Romans 8

Romans 8:1

Since the grace of God, through Christ Jesus, thus delivers all true believers from the guilt and dominion of sin, in order to their being, in due time, freed from all the remainders of it, it is evident that, even in this imperfect world, there is no sentence of condemnation to God’s wrath standing against them, who are vitally united to Christ as members of his mystical body; and who, though attended with many lamented and condemnable infirmities, do, in the general tenor of their conversation, act, not according to the dictates and inclinations of their corrupt nature, but according to the inspired word of God, the suggestions, directions, assistance, and pattern, of the Holy Ghost, and according to the nature and inclinations of that principle of grace implanted in regeneration

Romans 8:2

For, through the covenant of grace perfectly fulfilled by Christ, and through the gospel applied by the powerful influence of the Holy Ghost to my conscience, I am delivered from the covenant of works, which is the strength of sin and binds over unto death, and have a new principle of grace implanted in my heart, in opposition to the sinful and destructive principle of natural corruption. 3, 4. For, when the covenant of works, which required perfect obedience as the only condition of eternal life, and pronounced a curse for the very smallest transgression, had, not indeed of itself, but through our sinfulness and inability, rendered the justification of fallen men by their own works absolutely impossible, God, in his infinite wisdom and grace, appointed, and manifested in our world, his own only begotten Son, personally united to our nature in all the debased and distressing circumstances thereof, and, by rendering him an atoning sacrifice for sin, punished it in him, and sufficiently testified his displeasure against it, in order that all righteousness, in obedience to the precepts of the law or satisfaction to its penalty, being fulfilled by him as our Surety in our stead, might be imputed to our persons, and applied to our consciences, who by his grace have our stated and habitual conversation towards God and men, not under the influence, or according to our natural principles, of sinful corruption, but according to the dictates and influences of the Holy Ghost, and the nature and bent of those gracious principles which he has implanted, and doth preserve, uphold, actuate, and assist, in our souls

Romans 8:5

For, whatever men profess, they, who are under the direction, dominion, and influence, of indwelling corruption, habitually consult, relish, pursue, and delight in, worldly, sensual, and sinful things, answerably to their carnal and unrenewed appetites: but they, who are under the dominion, and influence of the Holy Ghost dwelling in their hearts, and of the gracious principles implanted by him in regeneration, think of, are devoted to, contrive, relish, follow after, and delight in, those things which are of a spiritual and heavenly nature, answerably to their renewed inclinations and the dictates and influences of the Holy Ghost

Romans 8:6

Nor is their condition less different than their course; for to have the prevailing bent and delight of the heart turned towards worldly, sensual, and sinful objects, and to live and act accordingly, is in its own nature a spiritual death in trespasses and sins, which deserves, tends to, and naturally issues in, eternal death. But to have our mind frequently, delightfully, intently, and transformingly, employed about spiritual things, under the dominion and influence of the Holy Ghost, and of infused spiritual principles of grace, is in itself a spiritual life, fills the soul with inward activity, peace, and comfort, and is the certain earnest of, and preparation for, everlasting life and peace in the immediate enjoyment of God

Romans 8:7

But this happy temper and privilege we cannot possess without an almighty renovation of our heart; for the whole bent of an earthly and unregenerate heart is in direct opposition to, and ineterate and malicious enmity against, God, his perfections, will, authority, and government, and all conformity to him or spiritual enjoyment of him; and such is its desperate malignity, that it neither will, nor can be brought into a subjection to, or compliance with, the spiritual and righteous demands of his holy, just, and good law

Romans 8:8

It is therefore manifest that they, who are in their natural state under the power and dominion of carnal principles and corrupt affections, are, while they continue so, utterly incapable of doing any thing spiritually good and acceptable to God, or of being in Christ discharged from condemnation, or accepted to eternal life

