My Groaning - Romans 8:23-25

“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:23-25)

Just as creation feels the weight and curse of the fall so does the crown of creation – man. All the burdens we face are a direct result of sin – either our own, someone else’s towards us or the simple fact that it’s a fallen world. We feel the weight and that weight makes us “groan.” With all of creation we are waiting for the final fix-it!

As Christians, who have the Spirit of the Living God indwelling us, I believe we long for eternity more than any other part of creation does. We have a slight taste of heaven. We have the most precious of gifts, yet it has only been opened slightly. We have a true but still unfocused knowledge of the infinite God. Those glimpses make us more and more hungry for the full and complete to replace the partial and incomplete. At least I know that it is true for me. I find myself aching for heaven more and more and more – not as an escape from where I am but as the fulfillment of who I am. “We having received such glorious clusters in this wilderness, cannot but long for the full vintage in the heavenly Canaan.” (Matthew Henry)

This waiting causes us to “groan within ourselves.” I have found that to be so true throughout this entire year. I eagerly await the day that my faith will be made sight. I long for the day when my adoption, which is legally done, is fully achieved and I see my blessed Father face to face – “to behold the beauty of the LORD.” (Ps 27:1). If we don’t groan for Him, do we really know Him?

In verse 23 the resurrection of the body is referred to as “the redemption of our body.” And that it truly is for our bodies will be redeemed from the curse of sin. They “shall be rescued from the power of death and the grave.” They “shall be made like that glorious body of Christ.” (Ph 3:21, 1 Cor 15:42). On that day our adoption will be perfected. “The children of God have bodies as well as souls; and, till those bodies are brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God, the adoption is not perfect.” (Henry)

That day will come but it is not yet. So, we wait eagerly. We wait in certain hope. Henry closes his comments on this section of Romans 8 with these words:

“Our full happiness is not in present possession. Our reward is out of sight. Those that will deal with God must deal upon trust. Faith respects the promise, hope respects the thing promised. Faith is the evidence, hope the expectation, of things not seen. Faith is the mother of hope. We do with patience wait. In hoping for this glory we have need of patience. Our way is rough and long, and though He seem to tarry, it becomes us to wait for Him.”

All along this waiting journey may we pause to set up Ebenezers of the many promises He has fulfilled, the many mercies He has manifested, and the bountiful blessings He has poured out. And may those stones of remembrance serve as stepping stones along the way to our heavenly home. He is coming – I am groaning and eagerly awaiting the fullness of my adoption as His daughter and the redemption not only of my soul but of my body.


Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Lori

Creation's Groaning -Romans 8:19-22

“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” (Romans 8:19-22)

Verses 17-18 looked at the glorification which lies ahead after we suffer but a little while in this fallen world. The next few verses look at the process of our waiting for it to be accomplished. Clearly, from the text it is an anxious longing and an eager waiting. I know it is in my own heart – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Even creation itself is longing for future glory. “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly….” “For creation was subjected to futility….” “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers….” The fall doesn’t satisfy it just leaves us longing for something more. “That must needs be a great and a transcendent glory, which all the creatures are so earnestly expecting and longing for” (Henry).

Mr. Henry offers 4 observations from the text:

1. “There is a present vanity to which the creature, by reason of the sin of man is made subject." – For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him, who subjected it…(vs 20).

In Genesis 3 we see the curse of the fall extending to all of creation. “We have reason to pity the poor creatures that for our sin have become subject to vanity.” The ground is cursed, thorns grow, weeds appear, weakness swallows strength, sickness comes on the scene and death is the destiny of all. There’s nothing pretty about the effects of sin –nothing! Yet, we are all subjected to it. We are in slavery to its corruption.

“The creation is sullied and stained, much of the beauty of the world is gone. And it is not the least part of their bondage that they are used, or abused rather, by men as instruments of sin.” (Henry). Oh, How beautiful will the renewed earth be after the consummation of the ages?

2. “The creatures groan and travail in pain together under this vanity.” For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. (vs 22)

“Sin is a burden to the whole creation and there is a general outcry of the whole creation against the sin of man.” (Henry). O that I would hate sin all the more as I look at its destructive effects on this world.

3. “The creature shall be delivered in due time.” The creation will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

A new heavens and a new earth is coming. Renewal is on the way. Freedom from the curse will appear. Slavery will be abolished. That which Adam wronged will be righted.

4. “The creature does therefore earnestly expect the revealing of these things.” For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

There is much chaff. There are many weeds. Creation longs, beyond that it groans for the consummation of the age. I groan too!

Longing for things to be as they ought,

Waiting for things to be as they will,

Lori

Heirs Eternal- Romans 8:17-18

“And if children of God, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:17-18)

Three blessed privileges have been held forth thus far – no condemnation, life and adoption. But its not over yet. His gifts just keep coming! Here is the fourth wonderful benefit to those that are in Christ – inheritance! “If children of God, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ….”

“Heaven is an inheritance that all the saints are heirs to. They do not come to it by any merit of their own; but as heirs, purely by the act of God. Their present state is a state of education and preparation for the inheritance” (Matthew Henry). While we wait we are learning about and being made ready for and anxiously anticipating what lies ahead.

Two things are pointed out.

1. We are “heirs of God”. “The Lord Himself is the portion of the saints’ inheritance.” What more could we ask for? What more could we need? He is all. He is everything. "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup” (Ps 16:5). “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth” (Ps 73:25).

2. We are “joint-heirs with Christ.” All that Christ has received will be ours in heaven. “Those that now partake of the Spirit of Christ, as His brethren, shall partake of His glory.” He is the bread of life – we will be fully fed and fully satisfied. He is the living water – our thirst will be slaked and we will be refreshed. Can we even begin to comprehend what all this implies? No, we can not!

Paul then turns to the issue of suffering and he looks at it in the light of eternity. “…if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” “The state of the church in this world is always an afflicted state. He tells them that they suffered with Christ, and that they shall be glorified with Him. Though we may appear as losers for Him in this world, we shall not be losers by Him in the end.” This world seems so full of sadness and sorrow. Yet, place it in the scale of eternity and see that there is no comparison between what lies in the past and what lies at the present when weighed against what lies in our eternal future. “For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Note that our sufferings are in “this present time.” They are momentary and last for only a fleeting moment. Later on, in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul refers to our very serious trials as being “momentary and light.” How can he say that? Because he is weighing them by the eternal scale not the temporal. Stack your sufferings next to you glorification in Christ and see that your glorification is an “exceeding and eternal weight.”

Present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with “the glory that is to be revealed to us.” I turn again to Henry, “In our present state we come short, not only in the enjoyment, but in the knowledge of that glory: it shall be revealed. It surpasses all that we have yet seen and known. There is something to come, something behind the curtain, that will outshine all.”

Amazingly it will not only be revealed to us that we might know it but it will be revealed in us that we might own it. It will be ours to enjoy.

