Calvin (10/9/01)

8:1

Though still beset by sin, we are exempt from death's power, if we live in the Spirit and not the flesh. The regeneration of the Spirit, by which we live, is a proof against those who would claim cheap grace, and a strong assurance to the true believer. To walk after the Spirit does not necessarily indicate that we have wholly and completely set aside our fleshly emotions, but only that we labor to our utmost to subdue those emotions. True religion reigns in such a one. Where the fear of God is strong, the rule of the flesh is broken, though its corruptions remain.

8:2

The Law of the Spirit, that Spirit Who has sprinkled our souls with the blood of Christ, cleansing our sin, and bringing true purification and sanctification, is a life-giving law. The law of sin is a deadly law. God's Law stands between the two, teaching of the Spirit's Law, but binding us to sin's law. Thus, those who teach only the Law expose their students to death. [The Gospel must be joined to it.] The Spirit of Christ abolishes the law of sin in us, and delivers us from threatened death. Does our pardon then depend on our regeneration? No, they are simultaneous events. At one and the same time we are renewed by the Spirit of God, and given the gracious gift of justification and pardon. The imputation of righteousness and the renewing of the spirit are never separate. The law of sin cannot be the Law of God, for we just finished learning that His Law is not sinful, not the cause of sin. Neither can that law of sin be the lust of the flesh, for here, Paul claims victory over it, whereas mere verses before, he claims to be its captive slave.

8:3

Here is the crowning proof: the Lord has graciously justified us in Christ, accomplishing precisely that which the Law could not do. This justification is given to those who walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. Had that regeneration prepared us for a complete overcoming of sin, there would be no reason to make this distinction in our walk. No, by this distinction, Paul points out those who have joined repentance and faith. These are the saved. There is no license given to those who try to claim their justification, and retain their lusts unchanged. Where there is repentance, grace has absolved guilt. What was impossible for the Law, God has provided for in Christ. The cause of the Law's inability was not in the Law, but in the weakness of our own sinful flesh. Footnote: "Without freedom from the power of sin, no service can be done to God. It is the destruction of the power of sin, and not the removal of guilt, that is contemplated here throughout." The Law could not confer righteousness. That required the atoning death of Christ. If there had been any possibility of our keeping the Law, there would have been no need for further remedy. It is foolishness to think that God's justice cannot ask more than man can do. It is His justice, not ours. Yet, the fault is not in the Law, but in the flesh of man. The Law, as doctrine, would suffice to justify man if ever a man could actually keep it perfectly. Because of the corruption of our flesh, the Law has no power at all by which to justify us. The righteousness of works is a complete impossibility for us. We must turn to Christ, and before we do, we must realize that no hope of righteousness is to be found in ourselves. Christ, in living sinless in sinful flesh such as ours, reminded us that righteousness was far from us, that it must be sought from Him who is sinless. In the flesh He bore, sin stood condemned, and was put to death. He himself was sinless, even in the flesh, yet in the flesh He bore all the punishments that sin deserved, even unto death. Because sin attacked the Son of God, the sinless One, it was condemned by its own actions. Sin itself stood condemned in Him. He became our sin offering, thus taking away the condemnation sin had brought upon us. Because of His act, the power of sin is broken. "He took our curse, and has freely granted us His blessing." Sin is condemned in our flesh, so that our nature may be a partaker in His victory.

8:4

This is not to be taken as indication a perfection of sanctification in this life. Rather, it is a matter of forgiveness; the obedience of Christ being accepted on our behalf, satisfying the just claim of the Law. In Christ, the perfection the Law demands of our flesh was shown and accomplished, leaving no power of condemnation to the Law. Yet that righteousness He procured for us, He gives only to those whom He joins to Himself by the Spirit's bonds, working renewal within them. We must never allow the thought that God's paternal love toward us is an excuse to continue in our lusts.

