Month: March 2024

BECAUSE HE CONQUERED

John 16:25-33 NET.

²⁵ “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn, I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ²⁹ His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech! ³⁰ Now we know that you know everything and do not need anyone to ask you anything. Because of this we believe that you have come from God.” ³¹ Jesus replied, “Do you now believe? ³² Look, a time is coming — and has come — when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, and I will be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me. ³³ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage — I have conquered the world.”

Easter is a significant holiday for Christians. It has nothing to do with the fact that the holiday occurs in the Spring of the year in this country. When we lived in the tropics, they never really had Spring but celebrated Easter. When we lived in New Zealand, Easter came in the Fall. It was helpful for me and my family to live in these places because it helped us recognize the importance of these holidays by seeing them stripped of all the traditions different cultures have added to them. Easter’s importance has nothing to do with Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, or new Easter outfits.

Easter is a time to remember that we serve a risen Savior. He died on the cross and was buried in a tomb. But Easter is about what happened after that. On the third day, he rose from the grave. He appeared to many people over forty days and proved that he was alive. Then he ascended to heaven, where he is today. But he promised to return. Christianity rests on the reality that Jesus died on the cross for us. So, it is appropriate that we use a cross as a symbol of Christ’s death. But the empty tomb is just as important as a symbol of the message of Christianity. The cross is a symbol of what Jesus suffered. The empty tomb is a symbol of the fact that he conquered. In today’s text, Jesus tells his disciples that he has conquered the world.

But John records Jesus as having said that before he went to the cross. In what sense was it true that Jesus had conquered the world before he went to the cross? Today’s text helps to explain that. In today’s passage, we get a rare glimpse into the mind of Jesus. We see him telling his disciples about several things that had not happened yet. But he was not guessing. He revealed to them that he already knew what would happen. For example, he knew that much of what he had been teaching his disciples was going in one ear and out the other. He had been teaching them using obscure figures of speech, but he knew that much of what he had taught them was not soaking in. It was bouncing off them.

But the disciples were ignorant of the fact that they were being so naive. They thought they understood what Jesus had been teaching them. In a few days, that would become very clear. The disciples were quite confident that they knew what was going on. But in a few short days, a group of Jesus’ enemies would come to arrest him, and these same disciples would run away and hide.

But in today’s text, we discover something remarkable about Jesus. He knows that his own disciples are going to abandon him, but that does not stop him from loving them and encouraging them. Now, why can Jesus be so patient and forgiving? One answer is that Jesus can see beyond their betrayal. He sees beyond his suffering on the cross. He sees the empty tomb. He sees beyond Good Friday. He sees Easter.

We celebrate Christmas because it reminds us that Jesus came and how he came. We celebrate Easter because it explains why he came. His time on Earth was part of the divine plan to save us. He overcame all the obstacles and conquered the world.

Because He conquered, we now know the Father’s entire plan (25).

Jesus promised his disciples that he would soon tell them about the Father. He had already taught them about the nature of his Father. But the Father had some things planned that they could not understand. They could not understand why their Master was being rejected by the Jewish leaders. They would not understand their Lord’s arrest and trial. They would not get the cross. They would be dismayed when they saw Jesus buried in the tomb.

It was not until Easter Sunday morning that light began to dawn on these frightened men. Some women shared the good news with them. He was alive, and they had seen him! Every Easter, we relive that wonderful day and re-proclaim that fantastic news. He is not here because he has risen. God had a plan to save the world. Even though the world rejected him, Jesus fulfilled that plan. In his dying breath on the cross, he proclaimed it was finished.

We also now have the missing pieces to the gospel message. The new life we can have in Christ is the promise of an actual new life. The one who died on the cross died in our place. We need never fear the second death because he died as our substitute. The one who came out of the tomb on Easter morning was the first fruit. The first fruits are the first part of the harvest. We are the next part of the harvest. Because he lives now, we will live again as well. That is God’s plan.

Because He conquered, we now can access the Father’s power directly (26-27).

That is why Jesus told his disciples they would not need to go through him to get their prayers answered. God’s love is the only necessary ingredient in accessing his power. Believers in Christ already have access to God’s love. Anyone in Christ can pray to the Father directly. We don’t have to jump up and down to access this power. We don’t have to speak in an unknown tongue to access this power. The father himself loves us because we have believed the testimony of Jesus – that he came from God.

