Promised by God In His Holy Scriptures.

The fact that this Good News was promised by God in His holy Scriptures will come out throughout the letter.

• In the Scriptures is revealed the expectancy of the coming saving righteousness of God (1.17). The coming of this righteousness was a prominent theme of Isaiah where it is closely related to salvation. Compare Isaiah 45.8; 46.13; 51.5, 8; 56.1; etc. The coming of His righteousness would therefore bring salvation in a way that was compatible with what He is.
• In the Scriptures is revealed the sinfulness of man (1.18-3.23). Having ignored the message of the heavens (1.20; compare Psalm 19.1-4) man indulged in every kind of sin and idolatry, something of which the Old Testament is a continual record.
• In the Scriptures is revealed God’s method of atonement through the shedding of blood (3.24-31; compare Isaiah 53, and all references in the Old Testament to sacrifice and atonement). All these offerings and sacrifices have now been fulfilled through Christ’s offering of Himself once for all.
• In the Scriptures is revealed God’s method of accounting men as righteous by faith as revealed in the life of Abraham (4.1-25; compare especially Genesis 15.6). Through faith we too can be accounted righteous.
• In the Scriptures is revealed the very source of man’s sinfulness in the first man, and the fact that God would provide a remedy through Another (5.12-21; Genesis 1-3; Isaiah 42.1-6; 49.1-6; 52.13-53.12 and often). As we are naturally a part of Adam, so must we become a part of Christ by being united with Him by believing in Him.
• In the Scriptures is revealed the Law whose purpose was originally good but from whose condemnation we have been delivered (7.1-25; compare Exodus 21.1-18; etc)
• In the Scriptures is revealed God’s way of salvation for His true people (9-11 against the background of the Old Testament).
• As the Scriptures foretold in the beginning, God will now bruise Satan under their feet (16.20; compare Genesis 3.15).

Thus the whole basis of the letter to the Romans is founded on Scripture.

The Gospel Is Good News Concerning His Son.

The Good News concerns God’s own Son, Who came into the world as true man, descended from David as the Scriptures had foretold, but Who was revealed to be the true and only Son of God as a result of God’s powerful activity through the Holy Spirit in and by the resurrection of ‘Jesus Christ our Lord’, which vindicated all His claims.

Let us consider this in more detail:

• Who was born of the seed of David as respects His humanity (or according to human testimony). This fact that the Messiah would be the son of David is confirmed for example in Isaiah 9.7; 11.1-4; Jeremiah 23.5; Ezekiel 34.23-24; 37.24-25).
• But Who was declared to be the Son of God with power as respects His holiness of spirit (or according to the ‘Spirit of holiness’, the Holy Spirit) by the resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ divine Sonship was confirmed by His unique resurrection from the dead within a short while of His death, which either revealed the holiness of His spirit, or the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, or both.
• He was in fact Jesus Christ, our Lord. In other words Jesus, Who had come to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1.21), is both Messiah (Christ) and Lord (God over all - see Philippians 2.8-11).

So in the end the Good News is summed up in our Lord Jesus Christ Who, as God become man, has made a way for us back to God, and a way by which we can become God-like.

Chapter 2. The Essence of The Gospel (1.14-17).

‘I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it is revealed a righteousness of God from faith to faith, as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith”.’

Having received the Gospel Paul considered himself a debtor to all men in that he owed it to them to bring them that Gospel (verse 14). The same onus clearly lies on every Christian to do the same. And he stresses that he was not ashamed of it, even though he was mocked, castigated and ill treated because of it. And the reason that he was not ashamed of it was because of what it is, for it is ‘the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes.’ Compare 1 Corinthians 1.18, ‘the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who believe it is the power of God’. Its message is that the power of God to save men and women has now been made available and is received through truly and savingly believing in Jesus Christ and what He came to do for us as the crucified One (1 Corinthians 2.2).

The letter will then go on to explain how this is so.

• a). It will reveal that through His offering of Himself on the cross (3.24-25) as sealed by His resurrection (4.24) we can receive forgiveness for our sins (4.7-8) and can be ‘reckoned as righteous’ (justified) in His sight (3.24, 26, 28; 4.6, 8, 24, 25).

  b). It will reveal that, having received that ‘justification’, from that time on God will be at work on us through life’s experiences and the working of the Holy Spirit (5.1-5), in connection with His risen life (5.10). And all this will be on the basis of our having been accounted as righteous (justified) in Christ, with the result that we are delivered from His wrath (aversion to sin which brings judgment), and reconciled to Him (5.9-10).

• c). It will reveal that as in Adam all die as a result of his sin, so in Christ can all be made alive, as a result of His justifying work and His resurrection life (5.12-21).
• d). It will reveal that as a result of the cross and resurrection of Jesus being applied to our lives we can learn to reign in life through Christ, with the end being eternal life (6.1-23).
• e). It will reveal the battle taking place in our lives as sin fights against the new life within us, a battle in which we can gain victory by being delivered by the working within us of Jesus Christ our Lord (7.1-25).
• f). It will reveal the working of the powerful Holy Spirit, Who, through what Christ has accomplished on the cross, will set us free from the grip of sin, and bring us through to eternal life because we are now true children of God and are led by His Spirit (8.1-17).
• g). It will reveal the struggle of creation, including ourselves, a struggle resulting from the effects of sin. And it is a struggle from which we will be delivered along with it, as we look forward to the redemption of our bodies, a hope that yet lies in the future (8.18-25).
• h). It will reveal the mighty working and even the groaning of the Holy Spirit, as God carries forward His predetermined purposes in His people to their destined end, while at the same time vindicating them because they are held safe in the love of God through the effectiveness of the cross (8.26-39).
• i). It will reveal how God’s destined purpose for His people will be carried through to the end, resulting in the salvation of all His true people (9-11).
• j). It will reveal the present consequence of all that He has done, in the calling of us to give ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God and to live in accordance therewith (12-16).

And it will do all this because in it is revealed the effective powerful working of the saving righteousness of God which is experienced by faith, and which both imputes righteousness, and imparts righteousness, to all who believe (1.17a). For it is through faith that those taken up into the righteous working of God will ‘live’ (1.17b).

Chapter 3. He Reveals The Awful Condition Of Man In His Ungodliness And Unrighteousness Which Has Resulted In His Downward Spiral Into Degradation (1.18-32).

‘For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is made known within them, for God made it known to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things which are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, in order that they may be without excuse, because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, nor gave thanks, but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four–footed beasts, and creeping things. for which reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.’ (1.18-25)

Paul now gives his diagnosis of the condition of all men as a result of their ignoring God’s witness to Himself in creation, and he then brings home God’s attitude toward it. He declares mankind to be under the wrath of God because of what men reveal themselves to be by their lives (verse 18a). And this is because in their unrighteousness they ‘hold down’ (keep suppressed, render inoperative) the truth as a result of their unrighteous hearts and minds (verse 18b).

‘The wrath of God’ is Scriptural terminology for God’s abhorrence of, and antipathy towards, sin which results in Him having to act against it in condemnation and judgment, because it is contrary to His very nature. It does not necessarily indicate what we mean by anger. It is a sense that is unique to a holy God.

This unrighteousness of men is revealed by the fact that human beings ignore the testimony of nature (what is manifested to them) and of conscience and their awareness of spiritual things (what is manifest in them).

The Testimony of Nature Which is Manifest To Them.

According to Scripture the testimony of nature is clear. It tells us that we have only to consider the world about us, and the heavens which are the work of His hands, to recognise from them the evidence of design and power, and to realise that all is continually held in place by God. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork, day unto day utters speech, and the night-time is not silent’ (Psalm 19.1-2). ‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not neither do they spin, and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these’ (Matthew 6.28-29). These ideas of design, magnificence and beauty should therefore point our hearts towards God, and would in fact do so were we not blinded by sin.

The Inner Testimony.

Furthermore both the fact of our inner awareness of God and the fact of our sense of moral right and wrong, should be seen as natural indicators of a moral divinity. Thus it may be argued that we have only to respond rightly to the voice within us which calls us to worship the everlasting God and to do what is right before Him, in order to know something of His very nature.

So these two aspects of creation, the glory of nature and the inner testimony, are seen as making clear, to all who are not blinded or deliberately suppressing, the truth, His everlasting power and Godhead, because there is that in man and womankind which, when not affected by sin, testifies to them.

But man in his folly, far from responding and looking upwards and seeing the glory of God, looked downwards and got caught up in the folly of seeing himself and his world as being all that should concern him. Thus in his ‘spiritual’ mind, corrupted because he did not want to obey God, he pictured God in terms of created things which he could control, and then worshipped them instead of their Creator.

And this is equally true in Western societies, for although we no longer on the whole bow down to effigies and images, we do bow down to the great gods of Science and Evolution, counting them as Creators, rather than recognising in them the fruits of creation. It is only necessary to listen to the modern media on the subject to realise man’s folly. We are told, ‘Evolution did this’ and ‘Evolution did that’ as though there was some invisible force (a god) intrinsic in nature that guaranteed that it would be so. But, says Paul, the man whose mind is spiritually attuned will not be able to talk like this for He will recognise that behind all nature is the powerful activity of God (Colossians 1.17; Hebrews 1.3). Whatever his views on science and evolution he will recognise that all is under His control.

It should be stressed that true science is no enemy of God for it only examines what is. It examines events and processes, which are subject to investigation. It is unable to examine what lies behind what is, or what causes the process. That is simply surmise. Thus it is sinful man’s interpretations of science, based on no evidence other than their own ideas, which are the enemies of God. Science itself can tell us nothing about God’s essential Being for by its very nature it is considering only the physical, and cannot look into the spiritual which is outside its scope.

But the inevitable consequence of man’s over-exaltation of creation and of science is that he allows it to begin to affect his behaviour. Because man exchanges the truth of God for a lie and exalts nature rather than the Creator, seeing himself and God in terms of the bestial, he himself begins to behave bestially. As a result men behave uncleanly and dishonour their own bodies.

