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Romans 8:1. There is therefore now— Αρα νυν . The word Αρα here, is not illative, but strongly affirmative;—nempe utique, certainly, verily; (see Matthew 12:28. Luke 11:48; Luk 18:8 in the original). Now, is "under the Gospel." This carries our thoughts back to Rom 8:6 of the foregoing chapter; which verse the Apostle comments upon in the eleven first verses of this chapter; and these verses shew the Christian Jew how he is obliged under the Gospel to sanctity of life, and correspond to the first eleven verses of the sixth chapter, where he shews the same thing to the Gentile Christian. Πνευμα, Spirit, certainly is not used in the same sense throughout this chapter. In Romans 8:10; Rom 8:16 it signifies the spirit of our mind (as Acts 7:59; Acts 17:16; Acts 18:5; Acts 18:25.Romans 1:9; Romans 1:9; Romans 12:11.Galatians 5:17; Galatians 5:17.); the supreme part of our constitution, or the principle of reason, by which we discern, approve, and choose the truth; and thus it answers to νους, mind, in the foregoing chapter, Romans 8:25. But in Romans 8:9; Romans 8:11; Romans 8:16; Rom 8:26-27 it signifies that heavenly Person, whom we call the Holy Ghost, given to the Apostles and others in his miraculous power, and sent to enlighten and sanctify all those who submit to the righteousness of God which is by faith, and desire to live soberly, righteously, and godly. The verse before us may be paraphrased thus: "Under the weak and lifeless dispensation of the law, the sinner remains, as we have shewn above, in a deplorable state, without help or hope, enslaved to sin, and sentenced to death. Butnow, under the Gospel, the most encouraging hopes smile upon us, and we have the highest assurance that all genuine believers, notwithstanding former transgressions, are quite discharged from the penalty of the law, and disengaged from the servitude of sin; and will so continue, if so be they make that faith a principle of obedience, and do not choose to live in wickedness, according to the instigation of fleshlyappetite; but in truth and holiness, according to the dictates of the inward man," &c. See Locke, and Bengelius.

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Romans 8:2. For the law of the Spirit of life— That it is the Spirit of life and grace,—the Spirit of Christ,—who delivers from the law in the members, that law of death, is evident from chap. Romans 7:23-25. Why it is called a law, may be found in the antithesis to the law of sin and death; grace being as certain a law to give life to Christians, who live not after the flesh, as the influence of sinful appetites is to bring death on those who are not under grace. The reason why it is called the law of the Spirit of life is, that the Gospel which contains this doctrine of grace is dictated by the same Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead; that quickens us to newness of life, and has for its end the conferring of eternal life. By the law of sin and death is meant, that which he calls the law in his members, chap. Rom 7:23 where it is termed the law of sin; and Rom 8:24 the body of death, from which grace delivers. This is certain, that no one who considers what St. Paul has said, Romans 8:7; Rom 8:13 of the foregoing chapter, can think that he can call the law of Moses the law of sin, or the law of death. See Locke.

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Romans 8:3. For what the law could not do, &c.— For this the law not being able to effect, &c. The weakness, and as he there also calls it, the unprofitableness of the law, is again taken notice of by the Apostle, Hebrews 7:18-19. There were two defects in the law, whereby it became in this limited sense unprofitable, so as to make nothing perfect; (for it is profitable to drive us to Christ;) the one was its inflexible rigour, against which it provided no allay, or mitigation. It left no place for atonement; the least slip was mortal; death was the inevitablepunishment of transgression, by the sentence of the law. St. Paul's Epistles are full of this; and he shews, Hebrews 10:5; Heb 10:10 how we are delivered from it by the body of Christ. The other weakness or defect of the law was, that it could not enable those who were under it to get the mastery over their flesh, or carnal propensities: the law exacted complete obedience, but afforded men no help against their vicious inclinations. St. Paul shews here how believers are delivered from this dominion of sin in their mortal bodies, by the Spirit of Christ enabling them; upon their sincere endeavours after righteousness, to keep sin under in their mortal bodies; in conformity to Christ, in whose flesh it was condemned, executed, and perfectly extinct, having never indeed had there any life or being,—as we shall observe more fully by-and-by. The provision made in the new covenant against both these defects of the law, is in the Epistle to the Hebrews expressed thus: First, he will write his law in their hearts; because, secondly, he will be merciful to their iniquities; Hebrews 8:7-12. And for sin, περι αμαρτιας, signifies an offering for sin. See 2 Corinthians 5:21.Hebrews 10:5-10; Hebrews 10:5-10. So that the plain import is, "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,—[like unto our frail sinful flesh in all things except sin, Hebrews 4:15.],—and sending him to be an offering for sin, hath condemned sin," &c. Thus the manner and end of his sending are joined. The prosopopoeia whereby sin was considered as a person through the foregoing chapter being continued here, the condemning of sin in the flesh, cannot mean, as some would have it, that Christ was condemned for sin, or in the place of sin; for that would be to save sin, and leave that alive which Christ came to destroy. But the plain meaning is, that sin itself was condemned, or put to death, in his flesh; that is, was suffered to have no life or being in the flesh of our Saviour: he was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. This farther appears to be the sense by the following words. The antithesis between condemnation, Rom 8:1 and condemned here, will also shew why that word is used to express the death or non-existence of sin in our Saviour; 1 Peter 2:22. That St. Paul sometimes uses condemnation for putting to death, see chap. Romans 5:16-18. To what has been advanced in this note, it may be urged, "Had not the Jews, before Christ came, the assistances of the Spirit, and sufficient means and motives to deliver them from the power of sin?" To which we reply, certainly they had, as appears particularly from the Psalms and prophetic writings; yea all mankind, since the promise, Gen 3:15 in all ages and parts of the world, have been, and still are, under grace; grace founded upon the redemption which is in Christ; and therefore always had, and still have, the benefit of divine assistance, however they might have neglected or abused it. But the Apostle is here considering the assistances enjoyed, under the then newly-erected dispensation of the Gospel, (which in means and motives far exceeds all others,) and with particular regard to the Jew; and upon a comparison with the law, in which he rested for every thing, to shew the infinite preference of the Gospel to mere law;—as appears from the foregoing chapter: where he at large shews the Jew the insufficiency of mere law, or a rule of duty, to deliver a man from sin and corruption; though the instructions here given to the Jew concerning the superior advantages of the Gospel for sanctification, would be of use to the Gentile convert; as his discourse to the Gentile, chap. 6: concerning our obligation to holiness, would be of service to the Jew, so far as either should need instruction upon those heads. See Locke and Whitby.

