Continued:
The fact is that the sins of justified sinners cannot condemn him, because his obedience makes up no part of the ground of salvation. Christ was crucified to destroy sin; and, therefore, to free His people, the whole election of grace, from its claims (6:5-7). When He died, they died with Him, not theoretically nor potentially if they meet the conditions of faith (so Van asserts), repentance, and perseverance, but in actual fact. When He arose, they arose with Him, not in their own persons but in His Person representatively. Because of Christ's death on the cross, they are freed from the condemning power of sin IN THIS LIFE, upon believing the Gospel, from henceforth and forever. The "old man" (our former state of condemnation in Adam, not the principle of sin active in our character and conduct), was crucified (put to death) in Christ. And so we may be assured that we shall be glorified (freed from the power, influence, and presence of sin) IN THE LIFE TO COME. It is impossible for believers to be brought back under condemnation, therefore. Their sins CANNOT bring them back under God's wrath, nor can their obedience gain them one more ounce of God's favor. They are justified based solely upon the righteousness AND holiness of Christ imputed and received by faith.
In vv. 8-11, the apostle tells believers that we are to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God in the very same way that Christ Himself is dead to sin and alive unto God. He is saying, "Just as Christ died exclusively to the guilt and defilement of sin (not to its power, presence, or influence) and now lives unto God, consider (or reckon) yourselves to be dead to the guilt and defilement of sin (not to its power, presence, or influence) and alive unto God in Christ." In v. 8-9, Paul says, "We believe" we SHALL live with Him. We SHALL be perfectly conformed to Christ's image, glorified together with Christ, KNOWING, being fully convinced, that His resurrection is God's pledge of our resurrection. "Death [the penalty or wages of sin] hath no more"--This teaches us that death once had dominion over Christ, but NO MORE. Death had dominion over Christ when our sins were imputed to Him, and it held dominion over Him until He made perfect satisfaction to law and justice. This satisfaction was rendered upon His death. Then, death's dominion was forever removed from Him, and from us in His Person as we were represented by Him. This is a great testimony that God's law is no respecter of persons. This Person was God's only begotten, well beloved Son, who, based on His personal character and conduct, was holy, harmless, and undefiled. Yet, when the sins of God's elect were imputed to Him, God's wrath, according to strict law and justice, fell on Him and He died. God's wrath was not removed from Him until law and justice was completely satisfied. This proves that the vital issue in salvation has to do with a righteousness that answers the demands of God's law and justice.
In v. 10, the apostle continues his argument concerning our justification (v. 7) being the effect of Christ dying to the dominion of sin. "He died unto sin"--Here we have the same declaration concerning our Lord as in verse 2 concerning true believers. This confirms that verse 2 speaks only of our being dead to the guilt and defilement of sin and not to its power, presence, or influence in our personal character and conduct. Christ never felt the inward power, presence, or influence of sin and, therefore, could not die unto sin's power, presence, or influence. Christ died to sin once and only once, because He fully atoned for it by His death (Heb. 9:12, 26, 28; 10:12, 14). No one can doubt that Christ "liveth unto God." This doctrine does not deny human responsibility, but encourages it on its proper ground. No sinner is responsible to seek to obey God based on legalism. What are we responsible to do? Whatever God commands of us, that we are responsible to do.
Van would say we deny responsibility? Yet, what are we responsible to do? Are we responsible to seek salvation and serve the Lord based on anything other than the imputed R&H of Christ, based on legal fears and doubts, or are we responsible to plead His R&H alone as our full right and title to all of salvation based on the absolute certainty of final glory in heaven? Clearly, the latter. We do not deny responsibility based on grace, just responsibility based on legalism. Whatever God commands of us, that we are responsible to do. Far from denying human responsibility to be obedient to God, in verse 11 true believers are commanded to enjoy strong consolation by counting themselves to be truly, once and for all, dead to sin (its guilt and defilement) and alive unto God. Believers are constantly commanded to seek to maintain the absolute certainty of salvation in our hearts at all times. Let our hearts be established with grace. So we are responsible to be assured of our salvation, based on the right ground of salvation. By grace we thus ENFORCE godly responsibility.
This is God the Holy Spirit's answer to the charge of licentiousness against the doctrine of salvation by free grace. This blessed truth is what the apostle had been aiming at beginning in verse 2. THE ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OF SALVATION CONDITIONED ON CHRIST ALONE ACCORDING TO GOD'S PROMISE is in every way consistent with true humility. This truth binds the justified sinner by every conceivable consideration of love and gratitude to serve God in newness of life in spite of all difficulties. This is a debt of love, not of legalism. Preachers can and do compel sinners to appear righteous, but it is impossible for sinners to serve God acceptably based on legal or mercenary grounds or motivated by doubts and fear of punishment.For Van to be promoting legal fears based on a conditional salvation is not humility but religious pride, because it says that Christ did not fulfill all the conditions God required and that He thus died in vain. This is unspeakably wicked blasphemy.
Van, being as he is a stranger to grace, would predictably fail also to discern the vital distinction that God makes between a believer's state and a believer's personal character and conduct. Here is a portion of my latest sermon addressing this issue:
God divides the whole human race into two distinct states: justified or condemned, saved or lost, either entitled to all of salvation based on the R&H of Christ and the non-imputation of sins or else awaiting eternal misery based on anything else. According to God's testimony, the most deadly error of both Jews and Gentiles has always been looking at the actions of men apart from their state, admiring the house instead of inspecting the foundation. Before conversion, we all look upon things that proceed from our character and conduct without any knowledge or regard for our state in God's sight based on perfect satisfaction to God's holy Law. We look at the obedience, sufferings, and sins of our character and conduct as being either good or bad, pleasing to God or deserving of punishment, without knowing an essential truth -- Our state before God determines these issues.