 

 

 

Matthew Henry (10/10/01)

8:1

This is the triumphant answer to the issues of the previous chapter. Though conflict remains in us, it does not ruin us by the grace of God. For all believers, the condemnation due our failures has been removed in Christ Jesus. Accusations remain against us, but in the court of God, they are thrown out because of Christ's work. There is plenty in us the remains worthy of condemnation, yet God pardons because of Jesus. There may come chastening, but not condemnation. All this by our union with Christ. And what's more, not only has God's condemnation been turned from us, He is actually pleased with us! (Mt 17:5 - This is My beloved Son, I am well-pleased with Him. Listen to Him.) This is our justification.

8:2

We are under a new covenant of grace, pardoned, released from the guilt and the power of sin, and given a new nature, a new husband, and spiritual life. All because of Christ.

8:3

Neither justification nor sanctification could come to us by the Law, because it had been made weak by the weakness of our sinful flesh. We had made ourselves incapable of obeying that Law, and so the Law was incapable of justifying us. (Heb 10:4 - It is impossible to remove sins with the blood of bulls and goats.) Just as Joshua led Israel into Canaan, because Moses was not able, so now the Son of God comes to lead us into justification and sanctification because the Law was unable to do so. (Heb 10:1-10 - The Law was but a shadow of what was to come, so the sacrifices offered in accord with the Law could not perfect those who trusted in them. If they had perfected somebody, surely they would have ceased to require further sacrifices, but that is not the case. Rather, the reminder of sins remained, because the blood of animals cannot suffice to remove our sins. So, God declares that He has not desired our sacrifices, but has prepared Himself a body. All the sacrifices for sin had done nothing to appease Him, but He came as had been prophesied to do the will of the Father. He has removed the old order, and established a new order, which has sanctified us once and for all through the sacrifice of the very body of His Son, Jesus Christ.) Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh. He took on that which in us was so corrupted, yet in Him, it remained clean. The flesh was real, but the likeness to our sinful nature was only a likeness. The sinfulness was not in Him. Yet, all that the Law required for holiness, He did. He was circumcised and baptized. That He who is God took on flesh at all is great enough, that He would accept in that flesh even the likeness of our own sinful nature is astounding. He came as a sacrifice for sin. His whole purpose in taking on flesh was to become the one sacrifice that could actually save us from our condition. (Heb 9:26 - Otherwise, He would have had no reason to suffer. But here, at the fullness of the ages, He has been made manifest so that He can end our sins by the sacrifice of Himself.) By this act, sin was condemned. In making manifest His great love for us, He also made manifest His great hatred for sin. Its power was broken. It may well remain alive, even in the saint, yet it is the life on a condemned man. "The condemning of sin saved the sinner from condemnation." (2Co 5:21 - He who knew no sin, was made sin on our behalf, so that we might be made righteous in Him.) Thus was our sanctification wrought in justice, and our salvation made possible.

8:4

Those so freed of condemnation, walk after the Spirit. They take heed of the Spirit, make provision for the Spirit, and are governed by the Spirit. This is sanctification. In both our justification and our sanctification, the righteousness of the Law is upheld and fulfilled. The righteousness He imputes to us is the perfect fulfillment of the Law's requirements. As the Law of love is written upon our hearts, that very love is the fulfillment of the Law. (Ro 13:10 - Love will wrong nobody, and so is the fulfillment of the Law.) Righteousness may not be completed by us yet, but by God's grace, it is completed in us. This is the reality for all who walk after the Spirit, who no longer pursue the interests of fleshly lust.

 

 

Adam Clarke (10/11/01)

8:1

In the last chapter, we read of the Jew awakened to the holiness of the law, but unable to find redemption for his breaking of that Law. Here, he has found that redemption in Christ Jesus and gives thanks for the greatness of God's mercy in providing. The 'now' of this verse speaks of the transition from condemnation to pardon. The power of the Gospel lies in its ability both to justify (which is first), and to sanctify (which is done in full.) Thus it is that we walk after the Spirit, and not our flesh. The KJV brings in a clause from v4 at this point, to indicate that our walk is indeed after the Spirit, but that inclusion is neither justified by the records, nor necessary by the context, since it is assumed in the life of those who are in Christ Jesus.

