The Epistle to the Romans
Table of Contents
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 10
Chapter 10
It has pleased God to give us a further testimony from the apostle of his love for his nation, following that with which the ninth chapter began. The delight of his heart and his, prayer to God for Israel was for salvation for them. This affection for his kinsmen according to the flesh persisted, though they hated him as they hated his Master. Nor does the Epistle at any point speak of the persecution Paul had to endure from the Jews. Here, as in the ninth chapter, they are spoken of in grace, with tender regard for their feelings.
The apostle bears witness (verse 2) that his nation have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Such had been Paul, when as Saul of Tarsus he persecuted the followers of Christ (Acts 22:3-5; 26:9-11). The third verse, describing in few words the position of the Jews, is equally true of many Gentiles:
“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.”
The gospel reveals God's righteousness, as we saw in the comprehensive statements of the third chapter. But ignorant man in his pride clings to works as the means of establishing a standing before God, forgetting, if he has ever known it, that all who come before Him as their Judge on account of their works, are condemned. So declare chapter 3, verse 20; Gal. 2:16, and Rev. 20:12-15.
What marks the Christian is that he has submitted to the righteousness of God, knowing that he has no merits of his own; all the merit is in Christ, who is the end, or termination of law for righteousness to every one that believeth (verse 4). It is through the cross of Christ that God can act according to His righteousness in conferring righteousness on us who believe.
Verse 5. The apostle now turns to the law itself, where in Lev. 18:4, 5, God said to Israel:
“Ye shall do My judgments, and keep Mine ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which, if a man do, he shall live in them. I am the Lord." This was uttered many years before Israel entered the promised land of Canaan.
Next, Deut. 30 is referred to, for in it there is foreseen the total failure of the nation, resulting in their being put out of that fair possession, and carried away as captives to be scattered among the Gentiles. But in the future day, bearing the curse of the broken law, all hope gone of attaining righteousness by keeping the law, this Scripture declares that Israel may look in faith to God, and that He will have mercy on them.
The last verse of Deut. 29 shows that the purposes of God in grace were not yet made known; "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God"; and the ground upon which a righteous and holy God might deal in mercy could not be revealed until His Son had died, the Just One for the unjust. It is in this way most interesting to compare the 6th to 10th verses of Rom. 10, with verses 11 to 14 of Deut. 30, realizing that the same Holy Spirit wrote through Moses in the one case, and through Paul in the other. Christ, once crucified, now glorified, is seen to be the key to the present dealing of grace.
Not works, but believing His Word is what God laid before ruined sinners in Deut. 30:14:
“The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart"; so near has He brought His word of truth, suited exactly to the need of man; yet how few believe it!
In Rom. 10:8, with the utmost suitability that verse is quoted, and then it is added, "that is, the word of faith which we preach; 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.”
The mouth is to be used to tell what is believed in the heart; and I own the Lord Jesus as my Savior, believing that God has raised Him from the dead Who died for my sins; my sins are gone, then, never to be brought up again for my condemnation. How preciously simple the gospel is!
You will notice that "mouth" and "heart" are in these verses in clear contrast with works. "Heart" here refers to an inward conviction: "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Yet something more goes with salvation: "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Have you confessed your Savior to others? You are not truly on Christian ground until you have announced His title to you. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed; it takes courage to confess Him, but there is not the slightest reason to be ashamed of Him, or what He has done for you; rather, on the contrary, is there every reason to be confident and to rejoice in Him.
The apostle has been quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures which the Jews acknowledge, in order to show that what God is now doing is not contrary to, but in fullest harmony with what these Scriptures declare. That there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of God's glory, was proclaimed in chapter 3, verses 22, 23; here, in the 12th verse, it is said again,
“There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (or Gentile); for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." Did the Old Testament say this? Yes, for the 13th verse is a quotation from the prophecy of Joel, chapter 2, verse 32.
There it stands, undeniably, in the Jewish Scriptures. They would have limited God's mercy and blessing to Israel's race, but "whosoever" means every one, whether Jew or Gentile. "How then", the apostle proceeds, "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?" (verse 14). Was it not in every way right that the good news should go out to the Gentiles? the apostle and his companions and fellow laborers were then after all doing the work of God.
“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." This is, quoted from Isa. 52:7-not the whole verse, as you will see, but enough to show that it is of God to spread good news from Himself; the preachers who faithfully publish His word have a commission from God.
Then follows a further reference to the Old Testament. O, it is good to have the written word of God to depend upon, whether it shows me myself in the pride and naughtiness of the natural heart, or points me to Christ the Savior and the Lord. They have not all obeyed the gospel, says the apostle. Indeed this is a gracious, a tender way to speak, for as far as we can gather from the Scriptures, few only of the children of Israel knew God by faith in Old Testament days. Esaias (Isaiah) said, in chapter 53 of the longest of the prophetic books, "Lord, who hath believed our report?" What then could a Jew say to this?
In these two chapters God has been showing that neither birth nor position give salvation to the soul, and so verse 17 follows,
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
How simple is God's way, the only way, I need not remind you, of salvation! And how precious to us who believe; but how costly to Himself! Does some reader of this page say, I have not faith to believe what you believe? O, then, I would say, just read the 17th verse again: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Open your ears to hear His Word; open them wide, and it will find its way to your heart. Then you will be ready to confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.
Verse 18 brings in another Old Testament Scripture; it is Psa. 19, in its first part, verses 1 to 6, where it is shown that God's testimony is not to be limited to Israel's land, but to cover the whole earth. That testimony, it is true, is of God's creation power, but the Psalm illustrates the principle that He proposes blessing for Gentiles as well as for Jews, who would selfishly keep it for themselves alone.
And so we pass to the 19th verse. "But I say, Did not Israel know?" Was the grace of God overflowing the boundaries of their race and spreading out to the distant and darkened nations a total surprise to the sons of Jacob? What saith the Scripture? Turn to Deut. 32:21 for the answer, quoted in this verse, and next (verses 20, 21, to Isa. 65:1,2). And so we reach the end of this wonderful chapter of God's Word.
(To Be Continued, D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 12:6-21
Chapter 12, verses 6-21.
Of seven gifts named in verses 6, 7 and 8, "prophecy" heads the list. Commonly in our thoughts we connect it with the foretelling of events, but in Scripture the word has a wider meaning,-the telling out of the mind of God. Surely this is a wonderful gift, to know on occasion what God would have to be said, and to tell it. There is, however, a danger that he who prophesies may intrude his own thoughts, speak them as from God; so we have the exhortation here, that prophecy should be according to the proportion of faith given to the speaker.
The second gift, "ministry" or in modern English, "service". We might, if left to ourselves, have given this a place lower down in the list; but God thinks not as men do. If one's gift lies in serving His saints, it is a precious thing to God, though it may at times appear little to us.
The sixteenth chapter begins with the commendation to the saints at Rome of Phoebe, a sister, servant of the Church, or assembly, in Cenchrea, the port of Corinth. This was good employment, indeed, that Phoebe had, in serving the believers where she lived. Is it perheps your gift, Christian reader, where you live? Then practice it faithfully.
“Teaching" and "exhorting" come next; to be taught out of the Word of God, and to be stimulated to apply the teaching practically in our lives, are what every one of us greatly need. So God has provided these gifts, and He has sometimes let us see them in exercise in young Christians, too; generally they are developed through perhaps years of training; not as teachers but as learners, in the school of God.
Every one of His children, whether he knows it or not, is in God's school, to learn lessons that men with all their learning can never teach; some Christians, you may have noticed, appear to make but little progress in that school. May you and I, then, dear young Christian, be apt scholars in God's training school at all times, whether or not it is given to us to tell others, as "teachers" or "exhorters", what we have learned in our souls from Him.
The next gift in this remarkable list is "giving". The aim of so many in the world is to get all they can, and perhaps to give only under constraint; but these are not principles of Christianity. The principle of this world is not, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35),-words spoken by the Lord Himself. Was there ever another giver like Him? Never, indeed, nor could be.
In 2 Cor. 8 the apostle lays before the saints at Corinth the case of their poor brethren in Macedonia, not to ask help for them, but to tell "how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality", in providing for others more needy than themselves. Presently, too, the apostle brings before them the example above all others:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." 2 Cor. 8:9.
But we must return to our chapter. Among the members of the body of Christ (verse 5) God's gift of giving is found; it is to be carried out "with simplicity" (verse 8); that is, the saint should not allow himself to be turned away from giving by one excuse or another that the old nature within might suggest. The word in the original translated "simplicity" in this verse is in 2 Cor. 8:2 made "liberality"; in the one case it is a literal translation of the original Greek, and in the other the practical meaning of the word in English is given.
Next we come to "he that ruleth" (or takes the lead); for God provides leaders for the help of the body of Christ; they are to be diligent. Last of the seven gifts is "he that showeth mercy", or compassion; such a gift is to be used cheerfully, not grudgingly. How good of God to provide all these gifts! May we each be exercised about the use of them that they be not left dormant or little used.
Verse 9 commences a veritable guide book of Christian conduct and motives and the spirit that should actuate every believer. First is love; it should be without dissimulation; that is, it should be unfeigned, genuine, sincere. Love is a part of the believer's new nature; it is of God, as we read in 1 John 4:7. Let it then be maintained in purity according to its divine source; so is it said here, as closely following and guarding the reference to love, abhorring evil, cleaving to that which is good. This admonition from God was never more needed than now, by young Christians and old, applying as it does to each of us in thought and word and action. Be on your guard, dear reader!
Verse 10 is the first of six passages in the Epistles in which brotherly love is referred to. The others are 1 Thess. 4:9; Heb. 13:1, 1 Peter 1:22 ("love of the brethren"), and 3:8 ("love as brethren"); and 2 Peter 1:7 ("brotherly kindness"). One word suffices each time in the original language,-the well known "Philadelphia", from which a great city in the United States has taken its name; but of much moment to believers is the letter to "Philadelphia" in Rev. 3:7-13. There we may plainly see that brotherly love is not to be separated from what is due to the Lord Who is the Holy and True One. If we would please Him, we must abide by His word and His name.
