3300. Titles of Honour

A Sermon Published On Thursday, May 2, 1912.

Brethren beloved by the Lord. {2Th 2:13}

For other sermons on this text:

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3300, “Titles of Honour” 3302}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 41,4, “Election” 40}

   Exposition on 2Th 1; 2 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3179, “Comprehensive Benediction, A” 3180 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on 2Th 2:1-3:5 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2363, “Comfort and Constancy” 2364 @@ "Exposition"}

1. The verse from which my text is taken begins like this, “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,” so I will begin my discourse by saying that we might often find comfort and relief from gloomy apprehensions by associating with those who are “beloved by the Lord.” If you read the chapter through, you will perceive that Paul’s mind was greatly exercised concerning the perilous times which were to come to the Church of Christ. He wrote to warn the Thessalonians concerning the coming of antichrist, and then said that there were some to whom God would send a “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous.” The apostle’s heart was so heavily burdened with that sorrowful theme that he was glad to turn his pen to quite a different subject, and therefore he wrote, “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord.” Just now, there is a general opinion that the growth of Popery in this land is most alarming, and that the declension of vital godliness is very serious; and while we do not fully agree with the alarmists, we are obliged to admit that these are times of particular peril. The tendency of those who look only at the black side of the question is to fret and worry, and to feel that God’s Church is in danger. Brethren, I would not have you shut your eyes to the dangers by which we are surrounded, but I would not have you dispirited by them. There are still many saints left in the world; there are still some who, like those in Sardis, have not defiled their garments; there are still some who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; there are still many earnest and faithful testifiers to the truth as it is in Jesus; so, although you may mourn over the evils of the times, you are bound to give thanks always to God that there are some “brethren beloved by the Lord” still left on the face of the earth. David spoke of the saints that were on the earth in his day as “the excellent, in whom is all my delight”; and David’s Lord, our blessed Master, no doubt found great solace, as a man, in associating with Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, for he seems to have withdrawn from the multitude who mocked and scoffed, and to have retired into the privacy of domestic piety, and there to have found joy and comfort in the midst of the happy family that was so closely attached to him. There are still in the world many of the precious sons of Zion who are comparable to fine gold, and concerning whom the Lord says, “They shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewels.” Be wise, my brethren, and let it be said of you as it was said of those of old, “Those who feared the Lord spoke often to each other,” for there is comfort to be found in the company of God’s saints, no matter how perilous and dark the times are.

2. But I would advance a step beyond this preliminary observation, and remark that, when things are outwardly not as the children of God would like them to be, and when there is much within them that is not as it should be, they may often derive much solace by reflecting on their true condition in the sight of God in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I know that many of you have grievous trials to endure; and I am well aware that, if you look within, you will see much that will distress you. You will perceive that the old Adam still lurks within you, and that notwithstanding all the force that has been brought against him by divine grace, he is still far too vigorous. It is true that some of you also have to suffer from poverty, and that your lot is a very hard one; yet we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, and you yourselves are bound to give thanks on your own behalf because, notwithstanding your poverty, and notwithstanding your infirmity, and notwithstanding even the sin of which you have such cause to mourn, you are still “beloved by the Lord,” and in the person of Jesus Christ you are “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” When faith recognises the vital union which exists between Christ and the soul, and realizes the subsequent blessedness and security of the saint, then it cries, “I am bound to give thanks always to God, for I am still beloved by the Lord notwithstanding all that causes me often to weep and mourn.”

3. It is my purpose, this evening, to invite all of you who are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to contemplate your true standing in the sight of God, so that you may be lifted up from the dunghills of your complainings, shake off the ashes of your doubts, unwind the sackcloth of your fears, put on your beautiful garments of holy rejoicing, and sing aloud to him through whose grace you are made worthy to be called “brethren beloved by the Lord.” There are two topics on which I have to speak; first, the titles mentioned in the text; and, secondly, the wearers of those titles.

4. I. First, then, let us think for a while of THE TITLES MENTIONED IN THE TEXT: “Brethren” and “beloved by the Lord.”

5. “Brethren“ is a very special word, its utterance awakens an echo in every believer’s heart. It is naturally a silver word, but spiritually God has transmuted it into gold. I do not wonder that a certain sect has appropriated this title, yet we equally claim the name of “brethren” as our own, and we share it with all who are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. The title “brethren” is very hallowed and very precious to us; let us try to find out what it implies.

