This dispensation of grace neither grants men privilege to sin nor excuses it.
6:1-11 The Law revealed that sin abounded everywhere among men (5:20). However, God's grace abounded to those to whom the awful truth of man's wickedness was revealed by the Law. How? By allowing men with sinful natures to be involved in holy things. More grace was needed for sinful men (Jews) who were close to the holy things of the temple than was needed for sinful men of the Gentiles who were far away from those holy things.
Does the fact that grace abounded toward the Jews, after the revelation of man's depravity came, mean that we in this covenant of God's grace should do evil so that grace may abound all the more toward us? Paul's response: That is a wicked notion. No sin in the OT was forgiven if it was intentionally committed (Num.15:27-30; Ex.21:12-14).
By the mercy of God, our natures have been changed so that no more in mere figures but in practical reality, sin and death have no more dominion over us. We are, in Christ, dead to sin. Faith is not a license to sin, but a liberty from sin. Those who believe in Jesus live as he lives. Question: If we are "dead with Christ", to what are we dead?
sin. . . . . . . 6:11
religious ceremony. . Col.2:20 - 3:3
self-will. . . . Jn.8:28-29; Lk.22:40-42
While Jesus was here among us, those who loved him submitted to the Law as he did. They lived as he lived, and they worshipped as he worshipped. Now, Jesus has passed through the veil which was subject to those ceremonies, and those who love Jesus now live as he lives now and worship the Father as he does now, in the Spirit of truth. Jesus is always the example (Gal.2:20).
v.3 Baptism is the door into Christ Jesus (Gal.3:27). But the baptism which admits one into Christ is not any kind of fleshly ceremony, but a baptism of spirit (1Cor.12:13).
v.4 With consciences purged from sin and dead works we live "by the glory of the Father" (10:1-2; 9:14), just as Jesus was raised from the dead "by the glory of the Father". Both this new kind of life and Jesus's resurrection were impossible without the Father's glory.
v.6 "Crucified" does not necessarily mean killed. After being crucified, some lived, in agony, for days, while there were some who were actually taken down from the cross and survived! Crucifixion will always kill, but only if the crucified person is not rescued.
6:12-23 "Let not" is the only way in English to express the third-person commandment in Greek. Paul's phrase, "Let not sin reign in your mortal body" comes across pretty soft in English translation, but it is a forceful command.
v.13-15: To "yield" means to "make oneself available to". Compare 8:7. Paul is giving a commandment here that is impossible for anyone to keep unless he is living that new life, made possible by the glory of God. (Note verse 18: "Being made free. . . ye became servants.") In this new life, one has to rebel against his own new nature in order to sin. Sin no longer is the natural course of life in Christ. That is the true grace of God. To think that sin is excused because of God's grace is to misunderstand completely what God's grace is all about. Such a misunderstanding comes from the flesh's desire to be rescued from the cross. v.17 There is a doctrine which sets free from sin. It matters what you believe! Paul could not possibly have been more explicit in his meaning in this section of Chapter Six. His commandments are, "Do not yield your body parts to sin. If you do, you are not the servants of God, but of sin." Once again, the Scriptures challenge us to be practical in our faith. "Your master is whoever you obey. If you obey God, then He is your Master and your reward will be eternal life; but if sin, then sin is your master and your reward is eternal death." What could be more easily understood than that?
CHAPTER SEVEN:
The miserable condition of a Spirit-less, religious man.
7:1 First, Paul makes it clear that he is speaking to those who "know the Law". "Knowing the Law" means "under the Law", that is, Jews. Paul calls them "brethren"; so, we know that he is speaking to Jewish brothers, reminding them of the truth that both he and they already know.
God promised through the prophet Isaiah that He would provide a gospel so simple that even a fool could obey it (Isa.35:8). Sometimes, in attempting to explain the truth, extremely obvious points must be made, such as this one: Moses gave the Law to those who were (1) circumcised and (2) alive. Paul's point being this, that if a man is dead, the Law does not apply to him, even if he was circumcised. Therefore, when we are made partakers of Christ's death by being baptized into it, the ceremonial Law no longer can apply to us (Rom.6:2-4; Col.3:3). Ceremonies and symbols, even those which came from God through Moses, become nothing more than dead works to us who are dead! What possible meaning could "doctrines and commandments of men" carry for those whose spirits are dead to this world with Christ Jesus? To get the point, try carrying a corpse into any religious ceremony: baptism, communion, marriage. Even the blind (Isaiah's "fools") would see the folly in that.
7:2-4 Now the reverse: The Law (the "husband") has "died", leaving believers (the "wife") free to remarry. Until Christ came, it was sin to worship God any way other than the way prescribed by the Law. Such apostasy was called "joining" idols as a man and woman are "joined" in marriage (Num.25:1-3; Hos.4:17; Mal.2:11).
