Being free from sin in Christ Jesus, we are also free from its results - condemnation and death; or rather - for the result is one - the death, of which condemnation is but one aspect.

I. THE MIND OF THE FLESH. In a state of sin, as in a state of holiness, there is activity, though the activity be abnormal. The "flesh," equally with the "spirit;" has its "mind," i.e. its purpose, its aspiration; an activity which tends to a goal. And what is the dread goal to which the activity of sin must lead? Death! Yes, "the mind of the flesh is death;" this is as surely the result of such a perverse activity of our nature as though it were consciously designed and sought after. What is death, to such a one as man? The complete separation of the soul from God! And how is such death wrought by the "mind of the flesh"? By the reciprocal hostility between sin and God, which must work an utter mutual exclusion.

1. Sin's hostility to God. (Ver. 7.) The very essence of sin is rebellion against the Divine authority. The "flesh," viz. all the lower desires and passions of man's nature, broken loose from their proper governance, together with the more spiritual faculties which have been dragged down by the riotous animal impulses into a kindred perversion and anarchy - the flesh is "enmity against God." And, this being so, man's very sin, by its own action, shuts out God. Oh, what a suicide is here! For, with God, all good must ultimately be gone. The rebel rioters bar every avenue to shut out God; they darken the windows that the light of heaven may not shine; they exclude every breath of life and liberty.

2. God's hostility to sin. (Ver. 8.) But God is not a mere passive influence, whose exclusion from sinful man is determined solely by the express action of man's sin itself. God is a Spirit! Yes, no mere influence, but a living Person; a living Will! And God were no God, if he were not a holy God; and, being holy, ever hostile to all sin. It must be so. And therefore, when man erects his own rebellious will against his Maker, God's presence is not merely shut Out from the soul by sin, but God in grief - yea, and in wrath, in holy wrath - withdraws himself. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." So, then, on these two grounds, "the mind of the flesh is death." Both by the repugnant action of sin to God, and by the repugnant action of God to sin, all the favour and love and life of God are banished from the heart.

II. THE MIND OF THE SPIRIT. But if the inevitable result, and in some sense the conscious choice, of sin is the loss of God, what is the result of the true and right activity of the renewed nature, when the "spirit" is inspired by the Spirit of God, and restored to its proper ascendancy over the "flesh"? "The mind of the spirit is life and peace:" this is the necessary result; this is the result which is consciously sought after and desired. What is this life? The perfect possession and enjoyment of God, and of all good in God. And how is it wrought by the "mind of the spirit"? As in the former case, by the reciprocal action between the renewed spirit and God; though here, not reciprocal enmity, but reciprocal love.

1. The craving for God. "The spirit thirsts for life in God, which is its element, and sacrifices everything to succeed in enjoying it perfectly" (Godet). This is the very essence of the new life, as of all true spiritual life, a desire for God (see the Psalms, passim). And, by the appropriating power of faith, the spirit possesses itself of that which it desires. It hungers, and is fed.

2. The response of God. As above, God is not a mere atmosphere to be breathed, but a living God to give or withhold himself. And just as he withdraws in holy wrath from sinful man, so he imparts himself in gracious love to the humble, believing soul (see John 14:17, passim). So then "the mind of the spirit is life" - life which consists in the full possession of God, and, with him, of peace, joy, strength, and perfect liberty. Yes, "this is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Which shall be our portion, our destiny? Life? or death? We answer, practically, by living according to the flesh or the spirit. But this latter is possible only in one way: does the Spirit of God dwell in us? - T.F.L.

Men's happiness is to please them upon whom they depend, and upon whose favour their wellbeing hangs. It is the servant's happiness to please his master, the courtier's to please his prince. Now certainly all creatures depend upon the Creator, "for in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Then of all things it concerns us most how to please Him, and if we do so we shall assuredly be happy, and it will not matter whom else we displease (Psalm 31:19; Psalm 36:7). But, on the other hand, how incomparable is the misery of them who cannot please God, even though they did both please themselves and all others for the present! Now, if you ask who they are that are such, the words speak it: "They that are in the flesh," not they in whom there is flesh, for there are remnants of that in the most spiritual man in this life. The ground of this is chiefly two fold.

I. BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT IN JESUS CHRIST IN WHOM HIS SOUL IS WELL PLEASED (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5). Whoever are not in Jesus Christ certainly cannot please God, do what they can, because God hath made Christ the centre, in which He would have the good pleasure of sinners meeting with His good pleasure; and therefore "without faith it is impossible to please God," not so much for the excellency of the act itself as for the well-pleasing object of it, Christ. God's love is well pleased with the excellency of His person, and His justice with the sufficiency and worthiness of His ransom, and without this compass there is neither satisfaction to the one nor to the other. Therefore, if you would please God, be pleased with Christ, and you cannot do Him a greater pleasure than believe in Him (John 5:23).

II. SUCH AS ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT FRAME THEIR SPIRITS, AFFECTIONS, AND WAYS TO GOD'S GOOD PLEASURE, for their very mind is enmity to God, and cannot be subject to His law (Jeremiah 2:34).

1. It is not the business you have undertaken to please God, but to please yourselves, or to please men. The very beginning of pleasing God is when a soul falls in displeasure at itself and abhorrence of himself (Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 51:17). God never begins to be pleasant to a soul till it begins to fall out of love with itself. Therefore you may conclude this of yourselves, that with many of you God is not well pleased, though you have all Church privileges (1 Corinthians 10:2-5), not only because these works of the flesh that are directly opposite to His own known will, such as fornication, murmuring, etc., abound among you, but even those of you that may be free from gross opposition to His holy will, your nature hath the seed of all that enmity, and you act enmity in a more covered way. Certainly, though now you please yourselves, yet the clay shall come that you shall be contrary to yourselves, and all to you (1 Thessalonians 2:15), and there are some earnests of it in this life. Many wicked persons are set contrary to themselves, and all to them; they are like Esau, their hand against all, and all hands against them; yea, their own consciences continually vexing them; this is a fruit of that enmity between man and God, and if you find it now, you shall find it hereafter.

2. But as for you that are in Jesus Christ, who, being displeased with yourselves, have fled into the well-beloved, in whom the Father is well pleased, to escape God's displeasure, I say unto such, your persons God is well pleased with in Christ, and this shall make way and place for acceptance to your weak and imperfect performances. But I would charge that upon you, that as you by believing are well pleased with Christ, so you would henceforth study to walk worthy of your Lord into all well pleasing (Colossians 1:10). If you love Him, you cannot but fashion yourselves so as He may be pleased.

(Hugh Binning.)

I. THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF A CARNAL MIND PLEASING GOD. This springs from the necessity of the case.

1. As dwelling in a nature, every faculty of which is in hostility to His government and being, it is impossible that it can please Him.

2. There being no personal acceptance of those who are in the flesh, whatever they do cannot be accepted of God. First the person, and then the gift, is God's order (cf. Queen Esther's interview with Ahasuerus and Jacob's meeting with Esau). How can you do that which is well pleasing to a holy God while your person is to Him an object of just abhorrence?

3. The absence of faith in the unregenerate must render all the religious doings of the sinner displeasing. "For without faith it is impossible to please Him." How can he please God whose whole existence is a direct denial of God? "He that believeth not hath made God a liar!" Your unbelief is a practical denial of His existence. And, in your non-subjection to His law, you exclude Him from the government of His own world.

4. And what is the entire absence of love to God but another confirmation of the same truth? the great constraining motive of the sacrifice with which God is pleased is love, and "love is the fulfilling of the law."

II. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WITH WHOM GOD IS PLEASED. They are —

1. A spiritual people, and God, who is a Spirit, must delight in that which harmonises with His own nature.

2. They are an accepted people, and therefore their persons are pleasing to Him. The delight of the Father in Christ reveals the secret of His delight in us. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

3. But it is a universal pleasing of God which the Scriptures prescribe and enforce (Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 John 3:22).

4. But what are some of the footprints of this walk?(1) Unreserved obedience.(2) Walking by faith. As unbelief is most dishonouring, so faith is most honouring to the Lord Jesus.

