Romans 5:20-6:2 - The Law Increased Our Need For Grace

Calvin (8/6/01)

5:20: Here, Paul picks up on a topic introduced in passing in the previous section, and even here, he only speaks to one facet of the use of the Law. The purpose he speaks of is that use of the Law by which man is shown his true condition, has his condemned state revealed and explained to him in such a way that he can no longer deny it to himself, but must seek after salvation. Footnote: The Law was never intended as a means either of salvation or sanctification, but was ever and always a 'subordinate part' in God's full plan of mercy. Some take the view that sin increases in Law's presence because man naturally strives the more for that which is forbidden. However, it is also the case that the Law revealed to man what he had been doing, and so, man moved from being a transgressor to being a despiser of God's authority, and thus increased his sin. Footnote: The Law did not create sin, but only made it known, thus increasing the guilt of those who persist. The Law does not show us our condemned state so that we will remain in it, but so that, knowing our fullest misery, we will be led to seek the Savior whose grace is able to fully overcome our sinfulness. (Is 61:1 - The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to declare good news to the afflicted, to mend the brokenhearted, to declare liberty to those held captive, and to free those imprisoned.)
5:21: Whereas before death was spoken of as reigning, here sin is so declared, and rightly so, for death's power is only given by sin. But righteousness counters sin and death, and here, Paul adds grace to the natural opposite of righteousness, thereby reminding us once more that our salvation comes not by our merit but by God alone. Footnote: Here we see the origin of our salvation in grace, the means of our salvation in righteousness, the agent of our salvation in Christ, and the goal of our salvation in eternal life. "As soon as the grace of Christ begins to prevail in any one, the reign of sin and death ceases."
6:1: In this chapter, Paul shows that those who find license to sin in the doctrines of grace are guilty of destroying the truth of Christ. Righteousness is never given without newness of life. However, it is quite natural that man would attempt to find excuses for indulgence even in this doctrine, for God's truth already seems a paradox to human reason, and Satan ever tends to exploit that seeming breach. We mustn't allow the apparent paradox to suppress our message, and yet we mustn't dismiss questions out of hand, let we become absurd. The first reaction to be dealt with is that of those who look at the declaration of God's grace as indication that nothing better can come to man than to expand his sinfulness in sight of the fact that it will provoke a greater grace from God.
6:2: Before going into detail, Paul quickly denounces the idea that a Christian can consider the gracious repair of our righteousness as a means of furthering vice. That which has put death to sin cannot also simultaneously invigorate it. "Medicine is not the feeder of the disease it destroys." Christ's purpose, that which He attained to in the atonement of His sacrifice, was to renew us to a new life of holiness by His Spirit. How, then, could this be seen as an opportunity for us to continue in sin, the very opposite of holiness? Footnote: To die to sin, according to Chalmers, is to give sin its demand, which is death. Christ did this, and so removed any further hold sin could have. We being united to Christ in His death, have also thus died to sin, and it has no further claim upon us. How then shall we continue to serve a master that is no longer our master?

Matthew Henry (8/7/01)

5:20: (Gal 3:19 - Why the Law?) Not to increase sin in itself, else it would be sinful. Rather, it exposed the sin for what it already was. In the Law, it became clear both that the guilt of Adam's sin had come to us, and that we were quite corrupt in ourselves. By the more abundant revealing of our sinful nature, the abundant grace given us in forgiving all our corruption was all the greater.
5:21: As the tyrant contrasts so with the just king who follows, and so increases the renown of that latter king, so sin's reign serves to make the reign of righteousness all the more wonderful. Righteousness is both imputed for justification, and implanted for sanctification, through Christ our Lord.
6:1: Knowing this great grace that has overwhelmed our sins, what are we to do? (Ro 3:8 - Some have claimed that we teach our churches to do more evil, so that more good may come. But such as believe this stand condemned.) Is this, then, our role? To further sin, in an effort to further grace? By no means, for that would be an abuse of God's grace.
6:2: The suggestion that sin is acceptable in that it furthers grace is a most abhorrent idea, to be rejected as Christ rejected the temptations of Satan (Mt 4:10 - Depart, Satan! For Scripture declares that we are to worship and serve only the Lord our God. Ti 1:1 - The truth of Christ is a truth in accord with godliness) which can have no accord with sinfulness. The remainder of this chapter will be spent in displaying the need for holiness among God's people. We begin with a look at the nature of sanctification, which involves the death of the flesh, and the birth of righteousness, ceasing from evil, and beginning to do good. It is time for us to stop doing as we used to do, to sin no more (1Pe 4:3 - you've had plenty of time for the pursuit of such sinful desires.) "Though there are none that live without sin, yet, blessed be God, there are those that do not live in sin, do not live in it as their element, do not make a trade of it: this is to be sanctified."

