Romans

1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

     The Apostle Paul often included personal greetings in his epistles and this chapter contains more than the usual number. Phoebe though, was not in Rome. She was apparently one of the group that delivered this letter to the churches in Rome, or did she travel alone? No other person is included in Paul’s commendation. She was probably a Gentile, for the name Phoebe (Phoiban) seems to derive from the Greek word, phos, which means “light, shining.” Cenchrea was a port for the city of Corinth, which is thought to have been Paul’s location when he dictated the book of Romans (v22-23) during his third missionary journey, having first evangelized this area of Greece during his second mission trip (see Acts 18:1-18).

     Commentators offer various ideas about Phoebe being a servant (diakonon) of the church. Liberal scholars say she was a pastor in the church and use her to support their acceptance of female clergy members. Others think she was one of the aged women which were encouraged to teach the younger ones (Titus 2:3-5). It is also popular to quote the Apostolic Constitutions, which speak of the church ordaining deaconesses “for the ministries toward the women.” However, that document is dated three full centuries after Paul, during the Roman Catholic Church era. It is doubtful that it describes the practice of the apostolic churches. 

     Paul gives a glowing affirmation to this sister’s praiseworthy work among the saints. She hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also, says the Apostle, so assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you.  Phoebe was clearly a diligent, capable person given to hospitality, and gifted with discerning the needs of others and distributing to their necessities – an important, honorable service among the brotherhood of believers (see Romans 12:10-13; 1Tim 5:10; Gal 6:9-10). Besides helping to clothe, shelter and feed the saints, Phoebe must have been a woman of faith, courage and prayer, for not just any person would be willing to undertake a 2-3 week sea-journey to Rome. Whether she was a deaconess or a servant, we can be sure that she lived according to the rule of the New Testament Scriptures concerning the roles for women in the church body. 

     The unfortunate rise of feminist movements in modern societies has greatly affected those churches of Christ who do not hold the Scriptures in reverence and fear. The plain teaching of the New Testament is that men are responsible to teach and lead the flock, while women are given the responsibility to teach and lead in the home (1Cor 14:34-35; 1Tim 2:12-15; Eph 5:24; 1Pet 5:1-5). Sisters are also authorized to minister in the church unto women and children, but to teach and exercise authority in the body is not allowed (see notes for 1Cor 11).

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

      Paul had come to know this couple during his second missionary journey. They had taken up residence in Corinth after the emperor Claudius evicted all Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2). Through a simple business connection (they were all tentmakers) they became friends and the Apostle Paul was probably the one who introduced them to Christianity. After helping to start the church in Corinth, they followed him to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19) and helped in the evangelization of that city too. They probably returned to Rome sometime after the death of Claudius. It seems that wherever they went, a new church began in their house (1Cor 16:19). Interestingly, Priscilla is sometimes named before Aquila, which may indicate that she was an especially engaging lady. This Jewish couple was very useful in early evangelism and went through many dangers with Paul. They were well-known in many churches of the Gentiles.

     Epaenetus was apparently one of the first converts to Christianity in Achaia, along with the household of Stephanas, also called the firstfruits of Achaia (1Cor 16:15). Perhaps Epaenetus was part of that household. Achaia (or Asia) was a prominent province in the Roman Empire where Christianity first began to flourish after spreading out from Israel. Firstfruits (aparche) refers to a specific series of offerings required in the Mosaic Law. For more on the meaning of firstfruits, see note for Romans 8:23.

6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. 7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. 9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household. 11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. 12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. 13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. 15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

     Paul made many acquaintances in his travels and must have had a very good memory. The lives of these men and women are largely unknown. Maybe they are roughly grouped by churches, for the time of church meeting places had not yet come. Priscilla and Aquila had a church in their house (v5), while others are named as having brethren or saints which are with them (v14-15), indicating perhaps, that these met together. Those of Aristobulus and Narcissus (v10-11) might refer to their house church congregations, instead of to their family members.

     Andronicus and Junia might have been a married Jewish couple who supported the Apostles early on in Jerusalem for they were in Christ before Paul, who is thought to have been converted less than a year after Jesus’ resurrection. It is also possible that Junia is man’s name. And some say these two are actually apostles themselves. While the text might bear that sense, the context does not, for their names are entirely unknown outside of this reference. So they are certainly not famous as apostles. Instead, they were well-known by the Apostles as servants of Christ and fellow-workers in the Kingdom. A husband and wife (like Aquila and Priscilla) that dedicated their lives to serving the churches of the Kingdom – this makes the best sense of the passage.

     Paul sends his greetings to a surprising amount of people, given that he had never been to Rome. Men and women, both single and married. 

16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

     The holy kiss is a formal greeting of Christian love in the brotherhood of saints. It is one of the Seven Ordinances recognized by many Anabaptist churches (see note for 1Cor 11:1). Both Peter and Paul reminded the churches to greet one another with a kiss of charity (1Cor 16:20; 1Thes 5:26; 1Pet 5:14; 2Cor 13:12). Each of the ordinances are physical acts that have a deeper, spiritual meaning. Diversity of practice do not detract from their significance, nor has the need for unity and love in the church diminished over the years! The Apostles reminded the churches often in their epistles to continue constant in unfeigned love for the brethren. Greeting one another with an holy kiss is a token of that commitment. 

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

     The Apostle does not speak of heathen men, but of those who are supposedly serving Christ. From the beginning, factions and divisions (1Cor 3:13) in the churches were the cause of many erroneous ideas and beliefs that were not according to sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). Paul admonishes the brethren to be on the alert for such men and to mark them as troublemakers and busybodies (2Thes 3:6). Avoid them, for their real goal and allegiance is to please their own flesh and mind (Mat 7:15). They have not yielded themselves unto the lordship of Jesus Christ, but serve their own belly – meaning that they are living according to their own desires and goals instead of Christ (Php 3:19).

     These people are often knowledgeable and very persuasive. Beware of them, the Apostle warns, for with flattering words and well-presented arguments they will certainly deceive the hearts of the simple (Col 2:8). The word simple (akakos) carries the idea of “innocent,” and is translated harmless in Heb 7:26. Reject a heretic after the first and second admonition (Titus 3:10), do not even receive him into your house, the Apostle John wrote (2John 1:10). Satan in the garden of Eden was the first to deceive Man by good words and fair speeches.

19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

     The church at Rome had earned a good reputation among the churches of Christ. Their obedience to the faith (see Rom 16:26) was an example to all. But Paul did not let them simply bask in this commendation. He desires them to increase even more in that which is good and wise. The warnings in these verses are to that end. Simple (akeraios) concerning evil. This word means pure, harmless, innocent; it is found only twice elsewhere in the New Testament. First, when Jesus said, Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless (akeraios) as doves (Mat 10:16) and when Paul wrote, That ye may be blameless and harmless (akeraios), the sons of God, without rebuke, in the mindst of a crooked and perverse nation (Php 2:15). The opposite trait would to be like many in the church at Thyatira, who had come to know the depths of Satan, so to speak (Rev 2:24).

     He is called the God of hope (Rom 15:13), the God of patience and consolation (Rom 15:5) and the God of peace (Rom 15:33). By naming a character trait of God, the Apostle intimates that God will work the same quality, or spirit of mind, within us also. Thus, “God will give you peace; soon He shall bruise (suntribo, crush, break in pieces) Satan under your feet.” Quite possibly this figure of speech is drawn once again from the oft-quoted book of Isaiah, where we find this statement in a mysterious prophetic passage about Satan: “How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent orders to all the nations is crushed (suntribo) to the earth” (Is 14:12, LXX).

     This dovetails with the prophecy of Jesus bruising Satan’s head (Gen 3:15) when He came to this earth to destroy the works of the Devil (1John 3:8; Heb 2:14). God put all things in subjection under His feet (Eph 1:22; Mat 22:44; Heb 2:8). For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (see 1Cor 15:25-27; Heb 10:13; Rev 2:27). Jesus testified that He saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven when the 70 returned from their mission (Luke 10:18; John 12:31). Satan was crushed by Christ when He rose victorious from the grave, but a final eternal crushing awaits the end of the Age. Jesus is in heaven expecting till His enemies be made His footstool forever (Heb 10:13). 

     Some have thought this picture refers to a particular persecution or trial that the church at Rome was experiencing, but I take it as Paul’s general desire for the church in his final words of encouragement. Read it in the context of his foregoing words: “I rejoice in your obedience, by which Satan is crushed under your feet.” Jesus said, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the Enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19). The life of the Apostles prove this to be true:  the more we are obedient to the faith of Christ, the more the power of Satan is crushed.

     This letter seems to end more than once! Paul’s standard ending for his epistles is in verse 20, but is found again in Romans 16:24. He seems to have added the later verses as a sort of postscript.

21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.

     These men were with Paul at the time of this writing and they wished to send their greetings to the church at Rome also. All but Tertius and Quartus are mentioned in the book of Acts: Lucius of Cyrene in Acts 13:1, Jason in Acts 17:5, Sosipater and Gaius in Acts 20:4, Timotheus in Acts 16:1 and Erastus in Acts 19:22. Timothy was Paul’s closest earthly friend and servant in the ministry. Gaius is thought by some to be the Justus of Acts 18:7.

     Erastus was a city chamberlain (oikonomos, steward). Some have taken this detail to sanction a Christian being employed by the State. It is a dubious inference, seeing that it was common to name persons by prior occupations. Matthew is called the publican because he formerly had served as a tax collector for the Romans (Mat 9:9; 10:3). Simon was called Zelotes because he once had been a member of the violent band of Jews called, “The zealots” (Luke 6:15). Erastus apparently traveled with Paul a lot, for near the end of his life we read that Paul left him in Corinth (2Tim 4:20). Some years earlier, during his missionary journey, Paul sent Erastus and Timothy into Macedonia while he stayed in Asia (Acts 19:22). These long absences are further evidence that Erastus was no longer working as a steward (treasurer?) of the city (Luke 12:42). See Adam Clarke.

24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

     This is one of the most beautiful benedictions in the Bible (compare Heb 13:20-21; Jude 1:24-25). It summarizes the basic source and truth of the new Kingdom of God, a mystery long hidden in the Scriptures but now preached in every nation, land and people. The prophets had written much about this era, but in veiled language so that the princes of this world would not understand (1Cor 2:6-8). Jesus, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mat 4:23), revealed this great secret of God for generations to come in the Age of the Gentiles.

     The obedience of faith. The book of Romans is often used to support the Calvinistic belief that God does not care about man’s works, yet it begins and ends with this call for Man to be obedient to the Faith of Christ. In his greeting Paul writes: By (Christ) we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name (Rom 1:5). The phrase is identical in the Greek, eis hupakoan pisteos. What kind of faith, or believing, does this epistle teach? The kind that believes and works; its the faith that obeys.

     The Scriptures see no conflict in God fore-choosing a man and then requiring him to obey. In fact, these two truths are usually linked in the same thought.  (Rom 8:28-31). For example, Peter’s epistle says that we are the Elect according to the foreknowledge of God…unto obedience (1Pet 1:2). He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph 1:4). God’s foreknowledge is intended to motivate us to fulfill our calling unto holy living, just as it says in this epistle: Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). Or as the Apostle says elsewhere, “He has predestinated that we praise Him” (Eph 1:11-12). While the five steps of Calvinism divorce “faith” from “obedience,” the commandment of the everlasting God is the obedience of faith (v26).

     Some Bibles include the end-note which was added to the original text by later translators: “Written to the Romans from Corinth with Phoebe, the servant of the church at Cenchrea.” This information, while not authoritative, can be mostly extracted from the epistle itself, being addressed to all that be in Rome (Rom 1:7) and written in the house of Gaius (v22-23) of Corinth (1Cor 1:14; Acts 19:29; 3John 1:1). Phoebe was from nearby Cenchrea (Rom 16:1; Acts 18:18).

1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

     Read this as an extension of the previous verses. Hast thou faith? Are you strong? Then bear the doubts and struggles of the weak in faith (Rom 14:1), whose conscience pricks them for doing things that aren’t even sin (such as not eating meats that God has made clean). The strong Christian ought to live wisely in the presence of weaker members, giving no offence (2Cor 6:3), so as to please his neighbor (cf Rom 8:8) and thereby making him stronger and more mature.

     In these chapters, the Apostle puts greater responsibility on the brother of more lenient conscience. These should practice self-denial, living not to please themselves, but in such way that they gain a brother (1Cor 9:19-22). Christ left a perfect example of living to please His followers instead of living to please Himself. He did not seek honor, wealth, comfort or fame, but suffered reproaches that should have fallen on us. The strong should suffer for the sake of the weak, denying themselves what is lawful in deference of the weaker, unenlightened conscience. Basically, this is nothing less than living according to the law of Love, which seeketh not her own will and desires (1Cor 13:5), but that others might receive praise and grace (1Cor 10:24; Php 2:4).

     For his good. This modest phrase qualifies the general command. Make sure that your actions are wisely and truly for your brother’s good and aren’t mixed with selfish or ulterior motives. Correction is often facetiously masked, “I’m saying this for your own good…” On the other hand, sometimes the good, wise action will hurt. Discipline is not fun and happiness, but when wisely administered and received, it brings forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:5-12).

     The quotation is from the 69th chapter of Psalms, which is filled with Messianic details. The Holy Spirit moved David to write as if Jesus were speaking: For the zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me (Ps 69:9). The Gospel of John quotes the first half of this verse as prophetically describing Jesus casting the money changers out of the temple (John 2:13-17). This helps to verify that “Thee” in the last half of the verse refers to God. Man’s reproaches against God fell upon Christ. The Jews blasphemed God by rejecting His Son; they reproached (oneidizo) Jesus in slanderous words and by putting Him to death (same Greek word in Mat 27:44; Mark 15:32).

     Mankind reproaching God and Christ indicates that both the Father and the Son together suffered when Jesus was crucified. While the Son suffered in the flesh (1Pet 3:18), God suffered in the spirit. Abraham surely suffered greatly thinking about killing his son. I do not doubt that he would have preferred to have died himself – but that was not what God had asked. This prefigures God’s suffering to see His beloved Son taking upon Himself the sins of the world. The Scriptures describe the Atonement as a mutual work of the Godhead.

4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

     The Apostle’s citation of the prophet Isaiah in the previous verse seems to have prompted this directive. The Old Testament Scriptures teach us much about God and His purposes in dealing with Mankind. Study them to learn, grow and increase in knowledge (1Cor 10:11; Rom 4:23-24). The Scripture of Truth (Dan 10:21) is the Authority whereunto we must conform our mind, our conscience, our life. Today we are twice blessed, having both written Testaments of God to Man in our hands. In the early years of the Apostolic church, they had only the Old Testament.

     Through patience (hupomone, patient continuance in Rom 2:7) we do prove ourselves before God and men (Rom 14:18), walking not in craftiness nor deceitfully, but manifesting the Truth and commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God (2Cor 4:2). The word comfort (paraklesis) means exhortation, consolation (1Thes 2:3; 1Tim 4:13; 2Cor 8:4), which goes with John’s special name for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (parakletos). See note for John 14:16. The Word and the Spirit are like the two edges of one sword.

5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

     Paul begins the summation of this epistle with a short, benedictory exhortation to all that be in Rome, “May God bring you all into unity of purpose and mind in Christ, so that with one heart, mind and voice both the Jews and the Gentiles might worship God. Wherefore, accept one another even as Christ has accepted you.” It is a heartening, positive aspiration for all of the churches of the Kingdom, for there are many different minds, cultures and consciences.

     Diversity can be a stimulus to brotherly love, but it can also pose a challenge to brotherly love. In large part, it depends upon our mindset. Unity in the church body makes a beautiful testimony to the world and is a sign of spiritual maturity. (see notes for Php 2:2; 1Pet 3:8). The church we are a part of in Coyhaique, Chile, has members from 5 countries and three different mother tongues.

     The God of patience and consolation. These same Greek words were used in the previous verse which spoke of the power of the Scriptures. The unifying object of unity in the church body is Jesus Christ; we arrive there through patient learning of the Holy Scriptures.

8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

     The Apostle continues his summation with a quick recital of several Old Testament prophecies that speak candidly of the Gentile entrance into the Kingdom of Christ. Jesus was born a Jew and lived under the Law of the Judaic religion (Mat 15:24). His ministry did not extend beyond the borders of Israel and excluded Gentiles and half-blooded Samaritans (Mat 15:24; John 4:9). He came to confirm the promises made unto the fathers, yet the greater plan of God was to offer salvation at this time to the Gentiles. Nevertheless, Jesus had virtually no dealings with those outside of Israel. Instead, after His resurrection He would charge His disciples with that tremendous task (John 14:12).

     The Apostle Paul was one of the first ministers of Christ unto the Gentiles and certainly the foremost (Rom 15:16). These verses challenge Jews today to ponder this fact: Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah, sent by God to perform what He had long promised the Jewish fathers: that the Gentiles might glorify God. This had been written centuries earlier in the Scriptures. It was all done to confirm the truth of God.

     The first quotation comes from Psalms 18 (or 2Sam 22), which David wrote as a song of praise to God. It could be translated: I will profess to Thee along with the Gentiles. This would better fit the Apostle’s purpose and agrees closely with the Septuagint. The Masoretic text is only slightly different, I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen (Ps 18:49). Study exomologeo (confess) in Rom 14:11; 10:9). Why would David confess God among the Gentiles? It was surely a mystery to the Jews, but with God’s mercy newly extended to the Gentiles, it suddenly makes sense.

     The second quotation comes from Deut 32:43 and are among the last words that Moses spoke to the children of Israel. Their prophetic context makes them particularly impactful. Notice that they are a simple rephrasing of David’s words already cited.

     The third quotation comes from Psalms 117:1, which again depicts the Jews and Gentiles praising the Lord together. With these three prophecies the Apostle is saying this: the Holy Spirit, communicating through David, foretold the mission of the Messiah to bring the Gentiles to glorify God together with the Jews.

     The last quotation, a prophecy in Isaiah 11:10, is a startlingly clear description of the Gentiles coming to trust in God. “A son of Jesse will rise to reign over the Gentiles, and they shall put their hope in Him” (see LXX). The word trust is elpizo, which is typically translated hope. The noun form occurs in verse 13, Now the God of hope (elpis). The figure of Jesus as a root of Jesse seems to be this: a tree grows old and dies, yet a root of that very tree will sprout and grow up a new tree (Is 53:2; Jer 33:15; Zech 6:2). See note for Romans 11:16.

     With these prophetic quotations from the Pentateuch, Psalms and Prophets, the Apostle Paul summarizes a chief purpose of this epistle, that from the beginning the full Work of God was to bring into one tree all the true children of faith, Jews and Gentiles. The fact that the Son of God came to the Jews made them a blessed, privileged people; but He also came so that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy (v9). Both groups must accept one another as new brethren in the Covenant of Christ (cf 1Cor 12:13).

     For His mercy. This is the basis for the New Covenant people of God (Eph 2:4; 1Pet 2:10). Not following the works of the Law, but obtaining the mercy that Christ is offering to those who choose to identify with Him (cf Rom 9:16). The Gentiles in particular fall in this category, for they had not even the promises of the Law. The incredible story of Ruth illustrates in types this beautiful, long-foretold truth, for Ruth was a cursed Moabite, disallowed from entering into the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth generation (Deut 23:3). Nevertheless, Ruth the Moabitess found mercy where there was literally no hope for grace from the God of Israel. God saw her humble dedication and reached down to touch her life (Ruth 2:11-12). She became one of the greatest female figures in the history of the world and her lineage sparkles with famous names like David, Solomon and Jesus (Mat 1:5). The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy (James 5:11). The Jews rejoice in God’s mercy too, for their record demonstrates that salvation is only by mercy.

     Here ends the didactic part of the book. In the remaining verses of this chapter, Paul gives a validation of his apostleship to add weight to the arguments he has presented in this epistle.

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

     The Apostle closes this epistle with five fervent prayers for the church in Rome, invoking the power of God to work effectively in them and on their behalf. These prayers (five is the number of grace) depict the full goodness of God’s character in His actions to benefit Man.

• he prays that the God of patience and consolation might bring them to full unity and oneness of mind (v5-6)
• he prays that Jews and Gentiles together might glorify God for His mercy and truth (v8-9)
• he prays that the God of hope would fill them with all joy, peace, goodness and knowledge (v13-14)
• he prays that the God of peace would be with them (v33)
• he prays that the only wise, everlasting God of power might establish them in the truth of Jesus Christ for the obedience of faith (Rom 16:25-27).

     Believing in God cannot fail to bring joy and peace to the soul, for deeper understanding of God’s love and goodness works to increase the Christian’s confidence and faith in the God of hope. This is spiritual growth by stages (see Rom 5:2-5) and the result is a hope that is solid, sure and abounding (Heb 6:19). Not just a general attitude of hope, but a specific hope; the hope of eternal life (Tit 3:7). Hope is one of the great three (1Cor 13:13) and is the immediate basis for perseverance in the faith unto salvation (Rom 8:24-25).

     Who gives up their life, whether in the literal sense or in the general sense of constant self-denial, without a reason? Hope is our reason, the hope of being bodily resurrected from the dead at the end of the Age (1Cor 15:19). And that impulses us to persevere in this life, purifying ourselves (1John 3:3) and praising God for His mercy (1Pet 1:3).without a reason? Hope is our reason, the hope of being bodily resurrected from the dead at the end of the Age (1Cor 15:19). And that impulses us to persevere in this life, purifying ourselves (1John 3:3) and praising God for His mercy (1Pet 1:3).

14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

     In these verses, the Apostle’s remarkable talent for motivating people to do the right thing is on display. He expresses confidence in their goodwill, ability and willingness to heed the bold admonitions he has written (cf Heb 6:9). They already had knowledge of these truths, he says, and he is just reminding them again, just performing the ministry which God had given him to do. Paul had never been to the church at Rome, but he knew quite a few of the Christians there and he desired to establish them even more in the Faith (see Rom 1:10-13).

     Even before Peter’s experience with Cornelius receiving the Holy Spirit, God had called Paul to be His chosen vessel to minister the Gospel of God to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). The Holy Spirit revealed this mystery concerning the acceptance of the Gentiles independently, while he was alone in Arabia and before he met Peter (see notes for Gal 1:15-18). The Apostle Paul had a unique, divine authority to speak frankly and earnestly on this subject. However, he says, he would do so carefully, so as not to over-step the realm of his authority to speak of other things which Christ had not wrought by him (see 2Cor 10:13-16). He calls His God-ordained ministry a grace given to him by God (v15; see note for Rom 1:7).

     The Greek word for minister (leitourgos) in verse 16 is different from the standard one typically used in the New Testament (diakonos – servant, minister). Earlier we read that Jesus Christ was a minister (diakonos) of the circumcision (Rom 15:8) and later Paul will minister (diakoneo) to the saints in Jerusalem (Rom 15:25). Here though, Paul does not dare to speak of himself in the same terms. He is a menial servant ministering (hierourgeo) in the Temple of God, a servant who job is to ensure that the offering up (prosphora) of the Gentile sacrifice to God is acceptable (1Pet 2:5) and sanctified (hagiazo, made holy). Compare leitourgos, a temple servant, with hierus, a priest (Heb 10:11).

     This analogy appeals gently to the Jewish mind, associating them importantly with God’s plan to save the Gentiles. Paul draws on their religious offerings without misappropriating their sacred ideals of temple and priest. The peace and sin offerings in the Law of Moses required careful rituals to make them holy and acceptable sacrifices to God and the Apostle pictures himself as a servant, working to add the required spiritual ingredients to the Gentile sacrifice of themselves to God. The meat offerings were to be seasoned with salt (Lev 2:13) and every grain offering was to receive a pouring of oil and frankincense (Lev 2:1-2). The Jews would have immediately understood Paul’s word-designs here, but the Gentiles? Not so much (Eph 5:2).

     Perhaps the Apostle was putting them in mind of the astonishing prophecy of Isaiah 66, which describes the Gentiles becoming part of God’s holy mountain. In that chapter, they are called your brethren, although they come out of all nations for an offering unto the Lord, even as the children of Israel bringing clean vessel offerings into the house of the Lord (Is 66:20). The Lord would even make them to be priests and Levites in Jerusalem (Is 66:21). God’s eternal plan to include the Gentiles is found throughout the Law, Psalms and Prophets of the Old Testament.

19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: 21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

     Paul’s formal commission began while he was part of the church in Antioch, when the Holy Spirit spoke and sent him on the first mission trip in Christianity (Acts 13:1-4). And what a remarkable journey it was! Traveling far and wide throughout Asia, and in spite of constant perils and persecutions, Paul preached the Gospel of Christ with success that has no parallel in all history. His message was powerfully confirmed by mighty signs and wonders which he performed by the power of the Spirit (1Cor 2:4). He preached to both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 18:4), never staying for more than a couple years at one place, but ordaining elders in each new church before setting out for new territory.

     Paul’s method was to preach the Gospel to strangers who had never even heard of Christ, working to lay the foundation and let others build thereon (1Cor 3:10). He took Jesus’ command completely to heart, willing to witness of Him unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Illyricum was apparently the farthest post from Jerusalem that the Apostle Paul visited. Amazingly, some of the churches that he had founded began to reject his apostleship and follow charismatic, prideful teachers. Just like the children of Israel in the wilderness, the miracles could not maintain their faith in God.

     The quotation is from Isaiah 52:15, which is a part of that prophecy called, “the suffering servant,” which is one of the most detailed descriptions of Jesus the Messiah in all of the Old Testament. For centuries God spoke to Mankind through the Israelite Covenant, but at the coming of the Messiah, people who had not seen or heard of the works of the Lord would suddenly understand.

22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

     Paul had not yet visited Rome because he was too busy evangelizing in other regions, to people that had never heard the name of Jesus. Now however, having fully preached the Gospel of Christ (v19) in these parts (v23), he was eager to journey farther – Spain was in his sights – and hoped to visit the Christians in Rome on his way there. During these many years, Paul had hoped to one day see Rome (see Rom 1:13; Acts 19:21), for he had heard of their obedience to the faith (Rom 16:19, 26). The opportunity to visit the church at Rome was natural, for a journey into Spain would pass through that city. And so Paul anticipated a time of encouragement with the Christians in Rome, after which he would head out into new, un-evangelized regions of the Empire.

     The Scriptures do not say if Paul made it to Spain or not. Clement of Rome, an early church writer (ca A.D. 96), says that he “reached the farthest bounds of the West,” a term that refers to the area of Spain. Many believe that the book of Acts does not end with Paul’s death, but that his appeal to Caesar was successful and that he was released from prison (Acts 28:19). This would create time and place for Paul to travel into Spain. Only a couple years later he would be martyred in Rome.

25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

     Paul’s current mission was to travel to Jerusalem with a gift of money for the poor Christians there. This may have been the same offering of money mentioned in 2Cor 8-9, or it could have been a separate one. The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem experienced much suffering and difficulties on account of their unbelieving countrymen, such that the churches of the Gentiles, out of sincere concern and sympathy for them, decided to send them an offering of money. It is an excellent example of brothers in Christ preferring one another (Rom 12:10).

     These offerings to the first church at Jerusalem were a way of connecting the Gentile churches with the Jewish churches. And Paul says, the Gentiles are actually indebted to the Jews, for through them new spiritual blessings unto salvation had come to all nations and bloods (Acts 17:26). It is thus appropriate that Gentile Christians should share from their physical belongings and wealth. Being willing to share financially with those in need is a definite duty of Christians (1Tim 6:18; Heb 13:16).

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

     This petition to pray for protection during his trip to Jerusalem was not just a passing wish, but an urgent weight upon the Apostle’s mind. The rabid, radical Jews of the Old Covenant hated Paul, and were constantly trying to have him put to death (see the book of Acts). The Apostle concludes his epistle to the Thessalonians with a similar request (2Thes 3:2). Perhaps this trip to Jerusalem was even that one which several Christian prophets warned would end in his capture (Acts 21:10-15). If so, Paul’s journey to Rome took place under quite different circumstances – delayed by a year or two and as a Roman prisoner. However, we do not have a detailed history of Paul’s journeys and experiences. All that is known must be pieced together from certain parts of his epistles and the book of Acts.

     The early benediction of verse 33 seems given to close the main content of the epistle, so that the former part of the book could be used in other churches too. Chapter sixteen is comprised of salutations and personal greetings to the Christians in Rome, and would have been of lessor value elsewhere. A longer, beautiful benediction ends the book.

1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

     The topic of this section (14:1-15:7) concerns the Law’s unclean meats, as the Apostle continues to exhort the Jewish and Gentile branches of the Lord’s olive tree to receive one another (Rom 15:7). It was a contentious subject in the early church, for there were tens of thousands of Jews who had come into the Kingdom directly from the Judaic religion. Guessing by the number of Jews that Paul named in chapter 16, perhaps 40% of the church were Jews at this point in Church history (ca A.D. 57). They looked at the other 60% with a certain alarm, for Christianity had begun only about 25 years prior as a Jewish religion entirely. Now Gentiles converts were far out-pacing Jewish converts.

     Just a few decades after this writing, very few Christians identified as Jews – largely because all those early Jews renounced their religion and genealogies when they chose to join the Church of Jesus Christ. So their Jewish blood-line was lost and forgotten, dispersed among many Christians in many nations and peoples even to this day. In chapter 11, the Apostle describes how a Godly remnant in Jacob believed in Christ unto their salvation and the blessing of their descendants.

     The varied backgrounds among new Christians in the apostolic church created no small issue. There were complexities on several levels – cultural, civil and religious. Some Jewish Christians continued to keep parts of the Law, others did not. Some tried to compel Gentile Christians to keep the Law too, others believed that it applied only to them. The Gentile Christians were caught in the middle, but they also struggled to receive the Jews as brethren in Christ, for they had a reputation for being hypocritical and judgmental (Titus 1:10; 1Thes 2:15). The foundational principle of this chapter is valid and important today too: People have different beliefs and must learn to accept and love one another in Christ.

     “Receive into the brotherhood those who are weak in the faith (the believing Jews who go on keeping the Law), but do not fall into futile debates.” Instead, those that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not just live to please themselves (Rom 15:1). By these two titles Paul makes the truth of the matter clear, but he does not go on to require the Jews to stop keeping the Law. Instead, he asks the Gentiles to bear with them (Gal 6:2; 1Thes 5:14) and their weaker conscience in this matter (1Cor 8). The word doubtful (dialogismon) is translated imaginations in Rom 1:21.

2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

     Some of the Jews that had converted to Christianity believed that the dietary laws of the Old Covenant were still in force. And even today there are people who follow certain parts of the Mosaic Law, often because they believe there are health benefits. However, the Scriptures do not indicate that the laws of clean and unclean foods were determined by health considerations, nor does it teach that a Christian should be careful to live a healthy life. The Apostles risked their lives and deprived their bodies for the sake the Gospel. Nevertheless, some Christians seem to conflate healthiness with Godliness.

     Another…eateth herbs. Jews will often avoid meat and eat only vegetables if they are not certain that the meat is “clean” and properly drained of blood. We received some traveling Jews in our home one night who refused to eat any of our meat for that reason (anciently they were also greatly concerned with pollutions of idols).

     After the Holy Spirit’s revelation to Peter (see Acts 10-11), which probably took place about 2 years after Jesus’ death (see note Gal 1:18), the Apostles began to live after the manner of Gentiles (Gal 2:14). That is, they came swiftly to the understanding that God’s acceptance of the Gentiles was part of Jesus’ work on earth. The Old Covenant was now fulfilled and the Mosaic Law was no longer a requirement of man. Nevertheless, some within the churches of Christ attempted to continue the exclusive, identity-based Jewish covenant. They accepted the Gentiles to a point, but would not eat with them (Gal 2:12) and even required them to keep the Old Testament laws (Acts 15:1; Gal 6:12-13).

     Now about ten years after the events in Jerusalem and Antioch (see Gal 1:1), the scenario has drastically changed – the Gentiles have entered in droves and found equal standing with the Jews in the Kingdom. They seem to be everywhere preaching their liberty and grace in Christ. The old-school Jews who had believed on Jesus but went on keeping the Law were feeling discriminatory pressure. The Apostle’s rule is wise and peaceable. The Jews should desist from judging those who do not share their uninformed beliefs and the better-instructed Gentiles should receive their brother in Christ (v10, see also Eph 1:18).

     This rule is for the learning of churches today.  “He of more liberal conscience must not look down upon the one with a stricter conscience; neither should the austere brother judge the liberal one. Let God judge His own, for each one must answer for himself before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom 14:10). Indeed, man’s judgment is of limited value, even in self-analysis (see 1Cor 4:3-4). Yes, we are called to pass judgment on matters of sin (1Cor 5:11-13), but not upon matters of personal conscience (1Cor 8:11).

     The Apostle does not say that each man’s conscience is equally true, but that each conscience is to be respected. A person’s conscience is under constant development and has been influenced by diverse life circumstances. The Christian must allow the Word of God to illuminate his understanding in order to shape his conscience ever more wisely to the principles of Scripture (see note 1Cor 8:10). Correctly applied, this is an exercise in seeking the best way forward and not simply an acceptable way forward.

     This rule of “receiving one another” as laid out in this chapter is extremely important and especially in the wide ranges of conscience found in Anabaptist circles. The examples in this chapter are not matters of sin, but of cultural mores and personal beliefs. To be a member of a particular culture is good, only let it be a worthy, wisely directed one. And once decided, do not be ashamed of culture; embrace it and take care to not hinder the beliefs and consciences of others. It is essential that the members of a church body cultivate an attitude of benevolence and respect one for another, especially on matters of religious customs, styles of dress and particular applications of Bible principles in daily living.

