,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,romans ,a ,practical ,exposition ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,d4,d4 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester ,,vol4 ,i 7,,chapters ,i-,,viii7 ,,london ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1 ,w4 #aijb ,,first ,,edition 4 ,february1 #ahii4 ,reprinted 4 4 4 4 4 ,march1 #aijj4 ,reprinted 4 4 4 ,september1 #aijj4 ,reprinted 4 4 4 4 ,october1 #aijb4 ,,oxford ,,horace ,,hart1 ,,printer ,,to ,,the ,,university v ,,preface ,a good excuse is needed for adding to the large number of excellent commentaries on the ,epistle to the ,romans which already exist4 ,but ,i think there is such an excuse4 ,these commentaries are not of the sort which readers who are educated but not scholarly find it easy to master2 so that in fact this epistle is at the present day very much misunderstood or ignored by such people4 ,and again1 partly owing to its interpretation at the period of the ,reformation and by some ,evangelicals of later date1 it is still practically to a great extent viewed with discomfort and neglected by those who most value the name of ,catholic4 ,my excuse1 then1 for adding to the expositions of the ,romans lies in these facts4 ,one who is necessarily immersed in the practical work of the ,christian ministry1 and is yet struggling to keep himself in some sense in line with biblical scholarship1 if his life involves special disadvantages1 may yet hope to be useful in interpreting to ordinary ,christians vi the results of the scholars4 ,and ,i am persuaded that it requires one who enters thoroughly into the spirit of churchmanship1 or the obligation of the one body1 to interpret with any completeness the mind of ,st4 ,paul4 ,this volume has practically no more connexion with lectures delivered in ,westminster ,abbey last ,lent1 than is implied in its being an exposition of the same epistle by the same person4 ,the method of exposition in this volume is the same as that pursued in its predecessor on the ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,after a general introduction1 each section of the ,revised ,version is taken1 or in some cases two sections are taken together1 and prefaced by an analysis or paraphrase1 as seems most useful1 and followed by further explanation of the main ideas or phrases which each section contains4 ,the 'appended notes' ,i have been obliged to defer to the end of the second volume--which1 ,i hope1 will appear within a year--with a view of approximately equalizing the size of the two volumes4 ,,charles ,,gore4 ,,westminster ,,abbey1 ,conversion of ,st4 ,paul1 #ahii4 vii ,,table ,,of ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction4 7i7 ,origin and circumstances of the epistle 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #a 7ii7 ',justification by works' or 'by faith' 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #f 7iii7 ,justification1 sanctification1 and ,church membership 4 #be 7iv7 ,st4 ,paul's doctrine and modern spiritual needs 4 4 4 4 #da ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans4 ,,chapter ,i4 #a-g ,,salutation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #df #h-ag ,,introduction 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ec ,,division ,i ,universality of sin and condemnation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #fc #ah-cb #a ,judgement on the ,gentile world 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ff ,,ii4 #b ,judgement on the ,jews 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #hg ,,iii4 #a-h #c ,jewish objections 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aad #i-bj #d ,sin and condemnation universal 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aba ,,division ,,ii ,justification by faith only4 #ba-ca #a ,christ our propitiation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acj ,,iv4 #b ,the true seed of ,abraham 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aee viii ,,division ,,iii ,the accepted life or the moral consequences of justification4 ,v4 #a-aa #a ,the holy confidence of the justified 4 4 4 4 4 #age #ab-ba #b ,the second ,adam 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ahe ,,vi4 #a-ad #c ,the ,christian life a living by dying 4 4 4 4 4 #bjd #ae-bc #d ,the perfect freedom in ,god's service 4 4 4 4 4 #bbe ,,vii4 #a-f #e ,freedom from the law by union with ,christ 4 4 #bcf #g-be #f ,the function and failure of the law 4 4 4 4 4 #bde ,,viii4 #a-aa #g ,life in the ,spirit 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bga #ab-ag #h ,the life of sonship 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bhh #ah-cj #i ,the hope of the creation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bih #ca-ci #aj ,christian assurance 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #cba #a ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans ,introduction4 i4 ,st4 ,paul's great ,epistle to the ,romans was written1 as may be quite confidently asserted1 from ,corinth1 during the second visit to ,greece recorded in the ,acts#a1 i4e4 in the beginning of the year commonly reckoned #eh1 but perhaps more correctly #ef ,a4,d4--the year following the writing of the ,epistles to the ,corinthians4 ,the reasons for this confident statement1 and indeed for all that needs to be said about the circumstances under which ,st4 ,paul wrote and the conditions of ,christianity at ,rome1 become apparent chiefly in connexion with the later parts of the epistle which are not included in this volume4 ,they #b shall therefore be omitted here1 and we will content ourselves for the moment with a very brief statement of the results in which scholars are now finding1 as it would seem1 final agreement4 ,the existence of ,christians at ,rome was due not to any apostolic founding1 for no apostle appears yet to have visited ,rome1 but to the sort of 'quiet and fortuitous filtration#b' of ,christians from various parts of the empire to its great centre which must naturally have taken place2 for from all quarters there was a tendency to ,rome4 ',some from ,palestine1 some from ,corinth1 some from ,ephesus and other parts of ,proconsular ,asia1 possibly some from ,tarsus1 and more from the ,syrian ,antioch1 there was in the first instance1 as we may believe1 nothing concerted in their going2 but when once they arrived in the metropolis1 the freemasonry common among ,christians would soon make them known to each other1 and they would form1 not exactly an organized ,church'--that may well have been the result of the later presence of ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,peter--'but such a fortuitous assemblage of ,christians as was #c only waiting for the advent of an apostle to constitute one#c4' ,among this assemblage of ,christians it appears evident from ,st4 ,paul's language#d that there must have been ,jews as well as ,gentiles2 but the dominant character of the church was ,gentile#e4 ,it is perhaps only putting this in another way to say that there would have been among the ,roman ,christians elements of hostility to ,st4 ,paul and his teaching1 but ,christianity as ,st4 ,paul taught it would have been in the ascendant4 ,and probably ,st4 ,paul's special informants about affairs there would have been his special friends1 ,prisca and ,aquila#f4 ,the character of the epistle written to these ,christians of the capital is marked4 ,it has beyond any other of ,st4 ,paul's epistles the character of an ordered theological treatise4 ,of course it assumes the existence of accepted ,christian principles--the rudimentary instruction or ,christian 'tradition'--in the minds of those to whom it was addressed#g4 ,but it takes certain of these principles of the ,christian #d religion and develops them systematically and argumentatively2 though again1 it must be explained1 the argument is very far from being barely logical1 but is full of the deepest feeling1 showing itself in passages of memorable eloquence which live in the hearts of all of us4 ,why this particular epistle should have this character of a systematic treatise is not hard to see4 ,st4 ,paul was reaching the end of his great controversy for the catholicity of the ,gospel1 against the ,judaizers--that is1 for the equal position of ,gentiles and ,jews in the ,church1 and against the obligation upon the ,gentiles of circumcision and the ceremonial law4 ,that controversy was the occasion of the apostolic conference at ,jerusalem1 which is described both by ,st4 ,luke in the ,acts#h and1 from the point of view of ,st4 ,paul's own 'apology1' in the ,epistle to the ,galatians#i4 ,it is felt at its whitest heat in that intensely concentrated and passionate epistle4 ,but by the time that the ,epistle to the ,romans came to be written the controversy was quieting down4 ,the victory of ,catholicism over ,judaism was as good as won4 ,the great principle of justification by faith1 not by works of the law1 had developed itself lucidly #e and clearly in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 and flowed out in our epistle in an ordered sequence of thought1 rich1 profound1 and mature4 ,and there were special reasons why it should have been expressed in writing at this moment1 and to the ,roman ,christians4 ,though the heat of the conflict inside the ,church was over1 the fierce hostility of many of the ,jews1 both within and without the ,church1 to ,st4 ,paul personally was by no means past4 ,now ,st4 ,paul was on his way up to ,jerusalem with the money collected in the ,gentile churches for the poor brethren there4 ,he attached great importance to this expression of ,gentile goodwill1 and almost more importance to its acceptance at his hands by the ,jerusalem ,christians#aj4 ,it was to be a link of mutual1 practical love to bind the divergent elements in the ,church together4 ,but he felt1 and as experience showed rightly1 that his enterprise would be attended with great peril to his life4 ,this epistle therefore1 like his speech at ,miletus1 has something of the character of 'last words#aa4' ,he is in writing it committing to the future the fruits of his labours1 so far as they can be expressed in a doctrine1 at a moment when he feels that their continuance is being #f seriously imperilled4 ,and this summary of his life's teaching in its most characteristic aspect is most fitly addressed to the ,christians of the great city which was the centre of the then world4 ,st4 ,paul already conceived of ,christianity as1 in prospect at least1 the religion of the empire4 ,it was vastly important1 therefore1 that the capital should know it and hold it in its full glory and richness4 ,he himself1 if he escaped safe through the visit to ,jerusalem1 was bent on immediately going thither and securing this great end by his personal ministry#ab4 ,but he could not depend on the future4 ,he must seize the golden moment--buying up the opportunity at least by a letter4 ,this1 in very brief words1 is an account of the circumstances and conditions under which the ,epistle to the ,romans was written1 and it must suffice for the moment till some of the details are presented to us in its later chapters4 ii4 ,there are men of whom it is especially true that their teaching is the outcome of their own #g personal experience4 ,if a man's teaching is to have any real force this must be in a measure true in any case4 ,but in some men the personal experience has set an exceptionally strong impress upon the intellectual convictions1 and so upon the teaching4 ,such men--otherwise very different from one another--are ,augustine1 ,dante1 ,luther1 ,bunyan1 ,newman4 ,such an one was ,st4 ,paul4 ,his intellectual theory is on fire with the emotions bred of a personal experience1 both bitter and sweet1 but always intense4 ,and if there is professedly more of autobiography in the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 yet in fact we know ,st4 ,paul's interior life1 both before and after his 'conversion1' so far as we know it at all1 mainly through the generalized account of it in the ,epistle to the ,romans4 ,for the doctrine of justification by faith1 not by works of the law1 developed in this epistle1 is the record of his personal experience reduced to a general principle4 ,st4 ,paul had1 on the lines of his ,pharisaic education1 in the first half of his life zealously sought to be justified by works1 and had found out his mistake4 ,what is the real meaning of this phrase8 ,ordinarily we ,englishmen find it natural to appropriate ,st4 ,james' 'common sense' language #h about justification rather than ,st4 ,paul's#ac1 and say that faith is surely of no moral value without works or good actions1 and that we can be justified by nothing else except our conduct4 ,or if the ,pharisees are pointed to with their rigid ecclesiastical observances as types of men seeking to be justified before ,god by the merits of their works1 then1 in this sense of works1 we feel that the idea of justification by such means1 apart from deeper moral effort1 is one which has passed out of our horizon4 ,yet if we get to the moral essence of the ,pharisaic idea1 we may still find it lying very close at hand to us1 even though we do not know what a phylactery means1 and are at a safe distance from fasting twice in the week1 or giving tithes of all that we acquire4 ,a well-to-do ,englishman1 of whatever class1 has a strong sense of respectability4 ,he has a code of duty and honour which he is at pains to observe4 ,a soldier1 a gentleman1 a woman of fashion1 a peasant's wife1 a schoolboy1 and an undergraduate1 representing not more than the average moral levels of their different classes1 will all of them make really great sacrifices to fulfil the requirements of their respective codes4 ,their conscience requires #i this of them1 and they would be miserable in falling short of it4 ,but their conscience is also limited to it4 ,they resent the claim of a progressive morality4 ,conscientious within the region of the traditional and the expected1 they are often almost impenetrable to light from beyond4 ,they are nervously afraid of the very idea of subjecting their life to a fundamental revision in the light of ,christ's claim1 or to the idea of surrender to the divine light wherever it may lead4 ,but this frame of mind--conscientiousness within a limited and well-established area accepted by public opinion1 coupled with resentment at whatever completer and diviner claim may interfere to disconcert one's self-satisfaction1 and bid one begin afresh on a truer basis--is that very attempt to be justified by works which appeared in the case of the ,pharisees1 only dressed in very different guise to that in which the conditions of modern ,england clothe it4 ,for the ,pharisees of the ,gospels were the later representatives of the ,hasidaeans1 i4e4 ,chasidim or 'pious' folk1 whom we hear of in the ,books of ,maccabees#ad4 ,the later religious development of ,israel lay along the lines of #aj rigid reverence for the law4 ,in days then of general laxity and a general prevalence of ,greek customs1 these pious ,israelites united themselves to promote the devout observance of their law4 ,their relation to ,maccabaean heroes and rulers varied1 as religious or political motives were uppermost in the ,maccabaean house4 ,they themselves pursued one consistent aim4 ,they came to be known as the ,pharisees1 the separated or the separatists1 the party who kept aloof from everything common or unclean4 ,as such they represented the religious nation in its later development4 ,they had the bulk of the people1 and especially the women1 with them4 ,they had consequently1 as ,josephus tells us1 an irresistible influence upon public affairs1 and especially upon religious affairs1 and they held the social position befitting the legitimate religious leaders of ,god's own people4 ,this position1 with its accompanying reputation1 they doubtless deserved by their zeal for the law1 and for the 'traditions of the fathers' which hedged about or interpreted the law4 ,but according to the solemn witness of ,christ and ,st4 ,paul1 a disastrous lowering of the best moral standard of the ,old ,testament scriptures had taken place among them4 ,the ,mosaic law was1 #aa of course1 a matter mainly of outward observance1 and therefore would become a matter of rigid social requirement within the area of such a body as the ,pharisees4 ,nowhere does public opinion act more strongly than in a close religious circle4 ,but the social requirement according to tradition came to be substituted for that deeper spiritual relation of the 'holy nation' and the individuals composing it to ,god and ,his will1 which is the real moral essence of the ,old ,testament4 ',how can ye believe1' our ,lord said to them1 'which receive glory one of another1 and the glory that cometh from the only ,god ye seek not#ae8' ,this is the central moral weakness of the ,pharisaic position4 ,a social or ecclesiastical tradition had taken the place of the will of ,god4 ,this social tradition was rigid and stern in respect of the 'tradition of the elders1' but it did not revise itself constantly or at all in the light of the mind of ,god1 and therefore its moral standard became debased4 ,it 'made void the word of ,god because of the tradition4' ,it 'tithed mint and anise and cummin1 and left undone the weightier matters of the law1 judgement1 and mercy1 and faith4' ,it 'strained out the gnat1 and swallowed the camel#af4' ,it #ab came to be almost purely external and consistent with even the grossest spiritual hypocrisy1 as both ,st4 ,paul and our ,lord ,himself assure us4 ,above all1 it was completely satisfied with itself4 ',we have ,abraham to our ,father4' ',i thank thee that ,i am not as other men are4' ,that is the characteristic tone of ,pharisees and of all who1 however unlike them otherwise1 are living by a strong social standard and priding themselves on belonging to a respectable and dignified class4 ,this it is that ,st4 ,paul calls seeking to be justified or commended to ,god by 'works' or 'works of the law'--not1 we must observe1 'good works1' such as are the fruit of a right disposition towards ,god1 of which ,st4 ,paul never spoke with any disparagement4 ,it is the characteristic of the ,pharisaic attitude that a man holds by a strict code enforced by the public opinion of his church or circle2 a code which he diligently and even painfully obeys4 ,but it is characteristic of this attitude also that it resents new light1 and tacitly claims independence even of ,god1 provided that 'the law' is kept or the accepted standard maintained4 ,thus the ,pharisees resented the ,christ1 when renewing the voice of the old prophets1 without respect of persons1 ,he exposed the #ac moral weaknesses of these religious leaders1 and bade them1 in effect1 begin again and think afresh what ,god's will really meant3 when ,he warned them that the one unpardonable sin is to be self-satisfied in one's own eyes1 and to repudiate as an impertinent intruder the fresh divine light4 ,the story is very familiar4 ,they resented and rejected the ,christ because ,he made the unlimited divine claim upon them3 because ,he spoke to them as ,god to the human soul1 and not as the representative of 'the tradition4' ',seeking to establish their own righteousness1 they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of ,god#ag4' ,now we understand what it is to seek to be justified by works4 ,it is to have a social or ecclesiastical code1 and to claim acceptance in ,god's sight because we perform it1 meanwhile making 'the law' under which we act1 believed to be divine1 a substitute for the living and personal ,god1 and resenting any fresh and immediate claim of ,god on the human soul4 ,in this mixture of subservience and independence1 of religious humility and human pride1 ,saul of ,tarsus had been brought up 'at the feet of ,gamaliel in ,jerusalem4' ,his was not #ad one of those slack consciences which enable men to take the lowest line which respectable public opinion will allow4 ,in every ecclesiastical system the strict law comes to be mitigated by various dispensations and compensations--generally substitutions of the easier ceremonial for the harder moral requirement4 ,but young ,saul no doubt took the law in its fullest sense as the thing to be kept1 with all its accompanying traditions4 ,so taken1 it constituted no doubt what ,st4 ,peter calls it#ah--;an intolerable yoke4 ,a strict ,jew must have had a very difficult life of it4 ,but it was not this yoke of specific outward requirements that staggered ,st4 ,paul4 ,what he found crushing was the inward claim--',thou shall not covet#ai4' ,he who had determined to appear before ,god at the last with a clear record as one who had kept the law1 found himself confronted by an inner and searching claim of the divine righteousness1 to which no blamelessness in outward conduct enabled him to correspond4 ,he could not help feeling himself a sinner in the eye of ,god2 and the sacrificial system plainly gave his conscience no relief at all4 ,he does not even allude to it in this connexion4 ,meanwhile1 as he moved #ae about in ,jewish society of the empire at ,tarsus and elsewhere1 he found that it required no spiritual microscope to discover that the law in many of its plainest moral injunctions was in fact not being observed at all4 ,he seemed to see that instead of the law being really the means of justification1 it in effect put 'the righteous nation' simply in the position of condemned sinners1 and himself among them1 as fully as if they were simply without a divinely given law1 like the 'sinners of the ,gentiles4' ,we know well how1 when the way of ,god had been learnt more perfectly1 this earlier moral experience of the effect of the law on himself and others worked itself out in ,st4 ,paul's mind into a deep theory of the function1 not of 'the law' only1 that is the ,mosaic law1 but of law altogether--of 'the letter' of any body of external enactments4 ,law1 he found1 could enlighten the conscience1 but it could never reach deep enough to the springs of will to strengthen and purify them4 ,god must become more intimate to man than any external law can make ,him4 ,a law of ordinances can only be a preparatory discipline1 intended by the very falsity of the assumption on which it is based to teach men that they are not what they fancied themselves4 #af ,they fancied themselves beings sufficiently independent to stand on their own basis and enter into a covenant with ,god1 to make a compact with ,him to observe a law and to abide by the result4 ,it is the function of such a compact as between independent parties to convince men that any such relation between ,god1 the ,creator and ,giver1 and man1 the creature and simply the receiver--still more between ,god the ,holy and man the defiled and weakened--is simply contrary to fundamental facts#bj4 ,as yet1 however1 ,st4 ,paul was only rendered miserable by his experience under the law4 ,to feel himself a sinner alienated from ,god was a profound humiliation to his spiritual pride4 ,he was fired no doubt by the lofty ideal of the righteous nation1 standing before ,god in virtue of its righteousness1 of its performance of the divine law1 and therefore making its claim on ,god to vindicate it before the whole world4 ,he threw himself zealously into rigid observance3 only1 however1 to find himself humiliated and perplexed4 ,meanwhile1 he was becoming conscious of the #ag claim of ,jesus of ,nazareth to be the ,christ4 ,under what conditions that claim began to confront him we do not in the least know4 ,but he must have known in the period before his conversion that the severest attack on the spiritual position of the ,pharisees ever delivered had been delivered by ,him who claimed to be the ,christ2 that the ,pharisees in consequence had thrown all their influence into the rejection of ,his claim1 and if they had not been the most direct instruments of ,his death1 yet had encouraged and sanctioned it4 ,thus the more dissatisfied he became in his own conscience1 the more zealous he grew for the ,pharisaic position1 and the more fanatical1 therefore1 against the followers of the crucified ,jesus4 ,at what point it began to dawn upon his conscience that perhaps ,jesus was right and not the ,pharisees2 that perhaps it was in ,his teaching that his own restless heart was to find repose1 we can only wonder4 ,some struggle such as this dawning consciousness would involve he certainly passed through4 ',it was hard for him to kick against the goad#ba4' ,at last1 and at a definite moment1 ,god 'triumphed over him' in ,christ1 and he gave in his #ah allegiance to ,jesus as the ,christ on the road to ,damascus4 ,many a man has thus after a struggle surrendered to ,god at discretion3 many a man has shown the will1 as ,faber calls it1 'to lose my will in ,his1 ,and by that loss be free4' ,but to no man can it ever have involved a completer sacrifice of his own pride and prejudice--of his own personal comfort and safety--than it did to ,st4 ,paul3 and1 therefore1 in no man did it ever involve a vaster increase of spiritual illumination4 ,hitherto he had stood on the basis which his pride in his religious position gave him and1 starting thence1 had sought to erect the spiritual fabric of a life acceptable to ,god4 ,but the more he had known of ,god and the more he had struggled1 the less satisfied he had become4 ,god seemed to be in no other attitude towards him than that of a dissatisfied taskmaster4 ,now he had surrendered at discretion into ,god's hands4 ,he had no position of his own to maintain4 ,he had put himself in ,god's hands4 ,in ,his sight he was content to be treated as a sinner1 just like one of the ,gentiles--to be forgiven of ,his pure and unmerited love1 and of ,his pure and unmerited love endued with a spiritual power for which #ai he could take no credit to himself1 for it was simply a gift4 ,once more1 he had henceforth no prejudices and recognized no limitation on what he might be required to bear or do4 ,his life was handed over to be controlled from above4 ,thus when ,st4 ,paul sets justification by faith and faith only in opposition to justification by works of the law1 he is contrasting two different attitudes towards ,god and duty1 which in the two halves of his own sharply sundered life he had himself conspicuously represented4 ,the contrast may be expressed perhaps in four ways4 #a4 ,the man under the law of works is mainly concerned about external conduct and observances--the making clean of the outside of the cup and the platter3 the man of faith is concerned almost altogether with the relation of his heart to ,god at the springs of action4 ,faith is a disposition of the heart which indeed results in a certain kind of outward conduct1 but which has its value already1 prior to the outward conduct1 because of what it inwardly is4 ,faith1 as ,calvin said1 pregnant with good works1 justifies before they are brought forth4 ,this distinction between faith and works underlies ,st4 ,paul's teaching in parts1 but is never very prominent4 #bj ,it accounts1 however1 for ,st4 ,paul's shrinking from any insistence upon outward observances in the ,church1 such as do not necessarily convey any spiritual meaning or power4 ',why1' he cries to the ,colossians1 'do ye subject yourselves to ordinances2 handle not1 nor taste1 nor touch 7all which things are to perish with the using71 after the precepts and doctrines of men8#bb' #b4 ,inasmuch as 'the law' was a national thing1 so 'works of the law' were a supposed means of justification confined to ,israel1 and an occasion of contempt for other nations4 ,faith1 on the other hand1 the mere capacity to feel our own wants and to take ,god at ,his word1 is a universal quality and belongs1 or may belong1 to all men4 ,thus justification by faith is opposed to justification by works of the law1 as the universal or catholic to the merely ,jewish or national1 and in this aspect the contrast occupies a great place in ,st4 ,paul's thought and teaching4 #c4 ,but it is not in the things it is occupied about1 or in the range of its activity1 that faith is most centrally contrasted with works4 ,it is in the attitude of man towards ,god which it represents4 ,the 'worker' for justification always #ba retains his own independence towards ,god4 ,he works upon the basis of a definite covenant by which ,god is bound as well as himself4 ,he has the right to resent additional claims4 ,faith1 on the other hand1 means an entire abandonment of independence4 ,it is self-committal1 self-surrender4 ',i know him whom ,i have believed1 and ,i am persuaded that he is able to guard that which ,i have committed unto him against that day#bc4' ,the man of faith throws all the responsibility for life on ,god1 and says simply and continually1 ',speak1 ,lord1 for thy servant heareth4' ,it is of the utmost importance to notice that this is the only attitude of man towards ,god which corresponds with the ultimate facts of human nature1 as science and philosophy are bound to represent them4 ,man is1 in fact1 an absolutely dependent being1 physically and spiritually4 ,his virtue must lie1 not in originativeness1 but in correspondence4 ,supposing him a free agent in ,god's universe1 his freedom can only consist in a power to correspond with divine forces and laws intelligently and voluntarily2 or on the other hand to disturb the divine order of creation in a measure by #bb wilfulness and sin4 ,now faith is simply the faculty of loving correspondence with ,god4 ',justification by faith' is the only conception of justification which is possible in the light of the root facts of human nature4 ,but of course the practical appeal of this conclusion to the heart and will is immensely increased1 if men can be shown to have acted as if they were independent and to have found it a failure2 if life lived in independence of ,god1 with ,god as it were withdrawn from the actual scene of life to its far-off horizon1 is found to have resulted in havoc1 weakness and despair4 ,so1 in fact1 ,st4 ,paul's doctrine of the true means of justification is based on an appeal1 not so much to the ultimate constitution of our human nature as to the experienced results of our independence of ,god1 to the facts of sin1 whether among ,gentiles or ,jews4 #d4 ,finally1 the principle of justification by faith is contrasted with that of justification by works of the law in the view which it involves of the character of ,god4 ,the law1 as ,st4 ,paul interprets it1 views ,god as a lord and taskmaster4 ,faith presents ,him as the ,father of our spirits1 always waiting upon us with ,his eternal1 unchangeable love2 bearing with us2 #bc dealing with us even on a false basis which by our sins we have forced upon ,him1 in order to bring us to a recognition of the true2 anyway acting or withholding action1 if by any means we can be won to recognize ,his true character and our true life4 ,these are the broad contrasts between the alternative methods of justification by faith or by 'works of the law4' ,the law1 and the attitude towards ,god which the law suggested1 are1 in ,st4 ,paul's view1 the main characteristic of the ,old ,testament4 ,this is a point of view which we should expect in one trained by the ,pharisees4 ,we may possibly feel that ,st4 ,paul tends to identify with the ,old ,testament as a whole one particular element in it which specially characterized one particular period4 ,but at least the element was there1 and occupied there a highly important place in the whole development2 and if ,st4 ,paul in his idealizing manner sometimes speaks as if it was the whole of the older covenant1 as if he had forgotten all the teaching of prophet and psalmist1 yet he is not really forgetful4 ,law is to him the characteristic of the old covenant4 ,but behind the law ,god's dealings with ,abraham are for ever in his imagination witnessing against the law's #bd limitation1 and a similar witness is kept up all along3 so that ,st4 ,paul can take out of one of the books of ,moses his very central statement of the principle of faith#bd4 ,in what has just been said justifying faith has been treated as if it were simply1 as it is really1 faith in ,god2 whereas in ,st4 ,paul's language the object of justifying faith is constantly ',jesus#be4' ,the explanation of this is that in ,jesus ,christ ,god has manifested ,his character as ,father1 and has come near to men1 'reconciling the world unto ,himself1' by the atonement wrought through ,his incarnate ,son1 and giving conspicuous evidence of ,his saving power by raising ,him from the dead#bf4 ,thus1 if ,jesus is the proximate object of justifying faith1 it is ,jesus as manifesting the ,father1 ,jesus as ,god incarnate2 and ,st4 ,peter is strictly interpreting ,st4 ,paul when he represents the object of ,christ's sacrifice and resurrection in the phrase1 'that your faith and hope might be in ,god#bg4' ,the faith of the ,christian is the old faith of ,abraham and ,habakkuk1 the faith in the ,lord #be ,jehovah only now made manifest in a new and completer manner1 in a more intimate relation to human life1 and with a more winning appeal to the human heart4 iii4 ,now that we have gained a general idea of what ,st4 ,paul meant by justification by faith1 as opposed to justification by works of law1 we are in a position to deal with a number of questions which have been famous in ecclesiastical history4 ,does justification mean being made righteous1 or being reckoned for righteous8 if it means the latter1 how can ,god reckon us as being what in fact we are not8 ,again1 what is the relation of this justification to sanctification8 are these two stages1 of which the first is over before the second can begin8 ,again1 what is the relation of justification to ,church membership8 is justification a purely individual process or fact1 of which membership in the ,church or1 what comes to the same thing1 reception of the sacraments1 is a merely secondary and strictly unessential consequence8 ,the answers to these questions are all connected with one another4 ,justification1 to begin with1 is a judicial or1 as it is called1 'forensic' #bf word4 ,it expresses the verdict of acquittal4 ,the use of the word in the ,bible made this quite indisputable#bh4 ,thus ,god justifies whenever ,he refuses to condemn--when1 whatever may have been our sins1 ,he ignores them1 and therefore positively admits us into the accepted people4 ,and ,he declares ,his willingness to do this simply because a man believes in ,jesus ,christ4 ,let a man believe1 or take ,god in ,jesus ,christ at ,his gracious word1 and the value of this act of trust or allegiance is such that ,god reckons it for righteousness1 and admits a man into the accepted people1 as if he were already fit for such fellowship in his actual habits or character4 ,there is 'imputation' here1 but it is the right sort of imputation4 ,it is dealing with us not as we are1 nor exactly as we are not1 but as we are becoming in virtue of a new attachment under which our life has passed3 and this1 as the engrossing modern conception of development makes it easy for us to perceive1 is the only true and profound way of regarding anything4 ,not the standard already reached1 but the movement1 direction1 or vitality is the important matter4 ,faith1 then1 is 'reckoned for righteousness' because it puts us upon the right #bg basis and in the right relation to ,god2 and therefore is a root out of which1 provided it continues to subsist1 all righteousness can healthily grow2 whereas the most brilliant efforts or 'works' on a wrong basis may have neither sound root nor principle of progress in them4 ,to believe in ,jesus is to have the root of the matter in oneself4 ,therefore1 when a man first believes1 ,god can ignore all his previous life1 and deal with him simply on the new basis1 in hope4 ,of course this preliminary acquittal or acceptance is provisional4 ,as the servant#bi who had been forgiven his debts found them rolled back upon him when he behaved in a manner utterly inconsistent with the position of a forgiven man1 so our preliminary justification may be promptly cancelled by our future conduct if we behave as one who has 'forgotten the cleansing from his old sins#cj4' ,the prodigal son1 after he has been welcomed home1 may go back again to the 'far country4' ,but it remains the fact3--of such infinite value and fruitfulness is faith in ,god1 as ,he has shown ,himself in ,jesus1 that when a man first believes--aye1 whenever1 over and over again1 he returns to believe--he is in ,god's sight on a new basis1 however dark be the #bh background of his previous sins2 and he can be dealt with simply on the new basis1 according to the movement of the ,father's heart of love which his faith has set free4 ,now the justifying faith of the conscience-stricken sinner1 whose case ,st4 ,paul always has in the foreground of his imagination1 means first of all and most obviously that he consciously takes ,god at ,his word as being ready to forgive his sins1 and accept him for ,jesus' sake in whom he believes4 ,it is belief in ,god as forgiving1 or in ,jesus as--he does not stop to inquire how--obtaining and giving him forgiveness4 ,and ,st4 ,paul laid great stress on this simple acceptance of the gift of pardon1 as the gate of the new life and the first act of faith1 because the readiness to be treated as a sinner and merely forgiven in spite 'f our sins is1 as he knew full well in his own case1 the final overthrow of spiritual pride4 ,but this simple 'reliance on the merits of ,christ1' and acceptance of forgiveness at ,his hands and for ,his sake1 is a profound movement of the heart--of the spring of human actions--which involves much more than appears4 ,luther was hopelessly wrong and unlike ,st4 ,paul when he isolated this mere reliance on another's merits1 and1 setting it apart from all #bi deeper movement of will or love1 would have it1 and it only1 concerned with our justification4 ,to ,st4 ,paul even the first movement of faith is a surrender of independence1 and a recognition in intellect1 and much more in will1 of the lordship of ,jesus4 ,it is1 in other words1 a change of allegiance1 and this is the important thing about it4 ,and the absolved man1 in thanking ,god for his forgiveness1 finds himself1 as it were1 inevitably and without any fresh act1 embarked on a new service4 ,if he does not find this1 he is not a man of faith at all4 ,faith is so deep a principle that1 though it shows itself first as the mere acceptance of an undeserved boon from the divine bounty1 it involves such hanging upon ,god as necessarily enlists the will to choose and serve ,him1 the intellect to know and worship ,him with a growing perception as ,he is revealed in ,jesus1 and the affections to desire and love ,him4 ,the life of justification thus proceeds 'from faith to faith'--from faith in ,christ 'for us' to faith in ,christ 'in us4' ,the justified man1 accepted into the 'body of ,christ' by baptism and made a participator of the life of ,christ1 receives the continual gifts of the divine bounty in their appointed channels1 and his faith exercising its natural #cj faculty of correspondence1 absorbs and appropriates the divine gifts--intellectually1 so that the eyes of the understanding are opened in increasing knowledge--practically1 so that ',christ dwells in the heart by faith1' and it is no longer the bare human self which lives1 but ,christ which lives in the renewed man1 with a continual display of moral power4 ,the first justification or acceptance is therefore a preliminary step3 it is acceptance for admission into the divine household1 or city of ,god1 or life in ,christ4 ,it is a means to an end1 and that end the fellowship of ,christ1 and continually developing assimilation to ,him4 ,does this mean1 then1 that justification and sanctification are processes following the one on the other1 of which the former is over before the latter begins8 ,such a statement must be repudiated so far as its latter clause is concerned4 ,you cannot thus logically sever a vital process4 ,they are two parts of one vital process2 and the man who is not on the way to being made like ,christ 7however far off it he may be at the moment7 is by that very fact shown to be not in a state of justification or acceptance with ,god4 ,at any stage of spiritual life there must be movement in order to make forgiveness #ca possible4 ,grant this however and it becomes true that justification1 as meaning acquittal1 is a preliminary to sanctification1 that is1 the being made like ,christ4 ,the having our 'heart set at liberty' is a preliminary to 'running the way of ,god's commandments4' ,but even so we must recognize that ,st4 ,paul never exactly uses this language4 ,when he describes the stages of ,god's dealings with the soul he passes from justification to glorification1 or 7final7 deliverance from sin and wrath#ca4 ,or1 on one occasion1 he mentions sanctification before justification#cb4 ,this is in part accounted for by the fact that the word translated 'sanctify' or 'sanctification' means rather 'consecrate' 7as to priesthood7 or 'consecration4' ,and though this consecration involves 'sanctity' 7in our sense7 because of the character of ,god to whom we are dedicated1 yet it may precede it2 and we are in fact consecrated and hallowed at the moment when we are accepted into the 'priestly body' and anointed with the divine unction#cc4 ,this exact meaning of the term sanctification in part accounts for ,st4 ,paul not speaking of sanctification and justification as successive stages of the spiritual life4 ,when he #cb is speaking about justification he is answering the question1 ,what is the attitude of the human soul towards ,god which sets ,god free1 so to speak1 to accept it and work upon it8 ,and the answer is1 ,the attitude of faith4 ,when he speaks of sanctification1 or rather consecration1 he is answering the implied question1 ,how is the individual to be thought of when he has been admitted by baptism into the ,christian community8 ,and the answer is1 ,he is to be thought of as consecrated1 or as sharing the life of a consecrated people#cd4 ,st4 ,paul's language in one place would suggest that if 'justification' qualifies for admission into the life in ,christ1 the result of this admission is again a justification1 not now merely of our persons1 but of our whole moral being--a 'justification of life#ce4' ,but this is1 at least1 not his usual use of the word4 ,and now we approach the question of the relation of our individual justification to membership in the ,church and all that goes with that4 ,to put the question in a rough controversial way--,is the ,epistle to the ,romans1 as it has been #cc frequently held to be1 a thoroughly ,protestant work8 ,the ,prophet ,ezekiel first clearly discerned and expressed the truth that the new covenant of ,god with man must be based upon the conversion of individual wills and hearts4 ,so it was realized4 ,the basis of the ,church was a profound movement of individual faith and love and allegiance1 in the apostles and first disciples4 ,and that on which it is based is that by which it must progress--the real assent and correspondence of individual wills and hearts4 ,they that receive the testimony must set to their seals that ,god is true4 ,thus one cannot possibly exaggerate the importance in ,christianity of the individual spiritual life1 or of individual conversion and faith1 if he does not isolate it4 ,he cannot possibly exaggerate the stress laid in the ,epistle to the ,romans on individual faith and its results1 if he does not forget its context4 ,but what is meant by this proviso8 ,this simply4 ,st4 ,paul1 in his doctrine of justification by faith1 is describing the basis of the new covenant of ,god with man which is1 as truly as the old1 a covenant with a community1 an ,israel of ,god4 ,the faith which justifies1 therefore1 means the faith which qualifies for the community as truly #cd as it admits into the favour of ,god4 ,the very evidence that ,god accepts the first movement of faith is that the believing man is admitted by baptism into the body of ,christ4 ,the idea of a faith in ,jesus which does not seek admission into 'the body1' or disparages it even while it accepts it1 does not even present itself to ,st4 ,paul's mind4 ,a faith which is content to remain outside ,christ is no faith at all1 and the act of being 'baptized into ,christ' is an act by which 'in one spirit we are baptized into one body4' ,again1 the conception impressed upon the institution of the ,eucharist is that ,christ's atoning sacrifice is the basis of a new covenant with a society which is to share ,his life#cf4 ,elsewhere ,st4 ,paul expresses this by saying that what ,christ bought for ,himself was a ,church1 a new ,israel#cg4 ,what ,his sacrifice purchased was a new community4 ,there is the less necessity to insist upon this truth because it is now being very generally perceived4 ,the most powerful influence in recent ,german ,protestant theology is that of ,albrecht ,ritschl1 and through him the truth has come back1 through unexpected channels1 that the object #ce of the sacrificial death of ,christ1 and therefore of the divine justification1 is not the individual but the ,church#ch2 or1 if we may venture to modify the phrase1 the object of divine justification is the individual only as becoming and remaining 7so far as ,his will is concerned7 a member of the ,church4 ,in fact1 'justification' may be rendered1 without any false idea being attached to it1 'acceptance for membership in the sacred people1 the ,israel of ,god4' ,and where any one has become a member of the ,church without even the rudimentary faith which can render him acceptable in ,god's sight1 there the awakening of such faith is the condition of profitable or 'saving' membership4 ,from this point of view it is not difficult to see the relation of our epistle1 broadly1 to ,protestantism and ,catholicism4 ,protestantism was a reaction against one-sided ecclesiasticism4 ,the ,church is the household of ,god1 the home of ,his people4 ,she guides and disciplines their souls4 ,she feeds them with the bread of life4 ,but her representatives may suffer her to lose the spiritual characteristics of the new covenant #cf and fall back upon those of the old4 ,she may come to be characterized by a mere authoritativeness4 ,the spirit of 'the law of ordinances' may come to prevail again4 ,the sacraments may be treated as charms2 or1 in other words1 all moral and spiritual requirement may be summed up in mere obedience1 or in doing this and that4 ,so1 in fact1 it happened to a great extent in the popular mediaeval system2 and ,protestantism was a reaction4 ,it was a reaction based on truth1 as ,luther seemed to himself to re-discover it in the epistles to the ,romans and the ,galatians4 ,but the reaction broke up the communion of ,christians4 ,it thus impaired the sense of the one body1 and very often resulted in obliterating the perception of any obligation to the visible body of ,christ at all4 ,it became individualist1 and disparaged the sacraments which are at once both the outward means of union with ,christ and the bonds of cohesion for ,his body1 the ,church4 ,but as we now look back upon the matter1 we can see as clearly as it is possible to see anything1 that both mediaeval ,catholicism and ,lutheran ,protestantism 7or modern ,english ,protestantism7 represent one-sided developments in which thoughtful men cannot permanently acquiesce4 ,the preliminary justifying #cg faith of the individual does but warrant his admission into the body of ,christ1 the divine society1 by baptism4 ,and once admitted into the body1 and instructed in her tradition1 faith finds its function intellectually in meditating upon and appropriating the full meaning of the mystery of ,god1 and spiritually in appropriating and digesting the powers of that divine and human life into which baptism admits us1 and in which the sacramental feast and sacrifice continually makes us anew participators4 ,the ,church with its sacramental gifts1 and the personal faith of the converted heart1 are no more to be set in antithesis than food and digestion1 or the 'virtue which went out of ,christ' and the faith in ,him which made men whole4 ,the sacraments certainly do not save us without conversion and faith1 and faith which leaves us voluntarily isolated from the visible communion of the one body is not what ,st4 ,paul meant by 'justifying faith4' ',ah1 yet consider it again6' is what we are continually tempted to exclaim to some of our modern controversialists who appear to be still repeating the watchwords of the sixteenth century4 ,for in fact the famous controversial positions of the period of the ,reformation were #ch intensely one-sided1 and have been antiquated by completer and maturer study--not least in the matter of justification4 ,thus ,calvin's position on the subject was based upon and permeated by a conception of ,god as predestinating and creating and internally constraining some men to eternal life1 and equally predestinating and creating and abandoning other men1 without possibility of recovery1 to eternal misery4 ,such a conception is utterly abhorrent to modern consciences3 and we shall have occasion to observe with how little reason any conception of ,god predestinating man to eternal misery has been attributed to ,st4 ,paul#ci4 ,luther again1 who identified himself1 as no other teacher has ever done1 with ,st4 ,paul's epistles of justification1 was so zealous to separate the faith in virtue of which ,god justifies us from all idea of merit1 that he represented it as a bare acceptance of the divine offer without any moral quality at all--a bare believing ourselves to be saved1 without any moral reason in it4 ,thus1 accepting an existing scholastic distinction between an 'informed' faith1 i4e4 a faith ensouled #ci by love1 and a 'formless' or bare faith1 he held the faith on account of which ,god justifies us to be rigidly of the formless kind2 and while fully recognizing the richer sort of faith as the ,god-given quality of those already justified1 declared that it had nothing to do with their justification4 ,but this conception of two separate sorts of faith1 of which only the loveless sort1 that involves no moral worth1 has to do with our acceptance with ,god1 is not only a high road to moral laxity or antinomianism1 but is also utterly alien to the spirit of ,st4 ,paul1 in whom the whole life of faith is one and continuous#dj4 ,it could only have arisen at a particular moment of theological controversy which is past and gone4 ,and the same must be said of the allied doctrine of the total depravity of our fallen nature1 which drove men to violent misinterpretations alike of scripture and of their moral instincts4 ,and what of the ,tridentine theology8 ,no doubt in its general view of our fallen human nature it is far more reasonable and ,pauline than the ,lutheran2 and it is also truer to ,st4 ,paul in laying the main stress on a divine righteousness #dj actually imparted to us1 and not on ,christ's merits imputed and not imparted2 or1 in other words1 in recognizing that forgiveness is only a prelude to the development of a new life of holiness4 ,but on the other hand it puts itself hopelessly out of relation to ,st4 ,paul's language and thought by interpreting justification as the being made righteous1 and accordingly speaking of baptism as the instrument by which we are justified1 whereas to ,st4 ,paul justification means our preliminary acceptance without regard to what we have been1 and the initial faith which enables men to be thus accepted would normally1 in those he is thinking about1 have preceded baptism1 as in his own case1 or that of ,cornelius1 or of the eunuch4 ,who can doubt that the faith of ,st4 ,paul's conversion is what enabled ,god to accept him1 though it remained for him1 as for other men1 to 'wash away his sins' by being 'baptized into ,christ#da8' ,may we not truly say that deeper and maturer study of ,st4 ,paul has for us undercut and antiquated the theological standing-grounds of the #da sixteenth century1 and substituted for them something both truer1 completer1 and freer8 iv4 ,it only remains to make more emphatic what has been already suggested1 that the ,pauline doctrine of justification is of much more than antiquarian interest4 ,we do not1 as has been already shown1 get rid of the 'danger of thinking to be saved by works' because we are not1 like the ,pharisees1 abandoned to ecclesiastical observances4 ,all moral codes or standards1 sanctioned by a society or class and involving no more than a limited liability1 come under the moral category of 'works of a law4' ,they all are apt to leave men as independent of ,god as the ,pharisees1 and as resentful of the fuller light4 ,the late ,master of ,balliol expresses a characteristic opinion that the notions of 'legal righteousness1' or of 'the pride of human nature1' or 'the tendency to rebel against the will of ,god1 or to attach an undue value to good works#db1' are 'fictions as applied to our own time#dc4' ,but #db this is surely lamentably untrue4 ,men all round us dread the idea of committing themselves to ,god4 ,they do not know how far it will carry them4 ,they are like would-be soldiers who should refuse to enlist till they had had some assurance as to the extremest risk that their service might involve4 ,thus1 because they cannot get this assurance1 they will make no beginning of the life of real faith4 ,they live by a limited code which retains their independence for them4 ,if they are also ecclesiastically minded1 the 'legal righteousness' always involved in this sort of morality becomes even outwardly more like that of the ,pharisees1 and it is not very uncommon among churchmen4 ,but the whole habit of mind1 inside or outside the area of professed churchmanship1 has its root in what is properly and profoundly human pride and the false clinging to independence of ,god4 ,this 'pride of life' seems to be almost more dangerous and1 in fact1 disastrous than even 'the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes4' ,thus if we can only get ,st4 ,paul's doctrine of the necessity of faith rightly understood1 there is no teaching more necessary for these times4 ,and1 on the other hand1 where men are really ready to follow the light and do ,god's will1 they #dc need--they need exceedingly for the good of the whole body--to realize ,st4 ,paul's teaching about justification1 that is1 about ,god's constant attitude towards men1 in order to obtain that peace which is meant to be1 not the far-off goal of ,christian life1 but its basis and foundation4 ,when a person is continuously apprehensive and excited about his spiritual state1 he is not in the temper of mind in which he can best serve ,god or work out his own or other men's salvation4 ',peace must go before as well as follow after2 a peace1 too1 not to be found in the necessity of law 7as philosophy has sometimes held71 but in the sense of the love of ,god to ,his creatures4 ,he has no right to this peace1 and yet he has it4' ,in these words of the same writer whom we just now were obliged to criticize we may find a simple expression of the truth4 ',wherefore1 being accepted of ,god simply because we take ,him at ,his word1 let us have and hold peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ#dd4' ,then we can throw ourselves without embarrassments into the life of love and sacrifice1 the life which has the love of ,god in ,christ for its motive1 and reflects it among men4 ,no doubt we must admit that ,st4 ,paul's #dd doctrine of justification has not been generally appreciated in the ,church--the fact is strange1 but it is indisputable4 ,no doubt also we must admit that those who have chiefly been identified with it have often even disastrously distorted it4 ,no doubt1 as a result both of this neglect and of this distortion1 the ordinary religious ,englishman of the present day is disposed to pass it by as having little meaning for him4 ,nevertheless it remains true that no revival of religion can ever attain to any ripeness or richness unless this central doctrine of ,st4 ,paul's gospel resumes its central place with us also4 ,for1 as ,st4 ,paul preached it1 it means this above all else--personal devotion to ,jesus ,christ as our redeemer4 ,this personal devotion begins by accepting from ,him the unmerited boon of forgiveness of our sins1 and 7what is only the other side of such forgiveness7 inheritance in the consecrated body4 ,but the consciousness of what we have received from ,christ1 and the price it cost ,him to put it at our disposal1 gives to the whole subsequent life the character of a devotion based on gratitude4 ,this is the ,christian life according to ,st4 ,paul--personal devotion to ,christ and personal service based on gratitude for what ,he has done for us4 ',for the love of ,christ #de constraineth us2 because we thus judge1 that one died for all1 therefore all died2 and ,he died for all1 that they which live should no longer live unto themselves1 but unto ,him who for their sakes died and rose again4' #a ,acts xx4 #bc4 #b ,hort's ,prolegomena to ,romans and ,ephesians 7,macmillan1 #ahie71 p4 #i4 #c ,sanday and ,headlam's ,commentary 7,t4 ,t4 ,clark1 #ahie71 p4 xxviii4 ,this commentary is henceforth referred to as ,s4 ,h4 #d ,see ,rom4 ii4 #ag2 iii4 #i1 c4 #e ,see ,rom4 i4 #ac2 xi4 #ac-cb2 xv4 #ad-ba4 #f ,rom4 xvi4 #c4 #g ,see ,rom4 vi4 #ag1 and remarks p4 #bcd2 cf4 ,s4 ,h41 p4 xli4 #h ,acts xv4 #a-ce4 #i ,gal4 ii4 #a-aj4 #aj ,rom4 xv4 #be-cb4 #aa ,hort1 l4c41 p4 #dd4 #ab ,rom4 i4 #aj1 #aa2 xv4 #bb-bd4 #ac ,on the relation between the two1 see later1 p4 #afh4 #ad #a ,macc4 ii4 #db2 vii4 #ac ff4 #ae ,john v4 #dd4 #af ,matt4 xv4 #f2 xxiii4 #bc4 #ag ,rom4 x4 #c4 #ah ,acts xv4 #aj4 #ai ,rom4 vii4 #g4 #bj ,see the argument of ,gal4 iii4 #ae-bb4 ',god is one' in a sense which excludes the idea of any relatively independent contracting party over against ,him4 #ba ,acts xxvi4 #ad4 #bb ,col4 ii4 #bj-bb4 #bc #b ,tim4 i4 #ab4 #bd ,rom4 x4 #e-h4 #be ,cf4 iii4 #bb1 #bf1 c4 #bf #b ,cor4 v4 #ai2 ,rom4 iv4 #be4 #bg #a ,pet4 i4 #ba4 ,it is of course the case that the name ,god in the ,new ,testament is generally reserved for the ,father1 though the proper divinity of ,son and ,spirit is constantly implied4 #bh ,see below1 p4 #abd4 #bi ,matt4 xviii4 #bc-ce4 #cj #b ,pet4 i4 #i4 #ca ,rom4 v4 #i-aa4 #cb #a ,cor4 vi4 #aa4 #cc ,cf4 ,hort1 ,first ,ep4 of ,peter 7,macmillan1 #ahih71 p4 #gj4 #cd ,it is noticeable that ,st4 ,paul never uses the verb translated 'to be sanctified' of persons in the present tense4 ,it always describes an already existing state rather than a process4 #ce ,rom4 v4 #ah1 but cf4 later1 p4 #bjb4 #cf ,hort1 l4c41 p4 #bd4 #cg ,eph4 v4 #be2 ,tit4 ii4 #ad2 cf4 ,acts xx4 #bh4 #ch ,ritschl1 ,rechtfertigung und ,vershnung1 ii4 p4 #bag ff4 ,cf4 ,s4 ,h41 p4 #abb2 and ,orr1 ,ritschlian ,theology 7,hodder and ,stoughton1 #ahih7 p4 #afi ff4 #ci ,the subject comes forward especially in connexion with chapters ix-xi4 #dj ,i know that any brief statement about ,luther's doctrine may be disputed1 for his own statements vary considerably4 ,but ,i think the tendency of his teaching is fairly represented above4 #da ',acceptance' is already acquittal2 but only in view of the new life of the body of ,christ which is to emancipate man from the power of sin4 ,thus it is only as incorporated into ,christ that he finds his former sin 'put away4' ',i believe in one baptism for the remission of sins4' #db ,he should say1 if he would represent ,st4 ,paul1 'works1' not 'good works4' #dc ,essay on ',righteousness by ,faith1' in ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul 7,murray1 #ahid71 vol4 ii4 p4 #bfd4 ,the whole essay is very characteristic and very interesting1 but not very ,pauline4 #dd ,rom4 v4 #a4 #df ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans ,,chapter ,i4 #a-g4 ,salutation4 ,it was the custom in the days of the ,romans to begin a letter with a brief indication from whom it came and to whom it was addressed1 in the form of a complimentary salutation1 thus--to take an example from the ,new ,testament--',claudius ,lysias unto the most excellent governor ,felix1 greeting#a4' ,we are familiar in our day with the like forms for beginning and ending letters1 serving the same purpose and generally no other4 ,st4 ,paul then accepts the epistolary form of his day1 but pours into it an increasing wealth of personal meaning#b4 ,thus in this place the necessary address--',paul the apostle #dg to the believers in ,jesus ,christ which are in ,rome1 greeting'--is expanded into a salutation extraordinarily full of meaning1 explaining 7#a7 who it is who writes the letter2 7#b7 with what justification2 7#c7 to whom2 and 7#d7 with what greeting4 7#a7 ,it is ,paul who is writing1 and he describes himself both personally and officially4 ,personally1 since the day when he surrendered himself on the road to ,damascus1 he has been 'the slave of ,jesus ,christ1' bound in all things to do ,his will1 and exulting all the time in the moral liberty which that bondage gave him4 ,officially1 he has received a commission and an office equal to that of the older apostles in the kingdom of ,christ3 he has been 'called to be an apostle1 separated to proclaim the good tidings of ,god4' 7#b7 ,it is then this glorious commission that justifies his writing4 ,these good tidings of ,god are the fulfilment of an age-long promise for which the world had been waiting4 ,of ancient days there were 'prophets1' men commissioned to speak for ,god1 whose writings remained after them and are held in highest reverence as 'holy scriptures4' ,these men foretold good days from ,god that were to come to ,his people in the #dh coming of the divinely anointed king1 the ,christ4 ,and now they are come4 ,god has sent to redeem men not a servant1 but ,his own ,son4 ,true1 ,he came as man among men3 as one of the royal house of ,david1 the house from which the ,christ was promised2 yet simply man in outward nature and appearance1 or 'according to the flesh4' ,but besides that ordinary seeming manhood1 there was in ,him something higher--a sacred spiritual nature4 ,and this higher nature it was that finally determined the estimate in which ,he was to be held4 ,if 'according to the flesh' ,he was a man of ,david's house1 according to this 'spirit of holiness' ,he was decisively designated by ,god's own act as ,son of ,god in miraculous power1 and that especially when ,he was made the example of a resurrection from the dead4 ,thenceforth ',jesus' of ,nazareth is ',christ' and 'the ,lord' of ,christians4 ,it is ,he through whom ,st4 ,paul and his fellows received the outpouring of the divine bounty for their own lives1 and their apostolic commission on behalf of the name of ,christ to bring all the nations of the earth to the obedience of faith4 ,and this commission extends as far as the ,roman ,christians and justifies ,st4 ,paul in writing to them4 #di 7#c7 ,to all the ,christians at ,rome1 then1 'called to be saints1' i4e4 called into the consecrated body and to the consecrated life1 ,st4 ,paul is writing4 ,he does not say 'to the church which is at ,rome1' as in the other epistles of this date he writes 'to the church at ,corinth' and to 'the churches of ,galatia4' ,and though this might be accidental1 yet probably it is due to the fact that ,st4 ,paul thought of the ,roman ,christians as individuals who1 many of them1 had been converted elsewhere and for various reasons had come to be living at ,rome2 so that in fact they had hardly yet attained the consistency of a single ordered church4 7#d7 ,and to these ,christians he gives his greeting by wishing for them those gifts which may be taken as summing up the blessings of ,christ about which this epistle is to say so much--'grace1' which is ,god's love to us in actual operation1 and 'peace1' which is the state of mind of one who realizes ,god's love--from the ,father and the ,son4 ,this benediction is1 however1 but a ,christian form of that of ,aaron1 ',the ,lord make his face to shine upon thee1 and be gracious unto thee3 the ,lord lift up his countenance upon thee1 and give thee peace#c4' #ej ,paul1 a servant of ,jesus ,christ1 called to be an apostle1 separated unto the gospel of ,god1 which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures1 concerning his ,son1 who was born of the seed of ,david according to the flesh1 who was declared to be the ,son of ,god with power1 according to the spirit of holiness1 by the resurrection of the dead2 even ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 through whom we received grace and apostleship1 unto obedience of faith among all the nations1 for his name's sake3 among whom are ye also1 called to be ,jesus ,christ's3 to all that are in ,rome1 beloved of ,god1 called to be saints3 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,there is1 ,i believe1 nothing in the above analysis which is not implied at least in the original language of this salutation4 ,and it is a remarkable summary of the grounds of ,st4 ,paul's ,christian belief1 more exact and explicit than the ',remember ,jesus ,christ1 risen from the dead1 of the seed of ,david1 according to my gospel#d4' ,there are some points in it which require further notice3-- #a4 ,the use of 'spirit of holiness' in connexion with ,christ 7in ver4 #d74 ,here it is put in antithesis to 'the flesh1' i4e4 ,christ as ,he appeared to the outward eye in ,his natural manhood2 and describes1 vaguely and without further definition1 the higher nature of which1 behind #ea ,his visible manhood1 men became conscious#e4 ,elsewhere 'spirit' is more exactly used to describe 7#a7 the human spirit in us or in ,christ#f2 7#b7 disembodied persons or angels or devils#g2 7#c7 the ,holy ,ghost#h2 7#d7 the being of ,god#i2 7#e7 generally what has will and consciousness1 as opposed to the merely external1 the 'flesh' or the 'letter#aj4' ,sometimes1 as in #b ,cor4 iii4 #ag1 it is hard to feel sure about the exact shade of meaning4 #b4 ,we have here1 in a very brief compass1 ,st4 ,paul's conception of ',christian evidences4' ,he begins from ,christ1 'according to the flesh4' ',and why1' asks ,chrysostom1 'did he not begin from the higher side8 ,because ,matthew also1 ,luke and ,mark1 begin from the lower4 ,one who would lead others upwards must begin from below4 ,and this was in fact the divine method4 ,first they saw ,him 7,christ7 as man on the earth1 and then perceived ,him to be ,god4' ,it was1 in other words1 through the #eb experience of ,his manhood that they arrived at ,his ,godhead4 ,and the evidence of ,his divine sonship was in part miraculous2 but it was not mere miracle4 ,it was miracle 'according to a spirit of holiness4' ,it was miracle filled with spiritual and moral meaning4 ,it was a resurrection vindicating perfect righteousness4 #c4 ,the phrase 'the resurrection of the dead' is translated more exactly by ,wiclif 'agenrisynge of dead men6 ,christ's resurrection is the great example of what is to be general4 #d4 ,the obedience of faith exactly describes the human faculty as it showed itself in ,st4 ,paul himself at his conversion4 ,with him to believe was1 without any possibility of question1 to obey ,him whom he believed1 and ,st4 ,paul knows no faith which does not involve a like obedience2 cf4 xv4 #ah2 xvi4 #bf2 #a ,pet4 i4 #b4 #a ,acts xxiii4 #bf4 #b ,the salutation of the ,first ,epistle to the ,thessalonians1 the earliest epistle1 is the most nearly formal4 ,those to the ,romans and to ,titus are the fullest and richest4 #c ,num4 vi4 #be1 #bf2 see ,hort1 ,first ,ep4 of ,peter1 p4 #be4 #d #b ,tim4 ii4 #h4 #e ,cf4 #a ,tim4 iii4 #af1 'justified in the spirit1' where the use is approximately the same4 #f ,see #a ,thess4 v4 #bc2 #a ,cor4 v4 #e2 ,james ii4 #bf2 ,matt4 v4 #c2 xxvi4 #da2 #a ,pet4 iii4 #ah2 ,mark viii4 #ab4 #g ,luke xxiv4 #ci2 ,heb4 xii4 #bc2 i4 #ad2 ,matt4 viii4 #af1 c4 #h ,matt4 iii4 #af2 ,luke x4 #ba1 ,r4,v4 c4 #i ,john iv4 #bd4 #aj ,john vi4 #fc2 ,rom4 ii4 #bi2 #b ,cor4 iii4 #f4 #ec ,,chapter ,i4 #h-ag4 ,st4 ,paul's introduction4 ,the salutation is immediately followed by a passage in which ,st4 ,paul introduces himself specially to the ,christians at ,rome4 ,he had a delicate task to perform4 ,the ,roman ,christians had been gathered probably from many parts of the empire1 because ,rome was the centre of all the world's movements1 and adherents of whatever was going on in the empire were sure by force of circumstances to find their way to ,rome4 ,thus1 though no apostle had yet preached at ,rome1 ,christians had gathered there4 ,many of them had not seen ,st4 ,paul's face4 ,but they had heard of him1 no doubt1 in ,jewish circles as a very dangerous man who was upheaving and subverting established traditions and principles4 ,he was a man to be looked at askance4 ,he must introduce himself therefore carefully4 ,it was of the greatest importance #ed to him1 the ,apostle of the ,gentiles1 that he should gain full recognition among these ,christians at ,rome1 the centre of the ,gentile world4 ,we observe then in this introduction what a gentleman1 if ,i may say so1 in the very deepest sense of the term1 ,st4 ,paul shows himself to be4 ,he speaks indeed with an admirable mixture of tact and candour4 ,we can hardly conceive any better address in a delicate situation than this address of ,st4 ,paul with which he makes his approach to the ,roman ,christians4 ,he begins with what is pleasant for them to hear1 namely1 that the report of their faith throughout all the world is a good one4 ',i thank my ,god through ,jesus ,christ for you all that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world4' ,then he goes on to add1 as is usual in his introductions1 that he continually prays for them4 ,it was a remark of ,general ,gordon's that it makes a great difference in our feeling towards a stranger if before we meet him we have prayed for him4 ,and we may with equal truth say that it makes a great difference in the feelings of others towards us if they have reason to believe that we have prayed for them4 ,st4 ,paul therefore gives himself this advantage4 ,he says1 ',god is my witness1 whom ,i worship in my #ee spirit in the gospel of his ,son1 how unceasingly ,i make mention of you always in my prayers4' ,then he goes on to tell them that he not only prays for their welfare1 but prays that he may have the advantage of seeing them face to face and knowing them4 ,and here he puts his desire to see them on the true ground4 ,he wants to visit them because he has something of the utmost value to give them--that he may 'impart unto them some spiritual gift4' ,whatever may be the exact nature of the 'spiritual gift' ,st4 ,paul is thinking of1 it is clearly something for which his bodily presence is necessary4 ,there is some divine power which he as an apostle can communicate to them only when he comes among them4 ,in this sense he means that 'when he comes to them he will come in the fulness of the blessing of ,christ#a4' ,he implies that the ,roman ,christians needed him and must wait for him to supply their deficiencies4 ,but we observe that with beautiful tact he at once balances this assertion of a divine power entrusted to him for their good1 by representing his own need of them4 ,he does not speak de haut en bas as if he had everything to give and nothing to receive4 #ef ,no3 as the people depend on the apostle for spiritual gifts1 so he depends on the people for spiritual encouragement4 ,he must live by the experience of their spiritual growth4 ',i desire1' he says1 'to come to you that ,i may impart unto you some spiritual gift1 to the end that ye may be established' 7built up and made strong in the faith74 ,and then he interprets3--that is 'in order that ,i with you may be encouraged#b among you1 each of us by the other's faith1 both yours and mine4' ,then he goes on to tell them why he in particular is bound to come to them1 though hitherto he had been hindered by circumstances4 ,it is because he is 'a debtor4' ,st4 ,paul was the ,apostle1 not of the ,jews1 but of the ,gentiles4 ,therefore he is in debt to all the ,gentiles till he has given them the gospel1 and more particularly to the centre of the ,gentile world1 to ,rome4 ,and he would owe no man anything4 ,he would have no unsatisfied creditors4 ,he will pay his debt therefore to the ,roman ,christians4 ',i am a debtor1' he says1 'both to ,greeks and to barbarians'--that is to all the ,gentiles1 whether they were of ,greek race or not4 ,and #eg the ,greeks were so identified with civilization or education that this leads him on to say1 ',i am a debtor both to the educated and to the uneducated4' ,this general debt includes ,rome4 ,it was natural to include the dwellers at ,rome under the head of ,greeks1 for it was through the medium of ,greek that ,st4 ,paul made his appeal to them4 ,and1 in fact1 the ,christians at ,rome were1 for the first two hundred and fifty years or more of the ,church's life1 a ,greek-speaking people--a ,greek colony in the ,latin city4 ,only towards the end of the third century did the ,roman ,church become latinized in language and spirit4 ,st4 ,paul then is a debtor to these ,greek-speaking dwellers at ,rome4 ',so as much as in me is ,i am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in ,rome4' ,but the name of ,rome was1 as he thought of it1 a name of awe4 ,it brought in upon his mind the tremendous undertaking that lay before him and before the ,christian ,church as they found themselves confronted with this vast imperial organization1 which might at any time lay its iron hand upon them to stop their progress4 ,therefore he adds that1 even in view of ,rome1 he has courage in his heart3 'for ,i am not ashamed of the gospel1' even under the shadow #eh of the mighty name1 and though it was 'to the ,jews a stumbling-block and to the ,greeks foolishness4' ,and why8 ,because he knows what the gospel means4 ,it is not mere words2 it is a power4 ,it is a 'power of ,god1' a divine force1 which1 like the wind1 bloweth where it listeth1 and which nothing can stop4 ,it is a power of ,god4 ,it is a power of ,god 'unto salvation1' a power that is to work men's deliverance1 and that in the deepest sense4 ,roman emperors not very long after ,st4 ,paul's time are commemorated in public inscriptions as 'saviours of the world#c4' ,that is in the sense of maintaining peace and civil order4 ,but ,christ's salvation was of a deeper sort4 ,it was salvation from the bondage of sin1 a salvation which enabled people to be truly and eternally free4 ,it is a power of ,god unto salvation1 and that 'to every one that believeth1' on the mere basis of the simple willingness to take ,god at ,his word2 'to the ,jew first and also to the ,greek4' ',for'--and here ,st4 ,paul reaches the great text of his whole epistle--'therein' 7that is1 in the gospel7 'is disclosed1' or revealed here and now in the world1 #ei 'a righteousness of ,god4' ,by this phrase it will appear that he means both a righteousness which is ,god's own1 and also a righteousness which ,god gives to men2 for the gift of ,god is real moral and spiritual fellowship with ,his own life4 ,this is what is now offered to men4 ,a righteousness of ,god is revealed1 starting from faith and at every stage moving on upon the support of faith1 'a righteousness of ,god by faith unto faith'2 and that not in repudiation of the old covenant1 but in fulfilment of its vital principle3 'as it is written4' ,for the words of ,habakkuk may be interpreted to express the central spirit of the ,old ,testament--'the righteous shall live by faith#d4' ,first1 ,i thank my ,god through ,jesus ,christ for you all that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world4 ,for ,god is my witness1 whom ,i serve in my spirit in the gospel of his ,son1 how unceasingly ,i make mention of you1 always in my prayers making request1 if by any means now at length ,i may be prospered by the will of ,god to come unto you4 ,for ,i long to see you1 that ,i may impart unto you some spiritual gift1 to the end ye may be established2 that is1 that ,i with you may be comforted in you1 each of us by the other's faith1 both yours and mine4 ,and ,i would not have you ignorant1 brethren1 that oftentimes ,i purposed to come unto you 7and was hindered hitherto71 that ,i might have some fruit in you also1 even #fj as in the rest of the ,gentiles4 ,i am debtor both to ,greeks and to ,barbarians1 both to the wise and to the foolish4 ,so1 as much as in me is1 ,i am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in ,rome4 ,for ,i am not ashamed of the gospel3 for it is the power of ,god unto salvation to every one that believeth2 to the ,jew first1 and also to the ,greek4 ,for therein is revealed a righteousness of ,god by faith unto faith3 as it is written1 ,but the righteous shall live by faith4 #a4 ,origen's comment on the words 'through ,jesus ,christ' 7at the beginning of this section7 is very interesting4 ',to give ,god thanks is to offer a sacrifice of praise1 and therefore he adds through ,jesus ,christ1 as through the great high priest4' ,indeed1 the doctrine of the high priesthood of ,christ1 if it is not mentioned in ,st4 ,paul's own epistles1 is implied there from the first4 #b4 ,st4 ,paul1 we notice1 expresses his intention to come to ,rome with reserve1 'if by any means by the will of ,god' 444 'so much as lies in me4' ,and this reserve was no matter of mere words4 ,he was going up to ,jerusalem with an offering of money1 about which he felt the greatest anxiety1 and he knew not how he would be received1 or what would befall him#e4 #c4 ,it is not possible to decide what sort of #fa 'spiritual gift' ,st4 ,paul is thinking of4 ,we know that as an apostle he was qualified to impart the ,holy ,ghost by the laying on of hands1 and that certain 'gifts' frequently accompanied ,his inward presence4 ,thus1 'when ,paul had laid his hands upon some men at ,ephesus1 the ,holy ,ghost came on them2 and they spake with tongues and prophesied4' ,we know1 further1 that the ,corinthian ,church1 whence ,st4 ,paul was writing this letter1 was specially rich in 'spiritual gifts1' such as 'tongues and prophecy4' ,on the other hand1 the ,roman ,christians had not yet received an apostolic visit and they may have been lacking in such endowments1 while the reception of them would be calculated to encourage them and strengthen their faith4 ,it is possible1 therefore1 that he refers to a gift of this kind1 and the exact language he uses certainly suggests some definite endowment1 for the bestowal of which his bodily presence was necessary4 ,the thought of the miraculous power working through him1 'the power of signs and wonders1 the power of the ,holy ,ghost#f1' was not far from his mind when he wrote this epistle4 ,origen's comment on this passage also is #fb interesting4 ',first of all we ought to learn that it is an apostolic work to long to see our brethren1 but for no other reason than that we may confer on them something in the way of a spiritual gift if we can1 and if we cannot1 that we may receive in the same kind from them4 ,otherwise1 the longing to go about among the brethren is not to be approved4' ,we cannot doubt1 ,i think1 that when ,st4 ,paul's letter was read at ,rome this introduction1 so full of tact1 would have given him access to many hearts inclined at starting to be prejudiced against him4 #a ,rom4 xv4 #bi4 #b ',to encourage' and 'encouragement' are probably the best words to translate what in our ,bible is rendered by 'comfort4' #c ,hadrian and ,trajan3 see ,c4,i4,g4 vol4 ii4 p4 #ajfh1 ,no4 #bcdi m42 vol4 iii4 p4 #agj1 ,no4 #dcci1 p4 #aia1 ,no4 #dchj4 ,these references ,i owe to ,mr4 ,h4 ,w4 ,b4 ,joseph1 of ,new ,college4 #d ,hab4 ii4 #d2 cf4 app4 note ,a on meanings of the word 'faith4' #e ,rom4 xv4 #be ff42 ,acts xx4 #bb4 #f ,rom4 xv4 #ai4 #fc ,,division ,i4 7,,chapters ,i4 #ah-;,,iii4 #bj47 ,the universality of sin and condemnation4 ,st4 ,paul has enunciated his great thesis4 ,there has arrived into the world a new and divine force making for man's fullest salvation3 the disclosure of a real fellowship in the moral being of ,god1 which is open to all men1 ,jew and ,gentile equally1 on the simple terms of taking ,god at ,his word4 ,this word of good tidings ,st4 ,paul is to expand and justify in his epistle2 but first he must pause and explain its antecedents4 ,why was such a disclosure needed at this moment of the world's history8 ,why has ,st4 ,paul spoken of 'salvation1' or why does he elsewhere speak of 'redemption1' instead of expressing such ideas as are most popular among ourselves to-day--development or progress8 ,it is because1 to ,st4 ,paul's mind1 man as he is is held in a bondage which he ought to find intolerable1 and the first step to freedom lies in the recognition of this4 ,again1 why does ,st4 ,paul #fd lay such emphasis on faith1 mere faith1 only faith--why is he to insist so zealously on the exclusion of any merit or independent power on man's part8 ,it is not only because faith1 the faculty of mere reception and correspondence1 represents the normal and rational relation of man to ,god1 his ,creator1 ,sustainer1 ,father4 ,it is also1 and with special emphasis1 because there has been a great revolt1 a great assertion of false independence on man's part2 and what is needed first of all is the submission of the rebel1 or much rather the return of the prodigal son1 simply to throw himself on the mercy of his ,father and acknowledge his utter dependence upon ,him for the forgiveness of his disloyalty and his outrages1 as well as for the fellowship which he seeks in the divine life4 ,the fuller statement therefore of ,st4 ,paul's gospel must be postponed to the uncloaking of what man is without it4 ,the note of severity must be struck before the message of joy4 ,we must be brought to acknowledge ourselves to be not men only1 but corrupt men--men under the divine wrath--doomed men powerless to deliver ourselves1 and ready therefore to welcome in simple gratitude the large offer of ,god's liberal and almost unconditional love4 #fe ,it is to produce this acknowledgement that ,st4 ,paul now addresses himself4 ,this argument of the first part of the epistle is a very simple one4 ,it elucidates two plain propositions3-- #a4 that the wrath of ,god is1 and is necessarily according to eternal and unalterable principles of moral government1 and in the case of every man without any possibility of exception1 upon sin4 #b4 that all men1 ,jews and ,gentiles1 are held in sin1 and therefore lie under the divine wrath4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul immediately follows up his initial statement of the revelation of a divine righteousness with the assertion of another 'revelation' made plain to the consciences of men4 ',the wrath of ,god is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men1' and he proceeds to demonstrate the prevalence of sin first of all in the heathen world and to lay bare its meaning4 #ff ,,division ,i4 ,i4 7,,chapter ,i4 #ah-cb74 ,judgement on the ,gentile world4 ,before we read this passage certain points should be plain to our minds4 #a4 ,by sin ,st4 ,paul means essentially wilfulness--wilful disobedience4 ,there is such a thing as an inheritance of moral weakness or perversity which passes to men without their fault and without their knowledge4 ,this1 the real existence of which hardly any one can deny1 is what is called original sin2 and later on we shall find ,st4 ,paul speaking of it4 ,but it is not what is most properly called sin4 ,god is absolutely equitable4 ',sin is not reckoned' as sin in ,his sight1 apart from knowledge and will4 ,sin1 most properly speaking1 begins and ends where wilful disobedience begins and ends4 ,st4 ,paul on this matter is completely at one with ,st4 ,john #fg when he makes sin and lawlessness identical as realities in the world4 ',sin is lawlessness#a4' ,and we cannot even make a beginning of advance along ,st4 ,paul's line of thought till we recognize the real existence of sin as something different in kind from ignorance or weakness or lack of development1 and as an incomparably greater evil than those4 ,sin is the created will setting itself against the divine will4 ,it is1 as a state or an act1 the refusal of ,god4 ,and the recognition of the awful existence of this refusal of ,god is the main clue to understanding the miseries of the present world4 #b4 ,sin therefore1 involving as it does wilful disobedience1 can only be spoken of as prevalent over the heathen world because1 not merely one chosen race1 but all men in general have had the opportunity of the knowledge of ,god4 ,st4 ,paul indeed elsewhere modifies the general assertion of the fact which he makes in this place1 by broadly recognizing that there are states of human existence which are low in their moral standard1 but are rendered comparatively guiltless by the absence of moral knowledge--states of life where sin exists but is not reckoned #fh as sin#b4 ,for 'sin1' he says1 'is not reckoned' as sin where there is no enlightening law and no consequent condemnation of conscience4 ,but in this passage1 looking at humanity in general1 he asserts1 like the author of the ,book of ,wisdom or the perhaps contemporary ,jewish author of the ,apocalypse of ,baruch#c1 that all men have had the opportunity of knowing ,god from ,his works in nature1 and that their present state is the result of a wilful refusal of ,him4 ,they are 'without excuse4' ,the sources of the natural knowledge of ,god are indeed twofold1 for there is the moral conscience1 individual and social1 of which ,st4 ,paul speaks later2 but here it is the evidence of nature alone of which ,st4 ,paul speaks3 the witness of the creatures to 'the #fi invisible things' or attributes of their creator1 that is to say1 to ,his power and 7generally7 ,his divinity4 #c4 ,assuming then the opportunity of the knowledge of ,god as lying behind human records1 ,st4 ,paul traces the history of sin4 ,it had its roots in the refusal of the human will to recognize ,god and give ,him the homage of gratitude and service due to ,him4 ,men 'held down the truth in unrighteousness1' that is1 restrained it from having free course in their hearts and in the world because of the painful moral obligations which it involves4 ,knowing ,god1 they refused to acknowledge ,him with thankfulness or 'give ,him the glory4' ,rather they would themselves 'be as gods4' ,they 'refused to have ,god in their knowledge4' ,then from this root in the rebel will sin passed to the obscuring of the understanding1 as is shown in the ridiculous aberrations of idolatry4 ',they became vain in their reasonings1 and their senseless heart was darkened2 professing themselves to be wise1' the nations in their worship showed themselves fools4 ,idolatry had long ago appeared simply ridiculous to ,isaiah3 he pointed the finger of scorn at the idolaters4 ',they know not1' he cried1 'neither do they #gj consider3 the ,lord hath shut their eyes that they cannot see1 and their hearts that they cannot understand4 ,and none calleth to mind1 neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say1 ,i have burned part of the wood in the fire2 yea1 also ,i have baked bread upon the coals thereof2 ,i have roasted flesh and eaten it3 and shall ,i make the residue thereof an abomination8 shall ,i fall down to the stock of a tree8 ,he feedeth on ashes3 a deceived heart hath turned him aside1 that he cannot deliver his soul1 nor say1 ,is there not a lie in my right hand#d8' ,isaiah's language and thought had been elaborated and developed in the ,book of ,wisdom#e1 and ,st4 ,paul appropriates it4 ,to mistake creatures for the ,creator1 or to think of the glorious and spiritual ,god as if ,he were in the form of the corruptible body of man or beast or bird or reptile--so ,st4 ,paul alludes to the man worship of ,greece and the animal worship of ,egypt--is simple blindness and folly2 blindness and folly in which ,st4 ,paul sees the just punishment of #ga the rebellious will in the region of the intellect4 ,but it has another punishment in the region of the appetites or passions4 ,as men deliberately 'repudiated' the knowledge and obedience of ,god1 ,god 'repudiated' men in penal retribution4 ,he gave them up to become vile in their own eyes and to find out their impotence to control their own lusts4 ,they ran riot even in all sorts of unnatural and lawless ways1 so that the world became full of sins of all kinds2 sins against ,god and sins against man2 antisocial sins of all sorts1 the sins which destroy the state and friendship and commerce and the home3 and at the last the very ideal of righteousness had come to be lost4 ,st4 ,paul1 we notice1 makes the lowest moral stage of all to consist1 not in merely doing these wicked things1 but in abandoning all distaste for them--consenting unrestrainedly to those who do them2 and this profoundly true remark explains the moral impotence of much that is from other points of view excellent in ,greek literature4 #d4 ,for the punishment of all this sin ,st4 ,paul is not content to look to the 'day of judgement1' though that is to be the final and characteristic expression of divine wrath1 and that 'day of wrath' he still probably anticipated in the more #gb immediate future2 but he sees already in the actual world of human society as he knows it the manifold evidence of the divine wrath here and now4 ,men are receiving in themselves the fitting reward of their perversity4 ,their life has found its own punishment4 ,the divine wrath is actually disclosed in the facts of experience4 ',look1' ,st4 ,paul seems to say1 'at the way men are living1 and ask yourselves if there is any interpretation but one of the facts you see4 ,there is but one conclusion possible4 ,god has condemned and is showing ,his wrath on the human nature which ,he made4' ,just in the same way in an earlier epistle ,st4 ,paul speaks of the ,jews1 even before the destruction of ,jerusalem1 as already judged1 already the subject of the divine wrath#f4 ,and ,god's method of judgement is this4 ,the punishment lies in the natural consequences of the lawless actions4 ,the wages of sin is also its fruit#g4 ,and further1 this punishment of sin involves the increased liability to sin again4 ,one sin 'gives us over' to another1 as one good action facilitates another4 ,this idea was familiar to ,jewish teachers4 ,among the 'sayings of the ,fathers' we find1 ',every fulfilment of duty is rewarded by another1 #gc and every transgression is punished by another#h4' ,st4 ,paul1 in fact1 in this chapter1 may be said to be concentrating for the ,christian ,church all that is best and deepest in the moral philosophy of ,judaism4 ,now we are in a position to read the first section of ,st4 ,paul's argument without perhaps finding any single idea to the interpretation of which we have not a clue4 ,for the wrath of ,god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men1 who hold down the truth in unrighteousness2 because that which may be known of ,god is manifest in them2 for ,god manifested it unto them4 ,for the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen1 being perceived through the things that are made1 even his everlasting power and divinity2 that they may be without excuse3 because that1 knowing ,god1 they glorified him not as ,god1 neither gave thanks2 but became vain in their reasonings1 and their senseless heart was darkened4 ,professing themselves to be wise1 they became fools1 and changed the glory of the incorruptible ,god for the likeness of an image of corruptible man1 and of birds1 and fourfooted beasts1 and creeping things4 ,wherefore ,god gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness1 that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves3 for that they exchanged the truth of ,god for a lie1 and worshipped and served the creature rather than the ,creator1 who is blessed for ever4 ,amen4 #gd ,for this cause ,god gave them up unto vile passions3 for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature3 and likewise also the men1 leaving the natural use of the woman1 burned in their lust one toward another1 men with men working unseemliness1 and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due4 ,and even as they refused to have ,god in their knowledge1 ,god gave them up unto a reprobate mind1 to do those things which are not fitting2 being filled with all unrighteousness1 wickedness1 covetousness1 maliciousness2 full of envy1 murder1 strife1 deceit1 malignity2 whisperers1 backbiters1 hateful to ,god1 insolent1 haughty1 boastful1 inventors of evil things1 disobedient to parents1 without understanding1 covenant-breakers1 without natural affection1 unmerciful3 who1 knowing the ordinance of ,god1 that they which practise such things are worthy of death1 not only do the same1 but also consent with them that practise them4 #a4 ,perhaps the first question which arises in our minds when reading this passage is1 whether ,st4 ,paul's general account of the heathen world is not unjustifiably severe4 ,does he not paint it too black8 ,in fact1 the account he gives coincides with the account given by other ,jews of the ,gentile world as in their experience they found it2 and this1 we must remember1 means the ,gentile world of the great cities of the empire4 ,they thought1 as they moved about the world and saw what they could not but #ge see1 that ,god had forsaken the ,gentiles because they refused to acknowledge ,his law4 ,there was sin enough in ,israel1 but it was remediable4 ,the sin of the ,gentiles was irremediable4 ,god had forsaken them#i4 ,this last idea is of course one entirely alien to ,st4 ,paul's mind4 ,to him all ,god's judgements1 at least in this world1 have one intention--to awaken men to recognize the truth and to stir them to conversion1 'that he may have mercy upon all4' ,but otherwise ,st4 ,paul's view of the ,gentile world1 as he experienced it in the cities of mixed ,greek and ,asiatic population of the ,roman ,empire1 and especially in the notoriously wicked ,corinth where he was writing#aj1 was the ordinary ,jewish view4 ,and a contemporary ,stoic philosopher1 who wrote at ,ephesus under the name of ,heracleitus1 gives a picture of society in that city fully as black#aa4 ,at the same time1 if we are to be fair1 we must recognize that the account1 while true1 is not complete4 ,the ,gentile life was not without its 'salt4' ,there was a great deal of virtue1 both domestic and philosophical1 in the #gf empire--more perhaps in the country1 of which ,st4 ,paul knew little1 than in the towns4 ,and the existence of this salt he acknowledges when1 in the second chapter of this epistle1 he speaks of ,gentiles which have no revealed law but do by nature the things of law1 being a law unto themselves1 and having the effect of the law written in their hearts1 and a witnessing conscience1 individual and social1 to help them#ab3 and again1 when he intimates that there is an uncircumcision which puts the circumcision to shame by keeping the law#ac4 ,but it is not ,st4 ,paul's way to exactly correlate the different aspects of his subject as a modern writer would do4 ,he is a prophet and preacher1 not a formally systematic writer4 ,it is enough for him that the sin which he is describing is a reality3 that its tendencies are what he describes them to be3 that1 whatever other counter tendency there may be1 sin is so dominant in the world that its results are as he represents them1 and that the conscience and experience of those to whom he writes will respond to his indictment4 ,nor1 if we give its metaphorical meaning to 'idolatry1' is there a word which ,st4 ,paul says in this chapter which would not be true of our #gg modern civilization in ,london or ,paris or ,new ,york4 ,with us indeed ,christianity has been sufficiently vigorous to provide a counteracting force1 of infinitely stronger power than existed in the ,roman world1 to resist corruption4 ,the agencies of divine strength and recovery1 the centres of health and light1 are infinitely more numerous1 stronger1 more constant1 more progressive4 ,but the world of sin is still what it was3 and always there lies upon it the same stamp of the divine condemnation4 ,we look around on the life of our city1 with its selfish and disgusting lusts1 with its drunkenness1 with its enervating luxury1 with its selfish wealth1 with its reckless and immoral gambling1 with its dishonest commerce1 with its grasping avarice so neglectful of the lives of those whom it makes its instruments3 we look round1 ,i say1 not on the whole life1 but on the sinful life of our city1 and we see what human nature is plainly meant not to be1 either in its characteristics or in its miserable issues4 ,and by the interval between what we see life to be and what we know it was meant to be1 we can measure the reality of the divine judgement4 ,the facts press upon us the truth which ,st4 ,paul would teach4 ,the sinful life is a condemned life4 ,here is an #gh actual disclosure of the wrath of ,god upon all unrighteousness and sin4 #b4 ,but what will 'science' say to ,st4 ,paul's account of human degeneracy and degradation8 ,does not ,st4 ,paul seem to talk1 as moralists in general have been disposed to talk1 as if the course of the world's history had been a downward course8 and is not this the religious view8 and is it not directly opposed to the scientific view of a gradual process of development and advance8 ,this is a very common form of question to suggest itself to our minds4 ,and the answer to it appears to be this#ad3--,the biblical view of the world is not by any means that as a whole it has gone from bad to worse4 ,it recognizes periods and areas of degradation1 and suggests periods and areas of stagnation4 ,and this is what anthropology and history equally suggest4 ,but its main concern is with the history of one particular line of human advancement under divine guidance through ,abraham and ,moses and prophets and kings1 through ,christ and ,his ,church3 an advancement which is to be finally world-wide1 and even more than world-wide1 in its effects4 ,other lines of progress in civilization and knowledge #gi the ,bible recognizes but is not largely concerned with4 ,but it is in its general effect thoroughly in accord with science1 which suggests not general and equable advance over the whole region of humanity1 but advance in special departments along the line of select races1 continually impeded in its progress by counter tendencies1 by periods and areas of degradation1 and still more of stagnation#ae4 ,science1 indeed1 utters no word of promise at all as to the ultimate result of all this evolution#af4 ,it is faith1 of whatsoever sort1 not science1 that can make us optimistic as to the issue of human history4 ,but no doubt the ,bible does throughout postulate the existence of sin2 and it claims that sin everywhere1 and from the first1 has been a cause of degradation in the individual and the race4 ,now here is the real point at issue in the relations of religion and science4 ,the #hj main question is not about human origins or a primaeval fall4 ,it is simply on the comparatively easy field of actual human existence4 ,is human freedom--freedom within limits to choose and act--a reality8 ,can man therefore misuse this freedom to do what he need not have done and ought not to have done8 ,and has he1 in fact1 constantly been doing morally wrong things1 wilfully and knowingly1 which he need not have done8 ,does1 therefore1 the area of human history present at every stage a result or product which human wilfulness and lawlessness1 that is1 sin1 has contributed to spoil and to degrade below its natural level8 ,now it is this--the real existence of countless human actions which need not have been and ought not to have been--which contemporary science1 with a necessitarian bias1 is largely occupied in denying4 ,granted the reality within limits--limits which have no doubt often been grossly exaggerated1 but granted the reality within due limits--of human freedom1 and therefore the possibility and reality of actual sin and guilt and degradation which need not have been1 ,i do not believe there remains any serious conflict in the moral region between religion and science4 ,the conflict1 ,i say1 is continually #ha being taken back into the region of original sin or the original fall4 ,but this is a quite secondary area of debate1 in which ,i believe there can be no serious disagreement1 if there is agreement in the primary area of actual human sin4 ,the universal moral consciousness and common sense of man bears witness to the fact that we can do and do do what we ought and need not4 ,it recognizes1 moreover1 the moral truth of ,st4 ,paul's idea that this lawlessness of the will has its perverting effects on the intelligence and on the passions4 ,the human conscience then responds to ,st4 ,paul's account of the origin and history of human sin1 and of its fruits both in the individual and in society4 ,and if psychological science is inclined to deny the very existence of any faculty of free choice such as makes sin possible1 it will be found on examination to be going very far beyond what it can prove4 ,for the reality of guilt and sin1 and the degradation which results from it1 we have the human consciousness2 against it we have no positive evidence3 nothing in fact but the habitual unwillingness of specialist science1 physical or theological1 to recognize its limits4 #c4 ,st4 ,paul finds the root of sin in the refusal #hb of man in general to recognize ,god4 ,he asserts that they might have known ,him1 or rather did know ,him1 but declined to act on that knowledge4 ,now it is noticeable that he does not ascribe this knowledge of ,god1 which he declares to have been possible to man everywhere1 to an original revelation1 nor even in this place to the moral conscience1 but to the evidence of nature4 ,in this1 as in his ridicule of idolatry1 he is in accordance1 not only with ,jewish thought1 but with contemporary ,greek philosophy4 ,the argument from design had become habitual in the schools1 having been stated first of all with transparent simplicity by ,xenophon in his account of the reasoning of ,socrates4 ,st4 ,paul then finds in this instinctive inference from nature up to nature's ,god1 'a testimony of the soul naturally ,christian4' ,he is able1 at ,lystra and ,athens1 to assume that men will respond to it4 ,it is another question1 into which ,st4 ,paul does not specifically enter1 how far back in human history the appreciation of this reasoning goes4 ,but it is worth noticing that among our contemporary investigators of the history of religion1 some at least of the most acute have been coming back to what we may call a modified #hc form of the doctrine of an original monotheism#ag4 ,they think that even savage religions generally bear traces1 that are plainly independent1 of a belief in one great and mostly good ,god2 and that there is no evidence that this higher belief was developed out of the lower belief in manifold spirits of more ambiguous characters4 ,they see no reason to suppose that the higher belief has been gradually arrived at within any period into which the human mind can penetrate with its investigations or its well-grounded conjectures4 ,humanity appears to them to have been haunted from its origins with this belief in the one ,god2 and they regard all the higher religious movements as attempts not so much to arrive at1 as to retain hold on1 a belief which is continually in danger of being overlaid and forgotten4 ,it does not appear that anthropological science is at all likely to disprove such a view which on the other hand has a great deal of evidence to justify it4 ,at least1 the #hd evidences of deterioration in the history of religion are manifold and conspicuous4 ,the lowest view of ,god and man is not by any means always the oldest4 ,and the recognition of such facts is quite consonant with the doctrine of the evolution of religion in its more reasonable forms4 ,meanwhile1 every one is in sufficient harmony with ,st4 ,paul's argument who recognizes the universal facts of sin and guilt and needless moral deterioration among men2 and who recognizes also that the secret of sin is the wilful refusal on men's part to know ,god as they might have known ,him1 and obey ,him as they might have obeyed ,him4 #d4 ,besides these difficult questions1 we should mark what is both plain and instructive1 that ,st4 ,paul regards man as necessarily living either above himself or below himself4 ,man's true nature is to be in dependence upon ,god4 ,therein is his true liberty and dignity of sonship4 ,when he tries to be independent1 to be his own master simply1 he loses the true principle of self-government and becomes the victim of his own passions4 ,god 'gave men up1' handed them over as slaves to dishonouring passions4 ,this theory of human nature is intimately bound up with all ,st4 ,paul's #he teaching about grace and redemption1 and we shall hear more of it4 #e4 ,we shall do well to notice1 finally1 one consequence which follows from recognizing that the lowest stage of moral degradation lies1 not merely in doing what is wrong1 but in having ceased to disapprove of it4 ,that is to say1 the lowest moral stage carries with it a complete loss of ideal1 or absence of the standard of right and wrong2 and this lowest stage is anticipated before it is reached4 ,it follows1 therefore1 and we must not forget it1 that the actual conscience of the individual1 or of the society1 at any particular moment affords no adequate standard of right and wrong4 ,the moral conscience1 like the intelligence in general1 requires enlightenment4 ,it supplies no trustworthy information1 except so far as we are at pains to keep it enlightened4 ,more than this1 its capacity to keep us admonished depends on our habitually observing its injunctions4 ,to disobey conscience is to dull it1 and finally to make it obdurate and insensitive4 ,the absence of conscientious objection to a particular course of action may therefore be due either to our having neglected to enlighten our conscience or to having refused to obey it4 ,the duty of an #hf individual to himself is not only to obey his conscience1 but also take pains to enlighten it4 ,and the duty of the individual to society is to make continual efforts to keep the corporate conscience up to standard4 #a #a ,john iii4 #d4 ,the ,greek phrase implies exactly that all sin is lawlessness1 and all lawlessness is sin4 #b ,rom4 v4 #ac1 #ad4 #c ,cf4 ,wisd4 xiii4 #a-i3 ',for verily all men by nature were but vain who had no perception of ,god1 and from the good things that are seen they gained not power to know him that is1 neither by giving heed to the works did they recognize the artificer4444 ,for from the greatness of the beauty even of created things in like proportion does man form the image of their first maker4444 ,but again even they are not to be excused4 ,for if they had power to know so much 444 how is it that they did not sooner find the ,sovereign ,lord of these his works8' ,apoc4 ,bar4 liv4 #ag1 #ah3 ',from time to time ye have rejected the understanding of the ,most ,high4 ,for his works have not taught you1 nor has the skill of his creation which is at all times persuaded you4' #d ,isa4 xliv4 #ah-bj4 #e ,wisd4 xi4 #ae2 xiii1 xiv1 xv4 ,st4 ,paul's debt to the ,book of ,wisdom is apparent 7#a7 in the kinds of idols he mentions2 7#b7 in the way in which the thought of idolatry leads on to that of uncleanness and sexual immorality2 and 7#c7 in the idea of retribution by the natural law of results4 #f #a ,thess4 ii4 #af4 #g ,butler's ,analogy1 part i4 ch4 #b4 #h ,pirq ,aboth1 iv4 #b 7cited by ,s4 and ,h474 #i ,s4 and ,h4 p4 #di4 #aj ,he implies1 as ,dr4 ,farrar points out1 #a ,cor4 v4 #i-aj1 that pure society did not exist in ,corinth4 #aa ,see my ,ephesians1 pp4 #ia1 #ib1 #bee4 #ab ,rom4 ii4 #ac-ae4 #ac ,rom4 ii4 #bf4 #ad ,see also app4 note ,e on physical science and the fall4 #ae ,cf4 ,f4 ,b4 ,jevons1 ,introd4 to the ,hist4 of ,religion 7,methuen71 pp4 #cid1 #cie3 ',everywhere it is the many who lapse3 the few who hold right on4 ,the progressive peoples of the earth are in a minority4' ',though evolution is universal1 progress is exceptional4' #af ,cf4 ,huxley1 ,evolution and ,ethics 7,romanes ,lecture1 #ahic1 ,macmillan71 p4 #cf3 ',the theory of evolution encourages no millennial anticipations4 ,if1 for millions of years1 our globe has taken the upward road1 yet1 some time1 the summit will be reached1 and the downward route will be commenced4' #ag ,the allusion is to 7#a7 ,jevons 7op4 cit4 cap4 xxv71 who seems to think some 'amorphous' form of monotheism may very probably lie behind totemism4 ,he strongly repudiates the notion that the lower form is necessarily the older4 7#b7 ,andrew ,lang1 ,making of ,religion 7,longmans1 #ahih71 chaps4 ix and xv4 ,cp4 also ,orr's ,christian view of ,god and the ,world 7,elliot1 #ahic71 pp4 #bab ff41 and notes ,e1 ,f1 ,g4 #hg ,,division ,i4 #b4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 #a-bi4 ,judgement on the ,jews4 ,st4 ,paul in his judgement of the ,gentile world is but repeating1 with more of moral discernment1 what he would have learned in his ,jewish training4 ,but the strict ,jews who had taught ,st4 ,paul1 though some among them must have been good men1 ready to enter into the deeply penitential spirit of their psalmists and prophets1 do not seem as a rule to have liked to think of their own people as liable to divine condemnation4 ,they chose to suppose that the ,gentile world alone was the area upon which divine vengeance would light1 while the ,jews were to appear as the instruments of ,god's judgements1 or at least themselves exempt from them4 ,they had forgotten all the superabundant warnings against such a spirit which the prophets from ,amos to ,john the ,baptist had let fall4 ,this frame of mind--censorious when #hh it looks without1 lenient to the point of blindness when it looks within--sometimes appears when one thinks of things in the abstract as almost impossible1 in the form at least in which ,st4 ,paul here proceeds to attribute it to the ,jews4 ,we can hardly believe that any responsible beings could be so blind as ,st4 ,paul implies that his pious fellow-countrymen were4 ,but it needs only experience to convince us that even in its grosser forms this frame of mind is extraordinarily common in individuals1 in nations1 and in churches4 ,certainly the nation of ,england is not1 and the representatives of religious ,england too often are not1 exempt from the common failing4 ,and in the case of the ,jews we have also the witness of our ,lord4 ,he represents the religious ,jewish world as honeycombed with hypocrisy of a plain and gross sort4 ,they are to ,him very types of the men who behold the mote that is in their brother's eye1 but consider not the beam that is in their own eyes4 ,st4 ,paul's witness then is only the same as the ,christ's4 ,here then ,st4 ,paul turns abruptly upon a ,jew who may be supposed to have been listening to the indictment of the ,gentiles with expressions of sympathy1 and bids him look #hi within and recognize that the ,jew also falls under the same indictment and on the same grounds4 ,and he proceeds sternly to cut away any possible ground of confidence which he might derive from the thought that he had ',abraham to his father4' ,god's judgement is directed by an absolutely impartial 'truth' or estimate of the facts in their inner reality4 ,if in any particular case of persistent sin ,his judgement seems to linger1 it is not that ,he has forgotten or will overlook2 it is only that ,he is merciful and forbearing1 and gives long space for repentance#a4 ,but1 meanwhile1 if the opportunity is not taken1 if the heart is hard and impenitent1 a store is being laid up against the offender in the place of judgement1 which will break out in the great day in manifested wrath4 ,god's principle of judgement is absolutely free from partiality4 ,there are men #ij who have steadily in view the true aim of human life1 its imperishable glory1 its final and permanent honour1 and1 therefore1 preferring eternal to temporal things1 patiently go on doing good2 they may be ,jews or ,greeks1 but in either case indifferently1 the reward that they have sought will be theirs with the accompaniment of inward peace4 ,there are other men who are contentious1 and refusing the leading of the truth1 make themselves servants to unrighteousness4 ,they may be ,jews or ,gentiles1 but the divine wrath1 showing itself in outward suffering and inward anguish1 will be upon them all equally4 ,for ,god judges men impartially in the light of their opportunities4 ,those who have the advantage of a revealed law shall be judged and acquitted according as they have1 not listened to it merely1 but obeyed it4 ,for a law known and not kept1 so far from commending us to ,god1 is but the instrument of our judgement4 ,and those who have not this advantage are yet not without an inward light in the natural moral consciousness of mankind4 ,those who have sinned against this light shall find nothing else was needed to bring them to their ruin4 ,and those1 on the other hand1 who by its help keep the moral law in effect1 without #ia any assistance from a revealed law1 are their own law for themselves4 ,they have the law in its practical result written in their hearts as their conduct shows1 and their natural conscience bears its accompanying witness4 ,for conscience1 both individual and social1 reflecting on all human actions to condemn1 or1 more rarely1 to acquit1 anticipates the final divine judgement which1 as ,st4 ,paul continually announces1 it will be the office of ,jesus the ,christ to pass unerringly upon things secret as well as open in the 'day of the ,lord4' ,the specially revealed law on which the ,jew relied1 which it is his boast to have received from ,god1 and in virtue of which he could rightly claim to have a knowledge of divine things which other men had not1 and to be the teacher of the nations1 the interpreter to other men of the divine will--this law finds its first application to those themselves to whom it is given4 ,how can they preach the commandments1 whether it be the eighth or the seventh or the second that is in question1 so long as they have so bad a reputation for keeping them8 ,they cannot deny that as of old1 so now1 their moral conduct causes the heathen to blaspheme their religion1 instead of #ib being drawn towards it4 ,to have received circumcision in physical fact is of no profit at all1 unless it be accompanied by the obedience of which the mark in the flesh is but the symbol4 ,disobedience is in ,god's sight uncircumcision4 ,and where the obedience is1 ,god will reckon it as if the symbol were there also4 ,the morally obedient ,gentile will sit in judgement on the morally disobedient ,jew4 ,for that is the divine principle4 ,god everywhere and always looks to the spiritual reality as it is seated in heart and will1 and is satisfied never by outward distinctions4 ,jew 7,judah7 means 'praise4' ,but if the ,jew is to merit his name1 he must not be satisfied with the applause of men4 ,he must commend himself to ,god who sees the heart4 ,wherefore thou art without excuse1 ,o man1 whosoever thou art that judgest3 for wherein thou judgest another1 thou condemnest thyself2 for thou that judgest dost practise the same things4 ,and we know that the judgement of ,god is according to truth against them that practise such things4 ,and reckonest thou this1 ,o man1 who judgest them that practise such things1 and doest the same1 that thou shall escape the judgement of ,god8 ,or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering1 not knowing that the goodness of ,god leadeth thee to repentance8 but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the #ic day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of ,god2 who will render to every man according to his works3 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption1 eternal life3 but unto them that are factious1 and obey not the truth1 but obey unrighteousness1 shall be wrath and indignation1 tribulation and anguish1 upon every soul of man that worketh evil1 of the ,jew first1 and also of the ,greek2 but glory and honour and peace to every man that worketh good1 to the ,jew first1 and also to the ,greek3 for there is no respect of persons with ,god4 ,for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law3 and as many as have sinned under law shall be judged by law2 for not the hearers of a law are just before ,god1 but the doers of a law shall be justified3 for when ,gentiles which have no law do by nature the things of the law1 these1 having no law1 are a law unto themselves2 in that they shew the work of the law written in their hearts1 their conscience bearing witness therewith#b1 and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them2 in the day when ,god shall judge the secrets of men1 according to my gospel1 by ,jesus ,christ4 ,but if thou bearest the name of a ,jew1 and restest upon the law1 and gloriest in ,god1 and knowest his will1 and approvest the things that are excellent1 being instructed out of the law1 and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind1 a light of them that are in darkness1 a corrector of the foolish1 a teacher of babes1 having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth2 thou therefore that teachest another1 teachest thou not thyself8 thou that preachest a man should not steal1 dost thou steal8 #id thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery1 dost thou commit adultery8 thou that abhorrest idols1 dost thou rob temples8 thou who gloriest in the law1 through thy transgression of the law dishonourest thou ,god8 ,for the name of ,god is blasphemed among the ,gentiles because of you1 even as it is written4 ,for circumcision indeed profiteth1 if thou be a doer of the law3 but if thou be a transgressor of the law1 thy circumcision is become uncircumcision4 ,if therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law1 shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision8 and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature1 if it fulfil the law1 judge thee1 who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law8 ,for he is not a ,jew1 which is one outwardly2 neither is that circumcision1 which is outward in the flesh3 but he is a ,jew1 which is one inwardly2 and circumcision is that of the heart1 in the spirit1 not in the letter2 whose praise is not of men1 but of ,god4 #a4 ,as at the end of the first chapter we asked whether ,st4 ,paul was fair to the ,gentile world1 so now we ask whether he is fair to those of his own race whose religious tendencies he had known so well from inside4 ,and the answer again is that he undoubtedly represents aright the dominant tendency and temper among them4 ,the prophets had always had to fight against the natural but false idea of divine election1 which held the ,jewish race secure in the favour of ,jehovah1 simply because ,he was their ,god and they were ,his people4 ,they bring to bear #ie all the activities of an inspired intelligence and heart to make their fellow-countrymen perceive that they are only secure in ,god's favour so long as they are like ,him in character4 ,now down to the period of the ,captivity1 the prophets could also denounce the people because they were constantly false to ,jehovah in matters of worship as well as of morality4 ,after the ,captivity1 however1 the tendency to idolatry is gone for ever4 ,after the ,maccabean period the exclusive and legitimate worship of ,jehovah becomes a matter of passionate enthusiasm in the ,jewish race4 ,henceforth therefore their danger from the false idea of election passes into a new phase4 ,we must be in the favour of ,god1 they now could plead1 because we have ,abraham to our father1 and because we keep to the worship of our ,god with an irreproachable zeal for ,his law4 ,against this sort of strengthened pleading ,john the ,baptist1 the last of the prophets1 aims his bare moral teaching4 ,god's wrath is just about to fall upon ,his people he declares1 because it lacks in real moral righteousness4 ,repent ye1 be changed1 get you a new heart--is his one word of preaching4 ,this keynote passes intensified into the teachings and the denunciations of ,christ4 ,nothing #if more surely stamps the narrative of 'the woman taken in adultery' as historically genuine#c1 than its profound truth to the moral attitude of ,christ in face of ,scribes and ,pharisees4 ,the point of ,his reply to their trial question is that they who would enforce a divine law1 and thus stand for ,god before the world1 must themselves be morally sound4 ',he that is without sin among you1 let him first cast a stone at her4' ,it is moral conformity1 not merely orthodoxy1 which qualifies us to act for ,god4 ,it is then precisely this attitude of ,christ towards the ,jews zealous for the law1 which ,st4 ,paul is reproducing in the passage which we have just read4 ,he suggests also in its last words--where he is playing on the meaning of the name of ,judah--another deep element in ,christ's depreciation of the religious spirit of the ,jews4 ,their religion was a matter of public opinion--with all the stagnancy which belongs to the public opinion of a compact society--not a matter which lived with ever fresh life in the inner relation of the conscience to ,god4 ',how can ye believe which receive glory one of another1 and the glory which cometh from the only ,god ye seek not8' #ig ,st4 ,paul then is certainly right in his estimate of ,jewish religion4 ,one indeed who describes with as vivid reality as he does the pride of a ,jew in his religious privileges--one who had all the reason that ,saul of ,tarsus had for knowing what it was to feel this emotion from within--could hardly have been wrong in his estimate of its weaknesses4 ,and if the particular moral defects which ,st4 ,paul attributes to the religious ,jew are surprisingly grave--theft1 adultery1 and temple-robbery--here too what he says out of his own experience is confirmed from other quarters4 ,avarice was a notorious sin of ,jews4 ,our ,lord accuses the ,scribes of 'devouring widows' houses#d' under cloak of religion1 and denounces the ,pharisees also for leaving their outwardly purified cups and platters inwardly full of 'extortion4' ,it is only a subtler form of theft that ,he alludes to when ,he denounces them for sanctioning the practice of dedicating property as a 'corban' to the purposes of religion in order to evade the righteous claims of parents4 ,the story of ,susanna1 the brief but stern words of our ,lord about the seventh commandment in ,his ,sermon on the ,mount1 and ,his #ih significant language on the occasion already alluded to of the woman taken in adultery1 interpret ,st4 ,paul's language as to sins of the flesh4 ,and the language of the town clerk at ,ephesus in exculpating ,st4 ,paul and his company1 suggests that 'temple-robbery' was a not unfamiliar imputation upon ,jews4 ,it appears that with all their horror of idols--and though everything connected with an idol was expressly declared to be 'an abomination1' unless it had been already desecrated by ,gentiles#e--they could not always resist the opportunity of appropriating the rich stores of the temples4 ,the 'religious' ,scribes and ,pharisees 7though not of course the best of them7 were1 in fact1 as a body truly hypocrites1 as our ,lord summarily said they were4 ,and there lies in the moral failure of the ,jews a very much needed warning to us nineteenth-century ,christians against censoriousness4 ',judging' occupies so large a part in our ordinary conversation4 ,in the religious world1 we condemn so freely--,romanists1 ,dissenters1 those who are of a different party to ourselves3 in the social world--those of a different class1 those who employ us1 or whom we employ1 #ii those whom in any way we do not like or who go contrary to us4 ,we are always judging4 ,but to judge1 we are taught1 is a great responsibility4 ,with what judgement we judge1 we shall be judged4 ,it is of the utmost consequence that before we judge others we should have judged ourselves4 ,and to have done that truthfully has a tendency to make us charitable in our estimate of others1 because we are deeply conscious of our own need of merciful and lenient consideration4 #b4 ,what ,st4 ,paul teaches about the moral consciousness1 and possibility of moral goodness1 among the ,gentiles has not a ,jewish sound at all4 ,the ,jewish teachers generally would not have admitted any goodness acceptable to ,god in the heathen world4 ,in fact1 ,st4 ,paul is here1 as in his speech at ,athens1 accepting the principle of a universal presence and operation of ,god in the human heart1 outside the limit of any special revelation1 and he accepts it in terms largely derived from current ,stoic philosophy4 ,the ,stoics1 arising when the ,greek city life was decaying1 contemplated man as an individual1 and undertook to show him how to lead a good life4 ,a good life means a 'life according #ajj to nature1' or 'according to reason'3 the reason of the individual being a part of the universal reason or ,god4 ,and as a help in living according to reason1 the ,stoics laid stress upon the conscience in each man1 i4e4 a faculty lying behind his ordinary surface self1 passing judgement according to reason upon his actions1 and 'making cowards of us all1' inasmuch as we all do wrong4 ',no one1' said ,seneca1 ,st4 ,paul's contemporary1 'will be found who can acquit himself2 and any man calling himself innocent has regard to the human witness1 not to his own conscience4' ,he quotes an 'admirable saying of ,epicurus1' ',the beginning of safety is the knowledge of sin4' ,he inculcates the duty of strict self-examination1 and tells us how he performed it himself at night3 'when the light is removed1 and my wife1 who is by this time aware of my practice1 is now silent1 ,i pass the whole of my day under examination4' ,then he 'opens out his conscience to the gods4' ,and this conscience is to every man a sort of inward ,god#f4 ,it is in fact the representative in each man of the universal1 immutable1 and divine moral law1 the #aja law of nature1 in conformity with which is the only true freedom and citizenship of the world4 ',for this' 7the world of the moral order71 said another contemporary of ,st4 ,paul1 also a philosopher1 'is the common home of all1 and its law is no written document 7letter71 but ,god4 ,and if a man transgresses what the law imposes1 he will be impious2 or rather he will not dare transgress1 for he could not escape4 ,justice has many furies1 watch-dogs for sins#g4' ,there is in ,cicero's ,republic a magnificent expression of the principle of the law of nature3 ',there is a true law which is right reason1 agreeable to nature1 diffused among all men1 constant1 eternal1 which calls us to duty by its injunctions1 and by its prohibitions deters us from wrong2 which upon the good lays neither injunction nor prohibition in vain2 while for the bad1 neither its injunctions nor its prohibitions avail at all4 ,this law admits neither of addition nor subtraction nor abrogation4 ,the vote of neither senate nor people can discharge us from our obligation to it4 ,we are not to look for some other person to expound or interpret it2 nor will there be one law for ,rome and another for ,athens1 nor #ajb one at this date and another later on2 but one law shall embrace all races over all time1 eternal and immortal2 and there shall be hereby one common master and commander of all--,god1 who originated this law and proposed it and arbitrates concerning it2 and if any one obeys it not1 he shall play false to himself and shall do despite to the nature of man1 and by this very fact shall pay the greatest penalties1 even if he should escape all else that is reckoned punishment4' ,it is of interest to notice that the words cited by ,st4 ,paul before the ,areopagus#h1 ',we are also ,god's offspring1' occur in a hymn of the ,stoic ,cleanthes1 full of the thought of man's relation through his reason to the universal and divine law4 ,of this type of thought and language then ,st4 ,paul avails himself1 in spite of the immense differences which disclose themselves below the surface between the ,stoic and the ,christian ideas of ,god4 ,he avails himself of ,stoic phraseology about men being ,god's offspring in his speech at ,athens1 as being in accordance with what he1 the ,christian apostle1 had to teach4 ,and here he adopts in substance the ,stoic language with regard to conscience4 ,as by inference from #ajc nature all men can know of ,god's power and divine attributes1 so1 ,st4 ,paul says1 from the witness of conscience they may know the principles of ,his moral government#i4 ,st4 ,paul1 however1 rightly refuses to be satisfied with the individual conscience4 ,the social judgement--the social verdicts of condemnation or acquittal continually being passed--co-operate with it to anticipate the judgements of ,god4 ,and in virtue of the inward light of reason1 and the conscience#aj both individual and social1 he held that men who lie outside the region of special revelation can possess the moral law in effect in their hearts1 and1 it is implied1 can keep it4 ,st4 ,paul is mainly occupied in this epistle in contrasting the ,christian ,church1 as a region where spiritual power is given in response to faith to enable a man to fulfil the divine law1 both with the heathen world1 plunged in moral wickedness1 and with the ,jewish ,church in its failure to attain to divine righteousness by the law of works--of which more hereafter4 #ajd ,but there were among the ,jews true sons of ,abraham3 and there were among the ,gentiles good men acceptable to ,god1 like righteous ,job4 ,st4 ,paul does not theorize about this4 ,but there is at least no reason to deny that he would have declared these righteous men to be justified by faith and sanctified by grace1 i4e4 justified by that degree of truthful correspondence with ,god which was possible for them2 and kept in harmony with the will of ,god by ,his ,spirit4 ,there is no reason to believe that ,st4 ,paul would not have admitted some action of faith and grace among the non-christian ,gentiles1 as he undoubtedly does among the prae-christian ,jews who lived under or before the law4 ,when he says of the good heathen that they do 'by nature the things contained in the law1' he uses the expression not as equivalent to 'by their own unassisted powers1 without the help of ,god1' but simply to mean 'without the help of any special revelation#aa4' #aje ,universally then1 according to ,st4 ,paul1 two sources of the knowledge of ,god exist2 nature1 with its evidences of the divine power and other similar attributes1 and conscience1 with its witness to divine righteousness4 ,and1 though the sciences of nature and man have grown since ,st4 ,paul's day past recognition1 nothing 7we may boldly say7 has really weakened either element of this double witness4 ,it is1 and remains true1 that the only reasonable argument from the universal order of nature is to a universal reason or mind3 and that the method by which the moral conscience may be believed to have developed out of 'animal intelligence1' makes no difference as to the cogency of its witness to a divine righteousness1 in response to which alone it could have developed as in fact it has done4 ,it is worth notice also before we leave this part of our subject1 that ,st4 ,paul's line of thought affords a true explanation of the double fact that1 on the one hand1 the actual moral standards with which the conscience of different individuals1 races1 and generations is satisfied1 greatly varies2 and1 on the other hand1 that all the standards tend towards unity in a common idea of righteousness4 ,the tendency towards unity ,st4 ,paul would attribute to the divine righteousness #ajf which lies behind conscience and which it exists to reflect4 ,the variations would be due to the different degrees of development reached2 or still more to the different degrees of faithfulness or unfaithfulness1 attention or inattention1 with which the conscience of the race or the individual has responded to the light4 ,the conscience1 like the speculative reason1 is an instrument for coming to the truth2 but an instrument capable of every variety of racial or individual error or obtuseness4 #c4 ,it appears clearly enough in this chapter1 that ,st4 ,paul's doctrines of free grace and justification by faith must be grossly and carelessly misconceived unless they are viewed upon a deep background of what we commonly call 'natural religion1' that is 7practically7 the religion that appeals straight off to the conscience of almost all honest and civilized men4 ,it is 'natural religion' to believe that ,god will judge men with absolute power and insight and impartiality according to their conduct and their characters3 that there can be no 'making believe1' no substitute for a good character1 and no escaping with a bad one4 ,the prophets are full of this principle4 ,our ,lord reasserts it4 ,it is emphasized by ,st4 ,james1 whose plain #ajg point is that we are justified not by right belief 7which is what he means by 'faith'71 but by a good life4 ,but no one could assert the principle more simply and absolutely as the basis of all his special evangelical teaching than ,st4 ,paul4 ,and whatever is true about free grace and justification by faith only1 is true because1 and only because1 this free grace and this justifying faith are necessary means or steps towards the realization of actual righteousness4 ,so ,st4 ,paul states it--'that the requirement of the 7divine7 law might be fulfilled in us who walk#ab' according to the principles of the 'gospel of the grace of ,god4' ,the doctrine of grace is rooted and based upon the truths of natural religion1 and leads up to their realization4 ,it has been then a most perilous mistake when missionaries have preached the doctrines of grace and redemption in regions where there had been no preparatory training in natural religion--in the truth of the unity and power and moral character of ,god3 of the reality of our responsibility towards ,him3 of ,his inexorable holiness3 of ,his inaccessibility to any kind of bribe or attempt to find some substitute for moral obedience4 ,men must have known what #ajh it is to tremble in the recesses of their being 'as guilty men surprised' before ,god's awful righteousness2 to 'tremble1' like ,felix1 at the message of 'righteousness1 temperance1 and judgement to come1' before they can safely learn the lesson of ,his grace and pardon4 ,and there are two minor elements in natural religion1 as commonly understood1 for which ,st4 ,paul here makes himself responsible4 ,it has been generally understood that all men instinctively desire their own happiness1 and that this is natural and right2 and that as we should reasonably prefer our more permanent and deeper good to what is only transitory and superficial1 so we should strive for the happiness and satisfaction which is eternal--the eternal reward1 which only the stern pursuit of virtue can obtain for us4 ,this deep desire for our own substantial happiness our ,lord sanctions and continually suggests as a principal motive for right living4 ,the love of others does not annihilate it4 ',thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself4' ,so then ,st4 ,paul also1 following his ,master1 recognizes it as lying at the heart of what is right and true in mankind1 that we should 'seek' for ourselves 'glory1 honour1 and incorruption'--the glory and honour which abide #aji eternally4 ,it is plain that he would have us pay no heed to that truly unnatural modern altruism which would disparage and depreciate this motive of a right self-love1 and which would treat the desire for eternal happiness1 and fear of eternal loss1 as a base and unworthy element in religion4 ,no doubt it is not the only motive4 ,it is not even the characteristically ,christian motive4 ,but it is a natural and legitimate motive all the same4 ,it is an inextinguishable consciousness in us that we were meant for blessedness4 ,but1 once more1 the only true happiness is moral happiness3 it is a 'glory and honour' springing out of the man's character and belonging to it3 it is a happiness that is in this sense deserved4 ,true1 the servant of ,god in heaven will always feel that what he is receiving is infinitely beyond his deserts1 and that his deserts are what ,god has wrought in him1 not he himself4 ,none the less the reward springs out of and belongs to what ,god has actually made him to be4 ,heaven is not a happy place in such a sense that we could be made happy by being 'put there' by an arbitrary fiat of ,god4 ,it is fellowship with ,god1 the ,all-holy2 and ,god's holiness is intolerable1 it is 'devouring fire and #aaj everlasting burnings1' to those who are not morally like ,him4 ,here lies the reason why a heaven is not possible to moral beings without the accompanying possibilities of a hell4 ,for the moral possibility of acquiring the holy character involves the opposite moral possibility3 and it does not lie in the moral nature of things that the bad character should receive anything except what it deserves--the 'indignation and wrath' which ,god1 because ,he is ,god1 must express towards the sinful1 wilful character1 and which to the character itself means 'tribulation and anguish4' ,this1 ,st4 ,paul says positively1 must be the lot of 'every soul of man that doeth evil4' ,it is this inevitably two-sided law that a large part of the kindly-disposed world to-day are trying to get rid of1 or to forget1 on its severe and dark side4 ,but it is in fact a law that works even more necessarily and inexorably than physical laws1 inasmuch as it is the expression of ,god's necessary moral being4 ,god cannot 'let us off' the punishment of our sins1 which is only their inevitable fruit4 ,nor does ,he disclose to us any necessary limit to the ruin which we may work in our being4 ,this stern principle of natural religion is taken up into1 and indeed intensified in1 the gospel4 #aaa ,st4 ,paul1 however1 neither here nor elsewhere uses 'immortality' to describe the future state of those whom ,god condemns4 ,he uses it only of ,god and of those who enjoy the vision of ,god4 ,the 'immortality of the soul'--the idea that every soul as such necessarily and consciously exists to all eternity--is an idea which the language of ,scripture does not seem to warrant4 #d4 ,there are also two less prominent points in the second chapter that we must not entirely pass over4 ,st4 ,paul1 we should find1 if we were to investigate the matter1 is wholly true in his interpretation of the ,old ,testament in general4 ,he interprets its spirit and meaning with perfect insight4 ,but he is not always what we should call critically exact1 any more than the other interpreters of his day1 in his use of particular texts4 ,thus1 in this chapter he gives to some words of ,isaiah#ac a meaning which is indeed to be found elsewhere in the prophets#ad1 but does not really belong to the original of this particular passage4 ,isaiah is saying that ,god's name is being blasphemed by the oppressors of #aab ,israel--',continually all day long my name is blasphemed4' ,but the ,greek version of the ,bible inserted the words 'through you' 7the ,jews#ae72 and ,st4 ,paul interprets this insertion to mean that it was the moral inconsistency of the chosen people themselves which caused ,god's name to be blasphemed4 ,perhaps the fact that he uses the formula of quotation 'as it is written' after the words referred to1 is a sign that he had employed the words in his own sense before he became conscious that they were in fact a quotation4 ,but in any case he shows no anxiety to follow critically the original meaning of a particular passage which he cites4 ,at the end of this passage occurs the antithesis familiar in modern language of 'the letter and the spirit4' ,in its modern sense it is used as equivalent to the literal and the metaphorical1 or the definite and the vague4 ,but this is not at all its sense in ,st4 ,paul4 ,with him 'the letter' means the written law1 and 'spirit' means1 in this connexion1 what we may broadly describe as vital moral energy4 ,thus1 #aac in its most characteristic use with ,st4 ,paul1 the antithesis distinguishes the mere external information as to ,god's will1 which was all the written law 7'the letter'7 could give the ,jews1 from the activity of the ,holy ,spirit or the spiritual power of moral freedom which1 through the gifts of the ,holy ,spirit1 we enjoy under the gospel4 ,in this passage the antithesis is similar1 but not the same4 ,it contrasts the merely physical state of circumcision according to the written law--'with the letter and circumcision' means 'having the written law and being accordingly circumcised'--with what the ,old ,testament had called 'the circumcised heart1' i4e4 the really obedient will or 'spirit' which may exist independently of the outward rite4 ',spirit1' we observe1 may refer to the activity of either the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 or of the human will1 or of both without discrimination4 #a ,cf4 ,eccles4 viii4 #aa3 ',because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily1 therefore the heart of the sons of men is emboldened to do evil4' ,ps4 x4 #aa3 ',he saith in his heart1 ,god hath forgotten4' ,wisd4 xi4 #bc3 ',thou overlookest the sins of men to the end they may repent4' ,ecclus4 v4 #d3 ',say not1 ,i sinned1 and what happened unto me8 ,for the ,lord is longsuffering4' #b ,pet4 iii4 #i3 ',the ,lord is not slack concerning his promise1 as some count slackness2 but is longsuffering to youward1 not wishing that any should perish1 but that all should come to repentance4' ,cf4 also ,isa4 lvii4 #aa4 #b ,or rather 'their own conscience bearing witness with them and1 in their mutual relations1 their reflections accusing or even excusing them4' #c ,it is certainly misplaced as it stands 7,john vii4 #ec-viii4 #aa74 #d ,mark xii4 #dj2 ,luke xx4 #dg2 ,matt4 xxiii4 #be4 #e ,cf4 ,s4 and ,h4 in loc4 #f ,see for ,seneca1 ,lightfoot1 ,philippians1 ',st4 ,paul and ,seneca1' pp4 #bgh-bhj4 #g ,see ,pseudo-,heracleitus1 ,letter ix1 p4 #ia 7,bernays74 #h ,acts xvii4 #bh4 #i ,see ,rom4 i4 #cb as well as ,rom4 ii4 #ad4 #aj ',conscience1' as used by ,st4 ,paul's contemporaries and by himself1 is not a repository for positive moral guidance1 but rather a faculty for reflecting upon our own already accomplished actions4 ,see further1 app4 note ,b1 on the idea of conscience4 #aa ,see on this subject ,life and ,letters of ,dr4 ,hort 7,macmillan71 vol4 ii4 p4 #ccg3 ',faith itself1 not being an intellectual assent to propositions1 but an attitude of heart and mind1 is present in a more or less rudimentary state in every upward effort or aspiration of man4' ,also ,gibson1 ,thirty-,nine ,articles 7,methuen71 ii4 p4 #dbj4 #ab ,rom4 viii4 #d4 #ac ,isa4 lii4 #e4 #ad ,see in ,ezek4 xxxvi4 #bb3 ',my holy name1 which ye have profaned among the nations1 whither ye went4' #ae ,dr4 ,gifford suggests that the ,,lxx was subsequently modified by ,st4 ,paul's citation 7as in the next chapter1 iii4 #aj-ah71 instead of his citation being moulded by the ,,lxx4 ,is there any evidence in support of this view8 #aad ,,division ,i4 #c4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 #a-h4 ,jewish objections4 ,this passage is interesting as showing us1 what is more often the case than appears on the surface1 that ,st4 ,paul has in mind as he reasons the familiar objections of an opponent--his own objections1 perhaps in part1 before he was a ,christian4 ,st4 ,paul1 that is to say1 very frequently writes controversially1 and argues ad hominem3 and his own reasoning is only rightly understood when we have clearly in view what he is opposing4 ,it of course very frequently happens in literature generally that a saying is completely misunderstood1 because that with which it is contrasted is overlooked4 ,thus1 ,john the ,baptist's advice to the soldiers to 'be content with their wages' is commonly interpreted to mean--',be satisfied with your wages #aae as they are1 and do not ask for more4' ,this might have been good advice or bad advice to give to the soldiers1 but it is not ,john the ,baptist's4 ,he means1 ',be satisfied with your pay and do not supplement it by robbery and unauthorized exaction4' ,here then the implied contrast is necessary to enable us to interpret aright the positive advice4 ,similarly in the case of ,st4 ,paul1 his doctrine of the absoluteness of the divine election1 as stated later in this epistle#a1 has been misunderstood1 because it has been supposed that he is asserting the divine absoluteness as against the claim of man to moral freedom1 and to equitable judgement in accordance with responsibility4 ,but in fact this is what he is indirectly vindicating4 ,what he is arguing against is the claim of the ,jews that ,god was bound to their race4 ,it is against this claim--this immoral claim to perpetual privilege on the part of one race1 however they might behave--that ,st4 ,paul exalts the absolute freedom of ,god to choose or reject as ,he sees fit4 ,it is of great importance then1 especially with a writer so frequently controversial as ,st4 ,paul1 to watch continually to see which is the phase of thought or feeling that #aaf he is opposing4 ,frequently1 as ,i say1 it hardly appears on the surface of ,st4 ,paul's writing that he really has a definite opponent in view4 ,sometimes1 as in the passage now to be considered1 it becomes apparent1 and the argument is best exhibited in the form of a dialogue 7though to let the dialogue appear clearly1 missing links have to be supplied7 thus-- ,jewish ,objector4 ,but if all this is true--if ,jews are no better off than ,gentiles--of what use is it to be a ,jew8 ,what is the value of our circumcision and the position into which it initiates us8 7ver4 #a7 ,st4 ,paul4 ,its value is manifold4 ,to take one point first#b1 it lies in the fact that the oracles of ,god--,his teaching and promises--were entrusted to our race 7ver4 #b74 ,j4 ,o4 ,but if ,god thus of old gave special promises to us as ,his special people1 and if now we are simply like the heathen under ,his wrath1 the conclusion is that ,he has been false to ,his promises 7argument implied in ver4 #c74 ,s4 ,p4 ,no3 that is not to be thought of4 ,it is not ,god who has played false1 it is man3 it is our race4 ,the ,jews refused to believe3 not however all of them1 but some4 ,if there is #aag a trial between ,god and ,his people as to which has been true1 it is ,god who must be vindicated as the ,psalmist says#c 7vers4 #c1 #d74 ,j4 ,o4 ,but if1 as your teaching proves1 all our unrighteousness is made to serve as a background on which ,god makes ,his righteousness all the more evident--that is enough4 ,our wrong-doing serves its purpose in this way4 ,god has no right both to use our wrong-doing for ,his own purposes1 and then1 besides this1 to visit ,his wrath upon us 7ver4 #e;a74 ,s4 ,p4 ,such thoughts our human nature suggests 7ver4 #e;b74 ,but we know they are false4 ,god is the judge of the world1 and ,his action necessarily supplies the standard of all judicial righteousness 7ver4 #f74 ,j4 ,o4 ,but do consider my point4 ,if the result of my playing false to ,god is that ,his fidelity is only thrown into higher relief and the whole process ministers to ,his glory1 why am ,i1 the unconscious instrument of ,his glory1 treated as an offender8 and why should ,i not resolve to go on freely doing wrong 7as you yourself are sometimes accused of teaching71 so as to give ,god more abundant opportunities to overrule my action for the greater good8 7vers4 #g1 #h;a47 #aah ,s4 ,p4 ,a man stands justly condemned in the very using of such an argument 7ver4 #h;b74 ,what advantage then hath the ,jew8 or what is the profit of circumcision8 ,much every way3 first of all1 that they were intrusted with the oracles of ,god4 ,for what if some were without faith8 shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of ,god8 ,god forbid3 yea1 let ,god be found true1 but every man a liar2 as it is written1 ,that thou mightest be justified in thy words1 ,and mightest prevail when thou comest into judgement4 ,but if our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of ,god1 what shall we say8 ,is ,god unrighteous who visiteth with wrath8 7,i speak after the manner of men47 ,god forbid3 for then how shall ,god judge the world8 ,but if the truth of ,god through my lie abounded unto his glory1 why am ,i also still judged as a sinner8 and why not 7as we be slanderously reported1 and as some affirm that we say71 ,let us do evil1 that good may come8 whose condemnation is just4 ,what is of interest here is to notice that ,st4 ,paul reproduces the argument of his ,jewish opponent with great sympathetic force4 ,it had clearly been weighed in his own mind4 ,it was urged1 no doubt1 against his own teaching1 that it gave an excuse for sinning by suggesting that the greatness of the sin only glorified the super-abundant greatness of the pardoning love4 ,it is only too probable that some of his followers were persuaded by some such argument or acted as #aai if they were4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul states it with vigour1 but thereby only makes all the more apparent the meagreness of his reply4 ,not that the argument is such as makes reply difficult4 ,in a slightly different form ,st4 ,paul deals with it elaborately in chapters ix-xi4 ,but here he clearly treats it as contemptible when its true character has once been disclosed4 ,and why8 ,because it is professedly an explanation of the ways of ,god with man1 which is at the same time an excuse for immorality4 ,it is an intellectual exercise at the expense of conscience4 ,and ,st4 ,paul shows1 by the very contempt with which he treats it1 that a man who will play false with his conscience1 and then proceed to find intellectual justifications1 is not to be met in the intellectual region at all4 ,he has been condemned already4 ,st4 ,paul then1 we find1 will not argue with one who reasons at the expense of his conscience2 and this is an important principle4 ,when the intellect is acting purely1 it must be free1 and must be dealt with seriously on its own ground4 ,but the conscience must be followed first of all4 ,its light is clearer than the light of intellect1 and must be left supreme4 ,whatever be the bewilderment of my intellect1 ,i am self-condemned1 #abj ,god-condemned1 if ,i play false to the moral light4 ,and arguments to the contrary1 however clever-sounding or philosophical1 are in fact sophistry4 ,there is1 we must confess1 a good deal of such sophistry to-day in the use of arguments drawn from the current philosophy of necessitarianism and the idea of heredity4 #a ,chapters ix-xi4 #b ,the points are resumed in ix4 #a4 #c ,ps4 xxxii4 #aba ,,division ,i4 #d4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 #i-bj4 ,sin and condemnation universal4 ,at this point the direct argument with an opponent is dropped2 and ,st4 ,paul restates what he has so far been occupied in proving4 ,it is not that ,jews are in a worse position than ,gentiles4 ,it is that all together are involved in the same moral failure4 ,to deepen the impression that this is a true statement1 ,st4 ,paul culls from various psalms and from ,isaiah a series of passages describing a general state of depravity1 moral blindness1 apathy1 failure1 unprofitableness1 falsity1 hatred1 and outrage against ,god and man4 ,these utterances of the book of 'the law' 7here used for the ,old ,testament scriptures generally7 are meant for those first to whom this law belonged4 ,they condemn ,jews as well as ,gentiles4 ,they show all equally to be under #abb divine judgement4 ,they prove that if the written law could teach men ,god's will1 it could not1 by the works that it enjoined1 enable him to satisfy ,god4 ,it had its function only in teaching him to know his sinfulness by contrast to his plainly declared duty4 ,the conclusion is then that all men1 ,jews and ,gentiles alike1 are involved in sin1 are under the wrath of a holy ,god1 and are in utter need of a deliverance which they are incapable of procuring for themselves4 ,what then8 are