L
li{’e or of (liviiio righteousness, and 1 not after tlie desh but after the Spirit, i also very clearly of the Jews, “lor
the law of SU5 alrid death, and also the j Jesus the Son of God, God mai\fcst | when the Gentiles, which have not
law that came i)v Moses. ; in the flesh, was made a servant of j the law (of Moses) do \rf nature the
What is the law of sin and death ? | the idrerimcision or covenant of works | the things contalnerl in tire law, these
It is the law that always sins—its j and lieiKxi mmle under the law, and | having not the law, arc a law unto
nature is siiti, its aethu! is Iransgres- j bceanre a debtor to do the whole law, | thomselvos ; which show the work of
it is hi tiie inciTsbers, not tfie \ and suffer the penalty of its trans- i the law written in their hearts ; &c.”
wind, of a Christian, so working death
rn him that when he would do good
gi'cssion—deatlt. Ho fulfilled it in j 2 : 14,15. Here the Gentiles
evei-y jot and tittls and becoares the i :n'e shown to not have the law of
evil is [iresent. Like it law, its now- j.cnd, satisfaction,and vindication of the
>er is to sm, its end is omIv death. j to every believer. This sets aside
'J'he law that cause by =M?ses is ho- j or fnlfills that law of Moses to all
good, OS' is spiritual, and ; believers who by the body of Ciirist
is llie strength of sin in the sense I become dead to this convenant of
that .vhere titere is no law there is no | \vorks* He dies to the law which has
trangresHon. Tlsc law assigns bounds | more dominion over idm than a
or limits in the way of c.ointnands | dead husband has over the surviving
and prohioitknis which sin always |-widow. Tlic former relation is en-
£rangre:-ises or crosses, lienc« the law | (Hd lienet? sin which gatherei its pow-
Moses. The Jews had “the form of
knowledge and of the truth in the
law.” Horn. 2 ; 20. That is they
had tJte solemn form anU clearexpres-
sion of the triith in tiie law written
with less tiian Jesus, while its teac!
ings point to
righteousness of God, wuiiout tiu
law, is manifested, being iu
the law and the prophets,” Ivoir., I/
21. The law when understood clcei-■
ly foreshadosvs a Redeemer, and i-
applied to both Jews and Gentiles tc
cause titem to feel the need of t-(us
Redeemer, and wlien applied alwiu
Ioes the perfect work of l)reaklng
down and uprooting thi' scif-righteotis
notions in the sinner of being savc(,^
bv a covenant of works, 'fhe law
out and expressed in commands and ■ breaks down and uproots this jjrouc
statutes, while the Gentiles, who did j J»olion by showing the sinner he i>-
not liiue this expressed and embodied 1 of sin. “Ihe law of the Lord is
code - flaw on tables, yet had a law - perfect converting the soul.” HaT
written in their hearts and con.scionces ! ^'oner, Jew and Gentile, is orongh;
makes sin maiul'cst, and the more ho- !cr timmirh tins iioiv law is made
an
iy a law is the more deathly and cor- : (>iid offer where there is no law there is
which excused or accused them for ‘ to see tliat the middle wall of
their conduct, which was the law giv- | f'on is broken down and both ar
rupt will sin slunv itself to be, “tliat mio ts'amsgres.sion. ifJu; body of sin and en to Adam or the nnivc.s.sal conveii-j justified by the same divine right
sinby th.oc(i:ui?s.andmeut might bcconte j death was imputed to Christ wdio was
'cxcewling sinliil,” or by that wh.ick : made sin for us, but his holy obedi-
is good. Paul's ffi'st life was without I ence reigned unto etcruai life, and
ui was a deatli i« tres- | lie was put to doatli in the flesh
1 sins; (lead and did not | (underlaw): thelaw of the Spirit oflifc
“4 was a, live without the ■ rais(xl Jesus from the dead, not under
tile lav
pa,s,ses and
know it
‘HIW,
iis .second existence in its ; or unto tlie law of Moses -or covenant
becinninc; was a Is-fe that lie thcnight
was deatli. Afhcn the cominand-
nient eame, sin revived, and 1 died,”
Here under the spiritual a.pplK'ation
•of tlie law ■C/if Mo.-;&s the dreadfel ef
fects of .sin and death arc fel-t, and he
■die.s to all hope of jastificaticus, by
works.
