The Christian

An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans

by: J. M. Davies

CONTENTS

Part One - INTRODUCTION

Part Two - DOCTRINAL

Chapter One - Ruin-Righteousness Required

Chapter Two - Redemption-Righteousness Revealed

Chapter Three - Redemption-Righteousness Reckoned

Chapter Four - Relationship-Righteousness Produced

Chapter Five God’s Sovereignty

Chapter Six Human Responsibility

Chapter Seven The Severity and Saving Grace of God

Part Four-PRACTICAL

Chapter Eight Responsibility-Righteousness Ruling

Chapter Nine Review-Righteousness Rewarded

Chapter Ten The Final Doxology

No preacher of the gospel, whether labouring in the homelands or in what is called the mission fields can afford to underestimate the importance of a thorough study of the Epistle to the Romans. If has been called the most important legal document in the world. It is now over 50 years since in the mercy of God 1 began to seriously read and study it. During the years in India one felt constantly constrained to emphasize its importance and to seek to explain its contents. In 1929 I was asked to write a series of explanatory articles on a chart which I had drawn up to help in teaching the epistle to a Bible class in a suburb of Chicago while on furlough. Over the years many have requested that those articles be put into permanent form. Gleaning among the sheaves, the vast heritage of written ministry which is ours, is the privilege of every one who seeks to study the word. Accordingly use has been made of a great many commentaries and books on the epistle, and also one is indebted to a great deal of oral ministry from various brethren in many countries.

Like the Statue of Liberty in New York harbour it holds out its beacon of light to all, and happy are they who follow its beam. It is the Christian’s Magna Charta, his charter of liberty, the title deeds of his freedom.

It is the King’s Royal Bounty, the provision of His own grace to all who come to Him from “afar off “. There are larger and more exhaustive commentaries available to those who have made some progress in their knowledge of the epistle, but it is hoped that this volume will blaze a trail as it were through the epistle for many younger ones, as well as refresh and establish older ones in those truths “which are most surely believed among us.”

It is dedicated to the blessing of all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth, the whole household of faith

If the epistles of Paul were arranged in their chronological order, the epistle to the Romans would probably be about sixth but doctrinally it takes the first place. “For the purpose of systematic theology it is the most important book in the Bible” (Prof. Findlay). To be established in the doctrines of grace as taught in the epistle to the Romans is the first essential for every believer. One of the reasons for Paul’s desire to go to Rome was that the saints might be “established”. This establishing ministry he gives in the epistle. Indeed the statement “to the end ye may be established” might well express the aim and object of the epistle. One of the last scenes in the book of the Acts is a tremendous storm, a wrecked ship, and a people scarcely saved, all because Paul’s word was set aside, and the word of the majority taken. A temporary south wind blew, and they were deceived. It is a sad prophetic picture of the course of church history. United testimony has been wrecked because the word of God as given in Paul’s letters has largely been sacrificed for that which is popular, that which suits the majority. Many a believer who has been thus tossed about by every wind of doctrine would have been saved from a storm-beaten and almost wrecked experience had he been instructed in the truths of this important epistle.

In relation to the other epistles its place of importance may be compared to the place occupied by the altar of burnt-offering in the Tabernacle. There the guilty found forgiveness. There the priests on the occasion of their consecration learnt the need and value of the sacrifices, by virtue of which they could enter the sanctuary to minister “ within the vail ”. That which gave them settled peace as they entered the presence of God was the fact that they had learnt His estimate of the value of the blood and sacrifice. So today, if the believer-priest is to apprehend his place in the “fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord” a.5 taught in 1st Corinthians; or be able to serve in the sanctuary according to 2nd Corinthians he will first of all need to be established in the “truth of the gospel” as expounded in Romans. Especially is this true in a day when Modernists and Ritualists on the one hand pervert the gospel, and many professed evangelists cheapen it.

Romans and Ephesians are unique in that Paul does not associate with him anyone else in the writing of them. The reason for this is to be seen in the fact that in these two epistles the apostle fulfils in a special way his two-fold stewardship, his stewardship of the gospel, and his stewardship of the truth relative to the Church. (Col. 1: 23-25 ; Eph. 3 : 3-l 1; 1. Cor. 2: l-l 1). Hence in Romans he speaks of the gospel as “my gospel”, that which he as the apostle to the Gentiles had been entrusted with to dispense to others, while in Ephesians we have the truth regarding the “Church which is His body”, a truth especially revealed to us through the apostle.

The accompanying chart is an attempt to put into concise form an analysis of the epistle. The main divisions of the epistle into Doctrinal, Dispensational, and Practical are clearly defined, and it is important to apprehend their Divine order. in the New Testament, doctrine regarding the believer’s position is always given prior to instructions regarding his walk and practice. This is grace in contrast to law. Under law responsibilities are put first, and if these are met then blessing follows. Under grace the walk is expected as the result of the blessings that are already ours in Christ. The Law said: “Do, and thou shalt live” Grace says: “Do because you live”. While the first eight chapters are labelled Doctrinal and the next three Dispensational, the theme of both sections is the same. Both deal with the vital question of salvation, but in the first section it is considered in its relation to the individual sinner in the present age, whereas in the second it is considered in its relation to Israel as a nation in the coming age. The epistle is the only full exposition of the gospel which we possess. In chs.1-5 the apostle deals with its juridical aspect, its relation to law and justice; in chs.6-8 its ethical aspect, its relation to life and practice, as well as its corporeal aspect, its relation to the believer’s body. In chs.9-11 we have its ethnical aspect, its relation to Israel and the nations, and in chs.12-16 its practical aspect, its relation to life’s varied responsibilities.

