1915 239 Joshua goes farther than Romans. In Romans you get death with Christ and life with Him, but not resurrection. That would be the door of union. When you get resurrection with Christ fully carried out, you get union. But when you get union you get nothing of justification, for, as in Ephesians, there is a new creation, and God has not to justify His own work at all. You have all the privileges of those who belong to the new creation with all its duties too. But in Romans I get sinners; and they want justifying. We learn the double character of justification — the clearing of man from the sins of the old Adam, and the putting him in a new place before God.
In this Epistle we find these two things are treated quite distinctly. In Romans 1 you have the ground that calls for this justification in the fact that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. It is not here a question of governmental wrath with the people as of old, but now God being revealed, man must be fit for His presence, and so all that is contrary to that is judged. We have already sinned, and come short of the glory of God — a peculiar way of putting it, because, even if we were loving like saints, it would still be true that we come short of the glory of God. But why say "come short of glory," to a sinner? If you do not come up to what God is as revealed, you won't do.
Now the whole dealing of Christianity with us just based on that. If you cannot walk in the light as God is in the light, you must be cast out This was always true, but now it is revealed. God is no longer hidden behind a veil, but He is revealed as He is, and if you are unable to stand there, you cannot stand at all. Therefore it is, that justification now is equal to this. We are made meet to be "partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." A man's being born again does not make his conscience meet for that. His being quickened makes him feel the need of it. If I could abstract my new nature from my old, and so stand only in that, all well. But man has been brought in guilty before God," so that another thing is required, and that is justification.
The first subject of the gospel is the person of the Lord Himself, before you have anything done for us — "concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 1:3); not — concerning "us." Too often the claim of Christ's person is lost in the thought of the individual being forgiven. I get two things in the person of Christ which clear up the gospel to me. First, I get cleared of the notion of promises which, indeed, are precious things to help along afterwards — for Christ in the accomplishment of promise, "made of the seed of David" to fulfil the promise — "We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the father, God hath fulfilled the same" (Acts 13:32-33). The second point is that He is the Son of God, and I see here the power that has overcome death (ver. 4). I have a life according to this holiness of God which we must meet, and this same life in resurrection. And Paul calls this the gospel. This is the primary subject of the gospel. I get here, too, the righteousness of God revealed in it (ver. 17). In the opening of the Epistle you get what we have been saying; and now Paul says he is not ashamed of this gospel (ver. 16), and the following verse closes the introduction.
Now the apostle goes on to lay the ground why it must be a "righteousness of God," because there was not any of man whatever. He starts with this, that the righteousness of God is revealed to faith. I am so bold in this for God's righteousness is now revealed in the gospel, and God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, Here is a holy God perfectly revealed, and He cannot have sin in His presence. Well, alas! I have no righteousness. What then am I to do? (Observe, there is a difference between holiness and righteousness. Holiness is connected more with God's nature, whilst righteousness has its connection rather with judgment of man). There is no answer but "righteousness of God revealed to faith."
1915 250 Then we have proofs brought in of the condition of man. First, the Gentiles are taken up, and then from Romans 2:17, the Jew, with his privileges, to whom had been given the law, circumcision, yea, the oracles of God. So we see "There is none righteous, no, not one." The very law, which was the boast of the Jew, is that which condemned him. All being now proved guilty, the apostle returns to "God's righteousness." What is wanting now, therefore, is for man to be able to stand in the presence of God without a veil. Righteousness of God has been witnessed by the law and the prophets, but it is manifested now. It is a righteousness without law — apart from law altogether — and moreover, being God's righteousness, it is. made good alike to anybody who has faith, whether Jew or Gentile.
But you notice that in this part, the apostle does not go beyond "propitiation through faith in His blood." We meet God as a righteous Judge, and for this there needs propitiation. Then he takes up Abraham, and David (chap. 4), and shows that these both concurred in this testimony. Yet here, too, we have nothing more than forgiveness. Of course we have much more afterwards.
But does not justification go much farther than forgiveness?
Yes, but it is not used for more in this part of the epistle. Here the sinner is taken, and the judge says, "You are forgiven." He has not a fault left. But that is not the whole of righteousness in what follows in the epistle. The accounting righteous in this part is the same as forgiveness. If I count a man to have no fault, he is righteous. There is, doubtless, more in Romans 3:25-26, but this is the point here. A great deal more follows, but each is given by itself. It is of the utmost importance to see the way in which God deals with the sins of the "old man"; and then, quite distinctly, another question altogether comes in — the making of the "new man," The division of these two subjects, is at Romans 5:11. Up to that he treats of forgiveness, and then afterwards of the other side of the subject — the positively new thing.
