Life in God’s Holy Church

Romans 12:9-13
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, December 04, 2011
Copyright © 2011, P. G. Mathew

Beginning with the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul’s emphasis is on the ethical life of God’s holy church. This section of Romans is very relevant today, because not only has our country lost its sense of right and wrong, but most churches have also. The prevailing notion today is that if you “love,” then you do not have to keep God’s law. If you intend to be faithful in marriage, that is enough. It does not matter whether you are faithful to your spouse or not. If you intended not to lie, that is enough. It does not matter if you lied or not.

Paul teaches the opposite. Love fulfills the law, he says. If we love the Lord, we will keep his commandments, Jesus said.

Doctrine and ethics go together; they cannot be separated. What we preach, we must practice. The family of God loves God and keeps his commandments. The family of the devil hates God and practices wickedness because the devil himself lies and breaks God’s law. There is enmity between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.

God in Jesus our Redeemer has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. As the people of God who are members of one body and God’s holy family, we must live all our lives to please God. God loves us with an everlasting love, and so we love God and God’s people with the same everlasting love.

All our life is to be governed by this love. So in Romans 12:9 Paul teaches that this love must be without hypocrisy (hê agapê anupokritos). We are to live this life of love without hypocrisy. If a person says, “I lied, although I intended to tell truth,” he is not living a life of love. He is a hypocrite, a fake, an antinomian, a counterfeit Christian. My late professor John Murray of Westminster Seminary said about Romans 12:9: “If love is the sum of virtue and hypocrisy the epitome of vice, what a contradiction to bring these together!”¹

Remember Judas? He kissed Jesus, but then betrayed him. He was a hypocrite. Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). Hypocritical love says a man can divorce his wife if she has an incurable disease, or if he has fallen in love with another person. Such a person is a hypocrite.

Christian love must be without hypocrisy. Paul says we are to serve God “in sincere love” (2 Cor. 6:6c). Elsewhere he directs, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). Peter writes, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere [unhypocritical] love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). God condemns hypocrites. They lie to receive benefits. True love is unfeigned and authentic.

The Greek for “hypocrites” refers to actors who wear masks. Hypocrites play the role of Christians, but they are plastic and inauthentic. Hypocrites are interested only in getting, and they live to do so. They suck others dry.

The apostolic church included counterfeit Christians, as does the church today. John wrote about such people: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that [not even one] of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19). The church is always a mixture of authentic as well as fake Christians. It was so in apostolic times, and it will be so until the end of time.

Paul says love must be sincere. The word “sincere” comes from the Latin sine pluscera, meaning without wax. In ancient times, people used wax to cover the cracks in cheap pottery. But the excellent pottery was stamped with these words: sine cera(without wax). One could look at the piece in bright light and not be able to find any wax or cracks.²

Similarly, the true people of God are sealed, certified by the Holy Spirit. They are authentic children of God, born of the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, and living by the Spirit. Paul says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were [sealed with] the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13).

Paul begins this practical section with love because love is the first fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Where there is love, all other fruits will be present. He uses the word agapê, not eros, philia, nor storgê, because agapê speaks of God’s love for us. It is the love of the Father that sent his Son to die on the cross for our sins. True love sacrifices for the beloved. We read “Christ loved the church and gave himself in death for their redemption.”

A husband is to love his wife in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. God’s love for us is genuine, everlasting, sacrificial, and without hypocrisy. God is love, and those born of God also love sacrificially. So Paul admonishes, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” that is, in the death on the cross (Eph. 5:1-2). In the same epistle he exhorts, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). John the apostle says, “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “˜I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21). John also says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16).

To abide in Christ the vine is to abide in love. It is to abide in God’s word. It is to obey Christ and thus live a life of sacrifice. Sacrifice means pain and suffering. It is giving, not getting. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Such love alone is without hypocrisy. Ask yourself: When you were baptized, did you confess that Jesus is Lord without hypocrisy? When you were married in the presence of God and his holy church, did you take your vows without hypocrisy? When you joined Christ’s holy church, did you make that covenant without hypocrisy? When you bought your house, did you sign the mortgage papers without hypocrisy?

Saints of God, do not kiss the kiss of Judas, the kiss of lie and hypocrisy. The New Testament exhorts us to kiss each other with a holy kiss. On the cross, God’s love and justice kissed each other in Jesus Christ.

