Romans 5-8 Commentary

In Romans 5:1-2, Paul identifies himself ("we") as having peace with God through Jesus, and as having been introduced by faith into the grace in which "we" stand. In 5:9, He identifies himself with those who are justified, and saved from God's wrath. In 5:10-11, he identifies himself with those who are reconciled to God. In 6:4-10, He identifies himself with those who have been crucified with Christ(6), buried with Him and walking in newness of life (4), united with Him in the likeness of both His death and His resurrection (5), freed from sin (7), died with Christ and living with Him (8-10). 6:11-13 are built on the previous verses, and verse 17 affirms believers reigning in life, and freed from sin (22). Those who hold the concurrent position maintain that believers are freed only from the condemnation of the Law. Romans 7:1-3 is an example on which verses 4-6 are based. The widow in the example is freed not only from the condemnation of the Law of marriage; she is freed from the Law of marriage ITSELF. Verses 4-6 are an exact parallel of 1-3 (somewhat like if...then). So we have died to the Law. What Law? For the widow in the example, it was the Law of marriage. For us, it is the part of the Law that aroused sinful passions (verse 5), and which produced death. Verse 6 says we have been freed from "that Law," the Law stated in verse 5. The Law from which we are released is the Law that aroused sinful passions in our members. The fruit of this release is walking in the Spirit, and by inference from verse 5, life. We died to "that Law" which bound us, the Law that aroused sinful passions. In 7:7-25, Paul harks back to his pre-conversion days. We can know this is not part of his current life, because of verse 14. Is Paul really sold into bondage under sin in his life as a Christian? No, he is not. He said in 6:7 that he is freed from sin, and that in verse 17 that he reigns in life. One cannot be in bondage to sin and freed from sin concurrently. One cannot reign in life and and be in bondage to sin concurrently. In 8:1-17, Paul expounds on walking in the Spirit. In verse 2, he reaffirms freedom from the Law of sin and death. In 8:9, Paul tells the Romans that they are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in them, and that if they don't have the Spirit of Christ, they don't belong to Him. Is Paul telling them that they are believers, and he is not, or that they reign in life, and he does not (6:17, 7:14)? No, he is not. Doesn't Paul have the Spirit of Christ? He does! Is the Holy Spirit in bondage to sin? No, He is not! That's an impossibility! 7:7-25 has to be referring to Paul's experience as an unbeliever. One cannot be in the Spirit (i.e. a believer) and be in bondage to sin. I am not saying we don't, as believers, have sin we need to confess. This passage is referring to BONDAGE to sin. A note for Arminians: 1 John 1:9 does not refer to the eradication of the sin nature. We can and should confess our sins and receive forgiveness and cleansing multiple times as believers. The sin nature cannot be removed and reinstated multiple times. To live victoriously (6:17) does not imply the need to eradicate the sin nature. This is a holdover from Augustinian theology. Nothing is said about a second blessing. Believers can have as many blessings as they want to, and, according to Scripture, are commanded in Ephesians 5 to keep on being filled by the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is what Arminians refer to as a second blessing.