The Southern Presbyterians bear many noble marks. They were sound theologians, able churchmen, steady shepherds, and family men. Above all, the Southern Presbyterians were men of God’s word. They meditated on God’s word, they studied God’s word, they prayed God’s word, they sang God’s word, and they preached God’s word. This attribute is perhaps best exemplified in the life and ministry of William Swan Plumer (1802-1880). Plumer wrote several commentaries on Scripture, with the most notable being his Psalms: A Critical and Expository Commentary with Doctrinal and Practical Remarks, which was first published in 1867, and later republished and reprinted as a part of the Geneva Commentary Series by Banner of Truth. What makes Plumer’s commentaries on Scripture so helpful to pastors and Bible teachers is not only his extensive translation comparisons and exegetical notes, but his doctrinal and practical remarks at the end of every section. Plumer has a way of both comforting and convicting the human heart in ways that other commentaries simply cannot. Any time I am looking for practical applications in my teaching or preaching, I can always count on William Plumer the Pastor.
The purpose of this article, and subsequent articles is, Lord willing, to highlight useful portions from one of Plumer’s notable (and yet no less useful) commentaries, his commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans with an Introduction on the Life, Times, Writings and Character of Paul. D.F. Randolph & Co., New York: 1870). In this way, my hope is that these installments from Plumer’s commentary will serve as a weekly devotional in Romans 8.
Though it would be a worthy endeavor to begin at Romans 1 and go all the way through to the end of the letter, I want to present his remarks on that oft labeled “Favorite Chapter” in Paul’s letter to the Romans. This chapter has been memorized by many Christians throughout history, and for good reason. It has a powerful way of providing confidence to the sinner, consoling the weary and downcast, and bringing comfort to the dying. In Plumer’s own words, Romans 8 is the “crowning gem of this epistle” and has “long been regarded with peculiar delight by the pious” (Commentary on Romans, 367). I hope that this series will do the same for those who read it. May you be further enriched by the words of the Spirit through the Apostle Paul and gain a deeper understanding and affection for the Savior who “sets us free from the law of sin and death” by taking away its guilt and power.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
ROMANS 8:1 (AV1611)
In his commentary on Romans 8:1, Plumer touches on three crucial theological categories from the Ordo Salutis (the order of salvation). Even in just one verse, Paul shows to believers the blessed realities of belonging to Jesus Christ.
Union with Christ
The meaning is, that the truths of the gospel being thus clear and settled, it is not possible there should be condemnation resting on believers. Condemnation, [which] in many old English versions is damnation; the same word occurs in the Greek in Romans 5:16, 18, and nowhere else in the New Testament. The reason why believers are free from a condemning sentence is that they are in Christ Jesus. These words point to a vital union with Christ, such as the branch has with the vine, the limb with the body.
Justification
Paul in more than one place teaches the same thing: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature," (2 Cor. 5:17). Compare [this with] 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and many other places. It has been an old device of the adversary to corrupt the truth, that justification is not perfect without some rite or addition, and that it may become imperfect, even when real. This verse is fatal to both these errors. If justification exists at all, it is complete. There is to him that is a partaker of this benefit no condemnation; none for old sins, none for sins committed after admission to the church; none for original sin, none for actual sin. There was special propriety in here presenting the truth contained in verse 1, for the apostle had dwelt considerably on the infirmity, temptation and trouble of a child of God. It was very fitting that he should announce that the spiritual warfare did in no way impair the completeness of justification.
Sanctification
The Apostle Paul adds that those who are in Christ Jesus prove it in a very decisive way: “they walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”[1]
‘To walk’ in both Testaments indicates the course of the life (Ps. 1:1; 2 Cor. 10:2; 12: 18; Gal. 2: 14; Eph. 2:2). To walk after the flesh therefore is to be habitually or prevailingly governed by carnal inclinations. So to walk after the Spirit is to be governed by his word, and actuated by his motions. In Ps. 32:2 David in like manner unites justification and sanctification:
"Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." (Compare Rom. 4:6-8).
Doctrinal and Practical Remarks on Romans 8:1
Many preachers today struggle to balance justification and sanctification in their teaching, preaching, and counseling. Why is this? If we take our cues from William Plumer, it is probably because a confusion or separation has taken place in the theology of the preacher. Though these two doctrines are always to be distinguished, they are never to be separated.
Justification and Sanctification Cannot Be Separated
It is both pleasing and edifying to the pious to notice the connections of divine truth. In Romans 7, Paul closed with a declaration of the sad power of indwelling sin. He begins this by stating that, notwithstanding inbred corruption, the justification of the believer is complete, and that with it is connected [to a] sanctification that even now prevails to the government of the life or walk of the justified. The scheme of salvation is a golden chain of many links. Let us hold fast [to] the truth in its connections. All scripture is profitable for doctrine. We may rest assured that we are on the domain of error, if we in any way divorce justification and sanctification (v. 1). What God hath joined together let not man put asunder. It is as dangerous to rest on a justification unattended with holiness, as it is to rest on a justification that has our works for its basis.
“It is as dangerous to rest on a justification unattended with holiness, as it is to rest on a justification that has our works for its basis.”
Nor can we easily present with too much frequency or with too great simplicity each of these doctrines in its scriptural connections (v. 1). We need not, we must not, deny the reality of our need of a free pardon and a gratuitous acceptance, nor of the absolute necessity of a thorough cleansing of our nature in renewal begun in regeneration and completed in the work of the Spirit. And let us declare how these inestimable benefits may be secured. They are to be had in Christ Jesus. His mediation has made all needed provision. It has fully satisfied justice and truth. It has secured to us the gift of the Spirit. It shall finally effect a complete deliverance from all sin and from all the effects of sin.