True love does not love everyone without exception. God’s common grace reaches all without exception. But his special grace reaches in redemption only his elect. So the theology of Redemptor Hominis is not biblical.³

The Bible opposes a mushy love of hollow sentimentality that champions inclusivism and universalism. True love discriminates. Jesus Christ died on the cross only for his church. His high priestly prayer showed this discrimination: “I pray for them [his disciples]. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9).

This agapê love must operate in all areas of life. It should operate in abundance, because he who has been forgiven much loves much, and we have been forgiven of our infinite sin.

If our love is genuine, then we are told in Romans 12:9 that we must abhor-the Greek word is so strong- hate exceedingly, and detest all evil. The devil is evil and sin is evil. Sin is transgression of God’s law. The world is evil, because the devil controls the world. Thus, worldliness is evil.

Joseph hated evil and said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Daniel and the three Hebrew children hated evil, and embraced God and his good commandments. Josiah hated evil and destroyed all idols, and loved God and his holy laws. Jesus was tempted by the devil, but he hated evil and loved his Father and his laws. In the same way, Paul is saying, we must abstain from evil and be united with the good.

What is good? God is good. Elect angels are good. God’s holy church is good. God’s commandments are good. God’s creation is good. The estate of marriage is good. God hates divorce, but loves marriage. The new heaven and the new earth are going to be very good. Eternal life in glory will be most excellent.

Paul writes, “”˜Therefore come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. “˜Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Cor. 6:17-7:1). A Christian cannot compromise with evil. We cannot be united with Christ and with the devil. God’s holy people must abhor evil and abide in Christ.

This text speaks of seven areas of life where we must live by love.

1. Love the Church

The first area is to love the church, the people of God. We practice this unhypocritical love in our lives in God’s holy church. “Be devoted to one another in Christ’s church in brotherly love.” The Greek speaks of practicing in the church the love we show to family members. The word is storgê. Yes, we all are brothers and sisters because we are children of the heavenly Father. We are born of God. We are born of the Spirit because of the redemption of Christ. This family of God is better than the natural family if the members of the latter are unbelievers. The natural family is unholy and temporal. The family of God is holy and eternal.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “Let your love of the brethren in the faith be as though you were brethren in blood.”⁴ Indeed, we are brothers in blood because we were bought by the blood of God! And if we love God, our unbelieving family members will hate us. That is the way it is, for they hate God.

Then Lloyd-Jones says, “Can you say quite honestly [without hypocrisy] that you have a deeper affection for, and a deeper understanding of, your fellow Christians than you have for your natural relatives who are not Christians?”⁵ We belong to the household of God. Paul writes, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10). Elsewhere he says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:19). And to Timothy he instructs, “If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

Therefore we are to love one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Read John 17:23-it will blow your mind, if you are a Christian. Jesus says, “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” What more can we want? Our children may not love us, our spouse may not love us, our pastor may not love us, but don’t worry. God loves us as he loves his own Son. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9).

 

2. Love Honors God’s People

 

Love honors God’s people. It is proper to have mutual rivalry in the church in the matter of bestowing honor upon one another. Yes, we must give honor to those to whom honor is due-parents, husbands, pastors, masters, magistrates, and so on. But in Romans 12:10 Paul instructs us to honor one another. Each one is to be first, the Greek tells us, in honoring the other. Don’t wait for the other to honor you. You be the first. “I want to be the first in honoring you above myself,” says Mary. “No, I want to be first in honoring and serving you above myself,” says Martha. We should engage in a mutual, holy rivalry to show honor to the members of God’s family, those who have been bought by God’s blood.

To honor means to show genuine appreciation to members of God’s family. Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). The Greek text says each one is to go ahead of others in honoring others, as the exemplar to others. Paul says that he was less than the least of all the saints (1 Cor. 15:9). When we honor others, we humble ourselves. Paul writes, “Last of all, [Christ] appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Cor. 15:8). Paul calls himself the worst sinner (1 Tim. 1:15). Jesus showed honor to his disciples by washing their feet as a slave would. Then he told them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

3. Serve the Lord with Zeal

Paul next says that we should serve the Lord with zeal. Friends, God does not accept service rendered to him without flaming love. Members of the Laodicean church, and their ilk, are worldly people, not God-lovers. Such lukewarm Christians will experience the big spit on the last day (Rev. 3:14-16).