This bestial behaviour is then seen as manifesting itself in a number of ways. It results firstly in sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage (the only marriage so defined in Scripture, and the only sphere in which Scripture allows sexual activity). All sex outside of heterosexual marriage is seen as condemned, however described, although in verses 26-27 special emphasis is laid on same-sex sexual behaviour, which is described as ‘against nature’.

And because men have refused to have God in their knowledge this then results in their minds becoming ‘reprobate’ (rejected after testing, unfit, spurious), so that they do things which are unfitting. This is confirmed by a long list of the sins that reveal the bestiality of men’s minds. Regularly in Scripture the natural man is likened to a wild beast, while in contrast those who keep God’s covenant are described in terms of ‘a son of man’ (see especially Daniel 7). It is only the man who obeys God who retains the true image of God. It will be noted that no sexual sins are listed in verses 28-31, those having already been dealt with in verses 24-27 as especially heinous, because they replace the true worship of God. They are the kind of sins common to mankind and cover all aspects of human behaviour leaving none of us untouched. The point that Paul is bringing out is that without exception all have sinned in one way or another.

And he ends up by pointing out that it is not only the doing of these sins that brings men into judgment and under sentence of death, but also the giving of approval to those who practise them. Thus by his words all men are revealed to be sinners.

For completeness we will now consider Paul’s list of man’s sins, which are over and above the sexual sins previously described.

‘Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, lacking in understanding, promise-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful.’

It does not take much effort for us to recognise from this list that we all stand accused in one way or another. .

Chapter 4 Even Respectable Men And Philosophers Come Under God’s Judgment As Sinners (2.1-16).

Having demonstrated the sinfulness and inexcusability of the majority of mankind, Paul now turns to the idea of those who are the most highly respected in society, the leaders of the community, the judges and the philosophers. Those who see themselves as having responsibility for the behaviour of mankind.

‘Wherefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judges, in the fact that you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge do practise the same things. And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practise such things. And do you reckon this, O man, who judge those who practise such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?’

Paul’s argument is quite simple, and it is that those who claim to act as judges of others regularly themselves indulge in the same sins, which therefore makes them doubly without excuse in the sight of God. For by judging others they do not have the excuse of ignorance. They demonstrate by their behaviour that they do know what is right and wrong. And yet they still behave wrongly. They must therefore recognise that God shows no favours to ‘fellow-judges’, and will judge truly. If they pass judgment on others, do they really think that they can themselves expect to escape God’s judgment?

‘Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance, but on the basis of your hardness and of your impenitent heart treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works?’

Paul then asks them why they do not respond to God’s goodness, forbearance and longsuffering. He points out that He has constantly shown His love towards them in the provision of sun and rain, and all the benefits of nature, He has borne with their sins patiently while waiting for them to become aware of them and repent, and He has longsufferingly waited for their response. Why then do they despise His goodness and mercy, and not respond to it? It is because of their spiritual and moral hardness and because their hearts are impenitent in the face of their sins (for which they constantly condemn others).

And as a result they are storing up for themselves ‘wrath’ (God’s righteous response against sin) in the Day when God reveals His antipathy against sin and when His righteous judgment is revealed. For God will deal justly without ignoring anything that anyone has done. He will render to every man without exception whatever his works (described in 1.29-31) have deserved. And in that Day no one will be found innocent (3.19).

And on what basis will God judge men?

‘to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life, but to those who are factious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath and indignation.’

At first sight Paul appears here to be saying that the good will be accepted, and the not so good will be rejected (and we most of us think that we are on the side of the good). But a moment’s careful thought in the context will demonstrate that this is not so. What Paul is pointing to is the impossible ideal that no man achieves, for he will soon point out that all are under sin and are guilty before God (3.9, 20). He is drawing the picture of the ideal man, as sometimes portrayed by philosophers of the day, and saying, ‘measure up to that if you can’, knowing all the time that at one time or another all fall short of this ideal. He knows that it is just not a true picture of any man unless he has first turned to God with his whole heart and received forgiveness for his sins. He has provided the true picture of man as he really is in chapter 1.

For the man Paul is describing here never falters. His life is always pure. His temper is always even. His thoughts are always God-like. His generosity is unceasing. His whole thought is on pleasing God. His concentration is always on perfection and on finally enjoying eternal life. God is in all his thoughts. In other words this man is like Jesus, never failing in any way. But apart from Him such a man does not exist. He is a ‘chimera’, a fanciful conception.

So, he says, their judgment will be on the basis of whether they have patiently walked in well-doing, never failing, abstaining from all the sins described in 1.29-31, and have been constantly and unwaveringly seeking for glory, honour and incorruption, in other words for eternal life. Or, in contrast, on whether they reveal themselves as being in a state of rebellion against God, have failed in love towards their fellowmen, and do not obey the truth that He reveals to their hearts, but rather obey unrighteousness. To these latter there will only be indignation and wrath. This last, he is saying, is the true picture of man. And the result for such people can only be to face the wrath and indignation of God.

As we will discover later Paul is not here trying to say that those who do good will be accepted and that those who do evil will be rejected, as though mankind could be one or the other. For He will later point out that he has proved that we are all under sin, and are all guilty before God (3.9, 19, 23). Rather he is already anticipating that some will be ‘saved’ and as a result of being changed in heart and life, will begin to live a Christian life which will gradually become like this, while others will turn away and lose their opportunity. To Paul it was only those who were following Jesus Christ who could hope to meet the criteria he was laying down, and they only because they had first been ‘declared righteous in Christ’.

‘Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who works evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek, but glory and honour and peace to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, for there is no respect of persons with God.’

So he stresses that man will receive what he deserves. The one who is ‘evil’ and has not done wholly what is right will suffer tribulation and anguish. He will experience the judgment of God. ‘The Jew first’ is because he has been especially privileged in being given the Law. And to the one who works good without failing, in the manner already described, will come honour and glory. Apart from Jesus there is of course no one who has ever lived like this, and he may well have had Jesus in his mind. But ever in his mind is the aim of the Christian life. To him only those who desire to be like this with all their hearts can expect to receive a reward. And that can only ever be those who have first found forgiveness, and have been accounted as righteous by God.

‘For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without the law, and as many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law, for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be justified --- in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.’

It will make no difference in that day whether men have had the Law or not. Those who have not had the Law will perish outside the Law. They will be judged by the law written in their consciences. Those who have had the Law will be judged under it, and they too will perish. For in both cases it is not those who are aware of what their particular law says who are accounted righteous, it is those who fully and without exception do what that law says. Only they will be able to be accounted righteous in the Day when God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. That is what Paul’s Good News of the Gospel confirms. But as he has already pointed out, no one does in fact keep their particular conception of the law. Thus all will perish.

‘For when Gentiles who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are the law to themselves, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to it, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ .’

Not having the Law does not give the Gentiles any excuse. For all men have written in their hearts the principles of God’s law, the principles of moral right and wrong, and their consciences bear witness to it. Those principles may be distorted by them, but they are there. And thus they have a responsibility to live wholly according to those principles. If they do their conscience will excuse them. If they do not it will accuse them. But either way they are bound to live by it, and will be judged by it. And they too will be judged accordingly in the Day when God judges the secrets of men. And there too they will perish because they have failed to live fully in accordance with their conscience (verse 12).

It must be recognised in all this that Paul is demonstrating logically that all without exception have sinned and are therefore guilty before God. He is not speaking of mercy but of justice. It is not to deny that some can repent and find mercy, whether they be Jew or Gentile. And it may well be that these words are indicating that God does work in the hearts of some people, even among those who have ‘never heard’, bringing them in repentance to receive forgiveness through the cross (even though they have not heard of it), and to walk in a way that is pleasing to Him. Missionaries have testified to meeting such people when they have gone to ‘unreached’ peoples. And such people have immediately responded to the Gospel, declaring that this was the message that they had been waiting for. But such people are few, and had turned away from the false gods of their people. We must not put a straitjacket on God’s mercy, but nor must we treat it with laxity. What is, however, sure, is that without repentance towards God and faith in His mercy there can be no salvation.

Chapter 5. The Jew Is No Better Off Unless He Obeys The Law From The Heart (2.17-29).

Paul then points out that although Jews may boast about having the Law of God they are no better off than Gentiles, for it is that very Law that condemns them. Having the Law is only of benefit if they respond to it fully and obey it from the heart. And the problem is that they cannot do that even if they try. For all are sinners. Thus their claim to have the Law of God simply puts them under greater condemnation.

What The Jews Claimed.

‘But if you bear the name of a Jew, and rest on the law, and glory in God, and know His will, and approve the things which are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth.’

The Jews in Paul’s day had a very high view of their privilege, and in some ways rightly so, for they did have the Law of God. But the problem was that while they viewed themselves highly because of it, they failed to recognise that it meant that if they sinned it put them under greater condemnation. We can compare here James 3.1-2. To claim special insight is to be committed to following that insight in obedience, and to fail to do so brings that insight into disrepute.

Note the claims that the Jews boastingly made for themselves:

• They rested on the Law of God, whereas all the Gentiles had to rest on was philosophy.
• They gloried in God in a way that others could not because their Scriptures made God known to them as He is.
• They knew His will, because that will was laid down in the Scriptures.
• They approved what was excellent, because they found it in the Scriptures. (But the problem was that they did not then respond to it).
• They were instructed out of the Law. (But they failed to recognise what a huge responsibility that placed on them to live by it).
• They were confident that they were guides to the blind, and a light towards those who were in darkness. They saw themselves as in every way religiously superior because they had the truth.

All this was, of course, partly true. But having such privileges but them under a great obligation to live in accordance with the light given to them, and Paul will now point out that that is precisely what they did not do. And the consequence is that what appeared to be of great benefit to them turned out only to be a curse.

Where The Jews Failed.

Paul now demonstrates how, with all their great privileges, they failed to carry them into practise.

‘You therefore who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say that a man should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who glory in the law, through your transgression of the law do you dishonour God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written.’

