Interpreting Romans 8 in Light of Paul's Use of the Old Testament

Introduction

Romans 8 seems to include a reflection on several Old Testament passages.  While only one is directly quoted, Psalm 44.22 in Romans 8.36, two others have been missed by commentators.  All three Old Testament texts have to do with suffering and pose a problem that needs resolution.  This essay seeks to demonstrate that Paul does, indeed, allude to Exodus 2.23-25 and Psalm 89 in Romans 8, and it intends to show how observing these allusions will help to interpret his arguments.  Standard interpretations of Romans 8 do not benefit from understanding the role of these Old Testament texts for Paul.[1] 

I intend to prove—to the extent that we can do so when speaking of allusions in texts—that these Old Testament texts focus our reading of Romans 8 on the corporate people of God, not individual salvation, explain the problem of God’s steadfast love in the face of suffering, and shed light on some of Paul’s Christology in this chapter.  Attention to these texts also helps to explain why Paul’s next section in Romans, chapter 9-11, is the next step in his overall argument.

Exodus 2:23-25 and Romans 8.22-30

The allusion in Romans 8.22-30 to Exodus 2.23-25 might be established on the basis of content and verbal parallels.  Israel is said to groan under the labours (‘works’) that they experienced in Egyptian slavery.  The word for groaning is the compound verb, kateste,naxan (Exod. 2.23), and the noun, stenagmo.n (Exod. 2.24).  Paul uses the simple form of the verb in Rom. 8.22-23:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together [sustena,zei] in the pains of childbirth until now.  ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan [stena,zomen] inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

The Israelites, moreover, are called the ‘sons of Israel’ (oi` ui`oi. Israhl; vv. 24-25—and elsewhere in the passage).  Paul, too, has in mind the ‘sonship’ of believers in Rom. 8.15-17, 23.  Exodus 2 begins the story of Israel’s redemption from slavery in Egypt.  Israel’s oppression is described, and Israel is shown to be waiting for redemption.  Paul speaks of the groaning that creation is experiencing as it awaits our ‘adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies’ (v. 23).  God promises to ‘redeem’ Israel, again said to ‘groan’ because of their slavery, in Exod. 6.5-6:

Moreover, I have heard the groaning [stenagmo.n] of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.  ⁶ Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

The significance of Paul’s usage of Exodus 2.23-25 lies in observing Paul’s narrative analogies between creation, Israel, and Paul’s Christian audience.  Paul is not exegeting Exodus 2.23-25 but interpreting salvation history narrativally.  He sees the story of Israel paradigmatically.  The sufferings of Israel in Egypt are like the sufferings of all creation in the world.  Israel’s groanings are like creation’s groanings.  God hears Israel’s groanings and remembers His covenant, just as we who have the Spirit groan inwardly (Rom. 8.23), the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings (Rom. 8.26), and God knows the mind of the Spirit (Rom. 8.27).

Psalm 89 and Romans 8

Psalm 89 has several parts.  The psalm begins as a song about God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (vv. 1-18).  It then focusses on God’s eternal covenant with His anointed, King David, and his offspring (vv. 19-37).  It concludes with an appeal because God is angry with and has cast off His anointed, renounced His covenant, and the nations are mocking the psalmist (vv. 38-52).  The final section connects with the first and second sections as the psalmist asks, ‘Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?’ (v. 49).

This psalm, like Romans 8.17-39, has in view (1) suffering and (2) God’s steadfast love.  The Davidic focus of Psalm 89 allows a messianic reading, and therefore a Christological interpretation.

The third section of Psalm 89 not only relates to Romans 8.18-27, with the focus on suffering.  It also raises the question of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness towards His covenant people.  Having broadened the focus to the suffering of all creation, Paul turns to the question of God’s rejection of His covenant with His chosen people, Israel, in Romans 9-11.  Interestingly, Paul begins Rom. 12.1 with an appeal based on the mercies of God.  There is no verbal connection to Psalm 89 here, but Paul believes that he has solved the problem of divine rejection and established God’s mercy by this point in Romans: God’s steadfast love and faithfulness have been vindicated.

There are some verbal parallels to note between Psalm 89 and Romans 8.  First, Paul uses a somewhat rare word for ‘help’ (sunantilamba,nomai) that is also found in the psalm.  He does not use this word elsewhere.  In the psalm, God helps (His hand supports) David; in Rom. 8, the Spirit helps believers in their weakness.