As we suffer may we have eternal vision. Our sufferings don’t compare to the glory that is to be revealed. “The sufferings are small and short, and concern the body only; but the glory is rich and great, and concerns the soul, and is eternal! This he reckons as an arithmetician that is balancing an account. He first sums up what is disbursed for Christ in the suffering of this present time, and finds they come to very little; he then sums up with is secured to us by Christ in the glory that shall be revealed, and this he finds to be an infinite sum. And who would be afraid then to suffer for Christ, who as He is beforehand with us in suffering, so He will not be behind-hand with us in recompense?” (Matthew Henry)

Forget what lies behind, fear not what faces me now – look ahead, press on, fix your eyes on the prize. I can’t help but think of the book of 1 Peter, that glorious epistle on suffering. In the first chapter we are pointed to the living hope that we have through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Christ was resurrected and has caused us to be born again “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God, through faith for a salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

O LORD my God – Make me to look forward to what You have secured for me and make me to live for a little while, if necessary, as a sufferer who brings praise and glory and honor to you. Grant me eternal eyes in every ordeal that Your divine wisdom ordains for me to face.

An heir of the eternal,

Lori

Adopted -Romans 8:14-16

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:14-16)

Romans 8 has, thus far, held forth two privileges of being a Christian - the declaration of there being no condemnation for us and the reality of spiritual life - both now and throughout eternity. This morning I turn to, the third precious privilege that flows from being “in Christ” -the priviledge of adoption.

Since the fall, all of us are born “by nature, children of wrath.” (Eph 2:3). God is not our Father by birth (though He is our Creator). No, as children of wrath the truth of the matter is that by birth, God is our righteous enemy and our just Judge (see Rom 5:10, Ps 58:3, Ep 2:11.)

As the Judge of the wicked, He has all rights to punish us for our transgressions. God is holy, as a matter of fact He is thrice holy (Is. 6) and true to His nature “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” (Ex 34:7). He will not and He cannot wink at sin. Its wages are death and its wages must be paid. They will either be paid by us or they have been paid by Christ. Here’s where the real beauty of this privilege fleshes out.


All of these glorious truths that I’ve dwelt on from Romans over the past few weeks are intimately acquainted with this precious promise. In many ways this may be the most tender and affectionate promise of them all. If I’m united with Christ (Rom 6), if I’ve been freed from this wretched body of death (Rom 7), if condemnation has been removed and the Spirit has been given (Rom 8) then I am no longer a child of wrath. No, praise God, I’ve been adopted as a child of God. The just Judge has taken my crimes and put them on Christ. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21).

Through Christ, God is no longer my Judge He is now my Father. Through Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation. Righteous retribution has been taken care of through Christ’s finished work. I will not be punished as a criminal, from now on I will be loved and disciplined as a daughter. “God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? …He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness” (Heb 12:7,10). That is a big privilege. Punishment has parted. It is not punishment but rather discipline that is being done and the Father’s discipline is good for it is doled out in love and in mercy. It comes teaching and training and molding me that I might be more like the living Christ and less like the dead sinner that I was from birth.


Verse 14 declares “for all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Notice that the sons of God aren’t driven they are led. We had a wicked tyrant in sin. He sought to drive us to our death. O, but we don’t have a cruel taskmaster in God. We have a gentle Shepherd and a loving Father. By our adopted Father’s hand we are “sweetly led into all truth and all duty.” He doesn’t chase us and angrily pursue us. He carries us and upholds us by His righteous right hand. He goes before us, behind us, and with us in every duty. Equipping and enabling us for every task that He has called us to.


We are not slaves we are sons! “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons….” Fear not, child of God! It is sin and slavery that lead to fear. Sin makes us miserable. It hold us captive. It renders us completely incompetent for every truly good work. In walking its path there is everything to be afraid of and nothing to be secure in. In Christ, the bondage has been broken. The chains have been chopped off. The sentence of slavery has been replaced with the certificate of sonship. Cast your fears aside, O child of God and walk in the freedom that your Father has provided at the cost of His only natural born Child.


Fear not, and if you do find yourself fearing run to Him. As sons and daughters cry out to your Father. Cry to Him as a frightened child calls out for her Daddy in her great time of need - “…but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba! Father!” Matthew Henry writes, “Praying here is called crying. Children that cannot speak vent their desires by crying. Now, the Spirit teaches us in prayer to come to God as Father. And why both, Abba Father? It denotes an affectionate endearing importunity. Little children, begging of their parents can say little but “Father, Father,” and that is rhetoric enough.”


This section this morning ends in verse 16 with “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” It is ultimately the Spirit through the Word that gives us true and lasting assurance. Again quoting Mr. Henry, “Many speak peace to themselves to whom the God of heaven does not speak peace. But those that are sanctified have God’s Spirit witnessing to their spirits. This testimony is always agreeable to the written Word, and is therefore always grounded upon sanctification. The Spirit witnesses to none the privileges of children who have not the nature and disposition of children.”


Do you ever struggle with assurance? I do. And here, in verse 16 is where we will find the assurance that we so desperately long for. Assurance is a work of the Spirit. As I look at my own life I must confess that, by grace through faith I am resting in Christ alone to save me. It is abundantly clear to me that I cannot save myself. The Word of God has spoken accurately of who I am by nature and of what my heart is like when left to itself. Of His doing, I am in Christ. I did not choose Him, He chose me. As a matter of fact, I sought to destroy Him for several years, yet He sought to deliver me. He has united me with Christ. He has raised me from being a casualty of sin to being soldier against sin. I am clearly in the war and my High King is, through sanctification, setting me free from the body of this death. By His promise I am a recipient of the privileges of no condemnation, life and adoption.


Are not the privileges great. He has adopted us and He will not abandon His people, nor forsake His inheritance. He will not cast us aside but keep us ever close. He will not beat us down. He will only build us up. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is the Father of all fathers and Christian, He has made us His child. May His precious Spirit bear witness of these truths to us and may He lead us all the days of our life, upholding us by His Fatherly righteous right hand.

Thankful for a firm and unshakeable adoption as His child,
Lori

If Christ, then Life! -Romans 8:10-13

“And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (vs 10-13)

Romans 8 seems to be the chapter of precious privileges and of precious promises. Thus far we have seen that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Now the second blessed benefit is added. Life!!! Isn't that beautiful! “If Christ”, then life!!

“If Christ is in you” then…

1. “….the body is dead because of sin…” (vs 10). Even being in Christ, it is still a fact that my body is riddled with sin. The fall has had consequences on us. The body “is a frail, mortal, dying body. In the midst of life we are in death: be our bodies ever so strong, they are as good as dead and this ‘because of sin’. Methinks, were there no other argument then love to our bodies alone should make us hate sin, because it is such an enemy to our bodies.” (Matthew Henry)

2. “…yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” (vs 10). I will turn again to Mr. Henry. “The life of the saint lies in the soul, while the life of the sinner goes no further than the body. When the body dies the spirit is life. Death to the saints is but the freeing of the heaven-born spirit from the clog and load of this body, that it may be fit to partake of eternal life. And this ‘because of righteousness’. The righteousness of Christ imputed to them secures the soul from death; the righteousness of Christ inherent in them, preserves it, and at death elevates it, and makes it meet to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light.” Death sounds sweeter and sweeter to me. Not in a morbid, suicidal, escapism way, not at all. But it is the doorway to real life.

3. “…He will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” (vs11). Yes, because of the fall, our bodies are dead and continually dying but it doesn’t end there. God doesn’t cast the creation away. No, He is the God who makes all things beautiful in their time. Even the body of the Christian will reap the benefits of life. At the end of all things, the body and the soul will be reunited and reunited without sin! On the last day our bodies will be made whole. The resurrection of the dead is our glorious hope.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:42-44)

Henry says that there are two great assurances of the body’s resurrection given in these verses.

