Jesus was the condemnation eliminator

JESUS WAS THE CONDEMNATION ELIMINATOR
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
There is now no condemnationfor those who are in
ChristJesus. (Rom 8:1).
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Judgment-day, And How To Prepare ForIt
Romans 8:1-11
C.H. Irwin
The apostle speaksmuch in the language of the Law. He himself was not only
acquainted with the useful handicraft of tent-making or sail-making, but he
was also trained in the professionof the Law - brought up at the feetof
Gamaliel. He had a considerable acquaintance, too, with the practice of the
law-courts. From the brief references in the Acts of the Apostles to his
personalhistory before his conversion, it would appear as if previous to that
time he had been engagedas a public prosecutorof the Christians. After he
became a Christian, he was frequently calledupon, for Christ's sake, to
appear at the bar of Jewishand Roman courts of justice. On his first
missionary visit to Europe he was draggedbefore the magistrates atPhilippi,
and againbefore Gallio at Corinth. Then, again, he stoodbefore the Jewish
council at Jerusalem;before Felix, Festus. and Agrippa at Caesarea;and,
finally, before Nero himself at Rome. On the present occasionhe is writing to
residents at Rome. Rome at the time was the metropolis of the world, the
centre of the world's legislation. To stand at Caesar's judgment-seatwas to
stand before the highest earthly authority then in existence, and to be tried by
the greatestcode oflaws which, with the exception of British law, the world

has ever known. The laws of the XII. Tables, as they were called, which were
the basis of all the Roman laws, were engravedupon twelve tables of brass,
and setup in the comitium, or public meeting-place, so that every one might
be able to read them. Every educatedRoman youth learned by heart these
XII. Tables. It was to a people thus familiar with the ideas and the practice of
courts of justice that Paul, himself a well-trained lawyer, was writing. He
keeps before their minds and his ownthe thought that there is a higher than
all human authority; that there is a judgment-seat more terrible than that of
Caesar;and that the greatconcernof every human being is how he or she
shall fare in that greatday of reckoning - that day which bulks so largely in
St. Paul's mind, which stands out so prominently before his mental vision, that
he constantly speaks ofit as "that day. It is an important subject, how to
prepare for meeting God in the judgment.
I. THE PREPARATION OF THE CHRISTIAN. The apostle speaks ofthe
Christian as being prepared for a judgment-day. There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." Thatday needs a
preparation. "Forwe must all appearbefore the judgment-seatof Christ, that
every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be goodor bad." The thought of that judgment makes strong
men tremble. Felix trembled as Paul the prisoner reasonedwith him of
righteousness, temperance,and the judgment to come. It is that dread of
something after death that makes the murderer's sleepso restless, andthat
makes the dishonestman's gains like a weightof leadupon his mind.
Consciencedoes, indeed, make cowards ofus all. The Christian recognizes
that there is a terror in the judgment, as Paul did when he spoke of"the
terror of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:11); but the judgment brings no terror to
him. He knows that he too will be judged according to his deeds, that the fire
will try every man's work of what sort it is, and, therefore, he will realize his
responsibilities and privileges. But he knows that one thing is certain, and that
is that he is safe from condemnation. He carries his pardon in his hand. The
Christian's confidence comes from the very Judge himself who sits upon the
throne. That Judge is Jesus Christ himself. But before he would sit to judge
men, he came into the world to die for them as their Saviour. To every one
who receives him and accepts his salvationhe gives the white stone

(Revelation2:17), the token of acceptanceandpardon. He becomes their High
Priest, their Advocate with the Father. "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." In Christ! What a sense of
security that brings with it! In Christ! Nottill we stand before the greatwhite
throne, and our names are found written in the Lamb's book of life, shall we
fully realize what that means. In Christ! That was Paul's greatwish for
himself. "I count all things but loss for the excellencyof the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him." In Christ!
Yes. Jesus is the Ark, into which we may betake ourselves from the dangers of
temptation and destruction. He is the City of Refuge, to which we may flee
from death, the avengerof blood. He is the sure Foundation, on which we may
build with perfect confidence all our hopes for eternity. He is the Rock, in the
clefts of which we may hide ourselves, and feelthat all that concerns us is safe.
Your pledge of safetyat the judgment-day is the characterand promise of the
Judge himself. "Godso loved the world, that he gave his only begottenSon,
that whosoeverbelievethin him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
"I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keepthat
which I have committed unto him againstthat day"' Let it not be said that
this confidence leads to carelessness;that because we are delivered from
condemnation, therefore it does not matter how we live. The verses which
follow the declarationthat there is no condemnation are the answerto this
suggestion. "Godsending his own Son in the likeness ofsinful flesh, and for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness ofthe Law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (vers. 3, 4). No
true Christian ever thought or acted as if, because he was delivered from
condemnation, he was thenceforth free to commit sin. If we are Christ's, we
have no longer a guilty fear of death and condemnation, but we have a filial
fear that shrinks from offending and grieving our heavenly Father. We are
constrainedby the love of Christ in our hearts to love what he loves, and to
hate what he hates. We are constrainedby a feeling of gratitude. We have
been bought with a price; therefore we will strive to glorify Godin our bodies
and spirits, which are his. We have the hope of heavenin our hearts; and
therefore we seek to walk worthy of our high calling, to purify ourselves, to
keepourselves unspotted from the world. So far from being a motive to

carelessness, the Christian's safety in Christ is the grandestmotive to holiness
and usefulness of life.
II. THE PREPARATION OF THE CHRISTLESS. At the judgment-day there
will be just two classes - those whose names are found written in the Lamb's
book of life, and those whose names are not there; the Christian and the
Christless;those who are in Christ," and those who are not. Many are relying
upon their moral life, though it may be utterly worldly and godless, as their
hope for eternity. But whateverhuman expectations may be, God's Word
makes it very plain how it will fare on the judgment-day with all who are out
of Christ. It is not the fault of God the Father. He so loved the world that he
gave his own Son for our salvation. It is not the fault of the Son. Christ says,
"I am come that ye might have life." It is not the fault of the Spirit, who is
constantly striving with us. If Jesus Christcame into the world to save sinners,
surely it is clearthat there is no salvationin any other. "He that believeth on
him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begottenSon of God"
(John 3:18). - C.H.I.

Biblical Illustrator
What shall we saythen? Is the law sin? God forbid.
Romans 7:7-13
The law
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. ITS NATURE —
1. Moral.
2. Spiritual.
3. Exemplified by the particular commandment quoted.
II. ITS USE —
1. To describe the nature.
2. Detectthe presence.
3. Revealthe sinfulness of sin.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
The law vindicated and commended
T. Chalmers, D. D.
I. THE LAW VINDICATED. The apostle had affirmed that the law
constituted that to be sinful, that without the law could have had no such
character— nay, that the law called forth sinful affections which, but for its
provocation, might have lain dormant. And he seems now to feelas if this
might attach the same sortof odiousness to the law that is attached to sin
itself. This he repels with the utmost vehemence.
1. The law acts as a discovererof sin (ver. 7). But it is no impeachment against
the evenness ofa ruler, that by its application you can discoverwhat is

crooked. Onthe contrary, its very powerof doing so proves how straight it is
in itself. The light may revealan impurity which could not be recognisedat
night; yet who would ever think of ascribing to light any of that pollution
which it reveals. It were indeed strange if the dissimilarity of two things
should leadus to confound them. When one man stands before you full of
moral worth, and another full of vice, the presence ofthe first may generate a
keenerrepugnancy towards the second;and this not surely because theyhave
anything in common, but because they have everything in wide and glaring
opposition. And the same of sin and of the law.
2. The law aggravatesthis deformity by making sin more actively rebellious
(ver. 8). The law not curing the desire of man's heart towards any forbidden
indulgence, this desire is thereby exasperated. The man who sins and thinks
no more of it may never repeatit till its outward influences have againcome
about him, it may be, long after; but the man who is ever brooding under a
sense ofguilt has the image of allurement present to his thoughts during the
whole time when they are not presentto his senses. And thus the law turns out
an occasionalcause,why with him there should be both a more intense
fermentation of the sinful appetites than with another, who is reckless oflaw
and undisturbed by its accusing voice. And what adds to the helplessnessof
this calamity is, that while the law thus gives a new assailing force to his
enemies, it affords no force of resistance to the man himself. Depriving him of
the inspiring energythat is in hope, it gives him in its place the dread and the
desperationof an outlaw. And yet the law here is not in fault. It is sin which is
in fault, which, at sight of law, strengtheneditself the more in its own
character.
3. And it is in this sense only that the law is the occasionofdeath.(1) This sore
infliction is due to sin, which takethoccasionby the law. The very company of
a goodman may so degrade in his own eyes a bad man as that, with the
desperate feeling of an outcasthe might henceforth give himself over to the
full riot of villainy, and even become a murderer; and so entail upon himself a
death of vengeance. But who would ever think of laying either his own blood,
or the blood of his victim, to the door of him whose excellencehad only called
out into display the hatefulness of his own character?(2)Thenagain, sin slays
its victim by a process ofdeception of which the law is made the instrument. It

may do this in various ways —(a) As the man's remorse broods over the
transgression, so sin may take advantage by leading the man to dwell as
constantly on the temptation which led to it.(b) Or it may representthe man
to himself as the doomed victim of a law that can never be appeased, and thus,
through means of this law, may drive him onward to recklessness.(c)Or it
may soothe him by setting forth the many conformities to honesty, or
temperance, or compassion, orcourteousness, by which he still continues to do
the law honour.(d) It may even turn his very compunction into a matter of
complacency, and persuade him that, in defectof his obedience to the law, he
at leastgives it the homage of his regret.
4. "Forwithout the law sin is dead" (ver. 8) — dead in respectof all powerto
condemn, and in respectof its inability to stir up the alarms of condemnation:
and as to its powerof seducing or enslaving you by means of a remorse or
terror. And in the next verse Paul is visited with the remembrance of his own
former state, when, ignorant as he was of the exceeding breadth of God's
commandment, he lookedforward to a life of favour here and of blessedness
hereafter, on the strength of his many outward and literal observations. He
was thus alive without the law once;and it was not till the commandment
came — not till he was made to see what its lofty demands were, and what his
wretcheddeficiencies therefrom, that sin revived in him, and dislodged him
from his proud security, and made him see that, instead of a victorious
claimant for the rewards of the law, he was the victim of its penalties. This
state (see also ver. 9) is the prevalent state of the world. Men live in tolerable
comfort and security because deadto the terrifying menaces ofthe law. It is
because the sinner is thus without the law that he sees not the danger of his
condition. And thus it is that it is so highly important when the Spirit lends
His efficacyto the Divine law — when he thereby arouses the carelesssinner
out of his lethargies, and persuades him to flee for refuge to the hope set
before him.
II. THE LAW COMMENDED. The apostle having clearedthe law from all
charge of odiousness, now renders it the positive homage which was due to its
real character— as the representationof all moral excellence. If the law be
the occasionofdeath, or of more fell depravity, it is not because ofany evil
that is in its character, whichis holy and just and good(ver. 12). This may