The problem with the Jews as a whole (there were of course exceptions), as indeed with many religious people, was that they had the truth but did not live by it. They taught others the Law and said that they should obey it, but they did not teach themselves to obey it. They did not practise what they preached. What they condemned in others they themselves did. They taught the ten commandments but did not themselves obey them when properly understood (see Matthew 5.20-48). They condemned idolatry but were hypocritically willing to benefit from wealth obtained from idolatrous temples, which should have been anathema to them. They gloried in the Law, and then by their lives brought it into disrepute. And the result was that the Gentiles had a poor opinion of the God of Israel, and mocked their beliefs, and thus the name of God was blasphemed as a result of their behaviour even as their Scriptures had warned (for the quotation see Isaiah 52.5).

Having The Truth Is Only Of Benefit If It Is Lived Out.

Another thing that the Jews boasted in was that they were circumcised and were thus members of God’s covenant, for their circumcision was a sign of that covenant (Genesis 17). But Paul points out that if they break the covenant then the covenant ceases to be of any value. Their disobedience invalidates their part in that covenant, and as a result their circumcision in which they boast, the sign of that covenant, is also invalidated. On the other hand if others who are uncircumcised keep the covenant then surely that means that they are circumcised in their hearts, for it was the keeping of the covenant that God was concerned about. Furthermore by keeping the covenant they will be passing judgment on the Jews who failed to fulfil it. Paul here undoubtedly has Christians in mind.

‘For circumcision is indeed of profit, if you are a doer of the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision is become uncircumcision. If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision? And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

So the point behind all these arguments is that although the Jews are truly greatly privileged, they have in fact forfeited that privilege by being disobedient to the Law and to God’s covenant. They are therefore equally sinners along with the remainder of mankind, and stand condemned. The only true Jew is the one who is one inwardly and reveals it by full obedience to the Law, and the only true circumcision is that which changes the heart so that a man walks in accordance with the spirit of the Law. It is they alone who will receive the true praise, the praise that comes from God

Chapter 6. Paul Deals With Possible Objection To His Position (3.1-8).

Paul now deals with possible objections to his position, and considers a number of rhetorical questions.

‘What advantage then has the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision? Much every way. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. For what if some were without faith? shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God? God forbid. Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, “That You might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.” But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visits with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men). God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? But if the truth of God through my lie abounded to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, that good may come?” Whose condemnation is just.’

Paul knew that men have devious minds, especially when it comes to justifying themselves, and deals with some of their arguments here. Note the rhetorical questions that he asks himself:

• What advantage then has the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision?
• What if some were without faith? shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God?
• But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visits with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men).
• But if the truth of God through my lie abounded to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?

The first question concerns what advantage the Jews have. Is Paul really suggesting that they have in fact no advantage at all? The second question argues that God’s faithfulness will not be affected by man being unbelieving. The idea of the argument is that God’s faithfulness is surely above being affected by man. The third question suggests that if our unrighteousness actually emphasises God’s righteousness, then surely God cannot visit it in judgment. After all it is then to His benefit. It is in fact suggesting that morality is not of first importance. What is of first importance is only the glory of God. The fourth question suggests that if my deceitfulness brings out the truth of God and thus brings glory to Him, I cannot be judged a sinner for that reason.

There is a kind of perverted logic to these questions. They point to people whose view is that what matters is the glory of God, so that anything that contributes to that is to be commended, whether it is in itself good or bad. It is a sad indication of men’s failure to recognise the importance of their moral behaviour. And until it is examined more closely such a suggestion sounds watertight, for it is always man’s tendency to think that his sin is not really all that important. It would in fact be perfectly true in an amoral universe (if such could theoretically exist). But this is not an amoral universe, and God is very much concerned about men’s morals. Thus unbelief, disobedience and deceit can never finally contribute to the glory of God, even if their side effects seem to do so, for they are actually a stain on His perfect universe.

What advantage then has the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision?

Paul’s reply is that they had a huge advantage, because they had received the oracles of God. They had the inspired word of God. But, of course, it was only an advantage if they took heed to it. It was of little use if it was ignored.

The same applies very much today to the Bible. What a huge privilege it is for us to have the Bible, and yet that very fact will add to our condemnation if we do not pay heed to it.

For what if some were without faith? Will their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God?

The argument is that God will continue faithful to His covenant whatever His people’s attitude of heart, and asks whether their want of faith can possibly make God’s faithfulness of none effect. They expected the answer that God would certainly remain faithful even though His people were disobedient. They were, of course, thinking in terms of the benefits promised by the covenant. But Paul’s reply was not quite what they expected, because he looked at the covenant from a different angle. He had come to recognise that the covenant not only contained promises of blessing, but also warnings of judgment. So he said, ‘God forbid. Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, “That You might be justified in Your words, and might prevail when You come into judgment.” In other words he was saying that God will certainly be faithful to His covenant because His covenant stands firm and He only does what is true. But what they should therefore do is consider that covenant. If they did they would recognise that it contained exclusion clauses. And the corollary is that His people will be brought into judgment because of it. For in His faithfulness He will thus ensure that its terms are carried out, and that includes its curses.

But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visits with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men).

Some men may ask (‘I speak after the manner of men’, not of God), ‘Would not God be unrighteous to visit men with wrath for their sins if those very sins in fact demonstrate and commend God’s righteousness?’

Paul refuses to even acknowledge any truth in the argument, which he sees as specious and as special pleading. His reply to their suggestion of God’s righteousness being lacking is simply, ‘God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?’ and his counter-question is simply asking, “How can God, if He is the Judge of all the world, be shackled by excuses for sin. He must judge sin righteously on its merits. Therefore any such arguments simply fall by the wayside.”

But if the truth of God through my lie abounded to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?

This question, like the last one, works on the assumption that the end justifies the means. ‘If my falsehood brings out God’s truth, does that not justify my falsehood?’ Paul wants to indicate that he has had enough of such questions and replies that they might just as well say, “Let us do evil, that good may come?” a question which can only deserve condemnation. (‘Their condemnation is just’). For the truth is that true goodness can never be forwarded by false means (even though there are some who slanderously accuse Paul of that very thing).

So the point that comes out from all this is that God will deal seriously with sin, whether it be in Jews or Gentiles, and will accept no excuses. All will be judged on the same basis, and that is on what they have done and failed to do.

Chapter 7. The Whole Of Mankind Is Found Guilty Before God (3.9-20).

This long section on sin and judgment, which began at 1.18, now comes to an end with the verdict that all are guilty before God. In 1.18-32 it was the world as a whole that was considered. In 2.1-16 it was the respectable and the philosophers. In 2.17-3.8 it was the Jews. Now all are being looked at together.

‘What then? are we better than they? No, in no possible way. For we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin, as it is written, “There is none righteous, no, not one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not, so much as one. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God, because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.’

Paul now dismisses any suggestion that, in the light of God’s coming judgment, anyone is in any better position than anyone else. And he sees this as confirmed by the Scriptures. For they make clear that all are under sin.

The initial quotation “There is none righteous, no, not one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not, so much as one”, comes from Psalm 14.1c, 2b-3 (compare Psalm 53.1c, 2b-3). It clearly indicates:

• That no one is truly righteous in God’s eyes.
• That none seek after God as they should.
• That all turn aside from the true way.
• That all become unprofitable to God because of their failure and sin.

Thus there are clearly none who genuinely do always what is good, and so all come under condemnation.

The quotations that follow then illustrate the point. These quotation are intended to give a general picture of sin as seen by the Scriptures, and basically sum up what man is. ‘Their throat is an open sepulchre’ (Psalm 5.9). That is, their words are such that they form a trap for the unwary into which they can easily fall. Or alternately that they result in men becoming unclean by coming in contact with them. ‘With their tongues they have used deceit.’ (Psalm 5.9). Here the lack of honesty of men and women, and deceitfulness of their words generally is in mind. ‘The poison of asps is under their lips (Psalm 40.3).’ Here the thought is mainly of the maliciousness of men and women which results in cruel and hurtful words, backbiting, slanderous accusations, and the murdering of other people’s reputations by gossip and tale bearing. ‘Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness’ (Psalm 10.7 LXX). Such people curse and swear and reveal their own bitterness of heart in the bitter things that they say. It will be noted up to this point that the emphasis has been on the effect of what people say. As Jesus said, ‘For every idle word that men shall speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment’ (Matthew 12.36). Compare ‘The tongue is a little member -- set on fire of Hell’ (James 3.5-6).

‘Their feet are swift to shed blood’ (Proverbs 1.16; Isaiah 59.7). Here the emphasis is on people’s violence and its consequences. ‘Destruction and misery are in their ways’ (Isaiah 59.7). Here the concentration is on the harm that people do to each other, and the misery that people bring to each other, by the way in which they behave. ‘And the way of peace have they not known’ (Isaiah 59.8). This is the opposite side of the coin. Such people have no desire to bring peace into the world in which they live, nor to seek peace. Rather they bring trouble and distress. ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes’ (Psalm 36.1). This both sums men and women up and is the final indictment. They live without regard for God and for His judgment, and that fact comes out in their lives and in their behaviour.

‘Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God’ (3.19). So Paul’s conclusion is that Scripture has spoken and that what it says applies to anyone ‘under the law’, whether the Law of Moses, or the law of conscience, so that no one can plead innocence and all the world is brought under God’s judgment. The term ‘the Law’ often referred to the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures, seen as God’s law to man.

And he then gives a reason why this is so, it is ‘because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.’ In other words, because all men and women are sinners the law can never result in their being accounted as righteous before God, because the law simply draws attention to their sin and accounts them as guilty. It provides the knowledge of sin. It says, you have done this and you have therefore sinned. For this reason there can be no salvation through the Law, because the Law is there to accuse and point the finger, not there to deal with their sin. Here he has very much the moral law in mind. Thus from the point of view of acceptance before God the Law is helpless. By it all men and women are found guilty before God.

Chapter 8. God Has provided A Way By Which Men Can Become Acceptable To God (3.21-31).