Following the main divisions of the epistle the reader will notice on the chart five divisions, each of which is coupled with one of the books of Moses. The ruin brought about by sin and man’s total depravity discussed in chs.1:19-3. 20 is illustrated in Genesis. Genesis gives us the entrance of sin into the human family, and closes with a man in a coffin, his mouth closed in death. The ruin caused by sin is traced showing its effect on the individual (ch.3), the family (ch.4), society (ch.6), and the nations (ch.10). In the epistle man is arraigned before God and found guilty. One charge after another is brought against him till at last “every mouth is stopped” and the world brought under the sentence of judgment. Man’s guilt is established. His right to live has been forfeited. Divine justice has a mortgage on it.

After ruin comes redemption which is illustrated in the book of Exodus with its record of deliverance by the blood of the Lamb from the judgment which fell upon Egypt. It issued in their complete deliverance from their bondage and slavery, and brought them under the authority and lordship of another, the one who had been the means of their deliverance. Hence redemption of necessity leads to a new relationship. When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt they were brought into a new relationship with Jehovah at Sinai. They were brought into a new fellowship with God as He dwelt in their midst in the Tabernacle. They were taught regarding access to God’s presence, and instructed as to the holiness which should characterize them as a redeemed people. This is the lesson of Leviticus, and it is the burden of the message of chs.6-8. The instructions regarding the offerer laying his hands on the offering, thus being identified with it in its death foreshadows the truth of the believer’s identification with Christ in His death and resurrection as expounded in chs.6-8.

In Lev. 26 there is given a prophetic utterance regarding Israel’s sin and dispersion among the nations, also their final restoration to favour, because of the covenant which God will not forget. This portion of Leviticus corresponds to the three dispensational chapters of the epistle. How anyone can read these without realizing that God has yet purposes of grace toward His earthly people is difficult to understand. There are 12 references to Israel in this section, but the word “Israel” does not appear elsewhere in the epistle.

The practical section concerned with exhortations to the believer as to how he is to live as becometh the gospel, thus adorning the doctrine of God, is what is portrayed in Numbers, the record of the pilgrimage of God’s people. In Leviticus much is made of the priest and his priestly ministry, but very little of the Levite. But it is the reverse in Numbers. There the Levite is prominent. The ministry of the priests was more hidden, whilst that of the Levite was more in the open. Romans 6-8 covers the hidden ministry, the life of the believer before God, his secret life, its conflicts and conquests, whereas Rom. 12-15 deal with that life in manifestation before his brethren and before the world. In Deuteronomy a review of Israel’s past is given. This is an apt illustration of Rom. 15 : 14-16: 25. with its long list of names and the various ways in which some are commended. It may be taken as a picture of the “judgment seat of Christ,” when the pilgrim journey will be over, and all that we have done, good or evil, will be reviewed by Himself.

Thus in the epistle the whole of the believer’s life is viewed from condemnation to justification, and on to sanctification and glorification.

Righteousness is one of the main words of the epistle, and in relation to it, the teaching of the epistle is divided into six sections. Man’s need of it; God’s grace in providing it; His method of imputing it to the one who owns his need of it, and of producing it in the life of the believer. For righteousness is never imparted, but rather produced by the Spirit working in the believer, conforming him to the image of the Son. How God is righteous in dealing in severity with Israel, how they denied Him, and how they, in consequence, are now set aside but to be later restored, and how those who are justified, acquitted from every charge, are to manifest it in their lives is clearly and emphatically taught by the apostle.

In the First epistle to the Corinthians the teaching of the epistle to the Romans would seem to be summarized and epitomized. In ch.1: 30 we read “Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, even righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” (NT). These three fit into the first 9 chapters of Romans.

Though brief this section is full of very important instruction regarding matters which are basic to the historic faith, “once for all delivered to the saints.”

Remarkably enough, this title is not used in the epistle. It occurs often in Paul’s pastoral epistles as also in Peter and in the evangelical prophet Isaiah. As it is the “Gospel” that the apostle is expounding in the epistle, and since the Gospel is God’s good news concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, it is fitting that at the commencement he should give an unequivocally clear answer to the questions, “What think ye of Christ?’ and “Whom say ye that 1 the Son of Man am?” Unless these questions are answered properly there can be no gospel, no glad tidings for a ruined race. In unmistakable language the glories of Christ are delineated. In this, the gateway to the epistles of the New Testament, our attention is drawn to no less than seven of the Lord’s glories. In vv. 3-4 we have a reference to the mystery of His person, the union of deity and humanity in one indivisible personality. This will ever be an inscrutable mystery, for “no man knoweth the Son but the Father.” As if to enforce upon his readers that the twin truths-His deity and humanity-are not to be divorced, they are referred to in one sentence both in the opening verses and later in ch.9 : 5. Both are to be accepted and taught as being of equal importance.