In our chapter, brotherly love is to be shown out in a practical way, in kindly affection one toward another. This is pleasing to God, and cheering and encouraging to His people. Then, too, the same verse (10) gives direction as to honor; is it due to one or another of my brethren because of faithfulness, or some other reason? The natural heart would shut itself up in self-love; but for us the word is "each taking the lead in paying honor to the other." Next in verse 11, is, "not slothful in business". Some would take this to mean that a Christian should be diligent in the service of his earthly master, and surely this is to be commended, but it is not what is referred to here. The "business" in this verse is God's, not man's as may be seen from another reliable translation known to many, which reads for this passage, "as to diligent zealousness not slothful"; and from the remainder of the verse, "fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”
Verse 12: In the last two verses we have been looking at the outward man, so to speak now we turn to what God desires in the inward man. In the former we had the public life; and in the latter the private life is referred to; depend upon it, service for God and for His people will amount to little unless there is a going on with Him in the heart and in the conscience. So we now come, first to hope, then to trial and lastly to prayer; often in a believer's life these three are together. Hope is of course the Christian hope, which is the coming of the Lord with all that will bring in its train. About thirty times in the Epistles from Romans to 1st John this hope is spoken of, and in such a variety of ways. Indeed we have seen it already in our progress through this Epistle in both the 5th and 8th chapters, and it is found again in the 15th. What would life be for the believer if it were not for the Christian hope?
As regards this hope, then, we are to be rejoicing. Tribulation, or as we often say, trial, comes; well, God has prepared His children for that too. In John 16:33, Acts 14:22, and in chapters 5 and 8 of our Epistle help and encouragement are there for us in that very connection. Here in verse 12, as in the fifth chapter, we are to be patient, or enduring, when trial comes in our paths. Prayer is a necessary and practical support of the Christian hope, and without it we never could endure trial. In prayer we are to be persevering.
Verse 13: God would have us warm hearted toward His own. If I should say, referring to the 8th verse, I have not been given that gift of giving; and it is perhaps true, still the 13th verse confronts me because it, like the other verses we are now examining, is addressed to all the people of God, whether gifted in a special way or not. What are the necessities of the saints? Whatever they need. Indeed, the word here translated "necessities" is commonly made "need". You will find it so translated in 1 John 3:17, Phil. 4:19 and Eph. 4:28. "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8), surely has an application to all the followers of Christ. And as to hospitality, which is expressly laid on us in this verse, will you turn the leaves of your Bible to the four other New Testament passages in which it is expressly mentioned? They are, 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8; Heb. 13:2; and 1 Peter 4:9; the first two might be said to be limited in their application, but not so the last two! Of course what is referred to is hospitality toward the saints of God. It may be a real question at times how these Scriptures can be complied with, because of a small income, but just put together Philippians 4:19 and 1 Peter 4:9, and you will find God's blessing.
In verse 14 the view is outside of the little circle of those that are "His own" (John 13:1). Bless them that persecute you; bless and curse not. Here we are reminded of Him in whose steps we are to walk, Who being reviled, reviled not again, when suffering threatened not (1 Peter 2:20-24).
Verses 15 and 16 lead us to sharing one another's joys and sorrows, not respecting one more than another; not minding what is regarded highly in this world, but going along with the lowly. Is it not precious to have these instructions from God for our guidance in a world whose hopes and plans are often far removed from the Christian's? You will notice that "rejoice with those that rejoice" is first, and "weep with those that weep" follows. It is often a real test of one's spiritual state when another has occasion for rejoicing, for the natural heart, even in a believer, will entertain envy at another's good. There is little difficulty in sharing another's sorrow, as a rule. "Condescend" is not the true sense in the 16th verse, and the marginal note shows an endeavor to correct the defect. A still better translation of the clause is, "but going along with the lowly." Surely this becomes us all.
“Be not wise in your own conceits" (eyes). Now this. is not "wise" in the sense of possessing much knowledge, but "prudent", or "provident", as in Matt. 25:2, 4, 8, 9, and 1 Cor. 10:15. God would have us realize that wisdom for our path through life is in Him, not in us; may He keep us His children in dependence on Himself!
In verse 17 we enter upon a subject the consideration of which occupies the greater portion of the next chapter: the Christian in his relations with the world. Are you shown unkindness, shamefully treated? Do not return evil for evil. "Provide things honest in the sight of all men", is more than paying one's bills; it takes in all that the world can see of the Christian; one has expressed the meaning of this portion of the 17th verse as "taking care by forethought that there should be what is comely and seemly before all men.”
It may at times be impossible to live in peace with all, but the blame for it is never to rest with the believer: "If possible, as far as depends on you, living in peace with all men"; but to allow our adversaries room for their wrath. Toward those who are determined to be our enemies there is to be no retaliation, no avenging of ourselves; no resistance ("give place to wrath"); for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. The quotation is from Deut. 32:35. It may be, too, that your enemy may be won over by kindness (verse 20). The last verse of our chapter is a very profitable admonition for the believer's guidance, is it not?
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:1-16
Chapter 9:1-16ROM 9:1-16
The eighth chapter marked the close of the doctrinal part of the Epistle, and the Holy Spirit in chapters 9, 10 and 11 gives attention to the past, the present and the future of the Jews. On what footing, or ground, did the sons of Jacob stand before God after Sinai? Has He cast them away forever? Or will they again be His people as a nation, as once they were? These and other questions are answered in the section of the Epistle upon which we now enter.
The Acts, from the beginning of Paul's preaching (chapter 9:20-30) abounds in evidence of the bitter opposition of the Jews who rejected God's offer of salvation through Christ for themselves, and would not hear of His favor going out to the Gentiles equally with themselves. Regarding the apostle as an enemy of his nation, they once and again planned to kill him, and repeatedly stirred up persecution against Paul and his fellow laborers in the gospel. Rightly, then, this part of the Epistle, which deals with the Jews, is introduced with an expression of the apostle's true attitude toward his race.
Verses 1-3. What he says is truth in Christ, not a lie; his conscience bearing witness with him in the Holy Spirit, that he has great grief and continual pain in his heart on account of his brethren, his kinsmen, according to flesh. Paul had even wished (for it is believed that the correct reading of the third verse is "For I have wished, etc.") to be a curse from Christ for the Jews; in this he was like Moses in Ex. 32:32. What love this was, for kinsmen so unresponsive, so unworthy; yet altogether beneath the measure of the love of Him who endured the cross for His enemies (Rom. 5:7-10)!
In the fourth verse seven privileges, divinely given to Jacob's children, are named in an order for the most part historical, that is evidently of God.
The first of them goes back to their beginning; they are Israelites-the offspring of the patriarch whose name was changed to Israel, meaning "Prince of God" (Gen. 32:28).
Secondly, theirs is the adoption, as it is said in Ex. 4:22, 23, "Israel is My son, My firstborn"; this was the word Moses was to deliver to the ruler of Egypt who held the Israelites in cruel bondage.
Thirdly, theirs is the glory; to them God made manifestations of His glory constantly during their forty years' journey from Egypt to Canaan (Ex. 40:34-38, Num. 9:15-23, and other passages referring to particular occasions); afterward the glory was displayed at the dedication of Solomon's temple (2 Chron. 5:13, 14, and 7:1-3): later in the Old Testament it was seen only in visions of the prophets (Isa. 6; Ezek. 1; 8:4; 9:3, 10; 11:22, 23; 43:2, 5, and 44:4; the last two passages referring to the temple to be built at Jerusalem in the Millennium).
Fourth in the list is "the covenants"; these were made with Abraham (Gen. 15:18-21 and 17:10-14), and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob (Ex. 2:24; Lev. 26:42); with the nation at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19 to 24); and with David (2 Sam. 7:8-16, and 23:5; Psa. 89:3; Jer. 33:20-22). The new covenant to be made with Israel in the coming day (Jer. 31:31-34) completes the list.
The giving of the law, and the service, were God's wise provision for His earthly people. No other nation has ever been able to boast of a code of laws and a system of religious observance which, down to the smallest detail, were given to them by God. "The promises" speak of His faithfulness, as well as His grace. Open your Bible at Gen. 12 and read the promise to Abraham at the beginning of the chapter. Turn to the 22nd chapter, and read verses 15 to 18. Pass on to 2 Sam. 7, and consider the promise therein made to David concerning his throne. These are but three of many precious unconditional promises made by God concerning Israel; everyone of them will be carried out in the coming day of that nation's rebirth.
Verse 5: "Whose are the fathers,"-the men of faith who in Israel's early history believed God and walked, as the habitual rule of their lives, before Him: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and others. "And of whom, as according to flesh is the Christ, who is over all God, [or, is God over all] blessed forever." (N.T.). Father, Son and Holy Ghost, all three Persons are God, one God; so the Scriptures unvaryingly declare, while pointing to the Son's having become man, and of Israel's race, through birth of the virgin Mary. Nor did He, in becoming man, partake of man's sinful nature, or cease to be God.
Verses 6, 7. It is not that the word of God concerning Israel has failed. It might have been said that the Jews owe their present state to the rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, but though this is implied, the direct statement of it is not made, while with gracious forbearance the objections of the Jews are inquired into. Did they claim that all of Israel should be blessed? Not all are Israel which are of Israel, nor because they are seed of Abraham are all children, for Abraham had Ishmael as well as Isaac, and no Jew would admit that the Ishmaelites (Arabs) were within the enclosure of the favored people. The word indeed was, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12).
Verses 8, 9. Then the favor of God was connected with His promise, not with natural birth; it was God's sovereignty, to do as He pleased.
Verses 10-13. But it might be said, Ishmael was the child of a bondwoman, a slave; while Isaac was Sarah's (the wife's) son.
The twin births of Jacob and Esau are therefore cited, and God's purpose according to His own sovereignty appears more plainly in the word to Rebecca which is next quoted, "The elder shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23)-uttered before the children were born. Thus is it shown to be not of works, but of Him that calls. Concluding the reference to Rebecca's twins, a passage in the last book of the Old Testament (Mal. 1:2-5) is named. There, nearly fourteen centuries after Jacob and Esau had died, God reviews their lives, the one, though with much of the strength of nature about him, that had to be broken down, keeping God before him; and the other, looking not to God at all, a man of the flesh was Esau. "Jacob have I loved." God could then say, "but Esau have I hated." Long before this Esau, or Edom, the nation which sprang from Jacob's brother, had taken their stand in unrelenting hatred of Israel.
