Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 20

By saying “judgment... to condemnation”, he shows that these two things are not synonyms: one precedes the other. His use of the word “to” indicates this. W. Scott said: “Judgment and condemnation do not mean the same thing. Condemnation is future and final. Judgment precedes condemnation.” All under Adam are currently under the sentence of judgment, but they are not under condemnation – at least, not yet. Condemnation is a final and irrevocable thing that will be the portion of all who pass from this world in their sins without faith. Some Bible versions translate “judgment” as “verdict” to indicate that it is the sentence that was pronounced on man, not the actual execution of the punishment. J. N. Darby states in the footnote of his translation at Luke 20:47 that the word “judgment” is “the sentence pronounced on the thing accused of being guilty, the accusation itself as the basis of the judgment; not the fact of condemnation.” He also said: “We all know, if we know anything, the difference between past (or present) sins and the evil nature [sin]; the fruit and the tree. If asked, ‘Is a man condemned for both?’ I must say he is lost, rather than condemned” (Collected Writings, vol. 34, p. 406).

It is true that John 3:18 says: “but whoever does not believe is already condemned; because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”, but it is a translation error in the King James and Almeida Corrigida and Almeida Fiel versions. It should be “judged” (ARA, TB and AIBB) instead of condemned. “The world”, “the flesh” and “the devil” are irrevocably under condemnation (1 Cor. 11:32; Rom. 8:3; 1 Tim. 3:6), but the men who are alive today in this world are not. They are, however, lost and under the sentence of judgment, and if they do not turn to God in faith, they will be condemned to a lost eternity. In light of this doctrinal distinction, we can see that the hymn that says: “When we were in condemnation, waiting then for the torment of the sinner...” (Little Flock No. 200) is not correct, because Scripture teaches that all who are under condemnation are unrecoverable. The great thing regarding “justification” and being “in Christ” (our new position before God under our new Head) is that now it is impossible for us to enter into “condemnation” (chap. 8:1).

Contrast Between the Kingdom of Sin and Death and the Kingdom of Righteousness in

Life

Chap. 5:17 – A third contrast that Paul points out is the difference between the kingdom of sin and death and the kingdom of righteousness in life. He says that in Adam “death reigned”, but now “much more those who receive the abundance of grace” (that is, believers) “the gift of righteousness, will reign in life”. Again, he uses the words “much more” to mark this distinction. By Adam's offense, since then, sin and death have reigned over all in Adam's race. On the other hand, as a result of what Christ accomplished for those connected to Him – believers – under His headship, righteousness reigns in “life”. This is a surprising reversal. The members of Adam's race are seen as slaves of sin, dying under that tyrannical lord (sin). On the other hand, the members of Christ's new race are seen as princes, reigning in life and freedom! These are two opposite states. It is true that “righteousness will reign” in every sense in Christ's millennial kingdom (Isa. 32:1), but Paul is referring to righteousness reigning now in the believer's life. He will speak more about this in verse 21.

Summarizing the content of the parenthesis, we see that:

• The gift is abundant over the offense.

• Justification is abundant over condemnation.

• Life is abundant over death.

The Believer's Positional Transfer – From Adam to Christ

Chap. 5:18-19 – Having closed the parenthesis, in the final verses of the chapter, Paul shows that believers have been transferred from Adam's head and race to Christ's Head and race. In the parenthesis he makes contrasts, but now he continues to make some comparisons between the two using the words “so” or “so also”.

He says, as “one offense” of Adam had its effect “for all men for condemnation” (JND), “so” also “one” act of “righteousness” of Christ was extended “for all men for justification of life” (JND). There are two “all” here. Unlike the two “many” in verse 15, which were contrasting the two races of men, these two “all” refer to the same people – the entire human race. Adam's act brought something “for all men” (JND) and so also did Christ's act.

The King James Version and the Portuguese ones unfortunately translate this verse as if the free gift of righteousness had come “upon all men”, and this has led some to believe that all men will be saved in the end. (Rom. 11:32 and 1 Cor. 15:22 are also used to teach this error). This erroneous doctrine is called Universalism. However, this phrase should be translated as “for all men” (JND), which means that it has been made available to all, but not necessarily reached by all.

The one act of “righteousness” of which Paul speaks here refers to the whole life and death of Christ as a continuous act of obedience. A. H. Rule said, “All the acts, words and thoughts from the beginning to the end were obedience, so that His whole life and death are seen as a continuous act of obedience.” (Selected Ministry of A. H. Rule, vol. 1, p. 138). This act of Christ toward the human race is “for justification of life” to those who believe. This term (justification of life) refers to believers being placed in a new position before God, where He no longer sees them as sinners, but also as having a new life that has not sinned and cannot sin.