First, Christ’s resurrection: “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies…”(vs 11). Henry reminds us that “Christ rose as a forerunner of all the saints.” But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep (1 Cor 15:20). He states, “It is in the virtue of Christ’s resurrection that we shall rise.”

Second, the Spirit’s indwelling: “…through His Spirit who indwells you.” (vs 11). Quoting my Puritan friend again, “The Spirit, breathing upon dead and dry bones, will make them live, and the saints even in their flesh shall see God.”

In his commentary, Matthew Henry mentions 2 motives for not walking after the flesh but for following the Spirit.

1. We are not debtors to the flesh. “So then brethren, we are under obligation, NOT to the flesh, to live according to the flesh…” (vs 12). No! We are debtors to Jesus and to His Spirit. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20). Again I am reminded that my only hope in body and soul, in life and in death is that I’m not my own but I belong to Christ!

2. Consider what will be the end result of walking after the flesh. “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…” (vs 13). Following the flesh leads to eternal death. The wages are not delightful they are damning!

Thankfully there is a grand “but” in the text. “But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (vs 13). Life or death? Which will it be? Which will I pursue? I can pursue only death left to myself. I will pursue life by the power of the Spirit of God dwelling within me. O blessed Spirit, fill me this day and make me to follow after you in whole hearted devotion.

Longing for spiritual life and awaiting physical death,

Lori

Brain Dead, in Need of Transplant - Romans 8:5-9

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not eve able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:5-9)

We have been given a great privilege in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Him. Wrath is removed. Enmity is erased. Guilt is gone. Christ appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh and gave Himself as an offering for sin. He was condemned that we wouldn’t be. His sacrifice broke the guilt and power of sin over us. And the blessed result is that we have been made righteous in Christ. We are now clothed in Him. His righteousness has been placed on us.

Paul, within this context now turns to the mind. What is my mind running after? What is it set upon? The things of the flesh or the things of the Spirit. Oh, how I long to have it dwell on the spiritual but the battle of Romans 7 is real in me. (Praise God that it is a battle and not a surrender! The very war within is a testimony of the work of grace within.)

In these verses we are cautioned against “carnal mindedness.” In it there is much misery. In it there is only death. “For the mind set on the flesh is death” (vs 6). Henry says, “It is the death of the soul; for it is alienation from God, in union and communion with whom the life of the soul consists. A carnal soul is a dead soul, dead as a soul can die. Death includes all misery and carnal souls are miserable souls.” Sounds like a great place to hang out doesn’t it?! We are foolish folk and stupid sheep to set our minds upon such things.

Look at the great contrast between the mind set on the flesh as compared to the mind set on the Spirit. “For the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Duh! Let me see, which should I choose? Yet, which do I often choose. Back to Romans 7 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Quoting Matthew Henry again: “A sanctified soul is a living soul, and that life is peace. ”

Death is one mark of the mind set on the flesh, but it doesn’t end there. No, it is death and it is “hostility toward God.” Henry says that this is worse than the former. “The former speaks the carnal sinner a dead man, but this speaks him a devil of a man.” Whoa! It’s one thing to just be no more, to be dead with no consequences, to be simply annihilated. But no – there is enmity with God in all of this. Enmity with God is the heart of all of this. The mind set on the flesh is warring with holy omnipotence and scoffing at the Judge of all the earth. It is spitting and clawing and laughing at righteous wrath. It is living the lie as truth and calling the God of truth a liar. This is not a good thing. This is not a good place. “It is not only alienation of the soul from God, but the opposition of the soul against God.”

Verse 7 goes on, in describing the hostility of the carnal mind, to declare “for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.” Here is the noetic effect of sin. Here is depravity on the brain. Here is a practical picture of what it means to be dead in sin. Our natural minds do not subject themselves to the law of God. Oil and water don’t mix – nor do spiritual life and spiritual death. “The holiness of the law of God, and the unholiness of the carnal mind, are as irreconcilable as light and darkness.”

The carnal mind “does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.” We don’t want to subject ourselves to the law of God and we are not able to subject ourselves to the law of God! Quoting Henry once again: “Pleasing God is our highest end, of which those that are in the flesh cannot but fall short; they cannot please Him, nay they cannot but displease Him.”
We need a radical and total brain transplant. We need to be born again. That is what Christ does- He gives new life. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come.”

The carnal mind does not and cannot subject itself to the law of God. That is the natural man. That is all of us without Christ. That is Lori left to her lusts. But, thanks be to God, that is not the new man. That is not the character of the blood bought saints. That is not me by grace, through faith in Christ. “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

The “if” is a call for us to examine ourselves. Are we in the faith? “Who dwells, who rules, who keeps house here?” The Father, Son, and Spirit? Or my flesh? What landlord owns the property? What King rules the land? What husband am I bound to? What Father claims this child? Am I my own or have I been bought with a price?

Verse 9 ends with “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Do you have the Spirit? By sheer grace I am able to say that Christ has bought me and His Spirit has set up residence. It is the Spirit of Christ who pricks my conscience regarding these sins that I find myself warring with. It is the Spirit of Christ who grants me joy unspeakable when I meditate on the Word of God. It is the Spirit of Christ who causes me to ache for the lost and downcast. The carnal mind, the mind set on the flesh, the mind of Lori would never do any of those things. It would not, for it could not! Soli Deo Gloria!

Pressing heavenward by God’s grace,
Lori

Thy Works Not Mine O Christ - Romans 8:1-4

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)

In my last post I dwelt upon that great privilege, that great declaration that the Judge of all the earth makes regarding His elect – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In Christ Jesus this privilege is ours. It is a gift. I cannot boast. I didn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it. The resolving of my enmity with God, the securing of my guiltlessness before Him, the removal of my condemnation is the work of Christ, not the work of Lori.

Thy works, not mine, O Christ, speak gladness to this heart; they tell me all is done; they bid my fear depart. To whom, save Thee, who canst alone for sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?

Thy pains, not mine, O Christ, upon the shameful tree, have paid the law's full price and purchased peace for me. To whom, save Thee, who canst alone for sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?

They cross, not mine, O Christ, has borne the awful load of sins that none in heav'n or earth could bear but God. To whom, save Thee, who canst alone for sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?

Thy righteousness, O Christ, alone can cover me: no righteousness avails save that which is of Thee. To whom, save Thee, who canst alone for sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?

(Horatius Bonar, 1857)

Christ did it (vs 2) the law could not (vs 3). “The law could neither justify nor sanctify. The law made nothing perfect: it was weak. Yet that weakness was not through any defect in the law, but through the flesh, through the corruption of human nature. In case of failure, the law, as a covenant of works, made no provision, and so left us as it found us” (Matthew Henry). The law shows us our sin but offers us no help in being freed from the burden of it. It burdens us further and leaves us hopelessly without excuse.

O, but the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (vs 2). The covenant of works will undo us, the covenant of grace will recreate us. We were in bondage to sin and death under the first covenant. In the covenant of grace we are given new life – it is the law of the Spirit of life – and we are set free to live and walk and serve in the newness of that life.

The cornerstone and the firm foundation upon which this freedom is built, the only fount from which this living water flows is Christ Jesus our Lord! “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh” (vs 3). God Himself made the way. His Son did that which the law could never do. Justice and mercy converged at Calvary and I have been raised from the dead with my resurrected Savior. What human words could ever express proper gratitude and awe for such an act?! There are none!

