Romans 8:3-4 - Anyway, Let’s Wrap Up That Big-Ass Run-On (Conciliation Series, Part XLIX)

Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

For what was impossible to the law, in which it was infirm through the flesh, did God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sin’s flesh and concerning sin, He condemns sin in the flesh, that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who are not walking in accord with flesh, but in accord with spirit.

What is the purpose for God sending His own Son? What is the purpose for His condemnation of sin?

Answer: that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in you. This answer is perfect, for a few reasons, but first: if you recall, Christ is roused because of your justifying (Rom. 4:25.) Our big-ass run-on above does not repeat this same truth, but, like Romans 8:1, remains progressive in its revelation, taking both justification and your reconciliation (including your baptism into Christ’s death) into account.

Remember that this long run-on sentence is explaining how the spirit’s law of life frees you from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2.) Behind each law, there is a lord. Behind the spirit’s law, there is Christ Jesus. And, behind the law of sin and death, there is Sin. These two laws battled it out at Golgotha, and one emerged victorious, per the rousing of Christ.

This is the natural conclusion to reach: if God sends His Son in the likeness of sin’s flesh, and Sin is condemned in the flesh, then Sin, in condemnation, has been deprived of authority. It has no control. You don’t answer to her anymore! Christ is now in authority. He is the only One you answer to, because the other lord has been condemned by the Supreme.

The effect of her condemnation is that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in you. The “just requirement” is singular. You are not at all being asked to “follow the Ten Commandments,” or “Remember to say your Lord’s Prayer!” You are not asked to do anything here, as the effect is contingent on someone else’s action entirely. God does not say, “I condemned sin in the flesh through My Son so that the just requirement of the law may be fulfilled in you… unless you choose not to do what I ask, in which case, Christ wasn’t enough, and you must pray for forgiveness again! Sorry!” It’s all Christ’s action, and you are the effect – not your acts.

What is the just requirement of the law? Why, it’s simple! Christ Himself tells that lawyer guy in Luke 10:25-28. Observe–

And lo! a certain lawyer rose, putting Him on trial, and saying, “Teacher, by doing what should I enjoy the allotment of life eonian?”

Now [Jesus] said to him, “What is written in the law? How are you reading?”

Now he, answering, said, “You shall be loving the Lord your God out of your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole strength, and with your whole comprehension, and ‘your associate as yourself.’”

Now He said to him, “Correctly have you answered. This be doing and you shall be living.”

Jesus again says the same thing, in Matt. 22:34-38–

Now the Pharisees, hearing that He muzzles the Sadducees, were gathered at the same place. And one of them, learned in the law, trying Him, inquires, "Teacher, what is the great precept in the law?"

Now He averred to him, “You shall be loving the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole comprehension. This is the great and foremost precept. Yet the second is like it: 'You shall be loving your associate as yourself.'"

Loving the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole comprehension. And, be loving your associate as yourself. This is the just requirement of the law. The spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus fulfills this requirement in you.

The Greek word for “just requirement” is dikaioma. Long time readers will recall that dikaioma was used previously in Romans 5:16 and 5:18, as “just award.” The Greek elements of the word are “JUST-EFFECT.” In Romans 5, it was used as an effect of a righteous deed.

This is going to be a bit of a dense topic to explain, but I’ll do my best. The “righteous deed” in mind here is not a justifying sentence. This is a just requirement, not a just sentence. If it were a justifying sentence, then dikaioma would not be the word used, here, but the word krima would be in view, as a judgment would have to be considered.

Moreover, the law was infirm in the flesh, so you cannot be given a justifying sentence by your action in the flesh. The topic is God’s act, His achievement with His Son that the law couldn’t accomplish. The law is righteous, but does not beat Sin. It’s just a law. The Lawgiver, not the law, must beat the enemy.

The ‘just requirement,’ as we can see, is also the requirement of our evangel. As I’ve stated before, Paul’s agenda reaches the same conclusion as the law. The foremost precepts are the same. It is the method (being the contrast between law and grace) that differentiates how these precepts are sustained in us. The law could not will its just requirement to be fulfilled in us, but Christ can – and He does.

Because we have been imbibed into Christ, we now hold to the same law of life in our members. Just as Christ came, not to abolish law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-18,) so we also are not abolishing the law (it is just,) but we are fulfilling it (Rom. 3:31, 4:25, 8:1-4.) We are not required to follow every part of the Pentateuch, as we are not subject to the penalty, and God has pardoned our lawlessness, and covered our sins – thus not reckoning them to us (Rom. 4:7-8.)

We know that we are not required to do this because this is an explanation as to how nothing is condemnation to us. If ‘no condemnation’ were rooted in our actions, then Paul would be spending quite a bit of time explaining what you must do to sustain the law in your members – yet he is very clearly focused on God’s accomplishment.

Moreover, we know that we are not required to follow law because of the preposition ‘in.’ This preposition is very clearly not any other:

1)    It is not ‘through,’ because the implication would stress the notion that you are the channel by which God has fulfilled law, when it’s Christ.

