.$v\>^*''i ^tfttlltfoHtal^ "■ "%, PRINCETON, N. J. % Shelf.. DwisionJOi^D.U O/H" Section . Lrrr... I . I wJ Number .' I : ( ^2^1: '^z: v/ THE LUTHERAN COMMENTARY A PLAIN EXPOSITION OF THE J^olp ^cripturc^ of t\\t |i>cto €c^tamntt BY SCHOLARS OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA EDITED BY HENRY EYSTER JACOBS Vol. VII. mew j[l)orft €f)c Cfjrije^tian literature €o» MDCCCXCV ANNOTATIONS ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL ROMANS AND I. CORINTHIANS, Chaps. I.-VI. y/ BY HENRY E. JACOBS, D.D., LL.D. Professor of Systematic Theology, Ltdliera7i Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa, flew JJorft €l)c Cjjrij^tian Ititcratutc Co, MUCCCXCVI. Copyright, 1896, BY THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE COMPANY. INTRODUCTION. The Epistle to the Romans is one of the few books of the New Testament, whose genuineness has never been called in question by any critic of standing. The Tubingen school accepted it, with the two Epistles to the Corin- thians and the Epistle to the Galatians, as undoubtedly Pauline. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian quote from it as an Epistle of Paul. It is acknowledged as such by the Gnostics, Basilides, Valentinus, Heracleon, Epiphanes and Theodosius. It is only in respect to the closing chapters, that we find any doubts entertained concerning the integrity, — and that upon entirely insufifi- cient grounds, of which the chief is that the salutations are entirely too numerous to individuals in a church at a place where the Apostle had never been. " The best refutation is a consecutive reading of chapters xii.-xvi. by a reader who does not start with a pedantic theory of what Paul ongJit to have related, or alluded to, or dis- cussed " (MOULE). No intimation is given in the New Testament of the origin of the church at Rome. It appears clear, however, that when this Epistle was written, it had been in exist- ence for many years, ch. i : 8-13 ; 13 : 11, 15. The Jew- ish population of Rome, it is well known from Philo and Josephus, had become numerous. " Strangers of Rome," Acts 2 ; 10, were among the multitude present on the I 2 INTRODUCTION. Day of Pentecost. Among the three thousand converts, we may beUeve, were some who became the nucleus of the Roman congregation. They may have gained con- verts from among their Jewish brethren. The persecu- tion, when Stephen died, that scattered the church at Jerusalem, Acts 8 : i, probably increased the number of. Christians at Rome. With the freedom of movement belonging to the times, many of the Gentiles converted by St. Paul at different places, probably had moved thither. The general dis- satisfaction with the heathen religions that had prepared the way at Rome for the conversion of many heathen to Judaism, operated still more effectually in affording the occasion for many conversions to Christianity. With a nucleus thus formed, the church at Rome seems to be already strong. Composed preponderantly of Gentiles, although including many Jews, it belonged to the domain of the Apostle to the Gentiles. The Greek names in the salutations, the Greek names of the early bishops, the continuance of Greek as the ecclesiastical language for centuries, the Greek inscriptions on the tombs of Chris- tians in the catacombs, confirm the Greek character of the early church at Rome. It was a church chiefly of strangers in the world's capital. Acts 28 : 21, 22 clearly shows that it was scarcely known among the Jews in Rome. The early tradition (Dionysius, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome) that ascribes the founding of the church to Peter during the reign of Claudius (A. D. 41-54) abounds in difficulties that are irreconcilable with the facts recorded in Acts. For example, it reports that Peter founded the church at Rome after founding that at Antioch ; but, according to Acts 11: 19, sqq., he did not found the church at Antioch. There is no allusion to Peter either INTRODUCTION. 3 in this Epistle, or in the Epistles written by Paul from Rome. Besides Paul expressly disclaims building upon another man's foundation, ch. 15 : 20. The Roman church must have had its origin chiefly, even though indirectly, in the missionary activity of Paul. The time of its composition is agreed upon with almost entire unanimity. It was the last of the four Epistles (Galatians, i and 2 Corinthians, Romans), written during his Third Missionary Journey in the Spring of 58 or 59 A. D., just before starting for Jerusalem, where he was imprisoned and whence he was sent to Rome. Phcebe, deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, the eastern harbor of Corinth, was about going to Rome. In the house of Gains, ch. 16: 23, a Corinthian Christian, whom Paul had baptised, he wrote this letter, through Tertius as his amanuensis, for transmission to Rome. In determining its main purpose, it is difficult to dis- tinguish between what belongs to the human author and the providential place this Epistle was intended by a Higher Power to occupy. The Apostle could not have been conscious of the far-reaching significance of this Epistle for the future of the Church. No peculiar circum- stances in the Roman church could have called forth the Epistle. The mere mention of the two words " Rome " and " Christianity " suggests thoughts that rise above all merely local and temporal limitations. As the Apostle of the Gentiles, it was Paul's mission to raise the preach- ing of the Gospel above all merely national circles, and to proclaim it to the whole world, of which Rome was the capital. " It breathes the spirit of a truly imperial ambition." Understanding, with a truly military insight, the strategic importance of cities, Paul seeks to strengthen the position of Christianity in Rome for the conquest of the whole world. Throughout his ministry, his gaze 4 INTRODUCTION. was ever steadfastly fixed on Rome. " I must also see Rome," were his words, Acts 19 : 21. All his other work he seems to regard only preparatory to what was to be done at Rome. The epistle discusses, therefore, the principles that underly this thought of the world-embracing influence of the church at Rome. The thoughts here recorded are not new to the Apostle. They are the mature product of his most profound reflections in his solitary journeys and voyages, and in his efforts to bring the knowledge of Christ to men of all nationalities and of all classes and conditions of life. As at Rome all meet, so at the very idea of Rome, these thoughts are focussed, and flow forth in a continuous discourse by an inner necessity of his nature, impelled and guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Starting with the statement of the design of his Apostleship to bring ** all the nations " into obedience to the faith, ch, i : 5, he expounds the theme of " THE Universality of the Grace of God in Christ." After an Introduction (ch. i : 1-15), the theme is announced, and the argument proceeds : I. All alike under condemnation (i : 18 — 3 : 20). II. All alike are offered Justification by Faith (3 : 21—5 : 21). III. The Universality of grace, no apology for sin (6 : 12 — 8 : 39). IV. Relation of this doctrine to Judaism (9 : i — ii : 36). V. Practical Exhortations (12 : i — 15 : 13). VI. Personal Matters, 15 : 14—16 : 27. Literature. The following commentaries have been freely used in the preparation of this volume. Alford, Henry : The Greek Testament, zvith a Critical IN TROD UC TION. 5 and Exegetical Commentary. Sixth edition, London, Oxford and Cambridge. I. 1871. Anglican. Learned, judicious and to the point. Anselm : Enarrationcs in Epistolam ad Romanos. In Vol. n. Opera Omnia, Cologne, 1712. Patristic. Con- denses results of his predecessors, avoiding many of their aberrations. Frequently striking and suggestive. Balduin, Frederick : Commcntarius in Omnes Epistolas Pauli. Frankfort on the Main, 1664. Balduin was Professor and general Superintendent at Wittenberg. B. 1575, d. 1627. The treatment is exhaustive and dis- criminating, although scholastic in form. Each section of the epistle is discussed under the following heads : (i) Analysis. (2) Paraphrase. (3) Theological questions. (4) Theological aphorisms. The more we have studied this commentary, the greater has been our admiration. Bengel, John Albert : Gnomon. Translation of Vincent and Lewis, Philadelphia, 1862. Too well known to need characterization. Besser, William F. : Bibehtimden. The exposition of Romans fills two volumes. (Halle, 1861.) A series of expository lectures based on very thorough studies, and extensive reading of exegetical, homiletical and devo- tional literature. Combines solidity with deep spir- ituality. Especially valuable for its numerous quotations. Lutheran to the core. Brown, David: Handy Books for Bible Classes ; The Epistle to the Romans. Edinburgh, without date. An excellent outline of the argument, from the Calvinistic standpoint. The same author has published a valuable exposition in the Jameson, Fausset and Brown series of Commentaries. Calovius, Abraham : Biblia Illustrata. Vol. IV., Dresden and Leipsic, 1719. Includes and criticises the 6 INTRODUCTION. exposition of Grotius, A work of stupendous industry and sober judgment. Particularly valuable for its long and thorough excursuses. The exegesis of Calovius is always running into Dogmatics and Polemics ; but it dare not be ignored by any scholar who aims at thorough- ness. He was Professor at Wittenberg, and the foremost Lutheran controversialist of his age. Calvin, John: hi Novum Test anient um Commentarii. Edited by Tholuck. Berlin, 1834. Calvin's great strength was as an exegete. A model of clearness and acuteness, that deserves far more attention than is usually given it. Chalmers, Thomas : Lectures on the Epistle to the Romans. New York, 1843. Expository Lectures of extraordinary diffuseness. Argumentative throughout. Chalmers was the great theologian and religious leader of the Free Church of Scotland. Calvinistic. GiFFORD, E. H. : Romans in Speakers Commentary. New York, 1881. Based on Meyer arid Philippi. Anglican. GODET, F. : Commentary on Romans. Translated from the French by Rev. A. Cusin. Revised and edited by Talbot W. Chambers, New York, 1889. One of the most readable commentaries ever published, combining thoroughness of exegetical investigation and scientific method with theological insight, clear and almost popular style, and great practical force. Avoids diffuse- ness and keeps close to the argument, with occasional scintillations of thought and pointed remarks showing the genius of the author. Calvinistic. Hodge, Charles : Commentary. New Edition. Phila- delphia, 1883. Sober and theological. Represents mild Calvinism. HUNNIUS, ^GIDIUS : Thesaurus Apostolicus, coniplcc- INTR OD UC TION. 7 tens Commentarios in onincs Novi Testamenti Epistolas. Wittenberg, 1705. Hunnius was Professor at Marburg and Wittenberg. B. 1550, d. 1603. First gives an analy- sis, and then deduces theological topics from each verse. Mild in temper, but most decided in its Lutheran position. LiDDON, H. P. : Explanatory Analysis. London, 1893. A posthumous work of the greatest Anglican theologian of this century. It was first printed for use in the class room. The work is done with the greatest minuteness, and presents the thoroughly logical character of Paul's treatment, as it is found nowhere else. He acknowledges Meyer's suggestions as the source of his elaboration, but also uses Philippi freely. Accompanied by many illustra- tions and references of great value, especially from clas- sical and patristic sources, and translated German works. While there is little original work done, the book, by its striking methods, marks an advance in the presentation of the subject. The great defect is the lack of acquaint- ance with Luther, Melanchthon and Calvin, and in fact with all the theology of the Reformation, which it shows. This results in a misunderstanding of the doctrine of justification. See especially on p. 85, where faith is represented as justifying simply as " the initial act of union with God." \\\ justice to Dr Liddon it must be said that he did not publish his commentary, partly because he was dissatisfied with the treatment of the first portion of the book. LUTHARDT, C. E. : Die Lchrc von den letzten Dingen. Leipzig, 1 861. Contains an exegetical treatment of Chap. 1 1 : 11-32. Kiirzgefasster Commentar zn den Jieiligen ScJiriften. Edited by Strack and Zockler. Commentary on Romans. Nordlingen, 1887. A compact summary of results. 8 INTR OD UC TION. Melanchthon, Philip: Annotationes (1529, 1530, 1539); Comment arii{\^jy2, 1540,1544); Enarratio {i$s6, 1558, 1561), Constantly uses the text as a starting-point for discussion of dogmatical and ethical questions. Abounds in happy definitions. Introduction especially important. Too frequently runs into diffuse discussions. These three works are contained in Vol. XV. of the Corpus Reformatorum, Halle, 1848. Meyer, H. A. W. : Commentary, translated from the German by Moore and Johnson. Edited by Dickson and Dwight. New York, 1884. See WEISS, B. MOULE, H. C. G. : The Cambridge Bible for Schools. The Epistle to the Romans. Cambridge, 1892. A very modest, but most scholarly and judicious volume. We have never referred to it without profit. The same author has written the volume on Romans in The Ex- positor s Bible, but has not reached the standard of his smaller book. Olshausen, H. : Biblical Commentary, translated from the German. Edinburgh, 1849. Philippi, F. a. : Commentary, translated from the German by Banks. Two volumes, Edinburgh, 1878, 1879. The most thorough of the entire list, presenting the most complete development of Paul's arguments from the standpoint of a well-trained and well-balanced theologian, who knows how to avail himself of the best exegetical results. Philippi seems to owe most to Calovius, as Calovius does to Balduin. Sanday, W., and Headlam, A. C. : A critical and exegetical commentary (International Critical Comment- ary). New York, 1895. This most recent of the com- mentaries exhibits the fruits of very extensive research, and much versatility of learning. But it is intensely disappointing because of its intentional avoidance of the INTRODUCTION. 9 theological arguments, although there is some valuable material belonging properly to DogvicngcscJiichte intro- duced. The unity of the Epistle falls to pieces by the exaggeration of critical methods. There is a good criti- cism of Commentaries, which omits Philippi ; although the work is indebted to Philippi in its free use of Gifford, who highly appreciates and with proper acknowl- edgment appropriates material from the former Lutheran professor at Rostock. Stuart, Moses: Commentary. Andover, 1835. Con- gregationalist. A grammatical commentary, with exten- sive use of the German apparatus of the period. TllOLUCK, A. : Commentary. Translated into English by Rev. R. Menzies. Philadelphia, 1844. Weiss, Bernhard: Sixth edition of Meyer, Gottingen, 1881. A thorough revision, amounting almost to an independent work. Combines the merits of Meyer as a grammatical exegete and repository of results of previous exegetes, with a more thorough insight into Paul's theological reasoning. Besides the above, we have also looked into the com- mentaries of Chrysostom, Fritzsche, Riickert, Lange, Shedd and the Synopses of Poole and Starke. We regret that " Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul from Unpublished Commentaries," London and New York, 1895, by the late Bishop LiGHTFOOT, came to us too late to be of service on Romans. ANNOTATIONS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. I. Preface (1-17). I. Salutation (1-7). An expansion of the ordinary greeting with which letters began (Acts 23 : 26), first by describing who the author is and what is his message (1-6), then describing those to whom he writes (7a), and then extending the ordinary greeting, so as to comprise every blessing which is to be desired by one Christian for another (/b). 1-7. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared io he the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead ; even Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake : among whom are ye also, called to be Jesus Christ's : to all that are in Rome, be- loved of God, called to be saints : Grace to you and peace from God our Father and tlie Lord Jesus Christ. Ver. I. Paul is his Roman name. The Hebrew " Saul " designated him as a Jew. When he comes forth from Judaism to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, the very change of name indicates the wider compass of his thought and work. He sinks his nationality in the use of a name belonging to the vocabulary of the language of the world. It occurs first in Acts 13 : 9 with the II 12 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [l. i. account of the beginning of Paul's missionary activity as the Apostle to the Gentiles. The inference seems a very remote one that traces the name to a memorial of the conversion of ^milius Paulus (Acts 13 : 12). A servant. Not descriptive of the general relation of a believer to Christ, as in i Cor. 7:22; Eph. 6:6; but, as in Ps. 105 : 6, 42 ; Josh. 1:1; Isai, 20 : 3 ; Acts 4 : 29 ; 16: 17; Rev. 15 : 3, of a special relation in which the general duty of submission is concentrated and intensified. In the O. T., the ordinary designation of prophets is that of " the servant of God," or " the servant of the Lord;" in the N. T., that of Apostles is just as fre-- qucntly " the servant of Jesus Christ." This substitu- tion at once suggests Christ's divine nature. Called to be an apostle designates the specific form of the service. " An Apostle is a person immediately called by God to teach the Gospel, furnished with an infallible testimony, and having a universal vocation, so that he can teach in every place " (Mel.). For proofs of Paul's apostleship, see Acts 9:6, 15 ; 22 : 21 ; 26 : 16-18; Gal. i : i, 12. The call is emphasized to indicate that the ofifice was no self-chosen one. God has placed him there, and, hence, it is solely for God that he speaks. Separated, i. e. from the great body of believers and from all other occupa- tions, to this particular work. It cannot refer to God's election, which would require a different word in Greek, or to his consecration with Barnabas as a missionary. The reference is to the Providential guidance which has prepared him for the work and placed him in it. Unto the Gospel. Unfettered, therefore, by the restrictions and limitations of the Law. He has a higher standpoint and a wider outlook. Of God i. c. God is its author, Christ is its theme. Ver. 2. Promised afore, indicating the inner and sub- 1.2-4-] THE SALUTATION. 13 stantial harmony of Law and Gospel. The latter is nothing new, but is the substance of the testimony of the Old Testament from the beginning. By his prophets. (Cf. Acts 10 : 43.) The reference is not limited to the authors of O. T. prophetical books ; it embraces all who prophesied, including Moses, Samuel, David, etc. " It is not wonderful that his feelings rise at the thought of being the principal instrument of a work thus pre- dicted " (God.). Vcr. 3. Concerning his Son. This is to be connected with " promised afore," " Son " cannot be limited to a title of the Messiah, in the light of such passages as ch. 8:3, 32 ; Gal. i : 16; 4:4; Col. i : 13 sqq. ; Phil. 2 : 6 sqq., but clearly refers to the " only begotten Son " (John I : 14). Born of the seed of David. In fulfil- ment of Jer. 23 : 15; Ps. 132 : 11. This occurred through his birth of Mary (Gal. 4 : 4). According to the flesh, i. c. His human nature, in all its parts, came by descent from David. Ver. 4. With power limits " Son of God." " The powerful Son of God " (Mel.), contrasting the weakness of the human, with the strength of the divine, since, by His human nature. He was subject to pain and death. Spirit of holiness. This is very naturally interpreted as His divine nature, since the Holy Spirit is never so designated elsewhere, and because of the parallel clause of preceding verse. On the other hand, the interpreta- tion of Luther and Calvin, which interprets it as " the Holy Spirit," is in harmony with the Apostle's argument by which he rises from the consideration of the letter to that of the spirit. The Holy Spirit, whose power is dis- played in the resurrection (ch. 8 : ii), dwelling in be- lievers, is the source of their freedom and the ground and proof of the universality of divine grace. " The 14 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 4, 5. Spirit of God was given after Christ's ascension, whence He sanctifies Christians and glorifies Christ in all the world as the Son of God " (Luther). By the resurrec= lion of the dead. Not by the " resurrection from the dead," but by the fact that the dead are raised. The resurrection of Christ is both proof of this, and the assurance and power of the resurrection of all others (John II : 25 ; Rom. 8:11; i Cor. 15 : 12). The resur- rection then declares that Christ is the Almighty Son of God (Ps. 2 : 7). Jesus Christ our Lord. This Son of God is none other, he says, than Jesus whom we have known historically, and whom we have recognized as the Messiah and our Lord. Ver. 5. Through whom indicates that the blessings mentioned come through Christ's mediation. Grace and apostleship. The former designates gifts received by Paul in common with all other believers, viz., the divine grace of which he became partaker, when called and converted on the way to Damascus (i Cor. 15 : 10) ; the latter refers to the particular ofifilce with which he was entrusted and the extraordinary gifts with which it was furnished. Paul's apostleship was not confined to the Gentiles ; it embraced also " the children of Israel" (Acts 2 : 15). Unto obedience of faith. The aim of the apostle- ship is to bring men to faith, and, through faith, to make them obedient to the Gospel. Faith here means confi- dence in the truth of the divine message which is sent through the Apostle. Such faith will produce obedience when this apostolic message is delivered. Among all the nations. The Gospel demands an obedience as uni- versal as that demanded by the Empire of which Rome was the capital. Here we have the claim of an imperial dominion for Christianity, coextensive with tlie race. For his name's sake. The name of Christ will be magni- X. 6, 7-] THE SALUTATION. 