     The Apostle fitly describes the natural tendencies of the two extremes. The conservative group is likely to pass judgment upon his liberal brethren, refusing to fellowship with them for breaking the law of Christ, but often upon secondary matters that are not mentioned in the Bible. The liberal group, meanwhile, is likely to ridicule and scorn their conservative brethren, flaunting their liberties in broad daylight and without regard to wise appearances. The rule of brotherly love cannot function when this happens in the church. If you cannot accept your brother’s beliefs, find a different church so that you do not engage in either of these unhealthy behaviors. 

     God is able to make him stand. Let each one concern himself with his own standing before God (2Cor 13:5). Avoid working in your own self-founded Ministry of Correction in the brotherhood. God is certainly able to work in every soul, bringing each into better knowledge and communion. This I have found to be very true:  convictions that are formed by the Word and Spirit in my soul are far more solid than those imposed by the weight of a brother’s arguments. Not that a brother should never speak into the lives of others in careful attempts of enlightenment, but that his testimony must be accompanied by those two afore-mentioned witnesses. That will effect a sincere change of conscience. If you see a brother acting unwisely, prayer is the first, best and last route of action (1John 5:16). Continue in prayer for all the saints, and watch in the same with thanksgiving (Col 4:2).

5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

     Earlier the Apostle showed that physical circumcision was not a part of the New Covenant. Now he decommissions the Jewish laws concerning unclean foods and their religious days, and months, and times, and years (Gal 4:9-10). The commandment to keep the Sabbath of rest to the Lord (Ex 35:2) was one of the most important elements of the Mosaic Law. There was no crime more serious than breaking the Sabbath – every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death (Ex 31:14-15). It is perhaps understandable that the Jews thought it necessary to continue the strict customs concerning the Jewish Sabbath. On the seventh day of the week, all manual labor was strictly forbidden, and that included cooking, making fires, traveling, etc (see notes for Mat 12).

     Along with the other apostles and churches of Christ, Paul did not observe the Jewish Sabbath, nor their circumcision, nor their laws of uncleanness, feasts, days of fasting, etc (Col 2:16; 1Tim 4:3-5). Nevertheless, he did not outright forbid people to keep the Jewish customs (but see Gal 3:1-4). He might call them weak in the faith (Rom 14:1), easily offended (Rom 14:13-15) and judgmental (Rom 14:3), but his counsel was to forebear with their infirmities (Rom 15:1) so as not to destroy him for whom Christ also has died (Rom 14:15). They should be treated with love and kindness, even to the point of not eating their forbidden foods yourself, at least in their presence (1Cor 8:11-13). While your liberty cannot be judged of another man’s conscience (1Cor 10:29), that liberty must not become a stumblingblock to them that are weak (1Cor 8:9).

     Clearly, the day that some disregarded was not the Christian gathering on the Lord’s day, for that had no Jewish connection. The Jews kept the law of the seventh day, the Sabbath; but Christians met on the eighth day, Sunday, in remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection on that day. No Christian could think he honors Christ by disregarding Him upon His own day! The Sabbath however, had no relation to Christ. Those Christians that kept it were doing so in honor of Christ and those who did not were still honoring Christ. The same is true concerning unclean meats. Those who refrained from eating pork or camel were honoring God in their abstinence and those who ate were thanking God for His provision. Neither were better or worse in the eyes of God (1Cor 8:7-8; Heb 13:9).

     Be fully persuaded in (your) own mind. The implication is that you have investigated the issue thoroughly and intellectually – by the Word of God and the guidance of the Spirit – unto full satisfaction and conviction. Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you (1Pet 3:15). Let it be a good, persuasive answer, beyond the simple, “Because that’s what my church teaches,” or, “Because the Bible says so.”

7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

     The Christian does not live for himself or to please himself. He lives and dies unto the Lord. Reverent submission to His will is the rule we live by. The thought filters of our mind and the convictions of our hearts and are focused upon being living for Christ. How easily we can get distracted by years of living in a world of comforts and pleasures! This is the constant question we should ask ourselves, “Is my life-goal to live fully unto the Lord – in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity?” (1Tim 4:12; Col 3:17; 1Cor 10:31). The world kingdoms of Satan are extremely effective in influencing the convictions of our conscience so that they are bent toward living for Self instead of living for our Savior.

     The recent Covid health scare is a case in point. The world, and many Christians, shivered with fear at the prospect of contracting a deadly virus. Suddenly all exercises of life were weighed and decided by the possibility of contracting Covid and perhaps dying. Church services were suspended, family gatherings postponed, youth functions deemed to dangerous to continue. Remember this: Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. The Christian should be constantly weighing all life exercises in light of his own impending death, not living in fear of it, for beyond death, Christ is still our Lord (see Mat 22:32; 1Cor 15:20-26).

     We are the Lord’s. That is a beautiful thought! We aren’t earthly citizens, we are the Lord’s. And so we rejoice to do all things according to His good pleasure. The reason Jesus came to earth was so that He might redeem… and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14). So take heed, O Christian. Jesus said that not everyone who simply wishes to be part of that blessed nation will enter therein, but He that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (Mat 7:21).

     These verses are powerful evidences against the heretical teaching that Jesus is not God. Christ is here presented as the Lord and we belong to Him. Yet everywhere the Scriptures say that we are the sons of God, and that we belong to Him. If we belong to both, then Jesus and God are one; not the same person in the strict sense, but they are one God. By way of analogy, take God’s creation of the human being in three separate parts (body, soul and spirit) yet one human. The body dies at the end of the life, but the soul and spirit continue alive.

9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

     The death and resurrection of Jesus was just as important for the souls of the dead under the Old Covenant as it was for the souls living in the New Covenant. For until the Atonement of Christ was completed, the souls of the dead were held in Sheol. When Jesus rose again victorious over death, He sacked Satan’s house and rescued the dead, every one according to His good and righteous choice (see notes Mat 12:29; 27:53; 1Pet 3:18-20). Paul makes a similar allusion elsewhere: And these all (the faithful of Old Covenant) received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect (Heb 11:39-40).

     And so Christ became the Lord and Savior of all His people in both Covenants: of the dead (primarily blood Jews under the Law) and the living (the faith of Christ). These two groups seem to be called by the same titles in 1Peter 4:5-6. Perhaps for the same reason the Apostle makes a double reference to the resurrection event: He rose (anistemi), and revived (anazao).

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

     The double rebuke in verse 10 seems to be directed to both camps in the following manner: the Jews were judging the Gentiles for breaking the Law, while the Gentiles were ridiculing the Jews for keeping an obsolete Rule. The body of Christ cannot flourish in such conditions. There is a time and place for judging sin (see my notes for Mat 7:1; 1Cor 5:3), but matters of conscience God will judge. And remember that He will do so according to the measure by which we judged others (Mat 7:2). At the day of Judgment, every person will be required to give account of himself to God, who will reward or punish according to our own works (2Cor 5:10; Rev 22:12; Mat 16:27). The Day shall declare it, when the fire shall try every man’s work (1Cor 3:13). The name of Christ is impugned by human infighting and bickering in His church (Gal 5:15).

     At the time of the early church, the Law was a major point of conflict. Paul told Titus, But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the Law; for they are unprofitable and vain (Titus 3:9). Down through the centuries since the Apostle wrote this, many other unprofitable contentions have pushed their way into the Church dialogues. The composition of Christ’s body, the resurrection, eschatology, the rapture, etc.

     In the notes on the previous verse, we remarked on the strong evidence of the deity of Christ. Here is another. For while we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…every one of us shall give account of himself to God (v10,12). The Scriptures contain dozens of instances of such name substitutions. Those who believe that Jesus was only a man typically point to verses like Acts 17:31 that indicate God will delegate judgmental authority to Jesus. Yet that is no solution. Only an all-wise, all-knowing, ever-living God is capable of judging the entire human race (2Tim 4:1).

     In verse 11, Paul quotes the Septuagint version of Isaiah 45:22-24 (as also Php 2:10-11). The Masoretic text is quite similar, but has swear in the place of confess (see note for Rom 10:9).

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. 14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

     Paul again alternates admonishing both groups. To the conservative Jews he says: Don’t judge others according to your conscience of life, but concern yourself with living wisely, unselfishly and inoffensively in the brotherhood. Self-appointed detail judges are harmful in the church body. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves (2Cor 13:5; 1Cor 11:28). To the liberal Gentiles he says: I’m with you in believing that the Law is no longer in effect, but don’t destroy the faith of your weaker brother who has different convictions. 

     “Let no man put a stumblingblock in his brother’s way.” This is a universally important rule for the members of Christ’s body. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles (1Cor 10:32). Jesus spoke at length on the topic of offenses in the church (Mat 18). It is a particularly complex subject, for their are real offenses and perceived offenses, but both are extremely damaging.   

     Paul was himself persuaded by the Lord Jesus (that testimony should have a powerful effect!) that God had declared all meats clean (Acts 10:15; 1Tim 4:3; Rom 14:20), but he recognizes that not all have this knowledge. See my notes for 1Cor 8:13, where the Apostle treats a related subject, the admissibility of eating clean meats that had been used in idol sacrifices. While these two examples of contention are virtually foreign to us today, the principle of reconciliation that is taught herein is effective for our own contentions:  Walk charitably, practice brotherly love, live humbly in the brotherhood, in honor preferring one another. This was a primary topic in chapter 12 (see my note for Rom 12:3).

     If thy brother be grieved with thy meat. This verse could be taken in opposite ways. The brother keeping the Law might be grieved to see his libertarian brother eating unclean meats; but the libertarian brother might be grieved to see his unenlightened brother seeking to be justified by the deeds of the Law. Likewise for the last half of the verse – destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. The Jewish Christian tried to oblige their Gentile counterparts to keep the Law, but the Gentile Christian practically pushed their Jewish counterparts out of the church by scoffing at their uninformed convictions.

16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

     The Apostle is not speaking about unbelievers speaking evil of a good-minded Christian (1Pet 3:16), but believers in the same body that speak evil (blasphemeo) of their fellow-members. This censure falls on both sides of the aisle:  the conservative brother for criticizing his brother’s liberal ways and the liberal brother for scoffing at his conservative brother’s unenlightened conscience. The good that either one happens to be doing ends up being trodden down and even blasphemed. Not letting our good to be evil spoken of largely depends upon us; how we give answer for the ways and manners we live to please God in His Kingdom.

     Why doesn’t Paul just instruct the brother of skewed conscience to submit to an adjustment? Because the conscience is a complex, sensitive device that can be easily damaged or broken. And if that happens, it will not provoke feelings of guilt. Words of kindness, truth and love are more effective to enlighten a conscience than bare facts and arguments. The minds of men vary tremendously – their perspectives, thought processes and modes of analyses are not the same. And on top of that, the strict brother (the Jews in this case) usually considers himself to be closer to God’s will than his liberal brother, so he will not be all that inclined to submit to his different-minded brother. Yes, the Christian needs to adjust his conscience to the precepts of the Word of God, but as with spiritual growth, it takes time and careful work. Elsewhere Paul says that a thing might be lawful for you, but not expedient and edifying for others (1Cor 10:23).

     The Kingdom is not meat and drink. Christ came preaching a new spiritual Kingdom within the heart of every man (Luke 17:21). It is very unlike the Old Covenant that God made with the commonwealth of Israel. There is a reason it is called the Old Testament (Heb 8:13). Nevertheless, I have met quite a few individuals, both Gentile and Jew, that think they are bound to follow the Old Testament laws. Oddly enough, none of them do – not even the most orthodox Jew. It isn’t possible. There’s no temple and no priesthood. Instead, they choose a few laws that they deem valid (the Sabbath, circumcision, avoidance of pork, etc), but keep it only in their way of thinking. They forget that if you break the Law in one point, you are guilty of all (James 2:10; Gal 5:3).

     Righteousness, and peace, and joy. These are weightier matters of the Kingdom (Mat 23:23) that will gain God’s approval and also the respect of your brother in Christ. Some see a three pointed purpose in these words: righteousness is being good with God, at peace with Man, and joy within your own soul. Why is love and faith left out of this short list? Perhaps because the Jewish Christians thought their righteous works in the Law were serving Christ. And by naming the Holy Spirit, he reminds them that under the covenant of Law the Spirit was absent (see Gal 3:2).

19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

     How pleasant to see brethren of different minds and cultures dwelling together in unity (Ps 133:1). It is a miracle that can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit. The wise, Spirit-led peacemaker tends to health and strength (Pro 12:18); and the body is encouraged, established, edified. Yet, how easy for brethren to focus on differences instead of shared beliefs! And how easily those minor differences grow into mountains that dwarf the important similarities we share. For meat destroy not the work of God. Do not tear down the body of believers because of some doubtful issue. Would you perform the very work of Satan? Don’t be so distracted in arguing and policing the minor things that the true meaning of the Kingdom is neglected. Remember that knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth (1Cor 8:1). Is it wise to be right and win the argument, but be the cause for your brother to fall away?

     Respect every man’s conscience! None of us is fully mature, none is truly knowledgeable, nobody the epitome of Love. Consider kindly your brother, love him even as Christ does. Remember that the man who acts contrary to his conscience will be a troubled, unhappy Christian. Will you force him, by your own discourteous behavior, to so sin? Paul would refrain from eating what his fellow-Christian brother considered unclean if that would build up his brother.

     Does this rule condemn the brotherhood to live according to the conscience of the weakest member? Maybe. Certainly it requires the liberal brother to avoid any action whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak (v21). After all, if he is the stronger then he should bear with his weaker brother (Rom 15:1). In this chapter, the Apostle calls upon both groups to respect and receive one another, but the heaviest burden falls on the enlightened brother to forego living according to his liberty (Rom 14:1). Nevertheless, to walk charitably is incumbent upon all. To be classified as weak (Rom 14:2) is to be called to grow unto maturity.

     All things indeed are pure. Concerning meats, there is nothing unclean of itself (see Rom 14:14), but the man whose conscience is unpersuaded of this fact should not ea unclean meat. However, that does not mean the conscience is a rigid, static device that cannot be adjusted to more perfectly reflect Scriptural knowledge. I appreciate Adam Clarke’s comment: “It is dangerous to trifle with conscience, even when erroneous; it should be borne with and instructed; it must be won over, not taken by storm. Its feelings should be respected because they ever refer to God, and have their foundation in his fear. He who sins against his conscience in things which everyone else knows to be indifferent, will soon do it in those things in which his salvation is most intimately concerned. It is a great blessing to have a well-informed conscience; it is a blessing to have a tender conscience; and even a sore conscience is infinitely better than none.”

     This remark corresponds well with this passage and stands very opposite the heretical teaching of Martin Luther, who wrote: “Do not ask anything of your conscience; and if it speaks, do not listen to it; if it insists, stifle it, amuse yourself; if necessary, commit some good big sin, in order to drive it away. Conscience is the voice of Satan.”

22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

     The one who is fully persuaded in his own mind (Rom 14:5) that all things indeed are pure (Rom 14:20) will eat and drink with no doubting thoughts, no self-condemnation, no prickings of the conscience. He is happy (Greek-makarios, blessed) and strong in the faith. On the other hand, unhappy is the weak in the faith, who feels guilt for doing what his mind has not approved. A wavering, unstable man of uncertain conscience will be tossed about like the waves of the sea (James 1:6-8). In both cases, the conscience is acting correctly. Brotherly love calls for the strong to bear with the weak; spiritual maturity calls for the weak to thoroughly investigate the situation by the Truth of the Word and then act in faith and new knowledge. Do not be misled by Feelings, but allow yourself to be instructed by Word and the Spirit.

     The one who doubts that all meats are clean is damned (katakrino, condemned, judged) if he eat. I believe this means that his conscience condemns him and not that he is damned to hell. Would God do that for something He has declared not to be sin? (Acts 10:15). The Lord is greater than a man’s conscience (1John 3:20-21) and judges righteously in full accordance to the Truth, not according to what a frail human mind might think is true. Nevertheless, it is a serious matter to allow your mind to justify actions that your conscience has determined is wrong. God designed the conscience to be a warning device. To go against its voice is to reject its very purpose for existing (see 2Cor 1:12).

     The conscience must be instructed, enlightened and purged by the Truth (Heb 9:14), never ignored, rejected and trodden down, for that will certainly lead to confusion, searing and mistrust (1Tim 4:2). On the other hand, Paul once said that while he knew of no action whereby he had offended his conscience, that in itself did not declare him innocent and sinless; God is the one judge (1Cor 4:3-5). In other words, the conscience might condemn for things it should not, yet fail to condemn for things that it should (1Tim 4:2).    

     Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The Jewish Christian who sincerely believes that eating certain meats is a sin should not offend his conscience and eat anyway (cf Rom 14:14), for he would be acting outside of Faith. A key fact gives more understanding to why it is wrong to act against your conscience even when the action does not violate the Word of God. The reaction of a man who thinks his life is in danger is equal to the man who is truly in peril of life. Both will feel the same sensations of fear – increased heart rate, adrenaline rush, shortness of breath, etc. Yet for the one, it is nothing but perceived danger; while very real to him, it isn’t true. Likewise is the case of perceived offenses. It doesn’t matter if the offense was intentional or inadvertent, the offended party takes it to be a full-blown offense even though the offender did not actually sin against him (see my note for Mat 18:15). So too it is for the man who thinks that eating unclean meats is a sin. To him (not to God) it is sin, and his entire life is affected: he feels guilt, his conscience condemns him, he is tormented of soul. Such an one cannot be happy in Christ. Thus, while not a sin unto death (see 1John 5:16-17), it is wrong for him not of faith to eat anyway. And by extension, the same is true for any man who acts contrary to the voice of his conscience. See previous paragraphs. He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).

     Many Jewish Christians were living with their conscience enlightened to the Gospel of Christ and they confessed that all meats were clean (Mark 7:19). To these the Apostle says: Hast thou faith? Then don’t offend the still weak in the faith (Rom 14:1), whose conscience has not yet been purged. This rule will be more fully treated in the next chapter. For more on the conscience, see note on Romans 2:15 (also 1Cor 8:7; Titus 1:15).

1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

     The previous verses introduced the mind of peace and love which guides the heart of a Christ-seeker: Recompense to no man evil for evil (Rom 12:17), live peaceably with all men (Rom 12:18), avenge not yourselves (Rom 12:19), be not overcome of evil (Rom 12:21). It is fitting to now read that the Christian should seek to live peacefully in the nation wherein he happens to dwell. The same mandate is repeated in Titus 3:1-3 and 1Peter 2:12-15. In the previous chapter, the Apostle called for the people of Christ to separate themselves from the World and live holy lives for the cause of the Kingdom (see note on Rom 12:2). Nevertheless, they must still live in the midst of Satan’s dangerous kingdoms of this world.

     The doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and its corollary, the doctrine of Separation and Nonconformity, lay out deep differences between Protestants and Anabaptists, who believe that to enter Christ’s Kingdom is to exit any earthly citizenship. We are now part of a peculiar nation (1Pet 2:9) and pass through life as strangers in a foreign country (Heb 11:13-16; 1Pet 1:1; Eph 2:9); ambassadors in an alien land (2Cor 5:20). Our life and loyalty is pledged totally to Christ, who said: Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:33). We have been translated from an earthly kingdom into a Kingdom that is not of this world (Col 1:13; John 18:36). Our citizenship is in heaven (Php 3:20). No man can serve two masters; he must choose one to serve and obey (Mat 6:24). When Paul chose Christ, he renounced all else (Php 3:7-11) to obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).

     This fact is thoroughly taught in the New Testament, but it is such a monumental change from the Old Covenant economy that the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle to clarify it more fully. For in truth, the Christian could quite easily misunderstand or misapply those statements of Scripture. Earthly governments are heavily under Satan’s sway and have always harshly treated the true churches of Christ. Christians have been constantly accused of disobedience and have suffered much for “refusing to obey the rules of the Land.” All this in spite of the fact that they pose absolutely no threat to the State or the Public, for they have rejected taking up the sword as being outside of the perfection of Christ. What is the correct response of God’s people to this problem? These verses answer that question.

     It is of paramount importance to synthesize the full teaching of the Word of God on this subject as opposed to a lawyer-like reading of this passage only. The Apostle’s purpose is not to encourage kingdom saints to be model citizens, but to better present the way of Christ to others. Early Christian Jews would have particularly struggled with this Kingdom principle, for the Jewish nation glorified rebellion, riot and insurrection – they despised Rome and Caesar. Had not God given to them the land of Canaan? Had He not chosen them out of all the nations of the world (Ex 19:6)? We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man (John 8:33).

     Even the Eleven thought that Christ was about to restore again the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). So the teaching of these verses was no small matter for those Christians from among the Jews. The Gentile Christians were also affected, for the Romans tended to group Christians with the Jews, erroneously thinking they were a sect of the Judaic religion (Acts 24:5). Paul offers an equally valid argument for peaceful subjection to both groups: the powers that be are ordained by God (v1). 

     Given the Roman government’s brutal treatment of Christians at the time of this writing, the doctrine of these verses is remarkable. Jewish and Roman authorities persecuted Christianity from its very beginning and that pattern has followed the churches of Christ wherever they have spouted. It is natural that Christians question if they should ever obey the heathen rulers who have no care for Christ or His Kingdom. And so it is even today, when the hearts of true Christians are grieved to see the governments of the world legislating terrible wickedness and aiding the spread of criminality and ungodliness. Submit to unjust magistrates and rulers of iniquity? How can it be? Only by turning again to those principles of Christian behavior the Apostle has laid out in the previous chapter – to live peaceably, honestly and humbly during the time of our earthly pilgrimage.

     There is no power (exousia – authority) but of God. Under the Old Covenant, the nation of Israel was a single civil and religious kingdom of God’s making, but now He has separated those two realms. The present Kingdom of Christ is strictly a spiritual kingdom which transcends all political boundaries and country borders such that Christians in every nation under heaven are brothers and citizens together (Luke 17:21). And that is why we should pray… for kings and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1Tim 2:1-2). We do not pray that God would bless the State in its pursuits, but that governmental actions and decisions would aid peaceful growth of the Kingdom of Christ. The calm, reasonable, sober, peaceable, forgiving demeanor of God’s people is a testimony of great worth. Study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing (1Thes 4:11-12).

     The Israelite Covenant had God-given civil laws that were administrated by His own people, but what is the godly man’s civil responsibilities outside of that Covenant? That is the subject at hand and it is not a simple one. Did God really want His people to obey the heathen Roman government? To the extent that their commands do not conflict with Christ’s teaching, the answer is yes. And that is actually entirely consistent with the deeper tenants of Christianity. For consider the two alternatives: 1) that the Christian should NOT be subject to earthly authorities, 2) that the Christian should be ENTIRELY subject to his country’s government. The first idea would contradict the very fruits of the Spirit in Christian behavior, and the second would undo our pledge of allegiance to Christ as our only Lord and Savior.

     Many Christian groups today err on the side of being overly supportive of the governments of their particular country. They get involved in politics, protests and voting. Some will even take up arms to defend their flag. How shocking the thought of Christians in two opposing earthly nations praying to God to help them kill their enemies! In more subtle ways and on simpler topics, some Anabaptists tend to defend the rationale and laws of the government of their land. Be careful! Earthly rulers and governments have always arrayed themselves against the true churches of Christ. These are the very beasts that the Revelation warned us about. Do not join with them.

     These two pillars of truth should guide our way: 1) the Christian is fully submitted to the rule of Christ, so he cannot pledge allegiance to any earthly nation or political cause; 2) the Christian is an honest, just, peaceable doer of good. Jesus said, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Mat 10:16). My comments in the next few verses intend to follow that middle path.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

     In the time of Paul, the ruling class in Rome was marked by political battles, subterfuge and assassination. The Caesars were cruel, lawless tyrants that held onto power by any means possible. Virtually all of them were overthrown by rebellions and rival plots. On the other hand, the Roman law and judicial system with its famous Twelve Tables is noted even today for mediating peace, punishing evildoers and protecting rights. The magistrates were held responsible for their decisions and corruptions of justice, although always a problem, was not allowed. It was this latter structure that the Apostle calls us to respect and honor, not the personage of the king or president of the realm. This is more clearly indicated in the meaning of the Greek word translated, ordinance (diatage – arrangement, structure), which is not the one typically used in the Scriptures. It appropriately defines the idea of an authority system or structural arrangement of Law and Order, which is the whole proper purpose of human government. Of course, to honor the position of the king fits well into this picture.    

     Earthly kingdoms rise and fall according to God’s will and pleasure, but that doesn’t mean He approves of their methods. Violence, evil workings and graft have always been standard fare in all governments of the world. However, God has ordained Government to keep the peace, protect the innocent and punish the evildoer. The absence of government is anarchy, where every man does what he deems to be right and there is no recourse to justice, nor is there any organization that sets into law what is criminal, and no authority to require personal accountability.

     The one who resists the government, whether fighting for a particular political cause or simply disobeying the rules of the Land, makes himself liable to arrest, judgment and punishment by the civil authorities. He should expect to receive damnation (krima, judgment). This is not a reference to Hell, but to judgment and punishment as decided by the magistrate (see word usage in Mat 7:2; Rom 11:3, etc). Do not expect God to protect you from ill-advised actions, for rulers are there to execute this terror (v3).

     Of course, as citizens of a different Kingdom, at times we do resist our civil authorities, for we must obey God rather than man. We should refuse to follow any laws that dishonor our true Ruler. Expect to receive judgment and punishment then too. Daniel refused to obey the king’s command to not pray to God. On the other hand, being unbound to earthly allegiance does not authorize acts of political activism and ungodly civil disobedience. It is not our place to work with or against governments, but to conduct ourselves separately and wisely according to our first allegiance.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

     God ordained civil governments to keep order and justice in the land. They are a terror to evildoers, but a minister of God for those that are good. The righteous man should have no reason to fear the government and the government should find the Christian to be a peaceful, law-abiding citizen (1Tim 1:9). As such, these verses are pure gold in the arguments concerning the roles of Church and State, for they remind both of their rightful responsibilities. Christians should keep the laws of the land as long as they do not conflict with his higher call to follow the Way of Truth; and the State should serve as avenger and protector of its people. The principles of Christianity were fitted by God to generally apply under many forms of human government and history has demonstrated the Gospel to be extremely effective even in brazen, atheistic governments. Christians should never be grouped with rebels – those presumptuous, selfwilled rioters and haters of authority (2Pet 2:10). 

     Unfortunately, the governments of the world have never operated according to their God-given mandate and have become promoters of Evil instead of being protectors of Good. This fact was predicted in the Revelation, where the Beast that rose up out of the sea is a symbol of World Governments and their age-long antagonism against the people of God. Many examples could be given of earthly rulers actually being a terror to those who do good works instead of evildoers. The early church was beaten down by the Romans and 16th century Anabaptists lived in fear of their God-ordained “ministers for good.” Civil authorities are famous for improperly executing wrath on the righteous.       

     Today, satanic pressures continue to instigate governments to ignore their God-given mandate and seek to become the putative gods of their society. It is no wonder then, to see terrible criminal behavior castigated with mild sentences or dropped completely on a technicality. Meanwhile, the good Christian is jailed and fined for just speaking out against homosexuality, or for helping a woman escape a wicked environment with her own child. It should be abundantly clear that the governments of the world are operating outside of their rightful sphere of authority. All metrics predict things will get much worse, for the simple Christian way of life has become the target of governmental attack. Christian companies may not deny service to homosexuals. There are “hate laws” that forbid preaching against wicked practices like gender changes and gay marriage. Governors have mandated no-congregation laws for churches citing the covid pandemic.

     These examples justify the actions of Anabaptists who have refused to pledge allegiance to the nation of their earthly sojourn. We are citizens only in the legal sense of being born in an certain country. “While living in this world we do not really use what the world offers, for the fashion of this world passeth away” (1Cor 7:31). In step with Paul and John, fellow apostle Peter warned that the governments of the world would accuse Christians as evildoers (1Pet 2:12). Nevertheless, he said, we should submit to the king’s ordinance (1Pet 2:13-14) so that our otherwise good behavior might prove their charges to be false (1Pet 2:15-18). Then we shalt have praise of the same (v3). Meaning that the Christian’s good, quiet behavior should earn the government’s respect. And even if does not, we must continue to do as God has desired us. As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men (Rom 12:18).

     A revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. This seems taken directly from the civil laws of the Old Testament, which upheld justice even to capital punishment. A sword is used to kill. Any earthly government does well to base their justice system upon the God-ordained Law of the Old Testament.

     The present Kingdom of Christ has no authorization to conduct legislative and judiciary affairs of civil government. Nor should her saints be involved in such matters or positions, for the conflict of interest (or unequal yoking) is simply too sharp (2Tim 2:1-4). This I saw in full clarity during the Covid-scare months of 2020-21, when church-going men that were employed by the government were forced to choose between following the rules of their earthly superiors or the Way of Truth. Many failed that simple test, having been overcome by the darkness within which they had been working (2Cor 6:14).

5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

     The Christian should be subject to the government for two reasons: first, to avoid their punishments (v2) and second, because a Christian is not an evildoer (v3). In other words, “Be subject to the laws of the land, not just for fear of punishment but to follow a good conscience of rejecting evil works.” As Peter writes, Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer…yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed (1Pet 4:14-16). If the government oppresses you as a Christian living according to your good conscience, be not ashamed – you are not at fault, but the government that is acting illegitimately. The valid authorities are the minister of God ordained to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Of course we obey them in that.

     Again, governments often make laws for the opposite purpose – to persecute good instead of punishing evil. But Jesus knew this would happen: Take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake (Mark 13:9; Mat 10:23; Luke 21:12). Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake (Luke 6:22; Mat 5:11; John 15:20). If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled (1Pet 3:14).

     These verses give courage to the Christian to reject those illegitimate governmental laws that, contrary to upholding justice, repress godly living and outlaw the rules of Christ. Those we do not obey, and for conscience sake, being contrary to sound doctrine (1Tim 1:10). For conscience sake means we obey the whole rule of Christ (1Tim 1:5), including that we must needs be subject to the rules of the authorities in all points that do not stifle the truth and life of the Gospel. The rule is not to follow first the laws of the State and then the Scripture, but vice versa. The Kingdom of Christ is our true allegiance and citizenship. It deserves full honor. If the life-rule of the Christian is more intent upon not offending the World than upon living in accord with his real Kingdom authority, then something is out of balance.

     Beware that the Devil is very astute in these matters. In the last few centuries, his tactics have changed from overt to covert. Before he came as a lion, killing and torturing any who did not bow to his rule, but now he comes softly, deceiving and persuading by great swelling words of vanity (2Pet 2:18) and by arguments of science falsely so called (1Tim 6:20). The Revelation describes how, in the time of Satan’s little season at the end of the world, he will deceive the governments of the world into doing his wicked bidding and with one mind they will work to subvert the Word of Truth and impair the power of the Spirit (see my notes in Rev 19-20). The churches of Christ will wane and their testimony will be ineffective before the onslaught of this great deception (Rev 11:8-10). When these things begin to pass, lift up your heads, for the time of redemption is at hand (Luke 21:28).

     Should we obey or disobey the governor’s mandate forbidding families to meet for the Thanksgiving holiday because there is a virus in the streets? Should we hold church services during the pandemic or improvise with video meetings? Churches need to allow the exercise of individual consciences, but let us not be blind to the inevitable fruit that these illegitimate rules will produce. Less spirituality, less knowledge of God’s Word, less respect for the church body. Are we so afraid of criticism? So concerned about our physical well-being? How important it is to follow the wise, Godly path and not the popular one of Society. We are to come out from among them and be separate, we are not a part of society. If we are ashamed of that, Christ will be ashamed to be our God (2Cor 6:16-18).

     The present governments of the world have increased their promotion of LIES and WICKEDNESS to unprecedented levels. Witness the anti-God topics of evolution, homosexuality, feminism, gender changes, vegetarianism and a myriad other “scientifically proven facts.” Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Is 5:20). By many lying means they are convincing humanity to accept their “truths,” agendas and values. And they use the very effective method of “cancelling” anyone who dares to even inadvertently say something in disagreement. Here in Chile, the government is contemplating the addition of endorsements/restrictions to their mandatory identity cards which will prohibit/allow activities based on one’s adherence to the State’s protocols. The “consensus of Science” is a dangerous, anti-God authority.

6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

      Although Christians are only secondary citizens of any nation, it is proper that they pay the State’s taxes. This echoes the teaching of Christ, who famously silenced the Jews’ objection to taxation by saying, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s (Mat 22:21). If Christians can live in the world’s society without being part of it (John 17:14-18), then they can live in subjection to the State without being a part of it – and that includes paying their taxes. On another occasion, Jesus told Peter to fish out a piece of money to pay the tribute tax, but only after explaining that He really didn’t owe it – lest we should offend them (Mat 17:22-27).

     The conscience of some is to err on the side of State, accommodating their Christian life to the constraints that the State imposes. They apply this mind also to paying taxes. I wonder. Is Christ best honored by paying a little MORE to the government than what is strictly due, just in case of an audit? Or is He better honored by paying the bare minimum so that more might be used in His Kingdom? Much of the tax money that governments collect goes for immoral causes – war, abortion, gay rights, arts and science grants, etc. By the same token, it is discordant with Christ’s peaceable Kingdom to be a rebel and cheat (Jude 1:8-9). The world’s governments are a part of Satan’s kingdom until that Day they are swept up like dust in the balance and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev 11:15; Jude 14; Rev 17). We render due fear, custom and tribute because of how we should behave in the Kingdom of Christ, not because we are concerned about how we appear to other men.     