Verses 14-16. What then is to be concluded? Is there unrighteousness with God? Far be it. He is sovereign, and will have mercy on whom He chooses, and will have compassion on whom He will. Never does the Word of God say or even imply, what men have said of Him, that He predestinates any man for the lake of fire, for eternal judgment. The words quoted in the fifteenth verse, are taken from Ex. 34:19, uttered after the people had turned (after witnessing God's power and love for them in delivering them out of Egypt) from Him to idolatry, to worshiping a golden calf. He might well have consumed them all, but in grace, falling back upon His own sovereignty, He declares, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." So then, as verse 16 concludes, it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.
(To Be Continued, D.V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 11, Part 2
Chapter 11 Part 2
The fig tree, for which turn to Hos. 9:10; Matt. 21:19, 20; Mark 11:13, 14, 20, 21; Luke 13:6-9, represents the people of Israel as a nation, cultivated by God, but in vain as far as any fruit for Him was concerned. The fig tree's fruit appears before its leaves come out; Christ, in the Scriptures referred to, came to the fig tree, which under its foliage should have had a full yield of fruit developing for the coming harvest, but not a fig was there. Abounding in the appearance of life before men, (but it was only outward profession), Israel had no fruit for God, and was now rejected.
The olive tree, for which see Psa. 52:8; Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14 (particularly verse 6) and our chapter in Romans, refers to the promises made by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:2, 3; 13:14-17; 15:5, 18-21; 17:1-7), and treasured by his descendants, the natural trunk or branches of which Abraham was the root. But the Jews rejected Christ, and were in consequence set aside; the Gentiles on the principle of faith were grafted into the tree of promise in the place of the broken off natural branches. And how have the Gentiles treated the singular blessing of God which has accompanied the spreading of the gospel? Has their course been better than that of Israel, when they enjoyed God's favor? Surely not; and the end of it will be reached when the natural or Jewish branches are restored to their own olive tree of promise, and the Gentile or wild olive branches are cut off under the government of God. Christendom is on trial now, as Israel was of old, and it will issue in the apostasy, foretold in 2 Thess. 2:3-12. This event will be shortly followed by the reception of the Jews, and the lost ten tribes,-the new Israel, born again.
Now in all this that we have been considering, the subject of the believer's eternal security has not once been touched upon. The theme all the way through is the responsibility of man to God. Thinking little, if at all, of that responsibility, the Gentiles in large numbers look down upon the Jews, and they are hated and persecuted, but the day is coming when the tables will be turned, and the Jews will have the first place in the world, as of old. Blindness, or hardness, in part, is happened to Israel, until the fullness, or full complement, of the Gentiles-all the Gentiles whom God purposed to have part in the blessing-will have come in (verse 25); and so all Israel shall be saved. This is part of the determined purpose of God which the will, and the works of man cannot alter.
You will notice that the expression, "all Israel" in the 26th verse is in contrast with God's present saving of a few Jews among many Gentiles who are saved. In the coming day, Israel as a nation will turn to God and be saved. This has never been the case heretofore, but when His judgments have been executed in the earth at the beginning of Christ's Millennial kingdom, there will be no unsaved ones left among the children of Israel. Among many passages which tell of God's dealings with Israel in a day now surely very near, we need name only two, Zech. 13:8, 9, relating to the two tribes known as the Jews, and Ezek. 20:33-44, which speaks of the now lost ten tribes. When the unrepentant have been purged out of the two tribes, and out of the ten tribes, all Israel, reunited in the land of their forefathers, will be saved.
In verses 26, 27 the quotation is purposely not an exact one; chiefly taken from Isa. 59:20; it expresses the substance of what several Old Testament passages tell, of a deliverance, or rather a Deliverer, to come for Israel. This is the third ground of assurance that Israel has not been finally rejected. Bitterly opposed to the gospel, as we may readily see in the Acts, they became open enemies of the believers, but, because of God's purpose to bless a chosen (elect) remnant of them, the Jews are beloved for the fathers' sakes. The gifts and the calling of God are not subject to repentance; that is, He does not repent of His purposes. On this faith rests.
A rather more exact, and more readily understood translation of verses 30, 31 and 32 follows:
“For as indeed ye also once have not believed in God, but now have been objects of mercy through the unbelief of these; so these also have now not believed in your mercy, in order that they also may be objects of mercy. For God hath shut up together all in unbelief, in order that He might show mercy to all" (N.T.)
God had acted in grace toward the unbelieving Gentiles; the Jews had no taste for this, and the consequence was that they lost all right to the promises made to Abraham. For them, therefore, the effect of the promise could only be known through God's mercy, the same for them as for the Gentiles.
Now the consideration of all these marvelous ways of God leads out the apostle's heart (verses 33-36),
“O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
You and I, dear young Christian, do we not enter in heart into this outburst of praise?
“For of Him and through Him, and for Him, are all things; to Him be glory forever. Amen.”
(To be continued, D.V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 13
Chapter 13.ROM 13
With the weighty words of the last verse of the 12th chapter in mind, so important for every young Christian, and every old Christian too, we enter on chapter 13, where is more on the theme of Christian conduct, the first 7 verses shedding divine light on the proper relation of believers, to their governments, called "the higher powers", or more simply "the authorities that are above them." To these every soul (not only every believer) is to be subject.
When this Epistle was written, the ruler of the Roman empire was the outstandingly wicked young Nero under whom both Paul and Peter are believed to have suffered martyrdom about 9 years afterward. The Roman governor Pilate, contrary to law, delivered Jesus to death, while pronouncing Him just, or righteous (Matt. 27:24, 26).
Felix, another governor, 29 years later was a corruptible Roman officer (Acts 24:26).
Christians are nevertheless to be subject to the existing authority or government, whatever be its form or character; thus in 1 Peter 2:13,14, the word of God tells us to.
“Be in subjection therefore to every human institution for the Lord's sake; whether to the king as supreme, or to rulers as sent by Him for vengeance on evil doers, and praise to them that do well." (N.T.)
It is of God that there shall be rule, or authority, in the earth, and so our first verse declares:-"for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are set up by God." (N.T.)
Without government, how long would life or property be safe in this world? One who sets himself in opposition to the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and such persons bring sentence of guilt on themselves. ("Damnation" here is a translator's error.) What is in view in these verses is very plain; the subject of what is due to God is not referred to; we may find that in the Lord's answer to the Pharisees and Herodians in Matt. 22:15-22, and in Acts 5:17-29 in the words of the apostles in the last of these verses. In John 17:16, too, an important truth often overlooked by young Christians is stated, which should govern all the children of God in every detail of their lives.
Verses 5, 6, 7. The believer's subjection to authority is not only on account of wrath-to avoid the consequences of incurring the displeasure of the government, but for a higher reason than actuates the world: and that is because of conscience, since all authority is from God. "Tribute", or taxes on property and persons for the upkeep of the government, must be paid, too, and the collectors are "God's ministers" (or officers), as the ruler or magistrate in verse 4 is "the minister" (or servant) "of God." To all their dues are to be rendered; tribute to those to whom it is due; custom (taxes on merchandise) where required; fear to whom fear is due; honor to whom honor is to be paid. The seventh verse covers a wide range. And you will observe that in all this instruction from God there is no provision for the believer's seeking any advantage, any recognition, any place for himself in the world. Indeed the whole of it is outside of what belongs to the believer, except that in observing what is laid down in verse 1 to 7 he is honoring God.
Verses 8, 9, 10. The Christian should have no debts in this world, except one which can never be paid in full, but on which we should always be paying-to love one another. He that loveth another, hath fulfilled (or fulfills) the law. As another has said,
“By the conduct which flows from love, the law is already fulfilled before its requirement is applied." And the eighth chapter has already been before us with its declaration in verses 3 and 4 that,
“What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness (or righteous requirement) of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.”
This, then, is normal Christianity; a high standard of walk, but one that God has made possible for us, His children.
The ninth verse quotes from the ten commandments given at Sinai (Ex. 20, Deut. 5), those of them that have to do with man's attitude toward his fellows, which are comprehended in the words found in Lev. 19:18,
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The commandments Godward are comprehended in the passage in Deut. 6:5,
“Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." It was to these two verses that the Lord Jesus referred in speaking to the lawyer in Matt. 22:35-40.
In the tenth verse the paying of the debt of the eighth verse is shown for us to carry it out: Love worketh no ill to the neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling, or literally translated, the fullness, of law.
The closing verses of this chapter bring out another motive that must actuate believers, in addition to love, which alone will not do. In expectation of early deliverance from the present scene of Satan's power, we are to be aroused out of sleep; the "works of darkness" are to be cast away, and the "armor of light" is to be put on. Morally, the night began when Christ was rejected and crucified; it will end at His appearing, when the day of the Lord begins, which is so often referred to in both Old Testament and New (one Scripture reference must suffice here: 2 Peter 3:10).
The night was already "far spent" when the Epistle to the Romans was written, and believers were even then to be aroused to a realization of this. God, with the purpose of saving souls, even now, has through the past centuries restrained the characteristics which mark the near approach of the day, so that we also may say, "the night is far spent; the day is at hand." Our salvation, each believer can rejoicingly say, is nearer than when we believed; salvation here takes in the whole result, as regards us who have trusted in Him, of the cross of Christ, when at His coming for us salvation will include the body, our souls being already saved (1 Peter 1:9; Phil. 3:20, 21).
Though the character of things all around us speaks of the night, we, aroused by the Word of God to a realization of the time, the day being drawn nigh, are enjoined in the 13th and 14th verses,-"As in the day, let us walk becomingly; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and lasciviousness, not in strife and emulation. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not take forethought for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." (N. T.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 11, Part 1
Chapter 11
Part 1
In this chapter the subject is still that which first engaged us in the ninth chapter, namely, How is the gospel which God is making known in our day, reconciled with the special promises He made to Israel in Old Testament times? In chapter 9 the claim of the Jews to be God's people by birth was considered, and it was shown that the Old Testament Scriptures had foretold the blessing of the Gentiles. The 10th chapter made known how it was that Israel lost the blessing, and the chapter we are now to go over together, asks and answers the question, Is their present state of rejection as God's earthly people final?
The tenth chapter closed with a very solemn word quoted from Isa. 65:2, and if you will turn to that passage, you will see that God had much more to say about His people Israel, whose ways had provoked Him to anger continually; yet in His grace, He speaks of a future day of restoration for a remnant of them. Turning to our chapter in Romans we read,
“I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid.”
