It is a wonderful mercy that the scripture is so plain as it is; for the mind of man reasons about truth, therefore the heart rejoices in the wonderful plainness of scripture. Its depths, it is true, are infinite and unfathomable; but all that the salvation of the soul rests upon is perfectly simple. The more you examine the word of God, the more you find its perfection. The word of man may dazzle for a time, and seem to be clear, but it is found afterward to be full of flaws and obscurities.
In this Epistle to the Romans we are not to look so much for the development of the Church, as for the relationship of individual souls with God. The question is—how can God and man meet? First, the blood satisfies the justice, and saves from judgment: as we saw by the blood being on the doorposts, when Israel was in Egypt. Secondly, Christ came down, and was made sin for us, and having gone through all the wrath of judgment due to it, He rose from the dead, and ascended an accepted man into the presence of God; and now all that was His by right is made ours in Him. At the close of chap. 3 the value of His blood-shedding is settled as the ground of acceptance; and the epistle goes on with the results of this. Chapter 4 shows us righteousness imputed through faith: Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Only there is this difference between Abraham's faith and ours. Abraham believed God was able to perform His promise; we believe He has raised up Jesus. It is not so much here the believing on Christ and His blood, as the believing on Him that raised up Jesus from the dead. The subject is the intervention of God in power to bring us up accepted in the Beloved. Christ had come under judgment, and God, by raising Him up, raised us up also: "raised us up together," &c. Faith also sets us there. Chap. 5 follows out the subject, and is divided into three parts. First, our condition before God; (the basis having been laid;) second, he reasons on the consequences of this condition as to our present state and feelings, and shows what we get, unfolding God's ways and our portion in Him from ver. 2 to 11; third, from ver. 11 to the end of the chapter, points out the contrast of the first and second Adam, and heads up the family of nature and of faith in one and the other. The last verse of chapter 4 is connected with the 1st verse of chapter 5; and here I would remark, that it is not properly "raised because of our justification"—as has been often said, but that it should be, as the text has it, "delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." The reason for this we see in the first verse of the 5th chapter. " Therefore being justified by faith," &c.
Thus I see, in scripture, that God never separates justification from faith; for we cannot have justification without having our souls brought into living connection with God, by the exercise of individual faith. There are three things brought out in the first verses. first, " Being justified by faith we have peace with God;" secondly, " Access into this grace wherein we stand;" thirdly, "Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God." First, Peace with God. All the past, all connected with the old man, not only our actual sins committed, but whatever can die under the judgment, is put away—is done with—to the saint: hence perfect peace. Secondly, the present divine favor in which we stand, as a positive thing, a personal introduction to the full favor of God. But not being yet in the glory, we are, thirdly, rejoicing in hope of the glory. Christ has borne all that deserved judgment, and has entirely left behind him in the grave everything to which judgment can apply, and is now set down at the right hand of God without it; all therefore that respects judgment, in connection with the saints, is ended to God's satisfaction. Though, of course, there will be the Father's chastening for their profit; but it is impossible that judgment can be executed on those who are "the righteousness of God in him." It is as impossible as that Christ's worth should be inadequate, or that God should punish the same sin twice over, or rather put it away and then punish it. So impossible is it for God to punish for the sins of those who believe. If any one had to be shut out of heaven for my sins, it must have been Christ, for He bore them all, but we know He is raised and gone in to glory. It is this, either He has borne them all, or else I have to bear them myself, and then I am lost. But Christ has borne them, and was accepted and received up into glory; therefore the question is settled, if I believe Heb. 9:26-2826For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:26‑28); "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation." "He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." He did not hold back. Sin, in all its horribleness, was laid upon Him, as on the day of atonement, when the sin was laid upon the head of the