The statements of the prophets in this connection corroborate the teaching of the apostle. When Isaiah speaks of the “child born” he immediately says that He is the “Son given.” When Micah refers to His birth in Bethlehem he hastens to add “His goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” And Zechariah tells of “the man, my fellow.” The phrases “as to the flesh” and “as to the spirit of holiness” are set over against each other antithetically, the one referring to His human and the other to His divine nature. He was powerfully declared to be the Son of God, whereas He came of the seed of David. He was exhibited in His true nature, the Son of God, by the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection was the final demonstrative proof of His deity. It was because He had claimed to be the Son of God that the Jews had considered Him guilty of the sin of blasphemy and therefore worthy of death. The resurrection vindicated His claim. “The text speaks not only of the fact of Christ being the Son of God, but of the proof of that fact in the resurrection. The word translated ‘declared’ is not the objective fixing or appointing of Christ to be the Son of God, but the subjective manifestation in men’s minds that He is so. The words ‘with power’ go with the verb, so that He was declared with power the Son of God.” (Alford).

The apostle also acknowledges the majesty of the Saviour. The Father and the Son are conjointly invoked in his petition, (v. 7). thus emphasizing the equality of the Son with the Father. The mediatorship of Christ is also underlined. It is through Him that the apostle had received grace and apostleship, and it is through Him that he gives thanks. Later in the epistle the words “through Jesus Christ our Lord” are often used. Indeed the epistle may be considered an exposition of the words, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” In ch.2: 16 an allusion is made to His majesterial glory, the one who is the appointed judge of the secrets of men in accordance with the gospel. By virtue of His sacrificial death He is the mercy-seat. His blood is the basis upon which mercy is dispensed. In relation to His servants He is their master, the one to whom they own complete allegiance and obedience. As to the saints they are called to be His; they are His meed, His reward, His crown and diadem of glory. “They shall be mine in the day when I make up my jewels.” Thus the Saviour is radiant with glory.

Seven times over does the apostle refer to scriptures. He accepts them without question as the “oracles of God.” Three times they are referred to in the plural, and four times in the singular. The gospel is the fulfilment of the promises of God. This marks their integrity. (v_ 2). Moreover, “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we. . . through. . . the scriptures might have hope”. This proclaims their sufficiency. As he closes the epistle the apostle makes reference to the New Testament scriptures with their further and full revelation of the purposes of God. The scriptures are now complete. The last word from the throne has been spoken. This stamps them with finality. (15 : 4; 16 : 26). The four references where the word is in the singular emphazise their absolute and final authority. “What saith the scripture?’ They constitute the final court of appeal. (4: 3; 9: 17; 10: 11; 11: 2). There are quotations from at least 14 Old Testament books. To any honest mind it is evident that the writers of the New Testament considered the scriptures to be the revealed and inspired word of God.

They are described in a three-fold way, making them the objects of the operations of the three persons of the Godhead. What is said of them is true of all true Christians. Rome presumes to beatify certain individuals years and centuries after their death, whereas the Bible invariably speaks of Christians as saints while they are on earth. We read of the saints in Rome, the saints in Corinth, and the saints in Colosse and elsewhere. These saints were “the called of Jesus Christ.” In their case the call of the gospel had become effectual. They had responded to it, and had thereby become the acquired possession of their Saviour Jesus Christ. “I have called thee, thou art mine.” The effectual call-as is implied in the word called-makes us His. “The beloved of God.” Having embraced the Son, the love of the Father is our inheritance. To be “in Christ” makes it impossible to be separated from the love of God. By the effectual call we are not only brought up from the pit, but brought into the banqueting house where the banner of love permanently floats over us. “Called saints.” This is suggestive of the work of the Holy Spirit, setting us apart positionally and morally for the Lord. Saints by calling should be saintly in character.

The truth that the believer is thus the object of the Father’s love and choice, the Son’s redemptive work, and the Spirit’s gracious operations is taught elsewhere in the New Testament. (Luke 15; Eph. 1: 1; Pet. 1 et al.) It is an important factor when considering the question of the security of the believer, for “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Not only is the position of the believer described in this threefold way, the spiritual condition of the ones in Rome is also the occasion of thanksgiving in three places. (1: 8; 6: 7-8; 15: 14). As to their collective testimony they were a city set on a hill which could not be hid. As to their private lives, they had obeyed from the heart the mould of doctrine to which they had been delivered, so that in the house-the assembly-their light was not put under a bushel, or under a bed. They were able to admonish one another, thus fanning one another to a flame. Would that there were more churches of this character, and after this pattern.

