II. DOCTRINAL (INPUTTED RIGHTEOUSNESS)--1:18-8:39
C. SANCTIFICATION--5:12-8:39 (Part III)
5. Powerful sanctification--8:1-39
a. The glorious work of the Holy
Spirit--vv. 1-17
(I) The new law--vv.
1-4
(A)
No condemnation--v. 1
(1) Our glorious position
(2) Statement ends with "Christ Jesus"
(a) KJV ends with "who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit."
(b) The reasons for the exclusion
((I)) The manuscript evidence
it is said to be overwhelming for its omission.
((II)) The inclusion would
make our security based on our walk rather than God.
((III)) It is, according
to some, to be an evident copying from verse 4.
((IV)) It inclusion was a
gloss by a copyist who may have legal fears.
(c) The reasons for inclusion.
((I)) Though the majority
of manuscripts omit it, its inclusion does not really affect our
security.
((II)) It can be argued,
and rightly so, that those who "are in Christ Jesus" will "not walk after
the
flesh, but
after the Spirit."
((III)) There is "no
condemnation" to the believers, for they are IN Christ Jesus; their walk
should
therefore
correspond; it may be that is what the KJV translators had in mind when they
left the
phrase in.
(3) Comparison with Chapters 6 & 7
(a) 6:2-6
((I)) Identification with
Christ in His death
((II)) Result: newness
of life
(b) 7:4-6
((I)) Identification with
Christ in His death to the Law
((II)) Result: fruit
to God
(c) 8:1ff.
((I)) The power of the
Holy Spirit to get the required result
((II)) The two required results
((A)) Newness
of life
((B)) Fruit
to God
(B)
The Holy Spirit's relation to the Law--vv. 2-4
(1) The Spirit's Law--v. 2
(a) Answers the problem in Chapter 7
(b) Sets us free from law of sin and death
(2) The weakness of the Mosaic Law--v. 3a
(a) Weak through the flesh, not in itself
(b) Has no power to lift us
(c) Dependent on the .flesh
(3) The Sending of God's Son--v, 3b
(a) In likeness of flesh of sin
((I)) Without sin--Hebrews
4:15
((II)) Knew no sin--2 Corinthians
5:21
((III)) Did no sin--I Peter
2.22
((IV)) In Him was no sin--1
John 3:5
(b) To judge sin in the.flesh
((I)) I Peter 2: 24
((II)) Sin now has no right
to hold us in its power.
(c) With power to lift us
(d) Dependent on God's love and grace
(4) The walk of the believer--v. 4.
(a) Fulfills the righteousness of the law
(b) The Christian life
((I)) Not a flight
((II)) Not a train ride
((III)) A walk--step by step
process
(c) Not in the flesh, but in the Spirit
(d) Illus.: Peter walking on the water
(II) The new struggle--vv.
5-13
(A)
Carnality versus spirituality--vv. 5-9
(1) Carnality
(a) Follows the things of the flesh--Gal.
5:19-21
(b) Is death
(c) Old nature active
((I)) A spiritual communist
((II)) Often
((A))
Cultured
((B))
Well-mannered
((C)) Even
apparently selfless
((III)) Enmity to God
((IV)) Not subject to or
able to be subject to God's law
((V)) Incapable of
pleasing God
(2) Spirituality
(a) Minds the things of the Spirit
(b) Is life and peace
(c) New nature active
((I)) .Lives in a new
sphere
((A)) The
Holy Spirit
((B)) 1
Corinthians 3:16
((C)) 1
Corinthians 6:19
((II)) No new nature without
the Spirit--v. 9b
(B)
Body versus Spirit--vv. 10, 11
(1) 1st class condition--"And since Christ be in you"
(2) Body dead due to sin
(3) Spirit alive due to righteousness (Christ's not ours)
(4) The future prospect--v. 11
(a) The body shall be made alive.
(b) Quickened
((I)) By the Father
((II)) Through the agency
of the Holy Spirit
((III)) Thus, the Father
raised up Christ, not the Spirit
(c) Paul considers this topic later--vv .23ff.
