Commentary on Romans 8:1--13
============================
`1' So now there is no condemnation for those in the
Anointed Yeshua,
Those who are in Yeshua the Anointed are those who are faithful to
him, and the Law which he created for his people to follow. The major
false teaching today is that it is necessary merely to believe or
"have faith" to be in Messiah and to be "saved".
`2' because the Law of the Spirit of life in the Anointed
Yeshua has freed you from the norm of sin and death.
We are freed from rebellion (sin) against God's Law, Torah, so that
now we no longer rebel against it, but keep it, and find in it life
through the Spirit. Note that it is a matter of rebellion versus
faithfulness to God and his Law, and not a matter of imperfectly
keeping Torah versus complete licentiousness.
Modern false doctrine is essentially that God has condoned our
rebellion against his Law, and is now allowing us to disregard it by
following the, "Holy Spirit in our heart." It should be needless to
say that it is not the Holy Spirit who leads people to disobey the Law
of the Almighty.
`3' Because the inability of the Law is in that it had
been weakened through the flesh.
The Law is spiritual (Romans 7:14), and keeping it is only possible in
the Spirit. The sinful nature of the flesh, however, results in the
inability, that is, the lack of desire, to keep the Law. The only way
to keep the Law is in the Spirit. The Spirit certainly does not lead
to not keeping the Law!
But the Almighty, having sent his own Son, in the form of
sinful flesh, even as a sin offering,
"Sin offering." Greek: "καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας" (even for a sin offering.
Lit.: even for sin). Yeshua was sent as a sin offering to condemn sin
in the flesh which is disobedience to Yahweh's Torah instructions (1
John 3:4). The major false doctrine today is that the Almighty's sin
offering of his Son results in us now being given licence to sin by
disregarding his Law. That doctrine, of course, makes no sense in any
way.
has judged against sin in the flesh, `4' so that the
correction of the Law
"Correction of the Law." Greek: "τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου". In archaic
English, you could explain the meaning of 'δικαίωμα' as 'justicing';
i.e., as having justice served or executed.
might be fulfilled in us,
The correction of the Law is "fulfilled in us" through the sin
offering of Yeshua; i.e., so that we ourselves do not have to pay the
just penalty for our sins, but through the loving kindness of the
Almighty, we are able to have that required penalty paid for us in
order /that we might live in faithfulness to Yeshua/, who paid the
penalty in our stead. The living in faithfulness is what Paul meant
when he used the word 'fulfilled' here.
who do not walk according to the sin nature but according
to the Spirit.
We who are saved by Yeshua's sacrifice walk in the Spirit of obedience
to Torah, because the Torah is spiritual (Romans 7:14). We have
repented from the fleshly sin nature of disobedience to Torah under
the tutelage or guidance of the Holy Spirit within us.
`5' Because those who are according to the sin nature set
their minds on the things of the sin nature,
The fleshly sin nature is the natural state of human beings. Only
repentance in Messiah Yeshua can result in this nature being overcome
over a period of time so that we may follow ever more closely the
precepts he has set down for living.
but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of
the Spirit. `6' Because the fleshy thinking leads to
death,
Unrepentant human beings who continue to follow the fleshly sin
nature, will die (the second death). Sin is disobeying, disregarding,
or rejecting Torah (1 John 3:4). A common way of rejecting Torah is by
saying, in effect, "It doesn't apply to me."
but the thinking set on the Spirit leads to life and
peace, `7' because the sinful thinking is hostile toward
the Almighty,
The sinful nature is hostile to God and his Law, to which it cannot
submit.
because it is not subjected to the Law of the Almighty,
nor indeed is able to be.
Without repentance and without the concomitant faithfulness to Yeshua
through the Spirit, it is absolutely impossible for sinful human
nature to submit itself to the Law of the Almighty. The evidence for
this is seen all around us today.
`8' So those who are controlled by the sinful nature
cannot please the Almighty.
Sinners do not please God. While it is true that God loved us even
while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) enough to send his own Son to
die, it is not true that God will not execute and punish those who
continue to sin and fail to repent. God also does not listen to
sinners (John 9:31), and his back is to them, because God hates sin
(Exodus 20:5, 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9; Psalms 97:10,
104:35; Proverbs 8:13; Isaiah 61:8; Amos 5:15; Zechariah 8:17), which
is disobedience to his Torah instructions (1 John 3:4).
`9' However, you are not controlled by the sinful nature
but by the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of the Almighty
dwells in you.
We are guided or controlled (not in the sense of "forced") by the Holy
Spirit, and the evidence of this is the keeping of that which is
Spiritual, Torah (Romans 7:14). Failure to keep Torah (which is to
say, failure to sincerely attempt to keep it---because the false
doctrine here is perfectionism) is the sign that a person is not
guided by the Holy Spirit. By their fruits ye shall know them. Of
course, the Spirit does lead by degrees, so that for example, a person
may be on their way to keeping (attempting to keep) the whole of God's
Law (for example, by keeping the Sabbath day each week), but may not
have been led yet into the full truth of God's Law. This is why it is
not up to us to judge the hearts of others, as the Almighty will draw
those whom he will.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does
not belong to him. `10' When the Anointed is in you,
though the body is under a death sentence because of sin,
yet the spirit is given life through righteousness.
"Righteousness." The converse of justice. There is no righteousness
except in relation to God's Law.
`11' But when the Spirit of him who raised Yeshua from the
dead dwells in you, he who raised the Anointed Yeshua from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
"To your mortal bodies." Resurrection of the body. The false doctrine
is disembodied, "spiritual" resurrection to an eternity in "heaven".
through his Spirit who dwells in you. `12' So then,
brothers, we are under obligation, not to the sinful
nature, to live according to the sinful nature, `13'
because if you are living according to the sinful nature,
you must die, but if, by the Spirit, you are putting to
death the deeds of the body, you will live.
The second death does not have any power over those who repent towards
Messiah in the Spirit, by being faithful towards Him and His Law. This
is not a counsel of perfectionism. (Which is a false teaching that the
Law must be kept perfectly or not at all---you only have to say it out
loud to see how ridiculous that teaching is! Imagine a child saying
this to his parents.)
Repenting from sin means turning from disobedience towards obedience.
Torah and the rest of Scripture contains the instructions towards
which we owe our obedience. We do not search our deceitful heart and
follow whatever we find there, dressing it up as, "being led by the
Spirit."