Romans

In my daily Bible reading this year, I have opted to read commentaries along with the particular portion of Scripture I am reading. Having picked up John Murray's commentary on Romans (Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans: the English Text with Introduction, Exposition and Notes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968. Print.), I have decided to take the plunge into Romans. This will be a long endeavour; the commentary is over 600 pages. But, it will clearly be a valuable journey.

I have enjoyed reading articles by John Murray and recently I was edified by reading his classic book on the order of salvation; Redemption Accomplished and Applied. His introduction in this commentary on Romans suggests I will thoroughly enjoy and profit from his writing again.

From the Introduction:

"Where faith is it seeks the fellowship of the saints." (xvii)

"The gospel as the power of God unto salvation is meaningless apart from sin, condemnation, misery, and death." (xxiii)

"It is upon that degradation [sin and depravity of humans] that the righteousness of God supervenes, and the glory of the gospel is that in the gospel is made manifest a righteousness of God which meets all the exigencies of our sin at the lowest depths of iniquity and misery." (xxiii)

"To be subject to the wrath of God is the epitome of human misery." (xxiii)

"To question the reality of wrath as an "attitude of God towards us" and construe it merely as "some process or effect in the realm of objective facts" is to miss the meaning of God's holiness as he reacts against that which is the contradiction of himself. God's righteousness revealed in the gospel is the provision of his grace to meet the exigency of his wrath. And nothing discloses its glory and efficacy more than this." (xxiii-xxiv)

" And human righteousness is the essence of the religion of this world in contradiction to the gospel of God." (xxiv)

"Only a God-righteousness can measure up to the desperateness of our need and make the power of the gospel the power of God unto salvation." (xxiv)

"Here [3:21-26] it is made clear that this righteousness [God-righteousness] comes through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus and the propitiation which is in his blood. Justification with God is that which is that which this righteousness secures and propitiation is God's own provision to show forth his justice that he may be just and the justifier of the ungodly." (xxiv)

"Furthermore, by union with Christ we have come under the reign of grace and sin can no longer exercise the dominion." (xxv)

This [the reign of grace] is the basis and assurance of sanctification. Christ died for us-this is our justification. But if he died for us, we also died with him-this is the guarantee of sanctification." (xxv)