Paul himself was a proof that the nation were not altogether forsaken. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.
Elias (Elijah), that faithful prophet of a dark day in the history of the ten tribes of Israel, had pleaded with God against the people (1 Kings 19) when the dark shadow of idolatry had settled over the land; other prophets had been killed, and his own life was sought; God's altars were destroyed What an answer the, discouraged prophet was given!
“I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal!" Was this not a beautiful evidence of God's favor? He had kept a remnant from the service of the devil, though they were hitherto all unknown to Elijah. So in the present time there has been a remnant according to the election of grace.
Verse 6. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace.”
This theme of the free, unmerited favor of God, man's "works" being totally rejected, is the theme of the Gospel as expressed in the Epistle to the Romans. Israel then had not obtained what it sought for, but the election, the spared remnant, had, and the remainder of the people were blinded, or hardened. For this, two Old Testament Scriptures are referred to in verse 8, where Isa. 29:10 and Deut. 29:4 are put together (Psa. 69:22, 23 is also quoted in verses 9 and 10).
A second proof that Israel is not finally cut off is given in verses 11 and following: The gospel was going out to Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy. And for this we have the striking prophecy of Deut. 32:21. If (verse 12) Israel's fall is the world's wealth, and their loss is the wealth of the Gentiles, how much rather their fullness?
The apostle is referring first to the blessing that followed the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, when Israel would not listen; and afterward to the world-wide blessing which will come in after Israel's turning to God at the dawn of the Millennium.
Verse 13: The apostle is writing to Gentiles; he tells them that "inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office" (or, glorify my ministry). It was to the Gentiles he was sent (see Gal. 2:7-9), but his heart went out after his own nation too, that by any means (verse 14) he might provoke them to jealousy, and might save some from among them. For if their casting away be the world's reconciliation, what will their reception be, when they truly turn to God, but life from the dead? Actual resurrection from the grave is not here referred to, but a national spiritual awakening resulting in the salvation of the remnant of Israel, which the Old Testament prophecies abundantly forecast.
In the 16th and following verses the figure of an olive tree is brought in to illustrate a principle of God in connection with the earth, and particularly with Israel. Three trees are used in the Scriptures in this way: the vine, the fig tree, and the olive.
The vine, as to which see Psa. 80:8-11; Isa. 5:1-2; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 10:1, John 15:1-6 and Rev. 14:18, represents a religious system in professed connection with God, with the bearing of fruit as its proper function. Israel was the vine, but it was set aside; Christ, as He walked this earth was the true vine, and now the professors of Christianity, real and false, are the branches. Rev. 14:18 presents the end, in a day yet future, of the empty profession of religion,-the vine of the earth, without any true knowledge of Christ in it.
(To Be Continued D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 12:1-8
Chapter 12, Verses 1-8
The apostle has completed the doctrinal part of his letter to the Christians at Rome, and now turns to the practical application of it in their lives. What follows is not what one needs to do, and to be, in order to be saved; in order to go to heaven; O no; we have already seen in God's Word His way of salvation.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31.
Faith is reckoned as righteousness to us who "believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Rom. 4:22-5:2.
The 12th chapter opens up a subject of very great importance for young Christians: the subject of how a Christian should live, if he or she would please God. And should we not seek to please Him who has done everything for us?
“I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies (or compassion) of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
So the chapter begins. The apostle is laying before the children of God an earnest desire that the truth they have learned in the 6th chapter should be put into full practice. You will always find in the Scriptures that connected with the unfolding of doctrine, there is an application of it in a practical way to the believer's life.
So it is here. Consider the mercies of God, as we have seen them portrayed in this Epistle: man, a guilty sinner, under condemnation, yet the object of divine mercy; mercy, or compassion so great, so wonderful, that to get its measure, we have to compare Rom. 3:9 to 20, with 5:1-11 and 8:1, 16-39; and again, looking at the Jews in chapters 9 to 11, what mercy is there made known! Now in view of these deep compassions of God, ought not every Christian, reckoning himself, according to the 6th chapter, dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, to refuse to allow sin to reign in his mortal body to obey its lusts; and never to yield his members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; but rather to yield himself to God as alive from among the dead, and his members instruments of righteousness to God?
It is this, then, to which our thoughts were already directed, as we read chapter 6, that the Spirit of God brings afresh before us as we begin the 12th chapter. A dozen times in the Epistles we find "I (or we) beseech you," addressed to Christians about their ways. In a few cases the translators have used "exhort" instead of "beseech" for the same Greek word in the original.
A servant of the Lord who knew the ancient Greek well, has said that the word may indeed be rightly translated "beseech" and "exhort" where fitting, but the full meaning attached to it is the calling upon a person so as to stimulate him to anything.
God is not content to give us only forgiveness of sins, and eternal life; He loves us so much that He would have us like Himself in our ways. And the wish expressed in the first verse is particularly for young Christians, though it is for old Christians too. If you have never given your body to God, a living sacrifice, won't you do so now? His Word says "holy", and if it is to be "acceptable to God", your body must not be a place where sin is allowed. He has told you of His love for you, from which nothing can separate you; now let that house in which you live be devoted to Him from henceforth until the Lord comes. "This", the verse tells us, "is your reasonable (intelligent) service.”
Verse 2. Not conformed but transformed; the two don't go together; they are as, opposite as the north and south poles. H am going on with the present order of things, seeking what the world can give me of pleasure and satisfaction, I shall not know the transformation that the renewing of my mind should have wrought in me, and the peace and comfort which every Christian may have, by living according to God's good and acceptable and perfect will. Happiness, it has been truly said, comes to the believer through obedience. Let us thank God for this precious verse, and make its truth a ruling principle in our lives.
Verses 3-8. If in the second verse we are reminded of the Son of God, who, as He passed in manhood through the world which He had made, never did His own will, was ever the obedient One, in the third verse we are reminded that He, the meek and lowly One, never needed, as we do, a warning word against high-mindedness.
Low thoughts of ourselves become us; we are to think soberly (or so as to be wise, to have a sober judgment), as God has dealt to each of us a measure of faith. And in speaking of this, the apostle manifests that he has learned the lesson for himself, for it is, "through the grace given unto me", he says, that he addresses the believers at Rome regarding it. How different all this is from the character of the world in which we live! We are in another atmosphere altogether, here.
At this point (verse 4) a subject which has an important place in 1st Corinthians, in Ephesians, and in Colossians is introduced, -the "one body" of Christ. We read in 1 Cor. 12:13 concerning all true Christians,
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
This divinely made organism cannot be destroyed; but as a truth of God it may be, and sad to say, it has been, by many given a secondary place.
In the Epistle to the Romans the truth of the "one body" of Christ is brought in to teach believers some primary lessons which belong to their new relationship one to another. In verse 4 the natural body is referred to; it has many members, and they have different purposes. With our eyes we see; with our ears we hear; with our tongues we speak; with our feet we walk; and so on. What a wonder that God should show us in the example of our human body the working of the unseen, but not unknown, body of Christ, His people, made one by the coming of the Holy Spirit. One body in Christ, though we be many, is a marvelous fact; would that all God's children knew it, and gave it its true place in their lives!
And, in verse 5, we find something we could not say of our natural bodies; it is only true of the spiritual organism, the body in Christ into which all believers are formed by the Holy Spirit. We are members one of another; each separately a member of that body, and all of us members of each other. Does this not tell us of a wonderfully precious relationship in Christ?
The sixth verse speaks of gifts, God's gifts; or we may say Christ's gifts, for the riches of the heart of God are ours through Christ and in Christ. The gifts here mentioned refer to this new relationship of which we have been speaking, and all of them are to be used for the good of one another. So we have "prophecy", "ministry" (referring to service for God's people, not exactly speaking to them in exhortation, but serving them in love); "teaching", "exhorting", "giving", "ruling", and "showing mercy.”
(To be continued, D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 9:17-33
Chapter 9, verses 17-33ROM 9:17-33
The haughty ruler of Egypt had said to Moses and Aaron when they made known to him God's claim to the children of Israel,
“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Ex. 5:2.
After he had seen Aaron's rod become a living serpent, Pharaoh's heart was stubborn; then followed five inflictions from God, and after each, though for a moment softened, he hardened his heart against God. On the first occasion, chapter 7:13, the common translation would indicate that another ("he") hardened Pharaoh's heart; but it has long been known that the correct reading is "Pharaoh's heart was stubborn." At length (chapter 9:12) the time for patience was past; the Lord hardened the wicked king's heart, and in the message Moses was then told to deliver were the words quoted in our 17th verse. Five more plagues fell on Egypt, but Pharaoh never repented, though Israel was redeemed, delivered out of his power, out of his land.
Who would deny to God that He may, if He chooses, harden those who refuse to heed His Word? We sometimes speak of the "gospel-hardened"-some who have often heard the message of God's salvation, and seem to be unmoved by it. Are they, perhaps, like Pharaoh of old, fully determined that they will not listen to the call of God, and are they now subjected to a hardening of the heart which proceeds from Himself? Let him who has not put his trust in Jesus make haste to do so, for mercy is for those who will receive it. Solemn is the verse,
“Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." Acts 13:41.
Verses 19, 20: Man cannot escape responsibility for his sins by pleading the sovereignty of God.
“Shall the thing formed say to him that has formed it, Why has thou made me thus?”
We have seen in the first three chapters of this Epistle God's arraignment of man kind, culminating in verses 19 and 20 of the third chapter, with every mouth closed and all the world subject to His judgment. Only unbelief would say, Why doth He yet find fault? The potter has the right to do what he will with the clay, out of the same lump to make a vessel to honor and one to dishonor (verse 21). The Creator has the fullest right over His creatures. You often find people talking about their rights, and they will contend for them; but God's rights are but little discussed, though they are far beyond and above any rights we may have. God may, and without doubt He does, assign to every one such a station in life as it pleases Him to give, but He is never the author of evil, and none are predestined for hell.
The next verses, the 22nd and following, throw a flood of light on this subject of God's rights, and in what way He exercises them. Minded to show His wrath, and to make His power known,-and these two subjects were introduced in the beginning of the Epistle, chapter 1, verses 16-18-He has endured with much longsuffering, vessels of wrath fitted, or made fully ready, for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He had before prepared for glory. Here we have again, those two classes that we have before noticed in the Word of God,-unbelievers, and believers. There is no third class; you are either in the one or in the other. "Vessels of wrath", or "vessels of mercy"; this is very solemn, or very precious, depending upon the class you are in.