(O. Winslow, D. D.)

The designation of the persons that is in these words — "They that are in the flesh." The discovery of their condition in these cannot please God. We begin with the first. The designation of the persons, those that are in the flesh. Now to be in the flesh, according to the language of Scripture, is taken two manner of ways, either in a good or in an indifferent sense, or a bad and unwarrantable sense. First, to be so in a good or in an indifferent sense, and so to be in the flesh is no more than to partake of human nature. Thus, "The life which I now live in the flesh" (Galatians 2:20). But, secondly, there is also being in the flesh in a bad and corrupt sense, by taking flesh metonymically for sin, as it is oftentimes taken in Scripture. The second is the predicate, in the discovery of the condition belonging to such persons, and that is, that they cannot please God, viz., whilst they so remain and continue. This may be taken by us two ways, either as denoting the state or the life, the condition or the conversation. First, take it in the first sense, "They that are in the flesh cannot please God" — that is, such persons as are yet remaining in a state of nature and unregeneracy; these are loathsome and displeasing to God. Now it remains that we should show what is here declared of such persons, that they cannot please God. First, take it for their persons. They are unpleasing to Him in reference to them (Psalm 54:5; Psalm 7:11; Habakkuk 1:13). There is no leprous or contagious person that is more displeasing in the eyes of man than a carnal and unregenerate person is displeasing to the eyes of God. The ground of this unpleasingness may be thus far accounted to us: first, because they are out of Christ, who is the primarily Beloved (Ephesians 1:6; Matthew 3:17). In Him as the termination of His well pleasing, and in Him also as the conveyance; in Him for Himself, and in all others for His sake. All men are so far well pleasing to God as they are in Christ. Now carnal persons are not incorporated into Christ, therefore they cannot be well pleasing to God in such a condition. They are in themselves and in their own nature unlovely. Secondly, unregenerate persons cannot please God, because they want faith. Thirdly, they are altogether unlike God, and so cannot be pleasing to Him in that respect likewise. We know that liking is founded in likeness, and complacency in correspondency. Fourthly, we need go no further for the proof of this point than the text itself, if we look upon it in the coherence of it, and how these carnal persons are therein described as are after the flesh, as do mind the things of the flesh, are in a state of death, in a state of enmity, in a state of impotency, and inability of subjection to the law of God. How is it then possible that such as these should be pleasing to God? The second is in reference to their actions. They cannot please Him so neither. The actions of carnal men are unpleasing to God considered in themselves, because they proceed not from a right principle in them, nor are directed to a right end by them. Sweetness of nature, and ingenuity, and moral accomplishments are very commendable in themselves, and do make men acceptable in their converse one with another, but yet they are not sufficient alone to make men acceptable in the eyes of God. Men are sensible sometimes of their actual sins, and have cause so to be — of their murders, and adulteries, and drunkenness, and thefts, and such courses as these, which now and then do a little astonish them and work some kind of horror in them. But what may they then think of the sin of their nature, which is the occasion of all these to them? For a man to be of a sickly constitution is more than to have a particular distemper or fit of sickness upon him. For this purpose, and to aggravate this so much the more unto us, consider these things further. First, that this corrupt nature, where it remains unchanged in any person, it does expose him to all kind of sin, considered at large, of what nature or kind soever. There is no sin which a man is secure of who is still remaining in his unregenerate condition, but he is not only capable of it, but inclinable to it. Secondly, where men are yet in the flesh and unchanged in their nature, they are exposed to the return of sin again, after some temporary forbearance of it and abstinence from it. There is nothing which is a principle of mortification but only sanctifying and saving grace. Thirdly, this state of nature does make men to commit sin with more delight and eagerness of prosecution. Those that are in their natural condition, they are in a sad and miserable condition. And they are so especially upon this account which is here expressed in the text, because they cannot please God, which carries a great deal more in it than we are presently sensible of, or do easily apprehend. They do not or cannot please God; their case is very terrible and dangerous. Thus it is, and will appear to be so according to sundry explications. First, as it is an obstruction to prayer and the receiving of that. "We know that God hears not sinners," said the blind man in the gospel (John 9:31), and "he that regards iniquity in his heart, the Lord will not hear his prayer" (Psalm 66:18). Secondly, it deprives men of blessings and the comfortable influences of God's providence. God will curse his very blessings and turn his comforts into the greatest crosses unto him; as we see it was with the Israelites, when God was offended and displeased with them: He gave them quails and manna in wrath. Thirdly, it exposes to temptations and the assaults of the spiritual enemy. "Whoso pleaseth God shall be kept from many snares," But he that does not so, he shall be given up to them. Lastly, it excludes from heaven and eternal happiness and salvation at last.

