\par \par And note, that the words here are not, righteousness in Christ\par --referring to our standing; but righteousness in the Holy\par Spirit--referring to our walk! Also, joy in the Holy Spirit. We cannot\par too strongly emphasize this fact--that "the kingdom of God," now, is\par altogether in the Spirit! This leaves forms and ceremonies, days and\par seasons, unclean meats and clean meats, absolutely out! Such things\par are not Christian. They are Jewish or pagan, now! Such "religious"\par distinctions as these concerning eating and drinking are certainly not\par at all in the Holy Ghost--where all the saints now are (Rom. 8:9), and\par in whose energy all the real operations of "the kingd#om of God" now\par are!\par \par Verse 18: The one herein serving Christ--This word herein refers to\par the state of righteousness of life, peace of heart, and joy in God\par which those walking in the Spirit display. And the words serving\par Christ further prove that verse 17 has reference to practical walk,\par not to our standing in Christ. One thus walking, we see, is\par well-pleasing to God, and approved of men. Our Lord said, "If any man\par serve Me, him will the Father honor" (John 12:26). Nothing really\par pleases God, (since Christ the Son has been manifested, and become\par obedient to the Father even unto death), but to have men know and\par serve Christ--whose yoke is easy! But such service is made possible\par only since the coming of the Holy Spirit: therefore, "righteousness,\par peace, joy, in the Holy Spirit" is that service of Christ which\par delights God. And approved of men--Men will not always admit it, but\par they ap$prove a believer who walks righteously, in Divine peace, and\par joy. Mere religious professors, men despise: but, while they may and\par often do persecute the one who walks in the Spirit, they at heart\par approve such,--yes, and only such! Let us ask ourselves. Does my walk\par please God? Is it approved in the hearts of men?\par \par Verse 19: So then let us pursue the things that belong to peace, and\par things whereby we shall build up one another.\par \par The word "pursue" is a strong word, generally used for persecute,\par follow hard after, as in hunting. Compare Chapter 12:13b, "given to\par (literally, pursuing) hospitality": Philippians 3:14: "I press toward\par the mark." Peter says, "Let him seek peace and pursue it"--same word.\par See also I Timothy 6:10, and II Timothy 2:22. So let us pursue the\par things of peace and of helping others. There is no more direct and\par effectual path away from yourself!\par \par "Pursuing peace" %is the negative side--refusing to engage in selfish\par conflict. Pursuing "edifying things" is the positive side. You must\par study the state and need of others, and "build up their need." See\par Eph. 4:29, margin.\par \par Verse 20: Overthrow not for food's sake the work of God! Let us not be\par as unregardful of our brother as was Esau of God Himself! The "work of\par God" here refers to the operations of the Spirit of God within the\par soul--"the fabric which the grace of God has begun, and which the\par edification of Christians by each other may help to raise." Or, which\par the selfish refusal to walk in love may pull down! For we find more\par people stumbling at the inconsistencies, and lack of love, in\par professing Christians, than at all things else. Let us follow Paul:\par "Though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to\par all, that I might gain the more . . . Let no man seek his own, but\par each his neighbor's& good . . . even as I also please all men in all\par things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many that\par they may be saved" (I Cor. 9:19; 10:24, 33).\par \par All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for the man who eateth\par with stumbling--All meats, all food, is indeed (in itself) clean, but\par to him that eats with a bad conscience, everything is evil. God indeed\par plainly says, concerning those who "command to abstain from meats,"\par that such are "giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of\par demons, because He Himself created meats to be "received with\par thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth" (I Tim. 4:1-5).\par But if one have not the assurance in his own conscience freely to obey\par this "command" of God, let him not violate his conscience; but wait\par humbly upon God, by His Word to strengthen him, and bring him into\par true Christian liberty. Otherwise his eating or drinking is not '"with\par thanksgiving," but in mere self-indulgence.\par \par Verse 21: It is noble not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [to do]\par anything whereby thy brother is made to stumble, or is ensnared, or is\par [made] weak--It has been remarked that in each of these three things,\par the effect is less than in the preceding one,--thus greatly\par strengthening and enlarging the exhortation. First, do not cause thy\par brother, by thy use of thy liberty, or in any conduct of thine, to\par have his fatal fall; second, do not even obstruct his Christian course\par by doing what might act as a snare to your brother, inducing him to\par act beyond his conscience; third, do not use your liberty, if your\par weaker brother, although he sees you are right, is not yet strong\par enough to follow you: and would therefore become disappointed and\par discouraged if he see you do so. "Wait for me!" did not your\par childhood's brother often call out to you? So( let us "wait for one\par another" in the spiritual life! Be conformed to his weakness for the\par present, and accommodate your walk to his, lest he remain weak. [265]\par \par Verse 22: Hast thou faith? Have [it] to thyself before God. Blessed is\par he that doth not judge himself in the acts which he alloweth [in his\par own life].\par \par "It is much more blessed to have a liberty before God which we do not\par use on account of our brother's weakness, than to insist on our\par liberty, though it be distinctly given. The man whom Paul declares\par `happy' is he who can eat what he pleases and drink what he pleases,\par without any qualms of conscience to condemn him while he does so."\par These words (from Sanday) are true. The word translated "allows," or\par "permits," or "approves," is literally, "puts to the test." The\par picture is of a man having before him a question of conscience (of\par days, meats, or whatever), whose decisions in t)he use of his liberty\par are such that he does not go beyond his knowledge, and persuasion in\par the Lord Jesus (verse 14). For, though he have in his mind that he is\par free in such or such a matter, if his conscience check him, he\par "judges" himself if he rushes ahead in an action. To the strong\par believer the apostle speaks this word: "Hast thou faith? Have it to\par thyself before God." You have probably known people whom in this sense\par you did not know! They had learned, yet were content not publicly to\par use, that great liberty of faith into which God had led them. It is\par blessed to have faith. It is yet more blessed to have that faith\par "before God"--when using the freedom it gives might perplex another!\par \par Verse 23: But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he\par eateth not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.\par \par Of course the word "damned" (for "condemned") of the King James\par Version,* is not the meaning here. But what is meant is the state of\par conscious condemnation into which one falls who goes beyond his faith\par in the exercise of his liberty. For he who acts thus enters the realm\par of self-will, the lawlessness (anomia) which God declares is sin\par (1John 3:4).\par \par The apostle's definition of sin here as "what is not of faith" is most\par searching. It will drive us to our knees. It reaches everything in our\par lives concerning which our conscience is not at rest, in which we do\par not have faith to proceed, in which we cannot walk with God.\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [260] Our Lord taught with sunlight clearness, "There is nothing from\par without a man, that entering into him can defile him" (Mark 7:15). The\par word "nothing" is decidedly emphatic and embraces what we drink as\par well as what we eat. And the weak in faith must remember this before\par t+hey condemn the saints who use the liberty here given to them. On the\par other hand, Paul teaches that this liberty of the stronger believer\par will limit itself by love. There has not been a time since he wrote\par when it was more necessary to heed this than today. For now there is\par abundant teaching, in zeal without knowledge, that contradicts and\par nullifies the principle laid down by Christ. This false teaching\par binds, without enlightening, the conscience.\par \par [261] There is, of course, to be temperance in the use of all things.\par "The bishop must be temperate," even as the deacon must not be "given\par to much wine" (I Tim. 3:2, 8). Nor is the man who has intelligent\par faith deceived by the wily pretenses of these. last days, whether of\par the "vegetarians," or of the don't-eat-starch-and-protein-together\par people. He remembers that God sent the ravens with bread and. flesh\par twice a day to Elijah!\par \par [262] Paul ,is evidently not speaking here of "various Jewish feasts\par and festivals," as some claim. Paul has nothing but the severest\par reprimands for those who turn to "observing days, and months, and\par seasons and years" (Gal. 4:10), and calls Judaism "weak and beggarly\par rudiments," now,--like the old idolatry (vv. 8, 9); and in Colossians\par 2:14: "The bond which was contrary to us" having been nailed to the\par cross, he classes feast days and new moons along with "a sabbath day";\par and asks believers not to let themselves be "judged" about them. With\par such observances, the Christian had nothing to do. But as to the first\par day of the week, marked out by the resurrection of our Lord, and His\par appearings to the disciples, as also by the breaking of bread (Acts\par 20:7, 8), and the Christian's systematic giving (I Cor. 16:2), the\par matter was different. The Christians gathered on the first day, they\par remembered the Lord at His table on -that evening, weekly. (I say,\par "evening," for it was so at the beginning-- John 20:19, Acts 20:7).\par God has indeed graciously so ordered things now, that we have the\par whole day. Yet look at Russia! And the same godlessness is spreading\par over the whole earth. Living faith in Christ,--not any kind of\par bondage, can sustain us.\par \par [263] "The Apostle decides nothing; leaving every man's own mind to\par guide him in the point. He classes the observance or non-observance of\par particular days, with the eating or abstaining from particular meats.\par In both cases, he is concerned with things which he evidently treats\par as of absolute indifference in themselves. Now the question is,\par supposing the Divine obligation of one day in seven to have been\par recognized by him in any form, could he have thus spoken? The obvious\par inference from his strain or arguing is, that he knew of no such\par obligation, but believed all times and .days to be, to the Christian\par strong in faith, ALIKE. I do not see how the passage can be otherwise\par understood. If any one day ill the week were invested with the sacred\par character of the Sabbath, it would have been wholly impossible for the\par Apostle to commend or uphold the man who judged all days worthy of\par equal honour,--who, as in verse 6, paid no regard to the (any) day. He\par must have visited him with his strongest disapprobation, as violating\par a command of God. I therefore infer, that sabbatical obligation to\par keep any day, whether seventh or first, was not recognised in\par apostolic times. It must be carefully remembered, that this inference\par does not concern the question of the observance of the Lord's Day as\par an institution of the Christian Church, analogous to the ancient\par Sabbath, but not in any way inheriting the Divinely-appointed\par obligation of the other, or the strict prohibitions by which its\par /sanctity was defended. The reply commonly furnished to these\par considerations, viz., that the Apostle was speaking here only of\par JEWISH festivals, and therefore cannot refer to Christian ones, is a\par quibble of the poorest kind: its assertors themselves distinctly\par maintaining the obligation of one such Jewish festival on Christians.\par What I maintain is, that had the Apostle believed as they do, he could\par not by any possibility have written thus. Besides, in the face of\par `every day' the assertion is altogether unfounded." (Alford: New\par Test., in loc.)\par \par [264] Two stages are noted in the words `grieved' and `destroy.' When\par one man sees another do that which his own conscience condemns, it\par causes him pain (he is grieved); but when he is further led on from\par this to do himself what his conscience condemns, he is in danger of a\par worse fate; he is morally ruined and undone (destroyed). The work of\par redemption that Christ has wrought for him is cancelled, and all that\par great and beneficent scheme is hindered of its operation by an act of\par thoughtlessness or want of consideration on the part of a fellow\par Christian"--Sanday.\par \par [265] Brown (in Jamleson, Fausset & Brown) well says, "This injunction\par to abstain from flesh and wine and whatsoever may hurt the conscience\par of a brother, must be properly understood. Manifestly the apostle is\par treating of the regulation of the Christian's conduct with reference\par simply to the prejudices of the weak in faith; and his directions are\par not to be considered as principles for one's entire lifetime, but\par simply as caution against too free use of Christian liberty in matters\par where other Christians, through weakness, are not persuaded that such\par liberty is Divinely allowed."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } 1eive One Another, as Christ (after His Jewish\par ministry). Received the Gentiles,---TO GOD'S GLORY. Verses 1 to 13.\par \par Paul's Great "Priestly-Ministry" of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Verses\par 14 to 21.\par \par His Purpose (long-hindered) to Come to the Roman Christians,--after\par the Great Jerusalem Contribution. Verses 22 to 33.\par \par 1 Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,\par and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each one of us please his neighbor\par for that which is good, unto edifying. 3 For Christ also pleased not\par Himself; but, as it is written. The reproaches of them that\par reproacheth Thee fell upon Me. 4 For whatsover things were written\par aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and\par through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now the God of\par patience and of comfort grant you to be tof the same mind one with\par another according to Christ Jesus: 6 2that with one accord ye may with\par one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7\par Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you, to\par the glory of God.\par \par THESE SEVEN VERSES should have closed the preceding chapter, as they\par continue and close up the subject there considered.\par \par Verse 1: Now we that are strong ought to bear [literally, are in debt\par to bear] the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.\par \par In Chapter 13:8 the word here translated "ought" (Greek, to owe), is\par used in forbidding a Christian to be in debt to others except in the\par way of love. Paul here addresses the "strong," being himself of that\par number; in which company may we also be found! It is those who are\par "spiritual" who can show love to others (Gal. 6:1). Note most\par carefully that it is not bearing with the infirmities of others that\par Paul is speaking of. The old lady said i3n the testimony meeting, "I\par have always got a lot of help out of that Bible verse that says, `Grin\par and bear it!' " And the little California girl was heard singing,\par "When all my neighbors and trials are o'er!" We are apt to think of\par others' weaknesses and infirmities as a burden we must put up with,\par for the Lord's sake,--as "our particular cross," for the present!\par Instead, God's Word here teaches us gladly to bear, to take over as\par our own, these infirmities! "Bear ye one another's burdens," is the\par "law of Christ"! (Gal. 6:2). How our blessed Lord bore the infirmities\par of His disciples!--infirmities of ignorance, of unbelief, of\par self-confidence, of jealousy among themselves,--until the disciples\par came into a state of loving trust in their Lord which made even Thomas\par say, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him"; and Peter: "Lord, I\par will lay down my life for Thee." Our Risen Lord again set the example\par4 of such "bearing." For even after they had forsaken Him in Gethsemane,\par in the upper room the Risen Lord appeared to them with, "Peace be unto\par you,"--and never a mention of their utter failure! It is this ability,\par manifested by Divine grace in us, constantly and without end to bear\par the infirmities of others, to take thought for, and excuse their\par weaknesses; and to endure for them anything and everything, that\par manifests Christ; and wins the trustful devotion of our fellow-saints.\par [266]\par \par Meyer well says, "In themselves strong and free, the strong become the\par servants of the weak, as Paul, the servant of all." "Pleasing\par ourselves" is the exact thing each of us will do unless we set\par ourselves to pursue, to follow after, love, until our Lord comes back!\par \par Verse 2: Let each one of us please his neighbor, in what is good, for\par [his] edification. Of course Paul does not mean here to exhort us to\par 5 man-pleasing in the way of selfishly seeking man's favor. He himself\par says, "Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving\par to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant\par of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). There is a man-pleasing spirit that is very\par obnoxious to God. We may be "nice" to people for our own selfish\par benefit. But remember that this exhortation to please our neighbor\par "for his benefit unto edifying," indicates a studied care for others;\par laying aside our own preferences, and pleasing them in every way that\par will in the end benefit them spiritually. This, of course, does not\par mean that we are to compromise with any evil our neighbor may be\par doing, by having fellowship with him in a worldly path in order to\par "win" him. The expression "unto that which is good," shuts out that.\par Paul puts it beautifully in I Corinthians 10:32 to 11.1: "Give no\par occasion of stumbling, eith6er to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the Church\par of God: even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine\par own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be ye\par imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ."\par \par Verse 3: For Christ also pleased not Himself: but, as it is written,\par The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell upon Me--Christ never\par "looked after" Himself: the whole world knows this! "The foxes have\par holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath\par not where to lay His head." Yet His whole life, from early morning\par till late at night, and often into the night, was occupied in ministry\par to others! The multitudes found out with joy that here was One whose\par whole business was "going about doing good." The constant drawing upon\par Him by the multitudes,--upon His time, His love, His teaching, His\par healing, was a marvelous proof that they could count on 7the absolute\par absence of self-pleasing, in Him!\par \par The Psalms, which give the inner heart-history of our Lord, reveal,\par (as, for instance, does the Sixty-ninth Psalm, from which Paul here\par quotes,--the great "Reproach" [267] Psalm), how difficult was our\par Lord's path in a sinful, selfish. God-hating world. Yet it is written\par of Him: "He pleased not Himself."