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Scripture Reading: Rom. 3:9, 20, 24; 5:11-12, 19; 6:3-6; 7:18; 8:2, 4-6, 28-29; 12:2-5
In this chapter I am burdened to speak concerning Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Readers of the book of Romans know quite well that this book reveals the stages of the Christian life. Among the sixty-six books of the Bible, it is this book that gives us a clear picture of the Christian life from its beginning to its maturity. If we are going to be normal and sound Christians, we have to know clearly the eight stages of the Christian life that are revealed to us in this book.
The first stage of the Christian life in the book of Romans is that of a man who is sinful and is condemned to death under the righteous judgment of God (1:1—3:20). This is the stage into which we were all born. Before we became Christians, we were sinful persons. As such, we were condemned to death by the righteous God. It was while we were in this stage that we became Christians.
In the second stage we see a man who has been justified through the redemption of Christ, has been accepted by God, and is now boasting because of the hope of the glory of God (3:21—5:11). Originally, this man was under the condemnation of God. Now, however, there is no more condemnation, because he has been justified through Christ’s redemption (3:24; cf. 5:16). As a result, this man has become a person who is full of joy and boasts because of the hope of the glory of God (v. 2). In this stage, we who were once under God’s condemnation are saved, justified, and regenerated.
In the third stage of the Christian life as seen in Romans, we see a saved and regenerated person who realizes that he was originally born in Adam and has thus inherited sin and death (5:12-21). After we have been born again, we may, perhaps very quickly, come to the point where we realize that because we were born in Adam, we are sinners and are destined to die. Coming to this realization is the third stage of the Christian life.
The sixth chapter of Romans presents to us the fourth stage of the Christian life. When we realize that we are in Adam and therefore have sin and death, we also realize that we have been baptized into Christ. Originally we were in Adam; now we are in Christ. We were born in Adam (cf. 5:17; 1 Cor. 15:22), but we have been baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). On the day that we received the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior and were baptized, we were put into Christ. Whereas in Adam we received sin and death, in Christ we have righteousness and life (Rom. 5:17-18). Righteousness is versus sin, and life is versus death.
We as Christians have been not only regenerated but also transferred out of Adam into Christ. This transfer is similar to a transfer out of one house or building into another. We have “moved” out of Adam into Christ. We are no longer persons who are in Adam but persons who are in Christ. The old man, the old nature, and the old life have been crucified on the cross (6:6; Gal. 2:20). They have been put to an end.
As long as you are a Christian, sooner or later there will come a day when the Holy Spirit will make you realize the glorious fact that you, on the day of your baptism, were transferred out of Adam into Christ. I believe that when you see this glorious fact, you will say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I am now in Christ!” Our being in Christ is a glorious fact. Apparently, we are in Los Angeles or some other location, but actually we are in Christ. Christ is not only our life; He is our realm and our sphere (Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:3). Sin and death were once our inheritance, but now we are in Christ, who is our sphere and our everything.
When the Lord revealed this glorious and precious fact to me in 1932, I was beside myself before God. I do not encourage you to try to repeat my experience. However, when you see the glorious fact that you are now in Christ, you will not be able to keep yourself silent. You will be beside yourself. You will say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord that I am now in Christ!” Although the phrase in Christ is composed of just two little words, the fact of being in Christ is not small. It would be good if you would frame those two words and hang them on your wall. Hallelujah! We are in Christ! What a glory!
Although the fourth stage of the Christian life, seen in Romans 6, is a glorious one, the fifth stage, seen in chapter 7, is sorrowful. In chapter 6 we declare, “Hallelujah!” but in chapter 7 we must cry out, “Wretched man that I am!” (v. 24). In this fifth stage we see a man who strives and struggles to do good, to keep the law of God, and to please God by himself (vv. 18-19, 21-22). He does this because he now knows that he is in Christ. In a sense, he says to himself, “I am in Christ; therefore, I have to do good. Since I am now in Christ, I must keep the law. Because I am in Christ, I have to please God.” Although it is true that he is in Christ, his thought that he must now do good is false. It is absolutely right to be in Christ, but to do good by oneself is one hundred percent wrong.
If you realize the fact that you are in Christ, you will rejoice unceasingly. If, however, you make the decision to do good by yourself, you will be sorrowful. The reason for your sorrow will be that when you are trying to do good, you will in effect be “running away” from Christ. Of course, it is impossible to actually run away from Christ. But in experience, if you try to do good by yourself, you “run away” from Christ. If you try to do good by yourself, you will find that there is nothing good within you (v. 18). You must realize that you are nothing but flesh (v. 18), which can never do anything to please God (cf. 8:8). If therefore you try to do good by yourself, you will actually be living and walking in yourself, which means that you will be living and walking in the flesh and apart from Christ. It is for this reason that I ask you to give up any thought of doing good.