lead to the solution of a question by which the legalheart of man often feels
itself exercised. Why should the law, that is now deposedfrom its ancient
office of minister unto life to that of minister unto death, still be kept up in
authority, and obedience to it be as strenuously required? In order that God
should will our obedience to the law, it is not necessaryto give to it the legal
importance and efficacythat it had under the old dispensation. At the outset
of our present system, the Spirit of God moving upon chaos educedthe
loveliestforms of hill and dale and mighty oceanand waving forests, and all
that richness of bloom and verdure which serves to dress the landscapes of
nature. And it is said that God saw everything to be good. Now there was no
legality in this process. The ornaments of a flower, or tree, or the
magnificence of outspreadscenery, cannotbe the offerings by which
inanimate matter purchases the smile of the Divinity. The Almighty Artist
loves to behold the fair compositionthat He Himself has made; and wills each
of His works to be perfect in its kind. And the same of the moral taste of the
Godhead. He loves what is wise and holy and just and mood in the world of
mind; and with a far higher affection. And the office of His Spirit is to evolve
this beauteous exhibition out of the chaos of ruined humanity. And to forward
this process it is not necessarythat man be stimulated to exertion by the
motives of legalism. All that is necessaryis submission to the transforming
operations of the Divine Spirit, and willingness to follow His impulses. And
must God, ere He cangratify His relish for the higher beauties of morality
and of mind, first have to make a bargain about it with His creatures? So,
then, though the old relationship betweenyou and the law is dissolved, still it
is this very law with the requirements of which you are to busy yourselves in
this world; and with the gracesand accomplishments of which you must
appear invested before Christ at the judgment seat. It was written first on
tables of stone, and the process was thenthat you should fulfil its requisitions
as your task, and be paid with heaven as a reward. It is now written by the
Holy Ghoston the tablets of your heart; and the process is now that you are
made to delight in it after the inward man. With goldyou may purchase a
privilege or adorn your person. You may not be able to purchase the king's
favour with it; but he may grant you his favour, and when he requires your
appearance before him, it is still in gold he may require you to be invested.
And thus of the law. It is not by your own righteous conformity thereto that

you purchase God's favour; for this has been already purchased by the pure
gold of the Saviour's righteousness, andis presented to all who believe on
Him. But still it is with your own personalrighteousness that you must be
adorned.
(T. Chalmers, D. D.)
The excellence ofthe law
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. IT EXPOSES SIN.
1. Its nature.
2. Its existence in the heart.
3. Its activity (vers. 7, 8).
II. IT CONDEMNSTHE SINNER.
1. Destroys his self-complacency.
2. Awakens conscience.
3. Pronounces sentenceofdeath (vers. 9, 10).
III. DEMONSTRATES ITS OWN PERFECTION.
1. By the display of its own nature, holy, just, good.
2. By exhibiting the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
Nay, I had not knownsin but by the law.
Revelationof sin by the law
C. Neil, M. A.

Sin lies concealedin man, howeverfair and refined he may appear to the
world, just as even in ice there exists hundreds of degrees oflatent heat. The
argument is that the law brings to light sin, and is not its parent nor in any
sense responsible for its existence, as it is not its physician nor capable of
removing its guilt and remedying its effects (chap. Romans 3:20). The law
does not in any sense createorcause sin by exerting any deleterious influence,
as the frost, by withdrawing the heat from water, freezes it. Nay, the function
of the law is to revealand expose sin, as the office of the sun is to bring to light
the dust and dirt which existed, but escapednotice before its rays entered the
apartment.
(C. Neil, M. A.)
The mercifulness of the law in the revelation of sin
T. H. Leary, D. C. L.
Just as a mirror is not an enemy to the ugly man, because it shows him his
very self in all his ugliness, and just as a medical man is not an enemy to the
sick man, because he shows him his sickness,for the medical man is not the
cause ofthe sicknessnor is the mirror the cause ofthe ugliness, so Godis not
the cause ofthe sicknessofour sin or its ugliness, because He shows it to us in
the mirror of His Word and by the Physician Christ, who came to show us our
sins and to heal them for us.
(T. H. Leary, D. C. L.)
Sin arousedby the law
C. H. Spurgeon.
A contented citizen of Milan, who had never passedbeyond its walls during
the course ofsixty years, being ordered by the governor not to stir beyond its
gates, became immediately miserable, and felt so powerful an inclination to do
that which he had so long contentedly neglected, thaton his application for a

release from this restraint being refused, he became quite melancholy, and at
last died of grief. How wellthis illustrates the apostle's confessionthat he had
not knownlust, unless the law had said unto him, "Thou shalt not covet!"
"Sin," saith he, "taking occasionby the commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence."Evil often sleeps in the soul, until the holy
command of God is discovered, and then the enmity of the carnalmind rouses
itself to oppose in every way the will of God. "Without the law," says Paul,
"sin was dead." How vain to hope for salvation from the law, when through
the perversity of sin it provokes our evil hearts to rebellion, and works in us
neither repentance nor love.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The convictionof sin
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. WHAT IT INCLUDES.
1. Knowledge of sin.
2. Consciousnessofit.
3. Sense ofits demerit and punishment.
II. HOW IT IS PRODUCED — by the law, which —
1. Detects;
2. Exposes;
3. Condemns it.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Paul's early experience

Prof. Godet.
In this picture of his inner life Paul gives us, without intending it, a very high
idea of the purity of his life as a child and a young man. He might, when
confronted with the nine commandments, have to the letter claimed for
himself the verdict, Notguilty, like the young man who said to Jesus, "All
these things have I keptfrom my youth up." But the tenth commandment cut
short all this self-righteousness, and under this ray of the Divine holiness he
was compelledto pass sentence ofcondemnation. Thus there was wroughtin
him, Pharisee though he was, without his suspecting it, a profound separation
from ordinary Pharisaism, and a moral preparation which was to leadhim to
Christ and His righteousness. To this so mournful discoverywas added (δε
ver. 8) by and by a secondand more painful experience.
(Prof. Godet.)
Sin taking occasionby the commandment, wrought in me all manner of
concupiscence
Sin and its work in relation to the law
T. Robinson, D. D.
I. SIN. Indwelling sin; depravity inherent in fallen humanity, personified as
something living and intelligent.
II. ITS OCCASION — the law, which shows it in its true character. Sinis in
its nature opposition to God and His law (Romans 8:7). The presence of the
law, therefore, is the occasionfor sin to act. It is to sin as waterto
hydrophobia. Corruption arouses itselfto resistthe law which opposes it. Sick
men and children often desire what is forbidden, because it is so. The law and
sin acton eachother as an acid and an alkali. The effectof the contactis like
the effervescenceofthe mixture.
III. ITS WORK.

1. "Wrought," produced, called into operation. Sin is an active principle
stirring up evil thoughts, etc. Its nature is to foam againstthe law as water
againsta barrier.
2. "In me." Sin's activity viewedas internal, not external.
3. "All manner" — both as to kind and degree. The heart is like a neglected
garden full of all sorts of weeds. Lust may shrink into a dwarf or swellinto a
giant. Covetousness andlust are hydras, monsters with many heads.
4. "Ofconcupiscence." Inordinate sinful desire. From sin springs lust, as the
stream from the fountain. Evil desire not restrained brings forth sin in the act
(James 1:15). Already in the heart it is excitedby the law which forbids it.
Weeds seeming dead in winter shoot up in the warmth of spring. Vipers
torpid in the cold are excitedto life and actionby the fire. Like a revived
viper, sin hisses againstthe law which disturbs it.
(T. Robinson, D. D.)
The law irritates sin
Abp. Trench.
A rock, flung into the bed of some headlong stream, would not arrestthe
stream, but only cause it, which ran swiftly yet silently before, now furiously
to foam and fret round the obstacle whichit found in its path.
(Abp. Trench.)
Restraintquickens
The child is often most strongly tempted to open gates whichhave been
speciallyinterdicted. If nothing had been said about them, probably he would
not have caredto open them.

The law rouses sin
Austin Phelps.
Sin full-grown defies law because it is a law: resists restraint because it is
restraint; contests authority with God because He is God. Says Cain, as
depicted by Lord Byron in colloquy with Lucifer: "I bend to neither God nor
thee." Lord Byron knew whereofhe affirmed. That is the legitimate heroism
of sin. Sin runs to passion:passionto tumult in character:and a tumultuous
charactertends to tempests and explosions, which scornsecreciesand
disguises. Thenthe whole man comes to light. He sees himself, and others see
him, as he is in God's sight. Those solemnimperatives and their awful
responses:"Thoushalt not" — "I will"; "Thou shalt" — "I will not" — make
up, then, all that the man knows of intercourse With God. This is sin, in the
ultimate and finished type of it. This it what it grows to in every sinner, if
uncheckedby the grace ofGod. Every man unredeemed becomes a demon in
eternity.
(Austin Phelps.)
For without the law sin was dead.
Unawakened
T. Robinson, D. D.
I. WITHOUT THE LAW — in its application to the conscience,orin the
knowledge ofits spirituality and extent. It is easyto have the law and yet to be
without it, which is the case ofmost. An unawakenedman has the law in his
hand; he reads it: an awakenedman has it in his conscience;he feels it: a
regenerate man has it in his heart; he loves it.
II. SIN WAS DEAD —
1. As to any consciousnessofits existence.
2. Comparatively as to its activity.