8:2

In the Gospel we have not only the rule of life, but the energy to remove guilt, to break sin's power, and to cleanse our heart from sin's pollutions. Of those who see the last chapter as referring to Paul himself, it is asked: how can it be that he was at once sold under sin, and captive to its law of death, and made free of that law by the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus? It seems an impossible contradiction, does it not?

8:3

The law could neither pardon nor sanctify. Being the rule of righteousness, unrighteousness it could only condemn. Because our carnality prevailed, it was made weak as to our righteousness, and only condemnation remained. It could do nothing to correct our conditions. God, therefor, provided a means for pardon in His Son. In Him, the fullness of the Godhead, yet the likeness of our own sinful flesh, yet sinless still, so as to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. By His death, he condemned sin itself to death. By His death, sin received its own sentence. Christ's incarnation was for the very purpose of destroying sin, not simply in making it subservient to the purposes of grace.

8:4

On the merit of His sacrifice, our guilt was pardoned. In the power of His grace, we are able to walk in newness of life. Through the Spirit indwelling, we can love God as we ought, and we can love our neighbors as ourselves, fulfilling the Law. In Him, the weakness of our flesh is overcome by the strength of His Spirit.

 

 

 

Barnes' Notes (10/11/01-10/12/01)

8:1

This is but the continuation of the previous chapter. Having shown that the Law could not deliver, but the gospel could, there was left implied that the Law brought a condemnation that it could not relieve. That intervention is left to the Gospel. Again, it must be made clear that in saying there is no condemnation for us, we have not been given leave to sin freely. No, but where the Law pronounced judgment unto condemnation, the Gospel brings pardon, and sets our soul free. The Gospel message frees us from the sentence of the Law, frees us from the fear that came of that sentence. Footnote: This states the conclusion from all that Paul has declared thus far - for those who believe, there is neither a final condemnation to face, nor a present condemnation to bear. From the moment of our union, we were delivered from the Law's curse, because Christ already endured the required penalty. Neither does there remain any matter for which accusations can be raised, for all that was condemnable in us was itself condemned in His sacrifice, for all that was condemnable in us was sin. To be 'in Christ' is to be in intimate union with Him. (Php 1:1 - The letter is written to all the saints who are in Christ. Php 3:9 - I want to be certain that I will be found in Him, not bearing some righteousness of my own, but that which is through faith in Him. 2Co 5:17 - If a man is in Christ, he is a new creature in which the old things have passed away. Ro 16:7-11 - Greetings are sent to Andronicus and Junias, apostles who were in Christ before Paul. Jn 15:1-6 - Christ is the vine, the Father is the dresser, and we are branches upon the vine. If fruitless, we are removed, if fruitful we are pruned so as to be more fruitful still. We have been made clean by His word, and we abide one in the other. As a branch removed from the vine is fruitless, so are we if we remove ourselves from Christ. As we abide in Him, and He in us, we are very fruitful. Apart from Him, we can not do a thing, we are thrown away as a useless branch, cast into the fire and burned. Ro 8:10 - If Christ is in you, the spirit is alive to righteousness even if the body is dying.) United to Christ, we conduct ourselves accordingly. We walk after the Spirit, knowing that nothing good is to be found in the flesh (Ro 7:18). (Gal 5:19-21 - The deeds of the flesh are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, fighting, jealousies and coveting, drunken partying, divisiveness, and the like. The kingdom of God is not made of such practitioners.) If our purpose continues to be the satisfying of such corrupt desires, we cannot be truly a Christian. There is no evidence of piety. Here then is a test we all need to apply to ourselves, that we be not deluded. We ought to be seeing that which the Spirit produces: (Gal 5:22-23 - love, joy, peace, patient kindness, goodness and faithfulness, gentleness of nature, and self-control.) Where these fruits are not in evidence, the man is a stranger to religion, no matter what he may possess or profess.