He says: “by the disobedience of one man” many were “made sinners, so [also] by the obedience of One many will be made [constituted] righteous” (v. 19). Scholars tell us that “made [constituted] ” is a legal term that conveys the idea of someone being appointed. Therefore, in being “constituted righteous”, those who believe do not instantly become righteous in a practical sense, but rather God designates them as righteous by placing them in Christ's race under Christ's Headship. (In Greek, the verb “constituted” is used in the future tense to indicate that it includes in the race all future generations of believers.) Thus, by the single act of Christ's obedience, believers were transferred from Adam's headship to Christ's. This means that the above-mentioned blessings related to Christ's new race are granted to believers. Chap. 5:20 – Paul then explains that the Law was introduced to reveal sin as being exceedingly evil. Those under the Law who failed to keep it can be justly accused of the transgressions defined there, because they had specific commandments from God in the Law declaring what they should and should not do. As a result, “they, like Adam, transgressed” (TB) a well-known command of God (Hos. 6:7). Furthermore, both the “offense” and “grace” abounded in opposite directions – with grace abounding “much more”. Thus, the entry of sin into the world became an opportunity for God to magnify His grace, raising it above all things.

Two Spheres of Life

Chap. 5:21 – Paul concludes his treatise on the two heads by declaring that, as a result of their two acts, there are now two corresponding spheres of life in which men live: one under the headship of Adam, which belongs to death, and the other under Jesus Christ our Lord, which belongs to life. This is seen in the fact that “sin” and “grace” are said to “reign”, which implies that both have a sphere of dominion in which they exercise their authority. Paul says: “so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Since these two things reign, they can, in a sense, be seen as kings or lords. “Sin” reigns in a scene of “death”. Essentially, this is the world and all that belongs to it. On the other hand, “grace” reigns “unto eternal life”. Eternal life is not only in the believer (John 3:15-16, 36), but is also a sphere of life in which the believer is to live in fellowship with the Father and the Son (John 17:3; 1 Tim. 6:12, 19). As to this latter aspect of eternal life, Mr. Darby said that it is “a condition of things outside this world,” in which the believer lives by the Spirit. Paul is referring to the ultimate aspect of eternal life here, when we are taken to heaven. It is an environment of life that is perfect and entirely free from sin – where light, love and fellowship with the Father and the Son is all and in all. The good news is that, by virtue of the Spirit of God dwelling in us, we have eternal life now and can live in that sphere of life while we are here on Earth (John 4:14; 1 John 5:11-13). This is essential to the theme of deliverance from sin before us in this section of the epistle.

In summary, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been positionally transferred from Adam's headship to Christ's. Thus, we are no longer seen as under that old head and connected to its corresponding state; we are now part of the new race of men under Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and thus identified with that new sphere of life under His Headship. Therefore, for the believer, the kingdom of sin and death has been counterposed by the kingdom of life in Christ.

THE BELIEVER'S IDENTIFICATION WITH THE DEATH OF CHRIST

Chapter 6

As a means of practical deliverance from sin, Paul now presents in verses 1-10 the truth of our identification with Christ in death. This is positional truth – that is, the truth concerning the position of every Christian before God. Then, in verses 11-14, he exhorts us to live in the light of this great truth, which will result in practical deliverance. Then, in verses 15-23, Paul explains that a believer can still be enslaved by sin if he refuses to put into practice in his life the truth that Paul reveals in this chapter – even though he has been positionally delivered from that evil which dwells within him. Thus, chapter 6 presents the doctrinal principles necessary for the believer for practical deliverance from sin.

In Which Sphere of Life Should We Live?

Ch. 6:1 – The previous chapter ended with two heads over two races of men with two corresponding spheres of life in which men live. On the basis of these facts, Paul now asks a very logical question: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” “Continue in sin” is to keep on living in that sphere of things where the old master (sin) dominates over all who live in it. Paul's reasoning is simple and logical: if we have been separated from that whole order of things under Adam, by our connection with Christ under His Headship, why would we think of living our Christian life in that state of iniquity from which we have been separated?

Many have thought that Paul is referring to Christians continuing in the acts of sinning (sins). But that is not what he is saying here. If that were the case, he would have said: “Shall we continue to sin?” Or, as the NIV unfortunately translates it, “Shall we go on sinning...?” It is certainly true that we should not continue sinning after we are saved – and Paul seeks to help the believer toward that end in this chapter – but here he is not speaking of acts (sins), but rather of the state of sin.

1. Elliot commented: “‘Shall we continue in sin?’ is not the same as

if he had said: ‘Shall we continue sinning?’ It is something broader than that. It means that sin is no longer the principle of our life or the description of our state” (The Faith and the Flock, vol. 3, p. 340). Paul will address the question of Christians who choose to sin in verses 15-23, but here in verse 1, he is asking an obvious question about the reason of a person who has been freed from the lordship of sin, and who continues in that sphere where the dominion of sin is felt in practice.