In these introductory greetings the apostle gives a graphic multiple picture of the servant of God. The words he uses are pictorial in character. He speaks of himself as a bondslave, and yet an apostle, or a commissioned ambassador. This is in marked contrast to man’s ways or the ways of earthly monarchs and governments. Slaves are not sent as ambassadors, and neither are ambassadors considered slaves. But in the kingdom of God, to be a bondslave is an essential pre-requisite to being a “man sent from God”, to being an apostle. The words “separated to the gospel of God” are an echo of the experience of the Levites who had been separated to the work of the Tabernacle. (Num. 8). Paul regarded himself as a Levite. He had been separated from his mother’s womb, (Gal. 1: 15) and declared to be a “chosen vessel” at the time of his conversion (Acts 9: 15), and later he was separated by the command of the Lord through the instrumentality of the prophets and teachers at Antioch. {Acts 13 : 1-3). This call and separation was to a permanent lifework and not for a temporary and initial period. But he also refers to his service as being of a priestly character. He speaks of “serving with his spirit . . .”a word denoting the ministry of a priest. Paul then was both a Levite and a priest. The sons of Aaron both blew the trumpets and served in the holy place. (Num. 10 and 18). The apostle gloried in this dual ministry. Then he suddenly changes the picture and uses words which are suggestive of his service as being that of a husbandman, one who looks for fruit from his labours. He does not think it derogatory to consider his service as being that of a labourer. But with it he immediately couples the idea of stewardship. “I am a debtor. . .” When writing to the Corinthians he adverts to this very definitely. A stewardship had been committed to him.

He was as it were a trustee, having been put in trust with the gospel. Like the lepers outside the gates of the city of Samaria he felt a responsibility to herald the glad tidings of the abundance of grace available through the gospel. And like the messengers who were sent by King Ahasuerus to every corner of his realm with the glad message of life to those who had been under a sentence of death, the apostle was impelled by a great spiritual urge to tell of the far greater deliverance through the greater than Mordecai. Finally he says that he is ready to preach the gospel or to evangelize in Rome. He was a true evangelist. Like the prophets of old he could say “The burden of the word of the Lord.” In connection with his ministry as a priest he uses the word “always”, and “without ceasing”, and “God is my witness.” He calls God to witness in this way in connection with his prayer life, (v. 9), private life and motives, (2 Cor. 1: 23), his pastoral care (Phil. 1: 6), his public life (1 Thess. 2: 5), and when he relates his persecutions. (2. Cor. 11: 31). His use of the word “always” is also very illuminating. It throws light upon his life of prayer, praise, confidence, devotion, and rejoicing in the triumphs of the gospel. (Rom. 1: 9; 2. Cor. 5: 6; 2. Cor. 2: 14; 4: 10; Phil. 1: 20).

As the one who heralded “the gospel of the grace of God” he gives grace a place of precedence. Grace is first and foremost. We are saved by grace alone, but the grace that saves us is never alone. It introduces us to peace, to apostleship, to truth, to supplication and to glory. (Rom. 1: 7: 5; Jo. 1: 14; Zech. 12: 10; Ps. 84: 11). Well might we sing “Grace is a charming sound, harmonious to the ear. . .”

The gospel, God’s glad tidings was the subject of promise and prophecy, concerning the “wise son” that made Him a glad father, and made it possible for Him to anoint the Son with the oil of gladness above His fellows, and gather to Himself a people rejoicing in salvation who will sing the praises of the Saviour forever. It is the gospel for there is no other. God is its source, and the Son is its subject, and the grace of God is its content. Mr. W. E. Vine very helpfully suggests the following. “The promise is in the Old Testament; the Person is the special theme of the four gospels; the preaching is recorded in the Acts; the product consists of those to whom the remainder of the New Testament is addressed. These correspond to the four parts of the Scriptures.” The apostle exultingly declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel and proceeds to give three reasons for his unbounded confidence, each beginning with the little word “for”:

“For it is the power of God unto salvation . . .”
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed . . .”
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against.. .”

The only cure for the world’s disease, the only mercy-seat where a righteous God
can meet a guilty sinner, the only refuge from the world’s doom is the gospel of God concerning His Son.

The three reasons adduced by the apostle are an epitome of the teaching of the epistle. He enters upon a discussion of these three subjects in the inverse order to which they are mentioned in these verses. THE WRATH OF GOD under which the whole world lies is what is enlarged upon in ch.1: 19-3 ; 20. Sin will not go unpunished, whether it be sin against God or sin against man, whether it be ungodliness or unrighteousness. These two cover both tables of the law. If Israel would worship the golden calf, then the two tables of the law must needs be broken, for ungodliness begets unrighteousness. A man’s attitude to God will govern his attitude and relationships with men. Man cannot be righteous if he is ungodly, whereas any professing godliness should practice righteousness. Four times the wrath of God is mentioned in these chapters. We read of wrath revealed, of a day of wrath, of wrath treasured up, and wrath meted out. (1: 18 ; 2: 5; 2 : 8) and we read of God taking vengeance.

There should be no conspiracy of silence on the part of preachers of the gospel with regard to this solemn subject, unpleasant though it may be. The sinner’s conscience must be reached if there is to be true repentance unto life. The Old Testament records instances of this wrath. The old world was unspared, the cities of the plain were destroyed. Witness it also in the death of the Son of God. He endured the billows and waves of God’s wrath in the day of God’s fierce anger, as prophesied in Ps. 88 : 7, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon me.” Witness it also in the fulfilment all around us of the words of 1: 27. Men receiving in their bodies the recompence of their error, becoming victims of loathsome diseases. “The scriptures never reveal one attribute of God at the expense of another. The revelation of His wrath is essential to a right understanding of His ways in grace.” (W.E.V.)

This forms the subject of the following section of the epistle. In it the juridical aspect of the gospel is expounded, its relation to law and justice. In it the apostle shows that God is both just and the justifier of him who is of faith in Jesus. God is righteous in all His ways, whether in judgment or in grace.