victim, and judgment was fully passed upon him. But when "He shall appear the second time" it will be without sin, not merely in His person, He was always so; but as having nothing whatever to say to sin as regards them that look for Him; having perfectly settled about sin when God dealt with Him on the cross. No sin there and then escaped the eye of God, as seen on the spotless Christ; all was perfectly brought out; dealt with and put away, and Christ is not now on the cross, the positive value of His work having taken Him up to heaven. The judgment of my sins has all been settled between the all-seeing God and His spotless Son. We have, therefore, not merely a hope, but settled peace. "When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down." He must have failed or else I have perfect peace, and I know He did not fail. "Being justified by faith we have peace with God." The reference of faith is never to itself—to our own feelings and experience, for they may deceive us, and refer at any rate to our state, not to Christ's work; as the reference to faith in this passage often deceives people who would make their faith the object, and so turn back upon themselves for something to give them peace. Peace never rests on the experience of anything in ourselves. There will be experience, but the perfect justification of the sinner (who believes) does not rest on experience, but is the answer of God to all that exercises me about myself, (and rightly exercises me too.) When I get peace in God's way then I get the answer of God to my soul. I can trust the heart of God, for I know what it is, having learned it in the gift of His Son; and it is in believing what that is, through His work, that I find peace to my soul; and the more that freedom is worth and to be valued by us, the more horrid must be my own self, and selfishness in the sight of God, if I bring anything of it, or of its pretended righteousness into it; even as "dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor;" and the better the ointment the sooner will it be spoiled. I cannot trust my own heart or its feelings, for it is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; God's I can, and His who will keep me to the end, His has never deceived me.
Faith is not experience, though we shall have experiences of what we are; but I am not justified by experience; it is the answer of God to these experiences that gives peace. Peace is not joy; those often have joy that have not settled peace: but this rests on feeling. When the graciousness of the Lord is seen and one forgets oneself there may be joy, while the conscience may not be purged; but peace rests on that which is settled. Faith looks at its object, and not at itself, and the soul has peace with God and not with itself.
I do not want you to be at peace with yourself. We are not called on to believe that we do believe, but to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, by whom we have access into this grace wherein we stand, and are brought into perfect favor, every cloud that would hide God's love removed; and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. His favor is better than life, therefore I can praise Him while I live. So in the midst of wilderness weariness I can rejoice.
I have been lately greatly struck with Rev. 4, in connection with peace of soul. You find God's throne here in its Sinai character, and not the throne of grace. The twenty-four elders are sitting on their thrones in perfect peace while the terrible judgments are going on towards the earth, but when it is said, Holy, holy, holy, they all fall down and worship. The thunderings and lightnings do not move them at all, but when the worship commences they are all in action.
"Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God:"—how could I, a man, think of being in the glory of God, save through perfect grace? Thus God had not only given us blessings, but associated us with the Blesser. "The glory thou hast given me, I have given them." Thus, in these first two verses, we have the Christian, as such, brought out: past, present, and future, all settled. The old man all atoned for, and the new man in Christ before God. For the past, for all that concerns the old man, perfect peace; for the present, perfect favor; and for the future, glory. What more do I want? What more can I have? Yes, there is more.