If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a vessel of mercy. Think of His patience, His "much longsuffering", with the vessels of wrath, who are fitting themselves for destruction, or loss, the loss of all that God freely gives to all who come to Him through Christ. ("Destruction" in the Scriptures never means annihilation; here it means loss; eternal loss; every human soul will exist eternally.)
Forbearance, longsuffering, with the vessels of wrath until a decreed day of judgment; what of the vessels of mercy? For them the riches of His glory. God delights to give. These "vessels" have done nothing to earn God's love. They have opened their hearts to receive Christ, confessing themselves to be lost, undone; and all the riches of the glory of God are theirs now and eternally. The same expression, "the riches of His glory", you will find in Eph. 3:16; Phil. 4:19, and Col. 1:27; and in Eph. 1:7 and 2:7 it is "the riches of His grace.”
While we are on the subject of God's riches for poor sinners who come to Him, let us look at Rom. 2:4:-"the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering;" at Eph. 2:4, "rich in mercy" Rom. 10:12, "rich toward all that call upon Him"; and Rom. 11:33, "O depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.”
May He give to you and to me to know and enjoy these riches now; depend upon it, that if earthly riches fill our hearts with desire after them, God's riches will have little attraction; and if His riches engage the believer's heart, what this world has to offer will not draw away his affections.
Now these vessels of mercy, of which you are one, dear young Christian, were before prepared for glory by God Himself. Little did you know, when you came to Christ, confessing yourself a sinner, that God had you in mind long before. So little a share in your salvation had you, that you had only to believe His word; perhaps you hardly realized that the Spirit of God had been speaking to you, calling you to receive of the free grace of God. You believed, and confessed Christ as your Savior; you were saved. Yes, the work of salvation is all of God, and both the ancient people, the Jews, and the Gentiles are being saved on the one common ground of grace, God's free favor, offered to all.
Verse 25. Had God said anything to the Jews in Old Testament times about showing favor to the Gentiles? He had; undeniably their Scriptures spoke of blessing for the nations, though the proud sons of Israel, blind as to their own evil state, would have shut them out of God's favor forever (Luke 4:25-29; Acts 13:45; 22:21-23, etc.) The prophecy of Hosea, first of the so-called Minor Prophets, chapter 2:23, is the first reference given, and this is immediately followed by chapter 1, verse 10 (latter part). A Jew might say of these passages, They refer only to Israel; but the Holy Spirit being the author of both Hosea's prophecy and the Epistle to the Romans, we are assured that a Gentile reception of the favor of God was reflected in the Old Testament passage. Other passages in the Old Testament prophecies speak of blessing for the nations as well as for Israel (for example, Joel 2:28-32; Zech. 2:11; Isa. 65:1).
In verse 27 a passage in Isa. 10:22 is quoted, followed by one in the same book, chapter 1:9, both showing that in the face of Israel's utter failure as God's earthly people, deserving only judgment to the full, He will save and bless a remnant of them. Thus is God's sovereignty again shown, working for the eternal good of man, whether Jew or Gentile.
Verses 30-33. In view of all this that has been set before us in the chapter, what shall we say? It is very plain that Gentiles who followed not after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; while Israel, following after a law of righteousness, attained not unto a law of righteousness. And why did Israel fail? Because they sought it not by faith, but as by works of law, for they stumbled at the stone of stumbling,-CHRIST. The reference is to Isa. 28:16,
"He that believeth on Him shall not be ashamed." But is not the case the same now with the Gentile as with the Jew? Man today clings to his works which can never save him; neglects, rejects, even despises, God's salvation, which is obtained by faith alone.
(To be Continued, D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 15:1-13
Chapter 15
Verses 1-13OM 15:1-13{
The first seven verses sum up in a few and weighty words the instruction we have had in the fourteenth chapter regarding the “strong” and the “weak.” May we ponder them deeply!
“But we ought, we that are strong, to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom. 15:1 JND). How apt the Word of God is! The “strong,” more intelligent in the truth of God, are not because of that to look down upon the “weak;” indeed they ought to bear (carry) their infirmities, and not to please themselves. This would be to enter into the feelings of the weak, the very opposite of despising, or making little of them. In Galatians 6:2, there is a somewhat parallel passage:
“Bear ye one another’s burdens (weights), and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
There it is not a question of “strong” and “weak” brothers, but of Christians walking together in brotherly love. How deep must be the interest of our God in His people, since He has given us to know full well what will please Him in our ways. And remember, dear young Christian, that you have not only His written Word for your guidance, but a new and divine nature is yours; and the Holy Spirit indwelling you is the power whereby God may be glorified in your life.
“Let every one of us please his neighbor with a view to what is good, to edification” (Rom. 15:2 JND).
There is no room for selfishness here, is there? But perhaps you are saying,
“And, who is my neighbor?”
The answer is very simple; it is found in the meaning of the Greek word here, and in the New Testament generally translated “neighbor.” The word means “one that is near” and as the Apostle is in these Scriptures writing about believers, it is clear that the “neighbor” here, is any Christian with whom one may come in contact.
The third verse brings us to the Pattern and Example, our blessed Lord. It is most interesting to trace in the Epistles the references to Himself where Christian conduct is the theme; for examples, turn to Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 2:5; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:21. Is there anything that could operate with equal power on your heart in view of the first two verses of our chapter, as that Christ did not please Himself as He passed through the world? Never did He seek His own comfort; always the good of others.
The quotation in the third verse is from the 69th Psalm, written by David for his Lord when He should be crucified, to express that which He felt in view of His entire rejection by His earthly people, the Jews.
The fourth verse, like 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Luke 24:25-27, and other passages, bids us to not neglect the Old Testament, from which, in the light of the New, we can learn much.
“Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning” (instruction), it is plain, means, that the whole of the Old Testament is intended of God for the prayerful study of His children, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“That we, through patience (really, endurance) and comfort (or more exactly, encouragement) of the scriptures might have hope.”
Here we pass beyond the limits of the Old Testament to take in the New Testament also, for “the scriptures” includes both.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable...that the man of God may be perfect...”
So reads 2 Timothy 3:16-17, but in our chapter in Romans, it is that we shall endure and be encouraged through the reading of and meditation upon the Scriptures to the end that the Christian hope may be a known reality in our souls.
O, how important it is that young Christians shall know the Word of God! Do not neglect its daily reading, with earnest prayer for the blessing of it to your soul.
In the 5th verse God Himself is made known as the source of endurance and encouragement: He knows the needs of His children, and is ever ready to supply them. With His help the “weak” and “strong” will be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; thus with one accord, with one mouth, to glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore,” in verse 7 is it said, “receive ye one another, according as the Christ has received you to the glory of God.”
He has received the strong as well as the weak, to share in the glory of God, and I should receive my weak brother as I myself have been received.
It will be seen that the whole subject we have been examining in chapters 14 and 15, relates to those who are sound in the faith. All cannot be received either to the Lord’s Table or into believers’ homes, for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be linked with what is contrary to Him, the Holy and the True (1 Cor. 5); nor should His saints tamper with evil (2 John 6-11). Other Scriptures throw further light on the subject of receiving persons to the Lord’s Table.
Romans 15:8-12 sums up what we have been looking at in chapters 9, 10, 11, and more widely, with regard to God’s dealings with the Jew and the Gentile, His Son having come into the world.
“For I say that Jesus Christ became a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers; and that the nations should glorify God for mercy...” (Romans 15:8-9 JND). To the Jews, or to their forefathers, God had made promises; they will be accomplished to the full. To the Gentiles He had made none; mercy was for them. The quotations of Romans 15:9-12 are taken from Psa. 18:49; Deut. 32:43; Psa. 117:1; Isa. 11:10.
In Romans 15:13 the closing clause of the 12th verse, “in Him shall the Gentiles trust” (or hope) is applied to the believers at Rome -
God being seen as the source of their hope, as in the fifth verse, He is revealed as the source of the believer’s endurance and comfort or encouragement.
“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.”
Joy and peace in believing, and abounding in hope; these are among the Christian’s gifts from God; have you proved their reality? Joy, peace, hope; these are what the world seeks, but how often the joy runs out, and the peace is broken, and hope dies, because founded upon something here below!
It has been truly said that if the Christian had only his life down here, his situation would still be far better than that of the unbelieving, Christ-refusing man or woman, because he has an inward spring of joy and peace, and hope, founded on the solid rock of the Word of God. But the Christian looks on with desire, with longing, into the unmeasurable ages, of an eternity to be spent with his Saviour and Lord, in the assurance, given him in that Word of God, that fullness of joy and peace will only be his—blest though his present portion is—when in heavenly body, and in heavenly scenes, he will be in the company of the Man who died for him. The Holy Spirit gives the believer power to enter into and abide in these present and eternal blessings.
(To be continued, D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 14
What an end to every display, and to every allowance of the old bad nature we are seeing in these chapters full of precious instruction for the children of God! The first three verses of the twelfth chapter gave us the necessary introduction to these things, and we shall never profit as we should by what we are taught, verse by verse, in the more than three chapters beginning with the twelfth, unless those three verses are made thoroughly ours, in a practical way. O, what dishonor to Christ and what sorrow Christians have brought upon themselves individually and upon others, by neglect of these chapters of the Epistle to the Romans!
At the end of the 12th chapter we had a short verse of very wide application,
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Only ten words easy to remember, and you meet the need for them every day in your Christian life.
Again, at the end of the 13th chapter we have another arresting verse. Christ is the believer’s life, dwells in him by the Spirit, as set forth in Romans 8:9-11; as He is thus within, will not you, dear young Christian, wear Him outwardly, owning Him as your Lord?
“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gal. 3:27, as will be seen from the context, refers, not to something I may do, but to my new position before God in contradistinction from what I was before my conversion. There it is “Christ” -identification with Him through His atoning death appropriated by faith; here in Romans it is owning His authority, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” that I am to exhibit Him in my life.