2)    It is not ‘on,’ because the implication would stress the notion that you are responsible now for ‘maintaining’ this just requirement after God calls you out.

3)    It is not ‘among,’ because this implies that the just requirement is spread thinly around a group of people, implying that there are levels to ‘no condemnation’ (which, yes – people really do believe this.)

4)    It is not ‘by,’ because the implication would stress the notion that your act is the focal point of the just requirement’s fulfillment, when it’s not.

The reality is that you do not have righteousness apart from Christ. The only reason it is fulfilled in you is because His faith has been given you in measure, and you have been joined spiritually (from experience, I can tell you that this is indeed closer than being ‘joined at the hip’ with someone.) He regulates your understanding, and thus perfects your walk on His terms. This is because He is your Lord, not your bitch.

Some will say, “What about the righteous men that came before Christ? Noah? Job? I mean, David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart, and Abraham was literally said to have been reckoned righteous by faith! Didn’t these guys at least have some righteousness, even though they weren’t believers the way we are now?”

The response here is that Noah, Job, David, and whomever else you want to consider are only considered ‘righteous’ in relation to other men. They are the men you look to when you generally believe they can do the right thing. John the Baptist was arguably a very righteous man, but you didn’t hear him say, “I’m a righteous man, as Christ was!” He said that he was the voice of one imploring (John 1:23,) meaning that he is a type of the Christ Who was about to walk on the earth (exemplified in the whole contrast between John’s baptizing by water, and Christ’s baptizing by holy spirit – John 1:33.)

Moreover, Christ is the Inaugurator and Perfector of faith (Heb. 12:2.) He is the One Who gave these folk their righteous quality, just as He has given you yours. He gave them a measure of faith, but not the measure of faith He held while on earth, the way He did with you and me (Rom. 12:1-3.) He did not baptize them into His spirit, the way He did with you and me.

He regulates your walk. The walk that He is perfecting you to is first introduced in Romans 12-15, and is elaborated on in Ephesians 4-6. Each letter from Paul ends with an entreaty on how to walk – it is not begin with it. Your understanding of the rest of the letter will dictate how closely your walk resembles that which is considered in the later chapters. If you are not walking in accord with Romans 12-15, it doesn’t mean you’re out of Christ (Rom. 8:38-39.) It means you are missing something in the earlier chapters, which necessitates more study of your Father’s words, that you are brought to a fuller realization of Him – which is the only way you are matured (Eph. 4:11-14.)

As if to drive the point home, fulfilled is passive. This indicates that we are the recipient, not the one acting. We do not fulfill the just requirement of law. All we can do is walk in accord with the Spirit that is in us. You will, naturally, find that there’s a side of your disposition that is in complete enmity with God (especially if you’ve been carefully studying this out with me.) You will have to come to grips with sin’s presence in your mortal frame. It is present, but has no power over you. If the law of life were applied to your flesh, then you would be under condemnation. But it’s not. It’s the spirit’s law of life, which speaks to the One in you.

This verse shows us that the law is sustained, not in your salvation, but in the effect of your salvation, being your walk. In Scripture, when you’re ‘walking,’ you’re conducting yourself a certain way. It’s a habit that, whether voluntary or involuntary, is a part of you. ‘Belief’ is not ‘walking.’ This is a scary thing to say to some people in Christ, but only because they have suffered years of spiritual abuse at the hands of their local churches. The phrase ‘belief is not walking’ is used by church to proclaim that you must constantly strive to achieve righteousness, and may be subject to hell if you don’t.

This, thankfully, is not the case with God.

‘Belief’ is not ‘walking.’ It just means you believe. Christ’s imparting of spirit fulfills the just requirement of the law in you, and the more you recognize this, the more your walk conforms to this realization. There is a negative condition and a positive condition (when I say ‘negative’ and ‘positive,’ I am not speaking morally, but in terms of ‘do not’ and ‘do.’ ‘Negative’ and ‘positive’ are simply the legal terms for this.) “Not walking in accord with flesh” is the first condition – it is the ‘negative condition.’ We do not walk in accord with the flesh, because we are freed from its doubt. We are not required, but enabled, to ‘not walk in accord with the flesh.’ It’s not a ‘requirement,’ but a simple statement of fact that this is now the case. God further makes it clear that this is His end-goal, but again, we’re not there yet (Rom. 8:28-30.)

With the ‘negative’ condition fulfilled, we are able to refuse the flesh’s appeal. If you are condoning sin (that is, ‘tolerating it because you’re under grace,’ or ‘actively trying to will it because you’re under grace,’) then you are walking in accord with the flesh. Nothing is condemnation to you in Christ Jesus, but God makes it clear 2 verses later that He has condemned sin. This means that you are not condemned, but sin in you is condemnable. If one prefers sin, they are not enslaved to Christ. You can’t be; it’s logistically impossible. Once one realizes their sin, in Christ they are abhorred by it, and change (Rom. 6:21-23.)