Before the cross, people needed the presence of Jesus to access the power of God that Jesus wielded. But after the empty tomb – the only thing we need is the name of Jesus. Jesus’ promise is “whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” (v. 23). The promise applies to any time after the empty tomb. Jesus said, “At that time, you will ask in my name” (v. 26). Easter is a reminder that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is now available to every believer.

Because He conquered, we know we will never be left alone (32).

Jesus knew that he would have to face trial and crucifixion without the support of all his disciples. Yet he also knew that even though he would be abandoned by all of them, he would not be alone. He said that he was not alone because his Father was with him.

Oh, he would feel alone. He would pour out his heart to the Father in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He would cry on the cross and ask God why he had forsaken him. There is a difference between feeling alone and being alone. Jesus went through the battle of the cross and the anxiety of his condemnation, and I guarantee he felt alone. But Jesus told his disciples this: “Yet I am not alone because my Father is with me.”

Brothers and sisters, I do not know what trials you will experience in this life. I cannot guarantee you that you will always have the comfort of fellow believers, friends, or family at your side when you go through those trying times. I cannot even guarantee that you will always feel the presence of your heavenly Father. But I can guarantee that He will always be with you.

Like the psalmist, you may look to the hills and ask where your help comes from. I hope during those times, you have the wisdom the psalmist had. He said that his help does not come from those hills. It comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.

Because He conquered, we can take courage as we experience trouble and suffering (33).

Jesus said that in the world, we will have trouble and suffering. That was his guarantee. We walk into that lonely place of trouble and suffering, knowing that we cannot avoid it because Jesus said we would experience it. But he said that in him we would have peace. It would not be peace because of the lack of trouble. It would be peace amid trouble. The peace we can experience will be like the peace Jesus experienced when he was asleep in the boat while the storm raged outside, threatening to capsize it. But when we are in Christ, we can say along with the hymn writer:

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons, or men, or whatever it be

No water can swallow the ship where lies

The master of ocean and earth and sky

They all shall sweetly obey thy will

Peace, peace, be still

They all shall sweetly obey thy will

Peace, peace, peace, be still[1]

We might look forward to Christmas because of the presents, but we can always be thankful for Easter because of the presence of our heavenly Father. Because Jesus conquered death, we no longer need to fear death. Because Jesus conquered sin, we need no longer be in bondage to sin. Because Jesus came out of his tomb, we can be sure that one day a trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ will rise. Easter is our annual reminder of Jesus’ past and our future.

For further study:

Barclay William. The Gospel of John. Rev. ed. Westminster Press 1975. pp. 200-203.

Barton Bruce B. John. Tyndale House 1993. pp. 332-334.

Barton V. Wayne. The Gospel of John. Baker Book House 1960. pp. 77-78.

Bernard J. H and A. H McNeile. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John. C. Scribner’ Sons 1929. pp. 518-524.

Brodie Thomas L. The Gospel According to John: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Oxford University Press 1993. pp. 501-504.

Brown Raymond E. The Gospel According to John. [First edition] ed. Doubleday 1966. pp. 723-738.

Bruce William. Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John. James Speirs 1870. pp. 390-395.

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[1] Master, the Tempest is Raging.

Not This Way Among You

Mark 10 35-45 NET.

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” ³⁶ He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?” ³⁹ They said to him, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.” ⁴¹ Now when the other ten heard this, they became angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus and his disciples were on the road going up to Jerusalem. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what would happen to him. He said they were going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man would be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him severely, and kill him. Yet after three days, he will rise again.

Jesus explained that his suffering cup was coming soon, and he would have to drink it because he came to provide his life as a ransom payment for many. He thought of others before himself, even though he was the only one who deserved to be put first.

Meanwhile, the disciples were betrayed by their grand ambitions. James and John had filtered out everything Jesus said except the title he used for himself. The Son of Man was the title of the Messiah that Daniel used when he saw the Messiah coming down from the sky in a vision. He would be coming down to set up his kingdom on earth to rule over God’s creation. James and John wanted top billing in the coming sky kingdom, and (according to Matthew’s version of this account) they dared to get their mother to request it. She asked that her two boys get the seats of honor in the coming kingdom, one with a throne to the right of Jesus and the other to the left. James and John agreed to her request. This is what they want.

But Jesus asks them if they can take his cup. Jesus understood what that cup was all about. He knew that God was going to pour out his cup of wrath on all humanity, but before he did that, he was going to pour out his cup of suffering and wrath on his only Son, who would serve as a ransom for many.  For many to be saved, the Son must take the cup and die in their place. The cup was a symbol of death.