(C)
Flesh versus Spirit--vv. 12, 13
(1) Flesh
(a) Not debtors to it--cf. 1 Peter 4:2
(b) Result of living after it
((I)) Death--ye are about
to die.
((II)) A reference to sin
unto death (?)
((A)) Cf.
1 John 5:16, 17
((B)) Cf.
1 Corinthians 11:28-30
(2) Spirit
(a) Put to death
((I)) Present tense
((II)) Practical side of
Romans 6:11
((III)) By the Spirit, not
by ourselves
(b) Results in life
(III) The new man--vv.
14-17
(A)
Sons of God--v. 14
(1) Sonship is emphasized here.
(2) Sonship is being proved.
(3) Proof is being Spirit led.
(B)
The work of the Spirit--vv. 15, 16
(1) Adopting work
(a) Placing as sons
(b) Cf. Ephesians 1:5
(c) A positional term
(2) Witnessing work
(a) To our spirits
(b) Of the fact of our new birth
(C)
Children of God--vv. 16, 17
(1) Compared with "sons"
(a) Sonship shows our
((I)) Position
((II)) Privileges
(b) Children shows our place as born-ones.
(2) Heirship
(a) Of Christ
(b) Of believers
((I)) Based on being born
again
((II)) Cf. Galatians 4:7
(3) Suffering to glorification
(a) Suffering leads to Glory.
(b) Christ is the example.
(c) This serves as an introduction to the next
section.
b. Conformation to the righteous One--vv.
18-39
(I) The new creation--vv.
18-22
(A)
Present suffering versus coming glory--vv. 18, 19
(1) Present can't be compared that which is coming--v. 18
(a) 2 Corinthians 4:17
(b) We should be looking for that day.
(c) In us--"We shall be included in the radiance
of the coming glory" (Robertson, 375) , not be
merely spectators of
it.
(d) Notice again the word "reckon"--count it
to be so.
(e) The grand teaching of this verse is
that the glory to follow, of which we shall be partakers, is so
great, so stupendous, that
our present sufferings are nothing in comparison!
(2) The waiting creation--v. 19
(a) The earnest expectation of the whole
of creation
((I)) The whole creation--both
animate and inanimate
((II)) Earnest expectation--"to
watch eagerly with outstretched head" (Robertson, 375)
(b) Waits it out
(c) The manifestation of the sons of
God
((I)) See
((A)) 1 John
3:2
((B)) Colossians
3:4
((II)) Newell, 320--"Now
the saints are wrapped up in the common brown paper of flesh,
looking outwardly
1ike other folks. But the whole creation is waiting for their unveiling
at
Christ's
coming, for they are connected with Christ, one with Him, and are to be glorified
with
Him
at His coming.” (Italics are his.)
(B)
The present status of creation
(1) Waiting--v. 19
(2) Cursed--Genesis 3:17-19
(3) Subject to vanity
(a) A rare word often found in the LXX meaning
"empty" or "unattained"
(b)Thus, subject to failure of reaching
the fulfillment of its purpose
(c) Cf. the book of Ecclesiastes
(4) Groaning and travailing
(a) Verse 22
(b) Two rare words used only and picturing nature
in the pangs of childbirth
(c) No progress here, but rather decay, death,
corruption
(C)
Creation yet to be made new
(1) Verse 21
(2) Deliverance is from the bondage of death, disease,
decay; destruction shall come for all creation.
(3) Deliverance will come at Christ's second coming, i.
e., the glorious liberty of the Children of God.
(4) See
(a) Revelation 21:1
(b) 2 Peter 3:13
(c) Also Isaiah 11:6-9 which speaks of the
millennium
(II) The new body--vv.
23-25
(A)
The firstfruits
(1) A sample
(2) Illus.: feast of firstfruits in the Old
Testament
(3) A guarantee of more beyond
(B)
The firstfruits of the Spirit
(1) The presence of the Spirit within our bodies is a
sample of what is to come.
