The seventh chapter of Romans may be said to be Rom. 6:14 expanded. It is a masterly argument for the holiness and perpetuity of the law, and is all the stronger because the nature or the perpetuity of the law is not the subject under discussion. The apostle showing, in the sixth and seventh chapters, what true Christian life is, and how one is brought to be a Christian.
“I AM the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex. 20:2, 3.
"Do you regard the following fundamental principles as the right principles for our guidance through life? namely, on the spiritual side, faith and good works; and on the temporal, health, judgment, employment, self-dependence, self-defence, contentment, freedom."
WE give place here to the following sincere cry of a soul in distress, believing that many readers of the PRESENT TRUTH will find their own experience and longing expressed in it; and I trust it will also touch a responsive chord in the hearts of many others, who know the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and who will join in the prayer that the answer that follows may be blessed to the deliverance of souls from the snare of the enemy.
"I AM the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex. 20:2, 3.
This question is answered in few words by the apostle Paul, in Rom. 1:16, 17: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; . . . for therein is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith." But, although the question is answered in so few words, the answer comprehends so much that it will take all eternity to unfold the depth of its meaning.
Notice three great mistakes made by different parties in connection with the trial of Jesus, each having its special lesson.
1. Peter’s sell-confidence made a coward of him when he came to the test. Knowing the Lord and loving Him, he yet denied the truth, because the flesh failed him.
2. The prejudices of the priests and rulers made them blind to all truth and honour, and while their attitude was in itself a confession that they were wrong, they so deceived themselves that they knew not what they did.
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come;” and I am glad of it. Every act of our lives, and every thought, must have reference to the end; and I am glad there is an end coming, for that end will be the beginning. It will be an end of strife, and a beginning of universal peace; I long for it to come, and I know it is coming, because the Lord has said so.
"I AM the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Ex. 20:2, 3.
The third of the three forms under which "the world" is embraced, and idolatry manifested, is—
"The pride of life."