Having proved that all men stand guilty before God, and that all that the Law can do is make things worse, Paul will now turn to the way that God has provided by which men and women can become acceptable to a holy God. He will point out that in the midst of their darkness and rebellion ‘a righteousness of God’ has been provided for sinners who will come to Him in faith, so as to make them acceptable before Him.

‘But now apart from the law a righteousness of God has been openly revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all those who believe’ (3.21-22).

It was a constant theme of Isaiah that God would send His righteousness and His salvation so as to redeem His people (Isaiah 45.8; 46.13; 51.5, 6, 8; 56.1; 61.10). And now, says Paul, that righteousness has come. And it is a righteousness, a saving righteousness, which is received through faith in Jesus Christ and provided for all who believe.

In order for God’s people to enjoy the blessing of a holy God two things were necessary. One was that they be seen as acceptable in His presence. That could only result from their being clothed in a God given righteousness (Isaiah 61.10), in other words being provided with an imputed righteousness, a righteousness put to their account. The second was that they become righteous within, so as to be pleasing to God in their lives, and that could only happen through an imparted righteousness, a renewal within their lives that starts them on the road to righteousness. In what is to come he will deal with both. But first he concentrates his attention on an imputed righteousness which will make them judicially acceptable to God and free from the charge of sin. This comes out in the next few verses.

‘For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God, for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season, that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus’ (3.22b-26).

When it comes to this method of salvation it is the same for all. ‘There is no distinction.’ All must be saved in the same way. And this is because all are in the same boat. They have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Whatever may have been said before, this sums up man’s position. Morally he falls short of the glory of God. He is simply not up to His purity and His righteousness. Put plainly, he is not as righteous as God. He falls short of perfection. And therefore he is seen as guilty before God and as falling short of what is required of him.

But now for those who have faith in Jesus a solution has been found. Jesus Christ has provided a ransom from sin by the giving of Himself on the cross (Mark 10.45), and a propitiation for sin through the sacrifice of Himself in the shedding of blood (1 John 2.2) The first indicates that a redemption price has been paid, so that the person now belongs to God, the second that atonement has been made so that there is no barrier to his approaching God. The idea of a propitiation is that God’s antipathy towards sin no longer applies for that sinner, because the cause of that antipathy has been removed. In the words of the Psalmist, ‘blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom God will not impute sin’ (Psalm 32.1-2).

And as a result of these blessings all to whom they apply are ‘accounted as righteous’ (dikaioo which signifies being accounted as righteous in the eyes of the law) in God’s eyes. And this is by His grace (His unmerited favour and active love) which is given freely (without cost) through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Thus the blessing is freely given, it is without cost to the recipient (compare Isaiah 55.1-2), and it is bestowed through faith in Jesus Christ. From the moment of ‘believing’ and receiving it, therefore, that person is ‘counted as righteous with God’s righteousness’, is seen as belonging wholly to God, and is reconciled and ‘at one’ with God. All God’s condemnation and antipathy to sin is done away with as far as they are concerned. They are as acceptable in His sight as Jesus Christ, for they are ‘made the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5.21). And all this is now accomplished without demeaning the righteousness of God in any way, for because of the cross and what was accomplished there, He can be totally just, and yet at the same time can count as righteous the believer in Jesus Christ.

This can be, and is, presented in two ways. One way is to see Jesus Christ dying as our substitute. This is unquestionably true in Mark 10.45. Because Jesus has died in our place as a ransom and has borne our sin, we can be accounted as righteous and go free, as a result of the fact that He paid the price instead of us. The second way is to see ourselves as ‘in Christ’, which is a regular New Testament idea. And as a result, being one with Him we are seen as having gone to the cross with Him. We have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2.20). When He died, we died there with Him. Thus with the punishment for all our sin being borne by Him as the One Who has absorbed us into Himself, we have paid the price of sin in Him and can go free, to begin our new lives for Him.

Imagine a scene in a court room. A young man stands in the dock. He is accused of the most abominable of crimes, and he knows that he is guilty. The previous day the prosecutor, unable to keep the scorn and anger from his eyes, has laid out the charges against him. He has been aware of the anger even in the judge’s eyes. All are against him. And now all the evidence is to be introduced against him. He is without hope, and he awaits the proceedings with dread. The prosecutor comes forward. But now he is no longer angry, he is smiling. He declares to the court that all charges have been dropped. The young man’s elder brother has taken the full blame for the crime. He has pleaded guilty and has been justly sentenced and executed. The young man can leave the court room with no charge lying against him. As far as the prosecution is concerned he is free to go. The judge also is now smiling. He declares the young man to be ‘justified’ in the eyes of the court. He can leave without a stain on his character. All he has to do is believe it and go free. Everyone gathers round to pat him on the back. The judge comes and shakes his hand. He is aware in his heart that he is guilty. But the whole court has declared him to be ‘accounted as righteous’, because his elder brother has borne the shame and ignominy of the crime. That is ‘justification’.

And all this is the consequence of the cross where the price was paid and man’s sin was borne. Furthermore it not only provides salvation for those who believe in Jesus now, but it also redeems from and atones for ‘sins done aforetime’. From the time of Adam onwards God had provided a way back to Him through the offering of sacrifices. All who came to Him in genuine faith, offering their sacrifices, obtained forgiveness and pardon. But it was only a shadow of what was to come. For the blood of bulls and of goats could not really take away sin (Hebrews 10.4). They were a ‘shadow’ pointing forwards to this supreme moment when Jesus Christ was offered for the sins of the world. They had gained any efficacy that they had through His coming sacrifice of Himself. And now as a result of His offering of Himself all those who have believed from the time of Adam onwards are effectively ‘saved’ and made acceptable to God through His cross. Any accusation pending against them has been cancelled out. They too are ‘reckoned as righteous’ through the cross.

But if this is freely given through God’s unmerited favour what else is required in order to be accounted as righteous before God? The answer is nothing. And what credit can the saved person take for his salvation? The answer is none. For he has done nothing towards it, he has simply received it through the channel of faith. He does not receive it because of his belief. His belief is only the means by which he receives it. It comes to him totally from God as a result of the work of God upon him. ‘By grace are you saved through faith, and that salvation is not of yourself, it is the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2.8-9).

‘Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? No, but by a law of faith. We reckon therefore that a man is justified (accounted as righteous) by faith apart from the works of the law.’

And the result of this salvation being freely given through the unmerited favour of God is that no one has anything to glory in as regards themselves. They have no grounds for preening themselves or boasting. All self-glorying is excluded. Why? Because of the law of works? No. That would have given plenty of reason for boasting. Rather it is by the law of faith. And we can thus reckon on the fact that a man is accounted as righteous by God, not as a result of works, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

And all this comes to all men who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, in the same way, through faith. For there is no distinction. All come to Him through faith. And does this then mean that we are making the Law of none effect? No, we are establishing the Law. For we are giving it its full authority as the accuser of men, and as the standard by which men must be judged; we are taking its provisions for atonement which were but shadows, and replacing them with the reality that really atones; and we are bringing about its fulfilment in men and women in the ‘accounting of righteousness through faith’ (Genesis 15.6).

Chapter 9. The Way Of Justification Through Faith Illustrated In Abraham And Announced By David (4.1-12).

Paul now illustrates his teaching concerning being accounted righteous by faith from the Scriptures. His first illustration is Abraham. For in Genesis 15.6 we read, ‘And Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness’. And this will then be followed by a verse from the Psalms which teaches a similar thing.

‘What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has whereof to glory, but not toward God. For what says the scripture? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man, to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works, saying, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin.”

The first question is as to how Abraham was accounted as righteous by God. And he evidences from Genesis 15.6 the fact that Abraham was reckoned as righteous because he believed God. So, he points out, Abraham was not reckoned as righteous because of his works, but because of his trust in God. Whereas his works might have justified him before men, they could not do so before God. And that must be so, for who can boast before God?

It is the same for all. Whatever our works, they cannot make us accounted as righteous before God, because that would be to put God in our debt, and God is no man’s debtor. Rather then, like Abraham, we are to believe on Him Who actually counts as righteous the ungodly, and then, as with Abraham, our faith will be counted as righteousness.

‘He Who counts as righteous the ungodly.’ In different ways both Abraham and David sinned. And yet God counted them as righteous. This is clear evidence that God counts as righteous the ungodly who believe, for both were in some ways ungodly. Thus we can be sure that if we are ungodly and yet come to God by faith in Jesus Christ, we too will be accounted righteous, as they were, whatever we may have been or have done in the past. We can come just as we are and He will receive us.

Note what these words tell us about the character of God. They tell us that He is merciful and longsuffering, and that He reaches out to the ungodly. They tell us that He is ever ready to receive those who come to Him through faith. No matter what their state may be at the time, if they come to Him in faith He will receive them and ‘reckon them as righteous’ through faith in Jesus Christ.

The same was true of David. He was an adulterer and murderer. And yet he could say, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin.” In other words, he was conscious that he had been forgiven, and that he was accounted as righteous in God’s sight. And how was it so? By believing the prophet who came to him with God’s offer of mercy. He believed God and was accounted as righteous.

Thus Scripture clearly demonstrates that for a man to be accounted righteous he must believe God. He must be accounted as righteous ‘by faith’, by believing. And if neither Abraham nor David could claim the ground of works, how can we possibly do so?

Paul then goes on to point out that far from circumcision being required in order that a man might be accounted as righteous before God, in the case of Abraham it was simply a later seal on the fact that he had already been accounted as righteous. He was accounted as righteous first, and circumcised later. Thus he can be seen as the direct spiritual ancestor of all who walk in the steps of that faith that our father Abraham had in God, both of those who are circumcised and those who are not. Outward circumcision is not required in order for a man to be ‘reckoned as righteous’. Faith resulted in Abraham being counted as righteous even when he was uncircumcised (He will later point out that any man who comes to Christ is in fact ‘in Christ’ and therefore shares in the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2.11). But that is not the answer here)

Chapter 10. As With Abraham, God’s Greatest Gifts Do Not Come To us Because We ‘Obey The Law’, But Because We ‘Believe In The Lord’ (4.13-25).