Yet herein lies a great temptation. When we rejoice that we are in Christ, the enemy often comes and subtly asks us whether or not we are in Christ. When we answer that we are indeed in Christ, he often challenges us, asking, “But do you do good? If you are in Christ, you must do your best to please God. You must make up your mind and make a decision to please God and keep His law.” Although we may often think that such a thought is from the Holy Spirit, we must realize that it is nothing less than a temptation and a challenge from Satan himself. This temptation comes especially when we are in the midst of praising and thanking Christ that we are in Him. If we have learned this lesson well, we will tell Satan, “Get away from me, Satan. I will not go along with you. It is impossible for me to do good. I am flesh, and in my flesh nothing good dwells. Because there is nothing good in me, I cannot do any good thing. Satan, I have been fooled by you long enough; do not try to tempt me anymore. Get away from me!”
If we address the enemy in this way and reject trying to do good in the flesh, we will be persons who live and walk according to the Holy Spirit in our spirit. This is the stage that we see in Romans 8:1-17. Here we see a person who does not know good or evil and who has been released from doing good and evil; he simply knows to follow the Holy Spirit, who indwells his human spirit (v. 4; 1 Cor. 6:17).
In the garden of Eden, there were two trees—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). The second tree is not only a tree of the knowledge of evil; it is also the tree of the knowledge of good. Whenever you are trying to do good, you have to realize that you are contacting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are clear that evil opposes life, but we must be equally clear that good also opposes life. The tree of life is opposed by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps this thought has never occurred to you. Both good and evil are the enemies of Christ. Evil is against Christ. The same is true for good. Good is not Christ; good is against Christ. The Lord has no intention that we do good by ourselves. What the Lord asks us to do is not to do good but to follow Him, that is, to walk according to the Spirit who is in our spirit.
In Romans 7 we see a picture of a man trying to do good in his flesh, whereas in Romans 8 we see one who walks according to the Spirit in his human spirit. However, many Christians do not know the difference between doing good and walking according to the Spirit. Doing good is one thing; walking in the Spirit is entirely another. Yet many Christians think that doing good is synonymous with following the Holy Spirit and walking according to the Spirit. We must be delivered from doing good to walking according to the Spirit. For a number of years after I was saved, I prayed to the Lord every morning and made the decision to please Him by doing good. Yet despite my prayer and decisions, I simply could not make it. By the time evening came, I would have to go to the Lord to confess my failure and ask Him to cleanse me with His precious blood. When I experienced forgiveness and the cleansing of the precious blood, I would have peace in my conscience. The next morning I would go to the Lord again and pray, “Lord, I praise You for this new day. I wish to have a new start. Lord, help me to do good.” In other words, every day I made up my mind to do good, yet every day I would fail. Year after year I was in such a state—the state described in Romans 7. Then one day the Lord opened my eyes to show me that there was no need for me to try to do good. He caused me to realize that I was in Christ, that the Holy Spirit was within me, and that consequently all I had to do was simply follow the Spirit. I realized that I did not have to make any more decisions to be good; I only had to go along with the Spirit. After I saw this, my morning prayer changed. I began to pray, “Praise You, Lord! Not only am I in You; Your Spirit is within me. There is nothing for me to do or to try to do. All I must do is simply enjoy and experience You. Hallelujah!”
We need to praise the Lord by saying Hallelujah. Sometimes the young people ask me what I do after I say Hallelujah. When Satan comes to tempt me, there is nothing for me to do but praise. I do not know anything except to say Hallelujah. We were not saved to do good; we were saved to praise, glorify, and thank the Lord (1 Thes. 5:16-18). We must remember that we are in Christ and that the Spirit of Christ is within us (Rom. 8:2, 9). Once we have such a realization, we must simply praise the Lord and say Hallelujah all day long. There is nothing left for us to do except praise Him. One day when I spoke concerning this matter in a meeting, a sister came to me afterwards and said, “Brother Lee, I am very glad to have heard the message tonight. I realize what you mean when you tell us that we should say Hallelujah. But when I go back to my home, I will be met by my husband, who is a very hard man. What you say is very good, but what shall I do in my difficult situation?” I responded to her, “Sister, the harder your husband is, the more you have to say Hallelujah. Do not make up your mind to be patient. Do not try to do anything. The more you try to be patient, the more impatient you will be. Simply remember that whenever your husband is hard toward you, you must just say, ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’” This is all we must do. For eternity we will say Hallelujah. A Christian is not someone who tries to do something; a Christian is a person who always enjoys and experiences Christ. We are not called by the Lord to do things to please Him. We are called to enjoy, experience, and participate in Christ. Never try to do good by yourself. Just remember that you are in Christ and that the Spirit of Christ is in you. If you need electricity, there is no need for you to do anything but turn on the switch. Saying Hallelujah is the way to switch on to enjoy and experience Christ. If you try to be good by yourself, the switch will be turned off. Always remember to praise the Lord, for this is the way to switch on. This is the way to be a victorious person who is in Christ and walks according to the Spirit. We are set free from sin, death, and bondage simply by saying Hallelujah and walking according to the Spirit.