If one who lived under the Law of Moses had determined to worship God "in spirit" only, rather than in the works of the Law before Jesus fulfilled the Law, that would have been sinful. That was, in a way, what the false prophets of Israel taught. "God is everywhere; we may worship Him everywhere." But at that time God had not ordained that particular liberty for men, and it was evil to claim that He had. To worship God in every place now is not sin; it is the will of God in Christ Jesus. In fact, even as the Old Covenant prophets foretold, it is sin now to carry on those fleshly, Old Covenant rites which God then told them to do, because doing so implies that Jesus alone is insufficient to save (Isa.66:1-3). As Solomon said, "God has made everything beautiful in His time" (Eccl.3:11).
7:5-6 "In the flesh" means worship in the flesh (ceremonies and symbolic ritual, Phip.3:4-7). Where there are ceremonies practiced, there the nature of the flesh is alive in confusion, envy, strife, and every evil. These evils were "by the Law" because the Law could not rid men of the nature of sin (Heb.7:18-19; 8:7; 10:1), and practitioners of the Law often became puffed up in their vain minds concerning their ceremonial correctness. The Law was fleshly, and worked with the flesh. "The oldness of the letter" refers to Old Covenant ceremonial forms.
7:7 The Law wasn't evil; rather, it revealed what evil was.
7:8-14 The incredible, evil cunning of sin is revealed. Sin even perverted the holy things of the Law, struggling to live among us. It uses holy things like God's Law, given to guide men to life, for its own self-willed purposes, killing men in the process (2Cor.3:6: "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life").
This can happen in the NT as well. We can eat and drink of the Spirit to our own shame and destruction (1Cor.11:17-34). Paul reveals sin to be an ignorant, self-serving attitude, not necessarily conscience of its ungodliness, not necessarily intending to do harm. But in these descriptions of sin, Paul shows us that sin thinks wrongly, and, so, acts wrongly. The "abomination that maketh desolate", spoken of by both Daniel and Jesus, thinks it is serving God (Jn.16:2) even as it corrupts the church and makes it desolate of the fruit and power of the Spirit. Even when the fruit is withered, and even when the power is gone, sin sees no harm done.
7:15-25 Now Paul describes the misery of the unwashed, unsanctified heart that truly desires to do right. cp.14:22b to this man's condition.
What that heart discovers, when it tries in earnest to walk with God, is that there is an unyielding, cruel dominion of sin inbred in man's nature. Sin is not so much "in" human nature as it is human nature itself; so much so that even the very strongest-willed man cannot stop it. It is the natural man's implacable master (6:16), and there is absolutely nothing good in it. Paul calls it a "law", meaning that even when a natural man desires to do good evil is there, very much in control. Sin is the law to the human body. That has never changed, nor will it ever change. This universe, including the flesh of the human body, is damned, and has been damned since the Garden of Eden was desecrated by Adam's transgression. Jesus did not change that. Jesus did not make a way for the flesh to escape the coming wrath of God; rather, he made a way for our souls to survive it. When the truth is preached, it is normal for a carnally-minded person to despair at the certainty of destruction at the hands of an angry, offended God. Jesus himself said, "With men, it is impossible" (Mk.10:27). But there is hope!
Paul himself had felt these things. He lamented, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
What Jesus did was to provide a Spirit for man, God's Spirit, that is powerful enough to subdue even the nature contained in our bodies, and thereby enable those who want to do good to do it, and to be no more under sin's dominion. An indescribably great victory! That done, such a man will be judged worthy to be saved, because he has obeyed God and is worthy to be saved.
CHAPTER EIGHT:
The happy condition of a Spirit-filled life.
8:1-4"There is no condemnation . . . ". Why? Because there is a law of the Spirit which, if we keep, overcomes even the power of sin in our flesh. Peace is a law which rules the trusting heart (Col.3:15). The fruit of the holy Ghost accomplishes what the Law of Moses could not do. To wit, it brings to an end the cruel reign of sin over our lives, if we submit to the Spirit's guidance. Jesus proved that by living a sinless life (after his baptism. Before his baptism it is irrelevant whether he sinned or not.) Rather than suffer through a life of condemnation, he condemned sin itself by refusing to allow it into his life. He is our example! Every child of God has at least that much grace from God, enough to choose not to allow sin to be a part of your life.
Because they so easily condemn themselves for anything that is not perfect, children of God need to know what sin is. It is not sin to be confused. It is not sin to struggle. It is not sin to feel that you need something from God. Adultery is sin. Stealing is sin. Lying is sin. Finding out that something that you believe is not in fact true is not sin. Sin is rejection of the truth, not the mere ignorance of it. You don't know everything there is to know about God. That is not sin. God will feed you knowledge. Receive every bit of that knowledge when it comes and you have not sinned. Those who walk after the Spirit, whether they have received it yet or not, believe every word of God that is given them; they do not sin (Ps.119:2-3).
Satan strives to rule in the church by this means: placing his impossible standard of holiness in the minds of God's children. He knows that God's humble sweet children can be persuaded to slave constantly to fight off the condemnation for failing to "measure up" if he can do that. We are his prisoners so long as we judge ourselves by his standard. What are his standards? Just listen to Christian ministers; they will tell you. And they will also tell you not to worry about it, for God still loves you (so that they can maintain their disguise). But a sincere child of God will not be satisfied with ignoring feelings of condemnation, trusting in a vague hope of mercy. It is the saints' desire to know and to love and to please their heavenly Father, and when that is combined with an ignorance of God's truths, the result is imprisonment in an endless, frustrating pursuit of peace. If the children of God didn't care about pleasing God, they would be satisfied to wander in darkness, as very many in Christianity are.