Another parallel comes with the similar rhetorical questioning that points out God’s greatness to save His people.  In Psalm 89, we read:

For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,  ⁷ a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?  ⁸ O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?    

In Romans 8.31-35, we read:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.  ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died- more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

There is another theological parallel between Psalm 89 (this is only seen in the LXX) and Romans, although it comes earlier in Rom. 3: boasting (kau,chma) is in God, not in our own works.  The psalmist says,

LXX Psalm 89:15-18 Blessed is the people that knows the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.  ¹⁶ And in thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.  ¹⁷ For thou art the boast (kau,chma) of their strength; and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted,  ¹⁸ for our help is of the Lord; and of the Holy One of Israel, our king.[2]

Paul asks,

Romans 3:27-28 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.  ²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Two striking parallels between Psalm 89 and Romans 8 may be shown in the following comparison:

Romans 8:15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"	Psalm 89.26 He [the Davidic King] shall cry to me, 'You are my Father [Aramaic: aba, Abba], my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'
Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.	Psalm 89.27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

 We see two things in these two allusions to Psalm 89.  First, Paul makes the expected connection between the Davidic king in this messianic psalm and Jesus Christ.  Second, the cry of ‘Abba’ is not only the cry of the Davidic king but also of all God’s people.  Paul extends the idea of David’s offspring (Psalm 89.19), his heirs, to all those in Christ.  Those led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom. 8.14), heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ (Rom. 8.17).  There is also the link between David’s being adopted as a son and our adoption as sons of God (Rom. 8.15).  When God establishes his covenant with David and his house, the language of adoption is used—and the passage is parallel to Psalm 89:[3]

2 Samuel 7:14-16 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,  ¹⁵ but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.  ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'

We gain an understanding of Paul’s ecclesiology here.  This is what it means to be ‘in Christ,’ a favourite phrase for Paul.  Christ is the heir to the Davidic promise, the Messiah; as David’s descendants inherited the adoption as God’s sons, so those ‘in Christ’ inherit His sonship.

The eternal promise of God to David and his descendants (Psalm 89.33-36) is also extended to Christians by Paul: nothing can separate them from God:

Romans 8.38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul’s Narrative Hermeneutic

Exodus 2 has in view the sufferings of God’s people in Egypt before the exodus.  Psalm 89 has in view the sufferings of God’s people, particularly in regard to the loss of Davidic rule, in the exile.  Paul generalizes these historical moments of suffering to all creation, including the people of God.  He does not lose sight of the historical issue—he will address it full on in Romans 9-11 in regard to Israel’s covenant status and yet rejection.  The story of Israel, though, is paradigmatic for the story of humanity.  Their suffering is like the suffering of all creation, which is like Christians’ suffering in Christ.  Their groanings are like the groanings of all creation.  Their covenant assurances about God’s faithfulness are now also ours.  Their trust in God’s steadfast love is equally our faith in God’s mercies.  The assurances of God’s redemption, steadfast love, and faithfulness are the same for Israel in Egypt, Israel in exile, and Christians placing their faith in God.

Romans 8.28-30: The Missional Role of God’s Suffering and Glorified People

By reading Romans 8.18-39 in light of Exodus 2.23-25 and Psalm 89, given the verbal, content, and theological parallels, we gain some insight into Paul’s point in Romans 8.28-30:

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The final statement, ‘those whom he justified he also glorified,’ seems rather odd if Paul has in view Christians who still anticipate being glorified sometime in the future at the resurrection.  However, if Paul is not reflecting on a future glorification but on God’s glorification of His chosen people, a past tense is understandable.  That is, if Paul is thinking paradigmatically or analogically with the story of Israel, the past tense of ‘glorified’ makes sense.  God’s plan leads to His glorification of a people that they might fulfill their missionary role in the world.  This brings Isaiah 55.1-5 into focus, where glorified (past tense) Israel leads it to fulfill its missiological role among the nations.  Note in this passage that God's steadfast love and God's covenant with David are also in view, as in Psalm 89:

Isaiah 55:1-5  "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.  ⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.  ⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

To be ‘glorified’ is to be made God’s righteous and missionary people.  I am arguing that Paul is thinking of God's glorified people and not of the Christian’s glorified, resurrection body.  He is not thinking individually, as though Rom. 8.28-30 is about an individual Christian’s order of salvation.  He is thinking about the people of God, with Exodus 2.23-25 and Psalm 89 in view and, quite possibly, Isaiah 55.1-5 (especially v. 5) as well.  Paul’s point is that, despite suffering, God’s redemption--His steadfast love and faithfulness--has brought about His plan to establish a glorified people that extends God’s mission to the nations.