The law efsaa and deatk is henoe
very different from the law that'came
bv MoseJi, as the trood civil law of
land altogetfcer diirers from
/. /-J
jastitied/ire/y through the rcdeini'
hence all are one in Chri,st, neidicv-
Jew nor Gentile. Hence not tlin
righteousness of the law, tut the
righteousnes.s of Jesus is the oifiect of
All wore equally and fully under i saves believer.s.
the curse of that hoiy law, aiid all; The last question of brother Du-'-
dead in sins. Was the written out,dis- den is, “What obedience does th.e
ieath wluck a imm'd'Srer suffers under
it. The more holy a law is tire mote
'it gives the knowledge of -siR., henee
under its-kirlit tint-chnAtiari is al ways
sensible of a haw -of h\ bis
mcmbcr.s warring again.s£ f fee law ot
iris iB.iiluI-. H -is the earthly icshly
natfii'e of a Christian wldch H IVnder | of life in Ohri.s
mnd remains ruidcr tlsc lav;’ of W(^rk.s
53ntil -d'eath, R it wo’y. ngt under law
i-t w9«ld not Paul’s fleshly
alRj. jge was a chrqfQpy
stiii Corrupt, for si'.j sfijj ig hi^;
members l^jg pGa,cB by fhe
ant of works, the common law pre
vailing over all men. Gould any of
them keep it and be savaxl by it? No is in Christ J'osus,’
rnoiv; than a Jew could be .saved bv
J
the law of hfose.s—Adam could not re
enter lkmidi.se agaimst the flaming
sword.
of W'Orks.biit by the law of an endless
ife, and Jesus, in that efccwnal life
which was never in Adam, i,s raised
from the dead te live forevmr. Yfhen
lic was made a curse for us it was to
remove all rncumbrance—all cur.se
frotn us, and effect the glorious re-
dempt!Gn of delivering iis froim sin
and death, and from -the hbly l&w
which revealed ,siii -in iss to .such a | be saved. A.s when the law i.s j obedience did Christ fail to p;iy for
deathly extent that it rc(jiiircs a re- j spiritually ap[)lied, vLether to a Jew 'i* Whatever he failed to pay we
velatiiai of faith to ciiable the guilty or Gentile, he sees by it that he can- I owe, btill we would ask whicli ou^
e,envioted sinne,r to 9jCc laow God can | not be saved, for the same law tybieh ^ these commands does a christkin
tinctly reiterated law on Mt. Sinai
able to save sinners? No; it was
added that the offence might aliound,
and that men might .see (if they liad
(we,s) that by the letter of the law,
much less by its spirit, no flesh could
be 11581-and isot i(Lii.>nn him, or what is i in the Icttc^r of it oond^-mii* a Jew, 'to violate ? Anyone oi uu^n
i^,4|TnTr'in its spirit, as ffivSn to vVdam, eon- that-we wish to violate we are still
5.iKU'-e •(xmld be just and
jiostificr 'f the ungodly that bclievoth ! dornns rt Gentile. .\ quickened Gen-
rile comes as sensibly under the spir-
IS
law.
Wisat then was Paul’s comfort aa a
Christian ? It was in the law of the
Hpivit of life in Christ Jesus, which
was written in hi,s renewed mind, but
PQt in his fleshly members. This
ffloriou-s law of Ufa had made him
free from the law of sin and death.