\par \par Verse 4: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for\par our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the\par Scriptures [268] we might have hope.\par \par Note these four words that God has joined together: "learning . . .\par patience . . . comfort of the Scriptures . . . hope": "learning" is\par heart knowledge, as our Lord said: "Every one that hath heard from the\par Father, and hath learned, cometh unto Me" (John 6:45). "Patience"\par follows, for, knowing God, we can wait for Him to work. Next is\par "comfort of the Scrip8tures." It is astonishing--something beyond human\par conception, this "comfort of the Scriptures"! We have all seen saints\par poor in purse, accounted nothing at all by men, and perhaps suffering\par constant physical pain, sad bereavement of loved ones, and complete\par lack of understanding by other professing Christians: yet comforted by\par poring over the Scriptures! Hearts happy and hopeful, despite it all!\par You can step from any state of earthly misery into the glorious halls\par of heavenly peace and comfort! Praise God for this! "Be ye comforted,"\par writes Paul in II Corinthians 13:11.\par \par It is ever good to be going over God's dealings, not only with Christ,\par but with His Old Testament saints; marking how He is continually\par bringing them into hard places, where they learn to trust Him more!\par Joseph, in prison for righteousness; David, anointed of God, but\par hunted for years "like a partridge in the mountains"; Jeremiah i9n the\par miry dungeon; the three in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, and Daniel in the\par den of lions: not to speak of the New Testament story--James and\par Stephen killed, the apostles in prison. You may ask, How does "hope"\par spring out of such trials? We do not ask such a question if we have\par learned the lesson of Romans Five: "Knowing that tribulation worketh\par steadfastness; and steadfastness, approvedness; and approvedness,\par hope,"--witnessed to by the shedding abroad of God's love for us in\par our hearts! Therefore let us seek that comfort and hope which this\par verse tells us the Scriptures work in us if we patiently learn them.\par When we get thus learningly to verse 13 in this chapter, we shall find\par ourselves abounding in hope!\par \par Verses 5 and 6: Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be\par of one mind together according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one\par accord, with one mouth, glorify the God and :Father of our Lord Jesus\par Christ.\par \par Paul asks here that the same God who gave to the Old Testament saints\par and to the apostles "endurance" and "comfort of the Scriptures," may\par grant that we may be "like-minded, loving as brethren" (I Pet. 3:8).\par "Behold, how these Christians love one another!" was the amazed but\par constant testimony of paganism, yea, of Judaism, also, regarding\par believers in the early days of the Church. And this Spirit-wrought\par unity and tender affection is by far the greatest need amongst\par believers today. New "movements," new "educational programs," great\par contributions of funds--what are these worth while Christians are\par divided in mind, more in discord than accord? Such a state cannot\par "glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." "By this," our\par Lord said, "shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have\par love one to another" (John 13:35).\par \par And this ac;cord, this unity, is not brought about by outward\par organization. There is, incited by the devil, a great cry that all\par professing Christians today "get together," form themselves into a\par great "charitable" unity, inclusive of Romanists, Protestants, and\par well-intended Jews. Meanwhile, in answer to the earnest, persistent\par cry of God's people that He would revive His Church, the real saints\par are being drawn more and more by His Word into the true fellowship of\par the Holy Spirit. Bible conferences, unsectarian Bible schools,\par gatherings and even leagues for prayer, and increasing intelligent\par fellowship with truly godly missionary effort, are the real sign that\par God is granting Paul's desire that believers may with one mouth\par glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.\par \par People generally make one of two mistakes concerning Christian unity.\par First, that there must be absolute unanimity of opinion on all poo be outside "Mother Church," outside the fold of\par Rome, is to be without the pale of salvation!\par \par Both these things are fearful perversions of the truth.\par \par Verse 7: Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ received\par you, to the glory of God.\par \par Strong and weak believers alike are here exhorted to receive one\par another,--for God's glory. This not only includes formal welcoming of\par other believers into the fellowship of the church, the Assembly of the\par Saints; but, what is far more and deeper, exercising constant careful\par love to one another;--and all this done with a view to the glory of\par God! For Christ received us to that end! As He says, "All that which\par the Father giveth Me shall come unto Me; and him that cometh unto Me I\par will in no wise cast out. For I am come down from Heaven, not to do\par Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:37, 38). It\par is Christ's delight to w?elcome sinners, for that glorifies God; and\par there is joy in Heaven over it! Let there be like joy over our\par Christian love,--our "receiving" one another; for it glorifies God!\par \par Verses 8 and 9: For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the\par circumcision for the truth of God, that He might confirm the promises\par unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His\par mercy--\par \par Here Paul defines in a single phrase our Lord's character as a\par "minister," in His earthly life: He was a "minister of the\par circumcision." That is, He came "unto His own." He said, "I was not\par sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," (Matt. 15:24).\par Tell this to the ordinary professing Christian, and he regards you\par with amazement, if not with anger. When our Lord sent out the Twelve,\par in Matthew Ten, He said, "Go not into any way of the Gentiles, and\par enter not into any city of the Samaritans: @but go rather to the lost\par sheep of the house of Israel." Now people resent that, because of\par their sad ignorance--both of the Divine sovereignty, and revealed\par plan. So, the first thing to clear away in our minds is the uncertain\par or false teaching, about the mission of Christ on earth. He was made a\par minister of the circumcision for the truth of God; that He might\par confirm the promises unto the fathers.\par \par Now we know that Christ came to declare the Father--to reveal God as\par He is. Also He came to give His life a ransom for many, to become "the\par propitiation for the whole world." Thus He "came not to be ministered\par unto, `but to minister."\par \par But, if we are to understand the story of His ministry, in the\par Gospels, we must remember that He was first a "minister of the\par circumcision,' as the Jewish Messiah, fulfilling, "confirming" the\par Divine promises of the Old Testament to that nation. [269] And whAat\par was this "ministry of the circumcision?\par \par What was it meant to accomplish? Paul here says, It was for the sake\par of God's truth, God's faithfulness. His veracity, "to confirm the\par promises that had been given to the fathers"-- Abraham, Isaac, and\par Jacob. It was on God's behalf, to show that when God makes commitments\par and promises, He forgets them not, but fulfils them. He had promised a\par Messiah to Israel, and He sent the Messiah.\par \par But God had made no promises, no commitments, to the Gentiles.\par Consequently, upon Israel's rejection of their Messiah, mercy,\par sovereign mercy, flows out to us Gentiles: and for this we glorify\par God, for that is the purpose of this mercy--that God may be glorified.\par \par The prophet Micah, in the last verse of his prophecy (7:19, 20),\par illustrates exactly this distinction between "the truth" of God toward\par Israel, and "the mercy" of God toward the Gentiles: "Thou wBilt perform\par the truth to Jacob and the loving kindness [or, mercy] to Abraham,\par which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." To Jacob\par the blessings were announced by God (above that ladder of Genesis 28)\par with the words: "I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the\par God of Isaac" (Gen. 28:13). The birthright which Esau despised and\par forfeited, Jacob had; and the promises were to be fulfilled in\par faithfulness. But to Abraham it was sheer mercy. His father was a\par Chaldean idolater, and probably he had been so (Josh. 24:2, 3, 14,\par 15). But "the God of glory" appeared to him out of hand, without\par cause, right in the midst of Chaldean iniquity there at Ur. This was\par mercy (Acts 7:1). Jehovah "redeemed" Abraham (Isa. 29:22).\par \par Now for the present a "hardening in part" has befallen Israel, "until\par the fulness of the Gentiles be come in," as we saw in Chapter Eleven.\par \par It is striCking that in the present passage, Chapter 15:9-29, Gentiles\par are named ten times, the Gentile number! Five of these instances are\par from the Old Testament prophecies themselves. Let us study these\par quotations with especial attention:\par \par 9 Therefore will I give praise unto Thee among the Gentiles, And sing\par unto Thy Name (Ps. 18:49).\par \par 10 And again He saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people (Deut.\par 32:43).\par \par 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; And let all the\par peoples praise Him (Ps. 117:1).\par \par 12 And again, Isaiah saith, There shall be the root of Jesse, And He\par that ariseth to rule over the Gentiles; On Him shall the Gentiles hope\par (Isa. 11:10).\par \par There are three remarkable points about these passages:\par \par I\par \par They are selected from the three great divisions of the Scripture: the\par Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).\par \par II\parD \par There is a progress in the selections.\par \par 1. Christ Himself gives praise unto God from among the Gentiles. The\par quotation is from Psalm 18:49, where David becomes a distinct type of\par Christ, David's coming Seed, as see next verse. See also Psalm 22:22,\par where, after the awful description of the cross in the first part of\par that Psalm (verses 1-21)--the Divine forsaking, pierced hands and\par feet, parted garments--the Lord begins thus the resurrection praise:\par \par \par "I will declare Thy name unto My brethren:\par \par In the midst of the assembly will I praise Thee."\par \par This "assembly" began, of course, with those Jewish believers in that\par upper room, to whom He first appeared; but that "assembly" shortly\par included Gentiles (Acts 10 and on). But we note here in Romans 15:9\par that Christ Himself is celebrating Jehovah's work,--giving praise\par "among the Gentiles."\par \par 2. Verse 10: The next sEtep is, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people.\par Now, in Scripture, "His people" are always Israel; and, for awhile, as\par we find in the Acts, the Gentiles were "rejoicing with His people": it\par was with Jerusalem as the center, and the apostles and elders there\par recognized even by Paul, even after preaching to the Gentiles had\par begun (Acts 15). [270]\par \par 3. Verse 11: The next passage calls for direct praise from the\par Gentiles, with no distinct notice taken of Israel as a people; for the\par Greek reads: Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and let all the peoples\par [plural] praise Him (as the R.V. correctly translates).\par \par III\par \par Verse 12: There is a looking forward to the Millennial reign in the\par quotation from Isaiah 11:10: the Root of Jesse, He that ariseth to\par rule over the Gentiles. On Him [who shall thus reign] shall the\par Gentiles hope. Gentiles, thank God, may now freely "hope," and look to\par HFim who will rule all the earth, during the Millennium. All nations\par then will be directly dependent upon the Lord, enthroned in the\par Millennial temple at Jerusalem. How blessed is the Gentile who now\par learns to "hope in Christ" (Eph. 1:12) before He "arises to reign"!\par Verily there will be a reward!\par \par As Paul says in II Timothy 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the\par dead, of the Seed of David, according to my gospel." How few\par Christians connect their Savior with David! They remember Romans 1:4,\par but not 1:3. So they forget His royal earthly claims!\par \par In this passage we saw (in verse 8) a setting forth of Christ as a\par "minister of the circumcision"; but this ministry was duly\par accomplished. It did not extend to the Gentiles, for no promises had\par been made to the Gentiles. Consequently, Gentiles are brought under\par Divine "mercy," and "hope" in Christ, wholly apart from Jewish\par connections; thouGgh recognizing our Lord's past and future ministry to\par the circumcision. [271]\par \par Verse 13: Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in\par believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy\par Spirit.\par \par Look at this great thirteenth verse: how it blossoms out before us!\par Here is a verse packed full!\par \par 1. The name here given to God thrills our hearts: The God of Hope.\par Hope looks forward with exultation for ever and ever! We remember\par Chapter 5:2: "We rejoice in hope of the glory of God"; and Chapter\par 12:12: "rejoicing in hope"; and also that hope, along with faith and\par love, abides forever, for God will be opening up new treasures of\par grace to us through all the ages to come! See Ephesians 2:7.\par \par God is called the "God of peace" in Romans 15:33; 16:20; and in\par Philippians 4:9, I Thessalonians 5:23, II Thessalonians 3:16, Hebrews\par 13:20; and, of course, peace is fuHndamental: Christ made peace by the\par blood of His cross. But we are not to be content with peace alone.\par Many would stop at Romans 5:1, "Being justified by faith, we have\par peace with God." But in this present verse God speaks as the God of\par hope; and He wants us filled with all joy as well as peace, so as to\par be abounding in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.\par \par Now, if God is the God of hope, looking forward with expectancy and\par delight to the certain, glorious things of the future, then a\par dejected, depressed, discouraged saint of His is yielding to a spirit\par directly contrary to His will, which is, for each of us, that we\par abound in hope.\par \par 2. It is God Himself alone who can fill us with all joy and peace,\par making us to abound in hope. We cannot transform ourselves!\par \par 3. It is by the power of the indwelling Spirit that we are to "abound\par in hope." Some human beings are naturally introspecItive and gloomy.\par Others are naturally jovial and buoyant: but the joy in which we as\par believers are to abound does not in any wise flow from nature, but\par from the direct, inworking energy of the Holy Ghost. Some of the most\par naturally "happy" people of the world, "have been thrown into\par desperate trouble of soul either by the Spirit's convicting them of\par their sin, or, perhaps, by the withdrawal of natural supports on a\par death-bed without hope; while some of those whose tendency was\par discouragement and despondency almost to hopelessness have, "by the\par power of the Holy Ghost," been filled with all joy and peace, and have\par abounded in hope day by day and hour by hour!\par \par 4. It is in a believing heart that these blessed results are brought\par about. When asked by the Jews in the Sixth of John, "What must we do\par that we may work the works of God?" our Lord replied, "This is the\par WORK of God [the one thing He Jasks of you], that ye BELIEVE on Him\par whom He hath sent." The "believing" of Romans 15:13 is, of course,\par that "living by faith in the Son of God" of which Paul speaks in\par Galatians 2:20. It is stepping out on the facts God reveals about us;\par and learning to live the life of trust.\par \par The verse we are considering is the highest development of Christian\par experience revealed in this great, fundamental Epistle of Romans.\par Deeper things will be elsewhere unfolded,--as, for instance, the\par Indwelling Christ of Ephesians 3:14 to 21. But, as Jude 20 tells us,\par we must "build up ourselves on our most holy faith." Paul declares\par that the "law" that prevails in this dispensation is a "law of faith"\par (Rom. 3:27); and that the obedience into which we are called is the\par obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; 16:26).\par \par 5. It is the will of God that you and I--all believers--be "filled\par with all joy and peace in believing,"-K-blessed spiritual state! that\par we may "abound in hope in the power of the Holy Ghost." Some are\par content if they merely find the way of salvation through faith in the\par blood of Christ. They are much given to talk about being "saved by\par grace," but they are not much exercised about holy living. A second\par class of believers become deeply exercised as to a life of "victory\par over sin." These, of course, if instructed aright, accept the wondrous\par fact that they died with Christ, and are now on resurrection ground,\par freed from sin, and from that which gave sin its power,--the Law. A\par third class go further, to the Twelfth of Romans, and enter on true\par Christian service, by presenting their bodies a living sacrifice to\par God; and discovering thereby His good, acceptable, and perfect will\par for them--whatever measure of faith He may give them, and to whatever\par gift or peculiar service He may call them. But here, in this greaLt\par fountain of water in Chapter 15.13, we find that a daily, hourly life\par "filled with all joy and peace in believing, abounding in hope," is\par the normal state for every one who is in Christ!\par \par It will not do for us to make excuses for ourselves: God is the God of\par hope! His yearning is to fill you and me with all joy and peace, if we\par will just launch out and believe. Others just as unworthy as we have\par believed; we will never become "more worthy" of believing. "This poor\par earth is a wrecked vessel," as Moody used to say. Man is drifting on\par into the night, and judgment is coming. All the more, then, may the\par God of hope fill YOU with all joy and peace in believing, that YOU may\par abound in hope!\par \par Many cherish their doubts, even adducing them as a proof of their\par humility, which is sad indeed. As Charles F. Deems used to say,\par "Believe your beliefs, and doubt your doubts; most people believe\par M their doubts, and doubt their beliefs." You can believe. What a\par wonderful thing to be among those (sadly few!) believers who are\par filled with all joy and peace, and abound in hope!\par \par We can enter into the benefit of our great apostle Paul's benedictory\par prayer in this matter: "Now the God of hope fill you"--for Paul\par yearned over, prayed over, and had effectual prayer, even, for "those\par that had not seen his face in the flesh" (Col. 2:1); and we may assume\par that God will answer this mighty believing prayer of his on our\par behalf. And our Great High Priest, who moved Paul to pray, is at God's\par right hand, making constant intercession for us!\par \par 14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye,\par yourselves, are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to\par admonish one another. 