Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #5 - Good, Better, Best (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #5: Good, Better, Best

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

²⁴ There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.  This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

²⁵ For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

²⁶ For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.  This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Introduction:

Reminders of the unique aspects of Ecclesiastes that must be observed to appreciate what the author has done

Reminder of the inspired and inerrant nature of Ecclesiastes as the Word of God

Reminder of the impact of Ecclesiastes on proud unregenerate philosophers and mankind in general

Outline:

I. Mankind, Meaning, and Mediation (2:24)

II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)

III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)

Transition:

“The most satisfactory division is, in our judgment, that into four parts, which was proposed by Vaihinger in the, “Studien und Kritiken,” for 1848, and has since been adopted by Keil

and others. It is a modification of that of Ewald, (whom Heiligstedt follows,) which is itself an improvement upon that of J Koster, all of whom assume the same number of sections. "His scheme is the following, viz.

I. i. 2-ii. 26.

II. iii. 1-v. 20.

III. vi. 1-viii. 15.

IV. viii. 16-xii. 14.”

— William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015]. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. inexplicably refers to this as an “unsigned article” on at least two occasions in his commentary despite the facts that: 1) William Henry Green is clearly indicated as the author under the title on the first page of the article (pg. 419), and 2) one of his own faculty members (Ted Hildebrandt) has posted the article on the school’s web site where Kaiser has served as both a faculty member and as President. See: Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979); and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

The conclusions of the four major sections of Ecclesiastes are as follows:

2:24-26 — ²⁴ There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? ²⁶ For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

5:18-20 — ¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. ¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. ²⁰ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

8:15 — Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

12:8-14 — ⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. ⁹ And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰ The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. ¹¹ The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. ¹² And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. ¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴ For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

This last section conclusion also serves as the epilogue of the entire book.

J. Sidlow Baxter refers to the first three as Ad Interim Conclusions, distinguishing them from the last which he calls the Final Conclusion. See his Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing), 3:148.

I. Mankind, Meaning, and Mediation (2:24)

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.  This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

1. Mankind not the Source of Good

There is nothing better for a man,

3:12 — I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

3:22 — Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

8:15 — Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

On the translation of this initial phrase in the verse see especially Leupold (pp. 74-76) and Barrick (pp. 58-59) who defend the following translations based on grammatical and contextual considerations:

“It is not a good thing inherent in man that he is able to eat and drink and get satisfaction in his toil.”

— H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952), pg. 74.

“There is no good in man that he eat and drink and see his soul good [an idiom = get satisfaction] in its labor”

— William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pg. 58.

2. Meaning and the Enjoyment of Good

than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour

Is. 56:12 — Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

1 Cor. 15:32 —  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

Cp. 1 Tim. 6:17 — Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

Lk. 12:16-21 — 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

3. Mediation of Good from the Hand of God

This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

It was from the hand of God!

Cp. 9:1 — For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

2:13 — Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

3:16 — And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

4:7 — Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

8:10 — And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

9:11 — I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

It was from the hand of God!

“Solomon’s strong view of God’s sovereignty brings comfort after an honest critique of what life in a cursed world entails!”

— John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), pg. 929, s.v. note on Ecclesiastes 2:24.

It was from the hand of God!

“I don’t mind living hand to mouth so long as it is God’s hand and my mouth!”

— Dr. Ralph Stoll, Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA (circa 1976)

It was from the hand of God!

II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)

For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

A textual issue underlies differences between older and modern translations in this verse.

NASB: For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? [1]

[So Gr; Heb me]

ESV: for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? [2]

[Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me]

HCSB: because who can eat and who can enjoy life  apart from Him? [3]

[Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read me]

NIV: for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? [4]

NLT: For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?* [5]

[As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads apart from me?]

NKJV: For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? [6]

[So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. without Him]

On this see especially the following sources for support of the textual decisions of the modern translators:

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint), 3:252-253.

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983), pg. 88.

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952), pp. 76-77.

In an unfallen world there was only one way to live, and that was with God.

There are two ways to live in a fallen world.

There are those who live without God, apart from Him, and there are those who live with Him.

There are those who recognize and acknowledge their utter dependence upon the Sovereign Creator for everything, and who “practice His presence.”

Then there are those, the vast majority of mankind, who repress and deny that reality in their conscious and willful rebellion of their Creator, and rejection of the truth of His revelation.

In the New Heavens and New Earth there will only be one way to live.

In the outer darkness, the lake of fire, there will be only one way to live.

The judgment of God, the Sovereign Creator, will determine the population of both destinies.

III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.  This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

What is the difference between “a man that is good in his sight,” or “him that is good before God,” and “the sinner”?