Adam Clarke (8/7/01)

5:20: The Law, being Mosaic Law, came so as to reveal the full nature of sin, as a straightedge reveals every slightest deviation from the true. The Law was necessary so that sin's true nature would be seen, and the true hopelessness of man entrapped in sin. In so revealing the truth, the Law serves to prepare its hearers to receive the Gospel, seeing in it their sole hope of salvation. Thus, God has ordained things to be such that wherever the Gospel goes, the Law goes also, preparing the way. Not only has God's grace abounded in providing the forgiveness of our sins, but beyond this, it also prepares us to share in the glory of God, to enter into full relationship with Him. Such a full participation might not even have come to Adam, had he remained innocent, yet that grace is given to us.
5:21: Grace extends just as universally as sin has done. "Eternal life [is] the only sphere where the human intellect can rest, and be happy in the place where God is; where He is seen AS HE IS; and where He can be enjoyed without interruption." Salvation is as complete as guilt once was. What sin had contaminated, grace has purified. What sin had destroyed, grace has restored. Where death had ruled, it now lies defeated. What hell had thought its possession has been torn from its grip. In this chapter, then, we have seen the truth of the fall, and the truth of redemption. It is plainly evident that we come to this life corrupted and degenerate. That all men are subject to death clearly declares this fact. That corruption could not have proceeded from our Maker, for He is perfect and holy, and cannot but create that which is like Himself. Thus, that corruption that follows us into this life must have come as the result of Adam's sin, even as Paul has here taught. That we arrive corrupted is also plain in the fact that to a man, we each sin at first opportunity in this life. In all of history, only Christ has been found the exception. Furthermore, as the laws of nature dictate that each will produce in its own likeness, it would require 'a constant miraculous energy' at the birth of each and every soul to prevent that corruption from coming to us. One need look no further than the nature of the child before reason has gained rule over them, or the infant, dead before a choice could be made, to recognize that this propensity is with us from the start. So long as sin and death remain, there can be no plausible denial of the doctrine of original sin. As to the seeming injustice of creating Adam with the capability to sin, this was required, else he would have also lacked the capability to be holy. Free moral agency is as necessary to the one as the other. To have scrapped Adam, and started over would have accomplished nothing, for the second attempt must have in it all the possibilities of the first, and so, in all likelihood, have wound up in the same state. Better to allow the original to spread its poison into creation, and then to provide the antidote, than to allow their own failures to serve in the course of correcting the evil. However, He would doubtless have refused their spread, had He not known the antidote would come. He is good, and could not so create as to leave His creation permanently exposed to eternal damnation. And this He has done, providing in Christ, a Savior able to repair all transgression, and to elevate all that receive that grace above even that position from which Adam fell. As to infants, there is no cause in Scripture to suspect their damnation, but far more likely is it that they are infallibly saved. Christ, in His birth, sanctified infancy, and in His adulthood, he declared the kingdom of God to be made of such as are innocent as children. (Ti 2:11 - God's grace has brought salvation to all men.) As to those who die without benefit of the Gospel message, God has by no means denied them the truth, where His Word has not been told. They yet have the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and so, will be judged in accord with what revelation they have had. (Ro 2:14-15 - Those who don't have the Law show by their actions that they yet understand the Law instinctively, having it in their hearts and consciences, so that it accuses or defends them according to their actions.) The Fall properly speaks of a loss of poise resulting in a collapse to the ground. In this sense, every sin degrades the soul, bringing hurt, and tending toward destruction.
6:1: Having declared with solid proofs the doctrine of justification solely by faith in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, Paul moves on to discuss the obligations of a holy life which such justification brings upon us, as well as the means grace provides to accomplish those obligations. That holiness is required, we know, for (Heb 12:14 - without sanctification, none see the Lord.) That many thought that this doctrine gave them free license to sin is equally evident (Ro 3:8 - Doesn't this lead to exactly what many have falsely claimed I preach, that we ought to sin more, so that more grace can be given to us? Ro 3:31 - No! Faith has not come to dismiss the Law, but to establish it more firmly.) This error, Paul now addresses systematically. This is the root of Antinomianism. It was prevalent at the start, and has remained so throughout history. But this is not the truth of Christ. While understandable in the newly converted Gentile, who did not yet know any better, it is far less so among nations that have known the teaching of Christianity for centuries.
6:2: The expression Paul uses here denotes an extreme of shocked disapproval. The idea is utterly repugnant. Those translations that have rendered this phrase as "God forbid!" have done a disservice in so closely associating the name of the LORD with such a dark lie, even though it be in negation of that lie. The wording of this verse displays a view of dying and living to a particular thing or person which is common amongst not only the Hebrews, but also amongst the Greek and Latin. To die is to have absolutely nothing to do with that object [even as the converted Jew is treated by his family to this day.] To live is to be totally given over to that object, fully devoted.