Romans 8:9

But ye, brethren, are not under the dominion of your sinful, and in part remaining, corruption, but under the direction and government of the Holy Ghost, and of implanted principles of grace, as is manifest from the abiding residence and operation of the same in you. Nevertheless, if any of you are not partakers of the inhabitation, renewing and sanctifying operations, of that Spirit, who proceeds from, resides in, and is sent and given by, Christ, ye cannot possibly be of the number of his children; or, continuing such, be owned by him as his, or adjudged to eternal life at the last day

Romans 8:10

But if Christ has by his Spirit, taken up his abode in you, as his members spiritually united to him, your bodies indeed must die, because of the divine sentence passed against sin, and because of the remains of sin in you; but your souls are already made spiritually alive, and shall for ever live in blessedness and glory, through the righteousness of Christ, wrought out for and imputed to you, and by means of that true principle of holiness which is implanted in you to make you live to God here, and meet for the enjoyment of him hereafter

Romans 8:11

And, if that blessed Spirit, who together with the Father and 2 Son, raised up the dead body of Jesus Christ from the grave, dwell in you, by peculiar relation, fixed inhabitation, and quickening and sanctifying operation, God, who raised up your anointed Saviour, Head, and Representative, will, in virtue of, and in conformity to, his resurrection, raise up your dead bodies at the last day to a glorious and immortal life by the same almighty operation of his Spirit

Romans 8:12

Since, therefore, my dear brethren in Christ, all mischief and ruin are conveyed to us by sin, and all the blessings we enjoy or hope for are conveyed to us by the Holy Ghost, we can be under no obligation or reasonable inducement to follow the pernicious motions, or obey the unrighteous demands, of our sinful corruption, but are under the strongest obligations to the good Spirit of God, and have the strongest motives to live answerably to his holy dictates and influences

Romans 8:13

And if any of you, contrary to your Christian character and professions, habitually indulge yourselves in fulfilling your sinful lusts, ye must, notwithstanding all your notions, pretences, or external privileges, in religion, as persons who have no real union with, or interest in, Christ, fall short of eternal life, and be plunged into everlasting misery; but if ye, as true believers, vitally united to Christ by virtue derived from him, in the gracious influences and assistances of his Spirit, resist, subdue, and crucify, your corrupt affections, principles, and practices, ye shall, according to the gracious establishment of the gospel, for ever live with him, soul and body, in heaven

Romans 8:14

For all they who are conducted, assisted, and governed, by the light and influence of God’s Spirit, in their minds, wills, affections, and conversation, and they only, as the children of God, are entitled to everlasting life by their adoption, and prepared for it by the implantation of holy principles in their regeneration: 15. For ye have not received the Holy Ghost in order to subject your souls to such servile fears as resulted from the darkness and terror of the legal dispensation, or from legal convictions of your sinfulness and misery before your conversion; but, according to the light, liberty, and joy, of the New Testament dispensation, ye have been made partakers of him in his most comfortable and emboldening operations, by which we and other believers are enabled, with holy reverence, affection, favour, impunity, confidence, and freedom, to address God in our worship as our reconciled Father in Christ

Romans 8:16

And, in this assured pouring out of our hearts to God through Christ, the Holy Ghost, by working gracious dispositions in us, and by shining upon his own work, doth, in and by his word, assist and concur with our consciences in witnessing that we are truly the adopted and regenerated children of God

Romans 8:17

And, if we be thus his children, we are necessarily and irrevocably entitled to the rich and glorious inheritance of everlasting life, happiness, and holiness, answerably to our high dignity and relation; and, in and through and together with Christ, our Saviour, Head, Father, and elder Brother, are heirs of God himself, and all that he is or has, as our everlasting Portion; and all our sufferings in this world for his sake, and in conformity to him, shall but promote and issue it our exalted and eternal enjoyment of God in and together with him

Romans 8:18

For, after an impartial and careful examining and balancing all accounts, under God’s infallible direction, I compute, and am fully satisfied, that all the afflictions we can meet with in this world, or endure for the sake of Christ and his cause, are so short, light, and trivial, as to deserve no comparison with that amazing glory and happiness which shall be publicly allotted to, and bestowed upon, us in the last judgment