‘For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Paul now points out that all the great promises made to Abraham that he would be ‘heir of the world’, the one through whom blessing would come from the Father to the whole world (Genesis 12.3), were made to him when he was righteous through faith. In his case there was no question of his having been required to attain to a certain level of obedience to the Law in order to obtain it, for at that stage there was no Law. No, he believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. That was the basis on which he received blessing for the world. (While the statement appears in Genesis 15.6, he had already demonstrated his faith in Genesis 12).

‘For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect, because the law works wrath. But where there is no law, neither is there transgression. For this reason it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.’

And it was a good thing that the promise came on the basis of faith, and that the fact that Abraham was the heir on behalf of the whole world was on the basis of faith, because of it had been those who were under the Law who had been the heirs acting on behalf of the whole world the world would have lost out. Because the heirship would have been cancelled because they failed to keep the Law and thus came under the wrath of God, and the promise would thus have been of none effect.

From this it should be obvious that those who come to God on the basis of having obeyed the Law cannot look to the promise, because all that the Law can do is condemn and bring men under God’s disapproval. That renders the promise of non-effect, as a result of the fact that they have put themselves outside the sphere of acceptability to God. But those who come to God on the basis of faith, without bringing in the question of the Law, are not put outside the sphere of acceptability to God. For they are reckoned as righteous by faith. And because the question of obedience to the Law is not being called on, the question of having transgressed it does not enter in.

Thus it is clear that the only basis on which men can come to God and be acceptable is ‘by faith’, and this is so that it may be the result of God’s unmerited favour. And the consequence of that is that none who believe will be excluded. The promise is sure to everyone who believes, whether they see themselves as the people of the Law, or as the sons of Abraham who believe like he did. He is thus the father of all who believe.

‘Who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) before Him Whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things which are not, as though they were. Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to what had been spoken, “So shall your seed be. And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, yet, looking to the promise of God, he did not waver through unbelief, but acted strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. For which reason it was counted to him for righteousness.’

For the Scriptures make clear that in the sight of God, Who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were, Abraham is not only the father of the Jews but is the father of us all, for it declares that he is ‘the father of many nations.’ Thus we can share in what God did for Abraham.

And what did God do for Abraham? Well, in response to his strong faith in God’s promise of a coming ‘seed’, a faith which He accounted to him as righteousness, He gave him a son when both he and Sarah were past being able to bear. So clearly Abraham continued to be ‘accounted as righteous through faith’.

‘Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned to him, but also for our sake, to whom it will be reckoned, who believe on Him Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.’

Furthermore this description of what Abraham received through faith was not only written for his sake alone. It was written so that all who have the same confidence in God as being able to give life to the dead, and believe that He raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, might also have their faith ‘reckoned for righteousness’. And in so believing we believe in the One Who was delivered up in order to bear our trespasses, and was raised up in order that through Him we might be accounted as righteous. Thus through faith in Him we receive both forgiveness and justification (a state of being ‘just-as-if-I’d’ never-sinned).

Chapter 11. The Consequence of Being Accounted as Righteous Through Faith (5.1-11).

Paul now outlines some of the consequences of our being ‘accounted as righteous’ through faith. These he represents as follows:

• 1). We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 1).
• 2). We have access by faith into the grace in which we now stand (verse 2).
• 3). We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (verse 2).
• 4). We rejoice in tribulation because of what we know it will work within us through our confidence in God’s love, and through the work of the Holy Spirit Who sheds abroad His love in our hearts (verses 3-5).
• 5). We are made aware of the greatness of God’s love which is commended towards us in that when we were yet sinners Christ died for us (verses 6-8).
• 6). We know that we will be saved from the consequences of God’s antipathy to and hatred towards sin because we are accounted as righteous through His blood (verse 9).
• 7). We rejoice because, having been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, we will be saved by His life (verse 10).
• 8). We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have received reconciliation (verses 11).

We will now consider these in order.

1). We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 1).

‘Having therefore been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

Because we have been accounted as righteous once for all through believing in ‘our Lord, Jesus Christ’ we have peace with God. His anger at sin is no longer directed against us, the enmity against sin has been removed, and we are reconciled to Him and He to us. No longer do we live in fear of the judgment. No longer are we afraid of the record of sin that stands against us. No longer do we have to fear the pointed finger. God our erstwhile Judge is now our friend, and our Father and is smiling on us. All is at peace.

2). Through Jesus Christ we have access by faith into the grace in which we now stand (verse 2).

‘Through Whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace in which we stand.’

In consequence of what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf, and as a result of our responding to Him, we now have access by faith into the ‘grace’, the unmerited, active favour and mercy of God, in which we now stand. We have entered into the sphere of His love and compassion (Ephesians 3.17-19). We have entered into the sphere of His loving work towards us and in us. We are now sure of God’s continual gracious working, working within us in order that we may will and do of His good pleasure’ (Philippians 2.13). We can now be sure that we will be confirmed to the end through His faithfulness (1 Corinthians 1.8-9). And we can be sure that all the blessings of God (Matthew 5.3-10) will be poured upon us. We are ‘surrounded by GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense)’.

3). We rejoice in hope of the glory of God (verse 2).

‘And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’

Those who are accounted righteous in Jesus Christ can rejoice in hope of the glory of God in at least three ways;

• Firstly we can rejoice in the glory that Jesus Christ has given to us. And that glory that He has given us is to be one with the Son and with the Father, just as the Son is one with the Father (John 17.22). Consider what this mean ‘Being one with God’. Have we even begun to appreciate the wonder of what that means? It means that the Father and the Son have come to dwell within us (compare Ephesians 3.17) It means that we have died and that our lives are hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3.3). It is an experience into which we can enter more and more deeply as the years go by, as more and more we know and experience our oneness with Him.
• Secondly we can rejoice in the glory into which we are being changed. ‘Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3.18). Thus as we ‘grow in grace’ it is a constant reminder of the glory that will be ours.
• And thirdly we can rejoice in the glory that will be ours when we are taken to be with Him in glory at His glorious appearing. There we will be with Him and will behold His glory, the glory which was His before the world was, and which has now been restored to Him as a result of the success of His saving work (John 17.24). And we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is (1 John 3.2). Through enjoying eternal life we will enjoy glory, honour, peace and immortality (Romans 2.7, 10; 8.18; 1 Corinthians 15.43; 2 Corinthians 4.17; Ephesians 1.18). When Christ Who is our life shall appear, then will we also appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3.4).

4). We rejoice in tribulation because of what we know it will work within us through our confidence in God’s love, and through the work of the Holy Spirit Who sheds abroad His love in our hearts (verses 3-5).

‘And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patient endurance, and patient endurance works proven character, and proven character works hope, and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given to us.’

The fourth thing in which we can rejoice is tribulation, persecution and hardship. Not because we have a desire to suffer, but because we know that these things will work within us what is pleasing to God. They will teach us patient endurance. And this will result in proven character as God is at work within us. And this proven character will confirm our hope of being like Him and of being with Him where He is. So we are not to see the world as a vale of hardship, but as a training ground, as a potter’s wheel, as a blacksmith’s fire, as God shapes and moulds us to His will.

Furthermore that hope is a certain hope, it is not one of which in the future we will be ashamed. Indeed we know that we will win the prize. And this is not because of our steadfastness, but because of the work of God within us. It is because love for God, and the love of God Himself, will be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us. And this love will ensure that we are able to persevere to the end, ‘kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time’ (1 Peter 1.5). For ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and they will never perish, nor will any pluck them from My hand’ (John 10.27-28).

5). We are made aware of the greatness of God’s love which is commended towards us in that when we were yet sinners Christ died for us (verses 6-8).

‘For while we were yet weak, in due season, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die, but God commends His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’

One of the central things about the cross is that through it God has ‘commended’ His love towards us, as we are filled with wonder that He should reach out to us as sinners. We might have understood it if we had always been righteous and obedient, although even then it would have been surprising. We could have understood it even more if we had been exceptionally good and strong. But to think that Christ should die for us when we were weak, ungodly and sinful is almost beyond belief. And yet that is the case. ‘While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.’

‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins’ (1 John 4.10). All we can say therefore is, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!’ (Romans 11.33).

6). We know that we will be saved from the consequences of God’s antipathy to and hatred towards sin because we are accounted as righteous through His blood (verse 9).

‘Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.’

And if Christ has died for us while we were yet sinners, how much more, being accounted as righteous by His sacrifice of Himself on the cross and His blood shed for us, will we be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For how can those who are made righteous with the righteousness of Christ face the wrath of God (1 Corinthians 1.30; 2 Corinthians 5.21).

Through the shedding of His blood Jesus has made a full, perfect and complete satisfaction for our sins, and has provided for us a robe of righteousness in which we appear before God (Isaiah 61.10). As a result God’s holy antipathy against sin is completely satisfied with what He has done and the provision that He has made. Nothing therefore now comes between us and His holiness.

And the result is that we are saved from His ‘wrath’ in all its aspects. The idea of wrath is not one of anger in the way in which we understand it. It is holy anger. And it is directed at us because of our sin. It results from God’s holy antipathy towards sin. We must not, however, simply see this as indicating that the Father feels like this while the Son does not. This is the ‘wrath’ of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is a reminder that in the depths of His being God hates sin, for He knows what it is and what it does, and He cannot therefore abide it. In one way or another it must be rooted out. And that is what Christ came to do for His own

In Scripture the wrath of God is revealed in three ways:

• It is revealed continually from Heaven against all the unrighteousness and ungodliness of those who hold down the truth by their unrighteousness (1.18; 4.15; Hebrews 3.11).
• It is revealed in the wrath that men have experienced through the ages and will experience towards the end, as God demonstrates to the world His hatred of sin (2.8; 13.4; Ephesians 2.3; 5.6; Colossians 3.6; Hebrews 3.11; Revelation 15.1; 16.1, 19).
• It will be revealed on the final day of judgment when we face ‘the wrath to come’ (2.5; 9.22; Ephesians 5.6; Colossians 3.6; 1 Thessalonians 1.10; 5.9; Revelation 6.17; 14.10; 19.15).