we in worse case than they8 ,no1 in no wise3 for we before laid to the charge both of ,jews and ,greeks1 that they are all under sin2 as it is written1 ,there is none righteous1 no1 not one2 ,there is none that understandeth1 ,there is none that seeketh after ,god2 ,they have all turned aside1 they are together become unprofitable2 ,there is none that doeth good1 no1 not so much as one3 ,their throat is an open sepulchre2 ,with their tongues they have used deceit3 ,the poison of asps is under their lips3 ,whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness3 ,their feet are swift to shed blood2 ,destruction and misery are in their ways2 ,and the way of peace have they not known3 ,there is no fear of ,god before their eyes4 ,now we know that what things soever the law saith1 it speaketh to them that are under the law2 that every #abc mouth may be stopped1 and all the world may be brought under the judgement of ,god3 because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight3 for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin4 #a4 ,the ',scripture proof' which ,st4 ,paul here offers of universal human corruption is1 according to a recognized ,hebrew practice1 made up by stringing together a number of separate texts1--,ps4 xiv4 #a-c1 v4 #i1 cxl4 #c1 x4 #g1 ,isa4 lix4 #g1 #h1 ,ps4 xxxvi4 #a4 ,they represent the impression made by human wickedness upon the righteous observer4 ,the estimate covers ,israel as well as1 indirectly1 the world at large#a4 ,it is thus an authoritative rebuke to ,jewish self-complacency4 ,it is as if an ,english preacher were to rebuke similar self-complacency in ,englishmen by a collection of passages from standard ,english authorities1 in which our nation was judged1 in common with others1 in a manner most humiliating to its pride4 ,it is this1 though1 inasmuch as the psalmists and prophets were and are believed to have spoken under the inspiration of the ,spirit of ,god1 it is also something more4 ,it is well known that1 as the quotations in #abd the ,new ,testament have frequently affected the ,greek text of the ,old1 so here this conglomerate of quotations came to be attached altogether to ,ps4 xiv in some ,greek ,,mss41 increasing it by four verses4 ,thence they passed into the later ,latin ,vulgate4 ,thence into ,coverdale's ,bible and into the ,great ,bible1 and so into the ,prayer ,book version of the ,psalms4 ,but our present ,bible version remains true to the ,hebrew original4 #b4 ',to be justified1' in ver4 #bj1 means to be acquitted1 or proved righteous1 or reckoned righteous in the trial before ,god4 ,this1 and not to make righteous1 is the meaning of the word 'to justify1' both in the ,old and ,new ,testament and elsewhere4 ,there is scarcely an exception4 ,it is a forensic word1 that is1 a word derived from processes of law1 and it describes the favourable verdict after a trial4 ,it is used of vindicating ,god's character to ,his people#b1 or of vindicating one's own character2 of ,god's judicial acceptance of men or men's judicial acceptance of one another#c4 ,and so far as real righteousness is necessary for judicial #abe acquittal1 the word implies real righteousness1 but it does not primarily mean it4 #c4 ,here we find briefly stated ,st4 ,paul's apparently wholly original view of 'the law1' as given simply to enlighten the conscience by keeping men informed as to their duty1 without supplying them with any moral assistance in performing it4 ,thus the ultimate aim of the law was to make man know his own sinfulness2 to convince him that his attempted independence was a failure1 and that he could not save himself2 and so to prepare him to cry out for the gift of grace1 and to welcome it when it was given4 ',the law was given1' as ,st4 ,augustine is fond of saying1 'that grace might be sought1 and grace was given that the law might be kept4' ,this antithesis is thoroughly after ,st4 ,paul's mind4 ,this first division of our epistle gives us as a whole a great deal to think about4 ,there are1 we may say1 two spiritual evils conspicuous to-day4 ,people with consciences in any degree awakened are apt to be nervous1 anxious1 despondent1 complaining1 sullen4 ,the second division of our epistle supplies the antidote to this error by consolidating the awakened conscience in divine peace4 ,but there is another1 #abf and perhaps more conspicuous1 spiritual evil of our day which this first division is calculated to meet--the habit of excusing oneself--the absence of the sense of sin4 ,hold thou the good3 define it well3 ,for fear divine philosophy ,should push beyond her mark1 and be ,procuress to the lords of hell4 ,because philosophy and science have been bringing into prominence the influence of heredity and physical environment on character1 we use this consideration1 and often with little enough knowledge of real science1 to obliterate the sense of sin4 ,we are apt to regard sin as it appears in the world at large as a result of ignorance1 or social conditions--as in one way or another a form of misfortune4 ,and so viewing it in the world1 we view it in ourselves4 ,we make excuses for ourselves4 ,we have largely lost the sense that sin is wilfulness2 that it is an inexcusable offence against ,god2 that it does1 and necessarily does1 bring us under ,god's indignation2 that necessarily1 because ,god is what ,he is1 the consequences of sin in this life1 and much more beyond this life1 are inconceivably terrible4 ,it is this sense of sin that ,st4 ,paul must help to restore in us4 ,we must believe #abg that ,god is holy1 and we must learn to tremble under ,his necessary holiness1 before we can in any right sense realize that ,he is loving4 ,we must learn once again to be really penitent2 to confess our sins in general and in particular with utter humiliation2 to expect the divine judgement upon them2 to use with reality the stern language about sin of the ,bible and the ,prayer ,book4 ,and learning this for ourselves with regard to our own personal sins1 we must learn also to feel1 like ,daniel1 what our church and nation deserve in ,god's sight4 ,we must confess our own sins and the sins of church and nation#d--;aye1 of the human race4 ,only through such a restoration of evangelical severity can there be a restoration of evangelical joy4 ,the deepened sense of personal sin is the needful step to spiritual progress4 ,certainly no more in our case than in that of the ,jews will orthodoxy1 or ritual accuracy1 or frequent services1 or superior education1 or philanthropic zeal1 be accepted as a substitute for moral severity1 for the spirit of penitence and the readiness for penance4 ,let us judge ourselves1 brethren1 that we be not judged of the ,lord4 ,and it is all-important what our standard of #abh judgement is4 ,the ,jews failed because they judged themselves by a mainly external and therefore easy standard4 ,so do most respectable ,englishmen4 ,we are satisfied if we do nothing discreditable4 ,but the religious sense of sin1 as it is experienced by the psalmists1 or ,st4 ,paul1 or ,luther1 or ,john ,keble1 arises from the intense perception of a personal relation to the ,all-,holy4 ,the 'falling short1' or rather 'experienced need#e1' of which ,st4 ,paul goes on to speak1 is the experienced need of something very lofty1 to which it is possible for men to be quite insensible--'the glory of ,god4' ,god's divine brightness1 the eternal light1 streams forth into nature4 ',the whole earth is full of ,his glory4' ,man also in his natural and moral being is meant to have fellowship with ,god4 ,he is meant for the divine glory also4 ,it is in proportion as he realizes what he was meant for1 and becomes conscious in himself of a capacity for ,god1 that his present actual pollution and sinfulness becomes a reality to his consciousness4 ,it is in the light of ,god1 #abi and in aspiration after the glory of ,god1 that the sense of sin really awakens4 ',thou requirest truth in the inward parts1' says the ,psalmist4 ',against ,thee1 ,thee only1 have ,i sinned4' ',if thou1 ,lord1 shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss1 ,lord1 who may abide it8'#f #a ,dr4 ,king 7,the ,psalms in ,three ,collections1 c43 ,cambridge1 #ahih7 has remarked that ,ps4 xiv4 #a-c closely resembles the general condemnation of 'all flesh upon the earth' in ,gen4 vi4 #e1 #ab4 #b ,cf4 above ver4 #d1 from ,ps4 xxxii4 #c ,see ,ps4 li4 #d2 ,job xxxii4 #b2 ,prov4 xvii4 #ae2 ,isa4 v4 #bc2 ,matt4 xi4 #ai2 ,luke vii4 #bi2 x4 #bi2 xvi4 #ae4 #d ,cf4 ,dan4 ix4 #d-bj4 #e ,the word for 'fall short' in ver4 #bc is a 'middle' verb1 and apparently implies not only failure in point of fact1 but conscious failure4 ,thus in ,luke xv4 #ad1 the prodigal son begins to feel his destitution 7middle74 ,but in ,matt4 xix4 #bj1 the rich young man asks1 ',what1 as a matter of fact1 is wanting to me' 7active78 ,see ,gifford1 or ,s4 and ,h4 in loc4 #f ,cf4 app4 note ,c1 on recent reactions from the teaching about hell4 #acj ,,division ,,ii4 ,,chapters ,,iii4 #ba-;,,iv4 #be4 ,justification by faith only4 #a4 7,,iii4 #ba-ca47 ,christ our propitiation4 ,now we have been brought to recognize the true state of the case as between ourselves and ,god--the facts about ourselves as we are in ,god's sight4 ,we were meant for fellowship in the divine glory4 ',the glory of ,god1' says an old ,father1 'is the living man3 the life of man is the vision of ,god4' ,but1 meant for fellowship in the divine glory1 we have fallen short of it and have come to appreciate our failure4 ,we have sinned1 and that universally and wilfully4 ,we are such that ,god cannot accept us as we are3 the 'day of ,his appearing' could be for us but a 'day of wrath4' ,and in this dire situation we are helpless4 ,we can supply no remedy4 ',can the ,ethiopian change his #aca skin1 or the leopard his spots8 ,then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil#a4' ,but to acknowledge this--to abandon the claim so dear to the human heart1 that we can be independent and manage our own life successfully3 to repudiate all our false pride1 and to come before ,god all of us on the same level1 confessing our failure and our sin--this is to let man's necessity be ,god's opportunity1 and to open the flood-gates of the divine righteousness4 ,god is righteous in all the richest meaning of that word1 and that righteousness of ,his ,he is now extending to us and giving us admittance into it4 ,and this ,he does purely and simply as ,his gift4 ,on ,his side it is pure and gratuitous giving1 on our side simple and unmeritorious receiving4 ,we contribute nothing4 ,no distinctions are admitted between those inside the law and those outside it4 ,the gift is quite apart from the law1 though law and prophets bore witness to it4 ,no questions are admitted as to what we have done or what we have left undone4 ,purely and simply out of the freedom of ,his love1 who is our ,creator and our ,father1 now1 when a bitter experience has taught us again our true attitude towards ,him1 ,he offers us #acb admission into ,his righteousness1 all on the same level1 if we will simply believe in ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son1 that is1 take ,him at ,his word and believe ,his promises 7vers4 #ba-bd74 ,and what is this offer8 ,it is1 first of all1 what befits the captives of sin3 it is redemption4 ,god1 who of old bought ,his people out of captivity in ,egypt1 without any co-operation of theirs1 by a pure act of ,his power1 has now again1 without any co-operation of ours1 but by a manifestation this time of self-sacrificing love1 in the person of ,jesus ,christ1 bought our freedom from sin4 ,and this redemption ,he offers to us first of all in the form which befits sinners conscious of sin and guilt1 as the mere gift of forgiveness1 the mere power to break with the past1 the mere right to stand and face the future with a clean record4 ,for as the brazen serpent was lifted up before the eyes of rebellious ,israel1 bitten of the fiery serpents1 and those who looked unto it lived1 so upon the open stage of history ,god set forth ,jesus ,christ shedding ,his life-blood--obedient1 that is1 to ,god and righteousness unto death1 even the death of the cross4 ,and this sacrificial shedding of the life-blood of the ,son of ,god--to which we #acc contributed nothing#b--;is accepted by the ,father as propitiatory1 that is1 as something which enables ,him to show ,his true character of righteousness1 and to acquit or accept among the righteous1 irrespective of what he has done or been1 every one who has faith in ,jesus 7vers4 #bd-bf74 ,and why 7we in our age are disposed to ask7 did not ,god simply declare ,his forgiveness8 why this roundabout method of a propitiatory sacrifice8 ,it was 7,st4 ,paul's language suggests7 to prove or vindicate ,his righteousness1 which means both holiness and mercy4 ,all the long ages past of the times of ignorance1 ,god had been 'overlooking' or 'passing over' sins in ,his forbearance1 never 'suffering ,his whole displeasure to arise1' but allowing all nations to walk in their own ways and to find out their own mistakes and helplessness#c4 ,the result of their being thus left to themselves was that men did indeed become conscious of their misery #acd and need1 but also came to entertain all sorts of slack or unworthy ideas about ,god4 ,a mere declaration of forgiveness might have left men with an impression of an easy-going or 'good-natured' ,god who would make light of sin4 ,but the awful burden laid upon ,jesus on account of human sin1 the awful sacrifice of ,his life which ,he readily offered1 restores the sterner element to our thoughts about ,god1 just at that crisis or opportunity in the divine dealings1 when by ,god's declaration of free forgiveness we are made to feel ,his love4 ,god does forgive us1 but it costs ,him much4 ,and no one who under these conditions comes and takes at the hand of ,jesus the gift of pardon can fail to receive with it the awful impression of the divine holiness and of the severity of the divine requirements4 ,all the former 'passing over of the sins done aforetime' was made morally possible because ,god had in view that 'now at the present season1' or opportunity1 ,he would 'show1' or prove1 ,his whole righteousness1 and be before men's eyes the righteous being that ,he is in fact 7righteous rather than merely 'just'72 and be able1 without the danger of a great misunderstanding1 to give ,his righteousness full scope by admitting into #ace it1 by a pure act of pardon1 every one who comes simply taking ,jesus at ,his word#d4 ,here then there is no room for pride or glorying4 ,it is utterly excluded because there is here no consideration of human merit4 ,it is a pure and unmerited boon of the divine bounty bestowed1 without reference to any law known or observed1 simply on those who1 utterly confessing their need1 accept in faith the offer of love4 ,again there is no reference to any chosen race4 ,jew and ,gentile1 circumcision and uncircumcision1 are all in the same case4 ,all have the same need4 ,god is the same1 with the same offer1 for all alike4 ,he will accept the ,jew because he believes1 and ,he will accept the ,gentile with no other equipment but his faith4 ,yet this principle of faith involves no repudiation of the principle of law2 rather1 it realizes the very end which law was intended to serve 7vers4 #bg-ca74 ,but now apart from the law a righteousness of ,god hath been manifested1 being witnessed by the law and the prophets2 even the righteousness of ,god through faith in ,jesus ,christ unto all them that believe2 for there #acf is no distinction2 for all have sinned1 and fall short of the glory of ,god2 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in ,christ ,jesus3 whom ,god set forth to be a propitiation1 through faith1 by his blood1 to shew his righteousness1 because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime1 in the forbearance of ,god2 for the shewing1 ,i say1 of his righteousness at this present season3 that he might himself be just1 and the justifier of him that hath faith in ,jesus4 ,where then is the glorying8 ,it is excluded4 ,by what manner of law8 of works8 ,nay3 but by a law of faith4 ,we reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law4 ,or is ,god the ,god of ,jews only8 is he not the ,god of ,gentiles also8 ,yea1 of ,gentiles also3 if so be that ,god is one1 and he shall justify the circumcision by faith1 and the uncircumcision through faith4 ,do we then make the law of none effect through faith8 ,god forbid3 nay1 we establish the law4 i4 ,for our understanding of this famous passage a good deal depends on our fixing1 as exactly as possible1 what the 'righteousness of ,god' here spoken of means4 ,beyond all question it means in part ,god's own moral character4 ,this is quite certain1 as in the ,bible generally1 so in this very chapter#e4 ,but it is also certain that ,god's character is1 especially in this epistle1 viewed as revealed to us in such a sense that we can take hold of it and become identified with it4 #acg ,thus 7especially in i4 #ag7 human faith is spoken of as the starting-point or region for revealing divine righteousness4 ,it extends to and embraces the believers#f4 ,it is a righteousness communicated to us from ,god on the basis of faith#g4 ,the 'righteousness of ,god' is what we men are to become#h4 ,this transition of meaning from what ,god is in ,himself to what we are by the gift of ,god is of course thoroughly natural4 ,the grand idea of the ,bible is that of a moral fellowship between man and ,god4 ,the grand idea of the ,new ,testament is1 further1 that of a disclosure and communication to us of the divine life4 ,and what is this moral quality described by 'righteousness' which belongs to ,god and is communicated to us8 ,righteousness is a term belonging primarily to man4 ,a righteous man1 in the ,old ,testament1 is one who fulfils all that is expected of him1 one who is blameless--towards man1 but especially towards ,god4 ,but if ,god expects such and such conduct in men it is because of what ,he ,himself is4 ,his requirements express ,his character4 ,god ,himself therefore is believed to be righteous1 incorruptibly and awfully righteous4 ,but a great #ach strain is put upon this belief in the 'wild and irregular scene' of this world1 the ,governor of which appears so often indifferent to the sufferings of ,his most faithful servants4 ,thus the righteous cry out to ,god to vindicate ,himself1 and ,god's righteousness is1 in the ,old ,testament1 largely identified with ,god's vindication of ,his own character by righteous acts or judgements accomplished in the past or expected in the future2 acts of such a character as that in them the wicked and insolent are put to confusion1 and the meek and holy justified and exalted4 ,such righteous judgement is expected to characterize the kingdom of the ,christ4 ,of course1 in the general lowering of moral ideals among the ,pharisaic ,jews1 the idea of righteousness suffered with all else4 ,the righteous came to mean those who strictly keep the outward ,jewish law2 and ,god's righteousness was identified with ,his expected vindication of those who keep the law1 i4e4 the pious ,jew1 at the coming of the ,messiah#i4 ,our ,lord1 and ,his disciples after ,him1 were engaged in nothing so much as in deepening the idea of righteousness again4 ,especially it is something much more than the mere observance of outward ordinances4 #aci ,it was1 in fact1 the fundamental error of the ,jews to confuse the two4 ,righteousness in man must be real likeness to ,god1 and ,god's righteousness is ,his holy character which ,he is now once more manifesting in the gospel of ,his ,son2 a character which is still shown in acts of justice#aj1 in punishing the wicked and rewarding the righteous1 but which manifests itself also more especially as love1 and by gracious promises of forgiveness and acceptance#aa4 ,thus1 in ,rom4 i4 #ag1 #ah1 the present 'revelation of divine righteousness' is a gracious manifestation which is put in contrast to the 'revelation of divine wrath1' the place of which it is intended to take4 ,and yet1 though the quality of mercy is made emphatic1 it is not isolated4 ,god's righteousness is not mere good nature4 ,it would not be rightly revealed by any mere ignoring or passing over of sin4 ,god's mercy is inseparable from ,his holiness1 and ,his righteousness includes both#ab4 ,it needed the severe requirement of the atoning sacrifice1 as well as #adj the free gift of forgiveness and new life1 to prove or exhibit it4 ,and if ,god's righteousness shows itself first of all in a simple act of justification of sinners--in simply forgiving men or pronouncing them righteous1 irrespective of what they are in themselves at the moment1 if only they will take ,god at ,his word--three points have to be borne in mind4 ,first1 that the mere offer of forgiveness is put in the forefront because this readiness on our part to be treated as helpless sinners is the annihilation of the one great obstacle to our reconciliation with ,god--the proud independence which led the ,jews1 and has led men since their day1 to resent being dealt with by mere mercy1 and to want to justify themselves4 ,if the ,christian character is to grow aright1 it must have its root in an utter acknowledgement that we owe to ,god our power even to make a beginning in ,his service3 that we can run the way of ,his commandments1 because1 and only because1 ,he by ,his own act has set our hearts at liberty4 ,just as ,i am1 without one plea ,but that ,thy blood was shed for me1 ,and that ,thou bidst me come to ,thee1 ,o ,lamb of ,god1 ,i come6 #ada ,to many really good ,christians this sort of language has come to have an unreal sound because they have been surfeited with it1 and because it has been associated with a very one-sided ,christianity4 ,but1 for all that1 the moral necessity remains that we should dig out of its last refuges the claim of human independence1 if the ,christian character is to grow healthily4 ,in other words1 the only root of ,christian thankfulness and progress is the recognition that our spiritual life rests at its basis on a pure act of the divine bounty in accomplishing our redemption from sin and giving us the forgiveness of all our sins4 ,secondly1 it must be borne in mind that our forgiveness through the sacrifice is only the first step towards fellowship with ,god4 ,it is only the removal of the preliminary obstacle which guilt had raised against actual admittance into the life of ,god4 ,the language of the ,new ,testament refuses to allow us to separate the forgiveness of our sins from our admission into the 'body of ,christ' by baptism#ac1 or1 in other words1 our incorporation into the life of the redeemed people1 the new ,israel4 ,for the faith #adb which accepts forgiveness is the same identical quality which corresponds with all the later movement of the new life4 ,god's free gift of grace is not forgiveness only1 but forgiveness and new life2 it is 'forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in ,christ#ad4' ,st4 ,paul does not contemplate1 or contemplates only to repudiate1 a faith which accepts forgiveness and stops there--indifferent to actual holiness or baptismal incorporation4 ,for it would be no real faith at all4 ,the preliminary justification or acquittal is simply and solely to serve as a basis for the life of consecration and glory4 ,the stages of justification and sanctification are separable in idea but not in fact4 ,the refusal to proceed from the threshold of the acquittal into the palace of the new life would expel even from the threshold2 even as the failure of the unthankful servant to behave as one should behave who has been excused the debt he could not pay1 cancelled all his acquittal and left him with the weight of the old debt rolled back upon him to his destruction4 ,lastly1 and in one word1 it must never be left out of sight that even the initial movement of #adc faith1 the taking ,christ at ,his word and believing ,his promises1 involves the element of moral allegiance4 ,his gracious person and character attract even while the boon is being accepted1 and a new motive enters into life4 ,justifying faith at its very root is a faith which yields allegiance to its object4 ii4 ,to a ,jew1 and to almost all races when ,st4 ,paul wrote1 the idea of an expiatory sacrifice for sin seemed natural and obvious4 ,but for the special ,christian doctrine of expiation the basis is to be found in the memorable chapter liii of the 'later ,isaiah4' ,that great prophet of the captivity is assuring ,israel of their restoration to their own land4 ,this restoration is to follow on the due punishment of her sins--',she hath received of the ,lord's hands double for all her sins4' ,and the restored people is to be1 before all else1 a righteous people--'all righteous'--a people of ,god's favour1 because they are living according to ,god4 ,but there is so much sin still remaining in them as to make it necessary that the new life of the recovered people should be based on a great act of #add propitiation4 ,the ,righteous ,servant of ,jehovah1 who is1 at starting1 the idealized people itself1 but who comes to be represented as an individual acting for the people while repudiated by them1 offers his life a willing sacrifice for their sins4 ,the chastisement of their iniquities falls on him1 and he accepts the burden1 and is obedient unto death4 ,dying he makes his soul a guilt offering3 and1 living through death exalted and powerful1 he becomes an intercessor accepted with ,god1 the head of a new seed whom he 'justifies' before ,god by the intimate knowledge of ,god's mind and character which in his voluntary humiliation he has won4 ,this wonderful prophetic picture represents a vast advance in moral teaching on what had gone before4 ,it is not only that the self-sacrifice of a perfect human will is substituted for the animal victims to which the enlightened conscience of ,god's people already refused to allow any real efficacy2 but also that the idea of propitiation is put in a context where it is made plain that it can only be the prelude to a state of actual righteousness in those who are to be justified by it4 ,it occurs as part of the answer to the question1 not--,how is ,israel to escape punishment8 but1 ,how is ,israel to #ade become the really righteous nation1 living in the likeness of ,god8 ,in the later books of the ,maccabees we have this idea of the expiatory sacrifice and intercession of the ideal ,israelite still retained1 but degraded1 probably under ,greek influences4 ',and ,i1 as my brethren1' says the ,maccabean martyr1 'give up both body and soul for the laws of our fathers1 calling upon ,god that he may speedily become gracious to the nation 444 and that in me and my brethren may be stayed the wrath of the ,almighty1 which hath been justly brought upon our whole race#ae4' ',be propitious to my race1' prays ,eleazar1 in another ,alexandrian version of the story1 'being satisfied with our punishment on their behalf4 ,make my blood a propitiation for them1 and receive my life as a substitute for theirs#af4' ,these passages are on a lower moral level than ,isaiah's1 because in them the prominent idea of propitiation is that it is a means of procuring from ,god exemption from further punishment1 not a step to the restoration to holiness4 ,the idea both of what ,god desires and of what man desires is lower4 ,and indeed all conceptions of propitiation may be distinguished into true #adf or false1 according as righteousness or exemption from punishment is the end which is specially in view4 ,thus when we pass on into the ,new ,testament we find in ,caiaphas' saying1 ',it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people1 and that the whole nation perish not#ag1' the typical expression of the quite immoral notion#ah of the forcible sacrifice of an innocent person in order to exempt a guilty race from punishment4 ,in our ,lord's teaching1 on the other hand1 we find the doctrine of atonement raised to its highest moral power4 ,as the ,forerunner had revived the teaching of the later ,isaiah by pointing to ,him as 'the ,lamb of ,god who taketh away 7i4e4 taketh up and expiateth7 the sin of the world#ai1' so ,christ ,himself spoke unmistakeably of the new covenant which ,he came to inaugurate1 as to be based upon the sacrificial offering of ,his body and the outpouring of ,his blood#bj3 spoke also of 'the remission of sins' as the benefit to be expected #adg from ,his expiation4 ,but no teacher in the world ever made it so plain that ,god can be satisfied with nothing that any other can do for us--with nothing but actual likeness to ,him in ourselves4 ,no teacher ever made it so plain that what we are to desire is not to be let off punishment1 but to be actually freed from sin4 ,he left no room for doubt that only by following ,his steps1 even to the cross and surrender of our lives1 can we share ,his fellowship4 ,the very life which is offered in sacrifice to lay the foundation of the new covenant is a life or spirit which we are to share4 ,we are to eat and drink ,his sacrificed flesh and blood--the blood which is the life--and so to be one with ,him and ,he with us4 ,he sacrificed ,himself1 in other words1 in order to make possible1 through ,his life and ,spirit1 a new covenanted society1 in which men should have perfect fellowship with ,god and with one another4 ,he did not reject the idea of a propitiation won for man by ,his vicarious sacrifice--the truth is far from that--but ,he keeps it in inseparable connexion with the life which is to be based upon it2 and in the eucharist ,he brought back the idea of sacrifice to what had been its starting-point in all primitive usages4 ',the one point1' says #adh ,professor ,robertson-,smith1 'that comes out clear and strong 7from the examination of ancient sacrificial customs71 is that the fundamental idea of ancient sacrifice is sacramental communion1 and that all atoning rites are ultimately to be regarded as owing their efficacy to a communication of divine life to the worshipper1 and to the establishment or confirmation of a living bond between them and their ,god#ba4' ,still ,christ's sacrifice of propitiation1 to which we contribute nothing1 in which we do not share1 remains a necessary prelude to the establishment of the new life4 ,it is in virtue of this that we are justified and accepted and allowed to start afresh4 ,this fact the ,new ,testament in general takes for granted1 and offers no explanation of it2 as indeed the human heart has in general accepted the benefit in all thankfulness and asked no questions4 ,but the speculative modern intellect has found a difficulty in the matter--in the matter at least as commonly represented--and we have noticed that a suggestion of explanation is made by ,st4 ,paul in this passage4 ,god had long gone on 'passing over' sin all over the world in loving forbearance1 bearing with all men's sinfulness1 #adi till they had thoroughly learnt the lesson of their own need of ,god and inability to save themselves4 ,but this very forbearance rendered ,god's character liable to complete misunderstanding4 ,he might have been supposed to be kind indeed1 but indifferent to sin4 ',these things hast thou done and ,i kept silence3 thou thoughtest that ,i was altogether such an one as thyself#bb4' ,thus the severity manifested in the claim of the 'righteous ,father' upon the ,son of ,man1 ,his claim of an obedience unto the shedding of ,his blood1 and the ready response to ,his claim on the part of the ,son of ,man gladly rendering up ,his life in homage to the ,father--these taken together1 the claim of the ,father and the sacrifice of the ,son1 vindicated within the area of the ,christian faith the true character of ,god1 and forced the believer in ,jesus to hold the severity and the love in their inseparable unity as making up the divine righteousness4 ,does not this thought open at least an intelligible vista into the mystery of the ,atonement8 ,christ is the ,son of ,man4 ,he is to inaugurate the true manhood4 ,but first ,he must deal with the manhood that has gone #aej astray1 and make an act of reparation to the ,father for all the outrage that our sins have done ,him4 ,thus in contrast to all our self-pleasing1 self-indulgence1 self-excusing1 in contrast to all our clamorous insolence towards ,god and indifference to ,his laws1 we behold the ,son of ,man recognizing the ,father's strict requirements1 and lifting before ,his eyes1 in the name of the manhood which ,he represents1 the great reparation of an unshrinking obedience and loyalty unto death4 ,the ,father spared not ,his only ,son the natural consequences of obedience in a world of sin4 ,the ,son spared not ,himself1 but shed ,his blood--the 'blood which is the life'--at the ,father's will4 ,this is the one full1 perfect1 and sufficient sacrifice1 oblation1 and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world4 ,it is the sacrifice offered in the power of nothing less than 'eternal spirit4' ,henceforth1 then1 no man can come to ,god in faith in ,jesus1 in the faith which even at its root is moral allegiance1 and think lightly either of ,god's holiness or of his own or others' sin4 ,god forgives him his sin1 but it cost ,him much to forgive it4 ,the ,cross is the measure of the antipathy between ,god and sin4 ,and it is well to notice how the great #aea thought of this passage is made intelligible to the ordinary ,english reader again1 only by the ,revised ,version4 ,in the old ,bible the word signifying 'passing over' of sins is translated 'remission'--the very thing with which it is in fact contrasted4 ,it is not an exaggeration to say that1 in this and very many places of the epistles1 the ,revised ,version for the first time renders the thought of the apostles again intelligible to the ,english reader4 ,and if the ,revised ,version is not popular1 as the booksellers tell us it is not1 this is1 ,i fear1 only a sign that the majority of ,english ,christians do not really care to understand the meaning of the message with which1 as a matter of words1 they are so familiar4 iii4 ,the metaphor of 'redemption' and the metaphor of 'propitiation' complete and check one another4 ,as in the parables it is only the exact point of comparison between the earthly and the heavenly which can be pressed for the spiritual lesson1 so it is with these metaphorical words1 which are in fact parables compressed4 ,the word 'redemption' is meant to suggest a price paid by ,god1 or by ,christ1 for our being #aeb made free2 it is the price of the ,son's death4 ,he 'gives ,his life a ransom for many4' ,the word 'propitiation' again is meant to suggest that the offering of the life in sacrifice was the means to win for us forgiveness from ,god4 ,so far1 both metaphorical words have their clear and harmonious meaning4 ,but in old days the metaphor of redemption was worked out by ,origen and others beyond the exact point of the original suggestion4 ,the price1 they argued1 must have been paid to the enemy who held us captive2 i4e4 ,christ's life was offered as a price to the devil in order that his claim might be satisfied and we might be justly set free4 ,but this extension of the scope of the metaphor is wholly alien to the ,new ,testament4 ,on the other hand1 the idea of propitiation has suggested at many periods the horrible notion that the ,son wrung from the angry ,father the pardon which ,he was unwilling to give4 ,such a notion is again wholly alien to the ,new ,testament4 ,but in fact the two metaphors are mutually corrective2 and each tends to exclude the misuse of the other4 ,the idea that ,christ offered anything to the devil is corrected by the notion inherent in the phrase 'propitiation 7of the ,father74' ,what the ,son offered was a sacrifice #aec directed to the ,father only4 ,on the other hand1 the idea that the mind of the ,father needed to be changed towards us1 is corrected by the suggestion inherent in the other metaphor of redemption2 for it is ,he who1 because ,he loved us1 gave up ,his own ,son to buy us out of the slavery of sin4 ,each metaphor suggests a single idea--each complementary of the other1 and corrective of its misuse--and both combine to tell us of the one inseparable love of the ,father and the ,son1 uniting in a sacrificial act which is ascribed to both1 to redeem us from the tyranny of sin and to set the pardoning love free to work upon us1 without obscuring the true hatefulness of sin or the true character of ,god4 ,if1 especially recently1 the doctrine of the atonement#bc has involved intellectual difficulty1 on the other hand it has proved itself1 as the popular ,christian literature of all ages sufficiently shows1 widely and deeply welcome to the human heart4 ,this wide welcome which it has received shows that it contains a deep truth4 ,and from this point of view1 from the point of view of our practical spiritual needs1 we do well to meditate #aed much and deeply upon this doctrine4 ,we can depend upon it1 that if we are to go on patiently doing good in a world like this1 so full of disappointments and anxieties and moral failures and torturing scruples1 we must have peace at the heart4 ,and this is what the really evangelical doctrine is capable of giving us4 ,it bids us continually look out of ourselves up to ,god1 and assures us that ,his love1 manifested in the sacrifice of ,his ,son1 is there continually1 unchangeably4 ,it is there1 waiting till first we turn to ,him1 to give us the assurance of entire absolution and admission into the divine fellowship1 wholly irrespective of what we have been or done2 and it is there continually1 however often we fall1 with the same large and liberal hand to pour out continual forgivenesses1 and never wearies of restoring us again and again to the solid foundation of the peace and grace which are by ,jesus ,christ4 ,we are not meant to be miserably anxious or morbidly introspective4 ,we must confess our sins1 and that with exactness1 without self-sparing1 without self-excusing1 in utter humility and truth2 but 'if we confess our sins1 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins1 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness4' #a ,jer4 xiii4 #cc4 #b ,except the sins which slew ,him4 #c ,i have combined this passage with the illustrative passages in ,st4 ,paul's speeches to the heathen4 ,acts xiv4 #af3 ',who in the generations gone by suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways4' ,acts xvii4 #cj3 ',the times of ignorance ,god overlooked 7winked at72 but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent4' ,wisd4 xl4 #bc3 ',thou overlookest 7winkest at7 the sins of men to the end they may repent4' #d ,this paragraph gives distinctness to a somewhat latent thought in vers4 #be1 #bf4 ,but ,i feel convinced that this1 and nothing else1 is the thought4 #e ,verses #e1 #be1 #bf4 #f ,rom4 iii4 #bb4 #g ,phil4 iii4 #i4 #h #b ,cor4 v4 #ba4 #i ,rom4 ix4 #ca4 #aj ,rom4 ii4 #e4 #aa ,cf4 #a ,john i4 #i3 ',faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins4' #ab ,joseph1 the 'righteous' man in ,matt4 i4 #ai1 is kindly4 ,but his kindliness has still the elements of moral severity4 ,and it must be remembered that in ,rom4 v4 #g 'righteous' is still put in contrast to 'good4' #ac ,see ,acts ii4 #ch3 ',be baptized 444 unto the remission of your sins4' xxii4 #af3 ',be baptized and wash away thy sins4' #ad ,acts xxvi4 #ah1 i4e4 forgiveness and fellowship in the consecrated body1 the new ,israel2 cf4 xx4 #cc4 #ae #b ,macc4 vii4 #cg4 #af #d ,macc4 vi4 #bh1 #bi4 #ag ,john xi4 #ej4 #ah ,none the less immoral as ,caiaphas intended it1 because1 as ,st4 ,john perceives1 a divine truth uttered itself through his lips 7,john xi4 #ea74 #ai ,john i4 #bi4 #bj ,matt4 xxvi4 #bh2 ,luke xxii4 #ai2 #a ,cor4 xi4 #bd4 #ba ,robertson-,smith1 ,religion of the ,semites 7,black1 #ahhi71 p4 #dah4 #bb ,ps4 l4 #ba2 cf4 ,eccles4 viii4 #aa4 #bc ,on some of the difficulties felt about the doctrine of the ,atonement1 see app4 note ,d4 #aee ,,division ,,ii4 #b4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the true seed of ,abraham4 ,st4 ,paul has been repudiating the principle of justification by works of the law4 ,to those with whom he had been brought up1 this was in the highest degree to dishonour the ,jewish law1 and indeed the principle of divinely-given law at all4 ,but in the last words of the previous chapter he refuses to admit this inference4 ',god forbid that we should make law of none effect4 ,nay1 we establish law4' ,this idea of the ,gospel1 rightly understood1 establishing the law even while it superseded it1 is with ,st4 ,paul a very favourite one1 and he elaborates it in different ways4 ,sometimes he shows how the function of the written law1 or 'the letter1' is only to awaken the conscience and make men know their sinfulness4 ,it can give men no help in corresponding to the moral requirement which it expresses4 ,having #aef convicted the conscience of sin1 it has done its work1 and must yield its place to a more effective spiritual agency4 ,the letter killeth1 in order that the ,spirit may give life to those whom it has killed4 ,and1 on the other hand1 the one object of this new spiritual agency1 this life-giving ,spirit1 is to infuse the power of moral obedience1 which the law could not give1 into men's lives1 'that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk after the ,spirit4' ,in this place1 however1 ,st4 ,paul only alludes to this argument and in the main adopts another4 ,he shows from the ,book of the ,law1 that the father of the faithful1 himself the typical instance of a justified man1 was justified1 not by works which he had done1 but simply because he believed2 not upon the basis of any law or covenant1 but as a man simply and not as a circumcised man2 and again1 that ,david1 the man after ,god's own heart1 living under the law1 would have us rest our hopes of blessedness1 not on our merits as having kept the law1 but simply on the forgiving bounty of divine grace4 ,let us inquire1 he says1 into the case of ,abraham1 whom we ,jews are proud to own for our national ancestor4 ,what are we to say of him8 ,if ,abraham approached ,god in virtue #aeg of his merits in having kept a law1 and so was accepted by ,god because of what he had done of himself1 there is something for him to boast of4 ,but this in fact is not his relation to ,god according to the scripture at all4 ,there-- 'merit lives from man to man1 ,but not from man1 ,o ,lord1 to thee4' ,the whole initiation is ,god's4 ,he simply makes a promise of ,his own pure goodwill--',thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven'--and ,abraham simply believed ,him2 and this1 and nothing but this1 was 'counted to him for righteousness#a4' ,the two suggested relations of ,abraham to ,god are broadly contrasted and can be generally applied4 ,in the one case you have a compact between ,god who imposes1 and man who accepts1 an allotted task with a payment attached to its fulfilment4 ,if the man fulfils it1 his payment can be classed as due to him under the compact4 ,in the other case you have nothing done1 no claim alleged1 but a pure act of ,god1 accepting one of our sinful race1 as he is1 simply because he takes ,god at ,his word4 ,and this is how ,david also views our relation to ,god4 ,you find him#b opening his mouth to tell #aeh us what sort of man is truly blessed1 truly to be congratulated4 ,and he thinks not of one who claims a reward because of his merit1 but of one who has found no comfort or resource except in penitent confession of his sins1 and whose sins ,god has forgiven and has consented to treat as if they did not exist4 ,it is the unmerited act of the divine bounty1 it is ,god justifying the sinful1 which is the source of blessedness 7vers4 #a-h74 ,now we go back to the case of ,abraham to inquire whether the blessing of divine acceptance was pronounced upon him because he was the head of the chosen race marked out by circumcision--which was1 so to speak1 the first part of the law4 ,no1 it was before he was circumcised4 ,the token of circumcision came afterwards#c1 as the seal or external confirmation of what he had already received simply as a believing man2 so that he might have for his true sons believers1 whether uncircumcised or circumcised1 and they might share his acceptance simply by believing ,god as he believed ,him 7vers4 #i-ab74 ,plainly when ,god made ,abraham the promise that he should be the heir of the world#d1 no law #aei was introduced into the relationship4 ,it was purely a matter of ,god promising and ,abraham taking ,god at ,his word4 ,indeed it could not have been otherwise4 ,introduce law1 and you introduce a compact between ,god and man which annuls the relationship of ,god simply promising and man simply believing--a compact which throws a strain on man's independent powers1 which they are not able to bear4 ,the one inevitable result of the law is to put man in the position1 in which apart from law he cannot find himself1 of a defaulter who knows himself1 as a defaulter1 under the divine wrath4 ,the true relationship leaves matters in the hands of ,god1 who purely promises of ,his good favour--man simply in faith receiving 7vers4 #ac-af;a74 ,this resting everything on ,god's promise and man's faith gives security for the fulfilment of the promise to 'all the seed4' ,and the 'seed to whom the promise was made' includes1 not only the race chosen later to receive the law1 but believers of all races2 ,abraham being in this sense 'a father of many nations1' as he stands under the eyes of ,god whom he believed in--,god who had power to make ,his promise good1 even by recalling to life again the dead faculties of ,abraham's old age1 and summoning children #afj which did not yet exist as if they were already there4 ,here is the point3 ,abraham believed that ,god had the power to be as good as ,his word1 in spite of all obvious reasons to the contrary4 ,therefore he looked the facts steadily in the face--his own and ,sarah's great age4 ,but he did not suffer this to weigh in the balance against ,god's promise4 ,he made quite sure that ,god would do as ,he promised1 and glorified ,god by this strong act of faith4 ,this it is that was reckoned to him for righteousness1 i4e4 this it is that enabled ,god to accept him as righteous without any consideration of deeds done4 ,and the record of this acceptance is made for our sakes to-day4 ,god is still taking men into the number of the righteous1 and ,he still does it on the same principle4 ,he will reckon us for righteous if we will take ,him at ,his word1 and believe in ,his power to do as ,he has promised4 ,and in our case ,he has given us fresh ground for such confident belief2 for ,jesus1 on whom as ,lord our hopes rest and who died to make atonement for our sins1 ,he has by ,his power raised up from the dead1 that by faith in ,him1 dead and yet alive again1 we might be taken like ,abraham without more ado into the number of the righteous4 #afa ,what then shall we say#e that ,abraham1 our forefather according to the flesh1 hath found8 ,for if ,abraham was justified by works1 he hath whereof to glory2 but not toward ,god4 ,for what saith the scripture8 ,and ,abraham believed ,god1 and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness4 ,now to him that worketh1 the reward is not reckoned as of grace1 but as of debt4 ,but to him that worketh not1 but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly1 his faith is reckoned for righteousness4 ,even as ,david also pronounceth blessing upon the man1 unto whom ,god reckoneth righteousness apart from works1 saying1 ,blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven1 ,and whose sins are covered4 ,blessed is the man to whom the ,lord will not reckon sin4 ,is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision1 or upon the uncircumcision also8 for we say1 ,to ,abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness4 ,how then was it reckoned8 when he was in circumcision1 or in uncircumcision8 ,not in circumcision1 but in uncircumcision3 and he received the sign of circumcision1 a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision3 that he might be the father of all them that believe1 though they be in uncircumcision1 that righteousness might be reckoned unto them2 and the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision1 but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father ,abraham which he had in uncircumcision4 ,for not through the law was the promise to ,abraham or to his seed1 that he should be heir of the world1 but through the righteousness of faith4 ,for if they which are #afb of the law be heirs1 faith is made void1 and the promise is made of none effect3 for the law worketh wrath2 but where there is no law1 neither is there transgression4 ,for this cause it is of faith1 that it may be according to grace2 to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed2 not to that only which is of the law1 but to that also which is of the faith of ,abraham1 who is the father of us all 7as it is written1 ,a father of many nations have ,i made thee7 before him whom he believed1 even ,god1 who quickeneth the dead1 and calleth the things that are not1 as though they were4 ,who in hope believed against hope1 to the end that he might become a father of many nations1 according to that which had been spoken1 ,so shall thy seed be4 ,and without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead 7he being about a hundred years old71 and the deadness of ,sarah's womb3 yea1 looking unto the promise of ,god1 he wavered not through unbelief1 but waxed strong through faith1 giving glory to ,god1 and being fully assured that1 what he had promised1 he was able also to perform4 ,wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness4 ,now it was not written for his sake alone1 that it was reckoned unto him2 but for our sake also1 unto whom it shall be reckoned1 who believe on him that raised ,jesus our ,lord from the dead1 who was delivered up for our trespasses1 and was raised for our justification4 #a4 ,no doubt1 on the text of ,gen4 xv4 #f1 ,st4 ,paul is right4 ,it was ,abraham's faith that is declared to have been reckoned to his account by ,god as equivalent to righteousness4 ,but when we get beyond a mere text1 is it not1 we are inclined to ask1 more true to the general #afc spirit of scripture to say1 with the author of the ,first ,book of the ,maccabees1 ',was not ,abraham found faithful in temptation1 and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness#f8' or with ,st4 ,james1 ',was not ,abraham our father justified by works1 in that he offered up ,isaac his son upon the altar8 ,thou seest that faith wrought with his works1 and by works was faith made perfect#g4' ,no doubt