Barnes' Notes (8/8/01)

5:20: Another potential Jewish objection is silenced. Lest they claim that Mosaic Law had already addressed the problem of sin, Paul points out that the Law does not correct sin, but rather exposes it. The word translated 'entered' or 'came in' generally carries the idea of secrecy with it, but here, it seems to simply mean that the Law came. The increase of sin was not the purpose of the Law, but it was the effect that the Law had. How this is so is pursued more fully in Ro 7:7-11 (see section VB). Since the Law declares the spiritual duties of man, and opposes the flesh, fleshly man tends to oppose the Law and be angered by it, like a child that wishes to indulge his passions. "If the heart was holy…law would have no such tendency." Law had the effect of making sin all the more evident, violent, and widespread. This prevalence of sin was as true before the Law as after. But grace overcame even the sins of those who had enjoyed the greater light of revealed Law.
5:21: "The provisions of redemption are in themselves ample to meet all the ruins of the fall." (Jn 1:17 - The Law came by Moses; grace and truth by Jesus Christ.) And that grace came to rule by means of God's plan of justification by faith (Ro 1:17 - God's righteousness is revealed faith to faith according to His Word, "The righteous shall live by faith.") It is evident that Paul does not consider the abundance of grace in terms of numbers saved, for all have clearly not been saved. Rather, he considers the ability of grace to overcome the worst, most vile, most aggravated sins of mankind. "The gospel is more than sufficient to meet all the evils of apostasy." In this chapter, the full evil of sin has been exposed. Yet, it must be recognized that Christianity is not the source of sin, but comes to a people already sinful. Even if Christianity were found to be false, yet sin would remain a problem for man. Even outside of Christianity, man searches for the means to deal with that sin. Shall we, then, fail to rejoice that in Christ we have found the remedy? If we are overjoyed when medical science finds the cure for this or that disease, how can we not be raised to heights of jubilation at the recognition that in Christ, the great disease of sin and death has found its cure? No other system, religious or secular, has been able to provide that cure.
6:1: With this conclusion regarding grace, will we not inevitably feel free to sin more, claiming to promote grace by doing so? Paul moves to show that this is not a necessary development, that knowing sins to be pardoned by grace need not lead to greater 'freedom' in sinning.
6:2: He rejects that idea with great energy, as he had in Ro 3:4. (Ro 3:3-4 - Will unbelief bring God's faithfulness to naught? No way! God will be found to be true, no matter how many lies man generates.) As impossible as it is for the dead to act as if alive, it ought to be impossible for the Christian, dead to sin, to live in sin. To be dead to sin is to be completely insensate to its enticements, just as a dead man is fully insensate to the activities and noises of this life. (Gal 2:19 - I died to the Law so as to live to God. Col 3:3 - You have died, your life is now hidden in God with Christ. 1Pe 2:24 - He bore our sins on the cross so that we could die to sin and live to righteousness. Just so, His wounds were our healing.) Note that Paul doesn't feel a need to prove that Christians are thus dead to sin, but delivers that condition as fact. Rather than resort to deep and elaborate arguments, Paul chooses to go straight to the feelings of his listeners, appealing to their own apprehension of what it means to be Christian. It is "abhorrent to the very nature of the Christian" to continue in the sinfulness Christ has vanquished. Footnote: Some difficulty has come of the fact that this verse seems to indicate a complete end to the enticement of sin, and yet experience as well as subsequent chapters of this same book seem to indicate that the end is not complete. Still, the denial here is too strong to take as indicating some limited application. If we bear in mind that Christ also is described as having died to sin, who never was alive to it, we might come to a clearer meaning. For Christ, although never enticed by sin, yet stood under its power, when He took our place and suffered the judgment of the Law whose breach sin was. When He died, he ended the obligations sin held, and so died to sin. It could no longer lay claim to Him. We, having participated in that death by faith, are also thus freed of sin's obligation of death, and so, dead to sin, delivered from its authority to condemn.