15 But I wrote the more boldly unto you in a\par measure, as putting you again in remembrance on account of the\Npar [especial] grace that was given me of God, 16 that I should be a\par minister of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles, administering as priest\par the gospel of God; that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made\par acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit\par \par Verse 14: Although Paul had never been in Rome, he kept track of\par believers throughout the whole Roman world! Now he had said in our\par first Chapter (1:8) that he "thanked God through Jesus Christ for them\par all, that their faith was proclaimed throughout the whole world." This\par was a remarkable condition,--it was early freshness and vigor of\par faith! Our present verse has especially to do with those inner\par engiftments of the Spirit which enabled them with loving hearts and\par discerning knowledge to look after one another's spiritual needs\par without any apostle's help. For neither Paul, nor Peter, nor any\par apostle, had as yet preached the gospel at Rome! OfO the Corinthian\par church also, Paul testifies: "In everything ye were enriched in\par Christ, in all utterance and all knowledge; even as the testimony of\par Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift." Now\par he says of these believers at Rome that he is persuaded that they are\par full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and therefore really able\par to admonish one another! But Paul takes the very occasion of their\par remarkable pristine vigor in the Spirit, to bring before them that\par special and wonderful commission given him of God to the nations.\par \par The ministry of the chosen apostle to the Gentiles was just as needful\par to establish the Romans (1:11, 12; 16:25) as it was for the Corinthian\par church, of which Paul himself was directly the "father." So Paul says\par to the believers at Rome, as he retraces in his mind the contents and\par manner of the great Epistle God has enabled him to send to them,--andP\par which he is preparing to close:\par \par Verses 15, 16: All the more boldly, therefore, in a measure, I wrote\par unto you [in this epistle] on account of the [peculiar] grace that was\par given me of God, that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus unto the\par Gentiles, officially administering the gospel of God; that the\par offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, being sanctified\par by the Holy Spirit.\par \par And now Paul is reminding these Roman Christians--"putting them again\par in remembrance," of this great special grace that had been given him\par of God, that he should act toward the Gentiles as God's official\par administrator, ministering as such the gospel of God. This "grace" was\par God's mighty outfitting of His servant Paul for this ministry among\par the Gentiles, or nations, to whom he was sent.\par \par Paul always carried about the consciousness that he was Christ's\par chosen vessel to the Gentiles.Q Most people are ignorant that he was\par so, and regard Paul simply as "an apostle," "one of the twelve," and\par so forth. But observe that the words of verses 15 and 16 go far beyond\par mere apostleship.\par \par The word which characterizes Paul's ministry here is, in Greek,\par leitourgos. It is difficult to convey the meaning of it by any one\par English word. Alford renders it "ministering priest" (of Christ Jesus\par for the Gentiles); Darby, "an administrator officially employed";\par Thayer, in his Lexicon, shows its original meaning to be, "a public\par minister, a servant of the state." The simple translation "minister of\par Christ Jesus" will scarcely do, because every preacher (and in a sense\par rightly) would deem himself to be thus described. [272]\par \par 1. It is evident from Peter's preaching, in Acts 10.35 and 11:18, that\par Gentile salvation had begun,--apart from Jewish things altogether. "In\par every nation he that fearReth God and worketh righteousness is\par acceptable unto Him": though not, of course, accepted, saved, except\par through the preached name and work of Christ (Acts 11:14). "To the\par Gentiles also God hath granted repentance unto life."\par \par 2. It is also evident from Paul's words in Romans 15:16, that he had a\par special ministry toward the Gentiles: that I should be a minister\par (leitourgos) of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles. Just as when Israel,\par already God's people while in Egypt, had sent to them Moses, who\par brought them out, and with whose ministry they were Divinely connected\par by God; so Paul was sent to the Gentiles, to whom the door of\par salvation had already been opened. And as God laid Israel on Moses, so\par laid He the Gentiles on Paul. Paul it is whose gospel, without mixture\par of even those Jewish things permitted in measure back at Jerusalem\par (Acts 21:20), was administered in priestly fashion among the nations,\Spar telling of the One Great Offering for sin for the whole world (and not\par for Jews only); that the offering up (prosphora) of the Gentiles might\par [thus] be made acceptable (euprosdektos). This last is the same word\par as in II Corinthians 6:2: "Now is the acceptable time": the time when\par God freely accepts, without Law, convenant-conditions, or religious\par forms, any and all!\par \par 3. It is also evident from Romans 15:16 that apart from this\par full-grace gospel of Paul, the offering up of the Gentiles could not\par be "gladly acceptable" by God. For Israel had had a Law, with forms\par and ordinances. The Gentiles had had nothing: and to them as having\par nothing, Paul's grace-gospel came,--asking nothing, but bestowing\par everything!\par \par 4. Finally, it is evident that this acceptance of the Gentiles\par involved the presence and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. This\par began at Cornelius' house in Acts Ten: "TheT Holy Spirit fell on all\par them that heard the Word." It was continued in Samaria, in Acts Eight.\par Paul's question to those at Ephesus in Acts Nineteen was: "Did ye\par receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed?" Even of the Galatians,\par mixed up in mind as they were, it was said: "He that supplieth to you\par the Spirit"!\par \par Ah, we do not realize our privileges! Such an apostle as Paul-- is not\par only ours, but God laid us Gentiles upon this man as He laid Israel\par upon Moses. Alas, Moses complained of the burden (Num. 11:11-15). But\par Paul complained not, even of "that which presseth upon me daily,\par anxiety for all the churches" (II Cor. 11:28, 29). Paul it was who\par "most gladly would spend and be spent out for our souls" (II Cor.\par 12:15). Paul it was who longed "for fruit in us also, as in the rest\par of the Gentiles"; who also "prayed with agonizing for as many as had\par not seen his face in the flesh" (Col. 1:2, .GrU.).\par \par So, as God hearkened to Moses regarding wretched Israel at Sinai (Ex.\par 32:7-14),--for he had made Moses responsible for them, may we not\par believe that God yet remembers the prayers for the Gentiles of this\par devoted servant Paul ?\par \par We know, from Romans Eleven, that the day will come when Gentiledom\par will be "cut off" as the sphere of God's direct blessing (through\par their unbelief and refusal of Divine "goodness"), and Israel, the\par natural branches, will be grafted in again. But we cannot but feel\par that some (and that in prominent places) are forgetting Paul with his\par "offering up of the Gentiles," and turning slavishly back, with\par flattering words, to Jews,--if not to Judaism! The glorious grace of\par the Pauline gospel to the Gentiles may be corrupted, despised,\par rejected, by fawning upon the Jew as being a special being,--different\par from common sinners. When God said, "There is no distinction"V between\par Jew and Greek, that matter was settled! The wall of partition is\par down,--broken down by God! Woe to those who, under any claim, build it\par up! When God's time comes, after "His whole work"--of indignation\par toward Israel, He will Himself build up Zion. Meanwhile hearken to\par Paul! [273]\par \par Romans 15:16 has been passed lightly over at this Gentile end of the\par dispensation. Gentiles have taken over "religious" things, such as the\par Jews and heathen had, and have not regarded that peculiar "offering\par up" of them, through Paul's priestly ministering of the Gospel of God\par to them. But this is a great verse. It must not be "spiritualized"\par away into mere figurative speech.\par \par The necessity of bowing to this Scripture's teaching that the unclean\par Gentiles are "sanctified by the Holy Spirit" through their being\par offered up by Paul, by means of the Gospel, is brought out in Chapter\par 11:17. Today, Wthe Gentiles feel as proud and self-sufficient before\par God as the Jews of old came to be. And just as the Israelitish\par branches were "broken off," so will the Gentiles be, by and by,\par according to the passage just referred to. When the Gentiles are\par broken off, and the natural branches (Israelites), grafted in again to\par the root of promise and blessing in Abraham, then, as formerly, the\par Gentiles, not being "sanctified by the Holy Spirit," can no more\par worship God as they do now, freely; but they will have to go up from\par all over the earth, to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and be\par subordinated to the priestly nation of Israel. This is brought out in\par Zechariah 14:16-19.\par \par Ministering the good news of God, and thus making the offering up of\par the Gentiles acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit,--must cease\par when the Church is raptured and the gospel which Paul preached has\par ended its ministry. The GentXiles then are immediately, as before, far\par away, unclean; Israel. forgiven, cleansed, restored, becomes the\par priestly nation, unto which the nations must resort as of old for the\par knowledge of the true God. Not today do the nations have to come "as\par crawling things licking the dust before Jehovah's glory," as they will\par do in the Millennium. Words fail us to express the glory of the\par privilege that today prevails in the humblest gospel meeting as a\par means of access to God, with an amazing free gospel-welcome to God\par direct, through the shed blood of Christ, that will cease instantly\par upon the rapture of the Church, when the Gentiles will no longer be\par under the astonishing blessing which has been theirs during the\par present gospel dispensation through the apostle Paul. In priestly\par ministration of the gospel he offered up [274] the Gentiles, by which\par God made them "acceptable"; and upon believing, "sanctified by theY\par Holy Spirit" (not as Israel had been, by circumcision and outward\par religious ordinances).\par \par In view of this astonishing ministry of Paul, it is no wonder that he\par writes "boldly,"--very boldly, to the Christians in Rome, although he\par had not been there. Being "full of goodness and knowledge," they would\par be ready to be "put in remembrance" that there was one, although\par absent, who had, as their apostle, acted on their behalf in a general\par offering of them to God, as Gentiles; and now was lovingly and\par particularly concerned about their condition as saints,--such an one\par as made continual prayer concerning them and longed after them\par (1:9-11).\par \par 17 I have therefore my glorying in Christ Jesus in things pertaining\par to God.\par \par 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ\par did not work through me, in order to the [believing] obedience of the\par Gentiles, by word Zand deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in\par the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and round about\par even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached [lit. fulfilled] the gospel\par of Christ; 20 yea, making it my ambition so to preach the gospel, not\par where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another\par man's foundation; 21 but, as it is written,\par \par They shall see, to whom no tidings of Him came,\par \par And they who have not heard shall understand.\par \par Verse 17: The word therefore refers us to that peculiar ministry of\par verse 16 just described: I have therefore my glorying in Christ Jesus\par in things pertaining to God. How different from that of Moses was\par Paul's ministry! Moses operated under God, beneath the eye of all the\par nations, humbling the proudest of them, and leading Israel in the\par wilderness, by a marvelous, continuous, physical miracle, for forty\par years; with Go[d defending him publicly even to opening the earth to\par swallow his opposers! There is something overwhelmingly magnificent,\par outwardly, about Moses' whole life and ministry. Not so with Paul! He\par shared (and gloried in it) the place of earthly rejection and\par despising His Lord had; his great desire being to be "conformed unto\par His death" (Phil. 3:10). Therefore it requires spiritual discernment\par to see Paul's place and ministry. Over and over Paul makes statements\par like that of the present verse, insisting that he and his glorying\par were before (the unseen) God, and not before men. "God is my witness,\par whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son"; "We persuade men,\par but we are made manifest unto God; and I hope that we are made\par manifest also in your consciences" (II Cor. 5:11).\par \par Here then, is this "least of all the apostles,"--nay, "less than at\par least of all saints," to whom God has given this greatest\ place of all\par (as Christ promised to the "least"); not only a ministry of being "an\par apostle of the Gentiles" (11:13), "a teacher of the Gentiles in faith\par and truth" (I Tim. 2:7); but also the official presentation of the\par Gentiles to God, "offering them up." No wonder that Paul has a\par "glorying in Christ Jesus" in these things,--things "pertaining to\par God" indeed! There was no outward pillar of cloud and fire, no visible\par temple or formal worship; but just as really as God committed Israel\par to Moses' hands, so did God give this liturgical ministry toward the\par Gentiles to Paul, a priest-like office exercised by this "unknown"\par though "well-known" apostle. This explains the verses which follow:\par \par Verse 18: For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which\par Christ did not work through me, in order to the [believing] obedience\par of the Gentiles, by word and deed--Paul means to indicate here the\par ab]solute distinctiveness of his calling and work. He does not confuse\par it with or take glory for, the wonderful work of God at Jerusalem on\par the day of Pentecost and thereafter (Acts 2 to 12) by the twelve\par apostles, whose ministry was to the circumcision: of which twelve Paul\par was not! (I Cor. 15:5). He will speak only of what Christ has done\par through him, through preaching, and attesting miracle, and the\par attending presence and power of the Holy Spirit. An example of the\par "signs" of verse 19, was the "special miracles" at Ephesus: Acts\par 19:11, 12; and an instance of a "wonder" was Paul's shaking off the\par viper which had bitten him: Acts 28:3-6. All these things set seal to\par the gospel which Paul preached, as of God. The whole passage needs to\par be compared with its parallel in II Corinthians 10:13-17.\par \par Verse 19: In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy\par Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and rou^nd about even unto Illyricum, I\par have fully preached [lit., fulfilled] the gospel of Christ.\par \par What a marvelous, absolutely tireless love-laborer was this man Paul.\par Illyricum was the next province to Italy. Between Jerusalem and\par Illyricum lay the province of Syria, with its capital at Damascus, but\par its spiritual capital Antioch; and next to it Cilicia, with its great\par center Tarsus, Paul's own home, whither he had been sent by the\par brethren away from Jerusalem persecution (Acts 9:30) ; and whence\par Barnabas brought him to the work at Antioch (Acts 11:25, 26) ; next\par province Pamphylia with Perga and Attalia; and above that Pisidia,\par centered at another Antioch; then Lycaonia, and above that the great\par and difficult Galatia with the churches Paul founded there; next\par proconsular Asia, centered at Ephesus, of course, and the mighty work\par there and the "fighting with beasts"; then at Troas across the Agean\par _ came the call from Macedonia, and its cities Philippi, Berea and\par Thessalonica, the saints of which lay so close to the apostle's heart;\par then Achaia, centered at Corinth, whence he wrote this present letter\par to the Romans--vast city, vast wickedness, but much people for the\par Lord. And so we arrive at Illyricum. And through all these regions\par just traced, Paul has fulfilled the gospel of Christ; insomuch that\par verse 23 informs us that he had no more any place in these regions.\par \par Verses 20-23: Yea, making it my ambition so to preach the gospel, not\par where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another\par man's foundation; but, as it is written,\par \par They shall see, to whom no tidings of Him came, \par \par And they who have not heard shall understand.\par \par Wherefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you: but\par now, having no more any place in these regions, and having these man`y\par years a longing to come unto you--\par \par Hindered--These many labors from Jerusalem to Illyricum had "hindered"\par Paul from seeing Christians at Rome as he longed to do. In I\par Thessalonians 2:18 he said, "We would fain have come unto you, I Paul\par once and again; and Satan hindered us,"--by some direct, desperate\par stand. But here, multitudinous labors have hindered. Compare Romans\par 1:13.\par \par These many times shows how continually Roman Christians were on his\par mind and in his desire.\par \par And now let us enter into the astonishing statement of verse 23,\par having no more any place in these regions. Everybody converted? No.\par All the saints established and perfected? No. Yet there was the urge\par to go on where no tidings of Him had come. This is the highest,\par deepest, widest, most Christ-like emotion that ever filled a human\par breast. How we should weep over our far departure from the whole\par spirait of Christ and His great apostle in this matter of preaching on\par and on and on? Instead of the passion to pay our debt to every\par creature by carrying the good tidings to them, we are rather churlish\par if they do not come to the buildings we have set up. We say, Why do\par they not come to church? and we talk of the "unchurched masses."\par \par But God did not tell them to "come to church." He told us to carry the\par glad tidings to them! Let us cease chiding men for failing to come to\par hear the gospel, instead of our obeying the Lord and going with it to\par them where they are! The church at Jerusalem "settled down," until God\par drove the saints out after Stephen's martyrdom, so that they "went\par about preaching the Word." It is, indeed, the unusual Christian who\par has written in his soul, as had Paul, the ambition to carry the gospel\par where the name of Christ had never been on the tongue, and thus, not\par merely to build on anb already laid foundation! To such missionaries\par verse 23 is fulfilled? When they return to England, or America, or\par Sweden, it is ever in their hearts, "I have no more any place in these\par regions." [275]\par \par And, by the way, a longing to come unto any field (prayed over\par persistently), will probably land one in that field! So it was with\par Paul.\par \par Verse 24: Whensoever I proceed [on my course) unto Spain for I hope\par [proceeding thus] to see you, and by you be brought on my way thither,\par after I have in some measure satisfied my long-cherished desire for\par your company.\par \par Proceed unto--The same Greek word is used of Christ's pursuing His\par path: "He set His face to proceed [on His course] to Jerusalem" (Luke\par 9:51); "I must proceed [on my course] today and tomorrow" (Luke 13:33)\par : "The Son of Man proceedeth [on His course] as it is written of Him"\par (Luke 22:22).\par \par We see here Paul'cs consciousness of his "course," appointed by the\par Lord, which he had not finished even at his first imprisonment (Phil.\par 3:12-14); but which he had finished at his second imprisonment (II\par Tim. 4:7, 8).