     In these verses, the Apostle’s model of Church and State pre-supposes that the Kingdom of Christ is small in comparison to general society. He describes the Christian as living in subjection to the Government, but not participating in it nor revolting against it. The consistent framework is: 1) we the Church, and 2) they the State. And yes, the Scriptures present the saints of the Kingdom as a minority in relation to the citizens of this fair World. Many walk the broad way to destruction, but few are courageous enough to follow the strait and narrow way unto life (Mat 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24). Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). God is seeking a people that sincerely and voluntarily worship Him; a select, chosen, peculiar people that in works of righteousness do shew forth the praise and honor that is due His holy name (1Pet 2:9).

8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

     Pay your debts, whether the king’s tribute, commercial invoices or personal loans. The testimony of a Christian who cannot act as a good steward of his own finances is greatly hindered (1Tim 3:7). Owe no man any thing does not mean that we refuse to receive gifts, or the aid of others, or the forgiveness of a debt, but that we repay our financial obligations and commitments in a timely fashion.

     There is one obligation that we can never fully pay, and that is the duty to serve our fellowman in love. The Law of Moses itself was based upon the decision and action of love, which is agape in this case. The Greek word owe (opheilete) is the verb form of the word debts (opheilamata) in the Lord’s Prayer (Mat 6:12).

9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

     The Apostle continues to include the Jewish Christians in in his address. He has given them some rather heavy news, but here he acknowledges the righteousness of their Law, which is built upon the Rule to love God and neighbor. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. The spirit or the Mosaic Law was that Mankind act in love towards God and Man. That is the essence of the Ten Commandments, which continue true and valid under the New Covenant (see notes for Mat 5). The first four commandments call for man to love God and the last six involve love in action toward others. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Mat 22:36-40; Gal 5:14).

     Paul cites five of the six commandments directed to loving our fellow man, but omits the first in that table, honor thy father and mother (Eph 6:2).

11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

     As the years go by, the time for salvation grows more urgent. And for the already saved, the passing years can tend to lure unto comfort, laxity and even slumber. It is high time to awake. This has never been more true! The night is far spent…Awake thou that sleepest (Eph 5:14).

     Knowing the time (kairos, the season). Many are able to discern the coming weather by looking at the sky, but they cannot discern the signs of the times (Mat 16:3). Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already unto harvest (John 4:35). The Scriptures urgently warn the churches to take heed, to watch and pray always (Luke 21:34-36), for the Day will come suddenly, like a snare, at an hour when ye think not (Luke 12:40). Know the time! It is increasingly important, yet I see less and less urgency in this matter among the people of God. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that Day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light…therefore let us not sleep, as do others (1Thes 5:3-8)

     In addition to knowing the season of the world, know your own time. Life is a vapor! And at that moment of death there is no more time for you. Are you saved? Have you cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light? There is a double contrast in these two phrases: light with darkness, works with armor. The works of darkness are the acts of fleshly lusts (1Pet 2:11; Col 3:8; Gal 5:19-21), but the Christian puts on the armor of light (Eph 6:11-18).

     Walking in the light. Study this common figure of Scripture in John 12:35-36; Acts 26:18; John 8:12; 1John 1:7; Eph 5:8; John 3:19-21.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

     The life of a Christian should never be characterized by immoral, rowdy, crude, foolish behavior (Titus 2:12). Let us walk honestly (euschamonos), meaning uprightly, decently, soberly, mannerly (Luke 21:34; Eph 5:5-8). Rioting (revellings in Gal 5:21; 1Pet 4:3) and all such foolish acts must not be once named among you (Eph 5:3). Chambering (the bed in Heb 13:4) is a euphemism for all kinds of immoral behavior, and wantonness (lasciviousness in Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19) refers to all kinds of sensual or promiscuous behavior.

     Instead, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is of someone putting on a garment. It is a common figure of speech in this context (see Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24; Col 3:12; Eph 6:11). Instead of walking nakedly in the lusts of the flesh, be clothed with Christ (2Cor 5:2-4). Imitate His manner of conduct and His frame of mind.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

     Here the Apostle changes the focus of his topic. In the last section (chapters 9-11), he laid out the hidden plan of God in creating for Himself a new people – Jews and Gentiles growing together as branches upon a single Olive Tree, symbolically the great Church of Jesus Christ. In the present section (12:1-15:7), he will mark out the correct manner of life and attitude of each sprout and twig that grows upon this Tree of God. The tone is urgent, vital, imperative, for this is not a passive saving graft. It is an active, personal, unceasing enterprise to live even as Jesus Christ when He walked this earth – in holiness, humility, wholeheartedness, sincerity and empathy.

     The Apostle appeals to our rational mind: “Look at the great mercies of God in working for your redemption, is it not only reasonable to sacrifice Self and Flesh in order to wholly serve Him?” The call is for radical, personal exercise in the Kingdom of Christ. God alone can save a man from his sins, but these verses show that man must participate diligently and continuously after he has believed and accepted the Gospel.

     I beseech you therefore brethren. If, as many theologians affirm, salvation has no human work component at all, then why does the Apostle implore us with such urgent words? These verses are meaningless under that doctrine. However, we believe that God created the universe for the purpose of developing a people who love who Him with all their heart, soul and mind (Mat 22:37). And so He gives every person the ability to voluntarily think, choose and do. It is crucial then, that we earnestly seek the Truth and live according to its precepts in all sincerity and diligence unto the end (Rev 2:26; Heb 3:6). Let no man take thy crown (Rev 3:11).  

     Present your bodies a living sacrifice. The most sacred element of the Old Covenant was the offering of sacrifices – five whole categories headed a wide range of ceremonies and rites that ruled virtually every detail of life in Judaism (see note Lev 1). There were animal sacrifices, grain sacrifices, land sacrifices, time sacrifices and money sacrifices. With the exception of the scapegoat ceremony, all of the animal sacrifices required the death of the victim. In the New Covenant however, the term “sacrifice” finally settles upon its highest and truest expression – to offer daily our entire soul, body and spirit in holy, useful service (latreia) unto God (Rom 6:13). This Greek word is often used for priestly duties (Rom 9:4; Heb 9:1; 1Chr 28:13). In the Covenant of Grace however, we are asked to offer up spiritual sacrifices in a spiritual house (1Pet 2:5).

     The Old Covenant animals were killed, but God is calling us to give ourselves as a living sacrifice, which is the constant denying of Self in favor of presenting oneself acceptable to God (see note Rom 8:5). The greatest component of a “sacrifice” is when it is a voluntary, conscious choice. Like giving up one’s home, possessions and rights (Mat 16:24). Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:33). Jesus doesn’t want half-sons (Rev 3:15-16). The concept of a living (continual) sacrifice was foreshadowed in the Law which required the priests to offer two lambs daily in the Temple, one in the morning and the other in the evening, as a continual burnt offering to the Lord (Num 28:3-4; cf. Heb 13:15). 

     The continual decision to give up one’s desires and loves in order to do the good pleasure of God is a reasonable service. God doesn’t require silly, arbitrary works of Man, but sensible, righteous living! We ought to walk even as He walked (1John 2:6). Is the servant greater than his Lord? Of course not! So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do (Luke 17:10).

     Holy, acceptable unto God. After Noah left the ark, he offered a sacrifice to God and the smell ascended to Him as a sweet savour (Gen 8:20-21; Eph 5:2; Php 4:18; 2Cor 2:15). Do my sacrifices please God in the same way? Just as a father rejoices to see his children acting in obedience and selflessness, so too our heavenly Father is pleased when His children embrace a life of holiness, sacrifice and service to Him. Holiness is not a popular word these days, but without it no man shall see the Lord (Heb 12:14; 1Pet 1:16). If being holy makes you acceptable unto God, then being unholy makes you unaccepted.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

     This verse is a discovered treasure to every soul that is seeking the way to deep fellowship with Jesus Christ (Php 3:10). We are either offering ourselves in living sacrifice to God, or we are living according to the attitudes and works of the World. There is no third category! Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness (Rom 6:12-19).

     In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus illustrated the grave spiritual danger that the cares and deceits the world pose for all who would follow Him (Mat 13:22). This world (aion), or as it is said elsewhere, This present evil world (Gal 1:4), hates and opposes the Christian on every hand (John 15:18-19). It is Satan’s own tool to kill, deceive and destroy, being a key dagger in that Trident of Evil that the Scriptures warn about – Satan, Self and the World. The devil offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them if He would worship him instead of God (Mat 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-8). Jesus refused. Satan however, as the prince and god (or idol) of this world (John 14:30; 2Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2), has taken many captives by offering them the same false promise that Jesus refused (2Tim 2:26). Christian beware, for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1John 2:15-17).

     The World is an especially subtle and deadly snare because we must all, Christian and unbeliever, pass through life with certain connections to it. Therefore, Jesus prayed that God would keep His disciples from evil, even while living in the World as her enemies (John 17:14-16). To that aim the Father implores, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues (Rev 18:4). The basis for this separation is keep oneself unspotted from the world’s lusts and evil works of the flesh (James 1:27).

     Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you (2Cor 6:17). If God’s people do not feel that they are different from the world, then something is wrong. If God’s people do not look and live different from the world, then be very concerned! The World is our enemy. Why do so many live as if God created the World for our benefit and pleasure? Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4). The Christian is in a desperate war, he wrestles against the rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph 6:12); only those who emerge victorious in this mortiferous battle are truly born of God (1John 5:4).

     God has designed that His people live in this strange, unfriendly world for the purpose of proving them! He wants to find and form a congregation who truly loves Him and has shown themselves worthy (Mat 10:37-38) to be in heaven with Him. This life is a solemn, all-important test of your love for Christ. Those who honor, fear and love Him will keep His commandments (John 14:21). Understand that the trials of faith are a key part of His method to develop the souls of His saints so that they become purer and purer gold (1Pet 1:7; Job 23:10). May it be so with your life.

     Content yourself to pass the time here without thought of using the things of this world (1Cor 7:31), for Christians are but wandering strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land (Heb 11:13). They live here in the world, but greatly desiring that better country where God has prepared for them a new and heavenly city (see Heb 11:16). Sing it with meaning: “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”

     The mind of God’s people should ever be this: here we have no abiding city because our true citizenship is in heaven (Php 3:20). We are not like other people, we are different; we don’t feel comfortable here because we don’t fit in. We stand out like lights in a dark place (Php 2:15), as aliens dwelling in a foreign country (Heb 11:9). Ponder the implications of Peter’s reminder: Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people (1Pet 2:9).

     Jesus knows how easily a man can be distracted by this fair world (2Tim 4:10). Under the Old Covenant, God helped the Jews to not forget their peculiarity and calling by asking them to make all their garments in a unique way, with a ribband of blue: and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes (Num 15:38-41). We are foreigners living in a strange land! I dare say that the vast majority of Christianity have not this mentality. Even among the plain brethren it is falling rapidly. Oh, they say they are different from the World, and their sermons warn about the wickedness of the World, but they stand exposed and convicted by converse signs.

     In Anabaptist circles a very common rationalization to reject the peculiar people mindset is looking at other Christian groups who confess Christ in the sincerest of terms, yet appear and act in very similar manner to the rest of Society. They live in the same way, dress the same way, go to the same places, eat and drink the same things, enjoy the same vacations and entertainments, go to the same schools and universities. They seem to be blessed by God. Why do I have to be so different? How easy to forget the voice: Come out from among them and be ye separate. God wants a special, called-out people who are His alone. 

     Am I saying that we should consider all other churches as being part of the world too? No, but not every person who calls himself a Christian is a brother, nor is every prophet and spirit of God (1John 4:1-4). He that doeth the will of My Father…shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven (Mat 7:21). Beware! Comparing ourselves with others is not wise (2Cor 10:12). In no case may we validate a belief or behavior simply because everyone else believes or does it. We have the Word of Truth in our hands; it alone is the all-important, eternal guidebook to the Father. Look not at others to determine their spiritual standing, nor to elaborate your own judgments. Rather, focus on searching in all honesty and integrity to do all that the Father has commanded. Whether those churches/individuals are included in the Scripture’s picture of the world is not for us to judge. Let us, with all diligence and determination, make our own calling and election sure (2Pet 1:10). 

     May we ever remember that God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised…to bring to nought things that are (1Cor 1:27-28). Rejoice in being a simple soul; happy to be a weak, foolish thing (in the eyes of the World), for God has chosen you. He wants your heart, soul and mind – all of it. Today, societal groupthink has become the real arbiter of morality, instead of the unerring, absolute truth of God’s Word. He who dares to disagree with the Consensus will be vituperated and canceled.

     Be not conformed…be ye transformed. These imperative verbs presume that a man possesses freedom of will and is capable of real decision and action. Be ye transformed (metamorphoo, see Mat 17:2) This is a requirement to being a Christian, but our efforts will never succeed without the power of God. Nor is this a flash event; it is a life-long joint work of God with a man that will be complete when our vile body is changed into a glorious body (1Cor 15:54; Php 3:21). The only other occurrence of metamorphoo in a similar context pictures this same deliberate process: But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2Cor 3:18, NASB). It’s like a butterfly advancing by stages through life – egg, larva, pupa, adult – slowly being transformed from glory to glory into its final image. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph 2:10). 

     By the renewing of your mind (nous). A similar phrase is found in Col 3:10, where the new man in Christ is said to be renewed in knowledge. The mind is the supreme control center of the human body. It analyzes, decides and mandates the actions that the rest of the body will take. Humanly speaking, to actually renew (anakainosis) the mind is an entirely inconceivable task. So while this verse indicates that each man does have a role in renewing the mind, only Divine power can actually effect it. The single occurrence of anakainosis elsewhere in the New Testament indicates that fact, According to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).

     Given the function and position of the mind in relation to the human body, to renew the mind is to replace the parameters and instructions set by which it analyzes, decides and mandates the actions of the body. Effectively then, the renewing of the mind begins with being born again (John 3:3), yet like the egg that changes to a larva and then to a caterpillar before finally arriving at its mature butterfly form, this renewal of the mind is a work in progress. And as the process continues, we are able to confirm even more certainly what really is that perfect will of God for us.

     The seed lies latent in the ground until a drop of water provokes in it a sudden spark of life. Then, with the death of the seed a new life is born; the seed sprouts and begins to grow. Taller, stronger, bigger, until it reaches full maturity. So it is with renewing the mind – feeding on the manna of God’s Word daily; praying without ceasing; thinking on things that are true, honest, just and pure. A person becomes what he thinks (Pro 23:7). Give the mind good, spiritual things to think (Php 4:8).

     The mind and conscience seem to be almost synonymous. Perhaps the conscience refers primarily to the rule-set of the individual while the mind includes the thoughts and attitudes in collaboration with the conscience (see Rom 2:15; Titus 1:15). Together they are the light of the body (Mat 6:22-23). The Greek language has several words that translate to mind. In verse two, the word is nous, which is also used in the following ways: a reprobate mind (Rom 1:28) the law of my mind (Rom 7:23-25); the mind of the Lord (1Cor 2:16); pray, sing, speak with the understanding (1Cor 14:14-19); the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind (Eph 4:17); the spirit of your mind (Eph 4:23); fleshly mind (Col 2:18); corrupt mind (1Tim 6:5; 2Tim 3:8); their mind and conscience is defiled (Tit 1:15). The word phroneo (a verb) is also translated mind (Rom 8:5) and occurs in this passage at verse 3 (see also Rom 14:6; 15:5; 1Cor 4:6; 13:11; Gal 5:10; Col 3:2). Although they are truly synonyms, phroneo seems to be used in contexts describing the attitudes and mannerisms of the mind, and nous more in the working exercise of the mind.   

     The one who is dis-conformed to the World and renewed in the mind is capacitated to learn and prove (dokimazo) what is the perfect will of God. To prove means to analyze, test and confirm (2Cor 13:5; Eph 5:10; 1Thes 5:21; 1Tim 3:10); dokimazo is elsewhere translated discern (Luke 12:56), examine (1Cor 11:28), try (1Cor 3:13; 1Pet 1:7; 1John 4:1; 1Thes 2:4). Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth (2Tim 2:15, NASB). The renewed mind is careful to prove the will of God honestly, sincerely and entirely. Remember that the unfaithful children of Israel also proved (dokimazo) God in the wilderness and for their wickedness were rejected by Him (Heb 3:9-11). Prove Me, God told the children of Israel, obey My commands and follow My law, then see if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Mal 3:10).

     The World’s ideology is a jumble of vain goals and Godless values. The Christian who is foolish enough to enter therein, even for the sake of conversation, will not return the same person that he once was. To walk according to the course of this world will end in certain spiritual death (Eph 2:2). God wants a people who does not fashion themselves after the values, feelings, habits, manners and styles of this evil generation, but after the lofty example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

     The first two verses of this chapter have outlined the very core of man’s duty in the final salvation of his soul: personal sacrifice, total commitment to Christ, service in His Kingdom, separation from the World, transformation of the mind, doing the Father’s will. However, those actions of faith cannot develop without the proper attitude of humility, sobriety and meekness.

     There is probably no greater hindrance to true spiritual growth than thinking too highly of oneself (huper-phronein), and chiefly that means to hold in excessive regard the thoughts, beliefs and ideas that your own mind has determined. The church, though one body in Christ, is made up of many different members, and God had given each one a unique set of gifts, personality traits and workings of the mind (v5-6). So each member must respect and value the judgments of other members – be of the same mind, in honor preferring one another (v10,16). Paul warned the carnal Corinthians that they had become puffed up for one against another (1Cor 4:6). Obviously, we dare not hold in equal value the rationalizations of the carnal and weak. The charge is to all in the church – do not over-value your own conscience, but accept that there are different beliefs and opinions even within the body (Rom 15:7, also 1Tim 6:17; Mat 5:3-5).

      A truly humble person will never take personal offense! That’s because he holds nothing of himself in such regard that he might be hurt or offended by another (Gal 6:3). Remember the example of Moses (Num 12:1-8) and consider the truthful yet dispassionate answers of Christ to the slanderers that said He had a demon. Yes, we take offense when the name of Christ is disparaged, or His body is damaged, or the Word of God is scoffed, but to allow a criticism or offense to fester within is a sign of thinking too highly of oneself.

     To think soberly (so-phronein) is to think wisely, to rightly analyze another point of view, to use sound judgment (see usage in Acts 26:25; Titus 1:8; 2Tim 1:7). Probably the Apostle intentionally chose these rhyme words. “Do not huperphronein, but phronein with all sophronein.” The calm, sensible, Word-based evaluations of a humble man of God are of great worth. 

     This verse begins with grace and ends with faith. These are powerful terms in Christ’s New Covenant. Grace is God’s part and Faith is man’s part – although even that originates with God, who has dealt to each person the measure of faith. In other words, He has designed each person with the necessary capabilities for developing the Faith that pleases Him (Heb 11:6). That is, I don’t understand this verse to teach that God has allotted to each man a specific portion of faith, but that He works in every person to cultivate faith that reach varying measures.

     Saving faith is a five-faceted Jewel forged above worldly fires of experience and trial. It is not a simple spark of belief, but a complex interworking of receiving, accepting and doing the Truth (see notes for Heb 3:12; Mat 14:31). The limits of faith are due to faults and inconsistencies in the individual and not due to God dealing less faith to some. Perhaps the clearest example of God cultivating personal faith is the case of the Canaanite woman who continued to beg Christ to heal her daughter even after He called her a dog (Mat 15:22-28). Her perseverance and refusal to be offended is a lesson about God’s grace and how to grow in faith.

     These verses call for deference and humility in the body of Christ. “Don’t think yourself better than others. Don’t require others to believe and act exactly as you do. The body of Christ is made up of many members with distinct gifts and functions, with diverse priorities and ideas, and with varying degrees of faith and maturity.” While faith is listed as one of many spiritual gifts (1Cor 12:9), it is not an optional one (Heb 11:6). Rather, the Spirit develops faith in each man according to their determination and tenacity. Faith is a synergetic experience, not a unilateral blast from above. It grows in tandem with the renewing of the mind (v2).

     Study the implications of the Jesus’ answer to the Apostles’ request, Lord, Increase our faith. Instead of giving them a doctrinal formula, Jesus responded by telling them the parable of a servant who worked hard all day in the field, yet was still required to serve his master’s supper that evening before he himself could sit down to eat (Luke 17:5-10).

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

     The Church of Jesus Christ is represented in the Scriptures by several different symbols – a tree, a bride, an ark, a building, a body, a city, ten virgins. Each of these depicts a particular aspect of the Kingdom of God which, unlike the Old Covenant church in the wilderness, is made up of many local churches. In the New Testament, the word church (ekklesia) is almost always used to name a particular church. In only a handful of cases does it refer the one, universal Church of Christ. Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom, but only once did He call it the ekklesia (Mat 16:15-19). Conversely, we often say the Church when speaking of the churches of Christ. In the few occasions when Christ and the Apostles do speak of the Church in the collective sense, it is to depict the one great assembly of God in heaven (see Eph 3:15; Heb 12:23; Mat 16:18; Eph 5:25-32).

     It is not all that surprising then, that the word “church” is not found here or anywhere else in the book of Romans except for the salutations in the last chapter. Nevertheless, the figure of a local church as a body is seen in other passages (1Cor 12; Eph 4), so we do not to consider it here as well, although the Apostle’s primary topic of the great Kingdom of Christ continues.

     A body emphasizes functionality and service – many individuals yet one creation in which all have the same interests, goals and concerns. A body is made up of members, organs and complex systems. Its viability depends upon the health and proper working of each part. Some are visible and prominent, others are scarcely known. All are important. An athlete with just one injured muscle might decide not to compete because he knows his body is not whole. The members of a body serve many different purposes, but they must work together to be truly effective. While a body can adapt to life with missing members, its full potential cannot be realized.

     This analogy is especially applicable to the local church, the figurative body of Christ. Each member benefits from the contributions of fellow-members as they work together for one common goal. The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Eph 4:16). In the church, we are every one members one of another (v5). There is mutual care and sharing, and if a member is hurt or missing, the others will step into the gap (1Cor 12:25-26). Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others (Php 2:4).

     It is a powerful argument to the Jew/Gentile tension in the churches of Rome and throughout the world in those early years. It speaks particularly to those Christian Jews who relied on their genealogy and Abrahamic promises unto the exclusion of the Gentile “dogs.” However, the Gentile Christians are also reminded that God will accept the Jews (though hypocrites, blasphemers and stiff-necked) who humbly ask to receive the pardon which His Son is offering. One body in Christ, one olive tree in the Lord (ch11).

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

     God works in every person to increase the worth of their eternal soul. The more we submit ourselves to His will and service, the more noble our character becomes. Man’s increase in faith is met by a further increase of God’s grace. Each person is purified and improved by the working of God’s grace with his own faith. God’s good and great purpose is to mold our character so that we can better experience eternal communion with Him. This is helpful background in considering the topic of gifts and talents that God has given to each person (see notes for 1Cor 12:4-11).

     Some view spiritual gifts as divine endowments of abnormal power such that God is virtually moving and operating the individual Himself, but that is not the biblical explanation of gifts nor does the good purposes of God in faith and grace. The members of the body are to use their diverse gifts and abilities for God’s service (v1), for the mutual edification of the body in general (Eph 4:12). Not for personal benefit, nor to draw attention to themselves. Remember the man who hid his talent in the ground instead of putting it to good use. Actually, God does not need you to minister in His Kingdom. Yes, He wants you to serve, but according to His methods and attitudes. The Apostle warned Timothy to withdraw himself from vain and conceited teachers (1Tim 6:3-5).

     These verses call for every man to use his particular God-given talents to the full proportion of his faith; not slacking or neglecting but working diligently so that the Body is edified and grows. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (Mat 13:12). He that shows himself to be faithful in little will be blessed with more. Spiritual gifts are not static, supernatural power-bursts, but natural, God-given talents and abilities that we can control, increase and strengthen with God’s help (1Cor 14:32). God does work in supernatural ways at times, but that does not come under the topic of spiritual gifts. 

     God is looking for willing, industrious men of faith. Are you able to teach? Then teach! Are you able to minister? Then do it! Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might (Ecl 9:10). Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1Cor 10:31). Prophesy according to the full potential that your level of faith with allow; minister with the best of your abilities, exhort in all truth and wisdom. And in so doing, you will grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior (2Pet 3:18). On the meaning of prophecy in the church, see note for 1Cor 14:1. Heavenly rewards are not based on how much we achieved in this life, but on how faithfully we have worked with the graces that God has given us.

     The list of gifts (ministry, teaching, preaching, ruling) correspond closely to those found in other epistles (1Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11).

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

     This verse was poorly divided. Both grammatically and thematically, the first clause belongs with the previous two verses. To exhort (parakaleo) is to comfort, beseech, encourage, counsel, entreat. While it is a commonly-used Greek word in the New Testament, its ancient meaning does not conform well to the contemporary definition (ie, see usage in v1). Are you able to comfort, encourage, beseech, counsel? Then do not neglect the full exercise of that important ministry in the church.

     “Give with simplicity.” The Greek word haplotes means “sincerely, generously, in singleness of heart, without ulterior motives” (see 2Cor 1:12; 9:13; Col 3:22). By their alms-giving, the Pharisees hoped to gain men’s admiration (Mat 6:2), but the people of God give willingly and gladly (2Cor 9:7), knowing that the Father sees even the most secret thing (Mat 6:4). Not all giving is monetary. Gifts of time are often more valuable than gifts of money and possessions. Freely ye have received, freely give (Mat 10:8).

     Give is translated from metadidomi, which is also used in the context of preaching the Word, or as we might say today, “sharing the Sunday sermon” (see Rom 1:11; 1Thes 2:8 and study paradidomi). This meaning better fits the topic of spiritual gifts of service – prophecy, teaching, preaching, ruling.

     “Rule with diligence (spoude).” This indicates an earnest, careful, pro-active leadership as opposed to performing a lackadaisical duty (see 1Cor 9:16-17). The word is repeated in v11, Not slothful in business (spoude). See 2Peter 1:5. Virtually every person must take a leadership position at some level and area of life. Fathers, mothers, deacons, teachers, workers and children – take your responsibilities to heart, help others flourish in the Way of Truth.

     “Show mercy with cheerfulness.” The natural impulse is to begrudge the offender his mercy. “Well, the Bible says I have to forgive, so…[mumbling] I forgive him/her.” The wisdom that comes from above overflows with mercy, without partiality nor hypocrisy (James 3:17). Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Mat 5:7).

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

     In one of the most powerful expositions ever written, the apostle Paul in 1Cor 13 showed that the more excellent way (1Cor 12:31) is a life of loving others (agape) in word and deed. Without dissimulation (anupokritos) – the same Greek word is translated “without hypocrisy” in James 3:17 and “unfeigned” in 1Peter 1:22. Genuine love is a voluntary, self-less act of goodwill to benefit another; a love that operates in purity and without thought of personal gain or loss. It is not conditioned upon being loved in return.

     “Refuse to approve Evil things, but stand unflinching firm in support of all things Good.” It is an important rule for all of life – Kingdom service, church environments and interaction with unbelievers. This is more than an attitude, it’s a strategy of living, for sinful practices are constantly working to weasel their way into homes, churches and relationships. Do not make excuses for evil, but demand and cling to truth and goodness.  

     Christians cannot sit calm and silent when Government and Society commit wickedness and condone injustices. They need to speak and live the truth of God’s Word, even if it means suffering the fate of John the Baptist when he condemned King Herod for unlawfully marrying his niece. Of course, we need to temper the Apostle’s words here with Jesus’ command to resist not evil (Mat 5:39). The churches of Christ do not physically fight wickedness, but are called to shine forth as lights in a wicked, dark world. In the pivotal dissertation of chapter 13, Paul demonstrates that Christians are to live peaceably in the societies and governments within which they happen to dwell, not as national citizens, but as ambassadors living in a foreign country.

     The wise path between speaking out against sin and error while correctly living subject to the higher powers of earthly rulers (Rom 13:1-7) is often not an easy one. See my notes in the following chapter. The example that the Apostles left us with their lives is compelling. They were not careful to answer contrary to earthly kings and religious leaders, and they paid a price in life-blood. How shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom 10:14). To remain quiet and say nothing is to be associated with them; to refrain the tongue is to follow the spirit of fear (2Tim 1:7). Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness (Is 5:20). God commissioned Jeremiah to preach unto the children of Israel and encouraged him: Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee (Jer 1:8).

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

     The Apostle’s model church member is noted for unfeigned agape love for all (v9) and affectionate philadelphia love for the members of Christ’s body. These Greek synonyms carry distinct connotations. The former is an undeserved love based in the will; it chooses to love without regard to consequences. The latter is a close love of genuine kinship and mutual affection; it is both a love of feeling and of genuine care and concern. Both forms of love operate within the church body! Some people you find easy to love and others require some effort.

     The fact that Christ and the Apostles wrote so often about brotherly love demonstrates just how important it is to God (John 13:35; Rom 13:8; 1Thes 3:12; 1Pet 1:22; 1John 4:21, etc). Nevertheless, many church bodies struggle with living out this principle and how greatly it damages their testimony. Exhortations for brethren to live in love and concern for one another simply over-flow the Epistles. Yet one of the biggest problems in the churches of Christ is bickering, contention, jealousy, finger-pointing, gossip, envy and criticism within its members. Young people are especially sensitive to these terrible offenses and are quickly disillusioned and embittered with the church that allows these practices to flourish. I believe it to be the number one cause for children to leave the conservative church of their parents.

     Accompanying the forms of Love is that all-important attitude of humility and lowliness of mind (Php 2:3) which graciously puts others first in all things. This person demonstrates the very opposite of those callous sins we just mentioned. He doesn’t care about honor and fame, nor is he desirous of vain glory (Gal 5:26). Instead, his primary, conscious intention is to sacrifice his own dreams in order to help others unto love and to good works (Heb 10:24).

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

     The prime church member is not a lazy individual, but zealous in serving the Lord. His spirit is inspirational, earnest, forceful, contagious, fervent and his mannerism is convincing, authentic, transparent. His words and deeds form a compelling testimony of the Truth of the Gospel. He is ready to serve (douleuo) the Lord wherever and whenever – in the brotherhood and before unbelievers, in season and out of season (2Tim 4:2). He rejoices in hope; he is happy, optimistic and encouraging. His mind is not mired in earthly worries and afflictions but fixedly set on the glories to come (Rom 15:13). These are wonderful people to be around! Their positive, reassuring attitudes give new strength to shaking hands and their infectious courage brings firmness to enfeebled knees (Heb 12:10-14).

     Patient (hupomeno) in tribulation. How important this little phrase! Endurance is the last and most difficult jewel of the Faith that saves. Many receive the Word joyfully, but when tribulation comes they cannot endure (Mat 13:20-21). One of the last encouragements of the Apostle Paul was to Timothy, his son in the faith: Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2Tim 2:3). It is essential to run the race with patience (Heb 12:1; James 5:7), knowing that patience brings maturity (James 1:3-5). See note for Rom 5:3.

     Instant (continuing) in prayer. Prayer is the most important human activity there is, nothing excepted! By humble, penitent prayer we are born again and by prayer we daily commune with our Savior. Prayer is an astonishing tool of power that changes me, you, and the world. Christ’s example of prayer and the Apostles’ own actions and words prove that (Eph 6:18; Col 4:2).

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

     The Kingdom of Christ and each church within its realm are bound to prosper when their members provoke one another to express these characteristics in their lives. They are alert to notice when a member is in need, whether it be a physical deficit or a spiritual distress, and then they are quick and willing to share from their own accounts (James 2:16). Giving time and money to the needs of others and the work of the church – such are the genuine lively stones that are building up Christ’s spiritual house (1Pet 2:5).

     Given to hospitality. This is a gift that comes naturally to some but which others must gain by practice, but the importance of this attitude and conduct should never be minimized (see note 1Pet 4:9). Take special care to show hospitality, whether opening your house to family fellowship or simply making the effort to engage others in wholesome, genuinely interested conversation. A friendly, warm, welcoming attitude is a powerful weapon for good and the Gospel of the Kingdom. Some have even entertained strangers unawares (Heb 13:2). Philip Mauro, one of my favorite authors, became a Christian later in life when a friendly church doorkeeper invited him into an evangelistic meeting he happened to be walking by. He testified that he owed his salvation to that one man’s encouraging smile at just the right moment in his life (see Pro 25:11).

     Bless them which persecute you which quotes Jesus’ sermon on the Mount. Pray for them, do them good. Being kind to others even in the face of mistreatment is another powerful witness for Christ, yet how to difficult to choose this action so contrary to human tendency. See notes on Mat 5:44; 1Cor 4:12; James 3:9-10.

     Rejoice and weep. Solomon said there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh (Ecl 3:4), implying that one shouldn’t get them mixed up (see Pro 25:20). In a healthy church body, members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it (1Cor 12:25-26). In other words, show sincere, brotherly love in action. Empathize with all, identify with each other’s life and feel their emotions (see 1Pet 3:8).

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

     Earlier the Apostle warned of the danger of valuing our own judgments and ideas too highly (Rom 12:3). Instead, we should prefer others (Rom 12:10). He continues: “Treat everyone with the same deference and respect, associating with all the brethren equally. Do not show preference to the powerful man, nor avoid connecting with the man of low estate” (see also James 2:1).

     Be not wise in your own conceits. “Do not overvalue the thinking and conclusions of your own mind.” See Prov 3:7; Is 5:21; 1Cor 3:18.

     Recompense to no man evil for evil. This principle is repeated often in the New Testament because it is not an easy one and is markedly different from the Old Testament rule of life. Resist not evil (Mat 5:39); See that none render evil for evil unto any man (1Thes 5:15); Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21); Not rendering evil for evil (1Pet 3:9); Avenge not yourselves (Rom 12:19); Take wrong…suffer yourselves to be defauded (1Cor 6:7). The Agape man is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (1Cor 13:5). It is principle with dramatic, far-reaching effects for Christians and for the churches of Christ.