8:2

The Law of the Spirit is in that influence it produces, commanding our lives. (Ro 7:21 - I find that there is a law within me, that evil is present in me even as I wish to do good. Ro 7:23 - There is a different law governing my flesh than that which rules my mind, for the flesh serves the rule of sin, captivating me under its rule.) In opposition to this law that is in the flesh producing death, the Holy Spirit is a law that produces life, peace, and salvation. The Holy Spirit is sent by Christ Jesus to empower us as the Law could not do. (Jn 16:7-14 - It is for your own good that I depart. Otherwise, I cannot send the Helper to you. When He comes, He will bring conviction for sin, as well as righteousness and judgment. Conviction will come for the sin of unbelief, and righteousness will come because I go to the Father, because you will no longer be able to see Me. Judgment will be brought against the ruler of this world, and against the world that has accepted his rule. There's much more I could say, if you could handle it at this time, but the Spirit will guide you into all that is true, never speaking of His own accord, but telling to you all that He hears. He will tell you of what is coming. He will glorify Me, because what He discloses is from Me.) That present Spirit has set me free from sin's control, not to perfection yet, but a breaking of the yoke. The design of the Gospel is to produce this freedom, as the Law could not do. Where before had been bitter bondage, now there is that which brings freedom from that which had brought to us death and condemnation - our sins. Footnote: Some have attempted to make of this declaration a contrast between sanctification and corruption, claiming that the law of sin and death is that corruption we were part of before, and that sanctification, perfect and complete, has freed us from that corruption. Yet, the whole of the present argument indicates that the contrast is between the gospel and the Law, between the condemnation that the Law left us under, and the deliverance from that sentence which the gospel has brought.

8:3

As chapter 7 has shown, the Law of God could not free us from the sin it identified in us. To that end, it was ineffective because of the corruption of our unrenewed hearts. The Law remains good. (Ro 7:12 - It is holy, righteous, and good.) However, our passions were so strong within us as to prevent our full accord with that good. So God provided a way in His Son, who took upon Himself the flesh of man, yet remained free of sinful desires. It was not some simulation of human nature, but true human nature that He took on. In that flesh, He became a sacrifice for our sins, destroying sin in the flesh which is its seat of power. The extent of Jesus' sufferings in this sacrifice for our sins declare to us the strength of God's abhorrence for that sin. They declare His sentence upon sin. He has also, in that death, overcome sin, subdued it, and He will destroy it once for all in those He has saved. Footnote: It is not the issue of sanctification which Paul pursues here, but justification. It is the sentence of condemnation that is in view, not the final overthrow. Since sin has already been condemned in His flesh, there is no call for its condemnation in our own. This is our justification. A cohesive view of this section shows that it is the immediate impact of Christ's sacrifice in justification that is being discussed, not the long-term impact of sanctification.

8:4

Because of His work, we are conformed to the requirements of the Law.

 

 

 

Wycliffe (10/12/01)

8:1

Victory can't be fully appreciated until we understand the struggle that was required, and the opposition that was overcome. In this chapter, Paul speaks both of what Christ has done to attain that victory, and what we must now do as believers. When we are focused on ourselves, the best we can manage is the declaration that ended the last chapter, recognizing that we are depending on Christ to deliver us from ourselves. But when we are focused on what God is doing, we are moved to rejoice as Paul does at the close of this chapter. (Ro 8:37-39 - We conquer decisively through Him. And there is nothing in this life or beyond, nothing in heaven or earth, no power of any nature whatsoever that can separate us from God's love for us, which we have found in Christ Jesus our Lord!) For those whom Christ has delivered, no condemnation remains for He has already taken their just punishment.

