Charles Spurgeon Commentary Romans 8:7

"because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be:" — Romans 8:7 (ASV)

Because the careful mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The old nature is hopelessly bad. There is no mending it. It is enmity, not merely at enmity; but it is absolutely enmity. It is not subject to God's law, and you cannot make it so.

For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The opponents of the free-grace gospel, which it is our delight to preach, assert that men can be saved if they will. They claim that men most certainly can repent, believe, and come to God of their own free will, and that if they are not saved, it is not due to any defect in their own powers.

Now, we are not very inclined to dispute that point. However, at the same time, we do not understand the meaning of this verse if what they say is correct. It says here, The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Some say that men could repent if it were their inclination.

Exactly; but that is what we assert—that it never will be and never can be their inclination, unless they are constrained to do so by the grace of God.

Rowland Hill uses a very remarkable and odd metaphor in his "Village Dialogues." Two parties are speaking together on this subject.

One of them, pointing to the cat sitting on the hearth, says, "Do you see that cat? She sits there, licks her paws, and washes herself clean." "I see that," said the other.

"Well," said the first speaker, "did you ever hear of one of the hogs taken out of the sty that did so?" "No," he said. "But he could if he liked," said the other.

Ah, truly, he could if he liked; but it is not according to his nature. You never saw such a thing done, and until you have changed the swine's nature, he cannot perform such a good action. God's Word says the same about man.

We do not care about fifty thousand aphorisms, or syllogisms, or anything else; God's Word against man's, any day. Jesus said, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. The carnal mind is enmity against God. Men cannot come to Jesus unless the Father draws them to Him.

We assert that, from first to last, the work of salvation is all of grace; and we are not afraid of any licentious tendency of that doctrine, or anything of the kind.

God's Word, in all its simplicity, must be preached, and we leave Him to take care of His own truth. Blessed be God, this humbling truth is of far more use than the other doctrine, which puffs men up with pride, telling them that they can perform what they most assuredly cannot do.

It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.