(2) The presence of the Spirit in our bodies
(a) Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19
(b) The guarantee of more beyond
(3) Shows that our redemption is not yet complete
(C)
The adoption
(1) Spoken of earlier in v. 15
(2) Here applied to the redeeming of our bodies
(3) Yet future
(4) Our expectation
(a) Saved by hope, unto hope
(b) We have not yet, nor has creation, experienced
redemption from the groanings and travails of
our earthy existence.
(c) But our hope is to be so redeemed
(d) This hope is unseen as yet; otherwise, it
would no longer be hope for.
(e) This hope produces patient waiting.
((I)) Not patience in the
abstract
((II)) "But patient waiting
for the coming liberty of the glory of the children
of God."--Newell,
325 (Italics
are his.)
(f) This expectation should give us a tenderness
toward all creatures, not just man.
(5) Cf. Philippians 3:21
(6) This truth forever answers those who would deny a physical
reality to the hereafter.
(III) The new
Intercessor--v. 26, 27
(A)
The Help of the Holy Spirit--v. 26a
(1) Not infirmities, but infirmity--infirmity is our lot
(2) He helps our weakness, not helps to bear it.
(3) We do not know what or how to pray.
(a) The matter of prayer
(b) The form and manner of prayer--"Oh
beware of glib and intimate chatter of the 'Modernist'
preacher in his
prayers! He would flatter both the Almighty and his hearers,
and most of all
himself, in his 'beautiful'
and 'eloquent' addresses to God!"--Newell, 326 (Italics are his.)
(c) The real saint has the "sense of utter
and boundless need, and along with this the sense of
ignorance and
inability."--Newell, 326 (Italics are his.)
(4) The Spirit's help
(a) To pray as we ought
(b) Groans are His, not ours.
(c) Unutterable, not unuttered
(B)
The intercessory work of the Holy Spirit--vv. 26, 27
(1) The unutterable groanings
(a) Heard by God the Father
(b) Prayer of God to God
(c) Expresses
((I)) The vastness of
our
((A)) Need
((B)) Utter
ignorance
((C))
Inability
((II)) The infinite concern
of the Spirit for us
(d) Inexpressible
((I)) Our minds know nothing
of these vast needs which we have.
((II)) We could not express
those needs if we knew them.
(2) Intercedes for us
(a) In behalf of
(b) In the interest of
(c) For the welfare of
(3) The Searcher of hearts
(a) Not the Holy Spirit here
(b) God the Father searches the heart to know
the mind of the indwelling Spirit concerning that saint
for whom the Spirit is groaning
that He, God the Father, might supply that need.
(c) NOTE: As in the plan of salvation.,
so also here: God the Father is the Source; Christ is the
Channel; and the Holy Spirit
is the Agent.
(4) "According to God," say some, not as Authorized Version,
"the will of God." (It seems that this is
quibbling, for if it God's will, it is
according to God; however, it should be noted that the phrase "to
the will of " is in italics which means the
translators supplied it.)
(a) The all-inclusiveness of this phrase
((I)) According to His nature--we
are partakers thereof
((II)) According to our needs--He
discerns them even we don't
((III)) According to our
dangers--He sees them ahead of time
((IV)) According to His desires
for us--in view of His will
(IV) The new purpose
of God--vv. 28-34
(A)
For the believer's good-v. 28
(1) "And we know that to those who love God, all things work
together to good, to those who are called
according to His purpose."--cpc
(2) We know
(a) By perception, not experience (although
experience confirms it)
(b) Christianity is always a "know so" faith.
(c) Newell, 328, footnote; italics are his.--"As
for the 'Modernist,' his shallow, ignorant, blatant boast
is, 'We do not know;
we are not sure,' thus giving continual open evidence that he does
not
belong to that company of
whom John writes: 'We know that the Son of God is come,
and hath
given us an understanding,
that we know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in
His Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God and eternal life.'"
(3) To those who love God
(a) Always a designation of the saved
ones
(b) Cf. 1 John 4:19
(c) Cannot work up this love; it only comes through
having trusted Jesus Christ as personal Savior--
cf. 1 John 4:16
(4) All things
(a) Not some things
(b) Not just good things
(c) Context--vv. 35ff.--shows that adverse things
may be in view.
