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of sin: “O wretched man that I am, who shall
deliver me from the body of this death? 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” (verse
24-25). Paul, although in Christ, was well
aware that he was mortal, thus his struggle.
But he looked forward to the time that he had
preached about for so long, when his Lord
would return to change his body from mortal
to immortal. That was to come!
Adamic condemnation brings a physical
disability inherited from Adam. We are freed
from this condemnation and reconciled to God
at baptism. But, we are not freed from the
physical disability until the change of the body.
Who are in Christ? Being ‘in Christ’ means
much more than being dependent upon Christ
or being a follower of Christ. We should be ‘in
Christ’. Salvation is not assured. It is condi-
tional. Ellicott’s commentary says this: “A
result is thus attained which the Law of Moses
could not accomplish, but which is accom-
plished in the Gospel. The Christian is entirely
freed from the law of sin and death and from
the condemnation it entails. But he is so upon
the condition that this freedom is for him a
reality, that it really proceeds from the
indwelling spirit of Christ”.
We pray that our Lord will soon return to
establish his Father’s Kingdom and, in His
mercy, allow us to worship Him in the strength
of immortality.
“I Have Kept the Faith”
T
he Apostle Paul in his Epistle to Timothy
summed up the meaning of “Christian
pilgrimage” in words that are well known to
Bible readers everywhere: “I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4.7). What a wealth of
meaning there is in these words: he had waged
a continual Christian warfare as a good soldier
of Christ, always on service, zealous, uncom-
plaining, vigilant and patient.
He also saw his pilgrimage as a long course to
be travelled. He found it arduous at times, but
in spite of the ups and downs, the distresses
and the frustrations, he trod the path to the
end, esteeming it a joy for the things he
believed.
The great thing was that Paul kept the faith.
He remained true to the things he had
espoused, even the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He
was a living example of the faith, carrying the
light of Christ wherever he went, not sparing
himself.
In the fullness of faith he was able to say: “I
press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philipp.
3.14). This indeed typified his whole life;
there was the forward march in the things of
God, the reaching out to the Lord Jesus Christ,
who only can offer salvation through his own
name.
These things must have meaning for the
brethren and sisters today, if we are to be
among that great company who shall stand
approved at the last day.
The Apostle to the Gentiles has shown us the
way in which we ought to walk. There can be
no standing still in the Truth, and we must
individually and collectively go forward in
unity and love, to the salvation that can be
ours by the grace of God. We have no right-
eousness of our own for we continually fall
short of our vocation in Jesus, and yet God is
able to justify us by faith and grant us a place
in His Kingdom.
D.M.E.
“And they that know thy name
will put their trust in thee:
for thou, LORD, hast not
forsaken them that seek thee.”
Psalm 9:10
M
y job is to take care of the
possible and trust God with
the impossible.