(Thomas Horton, D. D.)

The phrase notes a man drowned in corruption. We say of a man overcome of anger: he is in heat; of a drunkard: he is in beer or wine. So Simon Magus is said to be in the gall of bitterness. They cannot please God. Nor their persons, nor their thoughts, words, or actions, till they be renewed. Snow can never be made hot while it is snow. Fire will dissolve it into water; then it may be made hot. So the carnal man in that estate cannot please God, but change him into a sanctified estate, and then he can. A man may be prudent, learned, liberal, do many beautiful things in nature, and yet not please God. An evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Velvet is good matter to make a garment, yet it may be so marred in the cutting that it shall never obtain the name of a good garment. Pieces of timber are good matter for a house, but they must be artificially framed. An unregenerate man gives alms, and in giving sins: not because he gives, but because he gives not in the manner he should.

(Elnathan Parr, B. A.)

To please God is of infinite importance. Since He is omniscient and omnipresent, we cannot escape His observation: since He is Almighty, He has our life, and all things belonging to us, continually at His disposal, can make us happy or miserable in a thousand different ways. He is, therefore, the most dreadful enemy or the most beneficial friend we can have. Of what infinite consequence, then, to be in His favour.

I. WHAT IS MEANT BY BEING "IN THE FLESH." This expression is often used to signify being in the body (Philippians 1:22, 24; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 4:1, 2, 6; 1 John 4:2, 3); but this is not its meaning here, for many in the body have pleased God. Nor is the living merely in sensuality and the sins of the flesh referred to (Galatians 5:16-21), though undoubtedly such cannot please God. But what is intended is the being in our natural state (Genesis 6:3 compared with Genesis 8:21; Ephesians 2:3). This implies —

1. The being unpardoned, or in a state of condemnation in consequence of not being "in Christ" (Romans 7:4-6; Romans 8:1).

2. Unregenerated (John 3:6).

3. Under the power of our animal and corrupt nature, the "law in our members" leading us captive to sir?

4. "Carnally minded"; minding the body rather than the soul; visible and temporal things rather than invisible and eternal; preferring nature to grace, and the creature to the Creator; being governed by carnal maxims; actuated by carnal views; influenced by carnal desires; engaged in carnal pursuits.

II. IN WHAT SENSE SUCH "CANNOT PLEASE GOD," AND HOW THIS APPEARS TO BE A FACT.

1. While thus in the flesh, such persons are not in God's favour.(1) They are not humbled and penitent, without which none can be accepted (Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2; 1 Peter 5:5, 6; James 4:10).(2) They are not believers; and without faith there is no justification, nor can we please God (Hebrews 11:4-6; John 3:36; Romans 4:23-25; Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 13:5).(3) Their carnal mind is not subject to His law. Nay, is enmity against Him. That we should be spiritually minded is for our good; but the carnal mind opposes this good, and "to be carnally minded is death."

2. Hence it follows that their services are not accepted of God, and that their ways do not please Him. Not being justified, they have not love to God (Romans 5:5), and without love no service is, or can be, pleasing to God.

3. But perhaps it will be objected —(1) "Cannot they pray, hear the Word?" etc. Yes; but not "worship God in spirit and truth," which, while destitute of the Spirit, they cannot do, and not doing, they are incapable of pleasing Him: they do not mix faith with the word that is heard, "receive the truth in love," and obey it from the heart.(2) But "cannot they preserve an unblamable conduct, give alms," etc.? Certainly; but this does not please God, as not being done from a right principle, "faith working by love": to a right end, the glory of God; in a right spirit, humility, purity, benevolence, zeal, etc.; and by a right rule, the will of God, and out of conscience toward Him (Galatians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17).