\par \par Unto Spain--Paul's purpose to go to Spain, where Christ had not been\par named, is re-affirmed as a fact in his Divinely-purposed course, in\par verse 28: "I will go on by you unto Spain." Meanwhile his longing to\par have fellowship with, and be a blessing to, those who were already\par believers at Rome, is very strong. He cannot bear to go on to Spain\par without being, for a while, at least, comforted with their fellowship.\par In some measure [276] --Paul's meaning is evidently not brought out in\par either the A.V. or R.V. Conybeare's rendering is, "After I have in\par some measure satisfied my desire for your company," or, "I must to\par some extent at least have my fill of your company." It is a wholly\par loving expectancyd!\par \par Paul also hopes, not only to see these Christians at Rome, but, to be\par brought on my way [to Spain] by you. Thus was the Gospel "furthered"\par in those days,--yea, and even yet! For we find today companies of\par saints who by prayer and gifts, send the preacher on to other fields!\par [277]\par \par 25 But now, (I say), I am proceeding unto Jerusalem, to minister unto\par the saints. 26 For [the saints in] Macedonia and Greece have gladly\par undertaken to make a certain Contribution for the poor among the\par saints that are in Jerusalem. 27 Yea, they have gladly done it; and\par they are indeed their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made\par partakers of their [Jewish] spiritual things, they owe it also to\par minister unto them in earthly matters. 28 When therefore I have\par accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by\par you unto Spain. 29 And I know that, when I come unto you, I shall come\par e in the fulness of the blessing of Christ.\par \par Verses 25,26: Paul now announces the purpose of his visit to Jerusalem\par (to carry a love-gift to the saints there), which was brought out only\par in a general way in Acts 24:17. This was no hasty journey. In II\par Corinthians 9:1, 2 he had written to the Corinthians in Greece:\par \par "As touching the ministering to the saints, I know your readiness,\par . . . that Greece hath been prepared for a year past; and your zeal\par hath stirred up very many of them" (Christians north of them, in\par Macedonia,--Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea).\par \par It was a deliberate act of love on the part of the Gentile saints. It\par is called a special "grace" from God at least six times by Paul in II\par Corinthians Eight and Nine. It led the Gentile Christians into special\par consecration. Paul himself, together with other brethren, took this\par great offering back to Jerusalem, to seal in persofn unto them this\par fruit of the blessed gospel! This was probably in God's sight the\par highest act of Paul's whole ministry, fulfilling our Lord's words: "If\par ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them"; "By this shall\par all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to\par another."\par \par Not only was this offering for the poor in Jerusalem the "good\par pleasure" of the Gentile Christians, and gladly given, but Paul\par recounts that in Macedonia this grace of grateful giving to the poor\par among the saints in Jerusalem, whence the gospel first came, led to\par their "beseeching Paul with much entreaty" to take what they gave--"of\par their own accord and even beyond their power"; "in much proof of\par affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded\par unto the riches of their liberality!"--they first, "having given their\par own selves to the Lord"--evidently in special meetings for prayer agnd\par consecration to this ministry of giving!\par \par Here, then, we have the original order of "foreign" missions: The\par grace of God so abounds in the hearts of those in the unreached lands\par when they hear the gospel, that they joyfully insist, amidst\par persecution and poverty, on sending back, to those whence the gospel\par first went forth, a ministry of money, in grateful love! Instead of\par asking to be "supported" from the "home field," they entreat to be\par permitted to send back a love gift for any poor saints there! [278]\par \par Verse 27: Yea, they have gladly done it; and they are indeed their\par debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their\par [Jewish] spiritual things, they owe it also to minister unto them in\par earthly matters.\par \par Here then is the reason for our special ministry toward Jewish\par Christians, and, as Gentiles, to help the Jews in any way possible: we\par have been made parthakers of their "spiritual things." It is not that\par they are at present recognized, nationally, by God: they are not. But\par we are "their debtors." So we should be ready to "minister" to them,\par as we are able.\par \par "Their Spiritual things" does not mean that our calling is Jewish or\par earthly, in any sense. See Chapter Eleven.\par \par Here is announced also the principle which Paul states concerning\par himself to the Corinthians: "If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is\par it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things?" . . . And\par although he "did not use this right," he declares that "the Lord\par ordained, that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the\par gospel" (I Cor. 9:11, 12). To the Levites only, among the tribes, was\par given no inheritance, Jehovah saying, "I am their inheritance." But\par others were to minister unto them of their substance, so that, when\par the Israelites were faithful, the Levitesi had plenty; and when Israel\par forgot Jehovah, they forgot the Levites.\par \par Verse 28: When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to\par them this fruit, I will go on by you unto Spain.\par \par Note Paul's confidence of the success of his ministry; also that\par giving is regarded as the proper "fruit" which "seals" to other\par believers the reality of our confession. See II Corinthians 9:13 about\par this same matter: "Seeing that through the proving of you [Grecian\par Christians] by this ministration they [the Jerusalem poor] glorify God\par for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ."\par Confession of Christ that does not result in ministering to others, is\par not an obedient confession.\par \par Verse 29: And I know that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the\par fulness of the blessing of Christ.\par \par This verse should put to silence those who claim that Paul was "below"\par his apostojlic calling in this journey to Jerusalem. First, Paul had a\par holy, inspired knowledge that he would get to Rome; second, he had the\par same knowledge that when he should come, it would be not on a lower\par plane than his full apostolic message, but "in the fulness of the\par blessing of Christ."\par \par 30 Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the\par love of the Spirit, that ye strive [lit., agonise] together with me in\par your prayers to God for me; 31 that I may be delivered from them that\par are disobedient in Judea, and that my ministration which I have for\par Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints; 32 that I may come unto you\par in joy through the will of God, and may refresh myself in your\par fellowship. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.\par \par Here Paul makes the most solemn appeal for the supplications of the\par saints to be found in all his epistles. "Prayer changes things!" And\par makny things needed to be wrought by God, if Paul's Divinely-guided\par journey to Jerusalem was to be successful.\par \par First, there was the inveterate hatred of the Jews toward Paul as the\par minister of grace to the Gentiles; the Jews were indeed "disobedient."\par Paul describes them in I Thessalonians 2:15, 16. [279]\par \par Second, there was the natural disinclination even on the part of\par Jewish Christians, through prejudice and pride, to accept for their\par poor an offering at the hands of Gentiles.\par \par Third, there was the constant willingness on the part of the Roman\par governors of Judea to "gain favor" with the Jews by yielding as far as\par possible to their demands in matters of their religion. All these\par difficulties had to be overcome,--and by what means? By God's\par appointed way--through prayer.\par \par Paul therefore in verses 30-33, beseeches and that by our Lord Jesus\par Christ Himself, and by the love wroughlt in believers by the Holy\par Spirit, that they agonize (Greek, agonidzo, the word used of\par contestants wrestling in Greek games), together with Paul in their\par prayers to God for these things: for, the Jews being entrenched in\par Satanic opposition to Christ and His gospel, Paul asks the Christians\par at Rome to pray that he may be delivered from them that are\par disobedient in Judea; again, he asks them to pray that his\par ministration for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints; and that,\par that he may come to the Roman Christians in joy through the will of\par God, and together with them be refreshed.\par \par Now God answered these prayers, though bearing long; for Paul was\par imprisoned at Caesarea two years: and came a prisoner to Rome,\par suffering shipwreck by the way! Yet in due time all three things were\par brought about by prayer! [280]\par \par The beautiful benediction of verse 33, The God of peace be with you\par m all, shows how fully at peace was the apostle's heart, and how fully\par in God's will! Also, His overflowing love for the saints. For the "God\par of peace" to be with us, is more than salvation: it is to be conscious\par of him--in peace! Amen!\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [266] It is this heart-hunger for sympathy,--for some one to take over\par our burdens, that has always made Romanism such a refuge (albeit a\par false one!); and is now making Buchmanism, commonly known as the\par "Oxford Movement," such a deadly danger. The Romanist unloads the\par story of his sins and failures in the ready ear of his "father\par confessor": while the Buckmanites gather in so-called "house parties,"\par and "share" their inner secrets with their deluded comrades. Both the\par Romanist and the Buchmanite feel a great sense of "relief," after the\par confessions. Indeed, the Buchmanites make a great parade of\parn testimonies of those whose lives have been "changed" through this\par process of "sharing." Certainly! But John Bunyan, in the seventeenth\par century gave the right name to Buchmanism: "Changing Sins";--that is,\par exchanging one sin for another. It is not by unburdening my conscience\par to my fellow man, whether "priest" or friend, that peace with God, and\par eternal safety come; but by deep conviction of both my guilt and my\par helplessness--of my lost state; and revelation to me, by the Spirit,\par of the shed blood of Christ as my only refuge and hope,--a Christ who\par bore God's wrath against sin, and provided the only ground on which a\par holy God can deal with guilty man. Resting in God's Word about His Son\par whom He raised from the dead, I have salvation. Salvation is not at\par all by "confession,"--either to God or man; but by faith in the\par vicarious sacrifice of Christ. Even the thief on the cross made no\par "confession" of hois sins, either to God or to Christ:--for lo, Christ\par was just then bearing his guilt! and it was not by means of his\par confessing it that sin was put away, but by God's placing it on\par Christ. Although this thief, in speaking to the impenitent one,\par recognizes his crimes in the words, "We suffer the due reward of our\par deeds"; yet he simply hands himself over to Christ as he is,--"Lord,\par remember me": and our Lord's words are, "Today thou shalt be with Me\par in Paradise." (By the way, friend, that thief not only did not\par "confess" his sins; but he never was baptized; he never "joined the\par church"; he never went to mass"; and he did not go to any "purgatory";\par but he went straight to Paradise,-- that day! And, further, Mary the\par mother of Jesus was standing right there: but our Lord never mentions\par her to this thief! But says, "Today thou shalt be with Me." What do\par you say to that! That thief is a perfect picture of youp and me, as\par regards salvation!)\par \par [267] Let us follow this word, "reproach," in this 69th Psalm and\par others: Verse 7: "For Thy sake I have borne reproach." Verse 9: "The\par reproaches of them that reproach Thee are fallen upon Me." Verse 10:\par "When I wept, and chastened My soul with fasting, that was to My\par reproach." Verse 19: "Thou knowest My reproach, and My shame, and My\par dishonor." Verse 20: "Reproach hath broken My heart." Our Lord upon\par the cross cries that He is a "reproach of men" (Ps. 22:6). In Ps.\par 31:11, as we find so carried out in the gospels:--\par \par \par "I am become a reproach,\par \par Yea, unto My neighbors exceedingly,\par \par And a fear to Mine acquaintance";\par while in Ps. 109:22-25, He says He is "poor and needy." heart-wounded,\par gone like a shadow, tossed up and down, weak through fasting. His\par flesh failing, "a reproach unto them." But it was always, "For Thy\par sake I hqave borne reproach,"--the reproaches that fell upon God--upon\par the Father, whose will and works Christ was doing, and whom man was\par learning the more to hate as "the beauty of Jehovah" was manifest more\par and more in Him. Now, if it were so with Christ, whose goodness was\par constantly reproached, shall we complain or stumble if even our good\par be evil spoken of? Let Christ dwell within us, as the Father dwelt in\par Christ, and let us cease from self-pleasing!\par \par [268] Those who neglect the Old Testament Scriptures may well remember\par that this expresses the Christian experience of an inspired\par apostle!"--(Schaff and Riddle). For it was the Old Testament\par Scriptures of which Paul spoke here.\par \par [269] It is essential to understand and submit fully to this\par remarkable expression concerning our Lord's ministry to Israel, taking\par great care, however, that we do not allow ourselves to be drawn into\par the high follry of the Bullingerites, and others, who, because Christ\par was made a "minister of the circumcision," therefore regard as\par "transitional," and as not concerning the Church, the Body of Christ,\par the Gospels, the Acts, the present Epistle (to the Romans), the\par Corinthian Epistles,--in fact, all but the "prison epistles"! Some of\par these mistaken teachers, indeed, do not go to this length, but many\par are even more extravagant than this, claiming that Christ did not\par begin to build His Body on the day of Pentecost, but that there was a\par "transitional" time and state, after Pentecost, with a "Jewish Body";\par and that the Body revealed by Paul in Ephesians and Colossians begins\par with Paul's revelation of it in "the prison epistles"! Now everyone\par knows that there was a gradual entering upon the full truth of what\par Gentile grace was, upon the part of the twelve apostles,--as witness\par Peter in Acts 10; and the Council of Acts 15s. But to say that because\par they did not know fully the calling and hopes of the Church until Paul\par had revealed them (as indeed was true, by Christ's appointment)\par therefore the Body of Christ did not exist from Pentecost on, is idle,\par shallow folly! The object of the devil in causing these delusions, is\par practically the same as in his inspiring "higher criticism" and\par "modernism." It is to break the moral effect upon the conscience of\par certain books and certain passages of the Bible, by teaching believers\par to say, "That Scripture is not for us--it is not for the Church." Now\par the account of the creation is not "Church Truth," yet Paul takes\par great comfort from it, saying, "It is God that said. Light shall shine\par out of darkness, who shined in our hearts to give the light of the\par knowledge of God, in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:6). Paul\par also takes great delight in pointing out, in quoting Genesis 2:24,\part that a man's leaving father and mother to cleave to his wife, was a\par type and picture of, and really concerned the union of, Christ and the\par Church! (Eph. 5:29-32.) The book of Job was not written "for the\par Church," yet we learn in that great book filings of our God and of His\par ways not fully revealed elsewhere. I deem it not only folly, but\par presumptuous wickedness to speak as do these self-appointed wise men\par of our Lord's earthly ministry as "not concerning the Church," saying\par we must therefore leave the gospels and go to the epistles alone for\par instruction. Paul, on the contrary, continually quoted even the Old\par Testament Scriptures; even adducing the Law for our "instruction"\par (although telling us we are not under it; I Cor. 9:9; 14:34; Eph. 6:1,\par 2). Likewise the Psalms: Of course they were written with Israel's\par Messiah in direct view,--His sufferings, (and the Remnant's) with His\par ultimate earthly Kingudom-triumph in the 1000 years. Yet, recalling\par always the facts of our heavenly calling and place, the Psalms become\par full of blessing to the spiritual mind! The Holy Spirit makes them the\par quickened vehicle of guiding us into unexpected truth. And the four\par Gospels;-- "the words of our Lord Jesus Christ" have a use and beauty\par of blessing for us, "all the greater because we know we are enlifed\par in, and risen with, Christ, new creatures in Him, and seated with Him\par in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus! Indeed, we find our Lord, in John\par 17, praying for that marvelous oneness which was realized in the\par Church as revealed in all Paul's Epistles: "that they may be one--even\par as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee." There is no higher truth\par about the Church than this! "The Mystery," the Church as such, was not\par yet revealed,--as it begins to be in Romans and onward: but we have\par the great petitions that made the Churcvh possible, here in John. When\par we step into The Acts, only those who leave the simplicity of\par Christian consciousness (as does Bullinger) dare affirm that in those\par earliest Christians there was not the very life and unity belonging to\par the one and only Body of Cnrist which it was later given Paul to\par "minister," as to its character, calling, destiny, and walk. Of course\par Romans is as much "church truth" as Ephesians! Avoid Bullingerism as\par you would the plague! The Church did begin at Pentecost; there is but\par one Body of Christ known in Scripture,--and no special "Jewish" Body;\par the Lord's words to the Seven Churches of Rev. 1-3 are solemn warnings\par to present assemblies, and not imaginary "Jewish" assemblies, after\par the Body of Christ is raptured to heaven, as Bullinger teaches! How\par anyone can be captured by such fantastic nonsense, is only explainable\par by the appalling ignorance of Pauline truth, and the hungerw for it,\par (an ignorance and hunger of which Bullinger takes advantage!)\par Bullinger called the great Welsh Revival of 1904-5 "Spiritism,"--\par attributing to the devil what the whole Church of God knows was God's\par work. (See Bullinger's Foundations of Dispensational Truth, p. 259.)\par And he taught "Soul-sleeping," calling Sheol and Hades "only\par gravedom." (See on Revelation, Chap. 1.) To follow such a presumptuous\par and blind leader, is to fall into the ditch. Only, Bullingerites think\par everyone but themselves in the ditch: and that they are mountain-top\par dwellers! Have you heard of a Bullingerite Bible conference for the\par deepening of the spiritual life? No; and you will not: for they are\par "sick about questionings, and disputes of words" (I Tim. 6:4). The\par reason we warn of Bullingerism so repeatedly is, that it endangers the\par earnest souls who, desiring to escape the intolerable bondage of\par Protestant denominatixonal ecclesiasticism (now daily becoming more\par Romish in fact and papal in process), hail Bullinger's system as\par freedom. But it is a much worse danger than what they have escaped!