"Not only so, but we joy in tribulation also;" there are present realities for the saint to learn in the wilderness. "Tribulation!" The more faithful the saint is, the more trouble he will have. The more blessing he has, the more trial: because there is much to remove which would hinder the blessing when given. As man, I find trial is not pleasant, it is not joy to realize being put into the fire to be refined; but it is most important in all the tribulation of the way to know that my peace is settled; that the matter of my justification is a finished thing; else when I come into trial I shall be saying, how can I suppose now that I have God's favor, when everything seems against me? If the believer be not quite settled in God's favor, he cannot "glory in tribulation;" but if I know my condition before God, then I am able to understand what I am going through, and learn the result of tribulation, which is patience; for "tribulation worketh patience." I find all sorts of things hindering me: I need my will to be broken; I shall hope to get a thing, and perhaps expect to get that which I shall never have. I may have to cry to God for three whole weeks, and fail, as Daniel did, to learn patience, and in it learn the rashness of my heart, that would expect everything at once. Thus, " patience works experience." The saint feels the process; but he does not see the progress in himself. Others are to see that, and they do see it. The saint is thus taught not to trust in himself; and not to be in such a hurry, but to wait on God. A man may be in earnest, but in such haste, that he will break down, because of not waiting on God. " He that believeth will not make haste." See Moses and his devotedness: he goes, in true devotedness, but in the energy of the flesh, (learned in the palace,) and kills an Egyptian without God's bidding. Pharaoh hears of it; Moses flees, and abides for forty- years in the wilderness, to have his win broken; for where faith is not the power, the strength of God is not. When God was going to send Moses for the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, Moses says, " who am I that I should bring forth Israel out of Egypt." Now we do not find as much energy here as when slaying the Egyptian, thus showing that where the energy of the flesh is not mixed up with the Spirit, man is not up to obedience. Moses left the court of Pharaoh's daughter, where he had been brought up, and preferred taking his place with a parcel of slaves, because they were the people of God; but though sincere and devoted, and with a right intention in giving up the position in which providence had placed him, (for the Holy Ghost in Heb. 11 specially marks his giving up his providential blessing as pleasing to God,) he must be cast aside and made nothing of; then he gets that "strength which is made perfect in weakness." But first his flesh had to be broken down; and this was done through forty years' tribulation in the wilderness, keeping his father in law's sheep. He was learning experience, and " experience worketh hope;" because in this kind of experience I learn what God is, and detached from the world and its promises my hope is then resting above. Moses had more knowledge what the people of Israel were to be delivered for when he went to Pharaoh by God's sending, for he knew nothing of the Canaan they were to go to when he slew the Egyptian. "Hope maketh not ashamed.” In learning experience it may be a struggle with God, but we shall find it is of no use to struggle against God's hand in tribulation, for He will hold us there until we submit. But in the end it will cause me to hope, because the love of God is shed abroad in my heart. Not only has He given His Son for me, but God who is love, is in me, God's own love is enjoyed in my soul. But how is it that I get this? By the Holy Ghost which is within me. He has shed abroad this love of God in my soul by the Holy Ghost, and this brings us back to a strength of hope which nothing can shake. I may be going through all sorts of trial, but resting in Christ and having this testimony of the Holy Ghost in my heart, of the love of God for my soul to rest on, I can go on calmly, whatever be the trial. Also, observe, that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who maketh intercession for us according to God. A man may say, in the face of all this truth, but suppose I do not feel it. Your saying so proves that you are gone back from faith and are looking to your own feelings; and the moment you lean on your experience or your feelings, that is not faith. But then how do you know you are the object of this love? Are you perfect? No—the enjoyment of it is within, the proof without.
I know it, because I see that " Christ died for the ungodly," and I am simply an ungodly one, if the ground of my hope is inquired after, and in myself have no feelings, no strength at all. But His strength is made perfect in weakness, and Christ died when I had no feeling at all. Christ died when I could do nothing at all. What better proof could you have than that God has given the greatest thing in heaven for the worst, the vilest, thing on earth, a sinner? I am a sinner, and therefore Christ died for me. "Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." This is what distinguishes God's love from man's. While man must have some motive on which to act, something to draw out his love, God's love, on the contrary, springs from Himself. For God could find no motive in us, for we were hateful and hating one another.