Jesus also asked if they could undergo the baptism that he would. The baptism was also a symbol of his coming death. The Greek word βαπτίζω was sometimes synonymous with “destroy” because it could refer to death by drowning or the sinking of a ship. The Apostle Paul would later remind the Roman believers that “as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3).

James and John quickly answered Jesus that they could take his cup and his baptism, but it was evident that they did not understand what he was talking about. They might have thought that the cup symbolized his kingship and that he was asking them if they would agree to be his cupbearers. This was a position of great honor in the kingdoms in ancient times, as we learn about in the book of Nehemiah. If they did, they didn’t stop to think further that in those kingdoms, if someone wanted to poison the king, the cupbearer would die in his place. They might also have thought of baptism as the undergoing of suffering and persecution, but they didn’t think much about that. Their minds were on their plans for glory.

The other disciples were angry – probably because the sons of Zebedee asked for this favor first – beating them to the punch. None of the twelve understood what Jesus had been saying although this was the third time he predicted his coming trial and crucifixion.

Jesus defines leading (43).

Jesus takes this opportunity to teach his disciples about the nature of sky kingdom leadership. Leadership is a sacrificial investment in the lives of others. It is all about serving others and meeting their needs. Jesus tells his disciples that whoever wants to be great among them must be their servant. The kingdom as it exists today in its initial existence before the arrival of the King at the second coming of Christ is not a hierarchy.

Let me be honest with you. The church has failed to obey this command. Regardless of what generation you look at, which denomination you choose to examine, or which nation you want to put under the microscope where the body of Christ is represented, we have universally failed to live up to Jesus’ instructions here.

Our denominations are very good at pointing the finger at others and explaining why we don’t lead the way they do. We go to great lengths to explain why our doctrines of pastoral theology are correct, and the others are wrong. But in the end, our leaders still look more like the leaders of the Gentiles. We are adept at replacing one hierarchy with another, and when we do that, we are convinced that we have it right. But, before long, our leaders reveal the same lordship we were trying to eliminate.

The Gentiles are a terrible example (42).

The Gentile leaders’ example of exploitation of subordinates is the antithesis of sky kingdom leadership. They kept drawing their umbrella diagrams and insisting that if the people wanted to be blessed, they would have to submit to the leaders’ authority and get under their protection. Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them.” Those on top exploited their authority over those below them.

People would seek some status level so they also had someone they could exploit. It was okay to bow to the emperor if you had others who would bow to you. Everything was based on one’s position on the totem pole. You could tolerate being in the middle if you were not on the bottom. At the bottom of the ladder were the slaves. But even the slaves had their status levels. It was better to be the slave of a prominent family than a poor day laborer. At least you ate better.

Jesus explains how to lead (43-44).

There is a way to become a great leader, but that is through self-sacrifice and investment in the well-being and salvation of others. To be great in God’s present kingdom is not a matter of status but service. The “how” of leadership is service.

Now, in early church history, a funny thing happened. People began to take on titles that reflected how they were serving others. The apostles were called that because they took the gospel to other places and people. The word ἀπόστολοι means people who are sent. The elders were called that because they represented a more extensive group; they were responsible for serving. These were the πρεσβύτεροι. Those responsible for overseeing a congregation or group of congregations were called overseers or ἐπισκόποι. Those assisting them were the ministers (the διάκονοι). Those serving by prophesying were the προφῆται. Those who served by preaching the gospel were evangelists or εὐαγγελισται. Those who served by watching over an individual congregation (a local flock of sheep) were called shepherds or pastors (ποιμένες). Those who served by teaching were, of course, called teachers (διδάσκαλοι).

The status of these people in a hierarchy was never supposed to be the issue. Their titles reflected how they served in the kingdom. But it didn’t take long before each title was assigned a place on the totem pole. The church fell into the heresy of hierarchy, and we have never really addressed that apostasy.

Jesus explains who appoints leaders (40).

In the end, the sovereign God determines who the leaders are. That is why Jesus told James and John that to sit at his right or left is not his to give. It is for those for whom the Father has prepared it. God appoints leaders. Some of the people he allows to lead in this are horrible at leading and bring disgrace to the church. But God has reasons for placing each of his servants where they are to serve.

Jesus is the example of proper leading (45).