Psalm 44.22 and Romans 8.36

The problem to resolve in Exodus 2.23-25 is that God’s people are suffering as slaves in Egypt.  The problem to resolve in Psalm 89 is that God’s eternal covenant with David has been broken, and this raises questions about His steadfast love and faithfulness.  Psalm 44 is a protest: why, if God’s people have not forgotten Him or been false to God’s covenant (v. 17), has God abandoned them to their enemies?  ‘…You have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death’ (Ps. 44.19).  The verse that Paul quotes, v. 22, says, ‘Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’  The psalm concludes with an appeal to God to wake up (v. 23) and redeem His people ‘for the sake of your steadfast love’ (v. 23).  The psalm has three parts: (1) a rehearsal of how God has helped His people in the past (vv. 1-8); (2) a statement of the conundrum that a righteous people is in, since he or she is righteous but also afflicted by enemies (vv. 9-22): and (3) an appeal for God to help (vv. 23-26).

Paul quotes the psalm in Romans 8.36.  His list of enemies of God’s people includes ‘tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword’ (v. 35).  Unlike the psalmist, Paul does not appeal for God’s help but affirms that, indeed, we are ‘conquerors through him who loved us’ (Rom. 8.37).  The psalmist asks God to intervene for the sake of his steadfast love (v. 23); Paul says,

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8.38-39).

Note that God's steadfast love in Psalm 89, Psalm 44, and Isaiah 55 is also Paul's concern in Romans 8.37 and 39.  The same linking of suffering and God's steadfast love in these Psalms is found in Romans 8.18-39.  Thus, Paul's entire discussion in this section involves the use of Old Testament texts concerned with the suffering of God's people and the certainty of God's love.

Conclusion

Paul’s allusion to Exodus 2.23-25 and Psalm 89 and his quotation from Psalm 44.22 involve his introducing three Old Testament passages into his argument in Romans 8.  (Isaiah 55.1-5 may also be in view.)  These passages address a problem: God’s (apparent) absence when His people are suffering.  By interacting with these texts, Paul is able to acknowledge the suffering of God's people and also affirm hope in God’s steadfast love.

His engagement with these texts also accomplishes some further theological points.  While none of the Old Testament texts mentions the Holy Spirit, Romans 8 turns to the work of the Spirit of God in accomplishing righteousness and interceding for Christians facing suffering.  The Spirit brings a partial resolution to the problem of suffering as He gives assurance to us of our adoption as sons of God and He communicates our suffering to the Father.  Psalm 89 is a messianic psalm, and this allows Paul to bring out a Christological focus: God accomplishes His plan through Jesus Christ.  Finally, Paul makes the theological connection between Israel and the Christian Church, both God’s people, and the Davidic (messianic) king, Jesus, and his heirs, Christians.  They are assured of God’s steadfast love despite the ongoing suffering in the world.  They, as God's righteous and glorified people, fit into God's plan for the world (a subject for the following chapters, 9-11).

An implication of this intertextual reading of Romans 8 is that the chapter is mostly about the people of God, not individual Christians.  Of course, the two are related: the people of God are made up of individual Christians.  Yet Paul’s language, use of Old Testament texts, and purposes have to do with the community of God.  Paul is not trying to offer counselling about personal suffering in Romans 8.28.  All things work together for good for God’s people, as in Exodus 2, Psalm 89, and Psalm 44.  Paul is not offering an order of salvation or offering an election theology for individuals in Romans 8.29-30.  He is thinking about how God has brought about His complete plan for His chosen people through Jesus Christ.  We can, further, understand the relationship between Jesus as Davidic King and His people in their sonship, suffering, and reception of God’s love.  Paul’s point in Romans 8 is that the Father’s love in Christ and through the Spirit for His people is victorious over sin and suffering.