Mr. Henry points out several things from verse 3 that are helpful and heart stirring.

1. How Christ appeared: "In the likeness of sinful flesh". It is important to note that Christ appeared in the “likeness” of sinful flesh. He was not sinful. No, He is the spotless Lamb, the High Priest without sin. He is the only One who has ever perfectly fulfilled the Law. He appeared in the “likeness” of sinful flesh. “He took upon Him that nature which was corrupt, though perfectly abstracted from the corruptions of it. It was great condescension that He who was God should be made in the likeness of flesh; but much greater that He who was holy should be made in the likeness of sinful flesh.”

And for what purpose? What possible reason could there be for the Holy One to come in the likeness of sinful ones? He came “as an offering for sin.” He came as an offering for my sin. It was “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (He 10:4). No, “by this we have been sanctified - through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all "(He 10:10).

Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain,could give this guilty conscience peace, or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb, takes all our sins away,a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they.

My faith would lay her hand on that dear head of Thine, while like a penitent I stand, and there confess my sin.

My soul looks back to see the burdens Thou didst bear, when hanging on the cursed tree, and knows my guilt was there.

Believing, we rejoice to see the curse removed; we bless the Lamb with cheerful voice, and sing his bleeding love.

Isaac Watts,
1709

2. What was done by this appearance: “sin was condemned.” Henry writes, “For all that are Christ’s both the damning and the domineering power of sin is broken. Though it live and remain, its life in the saints is still but like that of a condemned malefactor. The condemning of sin saved the sinner from condemnation. Christ was made sin for us.” There is therefore now no condemnation for Lori because Christ was condemned in my place. He satisfied for my sin. Surely my griefs He bore and my sorrows wore. He was pierced through for my transgressions. He was crushed for my iniquities and by His wounds I am healed! Selah!

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.”

(2 Co 5:21)

3. The happy effect of this upon us: “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us.” Christ’s righteousness is imputed to me! I am “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” What can I say? My soul sits in silence and in wonder at these things that the Holy God of the universe has declared and done on my behalf! “Who is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You care for him?” (Ps 8:4). “There is none righteous, not even one…. There is none who does good, not even one.” (Ro 3). I am not righteous – You have made me righteous. Thank You my God!

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness my beauty are, my glorious dress; ‘midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day; for who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through these I am from sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

When from the dust of death I rise to claim my mansion in the skies, e’vn then this shall be all my plea, Jesus hath lived, hath died, for me.

Jesus, be endless praise to Thee, whose boundless mercy hath for me-for me a full atonement made, and everlasting ransom paid.

O let the dead now hear Thy voice; now bid thy banished ones rejoice; their beauty this, their glorious dress, Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness.

Nicholaus Ludwig von
Zinzendorf, 1739

Resting in that which has been imputed,

Lori

Not Guilty! - Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

We are all, by nature justly condemned. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 3:23). Condemnation is what we deserve. It is fair. But, to God alone be the glory, through Christ we are not condemned. Romans 8 begins with a declaration of the difference that Christ makes in a life. Here is one of the privileges of the elect – O! and it is a precious privilege – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Hear those words precious believer and let them roll around on your ear as fine wine would roll around on your tongue!

Paul has complained to His God regarding the reality of the battle. There is a war waging and we are soldiers in the midst of this grand conflict. Romans 8 is full of hope for the weary warrior and it begins with this glorious declaration – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”

Matthew Henry writes, “It is the unspeakable privilege of all those that are in Christ Jesus that there is therefore now no condemnation against them. Paul does not say, ‘There is no accusation against them’, for this there is; but the accusation is thrown out. He does not say, ‘There is nothing in them that deserves condemnation’, for this there is, and they see it, and own it; but it shall not be their ruin. He does not say, ‘There is no cross, no affliction to them’, for this there may be; but no condemnation.”

Where does this freeing declaration spring from? It springs from the Lord Jesus Christ and our union with Him. Romans 8 is the result of Romans 6. By God’s doing, we are “in Christ” and because we are “in Christ” there is therefore now no condemnation! It is all of Him and none of us. Romans 8 is the result of God’s mercy given to us in Christ.

Keep in mind that Romans 8:1 begins with “There is therefore.…” For years I’ve been reminded to always find out what the “therefore” is there for! Context matters, it is important. (“A text without a context is a pretext for anything.” Yet a text within its context is eye opening and life changing.) Immediately prior to this wonderful statement, we have found Paul undone by the reality of his sin. Romans 7 ends with “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Paul is undone, as are we. What can he do? Nothing! and he realized it full well. What does he deserve? The wrath and displeasure of a holy God. Paul, when looking at his sin and gazing at the character of God is absolutely undone.

He’s just like Isaiah when he saw the LORD “sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” Remember his vision? “Seraphim stood above Him each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, isi the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out…. Then [Isaiah] said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Is 6:1-5)

Paul, when seeing his sin and seeing God in all of his holiness, is absolutely undone. We better be undone as well. If we aren’t then perhaps we are still dead in our trespasses and sins. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”

O! But our God does not leave Paul there! He does not leave Isaiah there! He has not left Lori there and he will not leave you there! Paul declares “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Isaiah, the man of unclean lips, is sent a seraph with a burning coal to touch his mouth with fiery grace. Once that touch of grace is given the seraph declares “Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”

See this same truth playing out at the beginning of Romans 8. Paul the unclean is touched by the grace of Christ and is now Paul the not condemned. How glorious is grace?!?! Here is what the “therefore” is there for. I am a woman of unclean lips and heart and mind and action. I am wretched. I am undone left to myself. But, I have not been left to myself. I have been united, by grace through faith, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of that reality “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Let it soak in. Let the healing oil of that promise run its course all this day. Walk in the freedom of God’s declaration. The wretched is made righteous. The unclean has been washed. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.” The judge has spoken. I am no longer on death row. Christ was executed for me - in my place, for my sins - and “there is therefore now no condemnation.”

And Can it Be?

And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

‘Tis mystery all! The immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design?In vain the firstborn seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine. ‘Tis mercy all! let earth adore, let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above (so free, so infininte His grace!) Humbled Himself (so great His love!), and bled for all His chosen race. ‘Tis mercy all, immense and free; for, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature’s night; thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine,bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shoulds’t die for me?

Charles Wesley, 1738

Not Condemned,

Lori

Final Warring Words. An Interesting Parallel - Romans 7 / Philippians 4

I have been really struck at the parallel between this passage that I've written on in the last two posts and the words of Philippians 4. In Romans 7 we've seen that Paul makes his complaint to God. Then he repackages his mind with reminders of what the struggle REALLY signifies. He makes his thoughts to dwell on the Word– it’s beauty and the joy it brings to his soul. Finally, He acts on that which he mind has been thinking.

Isn’t that Philippians 4?!?!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brethren, whatever is true…honorable…right…pure…lovely…of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:6-9)

So, what are we to do in the midst of whatever "war" we find ourselves battling this day?

1. Make your complaint to the One who can do something about it – PRAY!

• "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." - Philippians 4:6
• "Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." - Luke 22:46
• "With all prayer and petition pray at all times." - Ephesians 6:18

2. Take your thoughts captive, repackage your mind with biblical thought. Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself – MEDITATE on truth!

