p. 8 | Studies in Romans

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · May 6, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 19.

Studies in Romans

The Condemnation Removed.

Rom. 8: 1-3.

THE seventh chapter of Romans tells of the great bondage of sin; of "the law of sin" that holds us in the toils of wrong-doing even when we have a desire to break away and do better. But in the concluding verses of that chapter we are told that there is deliverance from this bondage of sin, and the eighth chapter which we are to consider next tells of the fulness and the joy of that deliverance. The opening verses of the chapter are:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak thru the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Rom. 8: 1-3.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." What a blessed and comforting statement that is! While leading the life of sin there is condemnation resting upon the individual all the time. This condemnation keeps a person ever from being truly happy. There is always the consciousness that we are not right, and sooner or later we will have to meet the just sentence that awaits us. We may try to drown this inner voice of God that is ever speaking to us by His Spirit thru His word and thru His works, but we can not get away from it. We may try to drown our consciences with pleasure or business, but the divine Father is ever following us to lead us away from this life of sin into the real joys of the life of righteousness. And once we yield to Him and make the full and complete surrender, then He frees us from condemnation thru His Son Jesus Christ.

The individual who has not experienced this blessed condition of being free from the condemnation of guilt, has never tasted of real joy or true happiness. The blessedness of being absolutely free in Christ is a condition of unalloyed joyfulness that words can never describe. "O taste and see that Jehovah is good: blessed is the man that taketh refuge in Him." Ps. 34: 8. We must actually "taste" of this blessed experience for ourselves; we can never describe it to another. We can only extend to others the invitation to come and "taste," and find out for themselves the real joys of the Lord.

This precious experience of being free from condemnation thru the power that we have in Jesus the Saviour is also expressed in a most comforting manner in these words:

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matt. 11: 28-30.

Those who are laden with sins, and griefs, and disappointments; those who are bowed down beneath the load of despair that comes from the condemnation of violating

the principles of the righteous law of God; all of the sin-sick and unhappy souls in the world, from whatever cause they thus may be, are urgently invited to come to the blessed Saviour and find this complete and blessed "rest unto their souls." The very innermost soul is to find complete rest. And this perfect rest is what is brought into the life when freed from condemnation thru the Christ of the ever-living God.

Paul immediately proceeds to give a statement of the process by which this freedom from condemnation is reached. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." Verse 2. In the seventh chapter, it will be remembered, the apostle is telling of the warfare that is going on in the individual between the law of God which is "holy, and righteous, and good," and "the law of sin which is in my members." But the soul makes the complete and the full surrender, and "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" lifts him into complete victory. Here are divine principles of true philosophy that should absorb the attention of every individual. Here are the true principles of freedom that every soul should enjoy.

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak thru the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." The law is not weak in and of itself. But it is the weakness of our flesh that keeps it from gaining the victory in this great struggle that is going on. And so God comes to the rescue and sends "His own Son," and He sends Him "in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin," and all of this is done in order that He may condemn sin in the flesh. He has worked out this plan by which every one may declare his independence in Christ Jesus, and thus be set absolutely free from "the law of sin" that is ever "warring" in our members.

But this relief from condemnation and this freedom in Christ Jesus does not take away the conflict. And right here is where many become discouraged and give up the warfare. They accept the promise and claim the victory; but one victory is not enough to develop and establish the character. The Lord provides the strength, and allows us to gain victory after victory, and thus are we established in all the joys of the overcomer. And instead of being relieved from the struggle against sin, we will find it invariably the case that after we have accepted this freedom in Christ, the enemy will come against us harder than ever. He will study out new plans by which he can tempt and overthrow us. He is not willing that we should get away from his clutches. But while he charges against us in this way again and again, we always have the consciousness of power thru faith that enables us to overcome.

It is not necessary that any one should fall into condemnation again after having been made free in Christ Jesus. But it is almost invariably the case that the individual will be overcome in the struggle; sometimes it is thru failure to study and appropriate the promises of God; sometimes it is thru failure to be always on guard against the devices of sin. But whatever the excuse may be, the Lord has provided against that emergency also, and His word sets forth the plan most comfortingly in the following:

"My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. And hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2: 1-3.

It is the Lord's plan to have us so avail ourselves of His strong tower of strength that we shall never suffer defeat. But He knows better than we can realize the weakness of our flesh, and so He has provided a way of escape when we fall under temptation. But this most gracious plan that the Lord has devised for us to regain our freedom after we have fallen must not be made an excuse for a continued life of sin. The only true happiness is in gaining and holding absolute victory. The only real strength is in gaining and holding this same victory. We must not rest for one moment; we must stand on guard to secure and to hold the wonderful prize of this freedom in Christ. What if the struggle is keen and prolonged! The Lord is such a storehouse of power and comfort that the conflict becomes most intensely interesting, for each new victory floods the soul with a fresh and deeper joy. "He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." Rev. 3: 21, 22.

Do not rest until the delightful experience of freedom in Christ the Saviour is all your own.