8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no

ance and something of the reward in hand; it may also be done by sacrament and design, before it is done by proper faith; and the work of God does only antedate the work of man--the conversion of the soul to God, that is, the effectual disposition in which baptism doth save us-it is the Spirit that giveth life, whose work is faith and repentance, begun by himself without the sacrament, and consigned (sealed?) in the sacrament, and carried forward and increased in the co-operation of our whole life-the new man, thus begun, grows up to perfection and a spiritual life-to a life of glory-by our fulfilment of our baptismal vow on the one part, and the graces of the Spirit on the other." To understand this we must bear in mind, that a true Gospel faith is no lazy, languid thing, but an ardent thirsting after divine grace and righteousness-to adopt the language of Smith-" it desires not only to stand upon clear terms with heaven, by procuring the crossing of all the debt-books of our sins there, but it rather seeks for an internal participation of the divine nature; it is that whereby we live in Christ, and he in us; something so powerfully imbibing the precious influences of the divine Spirit, that the soul where it abides is continually flowing with living waters-it is perpetually hanging on the arms of immortal goodness, for there it finds its great strength lies, and as much as may be arms itself with the mighty power of God, by which it goes forth, like a giant refreshed with wine, to run that race of grace and holiness that leads to the true elysium of glory, the heavenly Canaan; and whenever it finds itself enfeebled in its difficult conflict with those fierce and furious corruptions, those tall sons of Anak, which, arising from our sensual affections, encounter it in the wilderness of this world, then turning itself to God, and putting itself under the conduct of the angel of his presence, it finds itself out of weakness to become strong, enabled from above to put to flight those mighty armies of the aliens. The same spirit that dwelt in Christ derives itself, in its mighty virtue and energy, through all believing

more; death hath no more dominion over him:

10 For in that he died, he died on account of sin once for all; but in that he liveth, he

souls, shaping them more and more into a just resemblance and conformity to him, as the first copy and pattern; whence it is that we have so many ways of unfolding the union between Christ and all believers; all this is done for us, by degrees, through the efficacy of the eternal Spirit, when, by a true faith, we deny ourselves and our own wills, submit ourselves, in a deep sense of our own folly and weakness, to his wisdom and power, comply with his will, and, by a holy affiance in him, subordinate ourselves to his pleasure, for these are the vital acts of a true Gospel faith."

Verses 8, 9.-"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." "Baptism is not to be estimated as one transient act, effective to a single purpose; all our life is to be regulated by the rule of the Gospel covenant, and that covenant is sealed in baptism; there we have our title and adoption to it, the grace then given is like leaven, and faith and repentance do, in all periods of our life, put it into fermentation and activity; then the seed of God is put into the ground of our hearts, and repentance waters it, and faith makes it prolific; but most of those who enter into the baptismal covenant, if they do not utterly renounce Christ, and extinguish the Spirit, yet resist him and grieve him, and fall from the holiness of the covenant, and need the great pardon to be perpetually applied and renewed, and, therefore, Jesus sits in heaven, in perpetual intercession for us."-Taylor.

As

Verse 10.-" For in that he died, he died on account of sin once for all." Christ died but once to make atonement for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, and thenceforth was exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high, where he ever liveth to promote the glory of God, so we are but once baptized into his death, and enter into but one covenant, thenceforth to live to the glory of God; if we apostatize from this covenant, there is no more sacrifice for sins (Heb. x. 26)- no more deaths of

Christ into which we may be baptizedwe are fallen from the state of pardon and repentance into which we were admitted at baptism; but between absolute apostacy and entirely securing our election are several degrees of danger and insecuritywe rise from death but once, but from sickness many times; unavoidable infirmities and short interruptions, against which we watch and strive being put upon the account of the cross, and paid for by the holy Jesus (Heb. vi. 4-6; ix. 24, and thence to end of chap. x.).