3. As to any knowledge ofits true characteras opposedto God's law.The
strong man armed keeps his house and goods in peace. The heart's opposition
to the law only bound by its presence. Sindead, and put to death, two
different things; it is dead in the unawakened, but put to death in the believer.
Sin never has more powerover a man than when dead in him, is never less
dead than when it appears or is felt to be so. It has to be arousedinto life
before it is actually put to death. Dead in the soul, it shows that the soul is
dead in sin. Sin was alive in the Publican, but dead in the Pharisee (Luke
18:10-14). It must be rousedto life and slain here, or live forever hereafter.
For I was alive without the law once;but when the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died.
The sinner without and under the law
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. WITHOUT THE LAW.
1. Alive.
2. But sin is dead.
II. UNDER THE LAW.
1. Dead.
2. But sin lives.
III. THE RATIONALE OF THE CHANGE.
1. A change not of moral condition but of moral consciousness.
2. Effectedby the revelationof the law.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)

Paul without and under the law
F. Bourdillon.
I thought all was well with me. Was I not a Hebrew of the Hebrews? Was I
not a Pharisee?Was I not strict and zealous? Butall that time I was in reality
"without the law." I knew it then in the letter only, not in its spirit and power.
But "whenthe commandment came," whenit was brought home to my
conscience, whenmy eyes were opened, then, "sin revived," gaineda new
vitality, sprang into life as a serpentthat had been frozen and was thawed. I
felt it in all its power;I knew it in its guilt and condemnation; I was as one
who had receiveda death blow; I despaired, my heart died within me.
(F. Bourdillon.)
Consciencequickenedby the law
H. Ward Beecher.
1. Paul had lived with a conscience, but one that was not rightly instructed. He
had kept his conscienceonhis side, though he was living wickedly. But there
came a time of revelation in which his consciencetook sides againsthim. And
the result was that right before him rose his whole lifetime of sin, by which, as
it rushed upon him, he was sweptawayslain. "I used, before I knew what
God's true light was, to be active and complacent; but when that spiritual law
was revealedto me, all my life seemedlike the unfolding of a voluminous
history of transgression. And I fell down before the vision as one dead."
2. The difference betweena man when his conscience is energisedand when
his conscience is torpid is a difference as greatas that betweena man that is
dead and a man that is alive and excitedto the utmost tensionof endeavour.
3. Excitement is itself a matter of prejudice; but no one objects if it is the
excitement of enterprise; if it is physical or civic excitement. When it becomes
moral, then men begin to fear wild fires and fanaticisms.

4. Now excitementis only another name for vitality. Stones have no
excitability. The vegetables rank higher, because they are susceptible of
excitement, although they cannotdevelop it themselves. An animal ranks
higher than a vegetable, becauseit has the powerof receiving and developing
excitability. Man is the highest; the capacityof excitability marks his position
in the scale ofbeing.
5. Now, when excitementis out of all proportion to the importance of the
objects presented, or the motive powers, then there is an impropriety in it;
and this prejudice againstit has arisen from its abuse. There have been moral
excitements that are disastrous;but these are effects ofa prior cause, namely,
absence ofwholesome excitementbefore. You will find frequently where
Churches are dead that there will come a period of fanaticalrevival influence.
It is reaction, the violent attempt of life to reinstate itself. But at its worstthis
is far better than death.
I. RATIONAL MORAL EXCITEMENT LEADS MEN TO APPLY TO
THEIR LIFE AND CONDUCT THE ONLY TRUE STANDARD, NAMELY,
THAT OF NIGHT AND WRONG, upon a revealed ground.
1. Ordinarily, men judge their conduct by lowerstandards. Mostmen judge of
what they are by the relations of their conduct to pleasure and pain, profit
and loss;that is, by the law of interest. But if that is all, how mean it is! Men
are apt to measure themselves as they stand relatedto favour. That is, they
make others' opinions of them the mirror in which to look upon their own
faces. Now, itis true that a man's reputation is apt to follow closelyupon his
character, but there is an interval betweenthat men skip. Men measure
themselves by the law of influence, and by ambitious aspirations. Then public
sentiment, fashions, customs, the laws of the community, are employed by
men to give themselves a conceptionof what they are.
2. Now not one of these measurings is adequate. No man knows what he is that
has only measuredhimself by them. A man desires to know what he is as a
man, and he calls in his tailor. He only judges him as a man with clothes. He
calls in his shoemaker. He only judges him with relation to shoes. He calls in
the surgeonand the physician, and they, having examined him in every part,

pronounce him sound and healthy. Is there nothing more? Yes, there are
mental organs. Thencall in the psychologist. Has the man yet come to a
knowledge ofwhat he is? Is there nothing to be conceivedofas moral
principle? Is there nothing calledmanhood, in distinction from the animal
organism, etc.?
3. We need to go higher before we can considerthis case settled. It must be
submitted to the chief justice sitting in the court of the soul. Consciencecalls
in review all these prejudgments; not because they are wrong in themselves,
but because theyare inadequate. Conscienceintroduces the laws of God. Men
are calledto form a judgment of what they are, not so much from what they
are to societyas from what they are in the sight of God. You never can getthis
judgment except where consciencehas been illuminated by the Divine Spirit. I
am only measured when the soul is measured;and only can it be measured
when it is put upon the sphere of the eternal world, and upon the law of God.
This is the first greatelement that enters into moral excitability.
II. AN INCREASED SENSIBILITYOF CONSCIENCEIS ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS OF GENERALMORAL EXCITEMENT.
1. The not using of one's conscience workslethargyand blindness. But when
the conscience is fired by the Divine Spirit, it awakesand glows. Youknow
what it is to have your hand numb; and what it is to have it acutelysensitive.
You know what it is to have the eye blurred, and what it is to have it clear. So
consciencemay exist in a state in which things pass before it, and it does not
see them; but lies at the door like a watchdog that is asleep, pastwhich goes
the robber into the house and commits his depredations undisturbed. It is a
greatthing for a man to have a consciencethat rouses him up and makes him
more and more sensitive;but just as soonas the consciencebecomessensitive,
it brings a man's sins to a more solemn accountthan before.
2. There are many things that we adjudge to be sinful. A man says, "Profanity
or dishonesty is sinful"; but, after all, he has a good natured wayof dealing
with these things. If men were as good-naturedto their enemies as they are to
their own sins, there would be much less conflictin the world, a man had a
huge rock in his field. He did not want to waste time to remove it; he planted

ivy, and roses, and honeysucklesaboutit, to cover it up; and he invited people
to come and see how beautiful it is. A certain part of his farm was low, moist,
and disagreeable;and, insteadof draining it, he planted mosses,ferns,
rhododendrons, etc., there; and now he regards that as one of the handsomest
parts of his farm. And men treat their faults so. Here is a man that has a hard
and ill temper; but he has planted all about it ivy and roses andhoneysuckles.
He thinks he is a better man because allhis imperfections are hidden from his
sight. Here is a man that does not drain his swamps of evil courses, but covers
them over with mosses andvarious plants, and thinks he is better because he
is more beauteous in his owneyes. Men lose their convictionof the hatefulness
of sins, they getso used to them. But there come times when God makes sin in
these respects appearso sinful that they tremble at it. You know how bonds go
up. Today they are worth a hundred; tomorrow they are a hundred and five.
And then when it is understood that they are going up, they begin to rush; and
in the course of a few months they have got up to two or three hundred. When
a man is running up values on his sins, they do not go down again. Under the
powerof an illuminated consciencea man says, first, "Why, sin is sinful!"
Next, "It is very sinful!" Next, "It is exceedinglysinful!" Next, "It is
damnably sinful!"
3. The next fact of this reviving of the conscienceis that it brings into the
categoryofsins a thousand things that before we never have calledsuch.
When gold comes into the assayoffice, they treat it as we do not treat
ourselves. It is carefully weighed, and during the process it is workedup to the
very last particle. Yea, the very sweepings ofthe floor are gatheredand
assayedagain. Now men throw in their conduct in bulk, and do not care for
the sweepings;and vastly the greatestportion of it comes out without being
brought to any test. But it is to the last degree important that there should
come periods in which men are obliged to bring into the categoryofsins those
practices which otherwise they would call their faults, or weaknesses.
4. In New York there is a board of health. And how much dirt there was
found the moment there was an authority to make men look for it. It is not
half as dirty as it was a little while ago;but the dirt is more apparent, because
it is stirred up. Only give a clearersense ofwhat is right to men, and they will
instantly see in themselves much wrong that they have not before discovered.

The probability is that now, in New York, there is more apprehensionof
danger from a want of cleanliness than there has been during the last twenty-
five years put together. This has arisenfrom the increasedsensibility of men
on the subject, and the application of a higher test to it. There is specialneed
of an awakenedconscienceto bring to light these things, that are not less
dangerous because men do not know of them, but all the more dangerous.
III. AN AWAKENED CONSCIENCECANNOT FIND PEACE IN ANY
MERE OBEDIENCE.There is this benefit — that when once a man's
consciencehas begun to discriminate, he naturally betakes himselfto
reformation to satisfy his conscience. Buthis consciencebecomesexacting
fasterthan he canlearn how to perform. So that the more he does, the less he
is satisfied. Here stands an old house, that has been a hundred years without
repair. The old masterdies, and a new man comes in. He sends for the
architect, who commences searching, and it is found that there is decay all
through the building. Part leads to part, and disclosure to disclosure, and
decayto decay;and it seems as though it were almost impossible ever to make
it good. That is but a faint emblem of the work of reformation in the human
soul. A house offers no resistance to his attempts to renovate it; but the human
disposition is an ever-fertile, ever-growing, ever-recreating centre. And a man
is conscious thatthe more he tries to regulate it, the harder it is to do it. A
man who has been drinking all his life, and losthis name and his business, and
nearly ruined his family, attempts to reform. After a month he says, "Inever
had so much trouble in all my experience. It has seemedas though everything
went againstme, and was determined that I should not lead a goodlife, and I
am almostin despair." Oh, yes. Laws are like fortifications. They are meant to
protect all that are inside, and repel all that are outside; and, if a man gets
outside and attempts to come back, he must do it againstthe crossfire ofthe
garrison. No man departs from the path of rectitude that, when he comes
back, does not come back by the hardest. There is the experience of the
apostle, "WhenI would do good, evil was with me. I perceived that the law
was holy and just and good, and I approved it in the inward man. But the
more I struggledto obey it the worse I was." "O wretchedman that I am,"
etc. Then rose up before him that which must rise up as the ground of comfort
in every awakenedsoul — namely, Jesus Christ.