Paul affirms that this gospel is a revelation, an unveiling of God’s eternal purpose. In it we have an apocalypse (1: 17) and an epiphany (3: 21) of “righteousness of God.” It not only reveals a righteous God, that the law did, but righteousness from God which will meet man’s need and satisfy the claims of divine justice. The gospel is preached for the “obedience of faith” and righteousness is reckoned on the basis of faith in the message of the gospel. The just shall live by, or from faith. Faith is the spring from which all his activities must flow. This is of such importance in New Testament doctrine that it is quoted on three occasions, with a possible variation in the emphasis in each.

“The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1: 17).
“The just shall live by faith.” (Gal. 3 : 11 ).
“The just shall live by faith.” (Heb. 10: 38).

It is “from faith to faith” for the Christian experience is one of progress. It commences with faith and continues with faith. It is not a case of justification by faith and sanctification by works or self-effort, as the Judaizing teachers sought to teach the Galatians. This life of progress is similarly expressed in other portions. We read of “grace upon grace,” grace with a view to more grace. “From strength to strength.” “From glory to glory” till it ends up in the noonday brightness of the glory of God. “The path of the just is as a shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come.” (Prov. 4: 18; N. T.)

This is what the apostle discusses in chs.6-8. In this section he expounds the ethical aspect of the gospel, or the gospel in its relation to life and practice, as well as its corporeal aspect, its relation to the body and its redemption.

In chs.9-11 where the apostle proceeds to consider the ethnical aspect of the gospel, or the gospel in its relation to Israel and the nations, the same three subjects are again taken up in the same order. In ch.9 reference is made to the vessels of wrath and God’s judgment; in ch.10 to the righteousness of God, contrasting legal and faith-righteousness. In ch.11 the attention is focused on the future with the reconciliation of Israel when the deliverer will come out of Zion which will be followed by universal blessing.

Part Two
DOCTRINAL
Salvation by grace for the individual sinner in the present age. 1: 19- 8: 39.

As suggested in the chart and in the introductory article this is the main section of the epistle. It is a closely reasoned summation of the truth of the gospel. It has been termed the most important legal document in the world. In no other epistle is the righteousness of God so vindicated, or His grace so magnified. God’s ways are seen to harmonize, fulfilling the words of the Psalmist “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.” (Ps. 85: 10-11). It is the fulfilment also of the words of the Lord regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to the world. He would convict of sin, of righteousness and judgment. The order is significant; it is the one followed in the epistle. Man’s guilt is first established, then grace is seen enthroned and reigning through righteousness unto eternal life. Christ having gone to the Father is the believer’s righteousness, hence for him there is no condemnation.

The complete ruin brought about by sin and the darkness in which man is enveloped is a parallel to the condition of creation as recorded in Gen. 1: 2. It was a scene of chaos and concentrated blackness. The light revealed and accentuated the chaos, but it was the beginning of the bringing about of the beautiful cosmos of the 7th day, with man in control and in communion with God. It was “very good.” It is a portrayal of the ultimate in the purposes of God for the new creation. It commences with a revelation of man’s perversity and plight as seen in the penetrating light of the precepts and presence of God.

The two main divisions of the human family, the Jews and the Gentiles, are the two groups which are arraigned before the bar of divine justice. But in ch.1: 14 the Gentiles are divided into two sections, the Greeks and the Barbarians, or the wise and the unwise, the world of idolatry and the world of philosophy, that of the uncultured pagan and that of the cultured philosopher, or the reprobate and the rationalist. These two seem to be prosecuted separately. When the Lord was crucified His accusation over Him was written in three languages, in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Thus it bore the stamp of universality. The same universal stamp is evident in the portion of the epistle we are now considering.

Following a divinely stated and important principle of retributive justice, the apostle as a prosecutor calls for three witnesses to give their evidence. These witnesses are irreproachable and unimpeachable. Their evidence cannot be gainsaid or controverted. It is clear and definite and renders the person under trial “without excuse.” The first witness is that of CREATION. w. 19-20. The testimony of creation is eloquent and universal. “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their message is gone out through all the earth.” (Ps. 19 : 3-4). The visible bears witness to the invisible, to His eternal power and divinity. This is doubtless why the lie of evolution is being so assiduously propagated today. Creation postulates an all wise and personal creator. To this may be added the voice of providence. God has “not left himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14: 17). The second reason why the wrath of God is upon the idolatrous world is given in vv. 21-31. It is the WITNESS OF HISTORY. “God requireth that which is past” even though the world goes on seeking to forget it. It would seem that in these verses we are given a brief description of the post-deluvian world until the days of Abraham with its age-long effects.

Of the family that came out of the ark it can truly be said that they all knew God. But from that high pinnacle man has descended, and in his descent he has degraded himself to the level of the beast and even lower. The apostle first emphasizes their ungodliness (vv. 21-28) and then their unrighteousness. (vv. 29-32). Their ungodliness is analyzed and its elements are specified.

4. They bartered the truth concerning God and His glory for a lie, the falsehood of idolatry. v. 25.

7. They preferred their sin. Idolatry began with an image of man, both gods and goddesses, but it ended with the worship of the serpent itself!