“His mediation has made all needed provision. It has fully satisfied justice and truth. It has secured to us the gift of the Spirit. It shall finally effect a complete deliverance from all sin and from all the effects of sin.”
There is No Partial Forgiveness with Christ
There is in scripture no ground for the doctrine of a partial forgiveness of sins. God forgives all sin or none at all, “There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus,” (v. 1). David loudly calls on his soul to bless the Lord, “who forgiveth all thine iniquities,” (Ps. 103:3). To forgive all but one in a thousand would save no man's soul.
Vital Union with Christ is the Believer’s Only Hope
It is in vain for us to hope for any saving blessings without a vital union with Christ. We must be “in” him (v. 1). Outside of Christ, all is wrath and ruin to a sinner; God is a consuming fire to such; their sins are their tyrants, and will surely deliver them over to the tormentors. Our union with Christ is not personal but mystical. He and believers are not one as his human and divine natures are one person. But he and believers are one as the stock and the branches are one vine, as the head and the members are one body. From him his people derive sap and nourishment, guidance and wisdom, supplies of all needed spiritual things.
“It is in vain for us to hope for any saving blessings without a vital union with Christ.”
Union with Christ Leads to Walking by His Spirit
There is such a thing as the tenor of one's life, his course, his way, his conversation, his walk (vv. 1, 4-5). The course of Enoch's life was heavenly and divine. He walked with God. A good man “walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,” (Ps. 1:1). This tenor decides the character. It was the habit of Judas to steal. It was not the habit of Peter to deny his master.
A Christian is Always Advancing
A life of sin and a life of holiness are alike in one thing—they are active, always advancing. Every man is walking after the flesh or after the Spirit (vv. 1, 4). Every man is making daily attainments in good or evil. The longer he lives, the better or the worse man he is. As in a life of sin those, who are now Christians, were once very diligent and untiring, now that they have turned to the Lord they ought to be mightily stirred up to take hold on God and to “run with patience the race that is set before them,” (Heb. 12:1).
Sanctification is by the Gospel, Not by the Law
It does not, in fact, repress any genuine feeling of zeal to know that our justification is wholly gratuitous, or that our sanctification is by the gospel, not by the law; for of all the principles of obedience in the heart of sinful man, none is so mighty as the love of gratitude for undeserved kindness.
Preaching Against Antinomianism
In preaching, great pains should be taken to state the doctrines of the gospel with clearness and discrimination, as well as in their connection (v. 1). If glorious privileges are preached, let it be done in such a way as not to lead to antinomian laxity. This will require a statement of the awful responsibilities, under which men live and act. Indiscriminate comfort to all classes of men is as unscriptural as indiscriminate denunciation.
“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him. Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him,” (Isa. 3:10-11).
A loose mode of stating truth does it great injustice, and sometimes, because the truth is misunderstood, has the same effect as error.
The Flesh and Spirit are Great Enemies
No two things are more opposed than flesh and spirit (vv. 1, 4-5). One is darkness; the other is light. One is earthly, sensual, devilish; the other is holy, godly, heavenly. One is folly; the other is wisdom. One is death; the other is life and peace. How could it be otherwise? One is sin, which wars on God and goodness, on all that is lovely and of good report, on all that is sacred. and divine, on all that honors God. The other is gospel holiness, which, abasing itself in the dust, and declaring itself deserving of no good thing, out of admiration of the glorious character of God and out of gratitude for his saving mercies in Christ, gladly works and suffers for him, to whom all is due.
The Vital Importance of the Power of the Holy Spirit for Obedience
The true doctrine of the divinity, personality, and agency of the Holy Spirit in man's salvation is of vital importance (Rom. 8:1, 4, 5, 6, 9-11). Without the mediation of Christ we should not be in a more hopeless case than we should be without the effectual working and mighty energy of the Holy Ghost. Poor deluded souls, still sunk in gross ignorance and under the power of the wicked one, have sometimes brought great reproach upon this precious doctrine by their hypocritical cant and ungodly lives; but what doctrine have such men or others not abused? Let us not for a moment yield the truth because some pervert it and others scoff at it. It is freely conceded that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, so abundantly granted at the first planting of churches, have ceased; but his ordinary and special influences in the church are as much needed as ever.
Christians Must Pray for More Influence of the Holy Spirit in Their Lives
The promise of the Holy Spirit to all God's people is one of the vital promises of the covenant of grace (Isa. 44: 3-5; Ezek. 36:25-27). Nor have we higher authority or more encouragement to seek for anything than we have to pray for large measures of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 7:11; Luke 11:13; John 4:10). The gift of the Holy Spirit is a chief fruit of Christ's undertaking (Acts 2:33). It is alike a fruit of his intercession (John 14:16, 17). The fact is, we are powerless for any good, unless we have the presence and aid of the Spirit. If there have been fanatics and filthy dreamers in the world, let us not turn formalists, and renounce the unspeakable blessing of the gift of the Spirit. Without him we be all dead men.
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[1] If you are reading from a different English translation than the Authorized Version (1611), which is the English text Plumer is using, you will notice this line is omitted from verse 1 but appears in verse 4. Perhaps your Bible has a textual note. Plumer himself defends the retention of this verse in verse 1: “This part of the verse is entirely omitted in the Greek text of the English Hexapla, and also by Griesbach, Mill and others. But the Greek manuscripts generally retain it, as we do on their authority. It is all found in verse 4. In Eph. 3:1 the words, “hath he quickened” in the English translation are very properly brought forward from v. 5, where they are found in the original. So here, there is no error taught by inserting these words, though we may not vary the text without authority. They are all admitted by Wielif, Coverdale, Tyndale, Cranmer, Genevan, Rheims, BP Hall, and the first clause is admitted by the Vulgate, Doway, Bengel, Morus and Peshito.” Commentary on Romans, 369.