8:2

Because of the constant influence of the Spirit within us, the influence of sin is broken.

8:3

Man in the flesh could not fulfill the Law to the extent God requires, even if he could put up an appearance of complying. It took Christ coming as a man, as a true man rather than a sinful man such as us to condemn the sin that had corrupted us in His own flesh.

8:4

In the punishment Christ took upon Himself in the flesh, the whole of God's required justice was accomplished and satisfied. Seeing the completion of that justice helps us to see the complete requirement of the Law upon us, the complete holiness that He demands. This realization leads us to live in full accord with the Holy Spirit, rather than fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

 

 

 

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (10/13/01)

8:1

All the many threads that have been followed through the previous chapter now come together. How far back into the letter does this 'therefore' go? It appears to stem from the question of Chapter 3: (Ro 3:5 - If unrighteousness demonstrates righteousness, is God unrighteous to judge us?) It carries along with it remembrances of the trials of the previous chapter, and provides encouragement in that struggle. Though the battle between our flesh and our mind is ongoing and deadly, yet we have the assurance that comes of knowing Christ Jesus, and that our knowing Him, being united with Him, gives us standing before God equal to His own. We have the comfort of the Holy Spirit within us, to remind us of this security. The clause regarding walking after the Spirit is most certainly an insertion copied from v4.

8:2

At our conversion, we were freed, but from what? Some see this as describing the transition from the Mosaic Law (sin and death) to the Gospel law (life eternal). In support of this view, it is said that to think this speaks the regenerating power of the Spirit freeing us from our sins, then it would make our regeneration cause to our justification, which is opposed to all Paul teaches. If, however, it speaks of the condemning of the Law through the Gospel, it stands well as an explanation of v1. The verse speaks of an accomplished deliverance, which can be said of our deliverance from the law, but can not yet be said of our deliverance from our own sins, which remains a process. There is Scriptural support for viewing the Gospel as the Law of the Spirit (2Co 3:8 - The ministry of the Spirit will be more glorious even than Moses' ministry. Ro 7:5 - Sin within us was aroused by the Law, working toward our death. Ro 7:13 - That Law was not sinful in itself, but was used by sin to bring about my death.) So, it becomes clear that Paul speaks of justification in this section, not sanctification. However, there is another view as to what we were freed from: that this does indeed refer to our sanctification. To that end, v2 is seen as explaining just why it is that no condemnation remains for us. It is because in Christ the dominion of our sin over us has been broken. The breaking of that dominion is indeed an accomplished fact, allowing for the process of mortification which is ongoing within us. Furthermore, it seems rather reprehensible to claim that Paul here is declaring God's Law to be a law of sin and death. He has spent considerable time arguing just the opposite, that the Law is righteous and good and holy. (Ro 7:7 - Is the Law sin? No way! Ro 8:13 - Was the good Law then the cause of my death? No way!) It seems clear, then that it is the Holy Spirit that is being referenced, then, not the Gospel. Only once before has the Holy Spirit been noted in this letter (Ro 5:5 - The love of God has been poured out within us through the Holy Spirit.) Here, the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is being picked up again, giving us in the next 25 verses or so some of the greatest views of His work within us. He is the Spirit of life because He opens us up to that fountain of life eternal. (Jn 7:38-39 - From the innermost being of My believers flow rivers of living water, the Spirit, whom those believers received after His glorification.) As the One who guides us into truth, He is called the Spirit of truth (Jn 16:13 - who, when He comes, will guide us into all truth, speaking only what He hears, disclosing what shall come.) He is our mighty counselor, the Spirit of knowledge (Is 11:2 - The Spirit of the LORD, of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and strength, of knowledge and the fear of the LORD will rest upon Him.) He is the Spirit of life in Christ, for He makes His abode amongst the believers, the members of Christ. It is that new principle of action which His presence has engendered in us that is the law of life to us. This new principle has overwhelmed the inferior principle of sin in us at its first possession of our souls. So it has taken our captor captive. It is not that we stand uncondemned because of our victory over sin. No. It is the very ability to triumph over that sin which gives evidence to Christ's work in us. The fruit of the Holy Spirit working within us shows us to be in Christ, and already absolved from condemnation.