6. First, it indicates a common nature. Whatever opinions any may hold concerning the unity of the human race, there can be no difference of opinion about the unity of nature in those who are born by the same parents. Where should I expect to find a person more in sympathy with myself than my own brother? Where should I expect to find, beneath the canopy of heaven, another soul that should be more akin to mine than the soul of my brother? If there is not peace and love between us, where can they be found? However much we may differ from each other in some respects, there must be certain lineaments of feature or traits of character in which we are alike. But even if this is not so naturally, it certainly is so spiritually. All believers are equally partakers of the divine nature; we are all equally begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The inner life of all true Christians is the same; there is not a Baptist life and a Methodist life, or a Nonconformist life and a Church of England life. The divine life is one wherever it is bestowed. The life of my hand and the life of my foot are one and the same, pulsating from the same central source, and maintained by the same power; and the life of God is the same in all the members of the mystical body of Christ. This is something more than brotherhood; that idea does not cover the whole truth although it includes much of it. There is a distinct unity of nature in all the saints of the living God. Hence, brethren, I never can tolerate any attempts to limit communion between those who are really one in Christ. It always seems to me that it would be an infraction of the divine law if I were to say to a brother in Christ that I could not commune with him because of certain minor matters in which we do not quite agree. Besides, whether I am willing to do so or not, I cannot help communing with him, for he is a part of Christ’s mystical body of which I am also a part; so that, unless I myself could get out of that body, or he could get out of it, which is impossible for either of us, I must remain in spiritual communion with him whatever I may do concerning the outward and visible symbols of that communion. Indeed, more than that, if I could go to heaven, and that brother still remain here on the earth, our communion would not be broken, for Dr. Watts was right when he sang, — 

   The saints on earth, and all the dead,

      But one communion make;

   All join in Christ, their living Head,

      And of his grace partake.

7. The term “brethren” also implies a common experience. The brethren in an earthly family have the same parents, they live in the same house, they partake of the same food, they share all the privileges and varied experiences of the same household. So it is with those who are of the household of faith, the family of God. Their experiences may vary even as one child in the home differs from another, but there is much more similarity than there is diversity in the experiences of the living children of the living God. We have all been broken in pieces, we have all been bound up, we have all been emptied, we have all been brought to the cross, we have all been led by one Spirit to drink from the same precious truth. We have not all subscribed to the same creed, yet in substance and in effect the doctrine of all the children of God is to a large extent identical. They rely for salvation on the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and in it they are all one. Their pilgrim path is through the same wilderness, they eat the same manna, they drink from the same Rock, they are led by the same cloudy-fiery pillar, and they come at last to the same heavenly Canaan, and go no more out for ever. They are and they must be one, not only because they are one in nature, but because the various processes through which that nature has to pass are so largely the same.

8. More than this, the title “brethren” implies that we love each other. It is said that there is a lack of love in certain churches that profess to be Christian. Well, perhaps there is; I am not going to be an accuser of the brethren in that respect; but I believe there is a great deal more love existing among Christians than many people imagine. Possibly, those who say there is a lack of love in our midst judge by the state of their own hearts, while those who really love the saints find that the saints also love them. Do not suppose, dear friends, because the preacher sometimes has to proclaim very unpalatable truths, and because he sometimes delivers his message in stern tones, that therefore he does not have a tender heart. Fidelity to the truth requires that it should be spoken in such a way as to secure public attention, and this involves the use of great plainness of speech, and a manner of delivery which some may resent; and the man who honestly and fearlessly acts like this is more acceptable to God, and has far greater and truer love in his heart than the one who says, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. Just as I hate Satan and all his works, so my soul hates every false doctrine in this church and in every church; but just as I love God and all that God loves, so I am desirous to love every child of the loving God; and I will further say that, not only do I desire to love every child of God, but I think I really do so. Do you not feel, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, whenever you meet a believer in Jesus, and begin to talk about the things that belong to his kingdom, you have fellowship with him in heart and spirit even though you had never seen him before? When we talk about Jesus, our love for each other soon begins to flow. The true basis of our communion with each other is that we are there in Christ Jesus, and that union reveals itself in love for all who are, as our text puts it, “brethren beloved by the Lord.”