\par You may call it dispensational modernism, or modernistic\par dispensationalism; for it is both. It is difficult to deal in patience\par with presumption that takes an attitude much like that of Theosophy,\par of a "higher wisdom." It is a striking thing, (though from history it\par might be expected) that these errorists like others, are consumed by\par their error! They must harp on it at all times!\par \par [270] Of course, the Church, the Body of Christ, was begun at\par Pentecost, But, though God would by and by send Paul to show the\par heavenly calling and character of the Church, yet God, in great\par patience and grace, called upon Israel first to repent and believe\par (Acts 3:26). So that, for a while,--even to Paul's officially closing\par Israel's naytional door, in Acts 28:25-28,--the Gentiles rejoiced\par "with" God's people Israel: it was "to the Jew first." But it is not\par so now! "There is no difference between Jew and Greek" must be\par preached, if God's Word is to be followed. Movements that put the Jew,\par now, in a place of preference, as "first," do the poor Jew,--a common\par sinner, undistinguished from the Gentile,-- the greatest disservice\par possible! They protect him from judgment as guilty before God (Rom.\par 3:19). Instead, Paul went about to "provoke to jealousy" the Jews, by\par boasting in Christ, as himself the very "chief of sinners," saved by\par grace, not by the Law!\par \par [271] God had made arrangements with Israel at Sinai, had given them\par promises conditioned on their obedience. This limited God's action to\par the fulfilment of these commitments to Israel. "Christ hath been made\par a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the\par zpromises made unto the fathers." But, at the cross, all was ended. Sin\par rose to its height, and transgression of the Law to its climax. When\par the Jews "killed the Lord Jesus" (I Thess. 2:15, 16), that Law which\par distinguished the "circumcision in the flesh" was "abolished" (Eph.\par 2:14, 15; Col. 2:14). God having thus wound up matters with Israel,\par and being, of course, entirely tree from any covenant with or\par commitment unto the Gentiles, could act according to the movements of\par absolute Love, which He is. The highest action of Love, consequently,\par succeeded the highest action of human sin: man crucified God's Son;\par God sends the Holy Ghost, baptizing believers into vital union with\par that Son raised from the dead and glorified. The Church, the Body of\par Christ, stands in the nearest possible relation to God of any\par creature!\par \par [272] We cannot press the liturgical meaning In the sense of a literal\par priestl{y function here; for the same Greek word is used in Chapter\par 13:6 concerning public officials they are said to be God's ministers\par (leitourgoi). Again, in verse 27 of our present chapter (15), we find\par that the Gentiles owed it to the Jerusalem saints "to minister unto\par them in carnal things." Here the verb form of the same word is used.\par See its use further in II Corinthians 9:12, and Philippians 2:17, 25,\par 30. But that its use here makes Paul a special official of God no one\par should doubt.\par \par [273] A certain Jewish mission worker declared that when God caused\par the birth of Isaac from barren Sarah, He "infused into the\par blood-stream of his descendants new life," which differentiated them\par from the rest of the human race! Now this is not merely twaddle, but\par an accursed lie, which denies the whole gospel of God in this book of\par Romans! For if God iterates and re-iterates one thing, it is universal\par equal |human sinnerhood! Nay, it there are special sinners in Romans\par they are Jews: "For the name ot God is blasphemed among the Gentiles\par because of you" (Jews).\par \par [274] Meyer thus comments here: "In priestly fashion administering the\par gospel of God. The gospel is not indeed the offering, but the Divine\par institute, which is administered (is in priestly fashion served) by\par the presenting of the offering. The Gentiles, converted, and through\par the Spirit consecrated as God's property, are the offering which Paul,\par as the priest of Jesus Christ, has brought to God."\par \par [275] A letter from a missionary just returned "on furlough" from\par China, reads: I asked the Board as a special favor to allow me to take\par a short furlough, and I am hoping to return to China in September. My\par heart is longing more every day to get back to China. The things I\par miss here in others, the ways in which I see time, energy, and money\par } wasted for the things that do not satisfy,--all these things and\par others make me realize more than ever how subtly Satan works to seal\par away our hearts and keep us from God's best, and makes me desire more\par than I ever did in my life that I shall not fail of His grace, and\par that as He works in me and deals with me, these days I may respond\par fully, so that as I go back to China, if He wills it so,--I may go in\par the fulness of the grace of Christ, to fulfil all His will in and\par through me. How the world needs Christ!"--L. S.\par \par [276] "`In some measure' (apo merous) is an affectionate limitation of\par emplestho, implying that he would wish to remain much longer than he\par anticipated being able to do," says Dean Alford.\par \par [277] "This phase, `brought on the way,' or `sent forward,' refers to\par a semi-official custom of the apostolic churches in furnishing an\par escort to go some or all the way with a departing minis~ter or\par missionary. Paul is here most likely asking that one or more of the\par Roman brethren be sent with him to Spain. See Acts 15:3; 20:38; 21:5;\par I Cor. 16:6-11; II Cor. 1:16; Tit. 3:13; III John 6"--Stifler. Paul is\par not asking for a "collection" from the Roman believers, but asking\par that blessed fellowship in all things of the Spirit which pertained\par then and now pertains to every servant of Christ and to all believers;\par to set forward in every way those who are going forth with the blessed\par gospel.\par \par [278] One wonders what the re-action would be in some comfortable\par church in America or England, Holland or Scandinavia, if some morning\par it were publicly announced, "Gifts for the poor among us have just\par arrived from the persecuted, poor, but happy saints in China, and\par India, to whom we have sent out the gospel!" Would we really have\par humility enough to receive such gifts? On the other hand, as regards\par the poor among the saints at Jerusalem, Olshausen trenchantly remarks\par that the community of goods of Pentecostal days "evidently had not\par lasted long!" However, in answer to this, let us remember that even in\par those days absolute right of possessing private property was\par recognised: "While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after\par it was sold, was it not in thy power?" (Acts 5:4); and that the\par community of goods was evidently Divinely set forth at the time as a\par sign to the Jews of the power of the love of Christ which completely\par set aside private claims; and, finally, that the epistles of Paul,\par which are the charter of the Church of God, indicate the path for\par "them that are rich in this present age, that they do good, that they\par be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to\par communicate" (1Tim. 6:17,19). They may continue, in comparison to\par others, rich, having thus the responsibility of stewards, as some must\par have. Finally, we must remember our Lord's words: "The poor ye have\par always with you." But would even poor saints here be willing to be\par known as having received contribution from "the foreign mission\par field"?\par \par [279] "The Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and\par drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;\par forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill\par up their sins always; but the wrath is come upon them to the\par uttermost."\par \par [280] It is astonishing (and the more so the more we study it) how God\par makes His work in this world depend on the prayers of His saints! Even\par His processes of judgment wait for "the prayers of the saints" (see\par author's Revelation, p. 121). And we know, from I Tim. 2:1, 2, that\par the saints' living "a tranquil and quiet life, in all godliness and\par gravity" is brought about through their faithful prayers "for all men,\par for kings, and all (hat are in high place." Alas, how sadly this duty\par has been neglected,--and with consequences of what dire national\par unrest and trouble and disturbance of that outward tranquility and\par quietness wherein the gospel best is proclaimed, and the church built\par up! (Acts 9:31.) Paul begs the Prayers of all the churches to whom he\par writes (except the Galatians!) "Doors for the word" were to be opened\par through their prayers; "boldness," "utterance," that the gospel might\par be "made manifest,"--all waited on their prayers! Epaphras, the\par Colossian, was a good example of what kind of praying we should do!\par See Col. 4:12, 13: "A bondservant of Christ Jesus, always agonizing\par for you in his prayers, that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in\par all the will of God."\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par } ery Heretofore\par Concealed. Verses 25 to 27.\par \par 1 I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the\par church that is at Cenchreae: 2 that ye receive her in the Lord,\par worthily of the saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter\par she may have need of you: for she herself also hath been a helper of\par many, and of mine own self.\par \par THIS SIXTEENTH CHAPTER is neglected by many to their own loss. It is\par by far the most extensive, intimate and particular of all the words of\par loving greeting in Paul's marvelous letters. No one can afford to miss\par this wonderful out pouring of the heart of our apostle toward the\par saints whom he so loved--which means all the real Church of God!\par \par Verses 1, 2: Phoebe, a deaconess of the assembly, in the town of\par Cenchreae, the eastern seaport of Corinth, (about nine miles distant\par from that important city) is to carry to Rome this great Epistle! She\par  had business in Rome,--probably legal or official business. (See\par Conybeare's note here.) She was evidently a devoted and prominent\par Christian,--a deaconess of the Cenchrean assembly. This, together with\par her evident business ability (for she is traveling to the world\par metropolis in connection with her affairs), made this entrustment to\par her of this great Epistle to the Romans humanly safe;--and through the\par Apostle's prayers and those of the saints at Corinth (where Paul is\par writing the Roman Epistle) absolutely safe. She is commended to the\par saints at Rome,--with all which that beautiful word "commended"\par contains (cf. Rom. 5:8 and II Cor. 10:18); and the saints are not only\par to receive her in the Lord, worthily of saints (for the saints should\par be devoted to receiving one another!) but they are asked to assist her\par in her affairs in any way that they may find her needing help; for,\par says Paul, she herself hath been a helper of many and of mine own\par self. Let us also mark those who, like Phoebe, are "helpers," and give\par ourselves to assisting them, both by prayer and by personal service;\par for the Lord will approve this, in His Day!\par \par As to Phoebe's being called a deaconess (diakonon) of the Cenchrean\par assembly, [281] note that she was recognized by that church as\par designated of the Lord to her ministry, and was called by the name\par "deaconess." Let us not shun Scripture terms. Dorcas, in Acts 9:36,\par was "full of good works which she did," yet she is not called a\par deaconess. It is plain that both deacons and deaconesses were known in\par the early Church. (Elders, who would "rule,"--I Timothy 5:17--were,\par always, of course, men.)\par \par 3 Salute Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who\par for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom i not only I give\par thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5 and [salute] the\par church that is in their house. Salute Epaenetus my beloved, who is the\par first fruits of Asia unto Christ. 6 Salute Mary, who bestowed much\par labor on you. 7 Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my\par fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also have\par been in Christ before me. 8 Salute Ampliatus my beloved in the Lord. 9\par Salute Urbanus our fellow-worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10\par Salute Apelles, the approved in Christ. Salute them that are of the\par [household] of Aristobulus. 11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Salute them\par of the [household] of Narcissus, that are in the Lord. 12 Salute\par Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute Persis the\par beloved, who labored much in the Lord. 13Salute Rufus the chosen in\par the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon,\par Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren that are with them. 15\par Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and\par all the saints that are with them. 16 Salute one another with a holy\par kiss. All the churches of Christ salute you!\par \par Verses 3, 4: Prisca (Latin name of which Priscilla is the diminutive),\par who, with her husband Aquila (Acts 18:1-3) had toiled with Paul, had,\par at some time untold, laid down their own necks, risking their lives in\par such fashion as to call forth the thanks, not only of Paul, but of all\par the assemblies of the Gentiles.\par \par Verse 5: There was also an assembly of saints [which gathered] in\par their house. We see here, in God's naming Priscilla first, that she\par was probably superior in spiritual intelligence and activity to her\par husband. Of course Aquila is recognized as the head of his house, as\par we see from Acts 18:2: "A certain Jew, named Aquila, with his wife\par Priscilla." But in Acts 18:26, when they are inviting eloquent,\par  poorly-instructed Apollos to their home, it is Priscilla whose humble\par discernment and gospel earnestness seem to be foremost: "When\par Priscilla [282] and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and\par expounded unto him the Way of God more accurately." Compare II Timothy\par 4:19: "Salute Prisca and Aquila,"--personal salutations. But where the\par assembly is concerned, as in I Corinthians 16:19 (for this devoted\par pair had their house open in Ephesus, also, for an assembly of the\par saints), Aquila, as head of the house, is named first. The position\par and ministry of sisters in Christ is not at all unrecognized or\par suppressed in Paul's Epistles! [283]\par \par Salute Epaenetus my beloved . . . the first-fruits of Asia unto\par Christ--probably converted in Paul's great three years' mission in\par Ephesus, the capital of proconsular Asia, which is here referred to.\par We always specially treasure first converts!\par \par Verse 6: Salute Mary,--for she bestowed much labor on you. Mary is a\par Jewish name, from Miriam. "Much labor" means great spiritual toil on\par behalf of all the saints and assemblies.\par \par Verse 7: Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my\par fellow-prisoners, . . . such ones as (hoitines) are of note among the\par apostles, who also were in Christ before me. From verse 21, we learn\par that three others of Paul's kinsmen were with him at Corinth when he\par wrote Romans. It is precious to note how, like our Lord Himself, he\par won his relatives! (See Acts 23:16-22.) But here we have two kinsmen\par converted before Paul! but who had, however, shared his hardships.\par Having the apostolic gift (though not among the twelve,) they were "of\par note" in it. Bishop Moule remarks, "Not improbably these two early\par converts helped to `goad' (Acts 26:14) the conscience of their still\par persecuting kinsman, and to prepare the way of Christ in his heart."\par \par Verse 8: Salute Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord: Probably a convert\par of Paul's own, dear to him.\par \par Verse 9: Salute Urbanus our fellow-worker in Christ, and Stachys my\par beloved. How wonderfully does the heart of this apostle retain\par personal names and maintain special love!\par \par Verse 10: Salute Apelles the approved in Christ. Here is a tried and\par true saint--well known of all men: "the Lord knows, not we, the tests\par he stood." Salute them that are of the household of Aristobulus.\par Bishop Lightfoot holds that this Aristobulus was the grandson of Herod\par the Great, brother of Herod Agrippa of Judea; "his household,"\par therefore, would be his retainers and servants, who would still, after\par his death, hold their master's name. This may be true also of the\par household of Narcissus, in verse 11. The word "household" does not\par appear in the Greek, but only "those from" or "of" Aristobulus and\par Narcissus. It should be noted, also, that in Philippians 4:22, where\par "the household of Caesar" is mentioned, the word for household (oikia)\par is expressed in the Greek. So that Aristobulus and Narcissus may have\par been prominent Christians, with numerous families connected with\par them,--children, relatives, retainers, servants. God loves to save\par whole households!\par \par Verse 11: From his name some think Herodion, Paul's kinsman, would be\par connected with the Herodian retainers (see above).\par \par Verse 12: Salute Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute\par Persis the beloved, who labored much in the Lord. Not all of God's\par saints are real laborers in His vineyard. Persis was one whom the\par saints especially loved, and who gave them much service in her Lord.\par Note that Paul speaks of the men to whom he is especially attached,\par (like Stachys in verse 9), as "my beloved," and of a woman as "the\par  beloved." He is careful in these matters.\par \par Tryph\'e6na and Tryphosa were, perhaps, sisters; and "almost certainly,\par by the type of their names, female slaves"; but Paul would send them a\par special greeting. For in the Church of God, as James says, "the\par brother of low degree glories in his high estate; and the rich that he\par is made low": both which things are impossible for the world!\par \par Verse 13: Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and\par mine--Perhaps the Rufus of Mark 15:21, the son of Simon of Cyrene, who\par bore our Lord's cross! "And his mother--and mine." How great the\par privilege this unnamed woman had that she should be regarded by this\par great apostle as a mother to him! And Paul, having left all for\par Christ, has a "mother" in this saint! See Mark 10:30. Let Christian\par mothers find here a great field for that wonderful heart of\par instinctive loving care given by God to mothers,--that they extend\par their maternal care beyond their own family circle, to all Christians,\par and especially to all laborers for Christ. The Lord will remember it\par at His coming!\par \par Verse 14: Here we have five brethren greeted by name, and also the\par brethren who are with them: Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas,\par Hermas. This is the second of the three gatherings of saints in Rome\par here mentioned. For we must remember that in the early days of the\par Church believers gathered in great simplicity, according to our Lord's\par word: "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I\par in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). It is fast coming to this, in\par these last days, also, where the Laodicean spirit claims the property\par and ecclesiastical importance in this world, of that which is known as\par "the Christian religion"; while humble saints, finding themselves\par unfed and very often unwanted in the great "establishments," are\par gathering more and more as the early Christians did,--in homes, in\par Bible Conferences--wherever Christ and His Word and real fellowship in\par the Spirit are the only drawing powers (and how sufficient!).\par \par Verse 15: Next comes another such assembly: all the saints that are\par with Philologus and Julia--a precious couple!