Verse 11.-"Consider ye also that ye are now dead unto sin, and living unto God." The whole life of a Christian should be a continual reflection how in baptism he entered into solemn covenant with Christ, to die unto sin, and to live only unto God; to serve and obey him with all his heart and all his soul and all his strength; considering that Christ died for us to the end that we should no more live unto ourselves but unto him alone, we must do him honour and show our gratitude for his love by the purity of our lives. "It is not by sudden transports of fancy that a man is to judge of his love to God, but by a real change of heart; for every man has first loved sin and obeyed it, and until that obedience be changed, the first love remains, and is absolutely inconsistent with the love of God. In extinguishing the dominion of sin which nature and evil habit have established, we are assured that aid will be furnished from heaven to assist our own virtuous efforts; that God's love and the helps of his Spirit will hasten our pardon and acceptance; but though our improvement be forwarded by aid from God, yet it proceeds by progressive degrees, and after the manner of

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but surrender yourselves unto God, as men who are alive from the dead-who having died to sin have risen to a new and holy life-and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not have

nature, and we must judge of it by observable changes in our character and conduct. He that has resolved against all sin, and yet falls into it regularly at the next temptation, is under the dominion of sin he obeys it. though unwillinglyhe murmurs at his fetters, but is still in slavery and bondage; but if he resists temptation and guards against surprise, grows stronger in grace, is seldom overcome and repents when he is, arms himself better and watches more carefully, whatever imperfection still adheres to him is fitted indeed to humble and cast him down, yet he is in the state of grace he is in the Christian warfare, and on God's side."-Taylor.

Verse 12.-"Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body." Our bodies and their lusts are mortal, and soon must perish, but if we maintain our Christian warfare, as becomes the soldiers of Christ, ere long this mortal shall put on a glorious immortality; what folly, then, to pamper our corrupt desires and thus invite sin to reign over us! a Christian ought to attain to such a state, as not only not to sin with deliberation, but not even by passion; we must endeavour to gain so great a dominion over our sin and lust, that we be not surprised even on a sudden; this is a work of time, and it is well if it be ever done, but it must always be endeavoured; and if we thus fulfil our baptismal vow as men who have died to sin and are raised to a new life to the glory of God, Christ hath so broken the strength and dominion of sin by the grace afforded us, that we shall be enabled to resist and avoid it, it shall not domineer over us- the perpetual presence of God's grace is our best security, and this grace never leaves us unless we leave it.

Verse 14.-"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace." We are not now under the law as a covenant of life-not under its curse-but we are still under it as a rule of living; it binds us as it bound Adam in paradise, although upon the unwilling violation of it we do not incur the curse the dispensation of the free mercy and grace of God is the only sure deliverance from the tyranny of sin, the only sovereign remedy against the rooted malady and corruption of the soul; good men had divine aid under the law, but they had it not by the law, but by the Gospel (Gal. ii. 19; Micah vii. 19).

Verse 15.-The apostle proceeds to show how much the working of grace surpasses that of law, in overthrowing the dominion of sin. This he does by two illustrations, one exhibiting the power of grace, as manifested in the reformed lives of the first Christians, especially of the Gentile converts, which he dwells on to the end of the chapter; the other (chap. vii. 1, &c.) showing the weakness of law, and addressed especially to his Jewish brethren. He propounds no theory to account for this extraordinary power of grace, except to hint what St. John more clearly declares (1 John iv. 7, &c.), that it may be traced to the influence of divine love upon the heart, aided by the power of the Holy Ghost. Modern expositors have endeavoured to investigate the principles of our nature which contribute to a result so remarkable, and their analysis has conducted several of them to the same solution of the mystery-a solution happily expressed in Olshausen's note on this verse, part of which I subjoin :-"In service man is always, and there is no middle state between the service of sin and the service of God; ; man either has justification or forgiveness of sins (and with it life and salvation) entirely, or he has it not at all; sanctification only (which springs from living faith as fruit of love returned) has its degrees, may