9. This word “brethren” is a far-reaching word, for it further implies that all Christians have a common Father. Let all believers rejoice that they can unite in saying, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” There is a straight line from my heart to the heart of God, and so there is from your heart, my brother or my sister in Christ, so our Father’s heart is our common meeting-place. We were there in purpose before this world was created, we are there by faith at this moment, and we shall be there by blessed experience when this world has passed away, and time shall be no more. Having the same Father, we share equally in that Father’s love. We may not always feel the same love for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, but God’s love for us and his love for them knows no variation. I trust you all realize that our Father is quite impartial in his love for all his children, and that all who are truly members of his family through their union to Christ shall have an equal share of it. Hence the tie of Christian brotherhood become a very solemn and a very precious thing, for it not only binds us firmly to our Father in heaven, but it also binds us closely to each other. I pray that the members of this church may always act towards each other as brethren in Christ. I wish that among all the saints there might be a kind of spiritual free-masonry so that, whenever we might meet, we should recognise each other by the holy handshake of Christian love. There are certain sacred passwords that are common to all the saints, and I will defy the hypocrite or the worldling to pronounce them properly; or if he should be able to utter them with his lips, he can never really know their meaning in his heart. There are certain experiences that cannot be learned without the teaching of the Holy Spirit. There is a certain way of speaking about Christ that can never be acquired as a parrot learns to talk. There is a certain ring which God gives to his gold which is never bestowed on baser metal, and there is a certain something about a true child of God which enables him to recognise others of the some family, and which also enable them to recognise him; so that, when they come together, their hearts leap up at the thought that they are “brethren beloved by the Lord.”

10. Perhaps I have lingered too long over that first title, so now I must turn to the second one, “beloved by the Lord.” You do not need my explanations here, for the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle to give the divine explanation of this title of honour. Turn to the verse from which our text is taken, and you will see that the first thought concerning the Lord’s love for you is that of its antiquity: “We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you.” You always were “beloved by the Lord.” He did not begin to love you when you first repented and turned to him. He saw you in his eternal purpose, and he loved you then. That love he proved many centuries before you knew anything about it, for his beloved Son, Jesus Christ your Lord and Saviour, had redeemed you almost two millennia before you were born; he gave the fullest proof of his affection for you in laying down his life for you. There was nothing in you to merit this wonderful self-sacrifice on the part of Christ; on the contrary, you were his enemies, you profaned his holy name, and despised his sacrifice after you learned what he had done. But he gave himself for you because from eternity he had loved you with a love that would not be turned from its purpose by anything that he foresaw would be done by you.

11. In addition to the antiquity of the Lord’s love for you, think also of its richness. The apostle says, “God has from the beginning chosen you for salvation.” Have you grasped the full meaning of that word salvation, beloved? It does not merely mean salvation from hell, though that is included in it; but it means salvation from sin, salvation from the guilt and power of sin, salvation from your doubts, your fears, your troubles, salvation from that besetting infirmity of yours, salvation from the devil’s dominion over you, salvation in all its fulness from first to last. To all this “God has from the beginning chosen you” who are “brethren beloved by the Lord.” This is no insignificant inheritance, no paltry portion, no slight blessing; indeed, it is not easy to find words in which to adequately describe all that God has done for you in choosing you “for salvation.” It will need all eternity to fully explain the meaning of that great word. You are indeed “beloved by the Lord” in having such a priceless portion as this bestowed on you.

12. Notice, next, the wisdom of the Lord’s love for you: “God has from the beginning chosen you for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” Had it been possible for you to have had salvation without sanctification, it would have been a curse to you instead of a blessing. If such a thing were possible, I cannot conceive of a more lamentable condition than for a man to have the happiness of salvation without its holiness; happily, it is not possible. If you could be saved from the consequences of sin, but not from the sin itself, and its power and pollution, it would be no blessing to you. But the salvation to which God has from the beginning chosen you is inseparably linked with the cleansing and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, who operates within you through the instrumentality of faith. Your belief of the truth has a purifying influence on your whole life, and makes you desire to follow in the footprints of your dear Lord and Saviour. So God shows his wisdom in the choice of the means which he blesses to your salvation, blessing you as much by the means as by the salvation itself, blessing you as much in the road as in the end to which it leads. You are indeed “beloved by the Lord” in having the Spirit of God dwelling in you, and bestowing on you that precious gift of faith by which you are enabled to believe the truth.