• "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." - Philippians 4:8
• "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
• "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2
  

3. Finally, do that which the law requires and which Christ enables – OBEY!

• "The things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you." - Philippians 4:9
• "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." - James 1:22
• "You have ordained your precepts that we should keep them diligently." - Psalm 119:4

May God grant us the grace and strength in the battles we face to wear His armor, to wield His Word, and to win in Christ.

Warring on,

Lori

War! Complaints and Comforts- Romans 7:14-25 Part 2

“For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good.

"So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

“I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7: 14-25)

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In my last post I began looking at Paul's description of the war that rages within each of us as believers. If you are a Christian, you KNOW that there is a war. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about then perhaps the question to ask is "am I truly in Christ?") As a believer, my flesh rages against the spirit. The old man rails against the new man. Sin clashes with sanctification. Boy, oh boy - does it ever. This section of Romans 7 is the story of my life!


Paul gets very honest here. Lori is striving to do the same. Paul acknowledges that there is a war and he shoots straight with his “complaints” regarding it. However, Paul doesn't complain just in order to vent. His complaints are made to his God. His complaints are prayers to the only one who can assist him in the struggle. As Paul offers his honest complaints to his all-sufficient God, he finds the true “comforts” that accompany him in his trial. In our warring are we complaining at God or complaining to Him? Do you need comfort in the midst of your battle? I know I do and Paul, the chief of sinners, will help direct us there in these verses.


First, the complaint. Paul talks honestly about the fact that sin still seems to be stuck to him. Even the regenerate man (even Paul) still sins. We never fully shake it in this life. Notice the following things from the text:

• He complains that "I am of flesh, sold into bondage of sin” (vs 14). Matthew Henry states that “even where there is spiritual life there are remainders of carnal affections.” Isn't that the truth! Justification was wonderful, sanctification can be painful, and glorification is beyond my wildest dreams! I can't imagine it but how I long for it! Oh to be free – not just from the guilt and the reigning power – but fully free. Gone! No more! Free from all sin in me, on me, around me. Lord haste the day when all the affects of sin's bondage are removed!

• He complains that “That which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate” (vs 15). The same thing is expressed in verse 19: “For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish.” And then again in verse 21: "I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.”
  
  Repeatedly I find myself doing what I don't understand, practicing what I hate, and doing the very thing I do not want to do. Paul wanted to do the right thing. His heart longed to please his God. He desired to be perfect as his Father is perfect. But his desires and his practice just didn’t add up. Paul was human. Paul was just like me. See, it is “common to man!” He wanted to do the right thing but it seems he just couldn’t do it. I can't do it either - in and of myself. But Christ can and Christ did! Praise God for Christ's active obedience!

May we with Paul “not regard ourselves as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Ph 3:13-14). There’s that phrase again “in Christ.” There is the answer to the war. There is the Champion of the battle. There is the reminder from Romans 6 that enables us to endure under Romans 7 – “in Christ.” Stop fighting in your own strength and flee to His. I cannot kill and conquer sin but Christ can and Christ did! “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This remnant serves as a reminder of how much I need Him. May the battle drive me to my Commander in Chief and into the shelter of the shadow of His wings!

• He complains that “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (vs 18). Henry sums it up as follows: “There is no good to be expected, any more than one would expect good corn to be growing from a rock.” In and of myself I will produce rot. In Him I will produce righteousness. Our union with Christ is crucial. It is the axis upon which all good rotates. It is the center of our universe. His blood and righteousness are truly our beauty and our glorious dress. (Romans 6, Romans 6, Romans 6. ) In the context of Romans 6, Romans 7 doesn’t overwhelm. In the context of Romans 6, Romans 7 just makes us love Jesus more! Nothing good dwells in me. All goodness dwells in Him. Flee to Him battle scarred believer!!
  
  
  
• He complains that “I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind” (vs 23). Rebels and traitors! Christ is King of my life and yet my flesh does not want to submit to Him. My mind wants to argue with Him. Yet my heart longs to love Him and serve Him. Raging war!! Waging war!! The good news is that there is a war. Before Christ there was no war. I didn’t fight against my lusts, I gave into them. I wasn’t bothered by my pride, I boasted in it. I didn’t care about my sins, I reveled in them. Now there is a war. Christ is a wise ruler – and in His subduing of me He hasn’t treated me like Sherman and burned down all of Atlanta leaving destruction behind each step. No – He is gracious and slow to anger. He is patient and long-suffering. Sanctification is a process and He is processing me perfectly. The old Lori and the new Lori are at odds. Yet the King of Lori sits on His throne and rules in righteousness. Little by little He is refining me that I might appreciate the changes all the more. The very complaint of the war should be a reminder to look to the Conqueror of the foe!
  
  
  
• He complains “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (vs 24). Thanks Paul – who could say it any better? Boy has that ever been my cry over and over and over these past few weeks. Sin is troublesome! Its affects are painful and wearying. It scars us – it scarred our Savior on our behalf!! Again, even as I look at these words from verse 24 I’m hopeful because of the desperate cry that comes from my lips. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” My sin causes me to see my need. My current trial has caused me to have to look beyond Lori to Someone else to set me free from the body of this death. My cry, which is the same as Paul’s, is in and of itself a testimony of the grace of Christ that has “begun the good work” in me. Who will set me free?” Let us leave the complaint and turn to the comfort.
  
  

Paul has complained – and with some good reason. Yet he does not stay in that place. No! Paul turns from his sorrow to his Savior. He leaves his complaints behind and looks to the comforts of His God. In his trial he begins to take his thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. He stops thinking on what is troublesome and starts thinking on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and of good repute. He removes his gaze from the problem and sets his sights on the promise! May I, by grace, do the same.

He looks at the character of the Law which will point Him to the Great Lawgiver and the only perfect Law Keeper - Christ.

1. Paul reminds himself that the very struggle he is facing testifies that the law is good. “But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good.” (vs 16).

How easy it is to be overwhelmed by our sin?! How apt we are to just cry “uncle”?! We get worn out, in our own strength, and wallow for a while. However, as a true believer, we don’t stay there long. The filth begins to affect us. The stench begins to stalk us. The dirt eventually drives us to Jesus again. While the lying whispers of the enemy may cause us to despair of the law, the Lord of the law – who lived the law for us – bids us to rise, awaken, and clothe ourselves in Him. He makes us to see our sin for what it is and He makes us to see Himself for who He is.

“Wherever there is grace there is not only a dread of the severity of the law, but a consent to the goodness of the law. This is a sign that the law is written in the heart” (Henry). The war itself is an Ebenezer to take hold of.

2. Paul reminds himself of the joy he receives from the law. “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man” (vs 22).

“Paul delighted not only in the promises of the word, but in the precepts and prohibitions of the word. All that are born again do truly delight in the law of God, never better pleased than when heart and life are in the strictest conformity to the law and will of God” – Matthew Henry. Wow! How true is that?! I’m reminded of how often I talk to my children regarding sin’s effects on us in this life – we become sinful and miserable. “The way of the sinner is hard.” “The wicked earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.” “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”

3. Paul reminds himself that he must act on the thoughts that he has taken captive and obey the law. “I myself with my mind am serving the law of God.”

Paul has taken his thoughts captive. He’s been repackaging his mind with what is right and true. Now that he has reminded himself, now that his “mind has been dwelling on these things,” now it’s time to act! “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things.” (Ph 4:9 ) “It is not enough to consent to the law, and to delight in the law, but we must serve the law.” Lord – set my mind like flint to serve your law and not serve myself!