Here mark the glorious character of the reasonings of the Holy Ghost. They are exactly the contrary of those of the natural man, and even of the quickened soul. What work it is, what havoc it makes, to reason from man to God. When man reasons, he judges of what God will be towards him, from what he is towards God. The Holy Ghost says, " when ye were yet sinners, Christ died for you." He reasons from what God is, and has done, to what He will be and will do. If, as a quickened soul, I judge of God by myself, I should say, God must judge me, for I know that I deserve it; but that is not grace; for "God commended his love unto us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Much more being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. The Holy Ghost reasons downwards, from what God is, and not upwards, from what man is, as man always does. The Holy Ghost unfolds what God is to meet the wants of my soul. It is true that the sinner does deserve judgment—not with any hope, however, that he can be made better; for give peace to a conscience charged with what is past, and guilty before God, and take the law in addition, and that only shows a man that he is lost; as the apostle declares in Rom. 7, where, after useless efforts to satisfy the exigence of the law with a sinful flesh present, the soul is brought to the consciousness that it wants somebody to deliver it, for it cannot deliver itself. Man needs a Savior; well, this is reasoning which God will follow till we have got a Savior, and are forced to cast ourselves on Him by our hopeless need. But here, where the Holy Ghost is reasoning from what God is and has done for the sinner, and not from what the sinner is it is quite another thing. It is much harder to learn that we are without strength, than to learn that we are ungodly. If a dead Christ will save an enemy, surely a living Christ will save a friend. There is divine beauty in God's reasonings for God knows our hearts are such wicked things, that faith in Him is the hardest of all things to us. Satan's effort is first to hide God's judgment of sin from us, saying, "Thou shalt not surely die;" and when that has not succeeded, he then tries to hide from us God's grace, so that man should not be with God. If a dead Christ is made a Savior, a living Christ will be a friend to you in all your need. A dying Christ, the weakest thing, as appears to nature, though it was God's strength, has saved you when a sinner, will He not do all you want of Him in His life? If He died for you when your sin was upon you, how much more will He care for you. now that it is passed away? A living Christ cannot be to destroy you, if a dying Christ has saved you. And mark, not only the power of the argument, but its grace, in taking away all torment from the heart—for "fear hath torment?'
Rom. 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)—"And not only so, but we also joy in God." Now that you have this point of salvation settled, and that you can rejoice in what you will get in the glory,—for your boast will not be merely in joy and happiness for yourselves, but, better still, you can joy in God. We first rejoice in the things given, but we do not rest there. We rejoice in Him who gave them, and delight in that which God is in Himself. His very holiness—a thing that would naturally terrify us—is now my joy; and all in which He has revealed Himself becomes my portion and my joy; for He is my God, and what He is is my delight. We are in the light as God is in the light, where no spot nor cloud can ever come. I can now delight and make my boast in God Himself.
After speaking of the peace, the enjoyment of grace, and the hope of the Christian, the apostle shows we can then sit down and enjoy the source of all our blessings. But if my will is not broken, it is true I cannot joy in God; He has then to deal with me in such a way as to break my will; and, of course, we never like that process. But when He has broken it down then we can joy in Him. So if I stray in practical walk, I do not doubt my salvation, but then I cannot joy in God. We only joy in God when walking with Him. If I stray, I can reflect about the joy, but I must take a double step in getting back (the judgment of sin on the cross, and God's unchanging grace) before I can again joy in God. (Ro. 5:12.) Such being the blessed result of God's dealings and of justification, the Holy Ghost now goes on to show in whom we have this justification—its grand and unchangeable basis—and draws the contrast between our headship in the first and second Adam; thus laying a great foundation for the principles He is going to bring out. Ro. 5:13 to 17 form a parenthesis, and this you will see if you read verses 12 to 18 consecutively. The noticing this makes the passage clear. In Ro. 5:12 to 18, the Jew and the Gentile are equally headed up in the obedient man and the disobedient man. Death passed upon ALL men, and grace heads up the new and living ones in Christ; but the unbelieving ones are left in the first Adam. It is not here the bride, but the children of God looked at as in Christ. We get, then, the doctrine of these two men, the first and second Adam, in their relationships to us, in the 12th and 18th verses; but before turning to that more particularly we will look at the contrast of grace with law, of which the whole parenthesis treats. See Amos 3:22You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2); “You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities." Now "until the law sin was in the world," &c. "But the times of this ignorance God winked at." God winked at the evil in other nations, inasmuch as He did not treat then as breakers of the law, where there was no law. But when there was law, they (the Jews) were governed by law, therefore Israel had the rod held over them, and they were to be chastened for breaking the law; and we know they were banished ultimately into captivity on account of