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[1] My purpose in this article is not to interact with all the scholarly writings on Romans 8.  I would note, though, that Douglas Moo, Robert Jewett, and Craig Keener do not see the importance of these three texts for Paul in Romans 8, and only Psalm 44, where we find the quotation, is discussed.  See Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996); Robert Jewett, Romans (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007).  Craig Keener makes note of Exodus 2.23—Romans (New Covenant Commentary Series, Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2009), p. 106.

[2] Normally, the Septuagint (LXX) numbering differs from the Hebrew and English numbering of the Psalms. Our Psalm, 89, is actually Psalm 88 in the LXX.  In the translation used, however, this is ‘corrected’: references to the LXX are given as Psalm 89.  The translation used here is: The English Translation of The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton (London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1844, 1851); available on BibleWorks.

[3] Cf. James M. Scott, Adoption as Sons of God: An Exegetical Investigation into the Background in the Pauline Corpus (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2^nd series, no. 48; Mohr Siebeck, 1992).

Regarding the 'Spiritual Friendship' Perspective and the Revoice Conference

My previous post addressed the 'Spiritual Friendship' and Revoice Conference (coming shortly in July, 2018).  The conference is being offered to support the recently developed 'Spiritual Friendship' view, which advocates a view of 'gay identity' without engaging in homosexual relations. Dr. Robert Gagnon has also recently addressed this view.

Along with Rev. Dr. Don Fortson, I published a study of primary source literature on the issue of homosexuality in 2016: Unchanging Witness: The Consistent Christian Teaching on Homosexuality in Scripture and Tradition (B&H Academic).  Dr. Robert Gagnon published his excellent, primary source study on homosexuality in 2002: The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Abingdon Press).  Both works are available from Christian Book Distributors: https://www.christianbook.com.

In response to the 'Spiritual Friendship' view, I addressed the attempt to separate desire from acts in my post and pointed readers to a number of Biblical texts that identify sinful desire as sinful, not neutral.  In so doing, I also tried to move the conversation more to Biblical interpretation than, e.g., a discussion of later theologians, such as St. Augustine.  For my post, see: 'On the Attempt to Distinguish Desire from Sinful Acts,' online: https://bibleandmission.blogspot.com/2018/07/on-attempt-to-distinguish-desire-from.html.

The purpose of this post is to draw interested readers to Robert Gagnon's seven concerns with the 'Spiritual Friendship' view.  I offer Gagnon's concerns as an affirmation of my own essay, and I fully concur with his points.  Another blogger, Douglas Wilson, has posted Gagnon's essay, 'Concerns with the upcoming Revoice Conference and Spiritual Friendship Folk,' since his post was deleted by the Facebook police.  See: https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/the-facebook-penalty-box.html.

On the Attempt to Distinguish Desire from Sinful Acts

Introduction

This blog post addresses the distinction sometimes made between desire and acts.  Some have used this distinction to suggest that only actions are sinful whereas the desire is not.  Such a distinction fails rather roundly in the court of Scripture, as this blog post will demonstrate.  Its application to sexual ethics, and to homosexuality in particular, has become a fateful error in pastoral counselling.  ‘Spiritual friendship’ is a recent view currently on offer.  It affirms being ‘gay’ as an internal good rather than an internal disorder while insisting that people not act out their same-sex desire.  The distinction between desire and sinful acts cannot, however, be Biblically maintained. On the contrary, the Gospel offers so much more.

The Distinction between Desire and Sinful Acts

Denny Burke and Rosaria Butterfield have recently addressed the distinction between desire and acts as an old distinction between Roman Catholic and Reformed teaching on sin.[1]  While this rather narrows the discussion in historical theology (why only ‘Reformed,’ e.g.?), they do shed light on the theological roots of the present discussion.  This will be helpful to outline in brief.

Burke and Butterfield, referring to his sermons on Romans 7, believe that Augustine’s mature views are clear and support the view that desires are not neutral but may be sinful.  As Augustine says:[2]

[Paul] gives the name of sin, you see, to that from which all sins spring, namely to the lust of the flesh (Sermon 151).