In man’s steep descent there are seven steps commencing with V. 21 to v. 28. The first two affect the spirit, the next steps affect the soul, and lastly the body is debased. This is total depravity. Spirit, soul and body, man is ruined by sin. A darkened understanding results in a darkened heart and a dishonoured body.

The period of testing from Adam to Noah lasted ten generations. It ended in judgment, with only one family saved out of the overthrow. From Noah to Abraham was another ten generations, and it ended likewise with a signal visitation of God in judgment. Three times over it is repeated that “God gave them up”. This resulted in immorality of the most hideous kind in which the women are the first mentioned, even as Eve was first in the transgression. A more detailed mention is made of the sin of the men. It is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Upon them the Lord rained fire and brimstone from heaven. Out of the idolatrous mass at that period God chose one family. (Josh. 24: 2-3). Moses warned Israel against the fateful sin of idolatry, and specified its four forms as detailed in Rom. 1: 23. (Deut. 4: 16-19). But they failed to heed it and turned to worship strange gods. So we read “I gave them up to their own hearts’ lust.” (Ps. 81: 12). In the present time God is again visiting the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. But of this day of grace it is predicated that it will end in a similar judgment. Apostate Christendom will be given over to believe “the lie”. (2. Thess. 2: 10-11).

As the wrath of God is against all unrighteousness as well this is emphasized in vv. 29-31. Twenty-one things are listed

(according to the RV. It leaves out fornication and implacable). They cover every phase of life in the family and in society. The list begins with the words “all unrighteousness” and ends with the word “unmerciful”. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. If 2. Tim. 3 : l-4 is compared with this it will be seen that the moral and spiritual condition of Christendom in the last days differs but very little, if any, from that of the idolatrous world in the days of the apostle and today.

Before the prosecution closes the accusations against the idolater he calls another witness to give his evidence. It is their own KNOWLEDGE. (v. 32), “who knowing the ordinance of God . . .”Men know that sin will bring its terrible retribution, Conscience cannot be entirely obliterated, or its voice absolutely silenced, even though it is often seared and calloused. In spite of this awareness of God’s decree, sin is indulged in, and pleasure is found in the company of those who practice it. Thus the case against the idolatrous world is closed. They are “without excuse” and guilty.

The plural “they” and “them” of ch.1: 32 are now dropped and the singular “thou” is used. The individual the apostle is thinking of is given personalized attention. In all probability it is the Jew with his racial pride and sense of superiority that the apostle has in mind. The Pharisee who thanked God that he was not like the Publican, or the Scribes and Pharisees who brought to the Lord the woman caught in the act of adultery are fitting illustrations of this man. Then there are certain expressions in the portion which would confirm the view that the verses individualizes the Jew, who is later named specifically in v. 17. But the words “Whosoever thou art that condemnest . . .” suggest that in the scorching rebuke the cultured philosophically minded Gentile is included also. And later in the portion both Jew and Gentile are mentioned with specific reference to the work of the law written on the heart of the Gentile.

The attitude of the Jew who condemned idolatry but trafficked in idols, and who committed adultery while saying it was wrong, is not unfortunately limited to them. Among the cultured westerner are there not many who, while they look aghast at the terrible black catalogue of sins listed in chapter 1, and look down with a self-complacent pity on the poor idolater, are guilty of just the same things. Their “ungodliness” is manifested in the way they despise the riches of God’s goodness, and their “unrighteousness” is evident from the thrice repeated charge that they do the very things for which they condemn others (v. 1,2,3,). This man is a fit representative of the mixed multitude who lusted in the wilderness and loathed or despised the goodness of God in the manna. The witnesses called to give evidence against them are such that they cannot refute. The first witness is:

THEIR OWN MOUTH.

“Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee” said the Lord. (Luke 19: 22). They not only acknowledged the sin, but would condemn those who practiced it. They would sit in judgment on others for the very thing of which they themselves were guilty. Hence the second witness is a twin of the first. It is:

THEIR OWN LIFE.

Paul draws the mask away from their face and makes bare their sheer hypocrisy. Their life was at variance with their lips. They praised virtue but practiced vice. Hence like the Scribes and the Pharisees they are convicted of THEIR OWN CONSCIENCE. v. 15. (John 8: 9). Many claim that conscience is their guide, but a seared conscience cannot protest. How terrible then when conscience will be awakened and turn its arrows of conviction on the incriminated rebel.

In ch.1 we read of a judgment meted out in the past on Gentile nations. “God gave them up,” But in ch.2: 1-16 there is a very solemn revelation of a judgment that is yet future. Three times over we read of the “judgment of God” (v. 2, 3, 5). It is one of the most important portions dealing with this subject in the Bible. Four things are made very clear with regard to that day and its processes of judgment.

It will follow fixed principles of moral justice. Seven of these are enumerated.

(a) It will be according to truth (v. 2). There will be no falsifying of evidence.

(b) It will be righteous (v. 5). The inflexible and inexorable demands of the law will be met.

(d) It will be according to privilege (v. 9). If the Jew was the first to get the gospel, he will be the first to receive the recompence of his sin.

(e) It will be without respect of persons (v. 11). Favour will not overturn justice as is so often the case in the courts of earth.

