Romans 5:8
“But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.”
The subject
verse states that God commendeth his love toward us. The signification of the
word us is, all of some sort. It bears the force of everyone of a particular
character, or all the members of a particular group. It includes all those who
have a certain something in common. The defining character or common element
that describes the group referred to in our subject verse is given in chapter
one, verse seven.
The letter or epistle is addressed
“To all that be in Rome,
beloved of God, called to be saints:”(Romans
1:7). The Apostle did not write to all that be in Rome. But to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: From that we may gather
that those who are “called to be
saints” are the “beloved of God”. And from that consideration we may conclude
that those who are “called to be saints”
are so, because they are “beloved of God”. Similar conclusions may be drawn
from Revelations 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and
the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” Christ Jesus
first “loved us, and (consequentially) washed us from our sins in his own
blood.” In this verse it is very clear that those who are washed, are the same
persons who were before loved; and that they were washed because they were
first beloved. They did not wash themselves, and they did not wash in order to
be beloved, but Christ Jesus washed them in his own blood because he first
loved them.
These considerations necessarily
bring on the questions: were all in Rome Called to be saints? Are all persons
washed in the blood of Christ? The answer to these questions is unavoidably no.
Not all that were in Rome
were called to be saints, and not every man is washed in the blood of Jesus
Christ. Since some persons in Rome were beloved, and called to be saints, but
not all, and since, some are washed in the blood of Christ, but not all; and
since both these effects have as their cause the eternal love of God, is
therefore the love of God a distinguishing love? Does God love some, but not
all? The scriptures answer; “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
(Romans 9:13). The scriptures answer again “The foolish shall not stand in thy
sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” (Psalms 5:5). The answer then;
according to scripture is, God does love some persons but God does not love all
persons.
Many affirm that John 3:16 is a
verse that declares a universal love of God; “For God so loved the world” this
calls for a definition of “the world” according to the scriptures. Is the world
of John 3:16 the same as the world of the ungodly in II Peter 2:5, upon which
world God brought in the flood? Surely not! Is the world of John 3:16 the same
world as that in I John 5:19 which is separate from the children of God and
“lieth in wickedness”? Again surely not! Is the world of John 3:16 the same as
that in I John 2:15 wherein the children of God are commanded “love not the
world”? Again no! Is the world of John 3:16 the same as that of James 4:4?
There it is written “whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the
enemy of God. Again the answer is no, the two verses have different worlds in
view. Since God distinguishes between different worlds that coexist on the same
planet; shouldn’t we follow the pattern that is obviously used by God, and
differentiate between the world that is the friend of God, and that world that
is the ally of Satan. For Abraham is called the friend of God, (James 2:23) and
the father of the family of faith (Romans 4:11), see also John 15:13, 14, 15. Our
Lord Jesus called the Pharisees the Children of Satan, and therefore allies of
Satan (John 8:44) for their doings were according to the lusts of Satan.
The separation of things that
differ is called for in the reading of the scripture; consider the following
examples: (1.) some were “disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” (I
Peter 2:8); while some were appointed to “obtain salvation” (I Thessalonians
5:9) (2.) some are “ordained to eternal life” (Acts 13:48) while some are
“ordained to this condemnation” (Jude 4) (3.) some are “vessels of wrath fitted
to destruction:” (Romans 9:22) while others are “vessels of mercy, which he had
afore prepared unto glory,” (Romans 9:23).The wonder in these things is not
that God does not love all the fallen sons of Adam; but the wonder is that God
does love some of them. None of the fallen sons of Adam are (in themselves)
worthy of the love of God, for, “As it is written, “There is none righteous,
no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their
lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to
shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace they
have not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18).
Such foolish sayings and signs as “Smile God loves you” that may be read by any
passerby leave sinners with the wrong impressions of their relation to the All
Mighty God of the bible who is “a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24; 9:3;
Hebrews 12:29) The only people in this world that have any warrant from
scripture to believe they are beloved of God are believers; for believers are
“taught of God” (John 6:45).
God himself undertakes the
education of his own; as it is written “And all thy children shall be taught of
the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” (Isaiah 54:13). Those
whom the Lord teaches are his own, they are children by electing grace, chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world, (Ephesians 1:4). Their education
is guaranteed in the promise of the New Testament, (Jeremiah 31:33, 34); “I
will put my law in their inward parts, and write them in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord: for they
shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, for I will
forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more.
The manner and power of his
teaching is expressed “I will put” therefore whatsoever the Lord teaches, his
people learn; and briefly put, it is the “one faith” (Ephesians 4:5) that is
the “faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1). The Apostle John writing to the “Little
children” tells them there were at that time many antichrists in the world, and
that those antichrists had went out from the church, because they were not of
the church. “But” (the Apostle continues) “ye have an unction from the Holy
One” (Jesus Christ), the unction is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with his
graces, and because of that unction “ye know all things”; that is all things
that are necessary to eternal life, or the faith of God’s elect. (I John
2:18-20). For the Holy Spirit is the great effectual teacher of the covenant
according to the promise of the covenant “they shall teach no more every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother,
saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the
greatest of them”. In I John 2:27, the Apostle continues to instruct the
“Little children” saying, “But the anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as
it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
A.J. Ison
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