Rom 7:25-8:3 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 25. I thank God . That is, I thank God for effecting a deliverance to which I am myself incompetent. There is a way of I of rescue, and trace it altogether to his mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. What conscience could not do, what the law could not do, what unaided human strength could not do, has been accomplished by the plan the gospel; and complete deliverance can be expected there, and there alone. This is the point to which all his reasoning had tended; and having thus shown that the law was insufficient to effect this deliverance, he is now prepared to utter the language of Christian thankfulness that it can be effected by the gospel. The superiority of the gospel to the law, in overcoming all the evils under which man labours, is thus triumphantly established. Comp. . So then . As the result of the whole inquiry we have come to this conclusion. With the mind . With the understanding, the conscience, the purposes or intentions of the soul. This is a characteristic of the renewed nature. Of no impenitent sinner could it be ever affirmed that with his mind he served the law of God. I myself . It is still the same person, though acting in this apparently contradictory manner. Serve the law of God . Do honour to it as a just and holy law, ( ) and am inclined to obey it, . But with the flesh . The corrupt propensities and lusts, . The law of sin . That is, in the members. The flesh throughout, in all its native propensities and passions, leads to sin; it has no tendency to holiness; and its corruptions cart be overcome only by the grace of God. We have thus (1.) a view of the sad and painful conflict between sin and God. They are opposed in all things. (2.) We see the raging, withering effect of sin on the soul. In all circumstances it tends to death and woe. (3.) We see the feebleness of the law and of conscience to overcome this. The tendency of both is to produce conflict and woe. And (4.) we see that the gospel only can overcome sin. To us it should be a subject of ever-increasing thankfulness, that what could not be accomplished by the law can be thus effected by the gospel; and that God has devised a plan that thus effects complete deliverance, and which gives to the captive in sin an everlasting triumph. (e) "I thank God"

Romans 7:25

Verse 25. I thank God. That is, I thank God for effecting a deliverance to which I am myself incompetent. There is a way of I of rescue, and trace it altogether to his mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. What conscience could not do, what the law could not do, what unaided human strength could not do, has been accomplished by the plan the gospel; and complete deliverance can be expected there, and there alone. This is the point to which all his reasoning had tended; and having thus shown that the law was insufficient to effect this deliverance, he is now prepared to utter the language of Christian thankfulness that it can be effected by the gospel. The superiority of the gospel to the law, in overcoming all the evils under which man labours, is thus triumphantly established. Comp. 1Cor 15:57.

So then. As the result of the whole inquiry we have come to this conclusion.

With the mind. With the understanding, the conscience, the purposes or intentions of the soul. This is a characteristic of the renewed nature. Of no impenitent sinner could it be ever affirmed that with his mind he served the law of God.

I myself. It is still the same person, though acting in this apparently contradictory manner.

Serve the law of God. Do honour to it as a just and holy law, (Rom 7:12,16) and am inclined to obey it, Rom 7:22,24.

But with the flesh. The corrupt propensities and lusts, Rom 7:18.

The law of sin. That is, in the members. The flesh throughout, in all its native propensities and passions, leads to sin; it has no tendency to holiness; and its corruptions cart be overcome only by the grace of God. We have thus

(1.) a view of the sad and painful conflict between sin and God. They are opposed in all things.

(2.) We see the raging, withering effect of sin on the soul. In all circumstances it tends to death and woe.

(3.) We see the feebleness of the law and of conscience to overcome this. The tendency of both is to produce conflict and woe. And

(4.) we see that the gospel only can overcome sin. To us it should be a subject of ever-increasing thankfulness, that what could not be accomplished by the law can be thus effected by the gospel; and that God has devised a plan that thus effects complete deliverance, and which gives to the captive in sin an everlasting triumph.

(e) "I thank God" 1Cor 15:57

Romans 8:1-3

ROMANS CHAPTER 8

INTRODUCTION

THIS chapter is one of the most interesting and precious portions of the sacred Scriptures. Some parts of it are attended with great difficulties; but its main scope and design is apparent to all. It is a continuation of the subject discussed in the previous chapter, and is intended mainly to show that the gospel could effect what the law was incapable of doing. In that chapter the apostle had shown that the law was incapable of producing sanctification or peace of mind. He had traced its influence on the mind in different conditions, and shown that, equally before regeneration and afterwards, it was incapable of producing peace and holiness. Such was man, such were his propensities, that the application of law only tended to excite, to irritate, to produce conflict. The conscience, indeed, testified to the law that it was good; but still it had shown that it was not adapted to produce holiness of heart and peace, but agitation, conflict, and a state of excited sin. In opposition to this, he proceeds to show in this chapter the power of the gospel to produce that which the law could not. In doing this, he illustrates the subject by several considerations.

(1.) The gospel does what the law could not do in giving life, and delivering from condemnation, Rom 8:1-13.

(2.) It produces a spirit of adoption, and all the blessings which result from the filial confidence with which we can address God as our Father, in opposition to the law which produced only terror and alarm, Rom 8:14-17.

(3.) It sustains the soul amidst its captivity to sin, and its trials, with the hope of a future deliverance--a complete and final redemption of the body from all the evils of this life, Rom 8:18-25.

(4.) It furnishes the aid of the Holy Spirit to sustain us in our trials and infirmities, Rom 8:26,27.

(5.) It gives the assurance that all things shall work together for good, since all things are connected with the purpose of God; and all that can occur to a Christian comes in as a part of the plan of him who has resolved to save him, Rom 8:28-30.