certain ,rabbis state the principle pedantically when they speak of ,abraham having kept the whole ,mosaic law by anticipation#h1 but is it not true to say that ,abraham was accepted by ,god1 and on the whole is represented in the ,bible as so accepted1 not only because he believed1 but also because he 'was found faithful in temptation1' and did good works1 or acted as a good man8 ,now1 if by 'accepted' is meant 'finally accepted1' ,st4 ,paul would say this as of ,abraham1 so of every other accepted man4 ,he must be finally judged and must receive according to his works or character4 ,as we shall see1 there is no real discrepancy between ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james on this matter4 ,and ,st4 ,paul never disparages 'good works' which are the fruit of #afd faith1 only 'works' or 'works of the law' which represent a false attitude of man to ,god4 ,but the question which he is here asking is1 ,what is the ground of acceptance for a man at starting8 ,what is it puts him at starting in the right relation to ,god8 ,in other words1 ,what is the root of real righteousness8 ,and his answer to this question is1 it is only self-surrendering faith which brought ,abraham1 or which brings any other man1 into acceptance4 ,in giving this answer ,st4 ,paul had in view another attitude with which he had been long familiar1 and which he calls 'seeking to be justified by works of the law4' ,it was the attitude of the ,jews1 especially as they appear in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel4 ,they were proud of their divine law and of belonging to the chosen people1 the children of ,abraham and ,moses4 ,they knew how to make good their standing-ground with ,god4 ,by keeping the law1 as the law had come to be understood among themselves1 they could accumulate merits altogether out of proportion to their failures or demerits4 ,they could even be helped by the merits of the old saints#i4 ,thus they could #afe stand before ,god on the basis of a certain engagement or covenant1 into which ,god had entered with ,his people1 and claim their due reward4 ,this utterly demoralizing attitude--leading as it does to formalism and hypocrisy1 or1 at the best1 unprogressive stagnation--this attitude1 which left out of sight all the higher and infinite elements in the ,old ,testament1 was the actual attitude of contemporary ,pharisaic ,jews4 ,the characteristics with which it endowed them were pride in the law2 a sense of personal merit coupled with a contempt for 'sinners of the ,gentiles1' or the common 'people which knew not the law'2 a self-satisfied stagnation which made them utterly resent the new light of the gospel2 a regard for the public opinion of their class1 which made them slaves to convention2 and moral hollowness and rottenness within4 ,it was because this was their attitude that they rejected the ,christ4 ',going about to establish their own righteousness1 they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of ,god4' ,it was because ,st4 ,paul had been brought up in the school of the ,pharisees1 but had come to perceive its moral rottenness and to accept ,jesus as the ,christ1 that he bases all his #aff doctrine on the substitution of justification by faith for justification by works4 ,by 'works' or 'works of the law' he means an attitude towards ,god which left a man largely independent of ,him4 ,under the divine covenant the man of the covenant has a certain task to do1 a certain law to keep3 that kept1 especially in its external requirements as contemporary authority enforces it1 he is his own master4 ,he is entitled to resent any further claims upon him4 ,this religious ideal means1 as we have seen1 pride1 stagnation1 conventionalism1 hypocrisy4 ,and the more it is considered the more unnatural it appears4 ,for 7#a7 ,it ignores the fundamental relation of man to ,god1 viz4 that1 as a creature1 he depends absolutely and at every stage on ,god4 ,he has no initiative in himself4 ,thus the only attitude towards ,god which expresses the reality is one in which ,god is recognized as continually supplying1 or promising1 or offering1 or claiming1 and man is continually accepting1 or believing1 or corresponding1 or obeying4 7#b7 ,it ignores the ineradicable taint of sin in man1 and the accumulated guilt of particular sins4 ,a man may gloss over his inward sinfulness1 and cloak and ignore his secret sins2 he #afg may live outwardly in high reputation2 but if he comes to know himself1 he knows himself as a sinner1 who depends1 at starting1 absolutely on ,god for forgiveness and 'deliverance from coming wrath4' 7#c7 ,it is quite contented to leave all mankind1 except a small elect body1 out of the conditions of acceptance with ,god4 ,in substituting 'faith' for works of the law1 then1 as the principle of justification1 ,st4 ,paul was really 'returning to nature'2 he was realizing facts1 and supplying a basis for a morality both progressive and universal4 ,further1 he was true to all the highest teaching of the ,old ,testament1 which continually finds the source and ground of sin and failure in man's independence of ,god2 which is averse to nothing so conspicuously as to substituting external conformity for moral character2 which is heavy with the consciousness of sin2 which humbly expects a fuller1 wider1 and richer disclosure of the kingdom of ,god4 ,finally1 he was true to that deep and summary teaching of our ,lord to the ,jews1 ',this is the work of ,god1 that ye believe on him whom he hath sent4' ,no doubt it may still be said ,st4 ,paul argues in an 'uncritical' manner on the basis of a particular #afh text4 ,but in doing this he was doing as his ,jewish contemporaries did2 and if the particular text is used to prove a real or true principle1 who shall complain of it8 #b4 ,and now to conciliate ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james4 ,it is a satisfactory task1 for the statements which appear so contradictory admit1 when they are examined1 of an easy harmony4 ,let us suppose1 what is highly probable1 that the report of ,st4 ,paul's teaching reached ,st4 ,james at ,jerusalem at second-hand1 in a fragmentary and perverted manner--perhaps as illustrated by unfortunate specimens of its influence where it was wilfully misunderstood4 ',men are justified before ,god by faith without consideration of works4' ,st4 ,james' holy and beautiful1 but no doubt somewhat unphilosophical mind1 was alarmed and scandalized4 ,by faith he understood an intellectual quality--the acceptance of the divine truth revealed2 and he points out with the simplicity of moral common sense1 that never in the ,old ,testament is right belief represented as the ground of acceptance with ,god without the right conduct which is its natural sequence4 ,who can deny that the devils have a 'right belief' in the existence of ,god8 ,faith1 in fact1 without #afi works--orthodox belief without moral obedience--is a lifeless form1 a body without spirit#aj4 ,to all this ,st4 ,paul would of course have agreed1 in ,st4 ,james' sense of the word faith4 ,in fact1 ,st4 ,james' faith1 i4e4 bare orthodox belief1 is closely akin to1 and apt to keep company with1 formal ecclesiastical observance1 which is part of what ,st4 ,paul means by 'works4' ,both were characteristic of the ,pharisaic ,jews4 ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james would have been at one in saying1 ',there must be life in this dead shell of orthodox belief1 if it is to have value with ,god2 and what alone can give it life is the real spirit of moral obedience to the will of the holy and good ,god'--which is what ,st4 ,james means by 'works4' ,the disagreement between them is then1 so far1 only verbal4 ,but ,st4 ,paul goes deeper1 into a region where ,st4 ,james does not follow him1 and asks what is the real starting-ground of the truest obedience--the real root of the moral life8 ,and he finds this starting-ground1 this fundamental establishment of the right relation to ,god1 in what he called faith2 that is1 no mere orthodoxy of intellect1 but a fundamental relationship of man towards ,god--the utterly receptive faculty1 #agj the profound quality of the self-surrendering will4 #c4 ,there is a young philosophical inquirer in ,plato's ,dialogue of the ,republic who is so anxious to get at the ultimate principle of justice1 as distinct from its consequences and secondary qualities1 that ,socrates laughingly tells him he is 'scrubbing and polishing it like a statue4' ,now ,st4 ,paul has the philosopher's instinct to get at a principle in its pure simplicity4 ,he scrubs faith clean of all extraneous accidents4 ,he is most anxious that we should disengage its activity from all the other closely-interconnected elements in human nature2 and so perceive that1 whatever a man has been or is in race or conduct or antecedents1 once let him exhibit faith1 the faith which takes ,god at ,his word1 and by that very fact and no other1 all the obstacles to ,god's acceptance of him are overcome4 ,the true relation of the man to ,god is restored in its elementary principle4 ,and nothing but this1 however elaborate its apparent performances1 can restore the fundamental relationship4 ,it is faith only1 and not works1 however splendid1 which justifies or enables ,god to take a man1 place him amongst the righteous1 and work upon and in him4 ,but this elemental #aga act of simply abandoning independence1 trampling on pride and taking ,god at ,his word1 is an act or attitude of the whole man which necessarily 7granted that it be not withdrawn7 becomes correspondence of the whole being with ,god1 a lifelong obedience1 an allegiance and homage of every faculty of will1 and emotion1 and intellect4 ',faith1' then1 as ,calvin once said1 'is pregnant with good works1 but it justifies before they are brought forth4' ,that the rudimentary justifying faith1 on which ,st4 ,paul is here insisting1 is a developing thing1 a living and germinating principle1 the basis of a life which grows--but always 'from faith to faith1' from one stage of faith to another--will appear clearly enough as we go on4 ,but even here1 in this chapter1 it appears already that faith is something quite inconsistent with remaining as we are4 ,faith looks to a divine promise--a promise of astounding change--and believes that ,god is able to realize it in us4 ,such was ,abraham's faith4 ,such1 we may add1 was the faith of those in the ,gospels who came to be healed1 and to whom it was said1 ',according to your faith be it unto you4' ,our faith then also must expect and desire some amazing transformation of our human nature1 #agb according to a divine promise--nothing less than power out of impotence1 life out of death4 ,and it is from this point of view that the ,resurrection is apparently regarded in this chapter1 as holding the place it does in the 'scheme' of our justification by faith4 ,we are to believe that ,god is able to bring life morally out of death4 ,he makes that act of faith possible or easier for us by the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ4 ,this evidence of ,god's power in the case of ,jesus1 the person on whom our divine faith is to rest1 gives an adequate support and reasonable security to our faith4 ',he was designated as the ,son of ,god with power1 by the resurrection from the dead1' and thus becomes the natural object for such a faith in the power of ,god to carry out ,his promises as is necessary for our justification4 ,this is probably the meaning of the particular words with which the fourth chapter closes--',who died for our sins 7that is1 in order that1 in virtue of ,his atoning sacrifice1 our sins might be forgiven7 and rose again for our justification' 7i4e4 in order that our faith might have in the risen ,lord an adequate object74 ,but of course the relation of faith to the risen ,lord is by no means exhausted in this thought4 #agc #d4 ,we ,englishmen are possessed with the idea that there is nothing so alien to our characters as the temper of the ,pharisees or the doctrine of the merit of good works4 ,but if we can look at the matter below the surface1 we can hardly fail to realize that the spirit which ,st4 ,paul so mightily repudiates lies in some respects very close to our natural instincts4 ,the ,englishman has a standard1 of his class1 his college1 his profession1 which it is his pride not to fall short of2 but he is intensely alarmed at any claim upon his moral independence over and above this allowed standard2 he is inclined to turn his back completely upon the idea of fundamental surrender to the unknown and infinite claim of ,god2 he is contented with himself and his standard1 and occupies himself in comparing it favourably with the standards of other classes1 or still more of other nations4 ,but what is this spirit but1 for good or for evil1 the spirit of ,pharisaism under a wholly different dress8 ',they going about to establish their own righteousness1 have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of ,god4' ',how can ye believe which seek glory one of another1 and the glory that cometh from the only ,god ye seek not8' ',they measuring themselves by #agd themselves and comparing themselves amongst themselves are not wise4' ,here are typical condemnations of the self-satisfied ,pharisaic temper so expressed as to prevent us from supposing that we shall escape condemnation with the ,pharisees merely because we do not say long prayers in public places1 or distinguish ourselves by a careful ritualism4 #a ,gen4 xv4 #e1 #f4 #b ,ps4 xxxii4 #c ,gen4 xvii4 #d ,none of the promises are verbally to this effect4 ,but this is the substantial outcome of them4 #e ,or 'of ,abraham1 our forefather according to the flesh' 7margin74 #f #a ,macc4 ii4 #eb2 cf4 ,ecclus4 xliv4 #bj4 #g ,james ii4 #ba1 #bb4 #h ,cf4 ,s4 and ,h4 p4 #aja4 #i ,there is contemporary evidence for this illustration of their position2 see ,ephesians1 app4 note ,c4 #aj ,james ii4 #ad-bf4 #age ,,division ,,iii4 ,,chapters ,v-,,viii4 ,the accepted life or the moral consequences of justification4 #a4 ,,chapter ,v4 #a-aa4 ,the holy confidence of the justified4 ,peace is a fundamental spiritual need of the human soul4 ,but the peace that is ,god's gift comes only through the breaking up of the peace of soul which comes from ignoring ,god4 ,the ,pharisee on the temple steps was at peace when he thanked ,god that he was not as other men are--at peace in his misplaced pride4 ,the mass of men in heathen ,corinth1 where ,st4 ,paul was writing1 were at peace in their sins4 ,and ,st4 ,paul has set himself with all his might1 as in his preaching generally1 so in this particular letter1 to break up this false peace of conscience4 ,like the prophet of old he spurns those who would 'heal the hurt of the daughter of ,god's #agf people lightly1 saying1 ,peace1 peace1 when there is no peace4' ,thus he has been arousing the conscience of ,gentiles and ,jews equally1 and forcing upon them the conviction that their present life is a condemned life1 under the doom of a righteous ,god4 ,but when the conviction is driven home1 when the wound is fairly recognized and probed1 comes in due course the healing remedy4 ,it lies in the recognition of what ,god really is--of the sort of character which ,he is manifesting now in ,his ,son ,jesus ,christ4 ,for behold6 wholly apart from any question of what we are or have been1 ,god is found waiting for us with the offer of ,his love1 which is also the power to accomplish what ,he offers4 ,it is pardon and new life ,he offers to us4 ,it is for us simply to take ,him at ,his word1 and without any delay or reckoning up of accounts1 to be acquitted and accepted for righteous simply because we have believed ,his word4 ,the secure ground of peace in the soul1 therefore1 lies in the frank and severe recognition of our own sinfulness1 but also1 and even more1 in looking away from ourselves and simply fixing our whole consideration on the character of ,god1 who in certain acts has shown ,his #agg good-will toward us1 and ,his power to make ,his goodwill effectual4 ,all hope for us starts simply from ,god and ,his mind of love toward us4 ',not that we loved ,god1 but that he loved us and sent his ,son4' ,thus we find ,st4 ,paul1 in the passage we are now to consider1 beginning a fresh appeal to believers in ,christ on this basis1 which he has already made so secure4 ,seeing1 he says1 that we have now been accepted simply because we believed1 let us enter into that heritage of peace which our ,lord ,jesus ,christ by ,his redemption has won for us4 ,for what is our present condition8 ,through ,his redeeming sacrifice we have received an introduction1 at no other cost than that of believing1 into a new standing-ground before ,god1 a new state in which the whole atmosphere is one of grace or divine favour4 ,we can therefore enjoy a solid peace in the present based on the sure consideration of the divine goodwill1 and we can make it our boast that we have a well-grounded hope of future restoration to that highest fruition of which our nature is capable--fellowship in the divine glory4 ,and while we enjoy these present privileges of ours1 let us show that we really value them by making #agh the outward hardships which accompany them a matter of boasting also4 ,for we know that only such hardships1 bravely encountered1 can give to our characters the quality of steadfastness2 and steadfastness through the experience of life makes of us men of approved moral metal2 and this process of probation1 in which we are tried and not found wanting1 again generates hope in us--the same hope in ,god's love which accompanied the beginning of our justification1 only now confirmed in us by our own experience4 ,and this divine hope has nothing treacherous about it#a4 ,it is grounded on what ,god has already done4 ,he has already given us ,his ,holy ,spirit1 and by that gift poured forth ,his love into our hearts3 ,he would not have done this in order to cheat us at the last4 ,we can indeed test and measure the mind of ,god toward us by human comparisons4 ,in our experience of men we might perhaps find some one brave enough even to die for another1 if that other was1 ,i do not say merely an upright man1 but a good and loveable one4 ,but what is the fact in ,god's dealings with us8 ,it was #agi when we were sinful and helpless in our sinfulness--nay rather1 when we were living in flat antagonism to ,god--that ,he proved ,his own pure love toward us by taking advantage of the divine opportunity to give ,his ,son to die for us4 ,and ,he1 thus dying on our behalf1 won for us by the shedding of ,his blood a reconciliation with ,god1 which lay altogether outside anything which our state naturally suggested4 ,well then1 ,god would not1 so to speak1 have gone out of ,his way to make this beginning1 unless ,he had intended to carry the work through1 so as finally to save us out from under the divine wrath1 or1 in other words1 into the divine fellowship4 ,certainly1 accepted as we have been in virtue of ,christ's blood-shedding1 and thus reconciled to ,god when our natural state was hostility to ,him1 we can trust ,him1 now that ,he has made us ,his friends1 to accomplish our deliverance1 not by any further blood-shedding1 but by admitting us into the life of ,christ risen from death4 ,but1 to end where we began1 it is not only the hope of a future deliverance that makes us glad4 ,we also make our boast of our present relation and friendship with ,god through ,his ,son4 #ahj ,being therefore justified by faith1 let us have peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand2 and let us rejoice in hope of the glory of ,god4 ,and not only so1 but let us also rejoice in our tribulations3 knowing that tribulation worketh patience2 and patience1 probation2 and probation1 hope3 and hope putteth not to shame2 because the love of ,god hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the ,holy ,ghost which was given unto us4 ,for while we were yet weak1 in due season ,christ died for the ungodly4 ,for scarcely for a righteous man will one die3 for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die4 ,but ,god commendeth his own love toward us1 in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us4 ,much more then1 being now justified by his blood1 shall we be saved from the wrath of ,god through him4 ,for if1 while we were enemies1 we were reconciled to ,god through the death of his ,son1 much more1 being reconciled1 shall we be saved by his life2 and not only so1 but we also rejoice in ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 through whom we have now received the reconciliation4 #a4 ,we feel in this passage1 and in those which follow1 that a great transition is being accomplished1 or has been accomplished1 in the argument1 we hardly know how3 the transition from the thought of our preliminary justification or acceptance with ,god for ,christ's sake1 to that of our sanctification1 or the life consecrated in ,christ3 the transition from the thought of ,christ's work for us to that of ,christ's work in us3 from #aha the gift of acquittal to the gift of the ,spirit 7ver4 #e71 and the life of the baptized 7vi4 #c74 ,st4 ,paul is not conscious of the transition1 as modern theologians or ,christians acquainted with theological controversy cannot but be1 because the two stages are to his mind absolutely inseparable4 ,those to whom he wrote had like himself come1 with whatever of struggle1 to believe in ,christ2 believing1 they had been baptized into ,christ1 and had received by the laying on of hands the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this fellowship in ,christ's life1 this possession of the ,spirit1 constituted ,christianity4 ,to enjoy these things was to be a ,christian4 ,the idea of a ,christianity which stopped short of incorporation into ,christ1 or which claimed this incorporation outside ,his body which is the ,church1 and apart from the visible sacramental means of union1 did not occur to ,st4 ,paul4 ,a ,christianity which did not own allegiance to the ,church was not in question4 ,but his entire present aim is to convince the heart and reason of ,christians that the whole privilege of their new 'state of grace' belongs to them simply in virtue of faith4 ,as he asks the ,galatians3 ',received ye the ,spirit1' i4e4 did ye become ,christians1 'by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith8' ,that is his point4 #ahb ,they were not made ,christians because they had done anything to deserve it4 ,they were simply helpless sinners1 and it was the gratuitous mercy of ,god which looked upon them and provided a means of forgiveness for them1 and justified them or set them upon a new basis of acceptance1 without any consideration of what they were or had done1 purely and simply because ,he loved them and meant that the mere spectacle of ,his unmerited love and bounty should inspire their gratitude and win their hearts4 ,therefore he lays such emphasis on their initial need of forgiveness3 on their helplessness to get rid of their own sins3 on their dependence for forgiveness on a sacrifice to which they could contribute nothing3 on their being justified by simply receiving in trust the offer of ,god4 ,but the offer when it is listened to is found to consist in forgiveness indeed--but forgiveness as a step toward new life in the body of ,christ4 ,thus what ,christ won for man1 what becomes available for each man in virtue of believing the message1 is here described as 'our introduction' 7rather than 'access'7 'into this grace wherein we stand'--an introduction into a spiritual region where ,god's favour is the prevailing atmosphere1 or1 to use a later phrase1 into 'a state of grace'2 a #ahc district of security out of which1 however1 men may fall again by deliberate unfaithfulness1 as ,st4 ,paul warns the ,galatians#b3 ',ye are severed from ,christ1 ye who would be justified by the law2 ye are fallen away from grace4' ,and ,st4 ,paul's language does not let us suppose that the whole of what he means by our 'salvation' is included in our preliminary acceptance#c4 ,that is simply our first introduction into a permanent state4 ,our 'salvation' is here1 as elsewhere1 spoken of as equivalent to deliverance from wrath in the day of judgement1 which means that our whole moral being has become such as can bear the scrutiny of the divine righteousness and the fellowship of the divine glory4 #b4 ,where the ,revised ,version above#d reads 'rejoice1' it is important to remember that the word is that used for the illegitimate 'glorying' or 'boasting' of iii4 #bg and iv4 #b4 ,christians have something to boast of1 but it is not their own2 it is ,god's gift4 ,therefore they are especially delighted when ,god's strength is shown in their weakness1 and they will more particularly 'boast of their weaknesses' 7cf4 #b ,cor4 xi4 #cj74 #ahd #c4 ,st4 ,paul's argument that the ,christian hope is fundamentally trustworthy is based1 we may notice1 on a twofold appeal4 ,first 7ver4 #e71 he appeals to the gift of the ,spirit which at a definite time#e each ,christian received1 doubtless by the laying on of hands4 ,this gift is in itself an outpouring of the divine love and an 'earnest' of future glory 7#b ,cor4 i4 #bb1 v4 #e74 ,no doubt almost all the ,christians had more or less intensely felt the reality of the divine love in the indwelling ,spirit4 ,but ,st4 ,paul lays stress rather on the fact than on the feeling4 ,secondly 7vers4 #f ff471 he appeals to the great redemptive act of ,god4 ,god had gone out of ,his way to make a great sacrifice in order to reconcile us when we were enemies1 and therefore may be trusted to carry out the preliminary reconciliation into full spiritual deliverance or salvation by ,christ's life4 ,the greater effort carries with it the less4 #a ,isa4 xxviii4 #af3 ',he that believeth shall not be put to shame' 7,greek version74 #b ,gal4 v4 #d4 #c ,cf4 also p4 #caj4 #d verses #b1 #c1 #aa4 #e ,the tense is an aorist1 'the ,holy ,ghost which was given' at a definite past moment2 not as in the unrevised ,bible 'is given4' #ahe ,,division ,,iii4 #b4 ,,chapter ,v4 #ab-ba4 ,the ,second ,adam4 ,st4 ,paul had spoken1 at the end of the passage we have just been reading1 of our being 'saved by 7or 'in'7 ,christ's life4' ,and this brings him to what is truly the central point of his theology--the life in ,christ by the ,spirit3 the thought that the glorified ,man1 with all the power of the divine life at work in ,him1 though ,he is hidden from sight1 is still perpetuating ,his life by ,his ,spirit in that society which ,he has established to be ,his body4 ,it stands to reason that if real fellowship in the life of ,christ is the privilege of the ,christian1 this must be a greater thing by far than any preparatory gift of acquittal or justification1 which indeed has its value simply in virtue of that to which it admits us4 ,st4 ,paul then loves to contrast the new #ahf manhood of believers in ,christ1 the life in ,christ1 in all its moral characteristics1 with the old manhood1 enslaved to sin1 as it existed substantially identical in its bondage under the outwardly differing conditions of ,gentile and ,jewish society4 ,and as that old life of our race had a unity which ,st4 ,paul believed was due to a common origin in the first man ,adam1 so he thought of ,christ as a second ,adam--the 'last ,adam'--a spiritual progenitor from whom was to be derived another human race by spiritual generation with a better unity of its own2 or rather a new spiritual progenitor from whom the whole of the old race might gradually derive1 by spiritual regeneration1 a new life1 which should penetrate and spread1 and oust the corruption of the old manhood1 till the whole was redeemed and ushered into the glory for which it had been originally destined4 ,and here1 in the passage we are now to read1 ,st4 ,paul develops the thought of the influence of ,adam and his sin upon the human race1 and draws from it an argument for the deeper and greater influence of the ,new ,man upon the same race1 reconstituted under a new head4 ,adam's sin--the disobedience of the one man--had a disastrous effect upon his race as a #ahg whole4 ,it introduced sin1 and through sin its penalty1 death2 and it passed to all mankind--the penalty1 because also the sin4 ,all men sinned in fact1 and all died4 ,this can be stated without exception4 ,it is quite true that where there is no special law to instruct men1 they may sin ignorantly1 and therefore without its being imputed to them as guilt2 yet the sin is there all the same1 and its presence1 before the ,mosaic law was given to enlighten men1 was marked by the reign of death1 even in the case of persons innocent of any actual sin like ,adam's4 ,sin then1 as marked by death1 exists universally1 apart from any knowledge of it or even any actual offence1 as the effect of ,adam's transgression upon his whole race4 ,but to ,adam corresponds in the divine purpose ,christ4 ,he is the new head of the race--to transmit the free gift of life1 as ,adam transmitted the penalty of death4 ,his life was one summary obedience3 one perfectly acceptable object to the eyes of ,god4 ,and there flows from it an abundant river of the good favour of ,god--which is also the good favour of the man ,jesus ,christ--and of the gift by which that good favour shows itself1 the gift of righteousness extending on into an eternal life4 ,therefore we may argue #ahh a fortiori#a from the influence of ,adam to the influence of ,christ--a fortiori1 because1 though ,god has been1 so to speak1 constrained to punish us1 ,his whole desire is to do us good2 and the method of diffusion which ,he has allowed to operate for evil1 we can be much more sure ,he will set to work for good#b4 ,we see the trespass of the one generating universal death1 and we are sure that the counter influence of ,christ is as universally diffusive and incomparably more powerful4 ,we see the one man's offence appealing to ,god for judgement and producing a condemned race2 but we see1 on the other hand1 a multitude of sins appealing to the divine compassion to let loose the free gift which shall make for acquittal4 ,if the consequence of the transgression was inevitable1 and a reign of death followed1 so much more certainly must the divine gift1 abundant as it is1 bring about the triumph of eternal life4 ,if the one fault diffused itself in universal condemnation1 so the one act which meets the divine approval must diffuse itself to produce #ahi universally an accepted life4 ,one disobedience made the whole race sinners3 one obedience shall make the whole race righteous4 ,the law came in parenthetically to the world of sin and death to let actual sin1 like ,adam's1 have its full and fatal scope4 ,but the greatness of the sin only magnifies still more the greatness of the remedy which divine goodness supplies1 that the sovereignty of sin in a world of death might be swallowed up in the sovereignty of divine goodwill working through righteousness unto life eternal through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,therefore1 as through one man sin entered into the world1 and death through sin2 and so death passed unto all men1 for that all sinned3--for until the law sin was in the world3 but sin is not imputed when there is no law4 ,nevertheless death reigned from ,adam until ,moses1 even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of ,adam's transgression1 who is a figure of him that was to come4 ,but not as the trespass1 so also is the free gift4 ,for if by the trespass of the one the many died1 much more did the grace of ,god1 and the gift by the grace of the one man1 ,jesus ,christ1 abound unto the many4 ,and not as through one that sinned1 so is the gift3 for the judgement came of one unto condemnation1 but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification4 ,for if1 by the trespass of the one1 death reigned through the one2 much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one1 even ,jesus ,christ4 ,so then as through one trespass the judgement came unto all men to #aij condemnation2 even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life4 ,for as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners1 even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous4 ,and the law came in beside1 that the trespass might abound2 but where sin abounded1 grace did abound more exceedingly3 that1 as sin reigned in death1 even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 #a4 ,st4 ,paul in this section1 as also in part in his speech at ,athens1 teaches1 as matter which can be assumed and need not be emphasized1 that ,god made 'of one' 7,adam7 'every nation of men#c'2 that ,adam1 by actual transgression of a divine commandment1 introduced sin1 and with sin death which is its punishment1 into the world of man2 and that as a result all men sinned4 ,this universal sin he would1 no doubt--as in chapter i1 so here--ascribe in part to men's own wills4 ,in this very chapter he asserts that what finally 'abounded' was actual 'transgression' like ,adam's#d4 ,but this is not the whole account of the matter4 ,prior to all question of actual sins2 prior to all question of knowledge or consequent responsibility1 death was universal1 and death marked the inward reign #aia of sin4 ,men in the mass were1 through ,adam's sin1 constituted sinners#e4 ,st4 ,paul then1 assuming here as elsewhere#f the narrative of ,gen4 iii as true in substance if not in form1 teaches 7#a7 the unity of our race as derived from ,adam2 7#b7 the original transgression of ,adam1 as being partly the example of subsequent sins and partly the source of a moral corruption1 which since his fall has been inherent in our race independently of any actual sins2 and 7#c7 the introduction of death into the human race as the punishment of sin4 ,on the other hand1 the common idea of an imputation of ,adam's guilt to his descendants he expressly does not teach4 ,sin is not imputed or reckoned as guilt to the individual apart from the knowledge necessary to constitute responsibility#g4 ,it is extraordinary how the idea of imputed guilt can have come to be ascribed to ,st4 ,paul when he expressly guards against it4 ,what the descendants of ,adam inherit is an actual inherent weakness or sinfulness4 ,again1 ,st4 ,paul does not attempt to analyze the actual sin of the world so as to discriminate between the factors of inherited #aib weakness on the one hand and reiterated acts of rebellion on the other2 but he recognizes both4 ,his language indeed here1 and in chapter vii1 would be satisfied by a very moderate doctrine of the effects of original sin1 that is1 of the transmitted effect of sin1 considered apart from its repetition4 ,there is no warrant whatever in ,st4 ,paul for the idea that one man's sin resulted in the total depravity of human nature4 ,once more he is content1 as usual1 to teach generally and without exactness4 ,thus he does not consider the exceptions to the universal law of death recorded in the ,old ,testament--,enoch and ,elijah--though he1 no doubt1 recognized them4 ,that in spite of these exceptions he still states the law with such universality3 ',death reigned from ,adam to ,moses even over them that had not sinned#h' is a warning not to understand ,st4 ,paul's universal propositions with an exactness only applicable to those of a schoolman or a modern man of science4 #b4 ,so much for the substance of ,st4 ,paul's teaching2 and now what is to be said as to its sources8 ,st4 ,paul states his doctrine of original sin as if it were a commonplace which he could #aic assume and argue from4 ,now the ,book of ,genesis certainly spoke of a primaeval disobedience in our first parents1 and of the infliction on them1 as a penalty for their disobedience1 of conditions of strife and pain and death4 ,but the idea of the transmission of sinfulness does not seem to be suggested4 ,moreover1 this narrative made remarkably little impression on the ,old ,testament literature as a whole#i4 ,the doctrine1 however1 of the introduction of death through the temptation and sin of ,adam and ,eve is found again in the apocryphal literature3 thus1 ',god created man for incorruption1 444 but by the envy of the devil death entered into the world#aj4' ,from a woman was the beginning of sin2 and because of her we all die#aa4' ,unto ,adam thou gavest thy one commandment1 which he transgressed1 and immediately thou appointedst death for him and in his generations2 and there were born of him nations and tribes1 peoples #aid and kindreds1 out of number#ab4' ',adam sinned1 and death was decreed against those who should be born#ac4' ,this was also the prevalent doctrine of the ,rabbis represented in the ,talmud4 ,the idea of an inheritance of moral corruption--but not specially associated with ,adam's fall--may be found in the cry of the ,psalmist1 ',in sin hath my mother conceived me6' perhaps also in other passages of the ,old ,testament1 and in our ,lord's teaching1 as recorded both by the ,synoptists and in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel#ad2 but as connected with ,adam's sin it does not1 so far as can be ascertained1 appear for certain in ,jewish literature till we get to the ,second ,book of ,esdras1 a ,jewish ,apocalypse later than ,st4 ,paul4 ,there it is taught that there was originally a seed of evil1 'a wicked heart1' in ,adam as he was created1 side by side with the good in him1 and that he by his sin gave it preponderance in the race#ae--;a form of teaching not by any means identical with ,st4 ,paul's4 ,on the whole1 then1 it remains a matter of some doubt what exactly was the source #aie whence ,st4 ,paul got the certainty and completeness of his doctrine of 'the fault and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is ingendered of the offspring of ,adam4' #c4 ,the more important question for us1 however1 is not whence ,st4 ,paul derived the materials for his teaching1 but whether it is true--whether it can hold in the light of modern anthropology4 ,and to this question only a partial answer--the answer that appears to be most necessary--will be attempted here#af4 ,we are in our generation rightly anxious if we are asked to accept any professedly historical statement for which we feel the evidence is doubtful4 ,we know that from the point of view of history the origin of our human species is lost in dense obscurity and uncertainty4 ,and it relieves many consciences to realize that1 if ,st4 ,paul states his argument in a form which implies the historical character of the narrative in ,genesis iii1 all that is necessary for his argument is to assume 7#a7 that the human race is organically one1 and can be dealt with as one2 7#b7 that sin is universal in our race2 7#c7 that at least the sting or curse or bondage of death is due to sin4 ,if we realize that this is all that #aif need be allowed in order to give us full fellowship in ,st4 ,paul's religious teaching1 we shall be able to investigate the further truth of his teaching1 from a scientific and historical point of view1 with a free mind4 ,and the three propositions stated above are not reasonably open to doubt1 7#a7 ,that our race is one species1 and derived from one source1 is the conclusion of the modern ethnologist as much as of ,st4 ,paul#ag4 ,the general theory of evolution has effectively counteracted the previous tendency to postulate the existence of various independent races of men4 7#b7 ,there are many professors of psychology who deny the existence of moral freedom and consequently of sin in ,st4 ,paul's sense at all4 ,as ,i have already pointed out1 this is the real battle-ground between theology and science4 ,but granted the reality of moral freedom and of #aig sin1 i4e4 of something which need not and ought not to have been committed1 it is impossible to deny that1 below the innumerable sins of which human history is full1 there exists deep in our nature an 'ineradicable taint'--a morbid tendency to do wrong--a bias or propensity to evil--which is the heritage of our race2 which indeed men may become unconscious of by acquiescing in sin1 but of which they become painfully conscious again as soon as they are awakened to a moral ideal4 ,the late ,dr4 ,mozley collected a remarkable series of passages from what he calls 'worldly philosophers and poets'--notably ,byron and ,shelley--testifying to the belief in universal sin#ah4 ,this of course we may say is only the inheritance of animal tendencies from an animal ancestry2 but if so1 it is exactly what our higher spiritual nature might and ought to have subdued long ago and brought into subjection4 ,its presence with us and in us now is the result of sins innumerable--innumerable wilful preferences of the lower to the higher nature1 which have let it loose and given it force4 ,it is1 in the strictest sense1 the inheritance of sin in the race4 7#c7 ,the ,new ,testament frequently reiterates #aih the assertion that ,christ has robbed death of its sting or delivered men from its bondage4 ,and this is also expressed 7both by ,st4 ,paul and by our ,lord ,himself1 as reported by ,st4 ,john7 by saying that ,christ has 'abolished death#ai' or that the believer shall never die#bj4 ,but if ,christ has abolished death1 then there is at least a certain sense in which sin has been the cause of death4 ,the essence of death1 according to this use of the word1 lies not in the physical transition from one state of existence to another1 which is no more death than it is birth4 ,death means destruction1 ruin and collapse4 ,and what is called death--the death of the present body--has only gathered about it such terrible associations because men have become corrupt1 and godless and therefore short-sighted in their estimate of life4 ,in the moral sense then in which ,christ abolished death1 sin certainly introduced it for man4 ,now there is1 ,i think1 reason to believe more exactly with ,st4 ,paul than is involved in these three positions#ba4 ,but ,i feel sure that any one who accepts these three positions--no one of which any believer in ,god and morality can well #aii reject--may find himself in complete practical fellowship with ,st4 ,paul's religious thought and with the whole argument of this epistle4 ,humanity1 in spite of all its racial differences1 is a great unity3 it is1 if not 'of one' individual1 yet 'of one blood1' and it is as a whole infected with sin2 this is in effect the doctrine of the 'old ,adam4' ,and because it is one1 and universally tainted1 therefore ,christ can deal with it as one1 in order to accomplish its restoration4 ,and all ,st4 ,paul's argument holds good4 ,god has made humanity one1 and so one that what each does tends to affect all4 ,thus it has come about that the force of sin--the wilful refusal of the higher life and choice of the lower--has passed in its effects into the moral fibre of our race1 and weakened and corrupted the whole4 ,god tolerates this1 for man must be1 and must be dealt with as being1 one and free4 ,but ,god desires the well-being of man4 ,he hates sin4 ,it has all but baffled ,his purpose for man4 ,therefore1 if ,he has tolerated the use which sin has made of the organic unity of the human race1 ,he can much more be trusted to use that same unity for the purpose of good4 ,as man is one in sin1 so we can be one in righteousness3 as the old ,adam has been #bjj universal1 so can the new4 ,as sin has been propagated physically1 so ,christ can spiritually propagate the new manhood4 ,the forces of recovery shall spread and permeate more radically than the forces of evil1 and shall finally triumph4 ,of course1 in view of all the deep racial differences between1 for instance1 ,europeans1 ,chinamen1 and the races of ,india1 to believe in the unity of humanity in any real sense at all is a great act of faith4 ,but it is an act of faith in which science encourages us1 and not least the comparative study of religions4 ,our religious instincts and faculties are found in very different degrees of development1 but they are fundamentally the same4 ,and it is an act of faith to which ,christ and ,christianity fundamentally commit us1 though it is probably true to say that since ,new ,testament times the brotherhood of men has been practically found to be the most difficult of ,christian dogmas4 #d4 ,it is not inopportune1 in view of recent controversy1 to call attention in this connexion to the fact that ,st4 ,paul's doctrine of ,christ as the second ,adam of necessity involves in some form ,his miraculous birth4 ,st4 ,paul indeed says nothing about ,christ's nativity of #bja the ,virgin as an event in history2 but he conceives of the ,christ as a fresh start in manhood1 a new man1 who yet drew the substance of ,his manhood from the old stock1 for ,he was 'born of a woman1' and 'of the seed of ,david4' ,there is thus physical continuity between the old ,adam and ,christ1 and yet1 from the moral point of view1 the break is complete4 ,the inheritance of sin which has followed1 and must according to natural law follow1 physical descent1 is quite cut off4 ,christ is man of our old substance and yet new man1 wholly free from any taint of sin4 ,this involves a new creative act upon the manhood of ,christ in its source4 ,it involves something strictly miraculous conditioning the continuity of ,his descent from ,david4 ,there is continuity1 and yet a break in continuity4 ,and this is exactly what the strongly-attested fact of the ,virgin birth--whatever be the physiological account which is to be given of it--is calculated to supply4 ,it presents us with a ,christ born of a woman1 of the substance of our nature1 and yet only so constituted by a new creative act of ,god4 #e4 ,it will of course be noticed that the drift of ,st4 ,paul's argument in this passage is directly towards universal salvation1 for 'the many' #bjb means 'the whole mass4' ,this is the case in other places where he is considering what we may call the natural tendency and scope of the gospel1 ',as in ,adam all die1 even so in ,christ shall all be made alive4' ,but there are passages of a different tendency in ,st4 ,paul's epistles1 where he is considering the human attitude towards the purpose of ,god2 and there he appears to emphasize strongly the power of the human will to refuse the light and turn ,god's blessing into a curse4 ,if the 'savour' of the apostle's preaching is to 'those who are being saved a savour proceeding from life and tending to life1' even eternal life1 it is for the wilful who are perishing in their wilfulness 'a savour as from death and tending to death'3 for they shall 'suffer punishment1 even eternal destruction from the face of the ,lord1 and from the glory of his might#bb4' ,what this eternal destruction means1 and how it is to be harmonized with the vision of unity1 we cannot precisely tell4 ,verily1 'we know' but 'in part4' ,but at least we must recognize that ,st4 ,paul asserts both sides of the picture3 and that the 'terror' and the hope are not dissociable4 #f4 ,we must also notice1 before we leave the #bjc passage1 that the application of the word justification receives a certain extension4 ,as the 'grace' of ,god is associated with a 'gift of righteousness#bc1' that is to say1 of real fellowship in the life of ,god1 so the preliminary 'justification of sinners1' in which the divine grace first of all conspicuously shows itself1 is to pass into a 'justification of life' 7or 'a justification taking effect in life'72 that is to say1 the actual life is to become acceptable4 ,god begins with accepting sinners and dealing with them as if they were righteous if only they will believe4 ,but it is in view of a moral process which is to produce a new life1 and is to end in making acceptable not themselves only1 in spite of their lives1 but their life itself4 ,the object of the justifying faith is1 and must be1 as we saw1 a living person4 ,it is ,christ who was 'raised again for our justification4' ,and the living ,christ can be satisfied with nothing short of a living fellowship between us and ,himself in ,his own life and spirit4 #a ,an a fortiori argument means an argument with a 'still more' in it3--,if something is so then still more something else4 #b ,the words in brackets are the suppressed premise in the argument--suppressed1 but none the less evident4 #c ,acts xvii4 #bf4 #d ver4 #bj4 #e ver4 #ac1 #ad1 #ai4 #f #a ,cor4 xi4 #c2 #a ,tim4 ii4 #ac-ae4 #g ,rom4 iv4 #ae2 v4 #ac4 #h ,much more 7the argument implies7 after the law had been given and sin could be 'imputed' as sin again4 #i ,the references in ,hos4 vi4 #g1 ,isa4 xliii4 #bg1 ,job xxxi4 #cc1 are not certainly1 or even probably1 to ,adam4 ,there is an obscure but interesting reference in ,ezek4 xxviii4 #ad-af1 in which 'the fall' seems to be treated as representative of ,tyre's fall1 and presumably therefore of all situations in which divine gifts and vocations are squandered and lost4 #aj ,wisd4 ii4 #bc1 #bd2 cf4 ,rom4 v4 #ab4 #aa ,ecclus4 xxv4 #bd4 ,the first clause need not mean more than 'she was the first to sin4' #ab #b ,esdras iii4 #g4 #ac ,apoc4 ,baruch xxiii4 #d1 and elsewhere4 ,in parts of this book the penalty of ,adam's sin is regarded as being not death1 but premature death3 see liv4 #ae1 lvi4 #f1 and ,mr4 ,charles' notes4 #ad ,see ,matt4 vii4 #aa2 ,john ii4 #be2 iii4 #c1 c4 #ae #b ,esdras iii4 #ba1 #bb2 iv4 #cj2 vii4 #dh4 #af ,the matter is to be dealt with more at length in app4 note ,e4 #ag ,see ,e4 ,b4 ,tylor in ,encycl4 ,brit4 ii1 s4v4 ,,anthropology1 p4 #aad3 ',the polygenist view 7i4e4 the doctrine of a plurality of origins7 till a few years since was gaining ground4 ,two modern views1 however 7i4e4 the belief in the antiquity of man and the development of species71 have tended to restore1 though under a new aspect1 the doctrine of a single human stock4' ,cf4 ,darwin1 ,descent of ,man 7#bnd ed471 p4 #agf3 ',those naturalists who admit the principle of evolution 444 will feel no doubt that all the races of men are descended from a single primitive stock4' ,see also ,keane in app4 note ,e4 #ah ,mozley's ,lectures and ,theol4 ,papers 7,longmans71 pp4 #aeg ff4 #ai #b ,tim4 i4 #aj4 #bj ,john vi4 #ej2 viii4 #ea4 #ba ,see app4 note ,e4 #bb #b ,thess4 i4 #g-aj2 #b ,cor4 ii4 #af4 #bc ver4 #ag4 #bjd ,,division ,,iii4 #c4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 #a-ad4 ,the ,christian life a living by dying4 ,it has now been made apparent that belief in ,christ introduces a man into a new sphere of 'life in ,christ' or 'state of grace'--a state1 that is1 in which the divine grace or goodwill is the atmosphere and motive force4 ,and just as with his natural life he inherited all the taint and curse attaching to sin in the unredeemed manhood1 so now in his new state he receives from ,christ all the bountiful outpouring1 not of acquittal only1 but of divine life4 ,what he is called to witness is the triumph