The seventh stage of the Christian life as shown to us in Romans is the Lord arranging all things to work together for our good. This good can be considered as our profit, which is our conformation to the image of the firstborn Son of God. Romans 8:28-29 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.” By using all things—which include all environments, circumstances, and persons—as instruments, the Lord brings us into a situation of suffering, in which we can be conformed to His image.
In Romans 8:9 we are told that we have the Spirit of Christ within us. The “all things,” however, are mainly outside of us. We can use the example of cooking to illustrate this. When we cook, we often use a pot. Within the pot, we put water; outside of the pot, there is fire. When we have the water within the pot and the fire outside of the pot, the food can be cooked. Many times we sense the Lord’s presence within us as the Spirit, and we feel sweet. In addition, we frequently find ourselves in environments and circumstances that are akin to a burning fire. These environments are arranged by God in His sovereignty to work together for our good. The good spoken of here is our being conformed to the image of Christ. When the Lord arranges a wife for a husband or children for parents, the wife and the children work together for the husband’s and parents’ conformation. Throughout my forty years of Christian life, I have noticed that many times a brother whom it seems no one can help marries a precious wife who seems tailor-made to deal with him. According to the Lord’s sovereign arrangement, a peculiar wife always will be able to deal with a peculiar husband and to work together for good for him. Everything is sovereign, and everything is in the Lord’s hand. He makes all things work together for our profit so that we will be conformed to the image of Christ. Hence, in the seventh stage, we see a person who is not only spiritual but who also bears the image of Christ. In those who are in this stage, we will be able to recognize the image, glory, expression, and manifestation of Christ.
The last picture of the Christian life in the book of Romans is contained in chapter 12. This picture shows us one who is saved, walks according to the Spirit, is being conformed to the image of Christ, and is a member of the Body of Christ living in the Body of Christ and practicing the Body life. Such a one realizes that he is not an individual person but a member of the Body.
In this stage we can see the daily Christian living, which is a living that is in the Body of Christ. Whatever we as Christians do, we must do as members of the Body of Christ. In this stage we realize that we are no more independent and individual persons; we are but members of the Body of Christ. From the time we have this realization onward, we can never be independent or individualistic, because we are members of the Body. It is impossible for a member of my physical body to be independent. If a member of my physical body is independent, it is separate from the body and dies. Not only so, it becomes something that is dreadful and awful. The human hand is wonderful. Suppose, however, that my hand was separated from my body and put on a table. Surely this would be an awful situation. Today many believers are like separated members of a human body—they are not only dead; they are dreadful. This is because they are separated from the Body of Christ. The more we live as members in the Body of Christ, the more dear and beloved we are to the other members. Hence, in the last stage of the Christian life as seen in the book of Romans, we see the Body of Christ composed of all the saved ones who live in the Body mutually as members. This is the maturity of the Christian life.
In this chapter we have covered the eight stages of the Christian life as seen in the Epistle to the Romans. In the first stage we see a sinful person who is under the condemnation of God. The second stage presents to us a saved person—one who has been justified through the redemption of Christ. In the third stage we see a person who, as a saved one, realizes that originally he was born in Adam. According to the fourth stage, we see how such a person realizes the fact that he is in Christ. The fifth stage presents to us a person who is fooled and tempted to try to do good by himself. In the sixth stage this person comes to know and realize that there is nothing left for him to do but to walk according to the Spirit. According to the seventh stage, this person accepts all the environments and circumstances from the sovereign hand of God for him to be conformed to the image of Christ. In the eighth and final stage he realizes that he is a member of the Body of Christ and as such will never be independent or individualistic but will rather live, walk, act, and work as a member in the Body of Christ. We are no longer sinners in the world; we are members in the Body of Christ. As such, we must enjoy and experience Christ and walk, live, act, and work in the Body of Christ as His many members.