--and Nereus and his\par sister. It is a growing wonder that Paul in his multitude of burdens,\par his "care for all the churches," remembers, each and all, these\par beloved individuals!\par \par Verse 16: Salute one another with a holy kiss. It is remarkable that\par this direction should be repeated five times: here; in I Thessalonians\par 5:26; I Corinthians 16:20; II Corinthians 13:12; I Peter 5:14. In the\par first four, the word "holy" is used, and in the passage in I Peter, "a\par kiss of love." Sanday declares, "The earliest references to the kiss\par of peace as a regular part of the Liturgy is in Justin Martyr; then\par mentioned by Tertullian and others."\par \par The simplicity and warmth of early Christian devotion cannot be\par brushed aside as an "Orientalism" by the colder hearts and more formal\par and "reserved" manners of our day. "Behold, how these Christians love\par one another!" was the constant remark in the early days. The word\par beloved is used four times by Paul in these few verses.\par \par All the churches in Christ salute you. Paul knew these assemblies; the\par burden of all of them he says pressed upon him daily (II Cor. 11:28).\par He was familiar with their feelings toward the saints in the great\par world center, and in their name he sends the Christians in Rome their\par greetings of love. How beautiful, how good and pleasant, were those\par early days of first love! The mustard seed was yet little--"least of\par all seeds"; later it was to grow in outward form into the "great\par tree," where "the fowls of the air" (Satan's very own) were to find\par lodging (Matt. 13:31, 32, 4, 19). Would it not be wonderful in our\par eyes to come upon some community today where the saints were all one!\par loving one another and thus fulfilling our Lord's great prayer in John\par 17? Surely the world has much to stumble at in our divisions and lack\par of tenderness one toward another.\par \par And now, as Bishop Moule beautifully writes in his tender remarks on\par this Chapter; "The roll of names is over, with its music, that subtle\par characteristic of such recitations of human personalities, and with\par its moving charm for the heart due almost equally to our glimpses of\par information about one here and one there, and to our total ignorance\par about others; an ignorance of everything about them, but that they\par were at Rome, and that they were in Christ. We seem, by an effort of\par imagination, to see as through a bright cloud, the faces of the\par company, and to catch the far-off voices; but the dream `dissolves in\par wrecks'; we do not know them, we do not know their distant world. But\par we do know Him in whom they were, and are; and that they have been\par `with Him, which is far better,' for now so long a time of rest and\par glory. So we watch this unknown but well-beloved company with a sense\par of fellowship and expectation impossible out of Christ. This page is\par no mere relic of the past; it is a list of friendships to be made\par hereafter, and to be possessed forever in the endless life where\par personality indeed shall be eternal, but where also the union of\par personalities in Christ shall be beyond our utmost present thought."\par \par 17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the\par divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which\par ye learned; and turn away from them. 18 For they that are such serve\par not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair\par speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent. 19 For your obedience\par is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you: but I would\par have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is\par evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet\par shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.\par \par Verses 17, 18: Already, at Rome, we find men willing to bring about\par divisions among the saints and to become occasions of stumbling. Alas\par that such an unearthly wonder of beauty as the love and unity of the\par saints in Christ should be hated and attacked by deadly foes! But so\par it is, and Paul must write, I beseech you, brethren, mark such ones!\par And there is the ever present danger of our very Christian charity\par making us unwilling to deal with righteous sternness toward others who\par are doing deadly work. If any one was known to be causing selfish\par divisions, or had become an occasion for others' falling, contrary to\par the doctrine which they had learned of Paul, their only path was to\par turn away from them. Compare II Thessalonians 3:6, Titus 3:10, II John\par 10. Such evil workers were not serving our Lord Christ, but their own\par belly. What an unutterably fearful spiritual state!--to be amongst\par those filled with holy love toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and toward\par one another as fellow members of His Body, and yet be bent on\par altogether selfish business! Concerning many professors of\par Christianity John Bunyan said, "A man will go far for his own belly's\par sake." Compare Philippians 3:18, 19, 20:\par \par "Many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping,\par that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is\par perdition, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame,\par who mind earthly things: for our citizenship is in Heaven."\par \par Just as in Eden God did not prevent the serpent from tempting\par Eve,--"beguiling her in his craftiness"; so God does not forcibly\par prevent false teachers, division-makers, evil workers, stumbling\par producers, from coming among His saints. But He warns His saints, and\par expects them to exercise both their discernment and their holy hatred\par of evil in turning away from such. Also, they "have an Anointing from\par the Holy One,"-- these saints of God; and this Anointing "teacheth\par them concerning all things." The saints do not have to depend on their\par own understanding, but to consult constantly God's Word, and trust the\par indwelling Spirit. God warns concerning these evil workers that by\par their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.\par Beautiful testimony of an all-seeing God to the blessed "innocence" of\par His own children toward the subtle wickedness of evil doers!\par \par Verse 19: Indeed, Paul declares of these Roman Christians, whose\par obedience was come abroad unto all men: I rejoice, therefore, over\par you! Everywhere throughout the Roman world, the simple wholehearted\par faith and love of the Christians at Rome was talked of (See Chapter\par 1:8). But Paul expresses his concern in the remarkable words, I would\par have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is\par evil. Here is a Divinely safe path for the believer! "Wise unto that\par which is good," will include: the constant study of God's Word of\par truth, and careful observation and valuing what is good in the lives\par about us, and of those whose lives and works we read. Paul sums it up\par to the Philippians (4:8):\par \par "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are reverend,\par whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever\par things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report (concerning\par  anything or any person); if there be any virtue, and if there be any\par praise, take account of these things."\par \par Oh, for such a habit of mind--to be constantly "wise unto that which\par is good!"\par \par But the other side, "simple unto that which is evil," must accompany\par wisdom toward the good. "Simple" here literally means unmixed,--used\par of wine or metals: pure; and so, "free from guile," "like a little\par child." We are in the midst of a world of evil, but the Spirit of God\par will bring us into an attitude of a babe's simplicity toward it\par all,--as Paul says in I Corinthians 14:20: "in malice, be ye babes."\par That whole verse reads, "Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in\par malice, be ye babes; but in mind be of full age." You see it is wholly\par possible to grow up from spiritual infancy (in which were the\par Corinthians, for instance: I Cor. 3:1), into spiritual adulthood,\par without becoming mixed up at all with the "deep things of Satan, as\par they say" (Rev. 2:24). Indeed, Paul distinctly warns us against a\par "knowing" spirit as to worldly things: "If any man thinketh that he is\par wise among you in this age, let him become a fool that he may become\par wise, for the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God."\par "Sophisticated" is what many young people today so desire to be\par considered: but it is a horrible term, implying experimental knowledge\par of the unclean things of this world, with all its evil ways. Malice,\par along with pride, are valued by the world, as exhibiting what they\par call "spirit"! Let us remember, therefore, that Paul would have us\par "simple" unto that which is evil. He says in I Corinthians 13, "Love\par thinketh no evil,"--literally, "taketh not account of evil." Evil is\par all about one, but the believer, abiding in Christ, is kept in sweet\par simplicity toward it. [284]\par \par There has been much conjecture as to the character of these early evil\par workers (of verses 17, 18) at Rome: some regarding them as evil\par teachers, probably of a Jewish character (Sanday); others as early\par Gnostics, which insidious Satanic philosophy developed itself fully\par later (Moule). It is not, however, as necessary to know their historic\par setting, as to take the moral lesson here, and to discern such\par characters, whatever they be, in our own day among the saints; and\par turn away from them. The inability to turn resolutely and holily away\par from false teachers and evil workers, is a mark of spiritual\par ill-health, decadence, and possibly of the state of spiritual death\par itself!\par \par Mad dogs are shot; infectious diseases are quarantined; but evil\par teachers who would divide to their destruction and draw away the\par saints with teaching contrary to the doctrine of Christ and His\par Apostles are everywhere tolerated! How ghastly and ruinous is this\par false toleration! Let us take heed lest we "partake in the evil deeds"\par of such evil workers! Remember II John 9, 10, 11.\par \par "Whosoever goeth onward [lit., `taketh the lead'--into such\par `progressiveness' as Modernism, Theosophy, New Thought], and abideth\par not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the\par teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any one cometh\par unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your\par house, and give him no greeting: for he that giveth him greeting\par partaketh in his evil works."\par \par Verse 20: The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.\par The same word here translated "bruise" is used of Christ's breaking\par the nations at His second coming (Rev. 2:27). Note that it is the God\par of peace who will do this blessed delivering! And it is Satan, the\par great dragon of Revelation Twelve, against whom Michael and his angels\par go forth to war, that shall be bruised. Note further that it will be\par under the feet of His saints that God will do this bruising; and note\par finally that it is to be done shortly. This corresponds to the\par "quickly" of "Behold, I come,"-- in Revelation 22:7, 12, 20; and is\par the very phrase used in Revelation 1:1! This is to be held fast by our\par faith, despite all seeming delays and apparent Satanic victories.\par Meanwhile, let it astonish us and fill us with exultant joy that the\par great foe of God, who will have the hardihood to war against Michael\par and his angels, flees before the saints on earth today who, in\par heart-subjection to God, "resist" him "steadfast in their faith"!\par (James 4:7; I Pet. 5:9.)\par \par How glorious the prospect of the complete overthrow of Satan, whose\par unlimited, pride will be abased, and that under the very feet of those\par he now despises, hates, and seeks to overthrow!\par \par Satan's ruin began (as traced in Ezekiel 28) in heaven, where he was\par the "anointed cherub," walking up and down in the midst of "the stones\par of fire,"--perhaps leading all others in worship. But his heart became\par lifted up by very reason of his beauty; he corrupted his wisdom by the\par very reason of his brightness, and he was "cast as profane out of the\par Mountain of God"--that is from the heavenly council-place of Divine\par Majesty. Now, though he still has ability to accuse the saints before\par God (Rev. 12:10), and with his host is in "the heavenlies" (Eph.\par 6:12)--that is, not confined to earth, but still permitted the freedom\par of certain heavenly regions as a heavenly being--yet he will be cast\par down (after the Church's Rapture, or taking up,) to this earth. And in\par his rage, therefore, he will inaugurate the Great Tribulation to\par obliterate God's nation Israel from the earth.\par \par Upon Christ's coming down to earth with His saints and angels, Satan\par will be cast into the abyss at the center of the earth for a thousand\par years--The Millennium, (Rev. 20). At the end of that he will be\par released for a little season and lead the last great warfare against\par God and His people. Thence he is cast into the lake of fire and\par brimstone to be tormented forever (Rev. 20:10). Every believer should\par be familiar with these facts concerning his great enemy. Shortly, he\par will be "bruised" by Christ; according to the first prophecy and\par promise in the Bible: Genesis 3:15: "He" [the seed of the Woman]\par "shall bruise thy head" (the Serpent's, Satan's). This is a heartening\par promise, indeed! Further, there will be no peace, no truce, until it\par is done. The word "shortly" should fall on our hearts with constant\par hope, as it did on Paul's.\par \par Then comes the "benediction," as we call it, pronouncing, promising,\par to the Saints: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In the\par last verse of II Corinthians (13:14)) Paul says, "The grace of the\par Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy\par Spirit, be with you all"; but seven times "the grace of our Lord Jesus\par Christ" is pronounced on the saints in the Epistles! Even in the verse\par from Corinthians quoted above, when the three persons of the Godhead\par are mentioned, it is still "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ"! Now\par the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" is defined in II Corinthians 8:9:\par \par "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich,\par yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might\par become rich."\par \par It is as the Head, from whom all the Body is supported and nourished,\par that Christ thus constantly supplies grace to all believers: For "God\par gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church"--the Assembly of\par God. It may be said that grace has God the Father as its Source; with\par Christ as its Bestower; and the Holy Spirit as its Communicator.\par \par 21 Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you; and Lucius and Jason and\par Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I Tertius, who write the epistle, salute you\par in the Lord. 23 Gaius my host, and of the whole church, saluteth you.\par Erastus the treasurer of the city saluteth you, and Quartus the\par brother.\par \par Verse 21: Now come the salutations to the Christians at Rome from\par Paul's fellow-workers, from his gracious host, and others. Bishop\par Moule with his fervid imagination pictures the Epistle to the Romans\par as written in Gaius' house in one day! "They began at morning on the\par themes of sin, righteousness, and glory of the present and the future\par of Israel, of the duties of the Christian life, of the special\par problems of the Roman Mission; carried their hours along to noon, to\par afternoon . . . But before he bids his willing and wonderful\par secretary, Tertius, rest from his labor, he has to discharge his own\par heart and affections which have already lain in it all the while! And\par now Paul and Tertius are no longer alone--other brethren have found\par their way to the chamber--Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Gaius\par himself, Quartus, and no less a magistrate than Erastus, Treasurer of\par Corinth. A page of personal messages yet to be dictated from St. Paul\par and his friends."\par \par Now while we cannot agree that the Epistle was written in one day, the\par words above bring vividly to our mind the closing scene.\par \par Timothy, my fellow-worker, saluteth you. "I have no man likeminded,"\par wrote Paul to the Phippians (2:19-22), "who will truly care for your\par state. Ye know that as a child serveth a father, so he served with me\par in the furtherance of the Gospel." I can think of no higher honor than\par  to be counted by Paul a "fellow-worker." Although Paul's name alone\par must stand at the beginning of this Epistle to the Romans, as it sets\par forth the foundation of Christian doctrines as the Lord committed them\par to him, yet here at the end is Timothy, his "true yokefellow,"\par faithful from the beginning on. Then we have Lucius, Jason and\par Sosipater, kinsmen of Paul's. Lucius was perhaps, even probably, the\par "Lucius of Cyrene" of Acts 13:1; and Jason that Jason who had received\par Paul in Acts 17:5-9; while Sosipater is in all likelihood Sosipater,\par the son of Pyrrhus, of Berea. These last three, being relatives of\par Paul's, were, doubtless, Jewish Christians.\par \par Verse 22: Then we have a direct word from Tertius, who transcribed the\par Epistle for Paul: I, Tertius, who am writing the Epistle, salute you\par in the Lord!\par \par Next that gracious and generous hearted believer, who kept open house\par for the whole Church of God, and was at present entertaining Paul,\par gives his greeting: Gaius, my host, and of the whole church, saluteth\par you. This doubtless is the Gaius of the very next chapter of the New\par Testament I Corinthians 1 (verse 14)), whom Paul himself had\par baptized,--as a man prominent and well known. God gave Solomon\par "largeness of heart as the sand upon the sea shore," and here is a\par brother whose hospitality welcomes all the saints. Brother, if you\par have a longing to be helpful to God's saints, be a Gaius! Count not\par the things you have as your own, but as belonging to Christ; and,\par therefore, to be used freely by Christ's own. Our Lord, "while on\par earth, found one home,--that at Bethany, thus open fully to Him, and\par He said to His disciples, "He that receiveth you, receiveth Me, and he\par that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me."\par \par Verse 23: Erastus, the City Treasurer, saluteth you. Sanday thinks\par  that Paul mentions Erastus because of his being "the most influential\par member of the community." But that would not be like Paul! And the\par salutation of Erastus is just as genuine as that of Gaius, or of the\par saint next mentioned here as simply Quartus the brother. Quartus was\par not a city official, nor prominent, but along go his warm greetings to\par the Christians at Rome, with Paul's and all the rest!\par \par These tender salutations, both to the Christians at Rome, and from the\par Christians gathered about Paul in Corinth where he writes, arouse both\par joy and grief in our hearts today,--joy that in that early day there\par existed such unity of consciousness in Christ) such brotherly\par solicitude, such friendly, loving greetings, between those who knew\par themselves one company, one Body, one band of pilgrims through the\par dark and dreary desert of this world! and grief that our own day sees\par such sad divisions, jealousies, contentions, such earthly-mindedness;\par such loss of the mighty truths of this great Epistle to the\par Romans,--that our sin has been put away forever by the one sacrifice\par of Christ, that we died with Him and have been raised into newness of\par life with Him, and are no longer of this world! Not only grief at the\par awful Babylonish ecclesiastical structure, worse than paganism, which\par Satan has built, beginning at this very city of Rome; but deeper grief\par at the indifference and unconcern at increasing Romish abominations of\par those calling themselves "Protestants"; at their willingness to be\par divided--their even glorying in it; at the lack of that burning love\par so evident in Paul and those with him, and at the loss of separation\par from this world that crucified our Lord!