Chapter 14 takes up the subject of the weak brother. God was saving both Jews and Gentiles, and the Gentile believer gave up altogether his idolatrous system, but the Jew who believed, had difficulty in seeing that old distinctions with regard to meat, and to days of religious observance were at an end. He was weak in the faith, but should be received, yet not to doubtful disputations, or “disputes in reasoning” (or “the determination of questions of reasoning,” as the end of the verse may be read). This is exactly the spirit of what we have been reading in the last two chapters, is it not? Christianity, according to the Word of God, and disregarding what men have endeavored to attach to it, that is not contained in that precious volume concerning it, has nothing to do with the observance of days (excepting the first day of the week, the Lord’s day, and that is a privilege, not a command), nor of meats to be eaten or not eaten (Gal. 4:10; 1 Tim. 4:3).
Nor are we who are Christ’s to despise the brother whose faith is weak, thinking ourselves to be somewhat, who after all are equally objects of God’s grace. On the other hand, the brother who in conscientious weakness refrains from doing what his better taught fellow-believer does with the full sanction of Scripture, is not to judge him; for God has received him. How admirable are the ways which God would have His children exhibit in their lives here on earth! As another has said, we are taught to bear with conscientious weakness, and to be conscientious ourselves.
Each, in these cases, is to be fully persuaded in his own mind. It is a question of what is due to the Lord; we are to acknowledge Him in all our ways, for none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. We belong to Him, whether living or dying, and this is connected in the ninth verse with His having died and lived again, the fundamental truth of Christianity. This leads to the solemn consideration of the tenth verse.
“We shall all stand (or be placed) before the judgment seat of God.” (“God” is the correct reading, here, not “Christ”.) Then the twelfth verse,
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
The quotation in the intervening verse is from Isa. 45:23, which includes all, everyone; in our chapter only believers are referred to.
Now in John 5:24 it is plainly stated that the believer “shall not come into condemnation”, and this word “condemnation” is in many other passages translated “judgment”, which indeed is the true meaning. The believer shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life; his sins will never be brought up to bar his access to God’s presence, and 1 Peter 2:24 expressly states of Christ that He
“His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”
They are gone then, no more to appear to shut me up to a lost eternity.
The Word of God cannot contradict itself, nor is there even the appearance of contradiction here; our chapter simply declaring that we shall all stand before the judgment seat, and every one of us shall give an account concerning himself to God. We have a somewhat parallel passage in 1 Cor. 3:10-15. These scriptures show that the lives of believers will pass in review after we reach our heavenly home in the new body according to the Lord’s promise in John 14:3, according, too, to Romans 8:38-39, and to 1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-57, and other passages.
We shall see, each of us, our past as God has seen it, and we shall each give an account of our stewardship. Should this not speak very solemnly to each of us who know Christ as Saviour and Lord? All that I have done, said, thought, is coming out there; not to decide whether I am to spend eternity in heaven or hell, but that I may see what my life has been: what in it was for self, and what had Christ as its object.
We are therefore enjoined in verse 13 to no more judge one another in these matters concerning which the chapter is written, and we are to be careful lest there be something in our lives that is or may be a stumbling block or fall-trap for our brother. The Apostle could say,
“I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself”; he was altogether clear that the truth of the gospel frees the soul from every ceremonial requirement under the law; yet “to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
If on account of meat my brother is grieved, I walk no longer according to love. God will not allow my brother to be destroyed by my unloving and unlovely course, but it is in that direction that my conduct tends, as far as he is concerned, who is my brother for whom Christ died.
Very preciously these considerations are summed up in what follows (verses 16-23). May we take what is contained in them very much to heart, for our own blessing and the good of God’s children generally! In the last verse, read “judged,” or “condemned” instead of “damned,” which is a translator’s error.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” refers to the believer’s life; yours and mine, dear young Christian; an important word, and a word of warning, is it not?
To be continued (D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 16
A letter of commendation (2 Cor. 3:1) for a Christian woman of Cenchrea, the seaport of Corinth where the Apostle wrote the Epistle to the Romans, greets us at the beginning of the chapter. Phoebe was a servant of the church or assembly in Cenchrea; there is nothing to indicate that she was appointed to the position; the contrary would seem to be the case, from what is said about her. Men were appointed for service in connection with the assemblies, as in Acts 6:1-6, and in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 where they are called “deacons”, an English word made out of the Greek word diakonos elsewhere expressed in its meaning as “servant” (as here) or “minister”.
Phoebe’s place, self-chosen as we believe, was to help the saints, to minister to their needs; and the Apostle says of her.
“She hath been a succorer” (or helper) “of many, and of myself also.”
In the wisdom of God we are not told how she served, or helped; was it money she supplied? or clothing? or food and shelter? or some other form or forms of service? Eternity will reveal. Little did this lady think as she went about her work for His saints, that her name and service would be included in the Word of God; but no service for God will be forgotten in the day of reckoning now near at hand.
Phoebe is commended to the saints at Rome “that ye may receive her in the Lord worthily of saints, and that ye may assist” (literally, stand by and help) “her in whatever matter she has need of you” (N.T.). Their Christian character should be seen in their treatment of this visitor.
And should not all our ways and words, dear young Christian, be worthy of saints? The old nature within, and the enemy of our souls from without, would hinder us in every way possible, but we know to Whom we belong.
In this closing chapter, the Apostle, writing by inspiration, has on his heart in a special way the few believers whom he knows at Rome. Nothing like this is seen in other Epistles, because most of those to whom he wrote elsewhere were known to him; those local churches, or more correctly, assemblies, were fruits of his own work. This was not the case at Rome, for he had never been there.
Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned first. With them Paul abode during his long stay at Corinth (Acts 18:1-3) and when he left there they went with him to Ephesus (versus 18-19). They were still at that place when he wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians (chapter 16:19); and after their being in Rome again, we learn of them last with Timothy (2 Tim. 4:19). Priscilla and Aquila—the wife perhaps mentioned before the husband here, as more actively devoted to the Lord’s service—are called “my helpers,” or more exactly “my fellow-workmen” in Christ Jesus; they had for Paul’s life risked their own necks under circumstances not given to us in the Scriptures.
To this Christian couple the Apostle is thankful, and not only he, but as he says, all the assemblies of the nations. This is true commendation, without flattery which ill-suits a Christian.
Next comes Epaenetus, “my beloved,” called “first fruits of” (not Achaia but) “Asia unto Christ.” Mary, or Maria, follows; she “labored much,” and the true reading is believed to be “for you,” not “for us.” Andronicus and Junia (Junias) kinsmen and fellow-prisoners or fellow-captives, because, like Paul, they had suffered imprisonment for Christ, “are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” Thus the Apostle writes of two not mentioned elsewhere in the Word of God. Many far inferior to Paul would have left unsaid anything which might seem to diminish their own importance; but he had not thus learned Christ (Eph. 4:20).
The greetings or salutations that follow are brief but expressive. Amplias is “my beloved in the Lord;” Urbane (Arbanus) is “our helper,” or fellow-workman “in Christ,” and Stachys is “my beloved.” Apelles is “approved in Christ.” Two men are named without a word of greeting: Aristobulus and Narcissus; it is those who belong to them—in one case limited by “which are in the Lord”—to whom greeting is sent. Were they slaves or employees of unbelieving masters?
Tryphena and Tryphosa were women who “labor in the Lord,” and another is “Persis the beloved, who has labored much in the Lord” (N.T.). Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle unerringly wrote concerning each person, commending faithfulness, love to Christ, service for Him, where he could, and in due measure. The mother of Rufus (Rom. 16:13) turns our thoughts to Mark 15:21; she had been a mother to Paul.
Evidently there was nothing to be said in commendation of those named in the 14th and 15th verses, for the Apostle is silent as to them. Compare this passage with Colossians 4:7-14, noting the brief “and Demas” of the 14th verse, which suggests a reference to 2 Timothy 4:10. However, we would not go beyond what the Scriptures reveal, in concluding that the saints named in verses 14 and 15 of our chapter were cold of heart; perhaps they only lacked opportunity for showing devotedness to Christ.
Verse 16. There are eleven references to kissing in the New Testament; three of them, Matt. 26:49; Mark 14:45, and Luke 22:48, speak of the betrayer Judas’ kisses in the garden of Gethsemane; one is of the woman that had been a sinner, kissing the feet of Jesus in the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:38) another is the father’s action in receiving back his repentant son (Luke 15:20); the sixth is in Acts 20:36-38, where the apostle bids farewell to the elders of the Ephesian assembly; the remaining five give direction for believers, as in verse 16 of our chapter. Together with the verse before us, 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12, and 1 Thess. 5:26 speak of a holy kiss, using the same word, holy, as is used for God the Father in John 17:11; for the Lord, as becoming man in Luke 1:35; for the Holy Spirit in almost every reference to Him; for the angels in Mark 8:38; for the Scriptures in Romans 1:2; for the Christian’s calling in 2 Timothy 1:9; for the practical daily life of believers in 1 Peter 1:15; and for our eternal place and character in Ephesians 1:4. The eleventh reference is 1 Peter 5:14, where a kiss of love is spoken of. In 16 of the Epistles, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, those to Timothy, Titus, Philemon, the Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, the three of John, and Jude, and in the Revelation, the token of family affection is not once named. In the light of these Scriptures and others which join them in directing the believer’s path in a dark and difficult day, verse 16 is, we believe, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, rightly viewed in a spiritual rather than a literal sense, between the sexes.
Verse 17: Already there was need for God’s saints at Rome to be on their guard against those who would “create divisions and occasions of falling” (stumbling blocks), contrary to the doctrine which they had learned. Alas, what proof we have had of the proneness of the human heart to do this very thing!
In Acts 20:30 the Apostle warned the people of God through the Ephesian elders that
“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse” (perverted) “things to draw away the disciples after them.”
These men are to be considered, their true object learned, and themselves to be avoided. Obedience to the Scriptures, with wisdom from God as to that which is good, simplicity as to evil, is the way of safety (Rom. 16:19).
Thus we may become acquainted with and built up on the Word of God, and Satan with his wiles is defeated. The time for conflict to cease has not yet come, but “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). Meanwhile the Apostle’s prayer has its place: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Rom. 16:21-24. Timothy and others, with Tertius, who did the writing at the Apostle’s dictation; Gaius, whose hospitality is spoken of; Erastus, the chamberlain or steward of the city; and the brother Quartus, add their salutations, and the Apostle again speaks of his fervent desire for the saints at Rome.