Jesus is the ultimate example of leadership in the sky kingdom. He gave his life for the lost. He did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. God does not call all of us to die on a cross literally, but he does call all of us to live by his example. His example was self-sacrifice. He told the rich young man to sacrifice his wealth. He told the four fishermen to sacrifice their boats and nets. He told Matthew to sacrifice his booth. Paul was a leader of many, but Jesus told him he would become a servant of all.

There was an inner circle among the disciples. It consisted of three men: Peter, James, and John.  These three were expected to rise to the top. But interestingly, the Bible records these three men being rebuked explicitly by Jesus for failing to acknowledge and submit to God’s plan. These three men eventually repented, and they took the cup and experienced the baptism of suffering. Two of them were beheaded. One was exiled. They learned to be slaves of all. May we all learn that lesson because the kingdom needs leaders who serve.

LORD, our eyes are fixed on the prize of your coming sky kingdom. Help us not to get sidetracked by grand ambitions. Please help us to invest sacrificially in others, as you did. Amen.

God bless y’all. Have a great day.

For further study:

Byrne Brendan. A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel. Liturgical Press 2008. pp. 166-169.

Cole R. A. Mark: An Introduction and Commentary. 2nd ed. Inter-Varsity Press; Intervarsity Press 2008. pp. 245-248.

Collins Adela Yarbro and Harold W Attridge. Mark: A Commentary. Fortress Press 2007. pp. 493-504.

Donahue John R and Daniel J Harrington. The Gospel of Mark. Liturgical Press 2002. pp. 309-316.

Dowd Sharyn Echols. Reading Mark: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Second Gospel. Smyth & Helwys 2000. pp. 110-115.

France R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press 2002. pp. 409-421.

Garrett Greg and Matthew Paul Turner. The Voice of Mark: Let Them Listen; the Gospel of Mark Retold. Thomas Nelson 2008. pp. 66-68.

THE SPIRIT IS YOUR LIFE

Romans 8:5-11 NET.

⁵ For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness. ¹¹ Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.

I mentioned last month that Paul explains the gospel in the early chapters of the Book of Romans. He outlines the doctrine of justification by faith in the grace of God, made possible by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He explains that there is no other way to be saved other than by faith in the grace of God. Paul himself is the perfect example of the statement made by Peter in Acts 4:12: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.” Once Jesus came to Paul, Paul was only about Jesus and his gospel.

In today’s text, Paul addresses the difference it makes in a person’s life if that person believes the gospel and gets saved. If I were to show you a picture of a group of people, you would probably not be able to guess from the picture which people are saved and unsaved. Some people believe there is no difference. They think the world is made up of all the same people. Christians may call themselves saved, but according to this view, they are lost like all the rest. Christians call themselves redeemed, but in reality, they are just as enslaved as all the rest. Christians can talk about having God’s power, but they are just as powerless as all the rest.

In today’s text, Paul addresses that opinion. He wants to show that Christians are different than non-Christians. He wants to explain what the difference is and how the difference transforms us into people who are not like everybody else.

Paul describes two possible outlooks (5-8).

He categorizes the whole world into two groups according to the outlook that each group has. The first group consists of all the people in the world whose outlook is shaped by the things of the flesh. In Galatians, Paul says, “The works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things” (5:19-21).

When Paul says these sins are obvious, it doesn’t mean we will always notice them. We regularly hear of people who are caught in adultery or convicted of child molestation or rape, or found to be addicted to pornography, and often, it is people that we would never suspect. We live in a world where it is possible to hide the thoughts of our minds. But if the things of the flesh shape the outlook of a person’s mind, it will eventually show in that person’s actions. If a person lives by lust, that person’s relationship with others will be damaged and will result in his treating others as objects. If demons shape a person’s outlook, her actions will reveal her devotion to those demons. If pride and jealousy rule a person’s heart, that fleshly outlook will manifest in disrupted relationships and interpersonal conflicts.

Those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh. We all have flesh, and our flesh is not evil. God created us as flesh, and we are intended to glorify God with our flesh. But if the flesh rules our minds, it produces an outlook that turns every possible good thing we do into an evil thing. The enemy is not the flesh itself; it is the outlook shaped by the things of the flesh. Paul says the outlook of the flesh is death. Such people are dead even while their body is still alive. They are dead men walking. They are walking the green mile. The result of such a life is death.

People trapped in a fleshly outlook have a severely damaged relationship with God. God is their creator and heavenly Father, but they do not acknowledge this. Instead, they are hostile to God. They are his enemy. They detest religion because it reminds them of God’s existence. They don’t want to hear God’s word from the Bible because they refuse to submit to God’s law. They are annoyed by people who want to please God because they cannot.