Every Christian must serve the Lord wholeheartedly, with burning zeal. The servant who buried his talent is called a wicked and lazy servant. A Christian’s zeal is according to knowledge of the gospel. Jesus was zealous to serve his Father all his life. The Bible tells the lazy Christian to go to the ant and learn to work with zeal. A double-minded man fails at every task. We must tell our children to have flaming zeal to study, to read the Bible, to pray, and to work hard. Paul says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24). Elsewhere he says, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). And to the Galatians he writes, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).

Christians, be set on fire by the Holy Spirit! Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). May the Spirit of the living God set us ablaze! Paul writes, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be [being] filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). We believe in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sets us on fire, that we may do all things in the zeal of God. So Paul says, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29). May God help us to abhor and detest halfhearted service. “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Henry Martyn, a missionary to India, used to say, “Let me burn out for God!” Be fervent, burning in spirit. Let us burn out for God like a candle. Serve the Lord as his bondslave. Hear, cherish, and do his will. Jesus said, “My food [my spiritual nourishment] is to do the will of God and finish it” (John 4:34). He looked forward to the cross to finish the work of redemption. It gave him great joy.

Paul exhorts, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to [do his good pleasure]. Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Phil. 2:12-14). God is tired of hearing arguments coming out of our mouths. Stop it, if you are a Christian. If we confess Jesus is Lord, and if we have been baptized in the name of the triune God, then let us serve our Master gladly. (PGM) Paul identifies himself in this epistle (Phil. 1:1) as the slave of Christ Jesus. It was his passion to finish the work the Master gave him.

All of life we are to serve God. Jesus said, “Why do you call me, “˜Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). This is hypocrisy. Paul told the Ephesian elders, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:22-24). And Paul did. In his last letter, he says, “I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my [exodus] departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:6-7). This is what it means to have flaming zeal in serving Christ.

By the power of the Spirit, let us also serve the Lord till death! Paul wrote to the church of Colosse, “Tell Archippus to complete the work he received from the Lord” (Col. 4:17). May God help us also to complete our work. The Lord will not leave us as we are serving him. He told us, “I will be with you always, even unto the end of the ages.” He is in us, and he will work in us both to will and to do his good pleasure. He works in and we work out.

4. Rejoice in Hope

In volume 2 of Wilhelmus a Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service there is a section on “Spiritual Joy.” I heartily encourage you to read it. If we live by love, then we will rejoice in hope. Hope has to do with our future salvation, our glorification. At Christ’s coming, we shall receive a glorious body, like the glorious body of Jesus Christ-an immortal, Spirit-engineered physical body that fully reflects the image of God, a body that is raised in power and honor.

We experience salvation in three stages. First, he who believes in the Son now has eternal life. It is not a theory; it is the truth. The second stage occurs the moment we die. At that time, we are ushered into the very presence of God to experience eternal life in a greater degree. And we all are waiting for the third stage, which is when Christ comes again.

Paul declares this will happen at the second coming:

We will all be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:51b-57)

This is what we give thanks to God for. “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can look forward to a bright future. Unbelievers are without God and without hope, so they live joyless, fearful lives. But we rejoice in hope even in tribulations. For us alone all things work together for our ultimate good.

Friends, this world is not our world. A brand-new, glorious, perfect world without sin is coming. Let us, therefore, rejoice in the coming fullness of our salvation. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). The Spirit in us keeps us singing.

5. Be Patient in Affliction

Being patient in affliction means to endure hardship. Because of the hope we have in God, we can endure affliction. In this world we have tribulations, but rejoice: Jesus has overcome the world. He has given us eternal life, and nothing can separate us from the love of God. No devil can harm us. We are invincible and indestructible because we are in Christ. When affliction kills us physically, then we will be instantly brought to Christ in paradise.

“Tribulation” comes from the Latin word “tribulum,” an instrument that crushed corn into flour. Saints of God experience tribulations because they are hated by the devil, the hypocrites in the church, and the world. But we endure hardship because the Holy Spirit is in us, we possess the holy Scripture, and we are in fellowship with God’s holy church. Later in this epistle, Paul writes, “Weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15). So not only do we endure hardship, but we also sing and praise God in the midst of it.

Remember Paul in the prison at Philippi. In Acts 16 we read, “The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:22-25). God’s people not only endure trials, but they sing.

Paul says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Then he says he is “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor. 6:10). And he exhorts, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). We rejoice in hope, and we endure affliction because of the next point: we are faithful in prayer.