(d) But all things
((I)) Dark things
((II)) Bright things
((III)) Happy things
((IV)) Sad things
((V)) Sweet things
((VI)) Bitter things
((VII)) Times of
prosperity
((VIII)) Times of
adversity
((IX)) Health
((X)) Sickness
((XI)) Life
((XII)) Death
(5) Work together
(a) Some manuscripts add "God" as the subject
of this verse--Thus "God works all things together."
(b) The wonderful control of God’s
providence even of infinitesimal items
(c) "Reveals to us a Divine providence that is
absolutely limitless!" (Newell, 329)
(d) We do not always see the connection between
the all things. (Consider the backside of a
tapestry; all you see is
a bunch of tangled threads; but turn it around and you will see the
pattern.)
(e) Cf. Ephesians 1:11
(6) For good
(a) For
((I)) Towards
((II)) To bring about
(b) Good
((I)) Advantage
((II)) Ultimate good
((III)) Excelling in any
respect
(7) To them that are called
(a) A further definition of those who love
God
(b) Called
((I)) Not in the sense of
invited
((II)) Effectually called
((III)) Involves God's sovereign
election
((IV)) "Here 'the called'
are seen to be a company whose mark is neither religious response nor
of
intellectual apprehending; but the electing grace of God which
has so marked out the
sphere their
being that they are named 'the called.'"--(Newell. 329, footnote refering
to 1
Corinthians
1:24 )
(8) According to His purpose
(a) "Meditation upon the purpose of the
eternal God greatens [sic] every soul thus occupied. God is
infinite; man, a bit of
dust. If God had a purpose, a fixed intention, it will
come to pass, for He has
limitless resources."--(Newell,
330)
(b) Purpose
((I)) Used twelve times in
the New Testament
((II)) An intelligent decision
which the will is bent to accomplish
((III)) Man often fails to
achieve his purpose.
((IV)) God never fails in
His purpose.
((V)) God's purpose is clearly
seen in vv. 29, 30
((VI)) See
((A)) Ephesians
3:11
((B)) 2 Timothy
1:9
(B)
God's purpose guarantees the salvation of believers--vv. 29, 30
(1) Preliminary remarks
(a) God's work, not ours
(b) The Scripture plainly and clearly teaches
man's free will--"Whosoever will may come."
(c) The Scripture also plainly teaches "the purpose
of God" is "according to which He works
effectually; and all His
elect are brought safely in . . . ." (Newell, 331) Thus, it teaches
we are
elected of God.
(d) "Do not try to mix the two things"; nor most
"emphatically we say, do not try to 'reconcile' them!"
(Newell, 331)
(e) "Profitless controversy and partisan feeling
will be the only result. Who told us to 'reconcile' in
our" puny, "little minds,
these seemingly contradictory things? Have we ceased to believe where
we do not understand?"
"Every system of theology undertakes to subject the words of
God to
categories and catalogs of
the human intellect [This is not to say we should not try to
systematize
doctrines]. Now, if
you undertake to 'reconcile' God's sovereign election with His free
offer of
salvation to all, you must
sacrifice one truth or the other. Our poor minds may not 'reconcile'
them both, but our
faith knows them both, and holds both to be true!" (Newell,
331; italics are
his.)
(f) In geometry, parallel lines are supposed
to meet in infinity; likewise, these two great truths, instead
of being contradictory, are
parallel, and meet in the infinite God.
(2) The steps
(a) Foreknowledge
((I)) Aorist active of old
verb, "to know before"
((II)) Not "What" but "Whom"
He foreknew
((III)) Note: this
is not a passive word here, but an active one.
((IV)) If it were passive
then those who hold that "God saw beforehand what some would be or
do" would
be right.
((V)) In this passage the
word is not on1y active but deals with persons, not their conduct or
state.
((VI)) This foreknowing ,
then, carries with it the idea of choosing--which choosing is apart
from
any merit
on our part.
((VII)) This same word is
used in 1 Peter 1:20 in this very sense.
((VIII)) This latter idea
conforms to other Scripture.
((A)) Ephesians
1:4, 5
((B)) Cf.