15 fied by this obedience. (Cf. Acts 9:15; 15: 26; 21: 13; 2 Thess. I : 12.) Ver. 6. Among whom. A clear proof that the church of Rome was composed principally of Gentiles. Called to be Jesus Christ's, or " the called," of God, " who be- long to Jesus Christ." On this account, Paul demands of them a hearing. Ver. 7. All in Rome, whether of Jewish or Gentile origin. Beloved, called, restrictive of "all," indicating those who have appropriated to themselves God's uni- versallove, and have accepted the call. Called out of the world, they have been separated from it, and have been consecrated to God's service, called to be saints. Grace to you, etc. An expansion and interpretation of the Christian greeting, as in Acts 15 123 ; James 1:1. Grace is the unmerited favor of God bestowed on man, which when appropriated becomes in man an active principle of salvation, progressively freeing him from all evil, and building him up in the new life in Christ. Peace is the repose of the soul in God following the appropriation of grace. Benedictions are regularly without the verb. They are not mere wishes, but actually convey what they announce. Hence the verb to be supplied must be both optative and indicative. God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Cf. I Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; I Thess. i : i ; 2 Thess, i : i ; I Tim. I : 2 ; 2 Tim. 1:2; Tit. 1:4; Phil. 3 ; James I : I ; 2 Pet. 1:1,2.) Not so much a distinction of persons in the Trinity, as a reference to different periods in the Plan of Redemption ; first, as hidden within God, and, then, as manifested in the Person and Work of Christ. Christ is the ofificial name of the incarnate Son of God. The thought begins with God as unincarnate, and proceeds to God as incarnate. THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i : 8. 2. Personal Introduction (8-15). Paul begins nearly all his letters by expressing his gratitude to God for the faith of his readers, and assur- ing them of his desire to be with them. S-15. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may be prospered by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established ; that is, that I with, you may be com- forted in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes, I purposed to come unto you (and was hindered hitherto), that I might have some fruit in you also, even as in the rest of the Gentiles. I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome. Ver. 8. First points to an implied " secondly " in ver. 10. ''First, I give thanks." " Secondly, I make request." The ardor of the Apostle's thought leads to a change of construction, by the time he reaches ver. 10, that oc- casions a suppression of the " secondly." My God. (Cf. Acts 27 : 23.) His personal life is so thoroughly ground- ed in his relations to God, that the candid expression of his deepest feeling is accompanied by the confession of that which is its center, viz., that God is his God. The possessive pronoun indicates the apprehension of faith. (Cf. John 20: 28.) " In the words * My God,' he sums up all his persofial experiences of God's fatherly help, in the various circumstances of his life, and particularly in those of his apostleship " (GOD.). Through Jesus Christ. " As a Christian, he thanks his God, as one who takes out of the gracious hand of Christ all that God gives, and returns to the same hand all that he offers God (Col. 1.9,10.] PERSONAL INTRODUCTION. 17 3 : 17; Heb. 13 : 15) " (BESS.). Your faith, i. e. the strength and quality of their faith. They have risen above the external, the visible, the transient. Is pro- claimed. Literally " is being proclaimed." Throughout the whole world. Hyperbole, for " far and wide through- out the Roman Empire " ; but only however where there are Christians. (Cf. i Thess. i : 8-10.) Ver. 9. God is my witness. The appeal to God is ex- plained either by the fact that it was surprising that he should be so deeply interested in a congregation which he had never visited, or to give additional assurance of his interest to those who might have thought that, since he had never visited it, the Apostle to the Gentiles had heretofore been indifferent to the congregation in the world's metropolis. With Weiss, we cannot regard this an oath in the proper sense of the term. Serve in my spirit. Ground of his appeal to God. None but God knows ; for his worship is not a merely external one, but the intimate communion of his spirit with God. In the Gospel, in preaching the Gospel. Beneath all his out- ward activity as missionary and preacher, there is not only the constant sense of the divine presence, but also the joyful service of his heart, by which he seeks only that which will most please God. How unceasingly. Not the fact of his intercessions, but the strength of the love that prompts the intercessions, is here declared. " The thanksgiving with which he begins this epistle is a flame of the fire which burns without quenching upon the altar of prayer in his Christian heart " (Bess.). My prayers. Special seasons of prayer. Ver. 10. By the will of God to come. " I must see Rome," was a settled conviction of Paul (Acts 19 : 21). "God bends His almighty will to the prayers of His children ; and Paul at last reached Rome " (BesS.). Comp. l8 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 11-13. Acts 27 : 14. But his prayer to be prospered, so as to reach Rome, was answered in a way that he had not anticipated, Ver. II. I long. From the fulness of "grace and apostleship," ver. 5, with which he is endowed, he longs to communicate to the Romans all that his personal pres- ence could give beyond that of his written word. As ver. 15 indicates that his great object is to preach the Gospel at Rome, not any apostolic miraculous gift (i Cor. 14), but every such blessing as attends this preaching must be understood by some spiritual gift. *' In his appre- hension, all such instruction, comfort, joy,, strengthening, etc., as are produced by means of his labors, are regarded not as procured by his own human individuality, but as a result which the Holy Spirit works by means of him — the gracious working of the Spirit whose organ he is " (Mey.). " The living voice of the teacher is more effec- tual to teach and strengthen, than reading in his absence what he has written " (HUNN.). Ver. 12. That I with you may be comforted. The greatest of the Apostles who had enjoyed the revelations of the celestial Paradise (2 Cor. 12 : 2-4), longs for the blessings that the presence with him of the humblest of the Roman Christians can bestow. His gifts and work re- act upon himself. Whatever he gives to others comes back to him increased abundantly. The word means both "comfort" and "exhort." Christian perfection is not found in monastic seclusion or any ascetic isolation from others, but is more and more nearly approached as the faith of Christians is stimulated and encouraged by that of their brethren. Ver. 13. I would not have you ignorant. The question naturally was asked why if Paul took such an interest in the Roman Church, he had not visited it earlier. This is I. 13-15.] PERSONAL INTRODUCTION. 19 his answer. Was hindered. (Cf ch. 15 : 22.) Paul's plans for his missionary journeys were not made by divine in- spiration. God's will as to whither he should go was often unknown until the time came. Some fruit. The true aim of the preaching of the Gospel. " Therefore let the ambitious display of learning and talent be far dis- tant from the ministers of the Church, and especially from their sermons "(HUNN.). The rest of the Gentiles. This leaves no doubt that the Church of Rome was com- posed chiefly of Gentiles. Vcr. 14. I am debtor, because of God's appointment (Acts 26: lY sqq. ; i Cor. 9 : 16). The commission to preach the Gospel he calls in i Tim. 1:14 " the good deposit " ( R. V. marginal reading). To Greeks and to Barbarians, the two classes into which Gentiles were divided. Paul was no debtor to the Jews (Gal. 2 : 7). The Greeks designated all other nations as barbarians. The Roman Christians may have been composed chiefly of Greeks. Besides, inasmuch as the Romans absorbed Greek culture and used the Greek language, they would naturally be included among the Greeks rather than among the barbarians. Wise and unwise, i. e. the edu- cated and uneducated, suggested by the contrast between Greeks and barbarians, but not necessarily coextensive, since there were also Greeks who were uneducated. Ver. 15. 5o, viz. as a debtor. As much as in me is. " For my part." Always ready, the determination of the time when he is to visit Rome belongs to God. At Rome also. It was no small undertaking to proclaim the Gos- pel at the world's capital, with all its power and culture and wealth and social forces antagonizing this word. Paul realized fully the gravity of the situation, as may be learned from Acts 28 : 15. 20 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. i6. The Theme Stated : THE UNIVERSALITY OF GRACE. 16-17. For I am not ashamed of the gospel : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the CIreek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God by faith unto faith : as it is written, But the righteous shall Uve by faith. Ver. 16. I am not ashamed. The first part of this verse closes the preceding paragraph, which was devoted partially to answering the charge that he had been deterred from visiting the Roman church by his dread of the issues which he would there be compelled to face. The preaching of the Gospel is the very last thing in the world of which he has reason to be ashamed. " The Gospel is calculated to provoke not shame, but enthu- siasm " (LiDD.). For it is the power of God. This introduces the real theme. It is power in and through which God works (i Cor. i : 18 ; Eph. 6 : 17; i Thess. 2 : 13; Is. 55 : II ; Rom. 10: 17). In this, it is con- trasted with human wisdom, which, even in its highest stage, can never attain what is accomplished by the Gospel. " Its specific effect is faith, i. e. man's trust in Christ for salvation" (Weiss). Unto salvation. The forces of nature are powers of God, but for other ends. The Law is God's power ; but only to condemn (2 Cor. 3 : 9). Salvation must be understood here both in the negative and the positive sides. Begun in this life, in deliverance from God's wrath, it is completed in the future life, in deliverance from sin, pain and death. To every one that believeth. " Faith is the condition of the saving effect of the Gospel, which is itself conditioned by the divine power of the Gospel ; the hand of the beggar, which receives the gift of God after it has been I. 1 7-] THE THEME STATED. 2i opened and made capable of receiving by the Giver ; for by nature, this beggar has a lame hand " (BESS.). " As was admirably said by a poor Bechuana : ' It is the hand of the heart ' " (GOD.). To the Jews first, etc. Both Jew and Gentile are saved upon the same terms and in the same way. The historical priority of the offer of salva- tion to the Jews, in accordance with God's divinely instituted order, indicating an original difference of rank, no longer avails. The period of that priority and rank has passed ; and there is no longer any warrant for Jewish particularism and exclusiveness. The Gospel is now for all alike. Ver. 17. Explanation as to how the Gospel exerts its saving power. Therein refers to Gospel as distinguished both from nature and from the Law. Even the elements of " Gospel " found in the Old Testament prophets seem excluded here. The previous testimony through the prophets is but the promise of a way to be opened here- after, not the glad news of the opening itself accom- plished " (Phil.). Is revealed. Made known, and, when made known, offered. The complete realization of what is revealed is not attained until the revelation is appro- priated ; then with the knowledge attained through experience, it seems almost as though the revelation had never been made before. A righteousness of God. Not an attribute of God, as in 3 : 5, but the righteousness which God gives man, the righteouness that comes from God and that avails with God. " Paul calls the right- eousness of faith the righteousness of God, because God has originated and prepared it, reveals and bestows it, approves and crowns it (2 Pet. i : i). To it is opposed men's own righteousness (Rom. 10 ; 3). We ourselves are called the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5 :2i)" (Beng.). By faith unto faith. " The righteousness 22 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 17 availing before God is revealed, as coming from faith, unto faith. Faith is the condition, even as it is the organ apprehending righteousness " (Phil.), " Only to one who believes what the Gospel says is the righteous- ness offered therein, revealed as actually present, while it remains a concealed and unrevealed benefit, and there- fore as good as not present, to one who does not accept the message of salvation " (Weiss), Faith being the means of apprehending this revelation, it may be said to be revealed by faith. This revelation, however, is made in order that faith should receive it. Faith reveals. Then faith applies what faith has revealed ; and, in applying, still more is revealed. Everything depends on faith. It is the beginning, the middle and the end of all spiritual life. As it is written. The quotation is made in order to show that there is no antagonism to its teach- ing. This is also its doctrine. The righteous shall live by faith (Habak. 2 : 4). Righteous by faith, he lives by faith. The spring of his life, even after he has been justified, is in supernatural and not mere natural sources. He lives because by faith the Gospel is a living power within him. Faith is no mere intellectual act, but it is the self-surrender of man with all that he is and has and loves and desires and thinks to God, The righteous man lives by his faith, solely because, in this way, the righteousness of God, just described, becomes his. With his self-surrender to God, the power of God is appro- priated, and becomes within him a new spring of life. Righteous by faith indicates justification ; living by faith, regeneration and sanctification. PART I. ALL MEN ALIKE UNDER CONDEMNATION (i : 18—3 : 20). Section L— The State of Heathenism (i : 18-32). For all men, grace is needed ; because, by nature, all are without righteousness. The alternative is plain : " The righteousness of God " (ver. 17), or "the wrath of God" (ver. 18). The one means life; the other, death. A continuous revelation of wrath has marked the history of the race. Here and there, signal displays of this wrath break forth in the lives of nations and individuals, point- ing to a severer punishment on the Day of Judgment. The entire course of Heathenism is downward, until it sinks into crimes that violate even nature. This descent is partially a judgment inflicted upon them for disregard of God's claims. The restraints removed, they sink whither their desires tend. " The argument of this section may be thus stated : Major premiss : Whoever sins incurs the judgment of God, from which he can be delivered only by the right- eousness of God (2 : 1-16). " Minor premiss : But the heathen, although taught by Nature and Conscience (i : 18-32), and the Jews, although possessing the Mosaic Law (2 : 17 — 3 : 8), have .sinned by falling short of, or contradicting their respective standards of righteousness. " Conclusion : Therefore, as the Old Testament had 23 24 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. i8. already proclaimed, ' all the world is brought under the judgment of God' (3 : 19), and accordingly needs this righteousness (3 : 9-20) " (LiD.). iS-23. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungod- liness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteous- ness ; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them ; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity ; that they may be without excuse : because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks ; but became vain in their reasonings, and their sense- less heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creep- ing things. Ver. 18. The wrath of God. A necessary inference from the love of God. It is " only the love of the holy God to all that is good, in its energy against all that is evil " (Weiss). " If God is not angry with the ungodly and unrighteous. He does not love the godly and right- eous ; for in matters that are diverse, he must be moved towards both sides or towards neither " (Lactantius, De ira Dei, 5 : 9). Is revealed, viz. in the history of the heathen world, and in signal punishments inflicted upon other transgressors, pointing forward to the Judgment Day (ch. 2 : 5). From heaven. As the abode of God, the source whence this wrath proceeds. (Comp. Ps. 2 : 4, 5 ; Dan. 5 : 5 sq. ; 2 Thess. i : 7 sq.) The universality of its range is also suggested. Ungodliness, against the First ; unrighteousness, against the Second Table. Who hold down. Violence is done conscience. Known truth is intentionally disregarded and suppressed. In unright= eousness. Their wrongdoing to their fellow-men cor- rupts, suppresses, paralyzes the truth with respect to God. The root of the intellectual error is in the heart. Ver. 19. That which may be known. Clearly : All 1.19,20.] THE STATE OF HEATHENISM. 25 that can be or that is known without a supernatural reve- lation. It is not God's fault that they are without the knowledge which others have. It is manifest. Note the contrast between this. word referring to the natural, and is revealed of ver. 18 referring to the supernatural, knowledge of God. (See Acts 14 : 17; 17 : 26 sq.) In them, i. e. in their consciousness, or in their hearts (ch. 2:15; Gal. I : 16). God manifested it, viz. by the knowl- edge impressed upon the heart, and inferred from the contemplation of nature. Ver. 20. The invisible things of him. His invisible attributes. Since the creation. Ever since there was an intelligent mind to observe the outward world, the inference is irresistible. Are clearly seen. God can be known, then, so far as He reveals Himself. The innate knowledge of God (ch. 2:15) is called into activity and consciousness by the contemplation of an external world. Even his everlasting power and divinity. The first thought suggested by Nature is that of power, and this power is inevitably referred to a cause, which is recognized first as "Almighty," and then by a necessary inference as " Eternal," since the one attribute implies the other, " Divinity " is " the sum total of that which God is as a Being possessed of divine attributes " (Meyer), " the sum total of qualities in virtue of which the creative power can have organized such a world" (Godet). That they may be without excuse, i. e. that they may not plead any lack of evidence, as an excuse. Godet well notes that Paul, unlike some to-day, does not disparage Natural Theology, and regards this as a proof of the Apostle's breadth of mind and heart — "the first basis of his univer- salism," in connection with his proof of the universalism of sin and of grace. Ver. 21. Because qualifies "without excuse." They 26 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 21-23. glorified him not, etc. He has made himself known, in order, when known, to be contemplated and loved. He is not only to be known, but, when known, to be thank- fully recognized and worshipped as God. As God, i, e. with a true conception of what God is, regulating their thoughts of God, according to the standard of the reve- lation which God had given. (Comp. John 1:14; 4 : 24.) Became vain. Where this adoration is wanting, the knowledge given deteriorates. The unused talent is taken away. " Knowledge of God has its permanent root only in communion with Him" (PniL.). Having neglected to set God before it, as the supreme object of its activity, the understanding was reduced to work in vacuo; it peopled the universe with fictions and chimaeras " (God.). All relations thus become confused and perverted. " If I know not God, I know not myself " (ViLM.). Darkened. The moral sense became weakened and diseased, and conscience was rendered an uncertain guide. Ver. 22, 23. Professing themselves to be wise. The nearest example was the Greeks, among whom Paul was then living at Corinth. Beyond them the characterization includes also the representatives of all heathen religions (Egyptian, Indian, etc.), and extends to all forms of knowledge, that desert Revelation and seek to treat of God solely from natural reasoning. They became fools. The very climax of this folly being idolatry (Jer. 10: 14 sq.). He does not attack their philosophy or learning ; but shows that when not consecrated to the service of God, the most highly educated become guilty of the very greatest absurdities. Changed the glory. (Comp. Ps. 106 : 20.) The glory is here the sum of the attributes of God as revealed to man. See "divinity" (vcr. 20). For the likeness of an image, i. e. they changed that 1. 