of the divine goodwill over the old forces and tendencies of sin in himself and in the world4 ,but now a monstrous suggestion presents itself1 akin to that attempt of the ,jew 7of which we heard in chapter iii7 to claim exemption from the divine judgement on his own sins on the ground that ,jewish unfaithfulness had but given #bje ,god a background upon which to reveal ,himself and ,his righteousness more effectively4 ,st4 ,paul1 we saw1 indignantly crushed that attempt to use logic against conscience4 ,now1 however1 a similar suggestion makes itself heard1 only from the side not of ,jewish factiousness1 but of ,gentile lawlessness4 ,would it not give divine grace a still better opportunity to show its quality if1 now that we are ,christians1 we go on living our old life of sin8 ,the more it has got to forgive in us1 the more superabundant will its mercy appear4 ,shall we not then continue in sin that grace may abound8 ,we have other reasons1 besides this passage1 for believing that ,st4 ,paul's teaching about divine grace and justifying faith not only admitted of being misunderstood1 but was misunderstood1 in his own time#a as at later periods1 in such a way as to cut the roots of moral effort4 ',unlearned and unstable men were wresting his words to their own destruction4' ,and to any lawless suggestions based upon the misuse of ,god's free grace1 ,st4 ,paul had already given the easiest answer when he had laid it down #bjf as an absolutely universal truth that ,god will at last 'render to every man according to his works 444 to them that are factious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness1 wrath and indignation1 tribulation and anguish1 upon every soul of man that worketh evil'2 or when he had met the developed logic of the self-excusing ,jew with the sharp and final rejoinder--'whose condemnation is just4' ,here however ,st4 ,paul gives not the easiest answer to the antinomian suggestion1 but a deep1 fruitful1 and decisive one4 ,he demonstrates the absolute incompatibility of principle between the life of sin and the ,christian state4 ,by the very nature of the case no man can belong to both4 ,as ,st4 ,john said1 'he that is begotten of ,god' in the new life in ,christ 'cannot sin' without thereby abandoning his new standing-ground4 ,at the moment when we became ,christians by the act of baptism1 we said good-bye to the old life of sin as completely as a dying man says good-bye to the familiar scenes and passes over to 'yonder side4' ,we were admitted by baptism into ,christ ,jesus2 that is1 we were admitted into a certain sort of human life with a certain law or character4 ,what is then the character and law of ,christ's life8 ',we believe that #bjg ,jesus died and rose again#b4' ,that is the central and summary fact about ,him4 ,he passed to life through death4 ,and this physical death of ,his on the cross was not merely a fact in history1 it was a fact with a moral significance#c4 ,while ,he had been in this sinful world of ours ,he had borne its sin1 but had no part in it4 ,he was in the sinful world1 but not of it4 ,he was to sin and all its motives as one dead4 ,and by ,his physical death upon the cross ,he gave summary expression to this moral alienation4 ,he made a final and outward breach with sin1 and passed out of its range1 for evermore 'separated from sinners4' ',he died to sin once for all4' ,and the glory of the ,father#d broke forth from its customary concealment and vindicated the ,christ by raising ,him from the dead1 because of what ,his death had morally meant4 ,thus the 'likeness1' or moral counterpart1 of ,christ's death is to be1 like ,him1 dead to sin4 ,and if we are not called to be physically crucified1 we are called to its moral counterpart4 ,we must become morally 'of one growth' with #bjh ,christ's death#e1 like the slip with the tree it is grafted into4 ,only so can we share the new life of ,his resurrection4 ,this is represented in the very ceremony of our baptism4 ,it was impressed upon us by all its outward symbolism that to become a ,christian we must die to the old life4 ,we were brought to the margin of the water as to a death1 and descended1 bowed beneath the waves1 as into the tomb with ,christ3 in order so1 and only so1 as having died and been buried1 to emerge again into the new life under the conditions of which henceforth we are to conduct ourselves#f4 ,and this new life is not only an actual present fellowship in the risen ,christ 7ver4 #d73 it expects to become so 7ver4 #e7 in a fuller and completer measure1 but always on the basis of one and the same clear conviction1 which we may express thus--,when ,christ was nailed to the cross1 our old sinful manhood was nailed there with ,him1 so that henceforth our animal nature1 hitherto the haunt and stronghold of sin1 might be paralyzed and rendered as powerless as any crucified criminal1 and we1 set free to become new men1 might no longer be sin's slaves4 ,that old sinful self of #bji ours was put to death1 and we passed1 as new men1 into another life4 ,henceforth the tyrant sin has no claim on us1 for death closes all scores and acquits of all claims4 ',the man is dead' is a summary and final plea against all claimants1 and that is our plea against the claim of sin4 ,we have died to it once and for all4 ,therefore1 and only therefore1 we can hope to share the deathless glory of ,christ's resurrection4 ,he died once1 and passed henceforth altogether out of death's control4 ,for the death that ,he died was to make an end with sin1 and that was done once for all4 ,henceforth there is nothing left but life1 and that life in the eternal ,god4 ,this therefore is the view we are to take of ourselves as now included in ,christ3 we are1 in regard to sin1 dead men who are no longer responsive to its impulses or alive to its interests3 and therefore1 in regard to ,god1 we are alive in ,christ to whom we are united4 ,and 7ver4 #ab7 the practical duty which follows from this is plain4 ,christians must not acknowledge a tyrant whose strength and power is gone for ever1 by letting sin still reign in the lower part of their nature--the body still subject to physical death--and so bring their higher nature into an unnatural subjection to its appetites3 they must #baj not leave the limbs of their redeemed selves at the disposal of the dethroned king ,sin1 to be used as weapons for the warfare of iniquity4 ,no3 they must correspond to the privileges of the new life in ,god into which they have passed1 by making an offering of themselves#g to ,god1 with all the free will which befits those who were dead and are alive again2 and an offering also of their limbs1 now restored to their own control1 as weapons for ,god's warfare of righteousness4 ,sin shall no longer be their lord4 ,that despotism belonged to the days when they were under the law4 ,now it is not the law they are under1 but the sovereignty of the divine goodwill4 ,what shall we say then8 ,shall we continue in sin1 that grace may abound8 ,god forbid4 ,we who died to sin1 how shall we any longer live therein8 ,or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into ,christ ,jesus were baptized into his death8 ,we were buried therefore with him through baptism into death3 that like as ,christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the ,father1 so we also might walk in newness of life4 ,for if we have become united with the likeness of his death1 we shall be also with the likeness of his resurrection2 knowing this1 that our old man was crucified with him1 that the body of #baa sin might be done away1 that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin2 for he that hath died is justified from sin4 ,but if we died with ,christ1 we believe that we shall also live with him2 knowing that ,christ being raised from the dead dieth no more2 death no more hath dominion over him4 ,for the death that he died1 he died unto sin once3 but the life that he liveth1 he liveth unto ,god4 ,even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin1 but alive unto ,god in ,christ ,jesus4 ,let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body1 that ye should obey the lusts thereof3 neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness2 but present yourselves unto ,god1 as alive from the dead1 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto ,god4 ,for sin shall not have dominion over you3 for ye are not under law1 but under grace4 #a4 ,in the analysis of the passage given above1 the order of the ideas has been somewhat altered1 and their meaning expanded1 with the intention of rendering the real argument more intelligible2 while ,i believe that no idea is suggested that is foreign to the original4 ,the passage1 however1 is extraordinarily condensed1 and is full of some of the most characteristic of ,st4 ,paul's thoughts--amongst them that of the life in ,christ as being a living by dying1 or a life out of death4 ,it is impossible to try to lead a human life under any standard that can be called moral without knowing that it involves some sort of 'mortification' of selfish and sensual appetites4 ,there #bab is that in human nature which1 as moralists generally must recognize and in fact have in a measure recognized1 must be 'done to death4' ,it was this principle that was expressed with such terrible vigour by our ,lord when ,he bade us pluck out the offending eye and cut off the offending hand4 ,but the novelty in ,christianity was the emphasis which it laid rather on the living than on the dying2 it was its teaching as to the infusion into human life of a new and positive spiritual force1 which was to overcome evil with good and swallow up death in victory4 ,it was by their belief in a gift of the ,spirit imparted to them1 and by their resulting power to think and act freely according to ,god1 that the ,christians were distinguished from the rest of the world4 ,it is this upon which their apostolic teachers continually insist4 ',i have written unto you young men1 because ye are strong4' ',as many as are lead by the ,spirit of ,god1 they are the sons of ,god4' ,it is only as it were in the second place that it appears that this living in the new life will involve dying to an old one4 ,thus the dying is always made to appear to be in order to a living4 ,the end is always the life4 ',i came that they may have life1' our ,lord had said1 'and have it abundantly4' #bac ,the phrases about dying in order to live have their root in our ,lord's teaching1 as ,st4 ,john represents it#h1 but belong most characteristically to ,st4 ,paul4 ,the principle which they enforce belongs only to a fallen world1 for it is only the sin within us and about us that has to be put to death1 or to which we have to die4 ,but it finds its highest exemplification in the case of ,christ who1 sinless ,himself1 came into a world of sin and lived under its conditions4 ,therefore ,he had to 'die' to sin and selfishness in the world in order to 'live' in ,his own proper life to ,god4 ,and this dying to sin--this refusing it and repudiating it--is summarily represented in ,his death upon the cross4 ,the worldly world killed ,him because ,he would have none of its selfishness and sin4 ,he1 by voluntarily dying sooner than surrender to the demands of this world1 made a final separation of ,himself from sin4 ,thus ,he lived ,his life to ,god at the cost of dying4 ,and this law of ,christ's life is to be the law of ours4 ,we must die to sin--not on a visible cross1 but by a repudiation of it as thorough and real3 nor to sin outside us only1 but to sin in ourselves4 ,it is only to express this attitude toward sin in ourselves in other #bad words1 to say that we have to mortify and crucify our own carnal and selfish selves4 ,and just as ,christ summed up ,his attitude towards the world by ,his death upon the cross1 so the ,christian's attitude to the world was summed up in his baptism4 ,at that moment he died to the world of sin#i4 ,this state of deadness to sin has to be constantly renewed1 or again and again recovered4 ,but it was in that sacramental moment realized in principle and symbolically represented4 ,the convert who was immersed beneath the baptismal waters and emerged again1 realized easily that this 'bath of regeneration' was1 what the early ,christians called it1 'his grave and his mother4' ,all the circumstances of his baptism forced it upon him that he had passed out of an old life into a new--that he died to one state of things and came to life in another4 ,the ,christians of ,st4 ,paul's churches1 like newly-made ,christians in ,central ,africa or ,india to-day1 were very often highly imperfect2 but they knew--they could not but know--that they had passed under a new allegiance2 that like the just-converted ,frankish #bae idolater1 they must 'burn what they had adored1 and adore what they had burned#aj4' ,we in our generation1 and in a country where ,christianity has become traditional1 realize this much less easily4 ,it is not only that we have1 in our ,church and country1 almost wholly lost the symbolism which belongs to baptism by immersion#aa2 though that is as great a loss as any symbolic action1 not necessary to the administration of a sacrament1 can be4 ,it is not only that we are as a general rule baptized in infancy1 for that under right conditions#ab embodies a fundamental ,christian principle and comes down from the origin of ,christianity4 ,it is much more that ,christianity has been allowed to become conventional and cheap4 ,it requires no effort or moral courage to own1 in a formal sense1 the name of ,christ4 ,the result is that masses of #baf men belong to the ,church who are in practice living purely worldly lives1 and that the ,church and the world are fused together4 ,hence it follows again that what the majority of ,christians do is supposed to represent a tolerable manner of life for an ordinary ,christian1 who does not profess to be better than his neighbours4 ,under these circumstances there is nothing which is more important than to reassert the law of life through death as the only ,christian law of living4 ,the 'old man' is as vigorous as ever4 ,the world is still gratifying its sensual appetites and grasping after wealth without regard to the law of ,god4 ,malice1 jealousy1 and hatred are alive and flourishing4 ,god is still being ignored1 refused1 blasphemed4 ,that is to say1 the world of sin is still what it always was4 ,it is still under the same unchangeable wrath of ,god2 and still therefore to live to ,god is only possible for one who will1 and that deliberately and persistently1 die to the world4 ,the renunciation must be conscious and deliberate4 ,the mortification and crucifixion of the 'old man' and 'the body of sin' must be painful1 at times even agonizing4 ,a reasonable ,christian will be indeed surprised if something painful is not being continually required of him4 ,and a reasonable ,christian #bag rejoices to purchase1 even by great sacrifices1 the pearl of great price1 which is fellowship with ,christ3--'that he may know him and the power of his resurrection1 and the fellowship of his sufferings1 being made conformable unto his death4' ,this is the point4 ,it is not enough for us to be baptized4 ,our baptism is evacuated of all meaning unless we are also 'being converted1' or 'turning' from the world to ,god2 unless we are turning our back upon its lawless lusts1 its worldly ambitions1 its graspings after money1 its refusals of pain1 its selfish and unloving life4 ,nay3 all this renunciation was already involved in the ,name spoken over us at our baptism4 ,the ,christian name pledges us to the ,christian law of living by dying1 progress by conversion4 ,you cannot refuse the dying without repudiating the ,name4 ',die and re-exist1' said ,goethe1 'for so long as this is not accomplished thou art but a troubled guest upon an earth of gloom#ac4' ',reckon ye1 therefore1 yourselves to be dead unto sin4' ,this phrase1 addressed to common ,christians1 supplies a magnificent instance of ,st4 ,paul's idealism1 that is to say1 of his love of #bah considering things1 and his desire that others should consider things1 in the light of their central and dominant idea or principle--as they ought to be rather than as they are4 ,this is his continual practice3 to idealize not in the sense of thinking unreally of things1 but in the sense of thinking of them in the light of that which is most fundamental in them4 ,it is in this way that he thinks of 'the world1' or godless human society1 and seems to represent it as worse than it sometimes appears1 because its governing principle is radically evil4 ,it is in this way that he thinks of the ,church1 and speaks of it in terms of glory not justified by the facts simply as they appear2 because it has that at work within it which is capable of transforming it until it not only is1 but looks like1 the body of ,christ1 or the city of ,god4 ,this idealizing method is naturally distasteful to ,english common sense in most departments of thinking1 and perhaps particularly in the region of religion4 ,but we suffer from an over-close adhesion to the 'matters of fact' or 'the things which do appear4' ,we do not think of our life1 ourselves1 our church according to the divine principle which they embody1 or 'according to the pattern shown to us in the mount4' ,thus #bai we are never uplifted1 enlarged1 ennobled by the vision of 444 ,the gleam1 ,the light that never was on sea or land4 ,that light never was or is manifest on the surface of actual experience1 and yet it is always latent--the touch of glory in common things1 the radiance in even our dim world1 'the master light of all our seeing4' ,we have almost all of us got to learn the practical power of the ,christian imagination1 disciplined and spiritually enlightened1 to enrich and ennoble actual life4 ,the objects which our imagination should reflect are realities1 but realities not yet developed4 ,what our imagination should do for us is to teach us to see things not as they are1 but as they are coming to be4 #b4 ',life in ,christ ,jesus1' ',christ living in me'--there can be no question that these beautiful phrases which1 if ,st4 ,john's witness be true1 represent the teaching of ,christ ,himself#ad1 express also what is most central in ,st4 ,paul's idea of ,christianity4 ,it was the great merit of ,matthew ,arnold's ,st4 ,paul and ,protestantism#ae that it #bbj recalled the fact to notice in ordinary educated circles4 ,recent scientific study of ,st4 ,paul has gone in the same direction4 ,the doctrines of atonement and justification are essential to ,st4 ,paul's theology1 but not central3 the doctrine of life in ,christ1 spiritual and moral identification with ,christ1 is both essential and central4 ,the maintenance of this life of union is again1 as ,matthew ,arnold teaches us1 the final and most developed function of faith--'that ,christ may dwell in our hearts by faith'2 for faith is1 or grows to be1 such devotion to ,christ's person as desires to lose itself and its selfish aims in ,him and ,his work4 ,but ,matthew ,arnold strangely leaves out of sight the two-sidedness of this relation3 we abide in ,christ by faith1 #bba because ,christ first of all abides in us by ,his loving-kindness and grace4 ,it is ,his love1 always beforehand with us--not merely to forgive us our sins1 but to pour itself out in the communicated ,spirit--that takes us up within the circle of ,his own life2 it is the act of ,god incorporating us into ,christ which evokes and makes possible the response of our faith to realize ,his indwelling and make the adhesion mutual4 ,god's gift is prior to our response and the ground of it2 and moreover ,god's gift is permanent and abiding4 ,it would indeed be a thought of despair if the bond between ,christ and us depended upon the continuous energy of our faith to maintain it4 ,nay1 it is always there--unintermittent through all our broken efforts and vicissitudes of will--always there for us to recur to4 ,we are to reckon ourselves 'dead to sin and alive to righteousness1' because and only because we are also to reckon ourselves 'in ,christ4' ,that is our permanent state1 and it is the function of faith not to create1 but to realize it4 ,it is ,st4 ,paul's clear and vivid perception of a divine gift given1 a relationship to ,god established by ,god's act1 not ours1 and that at a particular time1 which is closely connected with his #bbb sacramental teaching4 ,if a divine gift is to be given 7#a7 definite at a definite time1 7#b7 to men of body as well as spirit in a world not only spiritual but material1 7#c7 publicly as to members of a social organization--it is most natural that the gift should be embodied in an outward rite and outward vehicle4 ,so ,st4 ,paul appears to think4 ,there is no shrinking about his sacramental language4 ,it can be said with justice that certain forms of sacerdotal or ecclesiastical government which have appeared in ,church history would to his mind have savoured1 or more than savoured1 of bondage to men and bondage to the 'beggarly rudiments' of ceremonial observances4 ,st4 ,paul is very jealous of maintaining what we may call spiritual individuality and personal liberty4 ,but there is no justification to be found in ,st4 ,paul's epistles for saying that he connects sacramentalism--i4e4 the idea of necessary spiritual gifts divinely promised on the occasion1 and through the medium1 of certain outward religious rites of a community--with that 'bondage' to 'beggarly rudiments' of which he has so great a dread4 ,st4 ,paul's language does not admit of our supposing that he knew of any other way of admission 'into ,christ' except through the gate #bbc of baptism1 or any other means of communion in ,christ's body and blood except 'the breaking of the bread4' #c4 ,it will be necessary before we leave this great passage to give some special attention to three phrases4 ',christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the ,father4' ,in the ,new ,testament the sacrifice of ,christ1 the atonement won by ,christ1 is continually ascribed to the ,father1 acting through and in the ,son--',god was in ,christ reconciling the world unto himself4' ,so also the resurrection is uniformly ascribed to the ,father's power acting in the case of the ,son#af4 ,our current ,christian language has in both cases departed too widely from apostolic practice4 ,the doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity would be more intelligently held1 and the worship of the ,church more normally offered in the ,spirit through the ,son to the ,father1 if we had not fallen into the habit of so speaking of the action of the ,son in dying and rising as habitually to leave out of sight the truth that ,his action1 as ,son1 is and #bbd must always be the ,father's action through ,him2 and that reversely our worship of the ,son must always be really1 and ought to be in our habitual consciousness1 the worship of the ,father through ,him4 ',our old man was crucified with him4' ,as ,shelley said that1 when ,adonais died1 ''tis death is dead1 not he1' so in an infinitely deeper sense ,st4 ,paul says that what was killed upon the cross was 7he does not say 'instead of ,christ1' but 'with ,christ'7 sin and the 'old man4' ,the 'old man' means the old way of living1 or rather the old way of living considered as having been appropriated by the sinful individual and thus made his own self4 ,thus it was the old self that was put to death on the cross1 and a new self came to life1 which was the same in unchanged personality and yet so practically different in all its relationships1 that it could assert and claim exemptions from the obligations contracted by the 'old man4' ',that the body of sin might be done away4' ,the identification of sin with the individual had been specially with his body4 ,his bodily appetites and impulses and parts had been so used to the ways of sin as to become a 'body of sin1' and this1 ,st4 ,paul says1 has to be 'done away' or #bbe annulled4 ,it is not that we are to harm the body itself3 for the body itself is good1 and is to be offered1 with all its members1 to become the weapon of ,christian warfare4 ,there is indeed no material thing as such that is evil4 ,the 'body of sin' means exactly 'the body considered as having become the receptacle of sin'3 as when our ,lord speaks of the 'mammon of unrighteousness#ag1' ,he means money which has become the instrument of unrighteousness1 but which the children of light are to convert to profitable uses4 ',to annul the body of sin' means1 therefore1 almost the same as 'to annul sin in the body' and leave the body free2 but it emphasizes the fact that sin has got such hold of the body that to annul sin involves annulling the body3 as ,st4 ,paul says elsewhere1 ',i buffet' 7or 'distress'7 'my body and bring it into bondage#ah4' #a ,see ,gal4 v4 #ac3 ',only use not your freedom for an occasion of the flesh4' ,cf4 #b ,pet4 iii4 #af1 and the implications of ,st4 ,james' ,epistle4 #b #a ,thess4 iv4 #ad4 #c ,the meaning of ver4 #d is interpreted in vers4 #aj1 #aa4 #d ,ver4 #d2 cf4 ,john xi4 #dj4 ',the glory of ,god' is specially manifest in the resurrection of the dead4 #e ,this is the original suggestion of the word 'united' in ver4 #e4 #f ,cf4 ,col4 ii4 #ab4 #g ,the ,greek words represented by 'leave at the disposal of1' 'make an offering to1' are different parts of the same verb4 ',the tense of the former expresses continuance1 habit2 444 of the latter1 a single irrevocable act of surrender' 7,vaughan1 in loc474 #h ,john xii4 #bd1 #be4 #i ,it is one gain of the ,r4,v4 that for 'ye are dead' 7,col4 iii4 #c1 ii4 #bj71 'we are dead' 7,rom4 vi4 #b1 #h71 c41 we read 'ye died1' 'we died1' i4e4 at the definite moment of baptism4 #aj ,gregory of ,tours1 ,hist4 ,franc4 ii4 #ca3 ',to whom 7,chlovis7 as he enters the font to be baptized1 the holy man of ,god 7,remigius7 thus eloquently spoke--,meekly bow thy neck1 ,sigambrian3 adore what thou hast burnt2 burn what thou hast adored4' #aa ,baptism by 'affusion' began within the first century1 but as the exception1 not the rule4 ,see app4 note ,f4 #ab ,by infant baptism under right conditions1 ,i mean the baptism of infants when there is some real security provided1 through their parents or proper sponsors1 for their ,christian education1 according to the intention of the ,church4 ,on the primitive origin of infant baptism1 see ,ephesians1 pp4 #bcj1 #bca4 #ac ',stirb und werde6 ,denn so lang du das nicht hast1 ,bist du nur ein trber ,gast ,auf der dunkeln ,erde' 7quoted by ,m4 ,arnold74 #ad ,john vi4 #ec-eh2 xiv4 #ai1 #bj2 xv4 #a-aj2 xvii4 #ba-bc4 #ae ,p4 #ha 7#bnd ed473 ',the three essential terms of ,pauline theology are not1 therefore1 as popular theology makes them--calling1 justification1 sanctification3 they are rather these--dying with ,christ1 resurrection from the dead1 growing into ,christ4' ,cf4 p4 #gf3 ',how did ,paul's faith1 working through love1 help him to control appetite and self-will8 ,it enabled him to reinforce duty by affection4 ,in the central need of his nature1 the desire to govern these motives of unrighteousness1 it enabled him to say3 ,die to them6 ,christ did4 ,if any man be in ,christ1 said ,st4 ,paul--that is1 if any man identifies himself with ,christ by attachment1 so that he enters into ,his feelings and lives with ,his life--he is a new creature2 he can do1 and does1 what ,christ did4' ,it would be truer1 surely1 to say in the first of these two passages not 'the three essential1' c41 but 'the three central4' ,nothing can be more truly essential to ,pauline theology than the terms1 calling1 justification1 atonement2 but the two last of them at least do not belong to the central region of religion1 but have to do with the removal of preliminary obstacles to our entrance upon it4 #af ,the apparent exception is ,john x4 #ah2 but even there the word rendered 'take' would perhaps be better rendered 'receive4' ,christ had the right to lay down ,his own life and the right to receive it again from the ,father4 ,so ,hort1 ,first ,ep4 of ,peter1 pp4 #cd1 #hd4 #ag ,luke xvi4 #i4 #ah #a ,cor4 ix4 #bg4 #bbf ,,division ,,iii4 #d4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 #ae-bc4 ,the perfect freedom is ,god's service4 ,the reiterated mention of the deliverance of the ,christian from the yoke of the law--',ye are not under law1 but under grace'--brings up the excuse for licentious living in a new form3--',this very abolition of the strict power of the law in favour of a system of which the ruling principle is ,god's goodness1 at least makes one willing to contemplate any particular act of sin#a1 with a good hope of escaping punishment4' ,st4 ,paul meets the suggestion with a ',god forbid1' and then gives a deep reason for repudiating it1 a reason however which is but a version of our ,lord's saying1 ',every one that committeth sin is the slave of sin#b4' ,every man is always acting under obedience4 ,what he #bbg does in a particular case represents an act of obedience to some master2 that is to say1 a taking service with him4 ,moreover it appears on reflection that it must be with one of two masters and cannot be with both1 for 'no man can serve two masters4' ,it is either with sin1 whose service ends in spiritual as well as physical death1 or with ,him to whom obedience is properly due1 whose service ends in righteousness4 ,what gives ,st4 ,paul reason for thankfulness in thinking of the conversion of the ,christians at ,rome1 is not that those who became ,christians became thereby exempt from obedience1 but that they changed their allegiance from sin to ,christ4 ,at their conversion they gladly submitted to a pattern or standard of teaching--the teaching of ,christ--to which they were handed over for the fashioning of their lives--that is to say1 they were made free from sin only to become slaves to righteousness4 ,he uses the word slavery because so long as their weak flesh shrinks from divine obedience1 they must recognize that the life which is really liberty must be accepted even as a bondage1 till it cease to seem so4 ,in old days they offered their limbs as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness1 and the result was a lawless life4 #bbh ,now they must yield their limbs as slaves to righteousness with a view to a consecrated life4 ,and the change of allegiance is surely matter for congratulation4 ,they can recall the days when they were free from the service of righteousness1 as being slaves of sin1 and they can remember what fruit they enjoyed as the result of experiences which they now blush to bring to mind4 ,of such experiences death1 moral no less than physical1 is the result4 ,now1 set free from sin's slavery and made ,god's slaves1 they enjoy the present fruit of consecration to ,god and the ultimate prospect of eternal life4 ,so long as ,sin was their master he would pay them their wages1 and the wages which ,sin pays is always death4 ,but now that they are surrendered into ,god's hands1 and simply dependent on ,his loving-kindness1 there is no question of wages1 but the gift of ,his bounty is eternal life1 in ,him whose life includes their own1 ,jesus ,christ their ,lord4 ,what then8 shall we sin1 because we are not under law1 but under grace8 ,god forbid4 ,know ye not1 that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience1 his servants ye are whom ye obey2 whether of sin unto death1 or of obedience unto righteousness8 ,but thanks be to ,god1 that1 whereas ye were servants of sin1 ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching #bbi whereunto ye were delivered2 and being made free from sin1 ye became servants of righteousness4 ,i speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh3 for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity1 even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification4 ,for when ye were servants of sin1 ye were free in regard of righteousness4 ,what fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed8 for the end of those things is death4 ,but now being made free from sin1 and become servants to ,god1 ye have your fruit unto sanctification1 and the end eternal life4 ,for the wages of sin is death2 but the free gift of ,god is eternal life in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 #a4 ,st4 ,paul is here expounding the real meaning of human liberty4 ,it is generally regarded as the power 'to do as one pleases' or a state of independence4 ,but such a state does not exist4 ,there is indeed such a thing as the absence of external control up to a certain point4 ,that is an element of liberty1 but it reaches but a little way4 ,the true liberty is the power to realize one's nature and make the best of oneself--the power to be what one ought to be or is meant to be4 ,the instinct of language1 as applied to man1 recognizes this4 ,when we see a drunkard1 we recognize a man the balance of whose nature is upset4 ,the higher part of his nature is being dragged at the chariot-wheels of his lower4 ,so1 #bcj be he never so free a citizen1 we call him a slave--a slave of drink4 ,on the same principle we speak of the slaves of lust or the slaves of money or the slaves of fashion or the slaves of popularity4 ,by these phrases we describe various moral states in which some external or purely animal force dominates a man1 and he loses his self-control1 and his whole nature becomes disordered4 ,the true order of human nature is that a man's body should be controlled by his will4 ,then he is self-determined4 ,his whole life is the expression of a rational principle4 ,he makes the best of himself4 ,he is free to be a real man1 according to the proper idea of manhood4 ,but how can this be8 ,can this reason or rational will in man stand and work of itself8 ,is it so constructed as to be independent8 ,no4 ,just as truly as a man's bodily forces are drawn from sources outside himself1 so his spiritual being depends on sources and motives beyond himself4 ,what does man's 'freedom of will' consist of8 ,speaking exactly1 it consists of a power to direct a certain amount of physical force which passes into one's bodily frame1 and to let it go out in one or another form of action1 deed or word or #bca thought1 more or less moral or immoral1 spiritual or carnal4 ,and this liberty of direction1 when more closely examined1 is found to consist in a power which the will has to choose between motives which present themselves as ideas to the mind and to hand itself over to one or the other4 ,some of these motives are derived from physical or worldly appetites2 some are derived through the conscience or faculty of spiritual apprehension4 ,if1 in cases where the lower motives conflict with the higher1 a man still yields himself to the latter1 his life is spiritual2 and it is so because it is determined by motives and reinforced by influences which come from beyond himself1 and are in fact the motives and forces of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,but in neither case is he independent and free from obedience4 ,he stands at a meeting-point of the spiritual and material world1 and must be governed by one or the other4 ,in either case man's life is played upon and dominated by motive-forces1 infinitely vaster and mightier than himself4 ,let him try 7as he has tried7 to forget his necessary dependence--to detach himself from the higher obedience and to 'be as ,god1' independent--and he falls necessarily under the dominion of the lower forces1 of his flesh or of the world4 ,if he is to cease #bcb to live below himself1 he must consent to surrender to what is above himself4 ,he must yield his spirit to the divine ,spirit1 which is its natural master4 ,so he ceases to be carnal1 or governed by the flesh1 and becomes spiritual1 or governed by the divine ,spirit4 ,and that is liberty4 ',that man1' said ,leo the ,great1 'has true peace and liberty whose flesh is controlled by the judgement of his mind1 as his mind is directed by the government of ,god#c4' ,god's service1 and that only1 is perfect freedom4 ,man then is so constructed that he can only cease to fall below himself by being raised above himself4 ,his life cannot fail to be stamped with the impress of sin unless it is stamped with the impress of ,god4 ,the state of the ,christian1 surrendered to the fashioning of ,god1 is that true dependence which is the true liberty4 ,independent of ,god1 man stands at last over against ,god to get what his independent action has merited2 and that is penal death1 the inevitable outcome of misused faculties1 enslaved to sin4 ,surrendered to ,god in faith1 on the other hand1 he receives into his nature1 through all its open portals1 the inflooding tide of divine love2 and enters1 enriched and uplifted1 into the life that #bcc is eternal1 the life which he shares with ,jesus1 the life that is truly human and really divine4 ,it is of great practical importance that we should get a just idea of what our freedom consists in4 ,there are men who1 under the impulse of a purely materialist science1 declare the sense of moral freedom to be an illusion4 ,this is of course a gross error4 ,but what has largely played into the hands of this error is the exaggerated idea of human freedom which is ordinarily current1 an idea which can only be held by ignoring our true and necessary dependence and limitation4 ,it is this that we need to have brought home to us4 ,there is an admirable story among ,george ,crabbe's ,tales1 called ',the ,gentleman ,farmer4' ,the hero starts in life resolved that he will not put up with any bondage4 ,the orthodox clergyman1 the orthodox physician1 and orthodox matrimony--all these alike represent social bondage in different forms1 and he will have none of them4 ,so he starts on a career of 'unchartered freedom1' ',to prove that he alone was king of him4' ,and the last scene of all represents him the weak slave of his mistress1 a quack doctor1 and a revivalist--'which things are an allegory4' #bcd #b4 ,the phrase 'a form' or 'pattern of teaching1' is interesting4 ,it suggests the idea of the ,church as holding a 'pattern of sound words#d1' a definite body of instruction1 which is to form the life of each person who gives himself over to her loving discipline4 ,christian faith is not a formless impulse2 it is self-surrender to a corporate life ruled on a definite model of religious and moral teaching4 ,what ,st4 ,paul has here chiefly in mind is moral teaching4 ,but the moral teaching was inseparable from religious facts and motives4 ,nor is it difficult to ascertain from the allusions of the ,new ,testament what the subjects were in which the first ,christians were orally instructed1 or1 in other words1 what constituted 'the tradition' which lies behind the written books of the ,new ,testament4 ,it comprised instruction in 7#a7 the facts of our ,lord's life1 death1 and resurrection#e2 7#b7 the meaning of sacred rites--baptism1 laying on of hands1 eucharist#f--;including the ,lord's ,prayer#g2 7#c7 the moral duties of 'the way1' and the doctrine 'of the resurrection of #bce the dead and of eternal judgement#h'2 7#d7 the meaning of 'the ,name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost#i4' ,on all these subjects the books of the ,new ,testament do not give the primary instruction1 but imply that it has been already given4 #c4 ,the word rendered 'sanctification' 7vers4 #ai1 #bb7 is one which needs to have its primitive force restored to it#aj4 ,the 'saint' is the person set apart for the worship and service of ,god4 ,what is here translated 'sanctification' means literally 7#a7 'the process of being made fit for such worship and service1' that is1 consecration as of a priest2 or 7#b7 by a slight transition of meaning1 the result of such consecration1 i4e4 'holiness4' #a ,the tense of the verb in 'shall we sin' appears to indicate an act1 not a habit of sin4 #b ,john viii4 #cd4 #c ,serm4 xxxix4 #b4 #d #b ,tim4 i4 #ac4 #e ,cf4 ,luke i4 #a-d2 #a ,cor4 xi4 #bc2 xv4 #c1 #d4 #f ,cf4 ,rom4 vi4 #c2 ,heb4 vi4 #a-f2 #a ,cor4 x4 #ae1 #af2 xi4 #bc ff42 ,acts ii4 #ch4 #g ,didach1 #h2 cf4 below1 p4 #bic4 #h ,heb4 vi4 #a1 #b2 #a ,thess4 iv4 #a1 #b2 v4 #b4 #i ,see ,hort1 ,first ,ep4 of ,peter1 p4 #ah1 for the fact that 'a recognized belief or idea of the threefold ,name seems to be everywhere presupposed4' #aj ,cf4 above1 pp4 #ca1 #cb4 #bcf ,,division ,,iii4 #e4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 #a-f4 ,freedom from the law by union with ,christ4 ,st4 ,paul is full of two thoughts4 ,the first is that of life out of death1 living by dying4 ,he had lived an old life in which 'those multitudinous motions of appetite and self-will which reason and conscience disapproved1 reason and conscience could yet not govern1 and had to yield to them4 ,this1 as we shall see1 is what drove ,paul almost to despair#a4' ,he had passed to a new life in which he found in actual1 blessed experience that he could do the thing that he would4 ,he could do all things--through ,christ that strengthened him4 ,for it was ,christ who had been the means of transferring him from the old life to the new1 and that by ,his own way of dying to live4 ,christ ,himself had lived 'by the ,spirit' deliberately and always4 ,he #bcg had never failed morally to do the thing that ,he would4 ,but so violent was the antagonism between ,his life of divine obedience 7with the claims that it involved upon other men7 and 'the sinful1 wilful1 weak world around1 that the world could not tolerate ,his presence in it2 and it came to this--that ,he could only live by the ,spirit at the cost of dying to the world1 i4e4 choosing to be put to death sooner than give up obedience to ,his ,father4 ,he chose to die1 and thus dying ,he lived through death in the life of the ,spirit1 and was raised again from death in body also4 ,now ,christ had brought ,st4 ,paul--as ,he would bring all men--into union with ,his new life1 and by the same method4 ,st4 ,paul had had to die to the sinful world in order to live to ,god4 ,but he1 being not only a man but a sinner1 was obliged not only1 like ,christ1 to die to sin in the world--he had also to die to sin in himself4 ,in other words1 he had to 'crucify his flesh with its affections and lusts'--that is1 'his old man' or old way of living4 ,he had1 by the help of ,christ's ,spirit1 to assert his inner self or personality against a false self--a false way of life--which had appropriated him and held him captive4 ,only by being emancipated from the #bch 'old man' could he come to live 'in ,christ4' ,it is this transference from the 'old man1' or old way of life1 to the new1 by means of a death that ,st4 ,paul here describes under the figure of a second marriage4 ,the man's true self was as a wife married to 'the old man4' ,the old man was nailed to ,christ's cross 7vi4 #f7--that is1 the old way of life was put an end to1 even with violence4 ,thus the wife1 the human personality1 is1 according to the law of marriage1 free to contract a second union with ,christ1 the second ,man4 ,this is one of the main thoughts in ,st4 ,paul's mind4 ,but it is entangled with a second4 ,the 'old man' was closely associated with 'the law'--the law which had awakened it out of its life of moral apathy by its stern reminders of the will of ,god4 ,the law had reminded1 instructed1 enlightened2 but it could not give the inward power needed to obey its requirements4 ,it served but to bring to light the tyranny of sin which made man incapable of yielding obedience to the will of ,god2 it even augmented its power by stimulating it to opposition4 ,the law therefore belonged purely and simply to the old condition of moral impotence--the life 'in the flesh' and not 'in the ,spirit4' ,it fulfilled the #bci only function it could fulfil in awaking the consciousness of sin4 ,thus to pass from 'the life of the flesh' to 'the life in the ,spirit' was to pass out of its dominion4 ,this is the other thought with which ,st4 ,paul is occupied in the passage we are just going to read4 ,this too he expresses with the help of the figure of death4 ,human law only regards a living man4 ,death acquits him from law by taking him out of the region where it applies4 ,therefore1 when a man dies with ,christ to the 'old man1' he passes out of the reach of the law which threatened the old man but had no function beyond that4 ,each of these two thoughts is quite distinct and clear2 but they are fused in the present passage4 ,st4 ,paul begins with the second1 to show that the 'dead' ,christian is free from the law 7ver4 #a2 cf4 vi4 #g74 ,but marriage law is taken as an example of law1 and by this link we pass from the second thought to the first4 ,but the second thought requires the man's self to die with ,christ to escape from the region of law4 ,the first thought1 on the other hand1 requires the 'old man1' or old mode of life1 to die1 to leave the man's real self free to be married to ,christ2 and this change of subject #bdj introduces confusion into the passage4 ,the attempts to show that there is no confusion are not successful4 ,in ver4 #a the idea plainly is that the self dies1 as in vi4 #g4 ,in ver4 #d the main idea plainly is that the 'old man' is dead1 and has left the self free to contract a new marriage4 ,but the other idea is still sufficiently dominant to cause ,st4 ,paul to say 'ye died to the law1' instead of 'your old man was crucified4' ,morally1 of course1 the two phrases mean the same thing2 and one who1 like ,st4 ,paul1 is dictating a letter1 is specially liable to verbal confusions even when his thought is clear4 ,after these explanations the analysis shall be made as brief as possible4 ,st4 ,paul1 having1 in the latter part of the sixth chapter1 shown that the abolition of the power of the law is no excuse for sin1 recurs to and develops the principles which he has now guarded from abuse1 viz4 that the power of the law is past for the ,christian4 ,he is writing1 he says1 to men1 whether themselves ,jews or not1 who understand what law means1 and that its dominion over a man ends with his death4 ,it has no jurisdiction beyond the grave4 ,he takes the marriage law 7'the law of or #bda 'concerning the husband1' ver4 #b7 as an illustration4 ,without noticing the exceptions in the way of possibilities of divorce which the ,jewish law admitted1 he lays it down generally that 'the law of the husband' binds the wife till death1 but death dissolves its power4 ,when her husband is dead she is 'discharged' and free to be married again4 7,here we have passed from the idea of a man escaping by death out of the dominion of law to that of his death dissolving the force of law in the interests of another1 viz4 his wife47 ,that is the state of the ,christian's real self4 ,christ's body1 ,st4 ,paul says1 was nailed to the cross1 and you were put to death there with ,him2 or rather1 your 'old man' was put to death there1 and you were left1 like wives discharged from the marriage law by the intervention of death1 free to be united to the risen ,christ1 and to see fruits of your new union such as ,god can approve4 ,there were fruits from the former union with the 'old man1' in the days when you were still under the power of the flesh4 ,the body was subject to feelings and emotions which1 under the provocation of the law1 became the instruments of sin2 and these all at work in our limbs 7constituting the 'old man1' and having #bdb ourselves for the subject-wife7 brought forth the fruits of actions fit only for a kingdom of death4 ,but now we are discharged from the law1 like the wife whose husband is dead1 having died to that in which we were held captive1 and come to life in a new region2 so that we can be slaves--that1 as we have seen in the last chapter1 we must always be1 so far as yielding a complete obedience is concerned--only no longer under the old bondage of a written law1 but in the new freedom of the empowering ,spirit4 ,or are ye ignorant1 brethren 7for ,i speak to men that know the law71 how that the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth8 ,for the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth2 but if the husband die1 she is discharged from the law of the husband4 ,so then if1 while the husband liveth1 she be joined to another man1 she shall be called an adulteress3 but if the husband die1 she is free from the law1 so that she is no adulteress1 though she be joined to another man4 ,wherefore1 my brethren1 ye also were made dead to the law through the body of ,christ2 that ye should be joined to another1 even to him who was raised from the dead1 that we might bring forth fruit unto ,god4 ,for when we were in the flesh1 the sinful passions1 which were through the law1 wrought in our members to bring forth fruit unto death4 ,but now we have been discharged from the law1 having died to that wherein we were holden2 so that we serve in newness of the spirit1 and not in oldness of the letter4 #bdc #a4 ,if we ask ourselves what is practically meant by ,st4 ,paul's idea of the marriage of the redeemed soul to ,christ1 which supplements his thought of the whole ,church as the bride of ,christ#b1 the answer seems to be that it is made up of a moral and a theological factor4 ,the moral factor is the idea of the devotion of the believer to ,christ--'as a young man marrieth a virgin4' ,the theological idea is that of the risen ,christ making the soul of the believer fruitful in good works by infusing into it ,his own ,spirit or life4 #b4 ,the conception of the freedom of the redeemed from the moral and ceremonial law is very easily realized by reference to our ideas of civic freedom in connexion with the criminal law4 ,the criminal law exists1 and the policemen are among its administrative officers1 but the respectable citizen is free in his relation to the criminal law1 and passes the policeman without any sense of alarm--not because he is at liberty to break the law1 but because he has become accustomed to a way of living with which the agents of the law are not called upon to interfere4 ,it is in a sense like this that ,st4 ,paul conceives the ,christians to have escaped from the bondage of the ,mosaic law4 #bdd #c4 ,what is the meaning of the common phrase our 'passions'8 ,it refers to those feelings which we experience without any action of our will4 ,it may be a mere neutral sensation of smell4 ,it may be a feeling of hunger1 thirst1 desire1 anger4 ,these are our 'passions' as opposed to our actions4 ,these appeal to the will as motives1 and it appertains to the will to determine whether it will yield to them and so translate passions into voluntary actions4 ,when the will is weak1 and passion is allowed to pass into action uncontrolled1 the man becomes the slave of sin1 and his passions1 in themselves innocent or only constituting the material of temptation1 become the 'sinful passions' of which ,st4 ,paul speaks in this place4 #a ,matthew ,arnold1 ,st4 ,paul and ,protestantism1 p4 #gf4 #b ,eph4 v4 #bb4 #bde ,,division ,,iii4 #f4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 #g-be4 ,the function and failure of the law4 ,the somewhat confused passage just dealt with1 in which several moral ideas and metaphors are struggling for the mastery1 is followed by a famous passage of luminous power in which ,st4 ,paul expounds1 with a profound insight into human nature1 the function and failure of law4 ,the close alliance into which ,st4 ,paul constantly puts 'the law' with the reign of sin1 an alliance hardly suggested by any other ,new ,testament teacher1 suggests inevitably the idea that ,st4 ,paul1 like the later ,gnostics1 regarded the law itself as 'sin1' that is1 as owing its origin to the power of evil and working for its ends4 ,such an idea he of course repudiates4 ,but all the same it is law1 written or proclaimed1 and law only1 which both awakens the sense of sin in man and stimulates sin itself to put #bdf forth its power4 ,let me take myself1 we may imagine ,st4 ,paul as saying 7for the ',i' of this passage is very far from being strictly autobiographical71 as representing man in his moral history4 ,i was alive apart from any law once4 ,that is to say1 ,i lived as suited me best1 according to my instincts1 asking no moral questions and troubled by no scruples4 ,and all this time sin1 considered as a moral tyrant1 was as if dead4 ,i had no defined moral ideal and consequently no struggle and no failure4 ,then comes the law with its ',thou shalt not covet' 7or do this or that74 ,it imposes limits in the name of ,god on my life of instinct4 ,it cries ',hands off6' ,at once ,i find opposition between me and the law4 ,i do covet this and that which the law says ,i must not have4 ,i find myself in the eye of the moral law a transgressor4 ,and there is something more than my own lawless desire in opposition to the law4 ,i become conscious of a great power of sin at work in the world and in me--something greater than myself1 which intervenes in the struggle and reinforces the opposition to the law4 ,the tyrant ,sin rouses himself on the pretext afforded by the hostile commandment1 and exercises his power both by stimulating my desires1 like ,eve's 7ver4 #h71 and #bdg deceiving my intelligence1 like hers1 to believe that good is evil 7ver4 #aa71 and so brings me by means of the commandment into a state of flat disobedience to the law1 which is death4 ,for the law was given for life--',this do1 and thou shalt live'2 but there is the necessary converse--',this transgress1 and thou shalt die' 7vers4 #g-aa74 ,the law then1 it is quite plain1 is the expression of the will of ,god4 ,and the particular commandment is holy and righteous and good4 ,is the good then my poison8 ,no4 ,but what has happened is this--the expression of the good in the law has brought the tyranny of sin out into the light4 ,it had me in its power before1 but ,i did not know it and ,i did not struggle4 ,but as soon as the law aroused in me the beginning of moral consciousness1 sin used the commandment as its knife to kill me2 and so showed its hideous character--which indeed it was the divine intention to uncloak by means of the law 7#ab-ac74 ,for this it is that we must recognize as the true state of the case4 ,on the one hand a spiritual law proclaimed over me4 ,on the other hand a man who in virtue of my fleshly nature have been sold to be a slave of sin1 and who as a slave #bdh find myself doing acts by force of circumstances1 the true nature of which ,i do not understand1 and which1 so far from choosing1 ,i hate 7vers4 #ad1 #ae74 ,for ,i am not only of this fleshly nature2 ,i have also a conscience which responds to the claim of the law and recognizes it as right4 ,but my wish to obey the law is not strong enough to carry my flesh with it4 ,thus my actual practice is in flat contradiction to the ideal of my choice4 ,but henceforth my will is on the side of the law1 and myself is in my will#a4 ,what runs so uncontrollably to evil is1 it appears1 not myself at all1 but the alien tyranny of sin which has taken possession of me and made my flesh its haunt and instrument--the haunt and instrument of evil only and not of good4 ,so ,i can only wish good and practise evil1 and become more and more conscious that ,i am not my own master4 ,the law of ,god1 accepted by my will1 becomes the law of my mind or inner being2 but when ,i seek to impose it on my limbs and act accordingly1 ,i find another law--the law of the tyrant ,sin--holding sway in my lower nature2 my authority is defied and #bdi ,i myself am dragged in humiliating captivity to sin in my lower nature 7vers4 #af-bc74 ,my body has become the death of my spirit4 ,it is my prison-house4 ,i cry out in my misery for deliverance4 ,and it is this deliverance which ,i praise ,god for having given me through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 7,by union with ,him my higher self is reinforced1 and ,i can control my lower nature and become my own master47 ,but in my isolated1 unassisted self1 the best that ,i can get to is a flat contradiction between the service of the law of ,god in my mind and the service of sin in my flesh 7vers4 #bd1 #be74 ,what shall we say then8 ,is the law sin8 ,god forbid4 ,howbeit1 ,i had not known sin1 except through the law3 for ,i had not known coveting1 except the law had said1 ,thou shall not covet3 but sin1 finding occasion1 wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting3 for apart from the law sin is dead4 ,and ,i was alive apart from the law once3 but when the commandment came1 sin revived1 and ,i died2 and the commandment1 which was unto life1 this ,i found to be unto death3 for sin1 finding occasion1 through the commandment beguiled me1 and through it slew me4 ,so that the law is holy1 and the commandment holy1 and righteous1 and good4 ,did then that which is good become death unto me8 ,god forbid4 ,but sin1 that it might be shewn to be sin1 by working death to me through that which is good2--that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful4 ,for we know that the law is spiritual3 but ,i am carnal1 #bej sold under sin4 ,for that which ,i do ,i know not3 for not what ,i would1 that do ,i practise2 but what ,i hate1 that ,i do4 ,but if what ,i would not1 that ,i do1 ,i consent unto the law that it is good4 ,so now it is no more ,i that do it1 but sin which dwelleth in me4 ,for ,i know that in me1 that is1 in my flesh1 dwelleth no good thing3 for to will is present with me1 but to do that which is good is not4 ,for the good which ,i would ,i do not3 but the evil which ,i would not1 that ,i practise4 ,but if what ,i would not1 that ,i do1 it is no more ,i that do it1 but sin which dwelleth in me4 ,i find then the law#b1 that1 to me who would do good1 evil is present4 ,for ,i delight in the law of ,god after the inward man3 but ,i see a different law in my members1 warring against the law of my mind1 and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members4 ,o wretched man that ,i am6 who shall deliver me out of the body of this death8 ,i thank ,god through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,so then ,i myself with the mind serve the law of ,god2 but with the flesh the law of sin4 i4 ,st4 ,paul1 as has been said1 is constantly in his epistles of this period stating briefly or alluding to the failure of 'the law' to supply man with the moral strength needed to live a good life at peace with ,god4 ,thus3 ',the power of sin is the law4' ',as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse4' ',the letter 7the written law7 killeth4' ',through the law cometh the #bea knowledge of sin4' ',the law worketh wrath4' ',the law came in beside1 that the trespass might abound#c4' ,the first of these sayings1 occurring as it does altogether out of apparent connexion with the context1 shows us as clearly as anything could how full of the idea his mind was4 ,but only here1 in this chapter1 does he open his heart to us to show us the experience on which such a strange and original conclusion was based4 ,we can imagine a youth of intensely susceptible moral and religious nature like ,saul of ,tarsus passing out of the home of his boyhood into the school of ,gamaliel in ,jerusalem4 ,the one subject of instruction there was 'the law'--the divine law which was the pride of ,israel's race--in all the grand severity of its moral requirement and in all the complexity of its ritual regulations4 ,it was the one topic4 ,and all about him he saw the ,pharisees building up the fabric of a meritorious life before ,god out of their observances4 ,now1 no doubt the most easily self-satisfied ,pharisees made much of the principle of compensation--that 'obedience to certain laws' 7e4g4 the law of the sabbath or 'the law of fringes'7 'was as good as obedience to the #beb whole#d4' ,the ,pharisee of our ,lord's parable who went up to the temple to pray1 satisfied himself because he observed certain practices beyond the requirements of the law4 ,our ,lord bears witness that the ,scribes and ,pharisees paid tithe of mint and anise and cummin--traditional extensions of the law--and omitted the weightier matters1 judgement1 mercy1 and faith1 yet were righteous in their own eyes4 ,on the other hand1 the maxim of ,st4 ,james1 ',whosoever shall keep the whole law1 and yet stumble in one point1 he is become guilty of all1' was a commonplace of the ,jewish schools4 ,there can be no doubt that it must have been the severer teaching that fastened upon young ,saul's mind4 ,he acknowledged himself a 'debtor to keep the whole law#e4' ,and in ritual detail1 though no doubt the effort required was immense1 he managed to be 'blameless#f4' ,but in the weightier and deeper matters it was not so4 ,the moral law1 enforced and commented upon1 continually confronting him with its ',thou shalt not1' brought to light in him the fact of sin--in desire1 we should gather1 rather than in act or word4 ,the law said ',thou shalt not covet' 7or #bec lust74 ,and ,saul said1 ',but ,i do lust after this and that and the other4 ,my heart and my desires are not in harmony with the law4 ,nay1 the very fact that the law prohibits it seems to make my wrong desire stronger4' ,so the whole ,pharisaic idea of a moral life--the standing over against ,god and building up a fabric of merits--seemed to be unsatisfactory4 ,the fabric in his own case was full of internal rottenness4 ,it would not bear severe examination4 ,moreover he could not but observe the lives of those around him who were so well satisfied with their moral edifices1 and he recognized that their satisfaction was due to nothing but hypocrisy or shallowness4 ,as he went later to ,jewish settlements in various centres1 he saw always the picture of a life fair in its own eyes and rotten in fact4 ,his general experience of ,jewish life is summed up strongly enough in the second chapter of this epistle4 ,thus he drew the conclusion that the law could not be really kept--it was only possible to keep it by means of evasions and compensations which made it worse than useless4 ,meanwhile there was forming itself in ,saul's mind the conviction that the whole attitude of the ,pharisees towards ,god was false4 ,they lived as if ,god had made a contract or covenant with #bed them1 and within the terms of this covenant man could deal with ,god on an independent basis4 ,god must keep to ,his covenant and not augment it or change it4 ,and on their side the people of ,god under the covenant had nothing to do but to keep their part of the bargain and claim their reward with a conscious and proper pride in the merits of their race and of themselves4 ,this was exactly the spirit in which they rejected ,jesus as the ,christ1 as it was also exactly this spirit which ,he had chosen for ,his sternest denunciations4 ,but all this idea of merits1 all this boasting1 must have come to seem to ,saul's mind monstrously untrue to the real fundamental relation of man to ,god4 ,for who maketh thee to differ8 and what hast thou1 ,o ,jew1 that thou didst not receive8 ,and if thou didst receive it1 why dost thou boast thyself as if thou hadst not received it8 ,thus ,st4 ,paul's training must not only have made him feel that he could not satisfy himself in keeping the whole law2 but it must also have convinced him that law itself as a principle1 law as understood and represented among the orthodox ,jews1 was fundamentally and permanently incompatible with the real relation of man to ,god4 ,there were many elements in the ,old ,testament1 #bee notably in the ,psalms1 in which a quite different relation of man to ,god was indicated--a relation of meek trust as of a son to a father1 and of penitence and dependence and peace4 ,but in the teaching ,st4 ,paul had received1 the law1 the legal covenant of man and ,god1 which suggested a quite different moral attitude1 was the essential element2 and that1 we must suppose1 he felt increasingly sure was a foundation on which he could not stand4 ,no doubt these deep questionings about the law1 and the growing misery accompanying them1 made him at first all the more zealous for it4 ,no doubt they explain his fanaticism against the ,christians4 ,no doubt his 'kicking against the goad' represents the rebellion of his heart against anything which seemed to threaten the position of the law of his fathers1 and especially against the utter upheaval of foundations involved in accepting for ,christ ,him whom the leaders of his people had rejected and caused to be crucified4 ,but when he had effected the great transition1 when he had found in ,jesus ,christ all that satisfied his deepest instincts about ,god and his deepest desires for union with ,him1 his old experience of the law took shape in a profound theory of its place in the divine #bef education of the human race4 ,ultimately man is meant to be in such close and harmonious relations to the divine ,spirit that he should both know what is right and do it by an inner light and power4 ,but an outward written law was a necessary prelude to this2 and that in the main because sin--individual sins and the long tradition of sin--had hardened men's consciences and blinded their eyes1 and the divine law as proclaimed through the conscience had become in consequence either utterly inadequate or had even been silenced altogether4 ,a written law therefore1 peremptory and explicit1 and announcing its sanction in definite penalties1 was needed to teach men anew what ,god really required4 ,it was given in such a mode as threw men on their own independent moral strength1 and by that very fact convinced the best among them of their inward weakness and sin2 while to many more it appeared rather as involving an impossible effort--as 'a yoke which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear4' ,in either case it was their 'tutor to bring them to ,christ'--with ,his teaching of ,god1 not as a taskmaster1 but as a ,father1 righteous indeed1 but still more loving4 ,and if there were others again1 shallow or worthless men1 whom the law simply hardened #beg in the superficial self-righteousness of mere 'observances1' or the worst sort of religious hypocrisy1 that was only another way of demonstrating its inadequacy4 ,it left the world to choose between the ,pharisees and ,christ as representing real righteousness4 ,this 'doctrine of the law' involves both its necessary function and its failure4 ,there can be indeed to no thoughtful mind any doubt as to its necessary function4 ,conscience1 individual and social1 is continually going to sleep4 ,it may be taken quite for certain that if ,christ were amongst us in manifest power by ,his ,spirit to-day--as ,he ought to be in the ,church--our society as a whole would be smitten anew with a sense of sin1 and not least of social sin#g4 ,our familiar excuses for our selfish indulgence of our lusts1 for our weak surrenders to passion and impulse1 for our commercial dishonesties1 for our failures to carry righteousness into politics1 for our social injustices1 for our selfishness and #beh luxury1 for our scamped and half-hearted work--the familiar pleas of commercial or physical necessity1 or political exigencies1 or lack of knowledge1 or absence of responsibility1 or the influence of heredity--would dry up and wither on our lips under the powerful glare of the divine 'letter'--,thou shalt1 ,thou shalt not4 ,god hath not 'given any man license to sin1' ,he hath given no man exemption from the trouble or the suffering or the loss involved in doing right4 ,the obligation is peremptory to be just1 to be merciful1 to be honest1 to be self-denying1 to be pure4 ,and if we do not care to take the trouble to be so1 the only alternative is to have ,christ for our adversary1 and find at last the horrible depth of meaning which ,his words contain--',thus and thus have ye made void the word of ,god by your tradition4' ',inasmuch as ye did it not1 depart1 ye cursed1 into eternal fire6' ',it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of ,god maimed or halt or with one eye1 rather than having two hands or feet or eyes to be cast into hell1 where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched4' ,these and the like words are metaphorical--but metaphors which are intended to teach the heart only the more vividly because they are metaphorical4 #bei ,indeed1 in each age1 and therefore in ours1 most fertile of excuses1 we need the letter to kill us2 the stern1 outward1 unmistakable announcement of ,god's will to assure us that ,god does not change with our whims or feelings1 and cannot accommodate ,himself to immoral necessities4 ,in each age1 and therefore in ours1 most capable of moral self-deception1 we need continual and forcible reminders that a quiet conscience is no adequate guarantee of agreement with ,god1 unless we have taken pains to keep our conscience enlightened by meditating on the divine word4 ,and if ,st4 ,paul's account of the function of 'the law' is true1 so also is his account of its necessary failure4 ,it is obviously true if you confine 'the law' to meaning what in the tradition of the ,pharisees it had come to mean1 or what in his ideal way of thinking ,st4 ,paul defined it to mean--that is1 not the whole ,old ,testament with its anticipations in prophecy and psalm of the temper of sonship and its evangelical forecasts of the new covenant1 but bare precept1 expressing externally and unmistakably the will of ,god4 ,mere law1 instructing men truly and searchingly as to ,god's requirement in thought as well as word and deed1 instructing #bfj men and challenging them1 and doing nothing more1 is so manifestly incomplete an expression of ,god's relation to man1 quite apart from all question of its ritual elements1 that it can in the nature of things serve only a temporary purpose in the conscience1 by leading us to a truer knowledge of ,him who terrifies indeed1 but only in order to reassure1 and kills but only in order to raise to life again4 ii4 ,at this point it is necessary to answer the two much-disputed questions--and it is possible to do it briefly--,is ,st4 ,paul1 in giving this summary of moral experience1 speaking 'of himself or of some other man'8 and--,is the struggle described in verses #ad-bd to be regarded as occurring without or within the frontiers of the regenerate state8 ,there is no doubt that ,st4 ,paul must be in part really describing an experience through which he passed4 ,he was really1 we may imagine1 'alive without the law once' in the sense that he was brought up a happy ,jewish child1 under the law but not deeply feeling the terror of its claims1 until he was growing towards #bfa the 'independent' period of life and found himself confronted with its requirements in detail4 ,there need be no doubt that he is speaking of some experience of his own when he alludes1 here as elsewhere1 to the deceitfulness of sin2 and when he describes the two stages of moral progress--the first1 in which the conscience of the man is awakened to recognize that his habitual practice is not in any full sense controlled by his reason and will2 and the second1 in which the will is deliberately enlisted on the side of good1 and the man only made thereby the more conscious that his will is in no real control of his actions1 but that he is the captive of the alien power of sin4 ,in some sense1 though ,st4 ,paul does not give us the materials for saying exactly in what sense1 he must have passed through these stages of experience4 ,he must have really felt himself the slave of sin1 though the sin was of a sort which left him1 'as touching the righteousness which is in the law1 blameless4' ,he must have felt that he could not do what he ought2 and the bitterness of his persecuting zeal may have been in part the reflection of this sense of impotence4 ,and so far as ,st4 ,paul is speaking of himself1 there can be no shadow of doubt that the state #bfb of conflict lay almost wholly outside his conversion and regeneration4 ,it was 'prevenient grace'--,god's dealing with him before he acknowledged ,christ--that set his will so strongly to desire and approve the right2 and his new personal faith in ,jesus1 and the might of the ,spirit of ,jesus to whom he became united1 gave him the power to do what he had so long and so ineffectually been willing4 ,this was his experience1 and he bears witness to it4 ,even though he would have made no claim to sinlessness after his conversion1 yet the sense of sin which possessed him so strongly1 which made him call himself 'not worthy to be called an apostle1' 'less than the least of all saints1' and 'chief of sinners1' was in the main a memory of what was past4 ,the present sense was the consciousness of power in ,christ4 ,it is inconceivable that ,st4 ,paul should describe himself1 while a ,christian1 as 'sold under sin4' ,and it was an idea of human corruption quite different from ,st4 ,paul's which prevented ,augustine and ,calvin from recognizing that either a pious ,jew1 or a ,gentile which had not the law1 could be moved by the divine ,spirit to 'rejoice in the law of ,god after the inner man' 7ver4 #bb71 quite independently of any knowledge of ,christ4 #bfc ,but if ,st4 ,paul is in a real measure autobiographical in this passage1 there is no reasonable doubt that he is not merely so4 ,he has generalized his experiences to represent the moral experiences of the race4 ,the ',i' is the human individual in general4 ,thus 'alive without the law1' if it can in a certain sense describe what ,st4 ,paul had once been1 describes much better the state of men--,greeks and ,romans1 or men all the world over 'before the law came'--who had an easy social standard and lived natural lives without any troublesome moral ideals1 and were wholly unvisited by conscientious scruples or the terrors of the divine holiness4 ,upon such men comes the severer knowledge of the righteousness of ,god through the teaching of some prophet or founder of religion4 ,it may come to men collectively in a nation or group1 and result in some general movement of conscience4 ,or it may come to an individual through some circumstance which confronts him with a higher moral claim than he has ever faced before--through the example of a friend1 through a book or a sermon4 ,to many in ,st4 ,paul's day the synagogues1 where ',moses had in every city them that preached him1' had been the means of their awakening to the moral #bfd claim of ,god4 ,and whenever men are thus confronted with the divine law of righteousness1 in a more or less perfect form and with more or less of impressiveness laying its prohibitions upon them--',thou shalt not do this or that'--if they do not harden their hearts to it1 they pass through the stages of experience which ,st4 ,paul has so admirably idealized4 ,there is that in them which the prohibitions of the divine law stimulates into antagonism4 ,they become conscious of a power which beguiles or cheats them into breaking the law2 they awake to the sense of sin and failure to do ,god's will1 and find that they are not their own masters1 but are drifting under the impulse of what is not themselves4 ,there awakens in them the conscience and will to approve and choose what is right1 and with that a 'self-contempt bitterer to drink than blood1' as they realize that though they approve and choose the right they cannot do it4 ,thus the conviction is strengthened that their true selves are on the side of ,god and right1 and that which holds them captive is an alien tyranny which has got its lodgement in their lower nature4 ,this is the psychological moment for the arrival of the gospel4 ,the man who simply #bfe desires the right and is paralyzed by his own impotence to realize it in his own strength1 out of the depth of his despair learns that ,god is not a taskmaster and judge1 but a ,father2 that ,he is not his adversary1 but is on his side2 that if he will simply surrender himself to the divine love1 as it is made evident in ,christ1 all his past failures and sins are as if they had never been1 and for the future ,god will not teach him from outside and leave him to struggle alone1 but will work in him to will and to do ,his good pleasure4 ,then the sense of moral impotence may pass into the sense of power in ,christ4 ,and in proportion as any man's actual life-history1 or the history of any group of men1 corresponds to this ideal sketch1 the period of moral struggle and failure may fall in the main outside the regeneration and new life in ,christ4 ,but1 almost from the beginnings of ,christianity1 and increasingly as ,christianity has become popular1 men have been 'christened' in infancy or in mature life without the moral issue having been defined or the moral will awakened4 ,an ordinary ,englishman1 for example1 is baptized in infancy4 ,this means that he is actually regenerate and introduced into #bff the body of ,christ4 ,in rare cases he is so brought up as to realize this1 and corresponds so willingly with the teaching that he lives the life of the regenerate from the first1 and never1 except in a very refined form1 knows the sense of impotence or passes through the period of hopeless struggle4 ,he has never found ,god's commandments grievous4 ,but in most cases there is no such pains taken to enlighten the young conscience1 or no such readiness of correspondence4 ,the man lives as his surroundings suggest--a decent enough life1 very likely1 and more or less honourable1 but never in face of the full divine law4 ,and such an one is 'alive without the law4' ,for him all the experiences ,st4 ,paul describes are still to come1 inside the circle of his actual regeneration4 ,and they may be very gradual and slow1 and may repeat themselves1 more or less1 innumerable times4 ,st4 ,paul's is an ideal picture2 but the intended issue is always the same4 ,when we find ourselves saying1 ',to will is present with me1 but to do that which is good is not1' we may be quite certain that we are not realizing the power of our new birth4 ,we are as men whom ,god has as yet only externally visited4 ,we are conscious of our own weakness and of the #bfg strength of evil2 but not of the third force1 stronger than either ourselves or the power of evil1 which is at our disposal if we will draw upon it4 ,what is needed is a deliberate and whole-hearted realization that we are in ,christ and ,christ is in us by ,his ,spirit2 an unconditional surrender of faith to ,him3 a practice1 which grows more natural by exercise1 of remembering and deliberately drawing by faith upon ,his strength in the moments of temptation and not merely upon our own resources4 ',in the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth ,i will do thus and thus4' ,so we too may form like ,st4 ,paul the habit of victory4 ,we too may cry in sober earnest ',it is no longer ,i that live 7in my naked self71 but ,christ that liveth in me4' ',i thank ,god through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4' ,when that sense of struggle or failure which ,st4 ,paul describes occurs1 as is generally the case with us traditional ,christians1 in the process of our awakening to the knowledge of the new birth1 we may in a sense say that the struggle is part of the process of regeneration#h2 but the word 'regeneration' best describes1 not a process1 but a single divine act upon us and in #bfh us#i1 and this single divine act is consistently identified in the ,new ,testament with our baptism1 though it is only realized by our moral conversion when we awake to claim the privileges of our new life4 iii4 ,there are two smaller points which claim notice4 ,we are reminded by the way in which ,st4 ,paul speaks of sin1 in this and other passages--as a force or power greater than the individual man1 which possesses him and dominates him through his lower nature--and especially by the consciousness which he betrays of its 'beguiling' power1 that he believed in personal agencies of evil4 ',our wrestling is not against flesh and blood 7merely71 but against the principalities1 against the powers1 against the world-rulers of this darkness1 against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places#aj4' ,particularly it is in the deceitfulness of sin that ,st4 ,paul realizes what one must call the personal character of the evil power#aa4 ,he is profoundly conscious that #bfi there makes itself heard in temptation a voice as of a person which lies to us1 as it lied to ,eve1 as to the true character of the suggested action2 and when we have been deceived and seduced1 and have done the deed1 and its real character has become apparent1 'the tempter' turns round upon us with the grin of unmasked malevolence4 ,is there any one who can really dissociate from his own spiritual experience this idea of the tempter and the deceiver8 ,we do well to remember in reading this passage the meaning of the recurring word 'law4' ,in modern ,english it has come to mean the principle or method observable in anything4 ,such and such a thing1 we say1 exhibits such and such a law1 i4e4 acts constantly in such and such a way4 ,it is natural therefore for us to read this meaning into the word in verse #ba1 as in the ,authorized ,version1 ',i find then a law1 that1 when ,i would do good1 evil is present with me1' i4e4 ,i find that this is what constantly happens4 ,but the ,greek word1 as used in the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 does not bear any meaning like this#ab4 ,it means always the #bgj injunction or set of injunctions imposed by a law-giver4 ,in this passage it is used seven times of the divine 7,mosaic7 law4 ,when the will accepts this law and would impose it on the lower nature1 it becomes 'the law of the mind1' i4e4 the law which the mind enjoins 7verse #bc74 ,with this conflicts 'the law of sin1' 'the different law1' which sin or the evil one would impose and which has gained actual sway 'in our members4' ,we must then interpret verse #ba in harmony with this use1 and taking the sentence to be a broken one1 translate1 as the margin of the ,revised ,version1 ',i find then1 in regard of the law1 that1 to me who would do good1 evil is present4' #a ',i was myself in both flesh and spirit1 but more myself in what ,i approved than in what ,i disapproved4'--,augustine1 ,confessions1 viii4 #e4 #b ,rather1 as margin1 ',i find then in regard of the law'3 see below1 p4 #bfi4 #c ,cf4 #a ,cor4 xv4 #ef2 ,gal4 iii4 #aj2 #b ,cor4 iii4 #f2 ,rom4 iii4 #bj2 iv4 #ae2 v4 #bj4 #d ,see ,j4 ,b4 ,mayor in ,the ,epistle of ,st4 ,james 7ii4 #aj71 p4 #hf4 #e ,gal4 v4 #c4 #f ,phil4 iii4 #f4 #g ,it is disappointing1 ,i think1 that the grave appeal to the ,church as regards social duty1 made by the bishops assembled at ,lambeth last year in commending to the notice of us all the report of their ,committee on ,industrial ,problems1 has received such scant attention1 except from a certain group of ,churchmen who were already occupied with the problem4 ,it might have been expected that this solemn appeal would have vastly widened the area of attention4 #h ',inter regenerandum4' ,st4 ,john will not speak of a wilful sinner as truly 'begotten of ,god1' #a ,john iii4 #i2 v4 #ah1 c4 #i ,see ,dale1 quoted in ,ephesians1 p4 #hf4 #aj ,eph4 vi4 #ab4 #aa ,cf4 #b ,thess4 ii4 #i-aa3 ',the working of ,satan with all 444 deceit of unrighteousness 444 a working of error1 that they should believe a lie4' #b ,cor4 xi4 #ad3 ',satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light4' #a ,tim4 ii4 #ad3 ',the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression4' ,cf4 ,heb4 iii4 #ac3 ',the deceitfulness of sin4' #ab ,it never appears to be used1 as in classical ,greek1 for 'custom1' either in ,,lxx or ,n4,t4 #bga ,,division ,,iii4 #g4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 #a-aa4 ,life in the ,spirit4 ,if we were to represent the ,epistle to the ,romans as a bas relief1 there would be two passages which would have to stand in the highest relief--the end of the third chapter1 in which ,st4 ,paul speaks of that free justification which is given to all men on the equal basis of faith in ,christ the propitiation for their sins2 and this eighth chapter1 in which he speaks of the triumph which belongs to the life of the justified1 lived in the power of ,christ's ,spirit4 ,the note of this chapter is struck in the words 'no condemnation' at the beginning--',there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in ,christ ,jesus4' ,st4 ,paul knew so well what it was to be conscious of being under condemnation4 ,he had never been what we should call a sinner4 ,he had always been a man who1 according to the standards of the #bgb ,pharisaic righteousness1 was pre-eminently righteous2 he had always been a man who did much for religion4 ,but he had known1 in a form in which it is known to very few of us1 what it was to be conscious of being under ,god's condemnation4 ,god had been to him as a taskmaster over against him1 breaking in upon his life with continual and searching warnings as to the divine requirements1 with continual threatenings and continual terrors2 and he had been as one standing over against ,god with the consciousness that1 do as he might1 he could never satisfy1 or climb up to the level of1 the requirements of the righteous ,god4 ,there was always the haunting sense that he fell short--always the haunting sense that he was on his trial1 and on that trial was condemned4 ,but now all had been changed2 and that by a process which in a certain sense was as simple as possible1 but than which nothing could be more fundamental and deep4 ,all was changed because the relation had begun at the other end4 ,no longer was there a climbing up of man to ,god1 no longer the effort of a ,saul to commend himself to ,god4 ,the relationship had begun at the other end1 at ,god's end4 ,or rather1 what had begun was the realization on the man's #bgc part of the true order4 ,for ,god had been beforehand with ,saul all along4 ,all the time that he was striving1 working1 slaving to commend himself to a ,god whose righteousness he could never attain to1 ,god was waiting there for him to find out his mistake--waiting to reveal ,himself as no hard taskmaster1 but as the ,creator1 the ,father of his spirit4 ,the process had now begun anew from the other side4 ,god had simply of ,his own pure initiative manifested ,his love4 ,he had sent ,his ,son out of ,his own essential being into this world as it was1 not asking whether it was a fit world for the ,son to enter into2 but taking it simply as it was1 because it appealed to the divine compassion by the very multitude of its sins and the very vastness of its need1 ,god had sent forth ,his only begotten ,son out of the bosom of ,his love and of ,his pure initiative2 had sent ,him to take this nature of ours upon ,him1 in it to make atonement for us with ,god1 and in it1 raised from death and glorified1 to be the source of a new and spiritual life1 such as should triumph over sin in all who will believe in ,him4 ,that is the great point4 ,it was all purely ,god's doing3 a pure disclosure and act of ,god1 who showed ,himself ready to take #bgd men as they were1 to forgive them and entrust them with the divine ,spirit1 if they would only trust ,him4 ,god is no longer the taskmaster over against men1 with ,his threats and ,his terrors4 ,he is the ,father who has given ,his ,son1 who has given men a sacrifice whereby ,he can forgive their sins1 and has given them the ,spirit of ,his ,son into their hearts4 ,god is on their side1 and they are on ,god's side4 ,that is the great change4 ,and the object of it all is that what formerly seemed so unattainable might now be the very thing that proved itself practicable--to live according to ,god2 that the requirement of the law might be no longer an impossible claim over us1 terrorizing us with its perpetual threats1 but that by the power of the new life in which we live1 'the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us1 who walk not after the flesh1 but after the spirit4' ,the following is a paraphrase of the passage we are now to study3-- ,the result then of all that has been said is that the divine verdict of guilty1 which went forth over men on account of their sins--that 'disclosure of divine wrath' which ,st4 ,paul had so profoundly felt and interpreted--hangs no longer over those who have passed into the new #bge life in ,christ ,jesus4 ,in the old life1 sin with its attendant death held sway over us and gave the law to our actions4 ,but we were freed from that despotism in passing under a new and stronger authority4 ,it is the divine ,spirit1 by whom we have been brought into the life in ,christ1 who now controls us4 ,of old the ,mosaic law was powerless to help us4 ,it could inform us of ,god's will1 but it could not enable our poor weak human nature to keep ,his requirements4 ,but ,god has provided an effective remedy for this state of things4 ,he has sent ,his own ,son to take our nature upon ,him1 and come in among our sinful race without any apparent difference between us and ,him4 ,he put ,him simply among us and in our position1 to be the sacrifice for sin2 and thereby did for us what we had so failed to do for ourselves--passed effective sentence of condemnation on sin1 and that in our own nature4 ,do we ask how sin was condemned8 ,the answer is1 it stood condemned by the perfect sacrifice of reparation for sin1 which the sinless ,man made to the divine character on our behalf1 when at the requirement of obedience ,he shed ,his blood4 ,it stood condemned1 still more fully1 by the fact that ,god raised ,him from the dead and exalted #bgf ,him far beyond the reach of sin1 to the glory of ,his right hand1 and made ,him the head of a redeemed manhood1 and poured forth ,his ,spirit to be the new life of all that believe in ,him#a4 ,and the object of this mission of the ,son1 and this judgement on sin in ,his person1 was the creation of that new humanity to which we belong1 which lives not under the control of human appetite1 but under the control of ,spirit3 and because it so lives1 in the life of ,another1 succeeds in the one point where man had hitherto failed1 in keeping the righteous requirements of the divine law4 ,our new way of life1 therefore1 is contrasted with the old in its whole tone4 ,for just as1 if we live in fact under the control of our weak manhood with its wants and appetites1 our mind and conscious aim is directed to minister to its purposes1 so in the same way if our life is in fact controlled by ,spirit1 our conscious aim also is directed to spiritual purposes4 ,and the two lives are contrasted no less markedly in their prospects4 #bgg ,the mind controlled by human appetites is under the doom of death1 temporal and eternal4 ,the mind controlled by the ,spirit is in a state of life1 so far as concerns itself1 and of peace towards ,god4 ,the mind controlled by human appetites is under the doom of death because it is at war with ,god4 ,it does not1 it cannot1 keep ,his commandments4 ,those therefore who so live in their own strength merely1 cannot please ,him4 ,but that is not now our state4 ,we now live in the power of ,spirit1 since the ,spirit of ,god and ,christ--that is1 ,christ ,himself--dwells in us4 ,to have ,him is the very meaning of being a ,christian4 ,not to have ,christ's ,spirit1 that is ,himself1 dwelling in us1 is not to belong to ,him4 ,but if ,he does dwell in us1 then1 though the body must still pay the debt of death1 because of sin to which it has belonged--nay though it is already as good as dead--yet the ,spirit within us is a superior principle of life1 because of the divine righteousness which it bestows upon us4 ,and this life shall triumph over death in our case1 as in ,christ's4 ,for ,god1 who raised up ,christ from the dead1 shall also by the working of the divine ,spirit which dwells in us1 give life again even to our bodies1 though now they are subject to death4 #bgh ,there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in ,christ ,jesus4 ,for the law of the ,spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death4 ,for what the law could not do1 in that it was weak through the flesh1 ,god1 sending his own ,son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin1 condemned sin in the flesh3 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us1 who walk not after the flesh1 but after the spirit4 ,for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh2 but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit4 ,for the mind of the flesh is death2 but the mind of the spirit is life and peace3 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against ,god2 for it is not subject to the law of ,god1 neither indeed can it be3 and they that are in the flesh cannot please ,god4 ,but ye are not in the flesh1 but in the spirit1 if so be that the ,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you4 ,but if any man hath not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his4 ,and if ,christ is in you1 the body is dead because of sin2 but the spirit is life because of righteousness4 ,but if the ,spirit of him that raised up ,jesus from the dead dwelleth in you1 he that raised up ,christ ,jesus from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies through his ,spirit that dwelleth in you4 #a4 ,st4 ,paul declares that the ,father sent ,his own ,son to redeem us in 'the likeness of the flesh of sin4' ,the word 'likeness' is the same as that used in the similar passage#b1 where we are told that the eternal ,son in love for us 'emptied ,himself' so far as to take the 'form1' #bgi or essential characteristics1 of our servile human nature2 nor only its essential characteristics1 but also the outward conditions or 'likeness' of common men as they are4 ,the point is that ,christ1 who ,himself as man 'knew no sin#c1' appeared amongst us under all the circumstances of sin1 and with no outward or apparent difference between us and ,him--'in all points like as we are' with the single exception of sin in the will or in the nature4 #b4 ,in verse #c the ,authorized ,version1 and the margin of the ,revised1 translating the ,greek literally1 give us1 ',god sending ,his own ,son 444 for sin4' ,but the phrase 'for sin' is continually used in the ,greek of the ,old ,testament for the sin-offering1 and in the ,new ,testament always has the sacrificial meaning attached to it#d2 and accordingly its meaning here must be so defined4 #c4 ,the flesh of man1 considered as a material thing1 is not evil4 ,it was that which the ,son took1 and it was 'in the flesh' so assumed that ,he pronounced sentence on sin--in that very flesh which was sin's domain2 as1 in the ,epistle #bhj to the ,ephesians#e4 ,he is said to have 'abolished the enmity in his flesh4' ,the flesh as such then is not evil2 but when1 as in our fallen state1 the proper order of our complex manhood has been reversed1 and the flesh has become the predominant partner1 having the mastery of the spirit1 then it becomes a 'flesh of sin4' ,to live 'in the flesh1' or 'according to the flesh1' is to let the flesh have its way and be the master instead of the slave4 ,then the whole life becomes carnal--a carrying out 'the works of the flesh'--and even the rational faculty becomes a 'carnal mind4' ,what our redemption effects is to restore the right order and make the flesh again the instrument of the spirit--of the human spirit1 that is1 empowered by the divine ,spirit1 without which it cannot hold its ground4 ,then the whole life1 with all its bodily faculties1 becomes spiritual and carries into effect 'the works of the ,spirit4' ,in the passage we have been considering1 the ,revised ,version distinguishes1 by the use of capital letters1 between the divine ,spirit#f and the human#g1 or spirit in general2 but the fact that the divine ,spirit is what liberates and restores the human spirit is so much in ,st4 ,paul's #bha mind that it seems better to make the primary reference to the divine ,spirit throughout4 ,it is of the greatest practical moment to grasp that1 to ,st4 ,paul1 the change in human life which comes about through our conversion and new birth is a change in order4 ,what was managed from below is now controlled from above4 ,that is the point on which we need to examine ourselves4 ,where do we begin from8 ,are we in the position of men struggling to manage their own lives1 and commend themselves according to some standard more or less right1 which either their personal pride or their social circle or the divine law has set up8 ,if so1 ,god is over against us1 our taskmaster1 our adversary1 our stern judge1 and our life is 'according to the flesh4' ,it is managed from below4 ,it is ruled on its own level1 and it fails4 ,but there is another life which begins at once from the thought of ,god4 ,god has made us1 and therefore ,he is responsible for us4 ,he has made me because ,he loves me4 ,therefore ,he is bound to make the best of me4 ,if ,i will only put myself into ,his hands ,he is pledged1 simply because ,he created me1 therefore to redeem me1 to save me1 to glorify me4 ,he takes that responsibility upon ,himself4 ,he has shown ,his #bhb love by the sending and the sacrifice of ,his ,son and by the gift of ,his ,spirit4 ,and ,his ,spirit ,i have received4 ,at a definite moment ,he came upon me4 ,he entered into my life1 as into those first ,christians to whom ,st4 ,paul wrote1 at baptism and by the laying-on of hands4 ,this is the fact then4 ,god is on my side4 ,he makes ,himself responsible for my being4 ,if ,i will only entrust myself to ,him with the cordial return of trustful love1 then all that ,he has ever breathed into my heart of human possibility ,he will realize and bring to perfection4 ,the requirement of the law shall be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the ,spirit4--,this is a point of view upon which it is worth while reflecting deeply1 and over and over again4 ,unless we are continually practising ourselves in this conception of life1 we find ourselves falling back again into the attitude of one standing over against ,god with ,god for his taskmaster4 ,and that is the false and always ruinous idea4 ,we must also take careful note of what ,st4 ,paul means by 'spiritual' and 'carnal4' ',carnal' does not mean made of flesh1 and 'spiritual' does not mean immaterial4 ,that is carnal which is ruled by the flesh1 ruled from #bhc below4 ,that life is carnal in which our spirit1 meant for ,god1 is dragged at the chariot-wheels of our lower life2 and that is spiritual which is ruled and mastered by the ,spirit4 ,we must not suppose that we shall make our religion spiritual by disparaging external acts or bodily exercises of worship4 ,no2 that is spiritual which is ruled by the ,spirit4 ,the worship in 'spirit and in truth1' for us men who belong to the religion of the ,incarnation1 must be a worship in body4 ,but it will be spiritual if it is full of spiritual intention4 ,secular business again is spiritual if it is ruled by the divine ,spirit according to the law of righteousness4 ,politics are spiritual1 commercial and municipal life are spiritual1 art and science are spiritual1 and everything that develops our faculties is spiritual1 if we will allow the divine ,spirit to rule in all according to the law of righteousness1 truth1 and beauty4 ,for the whole of our being1 with all its sum of faculties1 is made by ,god and meant for ,god4 ,what a mistake it is then1 when people speak1 as they so often do1 as if sin were really natural1 as if lust and worldliness were natural1 and as if spirituality were something unnatural1 belonging to another world4 ,it is exactly the opposite4 ,the only natural position for us is when our #bhd flesh is ruled by the spirit4 ,it is an unnatural usurpation when the spirit is dragged at the chariot-wheels of the flesh1 when our life is dominated by lusts or appetites4 ,that is the very overthrow of nature4 ,and grace does but restore to us the true order of our being1 when the flesh and all the faculties of our body are again controlled by the spirit1 so that our whole being expresses a spiritual purpose and obeys a spiritual law4 ,the same external acts are spiritual or carnal1 natural or unnatural1 according as they express or do not express the mind of the ,spirit4 ,the same physical facts are the basis of true married love1 and of the wildest licentiousness4 ,in the latter case they are carnal because they express no spiritual purpose2 in the other case they are spiritual because1 consecrated in the family life1 they become the organ and the vehicle of the divine ,spirit4 ,god will be responsible for our whole life1 our politics1 our commerce1 our marriage1 the workings of our intellect1 the workings of our emotions1 all the parts of our nature4 ,he will raise our nature up through death2 ,he will consecrate it to life immortal in the divine city2 ,he will sanctify it here and now3 if only1 and in all things1 we will believe that ,he who made our #bhe life is capable of making the best of it1 and show ourselves ready to entrust it to ,his disposal4 #d4 ,we must notice what is implied in this passage about the ,holy ,trinity4 ,st4 ,paul speaks#h of 'the ,spirit of ,god' 7the ,father71 'the ,spirit of ,christ1' ',christ1' and then again1 the ',spirit of ,him that raised up ,christ1' as if all these expressions were identical2 as elsewhere#i he prays that the ,father will strengthen men by ,his ,spirit1 in order that ,christ may dwell in their hearts1 and they be filled with the fullness of ,god4 ,all which language means that where the ,spirit is1 ,christ is1 and where ,christ is1 ,god the ,father is4 ,so in ,st4 ,john1 our ,lord speaks of the ,holy ,spirit as 'another' advocate who is to come 'in his name' from the ,father2 and yet adds that in the ,spirit's coming ,he ,himself will come2 and with ,him the ,father--'we will