Here I stand as a child of Adam before God in the light! And what am I to do, for I am guilty? Righteousness of God is the only deliverance, and you have two phases of it in the two distinct characters of blessedness given us in chapters 5, and 8.
In connection with which of these would you regard the teaching of Job's story?
Oh, the latter surely. In Rom. 5 you have what God is in sovereign grace to a sinner. And in Rom. 8. you have a new man altogether before God. Man is in the higher place in chap. 8, but God is in the more absolute place in chap. 5.
For when I get to chap. 8. I am not talking about sinners, but about saints. God is for me, in chap. 8, but for Himself in chap. 5 and this is a higher thing. It is what God is in sovereign grace to sinners, what He is in Himself, and so I am joying in Him.
Another thing is, that in this first part I have nothing to do with experience except to own myself a sinner. Suppose I tell a man his debts are paid, there is an end of it as far as the debts are concerned. It does not touch his personal condition, say, as to whether or no, he was a fool in making them. But in the second part from Rom. 5:12 I have much more.
Quickening is not introduced in the early part, for there it is the question of guilt, and not of nature — of sins only. In the second part, it is sin and its remedy. The first part is, Christ dying for my sins. The second, our dying with Christ.
Where was propitiation made?
On the cross. Christ goes in with His own blood.
What is "by the which will we are sanctified?"
It is the will of God. And you will observe that whenever sanctification and justification come together in scripture, sanctification comes first.
Now we see as to Abraham that he believed that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. But for us, God has done that which to Abraham was future, and I am therefore called to believe what God has performed, not what He is able to do, but what He has done. The work of justification was not accomplished on the cross, though the around or basis of it was there. Resurrection it is that is the seal — Jesus "was raised again for our justification" (Rom. 4:21-25). Here it is the abstract thing, but in chap. 5 it is the application of it by faith to the particular individual. There needs a man to be justified before there can be his justification. Justification is the quittance of the person. Then besides this I have tribulation here, and very blessed this is. For God then is caring for me. His eyes are upon the righteous, not sinners but the righteous. justified by faith, we have peace. Peace is a deeper thing than joy. We have, too, by the Holy Ghost, the love of God known, shed abroad in our hearts. All our sins, yes all, have been met on the cross. I do not say our future sins — because we ought not to commit any in future. Verse 11 of chap. 5 is really the end of the epistle as to results, for after this we have no more thought of individual sins, but of Adam who has ruined us all.
From chap. 5 we get our experience, which is contrary to God's Word that we "are dead to sin." Now the "old man" is dealt with by death, that the body of sin might be destroyed, 'Oh, but,' says one, I find it in me.' Then "reckon yourself dead," "always bearing about in the body. the dying of Jesus." I believe an honest mind looking to Christ is more troubled about sin in him than about all his past sins put together.
Rom. 8:1 reads "There is therefore, now, no condemnation to them which are" (not in their sins, but), "in Christ Jesus."
What is the meaning of "sin is not imputed where there is no law? "
It is, not reckoning a man anything, but it is putting it to his account. The sin of Adam addresses itself to the whole Jewish people (Hosea 6:7).
What is the force of "justification of life? "
Simply that it is justification connected with life. The remedy for all of the flesh is our death (Rom. 4). Heb. 9:26 goes out and includes "new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3). So in John 1 we have "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." In a practical sense sin is not exactly "put away," but the work that does it is accomplished. The power that brings it into result is another thing. 1 John 2:2 does not teach that Christ bore the sins of the world. He died for all, He has glorified God as to all. And more than this, He has confessed the sins of His people and put them away for ever. So that I have been brought into death because I cannot live. Not that sin has gone out of me absolutely, for then I should not have to "reckon" myself dead. If I have died I am wholly justified from sin (Rom. 6:7), and if I always reckon myself dead I am free from it. It is like a young man who has contracted debts beyond his means to pay, and his father with ample capital has paid his debts. Well, if that be all, he is only ready to go and make more debts. But if his father makes him a partner the case is changed. He now speaks of our business and of our capital, and quite right too, though he brought no cash into the business. Only in this epistle it is not carried on to resurrection with Christ. The apostle is speaking individually and does not go on to union. He is keeping up the full position of the individual before God.
Well, now, you live through Christ, what are you going to do with yourself? The same principle in chap. 7 is applied to law. You die. Well, the law hath dominion over you, only so long as you live, and when you die, the law has no power over you. Romans 7:6 should be "having died in that wherein we were held." This chap. 7 is the experience of a man with his first husband. The dodtrine is, you cannot have both. You died to the law just as you died to sin. You must not say the law is dead. No, that is killing the gaoler and not the prisoner. The old husband is not dead. It will come into full force in the day of judgment.