22, 23.] tub: state of heathenism. 2'j which is real and substantial for a mere likeness, and this likeness, that not eveji of a man, but of the image of a man, etc. A likeness formed after a pattern or model in the mind of the artist. The gods of Greece and Rome were grotesque exaggerations of men (anthropomorphic polytheism). Those of Egypt, India, etc., afford illustra- tions of the worship of animals, as the bull, the ibis, the cat, the crocodile, etc. (therianthropic polytheism). A complete perversion of Nature as God created it. Man, created after the image of God, makes himself the model according to which to make for himself gods. Man, created to be lord of the animal creation (Ps. 8 : 7-9), degrades himself by worshipping this creation that God intended to serve him. These hallucinations of religious insanity are at the same time an outrage upon Nature itself. Heathenism is neither the original condition of the race, nor a higher stage in its development. " The history of religions, thoroughly studied as it is now-a-days, fully justifies Paul's view. It shows that the present heathen people of India and Africa, far from rising of themselves to a higher religious state, have only sunk, age after age, and become more and more degraded. It proves that at the root of all pagan religions and mytholo- gies, there lies an original Monotheism" (GOD ). The process seems to be as follows : First, faith in God, in the sense of a loving self-surrender and cheerful obedience to Him, and the apprehension of the Unseen, Eternal and Infinite, departs. Man has no longer the power to grasp the unity of God. The seeming contradictions in the con- ception of God become inexplicable, and he seeks relief either in dualism or in the hypothesis of a plurality of gods. Dualism or Polytheism entering, the thought of an Infinite and Supreme Being vanishes, since this can be held only by Monotheism. The gods then are brought 28 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 24. within the sphere of the finite. If finite, then to them may be ascribed the weaknesses of men. Human and then bestial forms are made their symbols, or are regarded as temporarily inhabited by them. Finally, in the popular mind, they are regarded and worshipped as though real gods. 24-32. Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves : for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions : for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature : and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due. And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting ; being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- ness ; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbit- ers, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, dis- obedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful: who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they which practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also consent with them that practise them. Ver. 24. God gave them up, etc. It is the divine order that sin shall be punished by sin. " Wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same also shall he be punished " (Wis. II : 16). While not the author of sin, He has established such a connection between sinful acts, that, when His Spirit is withdrawn, the natural consequence of one sin is another sin. " The curse of an evil deed is that it must continually bring forth evil." With the com- munion with God broken, and the conception of the spirituality of God weakened or effaced, man is urged chiefly by material wants and sensual instincts. The root of all true morality is religion. When this root is cut, a 1.25-27.] THE STATE OF HEATHENISM. 29 certain external morality may remain foi a time, as a remnant of their former state, as flowers may seem fresh for some hours after they have been plucked ; but such morality gradually vanishes, and, in this moral insanity, even unnatural crimes result. Dishonoring God, they dishonor themselves. As the knowledge of God recedes, the degradation deepens. Ver. 25. For that they exchanged, or " seeing that they were such as exchanged." The verse is parentheti- cal, assigning the reason for the severe judgment just mentioned. The truth of God means the truth concern- ing God. A lie. Their false worship. Worshipped and served. The former refers to that which is inward ; the latter to that which is outward. The creature rather than the Creator. They started wath the intention or, at any rate, the profession of using the creature only as an image of the Creator; but the result is that the Creator is supplanted by the creature. Blessed forever. A doxology called forth by his indignation at the dis- honor done God, as though he would do all in his power to make up for this offence committed by others (Comp. Rom. 11 : 36 ; Gal. i : 5.) Ver. 26, 27. Where the whole life is a lie, and the creature takes God's place, everything else may be ex- pected to be turned from its pi-oper use. These verses contain a more specific statement of what is affirmed in a general way in ver. 24. The picture is a revolting one. Paul endeavors to suppress nothing. His object is to show the odiousness of sin, and the degradation into which a godless life descends. " In stigmatizing sins, we must often call a spade a spade. The unchaste usually demand from others an absurd modesty " (Bengel). Every student of the Greek and Roman classics can find abundant evidence in these writers for the truth of these 3° THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 27, 28. statements. The moral sense was so blunted that the unnatural relations were often openly acknowledged. The shamelessness of the Emperors Tiberius and Nero may be especially mentioned. Grotius, after citing numerous passages from the Greek and Latin writers, adds : " All things at Rome were full of such examples. The cultured world had become a second Sodom ; looking with indul- gence upon the characteristic sin of Sodom." Vile passions, stronger than " lusts " of ver. 24, indicating that they had become the slaves of sensuality. Their women. The Greek uses the word " females," instead of " women ; " since the truly womanly character is gone, and " the simple physical allusion to sex comes exclusively to view " (Phil.). For the same reason, ver. 27, in the Greek, has " males " instead of men. The vice of the women, as the more shameful perversion of nature, is stated first. Recompense of their error. The error was idolatry, consequent upon forgetfulness of God. The recompense was the degradation to which they were subjected, by these vices and the other sins which inevitably followed. "The noblest creature of God sinks to the very lowest, when it attempts to exalt itself above the Creator" (Bess.). " Is not leaving the natural use in various ways, in eating and drinking, clothing and dwelling, trade, etc., in all estates and spheres of life, a sign of the present time ? " (Bess.) Ver. 28. In the original, there is a contrast between refused to have and reprobate inexpressible in a translation. It might be approximately rendered in both places by rejected. Rejecting God, God left them to the control of a mind without His Avisdom and guid- ance. " As thou treatest God, God treateth thee." In their knowledge. The word is emphatic, meaning practical or experimental knowledge. Not fitting, i. e. 1.28-30.] THE STATE OF HEATH EX ISM. 31 beneath the dignity of man, things which would be ab- horrent to man's mind, if this had not been perverted. Ver. 29-32 give a catalogue of sins defining " those things which are not fitting " of the preceding verse. Beyond a progress from more general to special sins, any classification cannot be made with certainty. Some are manifestly associated because of paranomasia. Classifi- cations are attempted by Bengel, Lange, Meyer and ViLMAR. One of the most recent is by Liddon, viz. " I. Four general forms of evil. 2. Seven anti-social sins ; five in feeling and two in language ; both being especially hateful to God. 3. Three sins of self-assertion. 4. Six sins against natural principles on which society is based." "Paul evidently lets his pen run on, as if he thought that of all the bad terms that should present themselves, none would be out of place or exaggerated " (God.). Ver. 29. Unrighteousness heading the list, embraces all that follow. Wickedness=good for nothing. Covetous- ness^lust for money. Maliciousness=taking pleasure in doing wrong. Envy, murder, joined together in Greek because of their similar sound. 5tnfe=the out- ward manifestation of envy. Deceit. (Comp. Juvenal, Satire 2 : " What am I to do at Rome ? I cannot lie.") Malignity. " The disposition which judges everything on the worse side " (ARISTOTLE, Rhetoric, II : XIII.) It is prompted by a love of mischief. Ver. 30. Whisperers=secret slanderers. Backbiters= calumniators of all kinds, with special reference, probably, to informers who ruined others by espionage and false reports. Hateful to God. Whether this or the marginal reading " haters of God " be correct, depends upon the accent of the Greek word. If the reading here followed be accepted, it must be explained as a parenthetical clause 32 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 30-32. introduced to indicate that the sins just mentioned in an especial way brought down God's wrath. Insolent= {liybristas). The word means " one who, upHfted with pride, either heaps insulting language upon others, or does them some shameful act of wrong " (Thayer). Paul applies it to his conduct to the Church, prior to his conversion (i Tim. I : 13). Aristotle defines Jiybris as " the doing and saying those things about which the person who is the subject of this treatment has feelings of delicacy," entirely for the sake of the mortification which the person who is wronged receives. Inventors of evil things, such as new refinements of vicious pleasures or new cruelties. Ver. 31. Without understanding, i. e. with respect to spiritual and religious things, and, therefore, they are in- capable of discriminating between right and wrong. The similarity of sound (paranomasia) in the Greek, deter- mines the close connection of this word with that which follows. Covenant-breakers. Those upon whose most solemn pledges no reliance can be placed. Without natural affection. The bonds of relationship no longer establish a claim. Parents disregard children, and chil- dren parents. There is no family-feeling. Unmerciful : Illustrated by gladiatorial shows, sangui- nary combats of wild beasts, " innocent martyrs burning to death in their shirts of pitchy fire," and the numerous cruelties connected with Roman slavery. Ver. 32. Who, i. e. their character is such that, although they know God's ordinance, etc. Ordinance=sentence. What intensifies the guilt is that these sins are committed in the very face of the clearest and deepest knowledge (the word is emphatic), that God's judgment is impend- ing, and God is openly defied. Consent. The guilt of the person who approves the sin of another, is greater I. 32.] THE LA W UNIVERSAL. TyZ than that of the one who himself commits the sin ; for the former cannot plead the heat of passion that moves the latter. The contrast between practice and do occurs also in ch. 2:3; 7 : 15 ; 13:4; John 3 : 20. The former refers more to a habit ; the latter to a result. The former, to the direction of the activity towards a partic- ular purpose ; the latter to its accomplishment. Ample illustrations of this degradation of Heathenism, with references to the classical and patristic writers where they are presented, may be found in such readily acces- sible books as De Presensee's TJie Ancient World and Christianity, Book V., Ch. II.; Stork's Divine Origin of Christianity, Lecture VIII. ; Farrar's Early Days of Christianity, Ch. I. ; and his Witness of History to Chris- tianity, Ch. IV. ; Seekers after God, Ch. III. ; Uhlhorn's Christian Charity in the Ancient Church, Ch, I. : "A World without Love " ; Trench's Hulsean Lectures, etc. Of cotemporary descriptions, the most noted is that of Seneca, the tutor of Nero : " All things are full of iniquity and vice. More crime is committed than can be remedied by restraint. We struggle in a huge contest of criminality ; daily the passion for sin is greater, the shame of committing it is less. . . . Wickedness is no longer committed in secret ; it flaunts before our eyes, and has been sent forth so openly into public sight, and has prevailed so completely in the breast of all, that innocence is not rare, but non-existent " {De Ira, II. 8). Section II.— The Law Universal: Sin and Judg- ment Inseparable (ch. 2 : 1-16). The Apostle uses the black picture he has drawn of the fate of the heathen in their forgetfulness and inde- pendence of God, as a means to excite in others the 3 34 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [i. 24. consciousness of sin and of the need of grace. The method is similar to that pursued by Nathan in 2 Sam. 12 : 1-7, differing only in that there a parable, where- as here a real statement of facts, is given. While his intention is to make the application to the Jews, ver. 17, he leads to this by an argument of universal force. Not all Gentiles were guilty of the precise forms of sin detailed in the preceding chapter. Among them were some of rigid external morality, whose protests against current vices were heard. To them as well as to Jews' belongs this appeal. Mere civil righteousness, without the grace of God, is of no avail. The germs of the sins just described are in the heart, and need only favorable circumstances to develop the entire career of crime. All alike arc beneath God's judgment and God's wrath. The possession of the Law by the Jews affords no im- munity from this judgment. 1-16. Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself ; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things. And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things. And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgement of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent- ance ? but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according, to his works : to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life : but unto them them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and an- guish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also ■ of the Greek ; but glory and honour and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek : for there is no respect of per sons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned under law shall be judged bylaw ; for not the hearers of a law are just before God, but the doers of a law shall be justified : for when Gentiles which have no law do by nature the II. 1-3.] THE LAW UXIVEKSAL. 35 things of the law, these, having no law, are a law unto themselves; in that they shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else e.xcusing them ; in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by jesus Christ. Ver. I. Wherefore refers to what has just been said. The person addressed also knows what is stated in ver. 32. Without excuse, because of sin against hght and knowledge. O man. Slightly reproachful. (Comp. Luke 12 : 14; ch. 9 : 20.) The word antliropc refers to .my member of the human race, whether man or woman, Jew or Greek. It prepares the way for a direct appeal to the Jew, ver. 17, under a general charge of universal application. Judgest . . . judgest. A. V. brings out more clearly the contrast in the original. The second "judge" is a stronger term than the first. (Comp. i Cor. II : 32.) The same things. Not necessarily in all their details, but those of essentially the same moral character. (Comp. John 8 : 7.) Ver. 2. According to truth, the standard of the divine judgment. It deals with naked facts, and is, therefore, absolutely impartial. Ver. 3. " Do you expect that in your case a special ex- ception is possible?" Some Jews seemed to think so (Matt. 3:8, 9 ; Luke 3 : 8). But the question is not restricted to Jews. " Do you think, because of your better moral knowledge, or external morality covering a heart longing to commit similar crimes, or your connection with a godly ancestry or with the chosen people, that you will be exempt from judgment? If so, you presume on God's goodness. Can this be so ? " Ver. 4. Or despisest thou ? To use the goodness of God as a palliative to soothe conscience when it re- minds of sin, is to abuse and trifle with God's unspeak- 36 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [11. 4, 5. able kindness and love. Such conduct is no better than the weak indulgence with which men often pass by crimes that they ought to punish. The riches. A favorite word of Paul, to express the abundance and value of God's blessings (ch. 9:23; 11: 33), and espe- cially in Ephesians, " riches of grace " (Eph. 1:2; 2:7); "riches of glory" (Eph. 3 : 16). Goodness in the sense of kindness, mildness, gentleness; see the corresponding adjective in Matt. 11 : 30. See Trench, Syno- nyms, Part II., p. 58 sqq. Forbearance=the holding back of wrath and punishment. In classical Greek, the word means "a truce." See TRENCH, ib., p. 15 sq. It is of a more temporary character than Iong=suffering, which is " goodness, face to face with moral evil for long periods of time " (Liddon). By the presumption referred to in the preceding verse, man intentionally interrupts the execution of the purposes of God's goodness. Leadeth thee. God leads or draws. Nevertheless man resists and declines to follow. God forces none. Grace is always resistible. God allows man to thwart His plans of love. Even some ultimately condemned are "being led" towards repentance (Matt. 23 : 37). Repentance. (See comments on Matt. 3 : 2.) Punishment is deferred not to render you careless concerning your sins, but to lead you to abhor them. Ver. 5. After : " In virtue of," " because of." Hard= ness, insensibility to all God's favors. Impenitent heart, i. e. one which, notwithstanding God's leading and draw- ing, has not come to repentance. Treasurest for thyself wrath. Man's resistance of divine grace does not place him where he would have been, if grace had never come to him. Every privilege bestowed brings a correspond- ing responsibility. The rejection of the riches of good- ness, etc., has as its consequence " a treasure of wrath." II. 5, 6.] THE LA W UNIVERSAL. 37 The resistance of God's grace from day to day gradually accumulates a vast store of wrath for the time of reckon- ning (Deut. 32 : 34 sq.). In the day of wrath : A con- densed construction for " which is to be paid in the day of wrath." The Dies ires of Thomas Celano, " That day of wrath, that dreadful day," was suggested by this verse. The repetition, " wrath," " wrath," adds to the earnest- ness and terror of the warning. " Why have many no sense of wrath ? Because the day of wrath has not yet come " (Bengel). Revelation, viz. " day of the revela- tion." The judgment of God is passed upon them already. Only as yet it is concealed ; but a day is com- ing when it will be unveiled. All shall see and hear and know it. Just judgment points back to the thought of ver. 2. If the judgment be just, there will be impartiality. All must be treated alike. Ver. 6. According to his works. At the very head of the Epistle, whose especial aim it is to show that salva- tion is all of grace, Paul gives this testimony concerning works. Sinful deeds merit punishment ; good works merit no reward. " They justify not a man ; but show that a man is justified already before God " (LUTHER). Hence men will be recompensed "according to their works, not according to the merits of their works, nor on account of their works " (Calov.). " In the Last Judg- ment, good works are to be produced as a testimony of faith, according to which testimony, the Son of God will pronounce His sentence" (HUNNIUS). In this place, it may be noted that the Apostle is not treating of justifi- cation, but of the inevitable consequences of sin ; never- theless, the incidental allusion to a double reward is in no way inconsistent with the doctrine fully explained afterwards. A reward of merit is one thing ; a reward of grace is quite another. (See Apology, 153 sq.) % THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [ii. 7, S. Any attempt to use this verse in support of any claim for human merits that will be recognized and rewarded on the Day of Judgment, loses sight of the entire argu- ment which is here being unfolded. The principle of reward is laid down, together with the proof that in no one IS it fulfilled ; hence the universality of condemna- tion which has called forth the universality of grace as embodied and proclaimed in a universal Gospel. Ver. 7. Patience in welI=doing. Lit. " Patience of a good work," conceiving of all the good works of a godly life collectively as one good work. Patience or per- sistence in this, defying opposition, deterred by no threats or dangers, allured from its path by no tempta- tions, joyfully suffering all losses to attain its end, is the work of one who is on the way to life eternal. Such a soul is sustained by high ideals. The only real glory and honor are joined with incorruption (i Cor. 15 : 42 ; 1 Pet. 1:4); hence these ideas are heavenly, and not earthly. " In discoursing of things to come, being un- able to describe them, he calls them ' glory and immor- tality ' " (ChrysostOM), words often combined to indicate the heavenly sphere (i Pet. i : 7 ; 2 Pet. 1:17; Heb. 2 : 7). Ver. 8. Factious. In other places in the N. T., the word refers to intriguing partisanship (2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5 : 20; Phil. 1:16; 2:3; James 3 : 14, 16). As it indicates here the opposite of " patience in well-doing," the main thought must be "self-seeking," in contrast with self-denial. " The incessant plotting for material earthly advantage or superiority, as distinct from the repose of a soul satisfied with and at peace with God, is here meant. The Jewish spirit of faction was constantly opposing its 1 1 . S , 9- ] THE L A W UNI VERSAL. 