Clearly each merges into the other so that some references have all in mind. Thus when we read about and think of the wrath of God we should keep in mind all three. But the joy for the Christian is that while he might have to endure some of the consequences of that wrath as it is exacted on the world, for him it is not wrath but the tribulation that works for his good (5.3) and God will preserve him in it.

7). We rejoice because, having been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, we will be saved by His life (verse 10).

‘For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, will we be saved by His life.

Having been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, and being saved from God’s present and coming antipathy to sin in Him, how much more will we be saved by His life. Being released from darkness and filthiness, we can look forward to the glory of His saving work within us. This is in a sense a reference to what is to come in the chapters that follow, for in chapters 6-8 we will learn more of what it means to be ‘saved by His life’. For through His resurrection He raises us up to newness of life (6.4), and through His abiding presence He continually renews our life (Galatians 2.20). But here Paul puts it in as a reminder that He not only died in order that we might be accounted as righteous, but also in order that we may experience righteousness, so that we might gradually be transformed until we are made like Him. For He not only died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good.

8). We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have received reconciliation (verses 11).

‘And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received the reconciliation.’

And finally because we have been accounted as righteous by faith we rejoice in God. This is because, having received reconciliation, we now know Him and can come into His presence. And yet even so it is through our Lord Jesus Christ, for without Him we have nothing.

In view of all this how can we fail to give Him glory? It is indeed right that having considered all the benefits that He has given us through the cross we should now pause and worship Him. For it is from Him that we have received everything. It is to Him that we owe everything. And thus we join with the heavenly beings in crying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come’ (Revelation 4.8), and with all of creation in saying, ‘To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the glory and the honour and dominion for ever’ (Revelation 5.13), because ‘He has purchased us to Himself with His blood out of very tribe, and tongue and people and nation and made us unto Him a kingdom and priests so that we might reign on the earth’ (Revelation 5.9-10 adapted).

Chapter 12. As In Adam All Die So In Christ Will All Be Made Alive (5.12-21).

The theme of this passage is that as in Adam all struggle and die, so in Christ will all be made spiritually alive, and reign in life. But another theme might be seen as the indication that, when we get down to the foundations, the Law is of secondary (although real) importance. It neither initially caused the condemnation of mankind, nor could it give him life. All it could do was bring man’s many transgressions into the open.

This passage can be divided into three sections:

• 1). Adam brought death into the world for all because all have sinned (12-14).
• 2). While Adam brought death and condemnation into the world, Jesus has brought the free gift into the world of true righteousness which saves from death and gives eternal life (15-19).
• 3). The Law comes into its own by bringing out God’s abounding grace (20-21).

We will consider these section by section.

1). Adam brought death into the world for all, because all have sinned (12-14).

‘Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned — for until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of Him Who was to come.’

It will be noted a). Through one man sin entered into the world and death by sin (Genesis 3). b). Death passed to all men because all sinned (Genesis 5). c). This was despite the fact that there was no written Law by which they could be accused and as a result of which they could be condemned. d). Adam can in some ways be seen as a figure of Christ, in that all men are united with him and live out their lives as he lived his, under sentence of death, while in Christ all Who are His are united with Him and live out their lives in and through Him, with the guarantee of eternal life.

Clearly what is written here harks back to what has gone before. The fact that all men sin reminds us of 1.18-3.20. The fact that there was no law does not mean that they were lawless, for they had the work of the law written in the heart so that their consciences either accused them or excused them (2.14-15). But in the end the point is that all goes back to Adam’s sin. Man is sinful because the first man sinned. Something happened when man first sinned and the result was that the tendency to sin was passed on from Adam. And because all died it demonstrated that all sinned, and that all were worthy of death, even though there was no written Law. Their sin and their death flowed from Adam, but it was the consequence of their own choice. But even so all that the Law could do later when it did come in was to make sin abound (verse 20). Thus the Law was not the solution to man’s need.

There is no need to see here the idea of imputed guilt, or even imputed sin. For we are specifically told that sin was not imputed. What we are to see is that sin and death flowed from Adam and what he did, just as later we will see that righteousness and life flow from Christ as a result of what he did. Sin brought death into the world and it has done so ever since.

2). Adam brought death and condemnation into the world. Jesus Christ has brought into the world the free gift of true righteousness which saves from death (15-19).

This section can be divided up into five statements, each of which contrasts one thing connected with the Fall, with the one thing brought by Jesus Christ.

It will be noted that there is a progression of thought concerning the consequences of sin as we advance through the statements. Through the trespass of one the many died; the judgment came of one trespass to condemnation; by the trespass of the one death reigned through the one; through the one trespass condemnation came to all men; through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners. All the problems of mankind can thus be traced back to the initial act of the one who was made in the image of God, and deserted his post through disobedience, as a result bringing sin into the world. It is a warning concerning the awfulness of one sin. Nevertheless these consequences arose because all sinned. No man is directly condemned by the sin of Adam. We are each condemned by our own sin.

The second progression of thought is that the grace of God and the gift by the grace of Jesus Christ abounded to many; the free gift came for the purposes of men being accounted as righteous in the face of many offences; those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ; from the one act of righteousness came the justification that results in life; though the obedience of One many will be made righteous.

1). ‘But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.’

Paul begins by emphasising that God’s gift was not like the trespass. For while the original trespass was simply the one act of the one which resulted in many dying, a grim prospect indeed, in the case of God’s response God’s gracious and unmerited activity of love, and the gift of true righteousness which came to men by the gracious and unmerited activity and love of Jesus Christ, abounded to many. It flowed over in abundant measure. There was no stinting about God’s activity and the activity of Jesus Christ. The gift was basically of Himself, bringing His atonement (in respect of many trespasses), and His saving righteousness, to men, as a result of which they would have eternal life.

2). ‘And not as through one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment came of one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification.’

Again the gift of Jesus Christ far surpasses what Adam did. His one sin resulted in sin and death for many. But Jesus Christ’s one free gift of Himself came bringing atonement and forgiveness in respect of many offences resulting in all who are His own being accounted as righteous before God.

3). ‘For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will they who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, even Jesus Christ.’

In the case of Adam, through his one trespass (how deadly it was) death reigned on all who descended from the one. He was the arbiter of death. The thought is both stultifying and horrifying. But in absolute contrast, those who receive the abundance of God’s loving unmerited favour, and the wonderful gift of Christ’s righteousness, will have the life of the One, Jesus Christ, reigning in them, cancelling death, and bringing eternal life. This is bringing out the parallel. But there is an added emphasis here on the fact that not only does the life of Christ reign within us, but we also reign through Christ.

Whereas grim death reigned in the first case, those who are saved, themselves reign in life in the other case, as a result of Christ’s life within them. Christ’s life given to His own thus enables them to reign in life through His life. In the words of Paul elsewhere, ‘Christ lives (His life) in me’ (Galatians 2.20).

4). ‘So then as through one trespass the judgment came to all men to condemnation, even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came to all men to justification of life.

There is a slight change of emphasis here in that the whole emphasis is now on the trespass. As a result of that trespass judgment came onto all men to condemnation (but as we have already seen that was because all sinned - verse 12). That one act had devastating results. As a result of its consequences the whole human race was condemned, as Paul has already drawn out in 1.18-3.20. But in the case of Jesus Christ the one act of righteousness resulted in the free gift being offered to all men bringing not condemnation, but justification resulting in life. We must probably see the one act of righteousness as signifying His offering of Himself on the cross (3.24; 5.8), although it could alternatively signify His original act in deliberately choosing to be made in the likeness of men in order to die for them (Philippians 2.5-12). Either way it includes the cross and has resulted in the offer of ‘justification of life’, that is, ‘the accounting righteous which has resulted in life’.

Alternately we might see the ‘all’ as signifying ‘both Jew and Gentile’, in which case the idea is that justification of life came to all who received Him, whether Jew or Gentile.

5). ‘For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous.’

Finally the spotlight turns fully on the persons involved. In the same way that through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so were many to be made righteous ones by the obedience of One. As sin and death flowed to men through Adam’s disobedience, so righteousness and life flows to men through Christ’s obedience. This is to summarise all that has gone before in terms of the two prototypes. For this stress on Christ’s obedience compare Hebrews 10.5-10.

We must not leave this series without once again pondering on the wonder of what God and Jesus Christ have done for us. The grace of God (His unmerited active love and favour) and the gift by the grace of Jesus Christ abounded to many, the free gift came for the purposes of our being accounted as righteous in the face of many offences, those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ, from the one act of righteousness of the One came the justification that results in life, and through the obedience of One many will be made ‘righteous ones’, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

3). The Law comes into its own by bringing out God’s abounding grace (20-21). ‘And the law came in besides, so that the trespass might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly, that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’

What then was the position of the Law in all this? It entered in order that the offence might be made to abound. It highlighted man’s sin and failure, and drew open attention to it. But it could not deal with the problem of sin. However, where sin abounded, the unmerited love and favour of God and of Jesus Christ abounded more and more, so that as sin had reigned by causing death for all men, even so the unmerited love and favour of God and of Jesus Christ reigns through righteousness by giving eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord to all who are His. Note the emphasis on righteousness. God could only act in righteousness. Nothing less would have been possible.

Chapter 13. Shall We Then Continue In Sin That Grace May Abound? (6.1-11).

The question in the title brings home the fact that what is now to follow does not just deal with the question of men and women being accounted righteous through Christ, but also deals with the question of how they can become actively righteous. It was necessary to answer the calumny that Paul could be seen as teaching that being ‘accounted righteous through faith freely and without cost’ encouraged sin. Indeed, there were claims that he actually taught that it was good to sin because it brought out the grace of God. And he answers this by pointing out that his very doctrine, of dying with Christ and rising with Him, is in fact the greatest argument against sin, and in favour of living righteously, that it is possible to have. For as he says in verse 2, ‘we who died to sin, how shall we any longer live in it?’ And the remainder of the passage expands on that question.