IV. THE ONLY REFUGE OF AN EXCITED CONSCIENCE, as a judge and
schoolmaster, MUST BE TO BRING THE SOUL TO CHRIST. A child is
takenby a teacherout of the street, wretchedly clad, bad in behaviour, and
woefully ignorant. The old nature is strong. Still he begins to study a little,
while he plays more. He is fractious, and comes to grief every day; but by and
by he comes to that point where he feels himself to be a bad scholar, and in a
flood of tears goes to the teacherand says, "It is useless to try and make
anything out of me, I am so bad." The teacherputs his arm round the child,
and says, "Thomas, ifI can bear with you, can you with me? I know how bad
you have been. But I love you; and I will give you time, and you shall not be
ruined." Cannotyou conceive that, under such circumstances, there might
spring up in the heart of the child an intense feeling of gratitude. And so the
teachercarries the child from day to day. Now this is just the work that God's
greatheart does for men. And where there is a man that has a rigorous
conscience, lethim take refuge with one that says, "Shift the judgment seat. I
will not judge you by the law of justice, but by the law of love and of
patience." By faith and love in Christ Jesus we may find rest.
(H. Ward Beecher.)
Place ofthe law in salvationof sinners
W. Arnot, D. D.
1. Salvationhas been provided; the world's chief need now is a sense ofsin.
Foodis not wanting, but hunger. There is healing balm; where are the broken
hearts? Christ's work is complete; we need that of the Spirit.
2. This chapter is the history of a holy war, and in the text you have a bird's-
eye view of the whole campaign. In the books ofMoses you may find the same
three things it contains.(1)In Egypt Israelwere slaves, yet were satisfiedwith
its carnal comforts. This is like Paul's first life, with which he was quite
satisfied, "I was alive," etc.(2)The exodus, comprehending the RedSea, the
perils of the wilderness, and the passageofJordan, correspondto Paul's
escape, "The commandmentcame," etc.(3)The promised land, with its plenty,

liberty, and worship, corresponds to Paul's new life in the kingdom of God.
We have here —
I. A LIFE WHICH A MAN ENJOYS IN AND OF HIMSELF BEFORE HE
KNOWS GOD. "I was alive without the law once."
1. The natural state of fallen man is here calledlife, and elsewhere death. In
God's sight it is death; in man's imagination life. Paul gives his view of his
unconverted state when he was in it. Ask him now about it, and he will
declare, "I was dead in trespasses andsins."
2. But how could he be so blind as to count himself just with God while
running counter to the law? The explanation is, he was alive "without the
law." He could not have lived with it. Why have men so much peace in sin?
Becausethey live without God's law. Daring speculators cookaccounts in
order to stave off the evil day. Boldercheats modify the law of God, that its
incoming may not disturb their repose. There is a malformation in some
member of your body, and you are ordered to wearan instrument to bring it
back to a normal condition. Dreading the pain of the anticipated operation,
you secretlytake a castof your owncrookedlimb, and thereon mould the
instrument. When the instrument so prepared is laid upon the limb, the limb
will feeleasy, but it will not be made straight. Thus men castupon their own
hearts their conceptionof the Divine law, and, for form's sake, apply the thing
that is labelled God's Word to their own hearts again, but the application
never makes them cry, and the crookedparts are not made straight. The
process is pleasant, and it serves the deceiverfor a religion.
II. THE ESCAPE FROM THAT FALSE LIFE BY A DYING: "The
commandment came, sin revived, and I died."
1. "The commandment came."(1)It is no longer an imitation law, but the
unchanging will of the unchanging God, with the demand, "Be ye holy, for I
am holy"; and the sentence, "The soulthat sinneth it shall die."(2)This
newcomeris felt an intruder within the conscience, andan authority over it.
Hitherto the man had procured a painted fire, but now the law becomes a
consuming fire, working its wayinto all the interstices of his heart and his

history. This commandment came into the man, and found him "enmity
againstGod."
2. "Sin revived" at the entrance of this visitant, and thereby he first felt sin.
like a serpent creeping about his heart, and loathed its presence.(1)Hitherto
the disease wasundermining his life, without giving him pain. The evil spirit
met no opposition, and therefore produced no disturbance. The
commandment (ver. 7) did not cause but only detectedsin. The course of his
life was like a river, so smooth that an observercould not tell whether it is
flowing at all. A rock revealedthe current by opposing it. But the rock that
detects the movement did not produce it; neither is it able to reverse it. The
river rises to the difficulty, and rushes down more rapidly than before. It is
thus with the commandment, it has powerto disturb, but none to renew.(2)
The difference betweena man who is "without the law" and a man into whose
conscience"the commandment has come," is not that the one continues
sinning and the other has ceasedto sin. It is rather that the one tastes the
pleasures of sin, such as they are, while the other writhes at its bitterness.(3)
The coming of the commandment for the conviction of sin is not necessarily
the work of a day or an hour. In Paul's case the process was short. During
that journey to Damascus, itseems to have begun and ended. But in most
casesthe law enters the conscienceas a besieging army wins a fortress, by
slow and gradual approaches. Sometimesthe will drives back the law; at other
times the law, under cover, perhaps, of some providential chastening, renews
the assault, and gains a firmer footing further in. But whether by many
successive stages, orby one overwhelming onset, the issue is, "Sin revived,
and" —
3. "I died." The life in which he had hitherto trusted was extinguished then.(1)
Convictions rose and closedround like the waves of a flowing tide, until they
quenched his vain hope. Departments of his heart and history, which till now
he had thought goodagainstthe final judgment, were successivelyfloodedby
the advancing, avenging law. Prayers, penances,and a long catalogueof
miscellaneous virtues, floating down the streamof daily life, had coalesced
and consolidated, as wood, hay, stubble, stones, mud, carrieddown by a river
sometimes aggregateinto an island in the estuary. The heap seemedto afford
a firm footing for the fugitive in any emergence.(2)Upon this heap "the

commandment came" with resistless power. It rose like the tide over the
pieces of merit on which the man had takenhis stand, and blotted them out.
Where they lay, nothing now remains but a fearful looking for of judgment.(3)
But still the commandment comes. The convict, trembling now for his life,
abandons all that seems doubtful, and hastily gathering the best and surest
parts of his righteousness,piles them beneath his feet. He will no longergive
himself out as a saint; he even owns that he is a sinner. He claims only to have
sinned less than some he knows, and to have done some goodthings which
might, at least, palliate the evil. The law pays no respectto this refuge of lies,
and shows no pity to the fugitive. Wave follows wave, until the law of God has
coveredall the righteousness ofmen, and left it lying deep in everlasting
contempt.(4) This death of false hope is, as its name indicates, like the
departure of the spirit. Diseasehaving gaineda footing, makes its approaches.
Member after member is overtakenand paralysed. The soul abandons one by
one the less defensible extremities, and seeksrefuge in its own interior
fastnesses.Still the adversary, holding every point that he has gained, presses
on for more. To one remaining foothold the distressedoccupantclings a while;
but that refuge, too, the inexorable besiegertakes atlast. Chasedby the
strange usurper from every part of its long-cherishedhomer the life flickers
over it a moment, like the flame of an expiring lamp, and then darts awayinto
the unseen. So perished the hope of the self-righteous man. He died. What
then?
III. HE LIVES IN ANOTHER LIFE.
1. No interval of time separatedthe two. The death that led from one life was
the birth into another. We do not read, "I am dead," but, "I died." It is the
voice, not of the dead, but of the living. The dead never tell us how they died.
The death through which Paulpassedat conversionis like that which lays a
Christian's wearybody in the grave, and admits his spirit into the presence of
the Lord. "He that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
The fact, like the person, has two sides. If you stand on this side and look, he
dies. If you stand on that side and look, he is born.
2. Throughout the whole of his previous history, Paul had stoodon the ground
and breathed the atmosphere of his own merits. Probably, like other people,

he had frequently to remove from place to place in that region. But even the
law could not drive him forth. What the law could not do, God did by sending
His Son. Christ brought His righteousness into contactwith Paul's. Now, the
law chasing him once more, chasedhim over. Out of his own merits went the
man that moment, and into Christ. Then he died; and from the moment of his
death he lived. Henceforth you find him continually telling of his life, "I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me"; "Our life is hid with Christ in God."
3. Let the line be distinctly marked betweenwhat the law can, and what it
cannot do. It may shake downall the foundations of a man's first hope, but it
cannot bear awaythe strickenvictim from the ruins. It can make the sinner
more miserable, but it cannot make him more safe. It is only when Christ
comes nearwith a better righteousness thateven the commandment, raging in
the conscience,candrive you from your own. We owe much to that flaming
justice which made the old life die, but more to that love which receivedthe
dying as he fell into life eternal.
(W. Arnot, D. D.)
The condemnatory powerof the law
John Russell.
I. In the way of PRELIMINARYOBSERVATION it may be noticed that by
the law here mentioned we are to understand the moral law. It is the moral
law which says, "Thoushalt not covet," as we read in ver. 7. It is by the moral
law we arrive at the knowledge ofsin, as we see from the text, comparedwith
Romans 3:20. It is to the moral law, as a covenantof works, that believers are
dead in consequence oftheir union with the living head of the Church. It is by
the moral law that sin takes occasionto deceive and destroy mankind, as you
read in ver. 11. And finally, it is the moral law which is holy, just, and good, in
its precepts, promises, and even threatenings.
II. ConsiderTHE FALSE OPINION which Paul entertained of himself before
his conversion. So completelywas he blinded by sin, that he falselyimagined
himself to be alive — that is, he thought that he had well-groundedhopes of

the favour of God and of eternal life, while in reality he was deadin trespasses
and in sins. He was therefore at that time under the influence of a strong
delusion. It will be of greatconsequence here to mark out the circumstances
which, through the blindness of his mind, occasionedhis mistake, that so we
may place a beaconupon the rock which, without the interposition of Divine
grace, had proved fatal to the apostle. He laid greatstress on his religious
education(Acts 22:3). Now, this was in itself a very distinguished privilege.
But Paul in his unconverted state did not understand the proper improvement
of it. Instead of rendering these advantages subservient to a higher end, he
valued himself so much upon them that he thought they would contribute
towards his acceptance withGod. Another circumstance which, through the
blindness of his mind, tended to mislead him was his full connectionwith the
JewishChurch, whereby he was entitled to a variety of high external
privileges. Had these things been kept in their proper place and rendered
subservient to a higher end, they would have formed such beauties of
characteras to render it an objectof admiration. But, alas!Paul being at this
time under the influence of a self-righteous spirit, he consideredthese as
constituting his title to eternallife, and so foolishly concludedthat he was
"alive," while in reality he was under the sentence and the powerof death,
both spiritual and eternal. But further, Paul's delusion in his unconverted
state was chiefly owing to his deep ignorance of the purity, spirituality, and
extent of the holy law of God. A thorough, inward, deep, and personal
conviction of sin is that which lies at the very foundation of vital Christianity,
and all religion without this must be delusion for without a sense ofsin men
will not come to the Saviour, and unless they come to the Saviour they must be
irrecoverably undone.
III. THE MEANS THAT WERE BLESSED OF GOD for correcting the
erroneous opinion which Paul entertained of his spiritual state while a
Pharisee.
1. The first means employed by God for discovering his realcharacterwas the
coming of the commandment. The Lord Jesus, appearing to him when he was
near to Damascus, sentby His Spirit the law or commandment home to his
consciencein the extent of its requisitions, with such light, authority, and
energy as produced a complete revolution of sentiment. This discovery