Augustine speaks of ‘bad desire’ and says the holy life entails continuous warfare against these desires and carrying through the evil (Sermon 151.7).  This lustful and covetous body will desist only when believers put on immortality (a reference to 1 Corinthians 15.54-55; Sermon 151.8).  During this life, Augustine says, we are engaged in a war with our sinful desires:

But if with the spirit you put to death the doings of the flesh, you shall live (Rom 8:13).  That is our work in this life, with the spirit to put to death the doings of the flesh; every day to afflict them, diminish them, rein them in, do away with them.  How many things, I ask you, no longer delight those who are making progress, which previously used to delight them?  So, when something used to give delight, and was not consented to, it was being put to death…. when it begins not to be pleasurable at all, you have put it to death.  This is our action, this is our warfare.  While we are wrestling in this context, we have God as a spectator; when we are in trouble in this contest, we can ask for God as helper.  Because if he doesn’t help us himself, we won’t be able, I don’t say to win, but even to fight (Sermon 156.9).

Burke and Butterfield claim that Roman Catholic teaching did not follow Augustine on this point.  This does not seem to be the case.  In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, homosexual acts are said to be ‘intrinsically disordered’ as they are contrary to natural law by closing ‘the sexual act to the gift of life’ and ‘do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity’ (Article 6, The Sixth Commandment II, 2357).  It then says of homosexual inclinations [desires] that they are ‘objectively disordered,’ must bear any suffering they experience by uniting it to the Lord’s Cross (2358), live in chastity, and ‘gradually approach Christian perfection’ through self-mastery, the help of disinterested friendship, through prayer, and by sacramental grace (2359).  The language of ‘sin’ is not used here, but the view is that  both acts and desires are wrong and Christians should make progress in this fight—rather like Augustine said.

Burke and Butterfield argue that John Calvin agreed with Augustine’s mature view on desire (concupiscence, lust) as sinful:

We hold that there is always sin in the saints, until they are freed from their mortal frame, because depraved concupiscence resides in their flesh, and is at variance with rectitude. Augustine himself does not always refrain from using the name of sin, as when he says, “Paul gives the name of sin to that carnal concupiscence from which all sins arise. This in regard to the saints loses its dominion in this world, and is destroyed in heaven.” In these words he admits that believers, in so far as they are liable to carnal concupiscence, are chargeable with sin (Institutes 3.3.10).

Burke and Butterfield state their own position as follows:[3]

We Reformed Protestants believe that original sin, actual sin, and indwelling sin all condemn us. We know that for some of us, same-sex desire is Adam’s thumbprint on our lives. We do not believe that baptism removes original sin. Nor do we believe that redemption in Christ makes all effects of our sinful nature disappear. Redemption gives us ransom and Christ’s power and compassion to fight against our sinful nature, but until the final consummation we groan, struggling against indwelling sin and longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven (2 Cor. 5:2). 

Burke and Butterfield are countering the view of Ron Belgau[4] and Wesley Hill.[5]  These two authors advocate a view of homosexuality that affirms that homosexual acts are sinful but insists that homosexual orientation (desire) is not sinful.  In fact, Wesley Hill has argued—on the basis of his own experience—that being gay has its own good ends:[6]

Being gay is, for me, as much a sensibility as anything else: a heightened sensitivity to and passion for same-sex beauty that helps determine the kind of conversations  I have, which people I’m drawn to spend time with, what novels and poems and films I enjoy, the particular visual art I appreciate, and also, I think, the kind of friendships I pursue and try to strengthen. I don’t imagine I would have invested half as much effort in loving my male friends, and making sacrifices of time, energy, and even money on their behalf, if I weren’t gay.  My sexuality, my basic erotic orientation to the world, is inescapably intertwined with how I go about finding and keeping friends. 

This is not different from Plato’s distinctions in the Phaedrus between universals and particulars regarding love, although Hill wishes to say that the latter (sexual acts) are not indifferent but may be sinful.  The universal of ‘spiritual friendship,’ as Hill calls it, though, may be related to the Good.

The articulation of a view is not, of course, an argument for it, although people are often duped into thinking that a clearly stated position is actually an argument.  Belgau and Hill, for their part, attempt to offer a clear articulation of their position and also offer their personal experiences as arguments.  Burke and Butterfield approach the matter with Scriptural arguments, and their suggested texts include passages with ‘desire/passion’ (epithymia) in them.  They mention James 1.14; Rom. 6.11-12; 1 Pt. 1.14; and 2.11.  This is an appropriate approach to forming a Biblical argument, and they might have included a number of other texts of the same sort (with epithymia).