“Two points from 2:24–26 should be noted. First, Solomon stated that God’s disposition of wealth and the enjoyment of one’s labors and its fruits are based on whether a man is pleasing to God or is a sinner. As is clear from the words “the man who pleases” God and “the sinner” elsewhere in Ecclesiastes (7:26; cf. 8:12), this implies that a person will be judged on the basis of his ethical behavior and his trust in God or lack of it. Second, Solomon wrote that this judgment would take place in this life (not in a life after death) and would involve temporal not eternal rewards. These two points (enjoyment of life and judgment), which are brought together only here, are crucial in the development of the book. The enjoyment theme, mentioned at crucial times in the book (3:12–13, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10), is here specifically related to the theme of judgment (11:9; 12:14), and to the advice to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13).”

— Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985), pg. 983, s.v. Eccl. 2:24-26.

7:26 — And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

8:12 — Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Conclusion:

Why is this still to be considered “vanity and vexation of spirit”?

Is this true just for “the sinner,” or for all mankind, i.e., “the sinner” and “him that is good before God”?

Remember! It was from the hand of God!

“I don’t mind living hand to mouth so long as it is God’s hand and my mouth!”

— Dr. Ralph Stoll, Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA (circa 1976).

1 Jn. 2:15-17 — 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Mt. 6:19-21 — 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1 Tim. 4:4 — For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

1 Tim. 6:6-8 — 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Col. 3:1-2 — 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

[Sermon preached 8 NOV 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. Mankind, Meaning, and Mediation (2:24)

1. Mankind not the Source of Good

2. Meaning and the Enjoyment of Good

3. Mediation of Good from the Hand of God

II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)

III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).

---

End Notes:

[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ec 2:25). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ec 2:25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Ec 2:25). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[4] The New International Version. 2011 (Ec 2:25). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ec 2:25). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[6] The New King James Version. 1982 (Ec 2:25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #4 - The Dust of Death in the Way of the Wise (Ecclesiastes 2:12-23)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #4: The Dust of Death

in the Way of the Wise

Ecclesiastes 2:12-23

¹² And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. ¹³ Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. ¹⁴ The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. ¹⁵ Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. ¹⁶ For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. ¹⁷ Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁸ Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹ And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. ²¹ For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? ²³ For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

Introduction:

Reminders of the unique aspects of Ecclesiastes that must be observed to appreciate what the author has done

Reminder of the inspired and inerrant nature of Ecclesiastes as the Word of God

Reminder of the impact of Ecclesiastes on proud unregenerate philosophers and mankind in general

The questions of Ecclesiastes, whether explicit or implied

Outline:

Questions, explicit and implicit, and the 6 “D-words” of the Wise Man

I. What Can He Do? (2:12) — The Deeds of the Wise Man

II. Why Am I More Wise? (2:13-15) — The Darkness of the Wise Man

III. How Does The Wise Man Die? (2:16-17) — The Death of the Wise Man

IV. Who Knows What He’ll Be? (2:18-19) — The Doubt of the Wise Man

V. What Is Wrong With This Picture? (2:20-21) — The Despair of the Wise Man

VI. What Is The Result? (2:22-23) — The Days of the Wise Man

Transition:

Fans of Marvel comic book heroes will recall:

“The Red Skull's most infamous personal weapon was his so-called "dust of death". It is a dust created by Red Skull with an unknown chemical composition, that kills his prey by making contact with the victim's skin, causing the skin on the victim's head to tighten, shrivel, and take on a red discoloration, while at the same time causing all the hair on the victim's head to fall out; as a result, the victim's corpse appears to have a "red skull"/"masque of the red death" for a head.”

Source: Marvel Database at http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Dust_of_Death [accessed 31 OCT 2015].

Science fiction afficionados may be aware of:

“"The Dust of Death" is a science fiction/mystery short story by Isaac Asimov that was first published in the January 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine and reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries.”

 Source: Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dust_of_Death [accessed 31 OCT 2015].

Evangelicals have gotten into the act:

Os Guinness, The Dust of Death: A Critique of the Establishment and the Counter Culture and the Proposal for a Third Way (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1973; Wheaton: Crossway, 1994).

It all goes back to:

“My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:15)

And this recalls the truth of creation and the effect of the curse:

Gen. 2:7 — And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen. 3:14 — And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gen. 3:19 — In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

I. What Can He Do? (2:12)

— The Deeds of the Wise Man

And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done

done — The deeds of the Wise Man

II. Why Am I More Wise? (2:13-15)

— The Darkness of the Wise Man

¹³ Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. ¹⁴ The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. ¹⁵ Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

that one event happeneth to them all (2:14c)

darkness — The darkness contrasted with/faced by the Wise Man

Positive statements ! (2:13a, 14a)

“Wisdom excels folly!” (“as far as light excels darkness”)

“The wise man’s eyes are in his head!” (“but the fool walketh in darkness”)

Death  the “great equalizer” — On this see especially Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), pg. 62 —

“Many years ago, when I heard Dr. Haddon Robinson preach from Ecclesiastes, he recounted what it was like for him to stand at the graveside of a man who had a working knowledge of thirty-four languages. Most people know only one or two languages, at the most, but here was a man who understood nearly three dozen. Yet in the end it didn’t matter how smart he was — he was still as dead as could be.”[1]

III. How Does The Wise Man Die? (2:16-17)

— The Death of the Wise Man

¹⁶ For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. ¹⁷ Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

 I hated life (2:17a)

death — The death of the Wise Man

Ryken quotes Jean Paul Sartre, “Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.” (Op. cit., pg. 63)

On the relative advantage of wisdom vs. the ultimate reality of death see William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Christian Focus, 2012), pp. 54-55.