13. Observe, too, in order to increase your joy in the Lord, the signs of this love. In the next verse, the apostle goes on to say, “to which he called you by our gospel.” Do you not remember, you who are “beloved by the Lord,” when you were called by the gospel? Then the eternal purpose of God was fulfilled in your experience. Go back in thought to the time of your espousal to Christ. Recall the sound of the silver trumpet that then brought you into gospel liberty. You had been to the house of God hundreds of times before when that same trumpet was ringing out the glad refrain, — 

   The year of jubilee is come;

   Return, ye ransomed sinners, home; — 

but your ears and heart had been sealed to the message. But that day the Lord opened your heart, and unplugged your ears, so that you were numbered among the happy people who heard the joyful sound. Your calling proved your election, and it still stands to you as gracious evidence of God’s eternal love for you. Happy are we, too, if we can say, with the apostle, “to which he called you by our gospel.” I know that, however many may preach the gospel better than I do, there is no one who can preach a better gospel than the one I preach, for it is that gospel which “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” “Our gospel” is the best of gospels, the richest of gospels, it cannot be excelled, it cannot be equalled; in fact, it is the only gospel that is worthy of the name. You remember how Paul wrote to the Galatians, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: which is not another”; that is to say, it is not another gospel, and it brings only a curse both on him who preaches it and those who receive it; but blessed are you who have been called to salvation by “our gospel.”

14. There is yet one more sign of God’s eternal love which is to be seen by us in the future: “to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We who believe in Jesus are so “beloved by the Lord” that he will never be satisfied until we share his glory. So be glad in the Lord, and rejoice in the glorious prospect that he has set before you. God was not content to choose you to happiness here, but he has also chosen you to happiness hereafter; he was not satisfied with making a little heaven for you here below, but he has made a great heaven for you up above. He has not appointed an earthly paradise where he might come to you sometimes as he came to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, but he has prepared a place for you in his own home in glory, so that you may dwell for ever in your Father’s house where there are many mansions. Rejoice, then, “beloved by the Lord,” that he has “called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

15. Of course it is not in my power to enable every Christian here to extract all the sweetness out of this title, but it is in the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do so, and by the exercise of faith you may draw out much of it. I claim this title for myself: “beloved by the Lord”; and each brother or sister in Christ may claim it for himself or herself. “Oh man greatly beloved” was the title given to Daniel, and that is the title that is given to every believer in Jesus. “That disciple whom Jesus loved” was the distinguishing title of one of his followers when Christ was here in the flesh; and now that we know Christ no more after the flesh, we are his in such a special sense that every child of God is “that disciple whom Jesus loves.” May you get a firm grip on that truth, beloved, and realize that Jesus loves you. You cannot obtain this assurance except by faith; but when you have believed, joy and peace will quickly follow on the heels of faith; indeed, they come hand in hand, for we have joy and peace in believing.

16. II. I have taken so long in speaking of these titles of honour that I have very little time left for speaking of THE WEARERS OF THESE TITLES.

17. Suppose, dear friends, you had all heard the gospel preached, and that you understood the dignity and happiness of a Christian, what kind of a person would you suppose him to be? If I try to picture him for you, you will see how far your ideas and mine agree. I should think you would so imagine that a man who is “beloved by the Lord” would be the happiest man in the world. You naturally suppose that, if the eternal God has loved him, if the infinite heart of the Most High has been set on him from all eternity, he must experience the greatest imaginable delight in such a belief, and he must feel that, whatever else he may or may not possess, he is rich to the fairest possible extent in having the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit who is given to him. I know that a sorrowful friend over there is saying, “If I really could say that Jesus is mine, I would be quite content to be poor; if I were ‘beloved by the Lord,’ I would not mind if I had to lie in a dungeon or even to be burned to death for his sake”; so I conceive that those who are “beloved by the Lord” must be the most happy and joyful people to be found anywhere on the face of the earth.

