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Chuck Lowe has a thoughtful analysis of Romans 8:1-4 in an essay in the June 1999 issue of JETS <\/i> . He argues that the text means just what it says, that there is \u201cno condemnation\u201d because those who are in Christ have been liberated from sin and death through the Spirit, and therefore the eschatological \u201cescape from condemnation [is] contingent upon sanctification.\u201d Lowe argues that this is not in conflict with the Protestant confession of justification by faith, and says that Paul is teaching that sanctification is \u201cnecessary but not meritorious,\u201d necessary, that is, for final deliverance from death. Lowe\u2019s article is admirable for his willingness to take the precise language of Paul seriously, and to avoid forcing Paul into the mode of what he calls \u201cpopulist evangelicalism.\u201d At the same time, I find a few details of Lowe\u2019s discussion unconvincing: a) He assumes that the \u201cno condemnation\u201d has to do with eschatological judgment and eternal life. While he quotes approvingly NT Wright\u2019s claim that justification by faith is an anticipation in the present of a verdict that will be passed eschatologically, his argument operates with the assumption that eschatological judgment is in view in Romans 8. b) He employs \u201cjustification\u201d and \u201csanctification\u201d in their systematic senses, without recognizing the flexibility with which Paul uses these terms. Again, he quotes from John Murray\u2019s exegesis of the passage, but doesn\u2019t follow Murray in acknowledging that forensic language in Romans 8 is not \u201cnarrowly forensic,\u201d but includes deliverance from the power of sin and death. These are not quibbles, but they don\u2019t undermine the value of a fine article. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chuck Lowe has a thoughtful analysis of Romans 8:1-4 in an essay in the June 1999 issue of JETS . He argues that the text means just what it says, that there is \u201cno condemnation\u201d because those who are in Christ have been liberated from sin and death through the Spirit, and therefore the eschatological […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-nt-paul"],"yoast_head":"\n