8:3

What is it that the Law could not do? True, it could not justify, but can that be said to have been due to its weakness through the flesh? It seems more reasonable to say that it was unable to free us from sin, which indeed it could not accomplish because of our weak flesh. It could irritate, but could not provide for its own fulfillment in us. (Ro 7:5 - It aroused our sinful flesh, and the passions thus aroused worked to produce death in us.) It could not deal with our corruption by its commands and threats, the grip of sin was too strong. What the Law could not do due to our flesh, God. [Rather like In the beginning, God.] It is made clear, here, that Christ was the Son of God before He came, before this mission in the flesh. (Ro 8:32 - If God was willing to deliver His own Son to death for us, what won't He do for us? Gal 4:4 - When the time was perfect, He sent His Son, to be born under the Law, of a woman.) As the pre-existing Son of God, He has the nature of God in Him, is indeed of the Father in very essence. (Ro 1:4 - That He is indeed the Son of God was confirmed most powerfully by His resurrection from the dead.) His Sonship is noted here to make more clear the greatness of God's provisions for our relief. It was a relief that came from beyond our sinful humanity, coming immediately from the Godhead. He came in the likeness 'of the flesh of sin,' not in the likeness of flesh. He was most certainly physically real and present (Jn 1:14 - He became flesh , and dwelt among us.) The likeness was in its seeming to be the same sinful nature we all share, but He was sinless. Real flesh, but only the likeness of our sinful condition. He did not come in the form of Adam, the original uncorrupted form God made. He came with all the infirmities that we share, except that He remained sinless. The effects of sin were present, but not the sin itself. He was no less human for being without sin, for sin is not an innate property of humanity, but a disease upon it. Not only was He sent in a body like to our own, but He was sent specifically to become the sacrifice for our sins, thereby accomplishing what the Law never had; our deliverance from sin. (2Co 5:21 - He made the sinless One to be sin for us, so that we could become righteous in Him.) With His sacrifice, He condemned sin, which the Law could not. Punished in the flesh, in full accord with the Law, sin's power to grasp men was broken, driven away from the very nature of the redeemed. (Jn 12:31 - Now judgment is on the world, and the ruler of it will be deposed [by My death.] Jn 16:11 - The coming of the Spirit will bring judgment in that the ruler of this world has already been judged.) For those emancipated by the Cross, that cruel ruler has no more hold.

8:4

This Christ did so that the obedience required by the Law could be done in us. What Paul labored to make clear to us in Chapter 6, that we do indeed satisfy the Law, he explains here, telling us that it was due to God's work in His Son. Our walk ever represents the overall course of our life, our tendency, be it toward the good or the evil. Whether we are to take 'the Spirit' as indicating the Holy Spirit, our own reason, or perhaps both combined is not entirely clear. Both operate in every spiritual action, yet our soul's very ability to so act is due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Himself. It is not a passive action in us, but the decisive action of a renewed mind. It would seem that what is in view here is the spirit or activity of that mind renewed by the Holy Spirit. (Ro 8:9 - You are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you.)

 

 

 

New Thoughts (10/14/01-10/16/01)

There is no condemnation! What wonderful news! Yet, what dangerous news for sinful man. The number of times the warning is repeated throughout these commentaries should indicate just how easily we slip into the lie. It's all too easy to think that no condemnation means no consequence. It's quite clear, if we look at all that Paul has written so far, that this is not his intended meaning. He has already defended himself and the Gospel against this charge of licentiousness. Yet it is in the nature of man to seek excuse for his actions, to lay the blame elsewhere. God's word is clear. We may not sin in freedom We have not the permission to claim Christ and yet hold on to our lusts. There will be consequences. There will not be condemnation, but there will be consequences, there will be a chastening discipline. And do we really desire to know the chastening of our Lord? Inasmuch as He has told us that without such chastening we would not know ourselves His children, yes. Inasmuch as there were any alternative, were there any possibility of not deserving or needing that chastening, no, I'd certainly prefer not to know my Father in that way.