IV. Who Knows What He’ll Be? (2:18-19)

— The Doubt of the Wise Man

¹⁸ Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹ And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

I hated all my labour (2:18a)

doubt — The doubt of the Wise Man

V. What Is Wrong With This Picture? (2:20-21)

— The Despair of the Wise Man

²⁰ Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. ²¹ For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

I went about to cause my heart to despair (2:20a)

despair — The despair of the Wise Man

VI. What Is The Result? (2:22-23)

— The Days of the Wise Man

²² For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? ²³ For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night (2:23a-c)

days — The days of the Wise Man

“Up every mornin' just to keep a job
I gotta fight my way through the hustlin' mob
Sounds of the city poundin' in my brain
While another day goes down the drain

But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
And there's a five o'clock me inside my clothes
Thinkin' that the world looks fine

Tradin' my time for the pay I get
Livin' on money that I ain't made yet
Gotta keep goin', gotta make my way
While I live for the end of the day”

Source: The first three stanzas of “Five O’Clock World,” written by Allen Reynolds (Screen Gems-emi Music Inc., 1965), and performed by The Vogues and others; on SongLyrics at http://www.songlyrics.com/the-vogues/five-o-clock-world-lyrics/ [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. The first verse was cited by Ryken, op. cit., pg. 67, and Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015), pg. 46.

Psalm 127:1-2 — Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Conclusion:

Our view, the view of Solomon, must take us above the sun, and beyond the grave.

[Sermon preached 1 NOV 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).

---

End Notes:

[1] This sermon by Haddon Robinson may have been: 1) “An Overview of Ecclesiastes,” (7 FEB 2007), at the been Moody Founders’ Week Conference; on Moody Audio at http://www.moodyconferences.com/con_mainPage.aspx?id=15048 [accessed 19 NOV 2015]; or, 2) “The Message of the Preacher” (Eccl. 12:13-14; 12 JAN 2004), at the Irish Preachers Conference; at http://www.irishpreachers.org/conference-audio/?sermon_id=29 [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. It was not mentioned in another sermon by Robinson, “The Message of Ecclesiastes;” on PreachingToday at http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2005/august/248.html [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. I sent an email to Dr. Robinson on 19 NOV 2015 enquiring about the identity of the deceased polyglot, and the sermon that Dr. Ryken heard him preach. However, as of the date of this post I had not yet received a reply.

Scripture Study Seminar Session 15 announcement

Scripture Study Seminar

Session 15 is scheduled for 
7:00 PM on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 
Faith Baptist Fellowship Church

1397 Easton Turnpike

Lake Ariel, PA

http://faithbaptistfellowshipch.com/

The subject for this session will be:

"Romans 7: Carnality and the Christian"

The notes from the previous 14 sessions have been posted to the Wayside Gospel Chapel blog at  http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20Study%20Seminar.

Scheduling conflicts for me on the 4th, and the church on the 11th give you extra time to consider this chapter!

The Study of the Scriptures - Session 14: Wednesday, 21 October 2015 at Faith Baptist Fellowship Church, Lake Ariel, PA - Romans 7 Considered in Context and Covenant

The Study of the Scriptures

Session 14, Wednesday 21 October 2015

Faith Baptist Fellowship Church

Lake Ariel, PA

http://faithbaptistfellowshipch.com/

Romans 7 Considered

in Context and Covenant

Outline:

I. A Classification of the Views of the Identity and Nature of the Subject in Romans 7

II. Introductory Considerations for Analyzing the Relative Merit of Views on Romans 7

III. Romans 7 in the Diatribe of Romans

IV. Romans 7-8; Jeremiah 31; and Ezekiel 36 —

The Explication of the Fulfillment of the New Covenant Promise of Jeremiah 31:33 in Romans 7:7-25 as Unpacking Romans 2:15; and The Explication of the Fulfillment of the New Covenant Promise of Ezekiel 36:26-27 in Romans 8:1-27 as Unpacking Romans 2:26, 29

V. An Outline of Romans: Paul’s Defense of the Gospel of the Administration of the New Covenant During the Inter-Advent Period

VI. Select Resources

¹  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? ² For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. ³ So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. ⁴ Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. ⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. ⁶ But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

⁷ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. ⁸ But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. ⁹ For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. ¹⁰ And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. ¹¹ For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. ¹² Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

¹³ Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. ¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. ¹⁶ If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. ¹⁷ Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. ¹⁹ For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. ²⁰ Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ²¹ I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. ²² For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: ²³ But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? ²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Questions to be considered in studying “Romans 7 Considered in Context and Covenant”

1. What is there about Romans 7 that is not inspired since not included in the original manuscripts?

2. What is the nature of Romans 1-11? Specifically, what type of literary format is Paul following that distinguishes these chapters in this epistle from his other epistles?