Rom. 16:25-27 form a post-script as inspired as the body of the epistle. They refer, in giving praise to God, to the revelation of the truth of the one body, the assembly or church, and the gathering together in one of all things under Christ. This was reserved in the main for the epistle to the Ephesians. It was outside of the scope of our epistle, in which the foundations are laid of the relations of man with God; always in Romans the Christian is looked at as in this world; justified, and having life in Christ, but not as risen in Him.
Rom. 16:26, for “by the Scriptures of the prophets” read, “by prophetic scriptures,” the reference being to the other Epistles written by Paul to the Gentile believers.
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 15:14-33
Verses 14-33OM 15:14-33{
At the fourteenth verse the apostle, in the course of his long letter, turns to speak of these dear Christians at Rome, many of whom he had never seen. He will have much more to say of them in the last chapter; here he speaks of them in a general way: they were full of goodness, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their hearts; filled with all knowledge, knowledge that is after godliness; able also to admonish one another, to put one another in mind of neglected or forgotten words or ways pleasing to God.
The Apostle Paul had a special position given to no other in the ordering of God, and of this he tells in the next two verses:
“But I have written to you the more boldly, brethren, in part as putting you in mind, because of the grace given to me by God, for me to be minister” (the word here signifies an administrator officially appointed) “of Christ Jesus to the nations, carrying on as a sacrificial service the message of glad tidings of God, in order that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (N.T.).
He was, like a priest, offering up the Gentiles acceptable to God, because of the Spirit’s sanctification; as Aaron in Numbers 8 was to offer the Levites before the Lord, sanctified by their birth and by ceremonies for His service. The Apostle had therefore to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God, as he says in the 17th verse.
In the following verses Paul tells with becoming modesty, in language provided by the Holy Spirit, of his labors to that time among the Gentiles, an account of which is given in seven chapters (13 to 19) of the Acts. He would mention only that Christ had wrought by him, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem in a circuit round to Illyricum—through what we now know as Syria, Turkey and Greece, and to at least the border of Albania on the Adriatic Sea opposite Italy—he had fully preached the gospel.
He had gone where the name of Christ was unknown, announcing the salvation of God among the idolatrous Gentiles of the Roman world. Hearts had been opened to receive the gospel in Antioch of Pisidia, in Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Troas, Ephesus, Colosse and Laodicea in Asia; in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth and Cenchrea in Europe; and no doubt in many more places not named in the Acts.
That account of his travels in the service of his Master is plainly not intended to be a complete one, the Holy Spirit having caused to be recorded therein only what suited Him to tell as evidences of the grace of God in penetrating the strongholds of Satan.
In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 we have a bare outline of much that is not mentioned in the Acts, and in our chapter the devoted Apostle is telling that he has fully preached the gospel through that great region. We shall learn the full story in the glory above.
It had been for many years Paul’s wish to go to Rome, to visit the dear saints of God there, and now having no longer place in the scene of his past labor, he was looking forward to a journey to Spain, by way of the Roman capital, after the journey to Jerusalem upon which he was about to set out.
We know that the beloved Apostle reached Rome as a prisoner, and the pages of inspiration do not record his death, though the Second Epistle to Timothy was evidently written not long before it. It is not certain that he got to Spain, but as Paul was given his liberty for a time, it may be that that desire of his was fulfilled.
It will be asked, How did the gospel get to Rome? God has not told us. That it was not through Paul is clear from this Epistle, and there is no indication in the Scriptures, that it was carried there by Peter; indeed Peter’s name is never linked with Rome in the Word of God, and we do not know that he ever reached the city. Tradition of course cannot be relied upon; the Word of God is our only safe resource. Some have thought that the gospel was carried to Rome by men from that city who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10).
The Apostle speaks (verses 25-28) of a contribution made by the believers of Macedonia and Achaia -northern and southern Greece—for the poor saints at Jerusalem. We read of this in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, and 2 Corinthians 8-9 also. The contribution is referred to as a debt of love; the Gentiles, having been made partakers of the spiritual privileges of the Jewish believers, ought to supply their needs in fleshly things. All were one in Christ, we know; in Him, racial distinctions are gone, but the gospel was offered first to the Jews, and by believers among them carried to the Gentiles.
Paul was confident that when he should come to them at Rome, it would be in the fullness of the blessing of Christ; would the fact that he got there in chains alter that? Surely not. When at length he neared the city, the Apostle was met by the brethren at the Appii Forum, 43 miles outside of the capital, and seeing them, he “thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:15). A joyful meeting it must have been, both for the way-worn prisoner, and the Roman Christians. How vivid a contrast does not this present to the pageantry and pomp attached to the name of Christ in that city today!
Paul well knew the hearts of his unbelieving fellow-countrymen, and that his intended visit to Jerusalem might have serious results for himself (Acts 20:22-23). Here (verses 30,32) he asks for the prayers of the believers at Rome in connection with that journey.
“But I beseech, you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in prayers for me to God” (N.T.).
The Apostle knew the value of the prayers of the godly, and counted on them for himself, first, that he might be delivered from the unbelieving Jews in Judea; second, that the ministry he was taking to the saints at Jerusalem in their poverty might be acceptable to them; and third, that he might come to the saints at Rome in joy by the will of God, and might be refreshed with them.
We have already found in this chapter the God of patience (or endurance) and consolation (encouragement), (verse 5); the God of hope, (verse 13), and now at the close, He is seen as the God of peace,
“Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
We may know Him in all these characters here on earth: in the difficulties of the way, as the God of endurance and encouragement; if the way seems long, He gives us joy and peace in thinking of our heavenly hope; and amid the contentions of men who are strangers to His grace, He as the God of peace will be with us.
May He be better known, both to you, dear young Christian, and to the writer, in all three ways!
(To be continued, D. V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:19-27
Chapter 8, verses 19-27ROM 8:19-27
When the head of the old creation fell (Gen. 3), he dragged down with him the creatures who had been made subject to him; and God has not either with the present blessings of Christianity or with any prior dealing with mankind, delivered them from suffering and death. Yet has He fixed the time of their deliverance, and described its character in Isa. 11:6, 9. It is part of His purpose for the day of the Lord, for the thousand years' reign of Christ which occupies so large a place in the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and is referred to again and again in the New. Among many passages, the most extended references are to be found in Isaiah chapters 25, 35, 60 to 65; Jer. 31 and 33; Ezek. 36 to 48, and Zech. 8 to 14. Fitly here in Romans the emancipation of the creature is connected with the display of the glorified heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-10; John 17:22, 23) which will take place in that day; for, when the Heir of all things takes His inheritance, He will not take it alone.
Who but God could know, and tell us, out of knowledge altogether beyond man's, that the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the coming day of the display of glory? It was not of their choice to be made subject to vanity, to the bondage of corruption, with its accompaniment of groaning and travailing together in pain; no, it was because of the first man's ruin that the dumb creatures were made to suffer; and they must continue to suffer until the Second Man, the last Adam, appears; yet, the suffering is in hope, the hope of deliverance. In that coming day they will be delivered into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. ("Glorious liberty" is not an exact translation in verse 21). We, believers are now in the liberty of grace, as freed from sin's slavery; then we shall be in the liberty of the glory, and the creation will share in that; it cannot share in the glory which belongs to the heirs.
How wonderfully these verses (18 to 22) lead us into an understanding of the present condition of the suffering creation! What passions and what misery man's sin has brought in! Sickness and death abound. The strong take advantage of the weak. And the cruelty of man to the creatures is often very painful to behold. As another has said,
“The more my heart understands what God's presence is, the more deeply my soul will understand the place the creature has got into. What a wonderful position this puts us into,-one of association with God!”
In our bodies we are connected with the creation, and so are subject to vanity, to decay, disease and death, even as they are; but groaning within ourselves, we wait for the redemption of our body. Though the groaning and travailing of the whole creation be unintelligent and selfish, verse 23 gives a different character to the believer's groans; the Holy Spirit dwells in him, and his distress is consequently associated, not so much with his own personal suffering, as with a realization of the bondage of corruption that is upon all here; his groaning is thus according to the mind of God.
It has been remarked that we have no word of Scripture to tell us that Jesus ever smiled, and in Isa. 53:3 and 4, He is spoken of as in His earthly path a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; "Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." He wept at the grave of Lazarus, though in Him there was power to raise the dead, as He presently did (John 11:33, 35, 38, 43, 44). He wept again over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Disease and death had no claims upon His holy body, but He could enter into the state of things which sin has brought about in the world, in wondrous sympathy, and in grief beyond anything we may feel.
In verses 24 and 25 the Christian hope comes in to lighten our burden: We are saved by, or in hope, and are to patiently wait for the promised redemption of the body, then to be in the glory of which we have been told. Our title is complete, our souls are saved, and we know what lies on before.
"Happy they who trust in Jesus;
Sweet their portion is and sure”
the words of a hymn we some times sing.
We have had the indwelling Holy Spirit presented in so many precious engagements for and in the believer; yet is there anything more precious than what is brought out in the 26th and 27th verses concerning His work for us? He joins help to our infirmities, or weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting; in this felt need the Spirit intercedes with unutterable groanings. If what has been before us is really the character of our lives (shame upon us if it is not!) we feel, as God would have us feel, the state of bondage shared by everything animate here; yet what should we ask for? For immediate personal deliverance out of this scene of groans? That would be unworthy of the Christian's character as here on earth; have we not just read that we are to wait with patience for the Lord's good time to ransom our bodies?
For judgment on the wicked? But this too is contrary to what we have learned. We rest therefore in His. Word, groaning because of the effects of sin seen all around us, and not knowing what we should pray for with respect to it; but the indwelling Spirit condescends to give our groans a form altogether beyond us to feel or express.
Verse 27 is exceedingly precious. First we have God searching the hearts of His children; and what does He find? As a writer already quoted, has said,
“It is a sweet thing to know that the Searcher of hearts finds the Spirit's mind and intercession in us, in place of sin and the flesh.”
Searching my heart and your heart, dear young Christian, He knows what is the mind of the Spirit who dwells there; this is according to what we found in verses 5 and 6 regarding the character of a Christian. God looks in your heart, and there He finds the mind of the Holy Spirit wrought in you, in intercession for the saints according to God.
Does it not draw out your very soul in gratitude, indeed in worship to God, as you take in the depth of the grace that is His, in looking in your heart for what is after all the work of His Holy Spirit, and crediting you with those desires of the new nature which the indwelling Spirit has Himself produced there?
(To be continued, D. V.)