There are billions of people in this world who are living according to the flesh. But Paul declares that there is another option. He says that it is possible to live according to the Holy Spirit. He says it is possible to have one’s outlook shaped by the Holy Spirit. The people who live like this are not walking the green mile. Their outlook is life and peace. They can obey the commands of God because their focus and concentration are on God and not themselves.

Paul asserts that every authentic Christian is in the Spirit (9-10).

Remember, he said that there are only two possible outlooks. There is no fence for people to sit on and remain undeclared. Either you are in Christ, or you are not. You are either saved, or you are unsaved. There is no third thing. There is no third outlook.

Paul sometimes gets distressed when other Christians don’t seem to live up to this ideal. But what he is talking about in today’s text is the contrast between an authentic Christian and a person whose life is shaped by the flesh. He is giving a pep talk to the Roman Christians. He’s saying that the world around them lives according to the flesh, but they don’t have to.

He says they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. They have flesh, but their flesh is not the focus and concentration of their lives. The Holy Spirit is. He can empower them because they have relinquished their self-reliance. They were given the same choice as the rich young man of Mark 10, but unlike him, they chose to sell their possessions and come and follow Christ.

Paul tells them they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. God’s Spirit lives in them; if that were not true, they would not belong to Christ. That is the message I want to share with you today. If you are saved, then God’s Spirit lives in you. You do not have to guess at your salvation; you can know it.

The evidence of salvation that Paul expresses here is not a theological doctrine. The evidence is the Holy Spirit’s control, resulting in an outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. That – in turn – produces the fruit of the Spirit. The hostility with God ends and is replaced by friendship with God. The reluctance to submit to the law of God is replaced by an obsession to learn and obey God’s word. The inability to please God is replaced by faith, which gives us the ability to please God.

Having established that there are only two outlooks, and each outlook will determine how a person lives during this life, Paul’s final instruction in today’s text is that there will be a bonus for those who choose to live by the Spirit.

Living by the Spirit also guarantees a resurrection to eternal life (11).

Note the word “moreover” in the text of verse 11. That is a significant word in that context. It indicates (as I said) that there is an additional bonus to living life as a Christian. The Spirit you entrusted to make your mortal life count for God is the same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead.

Note also how Paul changes the number of a particular word. In verse 10, he says your body is dead because of sin. He’s speaking of your mortality. If you don’t believe you are mortal, I refer you to those who have come before you and are sleeping in the cemetery. This life is temporary. In a sense, we are all walking the green mile. But the good news is that the Holy Spirit within us guarantees that there will be a resurrection and that it will result in a permanent life. In verse 11, Paul says that God will make our mortal bodies alive. He changes the number to plural because the resurrection will not happen individually. We will all get our immortality simultaneously due to the same event.

Non-Christians will not be raised to eternal life. They will be raised, judged, condemned, and suffer the lake of fire, the second death. There will be no resurrection from that death. It is just as permanent as our new life will be. It will be permanent death.

But the gospel’s good news is that no believer has to fear that second death. No believers have to doubt that they will inherit eternal life. We can be confident of our standing with God today because we live according to His Spirit. The things of the Spirit shape our outlook. God gave us his Spirit by his grace, and as long as we are willing to let him rule our lives today, we never need to fear tomorrow.

The title of today’s message comes directly from verse 10. It is a double guarantee. If you are a Christian living today, you have power for your life that the unbeliever does not have. You also have an inheritance that unbelievers will not share: another life – an eternal life.

For further study:

Mackenzie W. Douglas. Galatians and Romans. Fleming H. Revell 1912.  pp. 240-243.

McClain Alva J and Herman A Hoyt. Romans: The Gospel of God’s Grace: The Lectures of Alva J. Mcclain. BMH Books ed. BMH Books 1979. pp. 161-167.

Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm, Timothy Dwight, and William P. Dickson. Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistle to the Romans. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1884. pp. 50-60.

Miller John. Commentary on Paul’s Epistle to Romans: With an Excursus on the Famous Passage in James (Chap. Ii.: 14-26). Evangelical Reform Publication 1887. pp. 234-244.

Moffatt James. The Epistle to the Romans. Hodder and Stoughton 1905. pp. 51-53.

Morris Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press 1988. pp. 304-310.

Mosher Steve. God’s Power Jesus’ Faith and World Mission: A Study in Romans. Herald Press 1996. pp. 158-161.