Romans 8:19-22

Nay, such is the transcendent glory of that liberty and happiness which we, the adopted and regenerated children of God, shall then enjoy, that all the irrational creatures in this lower world, with order and earnestness answerable to their nature, long for it, that, by their sharing therein, they may be completely and finally delivered from all that vanity, disgrace, disorder, or pain, which has, by the curse, been introduced among and upon them on account of man’s first and other sins

Romans 8:23

And, while they thus long for deliverance from their present vanity and misery, we, who have received the Holy Ghost in his sanctifying, sealing, and comforting, operations, as pledges, earnests, evidences, and securities, of our future full enjoyment of the heavenly inheritance, are, notwithstanding our peace and joy in believing, exceedingly troubled; and, with secret groanings, under the pressure of our remaining sinfulness and affliction, earnestly long for and desire, assuredly hope and patiently wait for, the full enjoyment of all those exalted privileges and blessings belonging to us as the adopted children of God, and in which our bodies, raised to an immortality, shall, together with our souls, share in the most honourable and transporting fellowship with God. 24, 25. For at present we have not the actual possession of our full salvation, but only the assured hope of enjoying it in some future period: and, hoping for it as a thing unseen and unenjoyed, we, patiently bearing our troubles and humbly resigning ourselves to God’s will as to the time of its manifestation, wait for it with cheerfulness, firmly expecting that, in due time, we shall be fully delivered from all evil, and crowned with everlasting happiness in heaven. 26, 27. And, as this delightful hope encourages and supports our patient waiting under all our griefs and burdens, so doth the Holy Ghost himself, by his concurrent direction, support under our manifold weaknesses and imperfections, which would otherwise carry us into unseasonable and impatient desires of deliverance; for, by our remaining ignorance, selfishness, carnality, and perturbation of spirit, we neither know what to pray for, as most conducive to God’s glory and our good, nor are capable of ordering our requests in a duly believing, spiritual, fervent, holy, humble, submissive, and steady manner; but the Holy Ghost suggests to us proper requests, and enables us to offer them up, with such vehement pantings and breathings of soul, in an admirable mixture of faith and patience, importunity and hope, as no words can sufficiently express. But, though we cannot fully express these strong inward desires of our heart, the all-seeing and heart-searching God accurately and kindly observes and approves, and is ready to answer, whatever we aim at and desire under the influence of his own Spirit, who always directs and assists to pray according to his will and word; such prayers must therefore certainly be answered in due season

Romans 8:28

And, for our further comfort under all our present tribulations and groanings, we believers know, from God’s covenant promises, relations, and affection to us through Christ, and from our own and others’ experience, that all persons, things, and events, however bad or afflictive in their own nature, tendency, or appearances, shall, under the influence of the overruling wisdom, power, and grace, of God, work together to promote the spiritual and eternal advantage of all those who sincerely love God as their chief good and highest end, having been, by the effectual working of his Spirit, called and converted to him according to, and in prosecution of, his eternal purpose of grace to them; 29, 30. And this indeed is the original source of all that good which we enjoy or hope for: for, whatever persons of mankind God from everlasting fixed his love and choice upon, these he determined, in due time, to render conformed to his Son in holiness, needful suffering, and eternal glory, that he might have the honour of being the prime Ruler and Chief of a numerous family of ransomed men:—and whom he thus predestinated to holiness, sufferings, and honours, he, in the execution of this decree, effectually calls and converts to Christ, and unites them with him:—and whom he, not only externally by the gospel, but internally, calls, draws, and renews, by his grace, these he pardons, accepts, and entitles to eternal life, through the righteousness of Christ:—and whom he thus justifies, he, by his Holy Spirit, sanctifies and comforts in this world, and at last admits to the full and immediate enjoyment of himself in heaven, in, with, and conformed to, Christ

Romans 8:31

If then the infinitely wise, unchangeable, and almighty, God be thus our certain, fast, and steady, friend; and all his perfections, purposes, promises, and operations, be on our side; what ground have we of confidence, comfort, and wonder! and how little reason to fear the malicious, crafty, and powerful, attempts, of our most malicious and inveterate enemies!