     Providing for honest things (2Cor 8:21). The word provide seems especially pointed to the way Christians choose to work in order to make a living (see 1Tim 5:8). The Christian’s business manners should be honest and fair (1Pet 2:12), dealt out in good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38).

     With these verses, the Apostle has set a tremendous standard of living for members in the churches of Christ, yet how greatly have most failed to achieve that model. Someday, the great universal Church will congregate in shining perfection in Heaven and these earthly days of practice will become the criteria of testing. God is now forming a beautiful, spotless bride for His Son. Who will be chosen?

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

     Since He is a God of love and peace (2Cor 13:11), so should His children be also. Follow peace with all men (Heb 12:14; Rom 14:19; James 3:18). Blessed are the peacemakers (Mat 5:9). A contentious, abrasive Christian does not suitably represent his Lord, but pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones (Pro 12:18; 16:24). In effect, the Christian model of these chapters, and especially of the next dozen verses, could be called, “The Way of Peace.”

     Nevertheless, mark the note of precaution: If it be possible…live peaceably. We must stand against error and wickedness even if it results in conflict and  personal insults. Defending the Truth cannot be sacrificed at the altar of Peace. Jesus warned His followers, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword (Mat 10:34). At verse 9, we commented on the important balance between abhoring evil but not resisting evil. The same principle is at work in living peaceably with all men. We cannot abhor evil and at the same time silently, peaceably watch it happen. Sometimes to follow peace would cripple the Kingdom of Christ instead of building it, and that would contradict the very purpose for living peaceably. 

     The example of the Apostle Paul agrees. Although a peaceful man of God, he withstood Peter to the face because he was to be blamed (Gal 2:11), and he publicly reprimanded the church in Corinth for not throwing out the sinner in their midst (1Cor 5:13). He also refused to peaceably dismiss the Roman authorities who had acted irresponsibly (Acts 16:37) and was often accused of being a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition (Acts 24:5). It is critical that we seek the wisest path as described by many good Bible principles acting together.

     The effective witness of God’s people is like a householder offering good food correctly seasoned with salt (Col 4:6), not too much and not too little (Mat 5:13). It follows both the way of Peace and the way of Truth.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

     The New Testament principle of returning good for evil has a firm basis in the Old Testament. Verse 20 is simply a direct quotation of Proverbs 25:21-22. While the Covenant of Law had the lex talionis of strict justice (eye for eye and tooth for tooth), the incredible power of being kind to your enemy and defeating him with good can be seen in David’s treatment of Saul and in Elisha’s actions with the Syrian army (see Ex 23:4-5; 2Kings 6:18-23; 1Sam 26). God said through Moses, Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord (Lev 19:18). To Me belongeth vengeance and recompence (Deut 32:35). The dramatic changes effected by Christ’s death and resurrection have resulted in this age-unbounded principle finding new application in the Kingdom of God (see Mat 5:1).

     Give place unto wrath. Some translate, “Give opportunity for God’s wrath to act.” Acting in anger or vengeance clashes greatly with the precepts of Christ and His Kingdom. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (James 1:20). In the New Covenant, acting in mercy and forgiveness is preferred over justice. Not that the Christian or the churches of Christ are to overlook works of injustice and evil, but that it is not their responsibility to punish wrongdoers. A church does need to make serious judgments within her members, but violence and punishment is not the Kingdom way (1Cor 5:12-13). In the New Covenant age, God has ordained human governments for that purpose. They are responsible to protect the innocent and punish criminals (Rom 13:4; 1Pet 2:14). This will be a chief subject in the next chapter. Catholic and Protestant churches have generally ignored this commandment, coupling themselves with the civil arms of the State in approving of torture and killing many millions of people, often for “crimes” of belief.

     What does Paul mean by heaping coals of fire on your enemy’s head? When a person who is treating you evil receives good in return, he cannot help but feeling ashamed and guilty for acting so cruelly and without cause. His face is inflamed; he feels hot all over; he is embarrassed and wishes to hide himself. Peter was more explicit, saying, Whereas they speak evil of you, as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ (1Pet 3:16). Of course, a Christian does not treat anyone as an enemy, but that doesn’t mean that others will not treat him as one (see verse 18).

     Overcome evil with good. Again, the commandment in these verses is for both the Christian and the churches of Christ. It is sometimes called, “Non-resistance” or, “the Law of no retaliation.” Those terms imply that the Christian’s response to evil is a passive one. But that is not what we see in this passage. The Apostle calls us to an active response: Overcome – fight, conquer and prevail over evil. Not with force and violence, but with the weapons of Truth, Love and Forgiveness.

     Christians must physically inhabit an evil world, but they dare not participate in its iniquities and errors. The temptations and pressures to compromise with the World is an ever-present, severe test which Jesus vocalized to the Father on the night of His betrayal, They are not of the world…keep them from the evil (John 17:15-16). The darkness cannot stand before the light, but must flee away (Mat 4:16; Acts 26:18). Let your light so shine before men (Mat 5:16).

1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

     The previous two chapters have left no doubt about Israel’s spiritual condition. For long centuries God had endured their obstinacy and disobedience (Rom 9:22; 10:21). Has He now completely cast (them) away? (apotheomai – “rejected” in LXX Jer 6:19; Ez 20:13; Acts 7:39). In truth, the Apostle has shown Israel’s situation to be so dire that we might well wonder if God has disallowed them from the Kingdom entirely. Has God put away His chosen people completely? Given her a bill of divorcement? (see note on Rom 7:1). In opening the door to the Gentiles, has He shut the door to the Jews? Not in the least. For a faithful, Godly remnant of Jews, the election of grace (Rom 11:5), did believe and confess Christ and they, along with believing Gentiles, are the new people of God. The failure of the Jews to accept Christ gave opportunity to the Gentiles to be included. And even now Jews can obtain mercy if they trust in Jesus Christ (v31).

     Chapter 11 finishes the subject of Israel’s fall and the Gentiles’ calling into the new Kingdom of Christ that has dictated the flow of the book to this point. The final chapters will address other topics. Impressively, Paul wrote these chapters before the fall of Jerusalem which abruptly ended the religion of Judaism according to the Law of Moses. At the time of this writing, Jerusalem was at the pinnacle of Jewish worship and life; the temple with its priests and sacrifices was functioning in peak form and the Judaic Law had probably not been so strictly observed since the time of Moses and Joshua. But just a decade after this book was written, Jerusalem would be ruined by the Roman armies and the beautiful Temple totally destroyed. The daily lamb sacrifices would cease to be offered in waning days of the siege and have never been offered since, partly because the Muslims have built the Dome of the Rock shrine upon the very site where the Temple once stood.  

     Paul was born into the tribe of Benjamin, which apparently shared the city of Jerusalem with the tribe of Judah. The land of Simeon meanwhile, was entirely within the borders of Judah. So these three tribes, or parts of them at least, became the kingdom of Judah. The remaining northern tribes were known collectively as Ephraim or Israel until their fall to the Assyrians, when they disappeared into the nations of the world forever. Paul identifies as a natural Jew here as proof that God has not completely rejected all blood Jews.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

     One clear evidence that God has not disallowed the Israelites from salvation is the believing Jewish remnant, or election according to grace, found in the churches of Christ (Rom 11:5). While they were soon outnumbered by the floods of Gentiles, there were many Jews who did follow Christ. The people of the Law are no longer God’s chosen (see Rom 11:15; Col 3:11; Mat 21:43; Heb 8:13), but He has not excluded that race from salvation. Earlier the Apostle showed that the everlasting promises of God to Abraham’s seed according to the flesh (i.e. Gen 17:7-8; Jer 31:35-37; Is 49:14-16; 1Sam 12:22) have not fallen void, but have fallen upon his seed according to faith (see note for Rom 9:6). This truth was hidden in many Old Testament prophecies (see Is 59:19-21; Jer 31:31-34; Dan 7:18).  

     Elijah thought he was the only man left in Israel who still served the Lord, but God knew that there were 7,000 who were still faithful to Him. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant (v5). For among the multitudes of hypocrites and ignorants, a holy seed remained, a firstfruit still righteous before the Lord (Luke 1:5-6). The Jewish identity of that remnant has disappeared into the vast numbers of the New Covenant people of God and their blood is now mixed with Gentile blood. God’s olive tree no longer has just Jewish branches, but is made up of many nations and peoples; all are one in Christ.

     Surprisingly, Israel after the flesh still exists and has recently gained political control over the land of Palestine. Many Christians take that fact alone to mean that God has miraculously preserved them for the sake of blessing them. Adam Clarke writes, “[The Jews] being preserved as a distinct people is certainly a strong collateral proof that they shall once more be brought into the Church of God: and their conversion to Christianity will be an incontestable proof of the truth of Divine revelation; and doubtless will become the means of converting multitudes of deists, who will see the prophecies of God, which had been delivered so long before, so strikingly fulfilled in this great event…the several Jews who have now embraced Christianity, are pledges that God will, in process of time, admit the whole Jewish nation into his favor again.”

     What? The Jews have been the off-scouring of the earth ever since the time of Christ. More than any other race, they have been discriminated, despised and killed in all the nations of the world whithersoever they are found. And why? Because they continue to forsake God and reject the Messiah that He sent to them. Consequently, their unending story for the last 2000 years is marked by hatred and death. No, God has not preserved the Jews to bless them, but to make them an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the nations whither the Lord shall lead thee (Deut 28:37). For just as the Lord was prepared to rejoice over Israel to do her good, He is now rejoicing over her to destroy and bring to nought (Deut 28:63). Again, it is because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God…Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee…And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever (Deut 28:45-46).

     So Clarke’s “collateral proof” must be rejected on authority of Scripture. Furthermore, where does the New Testament so much as hint that, a) the Jews will convert en masse to Christianity, b) they will be the means of converting multitudes of unbelievers and, c) the world will suddenly believe the Bible to be true when they see its prophecies being fulfilled in the Jews? These ideas are simply not found therein. In fact, Jesus said the Jews of His day wouldn’t believe even if someone they knew were to rise from the dead and preach to them (Luke 16:30-31). 

     Since the time of Christ, the Jews’ brightest moment (in the physical sense) has come in the last century, when after the horrible Nazi Holocaust several influential nations repatriated thousands of Jews to their homeland and formed for them the state of Israel. Yet even there they have been constantly terrorized, attacked and bombed. They continue to openly reject Jesus Christ and most do not even believe in the God of their Old Testament. A full one-half of Jews in Israel identify as “secular,” and Christian missionaries there have found the Muslims to be more amenable to the Gospel than the Jews.

     Jews according to the flesh continue to be a sign for all the world to know what happens when a nation rejects Him. The Lord told Solomon, But if ye turn away, and forsake My statutes…then will I cast (you) out of My sight, and will make (you )to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God…and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath He brought all this evil upon them (2Chr 7:18-22).

     Years later, the prophet Jeremiah recounted the same curse when he prophesied of the northern tribes:  And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers (Jer 24:9-10). The natural Jews living in Israel today are not God’s chosen people. The children of the promise are Abraham’s seed according to faith in Christ.

5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

      The Godly remnant of Jews that began the New Covenant church were quickly dwarfed by Gentile converts, but the level of commitment and holiness in that lump was of the purest grade (v16). The Apostles, evangelists, deacons and elders from among the Jews were outstanding men of God in the early stage of the Christian church. This elect group found grace in the eyes of the Lord and were saved, but the rest were blinded.

     According to the election of Grace. The Apostle extends his crucial point that God chose Jacob before he had done good or bad (Rom 9:11), saying that God also chose the Jewish remnant apart from works. As we remarked in that place, the infinite God is outside of time, so He can choose in perfect wisdom. He doesn’t predict an event and then manipulate things to be sure that it turns out according to the prophecy. Rather, He knows everything – past, present and future. And that’s why everything He says will perfectly come to pass.

     “Not of works but by grace.” The context is God choosing the Jewish remnant, who were doing the works of the Law. But God did not choose them because they were doing the works of the Law. He chose them by grace, for the righteousness of faith unto salvation (Rom 3:22; 4:13; 10:6) cannot come by the works of the Law (Gal 2:16). It is graced to those who believe in Christ (Rom 4:4; 5:2; 10:9). God no longer asks Man to do the works of the Law. This juxtaposition of New Testament Grace with Old Testament Works is a constant theme in the book of Romans, for Israel after the flesh was still seeking to receive the promises by doing the works of the Law. Nevertheless, God had reserved for Himself a Godly remnant in Israel and these obtained the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:15).

     The election (ekloge) refers to the saved, all those who call upon Him in faith (Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; 2Pet 1:10; Mat 24:31; Rom 9:11). In the New Covenant, or Age of Grace, a person becomes part of the election when he confesses Christ (Tit 1:2; 1Pet 1:2; Luke 18:7; Luke 7:50; Mat 15:28). And, he that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37). Calvinists have intemperately defined this election of grace to be a one-sided decision by God to save certain ones, yet the verses we have listed show that the elect have reciprocated that decision and are diligently working to confirm it. The Lord is rich unto all that call upon Him (Rom 10:12; 2Th 1:11).

     Notice the verb tenses: “Israel continues to seek for something the election have already obtained” (see Rom 9:31). Here, perhaps, the election refers only to the Jews who then believed the truth of the Gospel, for that is the subject of these verses. According to chapter 9 however, the full election of Grace are the called of both Jews and Gentiles by faith (v11-24).

     The proponents of Dispensationalism and Pre-millennialism attempt to place the bulk of this chapter in a future Jewish Age. To them, the election refers to a future Jewish “remnant,” although how it might be called a remnant is doubtful. The Jewish religion as formulated by the Mosaic Law ceased to be observed centuries ago. It may exist in name today, but most of the Old Testament laws, rituals and ceremonies are unattended. Paul’s contention throughout this book is that Judaism is not an alternate way to God for it lacks the power to forgive sins. Why then would God chose to re-instate the Jews and the Law?!? The foolish Galatians were bewitched by the same false doctrine (Gal 3:1-3). The guileless reader cannot fail to recognize that Paul’s prominent purpose is to persuade his fellow countrymen to break entirely with the Law just as he had done (Php 3:5-8). Far from offering them hope that God would re-recognize the Israelite nation someday, he prays that they will be provoked to jealousy as they see God blessing the Gentiles and request to be grafted back into the olive tree with them (v31).

8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

     Beginning with the twelve children of Jacob, the Jewish people have been a notoriously stiff-necked and rebellious population (Deut 9:6-7), ever given to selfishness, materialism and the rejection of Truth. God often reminded the Prophets of that reputation. His words upon commissioning Ezekiel are a typical example: Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted (Eze 2:2-4).

     The Jews wickedly provoked God in the wilderness (Heb 3:8-10), demanded of Him a king instead of a prophet (1Sam 8:6-22) and constantly fell to worshiping the gods of the land (Jer 13:9-10). Their worst iniquity however, came at the end, when they rejected their Messiah, the Prince of peace and Hope of the Ages. Just before they stoned him to death, Stephen recounted their shocking history of rebellions: Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: who have received the Law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth (Acts 7:51-54). Matthew chapter 23 documents the appalling rebellion and obstinacy of that generation of vipers, the Jewish people according to the flesh.

     Eyes that they should see not. Jesus quoted this same verse to the Jews of His day (Mat 13:14; John 12:40) and Paul famously spoke it to the Roman Jews shortly before his death (Acts 28:26-28). While the main passage is drawn from Isaiah 6:9-10, there is a fitting phrase taken from Isaiah 29:10, For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes (see also Is 44:18). In their deepest heart, I believe the Jews knew the truth, but they refused to allow that kernel of knowledge to develop unto genuine faith (see my note for John 7:5 and Mat 11:6).

     We marvel at the self-willed waywardness of ancient Israel, but the age of the Gentiles has proven that the new people are often of the same mind. Many, many people are offended by Christ and His message. They just refuse to accept what their eyes, ears and minds are saying. They don’t want to hear it and don’t want to know about it. Why? Because Self doesn’t want them to take the next step of faith, which is to acknowledge the truth and act upon it in submission and obedience.

9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

     This quote comes from the Septuagint version of Psalms 69:22-23, where the Greek word for stumblingblock is skandalon, which is often translated offence (Ps 119:165; Mat 13:21; Gal 5:11; Luke 7:23). Psalm 69 is a moving prophetic cry of the Messiah unto God which contains several striking predictions of the Jew’s rejection of Jesus:

     Let their table be made a snare. David used the word table as a euphemism for the contentment and stability of normal life (see Ps 23:5; 78:19; 128:3). The Jews professed to have a place in the table of the Lord (Mal 1:12), but they could not see beyond their customs and rituals. They became for them a snare and a trap, a stumblingblock to saving faith in Christ. This is a tremendous problem in the churches of Christ today. The comforts of life and the pursuits of pleasure and materialism have become a huge snare to Christians.  

     Let them bow down their back alway. This follows the Septuagint version of Ps 69:23, while the Masoretic text of our English Old Testaments reads, “make their loins continually to shake.” Both phrases seem to allude to Moses’ final words to the children of Israel, that their stubbornness would eventually lead them to bow their backs unto slavery, captivity (Deut 28:41-44) and constant, pitiable fear for their very lives (Deut 28:65-67). The generation of Jews are destined to suffering and discrimination as long as they continue to reject the Truth (see note for Mat 24:34). 

     The wicked Jews who killed the Christ (1Thes 2:15; Acts 7:52) actually requested that His innocent blood be attributed to them and their children! (Mat 27:24-25). Such inexcusable hardness of heart and rejoicing in iniquity the world has never seen, nor will it ever be equaled. And while God will not punish the children for the sins of their fathers, the words of those Jewish murderers have rang eerily true to the historical reaction of general Jewdom to the message of the Gospel even down to this very day.

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

     The lamentable offenses of the Israelite people ended with God dispossessing them as His chosen ones in favor of the new Israel of God, made up of Jews and Gentiles according to the faith of Abraham instead of the blood of Abraham. Yet, the stumbling of the Jews became an occasion for rejoicing, for through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles. And in a strange way the Jewish people benefit too, for when they see God showing favor and goodness to the Gentiles, will they not return unto God? See Moses’ prophecy (Rom 10:19; Deut 32:21).

     The Jews’ fall has resulted in spiritual riches (ploutos) coming to others (Paul liked this word; see Rom 9:23; Eph 1:7; Php 4:19; Col 1:27; Heb 11:26). The Apostle seems to be dampening the blow to Jewish pride and at the same time giving a smiling invitation: “Return to God! How blessed would be your fulness (pleroma, to fill up, fulfill, full). Paul balances noting their recent diminishing in God’s olive tree, with a hope for their imminent fulness therein (also Rom 11:25). For the last 2000 years however, the natural Jews have not shown much jealousy over the Gentiles being accepted by God! Rather than softening their stance on Jesus Christ, the vast majority of Jews have stiffened themselves even more against Him. This is a hopeful expression and not a subtle prophecy, for Paul follows up by saying, if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them (v14).

     Far from distaining the Jewish race for their contumacy, Paul hoped for their salvation with the Gentiles. How beautiful that would be! The New Testament Scriptures are silent regarding the Jewish nation turning to Christ, but that does not deter the Pre-millennialists and Dispensationalists, who think God will re-instate natural Israel as His chosen people with new blessings and favor (see note v2). They are able to offer only a few verses with dubious intimations and suggestions (their favorites are Mat 23:39; Acts 1:6-7; Rom 11:25-26; Rev 11:1). Not one of those verses offer a different hope for Israel than that which Christ is offering to the Gentiles. Accept Christ as Savior and Sovereign, that is the only way to God (1Cor 3:11; 1Tim 2:5).

     Certainly there are Jews who daily hear and live by the Truth of the Gospel, and these do add fulness to the Church of Jesus Christ, but that the Jews in general will accept Jesus the Nazarene as their Messiah is neither prophesied nor promised. Jesus would not even touch the disciples’ direct question to that effect (Acts 1:6-7).

     I magnify my office. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; Gal 2:8; Eph 3:8; 2Tim 1:11), yet if he could provoke to jealousy some of his own countrymen by preaching to the Gentiles, he would! And then receive them with the joy of one who sees his son alive again from dead (see Luke 15:24). The words emulation (v14) and jealousy (v11) are translated from the same Greek word (parazeloo). The thought is based on Moses’ prophecy in Deut 32:21, which was also cited in Rom 10:19.

     We are once again deeply impressed with the dexterity and tact of the Apostle Paul in presenting Christ to his countrymen (see note on Romans 7:9). He couples strong words and tough truth with deep entreaties and heart-felt appeals. He emphasizing their advantages as highly privileged people with an inside track to God on account of their many experiences in God’s great mercy and love, while yet showing that their unbelief and rejection of truth would result in being cast off if they did not repent.

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

      The firstfruit and root refer to the Jewish patriarchs and especially to Abraham, the father of those of Faith. If these be holy, then the branches and lump should be holy also. Some branches though, did not bear good fruit and these were purged from the tree and cast into the fire (John 15:1-6). The holy firstfruit had been contaminated by a little leaven which had leavened the whole lump (1Cor 5:6-7; Gal 5:9). The words firstfruit and root are also symbols for Jesus Christ (1Cor 15:20; Rev 5:5), who is the most famous of all of Abraham’s sons (Gal 3:16). Given the context however, I believe that here those terms refer to the Godly patriarchs (see Rom 16:5; Rev 14:4). 

     Tree grafting makes a beautiful analogy of the Kingdom of Christ, for it remarkably demonstrates the origins and makeup of the New Covenant. God didn’t cut down the Jewish olive tree and plant a new Gentile tree, nor did He just ignore the unfruitful Jewish tree and cultivate a Gentile tree. Instead, He worked in a marvelous way with the Jewish tree so that it would accept and nourish Gentile branches! The olive tree represents the true people of God, which are now found in Jesus Christ’s Covenant of Peace (Eze 34:23-26). Even today the secular world recognizes the olive branch as a symbol of peace. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of Israel as a green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit, but on account of her evil ways, the Planter had caused her branches to be broken off (Jer 11:16-17).

     The two key points in this analogy is that God has only one tree and by nature it is Jewish. This is evident and consistent throughout this passage. The Jews are the natural branches and the Gentiles branches are taken from a wild olive tree. And that is corroborated by the broad teaching of the New Testament, which describes the New Covenant people in Old Testament terms (compare 1Pet 2:9 to Ex 19:6) and identifies the children of Abraham spiritually instead of genetically (Gal 3:7). The true Jew is determined inwardly (Rom 2:29), allowing the Gentiles to be part of the true circumcision instead of Israel after the flesh (Php 3:3; Col 2:11), which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9; 3:9). The Gentile with faith in Christ is a child of Abraham and so a Jew; not by blood but by adoption, by being graffed in.

     The Scriptures are emphatic concerning the above point, that the true people of God in the New Covenant are Jews. They are no less vigorous in teaching that God has only one tree, or people (Heb 8:10). I am the vine, ye are the branches (John 15:5). There is one fold, and one Shepherd (John 10:16). He has broken down that wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile forever (Eph 2:14). They are one stick in His hand (Eze 37:16-28), one body (Eph 4:4) of God’s building (1Cor 3:9), an holy temple (Eph 2:21), and a spiritual house (1Pet 2:5). There is now no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Rom 10:12). The Jews and Gentiles together partake of the Root and fatness of the olive tree.

     How can any think that God will undo these affirmations? For the teaching of the Millennialists is greatly opposed by these facts. No, God has two programs, they say, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. God paused His program for the Jews (because they rejected the Messiah) and right now is developing His program for the Gentiles. But at some point, He will close that program and re-take the Jews, who will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and re-instate the Judaic Covenant complete with blood sacrifices and ritual ceremonies! The Apostle Paul demolishes that idea in these chapters, which show just one tree with Jewish and Gentile branches intermingled. God, the keeper of this olive tree, works with all branches so that they might bring forth much fruit (Mat 7:17-19). Some branches will not produce and must be cut off and burned. Other branches are graffed in wild, to partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree (the patriarchs of promise in v16). The wild branches have become one with the natural branches. Together they receive the same blessings that were given to Abraham. See verse 24.

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

     The Apostle is speaking here to the Gentiles (see v13). “Do not become arrogant and full of pride (1Cor 10:12) on account of being accepted into the olive tree of the Lord! Do not think yourselves better than the Jewish branches just because God has broken them off and grafted you in (compare Deut 9:4-6). Do not forget that you are just the branch and owe your existence to the root which bears you. Be not highminded, but fear. If God cut off many Jewish branches for refusing His Son, He will not hesitate to cut off any Gentile branches that allow an evil heart of unbelief to take them away from the living God (Heb 3:12).”

     The erroneous ideas of Calvinism are confounded by this picture. Jesus said, Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2). Israel after the flesh was a branch in God, but made a decision to reject Him. And so He has also rejected her. This reciprocal rejection is strikingly illustrated by God rejecting once-chosen Saul after Saul had rejected Him (see 1Sam 15:26). The prophet described Israel as a beautiful vineyard which God had chosen, fenced and planted with the choicest vine. He spared no expense to give that vineyard every benefit, but it produced only wild grapes. Finally, God left the vineyard and it fell into ruin, briers and thorns (Is 5:1-7). But a good and Godly remnant rose up to take its place.

     The natural and wild branches of this olive tree make an analogy that is in many ways similar to the analogy of natural and adopted children (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5). Some in the Kingdom are Abraham’s blood children and others by adoption, being counted children according to Faith (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7). A similar analogy is seen in Rev 7, where the twelve tribes of Israel make a symbolic representation of the one olive tree of God. That passage also warns of broken branches, for the tribe of Dan is missing, left out of the final chosen for salvation.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

     God’s mercy is counter-balanced by His righteousness – He cannot overlook sin. He shows goodness to those who are of meek and contrite heart (Ps 51:17), but severity to the proud and unrepentant (Pro 16:5). This truth was published at length in Rom 9:12-20. If the Gentile branches continue in doing good, they shall continue in His goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

     Moreover, if the Jewish branches throw off their unbelief and accept the Gospel, God will graft them back into their own olive tree. There is no bitterness in God, neither will He keep His anger forever (Ps 103:9). The olive tree, Christ’s present Kingdom of Peace on the earth, is Jewish by nature – the Gentiles have been granted place, have been grafted in. They can now say with Abraham, Now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land (Gen 26:20-24). And that picture is historically accurate, for God’s olive tree with its Jewish branches existed before Christ. The tree will continue unto the end of the Age, with Jew and Gentile branches intermingled.

     This birth of Christianity from the Jewish religion is illustrated in Revelation 12, which describes a sun-clothed woman (Israel) giving birth to a Manchild (Christ) who was to rule all nations. The Child was caught up to the throne of God and the woman was forced to flee into the wilderness, where the earth helped her survive (the Jews survive in all parts of the globe even to the present day). The Dragon was especially wroth with the remnant of the woman’s seed (the Church), and went to make war with them.

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

     The Apostle has described a broad blindness of natural Israel to the Gospel (Rom 11:7-10). Only a remnant believed on Christ and entered into the election of Grace (Rom 11:1-5). This spiritual blindness in part which is upon Israel will continue until a particular event happens: the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Contentions swirl over the meaning of this final key phrase. Dispensationalists think the Apostle is predicting a spiritual revival among the Jews at the end of the Age. While one could infer that idea from this verse, he certainly does not say that. If anything, Paul expected the opposite, that the Jews would not repent and believe. He hopes, if by any means I…might save some of them (Rom 11:14). Inference makes thin prophecy soup, but that is all the Dispensationalists have here.

     Let’s stop and study this phrase using that good, three-part method which undergirds sincere reading of the Bible. 1) Context – begin by absorbing the general intent of the passage. 2) Definition – study the meanings of words and phrases as they are used elsewhere in the Scriptures. 3) Synthesis – read the passage with the rest of the Scriptures to rightly arrive at the truth (1Cor 2:13).

     The context is Lord working with His olive tree, cutting off dead branches and grafting others in. During the early years of Christianity, the Apostle says that blindness in part (meros) is happened to Israel. Not a temporary, time-related blindness, but a partial blindness that has fallen upon a particular portion of Israel (see meros  in Mat 24:51; John 19:23; 1Cor 11:18); namely, the wicked generation of Jews who killed the Lord and persecuted the Apostles. This is natural Israel, or Israel after the flesh, which will remain blinded until the fulness (pleroma) of the Gentiles be come in. What is that and when does it come in?

     In the Greek Scriptures, the noun pleroma and its verb pleroo mean “full, to fill up, to fulfill.” As in, The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof (1Cor 10:26). And, when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son (Gal 4:4; see also Mat 9:16; John 1:16; Eph 3:19). The candid idea then, is that a part of Israel will remain blinded until the Gentiles have filled their share in the Kingdom. The NIV translates it: “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” This harmonizes with Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 21:24, And they (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (pleroo).

     The times of the Gentiles is another term for the New Covenant era, or the Age of Grace, which will be fulfilled when Christ returns in the clouds of the heavens. At that time, the fulness of the Gentiles will have come in. In another place Paul says, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth (Eph 1:10).

     The Revelation assigns to the Gentile Age a symbolic duration of 3-1/2 times, which equals 42 months or 1260 days. This half-seven ends when the mystery of God is finished – the Beast and all things wicked are thrown into the eternal Lake of Fire (see note on Rev 11:3). During this time, the Gentiles will tread upon Jerusalem for 42 months (Rev 11:2) and the woman (Israel) will be nourished in the wilderness for 1260 days or 3-1/2 times (Rev 12:6, 14). These equivalent times show that Israel after the flesh will remain in blindness until the close of the Gentile Age, when Christ returns and judges the world. And that’s why Paul does not say the Jews will suddenly become unblinded, but that they will remain blinded until “the fulness of the Gentiles is come” or, “the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled.” 

     Dispensationalists think to fix this discrepancy in their eschatology by adding 1007 years of time after the Second Coming of Christ – even though the Scriptures always place His coming at the end of the world. This allows them to push the so-called unfulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament into that future era, when (they say) Israel will become the head of all nations and a tremendous Jewish revival will occur. The Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem and the entire Jewish nation will believe upon Christ. But at the end of the 1000 years, rampant, wholesale apostasy will sweep the whole world and require Christ to come again and destroy the world once and for all. 

     This is why many Christians today are following with rapt attention all news concerning the state of Israel, for they are sure that God will at any moment begin to take up His covenant with them once again. Of course, they say this will all happen AFTER the Gentile Age, which is to say, after the entire Church has been raptured from the earth. So watching the state of Israel now doesn’t makes much sense and certainly not to gauge the closeness of the Lord’s coming. For the Scriptures are clear that the rapture will come when men are LEAST expecting it (Mat 24:44). Nor will there be any special signs immediately preceding it (Mat 24:6-8; 1Thes 5:3; Luke 17:26-30).

     The belief that the Jews will accept Christ in great numbers at some point in history is plagued by this gigantic fact: there is NO doctrine for it ANYWHERE in the New Testament Scriptures. Only by inference might one extract that idea from this passage. Let’s focus on what Paul actually said. 1) He didn’t say the Jews would return to being God’s people again; he does say that God is ABLE to graft them back in, and he URGES them to submit themselves to Him for that purpose (v23). 2) He didn’t say the Jews’ eyes would be opened to believe upon Christ; he does say they will remain blinded until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.

     The consistent teaching of New Testament is that Israel according to the flesh will not accept the Gospel until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled at the end of the world. Jesus especially prophesied directly the fall of Jerusalem and the Jews, but never so much as hinted that national Israel would return to God’s favor. Instead, in dozens of parables and teachings, He ALWAYS presented the absolute end of the Jewish Covenant and nation (ej Mat 22:1-14; Mark 12:1-10; Luke 13:6-9). And then at His ascension, when the disciples asked Him if God was about to restore the Kingdom again to Israel, He pointedly neglected to answer them, saying, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1:6-7). Which leaves the door open to a third possibility, that the Jews WILL be involved in end-time events, but in a diabolical, aid-to-wickedness role. While I do not subscribe to this belief, the arguments for it are rather interesting.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

     At the close of this three chapter treatise relating Israel’s terrible record of rejecting God, does the Apostle suddenly save all those Jews he has shown were cut off? Of course not. And so all Israel shall be saved, means that all true Israel – the olive tree of elect Jews under both covenants along with the grafted-in Gentiles shall be finally gathered together into the eternal Kingdom of the Father (Mat 24:31). All Israel is the correct term to conclude the Apostle’s case that the now true Israel is made up of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. Excluded are the faithless Jews that rejected the Prophets, excluded are the scribes and Pharisees who condemned their Messiah to death, excluded are all who do not confess the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 10:9-10). For a remnant according to the election of grace in Israel were indeed saved (Rom 11:5) with the Gentiles (Rom 11:11). God’s promises will not fail nor will His Word return unto Him void: All Israel will indeed be saved; but they are not all Israel which are of Israel (Rom 9:6).

     This book has unequivocally defined the genuine Jew to be a spiritual child of Abraham by faith (Gal 3:29). But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit (Rom 2:29). Jesus told the frightfully hardened Jews who saw His miracles and yet refused to believe: If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham…ye are of your father the devil (John 8:39-44). These truths continue in force today. If any Jew does believe on Christ, the vail of blindness is taken away to see clearly the truth of the Gospel (2Cor 3:16). See my note for 11:17.

     All Israel shall be saved. Some literalist prophecy “experts” actually claim that all Jews will in the end be saved, even Judas. No matter that twice in these chapters the Apostle has affirmed that only a remnant of Israel shall be saved (Rom 9:27; 11:5). Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:17-25, Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation…in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified. The books of the Prophets contain many solemn promises of future salvation for Israel (there are probably hundreds of them), but the New Testament is silent on that topic. The reason should be obvious. The Old Testament prophets were speaking of spiritual Israel, the true remnant that was saved and gathered into the early church, and has expanded to include all nations of the world just as this epistle describes. Those prophesies were not repeated in the New Testament because they have been fulfilled in the present Covenant of Grace offered to all men.