But consider, we are in Christ, and He in us. What does this mean? What are the implications? In simplest terms, we are united to Him. And that union is a most intimate union, even moreso than that between husband and wife. Indeed, the marital union is often used to describe our union with Him, because it is the most intimate union we know. Yet, it is but a shadow, a type just as the Temple and its services were a type. Would we defile the intimacy of our marriage? Hopefully, it is beyond our thoughts! Far be it from us, that we should so lightly value our partner, that we should so lightly value our own promises and vows! And Christ comes to us as our bridegroom, and asks the same question: do we so lightly esteem our being promised to Him, our having committed our lives to Him, that we would defile the intimacy He has established with us? Can we truly dare to call ourselves His, and yet chase after every other pleasure that offers? As Mr. Barnes points out, we have here a test that needs to be applied. It does not need to be applied to others we know, it does not need to be applied to our pastors, to those that sit beside us in church. It needs to be applied personally and intimately. Are we continuing to satisfy our lusts? Then our claims to true belief cannot be true. If, indeed, the Spirit is within us, if indeed we are children of promise, if indeed, we have been reborn into a newness of life, all of these things must lead to fruitfulness, must be evident "in deed." The Holy Spirit cannot but bring forth His own fruit in us. Holiness cannot help but show itself in a piety of life. Again, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But beware the false security. Beware of assuming His grace where He has not indeed given it. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling, trusting always in the LORD, yet ever careful to be pleasing to Him.

Is this too hard a thing? Has God continued to ask of us more than we can do? Perhaps. The Law certainly required more of man than was in his power to accomplish. That was the whole point. Was this unjust of God, asking us to do the impossible? No. In the Law, God was not seeking to show us the best we could do. He was declaring what His perfection requires. He was declaring the absolute standards. Our flesh could not, and cannot obey that Law as it requires. The perfect obedience God demands, we cannot perform. Here, that message is relayed in the fact that the Law could not accomplish that obedience in us. Because our flesh is incapable of obedience, the Law becomes incapable of producing obedience. Yet there is hope. What the Law could not do, because of the weakness of our flesh, God. To borrow my first Pastor's favorite phrase, but God. We were exceedingly and irreversibly sinful, but God. We knew the Law, yet could not obey it, but God. We were without hope, incapable of obedience, and having no other recourse, but God. This is the core of salvation by faith. We tried all that we could, and knew we could not ever really try. But God. Where there was no way, He not only provided a way, He became the way. What an awesome work is this redemption! How can enough possibly be said about it! How astonishing to think that any would knowingly reject the stunning things that have been done by our Savior to bring about this impossible thing!

God Himself came down among man. And this time, He did not come in unendurable glory, in the might of His power, bowing all who saw Him in awe. No, He humbled Himself. He took on the very flesh of man. He took on the whole course of life that man must bear. He went through birth, just as we have. He experienced both the trials and the wonders of childhood firsthand. He knew in Himself every infirmity of the flesh of man. It was not in the perfected original form of Adam that He came, but in the imperfect form that every man since has had to endure. Truly and wholly human He came, and yet the fullness of the Godhead remained in Him. Fully God, and fully man. Sinless in Himself, He suffered all the effects of sin upon the flesh He bore. Not just the passing illnesses and aches that plague our days, but He suffered even death, a real and most painful death. This was no simulation, no fakery. It was the real thing. Yet, in all this, even in the injustice of His death, He remained sinless in Himself. He, and He alone did the impossible, He kept His own Law perfectly in the flesh of man. In this, He displayed for us what it is to be truly man, what was intended for mankind, what we had lost in the fall of Adam. In this, He displayed for us what we could be. Not only has He shown us the possible impossibility, He has given us to be able as well. He came not to condemn us by showing us that it could be done, but He came to save us, by doing for us what we could not do ourselves. Because of His work, we are conformed to the requirements of the Law. Because He has imputed His righteousness to us, even has He has renewed us, we are declared righteous in the sight of God. His righteousness has put an end to our condemnation. The power of the Law, and thus, the power of death that sin used against us, has been broken. Not the requirements, but the deadly, condemning power.