16 Know ye not, that to whomsoever ye yield yourselves servants in order to obedience, ye are truly the servants of him whom ye actually obey, either of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

be pursued more earnestly or more lukewarmly; but this does not determine the state of grace, salvation, but only the degree of glory in salvation. The key to this mystery, that the doctrine of reconciliation without exacting works begets in the mind the purest works, lies here, that love awakens love again and strong desires of holiness-thereby the striving of the man ceases to be a heavy bitter toil; he no more struggles that he may be saved, and please God, but because he is become, without deserving, saved and acceptable to God in the beloved, he works for love as if the matter were his own, so there are but two states of the man, he is either under law or under grace; under the scourge of the law he deals in works, and serves for hire (chap. iv. 4), but according to the strict right of retribution he fares by it but very badly, if he is tempted he falls, and sin has rule, even though the better conquers now and then; on the other hand, under grace, the man indeed is tempted, but he conquers, even if, now and then, sin for once tells upon him."

Verse 16. "Know ye not, that to whomsoever ye yield yourselves servants in order to obedience, ye are truly the servants of him whom ye actually obey." All affection for sin is perfectly inconsistent with the love of God-love cannot be divided between God and God's enemyno man can serve two masters-we must love God with all our heart, having love for nothing else but such things as he allows, or as he commands, and as he loves himself. Every man that doeth sin, says our Lord, is the servant of sin (John viii. 34); by whom a man is overcome to him he is enslaved (2 Pet. ii. 19). It is not what we say, but what we do; not what we would seem, but what we really are, that doth constitute and truly denominate us servants. We shall not only lose the rewards and privileges, but forfeit all pretence to the very name of Christ's servants, if we disobey his com

17 But thanks be to God, that although ye were once the servants of sin, yet ye have now obeyed from the heart that system of doctrine into which ye were delivered;

18 And having been emancipated from the bondage of sin, ye have been made servants to righteousness.

19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh-I accommodate my language to your imperfect spiritual apprehensions—as then ye formerly yielded your mem

mands, being really servants to those lusts which sway us to the devil, whose pleasure we fulfil-to the world, whose vicious customs we follow we do but usurp and invade the name of Christian if our practice be not conformable to the precepts of our Lord; we really are, and ought to be reputed, servants to that master whose work we do, and whose commands we obey. When Christ reigns in us, and sin does not reign, but the Spirit is quickened, and the lusts are mortified-when we do acts of piety, temperance, and justice frequently, easily, and cheerfully, with habitual industry, according to the talent which God has intrusted to us, then are we in the love of God; but if sin grows upon us, is committed more frequently, or gets a victory with less difficulty, then we love not God as he requires he is not Lord of all our faculties.

Ver.17.-The system of doctrine of which the apostle speaks comprehended the main points of the Gospel, in which catechumens were instructed, and in which, at baptism, they professed their belief; he elsewhere calls it the form of sound words (2 Tim. i. 13); it constituted the earliest creed. The Gospel has a transforming power to fashion men's hearts into the likeness of it, as the fused metal is fashioned by the mould; St. Paul, in this and in many other places, speaks with exultation of the mighty reformation which it wrought in the hearts and lives of the first converts.

bers servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto a habit of iniquity-so that ye became habitually depraved—so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness-that ye may be habitually holy.

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness-ye acknowledged no subjection to the restraints which righteousness imposes.

21 Iask, therefore, what fruit had ye then in those things of which ye are now ashamed?

Verse 18.-Every vicious man is a slave, and chooses the vilest of masters and the basest of services and the most contemptible of rewards; but when we enter Christ's militia, we give ourselves up to his obedience, become his disciples, and are bound to witness a good confession, and to lead a holy life; faith is our learning, religion our employment, all our affections must be spiritual, for heaven is the object of our hopes, and the mighty prize of our high calling; upon every one of our appetites a restraint has been laid, and a law placed for sentinel, but they who are the slaves of sin free themselves from this restraint, and cast off this rightful authority.