Wycliffe (8/8/01)

5:20: The question as to whether sin or grace is the more powerful is now brought to conclusion. Grace is by far the more powerful, although we tend to forget that when faced with the power of sin. We are also reminded in this verse that, although righteousness by faith is and ever was true, yet the Law had a definite and important place in God's plan, revealing to us, as it did, our true estate apart from faith.
5:21: In that righteousness obtained by faith, we are not only declared legally justified, but are also made part of the triumphant reign of grace. And that reign leads to eternal life, life lived by God's life, and for His purposes, and more than that, life lived in a perfect, sinless environment. And that life is accomplished through Christ alone.
6:1: Having proved that God is just, and that He gifts the believer with righteousness as they trust in Him, Paul now begins to look at what it means to live a righteous life. To begin with, some misunderstandings are dispensed with. If grace is so powerful, can't we continue in our sins and expect deliverance anyway?
6:2: Absolutely not! It is impossible that we, who have already died to sin could continue to live in it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (8/8/01)

5:20: We shouldn't lose the added meaning in 'entered,' as the idea, here, is to convey the fact that the Law came in a parenthetical fashion. It was added to the sin that already was, and served to accentuate that sin that had 'entered' originally. The Law "was no primary or essential feature of the divine plan, but was 'added' for a subordinate purpose." (Gal 3:19 - The Law was added because of sin, ordained by a mediator, until the promised One should come.) By that Law, all the multiplying sins of man were shown to be variations on that first breach by Adam, and so the utter sinfulness of sin was made more evident. All the sinful actions of man are but expressions of that first principle of sin. Yet, in the face of that hideous multiplication of sins, grace was yet able to meet the full case of mankind.
5:21: Note that in concluding, Paul returns to the most inclusive term, 'sin.' The final end of sin for its subjects is death. This is the contrast that Paul seeks to note here, for the final end of grace for its subjects is eternal life. We move from the reigns of death and life, to the reign of those who wield death and life. (1Co 15:56 - The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Ro 6:23 - The final installment on sin is death, but God freely gives us eternal life in Christ our Lord.) That which reigns unto life is made ours in the justifying righteousness of Christ. So, even grace is to us in Christ alone. In this section we have been clearly taught that we sinned in Adam as he was our federal head. Death came to us not because of his sin, but because all had sinned. No other explanation will fit with the facts we see in the life and death around us. Although original sin is not specifically addressed in this chapter, yet the whole of the chapter testifies to that doctrine. Death, in this chapter cannot be limited to physical death, else Christ's work would be limited to physical resurrection, which is clearly not the teaching of Scripture. Nor is death to be taken as some generalized punishment of sin. The cure that is contrasted makes clear that in death, it is the eternal physical and spiritual death that is in view. (Mt 7:13-14 - The path to destruction is wide and traveled by many. Be among the few that find and follow the narrow path to life. 2Th 1:9 - The former