1 Corinthians 1:27, 28
((C)) 2 Timothy
1:9
((D)) 1 Peter
1:2
(b) Predestination
((I)) The reason why all
things work together for good
((II)) Not unto salvation
((III)) To be conformed to
Jesus Christ
((A))
Negatively--Romans 12:2a
((B))
Positively--Philippians 3:10
((IV)) Foreordained--marking
out a destiny
((V)) Image
(eikon)
((A)) Likeness,
not exact imprint
((B)) Example:
my children have my likeness
((VI)) Conformed
(summorphe)--to form with or to
((VII)) First-born among
many brethren
((A)) Does
not mean that He is a being something less than God
((B)) Has
to do with preeminence
((1)) Cf. Colossians 1:15-18
((2)) Hebrews1:1-4
(c) Called
((I)) Those whom God foreknew,
He foreordained, and then He called them.
((II)) Aorist active
((A)) Shows
that it is already a completed act
((B)) Shows
that God does the calling
((III)) Means more than
invited--as can be seen from the context
((IV)) Not only invited,
but made effectual so that such ones believed
(d) Justified
((I)) "Yet in God's counsels
are all His elect already before Him. accounted
righteous--justified."
--Newell,
333 (Italics are his.)
((II)) Made effective to
you at the moment you believed
((III)) Keep in mind that
the Apostle Paul is "speaking entirely of God's acts on the
behalf of the
believer;
he says nothing now of that faith through which this justification
is" on the part of the
believer,
obtained--Alford, 399; italics are his.)
(e) Glorified
((I)) The grand conclusion
to this series
((II)) "None has yet been
glorified in manifestation. Indeed, Christ Himself has not yet been
'manifested';
although He has entered His glory. And it is in this glorified Christ
that God chose
us long
ago,--before the foundation of the world! God, who could thus
connect us with Christ,
can also
say of us, I have glorified them! And so the saints go on to
a glory already true of
them by the
word of their God!" (Newell, 333)
((III)) Thus, we are completely
and irrevocably clothed with glory--thus, we have an assurance
that nothing
can separate us from God.
(f) "I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me; It was not
I that found, O Saviour true;
No, I was found of Thee." "Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and
mine enfold; I walked and
sank not on the storm-vexed sea; 'Twas not so much that I on Thee
took hold, As Thou, dear
Lord, on me." (Anonymous)
(C)
The purpose of God leads to the security of the believer--vv.
31-34
(1) God is with us--vv. 31 ,32
(a) What shall we say to these things?
((I)) In view is certainly
the purpose of God as presented in vv. 29-30.
((II)) May also include the
whole teaching of salvation and sanctification--Chapters 3-8
((III)) Many have said poor,
lamentable things to these things--by so much they show their
unbelief.
(b) Since God is for us
((I)) God is for us so much
that He spared not His own Son.
((II)) "The Creator or the
universe, the upholder or all things, the Redeemer God Himself,
for
us!"--Newell,
336; italics are his.
((III)) "Place the emphasis
here where God places it--on this great word 'for.' God is for
His
elect. They
have failed, but He is for them. They are ignorant, but He is
for them. They have
not yet brought
much fruit, but He is for them. If our hearts once surrender
to the stupendous
fact that there are those whom God will eternally be
for, that there is an electing act and
attitude of
God, in which He eternally commits Himself to His elect,--without
conditions,
without
requirements; whose lives do not at. all affect the fact that God is
for them--then we
shall be ready
to magnify the God of all grace!"--Newell, 334 -335; italics
are his.
(c) Who is against us?
((I)) Puny Satan?
((II)) People?
((III)) Ideologies?
(d) In the light of the cross
((I)) He spared not His own
Son.
((A)) "Who
as much as this"--that is, went to the lengths of not sparing His own
Son
((B)) Spared
not
((1)) Aorist tense signifying a once-for-all act on God's part
((2)) Middle voice signifying a reflexive idea--God did not spare
Himself
((3)) Verb used in LXX for the offering up of Isaac--Genesis
22:16
((II)) For us delivered up
His Son
((A)) Romans
4:25
((B)) Unto
what "Gainsaying, mocking. spitting, scourging, crucifying--by men;
and to the
awful cup of wrath for our sins at God's hand--infinitely
more appalling that any creature
stroke!"-- Newell, 336-337; italics are his.