Romans 8:32

For if God, in infinite love to us, cheerfully and freely appointed his only begotten Son our Surety, brought him into our nature and place in law, and without the least abatement exacted from him all the obedience and suffering due from an elect world, that we, through his atoning sacrifice of himself in our stead, might be saved in him with an everlasting salvation, how is it possible that he should not, along with this unspeakable and leading gift, freely bestow upon us whatever purchased blessing, promised in his covenant, is needful for either our soul or body?

Romans 8:33

And, since we are thus chosen in Christ, our sins atoned for by him, and our persons justified in him, how is it possible that any can fix a law-charge of guilt upon us, notwithstanding the fearful sinfulness and transgressions which we have reason to mourn over?—since it is God himself, whose judgment is always according to truth, who has accounted and pronounced us absolved from guilt, and accepted and entitled us, as righteous, to eternal life

Romans 8:34

And, however intent our enemies, and however ready our own conscience, may be to condemn us, yet who can subject us to the curse of God’s law, to our eternal destruction? Christ has suffered the whole punishment due to our sins; has fulfilled the righteousness demanded by the law in our stead; and, in receiving the reward of his work, has risen again for our justification; yea, is exalted to his Father’s right hand, to exercise an universal dominion for our advantage, and publicly to absolve and adjudge us to eternal life at the last judgment:—and, to manifest his own friendship, and secure our continuance in favour with God, he, as our righteous Advocate, pleads the merit of his atoning blood for us in his prevalent intercession, that we, on his account, may be eternally saved

Romans 8:35-37

It must therefore be impossible that distresses or tribulations of soul or body, or the most permanent and murderous persecutions for his sake, can alienate Christ’s heart from us, or ours from him, or exclude us from a share in the saving designs, fruits, and manifestations, of his special love.—Nay, through his merits and mediation and overruling influence, we are, and shall be, safely, successfully, and triumphantly, carried through them all; and they are rendered remarkably useful to try and exercise our graces, wean our hearts from this world, ripen us for heaven, and sweeten the thoughts of it to us. 38, 39. For, from the unchangeableness of God’s nature, perfections, purposes, covenant, and promises, and of the merit and efficacious intercession of Christ, I am infallibly assured that nothing, however distressing, entangling, or powerful, either in this world, or in that which is to come, shall ever be able to cut us off, or set us at a distance, from that infinite love of God the Father, which is fixed upon, and manifested to, us, and performs all things for us, in and through Christ: nor can any thing remove, or root out from our souls, our sincere love to him as our God in Christ. heart towards earthly things, and into a fixed and malicious opposition to, and hatred of, God and his law. It has brought corruption and curses on the whole lower creation: and its distresses and infirmities still cleave even to believers. But great is their safety, comfort, honour, and happiness, who are united to Jesus Christ. Their justification is complete; their nature and life are in part renewed; and grace implanted governs them. Their present beginnings of spiritual-mindedness, possession of Christ’s Spirit, conflicting with remaining corruptions, heirship with Christ, suffering for his sake, and supplication for his mercies, are earnest and pledges of, and shall quickly issue in, their complete and everlasting glorification. Already all things promote, and the perfections, purposes, and providences, of God, and the justifying death and powerful intercession of Christ, secure, their full and eternal welfare. Why then do we not always triumph in what he is to us, and has done, and will do for, and to, us! Why do we not always rejoice exceedingly in hopes of the glory of God! Why are we not constantly wrapped up in wonder,—all inflamed by the views of his redeeming love! No created thing should ever disquiet our hearts, since nothing can separate us from Jesus’ person, or deprive us of his and his Father’s love