(f) It will be according to light (v. 12). It will be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Bethsaida and Chorasin. Greater light brings greater responsibility.

(g) It will be according to the gospel (v. 6). The Lord Jesus Christ will be the Judge. Secret sins will be revealed. Man by his sins lays up in store for himself wrath against the day of wrath. The goodness of God despised, the love of God slighted and the long-suffering of God over-reached will all reap and awful harvest then.

This is emphasized by a three-fold repetition of the words, “every man”, “every soul of man”, and “every man” (v. 6, 9, 10). The individual character of the judgment so clearly taught here is confirmed in Rev. 20: 15. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The words “wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish” connote conscious suffering. They do not suggest a cessation of existence or annihilation. Tribulation and anguish will be the result of the wrath and indignation. This is what is involved in the word “perish” (v. 12).

4. It will be final and eternal. They are in marked contrast to the words, “eternal life” (v. 7). The Bible nowhere suggests a second chance beyond the portals of the grave.

1. It is sometimes thought that vv. 6-10 teach the possibility of salvation by works. These verses are in the form of an inverted parallelism. v. 6 corresponds with v. 11. v. 7 with v. 10, and v. 8 with v. 9. The words used in vv. 4 and 7 pre-suppose a certain knowledge of truth as revealed in the gospel, though the terms “goodness, forbearance and long-suffering” are of a wider application. Israel knew the goodness of God, materially, nationally and spiritually. (Ex. 33: 19). His forbearance with Israel in the past is referred to by Nehemiah. (9: 30). And His long-suffering by Isaiah. (Rom. 10 : 21). But the forbearance and long-suffering of God were manifested in the days of Noah also, even as they are today. Acts of summary judgment are not common. However a day of wrath is coming, with its retribution on those whose hearts have been hardened, and become impenitent. Pharaoh is an example of such a hardening process.

If in v. 7 we have the standard to be attained if anyone is to obtain eternal life, then to display the standard is but to proclaim man’s helplessness and doom, for no one by nature patiently continues to seek for that goal. Viewed in the light of the whole context and of other portions of scripture, the apostle is making it crystal clear that a mere lip service to the truth, such as the Jews rendered was of no value. There must be reality and sincerity. The same principle holds true for the person who professes to be a Christian also. As the uniform teaching of scripture is that salvation is by grace, then this portion must be interpreted in the light of such teaching, and not in a way that would conflict with it.

2. Do vv. 14-15 give any hope for the heathen-those who have never heard of Christ- apart from the gospel. The words “they are without excuse” in 1: 20 would militate against such a theory. Some see in these verses a reference to such persons as Rahab and Cornelius, but this seems untenable. Rather do these verses teach that in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, the conscience will acquiesce in the righteous decree of the judge, taking sides with God against the guilty person.

“But if thou bearest the name of a Jew.” That name was one they were proud of. It gave them a superiority complex. Had they not been given the law? As the circumcision they claimed to be the heirs to all the promises of God to Abraham. Hence the apostle first deals with their behaviour in relation to the law, and then with the relative value of circumcision as a rite. Paul the prosecutor calls upon these two to give their evidence.

THE ORACLES OF GOD. 27-24.

Five things are said in connection with their relationship to the law.

1. They possessed the form of knowledge and truth in the law. (v. 20).

2. The Jew was instructed in the law. He was not ignorant as to its teaching. (v. 18).

3. He rested in the law (v. 18) The mere fact that he had the law gave him a false sense of confidence, a dangerous self-confidence

4. He boasted in it (v. 23) They gloried in the fact that they had been made the recipients of it

5. He broke it (v. 23) Thereby he dishonoured God and brought His name into derision among the Gentiles The very oracles which he prided in possessing, when broken, only increased his guilt

The Jew looked down upon the Gentile as the “Uncircumcised” who had no claim on any of the privileges of the Jew as a child of Abraham, a child or heir of the promises made to the fathers, and of the covenant made with Abraham. But the apostle shows that circumcision was only of value if they kept the law. A meticulous observance of a ceremonial while breaking the moral demands of the law was valueless. It was a false foundation to build on. It was a refuge of lies. A sacriligious profession was wedded to a sacramentarian precision. What an unequal yoke. But ritualistic Christendom is walking in the same path. It is the easy road to perdition, the broad road on which, alas, many are travelling.

The humiliating exposure of the emptiness of their profession, and the fact that their practice was so diametrically opposed to their preaching concludes with four contrasts between the real and the nominal.

The real is not external-but hidden. It is not carnal or in the flesh, but of the heart. It is not legal, but spiritual. Its praise is not of men, but of God. The natural man loves the nominal, that which is merely external, whereas God demands the real, the inward man or the hidden man of the heart, Christ formed within by the Holy Spirit.

Such penetrating accusations, such a stripping of his pride and hypocrisy, and such a condemnation of his guilt did not, however, make the Jew acknowledge his sin as David had when Nathan said “Thou art the man.” On the contrary he appeals and protests as he sees his very advantages conspiring against him as it were, his trusted friends becoming his enemies. He asks four questions, two of which have to do with himself, and two with God and His ways.