     There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer. Continuing to quote the prophet Isaiah, but from a different chapter, Paul describes how all the true seed of Israel is saved. The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob (Is 59:20). The Septuagint reads Deliverer instead of Redeemer. While both titles are appropriate, Christ as the Redeemer or Ransomer of His people is an especially emotive picture of Jesus coming to the Israelite nation. The Gaal (kinsman-redeemer, Ruth 4:14) arose in Zion to give His life a ransom for many (Mat 20:28; John 12:15). Christ was the chief corner stone placed in Sion, which is the spiritual city of the living God where the saints of the Kingdom now dwell in the peace of His salvation (Rom 9:33; Heb 12:22; 1Pet 2:6). These additional quotations further confirm the Apostle’s point – all the true Israel of God shall indeed be saved at His appearing and His Kingdom (2Tim 4:1), from the first to enter even unto the very last.

     For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. The quote continues in Isaiah 59:20-21, but the last phrase is drawn from an earlier chapter: Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away; and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away his sin (Is 27:9, LXX). The birth angel famously informed Joseph of this Messianic purpose: Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins (Mat 1:21). “His people” are the true spiritual Jews of all bloods, nations and races, for He hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth (Acts 17:26). The Son was manifested to take away our sins (1John 3:5). These verses again link the salvation of the Jews to the same cleansing fountain that has come to the Gentiles (Zec 13:1; Rev 21:6), the same new, better and everlasting Covenant (Heb 8:6-13; 12:24; 13:20) that Christ ratified with His own blood. Unto Him be glory…throughout all ages, world without end (Eph 3:21).

     Dispensationalists have entirely corrupted the intent of the Apostle’s quotation by changing the beginning phrase to read, “And then all Israel shall be saved.” They think that gives them license to briefly place the mind of the Apostle far into the future, in vision of another Jewish age that will be ushered in after the rapture of the Christian church. There is simply no basis for this grammatical transformation. And so, means, “Like this,” or “In this way.” The Apostle is showing how all Israel will be saved – by accepting the one and only Covenant that really can take away sins (Heb 10:1-13).

     The Dispensationalists’ attempt to place this Old Testament prophecy in the future, but notice that it has already been emphatically and thoroughly fulfilled already. The Deliverer has already come out of Sion and has peculiarly revealed Himself to Jacob. He has already delivered a miraculous, unimaginable way for Jacob to be justified. He has already opened My Covenant unto them and has sealed it by His own blood at Calvary. He has already taken away their sins by bearing their iniquities in His own body. Are we to ignore these extraordinary, perfect fulfillments and expect some new salvation in a future age?

     To repeat, the natural, consistent reading here is that all Israel refers to the true Israel of God (Gal 6:16). Any attempt to make it refer to Israel after the flesh will be extremely troubled, for under what construct can we possibly conceive that all natural Israel will be saved? The Bible teaches that all spiritual Israel shall truly be saved by the Deliverer taking away their sins. The underlined words are a literal word-for-word translation of this verse, except for my addition of that one word, “spiritual.” By this time the Apostle expects that we should have understood him well enough to supply that word ourselves. After all, he has said it in so many ways. Does he really expect us to subconsciously insert the alternate word? And so all natural Israel shall be saved?It is either one or the other. The facts are emphatically in favor of the former.

     Finally, in support of the above, I quote Adam Clarke’s similar observation: “The national privileges of the Jews are a frequent subject of consideration; and, as these national privileges were intended to point out spiritual advantages, the terms which express them are used frequently in both these senses with no change; and it requires an attentive mind, and a proper knowledge of the analogy of faith, to discern when and where they are to be restricted exclusively to one or the other meaning, as well as where the one is intended to shadow forth the other; and where it is used as expressing what they ought to be, according to the spirit and tenor of their original calling. Multitudes of interpreters of different sects and parties have strangely mistaken both epistles (Romans and Galatians), by not attending to these most necessary, and to the unprejudiced, most obvious, distinctions and principles. Expressions which point out national privileges have been used by them to point out those which were spiritual; and merely temporal advantages or disadvantages have been used in the sense of eternal blessings or miseries.  Hence, what has been spoken of the Jews in their national capacity has been applied to the Church of God in respect to its future destiny; and thus, out of the temporal election and reprobation of the Jews, the doctrine of the irrespective and eternal election of a small part of mankind, and the unconditional and eternal reprobation of the far greater part of the human race, has been formed” (Adam Clarke for Gal 6:18).

28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

     It is essential to identify the subject of these verses; the Jews that happen to have the blood of Abraham in their veins? Or the Jews that have the faith of Abraham in their hearts? The literal translation is: So concerning the Gospel, hated because of you; and concerning the election, beloved because of the fathers. There are no pronouns in the original, so we need to remember of whom he is speaking – not the Jews according to the flesh, but the remnant, the election out of natural Israel which accepted Christ and had their sins taken away. These were hated by their natural brothers on account of the Gospel, but beloved by God for following the faith of their fathers. They are not OUR enemies, but are enemies in the mind of natural Israel. As we saw earlier, only an elect group of Jews in the direct lineage of Jacob believed on Christ: Even so at this present time also there is (in natural Israel) a remnant according to the election of grace (Rom 11:5). These, the election from among the Jews, obtained the promises given to their fathers, and the rest were blinded (Rom 11:7).

      The holy remnant out of Israel was particularly hated by the natural Jews, who disowned them and persecuted them without mercy (1Thes 2:15; Acts 7:52), showing themselves to be enemies of the Gospel even during the time that Jesus walked the earth (Mat 23:34). Paul, along with the rest of the Apostles and many thousands of Christian Jews, were falsely accused, beaten and killed by that which is called the Circumcision (Eph 2:11).

     Some commentators have incorrectly inferred that the subject of these verses is Israel according to blood and end up advocating that all Jews are beloved of God simply because they are genetically in the line of Abraham. This idea is blatantly contrary to the Gospel and the teaching of the New Testament. Jesus Christ came to break down the middle wall between Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:14; Rom 10:12). In the New Covenant, we are all one blood, one building, one people built upon the foundation of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles (Eph 2:20). Those who teach that God holds a special place in His heart for blood Jews reveal themselves to be either willfully obstinate or woefully ignorant of the New Testament Scriptures, which testify and establish the valid parameters to being a child of Abraham (Gal 3:29).

     For the fathers’ sakes. God fulfilled His word to the prophets and patriarchs, and He will always keep His Word and Covenants. He does not change from time to time (Num 23:19; Heb 13:8); nor is there in Him any variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). Jesus Christ came to the Jewish nation and lived as a devout Jew under the Mosaic Law; He was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers (Rom 15:8). And God’s invitation to natural Israel has not been withdrawn. If she were to confess the Christ of the Covenant, surely He would accept them again into the olive tree. The Covenant that God made with Abraham has not been set aside, nor has it been amended; in fact, the inclusion of the Gentiles was newly fulfilled in Christ (see note for Gal 3:15). However, even as the prophets of old spoke of Israel as God’s enemy for forsaking Him (Is 63:10; Mal 3:7), so it is true today. How they have labored under tribulation and curse for not faithfully following the Lord! The strange work that the prophet Isaiah spoke of has taken place, for God has risen up in wrath against the unfaithful Jews who have continuously breached His covenants with them (Is 28:16-21).   

     Of course, the promises of the Covenant will not be awarded to those who fail to keep the conditions (Ex 19:5; Heb 8:6-13). If ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers (Deut 7:12). But natural Israel did not hearken. And so God has accepted the Gentiles as actual, true Jews of the New Covenant (Php 3:3). The calling of the Gentiles was precisely foretold in God’s promise to Abraham, In thy seed shall all the nations (Gentiles) of the earth be blessed (Gen 22:18; 26:4). If a covenant between men cannot be annulled or modified, then certainly God’s covenant cannot be set aside or amended (Gal 3:15).

     Many Christians today hold the blood Jews in special honor. A personal acquaintance, citing verse 29 with Genesis 12:2, chooses to buy from Jews at the local market so that God will not curse him! Again, the New Testament teaches that the followers of Christ are true Jews and all others are imposters (see Rev 3:9). Dispensationalists love passages like Jeremiah 31:35-37, but ignore passages like Ezekiel 16:53-55. In this epistle, the Apostle gives the key to understanding and synthesizing these apparently contrasting prophecies. 

     The idea of God’s immutability must be reconciled with the hundreds of occasions where He did “change His mind.” He told the Ninevites that He was going to destroy their city in 40 days, but repented of His plan when they humbled themselves in sackcloth and ashes. Indeed, the prophets were so familiar with this trait that Jonah cited it as the reason he fled from Nineveh instead of preaching there as God had told him to do: I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. God “changes His mind” because His goodness and mercy are deep and wonderful. If natural Israel were to repent, without doubt God would receive them. He calls them even as before; they have not been shut out of His mercy – God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew (Rom 11:2).

     Yet, one might ask, has not God radically changed by annulling the Jewish sacrifices, rituals, and Laws of the Old Testament? No! Paul has shown in this chapter that God has taken the Jews’ unfaithfulness as reason to expand the Covenant to a new and better Way. The literal requirements of the Old Covenant have now taken on spiritual forms, for Christ fulfilled those details of the Law and their true purpose is now being realized in the spiritual Covenant as opposed to the physical Covenant. Those types and shadows could only look forward in foreshadows of the present spiritual realities. The physical OT sacrifices for sin are now realized in the spirit, by grace through faith. The physical rituals and feasts which typify the NT truths of mercy, love, and worship, continue on but are expressed in spiritualties. The Law, sin, holiness; these remain as always. See my note for Mat 5:1.

     Likewise is the case of God’s covenants with Abraham and the Jews. The promises have come upon spiritual Israel, Abraham’s seed as determined by faith and not by blood (Gal 3:7-9; 3:14-18). For the people of the Jewish covenant are no longer the Jews by physical nature, but by the inner, spiritual nature that believing Gentiles might obtain as well (Rom 2:28-29; Rom 9:27). The blood Jews thought to themselves, “God must save us because He promised Abraham.” God answered them with a deep and unsearchable plan.

     The gifts…of God are without repentance. Some will think me a racist for saying that God has gifted the people groups of the world in different ways. Yet the proof is in the pudding! Without dispute, some of the world’s most intelligent people have been Jews (Einstein, Marx, Freud come to mind) and they continue to wield tremendous influence in world affairs (such as Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Google’s Page and Brin, moneymasters Soros and Bloomberg, supreme court justices Breyer and Kagan, etc). Nevertheless, they continue to be among the most liberal, anti-God people in the world. Many centuries ago, God said of the Jewish race, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiffnecked people (Deut 9:13; Ex 33:3). That refrain is repeated many times in the Bible (Neh 9:16-17; Mat 23:23-25; Acts 7:51; 1Thes 2:15), and to this very day the Jews are renowned for their general obstinacy and self-centeredness. Interestingly, these verses indicate that the Jews will continue as an identifiable race until the end of the world. See my note for verse 2.

30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

     For centuries the Gentiles were far from God, being strangers from the covenants of promise (Eph 2:12). Now they have obtained mercy due to the disobedience of the Jews (Rom 11:20) and are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Eph 2:19). Wonderfully, the grace that God has extended to the Gentiles is also extended to the Jews. The Scripture hath concluded all under sin (Gal 3:22); both the Jews and the Gentiles are caught in the bonds of disobedience (unbelief). Yet God shows the depths of His great mercy by offering forgiveness and grace to all.

     Through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. The friction between Christian Jews and Gentiles was a constant challenge for the Apostles in the early church, for differences in modes of religion, life, thought and conscience ran deep. Often the exhortation is to the Jews, but here Paul appeals to the Gentiles, “Be merciful and accept your Jewish brethren of faith. Boast not against them nor think yourself better than they (Rom 11:18); be not highminded, but fear – otherwise you too will be cut off” (Rom 11:20-22). One of the exhortations in this book is for Jews and Gentiles to receive ye one another (Rom 15:7).

     The word for unbelief in verses 30-32 (apeitheia) is different from the one used in verses 20-23 (apistia – antifaith).

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

     This testimony breaks forth as the Apostle closes his treatise on the new revelation that God had foreplanned to save the Gentiles and Jews together. This was a mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints (Col 1:26; Rom 16:25; Eph 3:9). Job and the Psalmist proclaimed the glories of God’s works also (Job 5:9; Ps 36:6), but never has the wisdom and goodness of God so abounded as during those peerless, eventful years when the Son of God mysteriously set up a spiritual kingdom on earth which shall never end! Who among the children of men understood that the Messiah must die as the atoning sacrifice for sins? Which of the prophets grasped that God would make the Gentiles true children of Abraham with the Jews? Or that the Mosaic covenant would be recast and amended to be a New Covenant for all tribes and kindreds of the world? That the power of Satan and sin would be broken by the very Creator of the Universe coming to dwell in flesh and blood?

     These and many more mysteries were withheld from the knowledge of Man, but not so entirely hidden that they cannot afterwards be seen in the Old Testament Scriptures (ie Col 1:27 with Mal 1:11). For after the Spirit revealed them to the Apostles and they in turn declared them to us, we marvel and rejoice in the surpassing wisdom and grace of God ordained from before the world began. The prophets had searched diligently to understand these mysteries the Holy Spirit was moving them to write, but they were not revealed until the fulness of time had come (1Pet 1:10-12; Gal 4:4).

     Certainly we have entered deep, unsearchable waters with the Apostle Paul in this epistle, and it is entirely appropriate to humble ourselves and acknowledge the limitless wisdom and boundless power of God. Job and his friends waxed profound as they spoke at great length of God and wisdom, but when He finally spoke, Job confessed: I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6). Like the prophets of old, we have enquired diligently concerning the mystery of this grace and endeavored with all to search out His ways, but the depths of His wisdom cannot be sounded by the mind of mortal man! God told Isaiah, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts (Is 55:7-11). He moves at the counsel of His own will (Jer 23:18; Is 40:13-14) and His works are beautiful and benevolent beyond comprehension! With the design of the New Covenant, He surprises us with wonders and goodness beyond comprehension and even now He is waiting and wanting to pour out from the windows of heaven a blessing so big that there is not room to receive it (Mal 3:10). Constant hearing tends to dim the spiritual marvels that God has designed for this Age of Grace.

     It is unfortunate that some commentators use these verses as a salve to cover the inconsistencies of their doctrines and theological declarations. For whenever one points out a stark Bible contradiction in the erroneous doctrines of “unconditional election” and “irresistible grace,” they are quick to say, “Oh, that just goes to show you cannot understand God and His ways.” Yet, Paul’s proclamation springs from the opposite amazement. He marvels at the infinite knowledge and good will of God revealed. He is not saying that God’s judgments don’t make sense, or that they do not follow the normal rules of logic, but that they are marvelous and wonderful beyond our best dreams. Beginning with the unthinkable design of His Son dying in order to ransom us from Satan, the depth of His riches and wisdom surpass our imagination.

     Furthermore if, “you cannot understand God” is a valid argument, then we will never be able to certainly know the Truth and consequently never be able to ensure that we are not deceived. I appeal to the character of God herein proclaimed; if He truly is all-wise and all-good as the Bible affirms, then He will not act or speak otherwise. Yet the constructs of Calvin’s doctrine describe a God who loves only the elect and forces the elect to accept Him. Will God’s thoughts and judgments actually contradict the very characteristics of Himself that He has placed in His word? May it never be. How disingenuous to invoke these verses to cover straight-up fallacies/contradictions in one’s theology.

     God has carefully created Mankind with the mental and spiritual qualities necessary to seek Him and to know Him. He has instilled in every mind those necessary first truths of logic and reason so that all have equal access to salvation. To claim that God would turn around and act contrarily to these very rules is self-defeating and absurd. Any doctrine or teaching that presents God in an un-wise or un-good manner is also un-mistakably wrong!      

     Upon this verse the Calvinist commentator Gill writes: “[No man was] present, when the book of life was made, when the names of God’s elect were put into it, and others left out…From the whole it appears, that predestination is not according to men’s works, or the foresight of them; for then these things would be plain and easy, they would not be unsearchable and past finding out; there would not be an unfathomable depth in them; the mind and counsels of God, and the springs of them, would be obvious; but it is according to his secret, sovereign, and unchangeable will.” Amazing. Gill would have us know that the reason the Calvinist idea of predestination appears so contrary to reason and Scripture is because God’s mind doesn’t follow the same logical pattern as ours; for while one would think that “men’s works” would enter into the doctrine of predestination, that would be too “plain and easy” for God’s wisdom. In other words, predestination must necessarily be illogical, otherwise we would understand God. How far that runs from the Apostle’s point and common sense itself!

     Following Gill’s example, the sometimes-Calvinist Adam Clarke writes, “The apostle considers the designs of God inscrutable, and his mode of governing the world incomprehensible.  His designs, schemes, and ends are all infinite, and consequently unfathomable. It is impossible to account for the dispensations either of his justice or mercy.” What? I am mystified. Why then did he spend a large portion of his life writing in explanation of God’s “mode of governing the world” and His acts of “justice and mercy” to Gentiles and Jews through the dispensations of history? Certainly we cannot sound the depths of His wisdom, justice, love and mercy, but to say they are incomprehensible is a step too far. I appreciate that Clarke goes on to write, “This epistle has been thought by some to afford proofs that God, by an eternal decree, had predestinated to eternal perdition millions of millions of human souls before they had any existence, except in his own purpose, and for no other reason but his sovereign pleasure!  But such a decree can be no more found in this book, than such a disposition in the mind of Him who is the perfection, as he is the model, of wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth.  May God save the reader from profaning his name, by suppositions at once so monstrous and absurd!” (see Clarke, v36).

35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

     “Who has given to Me that I must repay him?” God asked in Job 41:11. Nobody could respond. There is no man or being that has performed some work or contributed some grace such that God would say, “I owe you for that one” (see Rom 4:4). God is not obligated either to the Jew or the Gentile – they are all indebted to Him. Consequently, He is free to do as He wishes and work according to His own counsel and will. Of course, He always thinks and acts according to His perfectly good character. God is entirely just and upright in rejecting the covenant-breaking Jews and accepting the Gentiles. He is free to extend the grace of salvation to all, and whosoever will accept it shall be saved. He moves at the mind and counsel of His own perfect will. That topic was particularly addressed in chapters 8-9.

     God is the originator, sustainer and finisher of all things. In Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Apart from Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). That, I believe, is the Apostle’s intent in this final verse (also 1Cor 8:6). Past, present and future, all things are God’s, to do with according to His good pleasure (Php 2:13). The Lord hath made all things for Himself (Pro 16:4).

     Amen. This ends Paul’s extensively investigated God’s plan for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles in one holy people. The Apostle has powerfully shown the election of the Gentiles from before the foundation of the world, giving them now equal standing before God through the work of Christ. In fact, they are become children of Abraham along with blood Jews on account of faith in Jesus Christ. All have sinned, all are guilty. And since only through the Son of God can forgiveness and justification be found, the Jews cannot rest on God’s promises to them through Moses, nor can the Gentiles think any longer that God will overlook their failures on account of ignorance (Acts 17:30). The remaining chapters of Romans exhort and encourage this joined group to serve the Lord with all due fervor and godliness.

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

     This chapter begins much like the previous one – Paul sorrowing for his kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom 9:1-3) and praying to God for their salvation. Israel was misguidedly stumbling about in deep spiritual ignorance, all the while thinking themselves to be righteous and uniquely chosen by God. Paul himself was one of these men so he certainly knew what he was talking about. Even the zealous, sincere-hearted in Judaism had generally devolved into robotic observance of rites, rules and ceremonies that had been somehow become more important than seeking the God who gave them. They thought (ignorantly) that by keeping the Law, they could establish their own righteousness.  

     The Jews’ ignorance was entirely self-induced. They heard with the ears and saw with their eyes; they had the very key of knowledge in their hands and knew the Truth. But they closed their eyes and refused to see Christ. And their disobedient hearts became even more darkened (Eph 4:18). They had no cloak for their sin, because as Jesus had told them, Search the Scriptures…for they are they which testify of Me (John 5:39). It was right before their eyes. This stiff-necked, deliberate ignorance continues to characterize the Jews today. The vast majority scoff openly at the idea of eternal salvation by faith in that most famous Jew of all time, Jesus Christ the Nazarene. That great stumblingstone (Rom 9:33) continues to be a major cause of spiritual falling even today.

     The Jews would not submit themselves unto the righteousness of God (v3). Essentially this term refers to the living Christ, who showed Himself to be the very righteousness of God (cf 2Cor 5:21). The Jews refused to confess Jesus (v9), meaning they would not submit themselves to His doctrine and rule. Twenty-five years later (roughly the date of Romans) many of them could still not accept that Jesus Christ was the end (telos) of the Law. He was the end goal or aim of it; the fulfillment and completion of it. Adam Clarke splendidly observes:

     It follows then, that the righteousness of the Law is actually achieved (or, fulfilled) by the people of the New Covenant; namely, who are walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh (Rom 8:4). The unbelieving Jews meanwhile, think to be righteous by doing the works of the Law instead of seeking that righteousness which is of Faith (Rom 9:30-32). As Paul said elsewhere, A man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16).

     Verse three is a primary text for the Calvinist claim that all Man’s righteousness is to God as filthy rags and that the man who tries to live righteously is simply establishing his own worthless righteousness instead of trusting in Christ’s righteousness, which is supposedly imputed to the elect (see note Heb 3:18). In their theology, Man cannot do any good work, so God does it for him. The honest reader will notice immediately however, that the topic here is the unbelieving Jews, not the sincere God-seeker. The Apostle is showing that Christ has ended the Law in favor of Faith in Him. He has fulfilled the Law (see Mat 5:17), has taken away the vail of the Old Testament (2Cor 3:14), has revealed that wonderful salvation which the prophets of old enquired and searched diligently to understand (1Pet 1:10).

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

     Moses brought the righteousness which is of the Law to Man, but Christ brought righteousness to every one that believeth on Him (v4). Doing the works of the Law is now meaningless to God, who has made His favor available by Faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Law demanded obedience to a rigid, elaborate system of worship such that it became his very life. The man who followed the Law would live; the one who disobeyed it would die (Deut 30:15-16). The mantra of the Law was: the just will live by doing it (Lev 18:5; Eze 20:13; Gal 3:12). And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord (Deut 6:25). This precept of keeping the Law in order to live was more than just a physical promise. For while the Law did not directly link salvation or eternal life to righteously keeping the Law (and correctly so), it is clear from the Psalms and Prophets that they did believe God rewarded the just in the next life. The Pharisees confessed the same and Jesus agreed with them. Nevertheless, the Law was a heavy yoke for Man to bear (Acts 15:10) which the Pharisees made even more burdensome by imposing even stricter details (Mat 23:4).

     The Prophets spoke of a new day in which the just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4; Gal 3:11) instead of doing the works of the Law. This is the righteousness of Faith, or the Gospel of the Kingdom, which calls for allegiance to Christ (Rom 6:23). Moses encouraged the people of God to receive the word of the Law because it was near, accessible and understandable (Deut 30:12), but the righteousness which is of Faith is even more available and understandable. Moreover, every mouth and heart can obtain it, whether Jew or Greek, bond or free. But they will never know unless they hear the Word, and that is the work of the preacher (v14-15). Israel refused the Gospel and a nation which did not know God has gained it (v18-21). This is a summary of the chapter.

     In a remarkable passage, Moses appealed to the children of Israel just before his death, imploring them to keep His commandments and statutes which are written in this Book of the Law…See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil…therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live…for this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us…neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us…but the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it (Deut 30:10-20).

     Here Paul appeals to his fellow Jews by using Moses’ own words to show that they apply even more perfectly in the new Age of Grace. For to ascend into heaven or descend into the deep in search of God and truth would be to ignore Christ and His Word; that is, it would be asking Him to come back down from heaven and teach us again. Or, as the unbelieving Jews did when Jesus walked the earth, ask Him to show them a sign from heaven when He had already performed many signs and wonders in their sight (Mark 8:11-12).

     Those who have found Christ have found the righteousness which is of faith. And His Word is very nigh – in our hands and hearts. We do not need to go search for it across the sea or wait, as the orthodox Jews are doing, for the Messiah to come again and teach us. The Apostle Paul, one of the most famous Jews of all time, preaches Christ and His Word of Faith as the fulfillment of Moses and his works of the Law. The Word is nigh thee. Man, however, is tempted to think the Truth must be found in some far-off land. See similar language in Psalms 139:7-8 and Proverbs 30:4.

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

     Moses told the children of Israel that God had brought the Word nigh and put it even in thy heart and in thy mouth. But the Apostle finds Moses’ words are more true in regards to the Word of Faith (v8), in which Man is saved by confessing with the mouth and believing with the heart. So the same two human elements are key in both Covenants.

     This is the beginning of the salvation process – confessing with the mouth (repentance) and believing in the heart that Jesus Christ died and rose again to deliver us from Satan and sin. This step can be seen acted out in Acts 16:30-33. The Apostle’s hope is that Israel would understand this near Word of Faith which many had so viciously rejected. Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men (1Thes 2:14-15).  

     Today, to confess usually means to verbally acknowledge a sin, but in the Scriptures it often means to personally accept a particular truth or belief. The same Greek word (homologeo) carries both meanings (study 1John 1:9; James 5:16; John 1:20; Luke 12:8). Confession is made with the mouth (v10), but it is much more than a simple verbal expression. Confession begins with a decision of the mind to accept the Truth and it must be active and ongoing. The heroes of Faith, for example, confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth – they lived upon that confession to their dying day (Heb 11:13). Paul encouraged Timothy to maintain the fight of faith and what he professed (homologeo) unto the end (1Tim 6:12). Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him (1John 4:15). To confess Christ is to submit to Christ (Rom 10:3).

     Man believeth unto righteousness. As with confession so with believing – it is not a one-time event in the past, but an ongoing action. A person who has believed and confessed Christ cannot live in sin and unrighteousness. They profess (homologeo)to know God; but in works they deny Him (Titus 1:16). Belief and confession must be accompanied by living demonstration or else they are worthless words. The devils also believe, and tremble (James 2:19). Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil (1John 3:7-8).

     Believe and confess. These are necessary actions for a person to be saved. Unfortunately, many evangelical groups run off with these two words in their simplest sense and leave the rest of the Bible behind. They organize evangelistic crusades and flash tent meetings in far-off cities to get people to “believe and confess,” and then return home with their counting ledgers filled with names of the newly saved. The Apostles never left the cities they went to evangelize without organizing churches to disciple those who believed and confessed. That’s because a single profession of belief in Christ is not enough to sustain the soul on that day when the secrets of men are revealed (Rom 2:16).

     In all practicality, the term believe (pisteuo) unto righteousness (dikaiosune) is equal to the righteousness (dikaiosune) which is of faith (pistis). The latter term accents the full-grown fruit the Gospel produces in the person, while the former is focused on the beginning, the germination of the Word in the heart. This is beautifully illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the Sower (Mat 13:1-23). The verb pisteuo and its nominal root pistis are visibly similar and loosely related, much like some English verb/noun pairs (“I walk when I take a walk”). However, the relation of faith with believe is not seen in the English translation (see note for Gal 2:15).

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

     Paul boldly cites the Prophets speaking about believing and confessing, but applies those operations in the New Covenant. The scribes and doctors of the Law, as well as Jews today, espouse different understandings of those prophecies. For instance, taking verses like Isaiah 60:5, they believed the Gentiles would be converted to Judaism, instead of God changing Judaism to accept the Gentiles. The truth was there to be seen in verses like Isaiah 42:6, which speaks of a Messiah for the Gentiles, but even the disciples of Christ did not originally understand those Old Testament prophecies.

     Verse 11 quotes Isaiah 28:16, which the Apostle cited earlier (Rom 9:33), while verse 13 quotes Joel 2:32. In both examples, salvation is offered to whosoever will, with no mention of lineage or genealogies. Such promises are especially beautiful to Gentile ears because for long years they were not a people of God (1Pet 2:10). Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely (Rev 22:17). Of course, do not think that you can call upon God to save you without sincere repentance and submitting to His rule. God will not be mocked. He told Israel, make many prayers, but I will not hear because your hands are full of blood (Is 1:15). 

     The Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the Word of Faith, which we preach (v8), is offered to all men. There is now no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Rom 1:16; Gal 3:28; Col 3:11), for there is no respect of persons with God (Rom 2:10-11). The Kingdom of New Covenant Israel is made up nations and kindreds from all peoples of the earth – all them that believe (Rom 3:22), all that call upon Him (v12).

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

     God has designed the foolishness of preaching as the primary method of evangelism (1Cor 1:21). He has entrusted to His people the Word of Faith in order to demonstrate the truth and power of the Gospel (1Cor 2:4). The earnest, honest preachers of righteousness must go forth rightly dividing the Word of Truth, for if man is to believe with the heart (Rom 10:10), then that is where the Word must be planted. Faith in Christ is based upon certain truths that cannot be visibly seen (His resurrection, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life after death, etc). The preacher’s commission is to inform men of these things in such fashion that they will believe and accept the Name of Christ.

     How beautiful to hear those glad tidings of the Gospel! The quote is from Isaiah 52:7, where the beautiful feet imply that these messengers came from afar, leaving home and loved ones for the sake of Christ and His Gospel. And how true that has been – no sea too formidable, no mountain range too high, no threat of death too fearsome to stop the flood of missionaries that have obeyed from the heart Jesus’ words to His disciples: Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15; Mat 28:19). Many of these dedicated men and women have been forgotten on earth, but how beautiful they will be remembered in heaven. Not just by Christ, but by the souls that are there on account of their effort and sacrifice (Mark 10:28-31). Can there be any greater heavenly reward than to meet a soul there that you helped to find Christ’s salvation?  

     The Gospel of peace. In its deepest meaning, the message of the Gospel is how to find peace with God. See John 14:27.

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

     Many will hear the Gospel message but not obey it. The Jews refused to believe and confess Christ in spite of His amazing miracles and signs. And many today also will not obey. The acts of God are so strong, but Self has taken their hearts captive and blinded their eyes (see John 12:37-40). Jesus sternly warned this wicked generation (Mat 12:45) that their state would be even worse.

     Hearing the Word carries a person’s mind to the horns of an important decision: believe or not believe. Believing leads to another decision: refuse the Truth, or by sincere confession, accept it. These are the first steps of faith that result in the beginning of the salvation process. From then on, we must daily walk in the Truth and persevere in it unto the end (3John 1:4; Mat 10:22). The true Faith that saves is hearing unto believing unto accepting unto doing and persevering (see note for Mat 14:31).

18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. 19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

      What about Israel after the flesh? Well, nobody had more opportunities to hear the Gospel than the Jews! Jesus dedicated His life to preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat 15:24). But they refused to hear Him. So He sent out seventy disciples throughout all the land with miraculous powers to heal and cast out demons, but neither would they listen to them. And even after He had risen from the dead they would not believe the report. It is appropriate then, that Paul quotes the Psalmist as if saying, “Of course they heard! The sound of the Gospel went out into all Israel, and the Word was sent into the far corners of the land.”

     Why then, did they not obey? Did they not understand (know) the message? The Apostle doesn’t directly answer that question here, but will do so in the next chapter (see Rom 11:7-10; Acts 13:46). The Gospels say quite simply that Israel refused to believe because their hearts and minds were blinded to the truth, which Paul also shows in Romans 9:18 (see notes for Mat 13:10-16).

     At the beginning of the Jewish religion, Moses foretold that Israel would fall into terrible apostasy, saying they would provoke God to jealousy by worshiping idols and committing wicked abominations (Deut 32:16), until finally He would abhor them and hide His face from them and see what their end would be (Deut 32:19-20). And the fact is that they provoked Him so much that He created a new people, which in turn provoked them to jealousy and anger (Deut 32:21-24). That is an amazing prophecy on several levels.

20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. 21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

      Israel had every reason to trust in the Lord of Hosts. Through the Prophets, God kept stretched out His hands in mercy to her, as a mother calls her child to come unto her. But like so many children, they were naughty, refused His call and even talked back, which is the meaning of the word gainsaying (see John 19:12; Acts 13:45; Titus 2:9). The Jews remain a remarkably disobedient and gainsaying people. The majority not only refuse Christ, they do not even believe that God exists. Driven mainly by egotism and arrogance, they continue to be contrary to all men (1Thes 2:15) and universally disliked. Remarkably, they are both the smartest race and the most morally depraved race, always at the forefront of wickedness and corruption.

     The Gentiles meanwhile, found a place in the Kingdom without having the Holy Scriptures, without works and without asking. This was not universally true, but generally so. Cornelius was a God-fearing man, as was the Roman centurion. The Gentile wisemen from the East came searching for Truth. However, the general reputation of the Gentiles was to live wickedly and worship many gods, idols and superstitions.

     The 65th chapter of Isaiah, which the Apostle quotes here, is a long, shocking recrimination of the rebellious Jewish nation. They provoked God by their idolatrous ways and angered Him by their iniquities to the point that He finally had enough. He will destroy them, but not all, and create a new, holy mountain with a new Jerusalem where righteousness and peace will dwell forever.

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

     Paul’s fervent affirmation, repeated in Romans 10:1, is given to dispel any suspicion of prejudice from the Jewish quarter, for this chapter cuts to the heart of Israelite pride. While the Gentiles were Paul’s main target of ministry (Rom 11:13), his constant yearning for the salvation of his countrymen cannot be denied. Indeed, his method of evangelism was to seek out first a Jewish synagogue upon entering a new village and begin preaching there. Some notable Jews were converted under the evangelism of Paul, but the general response of Judaism was to reject the Messiah of their own Scriptures.