We have been submerged into the death of Christ and have risen with Him in newness of life.

‘What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live in it? Or are you ignorant of the fact that all we who were submerged into Christ Jesus were submerged into his death? We were buried therefore with him through submersion into death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, even so we also might walk in newness of life.’

In those early days all Christians were baptised as adults immediately on conversion and Paul points to what the significance of that baptism was. As they went into the water it signified dying with Christ and being buried with Him, and as they came out again it signified rising with Him. It signified life from the dead. But we should note that his emphasis is not on the act of baptism as such but on the experience that lay behind it. As a result of repenting and believing it was ‘by one Spirit’ that they had been submerged into Christ (1 Corinthians 12.12-13), and thus by it they had been submerged into His death. That was what their experience of responding to Christ had meant. By their response to Him they had been ‘crucified with Christ’ (Galatians 2.20). And then they had effectively been ‘buried’. They had acknowledged that they were only fit to die and be buried because of their sin, indicating their awareness of the awfulness of sin. In which case how can they who have died to sin, live any longer in it? It would be self-contradictory.

But having effectively, by faith and submersion into Christ Himself, died and been buried in Christ, they had also experienced resurrection. For just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so they also had risen to newness of life through the working of the Spirit of God. That was the essence of becoming a Christian, the new birth of the Spirit from above. And the purpose of that was so that they might walk in newness of life. It was that Christ might live in and through them (Galatians 2.20). It was that they might be led step by step by the Spirit (Galatians 5.25). How then with Christ living in them in the power of His resurrection can they continue in sin?

We have been united with Christ in His death, and we have been united with Him in His resurrection.

Because we are ‘in Christ Jesus’ (verse 12) we have, as a result of the work of the Spirit, been united with Him in both His death and His resurrection, and the result is that our ‘old man’, the person that we once were, has been crucified with Him, while we ourselves as we now are, new creatures in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 5.17), have risen to walk in newness of life.

‘For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man (the man that we once were) was crucified with him, that the body controlled by sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin, for he who has died is free from the condemnation of sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more, death no more has dominion over him.’

We must never underestimate the wonderful experience that has been ours. By becoming Christians we have been made one with Christ in both His death and resurrection. We have been ‘united with Him’. We have died with Him. Our old life of sin has been crucified with Him, and we are therefore to reckon it as dead. The old life which was controlled by sin has been put to death. We are new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5.17).

And this is so that we may no longer live in the bondage of sin. He has delivered us from ‘the house of bondage’, from the slavery of sin. For, having been freed from the condemnation of sin by being ‘accounted as righteous’, it has lost its hold on us. Thus by positively reckoning on the fact that we have died with Him we are now free from sin’s grip and power. It no longer has dominion over us.

But from where can we obtain the power to have victory over sin? It is by recognising that having died with Him we also live with Him. That we can rise over sin by His risen power. With Christ dwelling within us, we must let Him in His risen power live out His life through us. That is the glory of our new life in Christ.

And being raised with Him we will recognise that sin and death are defeated. For once having died in Christ, for us death has lost its sting. The price of sin has been paid (1 Corinthians 6.20; 1 Peter 1.18-19). In our spirits we are already seated with Christ in heavenly places, simply awaiting our resurrection body (Ephesians 2.6). We are therefore to live as citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3.20), because we have been transferred under the Kingly Rule of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1.13). We are to recognise that we are partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1.12).

Furthermore we know that Christ, having risen from the dead, has faced death and defeated it. Death is behind Him and everlasting life ahead. Death has lost its dominion. And we can take heart from the fact that what is true for Him is true for us, because we are untied with Him.

We are therefore to reckon ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

‘For the death that he died, he died to sin once, but the life that he lives, he lives towards God. Even so you also must reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive towards God in Christ Jesus.’

When Jesus died He had done with sin. Although He had borne our sin, it was now fully dealt with once for all. It can thus now no longer point the finger at us. It can no longer accuse us, because we have died with Him. Sin has been dealt with once for all. But Jesus also rose from the dead. He triumphed over sin and death. And now on His throne in His manhood He lives towards God. All His thoughts are of God. All His desire is to please the Father, as the Father seeks to please Him. And if we have been raised with Him then that is what must be the ruling factor in our lives too. We too must live towards God as we share His throne (Ephesians 2.6).

Thus the essence of our having come to Christ, and of our having put our trust in Him, is that we must reckon ourselves as dead to sin and alive towards God through Him. Thus inevitably we must never choose to sin. For we are dead, and our lives are hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3.3). And the way in which we can ensure that this becomes a reality in our lives is by dying to ourselves daily (Luke 9.23), and yielding control of all our faculties to the risen Christ, so that He might live through us.

Chapter 14. We Must No Longer Hand Over Our Bodies To Sin As The Tools of Unrighteousness. We Must Hand Them Over To God As Risen With Christ And Therefore As Tools of Righteousness To God (6.12-23).

Paul continues with his point that no true Christian can continue in wilful sin. Indeed that it would be contrary to everything in which he believes. Nevertheless having dealt with that in some detail he triumphantly finishes the chapter with the declaration eternal life is not to be earned. Rather it is God’s free gift to all who believe (verse 23). Salvation is not of man, but of God.

‘Do not therefore let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its longings and desires, nor present the members of your body to sin as tools of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as tools of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.’

Sin is here seen as having a personality and as having a say in the running of our bodies. This recognises that there is that within our bodies which would drive us to disobey God. It is our fallen longings and desires, ‘the lusts of the flesh’ (Ephesians 2.3 add, ‘and of the mind’), which seek to drag us into many kinds of sin (Galatians 5.16, 22). But we are no longer to let sin control our bodies. We are rather to let the risen Christ Who lives within us control our bodies (6.4-5, 8; Galatians 2.20; Ephesians 3.17). We are to obey the longings and desires of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5.17).

‘Do not therefore let sin reign in your mortal body.’ We therefore have the choice as to whom we allow to reign in our bodies. We can choose sin, or we can choose Christ. The choice lies in one or the Other. Either we can hand our bodies over to sin, and let our members be tools of unrighteousness, or we can hand them over to God as those who have risen with Christ and are alive from the dead in Him, and let our members be God’s tools of righteousness, inspired by Him. We can let either sin or the risen Christ live through us, reigning over our faculties. But the choice is already made for the Christian, for ‘how shall we who are dead to sin live any longer in it’?

‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.’ For the truth is that with Christ within us, and having died with Him, sin has lost its power. It can no longer have dominion over us. The one thing that gave it its power was the Law. Because we had sinned against the law, every time that we sought to turn to God sin thundered, ‘it is a waste of time turning to God, you are law-breakers’. And we recognised that there was no help for us in God. But now that is no longer the case. If we are Christ’s we are delivered from the Law. We have died with Him and have paid its penalty. It can no longer accuse us. We are thus free from its constraint. We are ‘under grace’. Now when we sin we look to the free, unmerited compassion and mercy of God and find forgiveness. We are upheld by His active love. Furthermore if He reigns within us through grace sin’s dominion has been annihilated.

‘What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. Do you not know, that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were servants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching unto which you were delivered, and being made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.

However, being ‘under grace’ will we now say, ‘good, now we can do as we please’? ‘God forbid (let it not be)’, says Paul. ‘That can never be.’ Why, we have died with Christ and sin is our enemy. Can we therefore present our bodies back to sin to do its will? Rather we are to recognise that having been ‘accounted as righteous’ we have become the servants of righteousness.

So in theory we can be obedient to sin, or to God and to righteousness. But we must recognise what this entails. If we are obedient to sin, then we become the slaves of sin, and the result will be death. We will have become the servants of death. But this is no choice for one who has died and has risen with Christ. On the other hand, if we are obedient to righteousness, the righteousness which has been imputed to us in Christ, we will live (verse 22), for that righteousness will be our master.

So Paul stresses that for the Christian the possibility of obedience to sin is only theoretical. No true Christian could opt to be obedient to sin. That is why he cries, ‘Thanks be to God. Though you were once the slaves of sin, you put yourself under obedience to the teaching to which you were delivered, which is that you have been declared righteous by faith in Christ, and have received the righteousness of Christ. Thus being set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness.’

‘I speak after the manner of men because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification.’

He stresses that he is speaking from a human point of view because they are still creatures of the flesh. The taint and influence of sin within them makes them weak. But now they are to face up to the truth. Just as they had previously presented their bodies as slaves to uncleanness, to illicit sexual activity, and also continually to a multitude of other sins (iniquity unto iniquity), now they are to present their bodies as slaves to righteousness, as slaves to ‘sanctification’ (that act and process whereby they are set apart totally to God). Having been accounted as righteous by God, they are to experience the working of His righteousness within them, the activity of the living Christ, setting them apart to Himself.

‘For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard of righteousness. What fruit did you then have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life.’

Let them therefore consider their past lives before they were Christians. Then they had had no obligation to righteousness. God’s righteous saving work had passed them by. They were free to wallow in their sin. But what fruit did that produce? It produced things of which as Christians they are now ‘ashamed’, things that they now want to get rid of because the consequences of such things is death. But now that they have experienced God’s saving righteousness, now that they have been made righteous in Christ, they have become slaves of God. They live in obedience to His righteousness (verses 17, 19). And the result is that their lives will enjoy the fruit of sanctification, of being continually set apart in their lives to God and to His righteousness, which will result in eternal life.

We should note that to Paul it is not an option. The Christian is not being given an alternative. It is being made clear that to him there is only one ‘alternative’, it is to be set apart to God and to His righteousness. And this is now confirmed in his final statement.