\par \par 25 Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and\par the heralding of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the\par  mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, 26 but\par now is manifested, and [now] by prophetic Scriptures, according to the\par commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations\par unto obedience of faith; 27 to God alone wise, through Jesus Christ,\par to whom be the glory unto the ages. Amen!\par \par Verses 25 to 27: All agree that the Epistle to the Romans is the\par foundational Epistle. Consequently the great doctrines of Christianity\par appear there. But it is not generally recognized that in verses 25 to\par 27 preparation is made by the Apostle Paul for the unfolding in his\par further epistles of that great secret of God called "The\par Mystery,--kept in silence through the times of ages"; the Special\par revelator of which Paul is. It is necessary to see clearly that in the\par words to establish you of verse 25, Paul refers to truth beyond that\par which the Romans already knew. He says in Chapter One he "longs to see\par them . . . that they might through his teaching, ministry, and\par fellowship, be established." Those to whom Paul writes in this Epistle\par had believed; they had become "obedient from the heart to that pattern\par of doctrine whereunto they were delivered" (6:17). Therefore when Paul\par speaks to them of my gospel and of the heralding of Jesus Christ\par according to the revelation of the mystery, he cannot be referring to\par that revelation of God's righteousness which had been "witnessed by\par the Law and the prophets" (3:21). Furthermore, these two expressions,\par my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the\par revelation of the mystery, seem to be two co\'f6rdinate terms, or\par possibly we should say, the second characterized the first: for we\par know that to some (like the Corinthians), who were babes, not full\par grown, Paul preached only "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Whereas he\par himself tells us, as we have before observed, of higher, heavenly\par truth, connected with Christ Jesus and Him glorified, which he\par preached to "fullgrown" believers.\par \par The Greek word translated establish is used about ten times in the New\par Testament concerning a settled, stable spiritual condition. We find\par this first in our Lord's words to Peter: "When once thou hast turned\par again, establish thy brethren" (Luke 22:32). It includes not only a\par knowledge of the truth, and a settled persuasion in Christ of that\par truth; but also obedience in the power of the Spirit, to the truth:\par "to the end He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before\par our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His\par saints" (I Thess. 3:13); and it also involves our testimony:\par "establish your hearts in every good word and work" (II Thess. 2:17).\par \par We shall find the Greek construction of the great doxology of verses\par 25 to 27, involved and difficult, unless we place ourselves in the\par position of Paul himself. He has been writing with the hand of the\par Spirit upon him, those stupendous truths which we find in this great,\par fundamental Epistle: the glory, holiness, and righteousness, of the\par infinite, eternal God; the awful guilt and helplessness of man; the\par story of the astonishing intervention of a Grace that not only\par pardoned and justified, but made believing sinners partakers in Christ\par of the very glory of God Himself; the absolute consistency of all this\par with God's promises to His earthly nation, Israel; the openness of all\par Heaven now to all nations, and that on the simplest possible\par condition--Faith alone! And the Apostle has God in view as the Giver,\par Christ in view as the means, and the saints in view as the receivers\par of this mighty bounty!\par \par Therefore this great passage becomes both a doxology, and a\par  commendation with a doxology, of praise to this great God, and a\par commendation of the saints unto Him. Paul thus commended the saints in\par Ephesus (Acts 20:32) : "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and\par to the Word of His grace." Therefore, if we must seek for grammatical\par regularity (which we do not need to do in such an overwhelming passage\par as this!) We may read: Now I commend you to Him that is able to\par establish you . . . To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ: to\par whom be the glory unto the ages!\par \par The last words, to whom be the glory unto the ages must, it seems, be\par taken, in view of all other Scriptures, to refer to God. It is to Him\par the glory comes, through Jesus Christ. This is the constant voice of\par Scripture. Furthermore, Paul at the beginning declares this gospel to\par be the Gospel of God concerning His Son, and as we have noted\par throughout the Epistle, God is the Actor--setting forth Christ as a\par propitiation. He is the God, "not of Jews only, but of Gentiles\par also,-- seeing that God is One." "We have peace with God through our\par Lord Jesus Christ." "It is God that justifieth," and "O the depth of\par the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" and "We present\par our bodies living sacrifices to God." Right through the Epistle goes\par the message of the gospel of God concerning His Son.\par \par Also the double mention of God, first (verse 25), to Him that is able\par to establish you; and second (verse 27): to the only wise God, draws\par our minds irresistibly to God the Father as the Source of all this\par grace and blessing--to whom the ascription of praise goes up.\par \par We notice also that it is God who establishes us according to the\par preaching of Jesus Christ (verse 25); that the message concerning the\par mystery is brought forth according to the commandment of the eternal\par God (verse 26); and that the glory goes up to God through Jesus Christ\par (verse 27), much as the King James Versions reads: to God only wise,\par be glory through Jesus Christ forever.\par \par Our blessed Lord Himself insisted beyond all others that the Father be\par glorified in and through the Son! and thus we find it in Romans [285]\par \par "THE MYSTERY WHICH HAD BEEN KEPT IN SILENCE"\par \par God had a sovereign purpose to take certain creatures into His own\par glory, to share in that Glory. And He desired also that these should\par know Him in His nature as Love, and be with Him, before Him, in that\par blissful atmosphere of pure love, forever.\par \par These happy creatures were not to be taken from among the "elect\par angels,"--holy, blessed beings that these are.\par \par It was God's purpose to manifest Himself, all that He is,-- not in\par holiness and righteousness and truth only; but in His infinite Love,\par Grace, Mercy, Tenderness, Gentleness, and Patience.\par \par God therefore sent His Son, and lo! God was manifest in the flesh!\par Christ declared God--all God was: which had not ever been done before,\par to any of His creatures!\par \par But, after revealing God's love, mercy, and gracious tenderness toward\par sinners, the Son of God goes to the cross. And there is revealed the\par eternal unchangeable holiness of God in hatred of sin, together with\par that love capable of giving the Son of His delight to bear sin for a\par world that rejected, despised His Son!\par \par But the mystery of which Paul speaks was not yet revealed. Was it not\par prophesied in the Psalms and prophets, and witnessed in the types of\par all the offerings, that the Son of God, the Messiah, would suffer, and\par that for human sin? "Thus it is written in the law, the prophets and\par the psalms, that Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead\par the third day," our Risen Lord said to His disciples in Luke 24:44-46.\par And "the mystery" had been "hid in God who created all things,"--hid\par "from the ages and from the generations."\par \par What then, is the mystery?\par \par It is wrapped up, (though not revealed) in our Lord's words in His\par great heavenly prayer of John 17: For here we find Him praying for a\par company given Him by the Father out of the world. [286]\par \par Now in verse 22, our Lord Jesus says plainly: "The glory which Thou\par hast given Me I have given unto them." So that this glory into which\par Christ was to enter was to be shared with these whom the Father had\par given Him.\par \par This, then, is the foundation for the revelation of "the Mystery."\par Certain were to be brought, in Christ, into the Divine glory! They\par were to be "manifested with Him in glory," at His appearing. But that\par would be because they had entered into a glory never before given\par creatures! It was not given to angels, seraphim, or cherubim, but to\par blood-bought sinners as members of Christ! Nor was such a union\par proposed to earthly Israel. Saved Israel will, indeed "see the glory\par of God"; "Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty," is promised to\par that beloved, restored nation (Isa. 33:17): and also that over\par restored Jerusalem "the glory shall be spread a covering" (Isa.\par 4:2-6). But there was never a hint in the Old Testament that there\par would be a heavenly calling,--a company who would enter into that\par glory--be glorified with this glorious One!\par \par This, is the secret, the mystery, "kept in silence through times of\par ages," the unfolding of which Paul declares will establish the saints!\par \par For it must involve the revelation to us that we were "chosen in\par Christ before the foundation of the world"! That we were foreknown,\par and foreordained to be "conformed to the image of God's Son, that He\par might be "The First-born among many brethren"!\par \par That we, having a sinful history in Adam the first, would not only\par have our sins put away, in God's grace, by the blood of Christ; but\par would be so identified with Him, by God's astonishing act, as to be\par cut off from all connection with the first Adam and be created in His\par Son, now risen from the dead!\par \par That we would not only be enlifed with Him, but be raised up with Him,\par and made to sit with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus! Thus\par passing out of earthly connections, and becoming citizens of heaven!\par \par That, in "the riches of the glory of this mystery, Christ would be in\par us, dwelling in our hearts by faith, in the energy of the Holy\par Spirit!" (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:14-21).\par \par That thus, our hearts being as a "mirror," we would behold the glory\par of the Lord, and be transformed into His image, "from glory to glory,"\par here below (II Cor. 3:18).\par \par That, at our Lord's second coming, our bodies would be in an instant\par redeemed, (I Cor. 15:51-53); so that "these bodies of our\par humiliation," would be, by Christ's "fashioning them anew," be at once\par "conformed to the body of His glory"; so that "we should be like Him,\par for we shall see Him even as He is"!--which not even Paul has yet\par done! (Phil. 3:20, 21; I John 3:3).\par \par That, in "the ages to come," God will "show the exceeding riches of\par His grace, in kindness to us, in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7).\par \par And that, as Eve shared with the first Adam the dominion given him,\par being one with him (she having been taken out of his side and "builded\par into" a woman) and even sharing with him his name Adam (Gen. 1:28;\par 2:21-23; 5:1, 2): just so the Church, the wife of the Lamb, as one\par with Christ, having been created in Him and sharing with Him His name!\par (I Cor. 12:12) will share His dominion! See, reverently, Ephesians\par 1:23; 2:10; I Cor. 12:12, 13. That thus Christ and His Bride, the\par Church, shall be forever: "That they may be with Me where I am; that\par they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me; and the glory which\par Thou Hast given Me I have given unto them."\par \par Creatures--only creatures we, and forever will be, but given the\par highest place which the Word of God gives to creatures: "For we are\par members of Christ's Body"! and, "We rejoice in the hope of the Glory\par of God."\par \par Now although on the Day of Pentecost, God baptized into Christ in\par glory those in the upper room and all true believers thereafter; and\par although it is true that God thus in their experience made known to\par "His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit," "this mystery of\par Christ which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of\par men"; yet He chose Paul to open out before God's saints the doctrine\par of this heavenly mystery or secret; and to write in "all his Epistles"\par these things for us. All the apostles knew, for example, on that Day\par of Pentecost that Christ had been glorified in heaven and that they\par were in the boundless joy of the revelation of this glorious Christ to\par their souls. They had all entered into the enjoyment of the\par blessedness belonging to this great thing concealed by God from all\par creatures before that moment. But it was Paul to whom the Lord\par revealed the whole doctrine of the mystery; and we firmly believe he\par thus became the revelator to all men of these glorious things\par connected with this mystery.\par \par Not that God subjected James, Cephas and John, the apostles of the\par circumcision, to Paul in their ministry. In their spheres of ministry,\par Paul went to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision. But as to the\par unfolding of the great facts of the mystery, the Lord chose Paul,--who\par writes himself down (and that by an inspired pen), as "less than the\par least of all saints"; so that "by the grace of God" Paul himself said,\par "I am what I am." And we give all glory, therefore, to God.\par \par Now no one is able to read, understand, believe and meditate, upon\par this, God's great secret, of our heavenly calling, our connection with\par Christ Himself and with the glory that shall be revealed, without\par becoming himself heavenly minded!\par \par So that the heralding of Jesus Christ according to the unfolding of\par the mystery is the preaching by which God establishes His heavenly\par saints. For if indeed we are heavenly; if our "citizenship" is in\par heaven; if our worship is by the Spirit; if through Christ by that\par Spirit we have "our access to the Father"--unto God in heaven; how\par utterly unable is any "religious" earthly system to establish us! Nay,\par says Paul; "We are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God\par and glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh!" (Phil.\par 3:3).\par \par We recognize fully that the "mystery" is not developed in Romans,\par though set forth and implied in Chapter 12:5: "We who are many are one\par Body in Christ." Paul is here speaking as if the Roman Christians were\par expected to understand the expression, or were at least to expect Paul\par to reveal and fully explain it to them when he should get to Rome.\par Inasmuch, therefore, as some of our readers may not have access to\par those writings Scripturally setting forth what the mystery is and our\par participation in it, or may even neglect to read the other remarkable\par Scriptures which open it out, we have thought it best to speak briefly\par upon the mystery, even in a work on Romans.\par \par And we would remind the reader that unless this "revelation of the\par mystery" becomes indeed revelation to his own soul, he must fall short\par  entirely of understanding what the present dispensation is; and what\par is the Church's (or Assembly's) real character, calling, destiny, and\par present walk. As the prayer of Paul for us is realized in us: "That\par you may know what is the hope of His calling" (Eph. 1:18, 19,ff),\par these things will be brought to pass in you and me:\par \par 1. We shall see and realize that our history in the first Adam was\par ended at the cross.\par \par 2. We shall see that the Christ with Whom God has now connected us is\par wholly a heavenly Christ, and that neither Christ nor those in Him\par have anything to do with Israel after the flesh, to whom the Law was\par given, and to whom the Messiah came.\par \par 3. We shall see ourselves vitally connected with, joined to, this\par heavenly Christ, so that we have been received in Christ as belonging\par to heaven, "even as He"; that we are "the righteousness of God in\par Him"; that we are loved even as He; and that our citizenship is in\par heaven. Our hearts must be convinced that these things are facts, not\par figures of speech, or things to be realized in some far future. We\par wait, indeed, for the redemption of our bodies, but we ourselves are\par already in the new creation, and for us old things (all earthly\par things, "religious" or worldly), have passed away.\par \par 4. We shall see that blindness has befallen Israel; that the mystery\par of lawlessness is working; that the earthly testimony of the Church\par has failed; that iniquity will abound and "evil men and seducers wax\par worse and worse" in professing Christendom-- of all these things we\par shall be certain: but knowing" them beforehand, and understanding that\par the course of things on earth has nothing to do with our heavenly\par calling, we shall continue steadfast in faith.\par \par 5. An ever-deepening humility will be wrought in us by the knowledge\par that we have been called into this Divine union, so that there is\par fulfilled in us what our Lord prayed for: "That they may all be one;\par even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be\par in us": as Paul writes to the Thessalonians: "The assembly of the\par Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."\par \par 6. Not only humility, but hope--the true hope of the instructed\par Christian, will rise and well up in our hearts: "Looking for the\par blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior\par Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).\par \par 7. Thus the believer walks consciously justified from all things, and\par in newness of life (Romans); as a new creature in Christ (II\par Corinthians); as made alive together with Christ, raised up in Him,\par and made to sit with Him in the heavenlies (Ephesians); thus with Paul\par as the example, he runs His course toward Christ Himself\par (Philippians); as walking through many dangers on this earth, yet\par "holding fast the Head," in Whom is all fulness, and in Whom, in\par constant appropriation of His fulness, the believer is being made full\par (Colossians); and thus with ever-absorbing hope he expects the day\par when Christ shall appear, and he become "in a moment" "like\par Him,"--seeing Him as He is (Thessalonians).