3 9 self-seeking to the Gospel, Acts 13 : 45 ; 18 : 12 ; Gal. 4 : 17 ; 6 : 12 ; i Thess. 2 : 14 " (LiDDOX). Obey not the truth. The consequence and manifesta- tion of their factiousness. The truth here means revealed truth. Obey unrighteousness. All forms of sin (i John 5 : 17). The word is used here in a general sense, as in Luke 13 : 27, for offences against both tables of the Decalogue and not specialized, as in ch, i : 18 for those against the Second Table. Wrath and indignation. The stronger word comes last. Wrath notes the temper or disposition as it gradually grows under the provocations given ; indignation, the outburst which at last follows when the measure of iniquity is full. The change in construction is significant. In ver. 7 "eternal life " is the object of God's gift ; but here "wrath and indigna- tion," being nominatives, are not brought by God, but come as the direct result of man's own course of conduct. Ver. 9. Tribulation and anguish. The former, the pressure of a crushing burden ; the latter, the straltness and helplessness of confinement. " When, according to the ancient law of England, those who wilfully refused to plead had heavy weights placed upon their breasts, and so were pressed and crushed to death, this was literally thlipsis (tribulation). When Bajazet, having been vanquished by Tamerlane, was carried about in an iron cage, this was stcnocJwria'^ (TRENCH, II. 22). First, the weight of the wrath of God ; then " the wringing of the heart under the punishment it produces " (GOD.). Upon every soul of man. The soul is put for the person. The Apostle thus lays emphasis upon the individualizing of the punishment, since " the soul forms the central point of the life of each individual" (Weiss, Bib. Theol. I. 123). Worketh evil. A more intensive Avord is here used than in "worketh good" of ver. 9. The 40 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. \\\. lo. possibilities of " working out " evil are greater than those of working good. To the Jew first. As the bestowal of grace (ch. i : i6), so also the infliction of wrath. The Jew, in both cases, is first. Exalted privileges bring corresponding responsibilities, and, if despised, entail greater penalties (Matth. ii : 22 ; Luke 12 : 48). Ver. 10. Glory and honor. They find that for which they have sought (ver. 7). Peace is added as the blessing which man enjoys in receiving glory and honor. Worketh good. The difference between this and the word used in preceding verse is almost that which may be found be- tween " working out " and " working at." To the Jew first, etc. A universal law is here laid down. " By these words, Paul includes all Jews and Gentiles, even those who had died before the coming of Christ " (Besser). The one obeyed the truth given in revelation and lived in hope of the coming Christ. The other followed the traces of truth declared by his conscience, and, like Ruth and Naaman and the wise men of the East, were led to Christ. We cannot demand of the heathen any higher degree of knowledge as to what was involved in the promise concerning the coming Christ, than was sufficient for the salvation of the patriarchs, whose faith of what God meant by His promises was most dim and obscure. " The Last Day will make it manifest that in ways, con- cealed to our eyes, God has sent a ray of Gospel light into the dark soul of every heathen, and that those who have not excluded this ray he has placed under grace enabling them to do good, and to forsake evil. We do no violence to the text when, among believers in Christ, we seek first of all for Jews, but also for Gentiles, who on the Day of Judgment will appear as those who have done good. The close of this chapter (ver. 29) shows clearly that by the words " who worketh good " something is II. It.] THE LAW UNIVERSAL. 41 expressed that is not a matter of thought and without reality, but that has been brought to reaHzation by God's spirit and grace " (Besser). (See notes on ch. 10: 14-19.) Ver. II. No respect of persons. This uniformity of treatment is determined by the absolute justice of God. A just judge looks only at the case. The ancients sym- bolically expressed this principle by the bandage over the eyes of the Statue of Justice. Whatever the nationality, birth, station, attainments, wealth of those to be judged, all must be treated precisely alike. In the determination of the verdict, the personal factor in the criminal must be entirely excluded. To have respect to persons is frequently condemned in Holy Scripture (Deut. 1:17; 2 Chr. 19:7; Prov. 24 : 23 ; James 2 : i). This was the lesson Peter learned (Acts 10 : 34,35). Melanchthon's application to the universality and particularity of grace is noteworthy : " Respect of persons is to give equal things to unequals or unequal things to equals. Justice is equality, proportioned according to a measure or standard. A judge is just when he observes the standard equally, punishes the guilty and defends the innocent. Accordingly when it is said that there is no respect of persons with God, we ascribe to God the praise of right- eousness and equality. God is universally angry with sin in man, and universally receives all fleeing to the Mediator. This standard he has established in his most wise and most just counsel, and wants it to be immov- able. Paul, accordingly, says : ' God will have all men to be saved,' i. e. According to the standard that He has fixed. He is equal to all. It is His will that all be saved, but many, by their own fault, do not receive the offered benefit. This is a great and necessary consolation, be- cause in the minds of all men there is great alarm on account of the imagination that there is inequality in 42 THE EPISTLE TO THE JiOMANS. [ii. 12,13. God. Men often exclaim : ' Even though God receives others ; nevertheless you are not in that number. Could not so powerful a Lord reject whom He pleased ? ' {Enarratlo, A. D. 1556). Ver. 12. Law refers here to any written revelation of God's will. The principle is laid down that it is not the possession of a written revelation that saves, or the lack of one that condemns. The application of this principle leads of course to the thought of the Mosaic law, as the written revelation which Israel had and in which it boasted. For the different uses of the word " law," see GiFFORD (Speaker's Commentary, Romans, Introduction, pp. 41-48). Perish without law, being judged, as ver. 15 shows, by the standard of the unwritten law. They perish as the natural result of their continuance in sin. Their destruction does not come by an act of God inter- rupting the regular order, as is salvation (i : 16). Their eternal death is the fruit of their sinful estate. Under law. Literally " in," i. e. within the sphere in which the law's demands are clearly revealed. Judged means more than " perish." Besides the consequences of their other sins, the still greater guilt has been incurred of resisting the means provided for leading them to repentance. Ver. 13 shows why the mere possession of a written revelation cannot save. Not the hearers of a law, i. e. the Jews who heard the law read every Sabbath in their synagogues (John 12 : 34; Acts 13:15; 15:21; 2 Cor. 3 : 14). Shall be justified, i. e. accounted and pronounced righteous. God's rule is here given, without reference to the question whether there be any in whom it is fulfilled. Chapter 3 : 20 declares that in no case is this realized. After stating the standard of the law, he proceeds to show that it is not attained, in order to enforce his theme of the universal need of grace. II. 14-] THE LA W UNIVERSAL. 43 Ver. 14. For when Gentiles. The absence of the article shows that like the opposite instances of crime among the heathen recorded in ch. i, the case is not uni- versal. Occasional instances among the Gentiles here establish a principle. The argument is that, if mere hearing of a law were to justify, even then the Jews would not claim it as their exclusive prerogative. For while the Gentiles are without a written revelation, the lives of some aJiioiig tJicvi clearly show the presence of an inner law that guides them. " For example, Neopto- lemus in Philoctetes, when he refuses to save Greece at the expense of a lie ; or Antigone, when she does not hesitate to violate the temporary law of the city, to fulfil the eternal law of fraternal love: or Socrates, when he rejects the opportunity of saving his life by escaping from prison, in order to remain subject to magistrates " (God.). It is not meant that they do all that the law requires, but that the external conduct of these rare examples in certain cases is inexplicable, except upon the theory of an inner law. " ' Are you aware,' said Socrates, ' that there are inner laws ? ' ' You mean those,' said Hippias, ' that are in force about the same matters every- where.' ' Can you afifirm, then, that men made such laws.' ' I believe that it was the Gods who made these laws for men.' " (Xenophon, Memorabilia, IV. 4.) A law unto themselves, i. e. their moral nature supplies the place of the revealed law. Paul uses here an expres- sion of Aristotle : " Against such there is no law " (comp. Gal. 5:23); "for they themselves are a law" (Politics, III. XIII. 14). "Being a law to himself" (Nic. Ethics, IV. 14). This verse which was used by Pelagius against Augustine does not declare that any heathen was ever justified by his conformity to the law. The occasional and fragmentary obedience only indicated that the law 44 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [ii. 15, 16. was present, but not that it in any way approached the standard of fulfihiicnt which was demanded. Ver. 15. The work of the law, viz. that which the law produces among Jews, the knowledge of right and wrong. Written in their hearts. The writing of the Mosaic law on two tables furnishes the illustration con- cerning this, properly speaking, unwritten law. Their conscience bearing witness therewith=Their conscious- ness of the moral character of their acts. " Conscience gives witness to the inner law in man, impels and directs man to act according to that law (the so-called precedent conscience), judges his doings according to this law, and reflects his actions and his circumstances in the light of this law (the subsequent conscience)" (LlDDON). Their thoughts one with another. When conscience is roused to activity, all the processes of a court of justice occur within man's own mind. Man discusses within himself his guilt or innocence. His consciousness of his want of conformity with the law presses upon him, and he seeks for excuses and sits in judgment upon their validity. This occurs too among the heathen even in the midst of the depravity which is described in such dark colors in ch. I. Accusing coming first shows that this is the principal, and excusing the subordinate office of con- science among the heathen. The accusations prepon- derate. Ver. 16. In the day, etc. Some connect this directly with ver. 12; others, with ver. 13, regarding the inter- vening verses parenthetical. Bengel connects it with " show " in ver. 15, which would change the tense of the verb here. It is better to regard it as summing up this part of the argument, and qualifying the entire preceding paragraph from ver. 6, as though Paul had written : " All of which shall be made manifest in the day," etc. The II. 1 6.] THE STATE OF THE JEWS. 45 day is the Judgment Day (i Cor. i : 8 ; 5 : 5 ; 2 Cor. 1:14; especially Acts 17 : 31). According to my Gospel. The Gospel here stands for the entire revelation of God in Christ, as Paul preached it (Gal. I : 16; Eph. 3 : 9). The universality of grace and universality of judgment be- longed together. Grace presupposes judgment. The distinctive feature of the declaration of coming judgment by the Gospel is the fact that Jesus Christ is the Judge (John 5 : 22 ; Acts 10 : 42; 17: 31 ; i Cor. 4 : 5). Com- ing judgment was acknowledged in some way by all men. It was taught by the inner law. But judgment by Christ is the doctrine of the Gospel. Section III.— The State of the Jews (2 : 17—3 : 8). The preceding section has been a skilful transition, preparing the way for proving that the Jews also are un- der condemnation. The first part of this section simply states more clearly and pointedly what has thus been al- ready proved. I. Examination of the Boast zvhich the Jczvs make con- cerning their Possession of the Lazv (17-24). 17-24. But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that thou thy- self art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of baljes, having in the law the form of knowl- edge and of the truth ; thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself ? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal } thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples? thou who gloriest in the law through thy transgression of the law dishonourest thou God ? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written. Ver. 17. But if. The reading of the best Mss. The 46 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [il. 17, 18. second member (apodosis) of this interrogatory con- ditional sentence, begins in ver. 21: "If thou bearest the name, etc., how is it that thou that teachest an- other, teachest not thyself?" Before the sentence can be completed, the matters in which the Jew prided himself are first stated in general (ver. 17, 18), and then those in which he contrasted himself with, and exalted himself over others (ver. 19, 20). The name of a Jew. Hebrew indicates the language, Jew the nationality, and Israelite the theocratic privileges of the people. The national feeling has absorbed that of religion, and the two are identified in the mind of the Jews, whom Paul addressed. Pride in the national name is indicated in ver. 28 ; 9 : 9 ; Gal. 2:15; Rev. 2:9; 3:9. The real honor of the Jewish nation was that it was the bearer of the promise concerning Christ, and from it came our Lord's humanity (Heb. 7 : 14). " Without the kernel, Christ, the name Jew is an empty nut. " And restest upon the law. A still greater gift than the name Jew. But even in his high regard for the Mosaic law, he has begun to forget that his chief prerogative was the covenant made with Abraham, and that the law was given solely through that covenant. Boastest in God, i. e. of the peculiar relations in which the Jew stood to God, as exclusively the cove- nant God of Israel. The Gentiles were "without God" (Eph. 2 : 12). Ver. 18. Knowest his will. The emphasis is on the knowing. Not obedience, but knowledge is the great boast of the Jew. Approves! the things that are excel- lent. Another translation is: "Dost distinguish the things that differ." The Jew prided himself on recogniz- ing by very intuition what was good. " He, at any rate, knew a good thing whenever he saw it." This skill he ascribed to his thorough instruction in the law, the Greek II. 19-21.] THE STATE OF THE JEWS. 47 for instructed being the word from which catechism is derived. Vers. 19, 20. Now come the points in which the Jew contrasts himself with and exalts himself above others. In his opinion, the Gentiles are " blind," " in darkness," " foolish," " babes," while he is " a guide," " a light," "a corrector," "a teacher." All this he claims for him- self because he has in the law not only the truth itself, " but besides the exact formula, by means of which he can convey this truth to others " (GoD.). GiFKORD gives an excellent illustration from the sermons of the Rabbi Artemon (1873) : " If the earth is to be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, it must be through our agency. We must infuse that knowl- edge ; we possess the best materials for instruction, and we must make it a duty and a glory to enlighten the world." Ver. 21, 22. Then comes the arraignment. "The Apostle turns to strike " (Jowett). Conceding the high estimate which the Jew puts upon the law, he proceeds to test the Jews according to this standard. The first ques- tion contains the general charge of universal unfaithful- ness. Then follow, as illustrations, specific examples of the manner in which some adherents of Rabbinism did not teach themselves. It must not be imagined that he charges all with being guilty of each specific sin. Two of them are sins against the Second Table. In mentioning them, Paul has clearly Ps. 50 : 16-18 in mind. From them, he proceeds to the First Table. Rob temples. The primary reference is to the violation of Deut. 7 : 25, 26 : " Dost thou who art so rigid in thy rejection of idolatry, as to treat all idols as an abomina- tion, bringing defilement on them who touch them (comp. I Mace, i : 54), use them for purposes of gain, when heathen temples are open to thee, or thou art a re- 48 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMAiXS. [ii. 22-24. ceiver of what is taken therefrom ? " Well-known cases were probably in mind. Acts 19 : 37 implies that such offences were not rare. The fundamental and univer- sally applicable charge is that of a purely mercenary ser- vice of God, which was ready to bend every rule of life, even those most sacred, to motives of purely temporal gain. Such Jews had no hesitancy, like some Christians, it is said, of modern times, to speculate in idols. All scruples, which the law of which they boasted suggested, were readily disposed of. Ver. 23 sums up the entire paragraph. Who gloriest in the law sums up verses 17-20. Dost thou dishonor sums up verses 21-22. Ver. 24. Two O. T. passages in the Apostle's mind in this very free citation, which is rather an adaptation than a formal quotation, viz.: the LXX. of Is. 52 : 5 and Ezek. 36 : 21-23. The application, however, differs from that originally made where the oppression of the Israel- ites causes them to. fall into disesteem, and, then, con- tempt pas.ses over from them to the God whom they worship. The principle there, as here, is that whatever dishonor befalls Israel, affects the estimate in which the God of Israel is held by the Gentiles. 2. Examination of tJic Jcivish Boast concerning Circum- cision (ver. 25-29). 25-29. For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of tlie law : but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncir- cumcision. If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision ? and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law ? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is out- ward in the flesh : but he is Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. II. 25, 26.] THE STATE OF THE JEWS. 49 Ver. 25 anticipates the objection that this argument would overthrow the value of circumcision. The answer is that circumcision was intended as an aid in keeping the law and to those keeping the law. It was a testi- mony of God's grace to the individual Israelite, intro- ducing him into the paths of obedience and sustaining him therein. In breaking the law, the covenant thus established was broken, and its promises frustrated by those not fulfilling its conditions. " The general princi- ple must be applied to all external forms of worship, that they profit not for the work done {ex opere opcrato), nor merit the forgiveness of sins, but that they please in those who are righteous. This is applicable not only to the Levitical services, but also to external works and ceremonies in the Church " (Melanchthon). (Comp. I Cor. 7 : 19.) Illustrations of this extravagant estimate of circumcision are not rare. Thus PniLIPri and Meyer quote Rabbi Berechias : " Lest heretics and apostates and godless Israelites may say : Since we are circumcised we will not descend to hell, what does God do ? He sends an angel, and removes their circum- cision, so that they descend to hell." Another state- ment is: "Circumcision is equivalent to all the com- mandments that are in the law." Circumcision profiteth, viz. as a seal of the righteousness by faith (Rom. 4 : 11), and a pledge of God's promise concerning a future Mes- siah. If thou be a doer of the law. Circumcision pre- supposes a fulfilment of the law. The circumcised man must fulfil the law, or be justified by a satisfaction for his sin. Otherwise, the rite is of no value. Ver. 26 recurs to the thought of ver. 14. The uncir= cumcision=uncircumcised persons. In so far as Gentiles keep the law, their obedience is just as pleasing to God as though they were circumcised. The time has not yet 4 50 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [ii. 26, 27. come in this Epistle to deduce what is undoubtedly a perfectly legitimate inference, that if Gentiles keep the ordinances of the law, this proves that the righteousness of Christ has been made theirs and justifies as fully as though they were circumcised. From the legal stand- point, everything is determined by man's obedience or disobedience ; from the evangelical standpoint, every- thing is determined by the obedience of Christ. Circum- cision thus sinks into a matter of minor importance. Ver. 27. The uncircumcision which is by nature, viz. those born Gentiles and who do not become Jews. The verse shows that circumcision, instead of benefitting, only increases the guilt of the disobedient. To sin not- withstanding the possession and knowledge of the written word (letter), and the seal, in circumcision, of God's promise and loving aid, only adds to the trans- gression and condemnation. There are heathen whose exemplary lives condemn not only Jews, but also Chris- tians. But in saying that, without circumcision, some heathen are better than many Jews who are circumcised, the Apostle does not teach that any Gentiles without Christ are justified before God. The main argument of the Epistle must be kept in view, which such an infer- ence would directly contradict. If it fulfil the law refers, then, both to the relative obedience of the heathen in some external matters, and to the fruits of the new life in converted and regenerated heathen. Neither jus- tify ; but both judge the circumcised transgressor of the law. In verses 28, 29, he explains why this is so. One out= wardly, i. e. one merely by circumcision, profession, observance of external religious duties, etc. Outward in the flesh, a still more specific reference to birth and cir- cumcision. One inwardly, i. e. it is the secret, inner II. 28, 2C,.] THE STATE OE THE JEWS. 51 life that makes the true Jew. The relation to God is determined, not by what is external, but by what is in- ternal and spiritual. The service of God is a spiritual service (John 4 : 23, 24). Circumcision of the heart was an expression familiar to readers of the O. T. (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:14; Ezek. 44:9). It means the purifying of the inner life from everything immoral and unclean. In the spirit. Not man's spirit, but "by the Holy Spirit" (OsiAXDER, Grotius, Phil- ippi, Besser, Meyer, Weiss, Godet, Hodge, Liddon, Lutharut). " Spiritual circumcision is nothing but faith which the Holy Ghost works in hearts" (Luther). This interpretation is based upon the contrast here made between spirit and letter, as in ch. 7 : 6 ; 2 Cor. 3 : 6. "The notion that the possession of the Holy Spirit could not be ascribed to believers of the O. T. is refuted at once by Ps. 51 : 12. Whoever, with Luther, in most intimate experience, simply sees in the Psalms the liturgy of all saints, and has drunk the richest of spiritual comfort in time of trial, will be unable again to sympa- thize with views of the O. T. and its worthies so full of dishonor" (Philippi). Nevertheless it is only in the N. T. where this is completely fulfilled. Whose praise. The praise for all whereof the Apostle has just spoken. Of God. Therefore, real, not seeming ; permanent, not temporary ; estimated not by human, but by divine standards (Matt. 6 : 6. Comp. i Cor. 4 : 5). We do not understand this passage to mean that the godly Gentile, who has been regenerated of the Holy Spirit, is really a spiritual Jew ; but that the true Jew is one who uses his external advantages and continues to avail himself of the peculiarities and prerogatives of his race, in entire subordination to his inner and higher spiritual life. He aims solely that God's purposes in 52 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iii. i. giving him a place among Jews may be attained. He therefore is the true Jew, while that member of his race, who is scrupulous in his observance of all Judaic rites, but knows nothing more or that is deeper or beyond, has ceased to be a Jew Of course, the premises are here stated, which lead soon to the conclusion that national distinctions have been abolished. This, however, belongs to a later stage of the argument, and would not harmonize with the statement of the prerogatives of Israel that still remain to be given in the next chapter. 3. Objections Ansivcrcd (ch. 3 : 1-8). 1-8. What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what is the profit of cir- cumcision ? much every way : first of all, that they were intrusted with the oracles of God. For what if some were without faith ? shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God ? God forbid : yea let God be found true, but every man a liar ; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. But if our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say ? Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath ? (I speak after the manner of men.) God forbid : for then how shall God judge the world 1 But if the truth of God through my lie aboundeth unto his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? and why not (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say). Let us do evil, that good may come? whose condemnation is just. (rt;.) The blessings of the covenant being spiritual, what advantage then was there in external connection with Is- rael ? Ver. I. What advantage then? Throughout this Epistle, Paul often argues with an imaginary opponent. He starts difficulties which he then immediately answers. The difficulties are doubtless those which had been felt by him, as he passed through the struggles whereby, as a zealous advocate of Rabbinism, he was led to Christian- in. 2.] PREROGATIVES OF THE JEWS. 53 ity. We enter into his own mind ; and hear the questions of Paul the Jew, and the answers of Paul the Christian. Nor must we forget that what was argued by him within, was also argued by him without. His own former difficulties were re-echoed, wherever he found intelligent Jewish opponents. The subject is a live one, on which he is always thinking, and conversing with himself. Then points back to the two preceding verses. The objection raised is : "If the blessings of the covenant be wholly internal^ since no one is a true Jew, unless he be such internally, there are no advantages whatever belonging to external connection with the Jewish people. God has not in any way caused them to differ from the Gentiles." What is the profit of cir= cumcision ? This question only intensifies the former. It was not birth, but covenant relations to God conferred in circumcision that gave the Jew his prerogatives. Is all this nothing ? It is as though " in our day a nominal Christian, when put face to face with God's sentence were to ask what advantage accrues to him from his Creed and Baptism, if they are not to save him from condemnation " (God.). Ver, 2. riuch every way. An answer to both ques- tions. First of all. Of the numerous advantages that might be mentioned, it is sufficient for him to mention but one. Oracles of God. There is a possible reminis- cence here of Stephen's discourse (Acts 7 : 38. Comp. Heb. 5 : 12; i Pet. 4: 11). The *' oracles " were the utterances or declaration of the will of God. The highest prerogative of Israel, says Paul, was in its being made the organ for the communication of revelation, and thus for the preparation of salvation for the whole world. As this revelation has its centre in redemption, the "oracles" refer particularly to the promises concerning Christ. 54 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 3. This becomes manifest from ver. 3, where the disposition of faith or lack of faith towards these oracles shows that their chief contents were what was to be believed. (Comp. 9 : 4.) These promises were contained not only in the prophets (Acts 3 : 24), but also in the Pentateuch. Nevertheless the law is not excluded. The time has not come in the argument for the Apostle to enter into an enumeration of the contents of revelation. They were instrusted with, for themselves and for the world. A great privilege, but imposing a corresponding respon- sibility. This prerogative of Israel is celebrated in Ps. 147 : 19, 20. (<5.) But, says the objector, your argjunent denies the value of a supernatural revelation, unless it be received by faith. As, hozvever, the great body ofjcius believed not, the possession of these oracles gave the Jeivs no advantage (ver. 3,4). Ver. 3. Shall their want of faith? He answers the objection by a question. The thought is that God has His purposes to fulfil through Israel, that can be thwarted through no interference of man. If some of the nation, even the majority, withstand God's will, His purposes shall surely reach their end through those still remaining faithful. Men may separate and exclude themselves from the saving order; but they cannot hinder its pro- gress. In all ages, an unbroken line of witnesses is maintained, through whom God's promises are ripening for fruition. This thought is expounded in chapters 9, 1 1 . " The divine promises confer everlasting salvation upon Jews who believe, and to them circumcision is a sacra- ment confirming the promises. Do you think that God will withdraw His promise, and not stand by His covenant with Israelites, because, by unbelief, some repel these heavenly blessings ? " (L. Osiander). III. 4-1 PREROGATIVES OF THE JEWS. 55 Ver. 4. God forbid. Lit. " Be it not so." An ex- pression, like a corresponding one in Hebrew (Gen. 44 : 17 ; Josh. 22 : 29 ; i Sam. 20 : 2), used to express the abhorrence with which the mere suggestion of God's un- faithfuhiess is repelled. Often used in this Epistle. Let God be true. The truest of men will be found false, before the least untruth can be ascribed to God. " The truth of God is first completely realized in the fulfilment of His promises " (Weiss). His truth is the only truth. All truth in man comes from God. Every man a liar. Man becomes a liar not only by not fulfilling his promises, but also by not doing his duty, i. e. neglecting his obliga- tions and thus denying God. Man is false to himself in his assumed independence of God, The expression occurs in the LXX. of Ps. 1 16 : 11. Wherever, then, a covenant is broken, it is man, and not God who breaks it. An appeal is made to Ps. 51 : 4, to show that wherever there may be a question concerning the faithfulness of God, God will always be shown in the end to be victor. Thou mightest be justified, viz. proved to be righteous. " There are two classes of men. One confesses Avith David that God is true, just and holy: the other says: ' Thy word is not true. We are not blind.' " etc. (Luther, on Ps. 51 : 4). In thy v^^ords ; i. e. "All thy words proved to be true." Prevail when thou comest unto judgment; i. e. Gain the suit whenever thou art made a defendant in man's court ; vindicated in every contest in which men complain of injustice. The righteousness of God is displayed the more vividly by its contrast with man's unrighteousness. (r.) God's righteousness bcijig brought into clearer light by mail s sin, God, therefore, says the objector, cannot punish what contributes only to His glory. Ver. 5. The unrighteous Jew is represented as plead- 56 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 6. ing, that, whatever may be his sins, God loses nothing thereby, since the Apostle himself has just' suggested in ver, 4 that every sin is overruled to God's glory. In repeating the question. Is God then unrighteous, he seems almost ashamed to mention it, apologizing for it in the words : I speak after the manner of men. Thus he indicates that it is frivolous, and scarcely worthy of notice. The application of the word unrighteous to God is revolting to the Christian heart, nevertheless as it is a question that he knows is and will be occasionally raised, an answer must be given. Ver. 6. God forbid. See on ver. 4. How shall God judge the world? God's judgment of the world is assumed as needing no proof. But as there is to be such a judgment, there is no place for the argument suggested in the preceding verse. If God cannot punish that which He uses to advance His glory, then " He must entirely abdicate His office as Judge of all the earth " (Moule); since every sin, those of Gentiles as well as those of Jews, He uses to advance His glory. It is a proof of the glory of God's wisdom and power, that, without diminishing the guilt of the offender, and not- withstanding the offender's most strenuous efforts to the contrary, God uses man s acts to promote ends far different from what man intended. The sinner deserves no thanks for the good that, contrary to his intention, comes out of his sin. Ver. 7-8. The Apostle, with great logical skill, carries this argument of disobedient Israelites to its inevitable conclusion. " Why, if this be true," he says, " if it be true, that God will reward with His favor sins that He has turned to His glory, then it becomes our duty to sin all we can ! The more, the better ! " This just infer- ence carries with it the refutation of the premises on Ill 7,S.] STN UNIVERSAL. 57 which it is based. All responsibility is at an end. Its absurdity is so self-evident, that he only states it, leaving the consciences of the readers to give the answer. He adds only to the exposure of this thoroughly immoral theory the expression of his intenscst indignation : Whose condemnation is just. Even at that early period, the preaching of the doctrine of the free grace of God in Christ was maligned, as a preaching of immoral- ity. The very same false principle, which these teachers of the law laid to the charge of Christianity, St. Paul here shows pervaded their conduct and even their argu- ment against Christianity, The condemnation is not a mere word of Paul, but of the Holy Ghost speaking through Paul. " Notwithstanding its temporary applica- tion to the Jewish people, this passage has a real permanent value. It has always been sought to justify the greatest crimes in history by representing the advan- tages in which they have resulted to the cause of human- ity. There is not a Robespierre who has not been transformed into a saint in the name of utilitarianism. But to make such a canonization valid, one would require to begin by proving that the useful result sprang from the evil committed as its principle. Such is the teaching of Pantheism. Living Theism, on the contrary, teaches that this transformation of the bad deed into a means of progress is the miracle of God's wisdom and power, con- tinually laying hold of human sin, to derive from it a result contrary to its nature " (GoD.). Section IV. — Sin and Ruin Universal (3 : 9-20). The charge is summed up, as applicable to Jew and Greek alike, and is supported by the Old Testament Scriptures. 58 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 9. 9-19. What then ? are we in worse case than they ? No, in no wise : for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin ; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one ; There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God ; They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable ; There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one : Their throat is an open sepulchre ; With their tongues they have used deceit : The poison of asps is under their lips : Whose mouth is full of cursmg and bitterness : Their feet are swift to shed blood ; Destruction and misery are in their ways ; And the way of peace have they not known : There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law ; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgement of God: Ver. 9. Are we in worse case? The word used in the Greek here occasions much dif^culty, although the context, and especially the answer to the question, leave little doubt as to the meaning. A. V. gives : " Are we better than they ? " This the American revisers insist should be retained. The English revisers prefer : " Are we in worse case?" with the marginal reading: " Do we excuse ourselves?" " Are we in worse case?" is ex- plained as the interrogation of a Gentile. But the text speaks of no Gentile, and all the questions treated are those of Jews. As Piiilippi argues, the middle voice must be regarded as used here with a slightly modified force for the active. The Jew then is regarded as asking the question: " Have we any advantage for ourselves? Is the privilege of advantage to us?" That is, \vith all the advantages which the possession of the oracles of God have given, has our use of them been such that we are morally the better for it ? However great may be the Ill 9, ro] SIN UNIVERSAL. 59 divergence of interpreters concerning the meaning of the verb, all agree on the meaning of the application and answer; No, in no wise, i. e. we have no excuse to offer. All are involved in the same guilt and ruin. We before laid to the charge. It is Paul who has made this charge, He uses "we," as authors are wont to do. The charge was made concerning the Jews in ch. 2 : i sqq., and concerning the Gentiles in ch. i : 18 sqq. Under sin, not simply "sinful," but '' in absolute subjection to the power of sin " (Comp. ch. 7 •, 25 ; Gal. 3 ; 22). The various sins of Jews and Gentiles enumerated were simply the breaking forth of the one sin that pervaded all, and that expressed itself in one form in one, and in another form in another. " The most virtuous heathen and the most devout Jew were justly chargeable with a wicked heart" (Besser). Ver. 10-18. Scripture proofs. Even an inspired Apostle supports his position at every step by an appeal to Holy Scripture. Vers. 10-12 support the general charge; ver. 13-18 give specific cases. Ver. 10. As it is written. MiCHAELlS and MOULE regard the remaining words of the verse as not a quota- tion, but only as the statement of the proposition which he assumes in the succeeding paragraph to prove. The variation from Ps. 14 : 2 is consistent, however, with Paul's mode of quoting O. T. texts. Conscious of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he is not bound to the painful accuracy of a mere copyist, or to the exactness of an uninspired man in citing Scripture. His variations are inspired interpretations. There is none righteous. Upon this principle he changes " doeth good " into " righteous," since the defect with respect to the doing of good was due to the lack of righteousness. If the words of the Psalmist, '' There is none that doeth good," 6o THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iii. ii, 12. aretrue, the inference is clear, " There is none righteous." But the universal need of righteousness is the theme of this part of the Epistle. No, not one. An addition of the LXX., transferred from Ps. 14:3. It individualizes the statement, and declares that there is no exception. Ver. 1 1 , None that understandeth . (See also ch. i : 3 1 .) The conditional form of Ps. 14:2, which becomes nega- tive by the answer in the succeeding verse, is at once put into the negative form by Paul, The change goes be- neath the outward life, to its dispositions and motives. The darkening and perversion of the intellect, because of sin, are here described. (Comp. i Cor. 2 : 14 ; Eph. 4 : 18.) " The Scriptures deny to the understanding, heart and will of the natural man all aptness, skill, capacity and ability in spiritual things, to think, to understand, begin, will, undertake, do, work or concur in working anything good and right as of itself " (Formula of Concord, p. 554). None that seeketh after God. The cause of the lack of understanding is due to the determination of man's will against God. Seeking comprises desire, worship, obedience. Ver. 12. " He says : They all have turned aside in order to include those also who seem especially to draw near to God. . . . They who sin openly are less harmful than hypocrites who not only do not themselves believe, but who try to persuade others that nothing that is said concern- ing the wicked and godless pertains to them " (Luther). Together, " to comprehend the entire class of the god- less, both those showing by manifest sins that they are godless, and those who, by a fair outward appearance cover their wickedness " (Luther). None— no, not one. " A universal negative, corresponding to the universal affirmative that precedes " (Luther). The above section most clearly presents the doctrine III. 12-14,] SLY UXIVERSAL. 61 of Original Sin, and precisely meets the arguments of the Roman Catholic opponents of the Augsburg Confes- sion, in their criticism of its definition of Original Sin. Compare the chapter of the Apologv, which explains the substance of- this paragraph ; " In the Scriptures, righteousness comprises not only the Second Table of the Decalogue, but the First also, which teaches concern- ing the fear of God, concerning faith, concerning the love of God. . . . Therefore, the ancient definition, when it says that sin is the lack of righteousness, not only denies obedience with respect to man's lower powers, but also denies the knowledge of God, confidence in God, the fear and love of God, or certainly the power to produce these affections " (pp. 78 sq.). Ver. 13. Their throat- The Greek word is hnyiix, the throat as an organ of speech ; not pharynx, the organ for swallowing. An open sepulchre. As the sepulchre when opened emits pestilential vapors, so whenever they open their mouths, their speech is corrupt and corrupting, " false doctrine, Epicurean speeches, blasphemy, slander, obscenity," etc. (L. OsiANDER). With their tongues, etc. "The sugared tongue which charms you like a melodious instrument" (GOD.). The imperfect tense shows that the deceit is one habitually practised (Ps. 5 : 9). Poison of asps (Ps. 140:3). Honey and venom are artfully combined. While they flatter, the concealed fangs are full of poison, ready to be injected at the opportune moment. Ver. 14. Whose mouth, etc., shows that, however sweet and charming may be their speeches, back of the smoothness of the tongue, there is nothing but bitter- ness. Whenever they speak out candidly, they are full of complaints, malignity, defiance (Ps. 140 : 3). Ver. 15. Swift to shed blood. As before w^e have had 62 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iii. 15-17. sin as manifested in speech, so here we have it manifested in deed. Quotation from Is. 7 : 8. Under the impulse of some overpowering passion, cpvetousness, lust, revenge, etc., they are eager to take the lives of any who obstruct tjieir way to the object they have in view. Whether they be unoffending, or even their benefactors, matters not. There is no respect for the value of life. There seems to be even a delight in such crimes. Murder may become a pastime. Those whose tastes are warlike and chafe for the summons to battle, fall under this de- scription. Ver. 16. Destruction. Literally, " Breaking," and misery. The former refers to the ruin with which their track is strewn. Carnage and rapine reign everywhere. The latter refers to the sorrow which this brings, the groans of the dying, the cries of the orphaned and widows, the lingering death of the wounded, the pangs of poverty and want. History abounds in illustrations. Wherever they go, they transform fruitful fields into a wilderness (Joel 2 : 3). This is the reverse of Ps. 84 : 6. Ver. 17. The way of peace. That, namely, which brings peace and happiness to their fellow-men. Always quar- relling, and influenced in all things by purely selfish motives, they do not know how to do a disinterested act to benefit others. The root of all peace with our fellow- men must be peace with ourselves ; the root of all peace with ourselves is peace with God. LUTHER (on Ps. xiii.), with his deeply spiritual insight traces this absence of peace to the absorption of the soul in the world of sense. Their interests rest entirely in constantly chang- ing phenomena. There is no substance on which their hearts can be anchored. " Whithersoever their affairs are carried they are carried with them," " they cannot find peace since they seek it in things which from their III. i8, 19.] S/N UNIVERSAL. 