3. What contexts should be considered when studying Romans 7?

4. What major parts of Romans 7 should be observed, and how do they relate to one another?

5. Why is this chapter such a problem and source of disagreement for so many Bible students?

6. What is almost entirely neglected in studies of Romans 7, and, in fact, of the entire book of Romans?

7. What would you consider to be the key verse in Romans 7 for testing the legitimacy of the various views that have been put forth for who is in view here?

I. A Classification of the Views of the Identity and Nature of the Subject in Romans 7

All of the views on this chapter may not be subsumed under the tags “regenerate” versus “unregenerate.” A thorough reading of Moo and Schreiner on this passage, for example, should serve to disabuse any of the notion that all of the work on this passage in the history of the Church may be laid under those two banners. See Doug Moo, Romans 1-8, Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, pp. 433-499; and The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT, pp. 409-467; and Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, BECNT, pp. 343-394. Complicating this question concerning the spiritual condition of the subject is the identity of the “I” under discussion, the first person singular. This has been seen variously as Paul, Israel, Adam in the Garden, the “Adam” in all of us, existential, personal, typical, corporate, fictive, a rhetorical figure of speech with no autobiographical reference (W. G. Kummel, 1929), and even combinations of these. Cranfield distinguishes “at least seven possibilities.” Romans, ICC, I:344. Therefore, some would well ask, “Regenerate or unregenerate who?” Or, even, “Why not all of the above?”

Please understand that not all who survey the literature agree with categorizing specific authors under the following categories. There are especially some differences of opinion with the placement of those under views 2 and 3 below.

1. The regenerate man - “an important aspect of normal Christian experience” (Moo) - “...the Latin Fathers generally, the Reformers especially on the Calvinistic side...” (Sanday and Headlam, Romans, ICC, pg. 185), Ambrose, Ambrosiaster, Aquinas, Augustine's later view, Barrett, Karl Barth, Herman Bavinck, Louis Berkhof, G. C. Berkouwer, F. F. Bruce, John Calvin, D. H. Campbell, C. E. B. Cranfield, Dockery, J. D. G. Dunn, Espy, James Fraser, Fung, D. B. Garlington, William Hendriksen, Charles Hodge, Laato, R. C. H. Lenski, Martin Luther, Methodius, Philip Melancthon, Leon Morris, Mounce, John Murray, Anders Nygren, J. I. Packer, John G. Reisinger, Alan F. Segal, and D. Wenham 

- see Cranfield, Romans, ICC, I:345-346; Moo, Romans 1-8, Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, pg. 473; The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT, pg. 447; Murray, Romans, NICNT, pp. 256-257; Schreiner, Romans, BECNT, pg. 379.

2. The unregenerate man - most of the early Church Father's (“Origen and the mass of Greek Fathers” - Sanday and Headlam, Romans, ICC, pg. 184), Michael W. Adams, Paul Achtemeier, Augustine's early view, C. H. Dodd, Frederic Godet, Hans Hubner, Robert Jewett, Franz Leenhardt, Heikki Raisanen, Sanday and Headlam, Geoff Volker, and John Wesley.

3. The in between/halfway/pre-regenerate/pre-Christian man - Althaus, J. C. Beker, J. A. Bengel, Bornkamm, Bultmann, Byrne, D. Davies, Gordon Fee, J. A. Fitzmeyer, A. H. Francke, E. Fuchs, Gundry, Hoekema, Ernst Kasemann, K. Kertelge, Kummel, Kuss, Jan Lambrecht, D. M. Lloyd-Jones, B. L. Martin, P. Meyer, Douglas Moo, Herman Ridderbos, Schnackenburg, Peter Stuhlmacher, Gerd Theissen, Ulrich Wilckens, and J. T. Ziesler 

- see esp. Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, BECNT, pp. 384-385, note 22; also Moo, Romans 1-8, Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, pg. 470; The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT, pg. 444.

4. “...any man, whether regenerate or unregenerate, who relies upon the law and his own efforts for sanctification.” - W. H. Griffith-Thomas, et al.

- see Murray, Romans, NICNT, pp. 256-257, note 19; also Moo, Romans 1-8, Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, pg. 474; and The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT, pg. 447.

5. “a refinement of Kümmel’s position” - a “parody of existence under the Torah” - Gary S. Shogren.

II. Introductory Considerations for Analyzing the Relative Merit of Views on Romans 7

Many exegetes and expositors seem well aware of the problems with Romans 7, along with the pros and cons of the arguments for the various views. However, there still appear to be significant factors which are not being considered that should shed light on a solution.