will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence and glory of the Almighty God. 2Pe 3:16 - Those who mishandle Scripture do so to their own destruction.) By contrast, life is "a state of enjoyment of the favor of God, of pure fellowship with Him, and voluntary subjection to Him." The least sin cannot but damage this life, and cause for us death even as we live. The unredeemed sinner will first suffer disconnection from the life that brought him what pleasures he took, and then, body and soul reunited, permanent separation from God, eternally conscious of his "blighted existence." It is the full recognition of that ultimate estate of death that ought the more propel us toward the salvation that is in Christ.
6:1: In this chapter, Paul picks up the discussion of the fruits of justification, which he left off in the first portion of chapter 5. The current chapter focuses on the union we have with Christ, which is our source of life. As is typical for this letter, Paul broaches a change of subject in the form of a question. In this case, the question is whether there are grounds in this doctrine of grace for us to pursue a course of greater sin, such that greater grace might follow. That this question is posed, and that it follows so close upon the heals of the conclusion reached in the previous chapter, makes clear that Paul's doctrine is indeed that of sola gratia. The objection would make no sense, had any room remained for meritorious works, and yet we see that that very charge was brought against the Church. (Ro 3:8 - We are slanderously reported as suggesting that we should do evil so as to bring good. Our accusers stand condemned. Gal 5:13 - The freedom you were called to must not be made an opportunity for the flesh, but should be exercised in loving service to each other. 1Pe 2:16 - Act in freedom, but don't use that freedom as cover for evil action, only as servants of God. Jude 4 - Ungodly men, marked for condemnation, have slipped in to the Church unnoticed, and made of God's grace, a license to sin freely. In this, they deny our Lord Jesus Christ, and reject Him as Master.)
6:2: The new creation in Christ will react in instinctive revulsion at this idea. We have died to sin. How could we then continue to live in it? "It is not the entire impossibility, but rather the shamefulness of it which is thus expressed… For shameful, sure it is, after we have been washed, to roll again in the mire." (Grotius) (Mt 6:28 - How shameful that you should be so concerned over your clothing, when even the lilies of the field trust themselves to God's providence for their finery. Gal 4:9 - How can you desire to be once more enslaved to such worthless things, when you have come to know and be known by God?)

New Thoughts (8/9/01-8/10/01)

(8/7/01) Through the early hours this morning, I have been reminded of much of what my own youth entailed, what roads I had chosen for myself. Oh, what an abundant grace that He kept me from so much that I was all too willing to pursue in my foolishness! Oh, the depths to which He could easily have allowed me to slip, when I would have nothing to do with Him! How sweet, indeed, that grace that preserved me through my worst, and has placed me now in positions I would never have dreamed of. Me, a leader among co-workers. Me, a teacher of His Word. Me, able to serve before Him in worship. These things are too awesome! How, oh Lord, did You love me this much? How could You work with such as I have been? Oh, praises be to You, my King, that You choose the broken things of the earth, that You might mend them and refashion them in Your image!