How can this be? Many will look at us and say we are hypocrites, that our actions belie our claims. But it remains true. Righteousness may not be completed by us, yet it is completed in us. His grace has accomplished it. On the merit of Christ's sacrifice, we have been pardoned. By the power of His grace, we are able to walk in this new life, this new principle of holiness. By the Holy Spirit within us, we can finally love God with all our hearts, with all our spirit, with all our soul. Now, and only now, we can fulfill even the first commandment. By the Holy Spirit, we can love our neighbors fully, even the unlovely, even the hurtful. These two being the pinnacle of God's Law, we see that we can fulfill the hardest, and so the remainder, which are but refinements on these two, are within our ability as well. A new principle guides us, a new law has gained primacy in our souls. The Holy Spirit has come, and He speaks into our lives daily, telling us the way we ought to go, the way we ought to act, the things we ought to be about. And, as I said above, where He is, His fruits cannot but be seen. Those fruits will be seen in us, as we abide in Him, and those fruits, as we see them, will serve well to assure us that indeed we have been absolved of our guilt, and condemnation has been taken from us.

Look again at the comment the Wycliffe commentary opened the chapter with. Where is our focus? When we are centered on our situation, on our present trials and challenges, the best we can manage to declare is along the lines of Paul's shout at the end of the last chapter. "Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord! In this impossibility, I depend on Him. There is no other way!" While this is good, it is not our best. How much more wonderful is the rejoicing that will come from us as we stop focusing on our need, and begin focusing on His plan! As we begin to recognize what He is doing, instead of what we wish He would get to real soon, we will find ourselves shouting with great joy, joining with Paul, as he sings out a doxology to our Lord. "In all these things, in all those very trials that had me buried and holding on for dear life, we are more than conquerors, we overwhelm those difficulties in the victory that comes through Him who loved us! I am convinced. I know beyond any possibility of doubt that there is nothing, not death, not the enticements of this life, not the darkest powers of hell, not the worst trial yet to be seen, absolutely nothing can possibly separate me form the love of God! Nothing!" The love that He has shown for us, the love that He shares with us in Christ Jesus is unending. "The works of God stand forever," declares Job. "And I know that I am one of His works," declares Paul. "I have loved you with a never ending love," declares the LORD, "I have loved you and you are Mine." I am the work of His hand, able to stand by the power of His Spirit, renewed to a life that glorifies His name, secure in the knowledge that He has saved me, that He has renewed me, that He has given a purpose to my life. I am secure, yet I shudder at every test. I shudder to consider how completely undeserving I am of this great blessing. I shudder to consider how often I fail, in my own eyes, to live that sanctified and righteous life He has empowered in me. I shudder, and then I remember. It is not me. It is not my actions that I have put my trust in. It's Him. No condemnation remains. Do I complacently accept my failures as inevitable? Do I cease from trying? No. I long for nothing so much as to be pleasing to Him. I long for nothing so much as to display in my life the power of the risen Christ, to display by my actions the fruit of the abiding Holy Spirit within me. I don't count on these things to be my ticket into heaven, because I know my weakness all too well. But I seek to the utmost of my ability to do these things anyway, so I can enjoy the journey to my homeland all the more.