1. There were no chapter divisions in the original epistle, and their presence may obscure the seamless flow of the Pauline teaching.

2. The nature of the majority of the epistle is a diatribe, indeed, the greatest document utilizing this style of writing ever produced. Consideration must be given to where this diatribe format begins and ends in the epistle, and what is involved with the progressions in the development of the diatribe.

3. Many readers would be quite comfortable if chapter 7 was not there. In other words, if they were to read from 6:23 immediately to 8:1, they would not experience any traumatic “hiccup” in their reading. If the truth were told there are some who might admit they wish that this chapter either were not there at all, or were somewhere else in the epistle. A consideration of both the contents and location of the chapter followed by a consideration of its absence would be in order to answer the following question: “What effect would the lack of chapter 7 have on the development of the Pauline diatribe?

4. It might not be unfair, in other words, it may be quite fair to assert that many conclusions are drawn concerning chapter 7 without connecting it to the previous chapter, or to what follows in the next chapter.

5. It might be necessary for some to consider that the bridge between chapter 7 and chapter 6 is found in 7:1-6. This transitional paragraph and its function in the context between the end of chapter 6 and then what follows in 7:7-8:1 is an important key for understanding what develops next as Paul places the next point of his diatribe on “the table.” 7:1-6 should not be disconnected from either what precedes or what follows. Understanding this in an exegetically tenable manner should make it very difficult indeed to see what is going on in 7:7-25 as foreign to either the flow of chapter 6 or chapter 8.

6. This seamless flow in the Pauline diatribe between at least chapters 6 and chapter 8, or perhaps 5:12 to 8:39 — or 3:21 to 8:39 — is often ignored, or dismissed in treatments of chapter 7.

7. The regenerate are understood as in view from 3:21 on at least to the end of chapter 6, and then again in chapter 8. It should be beyond argument that what is found in 7:1-6 is also distinctive of the normal Christian or regenerate person. Therefore, to imagine that Paul is now going to revert to what was already dealt with in 1:18-3:20 should neither be expected nor imagined. The burden of proof would then be on anyone considering that the person in view in chapter 7 is not identical to those in view in chapters 6 and 8.

8. One glaring failure at this point is to even entertain any notion that this has anything to do with the New Covenant. The very function of the book of Romans in Scripture, positioned providentially as it is following the book of Acts, is to answer questions regarding the nature of the Gospel of the New Covenant raised by in Acts. Romans lays a foundation for the rest of the New Testament, and indeed for the rest of the inter-Advent period, in unpacking how the New

Covenant promises and prophecies are to be fulfilled. While this may be more implicit than explicit, that was also the case often in the exposition of the Old Covenant by the prophets from Moses to Christ. The Covenant is woven through the warp and the woof of their preaching and teaching, and is understood as the foundation for it. So it is with the New Covenant and the Pauline epistles, especially Romans.

9. Chapter 2 of Romans is not often considered when it comes to how chapters 7 and 8 relate to one another. What is introduced for another reason early in the diatribe in Romans 2:15 is then unpacked in Romans 7. What is introduced in Romans 2:26 and 29 is then unpacked in Romans 8. The two sides of the coin concerning the reality of New Covenant Gentiles in Romans 2 becomes the two sides of the same coin for all regenerate believers in Romans 7 and 8 as exemplifying two aspects of normal Christianity in the fulfillment of the New Covenant promises and prophecies.

III. Romans 7 in the Diatribe of Romans 1-11

“Schaeffer pointed out that, until recently, Romans was studied in American law schools in order to teach students the art of presenting an argument. A reasoned case is made for a foundational proposition. Counter statements are considered one by one, and refuted. Romans is not about a leap of faith but presents a comprehensive argument for the central proposition...”

Udo W. Middlemann, “Introduction,” in Francis A. Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ: the Truth of Romans 1-8 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998), pp. viii-ix; on Westminster Books at http://www.wtsbooks.com/common/pdf_links/9781433531545.pdf [accessed 21 OCT 2015]; cited by James M. Rochford, “Introduction to Romans,” on evidence unseen at http://www.evidenceunseen.com/bible-difficulties-2/nt-difficulties/romans-2/introduction-to-romans/ [accessed 21 OCT 2015].[1]

1. Key indicators of the style known as diatribe

1. “Diatribal pronominal expressions”[2] — Dialogue with “an imaginary interlocutor,”[3] in the second-person singular, — an “…authorial device of turning from the audience to an imaginary individual….known in Paul’s time as speech-in-character.”[4] This “turning from the audience” is referred to as an “apostrophe,” and in the diatribe style is often introduced by addressing the fictitious person in the vocative, e.g., “O man” (Rom. 2:1).[5]

2. Rhetorical questions, especially when responded to with μὴ γένοιτο  (“mē genoito”) as in 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 16; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11 —

Translations of this expression:

AV: “God forbid.”