6. Faithful in prayer

In prayer we may approach God’s throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:16). We can approach God’s throne any time. The Father says, “Come on in. The door is open.” In the hour of our death, the door will be open, and he will give us all the grace we need.

Jesus prayed daily, and sometimes he prayed all night. Through prayer he received all grace to do the Father’s will. His brother says, “Ask and you shall receive” (Jas. 4:3). Persist, be constant, and persevere in prayer. Don’t faint-pray! Don’t give up. The Holy Spirit will help us in our prayer. God may even send angels to help us as we pray.

Remember how Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives the night in which he was betrayed. “On reaching the place, he said to them, “˜Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “˜Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:40-44).

Pray constantly, perseveringly, so that you will receive grace to face every trouble, trial, and problem you will face in this hostile world. We need grace, and he tells us his grace is sufficient. So we can say with Paul, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). Pray constantly, rejoice in hope, endure affliction. Professor John Murray states, “The measure of perseverance in the midst of tribulation is the measure of our diligence in prayer. Prayer is the means ordained of God for the supply of grace sufficient for every exigency and particularly against the faintheartedness to which affliction tempts us.”⁶

We are weak, but don’t worry; he is strong. So Paul says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). Look to God, rely on him, and he will give us grace.

7. Sharing with the Saints in Need

If we live by agapê love, we will not close our eyes to the needs of the saints who are members of God’s household. Paul admonishes, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10). In Acts 2 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need” (vv. 44-45). John says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:16-17).

In Matthew 25 we read,

Then the King will say to those on his right, “˜Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me'” (vv. 34-36). The question is, when did we see you in need? Especially here we are told Jesus was sick. When did we see him sick in prison, naked? The answer is, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.” (Matt. 25:40)

So Paul says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28). Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Also, we are to pursue hospitality (the Greek word is “pursue”). In other words, when you come to church, look for people of God who are visiting from far places. Then invite them to your house. Actively pursue such opportunities to show hospitality.

In Bible days, there were few inns. The inns that existed were dirty and not very moral. Additionally, most Christian people were poor. But Jesus Christ taught us to receive those who bring the gospel to us. “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. . . . He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me” (Matt. 10:11, 40).

Paul says, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. . . . Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings” (Rom. 16:1-2, 23). Peter directs, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). And in Hebrews we read, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it (Heb. 13:2).

John writes, “Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John 5-8). If we love God, we will open our homes to Christians who are visiting our area.

The Life of Love in God’s Church

Genuine love, sacrificial love, should govern every aspect of life in Christ’s holy church. May God help us to live this life of love. Consider the following:

1. If you are a child of God, know this: God is love, and God loved you from all eternity.
2. God loves you as he loves his one and only Son.
3. The Holy Spirit loves you and pours out this love in abundance into our hearts.
4. Jesus Christ loved us and died for us and he loves us and lives for us forever.
5. To abide in Christ is to abide in his word and to abide in his love.
6. We love God and one another because God first loved us. And by this love we keep God’s commandments.
7. This love is the proof of our sonship. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Bishop Anders Nygren says that love is the blood circulating in the body of Christ.⁷So we read in the Bible, “Walk in love”; “Put on love as a garment”; and “Be rooted in love”; “Do all in love”; and “Abide in love.”

When we look at the communion table, we see what love is. God loved us. He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not, along with him, give us all things? (Rom. 8:32). Love is always giving. May God help us to do that-to be a channel of blessing to others. Jesus said, “Come unto me and drink. Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (see John 7:37-38). May people come and drink the water of life through us.

 

¹ John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprinted 1979), 128.

² James M. Boice, Romans, Vol. 4: The New Humanity, Romans 12-16 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 1591.

³ In this encyclical, Pope John Paul II erroneously declared that God’s special grace of redemption is for all men, whether they know Christ or not: “Man-every man without any exception whatever-has been redeemed by Christ, and because with man-with each man without any exception whatever-Christ is in a way united, even when man is unaware of it: “˜Christ, who died and was raised up for all, provides man’-each man and every man- “˜with the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme calling'” (Redemptor Hominis, paragraph 14, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_04031979_redemptor-hominis_en.html).

⁴ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: Exposition of Chapter 12: Christian Conduct(Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2000), 348.

⁵ Lloyd-Jones, Christian Conduct, 352.

⁶ Murray, Romans, 132.

⁷ Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans, trans. by Carl Rasmussen (London: SCM Press, 1958), 424.