18. I suppose, too, that the influence of this love on them would make them very careful not to offend their loving Lord. Naturally, the love of Christ would exercise such a constraining influence on them that they would feel that men so highly-favoured as they are ought not to live as other men do; but that, being distinguished by such special privileges, they should be “a special people, zealous of good works.” Without violating the proprieties of conjecture, I can conceive that the “beloved by the Lord” would be most heavenly-minded people. Having such treasure in heaven, they would naturally not care about the things of earth, but would set their affection on things above so that where their treasure is their heart would be there also. I think the believer would be longing and panting to get a peep through the pearly gates, and that, until he could be there with his loving Lord, he would often be singing, — 

   My heart is with him on his throne,

   And ill can brook delay,

   Each moment listening for the voice,

   ”Rise up, and come away.”

19. Further, I can suppose that the “beloved by the Lord” are so grateful for their Lord’s love that they are constantly telling to others the story of that love; and that, when they meet their fellow Christians, their constant theme of conversation is the riches of divine grace. I can suppose that these people are so different from others that, wherever they go, they are looked at with astonishment. I suppose they have difficulties, but being “beloved by the Lord” they take their difficulties to him, and he enables them to overcome them by his grace. I suppose they have trials, but they are sure to go to God about them, and he either removes them or gives the necessary strength to endure them. I suppose they are people who encompass sea and land, not to make proselytes to their particular sect, but by holy self-denial and consecrated service to glorify God and extend the Redeemer’s kingdom on earth.

20. Is this not what you are longing to do, beloved? Well, it is a good thing to have high aspirations, but it is an even better thing to turn those aspirations to practical account. Is there not something that we can do for Christ tonight? The Israelites found the manna in the wilderness, not by looking up to heaven, but by looking down on the ground; and instead of looking up to heaven for means of glorifying God, we may find opportunities of doing so all around our daily path. Let each one of us ask ourselves these questions, and answer them as in the sight of God, — What can I do for God in my own family circle? What can I say about Jesus to my friends? How can I bring most glory to God in my own spiritual life? What choice gift can I bring to my Saviour as Mary brought the costly ointment of spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus? What tears of penitence can I weep before his marred visage? What holy faith can I now exercise in his risen and glorified person? Let me, as the “beloved by the Lord,” with my largest ideas concerning his glory and the coming of his kingdom, see what I can practically do to show that I truly love him by whom I am so greatly beloved.

21. I wish, brethren, that the portrait of the happiest man in the world that I tried to draw a few minutes ago might prove to be your own likeness. Some of you are sad and despondent, yet you are the “beloved by the Lord”; then why are you so dispirited? You are heavy-hearted tonight; but, since you are the “beloved by the Lord,” you should rejoice in him whatever there may be to cause you present heaviness of spirit. You have been struggling with inbred sin, and the fight has been so fierce that you have feared that you would be defeated; but, since you are the “beloved by the Lord,” you must be more than conquerors through him who has loved you. Some of you have come here tonight from the workshop where you have been laughed at and mocked, and you have most painful memories of the scorn with which you were assailed this very afternoon; but, since you are the “beloved by the Lord,” the day will come when these things will be counted among your highest honours. “Take that, John Bunyan,” said one to a certain Christian as he pushed him into the gutter. “Oh!” said the other, “you may push me into the gutter again if you can only prove my right to bear that noble name.” So may you say to those who persecute you for Christ’s sake, “You may do it again if it pleases you for it would be an honour to me to be spit on because I belong to Christ.” Cultivate that spirit, brothers and sisters in Christ, and let the thought that you are the “beloved by the Lord” make amends for every cruel act or word on the part of his enemies. When the last trumpet sounds, and the innumerable hosts of the redeemed are gathered together to Christ, and you whom God has from the beginning chosen for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, you whom he has called by our gospel, obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will forget the little suffering that you have ever borne on his account, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory that you are for ever to be numbered among the “beloved by the Lord.”

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Ro 8:1-14}

This wonderful chapter is the very cream of the cream of Holy Scripture. What a grand keynote the apostle strikes in the first verse!