destroyedthe very foundation of the delusive hopes of eternal life which he
previously entertained.
2. Another means here mentioned which, under Divine influence, subserved
the purpose of correcting the erroneous opinion which Paul, when a Pharisee,
entertained of himself was the reviving of sin. In the apostle's state of
unregeneracysin lived in its latent powers and principles; but through the
blindness of his mind he did not perceive, its existence, neither was he sensible
of its various operations in his soul. But when the commandment came with
light, authority, and energy, he obtained such a view of the numberless evils of
his ownheart which he never saw before;that sin which once appearedto be
dead, now revived. And this is the first view in which sin appears to be alive in
the soulof a true penitent. Again, sin revived upon the coming of the
commandment, because thatcommandment, being enforcedby the power of
the supreme Lawgiver, vestedsin with a powerto condemn. Sin revived in
him on the coming of the commandment also, because the more the holy law
urged obedience, the keeneroppositiondid the heart naturally corrupted give
to the requirements of the law. And now sin was found not only to exist, but to
exist in all its powerand strength.
3. The next means which, under Divine influence, correctedthe mistaken
apprehension which Paul once entertained of himself was that which is here
mentioned, "I died." The death here mentioned is nothing else than the death
of legalhope; and yet no sinner will submit to this kind of death till the law is
applied to his conscience by the Holy Ghost convincing him of guilt and of its
tremendous demerit.
(John Russell.)
The law and the gospel
D. Thomas, D. D
The main designof the apostle in this chapter is to show that the law would
not give peace of mind to the troubled sinner. Note man's condition —

I. WITHOUT THE LAW. When I was unacquainted with its high, spiritual
demands, I was peacefuland self-satisfied. I lived an earthly life, trusting to
my ownrighteousness.
II. UNDER THE LAW. When the law was revealedto me in its purity and
integrity, I discoveredmy sinfulness, and fell down as one slain.
III. ABOVE THE LAW. Having found that there is no life in the law, I turned
to the gospel. This is the purpose of the law — a schoolmaster. In Christ I
found life.
(D. Thomas, D. D)
Want of convictionthe source ofmistaken apprehensions
J. Stafford.
We have here —
I. THE GOOD OPINION WHICH PAUL ONCE HAD OF HIMSELF,
WHILE HE WAS IN AN UNREGENERATE STATE."Iwas alive." This is
no uncommon thing. Many have deceivedthemselves with a name to live,
while they are dead. He doubtless refers to the time when he was a Pharisee;
and there were such persons long before the Pharisees (Job30:12;2 Kings
10:16-31;Isaiah 29:13;Isaiah 58:1, 2; Isaiah65:5). Concerning Paul himself,
read Philippians 3:5. And yet, when it pleasedGodto callhim by His grace,
he saw himself "the chief of sinners." What an amazing change was here!
Though once alive in his presumptions and performances, he finds himself
dead in law, dead in sin.
II. THE GROUND OF THE APOSTLE'S MISTAKE. "I was without the
law."
1. Notthat the apostle could be so ignorant as to imagine that he was without
law; for as a Jew he had the written law, and as a Pharisee he made his boast
of it, and expectedlife by his own obedience to it.

2. He means, "I was alive without the law in its purity and spirituality. I only
consideredthe letter, especiallyI fell in with the glossesofour Rabbins. But
when I was led to view the law in all its extent and spirituality, I saw my
mistake — I condemned myself as a most miserable sinner."
3. While men aim only at the external law, there is little difficulty in obeying
its precepts; but when they consider it as the very image of God Himself, it is
no wonder if their fears begin to be awakened. Without the law, separated
from and uninfluenced by it, the sinner receives no uneasiness;but if it be
impressed upon his conscience, allhis vain hopes are at an end. So, then, the
true reasonof the apostle's mistake was the want of better acquaintance with
the law. They who have most light have the lowestthoughts of themselves.
Hence we see —(1) That there is much carnal security in every unregenerate
man (Luke 11:21). The children of God may be often in fear and doubt. If
they look to the glories ofheaven they think themselves altogetherunworthy
of them: if they look to the horrors of hell their hearts die within them: while
sinners have none of these sorrows;securelythey live, and, very often,
peacefully they die (Psalm 73:4). Now and then their consciencesmay render
them uneasy; but the old stupidity returns, and there may be little
interruption as to their quiet. Oh, but it would be their greatestmercy to have
it interrupted by the coming of the law in its purity and power.(2)There is
much presumption as the ground of their security(John 8:41, 54, 55).(3)
There is also much false joy, as the offspring of groundless hope, built upon
their religious education, church privileges, pride, self-love, and their self-
comparisonwith those that are more grosslywicked;but all this is being
without the law, or the not judging of themselves by the right rule.
III. THE MEANS BY WHICH HIS MISTAKE WAS RECTIFIED.
1. The commandment came, the law, in its pure and holy precepts. Now, if it
be inquired how it is that the law comes home to the conscience, we answer, It
is by the Spirit of the Lord. He opens the blind eye to discern the purity of the
objectpresented, and exerts His almighty powerto put the sinner upon
comparing his heart and life with this law, and to hold him to it.

2. Sin revived.(1) Sin more and more appeared, and made itself manifest.(2) It
awoke andmore powerfully exerted itself. While Satancan keepmen quiet in
carnalsecurity he is content; but no soonerdoes a man begin to be weary of
his yoke and cry out for deliverance, than Satanapprehends the loss of a
subject. Then he endeavours to excite and provoke his lusts to the uttermost,
in order to overwhelm his soul with despair.(3)It revived as to its guilt, or its
condemning power. He once thought that sin was dead; but the law, when it
came, plainly discoveredto him its sting, "Forthe sting of death is sin."
3. "I died." "I saw myself to be in a state of death and condemnation. I found
myself insufficient to anything. All my attempts were fruitless, and I lay at the
foot of mercy without any claim or plea." In this hopeless andhelpless state
does Christ find us when He comes to bring us salvation. Oh, how precious is
pardon to the ungodly, hope to the hopeless, mercyto the
miserable!Conclusion:A word —
1. To such as are dead, while they think themselves alive, How necessaryis
self-examination! The apostle, having been convinced of his past mistake,
earnestlyrecommends this (2 Corinthians 13:5).
2. Those that feel themselves dead, bless God for the discovery. Where God
hath made this discoveryof sin, He will lead the heart to Him who is able to
subdue sin.
3. Let all who have receivedlife from Christ seek daily supplies from Him.
Guard againstall sin as contrary to that new life you have in and from Christ
(Colossians3:1).
(J. Stafford.)
The effectof law on obedience
Toplady.
The terrors of the law have much the same effecton our duty and obedience
as frost has on a stream — it hardens, cools, and stagnates. Whereas, letthe
shining of Divine love rise upon the soul, repentance will then flow, our

hardness and coldness thaw and melt away, and all the blooming fruits of
godliness flourish and abound.
(Toplady.)
Deathof the moral sense
W. H. H. Murray.
The gambler that cantake another's money, and feelno compunction of
conscienceathis villainy, who cancontinue to walk the streets as if he were an
honest man, while all the time a gambler's money is in his pocketand a
gambler's joy in his heart, illustrates how thoroughly sin can get the mastery
of a human being. How many people canlie in the wayof slander, in the way
of innuendo, in the way of suspicion, and still sleepat night as if they were as
innocent as babes. Such people are dead in trespassesandsins. You run a pin
into your body and you scream, because it is a live body. And so, while
conscienceis alive, the thrust of a wickedthought through it causes exquisite
torture. But when one can lie, and steal, and be drunken — when these
barbed iniquities can be driven day by day into the very centre of a man's life,
and consciencereceives the stab without a spasm — then is it dead. And this is
the law, that with whateverfaculty you sin, the sin which that faculty commits
kills the corresponding moral sense. Hence, sinis moral suicide; the drug
works slowlybut surely. The spirit which is compelled to eat of it is thrown
gradually into a torpor, which deepens and deepens with every breath, until
the capacityfor inspiration is fatally weakenedand the spirit dies.
(W. H. H. Murray.)
Experience teaching the value of grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
In the olden time when the government of England resolvedto build a wooden
bridge overthe Thames at Westminster, after they had driven one hundred

and forty piles into the river, there occurredone of the most severe frosts in
the memory of man, by means of which the piles were torn away from their
strong fastenings, and many of them snapped in two. The apparent evil in this
case was a greatgood;it led the commissioners to reconsidertheir purpose,
and a substantial bridge of stone was erected. How well it is when the fleshly
reformations of unregenerate men are brokento pieces, if thus they are led to
fly to the Lord Jesus, and in the strength of His Spirit are brought to build
solidly for eternity. Lord, if Thou sufferestmy resolves and hopes to be
carried awayby temptations and the force of my corruptions, grant that this
blessedcalamity may drive me to depend wholly on Thy grace, which cannot
fail me.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Morallife and death
Calvin.
The death of sin is the life of man; and the life of death is the sin of man.
(Calvin.)
And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
The fatal effects ofthe law
Prof. Jowett.
Suppose a person liable to two bodily disorders of a different kind. He is
weak, but the means takento restore health and strength raise a fever in his
veins. If we could keephim weak, he might live; as it is, he dies. So it might be
said of the law, that it is too strong a medicine for the human soul.
(Prof. Jowett.)