"Walking after the Spirit" simply means submitting to the guidance of the Spirit. When troubles come, to "walk after the Spirit" means to trust what the Spirit makes you feel at that time. There is peace in the midst of trouble to those who have submitted themselves to the rule of the Spirit. When carnal men are excited about an event, or are caught up in high praise of a great man, to "walk after the Spirit" is to believe what the Spirit says about that event or that man. It is, really, to receive your feelings from the Spirit of God and be unmoved in your feelings by the attitudes and desires of this mad, raging world. It is not to be arrogant toward the world because of its attitudes and ways, but to be submissive to the One whose attitude is always right. The secret of God's rule in your heart is humility, not rebellion - not even rebellion against this wicked world (1Pet.2:13-18).
8:5-7 It is impossible for a spiritually-minded person to communicate its thoughts and feelings (note the similarity between communicate and communion) with the carnal mind. Remembering that will greatly reduce anxiety and fretfulness. You can do nothing to cause a carnally-minded person to understand your feelings and thoughts. It is impossible for a carnally-minded person to obey God, or even to desire to do so. If we have obeyed God, it is only because God set us free from our own carnal minds. In ourselves, the law of God - the feelings and thoughts of God - is absurd (1Cor.2:14; Ps.39:5b).
Note: "Carnal" does not mean "wicked" as most of us think of wickedness. "Carnal" simply means, in a worldly sense, "normal". A normal man or woman in this world is carnally minded.
8:8-9a Carnally-minded men cannot possibly please God, but YOU CAN! If you believe that, you are happy.
8:9b-11 This is basic, and Paul has explained fully why it is true. Without the Spirit of God, we cannot be saved. The "body is dead" so far as unchallenged control of your life is concerned, but even if your body were actually dead right now, so what? God will raise you up!
8:12-18 Since nothing of this creation has met our most critical and basic eternal needs, we are obligated to nothing and to no one in the flesh. A most radical doctrine Jesus preached was that his family consisted only of those people who hear and obey the Word of God (followed the Spirit). The person who fails to understand and live that truth sets himself up for many a heartache. "Live after the flesh" here includes feeling obligated to do the will of another's flesh who thinks you are indebted to him. Friends, be careful who you allow to do you a favor; the carnal mind does nothing without expecting a payback. Clinging to fleshly connections and worldly remedies for evil will lead to death. The only way into eternal life is to stay filled with the holy Spirit.
To the original readers of this letter, Paul's omission of circumcision here was so very encouraging. Just to walk after the Spirit! What a blessed thought! Why, anyone can do that, even a fool (Isa.35:8).
Paul's words are especially touching because of what they must have meant to the persecuted Gentile believers of ancient Rome. Pressured constantly by Jewish believers to add ceremony to the work of Christ in their lives, these powerful arguments of God's love for uncircumcised saints must have brought tears of pure joy to their eyes. What pressures could the disapproving opinions of men exert on those who are aware of how much God loves them?
What pressures could the disapproving opinions of men exert on those who rightly understood the work of Jesus? Such pressures are part of the sufferings which all who love the truth share with Christ Jesus. Paul's warning: Don't you dare allow carnal men to make you feel for a minute that God is doesn't love you and might not save you. Their little persecution is nothing to what you have been promised.
8:19-22 Even nature itself is in a strain to be delivered from this vain life. And it shall be delivered. There is no rest anywhere in this creation. It is all cursed with time (Eccl.1:1-8).
8:23-25 We who are not of this world do, like the world itself, long to be delivered; but, there is one big difference: hope. Our hope of salvation sets us apart from every other entity in this universe. The natural universe will be set free when it is destroyed and replaced with another. We will be set free at the same time, not by being destroyed with the wicked but by being saved.
8:26-27 And we do not have to be concerned about how God will be able to accomplish this salvation from such total destruction, if we abide "in His word". If He destroys everything in this universe, how shall we escape? "Heaven and earth shall pass away," said Jesus, "but my word shall not pass away." Then, we shall escape by "abiding in the word"; that is, not being fooled into moving away from trust in Christ alone for our salvation.
8:28-39 No matter what happens, you can know that God has your best interest in mind. He never forgets you, and never fails. From before the foundation of the world, He knew you (Rev.13:8; 17:8), loved you, wanted you, and chose you, not only to be washed from sin but also to be fed and blessed in this life and saved in the end.
What's the point of all this? That nothing - NOTHING - can ever separate you from God's love. He has proved that by giving for us the very best that He had - His Son Jesus. And if He has given us His best, then why would He not give us everything else He has promised? To the believers who first read this, the foolishness of certain Jewish believers was made clear, who considered Gentile believers second-class citizens in the kingdom of God because they were not circumcised in the flesh. If God cleanses you by His blessed Spirit, loves and cares for you constantly, and has promised to save you, what can any fleshly ceremony add, and what purpose in God's kingdom can it possibly serve?