1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1917, “In Christ No Condemnation” 1918}

“No condemnation” — that is the first note of the chapter. In the last verse it is “no separation.” What glorious music there is here, — no condemnation for those who are in Christ, no separation of them from Christ! Happy are the people who have a share in this double blessing, and unhappy are the men and women who know nothing about it. We will read it again: “There is therefore now no condemnation”; there is a great deal of accusation, and a great deal more of tribulation, but there is no condemnation, not the least hint of it. Some condemnation we might have expected, but “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

I have broken away from its thraldom; the new law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the law of grace has set me free from the domination of the law of sin and death. Happy is the free man who is liberated by the grace of God like this.

3. For what the law could not do, — 

God has done by his grace: “What the law could not do,” — 

3. In that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, — 

Or, as the marginal reading renders it, “by a sacrifice for sin,” — 

3-5. Condemned sin in the flesh: so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For those who are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh;

Unregenerate men, the men who remain in the state in which they were born, the men who allow their lower nature to have the predominance, “those who are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh.” That is all that they care about, all that they think about, all that they toil for, all that they really “mind.”

5. But those who are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Those in whom there is a new life created by the Holy Spirit — these mind the things of the Spirit. Each nature seeks its own things, — the flesh seeks the things of the flesh, the spirit seeks the things of the Spirit. Judge, my hearers, to which class you belong by this test, — for what are you living? What you live for is the true index of your nature. Do you mind spiritual things or the things of the flesh?

6, 7. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 20, “The Carnal Mind Enmity Against God” 20} {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1878, “A Traitor Suspected and Convicted” 1879}

The old nature never will obey the law of God; it never can do so. What then is to be done with it? Improve it? No, my brethren, the only thing to be done with it is to let it die, and then to bury it. In baptism you have a most significant symbol of what is to be done with the flesh; you are to treat it as a dead thing, and therefore to bury it. Let the old life be crucified and put to death with Christ, and let the new life take its place.

8. So then those who are in the flesh, — 

Those who are still in the old nature, living for it, living to it, — 

8. Cannot please God.

Men may wash this old nature, they may clothe it, they may decorate it, they may educate it, but there is no evolution which can produce grace out of nature. The child of nature may be finely dressed, but it is a dead child however gaudily it is attired. There is a vital eternal difference between the old nature and the new.

9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

You saints of Rome to whom Paul was writing, and you who believe in Christ now: “You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

9. Now if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

If Christ’s Spirit has not quickened you, you do not belong to Christ. Some ministers preach a very general kind of gospel in which everyone has a share, but the Bible knows nothing about that kind of gospel. “If any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.” Do you know what it is to have the Spirit of Christ? If not, my hearer, do not deceive yourself, you are not his. “If any man” — whether he is prince or magistrate, a member of Parliament or a doctor of divinity, — ”if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.”

10. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Hence the body suffers, the body is sick, the body decays, the body is under the dominion of death because of sin, but the Spirit is full of life because of righteousness.

11. But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit who dwells in you.

You believers may have a good hope concerning your bodies: “He who raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies.” Wait for a while, therefore; what God has done for your souls he will in due time do for your bodies also. This should make you long for the day of Christ’s appearing, as Paul says in the twenty-third verse of this chapter, “waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body,” when Christ shall appear, and we shall be raised — 

   ”From beds of dust and silent clay,” — 

the body itself born a second time, regenerate like the soul.

12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 96, “The Christian — a Debtor” 91}

We owe the flesh nothing; I mean the law of sin in our members, we owe nothing to that. It has been a curse and a plague to us; we are not debtors to the flesh, so we must not “live after the flesh.”

13. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die:

If you live simply to gratify your ambition, if you live for avarice, if you live to please yourself, if you live for any earthly object which can be comprised under the term “after the flesh,” you will certainly be disappointed, for you will die, and your hope will die with you.

13. But if you through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.

If you seek, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to kill sin, if you try to crush all sinful desires, if you keep evil with a rope around its neck, if you mortify it, put it to death, then you shall live. Holiness is the mode of the Christian life, sin is the way of the sinner’s death

14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1220, “The Leading of the Spirit, the Secret Sign of the Sons of God” 1211}