As already noted in Philo’s Special Laws 3, the 10^th Commandment concludes the list of commandments with a command against sinful desire:

Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."

For Philo, this 10th Commandment turns the focus on sinful acts to that of sinful desire.  As such, it is a commandment that captures all else, since all sinful acts stem from sinful desire.  New Testament texts using the term ‘epithymia’ (desire, covetousness, concupiscence, lust) will often find their basis in this commandment.  Paul, like Philo, finds the cause of sinful acts in sinful desire, for which he uses the term 'flesh' (sarx) most often, but also the 10th Commandment's term 'desire' (epithymia).  In the Biblical texts, sin is not only a matter of actions but also of desires.  

Consider the following passages:

Romans 1:24-28  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts [epithymais] of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  ²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions [‘dishonourable things’—‘passions’ is added to the translation]. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion [literally, ‘enflamed in their desire (orexei)] for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.  ²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Romans 6:11-13 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.  ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [Note: Sin is presented as a power, distinct from acts, whose desires and acts are all part of sinful power.]

Romans 7:8  But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness [epithymian]. Apart from the law, sin lies dead.  [Note: Sin is here identified with desire.]

Romans 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. [Note: Earlier, Paul referenced several of the 10 Commandments, including the 10^th Commandment not to ‘covet’ (epithymia).  Here he concludes his point not to give in to sinful desires by committing sinful acts (listed in v. 13).  Note that the ‘flesh’ is what desires: Paul does not distinguish immaterial desire from material flesh.]

Galatians 5:16-18  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires [epithymian] of the flesh.  ¹⁷ For the desires [epithymei: ‘what the flesh desires…’] of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  [Note: Verse 17 must be read in context with the previous and following verses: Paul is not affirming a constant fight between the flesh and the Spirit but a victory over the flesh through the empowering presence of God’s Spirit.[7]]

 Ephesians 2:3-6 … among whom we all once lived in the passions [epithymais] of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved-  ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus….

Ephesians 4:20-25 But that is not the way you learned Christ!-  ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,  ²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires [epithymais],  ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds [noos],  ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.  ²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  [Note: the parallel to this point in Romans is Romans 1.28 and 12.2, where Paul moves from the ‘depraved mind’ (1.28) to the ‘transformed mind’ (12.2).  The internal disordering of sin is overcome in Christ by God’s mercy, and, in light of this divine empowerment, the believer is able to and must no longer be conformed to ‘this world’ but be transformed or renewed by the renewing of his or her mind.]

Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  [Note: the sins listed here are not actions but desires, except for the first (porneia).]

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;  ⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,  ⁵ not in the passion of lust [en pathei epithymias] like the Gentiles who do not know God…. [Paul does not entertain a distinction between good passion and immoral acts but sees both as the result of not knowing God.]

2 Timothy 2:21-22 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.  ²² So flee youthful passions [epithymais] and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  [Paul contrasts passions to righteousness, faith, love, peace, and a pure heart.  As is typical of New Testament ethics, ethics begins with a transformed heart and is not limited to actions.]

2 Timothy 3:6-7 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions [epithymiais],  ⁷ always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions [epithymias],  ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,  ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions [epithymias], and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,  ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,  ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions [epithymiais] and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

James’s anatomy of desire entails the progression from desire to temptation to sin to death:

James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Peter distinguishes ‘human passions’ from ‘the will of God’:

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh [tōn sarkikōn epithymiōn], which wage war against your soul.

1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions [epithymiais] of your former ignorance….

1 Peter 4:1-3 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,  ² so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions [epithymiais] but for the will of God.  ³ The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions [epithymiais], drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

Moreover, as we see in 2 Peter and Jude, sinful desire is the reason for the corruption of the divine nature and characteristic of the unrighteous, but believers have been delivered from this:

2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,  ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

2 Peter 2:9-10 … then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,  ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion [epithymia] and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones….

2 Peter 2:18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions [epithymiais] of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires [epithymias].

Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires [epithymias]; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Jude 1:18 They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions [epithymias]."