The original and the actualrelation of man to law
Prof. Shedd.
1. The reader of St. Paul's Epistles is struck with the seeminglydisparaging
manner in which he speaks ofthe moral law. "The law entered that the
offence might abound"; "the law workethwrath"; "sin shall not have
dominion" over the believer, because he is "not under the law," has "become
dead to the law," is "deliveredfrom the law," and "the strength of sin is the
law." This phraseologysounds strange. "Is the law sin?" is a question which
he himself asks, becauseawarethat it will be likely to start in the mind of
some of his readers.
2. The difficulty is only seeming, and the text explains it. The moral law is
suited to produce holiness and happiness. It was ordained to life. If everything
in man had remained as it was created, there would have been no need of
urging him to "become dead to the law," to be "delivered from the law," etc.
3. The original relation betweenman and the moral law was preciselylike that
betweennature and its laws. There has been no apostasyin the systemof
matter. The law of gravitation rules as it did on the morning of creation. The
law here was ordained to life, and the ordinance still stands and will stand
until a new systemof nature and a new legislationfor it are introduced. But
the case is different with man. He is out of his original relations to the law and
government of God, and therefore that which was ordained to him for life, he
now finds to be unto death. The food which is suited to minister to the health
of the well man, becomes death to the sick man.
4. Let us now considersome particulars in which the commandment is found
to be unto death. The law of God shows itself in the human soul in the form of
a sense ofduty. Every man hears occasionallythe words, "Thou shalt; thou
shalt not," and finds himself saying to himself, "I ought; I ought not." This is
the voice of law sounding in the conscience.Cut into the rock of Sinai or
printed in our Bibles, it is a dead letter; but wrought into the fabric of our
own constitution, and speaking to our inward being, the law is a possessing
spirit, and according as we obey or disobey, it is a guardian angelor a
tormenting fiend. We have disobeyed, and therefore the sense of duty is a

tormenting sensation;the commandment which was ordained to life is found
to be unto death, because —
I. IT PLACES MAN UNDER A CONTINUAL RESTRAINT.
1. To be reined in and thwarted renders a man uneasy. The universal and
instinctive desire for freedom is a proof of this. Now, the sense ofduty opposes
the wishes, thwarts the inclination, and imposes a restraint upon the desires
and appetites of sinful man. If his inclination were only in harmony with his
duty, there would be no restraint from the law; in doing his duty he would be
doing what he liked.
2. There are only two ways whereby contentment canbe introduced into the
soul. If the Divine law could be altered so that it should agree with man's
sinful inclination, he could be happy in sin. But this method, of course, is
impossible. The only other mode, therefore, is to change the inclination. Then
the conflictbetweenour will and our conscienceis at an end. And this is to be
happy.
3. But such is not the state of things in the unrenewed soul. Duty and
inclination are in conflict. And what a dreadful destiny awaits that soul for
whom the holy law of God, which was ordained to life and joy, shall be found
to be unto death and woe immeasurable!
II. IT DEMANDS A PERPETUALEFFORT FROM HIM.
1. No creature likes to tug and to lift. Service must be easyin order to be
happy.(1) If you lay upon one's shoulders a burden that strains his muscles
almost to the point of rupture, you put him in physical pain. His physical
structure was not intended to be subjected to such a stretch. In Eden physical
labour was pleasure because the powers were in healthy action. Before the
Fall, man was simply to dress and keepa garden; but after, he was to dig up
thorns and thistles, and cat his bread in the sweatofhis face. And now the
whole physical nature of man groanethand travaileth in pain together,
waiting for the redemption of the body from this penal necessityofperpetual
strain and effort.(2) The same factmeets us when we pass to the moral nature.
By creationit was a pleasure for man to keepthe law of God. Holy Adam

knew nothing of effort in the path of duty. By apostasy, the obligation to keep
the Divine law became repulsive. It was no longereasyfor man to do right,
and it has never been easyor spontaneous to him since.
2. Now in this demand for a perpetual effort, we see that the law which was
ordained to life is found to be unto death. The commandment, insteadof being
a pleasantfriend and companion, has become a rigorous taskmaster. It lays
out an uncongenialwork, and threatens punishment if not done. And yet the
law is not a tyrant. It is holy, just, and good. This work which it lays out is
righteous work, and ought to be done. The wickeddisinclination has
compelled the law to assume this attitude. That which is goodwas not made
death to man by a Divine arrangement, but by man's transgression(vers. 13,
14). For the law says to every man what St. Paul says of the magistrate:
"Rulers are not a terror to goodworks, but to the evil," etc.Conclusion:We
are taught by the subject, as thus considered —
1. That the mere sense of duty is not Christianity. For this alone causes misery
in a soul that has not performed its duty. The man that doeth these things
shall indeed live by them; but he who has not done them must die by them.
Greatmistakes are made at this point. Men have supposed that an active
conscienceis enough, and have therefore substituted ethics for the gospel. "I
know," says Kant, "of but two beautiful things: the starry heavens above, and
the sense ofduty within." But is the sense ofduty beautiful to a being who is
not conformedto it? Nay, if there be any beauty, it is the beauty of the
lightnings, terrible. So long as man stands at a distance from the moral law, he
can admire its glory and its beauty; but when it comes home to him and
becomes a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart, then its glory is
swallowedup in its terror; then he who was alive without the law becomes
slain by the law; then this ethicaladmiration of the Decalogue is exchanged
for an evangelicaltrust in Jesus Christ.
2. The meaning of Christ's work of redemption. The law for an alienated and
corrupt soul is a burden. Christ is well named the Redeemer, becauseHe frees
the sinful soul from all this. He delivers it from the penalty by making
satisfactionto the brokenlaw. He delivers it from the restraint and irksome

effort by so changing the heart that it becomes a delight to keepthe law.
Obedience then becomes a pleasure, and the service of God the highest liberty.
(Prof. Shedd.)
Mistakenapprehensions ofthe law destructive to the souls of men
J. Stafford.
I. THE LAW OF GOD IS ONE OF THE GREATEST BLESSINGSTHAT
HE EVER BESTOWEDUPON THIS WORLD, for "it was ordained unto
life."
1. Our apostle refers to the true nature and use of the law when first given to
man in his innocency. It proposedlife upon reasonable terms, such as were in
the powerof man to give, and such as were proper for God to require and
accept(Galatians 3:12). Life is put for present happiness and future glory,
and both might have been obtained by the law.
2. But perhaps it may be objected, whateverblessing it might have been to
man obedient to all its requirements, could any blessing arise to him who
found the commandment to be unto death? Yes, if by seeing himself lost and
rained by the law, he sought salvationin Christ. Not that the law can bring
man to Christ of itself, but as it shows a man his need of Christ.
II. THE LAW, WHICH MIGHT ONCE HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO THE
OBEDIENT,IS NOW NO LONGER ABLE TO DO IT. An objection has
been started, taken from the case ofthe young man who inquired: "Good
Master, whatgood thing shall I do that I may have eternallife?" Christ refers
him to the law;but it is very evident that our Lord's immediate designwas to
convince him of sin. Had this young man been convinced of sin, Christ would
probably have given him a more direct answerto his inquiry. Instead of this,
lie was directed to the law, and not for justification but for conviction — to
take off his heart from all legalexpectations, thathe might become a proper
subject of Christ's kingdom.

III. SIN MUST BE THE GREATEST AND THE WORST OF EVILS, AS IT
TURNS THE BLESSING INTO A CURSE. "The commandment I found to
be unto death." Noris this the only instance. It aims at the same end in all its
operations. Norneed we wonderat this; for if it hath done the greater, it will
effectthe less. Blessings stillabound among us, but alas!how are they abused
to the most licentious purposes! Or, on the other hand, if men do not presume,
yet they are under the influence of a kind of secretdespair. The blessings of
the gospelare either too greatto be obtained, or too goodto be freely
bestowed. In fine, what is there which is not abused to the worstof purposes?
Wisdom, courage, riches, honours, pleasures, allexcellentin their natures, yet
sin, in the heart, turns all into a curse!
IV. WHETHER MEN LOOK TO THE LAW FOR LIFE OR DISREGARD
IT, THEY MUST EQUALLY FIND IT DEATH TO THEIR SOULS. It is true
the apostle found that to be death from which he formerly expectedlife; but
did this lead him to disregard the law? Far from it; he declares it to be holy
and just and good. Nay, his complaints are all takenfrom his want of greater
conformity to it.
V. IF A POOR SINNER WOULD OBTAIN A TITLE TO ETERNALLIFE,
HE MUST NOT SEEK IT BY OBEDIENCETO THE LAW, BUT BY FAITH
IN CHRIST.
(J. Stafford.)
For sin, taking occasionby the commandment, deceivedme, and by it slew
me.
Sin's use of the law
T. Robinson, D. D.
I. FOR DECEPTION.Sin's nature, like Satan's, is to deceive. Eve was
seducedby Satan through the commandment (Genesis 3:1-6). How intensely
evil must that be which makes so vile a use of what is good. Sin —
1. Seduces men to break the law, and so works their ruin.

2. Persuades mento an equally fatal extent that they are able to keepit. A
man's case is never worse than when expecting heavenfrom his works. Israel
was thus deceived(Romans 10:3); and the Pharisee (Luke 18:11).
3. Excites to rebellion againstit as if opposedto our good(ver. 8).
II. FOR DEATH. Sin, like Satan, only deceives to destroy. This death is —
1. Judicial death: the condemnationof the law.
2. Moraldeath: despairof ever being able to satisfythe requirements of the
law.
3. Spiritual death: the executionof the sentence ofthe law.
The deceitfulness and ruinousness of sin
J. Stafford.
The metaphor is taken from a robber who leads a man into some by-path and
then murders him. The word principally denotes an innate faculty of
deceiving. We read of the deceitfulness of riches (Matthew 13:22); the
deceitfulness of unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians2:10), which is their
aptitude, considering the sinful state and the various temptations of men, to
deceive them with vain hopes and to seduce them into crookedpaths. Once it
is put for sin itself (Ephesians 4:22). Here, as it is joined with sin, it denotes
that habitual deceitthat is in indwelling sin, whereby it seducethmen and
draweth them off from God (Hebrews 12:13).
I. SIN IS OF A SUBTLE AND DECEIVING NATURE. Sin deceives the souls
of men —
1. As it blinds their understandings (Romans 1:21, 22;Ephesians 4:18). This
blindness of the mind consists in ignorance ofGod and of our own interests,
giving us light thoughts of sin and extenuating it.