III. THE SURE MARK WHEREBY WE MAY KNOW WHETHER WE ARE IN THIS STATE (ver. 9).

1. By receiving the Spirit we pass from a carnal to a spiritual state (John 3:6).

2. By the Spirit dwelling in us we continue in that state (text; Galatians 5:16-25). Hereby we know that we are in the Spirit (1 John 3:24).

3. But we must receive and keep this Spirit as a Spirit of —

(1)Adoption (vers. 15-16; Galatians 4:4);

(2)Regeneration (Titus 3:5; John 3:4-5); productive of its proper fruits.

(J. Benson.)

I. THE CONDITION of man's well-being. To "please God," which implies —

1. That God is a pleasable Being. The Eternal is neither callous nor morose.

2. It is possible for man to please Him. It is wonderful that any creature, however high, should be able to please a Being so infinitely happy in Himself; but it is more wonderful that insignificant, fallen man should have this power.

3. How can man please God? Not by singing eulogistic hymns, or offering complimentary prayers, or observing ceremonial ordinances. "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?" How then?(1) By loving supremely what He loves most. We are pleased with those who love the objects most dear to our hearts.(2) By devotion to those objects which interest Him most.

4. In the pleasing of Him is man's well-being.(1) Is man's happiness in a peaceful conscience? Then the conscience must have a sense of God's approval. The fear of His displeasure terrifies it, the assurance of His approval is its heaven.(2) Is man's happiness in gratified love? The loving heart is in anguish until it hears the "well done" of the loved one.(3) Is man's happiness in full development of his active powers? Then where can these powers have such stimulus and scope as it endeavours to please the Infinite?

II. The OBSTRUCTION to man's well-being. Being "in the flesh." What is meant by this? Not merely existing in the flesh: thus we all exist; but having the flesh for our master instead of our menial. The man who thus dwells in the flesh gets —

1. Fleshly views of the universe. All above, around, beneath him is materialism. His eyes are too gross to discern the spiritual significance of things; his ear too heavy to catch the spiritual melodies of the world.

2. Truth. "He judges after the flesh." If he has a theology, it is a sensuous thing.

3. Greatness. He has no idea of greatness apart from splendid costumes, magnificent dwellings, and brilliant equipages.

4. Happiness. He associates happiness with whatever pleases the tastes, charms the senses, satisfies the appetites, and gratifies the lusts.

5. God. He makes God such an one as himself, and gives Him human thoughts and passions. Now the soul in such a state has lost the desire and the power to please God. But the gospel comes to enfranchise the soul from the flesh and to restore to it its absolute sovereignty over the body. This deliverance is a new birth. "He that is born of the flesh is flesh," etc.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

Paul, RomansRomeAble, Absorbed, Can't, Earthly, Flesh, Hearts, Nature, Please, Pleasure, Sinful1. Those who are in Christ are free from condemnation.
5. What harm comes of the flesh;
13. and what good of the Spirit.
19. The glorious deliverance the creation longs for,
29. was beforehand decreed from God.
38. Nothing can sever us from his love.

Romans 8:8

     8460   pleasing God

Romans 8:1-9

     5110   Paul, teaching of
     6028   sin, deliverance from

Romans 8:1-11

     5381   law, letter and spirit

Romans 8:1-17

     6661   freedom, and law

Romans 8:3-9

     6166   flesh, sinful nature

Romans 8:4-9

     3233   Holy Spirit, and sanctification

Romans 8:5-8

     5038   mind, the human
     6022   sin, causes of
     9024   death, spiritual

Romans 8:5-9

     3248   Holy Spirit, conviction
     8164   spirituality

Romans 8:5-11

     3035   Holy Spirit, presence of

Romans 8:5-14

     3254   Holy Spirit, fruit of
     5832   desire
     6746   sanctification, means and results

Romans 8:5-17

     5345   influence

Romans 8:6-8

     2426   gospel, responses
     6023   sin, universality

December 18:
December 18th. The misgiving which will creep sometimes over the brightest faith has already received its expression and its rebuke: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Shall these "changes in the physical state of the environment" which threaten death to the natural man, destroy the spiritual? Shall death, or life, or angels, or principalities, or powers, arrest or tamper with his eternal correspondences? …
Henry Drummond—Beautiful Thoughts