come#aj4' ,the sacred 'persons' are spoken of as distinct--personally distinct--and yet as so mutually involved in the action one of another that the coming of one is the coming of all4 ,so truly is ,god one in three4 ,we find something like this in human personalities under the influence of love4 ,each single personality is not #bhf self-contained and exclusive4 ,love1 to a real degree1 fuses persons2 and thus the husband and wife and child 7to take the highest example7 may be said to live and act in one another and through one another's influence4 ,but this is only to a limited extent4 ,we are also mutually exclusive4 ,our responsibility and actions remain individual and impermeable4 ,what ,i am doing1 ,i am doing1 and not another4 ,but with ,god the mutual interpenetration of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit1 is represented in the inspired language as far more complete4 ,the ,godhead is a fellowship and relationship of perfect love 'in three persons4' ,but ,god is not three separate individuals4 ,what each 'person' does the others do4 ,the action of one involves all4 ,god is inseparably one in ,his being and in ,his action4 ,if the ,father creates1 ,he creates through the ,son and by the ,spirit4 ,if the ,son redeems1 the redemption proceeds from the ,father and is effected in the ,spirit4 ,if the ,spirit sanctifies1 it is from and in the ,father and the ,son4 ,thus when the ,spirit came forth at ,pentecost out of the uplifted manhood of the ,son to impart to us all ,his richness1 ,he came not merely to supply ,his absence1 but to accomplish ,his presence4 ,he makes ,christ present within us1 and also the #bhg ,father3 so that ,god1 three in one1 dwells in the hearts of ,his people4 #e4 ',the requirement of the law is to be fulfilled in us4' ,do we ask how we are to keep the whole of that terrible law8 ,it is by obeying the commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves1 in which the whole law is 'briefly comprehended#aa4' #f4 ,if in the last verse of this passage we read 'through ,his ,spirit1' and not 7as the margin7 'because of ,his ,spirit1' then the ,holy ,spirit is expressly spoken of as the agent of our resurrection and1 by implication1 of the resurrection of ,christ4 ,and this is the natural function for the ',giver of ,life'3 indeed ',spirit' means nothing else than 'breath'--the 'breath of life from ,god#ab4' #a ,the passage in brackets expands the sense in which ,st4 ,paul conceives the ,father to have passed sentence of condemnation on sin1 in the person and through the sacrifice of ,christ1 in accordance with such passages as vers4 #ba-bd2 iv4 #be2 ,phil4 ii4 #h-aj2 ,eph4 i4 #ae ff4 #b ,phil4 ii4 #g4 #c #b ,cor4 v4 #ba4 #d ,see ,heb4 x4 #f1 cf4 #ah1 #bf2 xiii4 #aa2 #a ,pet4 iii4 #ah2 #a ,john ii4 #b2 iv4 #aj4 #e ii4 #ae4 #f ,verses #b1 #i1 #aa4 #g ,verses #d1 #e1 #f1 #i1 #aj4 #h ,verses #i-aa4 #i ,eph4 iii4 #ad-ai4 #aj ,john xiv4 #af1 #ah1 #bc1 #bf4 #aa ,rom4 xiii4 #i4 #ab ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #i2 ,rev4 xi4 #aa4 #bhh ,,division ,,iii4 #h4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 #ab-ag4 ,the life of sonship4 ,we are now in the ,spirit4 ,the divine ,spirit dwells within us1 and restores our nature to its proper balance by giving us control over our lower nature4 ,the moral meaning and obligations of such a condition are plain1 and ,st4 ,paul proceeds to enforce them4 ,when our impulses and appetites solicit us to let them have their own way1 we must give them to understand that they are making a claim which we cannot recognize and which1 if we did1 would lead us the way of death4 ,on the contrary1 it is these merely physical tendencies--the practices of the body when left to itself--that we must put to death by the power of the ,spirit4 ,and if we do this we are on the way of life4 ,why so certainly8 ,because we are sons of ,god--nothing less4 ,those who thus act under the ,spirit's guidance are all of them sons of ,god4 ,further1 #bhi if we ask ourselves what sort of spirit we received when we became ,christians1 we know that it was not a spirit appropriate to slaves and calculated to bring us again into a condition of terror under a law4 ,it was a spirit appropriate to those who have been adopted for sons of ,god1 and it is in the power of that spirit that we cry out to ,god by the name of ,abba1 ,father1 in our familiar supplication4 ,we have thus in our own spirits the sense that we are sons2 and behind that and reinforcing it1 the divine ,spirit1 by putting the word ,father into our lips1 bears the same witness4 ,well then1 if we are thus children of ,god1 we have the child's prospect of entering into our inheritance4 ,christ1 our elder brother1 has already entered into it1 and we shall enter into it with ,him1 if we are content to take the ,christian maxim for true1 and suffer with ,him on this side of death1 that we may share ,his glory beyond4 ,so then1 brethren1 we are debtors1 not to the flesh1 to live after the flesh3 for if ye live after the flesh1 ye must die2 but if by the spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body1 ye shall live4 ,for as many as are led by the ,spirit of ,god1 these are sons of ,god4 ,for ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear2 but ye received the spirit of adoption1 whereby we cry1 ,abba1 ,father4 ,the #bij ,spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit1 that we are children of ,god3 and if children1 then heirs2 heirs of ,god1 and joint-heirs with ,christ2 if so be that we suffer with him1 that we may be also glorified with him4 ,there are several phrases in this passage which we shall do well to notice4 #a4 ,if by the spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body1 ye shall live4 ,mortification is absolutely necessary1 and at every stage of the ,christian life4 ,it is the carrying into effect in detail of the fundamental law of our new life--the law which the baptismal ritual was intended to teach--life by means of death4 ,for the body had gained the upper hand3 it had come to control the weakened spirit4 ,therefore the reinvigorated spirit must react upon the body and its impulses4 ,it must make its government felt1 and the physical tendencies must be checked1 pruned1 cut back4 ,this is the ,christian circumcision4 ,and as ,christ was first born1 then circumcised the eighth day2 so each new birth in ,christ must be followed by a like circumcision of the luxuriance of animal appetites4 ,we learn the lesson when we are children3 we expect to be restrained and curbed3 and unless we are very foolish we learn the lesson only more deeply in later life4 ,there #bia is no single faculty or function of our being which can escape this law4 ,no friendship can be cemented without mutual self-denial4 ,no marriage1 however founded on affection1 can be blessed without the mutual pain of self-repression and concession4 ,no art or science can be mastered by mere intelligence without moral discipline4 ,no gift can be consecrated in its natural luxuriance4 ',every branch in ,christ that beareth fruit1 ,he pruneth it that it may bring forth more fruit4' #b4 ,as many as are led by the ,spirit of ,god1 these are sons of ,god4 ,the ,new ,testament language would have us regard all the baptized as regenerate and sons of ,god1 but it will not let us mistake the meaning of this teaching4 ,in any effective sense it is they1 and only they1 who are really controlled by the divine ,spirit who can call themselves sons4 ,as ,st4 ,john says1 freedom from sin is the only test of divine birth#a4 ,and the best way to make our new birth effective is to meditate on the gift which we1 when we became ,christians1 did actually receive4 ,we who1 like the first ,christians1 received baptism with the laying-on of hands1 did then and there receive 7such is the implication #bib of ,st4 ,paul's language7#b a spirit proper not to slaves but to sons of ,god1 qualifying us to call on ,god as our father1 and to co-operate in the purposes of ,his kingdom4 ,it remains for us to claim these powers and privileges of our sonship1 and to claim them to the full4 ,yet how many anxious-minded ,christians of our day would appear to have received nothing more nor less than the spirit of slaves6 ,they realize their religion as a restraint1 a responsibility1 a cause of fear4 ,and such a servile religion is no doubt better than a hypocritical sense of sonship unaccompanied by the fear of sin4 ,the wise man remarks that 'a servant that dealeth wisely shall have rule over a son that causeth shame1 and shall have part in the inheritance among the brethren#c4' ,but the spirit of the slave is not what we are called to4 ,if we had more religion1 if we would give it freer course1 if we would consent to think less of our circumstances and more of ,god and ,his gifts1 there would be less fear and more joy both in our work and our prayer4 #c4 ,abba1 ,father4 ,our ,lord1 speaking in #bic ,aramaic1 the vernacular of ,palestine1 is recorded by ,st4 ,mark in ,his hour of agony to have said ,abba4 ,and even in the ,greek-speaking churches of ,st4 ,paul's day1 that sacred word was still used side by side with its ,greek equivalent1 according to the witness of this and the parallel passage1 ,gal4 iv4 #f4 ,st4 ,paul appears to be referring to some occasion on which the ,church was in the habit of calling on ,god with the ,aramaic and ,greek words side by side1 and it is more than likely#d that he is making a definite reference to the ,lord's ,prayer1 as recited by the ,roman and ,galatian ,christians in the form prescribed for us in ,st4 ,luke's version#e1 beginning ',father4' ,the retention by ,greek ,christians of an ,aramaic word in a familiar religious formula1 is like the later retention by the ,latins of the ,greek prayer1 ,kyrie eleison1 or the retention by us of the names ,te ,deum1 ,magnificat1 c4 ,st4 ,paul's meaning would come home to us better if we were to read--'whereby we cry ,our ,father4' #d4 ',the ,spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit1 that we are children of ,god4' ,this is a very #bid important passage for showing that ,st4 ,paul did not in any way confuse the divine ,spirit and the human1 and that in his belief the divine indwelling did not in any way annihilate the human personality4 ,even in the closest union ,god remains ,god and man man4 ,but the passage is at least as important as opening up a special avenue of insight into ,st4 ,paul's conception of ,christian worship and spiritual life generally4 ,he speaks first of a witness of the individual spirits of ,christians to the fact of their divine sonship2 and he distinguishes from it something greater1 a witness of the divine ,spirit1 supporting the human4 ,what exactly does he mean by this witness of the divine ,spirit as distinct from the consciousness which--under the leading of the divine ,spirit--,christians are led themselves to form8 ,how are we to distinguish the ,spirit's witness from the witness of our own hearts inspired by ,him8 ,is it merely#f that the 'consciousness 7of the individual7 is analyzed1 and its data are referred partly to the man himself1 partly to the ,spirit of ,god moving and prompting him8' ,i do not think that a closer examination will lead us to be satisfied with this4 #bie ,the witness of the divine ,spirit is apparently fixed by the context to consist in the supply to us of the phrase ',abba1 ,father#g'4 ,it is the ,spirit 'in whom we cry' 7or1 as the passage in the ,galatians says1 'who ,himself comes into our hearts crying7 ,abba1 ,father1' who thus1 by suggesting this cry to us1 bears witness with our own spirits that we are sons of ,god4 ,thus the supporting witness of the ,spirit lies especially in a certain mode of address to ,god or formula of prayer which ,he supplies4 ,but this 'cry' or prayer the ,spirit supplies to the hearts of the ,church as a whole4 ,the whole ,church1 and not the individual soul only1 is the ,spirit's home4 ',know ye not that ye are 7corporately7 a temple of ,god1 and the ,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you'#h8 ,the witness of the ,spirit is thus a witness borne in the whole ,church1 which supports and sustains the witness of the individual soul4 ,this is a thought full of consolation4 ,the life of the individual ,christian reposes upon1 and is infolded by1 the larger life of the whole body4 ,behind his own spiritual consciousness1 with all its vicissitudes1 lies the inspired consciousness of the whole body1 the witness of the ,spirit2 and this in part expresses itself in inspired #bif formulas--the ,lord's ,prayer1 the psalms1 the creeds of the divine name1 the ,church's worship2 and these formulas1 representing our best self1 are to sustain us in our fluctuations of feeling1 and carry us over our periods of dryness and insensibility4 ',the ,spirit ,himself beareth witness with our spirit4' #e4 ',the inheritance' of the children of ,god1 which in the ,old ,testament begins by meaning the ,holy ,land1 was spiritualized into meaning the kingdom of the ,messiah4 ',they shall inherit the land for ever#i'3 'the meek shall inherit the earth#aj4' ,and this kingdom of the ,messiah is an eternal kingdom3 'they shall inherit eternal life#aa'--that is to be our inheritance as the chosen people of the ,lord4 ,and it is an inheritance not only incorruptible but inexhaustible3 all share in it to the full of their capacities1 and the abundance of those who share diminishes nothing from the richness that remains4 ,and into that inheritance ,christ is 'the way4' ,his life shows the law by which it is to be won4 ,it was a current ,christian saying--'a faithful saying'--'if we died with ,him1 we shall also live with ,him2 if we endure1 we shall also reign #big with ,him#ab4' ,and whenever we are inclined to complain at anything we may have to suffer1 there is one thought capable at once of quenching all murmuring1 because of its indisputable reasonableness--',it is enough for the disciple that he be as his ,master4' #a #a ,john iii4 #i4 #b ',ye received' 7at a particular time71 not 'ye have received'2 cf4 above1 p4 #bad1 note #a4 #c ,prov4 xvii4 #b4 #d ,see ,chase1 ,lord's ,prayer in the ,early ,church 7',texts and ,studies1' ,cambridge71 p4 #bc4 ,cf4 ,hort on #a ,pet4 i4 #ag4 #e xi4 #b4 #f ,s4 and ,h41 in loc4 #g ,cf4 ,vaughan and ,gifford1 in loc4 #h #a ,cor4 iii4 #af4 #i ,isa4 lx4 #ba4 #aj ,matt4 v4 #e4 #aa ,matt4 xix4 #bi4 #ab #b ,tim4 ii4 #aa4 #bih ,,division ,,iii4 #i4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 #ah-cj4 ,the hope of the creation4 ,st4 ,paul has touched upon the familiar topic of ,christian suffering1 and he ends his great argument with a splendid encouragement to believers to suffer gladly1 and that for a manifold reason4 ,first 7#ah-be71 that the suffering is altogether inconsiderable by comparison with the glory to which it leads1 and is in itself only a part of the universal travail-pang through which created nature as a whole is to produce a glorious new earth to be the habitation of righteousness4 ,secondly 7#bf-cj71 that we are not alone in our sufferings4 ,we have the support1 within us and around us1 of the ,holy ,spirit as our effective intercessor1 and the consciousness of an eternal and infallible purpose of divine love which is taking effect stage by stage in the case of each one of us whom ,god has made members of ,his elect body4 ,the following is a paraphrase4 #bii ,the sufferings in which this present situation involves us ,christians are quite inconsiderable by comparison with the heavenly glory which is destined to be disclosed and to include us4 ,the sense of this glorious future pervades the whole creation4 ,nature is like some on-looker at a spectacle craning the neck to see what is coming4 ,she is waiting for the final disclosure of the children of ,god in their true position2 knowing that she too--as a new heaven and a new earth--will share that glorious future4 ,at present her powers are continually frustrated2 failure is everywhere2 the law of corruption is upon her like a bondage4 ,this curse she was subjected to1 through no will of her own1 by the simple fiat of her ,creator--but not for ever3 she was left to hope for deliverance from this bondage into a state of freedom--a share1 that is1 in the freedom which is to belong to the final glory of the children of ,god4 ,with this in mind we can bear the universal spectacle of pain4 ,what we have always heard hitherto1 wherever we have lent our ear all through nature1 has been groans2 but they are the groans as of a woman in travail3 and in these groans we1 ,god's chosen people1 though we already possess the first instalment of the divine ,spirit1 #cjj the pledge of what is yet to come--in these groans we bear our part1 and also in the hope that accompanies the groaning4 ,we groan expecting to realize our sonship1 as that can only be realized when body as well as soul is redeemed from all evil4 ,hope is thus the very condition on which we received our spiritual deliverance when we became ,christ's4 ,and hope means nothing else than a condition of expecting good things not yet in sight4 ,it means the readiness to endure till they come4 ,and there is another reason why we should be glad to bear our present sufferings4 ,it is because1 though we are weak in ourselves1 we are not left alone4 ,of ourselves we should be bewildered and not know even what we ought to ask ,god to give us4 ,but we have in the ,spirit who dwells in us a divine advocate and intercessor4 ,his intercession makes itself perceptible to us in groaning desires after a better condition1 desires which cannot be put into words1 but which are intelligible enough to ,god4 ,he who searches the hearts interprets the longings we cannot express--understands1 that is1 the ,spirit's meaning2 for ,he is ,god's own ,spirit1 and the intercessions ,he makes for us1 the consecrated people1 express ,god's own #cja intention4 ,and what that intention is towards us we know4 ,we know that it is an intention of good which cannot fail for those who love ,god2 or1 in other words1 for those who are the subjects of the divine purpose and call--an intention of good to which everything1 even seeming evils1 must minister4 ,for ,god's purpose reaches from eternity to eternity1 and cannot be baffled from without or fail by the way4 ,those whom in eternity ,he designated beforehand as instruments of ,his will1 those ,he also eternally destined for the highest human perfection--for the blessed lot of being made like ,his own ,son1 as ,he should be hereafter incarnate1 so that ,he might be an elder brother in a great human family3 and those who were thus appointed beforehand for this high destiny1 in due course ,he called into the elect body4 ,and those whom ,he thus called ,he acquitted and accepted for righteous3 and whom ,he thus accepted ,he crowned with glory4 ,for ,i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward4 ,for the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of ,god4 ,for the creation was subjected to vanity1 not of its own will1 but by reason of him who subjected it1 in hope that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage #cjb of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of ,god4 ,for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now4 ,and not only so1 but ourselves also1 which have the firstfruits of the ,spirit1 even we ourselves groan within ourselves1 waiting for our adoption1 to wit1 the redemption of our body4 ,for by hope were we saved3 but hope that is seen is not hope3 for who hopeth for that which he seeth8 ,but if we hope for that which we see not1 then do we with patience wait for it4 ,and in like manner the ,spirit also helpeth our infirmity3 for we know not how to pray as we ought2 but the ,spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered2 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the ,spirit1 because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of ,god4 ,and we know that to them that love ,god all things work together for good1 even to them that are called according to his purpose4 ,for whom he foreknew1 he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his ,son1 that he might be the firstborn among many brethren3 and whom he foreordained1 them he also called3 and whom he called1 them he also justified3 and whom he justified1 them he also glorified4 i4 ,there are passages in the ,new ,testament which are unique4 ,such is the passage in ,st4 ,peter's epistle about ,christ preaching in ,his disembodied human spirit to other spirits in ,hades--a passage vaguely suggestive of wide thoughts and hopes1 and leading us to suppose #cjc that the ideas which it contained were familiar in the apostolic circle1 but standing alone1 with practically nothing to elucidate it from outside4 ,and the passage just read about the groaning of creation in travail-pains is unique1 not because there is not a good deal to elucidate it in other parts of the ,bible1 but because ,st4 ,paul in his treatment of common material strikes a note of sympathy with nature from nature's point of view1 which is heard nowhere else in the ,bible4 ,in ,genesis we read that 'the ground was cursed#a' because of man's sin1 in the sense apparently that1 as the penalty of his sin1 nature was to be made a rougher home for him1 and he was to extract his food from it only with pain and sweat4 ,isaiah is perhaps interpreting this primitive lesson in more modern tones when he cries that 'the earth is polluted under the inhabitants thereof2 because they have transgressed the laws1 changed the ordinance1 broken the ever-lasting covenant4 ,therefore hath the curse devoured the earth1 and they that dwell therein are found guilty3 therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned1 and few men left4 ,the new wine mourneth1 the vine languisheth#b4' ,in this sense certainly1 if not in some more recondite #cjd sense also1 the ground is stricken with a curse as a result of human sin4 ,and there are parts of the world where no lesson seems more patent4 ,at any rate1 whatever be the interpretation given to it1 it was part of the common ,jewish teaching that 'though all things were made very good1 yet when the first man sinned they were corrupted1 and shall return no more to their proper state until the son of ,pherez#c shall come#d4' ,for the curse was not to be for ever4 ,there was a good time to come--a new heaven1 a new earth1 wherein righteousness should dwell--',a restoration of all things1' and not merely of man#e1 which should accompany the coming of the ,messiah4 ,this was a most popular idea in ,jewish hearts4 ',i will transform the heaven and make it an eternal blessing and light4 ,and ,i will transform the earth and make it a blessing and cause mine elect ones to dwell upon it3 but the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon#f4' ,here then we have the common belief which ,st4 ,paul inherits and uses4 ,he lays indeed very little stress upon the connexion of the earth's present condition with human sin1 if he #cje even alludes to it4 ,he only says it was 'subjected to vanity' by the decree of the ,creator1 and that with a glorious prospect4 ,it is upon the present aspect of the creation and its great prospect that his eyes are set4 ,and his superiority to contemporary ,jewish thought is shown by the fact that in his vision of the future he is catholic and cosmic4 ,what he is contemplating is not a world renovated in order that one chosen race may be happy and glorious1 but a renovated world for a perfected humanity4 ,and in his representation of the present aspects of nature he strikes an extraordinarily modern note by exhibiting1 as it were unintentionally1 a deep and real sympathy with nature in her pain from her own point of view4 ,the ,psalms can supply examples of a real sympathetic fellowship in the happiness of creation--a happiness which modern pessimists strangely ignore4 ,but here we have1 as nowhere else in the ,bible--perhaps nowhere in ancient literature--a man who feels with the pain of creation#g4 ,he notes how much 'vanity' there is in nature--how much that is ineffective and disappointing1 how much waste and sadness--by reason of the omnipresent law of corruption1 #cjf dissolution and decay under which she is laid4 ,he feels this as from nature's own heart4 ,and he has an ear for the universal cry of positive pain1 pain as of a woman in travail1 which is one at least of the most unmistakeable voices of nature4 ,but he has got an explanation of this universal pain which makes it tolerable to him4 ,it is the pain which accompanies a birth4 ,the pain1 as in the case of the woman1 is to be justified by the issue4 ,nature 'eagerly expects' as well as 'groans'3 and will doubtless 'remember no more the anguish1 for joy' of that which is the fruit of her agony4 ,for there is a destiny for the whole material world which includes man4 ,as man is to be perfected and spiritualized in body no less than in mind2 so the whole man1 perfected in glory1 is to have his place in a world emancipated in like manner from failure and pain4 ,perhaps the most important consideration to be derived from this passage is that ,st4 ,paul's thought is equally alien to a one-sided spiritualism and a one-sided materialism4 ,a one-sided spiritualism1 such as is represented to-day by 7most falsely-called7 ',christian ,science1' either disbelieves in the reality of matter altogether1 or regards it with its attendant qualities of weakness and pain as evil and a thing to be ignored4 ,the religion of #cjg the ,incarnation1 on the other hand1 as represented by ,st4 ,paul1 recognizes it as ,god's creation and the temple of ,his presence4 ,in our manhood1 as scientific investigation assures us1 we can exercise no activity of spirit except as parts of a material world1 through the senses and by the instrumentality of the bodily organs4 ,spirit and matter are in us so linked together that the real difficulty to a thinking ,christian is to conceive at all of a 'disembodied' state of the personal human spirit after death which is in any sense a living state4 ,but such a 'disembodied' state--if the word really represents the truth--is unnatural and temporary4 ,the perfected human spirit is to have an embodiment which is to be material1 as being truly a body1 but also spiritual1 because it is to be the fitting organ of the perfected spirit1 in no way embarrassing or clogging its activity by any grossness or corruption4 ,this is the ,christian hope1 definite in principle1 if quite unaccompanied by any anticipated knowledge of method or details4 ,and this destiny of the human body cannot be separated from the destiny of the material universe as a whole4 ,matter as a whole is to have an unending development like spirit1 and a development with a justifying purpose of glory in it4 #cjh ,and ,st4 ,paul is equally opposed to the materialism which gives to matter a substantive existence apart from spirit4 ,metaphysical inquiry assures us that we can have no conception of a material object1 or of matter in general1 except as related to a consciousness or spirit2 or1 in other words1 except as an adjunct to some sort of personality4 ,such metaphysical inquiry did not lie in ,st4 ,paul's way4 ,but he is in harmony with its results when he contemplates a glorified nature as still relative to glorified personalities4 ,nature is to share the revelation of the glory of the sons of ,god4 ,we cannot help wondering1 as we read these verses1 whether ,st4 ,paul had in mind that occasion when1 before the chosen witnesses1 ,christ was bodily transfigured on the holy mount by an anticipation of the glory destined for ,his sonship2 and the apostles felt their hearts thereby encouraged to believe more surely in the teaching of the prophets about the general glory that was to accompany the final manifestation of the ,christ#h4 ,when ,st4 ,paul talks of nature 'groaning' and 7still more7 'eagerly expecting1' is it merely a poetical personification1 as ,chrysostom and most #cji commentators suppose1 like that of the ,psalmist when he makes 'the floods clap their hands'8 ,it may be so4 ,george ,crabbe1 in his ,delay is ,dangerous1 draws a singularly beautiful picture of a late autumn morning as it appeared to a dejected man1 and he ends the description with the lines3-- ,these things were sad in nature1 or they took ,sadness from him1 the likeness of his look4 ,is the latter the true explanation8 ,is there no sadness or eager desire in nature independently--,i will not say of spirit1 but of the human spirit8 ,it is sometimes very difficult to believe this4 ,and may not the ,christian belief about angels make the fancy legitimate1 that every created thing has some accompanying intelligence--higher or lower--which consciously realizes its beauty and its joy1 and also its pain and its hope8 ,if this be so1 then there is not merely deficiency and pain1 but the consciousness of this deficiency and pain1 a real groaning and a real expectation1 in the great fabric of nature4 ,we may legitimately imagine this2 but we have probably no right to attribute such an imperfectly-based speculation to ,st4 ,paul#i4 #caj ii4 ,it is very interesting to notice the various points of view from which ,st4 ,paul contemplates the great ideas of 'redemption1' 'adoption1' 'salvation4' ,christ redeemed us by the shedding of ,his blood1 and we entered into the redeemed state individually and were adopted as sons when we became ,christians4 ,this is1 beyond all question1 ,st4 ,paul's belief4 ,but when he contemplates the outward conditions of the redeemed man1 and finds them quite incongruous with freedom and sonship1 so wholly unashamed is he to require that these outward conditions shall be transformed1 and body as well as spirit shall be redeemed1 that he speaks as if the great hope were still unrealized and we were still only expecting to be redeemed and adopted--'waiting for our adoption1 to wit1 the redemption of our body4' ,he thus retains the intensely ,jewish language of what we may call ,christ's own ,apocalypse1 when ,he bids ,his disciples1 as the ,day of the ,lord approaches1 to 'look up and lift up their heads3 because their redemption draweth nigh4' ,the uses of the words 'saved' and 'salvation' are still more remarkable4 ,if we are #caa contemplating the finished work of ,christ1 we are led to say1 ',by grace have we been saved#aj4' ,if we are considering our own individual entrances into this great salvation at the time of our believing or becoming ,christians in baptism1 we say1 ',it was upon a basis of hope that we were saved#aa4' ,if we are considering the progressive life of the believer1 we say1 ',he is being saved#ab4' ,if we are looking to the great and final hope1 we say1 ',we shall be saved4' ',our salvation is nearer than when we became believers#ac4' ,this simple set of facts about ,new ,testament language throws a great light on the popular revivalist question--',are you saved8' iii4 ,our ,lord once asked one who came to ,him to be healed--',what wilt thou that ,i should do unto thee8' and a very devout modern writer#ad builds upon this an argument that we ought to learn continually to pray with more definiteness and detail4 ,probably it is true to say #cab that the advanced ,christian learns to pray more definitely for spiritual things1 as he grows in spiritual discernment and sees more distinctly what ,god's moral will is for himself and others4 ,but there is no similar growth to be expected in the knowledge of what outward gifts will really help or hinder us and others4 ,and it is with his eye chiefly on the outward conditions of the ,christian's life that ,st4 ,paul here says--',we know not what we should pray for as we ought'2 and teaches us that ',the ,spirit makes intercession for the saints according to ,god4' ,we must be content to recognize1 even while we half-ignorantly pray for what we think we need1 that 'all 7outward7 things work together for good to them that love ,god4' ,st4 ,paul had learnt that lesson when he himself 'besought the ,lord thrice' that his great physical trouble might be removed from him1 and was refused#ae4 ,the ,son of ,man ,himself prayed only ',father1 if it be possible1 let this cup pass from me1' and learned in experience that it was not possible4 ,these lessons may suffice to humble any one who grows over-confident that he knows what outward circumstances are best for himself or his friends or the ,church4 #cac ,we all feel deeply the imperfection of our prayers3 how weak1 how ignorant they are6 ,and ,st4 ,paul consoles us with the belief in an intercession--perfect1 all-knowing1 divine--which supports and sustains and1 we may say1 includes ours4 ,the 'intercession of the ,spirit' in our behalf1 carried on1 it is implied1 'in the hearts' of the saints which only ,god searches1 is mentioned nowhere in the ,new ,testament but here4 ,but it is not to be separated from the intercession of ,christ which is mentioned just below#af4 ,christ's intercession is 'at the right hand of ,god1' but also ,he has by the ,spirit taken us up into ,his own life4 ,he dwells in us by ,his ,spirit4 ,by ,his ,spirit we are knit into one and made ,his body4 ,doubtless1 then1 dwelling thus by the ,spirit in the body1 ,christ intercedes for us4 ,this is the intercession of the ,spirit1 which is also the intercession of ,christ--an intercession gathering up into one1 and sustaining and connecting and perfecting1 all the imperfect prayers of all the saints4 ,this interceding ,spirit is in ,himself perfectly conscious of ,god's mind and purpose1 and ,god is perfectly conscious of ,his4 ,he intercedes 'according to ,god4' ,this intercession #cad is but a form of the perfect divine life4 ,but in the heart of the ,church this desire of the ,spirit can make itself felt only in groanings for the divine manifestations which1 like the aspirations which music suggests or expresses1 are too deep to admit of articulate utterance4 ,st4 ,paul1 when he speaks of groanings which cannot be put into words1 is perhaps thinking of the 'tongues' in which the spiritual emotion of the first ,christian churches found expression4 ,and we should think of some earnest act of corporate ,christian worship when1 under the workings of the one ,spirit1 the strong desire after what is holiest and highest possesses men1 and binds them together with a sense of longing for the divine manifestation which could not be put into definite words4 ,st4 ,paul speaks of the groaning of suffering nature 7ver4 #bb71 and the groaning of the individual ,christians 7ver4 #bc71 and also the groaning of the divine ,spirit in the ,church 7ver4 #bf74 ,no word could express more powerfully the intense desire after the manifestation of the divine kingdom which1 in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 should lie at the heart of true ,christian prayer4 ,and the true prayer of the ,spirit--the prayer which is according to ,god--is described 7ver4 #bg7 #cae as 'on behalf of saints#ag'--on behalf of a separated and consecrated body4 ,it follows1 that is to say1 the lines of ,christ's own prayer--',i pray not for the world1 but for those whom thou hast given me4' ,it is through the sanctified life that the divine influences are to spread over the world3 and by praying for the consecrated body we are praying that that life may be exhibited more and more perfectly amongst men so as to strike their consciences and move them to conversion2 that through our good works which they now behold they may glorify ,god in the day when they themselves are visited4 ,the ,new ,testament method of praying for the world is thus in great part indirect4 ,but the direct method is also enjoined4 ,we are also to pray directly 'for all men#ah4' iv4 ,there is1 ,i think1 no point on which ,st4 ,paul has been more misrepresented than on his teaching about predestination4 ,he teaches plainly that it is ,god's purpose to 'have mercy upon all'3 that ,he 'willeth that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the #caf truth#ai4' ,but ,he works towards this universal end through a method of selected human instruments--through an elect body4 ,such an elect body had been the ,jewish nation--selected1 we cannot tell why1 but very possibly in part because of its capacity for coherence and toughness1 coupled with a singular aptitude for simple religious ideas--qualities which in themselves of course were the gift of ,god4 ,this nation might have expanded1 as was intended1 into a catholic church4 ,but1 as it refused to correspond with its vocation in this respect1 in fact the catholic ,church appears in history as taking its place1 even while it was developed out of it--an elect body gathered out of 'every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues4' ,the election of this catholic body to be the heirs of salvation and to bear the name of ,god in the world was1 it would have been held1 a self-evident fact4 ,st4 ,paul reasons not up to this fact but from it4 ,he uses the admitted fact to strengthen its individual members under stress of trial4 ,they must bear earthly troubles because they form the appointed discipline for the individuals who form the select body4 ,let men but love ,god1 and then all outward things #cag whatsoever work together for good for them4 ,the fact that they love ,god is the sufficient evidence of their election4 ,those who love ,god are also those who are 'called according to ,his purpose4' ,but1 we ask1 ,have none received the call and rejected it8 were none called1 who do not love ,god8 is it not true1 that ',many are called and few chosen'8 ,st4 ,paul says not a word to the contrary4 ,but that is not the question he is considering4 ,the members of the ,christian ,church1 devoted to ,god1 to whom he is writing have been called4 ,this call of which they have become the subject is1 ,st4 ,paul assures them1 no afterthought1 no momentary act of ,god1 which as it came into being in a moment so may pass away4 ,it is not a being taken up by ,god and then perhaps dropped again4 ,his gifts and calling are without repentance on ,his side1 because they represent an eternal will4 ,in the eternal mind ,god 'foreknew' this chosen body4 ,to 'know' as used of ,god 7in contexts where it is implied that others are not 'known'7 means to 'take knowledge of or mark out for a divine purpose1 as ,god said of the ,jews1 ',you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth#bj1' that is1 your #cah nation only have ,i singled out or designated#ba4 ,this divine marking out then was an eternal act4 ,god eternally marked out certain persons1 those presumably whom a certain preparatory discipline and moral education1 ,jewish or heathen1 should have made apt for ,his purpose1 such aptitude being of course again ,his gift4 ,anyway1 for reasons which we cannot probe1 ,god did eternally foreknow or mark out beforehand a body of men to be ,his catholic church4 ,and those so marked out were in the eternal counsels appointed for a high spiritual vocation1 to be made like the divine ,son1 who was to be made man1 so that1 with ,christ as heir and elder brother1 they together might represent in the world the divine ideal for man4 ,and upon those so marked out and foreordained1 in due time the divine call came by the apostolic preaching4 ,and1 at the first movement of corresponsive faith1 they had been acquitted of all their old sins and planted all at once upon a new basis in ,christ ,jesus4 ,and those thus set upon the new basis ,god also had already in ,his divine counsels clothed with glory1 their share in the glory of the divine ,son which is only waiting to be fully manifested4 ,every #cai ,christian therefore who has felt a movement of ,god in his heart1 under which he has become a ,christian1 knows that he is in ,god's keeping4 ,god will not fail him4 ,he who has begun the good work will perform it4 ,trouble and anxiety within or without need not alarm him4 ,he has but to keep himself1 joyful and confident1 in ,god's hands4 ,the movement of ,god upon him and within him1 as it proceeds out of the eternal mind1 so it passes securely on into the eternal issue4 ,no doubt ,st4 ,paul would say they might tear themselves by utter wilfulness out of the divine hand1 as for the time at least the ,jews had mostly done4 ,but short of that they are safe4 ,the movement of ,god1 the protection of ,god1 the purpose of ,god1 is upon them and around them1 and goes before them preparing their way1 individually and corporately4 ,this is the moral use ,st4 ,paul makes of the doctrine of predestination4 ,and it is to do egregious violence to his general teaching to suggest that he entertained the idea of persons created with an opposite predestination--to eternal misery4 ,st4 ,paul is dealing here only with what ,god has already shown of ,his purpose in the actual vocation of some4 ,ultimately #cbj he assures us all men share the divine purpose for good#bb4 ,but1 on the other hand1 he never suggests that they may not resist it1 or allows us to say that so far as concerns themselves they may not defeat it4 #a iii4 #ag-ai2 v4 #bi4 #b xxiv4 #e-g4 #c i4e4 ,messiah1 son of ,david1 son of ,pherez 7,ruth iv4 #ah74 #d ,bereshith ,rabbah1 xii4 #e4 #e ,isa4 lxv4 #ag1 lxvi4 #bb2 cf4 #b ,pet4 iii4 #ac2 ,rev4 xxi4 #a2 ,acts iii4 #ba4 #f ,book of ,enoch1 xlv4 #d1 #e4 #g ,st4 ,paul's word 'creation' 7verses #cj-bb7 is used in ,st4 ,paul's sense in ,wisd4 xvi4 #cd1 xix4 #f4 #h #b ,pet4 i4 #af-ai4 #i ,cf4 ,latham1 ,service of ,angels 7,cambridge1 #ahid74 #aj ,eph4 ii4 #e4 #aa ,rom4 viii4 #bd4 #ab #a ,cor4 xv4 #b2 #b ,cor4 ii4 #ae4 7,the present tense in both cases47 #ac ,rom4 v4 #i1 #aj2 xiii4 #aa3 cf4 #a ,tim4 iv4 #af2 #b ,tim4 iv4 #ah4 #ad ,andrew ,murray's ,with ,christ in the ,school of ,prayer 7,nisbet #ahia71 p4 #ga4 #ae #b ,cor4 xii4 #h3 cf4 ,phil4 i4 #bb1 ',what ,i shall choose ,i wot not4' #af ,verse #cd4 #ag ,not 'the saints' in the ,greek4 #ah #a ,tim4 ii4 #a4 #ai ,rom4 xi4 #cb2 #a ,tim4 ii4 #d4 #bj ,amos iii4 #b3 cf4 ,ps4 i4 #f2 ,hos4 xiii4 #e2 ,matt4 vii4 #bc4 #ba ,cf4 ,hort on #a ,pet4 pp4 #ai1 #hj4 #bb ,see especially ,rom4 xi4 #bi-cc4 #cba ,,division ,,iii4 #aj4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 #ca-ci4 ,christian assurance4 ,st4 ,paul has brought his great argument to an end4 ,and before he passes to its manifold application in the later parts of his epistle1 he applies it in words which spring glowing from a heart on fire with the gospel he loves1 to reassure disheartened and nervous ,christians4 ,it was a natural feature of the apostolic age that the disciples should lose their first courage and become afraid1 when the hard experience they were to expect became plain to them4 ,the ,epistle to the ,hebrews is written full in face of this failure of courage among ,jewish ,christians4 ,for the ,gentiles whom ,st4 ,paul has more particularly in view there were manifold causes of alarm--fears derived from their own weakness1 from spiritual uncertainty1 and from their precarious position4 ,it was not only that outward calamity--famine and pestilence--might #cbb come on them like other people4 ,they plainly felt--,st4 ,paul plainly felt1 as he thought of the bitter hostility of the ,jews actually ready to break out upon the ,church1 and of the jealousy of the ,empire1 not yet hostile but easily capable of becoming so--that times of persecution were at hand3 that the ,christians were truly in the world as 'lambs in the midst of wolves4' ,therefore he would have them realize the whole secret of that invincible strength1 that power to endure and triumph1 which ought to be theirs4 ,what is to be our practical conclusion1 he asks1 from all this theology1 from all this consideration of revealed facts and truths8 ,the sum of it all is that ,god is not our taskmaster and critical judge4 ,he is altogether on our side4 ,and if this be so1 whose hostility can by comparison come into consideration at all8 ,god showed ,his mind toward us by the greatest possible act of self-sacrifice1 the giving up of ,his own divine ,son to die for us4 ,and1 plainly1 if of ,his free love ,he gave us ,his greatest gift1 ,he will not fail to accompany it with everything that love can suggest4 ,or1 to put the matter in another way1 if ,god1 in full knowledge of what we were thought proper to take us for ,his chosen #cbc people and to put us in a position of acceptance with ,him1 who can with any hope of success bring a charge against us or pass condemnation on us8 ,for we know the mind of the only judge4 ,or1 once again1 what can be so reassuring as to consider the person of our advocate or mediator8 ,it is ,christ ,jesus1 ,god's own ,son in our nature1 who died a sacrifice for our sins1 but so far from being conquered by death1 was raised from among the dead1 and exalted to the right hand of ,god1 and there is occupied in presenting ,himself before the ,father in intercession for us--covering all our approach to ,god with ,his acceptableness4 ,out of the protecting power of this love of ,christ1 then1 who shall tear us8 ,it is quite true that troubles may beat upon us--outward affliction1 or inward trouble1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or danger1 or sword4 ,we may find that only the words of the ,psalmist#a suit our case1 ',for thy sake are we being put to death the whole day3 the estimate formed of us is that of sheep meant for slaughter4' ,but in all these contingencies the love of ,christ can supply us with a more than victorious power4 ,for this is ,st4 ,paul's conviction1 that no conceivable power #cbd of life or of death1 or of the angelic hierarchy1 nothing in present circumstances or future destiny1 no possible force1 neither the highest height of heavens or the deepest depth of hell1 no possible creation of ,god other than what we now know to exist1 shall be able to tear us from that which holds us in a grasp stronger than the strongest--the love of ,god which is in ,christ ,jesus1 who is our ,lord4 ,what then shall we say to these things8 ,if ,god is for us1 who is against us8 ,he that spared not his own ,son1 but delivered him up for us all1 how shall he not also with him freely give us all things8 ,who shall lay anything to the charge of ,god's elect8 ,it is ,god that justifieth2 who is he that shall condemn8 ,it is ,christ ,jesus that died1 yea rather1 that was raised from the dead1 who is at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4 ,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 shall tribulation1 or anguish1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or sword8 ,even as it is written1 ,for thy sake we are killed all the day long2 ,we were accounted as sheep for the slaughter4 ,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us4 ,for ,i am persuaded1 that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor powers1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,there is not much that needs comment in these verses4 ,we may notice the contrast #cbe between the tone of the ,psalmist quoted by ,st4 ,paul--weighed down1 like many a servant of the older covenant1 with the unintelligible experience of the persecution of ,god's faithful people--and the exultant faith of ,st4 ,paul which finds no difficulty in the experience at all4 ,again1 we do well to observe that among the forces enumerated by ,st4 ,paul which cannot tear us out of the hand of ,god1 he does not include our own wills1 and we could not even conceive him so including them4 ,once again1 we take note how 'the love of ,christ' 7ver4 #ce7 is resolved 7ver4 #ci7 into the 'love of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4' ,christ's love is ,god's love1 as ,christ is truly proper and essential to the being of ,god1 ,his own very ,son4 ,these words1 ,i say1 need very little comment1 but they thrill our souls as hardly any other words of ,st4 ,paul4 ,they are the real summary of this epistle1 and show us how the glorious apostle of ,christian liberty would have us view our life4 ,we are not to build the edifice of a life which at the top is to be within sight of ,god4 ,we are to start from ,god who from eternity and all along has been beforehand with us3 in ,his external personal love predestinating1 creating1 calling1 pardoning1 holding1 and keeping us #cbf in continual growth for eternal glory4 ,and the one power of religion is therefore faith1 that faculty by which we look continually out of ourselves1 and starting from ,god1 committing ourselves wholly to ,god1 raise the fabric of life1 in the community of a true human brotherhood1 upon the secure basis of the love of ,him who created us1 and will satisfy utterly the being which ,he has given us4 ,this is the summary lesson of the great epistle4 #a ,ps4 xliv4 #bb4 ,,end ,,of ,,vol4 ,i ,a ,series of ,simple ,expositions of ,portions of the ,new ,testament1 ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,d4,d41 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester4 ,crown #hvo1 ,green ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 each volume4 ,,the ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,mount4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,ephesians4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans4 ,vol4 ,i4 cap4 i-viii4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 cap4 ix-xvi1 with ,appendices4 ,,other ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,d4,d4 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester4 ,crown #hvo #bs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,mission ,,of ,,the ,,church4 ,four ,lectures delivered in the ,cathedral ,church of ,st4 ,asaph4 ,,contents3--,i4 ,the ,mission of the ,church4--,,ii4 ,unity within the ,church of ,england4--,,iii4 ,the ,relation of the ,church to ,independent and ,hostile ,opinion4--,,iv4 ,the ,mission of the ,church in ,society4--,appended ,notes4 ',it is a twofold work--to sanctify what can be hallowed1 to pass judgement on that which must be condemned4 ,from this point of view the interest of ,mr4 ,gore's new book is great4'--,church ,quarterly4 #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,bampton ,,lectures1 #ahia2 ,the ,incarnation of the ,son of ,god4 #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,dissertations ,,on ,,subjects ,,connected ,,with ,,the ,,incarnation4 ,crown #hvo1 #es4 net4 ,,essays ,,on ,,church ,,reform4 ,eleven ,essays on the ,present and ,future ,position of the ,church of ,england4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,d4,d42 and other eminent ,british1 ,colonial1 and ,american writers4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 ,,lux ,,mundi4 ,a ,series of ,studies in the ,religion of the ,incarnation4 ,by ,various ,writers4 ,edited by the ,right ,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,d4,d4 ,,london3 ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1 ,w4