2. As it presents various false appearances to the fancy in order to engage the
affections. It allures with the specious prospectof riches, but it steals awayour
best treasure;it flatters us with hopes of honour and happiness, but rewards
with disgrace and misery; it premises liberty, but binds us with fetters
strongerthan iron (Proverbs 16:25).
3. It has a great advantage in its very situation: it is within, everpresent, and
sometimes it makes a man become a tempter to himself. There is nothing
either within or without but may be, and often is, turned into the nature of
sin. The very heart is deceitful, and it aims to deceive the superior powers of
the soul. Who can tell how many ways it has to deceive itself? It calls evil
good, and goodevil.
4. As it turns aside the thoughts from the punishment of sin.
5. Finally, as it sometimes lead men to think, that because they are sinners, the
greatGod is become their enemy, and that there is no hope of reconciliation
through Christ.
II. WHERE SIN HATH DECEIVED IT WILL ALSO KILL, EITHER HERE
OR HEREAFTER. The apostle intends that it brought him into a state of
aggravatedcondemnation, or, as it were, delivered him over to eternaldeath,
so that the more he reflectedupon it, the more was he convinced that he had
been grosslyimposed upon by the fascinating powerof sin (Job 20:12-14;
Proverbs 20:17; Proverbs 6:32, 33;James 3:15). Achan thought to obtain a
goodly prize; but how did sin wound his conscienceandat length slay his soul!
III. THE DECEITFULNESSOF SIN IN THE HEART OF MAN IS
UNSEARCHABLE. "The heart is deceitful above all things," and if the heart
be so deceitful, what must sin be whorl it gets possessionof such an heart! As
we know not the hearts of one another, so neither do we fully know our own
hearts. Who can tell how our hearts would actif suitable objects, inclinations,
and temptations were to unite and concur at any time?
(J. Stafford.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(1-11)A result is thus attained which the law of Moses couldnot accomplish,
but which is accomplishedin the gospel. The Christian is entirely freed from
the law of sin and death, and from the condemnation that it entails. But he is
so upon the condition that this freedom is for him a reality—that it really
proceeds from the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
(1) Therefore.—The Apostle had already, at the end of the last chapter,
“touchedthe confines” ofthat state of deliverance and of liberty which he is
now going on to describe. The opening of this chapter is, therefore, connected
in form with the close ofthe last. The intervention of Christ puts an end to the
struggle wagedwithin the soul. There is therefore no condemnation, &c.
Condemnation.—The condemnationwhich in the present and final judgment
of God impends over the sinner, is removed by the intervention of Christ, and
by the union of the believer with Him. By that union the powerand empire of
sin are thrown off and destroyed. (Comp. Romans 8:3.) There is a certainplay
on the word “condemn.” By “condemning” the law of sin, Christ removed
“condemnation” from the sinner. He removed it objectively, or in the nature
of things, and this removal is completed subjectively in the individual through
that bond of mystical and moral attachment which makes whatChrist has
done his ownact and deed.
To them which are in Christ Jesus.—Those“who live and move and have
their (spiritual) being” in Christ. To “have the Spirit of Christ” is a converse
expressionfor the same idea. In the one case the believer is regarded as
reaching upwards, as it were, through faith, and so incorporating and uniting
himself with the Spirit of Christ; in the other case,the Spirit of Christ reaches
downwards and infuses itself into the believer. This is the peculiar mysticism
of the Apostle.

Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.—These words are wanting
in the foremostrepresentatives ofevery group of authorities (except, perhaps,
those which belong to the regionof Syria), and must certainly be omitted.
They have been brought in here from Romans 8:4.
BensonCommentary
Romans 8:1. There is, &c. — As a further answerto the objectionmentioned
Romans 3:31, that the doctrine of justification by faith made void the law, the
apostle here proceeds, withgreat feeling and energy, to display the many
powerful motives which that doctrine, as explained in the preceding chapters,
suggests, forengaging both the understanding and the affections of believers
to a continued pursuit of holiness. The first motive which he mentions is that
containedin this verse, that now, under the new dispensation of the covenant
of grace, namely, that of the Messiah, there is no condemnationto true
believers, who walk as he here describes, although they may not observe the
ceremonies ofthe Mosaic law. “This greatestofall considerations the apostle
begins with, after having pathetically describedthe terror of the awakened
sinner arising from his consciousness ofguilt, because if mercy were not with
God, he could neither be loved nor obeyed by men.” There is therefore now —
In respectof all that has been advanced, since things are as has been shown;
no condemnation — From God, either for things presentor past. He now
comes to speak ofdeliverance and liberty, in opposition to the state of guilt
and bondage describedin the latter part of the preceding chapter; resuming
the thread of his discourse, whichwas interrupted, Romans 7:7. To them
which are in Christ Jesus — Who are united to Christ by a lively faith in him,
and in the truths and promises of his gospel, and so are made members of his
mystical body. “The phrase, to be in Christ, saith Le Clerc, is often used by
Paul for being a Christian; which observationhe borrowed from Castalio,
who renders it, Christiani facti; [being made Christians;] but if either of them
mean only Christians by profession, or by being only members of the
Christian Church, this will by no means agree with this place, or any other of
like nature; since freedom from condemnation, and other benefits conferred
upon us through Christ, will not follow our being Christians in this sense, but

only upon a lively faith in Christ, our union to him by the Spirit, and our
being so in him, as to become new creatures, according to Romans 8:9 : If any
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his; to 2 Corinthians 5:17, If
any man be in Christ he is a new creature;and to Galatians 5:24, They that
are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” — Whitby.
Who walk not after the flesh — Who are not governed, as to their dispositions
and actions, by those appetites which have their seatin the flesh, or by
worldly views and interests, or by the dictates and motions of the natural
corruption, which in some degree may yet remain in them: but after the Spirit
— Namely, the Spirit of God; that is, who are not only habitually governed by
reasonand conscience, enlightenedand renewedby God’s Spirit, but who
follow the drawings, exercise the graces, andbring forth the fruits of that
Spirit, Ephesians 5:9; Galatians 5:22-23 : where see the notes.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:1-9 Believers may be chastenedofthe Lord, but will not be condemned with
the world. By their union with Christ through faith, they are thus secured.
What is the principle of their walk;the flesh or the Spirit, the old or the new
nature, corruption or grace? Forwhich of these do we make provision, by
which are we governed? The unrenewed will is unable to keepany
commandment fully. And the law, besides outward duties, requires inward
obedience. Godshowedabhorrence of sin by the sufferings of his Son in the
flesh, that the believer's person might be pardoned and justified. Thus
satisfactionwas made to Divine justice, and the way of salvation openedfor
the sinner. By the Spirit the law of love is written upon the heart, and though
the righteousnessofthe law is not fulfilled by us, yet, blessedbe God, it is
fulfilled in us; there is that in all true believers, which answers the intention of
the law. The favour of God, the welfare of the soul, the concerns of eternity,
are the things of the Spirit, which those that are after the Spirit do mind.
Which waydo our thoughts move with most pleasure? Which way go our
plans and contrivances? Are we most wise for the world, or for our souls?
Those that live in pleasure are dead, 1Ti5:6. A sanctifiedsoul is a living soul;
and that life is peace. The carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but
enmity itself. The carnal man may, by the power of Divine grace, be made
subject to the law of God, but the carnal mind never can; that must be broken

and driven out. We may know our real state and characterby inquiring
whether we have the Spirit of God and Christ, or not, ver. 9. Ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit. Having the Spirit of Christ, means having a turn of
mind in some degree like the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and is to be shown
by a life and conversationsuitable to his precepts and example.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
There is, therefore, now - This is connectedwith the closing verses ofRomans
7. The apostle had there shown that the Law could not effectdeliverance from
sin, but that such deliverance was to be traced to the gospelalone;Romans
7:23-25. It is implied here that there was condemnation under the Law, and
would be still, but for the intervention of the gospel.
No condemnation - This does not mean that sin in believers is not to be
condemned as much as any where, for the contrary is everywhere taught in
the Scriptures;but it means,
(1) That the gospeldoes not pronounce condemnation like the Law. Its
function is to pardon; the function of the law is to condemn. The one never
affords deliverance, but always condemns;the objectof the other is to free
from condemnation, and to setthe soulat liberty.
(2) there is no final condemnation under the gospel. The function, design, and
tendency of the gospelis to free from the condemning sentence of law. This is
its first and its glorious announcement, that it frees lost and ruined people
from a most fearful and terrible condemnation.
(The first verse of this chapter seems to be an inference from the whole
preceding discussion. The apostle having establishedthe doctrine of
justification, and answeredthe objections commonly urged againstit, now
asserts his triumphant conclusion, "There is therefore, etc.; that is to say, it
follows from all that has been said concerning the believer's justification by
the righteousnessofChrist, and his complete deliverance from the Law as a
covenant, that to him there can be no condemnation. The designof Paul is not
so much to assertthe different functions of the Law and the gospel, as simply
to state the fact in regardto the condition of a certainclass, namely, those who

are in Christ. To them there is no condemnation whatever; not only no final
condemnation, but no condemnation now, from the moment of their union to
Christ, and deliverance from the curse of the Law. The reasonis this: that
Christ hath endured the penalty, and obeyed the preceptof the Law in their
stead.
"Here," says Mr. Haldane on the passage, "itis often remarkedthat the
apostle does not say, that there is in them (believers) neither matter of
accusation, norcause of condemnation; and yet this is all included in what he
does say. And afterward, in express terms, he denies that they can be either
accusedorcondemned, which they might be, were there any ground for
either. All that was condemnable in them, which was sin, has been condemned
in their Surety, as is shownin the third verse.")
Which are in Christ Jesus - Who are united to Christ. To be in him is an
expressionnot seldom used in the New Testament, denoting close and intimate
union. Philippians 1:1; Philippians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 16:7-11.
The union betweenChrist and his people is comparedto that betweenthe vine
and its branches John 15:1-6, and hence, believers are said to be in him in a
similar sense, as deriving their support from him, and as united in feeling, in
purpose, and destiny. (See the supplementary note at Romans 8:10.) Who
walk. Who conduct, or live. Note, Romans 4:12. Not after the flesh. Who do
not live to gratify the corrupt desires and passions ofthe flesh; Note, Romans
7:18. This is a characteristic ofa Christian. What it is to walk after the flesh
may be seenin Galatians 5:19-21. It follows that a man whose purpose of life
is to gratify his corrupt desires, cannotbe a Christian. Unless he lives not to
gratify his flesh, he can have no evidence of piety. This is a test which is easily
applied; and if every professorof religion were honest, there could be no
danger of mistake, and there need be no doubts about his true character.
But after the Spirit - As the Holy Spirit would lead or prompt. What the Spirit
produces may be seenin Galatians 5:22-23. If a man has these fruits of the
Spirit, he is a Christian; if not, he is a strangerto religion, whateverelse he
may possess. And this test also is easilyapplied.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary

CHAPTER 8
Ro 8:1-39. Conclusionof the Whole Argument—The Glorious Completeness
of Them That Are in Christ Jesus.
In this surpassing chapter the severalstreams of the preceding argument meet
and flow in one "river of the waterof life, clearas crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb," until it seems to lose itself in the oceanof
a blissful eternity.
First: The Sanctificationof Believers (Ro 8:1-13).
1. There is therefore now, &c.—referring to the immediately preceding
context [Olshausen, Philippi, Meyer, Alford, &c.]. The subject with which the
seventh chapter concludes is still under consideration. The scope ofRo 8:1-4 is
to show how "the law of sin and death" is deprived of its powerto bring
believers againinto bondage, and how the holy law of God receives in them
the homage of a living obedience [Calvin, Fraser, Philippi, Meyer, Alford,
&c.].
no condemnation: to them which are in Christ Jesus—As Christ, who "knew
no sin," was, to all legaleffects, "made sin for us," so are we, who believe in
Him, to all legaleffects, "made the righteousnessofGod in Him" (2Co 5:21);
and thus, one with Him in the divine reckoning. there is to such "NO
CONDEMNATION." (Compare Joh3:18; 5:24; Ro 5:18, 19). But this is no
mere legalarrangement: it is a union in life; believers, through the indwelling
of Christ's Spirit in them, having one life with Him, as truly as the head and
the members of the same body have one life.
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit—The evidence of
manuscripts seems to show that this clause formed no part of the original text
of this verse, but that the first part of it was early introduced, and the second
later, from Ro 8:4, probably as an explanatory comment, and to make the
transition to Ro 8:2 easier.Romans8:1-4 Under the gospelwe are free from
condemnation, walking

after the Spirit.
Romans 8:5-8 The evil of being carnally minded, and the goodof being
spiritually minded.
Romans 8:9-11 Christians have God’s Spirit to guide and assistthem,
Romans 8:12,13 by which if they mortify the flesh, they shall live.
Romans 8:14-18 For they that are led by the Spirit are sons of God,
and heirs of glory,
Romans 8:19-22 whose manifestationthe world hath long earnestly
lookedfor, hoping to be rescuedthereby from the
bondage of corruption.
Romans 8:23 And even they who have the first fruits of the Spirit
do still long after it,

Romans 8:24,25 being hitherto savedby hope only,
Romans 8:26,27 the Spirit in the mean time aiding their infirmities
in prayer.
Romans 8:28-30 Neverthelessthe final goodof them that fear God is
all along pursued, being fore-ordainedof God, and
brought about according to the course ofhis providence.
Romans 8:31-39 The ground and assurance ofthe Christian’s hope.
There is therefore now; seeing things are so as I have said, since believers do
not allow themselves in sin, Romans 7:15, and are in part delivered from it, as
Romans 8:25, therefore it follows as it is here.
No condemnation; or no one condemnation. He doth not say, there is no
matter of condemnation, or nothing damnable in them that are in Christ,
there is enough and enough of that; but he says, there is no actual
condemnation to such: see John 3:18 5:24. There is a meiosis in the words,
more is understood than is expressed;he means, that justification and eternal
salvationis the portion of such. The positive is included in the negative; it is

God’s condemnation only, from which such as are in Christ are exempted;
they are nevertheless condemned and censured by men, and sometimes by
their own consciencestoo.
To them which are in Christ Jesus;so we fill it up, but in the original it is
only, to them in Christ Jesus. The phrase imports, that there is a mystical and
spiritual union betweenChrist and believers. This is sometimes expressedby
Christ’s being in them, Romans 8:10 2 Corinthians 13:5 Colossians1:17;and
here by their being in Christ: see 1 Corinthians 1:30 1Jo 5:20. Christ is in
believers by his Spirit, and believers are in Christ by faith.
Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit: this clause describes the
persons who are united to Christ, or who are exempted from condemnation;
they are such as walk not, & c. By flesh understand the corrupt nature that is
in man: see Romans 7:18,25 Joh3:6 Galatians 5:17:to walk after it, is to be
led and guided by the motions of it. That is, it is not their principle and guide,
there is another nature or principle in them, by which they are guided and
acted;and what that is the next words tell you.
By the Spirit some understand the person of the Spirit; others, the grace ofthe
Spirit, the new or divine nature (as it is called) which is implanted in the soul
in the work of regeneration:this is calledthe Spirit, Matthew 26:41 John 3:6
Galatians 5:17. To walk after the Spirit, is to be led and guided by the
counsels and motions thereof. It is to regulate and order the whole
conversationaccording to the rule of the new creature, or according to the
line and square of God’s word and Spirit. You have the same phrase,
Galatians 5:16,25. To walk afterthe Spirit, is not only now and then to have
some goodmotions, or to do some goodactions, but it is to persevere and go
forward therein; walking is a continued and progressive motion. The
connexion of these two shows that negative holiness is not enough; we must
not only abstainfrom evil, but do good.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
There is therefore now, no condemnation,.... The apostle having discoursed
largely in the preceding chapter, concerning the struggle and combatbelievers
feel within themselves, and opened the true causesand reasons ofthe saints'
grievances andcomplaints, and what gives them the greatestuneasiness in this
life, proceeds in this to take notice of the solid ground and foundation they
have of spiritual peace and joy; which arise from their justification and
adoption, the purposes and decrees ofGod, and particularly the everlasting
and unchangeable love of Godin Christ, the source, spring, and security, of all
the blessings ofgrace. The chapter begins with a most comfortable accountof
the safetyof believers in Christ; the apostle does not say there is nothing
condemnable in them, for sin is in them and is condemnable, and condemned
by them; and is hurtful to their spiritual joy and comfort, though it cannot
bring them into condemnation, because oftheir being in Christ Jesus:he says
there is , "not one condemnation" to them, or one sentence of condemnation
againstthem; which must be understood not of illegalones, for they are liable
to many condemnations from their hearts, from the world and the devil; but
of legal, justifiable ones, and there are none such, neither from God the
Father, for he justifies; nor from the Son, for by his righteousness they are
justified; nor from the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to their spirits, that they
are in a state of justification: there is not one condemnation lies againstthem,
with respectto their numerous sins, original and actual, though every sin
deserves one;not one from the law of God, of which sin is a transgression, for
though that is a condemning law, yet it is only so to them that are under it; not
to them that are Christ's, whom he has redeemedfrom it: moreover, the
apostle says, that there is no condemnation now to the saints; which "now"
must not be considered, as if it supposes that there was formerly
condemnation to them; it is true indeed they were under a sentence of
condemnation, as consideredin Adam, and under a covenantof works with
him, and in their ownapprehensions when convicted;but as consideredin
Christ, as the electof God always were, and who was their surety, and so their
security from all eternity, they never were in a state of condemnation: nor
does this suppose, that there may be condemnationto them hereafter, though
not now; for sin, the cause ofcondemnation, is removed; Christ has bore the

condemnation their sins deservedin himself; their justification is from all sin,
past, present, and to come;their union to Christ is indissoluble, and neither
the love of Christ, nor the justice of God, will admit of their condemnation;
for this "now", is not an "adverb" of time, but a "note of illation"; the apostle
inferring this privilege, either from the grace ofGod, which issues in eternal
life, Romans 6:23; or from that certaindeliverance believers shall have from
sin, for which he gives thanks, Romans 7:24; The privilege itself here
mentioned is, "no condemnation": condemnationis sometimes put for the
cause ofit, which is sin, original and actual;now though God's electare
sinners, both by nature and practice, and after conversionhave sin in them,
their sanctificationbeing imperfect, yet there is none in them with respectto
justification; all is transferred to Christ, and he has removed all away;he has
procured the pardon of all by his blood, he has abolished all by his sacrifice,
he justifies from all by his righteousness,and saves his people from all their
sins: condemnation may also be consideredwith respectto guilt; all mankind
are guilty of Adam's sin, and are guilty creatures, as they are actual
transgressors ofthe law; and when convinced by the Spirit of God,
acknowledge themselvesto be so;and upon the repetition of sin, contract
fresh guilt on their consciences;but an heart sprinkled with the blood of
Christ, is clearof guilt; for all the guilt of sin is removed to Christ, and he has
took it away;hence there is no obligation to punishment on them, for whom
Christ died: again, condemnationmay design the sentence of it: now though
the law's sentence passedupon all in Adam, and so upon God's elect, as
consideredin him; yet as this sentence has beenexecutedon Christ, as their
surety, in their room and stead, there is none lies againstthem: once more,
condemnation may mean actualdamnation, or eternal death, the wages ofsin,
which those who are in Christ shall never die; they are ordained to eternal
life, and are redeemedfrom this death; they are made alive by Christ, and
have eternal life securedto them in him, and which they shall certainly enjoy:
the persons interestedin this privilege are described, as such
which are in Christ Jesus;not as mere professors are in Christ, who may be
lost and damned: but this being in Christ, respects eitherthat union and
interest which the electof God have in Christ, from everlasting:being loved
by him with an everlasting love;betrothed to him in a conjugalrelation;

chosenin him before the foundation of the world; united to him as members
to an head; consideredin him in the covenantof grace, whenhe engagedfor
them as their surety; and so they were preserved in him, notwithstanding
their fall in Adam; in time he took upon him their nature, and represented
them in it; they were reckonedin him when he hung upon the cross, was
buried, rose again, and satdown in heavenly places;in consequence ofwhich
union to Christ, and being in him, they are secure from all condemnation: or
this may respectan open and manifestative being in Christ at conversion,
when they become new creatures, pass from death to life, and so shall never
enter into condemnation: hence they stand further described, as such
who walk not after the flesh; by which is meant, not the ceremoniallaw, but
the corruption of nature, or the corrupt nature of man, called"flesh";
because propagatedby carnal generation, has for its objectfleshly things,
discovers itselfmostly in the flesh, and makes persons carnaland fleshly; the
apostle does not say, there is no condemnation to them that have no flesh in
them, for this regenerate persons have;nor to them that are in the flesh, that
is, the body; but who walk not after the flesh, that is, corrupt nature; and it
denotes such, who do not follow the dictates of it, do not make it their guide,
or go on and persistin a continued series of sinning:
but after the spirit, by which is meant, not spiritual worship, in opposition to
carnalordinances; but rather, either a principle of grace, in opposition to
corrupt nature, called"Spirit", from the author, subject, and nature of it; or
the Holy Spirit of God, the efficient cause of all grace:to walk after him, is to
make him our guide, to follow his dictates, influences, and directions; as such
do, who walk by faith on Christ, and in imitation of him, in the ways of
righteousness andholiness; and such persons walk pleasantly, cheerfully, and
safely: now let it be observed, that this walk and conversationofthe saints, is
not the cause of there being no condemnation to them; but is descriptive of the
persons interestedin such a privilege; and is evidential of their right unto it,
as well as of their being in Christ: and it may be further observed, that there
must be union to Christ, or a being in him, before there can be walking after
the Spirit. The phrase, "but after the Spirit", is left out in the Alexandrian
copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions; and the whole description
of the persons in some copies, and in the Ethiopic version.

Jesus was the condemnation eliminator

Jesus was the condemnation eliminator

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was the condemnation eliminator

Similar to Jesus was the condemnation eliminator (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was the condemnation eliminator