     The next three chapters form an emotional plea to the Jewish people to find their place in the plan of God for salvation. He has already made a strong case for the newly established Covenant of Christ, but here the arguments coalesce into an earnest, final effort to persuade them to choose faith in Christ. He cites more than two dozen passages from their own Scriptures to solidify the message into a single clarion call for Jews to turn from their blindness and be saved. And in the process, he makes an impressive argument for God’s wisdom, mercy and righteousness in adopting the Gentiles into His family.

     The so-called doctrine of election is largely drawn from several verses in this chapter, yet the general theme in which they are found should not be ignored. The Apostle is not speaking about personal salvation, but about the world-changing events which ratified the coming of the New Covenant. In truth, he is breaking some hard news to his Jewish readers: “God has rejected you as His chosen people and has elected the Gentiles because you did not seek Him in righteousness.” And then he shows from the Scriptures that the Gentile inclusion was fore-ordained by God even before the world began.

     Paul’s virtual willingness to die in the place of his Jewish kinsmen parallels Moses’ remarkable intercession before God on behalf of the children of Israel (Ex 32:31-32). Yet, remember the Lord’s response, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book (Ex 32:33).

4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

     In the Old Testament, the Jews were blessed above all nations (Deut 7:6) and the Gentiles were excluded from the Covenant (Eph 2:12). They alone were favored by the adoption (Exod 4:22; Isa 1:2; Jer 31:9; Hos 11:1) and the glory, which refers to the supernatural, visible symbol of God that guided them in the wilderness and dwelt under the wings of the cherubim in the Holy of Holies (2Chr 7:1-2; Ex 40:34; Num 14:14; 1Sam 4:21). The Jews had received the covenants – first those to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then to Moses, David, etc. Furthermore, the Law of the Old Testament had been given to their keeping by special covenant with the tribe of Levi, who were also tasked with holy temple service  (Heb 9:1-6). Israel had been entrusted with the very oracles of God (Rom 3:2) and possessed the eternal promises given to the fathers (see Acts 3:13).

     Their greatest blessing however, was that the Messiah of God would be welcomed into their own lineage. The Seed, that long-promised descendant of Abraham (Gen 22:18), would come through the line of Judah (Gen 49:10) and be of David’s royal lineage (Is 9:6-7). And so it came to pass (Luke 1:32).

     Christ is over all, God blessed for ever. The false teachers who believe that, somehow, Jesus Christ is not God struggle mightily to explain away this simple, direct statement. See Col 1:15.

6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.

     In spite of her many blessings, Israel according to the flesh has fallen from God’s grace. The Jewish branches were broken off the Lord’s olive tree as Jesus had said: the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Mat 21:43). Have the great promises and prophecies upon Israel contained in the Word of God failed? No! For in the New Covenant, a child of Abraham (and so a true Jew) is identified by internal, spiritual qualities instead of physical genealogies. The real Jew and man of God is revealed inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart (Rom 2:28-29).

     God’s Word concerning Israel has not failed and the promises to Abraham have not been voided; they continue valid as always. Yet a big change has taken place. The Gentiles have been offered a place in the family of Abraham by adoption, and the criteria to be adopted is faith in Christ. This is explained at length in Galatians 3, and illustrated in the one olive tree of the Lord in chapter 11.

     The heirs of the promise then, are not the physical Jews but the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal 4:28; Eph 3:6). This we saw in the earlier chapters of Romans also: to the end the promise might 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 (Rom 4:13-16). It is astounding that some famous Bible teachers reject the idea that the promises of God to the Jews have come also upon the Gentiles. Using their words, this is “the dangerous heresy of replacement theology.” It reminds me of early Protestantism’s rejection of the “Anabaptist heresy.” Many, many of our humble, Scripture-believing Anabaptist fore-fathers were tortured and murdered by Protestants in the very name of God. The Protestants were on the wrong side of Scripture then, and here they are plainly on the wrong side of it again.

     The Jews by blood erred greatly in thinking they would receive ‘carte blanche’ the promises that God gave to Abraham and his seed! They thought, “God has specially chosen us to bless and multiply us exceedingly in the earth and has given us the land of Canaan forever (Gen 26:4; 13:14-16). He promised Abraham with an oath (Gen 22:16-18). We alone are His peculiar people above all nations (Deut 14:2) and He will never break His covenant with us (Jer 33:20-26). We are eternally, unconditionally elected to be saved.” O foolish ones! God ways and mind are far beyond the limits of Man. He foreknew and pre-destinated this plan of determining who is a Jew by looking inwardly at the heart instead of at bloodlines and genealogies. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:29).

     The Apostle gives the account of Abraham to demonstrate the validity of this method. For God had determined to exclude seven of Abraham’s children from the promises and extend the blessing of sonship upon the lineage of Isaac only, the second-born. These were counted for the seed, even though there were other blood children of Abraham. God however, had planned to call only Isaac’s seed, “the children of Abraham.” The word of promise was to Sarah’s son (v9). And the scenario repeated in the case of Isaac’s children, Jacob and Esau. Both were sons of Isaac, yet God again chose only the second-born, Jacob, to be the lineage of the promise. Esau and his children, although not a whit less Jews by blood than Jacob and his children, were not counted as children of Abraham according to the promise. From Jacob onward, the genealogy is inclusive, while before him it was selective.

     Later in this chapter we will see that God did have plans for those early blood-Jews who were not chosen, but here the point is well-made. If blood alone were indeed the only criterion in determining who is a Jew, then how could God exclude the seven sons of Abraham who each became mighty nations? The answer is obvious. Blood alone was not the way God determined who was a child of Abraham in the past, and so He is justified in deciding that now He will determine the child of Abraham by evaluating them according to the Law of Faith (Gal 3:7-9). And that is consistent with His character, for He has always looked internally, weighing the intents and thoughts of the heart. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.

10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

     Just as He had with Abraham’s children, God chose only one of Isaac’s sons (Jacob). But then He chose all of Jacob’s descendants – who are Israelites…and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came (v4-5). In the case of Isaac’s sons, God’s choice becomes very conspicuous. In the case of Abraham, God chose Sarah’s only child, but with Isaac He made choice between Rebecca’s sons. Furthermore, her sons were twins – there is no closer blood relation than that. Nevertheless, God rejected Esau the first-born and selected only Jacob, the second-born. 

     These choices were so that the purpose of God according to election might stand (meno – abide, continue, remain). In other words, God’s choices are perfectly righteous, and made to establish and continue His good purpose for Mankind. This is particularly relevant in the present topic. For just as God had chosen Jacob but eliminated his twin from the promises, so now He was eliminating this wicked generation (Mat 12:45) and choosing the Gentiles through adoption. Once He had chosen the blood children of Israel; now He has chosen the spiritual children of Israel (v6). Of course, history has proven that God’s purposeful election (ekloge – choice, selection) of Jacob and rejection of Esau was wise and right, being in perfect accord with His foreknowledge. For while Jacob turned out to be an upright man who sought after God, Esau was a fornicator, and a profane person who despised his inheritance (Heb 12:16).

     So God made choice between twins. He accepted Jacob and his descendants, but rejected Esau and his descendants. There are two very different ways to view this selection. 1) Even before the children were born, God knew their character and works and so could perfectly inform Rebekah of facts that would be thousands of years yet future: Two nations are in thy womb…and the elder shall serve the younger (Gen 25:22-24). God chose Jacob according to His good purpose and foreknowledge. 2) God chose blindly between Jacob and Esau, apart from His perfect foreknowledge. He arbitrarily decided on Jacob, in accord with His purpose that man’s works do not factor into His selection or rejection of any man.

     Calvinists subscribe to the latter viewpoint and have largely formulated their “doctrine of Election” or Predestination, from this reading of verse eleven. They believe that a man has no choice nor free-will at all and that God has already arbitrarily decided who He will save. Man has absolutely nothing to do with the matter, not even so much as a passing wish to be saved. After all, it says, not of works…neither having done any good or evil. Yet, in deciding that this is the true meaning of the passage, they have articulated an idea that flies in the face of the rest of the book of Romans and is otherwise foreign to the Word of God and deeply injurious to the character of God. Would God command Man to choose life or else die (Deut 30:19) when in fact He had never given him that ability? Would He command them to obey the Gospel or else experience His vengeance (2Thes 1:8), when in fact works do not matter? The Scriptures are jammed full of warnings and commands that are meaningful only if Man has free will and is expected to obey Him. 

     It is crucial to read attentively here to avoid their erroneous conclusion. A diligent student of the Word will read it all, so as to rightly divide the Truth (2Tim 2:15). The story is told of a Calvinist disputing his theology with a non-Calvinist, with neither being able to persuade the other. Finally the Calvinist said, “So shall I just tear Romans 9 out of the Bible?” Replied the other, “Only if you want to walk around with just one page of the Bible.”

     Context is important! The book of Romans is a masterpiece in persuasion, wherein the Apostle uses the Jews’ own Scriptures to convince them that the Old Covenant works-based religion had its place and purpose, but that now God has chosen a new nation and covenant based on faith in Christ. The Apostle is not teaching that man’s works are not important to God, but showing that God has perfect foreknowledge. He knew Jacob’s good works beforehand and also Esau’s sinful choices. The Scriptures are filled with prophecies that were perfectly fulfilled many years later, so there is nothing here to demand the belief that God arbitrarily chose Jacob. Nevertheless, that is exactly what Calvinists claim is taught here, for they hang all on a narrow understanding of the statement here that God’s election was not of works.

     The Calvinist’s definition of election (ekloge) is proven to be incorrect by studying how it is used in the Scriptures. Never does it to mean “blind-folded selection,” but “informed choice.” The fact is clear here, that God chose carefully, not arbitrarily: first Abraham, then only Isaac out of 8 sons, and then Jacob only from a set of twins. He then chose all of Jacob’s descendants – the children of Israel. All these choices were so that His good purpose would be accomplished. His perfect foreknowledge and wisdom always undergird His choices. Abraham was blessed because he obeyed God (Gen 22:16-18), but Jacob was called even before he was even born.

     The idea that God arbitrarily chose Jacob is a ludicrous, unsustainable assertion, for the Scriptures everywhere show that God does indeed choose a man by looking at his heart and examining his actions, good or bad. However, they also show that He is eminently capable of knowing a man’s heart even before he is born. Those two statements are not inconsistent when applied to a God who exists entirely outside of Time.

     Remember how God chose David when Samuel was ready to anoint Eliab. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1Sam 16:6-7).

     Remember how David counseled Solomon: My son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever (1Chr 28:9).

     Remember too God’s blunt warning to all: I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Jer 17:10).

     Not of works, but of him that calleth. This fact fits perfectly in the true Scriptural picture of salvation which we have explored often in the book of Romans. Man cannot come to God and offer his good works in exchange for God’s salvation. It’s impossible, for all have sinned and have disqualified themselves. Only by humbly coming to God and asking for His mercy can a man be saved. But afterwards, he will produce the fruit of righteousness or else he will be cast away as a branch. In truth though, the Apostle is not speaking on the topic of personal salvation here, but is arguing for God’s righteous goodness in choosing the Gentiles before they came to Him presenting their good works. But Paul points out that Jacob was chosen before he was even born and therefore not of works. Likewise, the Gentiles must produce good fruit or they too will be broken off (Rom 11:18-21).      

     If demanded of one, let us recognize a “doctrine of Election” also, but let us establish its definition by using all the Scriptures on that topic and not just a selected few. Man’s narrow logic and flawed wisdom very often makes him to become a fool (1Cor 3:18-21). According to His own writings, God fore-ordained and created us to perform good works (Eph 2:10; Tit 2:14; Heb 10:24); would the Apostle here affirm the opposite? May it never be! Allow these verses their proper meaning in this context and the sense becomes clear: God’s good purpose in calling, election, covenants and all human interaction, is based on His perfect wisdom and foreknowledge. He knows exactly what is best and He will accomplish it (Is 55:11). There is no unrighteousness in Him.

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

     Jacob and Esau are used here as representative names for the two nations they engendered, as also in the passage quoted in verse 13: I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness (Mal 1:2-3). Jacob’s descendants were blessed with the covenants, the promises and the Law, while Esau’s descendants were aliens and strangers to God (v4-5). Calvinists mistakenly take Jacob and Esau personally to be the topic here, but that is impossible. Esau never served Jacob, who lived in fear of his brother for most of his life.

     Adam Clarke points out that “the children” (v11) is not in the Greek and that the passage quoted in verse 12 was not about Jacob and Esau either. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger(Gen 25:23). So this example is given to explain God’s choice of the nation of Israel, which is the general topic of chapters 9-11. It is not specifically a lesson on personal salvation, but of God’s rejection of blood Jews and His calling and election of Jews according to Faith (v24).

     Esau have I hated. “Hate” seems a strong word in light of verses like 1John 3:15, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: any ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. On the other hand, Jesus warned in Luke 14:26, If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Nevertheless, the word hate is the natural opposite of love. There is no in-between ground here! Either our works demonstrate that we love God, or they demonstrate that we hate Him (Mat 6:24). God loves righteousness but hates evil. He hates even the excellency of Jacob if it be wicked (Amos 6:8).

     Any theology or doctrine that depicts God as unfair or capricious in loving Jacob but hating Esau is blasphemous. It must be rejected immediately. Is there unrighteousness with God? Never. He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He (Deut 32:4). We argued in the previous chapter that our God exists outside of time and is perfect in knowledge and wisdom; so of course He knows every event from that God-only perspective (see note for Rom 8:29). All things are naked and opened unto (His) eyes (Heb 4:13), but our limited minds are completely incapable of understanding an existence without time.

15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

     The Apostle quotes this passage to prove his answer in the previous verse, that there is no unrighteousness with God. In that occasion, God gave Moses a sign of His high character, saying: I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy (Ex 33:19). Our God is all-wise and all-good, so He will always bestow mercy and compassion judiciously and fairly. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful (Ps 116:5); for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth (Dan 9:14). His judgments are true and righteous (Rev 16:7). Always! His mercy and compassion is ready to be poured into the hearts of those who sincerely search for Him. He is actively looking for people who humble themselves to seek His grace (1Pet 5:5).

     Willingness of heart and full effort to win the prize are essential characteristics found in every saved person, but there is no work of Man that can earn him the grace of God. No force of will, no strength of effort can acquire salvation for oneself. This we saw in chapter four. By doing good works no man (or nation) will be justified before God (see note Rom 4:5), and that’s because Man’s righteousness, being always mixed with unrighteousness, is never strong enough to obligate God to act mercifully. He decides, and nobody else (Is 40:13-14). Salvation depends entirely on God’s mercy and grace, and not upon justice or merit (Rom 11:6). No man can say, “God owes me salvation.” Or justice, or mercy. God is entirely free to bless whomsoever He chooses.

     The Scriptures testify that God is very longsuffering and patient with Man. He receives all who come to Him for spiritual healing and forgiveness of sins (John 6:37). Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13). If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (1John 1:9). So while God alone decides when and to whom He will extend mercy, we know that He is moved by man’s sincere expressions of humility and faith. God’s introduction to Moses at Mount Sinai is noteworthy: And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Ex 34:6-7). This is how God wanted to be known – very gracious, yet fully just. He will not clear the guilty (those who refuse to obey Him), but will show mercy and forgive the iniquities of every humbled heart.

     The Calvinist idea is that the will or disposition to be saved is foreign to all men; they are utterly depraved beasts that are not capable of choosing between right and wrong. They think that God indiscriminately and randomly “elects” certain men and within these He puts the desire to be saved. And these cannot do else but be saved; they are irresistibly drawn and forcibly saved. These ideas do not come from the Word of Truth, but are pressed uncomfortably upon it.

     Abraham thought to make his own plans to become a father of many nations, praying, O that Ishmael might live before Thee! (Gen 17:18). But God had purposed something different. Isaac too made his own plans to bless Esau when God had chosen differently. God shows mercy according to His own good purpose and will. Jacob, for instance, wrestled with the Angel and refused to let go without a blessing. He was rewarded for his tenacity and perseverance.

     In two important ways, the above Scriptures give shape to the Apostle’s point that God’s purpose is accomplished by His mercy and not by Man’s works. First, God does not show mercy arbitrarily, but according to His wisdom, foreknowledge and goodness. Second, God’s power is infinitely greater than Man’s will and efforts, but because Man is a responsible moral being, he does contribute a necessary component to be saved. According to the rules of logic, it does not follow that, Not of him that willeth, removes every aspect of Man from the salvation process.

17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

     God’s dealings with Pharaoh is another exhibition of His foreknowledge working out His good purpose even while Man acts in the freedom of his own will. Pharaoh was a remarkably obstinate individual who refused God’s signs, miracles and divine proclamations again and again. Each time that Pharaoh asked for mercy God relented, but his constant rebellions eventually occasioned his death in the Red Sea. There were many Pharaohs, but God selected this one to declare His name and power in all the earth. As with Esau, so with Pharaoh – by His perfect foreknowledge God predicted this all beforehand. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay My hand upon Egypt…and they shall know that I am the Lord (Ex 7:1-5).

     God did not subvert Pharaoh’s free will, but brought events into his life that forced a decision. And Pharaoh chose wrong, just as God knew he would. Meanwhile, the king of Nineveh humbled his heart and God extended mercy (Jonah 3:4-10). And this is how God works with Mankind to accomplish His good purpose. By His infinite wisdom and power, He works to make us either cold or hot (Rev 3:15-16), bringing into our lives all sorts of experiences and events that put us in the test crucible of decision where we will either be purified or be burned up. So it was with Pharaoh.

     Shortly, the Apostle will describe how God blinded physical Israel and accepted the Gentiles through the Jews’ unbelief (Rom 11:7-8). Again we see that He did not harden their hearts against their will, but brought events and experiences into their lives that put them squarely in the Test – chose or reject the Messiah of God. Jesus Himself taught this principle (Mat 13:12; 25:29), for He does not want half-hearted followers. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on [the Jews] which fell, severity; but toward [the grafted-in Gentiles], goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off (Rom 11:22). This is Paul’s point here.

     The Calvinistic view of God’s interaction with Man is fatalistic and spirit-crushing. God becomes an ogre who saves arbitrarily, extending forgiveness to men who have not asked for it and damning others who seek His favor. Read in a certain way, these verses could be used to support Calvin’s theology, but there is a far better and Scripturally-consistent view which we have advanced throughout these notes. Rather than creating human robots that move at His command, God’s technique is a masterful, undetected maneuvering of events and experiences to construct a marvelous, spiritual Edifice. In this life we will never completely understand the multi-fold manners and designs whereby God directs human affair, but we can glimpse His hand at work in the history of the world! Why did God warn Joseph in a dream to take Jesus into Egypt instead of simply ending the wicked Herod’s life a few years early? Why did He allow John the Baptist to languish in prison and then suffer a sudden and ignominious death? We don’t have the answers. Shall we that are formed say to Him, Why hast thou made me thus?

     I imagine God looking down from His heaven and building an eternal temple with human souls (Eph 2:19-22). He chooses this stone for one purpose and another stone for that particular place. He always selects the correct stone for its best-suited purpose because He knows each one intimately. He considers beforehand every mark of imperfection and nobility, every character weakness and strength. For while those features are unknown to beings confined to time, they are openly clear to Him who is outside of Time. Some stones are hard and unworkable, others He can shape and sand such that they shine even better in their God-given place in His temple.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

     Seeing that God will so assuredly accomplish His purpose, some men will attempt to justify their wickedness: “If God sends events into my life that result in me doing what He wished, then how can He blame me? He knew what would happen! Who can resist His will?” See this flawed argument in Rom 3:5-7 also. The point is dead-ended, for God does extend mercy to every person who asks in humility. If He finds fault with a man, its because he did not respond positively. God will not act contrary to His character. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) nor deny Himself (2Tim 2:13), so if we sincerely ask He will forgive (1John 1:9).

     It is utterly impertinent and unreasonable for a man to question God’s reasons for creating us the way He did (read Is 45:9-11 in the LXX). Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves (Ps 100:3). The Creator absolutely deserves our reverence and praise. We exist only because of Him. But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand (Is 64:8). Can the clay understand the Potter? Does He not have the right to make of the clay whatsoever vessel He wishes?

     A house contains a large variety of vessels, each with special design and purpose; some are made of gold and silver, others of wood and earth, some are used in formal settings, others fulfill menial tasks (2Tim 2:20). Everyone who humbles himself to be shaped and purged by the Potter shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work (2Tim 2:21).

     The Potter and clay analogy is particularly relevant to the Apostle’s subject of God’s plan for Jews and Gentiles in the New Covenant of grace. God was patient with the vessels of wrath (v22) and did not re-mold the clay immediately, even though He had fore-ordained to bestow the riches of His glory upon the vessels of mercy (v23). This is a not-so-subtle reminder to the Jews of an unmistakable prophecy concerning the nation of Israel. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in Mine hand, O house of Israel….If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them…But if it do evil in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them (Jer 18:1-10). Yet Israel did not obey, and the clay was marred in the hand of the Potter: so He made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the Potter to make it (Jer 18:4).

     Early on, the Christian Jews had a very hard time accepting the Gentile sinners with their abominable idolatries (Gal 2:15; 1Pet 4:3). They were so focused on the general wickedness of the Gentiles that they could not see their own failures, nor appreciate the way that God had extended great mercy to them and their forefathers when they did not deserve it. Pharaoh saw God’s miracles but being an arrogant, obstinate person, he hardened his heart; well, so did the arrogant, stiff-necked Jews! They saw Jesus’ miracles and heard His preaching, yet their hardened hearts were blinded and they became vessels fit for destruction (v22). The book of Galatians reveals more of this contention in the early church.

     The picture of God shaping a man (or people) to His purpose is beautiful and inspiring, but Man is much more than clay, which has no mind. It cannot talk back to its maker, much less refuse the work it was created to do. The intent of the analogy is to demonstrate the impropriety of Man questioning the designs and plans of the Creator, which is a towering problem among all people groups, not just the Jews.

     The atheist/agnostic impugns God’s character by criticizing His creative hand and the Christian is often tempted to question/doubt God’s goodness when he encounters difficulties and strife (see Rom 8:35). It is an important lesson to learn. Allow God to be in control of your life and He will wisely administer events and circumstances so that your character and being are shaped to His good pleasure. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (1Pet 5:6; James 4:10). He wants to make of us a name and a praise among all people of the earth (Zeph 3:20). Will we let Him?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

      The imagery of the Potter making vessels out of clay continues in these verses. The vessels of wrath refer to the blood children of Abraham that rejected the Messiah, while the vessels of mercy refer to the spiritual children of Abraham, whether Jews or Gentiles (Gal 3:7). God had great mercy and longsuffering with natural Israel in delaying His choice of spiritual Israel, but the unbelieving Jews finally filled up their fathers’ cup of iniquity to the brim (Mat 23:32). The last generation in Judaism proved God righteousness in being finally willing to shew His wrath upon them, for they beheld signs that exceeded those He had wrought in Egypt. Israel had more reasons than Egypt to accept their Prophet and mend their evil ways. This illustrates again that God does not act arbitrarily nor counter to any man’s choice. He draws all men to Him. He is standing always calling, knocking, beckoning. He has promised that whosoever responds and cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).

     However, in this difficult picture of natural Israel’s destruction, beauty came from ashes, for the wonderful result was that the Gentiles, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy (1Pet 2:10). God made known to the Gentiles the riches of His glory, while His wrath fell upon the Jews. Compare this language with Romans 11:11-12. He had afore prepared this choice long centuries before (repeating v11). But now, having endured long enough a disobedient and gainsaying people (Rom 10:21), He was ready to call a new people and to create new vessels of mercy.

     In the New Covenant, God has called (kaleo) Jews and Gentiles according to the law of Faith (see notes for Rom 1:6; Mat 20:16). God’s plan was to make them one people (Eph 2:14), branches of the same olive tree (Rom 11:24), a chosen generation and an holy nation (1Pet 2:9), children of the living God (v26). This chapter shows by carefully details that this did not just happen. It was foreknown, planned and predestinated by God even before the world began. And that should testify powerfully to Jews and Gentiles.

25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

     This remarkable prophecy from the book of Hosea foretells the Gentile inclusion into God’s Covenant with Man. There are other similar predictions of this mystery in the Old Testament. See especially Isaiah 54, which is an intricate prophecy of the barren woman (the Gentiles) rejoicing at being accepted at last. Somehow, the Jews did not understand these “hidden in plain sight” prophecies which had to be revealed to the Apostles (Col 1:26-27) little by little.

     The first chapter of Hosea parallels Paul’s theme in these chapters. God told Hosea to prophecy of the imminent end of the kingdom of the house of Israel, for He would no more have mercy upon them. He would show mercy to the house of Judah and save them, but Israel? I will utterly take them away. Yet (He continues) the number of the children of Israel (not Judah) shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God (see Hos 1:4-11).

     Historians can only speculate what happened to the people of Israel, the so-called “ten lost tribes” who the Assyrians defeated in battle and carried into captivity about 150 years before the fall of Judah to the Babylonians. Whatever their story, they were so completely dispersed among the surrounding nations, and their blood so inter-mingled with them, that they ceased to be a people. They must be called “Gentiles.” Yet, the Word of the Lord by the prophet Hosea says these same people, the children of Israel, would become like the sand of the sea for number and be called the children of the living God.

27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

     This prophecy from Isaiah foretells a great purging in the land of Israel, as a consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. Only a remnant would escape from Jacob and choose to stay upon the Lord (Is 10:20-23). This began to be fulfilled by John the Baptist, who first laid the axe to the root of the trees (Mat 3:7-12) and then Jesus came to finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness. This last half of Isaiah’s prophecy (v28) reads different in the Masoretic text of Isaiah 10:23, but Paul quotes the Septuagint version almost verbatim.

     Do not misunderstand the usage of the future tense here. The topic is not of God’s present work nor is Paul speaking of the end of the New Covenant. He’s quoting Isaiah’s prophecy of the end of the Old Covenant and that has been the constant subject of this chapter. The short work that was cut short in righteousness is a reference to Christ’s earthly ministry. In fact, the latter phrase is remarkably similar to Daniel’s famous Seventy Week prophecy of the Messiah being suddenly cut off in order to finish the transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness (Dan 9:24-26). By His sudden death and resurrection, Jesus’ work (logos) was cut short. Logos is usually translated “word,” but sometimes it means a “matter” (Acts 8:21).

     These verses completely defeat Futurism’s claim that all blood Jews are predestined to be saved (Rom 11:26). The Prophets have said that only a remnant of Israel would be saved, and the Apostle Paul affirmed the same. Of course, Hosea prophesied that God’s people would increase and be found in new lands. The events the New Testament establish the veracity of both prophecies. Most of the Jewish nation refused to accept Jesus the Nazarene as their long-awaited Messiah, but a remnant emerged out of Israel and believed on Him unto salvation (Rom 11:5). But the larger field of converts were Gentile children of Abraham, which have grown to far outnumber the Jews.

29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

     This quotes an earlier prophecy (Is 1:9) and also comes from the Septuagint version. At the same place, the Masoretic text speaks of a remnant, while the Septuagint makes reference to a seed (see note Gal 3:19). The general meaning remains unchanged. Isaiah was warning Judah of her grave spiritual condition which would grow even worse until finally God allowed the armies of Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the city of Jerusalem with Solomon’s beautiful temple and carry the surviving Jews into captivity in Babylon for seventy long years.

     The pattern would repeat some 500 years later, when again Judah’s blind and hardened hearts brought destruction upon them. The Jews were so hardened of heart that Jesus said Tyre, Sidon and Sodom would have repented in ashes if they had seen His works (see Mat 11:20-24). Israel’s unbelieving hearts were the direct cause for the city of Jerusalem’s utter destruction. The pride of the Jews, the Temple on Zion’s hill, was so completely demolished that it is said that the Roman conquerors ran a plow over the grounds to demonstrate its shocking destruction.

     Yet, thanks to God, a very small remnant (Is 1:9) escaped from the house of Jacob (Is 10:20) to become the Messiah’s New Covenant people. A time of great trouble shook the nation of Judah and left it thoroughly purged. The honorable and willing were delivered, and the rest were scattered throughout the nations even to the present day (Eze 5:12-15). The end of this Age will see a similar great purging and deliverance of the true Israel of God (Dan 12:1-3).

     The expression, the Lord of Sabaoth was a title that the prophet Isaiah used often (50 times in the LXX). The Greek word sabaoth is a transliteration of the Hebrew word tsaba, and is usually translated, Lord of hosts in the KJV. It is apparently a false cognitive of “sabbath” (Greek – sabbata, Hebrew – shabbath).

30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

     Until the coming of Christ, the Gentiles were aliens and strangers from the Law and the Covenant, and without God in the world (Eph 2:12). They were cruel, wicked idol-worshipers. Very few were interested in seeking God. Nevertheless, without seeking for it (Rom 10:20) and apart from works (obviously), God chose them to also be recipients of the righteousness which is of faith by becoming equally children of Abraham through adoption. Israel after the flesh meanwhile, was so engrossed in following their Law of righteousness that they missed their King of Righteousness (Is 32:1; Heb 7:2).

     What shall we say then?  The Greek phrase occurs six times in the book of Romans, but nowhere else in the Scriptures. It marks the beginning of a new point, a step forward in the argument for the New Covenant people of God. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Is 35:10). 

32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

     Israel after the flesh failed to obtain the promises (Rom 11:7) because they were too engrossed in doing the works of the Law, which they had shockingly modified and remolded to their liking. They were not able to see that the Law of Moses had become to them a broken reed…whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it (Is 36:6). By refusing the Giver of the Law, the Jews stumbled over that Rock of offence (1Pet 2:8; Is 8:14), for the humble, peace-teaching Jesus did not fulfill their dreams of the Messiah (1Cor 1:23). However, a godly remnant, or seed, did believe on Christ and together with the Gentiles of faith, these received the promises. The very Stone that the Jews had stumbled upon was the cause of Gentile salvation (1Pet 2:6). Simeon prophesied that Mary’s child would cause this great division in Israel (Luke 2:34).

     Two prophecies of Isaiah are combined in this quotation. The first is Isaiah 8:14-15, And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. The second is Isaiah 28:16, Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste (or, be confounded, LXX).

     Surely these verses pricked the consciences of those faith-less Jews who had them in memory. Peter used this same passage in his fearless defense of Christ before the Sanhedrim (Acts 4:10-13), and Jesus cited a similar prophecy from Psalms 118:22 (see Mat 21:42). The Jews are seen stumbling over Christ again in the last of this three-chapter plea (see Rom 11:11).

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

     Chapter Eight extends the subject of the previous chapter, which outlined the distressing situation of a man wanting to serve God but failing. In this chapter the Apostle goes beyond the basic working of Sin under the Law of Moses and the law of Conscience, and presents the Great Advantage that Christ’s New Covenant offers – the Holy Spirit dwelling within the heart of the believer.

     The chapter begins by naming again those two laws which war within the soul – the one fleshly and the other spiritual (Rom 7:25). Here, the latter is called the Law of the Spirit of life (v2); but elsewhere, the Law of Faith (Rom 3:27); and the Law of God (Rom 7:25). The fleshly law, which has been shown to rule over all Mankind, is called the law of sin and death (v2), or just, the law of sin (Rom 7:23). The Apostle does not call the Mosaic Law by those names, but he has shown the “good, just, holy and spiritual Law” cannot actually deliver a man from guilt and sin.   

     While one of the Apostle’s chief purposes in these chapters is to convince the Jews to put full faith in Christ and break completely from the Mosaic Law just as he had done (Php 3:4-8), his words also depict in clarity that the human condition of self-love and rebellion can only be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit within the believer. All those under the Law and all those without the Law are in the same condemnation, but Jesus Christ came to deliver Mankind from the body of this death (Rom 7:24). The blessedness of the New Covenant of Grace is that he who is in Christ has been made free; he is forgiven, cleansed, sanctified, and shall not come into condemnation (John 5:24). The steps of Faith which the believer takes result in more Grace from God, which leads to deeper faith followed by more grace; it is an ever-increasing circle of spiritual Power.

     The Law of the Spirit is able to set us free from the Law of sin and death (see note Rom 6:18). This Law was set in motion when Adam sinned at it has come to crush all mankind: In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen 2:17); the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Eze 18:4); If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die (Rom 8:13). The Law of Moses figured large in this case, for while it was ordained to life it actually wrought death by sin (Rom 7:10) to all who attempted to follow its just commands. Nevertheless, many Christian Jews put their confidence in the flesh, or the Mosaic Law that Paul had realized he must completely renounce in order to win Christ (Php 3:3-4). Therefore he says elsewhere, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Gal 5:1).

     The Apostle has shown that the Mosaic Law leads to sin and death, but this passage speaks to the Gentile Christian as much as the Jewish one. The carnally minded (v6) consist of all those outside of Christ. The Gentiles are also guilty before God, not by the Mosaic Law, but by disobeying the Law of their conscience. But thanks be to God, Christ and His Law of the Spirit has provided a way to be set free from these tyrants.

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

     Although the Law was thoroughly righteous and holy (Rom 7:12; 9:31), it did not have the spiritual power to veritably cleanse a soul from the stains of sin. Lacking as yet the acceptable atonement, God prescribed special interim rituals which would release the offerant from guilt. So sins were forgiven under the Old Covenant, but in a fore-sighted manner, that is, conditioned upon a future event which God’s perfect foreknowledge established. Thus, the Lord was ready to forgive the penitential prayer (Ps 86:5) and He put away David’s sin so that he did not die (2Sam 12:13).