Finally, consider texts with ‘epithymia’ from Mark, John’s Gospel and First John:

Mark 4:19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires [epithymiai] for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires [epithymias]. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world- the desires [epithymia] of the flesh and the desires [epithymia] of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world.

In addition to these texts on desire are several other sorts of passages worth considering in the general discussion.

First, the Old Testament is not simply a law book about actions apart from or distinguishable from the inner person.  Since law is, naturally, focussed on acts, this impression may arise when considering the Old Testament law.  However, the Old Testament itself locates the problem in the sinful heart.  Texts to consider might include the following:

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  [This is said of the state of the world before the flood.]

Deuteronomy 30:6  And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Jeremiah 4:4  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts….

Jeremiah 9:25-26 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh-  ²⁶ Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."

Romans 2:29  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

The new covenant for Israel upon her return from exile would entail a reordering of the inward person to live in obedience to God’s Law.  This reordering or internal change was expressed in terms of receiving God’s Spirit, having God’s words (Law) in one’s mouth, or a writing of the Law on the heart:

Isaiah 59:21  "And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the LORD, "from this time forth and forevermore."

Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,  ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.  ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

Ezekiel 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Jesus’ ministry can be distinguished from John’s ministry in reference to this last passage.  John’s ministry, the baptism for the repentance for the forgiveness of sins, had to do with a cleansing, with the sprinkling of water to remove Israel’s uncleannesses.  Jesus’ ministry went further: it brought about a changed heart and new spirit as a result of God’s indwelling Spirit, who causes us now to walk in His statutes and to obey His rules.  The former ministry cleanses from sin (forgiving grace); the latter is also a change of the heart (transforming grace). 

Thus, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount includes examples of how an external righteousness of the Law requires an internal change of the heart (Matthew 5.20-48).  Not only are actions, such as murder and divorce and remarriage (adultery) in view, but also anger and lust.  Jesus’ ethic of the heart is an ethic of the new covenant, a transformative ethic that refuses any distinction between actions and desires that would consider only the former sinful.  In this, Jesus does not offer a new perspective, for it is already in the prophets, but a new timetable: the Kingdom of God has drawn near (Matthew 4:17).  This is now the time of the new covenant for it is time to come out of exile in sin and enter God’s reign.  God’s reign comes not only with His demand for righteousness but also His forgiveness in Jesus’ substitutionary death and through the empowering Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

Whereas some have thought to distinguish sinful actions from desire by arguing that only the former should be considered sin, Scripture allows no such thing.  The work of Christ, moreover, is not only forgiving grace but also transforming grace, and Jesus’ ethic is not only about actions but also about a changed heart.  The human heart is sinful and the flesh has sinful desires and is opposed to the Spirit.  The Christian life is progressive: we are not immediately and permanently changed upon belief in Christ.  Yet, what distinguishes the Christian from the non-Christian, as Augustine says, is that the holy life engages the fight and is able to do so because God comes to its aid.  This fight is not limited to sinful actions but begins with the transformation of sinful desires.

In conclusion, consider the following statement from Paul on this very matter:

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,  ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will [to thelein] and to work [to energein] for his good pleasure.

Indeed, it is God who works in us both to will and to work—desires and actions—for His good pleasure.

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[1] Denny Burke and Rosaria Butterfield, ‘Learning to Hate our Sin without Hating Ourselves,’ Public Discourse (The Witherspoon Institute: July 4, 2018); online: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2018/07/22066/?utm_source=The+Witherspoon+Institute&utm_campaign=01142fad1c-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_15ce6af37b-01142fad1c-84102557 (accessed 5 July, 2018).

[2] Sermons 151-183 (Vol. III/5), The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21^st Century, trans. Edmund Hill (New City Press, 1992).

[3] Burke and Butterfield, Ibid.

[4] Ron Belgau, ‘In Defense of Spiritual Friendship and Revoice,’ Public Discourse (The Witherspoon Institute; June 24, 2018); online: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2018/06/21927/ (accessed 5 July, 2018).  Also see the Revoice website: http://revoice.us/.

[5] See, e.g., Wesley Hill, ‘Christ, Scripture, and Spiritual Friendship,’ in Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church, ed. Preston Sprinkle (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016); Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian (Brazos, 2015).

[6] Wesley Hill, Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian (Brazos Press, 2015), pp. 80-81.

[7] Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Hendrikson, 2009), ad loc.