(8/10/01) Throughout this letter, Paul works to show the proper relationship between the Law and grace, and nothing he writes contradicts the teaching of Christ. It is, however, a relationship that man seems inclined to misunderstand in whatever fashion seems possible. Either we push too far into the realm of the Law, and try to return to the legalism and man-made righteousness that plagued the Pharisees, or we overreact to that habit, and attempt to dispose of the Law completely. But Christ was clear on the fact that His purpose was not to negate the Law, but to fulfill it. Paul concurs. The Gospel of grace in no way serves to weaken the Law. It serves to strengthen that Law. And yet, he will tell us that we have died to that Law. How so? We are dead to the Law in much the same way that we are dead to sin. Sin still is at work in our lives, and so is the Law. Yet we have power to overcome sin through the grace of our Father in Christ. And in that same grace, we have power to obey the true spiritual intent of the Law without resorting to the minutia of keepable legalities. We have died to sin inasmuch as the penalty that is its end has been paid for us, and so, no further judicial claim can be had of it. The Law is much the same for us. For in it, our sin was revealed to our understanding, and the penalties spelled out for us to see. But it is that same penalty that was already paid for our sins, and so, to the Law, also, we are as dead men. It can have no further judicial impact upon us. But sin remains with us, a force to be resisted. And the Law remains with us, a guide to be followed in pursuit of sanctification.

And the Law works together with the Gospel, as it always has, only now it is a more immediate interaction. For, as Mr. Clarke has pointed out, the Law ever accompanies the Gospel, preparing the hearts of men, and turning them to seek the salvation that only the Gospel can provide. The Law is, as it were, the diagnostician, pointing out for us the symptoms of this disease of our soul. By the light of its searching we come to the understanding of how mortally ill we truly are. All the deceptions that this disease has hidden behind as it progressed in us are stripped away, and the rotten mass of sin is exposed to our sight. Oh, the hopelessness this realization brings! Oh, how we will then seek in every direction to find how we might be cured! In this society, all too many remember the words of the Law, and know themselves condemned, but will not turn to the Gospel and be healed. Rather, they seek to manufacture a god more to their own tastes, and so, the disease that stood exposed is masked again, as it spreads even further. Here is the great danger of new age religions. They 'treat' the symptoms, taking away the pain and the guilt feelings, but they do nothing about the actual disease, and in fact, allow it to grow. But the true medicine will never be nourishment to the disease. The Gospel comes to treat the root cause of our spiritual ills, working at the core of that horrid mass of sin to cut it out from our lives, and leave us once more whole and holy before our God.

No matter how far that plague has spread out in our lives, God's grace remains far more powerful. And, when (I'll not say if) that plague of sin comes seeking a new hold in this body, His grace continues to be more powerful still. But, oh, how quickly we forget that in the face of sin's power. It comes attacking us, and, foolish men, we try to withstand once more in our own strength, forgetting that without Him, we can do nothing. Run quickly, my soul, to that grace that saved you! Run quickly, and hide in the protection of His wings! Depart, Satan! For Scripture declares that we are to worship and serve only the Lord our God (Mt 4:10). Speak out, oh my tongue, from that well of Scripture hid away in your heart. Bring that Word to mind, Holy Spirit, that I may, in its speaking, turn back that besetting sin. In the name of Jesus, I pray for freedom from the entanglements of sin, for He has freed me, and I am freed indeed!

"If the heart was holy…law would have no such tendency." So Mr. Barnes speaks to us. If our sanctification were complete, the law would have nothing to expose further in our hearts. It would be simply a declaration of how we live. But so long as shadow remains on our heart, even though we have been saved, we remain in need of the light of Law to expose the dark places that remain. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus reminds us of a great truth, that the ways of destruction are well traveled, and made easy to follow. It is a wide road, well able to handle the heavy traffic of humanity that take it. But we are called to the road less traveled, to the narrow and difficult path that leads to life. He calls us to be among the few that will take that path.