Paul looks at the conquering Christ. So must we. He alone is our hope!

Here is the solution, this is ALWAYS the solution. Paul fixes his eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of his faith. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” If we look to ourselves, if we look to the surging storm waters we will sink like Peter. If we look to Christ we will walk where it seems impossible even to stand. Look to Jesus! Flee to Jesus! Fall on Jesus!

Am I at a complete loss in my trial, temptation and testing. Good!! I am a wretched woman. I cannot set myself free I can only dig a deeper hole. Who shall set me free? Who will be my deliver? It is Jesus. “If it were not for Christ, this iniquity that dwells in us would certainly be our ruin.”

Jesus! What a friend for sinners! Jesus! lover of my soul; friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus! what a strength in weakness! Let me hide myself in him; tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, He my strength, my vict’ry wins.

Jesus! what a help in sorrow! While the billows o’er me roll, even when my heart is breaking, He, my comfort, helps my soul.

Jesus! what a guide and keeper! While the tempest still is high, storms about me, night o’ertakes me, He, my pilot, hears my cry.

Jesus! I do now receive Him, more than all in Him I find; He has granted me forgiveness, I am His, and He is mine.

Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.

(J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910)

I find myself at this moment with Paul – in absolute praise and thanksgiving of this One who has freed me from this body of death!! O LORD how wonderful you are. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Selah!

Winning through Christ,

Lori

No Naked Soldiers, Please - Romans 7/ Ephesians 6

“For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good.

"So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

“I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7: 14-25)

Conflict. War. Battle. Here is the struggle between sin and righteousness, grace and corruption. It is epic. It rages. It is real! I’m on the front lines in my own life even now.

It seems that most commentators look at this passage from two different angles. 1) It can be applied to the battle that rages in the midst of the process of regeneration where our eyes are being opened to the truth of the things of Christ but we’ve not fully taken them as our own. The war begins! 2) It can be applied to the struggles of the redeemed. The war continues as suddenly we find ourselves truly struggling against sin, self, and Satan. We're being sanctified but we're still imperfect. We are redeemed sinners, but sinners nonetheless. We want to please God / we want to please ourselves. Sound familiar? Then you're in the war too! I’m thankful that the battle is the Lord’s and that He never loses not a battle, not a soldier!

Before digging in to what is the current heart of the matter for Lori I want to touch on the first angle that has been mentioned - when the war first begins as our eyes are being opened to the truth. Matthew Henry writes : “The law may discover sin, and convince of sin, but it cannot conquer and subdue sin. It discovers the defilement but will not wash it off. It makes a man weary and heavy laden, burdens him with his sin; and yet it yields no help towards the shaking off of that burden; this is to be had only in Christ. The law may make a man cry out, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me? and yet leave him thus fettered.”

He goes on to say, “Now a soul advanced thus far by the law is in a fair way towards a state of liberty by Christ, though many rest here and go no further. It is possible for a man to go to hell with his eyes open, and to carry about with him a self-accusing conscience, even in the service of the devil. He may consent that the law is good, may have that within him that witnesses against sin and for holiness; and yet all this overpowered by the reigning love of sin. Drunkards and unclean persons have some faint desires to leave off their sins, and yet persist in them.” How heart-breaking! Sin blinds. Sin binds. Only Christ can set us free!

Now, this second angle is where the rubber meets the road for me this morning. It is the struggle between sin and righteousness, grace and corruption, the old man and the new man. Here’s the battle I’m currently fighting - and will be, to varying degrees, until glory.

There are bits and pieces, fragments and at time large chunks (OK earth size globs) of corruption hanging out in me. It cannot be denied. My life shows it. The Word reveals it. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8). “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 Jn 1:10).

Galatians 5 records the battle as well. “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Ga 5:17). The next few verses go on to describe in detail what these warring parties look like. “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are :immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealously, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarned you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. BUT the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

It is clear – being saved does equal being sinless. There is NO perfection in this life. We are at war with the world, with the flesh, with the devil. We fight, we battle, we struggle. At least, we better be fighting, battling and struggling, for “that which we do sincerely strive against, shall not be laid to our charge, and through grace the victory is sure at last.” Christ fought for us and won the war through His obedient life, His sacrificial death, and His victorious resurrection in our place. His active and passive obedience are our hope in this conflict. The Lord Jesus fights with us now. We fight IN Him now and He is every interceding on our behalf.

This war is real. Don't deny it and pretend its not there. The war is real and so is the armor that God has provided for us to wear in the war. Look to Ephesians 6:13-18 to see what wondrous wear God has provided for us.

"Therefore take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view. be on the alert with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints."

The war is real. So is the armor for the war! May God make us strong and courageous. May He make us to put on that which He has provided. May He enable us to take that armor up that we may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm may He make us to stand firm! May He grant us the grace to gird up our loins with truth, the strength to put on the breastplate of righteousness that comes from Christ alone. May our feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and may they be beautiful as they carry forth God's good news.

Oh Christian, by grace take up the shield of faith with which we will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. Faith is given by God (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is God who has granted us saving faith may He be pleased to increase our sanctifying faith through the means of grace! He has given us the helmet of salvation and therefore, as His elect, we cannot receive a mortal head wound - though at times, in our flesh, we are certain that we will. We are safe and secure in every situation. We are assured though our assurance often falters!! "But Thou, O LORD art a shield about me, My glory and the One who lifts my head." (Psalm 3)

Our one defensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. May we be diligent to take it up and keep it sharp from much use. And as we use our sword may we pray for the illumining power of the Holy Spirit to use it well. May God make us a praying people! With all prayer and petition praying at all times in the Spirit. This is the armor that our Great Commander and Captain has provided. May we wear it well and may we bring Him glory in the war.

The war is real. Too often I try to fight naked. Oh, foolish soldier, put on the armor and fight with the assurance of victory.

Lori

The Law Is Holy and Righteous and Good - Romans 7:7-14

“What shall we say then? Is the Law sin May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment; produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. And I was once alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came; sin became alive, and I died; and this commandment which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking opportunity through the commandment deceived me, and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” (Romans 7:7-14)




Paul has talked a lot about the Law in the verses 1-6 and it could almost be contrived that He doesn’t care much for it. It’s not the Law itself that he is speaking of but the effect of the Law apart from Christ. In order to correct any misinterpretations as to how wonderful the Law is he writes verses 7-14 - the law is holy and righteous and good.


Matthew Henry breaks this section into three headings, and they are good headings. 1) The great excellency of the law in itself. 2) The great advantage that is found by the law. 3) The ill use that the corrupt nature made of the law.

1. The great excellency of the law in itself. So then, the Law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (vs 12)

“Laws are as the lawmakers are. God the great lawgiver, is holy, just and good, therefore His law must needs be so. The ways of the Lord are right. The laws design is good – it was given for the good of mankind. It makes the observers of it good. Wherever there is true grace there is an assent to this – that the law is holy, just and good.”

For we know that the Law is spiritual (vs 14). TheLaw is not man's words it is God's! Here Paul reminds us that the Law is spiritual words for men whose principle part is spiritual. It is a law for the soul. “Herein the law of God is above all other laws, that it is a spiritual law. The law of God takes notice of the iniquity regarded in the heart.”

