What an end to every display, and to every allowance of the old bad nature we are seeing in these chapters full of precious instruction for the children of God! The first three verses of the twelfth chapter gave us the necessary introduction to these things, and we shall never profit as we should by what we are taught, verse by verse, in the more than three chapters beginning with the twelfth, unless those three verses are made thoroughly ours, in a practical way. O, what dishonor to Christ and what sorrow Christians have brought upon themselves individually and upon others, by neglect of these chapters of the Epistle to the Romans!
At the end of the 12th chapter we had a short verse of very wide application,
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Only ten words easy to remember, and you meet the need for them every day in your Christian life.
Again, at the end of the 13th chapter we have another arresting verse. Christ is the believer’s life, dwells in him by the Spirit, as set forth in Romans 8:9-119But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:9‑11); as He is thus within, will not you, dear young Christian, wear Him outwardly, owning Him as your Lord?
“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gal. 3:2727For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27), as will be seen from the context, refers, not to something I may do, but to my new position before God in contradistinction from what I was before my conversion. There it is “Christ” -identification with Him through His atoning death appropriated by faith; here in Romans it is owning His authority, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” that I am to exhibit Him in my life.
Chapter 14 takes up the subject of the weak brother. God was saving both Jews and Gentiles, and the Gentile believer gave up altogether his idolatrous system, but the Jew who believed, had difficulty in seeing that old distinctions with regard to meat, and to days of religious observance were at an end. He was weak in the faith, but should be received, yet not to doubtful disputations, or “disputes in reasoning” (or “the determination of questions of reasoning,” as the end of the verse may be read). This is exactly the spirit of what we have been reading in the last two chapters, is it not? Christianity, according to the Word of God, and disregarding what men have endeavored to attach to it, that is not contained in that precious volume concerning it, has nothing to do with the observance of days (excepting the first day of the week, the Lord’s day, and that is a privilege, not a command), nor of meats to be eaten or not eaten (Gal. 4:1010Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. (Galatians 4:10); 1 Tim. 4:33Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:3)).
Nor are we who are Christ’s to despise the brother whose faith is weak, thinking ourselves to be somewhat, who after all are equally objects of God’s grace. On the other hand, the brother who in conscientious weakness refrains from doing what his better taught fellow-believer does with the full sanction of Scripture, is not to judge him; for God has received him. How admirable are the ways which God would have His children exhibit in their lives here on earth! As another has said, we are taught to bear with conscientious weakness, and to be conscientious ourselves.
Each, in these cases, is to be fully persuaded in his own mind. It is a question of what is due to the Lord; we are to acknowledge Him in all our ways, for none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. We belong to Him, whether living or dying, and this is connected in the ninth verse with His having died and lived again, the fundamental truth of Christianity. This leads to the solemn consideration of the tenth verse.
“We shall all stand (or be placed) before the judgment seat of God.” (“God” is the correct reading, here, not “Christ”.) Then the twelfth verse,
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Now in John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) it is plainly stated that the believer “shall not come into condemnation”, and this word “condemnation” is in many other passages translated “judgment”, which indeed is the true meaning. The believer shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life; his sins will never be brought up to bar his access to God’s presence, and 1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24) expressly states of Christ that He
“His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”
They are gone then, no more to appear to shut me up to a lost eternity.
The Word of God cannot contradict itself, nor is there even the appearance of contradiction here; our chapter simply declaring that we shall all stand before the judgment seat, and every one of us shall give an account concerning himself to God. We have a somewhat parallel passage in 1 Cor. 3:10-1510According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10‑15). These scriptures show that the lives of believers will pass in review after we reach our heavenly home in the new body according to the Lord’s promise in John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3), according, too, to Romans 8:38-3938For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38‑39), and to 1 Thess. 4:16-1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17); 1 Cor. 15:51-5751Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑57), and other passages.
We shall see, each of us, our past as God has seen it, and we shall each give an account of our stewardship. Should this not speak very solemnly to each of us who know Christ as Saviour and Lord? All that I have done, said, thought, is coming out there; not to decide whether I am to spend eternity in heaven or hell, but that I may see what my life has been: what in it was for self, and what had Christ as its object.
We are therefore enjoined in verse 13 to no more judge one another in these matters concerning which the chapter is written, and we are to be careful lest there be something in our lives that is or may be a stumbling block or fall-trap for our brother. The Apostle could say,
“I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself”; he was altogether clear that the truth of the gospel frees the soul from every ceremonial requirement under the law; yet “to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”
If on account of meat my brother is grieved, I walk no longer according to love. God will not allow my brother to be destroyed by my unloving and unlovely course, but it is in that direction that my conduct tends, as far as he is concerned, who is my brother for whom Christ died.
Very preciously these considerations are summed up in what follows (verses 16-23). May we take what is contained in them very much to heart, for our own blessing and the good of God’s children generally! In the last verse, read “judged,” or “condemned” instead of “damned,” which is a translator’s error.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” refers to the believer’s life; yours and mine, dear young Christian; an important word, and a word of warning, is it not?
To be continued (D. V.)