“But in accord with spirit” wraps up this long-ass run-on, and it serves as the positive condition to one having the just requirement of the law fulfilled in them (again, this is all still passive – God is the One willing all.) The spirit is, of course, Christ’s spirit, and we will elaborate more on this topic in a few verses. Thus it is His spiritual life that He is sharing with you, as you are a crucial part of His body. This spiritual life is not the condition for salvation. I can’t beat this dead horse any harder: your acts are the effect, not the cause, of your justification and conciliation. We “live together with Him in the likeness of His resurrection” (6:4-11,) which is the only reason you are able to produce a spiritual walk. This is not a ‘guilt-trip,’ nor is it a ‘requirement,’ but the only logical effect of grasping the previous chapters.

Here’s the thing, however: your actions do play a crucial, and critical role. This is one of the most difficult subjects to discuss, because, from our perspective, if we already have our end goal revealed to us by God, and He tells us that we are saved irrespective of our act, we may not fully grasp why our actions matter at all. This is a misunderstanding and misappreciation of grace. The goal is not for you to go, “I’m saved, so no matter what I do, I’m reigning and ruling with Christ.” The goal is for you to go, “I’m saved in Christ, and as such righteousness can be manifested in me, under my new Lord.”

There are fruits of the spirit. These manifest in the life of a saint. They are found in Gal. 5:22-24. These fruits are proof of your joining with Christ. These are the manifestation of the just requirement of the law in your daily life. They are, literally, the proof of your walk. Not of your great deeds, but of your justification, and reconciliation, with God. Others see this proof – and that’s the point. You are an ambassador of conciliation (2 Cor. 5:20.) How effective of an ambassador of conciliation can you be if your spirit is not in the right place? And, how effective if no physical proof of your growth/change is ever offered to a naturally visual/audible creation? How would He establish peace with the individual if His chosen could not even apprehend it?

And again, this is not to say that you must suddenly conjure righteousness for yourself – I’m not indicting your willpower, or your character in ‘doing the right thing.’ Your spirit doesn’t “have” to be in the right place – it is being willed by God through righteousness. You are still the recipient. You are not making righteous acts ‘now that you’ve been saved.’ You are utilizing the righteousness that has already been manifested in you through faith (Rom. 3:21-23.)

One more thing, and we’ll wrap it up: we must, then, consider the saints that don’t manifest the fruits of the spirit. If these folk have few fruits of the spirit (if any,) are they automatically not in Christ?

Well, let’s not jump to such an extreme so quickly. Paul did not label or require one to act in order to be justified or conciliated. It is a refined awareness of these two topics brought to your attention that craft your walk – and, if you are in Christ, then you can rest assured that God is bringing these topics to your attention. The thing is: He has a lifetime to do this. When one is first called out, are they expected to be encyclopedic experts on God’s word? I would sure hope that you don’t expect this of someone!

George Rogers explains it like this, and I believe it’s a fitting example:

“Like electric light or power, spiritual life may be available, yet unused. Many saints walk in spiritual darkness and powerlessness because the current is turned off at the switch, that is, they walk in accord with flesh, and in that case differ little from unbelievers.”

In other words, you’re in Christ – now you’re being called to show it. God didn’t call you out for kicks and giggles! Just because you’re complete in Christ, and your acts don’t drive your salvation, doesn’t mean you should neglect Paul’s request to display peace in your acts. Otherwise, how are you able to appreciate your salvation? And, if you are indifferent in response to God, how can anyone (including yourself) be sure that you’re actually grasping the doctrine of justification or conciliation?

Why am I stressing this so hard? It’s not the side of the evangel that many of us like to focus on all that much, and yet it does play a role. In fact, there’s more focus on walking worthily in this evangel than any other place in Scripture. God insists on proper conduct at the end of each letter (Rom. 12:1, 1 Cor. 16, 2 Cor. 13:11, Gal. 5:16-6:10, Eph. 4:1-6:17, Phil. 1-4, Col. 3, 1 Thess. 4:1-8, 2 Thess. 3:6-15, to name a few.) Why? He’s not stupid. He’s not talking for His own health (and neither is Paul.) He’s also not asking you to do anything outside of your literal ability in Christ. Christ strengthens you in all things (Phil. 4:13,) and so wills you to walk worthily of the calling (Eph. 4:1, Phil. 2:12-13.)

Am I saying that Paul is asking you to walk worthily of God’s calling, in this big-ass run-on? No. I’m saying that this big-ass run-on enables you to walk worthily of God’s calling. We have righteousness in us – so we are entreated to use the measure we have. God is a God of order and careful placement; He would not give you a measure of faith that He did not plan to utilize in some way. And it’s because you know it’s Him working for the sake of your delight (Phil. 2:12-13) that the pressure is dramatically taken off of you – you have no pressure to ‘perform,’ but you can just rest in grace, and the fruits of your spirit will come naturally. This lack of worry is then filled with gratitude and praise – we can laud the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6.)

- GerudoKing