The law that came by Mose.s, tlie
(xinvenant of works, could not justify
a sinner, nor save him, for a sinner
can no more keep that holy law than
Adam could restore himself, after the
fall, under the law or convenant of
works given to him, or than he could
pass by that flaming swoixi tiuming
eveiy woiy to guard the way of the
tree of life ; but, ‘‘whqt the law could
not do, in that It was "weak through
the flesh, (the flesh could not l^eop it)
God sending his own Son in the iike-
ne.ss of sinful fle.sh and for sin, con
demned sin in the flesh, that the
righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us (not by us) who, >yalk
in Jesu.s,
IVh'at a hsly and glorious
> .aat of faiih or the lavy oF the Spirit
t iteSus ! Does it con
flict with of M-Oses ? Nay ;
’Acli e.stablishes the law, The most
triumphant harmoqy reigns jn this
counsel of peace, and the 'most abso
lute and glorious righteousness of God
absolves the sinner from all guilt
and justifies him. Eternal life in
Christ Jesus |s given us, and wm live
because he lives. Death has no more
dominion over us. The law of the
Spirit of life in Christ demands the
life of the believer: as sin reigned unto
death, so grace iw-w reigns through
righteousne.ss unto eternal life by
Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace
gns. Nothing oan fustrate it,
glorious sovereignty, resting- on
rei-
In
the
foundation of cterinU v-ighteausn.Gss, it
reigns supreme unto efcrnal life, and
where sin abounded grace doth much
mere abound. Death is swallowed up
of life.
Another r^uostion ia ; ‘AYhat law
did Christ eonqe to redeem his people
from the ourse
Eirat arc all men under the law
to Mases, or is there no sin and death
or curi^ except under tlie law of Mo
ses ?
The letter of Paul to the Romans
i^ddr^cd to Qeatjlesj but it speaks
it and curse of the law, in his feelings,
as a literal Je'w was under the law
to Moses,wliich was first given to Ad
am in its .spirit,and is fastened on every
quickened Gentile, while a Gentile
dead in sins no more regards this
spiritual holy larv of God than a car
nal Jew regards the law of IMoses.—
Hence those under the law of Moses
are judged by it, while those not hav-
iiif)- that laiv are yet a law unto them-
selves, having the fragnients of the
violated law of Adam wHriu t-heir
heart.s by wbieh they are to be judg
ed,but by which they could uo more be
saved than a Jew could by the law of
Moses The law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus alone can, and only
oan, free a Jew or Gentile from the
curse of the law transgressed by Ad
am, which tvansgres.sion is made the
plainer under- the law of Mo.ses, but
brought home to both Jew and Gen
tile under conviction of sin. The
curse then that Christ redeems us
from is the guilt, siu and death first
contracted in the Garden of Hdeui,
and more fully revealed on Mt, Sinai,
What advantage then, had a Jew?—-
This, among others, that the law wit
nessed a redemption. Its types,sym
bols and teaching foreshadowed a
Redeemer, the lamb of God. Its
holy natuto would not he satisfied
eousnc.ss witliont the lav
chri.stlan owe to the t(>u command
ments, or whether is it binding on
the Gentiles as wcU as the Jew.-’.”—•
Our space is too short to .say what
we would wi.sli.
We would'a.sk, how mueli of its
under, and hence not redeemed from
the curse of it. Jesus fulfilled tl'c
whole law and is -our rigliteousness,
and faith pleads tills, and glories in
him wl',0 infinitely ,sati.sflcs the law,
but when we attempt to keep tlie
law ourselves we show tlua we are
under it, and hence under its cur.s(-,
for a law without a penalty is no law
at all. Our flesh is under the law
and hence must die, and whenevi
we walk after the flesh we transgre* s
the law and become guilty. Bv---
God writes his law in our hearts ami
we love it and are under grace whicii
fulfills the law, and we live by every
, hr
enant of works.
word of God, but not as under a eov
In the communication of brother
Harrison, published iu this issue, In-
makes the statement that Christ su?'-
fered more for some than for others.
We do not know that this is not true,
but recognize and rejoice in the bib.-e
truth that he bore all the sins in the
aggregate, oi all \i\% jncople. We do
not mean to take any isssue with oi:r
dear brother, but merely to state tliat
it i.s a new idea to me, or one on
which I have no deep impression.
j
(Jo not regard Zion’s Lani>maiik.s ?s
a standard of the expression of m:r
fiiith at all, the bible is tnat, bm,
while it is a medium of correspon
dence for the bretliren, we do net,
wish anything published that is nci,
according to truth. Mte hesitate to
expunge matter, though wlien \v(> f« 1
assured that it is contrary to trtJt’i ,
we do so.