October 10. "If Ye, through the Spirit, do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live" (Rom. viii. 13).
"If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. viii. 13). The Holy Spirit is the only one who can kill us and keep us dead. Many Christians try to do this disagreeable work themselves, and they are going through a continual crucifixion, but they can never accomplish the work permanently. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, and when you really yield yourself to the death, it is delightful to find how sweetly He can slay you. By the touch of the electric spark they …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

August 6. "As Many as are Led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God" (Rom. viii. 14).
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God" (Rom. viii. 14). The blessed Holy Spirit is our Guide, our Leader, and our Resting-place. There are times when He presses us forward into prayer, into service, into suffering, into new experiences, new duties, new claims of faith, and hope, and love, but there are times when He arrests us in our activity, and rests us under His overshadowing wing, and quiets us in the secret place of the Most High, teaching us some new lessons, breathing …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 12. "The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free" (Rom. viii. 2).
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free" (Rom. viii. 2). The life of Jesus Christ brought into our heart by the Holy Spirit, operates there as a new law of divine strength and vitality, and counteracts, overcomes and lifts us above the old law of sin and death. Let us illustrate these two laws by a simple comparison. Look at my hand. By the law of gravitation it naturally falls upon the desk and lies there, attracted downward by that natural law which makes heavy bodies fall …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 8. "For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free" (Rom. viii. 2).
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free" (Rom. viii. 2). There is a natural law of sin and sickness, and if we just let ourselves go and sink into the trend of circumstances we shall go down and sink under the power of the tempter. But there is another law of spiritual life and of physical life in Christ Jesus to which we can rise and through which we can counterpoise and overcome the other law that bears us down. But to do this requires real spiritual energy and fixed …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

September 27. "The Glorious Liberty of the Children of God" (Rom. viii. 21).
"The glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. viii. 21). Are you above self and self-pleasing in every way? Have you got above circumstances so that you are not influenced by them? Are you above sickness and the evil forces around that would drag down your physical life into the quicksands? These forces are all around, and if yielded to would quickly swamp us. God does not destroy sickness, or its power to hurt, but He lifts us above it. Are you above your feelings, moods, emotions and states? …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 11. "And He that Searcheth the Hearts Knoweth what is the Mind of the Spirit, Because He Maketh Intercession for the Saints According to the Will of God" (Rom. viii. 27).
"And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. viii. 27). The Holy Spirit becomes to the consecrated heart the Spirit of intercession. We have two Advocates. We have an Advocate with the Father, who prays for us at God's right hand; but the Holy Spirit is the Advocate within, who prays in us, inspiring our petitions and presenting them, through Christ, to God. We need this Advocate. We know …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 21. "Who Shall Separate us from the Love of Christ?" (Rom. viii. 35).
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rom. viii. 35). And then comes the triumphant answer, after all the possible obstacles and enemies have been mentioned one by one, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us." Our trials will be turned to helps; our enemies will be taken prisoners and made to fight our battles. Like the weights on yonder clock, which keep it going, our very difficulties will prove incentives to faith and prayer, and occasions …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

June 1. "That the Righteousness of the Law Might be Fulfilled in Us" (Rom. viii. 4).
"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us" (Rom. viii. 4). Beloved friends, do you know the mistake some of you are making? Some of you say: "It is not possible for me to be good; no man ever was perfect, and it is no use for me to try." That is the mistake many of you are making. I agree with the first sentence, "No man ever was perfect"; but I don't agree with the second, "There is no use trying." There is a divine righteousness that we may have. I don't mean merely that which …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