It is time, as we step onto the path of righteousness, to stop doing as we used to do. We must put an end to those habits that were built up on the wide road. We must labor to wash off the dirt and mire that have accumulated on us as we traveled with the great masses headed for the city of Destruction. While none of us who have taken this road home travel it in complete absence of sin, yet the truth is as Mr. Henry has so eloquently declared. "Though there are none that live without sin, yet, blessed be God, there are those that do not live in sin, do not live in it as their element, do not make a trade of it: this is to be sanctified." Praise be to God that throughout this walk, throughout our approach to the walls of His kingdom, He sends His ministering spirits, He sends to us the Holy Spirit, to continually work at scrubbing away the vestiges of our former life, to scrub away at the stains of our sinful past, so that, arriving at His gates, we are made finally and completely clean at the sight of His Son. For without sanctification, without the full and entire cleansing, none can see the Lord (Heb 12:14). And without the work of God upon our very being, none can be sanctified.

In Him, by the work of Christ on the cross, we have already died to sin. Being dead to it, it is impossible that we could continue to live in it. It is just as impossible as it is for the dead to act as if they were alive. We have already looked in brief at how it is we are dead to sin, when it still so evidently plagues us. And yet, as this new life is created in us, as the Holy Spirit performs His work in us, reshaping our hearts, we find that, as Mr. Barnes has said, it is abhorrent to our very nature to continue in the sinfulness Christ has vanquished. The new heart within us reacts with instinctive revulsion at the very idea that we could continue in sin. It is a new and exquisite pain we feel, when we do find ourselves doing the very things we would like not to be doing. And yet, we do them. In this, we must recognize what the JFB commentary has brought out, that "it is not the entire impossibility, but rather the shamefulness of it which is thus expressed." Indeed, the further we follow after this Savior who has revealed Himself to us, the more we allow the Spirit to do His work in us, the more we feel this shame, the more we long for Him to finish that work even now, that we might never feel that shame again. But knowing that in His plan, we must continue on the path, that we must wait until our return home to know the completion of our recreation, hunger and longing for the pure environs of our true home are fanned to high flame. Indeed, we are forced to recognize that "eternal life [is] the only sphere where the human intellect can rest, and be happy in the place where God is; where He is seen AS HE IS; and where He can be enjoyed without interruption." As Mr. Clarke has said, we can no longer be fully happy in this time of our sojourn. Oh, we may find ourselves amused by it from time to time, distracted by its prettier contrivances. But the enticements quickly fade, we weary of the novelty, and turn ourselves back toward home. For, no matter where we may turn for our ease, we know that in the end it is only found one place, in the Holy of Holies, in the place of eternal worship before our God and Creator.

A final note or two: This verse just really caught my attention as I was reading. 2Pe 3:16 - Those who mishandle Scripture do so to their own destruction. As I am moving further into the ministry of teaching from God's Word, this is one more instruction He gives that I must ever keep in prayer. Holy Spirit, I pray even now that You would etch this warning upon my heart and my mind, that You would cause it to be in my vision whenever I come to the task of teaching Your people, whenever I come to applying Your Word to my life, or any other's. I still recall how You kept that image of "Holy unto the Lord" before my eyes for weeks, as I struggled to be freed of some of those straggling bonds of sin, how You placed that reminder in my sight to strengthen flagging resolve. In that same way, I would ask that You so guard my mind and my mouth from declaring anything that is not in full accord with Your Word. I pray that You would stop me before I misspeak, that nothing I say, nothing I write, would mislead even one of Your children for so much as a moment. And failing that, I pray that You would correct me quickly and completely, that I may speak the truth, that I may work my utmost to reverse any damage my words may cause. Thank You, Lord, that You enable me to teach Your Word. For indeed, without You, I can do nothing. Remind me once again, My King, that I am indeed holy unto You, separated for Your purpose, and no longer to play around at the things I once allowed to rule me. And, I thank You, that in this little comment from the JFB, You have once more confirmed that my understanding is on track. For, I see this in their commentary, that they tell us that the current chapter is focussed on the union we have with Christ, and I see that the outline of my own notes heads the next section with "unity with Christ." Thank You, Lord, that You are united with Your people, and that, so united with You, we find ourselves united one with another, across the ages and across all divides. All praise be to my Rock!