NASB: “May it never be!”

ESV: “By no means!”

HCSB: “Absolutely not!”

NIV: “Not at all!”

NLT: “Of course not!”

NKJV: “Certainly not!”

Other examples of this expression in a diatribal style:

1 Cor. 6:15 — Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

Gal. 2:17 — But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

Gal. 3:21 — Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

Usages of this expression in a non-diatribal style is found in Lk. 20:16 and Gal. 6:14.

2. Sources on Diatribe and Paul’s use of diatribe style in Romans

C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Henry Chadwick (New York: Harper & Row, 1957), pp. 43, 61, 86, 121, 140, 172, 185-186, 218.[6]

A. J. Malherbe, “MH ΓENOITO in the Diatribe and Paul,” Harvard Theological Review 73:1-2 (JAN-APR 1980), pp. 231-240.[7]

Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, gen. eds. Ned B. Stonehouse, F. F. Bruce, and Gordon D. Fee (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), pp. 14-15, 125-126, 356, 589-590, 600.[8]

Leland Ryken, A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), s.v. “Diatribe.”[9]

Leland Ryken, Literary Introductions to the Books of the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015).

Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), pp.

Steven Coxhead, “The Significance of Paul's Diatribe in Romans 2” (7 MAR 2010), on Berith Road at http://berithroad.blogspot.com/2010/03/pauls-diatribe-in-romans-2.html [accessed 19 OCT 2015], pp. 23-25, 24n52, 105-106, 127, 147, 150n6, 200, 247n3, 265-266, 303-304, 358, 472n9, 505, 513, 535, 607n8, 718n13.

Changwon Song, Reading Romans as a Diatribe, Studies in Biblical Literature 59 (New York: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2004).[10]

Stanley Kent Stowers, The Diatribe and Paul's Letter to the Romans, Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 57 (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1981); on Amazon at [accessed 16 OCT 2015].

Stanley K. Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), pp. 11, 15, 100-104, 144-150, 153, 160-175, 231-237.

IV. Romans 7-8; Jeremiah 31; and Ezekiel 36 —

The Explication of the Fulfillment of the New Covenant Promise of Jeremiah 31:33 in Romans 7:7-25 as Unpacking Romans 2:15; and The Explication of the Fulfillment of the New Covenant Promise of Ezekiel 36:26-27 in Romans 8:1-27 as Unpacking Romans 2:26, 29

Verses 1-6 of Romans 7 stand together with the marriage and adultery metaphor related to life and death and spirit and letter.  The last two verses, 24-25, set up chapter 8.

A key verse for me — that I use to set up critiques of how folks handle this chapter — is verse 9, “...when the commandment came...”  

The temporal scenario Paul sets up is as follows:  

1) Sin was dead and I was alive. 

2) the commandment “came.” 

3) Sin revived and I died.  

The question that must be addressed is, “When did the commandment come?”  One corollary question that must be asked is, “In what sense could he have been alive prior to the coming of the commandment?”  Then another: “In what sense did he die subsequent to the “coming of the commandment”? None of the answers I have found in the standard works satisfy, that is, if they even give consideration to these questions at all.  

I continue to insist that: 

1) He was quite dead in trespasses and sins prior to the coming of the commandment.

2) His “aliveness” was only in his ignorance and personal perception, rather than in reality. 

3) The commandment “came” when the Spirit of God wrote it on his heart via regeneration. This would be seen to be the case especially when the internal nature of the sin of coveting is considered (vss. 7-8!) coordinate with the nature of the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:33. 

4) He then “died,” or was brought to realize his deadness in sin and provoked to cry out to Christ in faith for deliverance (vss. 24-25). This should be the response of the repentant believer under conviction of sin throughout the process of sanctification this side of glory.

I see the development in verses 7-25 as unpacking Rom. 2:15 regarding the impact of the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise in Jer. 31:33.  Verse 6 sets up the New Covenant linkage for this development - “newness of spirit, and not in oldness of the letter” - that is explicitly comparable to 2 Cor. 3.  This must be coordinated with the next chapter, Romans 8, which unpacks Rom. 2:26, 29, regarding the impact of the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise of Ezek. 36:26-27.

I would suggest that the goodness, holiness, justness, or spirituality of the Law (7:12, 14) is inherent regardless of its consequent positive or negative effects.  In fact, in this context it would appear that the intent of the Law is being contrasted to its consequent effects. The finger of Scripture is tracing out the root of this contradiction, and pointing at the carnality of the sinner revealed in the mirror of the Law now inscribed on the heart of the regenerate via the indwelling Spirit of Christ.[11]

Certain truths that must be kept in mind as background in order to get this chapter right:

1. The Old Covenant Law (Mosaic Code) cannot be divided into tripartite “chunks” as in moral/civil/ceremonial.

2.  The Old Covenant Law (Mosaic Code) in its entirety has been nailed to the Cross, and no longer has covenantal jurisdiction or significance. That the New Covenant believer no longer has any covenantal relationship to the Old Covenant Law is explicit in Romans 7:1-6.