When the storms of life are o'er,
And I have reached the other shore,
In the Home of perfect day,
Where all tears are wiped away,
I shall praise Thee face to face,
For the riches of Thy grace.
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:5-13
Chapter 8:5-13.ROM 8:5-13
The presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives a special and peculiar character to the Christian's position in the world; so it is said in verse 4 that believers walk after (according to) the Spirit, and in the fifth verse that they, being after, or according to, the Spirit, mind the things of the Spirit. We do not find here a statement of what a Christian ought to be; that will come in its place; nor are we given instruction regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit for witnessing in an unbelieving world, or for edifying the saints; this we find elsewhere. Instead, what we have here is the characteristic state of the believer, that he is led and energized by the Holy Spirit.
As to the unbelieving, still in the state before God of children of Adam, "in the flesh" (see chapter 7, verse 5), and "after (or according to) the flesh"—verse 5 of our chapter—they mind the things of the flesh; the affections, the desires, and the will of the old nature are theirs and characteristic of them.
The old nature, "the flesh," is truly in believers, but the doctrine of death with and life given through Christ allows no place for it to act; they that are after the Spirit (the position of the believer) do mind the things of the Spirit.
Not always are the marginal notes in our English Bibles safe to follow, but those given for the 6th verse, are sound. The verse has been translated, "For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit life and peace" (N.T.) These are the certain results of the action of the nature within the breast of the unbeliever in the one case, and the believer in the other.
The mind of the flesh (see marginal note for the 7th verse) is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be; and they that are in flesh cannot please God. There is no room here for hope of improvement for man "in the flesh"; the language is plain, and admits of no modification.
O, that many who trust in themselves for acceptance with God, would but heed this solemn, this awful conclusion regarding man; that they would seek mercy while it is called today! Salvation is free!
“But ye," verse 9, "are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you." And, if any one has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. The Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ are different applications of the truth of the same divine Person. He is the Spirit of God in contrast with man in the flesh; the Spirit of Christ because in Him was displayed in perfection a life here below. The believer is not "in the flesh," though "the flesh" is in him; through death with Christ he has passed into a new standing in Him where there is no condemnation; and this position was formed by the action of the Holy Spirit, so that those who are spoken of in verse 1 as "in Christ Jesus" in verse 9 are "in the Spirit.”
Verse 10. What a precious and privileged place is the believer brought into! He is "in Christ Jesus" when it is a question of his acceptance before God; condemnation cannot reach him, because of the work of Christ in dying for him, and now He is living for him above. The Holy Spirit has been given to him to dwell in him, to guide and energize him in the paths of life and peace; and now it is said,
“If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." I am in Christ, and Christ is in me! No doubt His being in me is by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ, dwelling in His people. But what weighty instruction is here: Christ thus dwelling in me, is to be the power of my life.
How wonderfully I am provided for! Shall I, in whom Christ dwells, allow the old nature which (though I have a new nature) is yet in me, free rein, to lead me into thoughts and ways and words that are part and parcel of what I was before I was converted? Would not this be most dishonoring to Him, as well as contrary to what I have learned; contrary too to what the new nature desires?
What then am I to do? Reckon the body —the old natural will and desires and inclinations—dead. Do not yield to it, for to do so is to let the body be the instrument of sin. I am enabled to refuse it; then comes in the latter part of verse 10: "The Spirit is life because of righteousness." Righteousness, then, is not only in the standing I have before God as accepted in Christ; it is connected with my daily life. And it is important that I should remember this. It brings before me the need of constant watchfulness against the activity of that enemy within me, the deceitful old nature, and it shows me the key to a life that is according to God.
Verses 10 and 11 go together, the one treating of the believer's life down here in this world, and the other of that culminating event of Christian joy, the resurrection morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise and we, the living who remain, shall be changed; together with them shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; and so forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-57).
It was God the Father who raised our blessed Substitute from the dead; "Jesus," His personal name, "Christ" a name of His position and office—the Anointed One. Man refused Him, put Him to death, and God raised Him up from the dead. You and I, dear young Christian, have been identified with Him in His death, and we have life through Him; we are to live forever with Him. Here, in verse 11, we are given the pledge of our resurrection, and in language which speaks to the heart.
“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.”
What an answer to the cry of Chapter 7, verse 24; Then we shall enjoy perfect and final deliverance, the old nature gone, and our bodies made fit for our eternal Home. Well may the apostle add, (verse 12),
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors." May there be more and more in our souls a deep sense of our indebtedness to God. It will be our theme in eternity, together with His praise.
And now as we pass on our way through time, in the hope of the realization of verse 11, what shall be our answer, dear young Christian, to verses 12 and 13? We owe nothing to "the flesh," to live according to it, for that way leads to death. The way of life is ours if we, through the Spirit, put to death the evil deeds of the body.
(To Be Continued, D.V.)
The Epistle to the Romans: Romans 8:28-39
Chapter 8, Verses 28-39ROM 8:28-39
There is a lovely connection between the words of the 26th verse, "We know not," and the 28th, "And we know," or more exactly translated, "But we do know." What we should pray for as we ought, we do not know; and that is where the Holy Spirit helps our weakness, as we have seen. But that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, we can say, on the authority of His word, we do know. Precious fact, secured to His people by God Himself, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). He watches over His own that are in the world; some of them are passing through grievous trials, and the trial that presses upon you is part of the "all things"; in its results for good, this trial may affect others ("those who love God"), and not yourself alone.
There is a lovely connection, too, between verses 27 and 28. In the 27th we read of God looking into the hearts of His people, there finding desires which are produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and from the 28th we know that He finds love in our hearts too. We speak not of the measure of the love; surely no child of God can rightly boast of that. But it is not possible to be His without having love to Him in our heart; we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). "Them that love God" means then all Christians, all true believers in the Lord Jesus.
If verse 28 had been limited in its scope to those of God's people who devote their lives to His service, that would be wonderful enough; but mark, dear young Christian, the precious truth here set out for you and for me, that (quite apart from anything we may be privileged to do for Him) all the circumstances of our lives, be they pleasant or painful, are made by God to work together for good to us. O, we should never grumble, or be discontented, with our lot, since such a God is ours!
Without its last clause, which divine wisdom has put there, some might be tempted to read the 28th verse as though it rested upon something in us, even our love to God. All is, however, of His grace, and we are directed to Him as the source. Believers are called according to His purpose.
For the most part the Epistle to the Romans looks at man in responsibility to God, and presents His way of deliverance through Christ from the bondage of sin and of Satan; but at this point the Epistle takes up what was before the foundation of the world, before ever man was,-the purpose of God. This is where the Epistle to the Ephesians begins; 2 Tim. 1:9 and Titus 1:2 may be profitably referred to, also.
It has been aptly said that the 8th chapter of Romans has three main divisions, the first presenting what God has done with me; the second, what God is in me; and the third, what God is for me. Said in another way, the chapter makes known not only that God has worked in me by the Holy Spirit, and thereby put me in relationship with Himself, but that the Spirit is with me in that position before Him; and, finally, what God is for me, in purpose unchanging, in power and love that will not rest until I am conformed to the image of His Son, glorified with Him. The third division of the chapter is now opening before us.
Verse 29: There was foreknowledge in Him; foreknowledge, you will note, of persons, and not, as some have said, merely of what some would be, or do, or believe; it is "whom He foreknew." These He predestined, fore-ordained, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born, the chief, among many brethren. This blessed purpose of God's own will still awaits fulfillment. 1 John 3:1, 2, among many Scriptures, speaks of it and points to the time of its being fulfilled.
Verse 30: Having foreknown the objects of His grace, and predestined them to glory in connection with His Son, God has called them. He is calling them, we may surely say, for the work of the gospel is still going on in the world and sinners are being saved. The called ones are justified (see verse 33); indeed the present justification of all that believe is clearly set out, with the divine ground of it, in this Epistle, as witness the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th chapters. And whither do these blessed counsels of God lead the believer? Our verse tells it: "And whom He justified, them He also glorified." The work is looked at from God's side as already accomplished, that no link in the chain may appear to be missing, from the purpose formed in past eternity to the coming glorification of the redeemed ones in and for eternity to come. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One (1 Cor. 15:49).
Verses 31, 32: "What shall we then say to these things?" The language of inspiration is here for faith triumphantly to make its very own: "If God is for us, who shall be against us? He who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Yes, when He did that for us, there can be no limit to His kindness to us, both in this world, and forever in the glory we are to share.
Verses 33, 34: Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, but rather was raised, Who is also at the right hand of God, Who also intercedeth for us. Christ who has borne the judgment which belonged to us, and has risen in triumph over all that was against us, is now in manhood in the place of power, and is there for us. The very fact of His ascension from the place to which our sins brought Him (in love to us), to the throne of God, is our assurance, our guaranty, of the full, blessed results of His cross. But we have more than His presence at God's right hand; He is there concerning Himself with all that comes in our path, making, still, our cause His own. Thus does the Holy Spirit meet the questions: Who shall accuse? Who condemn?
Verse 35 brings the final inquiry: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" His love led Him through far more of trial than we shall ever know, and it has been asked, To which of our afflictions was He a stranger? Psa. 44, quoted in verse 36, and written of faithful ones of old, and for others to come, in the day when Israel's race will be dealt with in a special way, speaks of sufferers even to death for God's sake; such has been the portion of some Christians, and we have no promise that it may not be again, before the Lord comes.
But in all these things, we more than conquer through Him that loved us. These trials, these afflictions, are to be passed through victoriously; but also in them, and through them, in the purpose of God, the believer is to taste the preciousness of the love and faithfulness of Christ, and thus to realize better the heavenly portion that is ours through divine grace.
Still greater difficulties are brought out in the last two verses of the chapter, and not now so much the seen as the unseen. Nothing that might strike fear into the believer's heart, or give rise to anxious thoughts concerning what may lie ahead, is omitted; and language is, exhausted in order that the fullest assurance might be given that there is no possibility of his separation from God's love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have seen Christ's love presented in its infinite preciousness; at the close of the chapter it is the love of God who planned this wondrous grace for the unworthy, and has forgiven us, made us His children, that is the Holy Spirit's theme. How blest are we who have been taken into favor! Once poor lost sinners, without a single merit of our own; now by believing the gospel of God's grace, brought into the circle of blessing for eternity! What a story this epistle has told; and it is all yours, young Christian!
(To Be Continued, D. V.)