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Romans 8:4. That the righteousness of the law, &c.— Δικαιωμα, righteousness, here seems to be used in the most extensive sense, and may signify both moral righteousness, and the consequence of it, salvation, (see chap. Rom 5:16 in the original). The Gospel frees those from sin who choose to be free, which was more than the law could do. Law neither grants pardon, nor supplies help: but yet the Gospel does not free those from sin, who wickedly choose to remain under the dominion of it; for a willing slave, determined to continue in servitude, who can free? The Apostle demonstrates, in the four next verses, that under any dispensation, such as continue impenitently in a sensual life, must perish; and he insists so particularly upon this, probably either to prevent a mistake,—for some might be so weak as to imagine, that a mere profession of Christianity would secure them from the power of sin;—or to obviate an objection which the Jew might be ready to make. He might allege; "But there are wicked men under the Gospel, as well as under the law." The Apostle answers, "Men who choose to continue under the power of sin and lust, according to the true nature of things, must perish under every dispensation. God provides proper means under the Gospel to deliver them from a wicked life, and to bring them to true holiness; but he cannot, consistently with his perfections, either force them tobe holy, or love them if they are wicked." As Christ in the flesh was wholly exempt from all taint of sin, so we, by that Spirit who was in him, shall be exempt from the dominion of our carnal lusts, if we make it our choice and endeavour to live after the Spirit, Romans 8:9-11. For one thing which we are to perform by that Spirit, is the mortification of the body. See Romans 8:13.Galatians 5:16-26; Galatians 5:16-26. Locke, and Peters on Job, p. 281.

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Romans 8:6. For to be carnally-minded is death— For joins what follows to Rom 8:1 as the reason of what is here laid down; namely, that deliverance from condemnation is experienced only by such Christian converts, as walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit:—for, &c. See Locke.

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Romans 8:7. The carnal mind— Φρονημα της σαρκος should have been translated here to be carnally-minded, as it is in the foregoing verse; which is justified by φρονουσι τα της σαρκος, do mind the things of the flesh, Rom 8:5 which signifies the employing the bent of their minds, or subjecting their mind entirely to the fulfilling the lusts of the flesh: see 1 Corinthians 2:14. The Apostle, in the next clause, gives the reason why even those who have received the Gospel,—for to such he is here speaking,—are not saved unless they cease to walk after the flesh; because that runs directly counter to the law of God, and can never be brought into conformity and subjection to his commands. Such a settled contradiction to his precepts cannot be suffered by the supreme Lord and Governor of the world in any of his creatures, without foregoing his sovereignty, and giving up the eternal immutable rule of right, to the subverting the very foundations of all order and moral rectitude in the intellectual world. This, even in the judgment of men themselves, will be always thought a necessarypiece of justice for the keeping out of anarchy, disorder, andconfusion; that those refractory subjects, who set up their own inclinations for their rule against the law, which was made to restrain those very inclinations, should feel the severity of the law, without which the authority of the law and the law-maker cannot be preserved. See Locke.

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Romans 8:8. So then they that are in the flesh, &c.— This is the conclusion drawn from what went before; and in the flesh here, must mean the same as to be carnally-minded, &c. above;—to be under the government of sensual appetites. See Galatians 4:3-6.

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Romans 8:9. But ye are not in the flesh, &c.— The word Ειπερ, rendered if so be, may here stand for the word επειδηπερ, as it does 2 Thessalonians 1:6. Have, in the last clause, is emphatical, and signifies to retain, to fix in the mind as a principle,—duly to improve. Compare 1 John 5:12. 2 John 1:9.

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