63 very nature cannot a&ide." They know not the cross. Via criicis, via pads. Ver. 18. No fear of God. This sums up all and cxplauis all. (From Ps. 36 : 2.) " The fear of God " is a well- known O. T. expression (Ps. iii : 10; Prov. i : 7, 9, 10; Is. 11: 2) for the practical recognition of man's true rela- tions to God in all the events and acts of life. (Comp. Acts 9:31.) " All men begotten according to the com- mon course of nature are born with sin, that is, witlumt the fear of God " (AUG. CONF., Art. II.). Not servile, but filial fear is here meant, which has its roots in love and faith. (See Gen. 22 ; 12.) Such is the sad condition of a life sundered from communion with God. Ver. 19. Now we know, etc. The self-righteous Jew being ready to meet this argument by exclaiming that the picture is true to the life of the Gentiles, Paul antic- ipates him by urging that, however applicable this may be to the Gentiles, the condemnation recorded in the Law must be for those to whom the Law came. The in- dictment is, therefore, brought against the Jews. Of them, then, none Is righteous, no, not one. The charge is a sweeping one. The whole world is beneath God's judg- ment. All humanity is alike under condemnation. The law saith. Here the word of God recorded in the Old Testament. (Comp. i Cor. 14 : 21 ; John 10 : 34 ; 12 : 34; 15 : 25.) It is called " the Law," because the Mosaic Law is a most important portion of it, but especially *' because everything in Scripture that serves to bring men to a knowledge of their sins is Law " (Weiss). Law as dis- tinguished from Gospel. Under the law. (Comp. on ch. 2: 12.) Every mouth may be stopped, i. c. may be deprived of every plea or excuse (Job 5 • ^^ ; Ps. 107 :42). Under the judgment, the word refers to one who in an action at law has lost his case. 64 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 20. Conclusion of Argument of Part I. — All under Condemnation. 20. Because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight : for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin. Ver. 20. Because ; i. e. Every mouth will be stopped, none can offer any excuse, and the whole world will be guilty, because, with no other supernatural revelation than that of the law, there can be no justification Works of the law are those prescribed by and wrought under the constraint of the law, " such as man can do, when he has no other help than the law " (GOD.). The statement is true also of the good works of the regenerate ; they cannot justify. But to introduce this here would be foreign to the argument Paul is now presenting. He is showing what man is without the Gospel. " As long as man does the works because they are commanded, from fear of punishment or desire for reward, he is under the law, and his works are properly called by St. Paul ' works of the law.' " (Formula of Concord). " The work of the law is whatsoever a man doeth or can do of his own free will " (Luther). The entire contest is violated by interpreting " law " as referring to the Ceremonial Law, The offences specified in the arraignment of both Jews and Gentiles were against the Moral Law. Li no law whatever, cere- monial or moral, can justification be found. No flesh. Human nature universally corrupted and enfeebled by sin is powerless. Justified. (Comp. on ch. 2 : 13.) Knowledge of sin. The law is the standard of right. Whatever fails to comply with the law, is therefore sin (i John 3 : 4). " Sin is lawlessness " (R. V.). The fuller the knowl- edge of the standard, the greater therefore the knowledge of the failure to reach the standard. The contrast becomes III. 20.] CONDEMNATION UNIVERSAL. 65 the more manifest, when the objects, " man " and " the law," are placed side by side. The law is the rule which measures man's life. Growth in the knowledge of the law is, therefore, constantly attended by an ever increasing deepening of the sense of sin, and overwhelming con- sciousness of sin and ruin. " God published the law, to show us how far we are from true godliness and righteous- ness, that we might cast away all hope of our righteous- ness and merits, and flee to Christ" (OsiANDER). Thus closes the first part of the Epistle. The theme is the universality of the grace of God. The first part of the argument is the universal need of grace. This has been shown, first, by the failure of the Gentiles, and, sec- ondly, by the failure of the Jews, to attain righteousness before God. But all mankind being comprised under these two classes, all have the same want. By nature, they are beneath the judgment of God, who is justly offended be- cause of their sins, and neither by nature, nor the law, can they be restored to God's favor. 5 PART II. ALL ALIKE ARE OFFERED JUSTIFKA TION UV FArril IN CHRIST (3:21-5 : 19). SECTION' I.— TuK Nkw Way of Like in Christ in- TENDKl) FOR Al.l, MEN — A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE Pla\ of Salyaiton (3:21-31). 21-31. But now, apart from the law, a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and tiie jirophets, even tlie righteousness of Clod through faith in Jesns Christ unto all tiieni that be- lieve ; for there is no distinction ; for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to /v a propitiation, through faith, by his blood, to shew his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God ; for the shewing, / say, of his righteousness at this present season : that he might himself be just, and the justitierof him that hath faith in Jesus. Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law .' of works.? Nay: but by a law of faith. \Ve reckon therefore that a man is j ustitied by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only .> is he not the God of Gentiles also .' ^■ea, of Gentiles also : if so be that God is one, and he shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make the law of none effect through faith .'' God forbid : nay, we establish the law. Ver. 21. But now marks the time. In these latter days of Gospel grace, as contrasted with the preceding period of Heathenism and Judaism. (Comp. Gal. 4:4; Kjili. 3:5; ch. 16 : 26.) Apart from the law. Without reference to any conditions or requircnients of the law. In contrast with " through the law " of the preceding verse. Our fulfilment of the law has nothing whatever '66 III. 21, 22.] CIIN/ST J'OR ALL. 67 to do with the righteousness that is provided for us. This is described as the righteousness of God, i. e. a righteousness prepared and bestowed by God, as con- trasted with one earned by inan's obedience. (Sec on ch. 1:17.) Hath been manifested, i. e. revealed in Christ (Col. I : 26j, so that all may see and hear it. Being wit- nessed by the law, etc. It is nothing new ; but was long foretold in all parts of the Old Testament (comp. ch. 1:2); nevertheless has been heretofore a mystery (ch. 16:26). Notice the two-fold use of law in this verse: " Apart from the law " refers to law as distinguished from the Gospel ; " Witnessed by the law " refers to the Gospel promises in the Old Testament. Christ is the key to the interpretation of the Old Testament. What it meant was only dimly apprehended until Christ came. Ver. 22. The Apostle recurs to the theme of the Epistle in ch. i : i6, 17. The righteousness prepared by God ; and made man's, when accepted by the faith or self-surrender of the heart of Christ, is offered univers- ally on the sole condition of faith. Unbelievers are con- demned because of their refusal to accept this righteous- ness. " Only unbelief damneth " CLuther). No distinc= lion. Whatever the distinctions among men, they alike need righteousness, and this righteousness has been pro- vided for all alike in Christ. " A mountain-top differs in level from a mine floor; but it is as impossible to touch the stars from the mountain as from the mine " (MOULE). As L'.iiversal as is man's ruin, is God's gracious provision and offer. They who decline being saved as sinners are excluded from tlie benefits of our Lord's redeeming work (Matt. 9: 13). Nor, on the other hand, is there any sin whose guilt is beyond the provisions of redemp- tion (i Tim. 1:15). Ver. 23. All have sinned. The tense here is important, 68 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 23, 24. which both A. V. and R, V. have failed to observe. The meaning is not : " All have sinned," but that, at some definite point in time past, " all sinned." (See ch. 5 : 12.) The American revisers propose in the margin the true rendering. " The sin of each one is presupposed as an historical fact in the past, whereby the sinful state is occasioned " (Weiss). Since there is no righteousness that avails before God, except such as is perfect and complete, a single sin committed during his life would forever prevent justification on the ground of the law of the one who sinned. But since this has occurred, at some time or other, with all, none can be justified by the law. We regard this statement, however, as reaching back still further to the sin of Adam. Fall short. In consequence of this sin, they fail to attain the standard of righteousness which God has prescribed. Glory of God, viz. the glory which God bestows upon man, the holiness, righteousness and purity in which man was created and which God wants to see restored in man. To be accounted righteous before God is the highest glory of which man is capable. Ver. 24. Being justified freely. This is an explanatory statement confirming what immediately precedes. The thought is: "And if they are to be justified, they must, therefore, be justified freely." The universality of the act of sin and of the sinful state, is followed by the dec- laration of the universality and equality of the terms and conditions of deliverance from it. The mode of justification is freely, i. e. without anything in man to deserve it (Matt. 10:8; 2 Thess. 3 : 8 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 7) ; the origin is by his grace, i. e. God's favor towards those deserving only His wrath, and the means, the redemp= tion which is in Christ Jesus. In all passages referring to Justification, Redemption means purchase by the pay- III. 24, 25.] CHRIST FOR ALL. 69 ment of a price. A comparison with synonymous ex- pressions clearly proves this (i Cor. 6 : 20 ; 7 : 23 ; Gal. 3 : 13; Pet. 20: 28). The price is mentioned in Matt. 20 : 28 ; I Tim. 2 : 6, and especially in Eph. i : 7. All are slaves under sin, and cannot be liberated except at a price no less costly than that of the life of the Son of God. " Such is the wrath of God that it can be appeased by no victim except only by the death of His Son " (Melanchthon). " Who hath redeemed mc, a lost and condemned creature," etc. (Small. Cat.; i Pet. 1:18 sq.). Thus, in one sense, justification is not free ; an ample price has been paid for it by the sufferings and death of Christ. But it is free to us, since this price is not paid by us, but has been paid by the Son of God Himself. Ver. 25. Set forth. The alternate translation in margin " purposed " is equally well supported by Scriptural usage. It is the same word that is used for " purposed " in ch. 1:13. (Comp. Eph. I : 9.) The thought then becomes that of the predetermination or predestination of Christ as the sacrifice for sin, as in i Pet. i : 20. But, as Calvix remarks, " if we adopt the other interpretation, the argu- ment remains the same, viz. that God, in His own time, publicly presented Him whom He had purposed should be Mediator." Calovius correctly combines both. " T\\Q prothcsis [purpose, setting forth] occurred in God's eternal counsel (i Pet. i : 20), in the oracles of the prophets and the types of the O. T. (Rev. 13 : 8), in the sending and setting forth of Christ as Mediator (i Tim. 4 : 10), and in the preaching of the Gospel, whereby He was clearly set forth to all as the true Mercy Seat, so that whoever embrace it by faith obtain forgiveness of sins and grace." To be a propitiation. The Greek word is that used in the LXX. for Mercy Seat {Kapporcth), the lid of the ark of the Covenant, sprinkled once a year 70 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iii. 25. with the blood of atonement (Lev. 16 : 13-16; Heb. 9 : 5). The idea of covering inherent in the word is not that of a covering of the ark, but of the covering of the sins there made. Hence it is to be understood as meaning " the instrument of atonement." (See Oehler's O. T. Theology, Transl. pp. 253-257.) It set forth the fact "that the God who dwells in the midst of His people can only commune with them in virtue of an atonement offered to Him, but that He is also a God who can be reconciled." When Paul calls Christ the Mercy Seat he means that, in Christ all that is fulfilled which the Mercy Seat had foreshadowed. So Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Luther, L. Osiander, Grotius, Calo- vius, Bengel, Tholuck, Olshausen, Philippi, Besser, Delitzsch, Cremer, Liddon, Gifford, etc., under- stand this passage. The objections of Meyer, Hodge, Stuart, Alford, Brown, Luthardt, Moule, Sanday, etc., are chiefly: i. As the High Priest sprinkled the Mercy Seat, this would necessitate us to think of Christ as sprinkling Himself with His own Blood. 2. The Mercy Seat was concealed from the sight of the people. The first is answered by the argument of the Epistle to the Hebrews that Christ is both High Priest and sacrifice (Heb. 7:27). The second is answered by the contrast between the Old and New Testaments. The Mercy Seat of the O. T. was accessible only once a year, and then only to the High Priest ; that of the N. T. is for all times and peoples. Other objections are stated and answered at length by Philippi, and with less fulness by Gifford in The Speaker s Commentary. Instead of " Mercy Seat," some propose to translate the word by " Propitiator " or " Reconciler." There is no example, however, of the word being used with respect to persons. Others propose " Propitiation " in the sense III. 25.] CHRIST FOR ALL. 71 of " a propitiatory sacrifice." This also is without the support of any example. For this, another word is used in I John 2 : 2. The Greek Jiilastcrion, here used, does not mean sacrifice. The sugLjestion is contrary also to the analogy of faith. God is nowhere said in Scripture to present or offer a sacrifice ; the sacrifice must be offered to God, " Christ presented Himself to God an expiatory sacrifice (Heb. 9 : 14, 28 ; Eph. 5:2; John 17 : 19), but not, God offered or presented Him to mankind in sacri- fice " (Phil.). Here, God sets forth, i. e. presents Christ to the world as its true and all-availing Mediator. He is the Mercy Seat or Propitiatory. Through faith, by his blood. Preferable to Marg. and A. v., " faith in His blood." The clauses are correlative, and each limits " Mercy Seat." It is only tJirongJi faith that man makes the Mercy Seat, i. e. Christ, his own. But the Mercy Seat in itself is of no avail. To reconcile with God, it must be sprinkled with blood. Christ is no Mediator and Saviour apart from His suffering and death. The Cross is the centre of every Christian life. A suffer- ing, bleeding, dying Jesus is the sum and substance of the Gospel. Sanguis CJiristi, Christi evangclitini. No reconciliation with God is to be found in Jesus as a holy example or a pure teacher. If our sins are to be blotted out, we need His Blood (i John 2 : 2). To show his righteousness. The death of Christ manifests not only God's love, but also His justice. This justice could be satisfied in no other way than by the death of His Son. It is startling testimony to the awful significance of sin, and the earnestness of God against it ! The complete acquiescence of the sufferer in the justice of the penalty which he bears is an additional exhibition of the divine righteousness. Because of gives the reason why this manifestation of 72 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [in. 25, 26. His righteousness was necessary. The A. V. is here entirely at fault. The passing over of the sins done aforetime in the forbearance of God. Here again the A. V. entirely misleads. " Passing over " {paresis) of sins is very plainly different from their forgiveness {aphcsis). The sins that were passed over were not forgiven. Ref- erence is made to what is taught in Acts 17:30. For many long ages before Christ there had been no super- natural interference with the course of sin which the world had been pursuing. Death indeed prevailed, and, from time to time, signal judgments descended upon nations and individuals. Nevertheless these were only reminders of the claims of divine justice, and in no way commensurate with the guilt of the crimes committed. Lest, then, His long forbearance might be construed as indifference to sin (Ps. 50 : 21 ; Ecc. 8: 11), God shows once for all the extent of His wrath by letting the punishment for sin fall upon His Son when He stands in the place of a sinful world. Nor must it be forgotten that God's delay in punishing the godless before Christ was due to the atonement which, although to be offered in the future, was to Him who sees the end from the beginning an ever-present reality. Besser says that this verse contains three thoughts : " Blood," " Faith," and " Righteousness." Ver. 26. For the shewing resumes the thought of " to shew " of ver. 25, and depends on " set forth." At this present season, i. e. the time of Christ's advent, which is pre-eminently the Day of Salvation. A contrast between the times of the Old and the New Testaments is implied. That he might be just, dependent on " set forth " of ver. 25, repeats the thought just stated, in order to combine it with another. And the justifier of him. " We have here the greatest paradox of the Gospel ; for in the laiv. Ill 25.] CHRIST FOR ALL. 73 God is seen 3.sjiist and condemning ; in the Gospel, He is seen diSjnst and justifying the sinner " (Bengel). " The highest revelation of God's grace is also the highest reve- lation of His righteousness " (Besser). His justice does not exclude His mercy; nor His mercy His justice. The blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat proclaims His justice; the Merc}^ Seat sprinkled with blood His mercy. Even in the forgiveness of sins, the justice of God is asserted and vindicated : " The Cross puts the holy God on His throne, rebellious man in the dust " (GOD.). " ' Just in punishing ' and ' merciful in pardoning ' men can under- stand ; but 'just in justifying ' the guilty startles them " (Brown). That hath faith in Jesus, viz. who, by faith, makes this revelation of the justice and mercy of God in Jesus his own, recognizes himself as the lost and con- demned creature who needs a redeemer, and, having found this redeemer in Jesus Christ, acknowledges and owns Him as his Lord. Faith in Jesus is the entire, un- reserved, self-surrender of the heart to Jesus. It is not a work of man arising from the exercise of his own powers in response to the word of God, but it is a work throughout of the Holy Ghost (i Cor, 12 : 3). " Stop here for a moment, dear Christian, and look into the divine work of Justification, as the Apostle has presented it in the three verses, 24-26. From beginning to end, it is the work of God, without any aid or co-oper- ation on our part. God's grace and God's righteousness kiss one another in redemption through the blood of Christ, and this redemption has purchased for us sinners the gift of righteousness in the forgiveness of sins. But you ask, whether the reception of this gift may not per- 74 Tllli EPISTLE TO THE KOMAxVS. [iii. 27. haps depend upon our co-operation ? No. For this comes through faith, and faith, the trust of the heart in God's promise, or the taking possession of the divine gift and grace, is not our work, but the gracious work of God in us (Eph. 2 8-10). ' I beUeve that I cannot by my own reason or strength beheve in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him,' etc. Because it is the nature of faith to banish all trust in our own works and nature, and to sur- render itself entirely to the grace of God in Christ Jesus, it