((C)) For
us--in our behalf , or in our stead
((III)) How shall He not
also with Him freely give all things?
((A)) "How
can it be that He will not?" (Newell, 337)
((B)) Also
with Him
((1)) In consequence of and in analogy with this His greatest
gift
((2)) "The great gift, the unspeakable gift, being made, all must follow!"
(Newell, 337)
((C)) Freely
gives all things
((1)) God is in the business of giving.
((2)) All things--"All that we need or hope for; or even more largely
, all created things . . ."
--Alford, 400 (cf. v. 28 and 1 Corinthians 3:22)
((3)) "This verse is a great feeder of faith!" (Newell, 337)
(2) No one can bring a charge against God's elect--v. 33.
(a) God;s elect are in view.
(b) "God's elect not only believe, but are
confident! For there can be no charge laid against them."--
Newell, 337; italics are
his.
(c) God's elect "boldly challenge any
and every foe, concerning any possible charge against them
before God! It is not
that those triumphing are without fault in themselves--they know that!
But
God is for them!"
(Newell, 337; italics are his.)
(d) Note: this election is not according
to works--cf. Romans 9:11
(e) Charge
((I)) A court term
((II)) Paul uses it that
way.
(f) Judge is impugned when someone charges the
elect--"Here the emphasis is upon God. He is the
Judge; and He has declared
His elect,--those' of faith in Jesus,' righteous. Now
will any
condemn? Shall any
stand before God's High Court and condemn whom He has justified?"
(Newell, 338; italics are
his.)
((I)) "Never!"
(Ibid.)
((II)) Satan may try,
particularly in our consciences--Revelation 12:10.
(3) No one can condemn God's Elect--v. 34.
(a) Cf. Romans 8:1
(b) The answer to the question "Who is he that
condemns?"
((I)) By implication, no
one
((II)) The twofold work of
Christ
((A)) The
finished work
((1)) Death once-for-all
((2)) Resurrected once -for-all
((B)) The
present work
((1)) Seated at God's right hand--cf. Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3;
Hebrews 8:1;
Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2; and Colossians 3:1
((2)) Continual intercession for us
((3)) Notice: "In verse 22, the indwelling Spirit is making
intercession for the saints; in
verse 31, God is for us; in verse 34, Christ
Jesus is making intercession for us. What a
wonderful salvation this is, in which all three persons
of the Trinity are constantly
occupied in our behalf !"--Newell, 339; italics are
his.
((4)) And yet there are people who say that you can lose your
salvation.
(V) The new security
of the believer--vv. 35-39
(A)
Seen in being conquerors--vv. 35-37
(1) The person involved--v. 35
(a) Who shall separate us?
((I)) But Paul enumerates
things
((II)) Newell, 339--"It is
plain that in the word 'Who' he has in mind the great enemy who
opposes 'things' to God's saints! Satan is 'prince of
this world' and 'god of this age'."
(b) The things this person opposes against us
((I)) Tribulation
((A)) Occurs
37 times "to denote troubles that afflict the saints,--because of the
gospel!"
(Newell, 339; italics are his.)
((B)) The
word means "a pressing together."
((II)) Distress
((A)) It means
"a narrow space."
((B)) Thus,
anguish or extreme affliction
((III)) Persecution
((A)) Occurs
ten times and always in reference to the gospel
((B)) Means--to
run swiftly to catch
((C)) The
result of following Jesus Christ
((IV)) Famine
((A)) Used
in the New Testament twelve times.
((B)) Only
twice in reference to saints (here and 2 Corinthians 11:27)
((C)) Relief
should come from other saints, not a government agency. (cf Acts 11:28;
James
2:15, 16)
((D)) However,
the God of Elijah still takes care of His own.
((V)) Nakedness
((A)) Used
of want for clothing
((B)) Cf .