3.  The Old Covenant Law (Mosaic Code) is nevertheless still Scripture, and as such along with all other Scriptures has just as much profit for the New Covenant believer by way of doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

4.  The New Covenant promise of Jer. 31 has been fulfilled, and as Paul makes clear elsewhere (2 Cor. 3) the indwelling Spirit in the regenerate writes the nature of Christ within.

5.  The fulfillments of the coordinate New Covenant promises of Jer. 31 and Ezek. 36 concerning the Law and the Spirit must be seen as linked in 2 Cor. 3, and therefore it must be considered that Rom. 7 and Rom. 8 do the same. Therefore these chapters must not be contrasted but coordinated.

6.  The significance of verse 9 for getting this section right cannot be overestimated.

7.  At the end of the day what is developed in this middle section of the chapter leading up to the last two verses has everything to do with the "internalization" of the lessons of the Law. This cannot be about the “Law out there” as a separate entity in tablets of stone from the entity of the sinner. Rather, the Law viewed as: 1) internalized in the Spirit's indwelling, 2) “fleshed” out in Christ, and, 3) effecting the humbling of the sinner in recognition of his utter inability due to the absolute failure of the flesh. As such it must be the ongoing lessons learned and experience of every child of God so long as we continue to dwell in the flesh this side of resurrection glory.

V. An Outline of Romans: Paul’s Defense of the Gospel of the Administration of the New Covenant During the Inter-Advent Period

Ch	Point Concerning or Promise/Prophecy of the New Covenant	O.T. Ref
1:18-32	The world’s need of the New Covenant
2	The Jew’s need of the New Covenant, with parenthetical mention of Gentiles reception of the blessings of the New Covenant (2:15, 26, 29)
3:1-20	The universal condition as the basis of the necessity for the New Covenant for reconciliation regardless of ethnic or national distinctions
3:21-6:23	“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”	Jer. 31:34
7	“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”	Jer. 31:33
8	“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”	Ezek. 36:26-27
9-11	“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:….Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.” “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.”	Jer. 31:31-32, 35-37; and Ezek. 16:60-63 (also Ezek. 37)
12-16	“…and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD;”	Jer. 31:33d-34c

VI. Select Resources

Sinclair B. Ferguson, John Owen on the Christian Life (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1987); 

on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/john-owen-on-christian-life-sinclair-ferguson-9780851515038 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Note: Only available on Amazon at full list price at http://www.amazon.com/John-Owen-Christian-Sinclair-Ferguson/dp/0851515037/ref=sr_1_1 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Note: Not currently available on Christianbook.

Anthony Hoekema, The Christian Looks at Himself (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975); 

on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Looks-at-Himself/dp/0802815952/ref=sr_1_6 [accessed 10 AUG 2015]; 

on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/the-christian-looks-at-himself/anthony-hoekema/9780802815958/pd/815958 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Note: Not currently available on Westminster Books.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans 7:1-8:4: The Law, Its Functions and Limits (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1973);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Romans-Functions-Limits-Exposition-Chapter/dp/0851511805/ref=sr_1_1 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/romans-the-law-its-functions-limits/d-lloyd-jones/9780851511801/pd/1511805 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/romans-7-d-martyn-lloyd-jones-9780851511801 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1998);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Within-Straight-about-Defeat/dp/0875522017/ref=asap_bc [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/enemy-within-straight-about-power-defeat/kris-lundgaard/9780875522012/pd/42017 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/the-enemy-within-kris-lundgaard-9780875522012 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Epistle-Romans-International-Commentary-Testament-ebook/dp/B00EP71I5A/ref=la_B000AQ6VXE_1_2 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/epistle-romans-new-international-commentary-testament/douglas-moo/9780802823175/pd/2371X [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/the-epistle-to-the-romans-douglas-moo-9780802823175 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

John Owen, Mortification of Sin, abridged ed., ed. Richard Rushing (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, n.d.; 2004 reprint);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Mortification-Sin-Puritan-Paperbacks/dp/0851518672/ref=pd_sim_14_5 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/the-mortification-of-sin/john-owen/9780851518671/pd/518670 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/the-mortification-of-sin-john-owen-9780851518671 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, n.d.; reprint) - Note: this is a hardbound edition, but paperback editions are in print also;
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Holiness-J-C-Ryle/dp/1848715064/ref=sr_1_1_twi_3_har [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/holiness-j-c-ryle/9781848715066/pd/715066 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://search.wtsbooks.com/?FullText=ryle+holiness [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Romans-Baker-Exegetical-Commentary-Testament/dp/0801021499/ref=pd_sim_14_5 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Christianbook at http://www.christianbook.com/romans-baker-exegetical-commentary-new-testament/thomas-schreiner/9780801021497/pd/21499 [accessed 10 AUG 2015];
on Westminster Bookstore at http://www.wtsbooks.com/romans-thomas-schreiner-9780801021497 [accessed 10 AUG 2015].

Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,

John T. “Jack” Jeffery

Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel

Greentown, PA

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End Notes:

[1] Middlemann has been the President of the Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation since 1988, and “…holds degrees in both law (LLM from Freiburg University, Germany) and theology (BD and MA from Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO, USA).” Wingshadow On the River at http://www.wingshadowministries.org/Home/middleman-retreat/udo-short-bio [accessed 21 OCT 2015].

[2] Changwon Song, Reading Romans as a Diatribe, Studies in Biblical Literature 59 (New York: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2004), pg. 108.

[3] Stanley K. Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), pg. 100.

[4] Stowers, op. cit., pg. 11.

[5] Stowers, op. cit., pp. 11, 101; C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Henry Chadwick (New York: Harper & Row, 1957), pg. 43.

[6] See esp. pg. 43.

[7] Abstract available on Harvard Theological Review at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0017816000002121 [accessed 21 OCT 2015]:

“Rudolf Bultmann's dissertation is still the best general description of diatribal style and remains the authority on the subject for most NT scholars. Bultmann draws attention to the dialogical element in the diatribe in which a speaker or writer makes use of an imaginary interlocutor who asks questions or raises objections to the arguments or affirmations that are made. These responses are frequently stupid and are then summarily rejected by the speaker or writer in a number of ways, for example by οὐδαμῶς (“by no means”), οὐ πάντως (“not at all”), οὐ μὰ Δία (“indeed not”), or minime (“by no means”). The limited purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which μὴ γένοιτο (“by no means”) is widely used in the diatribal literature, usually thought to be represented in Greek by the Dissertation of Epictetus, certain Moralia of Plutarch, various works of Philo, and by Bion, Teles, Musonius, Dio Chrysostom, Lucian, and Maximus of Tyre. In fact, however, this particular rejection, as it appears as a response in a dialogue without being part of a larger sentence, is unique to Epictetus and Paul. Bultmann's interpretation of the diatribe is heavily dependent on Epictetus despite the latter's peculiar development of the style, and the generalization about the use of μὴ γένοιτο in the diatribe is made on the basis of Epictetus.”

[8] See esp. pp. 14-15, and 125-126.

[9] “DIATRIBE An important New Testament genre that the writers of the Epistles took over from their surrounding Greek and Roman culture. Scholars do not completely agree about the details of this genre. The consensus is that the diatribe was a form of teaching, street preaching, and oratory. The most important literary aspect of the diatribe is that it is a form of satire, meaning that it is an attack on vice or folly. As in all satire, there is an object of attack or rebuttal. Additionally, the diatribe implies an aggressive putdown of the person or position being attacked. The diatribe is a vigorous and combative form of discourse. The author’s energy is embodied in such motifs as: dialogue with imaginary questioners or opponents; question-and-answer constructions, sometimes catechismlike in effect; questions or hypothetical objections used as a transition to the next topic; rhetorical questions; use of famous and representative figures from the past as examples; use of analogy as a rhetorical device; and aphoristic (memorable) style. This list immediately alerts us that the Epistles (especially those of Paul) make continuous use of these techniques. The passage in which James attacks the idea that faith without works is acceptable (James 2:14–26) is an example of a diatribe.”

[10] “This book illustrates how the macro-structure of the «body» of Romans essentially follows that of the diatribes in Epictetus’s Discourses. As in Discourses, the diatribe in Romans begins with the thesis (1.16-17), then follows an indictment (1.18-32) and dialogues with a fictitious second-person singular in chapter two. Arguments with the mē genoito formula dominate the middle part of the diatribe. In the middle of chapter eleven, the phase changes back to dialogues with the second-person singular. The ending of the diatribe Romans also, like Discourses, includes cynic and hyperbolic statements (14.21 and 14.23). Thus, the «body» of Romans should not be read as a real letter, but as a diatribe that was distributed in Paul’s schoolroom and later appropriated as a letter. This teaching was not directed to a specific group of people, viz., the Christians in Rome, but rather intrinsically universalized. Therefore, its message is intrinsically more powerful for us.”

Op. cit., back cover; on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Diatribe-Studies-Biblical-Literature/dp/0820468177 [accessed 16 OCT 2015].

See especially pp. 108ff. in this book for the author’s treatment of the significance of this literary style for Romans 7, “Reading Romans 7 by Means of the Diatribal Pronominal Expressions.”

Song’s definition of  diatribe is cited by Leland Ryken in his Literary Introductions to the Books of the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), s.v. “Romans.”

[11] “God promises to put His laws in our hearts and write them on our minds. That's sanctification in principle or sanctification that's begun.” Jerry Bridges, tweet 14 OCT 2015 @BridgesWisdom (accessed 15 OCT 2015).