(6.) It ministers consolation from the fact that everything that can affect the happiness of man is on the side of the Christian, and will co-operate in his favour; as, e.g.

(a) God, in giving his Son, and in justifying the believer,

Rom 8:31-33.

(b) Christ, in dying, and rising, and interceding for Christians,

Rom 8:34.

that nothing can separate him from it, Rom 8:35-39. By all

these considerations the superiority of the gospel to the law

is shown, and assurance is given to the believer of his final

salvation. By this interesting and conclusive train of

reasoning, the apostle is prepared for the triumphant language

of exultation with which he closes this most precious portion

of the word of God.

Verse 1. There is, therefore, now. This is connected with the closing verses of chapter 7. The apostle had there shown that the law could not effect deliverance from sin, but that such deliverance was to be traced to the gospel alone, Rom 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 anywhere, for the contrary is everywhere taught in the Scriptures; but it means,

(1.) that the gospel does not pronounce condemnation like the law. Its office is to pardon; the office of the law, to condemn. The one never affords deliverance, but always condemns; the object of the other is to free from condemnation, and to set the soul at liberty.

(2.) There is no final condemnation under the gospel. The office, design, and tendency of the gospel is to free from the condemning sentence of law. This is its first and its glorious announcement, that it frees lost and ruined men from a most fearful and terrible condemnation.

Which are in Christ Jesus. Who are united to Christ. To be in him is an expression not seldom used in the New Testament, denoting close and intimate union, Php 1:1, 3:9, 2Cor 5:17, Rom 16:7-11. The union between Christ and his people is compared to that between the vine and its branches, (Jn 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.

Who walk. Who conduct, or live. Rom 4:12.

Not after the flesh. Who do not live to gratify the corrupt desires and passions of the flesh. Rom 7:18. This is a characteristic of a Christian. What it is to walk after the flesh may be seen in Gal 5:19-21. It follows, that a man whose purpose of life is to gratify his corrupt desires cannot be 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 professor of 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 seen in Gal 5:22,23. If a man has these fruits of the Spirit, he is a Christian; If not, he is a stranger to religion, whatever else he may possess. And this test also is easily applied.

(d) "no condemnation" Jn 3:18 (e) "walk not after" Gal 5:16 Verse 2. For the law. The word law here means that rule, command, or influence which "the Spirit of life" produces. That exerts a control which is here called a law, for a law often means anything by which we are ruled or governed. Rom 7:21, Rom 7:23.

Of the Spirit. I see no reason to doubt here that this refers to the Holy Spirit. Evidently, at the close of Rom 8:1, the word has this reference. The phrase "the Spirit of life" then means the Holy Spirit producing or giving life; i.e. giving peace, joy, activity, salvation; in opposition to the law, spoken of in chapter 7, that produced death and condemnation.

In Christ Jesus. Under the Christian religion: or sent by Christ to apply his work to men, Jn 16:7-14. The Spirit is sent by Christ; his influence is a part of the Christian scheme; and his power accomplishes that which the law could not do.

Hath made me free. That is, has delivered me from the predominating influence and control of sin. He cannot mean that he was perfect, for the whole tenor of his reasoning is opposed to that. But the design, the tendency, and the spirit of the gospel was to produce this freedom from what the law could not deliver; and he was now brought under the general power of this scheme. In the former state he was under a most bitter and galling bondage, Rom 7:7-11. Now he was brought under the influence of a scheme which contemplated freedom, and which produced it.

The law of sin and death. The controlling influence of sin, leading to death and condemnation, Rom 7:5-11.

(f) "life in Christ" 2Cor 3:6. (g) "free from the law" Gal 2:19, 5:1. Verse 3. For what the law could not do. The law of God, the moral law. It could not free from sin and condemnation. This the apostle had fully shown in chapter 7.

In that. Because.

It was weak. It was feeble and inefficacious. It could not accomplish it.

Through the flesh. In consequence of the strength of sin, and of the evil and corrupt desires of the unrenewed heart. The fault was not in the law, which was good, (Rom 7:12) but it was owing to the strength of the natural passions and the sinfulness of the unrenewed heart. See Rom 7:7-11, where this influence is fully explained.

God, sending his own Son. That is, God did or accomplished that, by sending his Son, which the law could not do. The word did, or accomplished, it is necessary to understand here, in order to complete the sense.

In the likeness of sinful flesh. That is, he so far resembled sinful flesh that he partook of flesh, or the nature of man, but without any of its sinful propensities or desires. It was not human nature; not, as the Docetae taught, human nature in appearance only; but it was human nature without any of its corruptions.

And for sin Margin, "By a sacrifice for sin." The expression evidently means, by an offering for sin, or that he was given as a sacrifice on account of sin. His being given had respect to sin.

Condemned sin in the flesh. The flesh is regarded as the source of sin. Rom 7:18. The flesh being the seat and origin of transgression, the atoning Sacrifice was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, that thus he might meet sin, as it were, on its own ground, and destroy it. He may be said to have condemned sin in this manner,

(1.) because the fact that he was given for it, and died on its account, was a condemnation of it. If sin had been approved by God, he would not have made an atonement to secure its destruction. The depth and intensity of the woes of Christ on its account show the degree of abhorrence with which it is regarded by God.

(2.) The word condemn may be used in the sense of destroying, overcoming, or subduing. 2Pet 2:6, "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow." In this sense the sacrifice of Christ has not only condemned sin as being evil, but has weakened its power and destroyed its influence, and will finally annihilate its existence in all who are saved by that death.

(h) "law could not do" Acts 13:39, Heb 7:18,19