it. But of the Gentiles who had sinned without law, He says, I will judge the secrets of men's hearts by Jesus Christ, &c. Law never made sin, but law made transgression, which is disobedience to a law made. The sin was going on all the time from Adam to Moses; as the sign of sin's reigning was present, when there was no law, for death was there. My child may have a bad habit of running about the streets, and it is a bad habit that cannot be allowed; but if I command him not to do it, it is another thing; for if he does it then, it becomes disobedience; and the thing I correct him for is not merely his bad habit, but for his disobedience to my command. But before I forbade him it was only a wrong thing he was doing that needed correction. If we know the scriptures how simple they are! For the want of this what absurd mistakes are made! what volumes have been written on this passage, which has been applied even to the salvation of infants, and all sorts of fancies! But how clear it is when it is seen to be a quotation from Hos. 6:4; 74O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. (Hosea 6:4), "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For they, like Adam, [margin,] have transgressed the covenant." Some have not transgressed, like Adam, but they are sinners still, though they have not broken a given law. Sin is always, therefore death is always; but law is not always. The argument of this passage is, you are not going to shut up God to the Jews only. There are plenty of people who have sinned before Moses, but the sin is not larger than God. If sin and death have been there, God must go there. Christ did not come only for those who had sinned under law, but for those also who sinned without law; for sin and death reigned between Adam and Moses, and grace overrides it all. " Law entered that the offense might abound." You Jews have added offense to offense, therefore you need justification and grace all the more for having the law; for you have been guilty of positive transgressions. Then how beautiful the contrast in the 17th verse, where the Spirit is still making God more excellent in His ways than the just fruit of sin. It is not merely that life is reigning, but "you shall reign in life;" a crown of royal glory shall be yours with Christ Jesus; thus showing God's heart to be greater than the evil that has come in.
Verse 18 marks the generality of this address, "upon [or rather towards] all." It flows "towards all," to condemnation; accomplished, not in result, but in its own proper and natural effect: grace comes in to deliver. So by the righteousness of one the free gift came "towards all;" that is not in the sense of application; the meaning is TO ALL in its direction, and not UPON all, (“εις παντας”) As Adam's sin did not rest on Adam alone, but ran over to many, so Christ's righteousness did not end in Him, but abounded unto many. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit."
In Rom. 5:1919For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19) we see, where it is a matter of application, the word "many" is used, and not the word "all," as in the preceding verse. The 18th verse is the abstract thought; and thus I can go and preach the gospel to every creature, saying to the sinner, " the blood is on the mercy-seat, come to God;" but to the believer I can say, "you are righteous in Christ." "By the obedience of one shall many be made [constituted] righteous." Man may say this will do harm. Well, but God has said it; and what a comfort there is in the simplicity of scripture!
In the next chapter we get, as the certain effect of this, newness of life. You may have got the principle of resurrection, so as to have new tastes and desires, but if you do not see the need of your having the righteousness of Christ, you do not know yourselves; if you do not know the holiness of God's heart, you do not know the unholiness of your own. Christ's death may be considered, as in itself, glorifying God, apart from its results; it may be considered, also, as His being efficaciously substituted to bear the sins of many. We have the double aspect of the death of Christ shown in the two goats, one of which was the Lord's lot, and the other was for the bearing away, into a land of forgetfulness, the sin of the people. The first was for the glory of God, the second for the conscience of the sinner. Both were needed. I am a sinner, says the awakened believer. Yes, but all your sins were laid on Christ.
Verse 20.—The place of the law was that the offense might abound. Wherefore the law? Not to make sin abound, but the offense abound, so to make sin exceeding sinful: "but where sin abounded grace did much more abound." And abounding grace has been shown! Wonderful is the way of God! He gave man his own will, and sin is suffered to rise up to its full height in wickedness, even in putting Christ to death. Then, to show how powerless sin is, in the height of God's grace, that very thing, in which man's sin was at its climax, has put sin away. It is a glorious thing that God should thus manifest the utter impotency of sin in the presence of His grace. If righteousness had reigned we must have been sent to destruction; but it is grace reigns, though it is through righteousness: it is not righteousness hath abounded, but grace, (through righteousness, of course.) Grace means love working where there is evil righteousness is being consistent with what God is. "By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Then, if there be the reign of grace in the heart, there must be practical holiness—a righteousness consistent with it. If God's love works in the heart it is to produce something like itself. God's love is such as has never been seen before in heaven or on earth. His perfect love, and grace, and righteousness, bring out what God is, in a wonderful way. It is grace reigning because God has the upper hand, even irk our sins, and has put them away.