October 13. "The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God" (Rom. viii. 7).
"The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom. viii. 7). The flesh is incurably bad. "It is not subject to the law of God, neither, indeed, can be." It never can be any better. It is no use trying to improve the flesh. You may educate it all you please. You may train it by the most approved methods, you may set before it the brightest examples, you may pipe to it or mourn to it, treat it with encouragement or severity; its nature will always be incorrigibly the same. Like the wild hawk which the little …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

August 4. "Ye are not in the Flesh but in the Spirit if So be that the Spirit of God Dwell in You. Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ He is None of His" (Rom. viii. 9).
"Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His" (Rom. viii. 9). A spiritual man is not so much a man possessing a strong spiritual character as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. So the apostle said: "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." The glory of the new creation, then, is not only that it recreates the human spirit, but that it fits …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Consolation in Suffering, and Patience.
Text: Romans 8, 18-22. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Redemption of the Creatures.
Second Sermon. Text: Romans 8, 18-22. REDEMPTION OF THE CREATURES. 1. We have heard how Paul comforts the Christians in their sufferings, pointing them to the future inconceivable and eternal glory to be revealed in us in the world to come; and how he has, for our greater consolation, reminded us that the whole creation as one being suffers in company with the Christian Church. We have noted how he sees, with the clear, keen eye of an apostle, the holy cross in every creature. He brings out this …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Eighth Sunday after Trinity Living in the Spirit as God's Children.
Text: Romans 8, 12-17. 12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: 13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?] If God be for us, who can be against us? T he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty, when attempting to excite …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Accusers Challenged
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. T hough the collating of manuscripts and various readings has undoubtedly been of use in rectifying some mistakes which, through the inadvertency of transcribers, had crept into different copies of the New Testament, yet such supposed corrections of the text ought to be admitted with caution, and not unless supported by strong reasons and authorities. The whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God: and they who thankfully …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

August the Twenty-Fifth Impotent Enemies
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" --ROMANS viii. 31-39. Who can get between the love of Christ and me? What sharp dividing minister can cleave the two in twain, and leave me like a dismembered and dying branch? Terrible experiences cannot do it. "Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword!" All these may come about my house, but they cannot reach the inner sanctuary where my Lord and I are closeted in loving communion and peace. They may bruise my skin, …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

May the Twenty-Eighth the Sons of God
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God." --ROMANS viii. 9-17. And how unspeakably wealthy are the implications of the great word! If a son, then what holy freedom is mine! Mine is not "the spirit of bondage." The son has "the run of the house." That is the great contrast between lodgings and home. And I am to be at home with the Lord. And if a son, then heir! "All things are yours." Samuel Rutherford used to counsel his friends to "take a turn" round their estate. …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Sons and Heirs
'If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.'--ROMANS viii. 17. God Himself is His greatest gift. The loftiest blessing which we can receive is that we should be heirs, possessors of God. There is a sublime and wonderful mutual possession of which Scripture speaks much wherein the Lord is the inheritance of Israel, and Israel is the inheritance of the Lord. 'The Lord hath taken you to be to Him a people of inheritance,' says Moses; 'Ye are a people for a possession,' says …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Suffering with Christ, a Condition of Glory with Christ
'...Joint heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.'--ROMANS viii. 17. In the former part of this verse the Apostle tells us that in order to be heirs of God, we must become sons through and joint-heirs with Christ. He seems at first sight to add in these words of our text another condition to those already specified, namely, that of suffering with Christ. Now, of course, whatever may be the operation of suffering in fitting for the possession of …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Witness of the Spirit
'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.'--ROMANS viii. 18. The sin of the world is a false confidence, a careless, complacent taking for granted that a man is a Christian when he is not. The fault, and sorrow, and weakness of the Church is a false diffidence, an anxious fear whether a man be a Christian when he is. There are none so far away from false confidence as those who tremble lest they be cherishing it. There are none so inextricably caught in …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Revelation of Sons
'For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.'--ROMANS viii. 19. The Apostle has been describing believers as 'sons' and 'heirs.' He drops from these transcendent heights to contrast their present apparent condition with their true character and their future glory. The sad realities of suffering darken his lofty hopes, even although these sad realities are to his faith tokens of joint-heirship with Jesus, and pledges that if our inheritance is here …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

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