Christians should tell the truth. That's a
truism, perhaps. James taught “But above all, my
brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but
let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under
condemnation.” (James 5:12, ESV). Yet, Paul chose, in Romans 9, to
dramatically emphasize the fact that he was telling the truth. Note Romans 9:1–2 (ESV),
"1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience
bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart."
Why would he double his efforts to
communicate his truthfulness in this passage?
Well we can make a pretty good guess why, by reading what he says in the
next few verses:
Romans 9:6b (ESV)
"6 . . . For not all who are descended from Israel belong
to Israel."
Romans 9:27 (ESV), "27 And Isaiah cries out
concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of
the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved."
Those are pretty radical statements! For Paul to articulate those words in many Christian circles, he'd have to "cross his heart and hope to die"
many, many times over. Those statements
are controversial, contentious and above all condemning. So my guess is that he wants to preface
these stunning remarks with an emphasized truth-claim.
Notice again, verse 1:
“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying;
my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—” (Romans 9:1, ESV). Twice he says that what he is saying is
true:
1st:
"I am speaking the truth"; and
2nd: "I am not lying".
Two questions I have: One, what does it
mean to speak the truth IN CHRIST;
and what does it mean that his conscience bears witness IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Speaking the Truth in Christ
The term "in Christ" is a
favorite term of the Apostle. Many
places in Scripture refer to the believer’s being "in Christ" (e.g., 1
Peter 5:14;Philippians 1:1;Romans 8:1). In the most generic sense, to be in
Christ, is to be in union with Him, both subjectively and objectively. It means to be in relationship with Him; and
it means to be in harmony with Him. Paul
is not saying anything in this passage that is not in keeping with Christ and
Christ's teaching. For example we read
in Matthew 8:11–12 (ESV),
"11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown
into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.”
And likewise we read, “Therefore I tell
you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people
producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to
pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”” (Matthew 21:43–44, ESV)
So I believe that Paul is saying, "I'm
telling the truth. IT IS THE SAME TRUTH
JESUS TAUGHT."
Conscience Bearing Witness in the Holy
Spirit
Then to further amply his claim of veracity,
Paul adds this phrase: "my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit." "The Greek word translated “conscience”
in all New Testament references is suneidēsis, meaning “moral
awareness” or “moral consciousness.” The conscience reacts when one’s actions,
thoughts, and words conform to, or are contrary to, a standard of right and
wrong."[1]
So we can say that this inner judge,
according to Paul, is telling Paul that his statement is morally pure. But you and I know that our conscience can be
hardened, calloused, dulled and rendered a very suspicious arbiter of our
decisions. So Paul adds ". . . his
conscience as aided by the Holy Spirit." [2]
But how might Paul claim such
authoritative insight? The Reformed
Study Bible helps us, I believe. The
notation reads: "Paul clearly thinks of it as moral self-awareness
informed by divine revelation."[3]
Paul, as an Apostle, was speaking by Divine
revelation – Divine inspiration. [4] This becomes therefore a
phrase that we ourselves cannot claim to employ. Only those men, moved by the Spirit of God,
can assert such power.
Conclusion
So Paul, in moving into a discussion that decimates
the common understanding about the ethnic nation of Israel, gets into the
'witness box' (so to speak) and says, "What I am about to tell you is the
truth. It is the truth because Jesus
said it. [5] And it is the truth because
God, by His Holy Spirit, gave it to me by Divine inspiration. That means that it is authoritative, undeniable
Truth – the unimpeachable testimony of the Triune God.
To Paul, such shocking and disturbing truth
about Israel required the equally magnanimous appeal to nothing short of the
very words of God, a very God.
[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Romans/Exposition of Romans/VI. The Problem of Israel: God's
Righteousness Vindicated (9:1-11:36)/A. Paul's Sorrow Over Israel's Condition
(9:1-5), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B.
K., & Silva, M. (1995). The
Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture:
New King James Version (Ro 9:1). Nashville: T. Nelson.
[4] " He not only had the testimony of his conscience, but what precluded the
possibility of his deceiving, he spoke in the Holy Ghost—he spoke by
inspiration." - Haldane, R. (1996). An exposition of Romans (electronic ed., p. 450). Simpsonville, SC:
Christian Classics Foundation.
[5] Paul believe Jesus Christ is God. ".
. . is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." -- The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 9:5). Wheaton: Standard
Bible Society.
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