Consider what Christ taught in Matthew 7:17-18 -- "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." He was speaking of false prophets, but the principle applies to all sinners without exception. The "good tree" and the "corrupt tree" are descriptive of a person's state before God. The "corrupt tree," one who is in a state of cursedness based on what proceeds from his person by nature, cannot bring forth "good fruit," or "fruit unto God" (cf. Rom. 7:4). The moral, religious preacher whose works of obedience were exposed as iniquity illustrates the "corrupt tree" or the state of lostness (rf. Matt. 7:21-23).
The "good tree," or the person in a state of justification and entitlement to Heaven itself, cannot bring forth "evil fruit," or "fruit unto death" (cf. Rom. 7:5). This person is still a sinner, and, like David of old, he can commit horrible sins such as lying, adultery, and murder, or like Jacob of old, he can cheat his own daddy out of the blessing, but his sins are not "fruit unto death," meaning that the guilt and defilement of sins which would naturally bring eternal death are not imputed (or charged) to him, and his obedience is counted fruit unto God. The corrupt tree, or the person in a state of wrath, may have admirable traits of character and conduct, contentment, forgiving spirit, etc., like Esau, and yet BOTH his sins AND his obedience ARE counted fruit unto death. This may shock self-righteous religionists, but it is one of the most basic truths of the Gospel message (cf. Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:7-8; 8:31-34; 2 Cor. 5:18-21). It is only shocking to anybody because the true Gospel is so scarcely being preached in our day!
We cannot see these truths savingly before conversion because by nature we are all legalists. We all think that deeds of law, something proceeding from our character and conduct in the way of obedience to God's law, tears of remorse, personal sufferings, repentance, or reformation of life, can in some way gain, maintain, or reestablish us in God's favor and fellowship. We do not know that Christ's righteousness alone attains all this and much more. Before true conversion, before we become submitted to Christ's righteousness, we do not know that such legal and mercenary thoughts are a testimony that we really believe that Christ died in vain (Gal. 2:21)! Legalism is the product of setting false standards concerning saved and lost. God's standard of "lost" is the guilt and defilement of sin imputed (or charged) to our persons! God's standard of "saved" is righteousness imputed (or charged) to our persons!
We are either saved and entitled to all of salvation based on the imputed righteousness of Christ revealed in God's Gospel, or else we are debtors to DO the whole law, precept and penalty (Gal. 5:2-3)! There is no argument that God's people are to seek to be obedient, and are obedient, but obedience itself is not the issue! The issue of life and death is this -- Is my obedience to God's law fruit unto God or fruit unto death? This issue can only be determined by my state before God, and my state can only be revealed by what I am convinced entitles me to salvation, Christ's R&H or anything else!
Those who are in a state of justification and life are judged RIGHT NOW to be righteous and holy, and they are fully entitled to all of salvation based on Christ's righteousness imputed to them. They are still sinners based on their character and conduct which God excludes from the ground of and entitlement to their salvation. They neither love God supremely, nor their neighbor as themselves, nor do they love their enemies (Matt. 5:44), all due to remaining selfishness. So all these sinners, who are in a state of justification and life, are dead to sin, dead to the law, submitted to Christ's righteousness, alive from the dead, and alive unto God, cannot bring forth fruit unto death.
Then finally, Van might say: "It does interest me - if the new birth is unconditional then one would have to argue that the primary cause and reason people will be lost is because God does not redemptively love them." Really? So because God does not redemptively love everybody, this should excuse their sin? Obviously, Van would believe the heresy that God loves eveybody redemptively, and thus wants to save everybody. Why could we not give him the love he wants for his god, then, and just turn it around and say that the primary reason people will be lost is because God's redemptive love for all without exception (the running assumption) was apparently insufficient to provide everything necessary to insure salvation of MOST of the objects of His love, accounting for why multitudes end up in eternal hell? What love is this? No, the reason people remain lost and wind up in hell is THEIR OWN SIN, both Adam's sin imputed and sins personally committed, AND UNBELIEF (Mk. 16:15-16)!
A sinner is regenerated by Holy Spirit when he is quickened or made alive spiritually by the Holy Spirit. This is the first subjective work of the Holy Spirit in God's elect. It is a sovereign work of God the Holy Spirit without the use of any means whereby He in time applies to each one of God's elect in each successive generation what Christ has merited and secured for them. Christ purchased the new birth for all of God's elect.
In the new birth, both legal and moral spiritual death are remedied in the sinner's own person. Legally we come from condemnation to justification based on the righteousness of Christ imputed (charged to our account). This righteousness is the merit of Christ's whole work of redemption for His sheep. It is the "righteousness of God" revealed in the Gospel, and it is the only ground of salvation. Immediately upon imputation of righteousness to our person, even simultaneously, as the fruit and effect of Christ's righteousness, we are quickened by the Spirit of God. This is when the Holy Spirit imparts or gives us a new principle of life and faith, the very life of God which is in Christ. We are made alive in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22). This is the work of the Holy Spirit "in" us.