1 Corinthians 4:11
((VI)) Peril
((A)) Has
meaning of jeopardy or danger
((B)) Cf.
2 Corinthians 11:26; 1 Corinthians 15:30
((VII)) Sword
((A)) First
use occurs against Christ--Matthew 26:47
((B)) Cf.
Acts 12:2; Hebrews 11:37
((VIII)) NOTE: THESE THINGS
ARE INCLUDED IN THE ALL THINGS OF ROMANS
8:28.
(c) The word "separate"
((I)) Literally:
space
((II)) Thus,"Can anyone put
a distance between Christ's love and us? Can anyone lead Christ to
cease loving
us?"--Robertson, 379
(2) The Scriptural Proof--v. 36
(a) Psalm 44:22
(b) This Psalm describes the "terrible hunting
down by the Antichrist of the godly remnant of Israel in
the days of the Great
Tribulation." --Newell, 342
(c) Paul here applies it to believers--This
persecution is in this day more psychological and mental
rather than physical, at
least in this country and for the time being.
(d) Newell rightly states: "Let the saints
rouse quickly from these false dreams of 'peace.' The saints
are sheep for
slaughter! Name yourselves among them, and cease contending for
your 'rights' in
a world that has cast out
Christ! Persecution is shaping itself up again throughout
christendom--
yea, even in the United States.
Intolerance unto death for any who will not bow to a totalitarian
state is ready, as in the
days of the Roman emperors (who demanded worship) to assert itself,--
is
asserting itself throughout
the world. This 'totalitarian' movement is setting the stage for
Antichrist
more rapidly than you dream!
Therefore get ready. Put up over your mirror the motto: 'I
am
Christ's: a sheep for
slaughter.'" (page 343; italics are his.)
((I)) We see signs of this
in our country practically every day. The ACLU is trying to do Bible
believing
Christians in every way possible. They are, of course, not alone
in their opposition to
those of us
who believe the Bible.
((II)) In the meantime, at
least in this country (USA) we do have the right to stand up for the truth
of the
Word of God and not give in to mental and psychological pressures to
cave.
((III)) The time is coming,
if the Lord should tarry, that we may be thrown into jail for speaking
out against
the wrongs of our day. Some of the recent Supreme Court decisions,
if carried out
without any
further stopping of them, could lead to untold persecution in this
country (USA).
BEWARE AND
BE PREPARED!
(3) The plea--v. 37
(a) What a contrast: "'Sheep for slaughter' naming
themselves more than conquerors." (Newell, 343;
bold type is his.)
(b) Three things here (Newell, 343; bold type
is his.)
((I)) "We are conquerors
in all this terrible situation, in all these things."
((II)) "We are more
than conquerors."
((III)) "It is altogether
through Him that loved us, and not through human energy of any
kind,
that we are
more than conquerors."
(c) More Than Conquerors
((I)) Victors in every
difficulty
((II)) "It is to know that
Divine, and therefore infinite, power has been engaged for us in the
conflict."
(Newell, 343-344)
((III)) "It is the absolute
confidence that this infinite and thus limitless Divine help is granted to
us
against any
possible future emergency." (Newell, 344)
((IV)) "It is to 'divide
the spoil' over any foe, after victory!"--cf. Isaiah 53:12 (Newell, 344)
(d) Through Him that loved us
((I)) Conquerors in the mighty
name of Jesus
((II)) Loved us
((A)) Past
tense--actually aorist
((B)) Loved
us once-for-all
((C)) Salvation
verses almost invariably use the past tense in connection with God's love.
((D)) Newell,
344--"It is this past tense gospel the devil hates," for it was on the cross,
"where
the love of God and of Christ was once for all
and supremely set forth,--and in righteous
display!" (Italics are his.)
(B)
The grand conclusion--vv. 38, 39
(1) Preliminary
(a) The"for" introduces the reason for the security
of the believer.
(b) The argument
((I)) Everything that happens
is the result of creation.
((II)) We have the Creator
on our side.
((III)) Therefore, there
is nothing to fear.
(2) The word "persuaded"
(a) A heart word
(b) A person may know something without being
persuaded of it.
