Romans 8:1 – Beware The Leaven

SCRIPTURE There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

COMMENTARY Allow me to intentionally make a hyperbolic statement here. A misunderstanding of Romans 7 along with a shortened version of Romans 8:1 may result in more Christians being separated from God than any other verse in Scripture. Let me say this again: a misunderstanding of Romans 7 along with a shortened version of Romans 8:1 may result in more Christians being separated from God than any other verse in Scripture. Quite a statement. Why would I say such a thing?

First, Romans 8:1 is a passage that is not consistent in all Bibles. There is a huge difference between different versions of this verse. Most of you know the differences.

Version 1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Version 2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

There is actually a third version of the verse as well.

Version 3 “Therefore now nothing of condemnation is to them that be in Christ Jesus, which wander not after the flesh.”

Most earlier Bibles use the longer verse, whereas most modern Bibles use the shorter verse. However, the difference is critical. One is a statement with a condition and the other is a statement without a stated condition (actually two of the three verse versions have conditions), although I would submit that looking through Scripture even God’s promises without specific conditions often show themselves to have had unstated conditions.

Most manuscripts actually reflect the longer verse, but some earlier manuscripts reflect the shorter verse. Tyndale, Wycliff, and KJV (based on the Textus Receptus) all use the longer verse. “The Greek phrase me kata sarka peripatousin alla kata penuma (who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit) is supported by the vast majority of Greek manuscripts. Among them are 33, 88, 104, 181, 326, 330, 451, 614, 630, 1241, 1877, 1962, 1984, 1985, 2492, and 2495. These date from the eleventh to the fifteenth century. The phrase is also included in Codex K (ninth century), Codex P (ninth century), and stands in the margin of Codex Sinaiticus. This is also the reading of the majority of Greek lectionaries. Early versions that contain the phrase include some Old Latin manuscripts (such as ar and o), the Syriac Harclean version, and the Georgian version. Another textual variant that contains part of the phrase reads me kata sarka peripatousin (who walk not after the flesh). This is the reading found in Codex A, Codex D06, Codex, Y, and several minuscules (such as 81, 256, 263, 365, 629, 1319, 1573, 1852, and 2127). It is also the reading of the Latin Vulgate (fourth century. and the Old Syriac Peshitta. The longer reading in part or in whole has massive and ancient textual support”[1]

We might ask why most modern interpreters would choose the shorter verse. There are a variety of reasons why this may be so, but in the end, I believe it is likely the result of faulty decision making and doctrinal bias as we will see below. The reason? The shortened verse is not consistent with the rest of Scripture, nor even Romans chapter 8. A very similar idea is presented in Romans 8:4, yet few pastors will quote this verse and certainly not at the frequency they do Romans 8:1. In addition, Romans 8:12-13 also reflect the same idea in the extended version of Romans 8:1. The fact that there are three different interpretations held by the modern church between Romans 8:1 and Romans 8:4 with the former repeatedly quoted and the latter rarely quoted, should tell us all we need to know. Those who are selecting and interpreting the various manuscripts often carry their own theological biases into the process (extreme example: The Message Bible). This is one of the places where we observe that the difference in a Bible can make a huge difference.

Even a claim that earlier manuscripts are more accurate is an assumption. For example, perhaps in the earliest manuscripts the copyist (because we have no originals) made the mistake of omitting the remainder of the verse. This certainly happened with the Torah which was painstakingly copied by hand. If a mistake was made and discovered during copying, it was destroyed and a new scroll started. If the error was discovered shortly thereafter, once again that scroll was remade and the earlier version destroyed.

Second, as we stated above, and perhaps more importantly, the shorter verse is actually out of context with the rest of Scripture. We have already mentioned that the unconditioned statement (that is the shorter version of Romans 8:1) is out of context even with Romans 8:4 and Romans 8:12-13, both a few verses later, but there are plenty of other verses it is also out of context with. This is why it is so dangerous.