\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par [281] Why both the King James and the Revised Versions should\par translate the same word deacon when it applies it to men (I Tim. 3:8,\par 10), and servant or minister when applied to women, let others\par explain. I Tim. 3:11 describes women-deacons evidently. As William\par Kelly (Romans: p. 274) says, "We know from elsewhere that elderly\par females held a position in which they rendered official or\par quasi-official service in the assembly where they lived. Phoebe was\par one of these of the port of Corinth, Cenchreae." In our indignant\par rejection of papal pretenses and ecclesiastical man-made officialdom,\par we are apt to swing the pendulum too far, and refuse to recognize\par those whom God raises up as elders, deacons, and deaconesses. To claim\par that Timothy and Titus "have no successors" as direct apostolic\par delegates with authority "to appoint elders in every city," and that\par therefore eldership is no longer possible, is to ignore two great\par facts: first, that it is the Holy Spirit Himself Who makes men elders\par (Acts 20:17, 28), and second, that the Lord gave to Paul to write\par public letters describing the qualifications of both bishops (that is,\par elders), and also deacons (I Tim. 3; Titus 1). If the ministry of\par Timothy and Titus as "apostolic delegates" was purely personal and\par ended with them, then the instructions would have been in private, and\par not have been left to the Church at large! For what profit would\par instructions about the selection of elders, deacons, and deaconesses\par be, if there were to be none such, after Timothy and Titus? We accept\par fully all those directions concerning women given by Paul. Women are\par not to be arbiters of doctrine, nor to usurp authority over men. This,\par however, does not hinder their praying publicly, and testifying\par (prophesying), if they have their heads obediently covered; nor does\par it hinder their being recognized,--as was Phoebe, as deaconesses. And\par it should humble the pride of some of us to find Phoebe, a woman,\par carrying this mighty fundamental Epistle of the gospel of God--more\par important than the Law of Moses!--to the center of the Gentile world!\par \par [282] For this order, see Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford,\par and R. V.\par \par [283] The ministry of women in the early Church is strikingly brought\par out in this 16th Chapter. The list includes Phoebe, Prisca, Mary,\par Tryph\'e6na, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus' mother, and Julia. We read that\par they labored "in the Lord"-- "labored much in the Lord," facing\par dangers generously, and were intrusted (as Phoebe) with the deaconess'\par office. Now in what did their "labor" consist? Certainly not merely in\par getting chicken dinners for preachers! It is a spiritual activity here\par spoken of! As Paul says of Euodia and Syntyche, in Philippians 4:2, 3,\par "Help these women, for they labored with me in the gospel, with\par Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in\par the book of life." Just so Philip the evangelist had four virgin\par daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:8, 9). They did so, of course, with\par covered heads, according to I Corinthians 11:4, 5, where the distinct\par direction to women is, not to refrain from the exercise of the gift of\par prophesying, or praying, but to prophesy with covered head. To claim\par that these women took public part only in meetings of women, is a\par pitiful recourse to which many have resorted. "Your sons and your\par daughters shall prophesy," Peter quoted on the day of Pentecost. In\par these matters three evils have sprung up, (1) The suppression of\par woman's voice entirely in the assembly of the saints. (2) The\par expression of women's earnest desire to serve the Lord, in the forming\par of independent women's organizations not controlled by the assembly.\par (3) Where men were fearful in faith, or ungifted, the bold pushing of\par individual women out to the front into leadership and government, even\par as "pastors" of assemblies,--leaders of "movements" which have swept\par into their ranks many untaught souls, to their great harm. Now\par concerning the first, let any unbiased man study I Corinthians 11:4\par and 5, and he must see that the gift of "prophecy,"--speaking unto\par others unto "edification, and comfort, and consolation," was shared\par alike by men and women. And to claim that it was exercised by women\par only before other women, is a twisting of Scripture worthy of a\par modernist! For when Paul in I Corinthians 14:34 says, "Let the women\par keep silence in the assemblies: for it is not permitted unto them to\par speak," the word for "speak" is not didasko, which means to teach\par authoritatively, involving dominion over men (I Tim. 2:11, 12); but\par the word is to "talk," to "talk out,"--Greek, laleo, which would\par indicate a woman's requesting publicly an answer to some personal\par inquiry: "If she would learn anything," etc. It does not have to do\par with that participation in the operation of the Spirit which\par prophesying and praying do. In I Timothy 2:8-10, also, it is evident,\par as in I Corinthians 11:4, 5, that women engaged in prayer in the\par assemblies. The words "in like manner," of I Timothy 2:9, are\par connected with the words, "that the men pray"; while the women, as\par instructed in I Corinthians, are to adorn themselves modestly in their\par praying. I have often wondered how an "exclusive brother" would have\par felt when the woman of Luke 8:43 to 48, after touching the Lord and\par being healed, and shrinking back, was called out by the Lord Himself\par to "declare in the presence of all the people for what cause she\par touched Him, and how she was healed immediately." I once asked certain\par of them about this. The reply was,--"The Church had not yet begun!"\par Aye, but these very "exclusives" are very ready to bring in the Law\par ("as also saith the Law") when they are seeking to suppress woman's\par laboring in the gospel, by a passage which refers to keeping order in\par the assemblies. And what temerity to say that our Lord would have\par called out that woman of Luke 8 to testify in public--if her\par testifying had been contrary to that order in creation which the\par Church was to set forth! No one has, I think, greater horror than we,\par of woman's breaking loose from the place of quietness to the place of\par publicity and even, alas, to the rulership of men. Isaiah cried\par concerning the apostate state of Israel, "As for my people, children\par are their oppressors, and women rule over them!" That is the state in\par the world today, and the devil ever seeks to bring it about in the\par assembly of God. But because some, even many, cast to the winds Paul's\par distinct direction that a woman take not the place of authoritative\par teaching or dominion over a man, but remain in quietness,--far be it\par from us because of these excesses, to shut our eyes to the operation\par of the Holy Spirit in women, whether it be in testimony or in prayer,\par and that in the assembly of the saints. There was a wonderful old\par saint in St. Louis, Mother Gray, humble, teachable, earnest, and\par mightily filled with the Holy Spirit. When she rose, with her back\par bowed with many, many years of physical and spiritual labor, and her\par reverent head covered with her little black bonnet, and began to\par testify, to exhort, or to pray, every one was moved, and even the\par Plymouth Brethren (my best helpers not only in St. Louis, but\par generally, -- wherever it has been my privilege to preach), said to\par me, "Mother Gray seems an exception!" No, she was not an exception,\par any more than was dear old "Auntie" Cook, in Chicago, who with another\par sister prayed unceasingly for D. L. Moody till he was mightily\par anointed with the Spirit of God. And there was "Holy Ann," in Toronto,\par her little, feeble frame bent with years, but filled with the Spirit\par of God. Standing up to testify in the great Cooke's Church one\par afternoon, being very short, she gave her hand to be lifted, and stood\par on the pew! And we shall never forget her exhortation, for God was in\par it! "The letter killeth, the Spirit giveth life." Ministry in the\par Spirit by a woman is different altogether from her taking over\par authority, or infringing upon the order of the assembly of God: "The\par Lord giveth the Word: The women that publish the tidings are a great\par Host" (Ps. 68:11 R. V.). The general secretary of a well-known\par faithful missionary society told us recently that they had 20 women\par volunteers for missionary work, to one man! These are indeed days of\par terrible declension, or the proportion would not be such!\par \par [284] "Satan has deceived some good preachers into "personally\par investigating evil people and conditions," in order to "preach against\par them"; but God says "The things that are done of them in secret, it is\par a shame even to speak of." Preach the Word; therein will be found\par abundant discoveries of evil and denunciations thereof; but, being the\par Word of God, it is holy, and may safely be used in exposing evil. It\par is like the sunshine that lights up the foulest alley without being\par itself defiled! Don't go down the alley "personally," lifting the lids\par of their garbage-cans; or you will smell of it!\par \par [285] Yet while we feel sure that we should read in verse 27: "Glory\par to God, through Jesus Christ"; let us never forget that Christ is God\par the Son: as we read in Chapter 9:5: "Christ--who is over all, God\par blessed forever!" The question in the last verse of Romans is not at\par all concerning the deity of Christ, but of the Divine order--both of\par blessing to us, and of thanksgiving by us.\par \par [286] Our Lord asks five things for them in John 17: (1) That they may\par be kept--in the Father's name, and from the evil one (Verses 11-15);\par (2) That they might be sanctified--as not of the world, first in the\par truth, and second by our Lord's identification with them--"For their\par sake I sanctify Myself" (set Myself apart to the cross) (Verses\par 16-19); (3) That they may be "one," "perfected into one," and that in\par a wondrous union only to be defined "as Thou, Father, art in Me and I\par in Thee, that they may be in Us" (Verses 21-23); (4) That these may be\par with Him--and that forever, where He is, to behold His glory into\par which He would enter upon His ascension (Verses 5,24).\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par SPIRITUAL ORDER OF PAUL'S EPISTLES\par \par We believe that the order of arrangement of Paul's Epistles to the\par Churches was Divinely established; and that there is a progress of\par spiritual experience from Romans to II Thessalonians.\par \par (1) In Romans man is shown with righteousness: "There is none\par righteous, no not one." This involves man's fundamental relation to\par God. Christ is set forth a propitiation, meeting all Divine claims,\par and by His death releasing man from the necessity of a righteousness\par and holiness of his own: Christ becomes his righteousness, and a\par believer has the witness of the Spirit that he is God's child.\par \par (2) I Corinthians. Here the subject is not righteousness but wisdom.\par The words "wisdom" and "wise" occur in the first four chapters\par twenty-five times, and the words "foolish" and "foolishness" some\par eight times! In 1:30 we are seen as of God--we that are in Christ\par Jesus who was "made unto us wisdom from God"; which indeed includes\par "Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption" but Christ is looked at\par as our Wisdom. Indeed in 2:16, "We have the mind of Christ." Those\par declared righteous in Romans, and become children of God, are now\par brought to school,--as children should be. But lo! the wisdom of the\par world is "foolishness,"--therefore God's "wisdom" is revealed to these\par children of God by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit indwelling them\par (2.6-16).\par \par (3) II Corinthians. Here we find Christ our sufficiency. Declared\par righteous in Romans, instructed by the Spirit in I Corinthians, the\par believer has yet to learn his utter weakness. The key-verses are here\par are 12:9-10: "When I am weak then am I strong," and, "My grace is\par sufficient for thee." Many believers never find that God alone is\par their strength along every line. Paul found it! Read 1:8-10. Again:\par "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding\par greatness o the power may be of God, and not from ourselves" (4:7-11).\par Again:\par \par "Our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by\par day" (4:16). Again: "Our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on\par every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless he\par that comforteth the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus"\par (7:5, 6). Again: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my\par weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (12:9).\par \par (4) Galatians. The Epistles are linked together, each leading on to\par the following. So, in II Corinthians 13:11, Paul exhorts, "Be\par perfected" (Compare 6:14 to 7:1). Now the Galatians are seeking to be\par perfected, but it is by turning back to "religion," by observing\par "days, seasons, months, years" (4:10, 11). "Are ye so foolish, having\par begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?" But Paul goes\par clear back to Romans Six, and testifies to these Galatians, "I have\par crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ\par liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in\par faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me and gave\par himself up for me" (2.20). He goes back II Corinthians 5:17: "If any\par man be in Christ he is a new creation; the old things are passed away;\par  behold, they are become new"; and he sets before us the proper "rule\par of life" of the believer in words which completely set aside\par "religious" life, whether Jewish, Romish, or Protestant. "Neither is\par circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as\par many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy and\par [when the future time comes for blessing the real Israel] upon the\par Israel of God" (6:5,16). Thus far we have seen righteousness without\par works, in Romans; wisdom without education, in I Corinthians; power\par without strength, in II Corinthians; perfecting without "religion," in\par Galatians.\par \par (5) Ephesians. Men on earth seated in the heavenlies. For although\par named as "the saints that are at Ephesus," and "all true [`faithful']\par believers in Christ Jesus" yet that marvelous secret is opened out by\par which we are made alive with the raised and glorified Christ--raised\par up with Him and made to sit in the heavenlies [no longer in the\par earthlies as were Israel] and made indeed to become the fulness of\par Christ our Head, who filleth all in all. We are not yet in Heaven but\par are "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of\par our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession unto the\par praise of His glory." [An "earnest" is a foretoken of our\par inheritance.]\par \par (6) Philippians. Here we see Paul as a sample believer of all these\par glorious truths, running the wonderful "course" toward that coming\par "day of Christ"! (1:6, 10). Saying, as he runs, "To me to live is\par Christ, and to die is gain" (1:21); exhorting, "Have this mind in you,\par which was also in Christ Jesus" (2:5-8); crying, as he runs, "I count\par all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ\par Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do\par count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him not\par having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the Law, but\par that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from\par God by faith: that I may know Him, the power of His resurrection, the\par fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death. I\par press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was\par laid hold on by Christ Jesus. I press on toward the goal unto the\par prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as\par many as are perfect, be thus minded. For our citizenship is in heaven.\par I can do all things through Him that strengtheneth me: And my God\par shall supply every need of yours, according to His riches in glory in\par Christ Jesus." (Chapter 3, entire; 4:13,19). Paul's word in 3.17:\par "Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk\par as ye have us for an ensample," is the key of Philippians. By the\par grace of God certainly, but none the less truly, Paul was enabled to\par run the Christian race in all its fulness!\par \par (7) Colossians. Heavenly men on earth--yet holding fast the Head in\par heaven, and becoming filled with His fulness, is what we see here. All\par the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Christ, with whom\par believers' lives are hid in God, Christ becomes the object of all the\par believer's thoughts and affections. Since you are raised together with\par Christ, "Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things\par that are upon the earth. For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ\par in God." The believer awaits Christ's coming--content not to be known\par or manifested till the glory comes. Four desperate foes oppose this\par mystery of faith of holding fast the Head in Heaven while walking on\par earth. See them in 2:4, 8, 16, 18.\par \par (8) I Thessalonians. The Thessalonian Epistles set forth the Personal\par Return of our Lord Jesus Christ--the end of the earthly path of God's\par dear saints!\par \par I Thessalonians gives The Church's hope, the Rapture: "The Lord\par Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the\par archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall\par rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with\par them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so\par shall we ever be with the Lord! Wherefore comfort one another with\par these words" (4:16-18).\par \par The believer who knows himself righteous (Romans), having the mind of\par Christ (I Corinthians), who has learned to glory in his weakness (II\par Corinthians), and to walk by the "rule of the new creation" knowing\par that he was crucified with Christ, who is now living in Him\par (Galatians), and who sees with Spirit-enlightened eyes the heavenly\par character and calling of the Church (Ephesians), and is really\par becoming an imitator of Paul in the race--running the course unto\par Christ--"the day of Christ" (Philippians), who is really holding fast\par the Head, paying no attention to those who would delude him with\par persuasiveness of speech and make a spoil of him through "philosophy"\par and would judge us in "religious" things or rob us of our prize by\par turning us to a self-humility that fails to hold fast the Head\par (Colossians): such a believer is ready indeed for I Thessalonians! And\par he is sincerely eager in daily, hourly watching for His coming--for\par the Rapture of the Church!\par \par (9) II Thessalonians gives the second phase of our Lord's Return, the\par "revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven in flaming fire rendering\par vengeance to them that know not God and to them that obey not the\par gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is the great Day of Wrath of\par Revelation 19:11-21. In II Thessalonians Paul guards the saints from\par confusing the Rapture with that Day of Wrath,--called "the Day of the\par Lord" (R.V. 2:1-3). The church at Thessalonica was being tempted by\par its troubles to confuse the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our\par gathering together unto Him [the Rapture] with the Day of the\par Lord--which sees the manifestation of the Antichrist. Which terrible\par days, thank God, the Church is not appointed to see! I Thessalonians\par 5:9, Revelation 3:10.\par \par "For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of\par salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess. 5:9).\par \par "Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep\par thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole\par world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10).\par _________________________________________________________________\par \par }   G%y16 Romans 16{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\cf1\lang2058\f0\fs22\par CHAPTER SIXTEEN.\par \par Phoebe the Deaconess, Carrying the Epistle, Earnestly Commended to\par Roman Christians. Verses 1, 2.\par \par Loving Salutations to Particular Saints and Assemblies in Rome. Verses\par 3 to 16.\par \par Warnings against Those Causing Divisions and Stumbling. Verses 17 to\par 20.\par \par Salutations from Paul's Fellow-workers. Verses 21 to 23.\par \par Ascription of Praise through Jesus Christ to God only Wise: Who is\par Revealing through Paul's Establishing Gospel the Myst