(c) Perfect tense--I have been and still am
persuaded.
(d) Literally means "to bind"
(e) "To know a Bible truth you have only to read
it: To be 'persuaded of it in the Lord Jesus' involves
second, the fact, first,
that the truth in question touches your own personal safety before God;
and, that your heart has
so been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and your will so won over--
'persuaded' that
confidence, heart-satisfied persuasion results."--Newell, 345;
italics are his.
(3) Death nor life
(a) Not as often misquoted : “life or
death"
(b) To those believers who are instructed death
has no fear. (Note: Newell, 346)--cf. Hebrews 2:14,
15
(c) "Life is so much more difficult than death!"
Yet no "circumstance of life" can "separate us from"
the "love of God in
Christ" Jesus. (Newell, 346)
(4) Angels
(a) Elect angels--those who serve God continually
(b) Fallen angels--those who followed Satan in
his fall
(5) Principalities
(a) The meaning of this term is uncertain.
(b) It may well be that this word refers
primarily to bad angels while the word angels itself to good
angels.
(c) However the word archai is used in
a good sense.
(d) The word might refer to the chief rulers
of towns or providences.
(6) Things present
(a) Satan deals in things present.
(b) Cf. Job, Chapters 1 and 2
(c) But things don't come to stay; they come
to pass.
(7) Things future
(a) Satan deals in things future, also.
(b) How often he tries, and, sad to say, succeeds
in getting us to worry about the future.
(c) David and Elijah were dealt with this way.
(8) Powers
(a) The word is dunamis, energy.
(b) Though it may refer to world governments,
it almost certainly refers to the real power behind
world rulers, Satan and his
crew.
(c) Newell, 347--"Al1 kinds of bewitchment,
sorcery, necromancy, 'evil eye,' and 'mystic spells' cast
upon people are included.
Now I know that sorcery, the 'evil eye,' 'spells,' are potent over
the
unsaved. But, it is
a sad fact that many dear saints are troubled by these things. They
are afraid
--
of Friday the thirteenth, of passing under a ladder, of seeing
a black cat, of breaking a mirror!
Now this simply leaves
God out! Who rules in earth's affairs, Satan or God?" (Italics
are his.)
(9) Height nor depth
(a) Afraid of the vastness of the
universe?
(b) Afraid of the smallness of atomic
particles?
(c) Afraid of cliffs or chasms?
(10) Any other created thing
(a) That takes care of everything including
oneself.
(b) Newell, 348--"That should banish all our
fears, no matter what they be. The ability of the human
heart to conjure up possible
trouble and disaster is without limit, it seems."
(11) Nothing can separate the believer from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(a) God's love for us is as great as His
love for His Son.
(b) "Notice that this love of God is
in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Newell, 348; italics are his.)
((I)) Newell, 245 (and quotations
that follow)--"Every advance in the glorious truth of salvation is
marked by
Christ's own Name!"
((A)) "His
being 'set forth' by God as Christ Jesus--a propitiation through faith in
His blood
(3.24, 25)"
((B)) "raised
as Jesus our Lord from the dead (4.24)"
((C)) "our
exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5.11)"
((D)) "grace
reigning through righteousness and eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord
(5.21)"
((E)) "reckoning
ourselves dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus (6.11)"
((F)) "The
gift of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6.23)"
((G)) Victory
through Jesus Christ our Lord (7:25)
((H)) "And,
at last, no separation 'from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord'
(8.39)."(Italics are his.)
(12) NOTICE: CHAPTER OPENS WITH "NO CONDEMNATION" AND
CLOSES WITH "NO
SEPARATION."
(13) And yet some of God's people think "it is a mark
of humility to doubt the security of God's elect."
"If you are troubled with doubts, go and
sit down on the sinner's seat, and say. 'God declares
righteous the ungodly who trust Him. I
renounce all thoughts of my own righteousness, and as a
sinner I trust the God who raised Christ
from the dead,--who was delivered up for my trespasses.'
This is the path our God in Romans shows us.
Uncertainty about election arises from some kind of
se1f-righteousness.” (Newell, 348,
349; italics are his.)