Verse 21.-"What fruit had ye then in those things of which ye are now ashamed?" Their present fruit is shame, and their final result would be eternal death, but what fruit had ye in them even then when ye broke loose from moral restraint, and were free from the control of virtue? none that ye dare own; for most sins are attended with present misery, and it is only through the blindness of passion that men rush even into those that offer the allurement of present pleasure, against all reason disregarding the future; more foolish than the fly that darts into a candle, attracted by its showy glare; for the pleasure of sin, even in the moment of enjoying, is infinitely trifling; small in itself, it is made less by its fugitive nature; in the moment of its birth it dies; the next moment it is

G

for the end of those thingsthe final result to which they lead-is death eternal.

22 But now that ye have been emancipated from the bondage of sin, and made servants of God, ye have your fruit

unto holiness, and for the end for the final result—everlasting life.

23 For the wages of sin is death eternal, but the gift of God is everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

nowhere but in the memory of men and in the tablet of conscience and in the book of God, sealed up against the day of dreadful account. Yes! the pleasure of sin is brief and transitory as the act, but its evil consequences are terrible and abidingbodily disease-social dishonour-shame and remorse-fearful anticipations of future retribution - actual endurance of God's wrath, which is eternal death, that is, eternal misery-sin makes us to lose all that Christ purchased for us-the blessings of his providence the comforts of his Spirit the aids of his grace-the light of his countenance-the hope of his gloryit makes us enemies of God.

Verse 22.-"But when we are freed from the yoke of sin, and become servants of God, and obey his commandments, we have our fruit unto holiness, that is, we acquire a habit of holy obedience, our service is rewarded with further service, and, in this world, God has not a greater reward to give, for thus the soul is nourished unto life, and thus it grows up with the increase of God, and passes on to a perfect man in Christ, so it is made meet for heaven, and so it enters into glory, for glory is the perfection of grace; and when our love to God is come to its state of perfection, then we are within the circles of a diadem, and the regions of felicity and perpetual joy.”—Taylor. "Made free from sin, and servants to God, this is the righteousness of justification; ye have your fruit unto holiness, this is the righteousness of sanctification; by the one we are interested in the right of inheriting, by the other we are brought to the actual possessing of eternal bliss, and so the end of both is everlasting life."-Hooker.

Verse 23. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." The apostle had been speaking of sin as a master who has servants, and is obeyed, and contrasting his service with the ser

vice of God, and now continuing the contrast, adds, that the wages which sin pays to his servants is death. "While men continue in their wickedness," says Smith,

66

they do but vainly dream of a device to tie the hands of an almighty vengeance from seizing on them. No; their own sins, like so many armed giants, would, first or last, set upon them, and rend them with inward torment-there needs no angry cherub with a flaming sword drawn out every way to keep their unhallowed hands off from the tree of lifeno! their own prodigious lusts, like so many arrows in their sides, would chase them their own depraved natures would sink them low enough into eternal death, and chain them fast enough in fetters of darkness. Sin will always be miserable; if all were clear toward heaven, we should find sin raising up storms in our own souls -we cannot carry fire in our bosom, and not be burnt-though we could suppose the greatest serenity without us, and ourselves to be at truce with heaven, and all divine displeasure laid asleep, yet would our own sins, if they continue unmortified, first or last, make an Etna or Vesuvius within us. It would be of small benefit to us that Christ hath triumphed over the principalities and powers of darkness without us, while hell and death, strongly immured in a fort of our own sins and corruptions, should tyrannise within us-that his blood should speak peace in heaven, if, in the mean time, our own lusts were perpetually warring and fighting in and against our souls-that he hath taken off our guilt and cancelled the handwriting that was against us, which bound us over to eternal condemnation, if for all this we continue fast bound up in the horrible dungeon of our own filthy lusts." are the wages sin pays to his vassals, and which, in strict justice, is their due. The servants of God also obey their Lord, and the reward of their service is eternal life, but this they could never claim as of right,

Such