2. The great advantage that is had found by the law.

a. It was discovering. I would not have come to know sin except through the Law, for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said ‘You shall not covet.’(vs 7)

The Law is like a level showing us what is not straight. It reveals our crookedness. “There is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin which is necessary to repentance, but by comparing our hearts and lives with the law. Particularly Paul came to the knowledge of the sinfulness of covetousness.”

Henry goes on to point out that “Paul had a very quick and piercing judgment, and yet never attained the right knowledge of indwelling sin till the Spirit by the law made it known to him. There is nothing about which the natural man is more blind than about original corruption.’ Therefore the Law had become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). "

Through the light of the Law sin is exposed as sin. It is seen for what it really is. The beautiful rainbow of wonder and counterfeit light that sin attempts to deceive us with is revealed as the rotting, maggoty blackness that it truly is.

b. It was humbling.

Isn’t that the truth!! Paul thought himself alive (vs 9) but the Law showed him to truly be dead. We think we are OK. “I’m a good guy.” We are proud of our accomplishments and trust that, if there is a God, that He will reward us for our many good works. Sure we make mistakes from time to time, but on the grand scheme of things we are absolutely fine. “Not so!” says the Law. Paul had been a Pharisee. He was taught by Gamaliel. He was strict in his observances of what the Law said. The law was all over, in, around and about his head but it was far from his heart.

“But when the commandment came (not to his eyes only, but to his heart), sin revived, as the dust in a room rises when the sunshine is let into it. Paul then saw things in sin that he had never seen before. He saw sin in its consequences. He saw sin with death at its heels. He saw sin and the curse entailed upon it. The Spirit, by the commandment, convinced him that he was in a state of sin, and in a state of death because of sin.”

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” It humbles us by showing us what path we are truly on.

3. The ill use that the corrupt nature made of the law. “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment produced in me coveting of every kind…”

Paul was enveloped in covetousness – literally in lust (not necessarily sexual lust, but lust in the general category). Outwardly he looked great. He did was he was told. Inwardly he was a covetous tomb! The law, apart from Christ, made him even more covetous. Our corrupt natures rage against this task master. We don’t like him and we want to lord over him. “You say I can’t do this – just watch me!!”

Henry reminds us that “ever since Adam ate forbidden fruit, we have all been fond of forbidden paths.”

He goes on to say, “For apart from the Law sin is dead, as a snake in winter, which the sunbeams of the law quicken and irritate. It deceived me. Sin puts a cheat upon the sinner, and it is a fatal cheat. It deceived and slew him. It wrought death in me by that which is good (vs 13). Nothing so good but a corrupt and vicious nature will pervert it, and make it an occasion to sin. Now in this sin we truly see sin. The worst thing that sin does is the perverting of the Law. Thus the commandment, which was ordained to life, proved unto death (vs 10). The same word which to some is an occasion of life unto life is to others an occasion of death unto death. The same sun that makes the garden of flowers more fragrant make the dunghill more noisome. The way to prevent this mischief is to bow our souls to the commanding authority of the Law of God.”

Lord – Please make me to bow under the authority of this Law, through Christ, more and more each day. O how I love Your Law – it is my meditation day and night. Make it a living lamp to my soul.

Loving His Law,
Lori

Married to the Law or Christ? - Romans 7:1-6

“Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress, but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:1-6)

Interestingly, each year as I read through Romans I find myself sort of skimming over these verses. I get excited about the Romans 6 “dead to sin/alive to Christ” stuff. Then I’m ready to hop past verses 1-6, hurry through verses 7-13, and plunge eagerly into verses 14-25 and the conflict of the two natures. This morning I am finding myself hitting the brakes on these first 6 verses and seeing some things I’ve never seen before. Particularly seeing how they are connected with what has gone before and joined to what will follow. I'm also very personally seeing how much they apply to me and this place where I’ve found myself during the past month!

Romans 6:14 declared “for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” Romans 7:6 fortifies that reality by stating “but now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

We are released from the harsh and impossible taskmaster of works righteousness. In Christ we have died to it. We are under its drudgery no more. Now we are under grace and serving in newness by the indwelling power of the Spirit. I’m free! I don’t have to do this myself. I’m free! I can do this in Christ.

Matthew Henry points out that “we are delivered from that power of the law which condemns us for the sin committed by us. The law says, 'the soul that sins shall die…'" Oh, but Christ says, 'I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. Come to Me. all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls. for My yoke is easy and My load is light.'”

Christ gives new life. The law rightly declares me guilty. The Living Logos declares me not condemned in Him. Christ has done for me what I could not do, He has given to me what I don’t deserve, and He daily grants me the strength that I do not have. “Jesus what a friend for sinners!” “He breaks the power of reigning sin, He sets the prisoner free, His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.”

Mr. Henry also points out that “we are delivered from that power of the law which provokes the sin that dwells in us.” I’ve never noticed this before. Without Christ the law provokes the sin within. This is what the law, apart from the Spirit’s working does - it arouses our rebellion. “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” The law, apart from Christ, just makes us mad. It makes us mad because we CANNOT do it. We CANNOT keep it. Therefore, it ticks us off and we rail against its commands! Boy, if that's not the picture of my life before Christ.

These words from Henry's commentary are incredible. He writes, “The law, by threatening, corrupt and fallen man, but offering no grace to cure, did but stir up the corruption. We being lamed by the fall, the law comes and directs us, but provides nothing to heal and help our lameness. We are under grace, which promises strength to do what it commands, and pardon upon repentance when we do amiss.” But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. We are not under law, but under grace. Oh, how amazing that Christ has come to us with grace enabling us to walk in obedience to the Law with newness of life rather than with chains of death!

In Romans 6, Paul showed the difference between life in the land of law and life in the land of grace by comparing two masters. In Christ, we are under a new master. In Romans 7, Paul portrays this same thing by comparing two husbands. We were first married to the law. He points out that marriage is binding until the death of one of the parties. “For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living…” While her husband is alive she is not free to marry another. If she does, she is an adulteress. “So then if, while her husband is still living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress….”

“Thus we were married to the law. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. We were carried down the stream of sin, and the law was but as an imperfect dam, which made the stream to swell the higher. Our desire was towards sin, and sin ruled over us. We were under the law of sin and death, as the wife under the law of marriage; and the product of this marriage was fruit brought forth unto death. Lust, having conceived by the law, brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. This is the posterity that springs from this marriage to sin and the law.”

This is our natural marriage. But remember the words of Romans 6. “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin.” “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin.”

Our first husband has died! He was a harsh tyrant and we are now freed widows. God has taken the life of this abusive spouse and He has raised up Himself as the kinsman redeemer!! Our second marriage is to Christ! We are no longer married to the law which we can’t keep. We are now married to the Logos – the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. We are one with He who has kept the law perfectly in our stead and who’s grace is sufficient, who’s strength is perfect, who’s presence is ever with us to enable us to obey out of gratitude rather than out of servitude! O Christ – how glorious You are and how marvelous are Your works for the sons of men!!

“We are married to Christ. We enter upon a life of dependence on Him and duty to Him. As our dying to sin and the law is in conformity to the death of Christ, and the crucifying of His body, so our devotedness to Christ in newness of life is in conformity to the resurrection of Christ. We are married to the raised and exalted Jesus!” (Matthew Henry)

Here’s the result of this wondrous union:

1. That we might bear fruit for God. "...that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God." (vs 4).

“One end of marriage is fruitfulness. Now the great end of our marriage to Christ is our fruitfulness in love, and grace, and every good work. As our old marriage to sin produced fruit unto death, so our second marriage to Christ produces fruit unto God. Good works are the children of the new nature. Whatever our professions and pretensions may be, there is no fruit brought forth to God till we are married to Christ.”