Studying the chapter carefully, we see that there are two similar questions that address these two different things:

The question in verse 1 (“Shall we continue in sin?”) has to

do with continuing in that sphere of life where the dominion of sin

prevails. This is addressed in verses 1-14.

• The question in verse 15 (“Shall we sin?”) has to do with the acts of sinning – believers continuing in the practice of sinful acts after they have been saved. This is addressed in verses 15-23.

Dead to Sin

Ch. 6:2 – Paul rejects the idea of continuing in sin with the statement: “God forbid [Far be the thought – JND].” To show how incongruous this is with our Christian position, he asks: “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” He applies to our situation the principle of federal headship (established in chapter 5). That is, what Christ accomplished in death can be applied to all His race. Thus, since Christ died to sin, Paul speaks of us as being “dead to sin.”

Seven Ways in which Death Is Used in the Scriptures

We may ask ourselves in what way we are “dead,” because it certainly could not be referring to physical death. Let us remember, death is used in the Scriptures in at least seven different ways. In every case, it gives the idea of separation, but never of extinction – as men think. The context will determine which aspect is in view. They are:

• Physical death – having the soul and spirit separated from the body (Jas. 2:26).

• Spiritual death – being spiritually separated from God by not having new life and nature (Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13).

• Second death – being eternally separated from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:6, 14).

• Apostate death – being separated from God by abandoning the profession of faith (Jude 12; Rev. 8:9).

• National death – ceasing to exist as a nation on the earth (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37; Dan. 12:2).

• Judicial death – being positionally separated from the whole order of sin under the headship of Adam, by the death of Christ (Rom. 6:2, 7:6; Col. 2:20, 3:3).

• Moral death – being separated from communion with God (Rom. 8:13; 1 Tim. 5:6).

It is solemn to think that sin is the cause of each of these aspects of death! Truly, “the wages of sin is death” – chapter 6:23.

The Death of Christ to Sin and Our Identification with His Death We can see from the list above that the aspect of death in Romans 6:2 has to do with the fact that the Christian is dead judicially, and this as a result of our identification with the death of Christ. It is important to understand that the focus in this chapter is on an aspect of the death of Christ different from the one Paul addressed in the previous subdivision of the epistle. In that earlier part of the epistle, it was the death of Christ “for” sins (ch. 4:25, 5:6, 8, etc.); here it is the death of Christ “to” sin (ch. 6:10). His death “to” sin is not making atonement, but breaking His connections with sin.

It may come as a surprise to think that Christ had any connection with sin, because the Scriptures make it clear that He did not have the fallen sinful nature. The Word of God carefully guards the glory of His Person in this regard, stating that “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). In what way, then, was the Lord connected with sin? In fact, it began at the moment He entered this scene (an environment of sin) at His birth. Living here, He came into immediate contact with sin, and His holy nature repudiated it. Thus, He suffered bodily from being in the very vessel of sin. Then, on the cross, the Lord was “made sin” (JND), and so was completely identified with it as the Sin-bearer – though He was not personally contaminated by sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26). He stood before God in the place of sin and bore the consequent condemnation of the judgment of sin (Rom. 8:3). But, in dying, He left the sphere of sin and thus separated Himself from it – never again to come into contact with it. Christ is now no longer in contact with sin. J. A. Trench put it this way: “Having come into this world, He was surrounded by sin on every side, and finally went to the cross to be made sin for us... now He has nothing more to do with sin forever” (Truth For Believers, vol. 2, p. 78).

Applying to believers the principle of Christ's federal Headship, we have the right to see ourselves as separated from sin and no longer participants in that whole principle of life – even though we still have the sinful nature in us. We can say that “we died with Christ” (v. 8) and, thus, are “dead to sin” (v. 2). Our connection with sin and with its state of iniquity has been broken, for there could be no more complete rupture with something than the one that death produces.

In this chapter, Paul personifies sin and sees it as an evil master that dominates and controls men (its slaves) in their sins. He shows that a master has claims on his slave, but only as long as the slave lives. Once the slave dies, his master no longer has power over him. So it is with us; we died with Christ, and sin now has no right over us.

Know, Reckon and Present

Chap. 6:3-14 – Paul now goes on to teach the principles involved in the truth of deliverance from sin. He uses three key words to mark the teaching of the chapter: know, reckon and present. There are certain things we need to “know”, then we must “reckon” on those facts, and then we must “present” ourselves to righteousness as servants of righteousness, to our new Master, and so prove the power of grace working in our lives in practical deliverance from sin.

“Knowing” the Meaning of Our Baptism