"...the body is dead because of sin..." (Rom. 8:10).
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 02:33 AM
Devotional
What body is referred to here? Certainly not, as some have supposed, the body of sin. Who can truly affirm of sin that it is dead? The individual who claims to have attained a state of sinless perfection, an entire victory over the evil propensities and actions of his fallen nature, has yet to learn the ABCs of the Christian faith. Pride is the deadly root, and a fall is often the fatal consequence of such an error. Oh no! the body of sin yet lives, and does not die except with death itself. We do not part with innate and indwelling sin until the parting breath of life, and then we part with it forever.
But it is the natural body to which the apostle refers. And what a moving fact this is! Even though it is redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, and inhabited by the Spirit of Christ, yet this material body of our humiliation, tends to disease, decay, and death. And sooner or later, it must make its home in the grave, and mingle once more with its kindred dust. "The body is dead because of sin." Our redemption by Christ does not exempt us from the conflict and the victory of the last enemy. We must confront the grim foe, succumb to his dread power, and wear his pale trophies upon our brow. We must die�we are dying�because of sin. "Death spread to all men because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). And this law remains unrepealed, even though Christ has delivered us from the curse. From this humiliating necessity of our nature even the non-condemned find no avenue of escape. From this terrible conflict, there is no retreat. One event happens to both the wicked and the righteous�they both leave the world by the same dismal process of dissolution.
But the character of death is essentially changed; and herein lies the great difference. In the one case death is armed with all its terrors; in the other, it is invested with all its charms�for death has an indescribable charm to the believer in Jesus. Christ did not die to exempt us from the process of death; but he did die to exempt us from the sting of death. If, because of original and indwelling sin in the regenerate, they must taste of death; yet, because of pardoned sin in the regenerate, the bitterness of death is gone. If, because there exists a disease in the body, the body must dissolve; yet, because there exists an infallible antidote, the redeemed soul does not see death as it passes through the gloomy portal, and enters into its own life, light, and immortality.
How the character of death has been changed! If the body of the redeemed is under the sentence of death, and has within it the seeds of death, and must be destroyed, yet to him that death is the beginning of glory. It is then that the life within germinates and expands. It is then that he really begins to live. His death is the birthday of his immortality. Thus, in the inventory of the covenant, death ranks among the chief of its blessings, and becomes a covenant mercy. "To die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). "What!" exclaims the astonished believer, "death a blessing�a covenant blessing! I'm used to contemplating it as my most awful curse, to dread it as my greatest enemy." Yes; not only is death the sad necessity, but also it is the precious privilege of our being. In the case of those who are in Christ Jesus, it is not the execution of a judicial sentence, but the fulfillment of a covenant mercy. And, as the Christian marks the symptoms of his approaching and inevitable dissolution�watching the slow but unmistakable advances of the fell destroyer�he can exclaim, as he realizes that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1)�
"Come, Death, shake hands; I'll kiss your bands�
it is happiness for me to die.
What! do you think that I will shrink?�
I go to immortality."
"Because of sin." Ah! it is this truth whose dark shadow flits across the brightness of the Christian's condition. To what can we trace all our ailments, calamities, and sorrows, except to sin? And why do we die? "Because of sin." The immediate and proximate causes of death are only secondary agents. If we had not transgressed, then we would not die. Deathlessness would have been our natural and inalienable birthright. And if we were more spiritually-minded than we are, while we look onward with steady faith to a crucial and glorious triumph over the King of Terrors, we should blend with the bright anticipation of the coming victory, the humbling conviction that we have sinned, and that therefore "the body is dead."
by Octavius Winslow, 1856 (edited for
today's reader by Larry E. Wilson, 2010)
By the sea of crystal, saints in glory stand,
myriads in number, drawn from every land,
robed in white apparel, washed in Jesus' blood,
they now reign in heaven with the Lamb of God.
Out of tribulation, death and Satan's hand,
they have been translated at the Lord's command.
in their hands they're holding palms of victory;
Hark! the jubilant chorus shouts triumphantly:
"Unto God Almighty, sitting on the throne,
and the Lamb, victorious, be the praise alone!
God has wrought salvation, he did wondrous things!
"...the body is dead because of sin..." (Rom. 8:10).
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 10:48 AM
The body is dead because of sin. Even a Christian's body is subject to physical death, the consequence of sin. Spirit is life. And "body" is understood as in Rom 7:24, because of righteousness. Because the spirit of the Christian has been justified, it is not subject to death as is his body.