2. That we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."(vs 6)

We were obliged to serve before, we just weren’t able. We are still obliged to serve – our Husband makes us able. The former was absolute drudgery. The new- the now- is perfect freedom. In Him we are fully equipped for every good work. Zacharius cried out that the Messiah had come “to grant that we, being delivered form the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” That is what Christ has done. That is one of the things He is doing in me right now.

My Great Husband is doing for me in the midst of this trial. He gave Himself up for me. He is sanctifying me and cleansing me with the water of His word. And why? That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.

I've been married to Christ for 20 years now but these things are, in many ways, new to me. I suppose you could say that I have been committing adultery with the old, dead spouse. I have continued, at times, to be enslaved by the weight of his old ways and have not walked in the freedom that comes from this newness of life, this new marriage, this glorious Husband.

May God forgive all of us for cavorting with the dead and make us to be a devoted spouse to Christ. May we serve Him with gladness. May we, in utter reliance upon Him, bear much fruit for His kingdom. May good works be the offspring of our relation to our Husband - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Renewing my vows,

Lori

Gotta Serve Somebody - Romans 6 part 4

"For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death." (Romans 6:14-21)

Here in Romans 6 Paul “argues from the precious promises of the new covenant.” The new covenant of Christ's blood has made a change for us - an awesome change! “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law; but under grace.”



Matthew Henry writes, “It might be objected that we cannot subdue sin, it is unavoidably too hard for us: ‘No,’ says he, ‘you wrestle with an enemy that may be dealt with and subdued; it is an enemy that is already foiled and baffled. Sin shall not have dominion.’



"Sin may struggle in a believer, and may create him a great deal of trouble, it may vex him, but it shall not rule over him. For we are not under law, but under grace. We are not under the law of sin and death, but under the law of the spirit of life, which is in Christ Jesus. New lords, new laws.



"We are not under the covenant of works, which requires brick, and gives no straw, but we are under the covenant of grace, which accepts sincerity as our gospel perfection, which requires nothing but what it promises strength to perform. It does not leave our salvation in our own keeping, but lays it up in the hands of the Mediator, who undertakes for us that sin shall not have dominion over us, who hath Himself condemned it, and will destroy it. Christ rules by the golden scepter of grace. We are under grace, grace which accepts the willing man, which leaves room for repentance, which promises pardon upon repentance. Shall we sin against so much goodness, abuse such love?”



Oh wretched folk that we are, how often we do sin against so much goodness and abuse such love? God forbid! God have mercy!


We are by nature slaves - slaves to sin. Honestly, as created beings we will always be slaves to something. As Bob Dylan put it “It may be the devil or it may be the Lord but everybody’s gotta serve somebody.” Gold star for Dylan! He hit the theological nail on the head there!



Henry states: “All the children of men are either the servants of God, or the servants of sin. We must inquire to which of these masters we yield obedience. Our obeying the laws of sin will be evidence against us that we belong to that family on which death is entailed. Our obeying the laws of Christ will evidence our relation to Christ’s family.” So - who am I serving? What verdict does the evidence point to?



After Paul declares that we are all servants of one of these two masters – sin or righteousness – he calls us to reflect on the past as part of our persevering in the present. Remember who you were and what you were and what its wages were. Verses 17-21 contains an argument for living to righteousness because of our former state of dying in sinfulness. In otherwords, we should live to righteousness because we realize what we were like and what we had done prior to righteousness being imputed to us. "You were the servants of sin. Those that are now the servants of God would do well to remember the time when they were the servants of sin, to keep them humble, and to quicken them in the service of God.” (Matthew Henry)



Over this past month I’ve had occaision to look back a bit at who I was and at what I did formerly - in my days before Christ. No one who knew me then could argue with the fact that I am not now who I once was. Yes, I'm a sinner still. I often slip and fall. “I am prone to halt and stumble.” Yet, I’m still not who I was. I am often sickened by my sin – even the initial crossings of it into my thoughts. I suppose there is a comfort in that. I am a "new creature in Christ." I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthian church “And such WERE some of you’ but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” It's good to know that I'm a "has been" - it's good that Christ has made me a "were"!

Verse 18 reminds us that we have been "freed from sin" and have become "slaves of righteousness." Contained in this verse are two aspects of freedom. First, it is a "freedom from teh service of sin." Second, it is "a resignation of ourselves to the service of God." Here again, is a put off/put on. We must reckon ourselves as those who are freed from sin's service and we must resign ourselves to God's service. To live is Christ, to die is gain. May God help us to walk in the freedom that His Lordship has granted us.


In verse 19 Paul speaks to us plainly. “For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” By God's grace we need to be as serious about walking in the newness of life as we once were about rotting in the deadness of sin! Set your mind, set your heart, set you will towards obedience. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"


Think about what sin brings. "Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death" (vs 21). Compare it to what righteousness brings. "But now havingn been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life" (vs 22). Sin results in further lawlessness. I am reminded of James 1 – “When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”

Henry asks: “Did you ever get anything by it? Besides future losses which are infinitely great, the very present gains of sin are not worth mentioning.” It is an “unfruitful service”. Its only outcome is death. It is also an “unbecoming service”. It is that of which we are now ashamed. “Shame came into the world with sin, and it is still the certain product of it. Who would willfully do that which sooner or later he is sure to be ashamed of?”

Think folks!! Death and shame are the only benefits that the profession of sin provides – some deal, eh?! By grace, through faith flee from being dead to sin. Instead, be alive to God in Christ Jesus. "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your mortal body (including our hearts and our minds) as instruments of unrighteousness; BUT present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

At the end of Romans 6, Paul lays the cards clearly on the table. In effect he declares “here’s the real deal.” In order to urge us to keep our distance from sin he holds forth eye opening truth that we might not be tricked by the devil’s schemes and by our own heart’s lusts. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“Here are good and evil, life and death, set before us; and we are put to our choice. The end of sin is death. Though the way may seem pleasant and inviting, yet it will be bitterness in the latter end. The wages of sin is death. Death is as due to a sinner as wages are to a servant. All that are sin’s servants and do sin’s work must expect thus to be paid.”

Look at the contrast. Sin’s wages = death. God’s free gift = eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I am due death. Christ freely gives me life – life eternal -everlasting life! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!” (John 3:16)

Mr. Henry reminds us that “the way may be uphill, yet everlasting life at the end of it is sure. Heaven is life, and it is eternal life, no infirmities attending it, no death to put a period to it. This is the gift of God.”

I have earned hell. I can never earn heaven. But, in Christ it has been freely given to me!!! I have no one to thank but my God, my Christ for this gift. I am heavenbound by His doing. I am hellbound by my own. Yet He has called me from death unto life. He has promised to preserve me through this life. He has promised to bring me safely to heaven. I am safe, I am secure, I am His, He is mine. Lord – thank you for this gift. Make me to know that it is mine and make me to cherish it above anything this world could ever offer. “It is Christ that purchased it, prepares us for it, preserves us to it” (Henry). Thank you for Christ. Will I ever love Him as I ought?!

By grace alone,
Lori