‘For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Facing the question of the alternative possibility of being slaves to sin, or slaves to God and His righteousness, the Christian knows that he only has one option. For the wages paid out by sin to its servants is death. And that is what those who serve sin will receive, whatever their wrong ideas might be. ‘Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. whatever a man sows that will he also reap. He who sows to his own flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap eternal life’ (Galatians 6.7-8). But for those who have come to God and have been accounted righteous, and have become the servants of God’s righteousness and delivering power, is given a free gift. They could never earn it. It is beyond earning. And that free gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So the one who has come to God through Christ, and has been ‘accounted as righteous’ in His sight by faith, and who has thus died with Christ and risen with Him to newness of life, thus becoming servants of God’s righteousness, has received that greatest of all gifts, the free gift of eternal life. He did nothing to deserve it, he did nothing to earn it. He has received it freely from God, and it has transformed the whole of his life (even though it might take time for him to work it out in his life, for as Paul indicates in chapter 7 a battle might be taking place in his life. But it is a battle in which the victory is certain through Christ).

Chapter 15. We Are No Longer Under The Dominion Of The Law, We Are Wed To Christ Who Is Free From The Condemnation Of The Law (7.1-6).

Paul now looks at the idea of being dead with Christ, and alive with Him from another angle which reveals that man is freed once and for all from the condemnation of the Law.

‘Or are you ignorant, brothers (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law has dominion over man for so long time as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by law to the husband while he lives, but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband. So then if, while the husband lives, she is joined to another man, she will be called an adulteress, but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man.’

His illustration is simple and basic, and its lesson is that men and women are under the dominion of the law for the whole of their lives, and can only find freedom from it through death. Thus if we are to be free from the condemnation of the Law, which is what gives sin its power, it can only be by dying.

For the purpose of his illustration he takes the law of marriage. Here is a woman who is bound to her husband by that law. While he lives therefore she is bound to him. If she has sexual relations with another man she is guilty of adultery. But if her husband dies then she is free from the law’s binding of her with regard to her relationship with her husband. Now she can marry again. And the consequence is that having sexual relations with that man will now not result in adultery.

The Application.

‘In the same way, my brothers, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you should be joined to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

In the same way as that woman had been made free from the law as regards her husband, and could thus be joined to another (and produce fruit by him), so also is the Christian made free from the Law by the death of Christ, and by his own dying with Christ. Through a death there is a release from the Law. And the result is that he also can now be joined to another. He can be joined to Christ as the One Who has been raised from the dead, and he can through Him bring forth fruit unto God.

‘For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were firmly held, so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.’

Without actually laying it out plainly, Paul now envisages a situation where the woman, full of sinful passions, and provoked by a Law which forbids her to produce children by another man, rebels, and as a result comes under sentence of death for sin. For that is what the natural man regularly does, rebels against the Law that constrains him. The Law simply goads him into doing what he should not do.

But because the Christian has died in Christ, he is discharged from the control and condemnation of the Law. He is no longer goaded by the Law. He is dead to the Law. And thus he can serve in the newness of the Spirit, responding to the urgings of the Spirit (8.14; Galatians 5.17).

So while the illustration is not parallel to its interpretation in every detail (it is not a full allegory) it make clear two important points.

• Firstly that by becoming Christians we have become wed to Jesus Christ. This is a concept that Paul will expand on later (e.g. Ephesians 5.22-32). It is the indication of the closeness of our union with Him. It is saying that we are joined with Him in as close a union as a woman is joined with a man, with the result that He loves and cherishes us (Ephesians 5.25-27), and we love and obey Him.

  Marriage is a good illustration of our relationship to Jesus Christ. Through marriage a man and his wife are made one, just as we have been made one with Christ. And in marriage the woman is to be in subjection to her husband and to obey him in every way (Ephesians 5.24), and in the same way we are to be in subjection to the Lord to obey Him in every way (Ephesians 5.22).

• Secondly it is saying that by dying with Christ we have been freed from any close relationship with sin, as a result of the fact that the Law no longer binds us. And thus we are able instead to enjoy that relationship with the risen Christ and with the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 16. The Law Is Not Sin Although It Does Act As A Spur To Sin The Law Is In Fact Good, It Is Sin That Misuses It (7.7-13).

There was a grave danger in what Paul has said that he might be accused of condemning the very Law of God. He has brought out that the Law causes sin to abound (5.13, 20). And he has suggested that we are in fact not under the Law (6.14-15), but rather that we have benefited because we have died to the Law (7.1-6). Some might well therefore have felt that he had a jaundiced view of the Law. It was not so, of course. Paul always looked for Christians to be in full obedience to the Law (5.14). He stressed that we are under the Law to Christ (1 Corinthians 9.20). But what he did argue was that the Law could never be the grounds on which we could be made acceptable to God, because all that it could do in those terms was establish our guilt

So here he will now make clear that in his eyes the Law is not on the side of sin, but is holy, just and good.

‘What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. But however that may be I had not known sin, except through the law, for I had not known coveting, except the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, finding occasion, wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting.

The process of his thinking can be brought out like this:

• The Law is not sin. That is not even to be thought of.
• Nevertheless it is the Law that makes known to us our sin.
• He himself had reason to know this because it was the Law that had brought home to him his own sinfulness.
• He had happily gone on coveting for some time without realising it.
• But then the Law had made clear to him that he was covetous.
• And the result was that he had begun to covet even more and more.
• Thus it could be argued that the Law had made him more covetous (although he will shortly point out that that is the fault of our sinfulness, not of the Law).

However, he is not blaming the Law. Nor is he saying that it was a bad thing that it made him aware of its sinfulness. Rather he is taking the opportunity of revealing, in the process of vindicating the Law, what the Law does actually achieve for the unconverted man (and indeed from another point of view for the Christian, for to us the Law is a mirror which enables us to discover our true condition. From our point of view, however, it is the law of liberty, the law that helps us to gain freedom from our secret fault).

‘For apart from the law sin is dead. And I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died, and the commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto death, for sin, finding occasion, through the commandment beguiled me, and through it slew me. So that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good. Did then that which is good become death to me? God forbid. But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good; —that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful.’

The fact is (and it is not a good fact) that without the Law sin often lies dormant. Man goes happily on his way content that all appears well, and that life is good. He sins unconsciously and does not even realise it. As far as he is concerned sin is dead. That had been true of Paul in his old life. It can even be true of many a Christian. It may even have been Paul’s experience some time as a new Christian. But then suddenly the Law speaks to a man. It says, ‘You shall not do this --.’ And he is suddenly sharply brought to a halt. The result is that sin comes alive to him. He can no longer hide from the fact of his sinfulness, and he finds himself under sentence of death. The commandment which was intended to give life, and to lead to a wholesome life, has become the arbiter of death. Thus sin, taking advantage of the commandment, beguiles the man and makes him aware that he is under sentence of death. And the result is that in his despair, and even more as a result of his perverse attitude, he goes on sinning more and more. It makes sin to abound.

Did that which was holy and righteous and good become death to that man? The answer is ‘no, never’. Rather what has happened is that deceitful sin has taken advantage of what the Law has rightly revealed, and has made the sinful man aware of the fact that he is under sentence of death. That is how that which is good has wrought death in him. And the consequence is that sin multiplies, the result of the hardness of men’s hearts and of the deceitfulness of sin.

Chapter 17. And This Experience Is Also True For The Christian In His Struggle Against Sin (14-23).

It is not only the non-Christian to whom the Law brings home his sin, it is also to the Christian, for Paul can speak of the experience in the present tense. ‘I am carnal, sold under sin’. He is aware that although he has learned to overcome sin through Christ living out His life through him, underneath there is still his fleshly nature, lurking there and waiting to burst through. Let him but take his eyes of Christ, and let him cease to let Christ live through him, and let him cease to be led by the Spirit, and that carnal life will indeed break through and take over. When it come to the fleshly nature, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

‘For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I know not. For it is not what I really want to do that I practise, but it is what I hate, that I do. But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good. So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.’

Paul is bringing out here the constant skirmishing which takes place in every Christian life. On the one hand is the Law’s requirements which the Christian seeks to fulfil, not in order to be saved, but because he wants to be pleasing to God, for he knows that for him the law is spiritual. But he also knows that he himself underneath is carnal. For just as he himself has been bought by Christ and therefore belongs to Christ, so his carnal nature, which has died with Christ, belongs to sin. It is ‘sold under sin’. Let him but once cease to let Christ have control of the reins of his life, let him but for a moment cease to let Christ live through him, and that carnal nature will spring to life.

Indeed he has to admit that, when he lets his faith slip, sometimes he does not know what he is doing. ‘For that which I do I know not.’ Had he done so he would not have done it. That this is the meaning comes out in the next words, ‘For it is not what I really want to do that I practise, but it is what I hate, that I do.’ At these times he does what he does not really on his spiritual side want to do. He no longer follows his better mind and conscience, and instead carries on with what he does not really want to do. Indeed he does what in his right mind he hates.

‘But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good.’ The very fact that he hates it and is doing what in his heart he does not really want to do demonstrates that he sees the Law as good. In his deepest heart he consents to what the Law is asking of him. He knows that it is right. Why then does he do it? ‘It is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.’ It is because of his carnal nature. It is because of sin which dwells in him.

Because he has taken his eyes off Christ, and has ceased for a moment to let Christ live through Him, and has ceased to be led by the Spirit, he has allowed sin again to take control. How easily it happens. And how often we have to admit that it is so. It is doubtful whether it happened very often with Paul but he was aware that it still happened. It happens with us all (even if we are unconscious of it). Then we must come to the light and let the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1.7), and then rise up and begin again.

For God’s standard is that we live to the full magnificence of His glory (3.23) and we inevitably ever fall short. What one of us can truly say that we love the Lord our God with ALL our heart and soul and mind and strength, and all our ‘neighbours’ as ourselves? Each of us falls woefully short of this, but happily we are not conscious of its full significance lest it drive us to despair. We have to see by this that we are growing not only in our knowledge of Christ, but also in our knowledge of sin. What is acceptable for a young Christian is totally unacceptable for one established in the faith. He should have a deeper knowledge of what is sinful. And part of the way in which this growth occurs is through the work of the Law. And we are then brought to recognise that sin still dwells in us, ever ready to try to seize control. But what should not be occurring is that we continually fail with known sins. That, however, can only be when we take the reins out of Christ’s hands and seek to live our lives on our own.

‘For I know that in me, that i