     Nevertheless, this weakness of the Law to actually take away sins signified a limitation in the relationship between God and His creation which was finally removed by the Atonement of Christ. The result was the blessed coming of the Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of each believer. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came and went as God deemed best, but in the New Testament, the Spirit comes to stay (John 16:7). And here the Law was crucially weak, but Jesus Christ effected tremendous steps in reconciling Mankind with his Creator. The new Temple of God is within the hearts of His cleansed and forgiven people.

     The apostle Paul has delicately and astutely placed his arguments before the Jews (see note Rom 7:12), for with his whole being he wants them to be saved (Rom 9:3). He has readily identified himself as a Jew in order to save the Jews (see 1Cor 9:19-23) and he commends their heritage. The fact is nevertheless inescapable that the Law was disannulled, or superseded, because it was incapable of making its adherents perfect (Heb 7:18-19). And that’s what he means in saying, The Law…was weak through the flesh.

     Adam Clarke writes, “The law was a spirit of death, by which those who were under it were bound down, because of their sin, to condemnation and death…The law could not pardon; the law could not sanctify; the law could not dispense with its own requisitions.” I believe this overstates the case unto making the Law an unnecessary evil. In truth, the Law was ordained by God so that Man could truly and effectively find right-standing with Him. Pardon was extended to those under the Law. Guilt was released by doing the statutes of the Law. Favor and blessing flowed to those who honored the Law. Incredible testimonies abound in the era of the Law. The focus is rather upon this crucial fact: without an adequate Atonement, the Law was limited, but now that Christ has offered the one perfect sacrifice, a new and living way has been opened into the Holy Place (Heb 10:20). The book of Hebrews elaborates that truth.

     Jesus came to the world in the likeness of sinful flesh. This phrase exhibits in remarkable clarity the deity and humanity of Jesus. He was wholly human (sinful flesh) but in likeness (not real essence), for He is God’s own Son. He was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), made in the likeness of men (Php 2:7), a partaker of flesh and blood (Heb 2:14), in fashion as a man (Php 2:8), in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb 4:15). Jesus appeared as any normal man and lived in all points as any normal man, but the above verses show that his real Being was not human. Thus, He was made flesh, in fashion and likeness a man. Yet in reality, He is the divine Son of God, the Christ. God was manifest in the flesh (1Tim 3:16). Jesus said, he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father (John 14:9). See note on Col 1:15.

     The first man Adam disobeyed God and sin suddenly appeared in the world; the last Adam perfectly obeyed God and so condemned sin in the flesh. He overcame sin, defeated sin, destroyed sin. Obviously, sin still exists, but the power of sin has been broken for we who trust in Christ, and on that final day our fleshly bodies will be transformed and raised to life celestial, eternal and incorruptible. The prince of this world has been judged, condemned and cast out (John 12:31). Was Jesus human according to Adam’s pre-fallen state, or according to his fallen, eyes-opened state? See note on Rom 5:13.

     God sent his Son in the flesh unto this world for sin (peri amartias); that is, to remedy the sin problem in the world. Some versions (see NIV, NASB) render this phrase, “for a sin-offering,” because in the Greek Scriptures, amartia translates both “sin” and “sin-offering.” See Hebrews 10:6-8, where the same phrase, peri amartias, is found twice in reference to the sin offering (study also Heb 13:11; 9:26-28; 10:12). This adds context also to Paul’s statement that Christ was made…sin for us (2Cor 5:21). While God did make His soul an offering for sin (Is 53:10) upon the Cross, what happened earlier was just as essential – Jesus, living in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin by His perfect and sinless life. And that crucial virtue made Him to be the acceptable offering for sin.

     Jesus came to this world for sin. Those words carry a considerable weight of meaning which encompasses the plan of God in the reconciliation of Mankind.

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

     The common Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune, found hundreds of times in the New Testament and Septuagint. Here however, Paul uses the more specific word, dikaioma (precept, statute, judgment) which is found often in the Septuagint, but rarely in the New Testament (see note Rom 5:18). Earlier, the Apostle stated this same phrase, the righteousness of the Law, (Rom 2:26). The precepts and statutes of the Law were designed to teach Man to live by the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy and faith (Mat 9:13; 23:23).

     The same statutes of the Law looked forward to the New Covenant of Christ, in which they were completed, fulfilled, accomplished. Or as the Apostle says later on, Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness (dikaiosune) to every one that believeth (Rom 10:4). The types and shadows contained in the precepts and statutes of the Law all pointed to a better hope which would validate and fulfill the designs of Law (Mat 5:17). After His resurrection Jesus opened the disciples’ understanding to these prophetic truths such that their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:27, 32).

    So the statutes and decrees of the Law were fulfilled in us who walk…after the Spirit. Their finishing touch was designed to come into focus in the Messiah’s Kingdom within you (Luke 17:21). A concise commentary over this fact is given at the close of the heroes of faith: And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect (Heb 11:39-40). The righteousness of the Mosaic Law came to its intended end in the new Law of Christ.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

     The human mind is the battleground for a man’s war with evil. It was there that Satan insinuated his pernicious thoughts to Eve and there that Adam decided to rebel against God’s command. According to James 1:14-15, sin is first conceived in the mind. In fact, the most damaging sins for the individual might not even be made known. Lust, envy, hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, arrogance, these are conceived and cultivated virtually sight-unseen in the mind. They are death to the soul! The Apostle depicts the scene in two contrasting patterns: “To think and live according to the Flesh is to be an enemy of God and results in spiritual death; to think and live according to the Spirit is to submit to the Law of God and results in life and peace.” A simple axiom of very grave consequence. 

     In this chapter, the carnal mind adds to a growing list of terms for the natural sinful part of man: the old man, the body of sin, the flesh (chap 6). The words carnal and flesh are derived from the same Greek word (sarx). The carnal mind will never submit to the law of God. It must be put to death, destroyed, crucified (Rom 6:6); then the mind can be transformed, renewed, reborn (Rom 12:2; 2Cor 5:17) according to the graces of the Spirit. This is not a single divine action, but a sanctifying, maturing process while we live in this earthy tabernacle of clay. The true seeker must take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23), must die daily (1Cor 15:31), must offer himself in constant living sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1). He must live in the flesh (Gal 2:20; John 17:15) yet never take to mind the things of the flesh (v5). This battle in the mind – flesh against the spirit – is deathly serious. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak (Mat 26:41).  

     Only the spiritually minded person can know true life and peace, for the soul that has been made alive by the Holy Spirit is able to discern things that the natural man cannot (1Cor 2:14-15). And the inner peace (see John 14:27) that attends this man in Christ is beyond understanding (Php 4:7). The verses that follow show that to walk after and mind the things of the Spirit requires full commitment and serious effort. We are debtors to live according to the Spirit (v12); we must mortify the deeds of the body (v13); we must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God (v14).

     God alone can literally purify a human soul, but Man must press hard to receive that grace (2Tim 2:1; Luke 16:16). This fact is everywhere evident in the New Testament yet many theologians deny that Man has any work in the effecting of his salvation. Strive to enter in at the strait gate, Jesus said, For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able (Luke 13:24). They were not willing to give up all and utterly die to Self to win that pearl of great price (Mark 8:34; Mat 13:46). Every man… purifieth himself (1John 3:3); he doesn’t actually perform the action, but he must maintain the mind of decision and sincerity to yield himself to wholly to Christ. Thus we read that the saints in heaven have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts (James 4:8).

     Here the Scripture equates those who are spiritually minded to those who have made themselves subject to the Law of God. This refers to the present Age of Grace, where, despite Calvinist protestations, there is obviously a high and holy Law that we must hold in fear and trembling. It is not the Mosaic Law, but the Law of Christ, also called the Law of Liberty (James 2:12). The force and focus of these verses is the human will: “Strive to be spiritually minded; subject yourselves to the Law of God; walk after the Spirit.” It is a call to courage, action and valor. Being a Christian is not for sissies.

     There is some question whether the word Spirit in this passage is a reference to the Holy Spirit, or to the spirit within the individual. To my mind, the translators were entirely correct in capitalizing the word Spirit here. In verse 10 however, the subject thought seems to require a lower-case “S.” The previous verses spoke of the mind as if it were the spirit of the person (see Rom 7:23-25), but here the Holy Spirit is the primary subject.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

     Again the picture is black and white. We are either in the flesh, or we are in the Spirit. Meaning, we are either living according to the will and desires of our own selfish flesh, or according to the will and desires of the Holy Spirit of God. We are either in Christ, or we are none of His. We are either a living branch connected to the Vine (John 15:5), or a dead one destined to be burned (John 15:6). That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). The man who is in flesh will display the selfish deeds of the flesh, while the man who is in the Spirit will display the honorable fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).

     This either/or spiritual dichotomy concludes in verse ten: either the body is dead and the spirit is alive, or the body is alive and the spirit is dead. There are no other options and no middle ground because there are only two destinies. Earlier the Apostle explained the importance of considering ourselves to be dead to sin (see notes for Rom 6:2, 11). This mindset is necessary because of sin. The body (soma) and the flesh (sarx) are used synonymously in reference to a man’s fallen, sinful nature. Obviously the body with its selfish desires does not literally die when Christ comes to live within (1Cor 6:19). The body of this death must be put to death daily (Rom 7:24).

     In verse ten, the KJV incorrectly capitalizes the word, spirit. For while the Holy Spirit could be characterized as life, the other half of the either/or arrangement reveals the subject to be the human individual. When the Trinity makes His abode in the person (John 14:16, 23) the soul/spirit is quickened (made alive), but the body is not reborn until the last day. Jesus said, It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing (John 6:63). Meaning, apparently, that God communicates and draws His human creation by spiritual methods as opposed to fleshly methods. No good thing dwells in the flesh (Rom 7:18). 

     So at the new birth, the spirit of the individual is made alive because of righteousness. God does not quicken the spirit/soul of arbitrary individuals, but by just, careful election He hath raised us up…to sit together in heavenly places (Eph 2:6). The link between personal righteousness and salvation is a thread that runs all through the book of Romans (see Rom 3:22; 4:13; 5:21; 6:13; 10:10; 14:17).

     The triple reference to the Spirit in verse nine makes an interesting allusion to the Tri-une God who is a Spirit (John 4:24). Note: the Spirit…the Spirit of God…the Spirit of Christ. This is the “us” of Genesis 1:26 and the “we” of John 14:23.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

     This promise comes, appropriately, right in the center of this difficult picture of long conflict that the righteous must endure. If the Spirit indeed dwells within, then He will certainly quicken (zoopoeio) your mortal bodies at the end of the Age. See this word discussed in my note for 1Peter 3:18. The spirit and soul are revitalized in this life at the new birth, but the resurrection of the body must wait for the Judgment and marks the last step of Man’s redemption (more in v23).

     The three parts of man will all “die,” but Christ is able to make them anew. The soul and spirit die spiritually when a man commits sin, but the body is conceived in sin and entirely infected by this death-corrupted world. It will not be made alive by Christ, but must be kept under and subjected (1Cor 9:27) until the final breath is drawn. At death, the souls and spirits of the saints go to be with the Lord, but their bodies remain in the grave until the end of the world, when at the sound of the Last Trump, they too will be quickened and reunited with the soul and spirit. See notes on 1Cor 15. 

     The body of death, or carnal mind, is that fallen, depraved part of man which he has naturally on account of being born into this world of sin. However, each man is also born with an untarnished soul, a moral conscience and the honest abilities to think, comprehend and choose. His soul and spirit will die on account of his own personal choice to sin. The two natures are in stark contrast – the fleshly, selfish nature is constantly impulsing the person to follow its mind, and the Godward spiritual nature calls the person to follow its mind. See notes at Rom 5:12; 6:23; 7:14.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

     Seeing that Christ has quickened our spirits and has also promised to quicken our mortal bodies, we are debtors to Him – under obligation to obey His law and follow the rule of the Spirit (v14). The word debtor (see Gal 5:3) implies an outstanding bill or obligation. Christ offers to pay a man’s great debt of sin and that makes us debtors to Him and to His commands. And He has told us to mortify (thanatoo – put to death) the deeds of the body. This is no suggestion, but a requirement that is presented over and over in this epistle (see notes for Rom 6:2; 7:24).

     Theologians pontificate at length and wade far into the weeds arguing about original sin, pre-destination, free will and eternal security, but those secondary topics are all swept swiftly aside by this one, burning truth: If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. Many follow the fancy words and nuanced interpretations of impostors who craft an image to their own liking and then bow down and worship it (Rev 13:11-18). Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal 6:7; 1Cor 6:9; Rom 2:5-10).

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

     The Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of every born-again person (Rom 8:9), but He does not take control of his mind, will and actions. Only those that are led by the Spirit…are the sons of God. It is our responsibility then, to follow this Guide which Jesus has sent unto His followers for their earthly sojourn (John 16:13; John 15:26). In a beautiful Old Testament type, the children of Israel were guided through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:21; Neh 9:19). Those who did not follow the Pillar were not children of Israel.

     In the spiritual economy of the New Covenant, the Spirit does not literally go before the people of God on an earthly track through the desert. Rather, His primary work is to declare Christ, to illuminate the truth of the Gospel and to lead the Christian into closer communion with God (v26, John 14:26). This is what it means to be led by the Spirit (Eph 4:30; 1Thes 5:19). He must relinquish his own will, deny his own desires, reject his own paths and follow the Spirit of Truth. The simple statement in the previous verse creates a congruent test of fidelity: “He that lives according to the flesh shall die, but he that is led by the Spirit shall live.” It will be one or the other.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

     The coming of the Holy Spirit to live in the heart of the believer is the great difference between the Old and New Covenants. It was made possible by the tremendous work of atonement that Christ achieved in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom 8:3). Before then the Spirit’s work on earth was limited to particular individuals or times, but now He comes to dwell within each one who yields himself unto Christ’s rule (Acts 2:17). The presence of the Holy Spirit is an incredible new step for close communion with God, for He makes intercession to God for us (v26).

     This verse is very similar to Galatians 4:5-6, which helps to establish that the spirit of bondage refers to the Law of the Old Covenant (also Gal 5:1; Heb 2:15). The Law is called fearful because its statutes and rules were very strictly enforced. The transgressor was to be put to death (see note for Mat 7:28; Heb 10:28; James 2:10; Rom 3:20). Now because of Christ, mercy rejoiceth against judgment (James 2:13) and all those who accept His requisites are extended the blessed beyond measure privilege of adoption into the family of God (John 1:12; 1John 3:1-2).

     In the original language, Abba Father (abba pater) is the word “father” repeated in Hebrew and Greek (also in Gal 4:6; Mark 14:36). Perhaps the Apostle is reminding us again that God is no respecter of persons (Rom 2:10-11), being the Father of both Jews and Gentiles (Eph 4:6). Yet, the larger significance is to emphasis the difference between the two covenants – no longer slaves in fear and bondage, but sons of love by adoption. Of course, in one sense we are voluntary slaves of Christ (Rom 1:1) and we do reverence and fear God (Heb 12:28; Php 2:12), but the basis of our obedience is love, not fear (2Tim 1:7).     

     God is rarely presented as our Father in the Old Testament and even then only in prophetic passages (Is 56:5; 64:8). Meanwhile, Jesus introduced God as our Father more than a dozen times in the Sermon on the Mount alone. By creating Man, God is his Father in a material sense (Luke 3:38), but only those who are led by the Spirit are truly sons of God (Rom 8:14; 1John 3:10). These appear as all other men, but inwardly they have received the Spirit of adoption (see Eph 1:5), which remains within until the day of full adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom 8:23).

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

     The Spirit testifies together with our spirit to evidence that we are truly children of God. While the Spirit does speak to a man’s spirit, here the Greek verb means to testify jointly, or along with something. The tree is known by its fruit, so also the man (Mat 7:16-20). Does he bear the fruit of the Spirit, or the thorns and thistles of the flesh? To my mind, this verse is not saying that the Holy Spirit is constantly telling us that we are children of God, but that the joint testimony of the Spirit with our own renewed spirit (Eph 4:23; Rom 12:2) shows us to be the children of God. This renewing of the Holy Ghost (Tit 3:5; 1John 5:10) corroborates our adoption as sons and daughters of God.  

     Unfortunately, some have virtually elevated the Spirit to the throne of worship instead of Jesus Christ, who is alone the Author and Finisher of our salvation (Heb 12:2). Yes, the Spirit is the seal of our salvation (Eph 1:13; 2Cor 1:22), but His role is to exalt Christ, not Himself (John 16:13). He ever points the seeking soul to the One with power to heal and save (1John 2:1). Obsessions with seeking certain gifts of the Spirit instead developing the full fruit of the Spirit has crippled the Gospel in many cases. The Holy Spirit will always guide by the light of the Word and by this we recognize the true Spirit of God (1John 4:1; 1Tim 4:1).

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

     What a marvelous, generous promise! God wants to gift us with amazing, eternal glories. The very idea of God adopting a lowly human is incredible. Yet if we are being led by the Spirit we are truly and legally sons of God (v14), which makes us heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. Jesus, of course, is the Son of God by nature, but we are sons of God by adoption. And just as God raised up Christ, so He will also raise up our mortal bodies at the Last Day (v11). In an interesting type, the Levites were not given land in Canaan, for the Lord is their inheritance (Deut 18:2; Num 18:20).

     Do not miss the subtle warning in this verse. We are children and heirs, if so be that we suffer with Him. Indeed, we must die with Him if we wish to live with Him; we must suffer with Him if we wish to reign with Him (2Tim 2:11-12; Rom 6:8; 2Cor 4:10). Nevertheless, our present, passing sufferings are minor afflictions in comparison to the wonderful, everlasting glories which have been prepared for us (1Cor 2:9; 2Cor 4:17). The difference is so great that Peter even says we should rejoice in suffering with Christ (1Pet 4:13). And Jesus promised that everyone who suffers for the sake of His name shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Mat 19:29).

     The word sufferings (pathema) extends to both physical and spiritual trials – hardships, pains, emotional struggles, denying one’s personal affections, etc (Gal 5:24; Php 3:10; Heb 2:10; 1Pet 5:9). The martyrs gave their lives so that they could experience that future glory, but the great trials and temptations we must pass today is also a severe, to-the-death test of suffering! The Prophet warned of exceedingly difficult days at the End, such that even the elect might be deceived (Mat 24:21-25). Let us not be tranquilized by the soothing sounds of pleasure and ease. The Devil knows what he is doing! He is sweeping far more into the horrors of Hell by inflicting spiritual sufferings than He did by inflicting physical sufferings.

     The glories that we will begin to experience in that Day is far, far beyond our human comprehension. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into celestial bodies (1Cor 15:52; Php 3:21) and we shall Him in full view and understanding (1John 3:2). That glory will be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

     The word creature (ktsis) refers to the whole creation of God, that is, the physical universe with all of creatures and features. According to God’s word, Adam died spiritually the moment that he disobeyed and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). Sin, decay and death, which were foreign to the Creation until that point, became the rigid rule of all things. The entire creation was made subject to vanity, or put under the bondage of corruption (v21). In other words, the physical laws of entropy, order-to-chaos and decay were imposed by God immediately after Adam disobeyed, for when Adam sinned, God cursed the ground (Gen 3:17). The word ground (adamah, ge), in both the Hebrew and the Greek Septuagint, means “the land, the earth, the soil.” God subjected the universe to the Law of decay and death, but with the expectation that someday it will be liberated along with the redeemed among Mankind.

    The creation has no mind or soul, so it cannot literally “await with longing” the final Day of Redemption, but it can be personified in that manner because its liberation is directly linked with the redemption of our body (v23). The whole creation, Man and his World, “groans” under the effects of sin, but their earnest expectation is to be delivered from this present bondage of corruption into glorious liberty for all eternity. The Psalms and Prophets are filled with descriptions of the earth rejoicing, the hills singing and the trees clapping their hands when in truth it was Man who was rejoicing (Ps 114:6; Is 49:13; 55:12).

    The parallel between Man and Creation in the picture of Redemption is worth considering. Man’s physical body will die and decay into dust, only to be remade a glorious body at the end of the world. In a similar manner, the Universe will also pass away and its very elements burned to nothing, only to be remade by God into a new heavens and earth of eternal righteousness (2Pet 3:7-13). The full significance of that truth has not been made known to us. Will there be animals in Heaven? See my note in Rev 21:1.

    There is little merit to argue against the odd opinion of some commentators that by creature Paul was referring to the “Gentile world.” See Barnes, Clarke, etc. Why would the Apostle have eschewed the normal term in favor of such an obscure figure?

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

     This verse proves beyond any doubt that Paul speaks of a future redemption of the body and the whole creation. In light of this passage and many others, the popularity of Preterism among certain Christian scholars is an unfathomable mystery. The Apostle longs for a full, future adoption and inheritance. In fact, he says, the whole Creation is groaning along with us in earnest anticipation of that great Day (see similar in 2Cor 5:2-4). And we are to believe that this happened at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? See my notes against Preterism at Mat 13:41; 24:34; Rev 20:1.

     The Christian has within him the firstfruits of the Spirit, which is another way of saying that God has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit (2Cor 5:5), or the earnest of our inheritance (Eph 1:13-14). The ceremony of Firstfruits in the Jewish religion is typologically linked with resurrection. Elsewhere, Christ is called the firstfruits of them that slept (1Cor 15:23), and the believers are a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18; Rev 14:4). The offering of Firstfruits was that portion pre-dedicated to God in anticipation of the full harvest to come later. It was sealed, or completed, fifty days later by another offering of Firstfruits at the finish of the harvest (see note for 1Cor 15:20). Having only the Firstfruits now means that we await a far more blessed harvest.

     All Christians, whether living or dead, are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. We have seen that the redemption/resurrection of the body is the last step in the salvation process which begins in life when God’s grace meets a man’s initial faith (see Rom 8:11). The Apostle is consistent in portraying salvation/redemption as a life-long process, for earlier he said, we have received the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15). We are redeemed now (Gal 3:13), yet Jesus said our final redemption is still to come (Luke 21:28). We are now children of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), but the heir differeth nothing from a servant…until the time appointed by the Father (Gal 4:1-2). We have the Firstfruits now, but later will reap the harvest in abundance. 

     In this life, we therefore groan (stenazo) within ourselves, for we must live with the body of this death and fight daily against Self, Satan and Sin. Our minds and bodies are the very battleground for this terrible war between the spirit and the flesh. It is absolutely fitting that we groan in the body until we actually receive the promise (1John 2:25). 

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

     One does not hope for something he already has, but for something he has not yet seen (Mat 5:8). The Christian lives in great expectation and hope of eternal salvation that includes the resurrection of his mortal body. In the face of much accusation, Job’s confident expression of this hope is astonishing: For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me (Job 19:25-27). This Hope is surpassingly powerful and capable of sustaining the spirit in spite of overwhelming sorrow and difficulties; it is an anchor of the soul (Heb 6:19).

      In the Scriptures, hope (elpi-zo, -s) is a strong word that connotes confidence (Heb 3:6; 1Pet 1:3; 1John 3:3), assurance (Php 1:20; Col 1:5; Heb 6:11), faith (Heb 10:23; Rom 8:24; Acts 24:15; Col 1:23; Rom 15:13) and perseverance (Heb 3:6; 6:11; Tit 2:13; 1Thes 1:3). Hope concerns things that have not yet taken place, such as the hope of glory (Col 1:27; Rom 5:2; 1Pet 1:21). It is waiting on God, fully trusting that He will fulfill His promises. Hope underlies the fortitude to persevere even when all other metrics clamor to just give up. Job’s famous affirmation was uttered in this brand of hope.

     Hope, then, is actually a facet of evangelical Faith (see note for Mat 14:31). And that makes sense with the declaration here, that we are saved by hope. But aren’t we saved by faith (Rom 5:1), I mean, by grace (Eph 2:8)? Theologians tend to manipulate prepositional phrases such as these into making assertions of serious moment. That is revealed to be a dangerous exercise. The safer method is to seek the intent of the general statement so as not to overturn it by a dexterous re-handling of conjunctions and prepositions that have more than one usage. In Romans 5:2, faith, grace and hope are plainly visible in a single verse. 

     The Apostle’s basic thought is this: Our salvation is based upon the hope that our bodies will be resurrected from the grave (1Pet 1:3; Titus 1:1-2). This hope we hold firm unto the end (Heb 3:6; Col 1:23). Faith, Hope and Love are the Big Three that surpass all other virtues, but the greatest is Love, for it alone abides forever and ever (1Cor 13:13). Faith and Hope will not be needed in Heaven, but Love will live on.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

     The Apostle returns to the primary subject of this chapter, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer. The third person of the Trinity is of inestimable value to the spiritual good of every Christian. He helpeth (sunantilambanetai) our infirmities. According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, this verb means “to take hold of opposite together, to co-operate (assist).” Like two workmen carrying a load between themselves, the Spirit assists the Christian in his every weakness. He works quietly and invisibly, but the results are sure and powerful (John 3:5-8). We might not even know He is helping, and in fact, many times we are so far from understanding the situation that we do not even know how we should be praying! But the Spirit knows and He maketh intercession to God on our behalf, so that all things work together for (our) good (v28).

     The beauty of this truth is that, by praying at all times in the Spirit, we shall always be in tune with God’s will, even though we do not always pray knowledgeably. Eloquence of speech, clear understanding, a life of powerful victory – don’t wait to attain these before going to God in prayer. The Spirit will tune the prayer of the humble and fervent person for his spiritual benefit. The important thing is to pray!

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

     Jesus Christ is He that searcheth the hearts (Jer 17:10; 1Chr 28:9; Rev 2:23) and also maketh intercession for the saints (Heb 7:25). So the Spirit and the Son work as intercessors for the saved before God. Their intercessions are beyond our comprehension; they work all things for good to them that love God. This last phrase is conspicuously ignored by Calvinist commentators on these verses. Those that love God are the ones that are keeping His commandments (John 14:23). Those who says they love God but don’t keep His sayings is a liar and the truth is not in him (1John 2:4). The word order and verb tense in the original Greek shows this emphasis: “And we know that to those who are loving God all things do work together for good.” (see YLT).

     All things do not work together for good to those who are disobeying God’s Word. “They who say sin works for good to them that love God speak blasphemous nonsense. A man who now loves God is not now sinning against God” (Adam Clarke). This is not to say that God does not take Man’s bad decisions/actions and make something good come out them. His business is to give beauty for ashes (Is 61:3). However, that work is fully grounded in His goodness and mercy. For whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. A man who sows to the flesh will reap the bad fruits that lead to death. See 1Tim 6:18.

     The purpose of God is to work in the good and bad things that come into the life of the Christian such that he emerges a better and more spiritually mature individual. From the beginning, He purposed us unto the fellowship of His Son (1Cor 1:9), that is, His plan is that we be conformed to the image of His Son (v29). This is a life-long process of character-shaping and faith-building. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). Even affliction can work for our good (Ps 119:71; Heb 12:11) if we persevere patiently in it (James 1:3-4; Rom 2:7; 5:3).

     The called. While kletos can refer to the general invitation to salvation, it is more commonly used to refer to the Saved – those who have accepted the universal call to be saved (Rom 1:6-7; 2Tim 1:9; Jude 1:1; Rev 17:14; see notes for Mat 22:14; 1Cor 1:2). Although it was used by Greek speakers long before Christ, ekklesia, or “church” is formed from the same root word and means, “the called out” (1Pet 2:9). They that love God…are the called (v28). These elect were foreknown by God, and predestinated, called, justified and glorified. This progression does not negate Man’s free will, nor does it deny his personal responsibility as we hope to show in the next verse’s note.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

     Even before the world began and Adam sinned, God had a plan to reconcile man to Himself (2Tim 1:9; Tit 1:2). Since He exists outside of time, He knows the future as plainly as the past and present. His pre-determined (from our time-restricted perspective) program required that to be saved one must be conformed to the image of His Son (also 2Thes 2:13; John 15:6). Notably then, the Covenant to the Jews was not God’s complete program, for to become like His Son is a unknown concept in the Mosaic Covenant.

     Of course God foreknew who would be saved and who would reject His plan! If He could fore-ordain that Christ would die for the sins of the world (1Pet 1:20) such that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8), then surely He has full foreknowledge of the elect (1Pet 1:2). There is nothing odd or incongruous to the idea that God foreknew each soul who would be saved. He wrote their names in the Book of Life even before the world began (Rev 13:8; 17:8), because He already knew which ones would choose to serve Him and which ones would reject Him and take their own path. God foreknew and predestinated the Covenants together with the Jewish nation and religion. He foreknew the calling of the Gentiles, which He had afore prepared unto glory (Rom 9:22-24). In His infinite wisdom, He foreknew all the great events of the world. And that is a proof of the infallibility of His plan and will.

     The fact that God foreknew each child of God is a great comfort to those in tribulation, distress, famine, peril, or sword (v35), being a proof of His great, inseparable love for the saints. Salvation is voluntary and is open to whosoever will (Rev 3:20; 22:17; Rom 10:13). Some will refuse His offer and others will be found unworthy. It is a sobering thought that God not only writes names in the Book of Life, but also blots out names too (Rev 22:19; 3:5). But for those who love Him, the called, all things work together for good (v28) and nothing can separate them from the love of Christ. 

     God predestinated that the called be conformed to the image of His Son, which means that He decided beforehand how Man would be saved (Eph 1:5). He did not predestinate the already-holy to be saved, but the willing and receptive. The Calvinist idea of predestination is that God chooses to call and justify a man without respect to man’s will, choice or character. What a low conception of God’s power and person! Is God so controlling and self-oriented that He cannot permit a man to choose for himself? How much greater is He shown to be when we recognize that God is able to control the hearts of kings and the imaginations of the World even while allowing them freedom of choice and will. That is truly a mighty God! His sovereign power and omniscience enables Him to step into His own creation and accomplish His divine will (Is 55:11) even while He allows Man the freedom of his will. That may be difficult to comprehend, but it is glass-clear in comparison to the alternative, which postulates a pre-determined universe in which Man does not have free will.

     From the very beginning we see that God’s purpose in creating the world and ordaining salvation included giving Man the option to choose or reject Him. In marked contrast to His other creative acts, God gave Man the ability to understand Him, comprehend and analyze good and evil, and even choose to believe or reject the Truth. Calvinists say that God is not truly sovereign if man has the ability to reject Him, but that is simply not true. The Almighty, Sovereign God is eminently able to set parameters whereby human agents are given the power to choose independently without diminishing His power! Consider the implications if it be true that by sovereign command God did fore-decree every minute event of world history and every decision/deed of all individuals whether good or bad. Would that not make God the very author of sin? And why did He not decree events differently to avoid much human suffering and damnation of souls? For more on the Calvinist belief system, see my notes for Eph 1:11 and Rom 5:19.

     That He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Christ is often called the firstborn (Col 1:18; Heb 1:6; 12:23; Rev 1:5) because He was the first to rise from the dead. God purposed that many brethren would be resurrected with His Son. This collective (as opposed to the individual) application of these verses sets the stage for the next chapters, which more fully explore the predestination, calling and justification of all Abraham’s children – Jews and Gentiles. Especially in the early days of the Gospel, the Jewish Christians struggled to accept that truth. With his epistle to the Romans, Paul articulates particularly to the Jews the proofs of God’s change of Covenants, and he argues that, far from an improvisation, God foreknew and predestinated many brethren, including the Gentiles, unto justification and heavenly glorification. While He certainly foreknew Israel (Rom 11:2), is He not also (God) of the Gentiles? (Rom 3:29).

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

     The intent of these verses is to impress the Christian of God’s great love for him. God knew all from the beginning and He pre-planned this great communion with His saints before creating the world. He foreknew them, He predestinated them, called and justified them; and He will finally glorify them eternally. In effecting their reconciliation, He did not even spare His own Son (John 3:16). Consider these evidences of His great love for us. Shall He not freely give us all things? The Apostle does not imply here that the Christian has no enemies, but that our God is immeasurably stronger than our enemies.

     The entire progression is evidence of His love for each child of God. From before the beginning unto eternity, God knows and keeps them. This tremendous soul-comfort is a source of strong affirmation for those that are suffering for the sake of righteousness (Mat 5:10). The tempter knows their thoughts, “Why does God allow me to suffer? He claims in His Word that He loves me. I am alone, forgotten, deserted. Why doesn’t God help me?” According to the Parable of the Sower, discouragement in times of persecution and difficulty is a primary reason for falling away (Mat 13:20-21). Yet, God has not forgotten the persecuted, the distressed, the imperiled! Cruelty and death have always been the experience of God’s people (v36)! Take heart, for over all these things you shall surely conquer and soar to eternal, unspeakable heights.

     This passage is a powerful argument against the Agnostics, that group of non-Christians who believe a God did create the universe and mankind, but quickly tired of them and has forgotten them. To them, the widespread evidences of sin, wickedness, suffering and death mean that God has left Man to his own demise. There are no Holy Scriptures, there is no eternity, and God is unknowable and uncaring. Nevertheless, the promises of God are faithful and certain. God has not forgotten His saints, and what he has planned since before the world began will continue until the final Day has come.

     We often speak of Jesus’ great suffering when He died on the Cross, but what about the Father? Did He suffer in the Great Atonement sacrifice? This verse shows that He did – not in the same sense as His Son, but surely He felt the pain very deeply, even to the depths of His soul. Did Abraham suffer when he carried up his beloved son to be killed? Oh, yes. If he could have traded places with Isaac, I’m sure he would have. But that was not God’s command. The Father delivered up the Son unto wicked hands, knowing that it signified Separation, which is a terrible pain. But how is it experienced by One who exists outside of time? ? See note for John 11:31.