avails for justification. This it does, not as a virtuous, meritorious work (man is justified through faith, not because of faith), or because good and precious works follow that please God (for it is Christ received by faith, and not the fruit of faith that justifies man). The works of the faith of saints are indeed good ; but the best of them is not good enough to avail before God as a founda- tion, or a partial foundation, for justification. Hence the Apostle insists that the article concerning justifying faith must not be commingled with that concerning the powers of sanctification, which are active in the believer. The consolation offered by the Gospel to a poor sinner is dependent upon our making the faith whereby we are justified the same that it is according to the Apostolic doctrine, viz. the taking to ourselves of the righteousness that has been completed for us in Christ Jesus " (Besser). Ver. 27. Where then is the glorying ? A question of triumph. The argument is so complete ! If man's justi fication depends entirely upon the justifying grace of God, and this is given solely because it has been pur- chased by the blood of Christ, man has nothing pertain- ing to his natural life whereof to boast. By what man- ner of law? Law does not mean here a positive enact- 28.] CIIKJST FOR ALL. 75 ment, but " according to what rule," " upon what prni- ciplc," " by what system," as in ch. 7:21; 8:2; 9:31; 10: 31; James 2 : 12. As such the Gospel, while not " the law," is " a law," since its blessings are bestowed upon the sole condition of faith. It is God's order to Impart His righteousness through faith, which He also bestows according to a mode of working which He has revealed. All that faith does is only to receive what God provides ; and yet even this receptive power of faith is a result of the work of grace within us. Ver. 28. We reckon therefore. The weight of manuscripts, and the opinion of both TiSCHENDORF and Westcott and HoR r,areonthe side of the marginal reading : " For we reckon." This, then, introduces a summary of the entire preceding argument, as proving what has just been stated in ver. 27. A man. A general term for any member of the human race. It is used in contrast to Jew and Gentile in the next verse. It must not be forgotten that the doctrine of Justification by Faith has been introduced by the Apostle in support of what is his main theme, viz. the universalism of the Gospel. Is justified by faith, i. e. by merits of Christ received by faith, as has been just ex- plained, Luther's addition of " alone " (not original with Luther, but found in the Nurenberg German Bible of 1483 and a Geneva Italian Bible of 1476 (see Philippi), does not belong properly to a translation, although it is com- pletely justified by the context. For if justification be not by faith alone, works must have something to do with our justification. Nevertheless the Apostle lias just said that the law of works has nothing to do with justification, and in the next clause " apart from the works of the law " he repeats the statement. The entire doctrine of this verse, in its various relations, is most clearly stated in the Foruiula of Concord : " A poor sinful man is justified 76 THE EPISTLE TO TJJE JxOMANS. [m. 2S-30. before God, i. e. absolved and declared free and exempt from all his sins, and from the sentence of well-deserved condemnation, and adopted into sonship and heirship of eternal life, without any merit or worth of his own, also without all preceding, present or subsequent works, out of pure grace, alone because of the sole merit, complete obedience, bitter suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Christ, whose obedience is reckoned to us for right- eousness. The treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means whereby we lay hold upon, accept and apply and appropriate them to ourselves " (p. 571). The attempt to limit these works to those of the unregenerate, is sufficiently met by the illustration of Abraham, com- mented upon in the succeeding chapter. Ver. 29. Or is God the God of Jews only. This may be rendered more idiomatically : " Does God belong only to the Jews?" He would assuredly be only a Jewish God, if obedience to the Jewish law were the sole con- dition of Justification. Ver. 30. It so be that God is one. Monotheism, says Paul, is at stake in this argument. If you make God a Jewish God, then the Gentiles are right in making gods for themselves. He shall justify indicates the uniform application of redemption under the Gospel dispensation. The circumcision by faith. If Jews are to be justified — and many of them shall be — this will occur only by faith. The circumcised are not excluded, but circumcision has no effect upon justification. The uncircumcision through faith. We are not persuaded by Mever that the varia- tions " by faith " and " through faith " are accidental. There are no accidents in PauVs style. " Never did jeweller chisel his diamonds more carefully than the Apostle does the expression of his thoughts " (GOD.). in. 30, 31 ■] CHRIST FOR ALL. 77 The difficulty of determining the reason of the distinc- tion is indeed great. " By," " out of," indicates origin ; " through " indicates instrument. Calvin suggests that Paul means that the difference between the two is as small as there is between being justified by faith or through faith. But the omission of the article in the former clause and its introduction in the latter is also significant. The marginal reading is true to the original when it gives us: " He shall justify the circumcision out of faith and the uncircumcision through the faith.'' Hence we believe there is much force in the explanation of LiDDON : " It was the development of the subjective faith of the Jews which would lead to their justification ; it was the objective faith of Christendom, of which as \'et they knew nothing, which would be the means of justifying the Gentiles." Ver. 31. Make the law of none effect. The objector whose voice has been heard so often throughout what precedes, comes forward again. Why, he says, if the law has nothing to do with our justification, you might as well deny its obligation and divine authority. Not at all, says Paul. Nay, we establish the law. We only place the law in its true place. Its office is to convict of sin (ver. 20). It leads to Christ and the Gospel (Gal. 3 : 24). From faith comes the new obedience, when, with faith, love, the fulfilling of the law, enters (ch. 13 : 10). " Faith fulfils all laws; works fulfil not a tittle of the law " (Luther). The truest friends and champions of the law, those who actually and not merely seemingly fulfil it, are found only where the plan of salvation in Christ has been appropriated and prevails. 78 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. i, 2. Section II.— The New Way of Life in Christ an Old Way. Justification by Faith under the Old Testament (ch. iv.). AbraJiam s Example (vers. 1-5). 1-5. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory ; but not toward God. For what saith the scripture ? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth onhim that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Ver. I. What then shall we say ? A frequent phrase of Paul (3:5; 6:1; 7:7; 8:31:9: 14). The read- ing of A. R. V. is preferable : That Abraham our fore= father hath found according to the flesh, i. c. What blessings did Abraham obtain according to his own natural powers, in contrast with the workings of divine grace ? " What has Abraham found by his own labor ? " Some find in this appeal proof that the majority of the Roman Church were Jews. But in i Cor. 10 : i, Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, which was chiefly Greek, concerning the children of Israel as "our fathers." He writes from the standpoint of a Christianized Jew, just as when he says " What shall we say? " Ver. 2 assumes that Abraham was justified by his works. His works fulfilled all the conditions that man's standard of righteousness could require. '' He had many excellent and heroic virtues, and undoubtedly surpassed all men of his age in wisdom and every kind of virtues. These Paul does not despise, but he says that they can- not be set over against the wrath and. judgment of God " (Mel.). The thought is : " Wherein Abraham was justi- IV. 2, 3-] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WA Y. 79 fied by works, he has whereof to glory. But he has nothing whereof to glory before God. Therefore he was not justified before God." Had Abraham been justified before God by works, his service of God would have been mercenary. All the charm of his obedience would be gone. Then comes the implied application : "If, then, even Abraham was not justified before God by works ; much less, they who boasted of him as their father." Ver. 3. Abraham believed God. "The firm apprehen- sion of a promise is called faith. It justifies, not as our work, but as God's. For a promise is a divine gift and thought, whereby God offers us something. It is not a work of ours, whereby we do something for God or give something to God, but we receive it from God, and that too only by His mercy. . . . Faith alone apprehends the promise, believes God when He promises, reaches forth the hand and receives when God ofTers. This is the peculiar ofifice of faith. Love, hope, patience have other works to do. They do not apprehend the promise, but they obey commandments. They hear God ordering and commanding; they do not hear God promising. This faith does" (LUTHER on Gen. 15:6). It was reckoned unto him for righteousness. The inability of Abraham to find justification by works is confirmed by Scripture (Gen. 15 : 6). The word " reckon " or " impute " excludes the idea of any inherent merit or righteousness. There was no righteousness or merit in his faith ; for then faith would be only a work of another kind. When Abraham believed, God treated him precisely as though he were righteous. The promise, through faith in which Abra- ham entered into a state where he was thus graciously treated, was that of the coming Messiah (Gen. 15 : 5). What that promise contained, he apprehended very feebly ; but there was a complete self-surrender of his 8o THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 3-5. will to the word of God. Faith is a relation, an attitude, a temper, a disposition of man towards God. It contains within itself the readiness to receive with joy whatever God may reveal, and to do or suffer with joy whatever God may appoint. Abraham was reckoned righteous by being brought into such thoroughly receptive relations to God, that all the blessings that God had to give were made his in advance. Ver. 4. Not as of grace, but as of debt. An inference from the Old Testament testimony. If by works Abra- ham had been justified, why would the statement be that " the reward was reckoned "? For if it came by works, this was nothing more than Abraham deserved. The very thought of " grace," in connection with God's deal- ings with Abraham, shows that he receives what he has not earned. God treats him as though he possesses that which he does not have. But as of debt. If justification be by works, we make God our debtor. Ver. 5. To him that worketh not, i. e. to one whose good works are not wrought for the purpose of obtain- ing justification through them; one who does not endeavor to purchase justification by his works. "The man who has obtained justification may be looked upon as in possesssion of a title-deed, which secures to him a right to God's favor. The question is, How comes he into possession of this title-deed ? Did he work for it, and then receive it as a return for his work? No, he did not work for it ; and thus it is that justification is to him who worketh not — that is, he did nothing antecedent to his justification to bring this privilege down upon him; and it is a contradiction to allow that it is by doing any- thing subsequent to justification that he secures this privilege, for it is secured already " (CHALMERS). But believeth on him that justifieth. His faith does not lay IV. 5, 6.] THE NEW WA V, AN OLD WA V. 8 1 hold of just anything. It is not mere bcHef in the good- ness of God ; but it is trust in God as justifying those who, if justice, without mercy, were enforced could not be justified. On the one hand, it is confidence in the free promise of God ; on the other hand, it is complete self-surrender of the heart and life to One whom, in the promise, man has learned to trust. " Believing on Him " means more than regarding His word as true ; it designates a personal relation. The ungodly. A very forcible word, meaning, in the original, one guilty of open and flagrant sin. An extreme case is taken, such as is not found in Abraham, to show how a godly life has nothing whatever to do with justification. His faith is reckoned for right= eousness. Manifestly not because the faith has any merits ; for faith is pure receptivity. Faith cannot exist without an object. Not even in thought can we separate faith from its object. When anything of value, there- fore, is ascribed to faith, it belongs to the object which faith apprehends and contains. Receiving God's promise by faith, the promise of God with respect to him is real- ized. Taking the merits of Christ as his own, as God extends them to him, these merits are reckoned as his. Faith is reckoned for righteousness ; because faith takes to itself and by the grace of God keeps Christ's right- eousness as its own. David's Testimony (vers. 6-8). 6-8. Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works, sayings Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin. Ver. 6. Apart from works. As " to reckon righteous " is the same as to justify, this verse, with the preceding, is 6 82 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 6-8. the source of the formula: "Justification by faith with- out works," i. e. the works of behevers have nothing whatever to do with their justification. Ver. 7, 8. A quotation from Ps. 32 : i, 2. This gives the negative, as ver. 3 gives the positive side of justifica- tion. Both go together. On the one hand, justification is treating man as though he were righteous; on the other, it is the passing by and not reckoning, i. e. the for- giving of sins. This quotation is intended to show that justification does not consist in the removal, but in the covering or hiding from sight of sin. However far sanc- tification may have progressed, sins always remain in this life. " When David, worn out by perpetual torture of conscience, breaks forth in this explanation, it is certainly from experience that he speaks ; for he had served God already for many years. Having discovered, then, after his great progress, that all are miserable who are called to God's tribunal, he exclaims that there is no other way of obtaining happiness, than by the Lord's receiving us into grace by the non-imputation of our sins. Thus the imagination of those is refuted, who say that the right- eousness of faith is only the beginning, and that by works believers obtain possession of righteousness, which they have acquired by no merits" (Calvin). "Therefore, even though the converted and believing have incipient renewal, sanctification, love, virtue and good works, yet these neither can nor should be introduced into or con- founded with the article of justification before God, in order that the honor which belongs to Him may remain with Christ the Redeemer, and, since our new obedience is incomplete, tempted consciences may have sure con- solation " (Formula of Concord, p. 576). IV. 9, 10.] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WAY. 83 Neither tJic Circumcision of Abrahavi ami David, nor their Obscrva)ice of the Laiv, determined their Justifi- cation by Faith (vers. 9-18). 9-18. Is this blessing tlien pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also ? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness. How then was it reckoned .'' when he was in circumci- sion or in uncircumcision ? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision : and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision : that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteous- ness might be reckoned unto them; and the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision. For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect : for the law worketh wrath ; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression. Vox this cause it is of faith, that it viay be according to grace ; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abra- ham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, e7>cn God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Vers. 9, 10. " But," continues the Apostle, " some one may say that justification without works is a special privilege of the circumcised, since the O. T. passages, just cited, refer to Abraham and David." The answer begins by drawing a line of distinction between David and Abraham. "If David were the only one involved," the implication is, " this might be assumed as the basis of an argument." But with respect to Abraham, the case is not so clear. David was circumcised in infancy; Abra- ham, not until he was ninety-nine years old (Gen. 17:24). To which period of Abraham's life did this declaration concerning his justification belong? The answer is Not 84 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. ii, 12. in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. The declaration of Gen. 15:6 was made at least fourteen years before the institution of circumcision in Gen. 15. Ver. II. The sign of circumcision, i. e. circumcision as a sign. A seal of tiie righteousness of faith, i. e. of the righteousness of which faith has been made the possessor. In Abraham's case, therefore, circumcision was only a pledge of the justification which he had received years before; just as, under the New Testament, obedience to the new law and the new life, wrought by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, are the seal of the righteousness of Christ which the believer has received. Thus circumci- sion was neither in itself an act which conferred irresist- ible grace for justification, nor was it valueless. It was an attestation of the divine assurance that Abraham was justified by grace through faith. Nor must this passage be regarded as teaching that, in all cases, justification preceded circumcision. That he might be the father of all them that believe. The divine intention, at the institution of circumcision, had in view a community of believers, collected from all nations (Gen. 18: 18), inde- pendently of their relations to circumcision. The sole bond of union was their common faith, diffused from Abraham through the promise given him, which made him the true spiritual father of all believers (John 8 : 37, 39). Though they be in uncircumcision, i. e. faith, not circumcision determines the matter. That righteousness might be reckoned, i. e. " Who believe so as to receive the imputed righteousness of Christ." Ver. 12. The father of circumcision. Abraham is the true father of circumcised believers. Their spiritual one- ness with him is determined by their possession of faith, such as vVbraham had before he was circumcised. But who also walk in the steps of that faith. Here the IV. 12-14.] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WAY. 85 reference is made not merely to entrance into the cove- nant, but to persevering continuance in it. Even the once having the faith of Abraham is nothing, unless that faith be carried through the whole life. Thus the entire argument of these two verses becomes : The children of Abraham are: i. All uncircumciscd believers ("All them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision " ). 2. All circumcised believers. 3. Both only as long as they believe. Thus circumcision has nothing to do with mak- ing valid the offer of justification. All depends on faith. Whatever value circumcision has, is as a means of strengthening faith, by the pledge of God's grace which it offers. Ver. 13. For gives the reason why Abraham's father- hood was more far-reaching than the sphere of circum- cised believers, and that it excluded all circumcised unbelievers. Not through the law, i. c. through any definitely or elaborately arranged system of ordinances. While the Mosaic law is in mind, the application is still wider. According to Gal. 3: 17, the law was 430 years later. The promise referred primarily to the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:18; 17:8, etc.). But a preceding promise indicated that its scope was still wider, and made Abra- ham and his seed heir of the world. It referred to the universal empire of the Messiah (Ps. 2 : 8), the sharing in it of all spiritual chiklren of Abraham (Matt. 5 : 5), and beyond this, the new heavens and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13), with all that believers inherit in Christ (i Cor. 3:22). The natural seed was the type of the spiritual ; the earthly Canaan, the type of heavenly. Through the righteous= ness of faith. Because God found in him the righteous- ness which through faith He had given him. Ver. 14. If they which be of the law, etc. This verse means: If man is to earn these things by conformity to 86 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 14-16. law, why should mention of righteousness to be obtained in a different way have been made ? What place is there for any promise of grace? The dilemma is : Either law or the righteousness of faith. Either law or promise. Admit the former, and you deny the latter. Salvation by the law and salvation by the promise are incompatible propositions (Gal. 3:18). The promise, of none effect. " For if the promise would require the condition of our merits and the law, it would follow, since we would never fulfil the law, that the promise would be useless " (Apology, p. 90). Ver. 15. For the law worketh wrath, i. e. A sinful man has neither hope nor help from the law. No grace is there (John 1:17). Its only effect upon a sinful man is to bring the inner sin out into open transgression, and thus to increase God's wrath against the sinner. " Thus the divine wrath has its differences of degrees. It rests upon the unconscious sinfulness of Adamitic human nature (Eph. 2:3; John 3 : 3). It is aggravated by the fact of sin against the natural perception of God and law of conscience (2:14, 15). It reaches its highest point when sin is developed as transgression of the law of God revealed from without " (PlIILIPPi). No law, no trans= gression. He does not say, no sin. A transgression refers to a positive act in violation of a divine command or prohibition. The general corruption is, in a transgres- sion, determined to a particular point. The argument means that the coming of law adds guilt for a positive transgression to that of the general guilt belonging to the person's sinful state. Ver. 16. For this cause, i. e. there being no grace by the law. It is of faith. The promise of the inheritance is received by faith, belongs to faith. According to grace, i. e. that it may be bestowed entirely as a favor from IV. 1 6.] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WAY. 87 God, without regard to man's merit or worthiness, so that the thought of relation to the law may be completely- excluded. That the promise may be sure. For if the fulfilment of the promise depend in any measure upon man's fulfilment of the law, it is rendered uncertain. " We never could determine when we would have sufifi- cient merit " (Apology). The question which naturally occurs whether the conditions of faith, then, do not inter- fere with the gratuity of the promise is well answered : " Although the promises of the Gospel are received by faith, and cannot be received otherwise than by faith, nevertheless, on this account, they do not cease to be gratuitous: first, because faith itself is a gift of God, and not our work, inasmuch as the Holy Ghost, through the word of the Gospel, enkindles faith in our hearts; secondly, because faith does not concur as a merit, the worth of which God regards, but only as an organ, as the hand of a beggar, which in receiving alms does not make these alms less of a gratuity" (GERHARD, L. T. 3 : 161). AH the seed, i. e. all who believe. The next clause analyzes this into two classes, viz. first, That which is of the law, i. e. believers, who by birth and circumcision were once Jews, and, secondly, That which is of the faith, i. e. those who have not been Jews, and who, except on the ground of the promise of grace apart from the law, could have no hope whatever of the blessings of everlasting life. Of the faith of Abraham. Both such faith as Abraham had, and faith proceeding from and grounded in Abraham's faith, as the bearer to the world of the divine promise. Father of us all indicates the common ground on which, by faith, both Jew and Gentile stand. All the members of the Church at Rome had the same claim to this inheritance. Ver. 17. As Jt \s written (Gen. 17 : 5). This is "a 88 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 17, 18. preaching of the Gospel beforehand " (Gal. 3 : 8). Before him, i. e. " the father of us all before him,'' the same as though he had called Abraham the spiritual father of all nations. Abraham's spiritual children embraced repre- sentatives of all nations. Some were Abraham's children also by natural descent, sprung from his own body, " now as good as dead " (ver. 19), Others were made Abraham's children by God's special order and command — not by natural inheritance— but by the grace of Him who calleth the things that are not as though they were. The pledge of this introduction of Gentiles among the seed of Abraham was given in the fact that even Abraham's natural offspring in Isaac had become his in a super- natural way. The same grace operated in both cases. Why should it be regarded an impossibility for Gentiles to be spiritual children of Abraham, when the miracle of the birth of Isaac is regarded ? TJie Nature of Faith, as Illustrated by the Faith of Abraham (vers. 18-25). 18-25. Who in hope beUeved against hope, to the end that he might be- come a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb : yea, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for right- eousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned unto him ; but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who be- lieve on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification. Ver. 18. In hope, i. e. a hope inspired by God's promise became the motive of his faith. Against hope, i. e. where all hopes according to the natural order were vain. The IV. i8, 19.] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WAY. 89 former refers to natural ; the second, to supernatural hope. " For unless faith soar aloft on heavenly pinions, so as to look down upon all carnal sense, it will always stick in the mire of the world " (Calvin). To the end that he might. This translation shows that the trans- lators regard this as expressing the divine purpose in bestowing the faith. But we prefer to regard this clause as declaring what Abraham believed, viz. " He believed that he would become the father of many nations." The Greek construction is a peculiarly emphatic one to declare how he threw himself ujDon God's promise, away from self, and all else. That promise henceforth became the one determinative principle of his life. Ver. 19. He considered his own body. The best manu- scripts omit the negative found in A. V. In the popular understanding, the general sense does not vary. When the negative is accepted, the passage means he did not take the deadness of his body into the account. When omitted, the thought gains force. He is then regarded as reflecting on his age and the deadness of his body. When the promise was made, he did not forget this (Gen. 17 : 17), but declared it to God. But his word of seeming astonishment and his laugh came not from doubt, but from joy. He knew all this, says Paul, and yet he be- lieved. " I think that Christ had in mind this very pas- sage (Gen. 17:17), when he said (John 8:56): 'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.' For his falling on his face and laughing, as Christ explains, was only the expression of a soul over- flowing with joy, in the fact that he now was certain that he would be the father, and Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, through whom salvation and blessing would come to the whole world " (Luther). The deadness, etc. (Comp. Gen. 18 : 11.) 90 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 20, 21. Ver. 20. Looking unto the promise. " Looking " is not in the Greek text, but is carried over in thought from " considered " of the preceding verse. He Wavered not. There was no hesitation or doubt. The word used also in ch. 14 : 23 ; Matt. 21 : 21 ; Acts 10 : 20 ; James i : 6, means Hterally to discriminate. "All this," the thought is, " made no difference, when he had an explicit promise from God. He did not stop to sift evidence concerning that of which God assured him." Through unbelief. He could not waver, since all vacillation comes from un- belief; and from this he was free. Waxed strong, i. e. His faith grew as it was exercised. Giving glory to God. " Glory is the sum of the attributes of God. To give glory is to ascribe to God His true character as the Almighty, the All-holy," etc. (Liddon). " To God, he ascribed the glory of truth, for even should God promise what is impossible, he deceives no one; and \\\q. glory of poivcr, for since nothing is impossible to God, he was full of confidence that God would accomplish that which the natural order does not effect. These are the two ful- crums of faith; and he who finally accepts them to the honor of God brings his faith into captivity to the obedi- ence of Christ. It is a characteristic of all believers " (Baldwin). Ver. 21. Being fully assured, i. e. being perfectly cer- tain. Same word in ch. 14 : 5 ; Col. 4: 12, and correspond- ing noun in Col. 2 : 2 ; i Thess. 1:5; Heb. 6:11; 10 : 22. This was an important proof-text in the controversies against the decrees of Trent, in which the Roman Catholics deny that certainty is an attribute of justify- ing faith. The word here used excludes all doubt from faith. The older Protestant expositors refer to the etymology of the word as indicating the filling of the sails of a ship with wind. Thus GERHARD (I.. T. 3 : 366) : IV. 21-24- 'J^J^E iVEll^ IVAY, AN OLD WAV. 91 " Ships which are borne along with full sails go towards the appointed place by the most direct course, hasten with utmost speed, never pause, nor look for rocks or shoals, — all of which may be most forcibly applied to faith firmly cleaving fast to the divine promises." GODET, however, makes a different application : " To fill a vessel to the brim. This word, used in the passive, applies to a man filled with a conviction which leaves no place in his heart for the least doubt." What God had promised. Faith is thus in its real nature a relation of a person to a Person. Whenever it appears as the accept- ance of a statement, that statement is accepted solely because of Him who makes it. Faith is trust in God, which necessarily expresses itself in the acceptance of all that God teaches, and the self-surrender of the heart to all that God wills. Vcr. 22. Wherefore, i. c. Since there was such com- plete surrender to God of all that pertained to self, and such absolute reliance on God's promise. It was reck= oned. The construction is impersonal. The meaning is: " He was reckoned righteous." " He was treated as though righteous." For explanation of the expression, see notes on ver. 3. Ver. 23, 24. (Comp. Rom. 15 : 4.) Shall be reckoned. The Greek construction emphasizes the certainty of what is prophesied to take placc.^ All who believe shall, when they believe, find this righteousness imputed also to them. The object here is to show that the terms of salvation to believers under the present dispensation are identical with those in the case of Abraham. All are justified solely through faith in God's promise. The only difference is that the faith of Abraham was directed to ^ Mtilo with the infinitive is used, in general, of what is sure to happen " (Thayer). 92 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. [iv. 24, 25, the future towards a coming Saviour, while that of those under the N. T. embraces a Saviour who has come and wrought complete redemption. Most that to him was a matter of expectancy is to us one of accomplished fact. Who believe. The present tense indicates that justifica- tion occurs wJicn men believe, '^qq Augsburg Confession, Art. iv. : " Men are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and their sins forgiven for Christ's sake." On him. Faith is not simply a persuasion of the truth of an historical fact ; but it is a relation of person to person. Back of the fact lies the Person whom the fact reveals. The same Person to whom Abraham looked for the fulfilment of the promise is the One whose power and faithfulness have been mani- fested to a later age in the resurrection of Christ, and upon whom, therefore, believers of the N. T. confidently rely. That raised Jesus our Lord. The resurrection is mentioned as attesting the completion of the redemption promised Abraham. Ver. 25. Delivered up. A frequent expression for the surrender of the Son of God, as a victim for the sins of the world. In ch. 8 : 32, the Father is said to have delivered up the Son. In Gal. i : 4 ; 2 : 20, and Eph. 5 : 2, the Son is said to have given Himself for us. In Matt. 20 : 19 ; 27:2; Mark 15 : 10, etc., He is said to have been delivered by the Pharisees, elders, priests, etc., and in John 19 : 16 by Pilate. The harmony of the divine and human factors in the delivery of Christ to death is sj:ated in Acts 2:23 and John 19:11. For our trespasses. Literally, " on account of our trespasses," in order that a satisfaction for them might be rendered and God's wrath propitiated. (Comp. John i : 29 ; Is. 53 : 6 ; i Pet. 2 : 24.) Abraham's faith in this delivery of Christ to death was confessed in his words on Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22 : 8). For IV. 2S-] THE NEW WAY, AN OLD WAY. 93 our justification. Literally, " on account of." As our sins caused His death, so our justification caused His resurrec- tion. When our sins were not yet atoned for, and God's wrath was not yet appeased, He endured death and passed beneath God's wrath for our sakes. When the demands of the law were completely satisfied, and every sin had received the full penalty which it merited, and God's wrath was turned to love, justification was provided for us. Hence, because the work of redemption had reached its consummation, and there were no more sins for which an offering was to be made, he rose again ** on account of our justification.'' Potential justification for all men is thus certified to by Christ's resurrection. " When the debtor is proved insolvent, his security is thrown into prison ; but as soon as the latter succeeds in clearing the debt, the debtor is legally set free, and his security is liberated with him. We sin. He dies; we are justified. He lives again. So long as the security is in prison, the debt is not paid ; the immediate effect of payment would be his liberation " (Godet). (Comp. i Cor. 15: 17.) An- other interpretation regards the Greek preposition dia, here used, as meaning " for " (so the A. V. and R. V.), and explains this clause as meaning that the resurrection of Christ was necessary in order to produce justifying faith in the hearts of men, the resurrection being the great argument in the Apostolic preaching to bring men to Christ. For it proves that the death of Christ was not that of a malefactor or of a misguided zealot, but a vicarious death for our sins; and thus renders the appro- priation by faith of this death possible. " Without His resurrection, the atoning work of His death would have remained without subjective appropriation ; His surrender for our transgressions would not have attained its end — our justification " (Meyer). While this explanation is 94 'i'nt- EPi^TLi-: TO rni-i koma.xs. [iv. .-5. the one more commonly given, and alTirms a doctrine which is entirely in harmony with Scripture, nevertheless we cannot regard it as justifying the change in the mean- ing of the preposition dia from the sense used in the former clause. If it be objected to the interpretation here acceptetl that justification for each believer begins, not from oui Lord's death, but from the time that this death is appro- priated by faith, the answer is correctly given : " The Apostle here states the ideal of the matter; he means not individual justification, but the work which forever secured justification for the belie\ ing Church. A close parallel is the // is finished {}o\\\\ 19 : 30). In the Divine Idea, every future believer was declared to be justified, through an accomplished Propitiation, when Jesus rose " (Moule). We go even farther, and say that .so far as God was concerned there was already at Christ's resurrec- tion justification for all men ; only this justification had afterwards to be appropriated b)- those to whom it would be applied and whom it would benefit. Section III. — The Gospel Trovisions for Justi- fication, NOT TEMTORARV, but PERMANENT (5 : 1-21). The harmony between the O. and N. T. has been established by the argument just given. The Apostle proceeds next to show that justification is not simply a matter of the present. He looks forward into the future, and declares the blessedness of the justified man both for time and eternity. As all humanity had fallen into sin, so complete deliverance for all humanity is provided through redemption in Christ. V. I.] 77//'; ao.Sr/:L PKOV/S/OXS I'Eh'AlANKN'i: ^5 {a.) llw Security of the Justified Proved by an Ari^umcnt from the Love and Mercy of (Jod (vers, i - i \). i-ii. IJeing therefore justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have liad ouraccess by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and let us rejoice in hope of the glory of f Jod. And not only so, jjut let us also rejoice in our tribulations : knowing tliat tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, probation ; and probation, hope: and hope putteth not to shame ; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy (Jhost which was given unto us. For whde we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : for perad- venture for the good man some one would even dare to die. But God com- mendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his .Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life ; and not only so, but we al.so rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Vcr. I. Being therefore justified. Tin's connects with the last clause of preceding chapter, where justification is mentioned. At the same tinae, it brings the attention of the reader back to the main argument by which the universality of grace has been proved, viz. Justification by Faith. By faith. " Faith justifies, not by itself, by its own worth or value, or by moving God to justify the believer, but because, as an instrument or receptive means, it lays hold of tlie merit of Christ, in view of which God is moved to pardon and consider righteous, of His mere grace, the penitent sinner believing in Christ " (HOLLAZIUS). The meaning cannot be misunderstood, if the connection with preceding verse and the correct inter- pretation of the latter be kept in view. Chapter 4 : 25 treats of the provision of justification for mankind ; this verse, of its subjective appropriation. V,y faith, man 96 THE EPrSTLE TO THE ROMANS. [v. i. takes to himself and claims God's forgiving love. We have peace. Upon this translation, found in the A. V., the American revisers insist. The difference in the original depends only upon the question of a long or a short o. While the preponderance of manuscripts favors the R. V. "let us have peace," the change is inconsistent with the entire argument. This is no place for personal appeal and a practical application. Hence the greater number of expositors, including Philippi, Meyer, Weiss, Godet, etc., insist that, in this case, the testimony of the manuscripts is not determinative of the text. Internal evidence undoubtedly has its weight, especially when the variation of the text may be explained by the early liturgical use of the passage, in which the indicative might readily have given place to the subjunctive. The thought in this connection is not man's disposition to- wards God, but God's disposition towards man. God's anger is over, and He has towards the justified no thoughts but those of love. (Comp. Eph. 2 : 14, 16, 17.) No refer- ence is made here to peace of conscience, which is desig- nated " peace from God " (ch. i : 7), or " the peace of God " (Phil. 4 : 7), but never " peace with God." Through our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole argument is : God now is reconciled, not because of our works, but because of the righteousness of Christ, which through faith is ours. The too much overlooked commentary of Axsel:\I brings out well the thought of the verse according to the contrast which Paul had in mind: "Justified by faith, let us have peace with God, which you do not have as long as you claim for yourselves a false justification, some by the law, others by the powers of the free will. It is as though he said : This dissent that you boast of your own merits, as though you were justified by yourselves, is against God. But justification which is of faith makes V. I, 2.] THE GOSPEL rROVISIOAS PERMANENT. 97 peace w ith God, because it expels the hostile presump- tion of human merits and humbly submits itself to God, acknowledging that we are saved solely by grace alone. We are justified by faith, and, nevertheless, gratuitously, because even faith is a gift of God." Ver. 2. As ver. i treats of peace, this verse treats of hope. The grace or favor of God is far more than peace. It freely bestows all the blessings of everlasting life. It is here described as a state into which believers enter, and in which they stand ; it is not therefore a mere])' transitory experience of God's love. We have had our access. Comp. this with the present tense of A. V. Emphasis is laid upon the fact that it is through Christ alone that the very first approaches of divine grace were enjoyed. The reference is to the past ; when they be- came Christians, they had this access. The law did not begin the work, and Christ complete it ; but before and without our fulfilment of the law, Christ brought this grace. The question has been earnestly discussed as to whether " access " be understood as transitive or intran- sitive. While the two meanings may be in a measure hai-monized, the above explanation is given according to the view of those who take it transitively, as meaning " introduction " (TlIOLUCK, Mever, Welss, Gifford). The words are used in the classics " of the manoeuvre by which an engine of war is brought close to the walls of a besieged city." Rut the intransitive meaning ad- vocated here by Philippi, Cremer, Godet, has equal weight of classical usage, where it is often applied to access to a king, and where such approach was made through a -p