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

     Who can charge the Elect with anything that would keep them from eternal life with Christ? Certainly the Devil will try, for he is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10). Yet, God is the righteous Judge (2Tim 4:8) and Christ is our Advocate (1John 2:1). If we are truly His sheep (John 10:27-29), there is no reason for worry and fear. Those who have fled to Him for refuge have a strong consolation (Heb 6:18).

     Before Christ came and became our Advocate and Sin-bearer (1John 2:1; 1Pet 2:24), our great Enemy had an iron-grip hold on every man’s soul. But now that He has died for our sins and was raised to life again for our justification (Rom 4:25), Jesus has gained all power to save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. He stands before the Heavenly Throne, making constant intercession for us (Heb 7:25; Rom 8:27). The heart-lifting words of Jesus to the adulteress are notable in this context, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more (John 8:11).

     The elect (eklektos) and the called (Jude 1:1) are the foreknown and predestinated and called and justified and glorified people of God (see Mat 22:14).

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

     There are times when the Christian does feel separated from God, times when he feels that Christ is distant and unconcerned with his struggles. In tribulations, distresses and persecutions, yes, we can even feel that Christ has forsaken us, that He doesn’t truly love us. Ah, but remember, physical happinesses and ease are not a token of God’s love! His people have always been slaughtered and oppressed by the wicked (v36). Persecution cannot separate us from the love of Christ – it only feels that way. If we were able to see into the spiritual realm we would know immediately that we are the conquerors and they are the defeated (2Kings 6:15-17). We are on Christ’s side, and He will surely win the final victory.

     Make no mistake, the Devil will come in those moments of distress to sow discouragement and doubt. He will hurl insults and accusations, he will whisper that you are not saved or loved, else Christ would help you! He wants to get you to doubt God and to wonder if He is even aware of your plight. Psalm 44, which Paul quotes here, is the cry of the righteous for help. For Thy sake are we killed all the day long…Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord?…Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face, and forgettest our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed to the dust…Arise for our help, and redeem us for Thy mercies’ sake (Ps 44:22-26).

     The Christian will be troubled on every side, perplexed and persecuted, but he will never be forsaken or destroyed (2Cor 4:8-11). He shall completely conquer every foe because Jesus loves him! And he that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son (Rev 21:7). In the Greek, the word conqueror (hupernikao) is a superlative form of the verb overcome (nikao). “We are not just surviving, we are overwhelmingly conquering all these things through Him that loved us.” If we are truly in Christ, and walking according to the Spirit (v1-9), then nothing and nobody will ever separate us from His love. According to the Master, persecutions, perils and trials can and have discouraged people from following Christ (Mat 13:20-21; Luke 8:13). Real comfort is knowing that Christ unfailingly loves and cares for us, even in those dark, difficult days when we don’t feel His love. We must walk by faith and not by sight.

      Older commentators like Clarke, Barnes, Gill believe the text has been mistranslated and that the Apostle’s thought is: “Who can keep us from loving Christ?” (της αγαπης του χριστου). The same Greek exists in verse 39. Adam Clarke writes, “The question is not, Who shall separate the love of Christ from us?…but, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Who or what shall be able to remove our affection from him?  And the questions that immediately follow show that this is the sense of the passage; for the tribulation, distress, c., which he enumerates, are things by which they might be affected, but by which Christ could not be affected and, consequently, the question most evidently refers to their love to him.” Interestingly, this reading was very widely held by the early church writers (see David Bercot’s commentary on Romans).

     These reciprocal readings are both true and equally pertinent. God’s boundless love cannot be stopped by any outside party, nor can any outside party force us to stop loving Him. Tribulations and trials will come, spiritual enemies will attack and strange creatures will try, but if the Omnipotent God is for us, we cannot be defeated. This mutual promise reflects a mutual love. We love Him because He first loved us (1John 4:19).

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

     The love of God is the ground of man’s salvation, but why did God set His love upon [us] (Deut 7:7)? Certainly not because Man was impressively mighty, surpassingly beautiful, honorable or deserving! Man was God’s creation made after His image, but the corrupting, wicked machinations of Satan defiled and contaminated Man’s soul to the uttermost. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us…hath quickened us together with Christ (Eph 2:4-9).

     God’s nature is to love (1John 4:16) and He so loved us that He gave His own Son to redeem us from the clutches of Satan (John 3:16; Rom 8:32). The angels announced the good tidings of Christ’s birth as God extending peace and good will towards men (Luke 2:14). So the love of God truly is in Christ Jesus. Or as the apostle John said, the love of God was manifested in that He sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have Life through Him (1John 4:9). And if God did not spare His own Son in the redemption of Man (v32), shall He not keep them secure, fully protect and save them to the uttermost?

     And if God redeemed Man because of His great love for him, it is fitting and reasonable that Man love Him in return (John 15:10). He that truly loves God is the one that keeps His commandments (1John 5:3; 2John 1:6). It is the height of stupidity to think that Man does not need to love God, yet in effect that is what the Calvinists teach! They say that salvation is not conditioned upon works of obedience because Christ obeyed for us, and that keeping commandments is legalism. Thus, to them these verses are teaching that a man cannot lose his salvation. God has set His love upon the elect, and they are unconditionally, eternally saved. “God’s grace is irresistible,” they say, and not even a man’s own decision to leave Christ can remove him from salvation.    

     Yet the Scriptures are abundantly clear that a man can refuse salvation, can take his own path, can fall away from the faith. This chapter has presented the vital importance of living according to the Spirit and not according to the Flesh, for he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption (Gal 6:7-8). Truly nothing can separate the redeemed from Christ, but by his own act and will a man may decide to abandon the salvation process. For Self is ever tempting us to forget the righteousness of faith and put the flesh on the throne of worship. Remember this:  If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die (Rom 8:13).

     In one of the most beautiful, compelling analogies in all the Bible, Jesus taught this principle of sure salvation in Christ. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand (John 10:27-28). Yet, Christ does not hold a man against his own will. Any sheep may foolishly decide to leave that safety. Love can not be obligated or forced, or it is no longer love. Love is a voluntary decision of the will. God did not have to love us, He chose to love us. And the reciprocal must also be true. God does not force us to love Him, He wants us to choose to love Him. That is true love.

     The list of adversaries is representative rather than exhaustive. The angels must be Satan’s demons (Rev 12:7), and the principalities and powers are spiritual realms of wickedness (Eph 6:12). Jesus referred to them collectively as the gates of Hell (Mat 16:18). The distances (nor height nor depth) remind of the Psalmist’s words in Psalms 139:7-10.

1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

     The previous chapter likened man’s salvation experience to Christ’s death and resurrection – a man must crucify Self in order to rise again unto new life in Christ. Now Paul observes another analogy which attests that God’s people are no longer under the Law, but are married to Christ. The Jews could not fail to appreciate this evidence because it comes straight out of the Mosaic Law. Here’s the progression of these two analogies: “The one who has died unto sin is released from that bondage and is free to to be bound unto another, even unto righteousness (Rom 6); the Law’s statute concerning marriage authenticates this by way of analogy” (Rom 7).

     The Law admitted no condition where a woman could leave her husband and marry another – any woman who did so was an adulteress. A married woman was bound unto her husband for life; she was free to marry another only if her husband died. On the other hand, the Law did allow the husband to put away his wife and then she could remarry. That circumstance, while completely accordant with this analogy (see below), is not mentioned by the Apostle because his point lies elsewhere. Here is my paraphrase: “You Jews, who once were under the Law, have become dead to the Law by the death of Christ. Now you are free to marry another, even the same Christ who died and freed you from the Law; for He has been raised from the dead.”

     Why does Paul say, “You have become dead to the Law,” instead of saying, “The Law has died”? While both statements are true, I see three important reasons why the Apostle stated it this way in the present figure. First, the point of these chapters is not so much to prove to the Jews that their Law was dead, but to hold forth Jesus Christ as the culmination or final objective of the Law. He argues not for the negative, but the positive effect: “See here that Jesus our Messiah is the one and only Hope of Israel. We Jews that believe on the risen Christ are married to a new husband. Now His purpose can be truly fulfilled in us.”

     Secondly, the power of this analogy lies primarily in how it happened. The Law didn’t just die, or fade away; it was completed, fulfilled, ended by Christ (John 1:17; Rom 10:4; Mat 5:17), who taketh away (aneiro – literally, “slays”) the first that He might establish the second (see note for Heb 10:9). This fits the emphatic point of conclusion: Ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ. It was Christ’s doing. Because of His death you are freed from the Law. The Law didn’t just up and die, thereby releasing Israel to marry Christ. No, the Law ended because Jesus died and initiated a new covenant which made the first old (Heb 8:13).

     Thirdly, by avoiding the statement, “the Law died,” Paul is able to maintain the long-established symbolic meanings contained in this figure. The Jews of the Old Covenant were not “married” to the Law, but to God. It is a symbolism found often in the Old Testament. My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord (Jer 31:32; Is 54:5). The whole book of Hosea is written upon the figure of God and Israel in a marriage relationship, and the Apostle’s figure is carefully true to those meanings. Israel’s husband is never said (nor implied) to be the Law. No, her Husband who died and made them dead to the Law was none other than God (the Son). For Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Covenant that Israel had forsaken (see my note for 1Pet 1:11).

      The teaching here is quite plain, but is ignored down to the present day by some Jews (and even some Gentiles), who wish to be bound to selected portions of the Mosaic Law (see note Rom 4:11). If ye are become dead to the Law, then the Law is also dead to you. Christ came under the Law and kept the Law. With His death and resurrection, the Law  The New Testament Scriptures teach that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law (Mat 5:17-18). So Man is dead to the Law and the Law is dead to Man, who is therefore loosed from the Law of Moses so that he might be bound to the Law of Christ.

     The analogy of Marriage to the two Covenant relationships of God and Man is a fascinating study. In both testaments, God’s people are often likened to the woman in a marriage, while God is the husband. Under the Law, a woman was never allowed to put away her husband, but the husband was allowed to put away his wife by giving her a bill of divorcement, making them both free to marry again under the condition that the husband would never re-take her for his wife. The analogy is that Israel, although bound unto God for life, forsook Him and played the harlot. So God gave the adulteress a bill of divorcement and He will never take her back. He has chosen a new wife which has also chosen Him (see Isaiah 54). Furthermore, under Christ’s new Law neither the husband nor the wife is permitted to give a bill of divorcement. They are truly bound for life and that is beautifully true in the case of God and His New Covenant people. See Mat 5:32, 19:7-9; 1Cor 7:10-11.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

     This frames again the general point of the material in chapters 6-8 (see Rom 6:20-22; 8:2). Any person that is not in Christ, is in the flesh (Rom 8:9). Whether Jew or Gentile, under the Law or without Law, we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind (Eph 2:3). Our bodily members worked sinful actions and earned the wages of death. The Law expanded this knowledge in Man, for its many rules gave opportunity to many sins. Moreover, the Law could not truly heal man’s sickness of sin unto death. 

     The phrase, delivered from the Law (v6) is the same as being dead to the Law (v4). And Christ is the reason. Now we are alive to Christ and live by the Spirit according to the Law of Grace (Rom 8:4). We have been released from the old Law by death with Christ (Gal 2:19; Rom 6:6-9). While this is especially relevant for Jews, it is just as important for seeking Gentiles, for both groups have brought forth fruit unto death by disobedience to their respective laws – the law of Moses and the law of Conscience.

     The design of the Old Covenant was largely physical. While it reached to the inner man and weighty matters like mercy and trust, its first intention was to rule the outside, the flesh, and it did so by imposing many complex and burdensome rites and ceremonies. In contrast, the New Covenant was designed to be a spiritual constitution, for while it does have rules to govern the outer man, its first thought is to touch the soul. It does so by many beautiful spiritualities and promises. The way of the Law was to oblige righteousness of the outer man and so affect the inner man. The way of Christ is to make anew the inner man and so empower the outer man unto righteousness. This great Covenant shift, from the oldness of the letter (the Law) to the newness of Spirit was effected by Christ so that we serve Him. See the same two representations in 2Cor 3:6.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

     The words lust, covet and concupiscence in these verses are translated from the same word (epithumia). “I learned about coveting from the Law: ‘Thou shalt not covet.’ Sin then took this as opportunity to tempt me with all kinds of coveting.” The Law educated Man of the manifold intricacies of Sin; for by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20; Gal 3:24). It taught the gravity and consequence of sin by requiring strict justice for every transgression by the lex talionis – eye for eye and tooth for tooth. Personal responsibility was also a prominent feature of the Law, which imposed many rules and rites upon the people. There were offerings and sacrifices that could atone for mistakes and failures, but there was no forgiveness for the one who willfully broke the Law – he was to be put to death. In the end, the Law proved that Man will always fall short of perfect obedience, for the work of every man’s members brought forth fruit unto death (v5).

     What do we make of this? Is the Law bad or sinful? Nay. It is holy, and just, and good (v12). Rather, it is Sin that brings death within. Apparently, if a person would have kept the Law in perfection he would have earned his salvation. However, on account of the weakness of man’s flesh it resulted in death (v10). Sin, or the Flesh as it is later called, has deceived and slain every human who has ever lived (v11), even those who had never heard the commandment. They are not guilty of breaking the Law of Moses, but of breaking the Law of conscience (see note Rom 2:14). Those who are guilty of transgressing the Law, however, will face the greater consequence, for they were entrusted with greater knowledge and responsibility. Their transgressions of plainly written rules have shown sin to be exceeding sinful (v13).

     For without the Law sin is dead, meaning there can be no transgression of it (see note Rom 4:15). This must be understood in the context of Paul speaking to the Jews concerning their Mosaic Law, for sin in the general sense does exist outside of the Law and it is not dead. All humans, regardless of time or place, have a general sense of right and wrong built into their minds, a moral compass (see note Rom 2:12-14). The era of the Mosaic Law endured for about 1500 years, but it was instituted long after the world began (about 2,500 years according to Bible chronologists). Many godly men lived in the pre-Law era, and they were counted righteous without the Law. Job, Enoch, Melchizedek, Abraham, Noah and many more were mighty men of faith, but to our knowledge, they never held a written moral code in their hands. Clearly a different Covenant was in place at that time, concerning which we can only speculate by inferring from the Scriptures. There is no doubt that ancient Man was by nature more intelligent than present-day Man. The second law of thermodynamics agrees. Evolution’s ridiculous, anti-scientific idea that Man is increasing intellectually is demonstrably false. The pyramids of Egypt are just one example.

     It seems that the decline of natural human ability (observe the decline in lifespans) made a written Law more necessary. Before that time, I think Mankind were able (by conscience, superior analytical capacities and nearly faultless memory) to know God’s will on their own. And it seems that God spoke to them audibly and even visibly. Yet the history of ancient Man demonstrates this sad principle: the person with the greatest capacity for Good also possesses the greatest capacity for Evil. Exhibit A is Satan himself. And so we read of the Cainites, the Sodomites and the general population at the time of Noah. In one sense, God punishing Adam with natural death was good for Adam. Otherwise, he would have continued forever estranged from God. The same is true for Mankind in general. By limiting their lifespan, God was shortening the time of their proving, making it easier for them to pass the test.

     I think the same concept is in play when we consider the reasons that God instituted the Law of Moses. He wanted to make plainer, easier, more generally attainable to a greater quantity of people. Abraham attained righteousness without the Law, but there were not many Abrahams (as his own grand-children demonstrate). After 1500 years however, the Law had been twisted and distorted to serious human detriment. The time was ripe for Christ and the New Covenant. This sad retrogression will be repeated at the end of the present Covenant of Grace! The religious elite will distort its message, deny its real purpose and use it for personal gain. At the end of the Age, the World will see the dead bodies of those two great and famous witnesses, the Word and the Spirit, lying on the streets of the great cities of the world (Rev 11).

9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

      Many commentators have marveled at Paul’s dexterity in presenting Christ to the self-righteous and vain-minded Jews (Tit 1:10), for he must inevitably show that the Law is no longer in effect; it is incomplete, weak and unable to save. Arriving at the most sensitive part of his argument, he carefully shifts the perspective from “you,” to “we,” to “I,” to soften any perceived accusatory tone. Notice the progression:

Ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ that ye should be married to another (v4). For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the Law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the Law (v5-6). Is the Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the Law….I was alive without the Law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died (v7-9).

     Perhaps another reason that Paul changes to first person for the rest of the chapter is to speak on behalf of all Mankind, both Jews and Gentiles. For while his primary audience is the Jew (at least down to verse 14), the principles in this section are relevant for Gentiles also, both Christian and otherwise. For instance, it is universally true: Sin deceived me, and by it slew me. Any commandment opens the occasion for temptation and then to sin. Nevertheless, these particular verses primarily concern the commandments of the Mosaic Law, which were given so that the Jews might obtain Life, yet resulted in spiritual death. The Law was able to save he who perfectly kept it, but it could not regenerate (revive) he who transgressed it. Christ came for that very purpose (1Cor 15:45).

     I was alive without the Law once. This statement affirms the initial purity of the human soul and the innocence of children. As a child, Paul was alive spiritually, but when he reached the age of accountability and understood the commandment, he sinned and died spiritually. This is true of Gentiles as well, except that they sin and die on account of disobeying the law of Conscience (see Rom 2:15). The first death is universal.

     Verse 11 might allude to Eve’s testimony in Genesis 3:13 (see LXX and 2Cor 11:3). The unchurched person will not be tempted to the same degree as one that has been well taught in the Scriptures (see John 15:24). A friend related to me the story of how he told his young son not to step in the mud-puddles with his new shoes. “Where are the mud-puddles?” the son wanted to know. Mother sighed, “It would have been better if you would not have told him about mud-puddles!” But the cat was out of the bag and the temptations began in earnest. Ever since Adam and Eve it has been so, for it is part of God’s way to develop an honest, sincere relationship with the only being who can comprehend Him and choose/refuse to know Him.

     The Law is holy, just and good (also 1Tim 1:8). The problem isn’t the Law, the problem is Sin. However, the Law did not provide the means for a man to overcome his carnal nature. It’s goodness showed clearly the bounds of sin, it’s holiness called every sinner guilty, and its justice demanded the righteous penalty for each transgression. It could not, however, actually remedy the situation (Col 2:20-23). It was insufficient in that it could not cleanse the sinner from his sin (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:21; Heb 8:7). See previous note.

13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

     Both the question and the answer are rather technical. For although he answers “No” here, Paul earlier said, “Yes; ye are become dead to the Law” (v4). I believe that Paul is making this distinction: “It wasn’t the good commandments of the Law that slew me, but Sin which the good Law provoked within me.” In other words, while the commandment did result in the spiritual death of all (v10), the real culprit was not the Law, but Sin…working death in me by that which is good. One cannot blame the Law (or God either) for Man’s failures. Earlier the Apostle addressed a similar objection, “Does the fact that many Israelites failed in Faith mean that God’s plan was in vain?” (Rom 3:3). No! God is good, holy and just, so His Law was good, holy and just.

     The real killer is Sin, showing itself to be exceedingly sinful by how fiercely it opposes the commandment and by how universally have yielded themselves to serve it.

14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

     The real reason that Man is sold under sin is not because of the Law, but on account of his own carnal nature. The Law is spiritual. The rites, rules and ceremonies had deeper, spiritual meanings which pre-figured the coming New Covenant of Christ. These were hidden in the Holy Scriptures by the finger of God for our marvelous spiritual benefit today (Rom 15:4; 1Cor 10:11; Heb 9:9). The second part of the Law, the Prophets, have the same spiritual purpose, for they were authored by the Holy Spirit Himself. Jesus said that the words He spake were essentially already written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets (Luke 24:44). The Old Testament is a virtual treasury of spiritual instruction, with thousands of stories, analogies, prophecies and types. These are high quality sermons that preach both doctrine and admonition in the present Kingdom of Christ. He that diminishes the Old Testament does so to his own spiritual detriment. This is another reason for the Apostle’s careful, detailed teaching on this important subject of the Jewish Law. He does not denigrate the Law and even avoided saying that it is dead; rather, he shows that it is good and holy, but that its day is past and the new day is dawning (2Pet 1:19).  

     Man’s fleshly nature is a serious impediment to attaining peace with God. He is carnal (sarkikos). The same word is translated, fleshly (1Pet 2:11) and its noun form, sarx, appears in verse 18. The fleshly nature of man is that inner passion of selfish desires that constantly demand bodily gratification. The flesh and the spirit, these are contrary the one to the other (Gal 5:17; Rom 8:4-5). The flesh incites me to do what I would not – what my spirit knows is wrong. The spirit indeed is willing, Jesus said, but the flesh is weak (Mat 26:41). It has ever been this way and will be unto the end of time, for this is that great test of life. The war within man is intense and unrelenting. Every person has lost multiple battles in the long conflict. All have sinned and fallen short. However, God knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust (Ps 103:14). He does not demand perfect domination of the flesh nor flawless obedience to the Law of Christ, but rather a heart that is determined to constantly crucify those fleshly desires, to deny SElf and to put that old man to death daily – because he wants to please his new Master and Groom (Rom 7:6).

    This conflict between the flesh and the spirit within a man is true across all human-kind and throughout all ages, Jew or Gentile, under Law or without Law. Even the Christian must fight daily this inner spiritual battle with Self and Satan. Therefore, I believe that here Paul speaks as any one of us and not just as one who is “under the Law.” He speaks in first person and in the present tense, whereas the earlier personification under the Law ended in the past tense (v9-10). Notice too the change of meaning for nomos (law), which refers to the Mosaic Law in most of the chapter; however, in the latter verses nomos is a rule or principle of God (see v21).

     The war is waged in the mind – even Christians know that, and all too intimately. The flesh wants to be the ruler of the body, so it works, tempts and fights to enslave the whole person into serving Sin (Rom 7:23). This does not mean that sin literally dwells in the Christian (v17), or even that he is carnal (v14) and constantly doing the evil that he would not (v19). They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom 8:8-9). Christ has delivered the believer from the body of this death (v24). Nevertheless, this passage agrees with the rest of Scripture, that two laws are constantly at work within every believer and unbeliever, the law of God and the law of sin (v25). Indeed, this struggle is far more acute in the believer, for Satan will work more intently to corrupt anybody belonging to Christ.       

     Perhaps the Calvinist will use this verse to support his idea that Man is entirely and totally depraved. I am carnal. It does sound quite comprehensive. Later however, the Apostle clarifies his meaning, For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing (v18). The fallen, depraved part of Man is this fleshly, carnal nature we have inherited on account of sin coming into the world by the fall of Adam. However, every man is also born with an untarnished soul, a moral conscience, and the honest abilities to think, comprehend and choose. These two – the fleshly, selfish nature and the Godward nature – are strongly displayed in these verses. See notes in chapter five.

     Sold under sin. Slavery is the imagery here (as in Rom 6:16-20). By his choices and actions, every man has sold himself unto Satan. The prophet wrote, For your iniquities have ye sold yourselves…ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money (Isaiah 50:1; 52:3). Anciently, a debtor who could not repay was often sold (Mat 18:23-27), but the Law allowed the slave to be redeemed by another (Lev 25:47-48). And that is exactly what Christ did for us. With Paul, each person must say, I am carnal, sold under sin. Our nature is to sin. Jesus, with His own blood, bought those slaves from a very cruel master.

15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

     This passage does not describe the condition of a wanton rebel or an uncaring reprobate, but of a sincere seeker of God who is distraught by his failure to do what is right at all times. The good-intentioned Jew who thought to keep the Law and also the honest Gentile trying to live a good life will soon learn that they cannot be perfectly righteous. Even Christians know the reality of this inner conflict. However, let us not draw a false conclusion before the Apostle has finished his discourse. Thank God through Jesus Christ, the Christian CAN live in victory over sin (v25). While he will lose some battles, he is not doomed to a life of failures and wretchedness. All honest, submitted-unto-God believers will struggle at times to do what is good and right, but he WILL win as long as he perseveres in the faith of Christ. Even Peter and Barnabas unexpectedly failed, for fearing them which were of the circumcision, they ended up being carried away with their dissimulation (Gal 2:11-14), but they didn’t quit like Judas did.   

     Actually, temptations unto sin and struggles with the flesh are not in themselves worrying signs of being lost, or even of a precarious spiritual estate. According to the Scriptures, we should take them as as sign of sonship, of God’s love for us (Heb 12:3-7; James 1:2-4). God does not take away our temptations, nor does He keep evil from affecting us (how many martyrs have proven that). He does not take over our minds, fight our battles for us, or remove us from the World. However, He has given many beautiful, faithful promises, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Heb 13:5); and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Mat 28:20). Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you (1Pet 5:7). God will make a way of escape from every temptation (1Cor 10:13); He is able to make us stand firm (Rom 14:4). The prayerful words of the songwriter come to mind: “Lord, don’t move that mountain, but do give me the strength to climb it.” So, fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32).

     Bible teachers and theologians have wrestled over this particular passage for centuries. Some think the Apostle testifies of his own personal struggle as a Christian, but how can that possibly be? Paul was a spectacular example of righteousness, almost unto perfection. Others say this passage represents the Jew under the Law, but surely that narrows the audience too much. The Calvinists claim Paul teaches here that every man is perpetually doomed to serve sin in this life and there is nothing he can do about it.

     Yet, what Paul is really saying here is nothing different from what he has been saying and will continue to say in the book of Romans: “There is a fierce war going on inside of each man. His natural flesh is constantly provoking him to sin, but his enlightened spirit prompts him to do good. So he must not let sin have dominion over him, but become a servant of righteousness” (Rom 6:14-22). So Paul is not testifying that he personally is constantly choosing to sin, but graphically acknowledging this war of the mind within every person and especially in the Saved. The one that honestly and humbly recognizes this fact has learned an important key to victory, for to ignore it (either as the Calvinists in their extremity or the Perfectionists in the opposite) is to concede the Devil a huge advantage. Elsewhere Paul also described this war and his own mind concerning failure and becoming a castaway (1Cor 9:25-27). 

     For that which I do I allow (ginosko) not (v15). This very common Greek word means “to know;” not just head-knowledge, but experiential and relational knowledge. It is nowhere else translated “allow” in the Greek Scriptures. However, the general sense of the verse does not substantially change regardless of which word is used. Paul says, “My members act contrary to my will; they do the evil things that I do not know, that I do not allow. If I admit that what I am doing is not right and that I should not be doing it, then I agree that the Law is true and good. And since I am doing wrong against my will, then it is not really I, but Sin within me that is doing it.”

     This re-states the conclusion in verse 13, that Sin (not the Law) worked death within each man. Do not, however, extrapolate this statement and ignore the body of Scriptural teaching on the subject. Man is always in control of his actions. He is not OBLIGATED to sin, nor does he HAVE to sin, but being deceived by Satan and the carried away by the flesh, he chooses to sin (Rom 7:11). God created Man with a mind capable of comprehending himself, his environment and his Maker. Remember chapter three, where Paul refuted those who said God could not condemn Man for they were only acting as God had created them – bent to sin, selfishness and doing wicked deeds. The Calvinist believes that Man is born a wicked beast; no light of knowledge, no ability to discern good and evil, no option to choose to do good. They say that God chooses to give faith and grace to certain of these miscreants, without having shown any particular goodness or tendency towards Him. The rest of Mankind, the unchosen to salvation, are not given faith to be saved.

     Every man is born an uncontaminated soul. He has the light of conscience and the ability to reason and understand. And he has the capability to will to do good. The actions of Adam however, have opened a new part in Man which is egocentric and vain. He knows all about the mud-puddles (see note v11). This is the flesh, the natural man that is bent to follow Self and reject the pattern designed by God. Here the Apostle distinguishes, for our benefit, between the Will of man and the Actions of man. The upright man wills to do good, but finds that his flesh is a powerful adversary urging him to do evil (see also 2Tim 2:26).

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

     We have seen that the flesh is the fallen, corrupted, selfish part that came into existence by the sin of Adam. The flesh is determined to have dominion over the whole body. After their fall in the Garden, the eyes of Man’s mind were opened to a new world of good and evil, of moral choice and personal responsibility. And that very moment, a part of their spiritual being died and the whole world was changed. The flesh is a direct result of those first sins (see notes on Rom 5:12-13). The imagination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth (Gen 8:21). Jesus Christ, being fully human, also struggled with his flesh (Heb 4:15). However, God also created Man with powers of conscience, of reason, will and decision. These were not intrinsically corrupted by the Fall. Yet, the will of the believer will inevitably clash with his flesh during life. These verses set the stage for the next chapter, which speaks of the war between the flesh and the spirit even within the Christian.

     My belief is that Paul speaks for all Mankind here, even the believer who wants to do good and delights in the Law of God but ends up failing at times. However, other commentators have pointed out that even the pagan writers of old acknowledged this inner battle between knowing what is good and yet doing what is bad. Euripedes wrote, “We understand and know the good things, but we do not work them out…I know what sort of bad things I am going to do: but passion is stronger than my purposes. And this is to mortals a cause of very great evils.” And Ovid, “I desire one thing: the mind persuades another. I see and approve better things: I follow worse things.” These remarkable statements only add support to the point the Apostle has often made in this epistle: God has given all Mankind a conscience of right and wrong, yet all have failed to follow its voice. All are guilty before God; we have all taken our own way, there is none that doeth good, no not one (Rom 3:12).

     Beware of the sin doth so easily beset us, the Apostle warned (Heb 12:1), because this inner conflict stirs even stronger within the heart that has decided to follow Christ. However, let us troubled souls take heart, for all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2Tim 3:12). If there are no battles then there is no war, and without war there can be no chance of victory. Yes, we have peace with God, but the Christian can never make peace with the flesh! That dual nature within, the will of the flesh and the will to do the Law of God, are at enmity until the last breath of life (Rom 8:7). Dedicated warriors will not be denied the crown of Glory, but quitters and deserters will not even be present.

     In verse 20, Paul repeats what he said in verse 17 (see note there). “Actually, I’m not the one doing evil, but the sin inside me is doing it.” He is not making excuses nor denying that every man has full control of his actions. Instead, he is acknowledging the uncomfortable fact that we all struggle to do what is right on account of our fallen sinful nature.

21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

    The context hints that nomos (law) does not refer to the Mosaic Law, but to a general law or principle at work in all Mankind. Paul says, “This principle works within me: ‘I wish to do good, but am ever tempted to do evil.’ For while I inwardly delight in the Law of God, the members of my body want to follow the law of sin, which tries to make me its captive by warring against God’s law in my mind.”

     The Jews should have quickly identified with this truth, and even Christians know what it means to delight in the Law of God after the inward man, yet feel the flesh warring in his mind, trying to deceive him and make him a captive of Sin by the actions of his bodily members. The imagery is of a city under siege, in danger of falling captive to the enemy. It is essential to defend the walls and gates so that the enemy cannot enter in. This motif is visible in various New Testament passages (ie Eph 6:11-18; Rev 20:7-10). We are constantly at war in the body, struggling with Satan, Sin, and the World. The war begins in the mind and extends to our bodily members.

     The two laws at play here, the law of God and the law of sin, are central to the topic and they continue into the next chapter. Neither term refers exclusively to the Law of Moses, for consistently in this passage the law of God means the New Covenant (see also Rom 7:25; 8:7), and the law of sin refers to the desires of the flesh (which is part of the body). The Mosaic Law made this general law of sin more powerful (v13), but to say that this law of sin refers solely to the holy and just Mosaic Law would contradict the teaching of this chapter. Although the Law was incomplete it can hardly be called a law of sin (see note for v14). The two laws are named again in verse 25.

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

     To this point in the Apostle’s description of Man’s dismal condition, the name of Christ has been conspicuously absent. Knowing what is good and determined to do it, yet doing the bad; affirming the goodness of the Law but transgressing it anyway – both Gentile and Jew have shown themselves to be weak and unfaithful. O wretch that I am, what can I do? Who can deliver me from the body of this death? Only Jesus Christ can, and that is the wonderful news for the troubled soul which Paul has personified in this passage. Paul could not deliver himself from this condemnation, nor could the Law deliver him (Rom 8:3), but Jesus Christ is able!

     The power of Christ at work in the believer results in a double blessing. First it brings soul-healing forgiveness and second it brings powerful new weapons to overcome the flesh and Sin. The mature Christian will not live in constant failure (Rom 6:1). He will not constantly do the evil that he would not (Rom 7:19) for Christ has come to deliver and empower. The next chapter will show this even more certainly. Yes there is a most severe battle ahead, but victory is attainable through Jesus Christ our Lord.

     This is beautifully portrayed by John’s vision of a great heavenly multitude arrayed in white robes praising the Lamb and casting their crowns at His feet. “Who are these?” John wondered. The angel answered, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). Forget the bed of roses rhetoric! Every Christian is going to pass through his own life-test of tribulation, trial, struggle and persecution. The Devil knows he has only a short time and he furious with us for having chosen Christ (Rev 12:12). Do not be lulled into complacency.

     The body of this death. The meaning of this imagery is that our nature of flesh is contrary to our desire to serve God. The term depicts the scene of verse 23, where the members of the body are warring against the inner Man and attempting to make him captive to the law of sin. Crucify this body of sin (Rom 6:6), consider it dead (Rom 8:10; 6:11), mortify its deeds (Rom 8:13), walk not after its desires (Rom 8:4). In the Scriptures, the flesh is everywhere shown to be truly a body of death (Rom 7:18; 6:23; 8:8). How truly it is said, In my flesh dwelleth no good thing (Rom 7:25). How clearly it is seen that this is the part of Man that is fallen, this piece which Adam did not know before he sinned. Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil made it a part of Mankind.

     The law of God and the law of sin. With the Spirit of God in our minds, the will of the earnest Christian is to serve the law of God, but the flesh is ever present, attempting to get us to serve instead the law of sin. Both the Jew who is trusting in the Law instead of Christ and also the Gentile who is trying to follow the Law of his conscience. Instead, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16); the subject of the next chapter.