What advantage then has the Jew ? and what profit is there of circumcision? Paul readily answers that there are many advantages, but only refers to one. The others are tabulated later in ch.9: l-3. They had been made the custodians of the oracles of God. This was a very great advantage. This answer encouraged the Jew to dispute further, as evidently they had done on many occasions with Paul in the synagogues. His objections have to do with the faithfulness of God and the righteousness of God. As to the faithfulness of God he asked if God would fail to keep His word if some Jews had not believed, or had proved unfaithful ?

The apostle forcefully affirms that God is true, as he says elsewhere God cannot lie, and He cannot deny Himself. He is faithful. But His faithfulness cannot be divorced from His righteousness. David in his contrite confession, which the apostle quotes, (Ps. 51: 4) vindicates the righteous character of God in both His words and His ways. David confessed his guilt and condemned himself, thereby acquitting God of any charge of unrighteousness in His dealings with him on account of the heinous sin which he had committed. The Jew, in his attempt to justify his position, concludes that this answer with its quotation from David’s penitential Psalm, affords him a loophole whereby he may escape from his hopeless dilemma, his inevitable judgment.

He tries to argue that if man’s unrighteousness provides an opportunity to bring out the righteousness of God into bold relief, and establishes it beyond question, then: “Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath?” The apostle prefaces his answer with the words: “I speak as a man.” He acknowledges that the question is a totally unworthy and irreverent one. Vincent, quoting Morison says: “When I ask the question ‘Is God unjust who inflicteth wrath? I am deeply conscious that I am using language which is intrinsically improper when applied to God. But in condescension to human weakness, I transfer to Him language which it is customary for men to employ when referring to human relationships.” But what the Jew considers a loophole turns out to be a noose, a trap, in which he is mercilessly caught.

How will God then judge the world? or the Gentile nations. The Jew repeated the imprecatory Psalms with no thought that God would be unrighteous in thus judging the nations.

2.

Why am I judged as a sinner ? They considered the message he preached to be a lie, and therefore they said, “Away with such a man from the earth.” They would want God to deal in one way with the world, and in another way with them. While anxious to put Paul to death for what they termed “a lie” they wished to claim immunity from the judgment of God even though they lived a lie. Surely the legs of the lame are not equal. They were guilty of both ungodliness and unrighteousness against which the wrath of God is revealed. Their ungodliness is shown in their attitude to the law, as well as their unrighteousness. Thus their OWN VERDICT OR CONDEMNATION of the nations and of Paul becomes the third witness to testify against them. The last question asked by the Jew and its answer closes the case. “What then? Are we better than they 11’ Have we any advantage when it comes to the judgment of God. The answer is terse and final, “No, in no wise.” (The quotations which follow go to show that the way the question is rendered in the A.V. and by the Am.R.V. is to be preferred to the Eng. R.V. which translates it, “What then? Are we in worse case than they?“).

The statements in these verses naturally divide into two groups of seven each. The first seven prove the universality of the ruin (9-12), and the second seven prove the totality of the ruin. (13-18). The first seven contain three negative and four positive statements. All under sin, All gone out of the way, and all unprofitable. There is none righteous, none that understandeth, none that seeketh after God, and none that doeth good. In the second list all the members are shown to be yielded to sin as servants to uncleanness. The throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet, the mind and the eyes are all referred to. The pictorial words used, such as “sepulchre”, “poison of asps”, “destruction” and “blood-shedding” with “no fear of God before their eyes” very graphically portray the terrible and awful conditions of the world through sin. It is important to note how the apostle appeals to the written word of God, especially in a day when the Old Testament is considered outdated and outmoded. The verdict pronounces every mouth stopped-man is inexcusable. All the world is guilty-the judgment of God is inescapable. As it is by the law that the knowledge of sin has come about, and by it every mouth is stopped, it is evident that no flesh can be justified by it.

A brief review of the section in which the Jew is specifically named and charged will be of help. It may be considered under the following headings.

I. Their Privileges. 2: 17-18.

Six things are mentioned in these two verses. The name they bore was one of honour. They relied or leaned on the fact that they had the law. God was their God. His will had been made known to them. They knew how to test the things that differ and approve of the excellent, and they were instructed out of the law from childhood.

In these two verses four things are said of them in their relation to the Gentiles, and especially of Gentile proselytes. They felt that they were the guides, a light, instructors and teachers.

3. Their Practice. 21-24.

In these verses they are charged with breaking both the tables of the law. They were guilty of unrighteousness (21-22) and ungodliness (22b).

Because of having broken the law their circumcision was rendered invalid. It was made uncircumcision, and therefore they had forfeited their claim on the promises of God and of being the heirs of the covenant.

What advantage or what superiority is there attached to being a Jew? What is the benefit to us of having been circumcised? Are we any better than the Gentiles? Their sin had brought them to the level of the Gentile. Both Jews and Gentiles stood before God on the same ground. Neither could enter into blessing except on the ground of grace.

Four of the quotations are from Psalms which speak of the Gentiles, the enemies of God’s people, the evil man, and the wicked. The one from Isaiah was a message to the nation. But the apostle applies them all to Jew and Gentile alike. That which they had used against the Gentiles is now used against them. Hence they are speechless. (Matt. 22: 12). As those who were under the law, these scriptures are made applicable to them.

The word “therefore” is misleading. The revised rendering should be followed. “ Because by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified.” The verse is not a conclusion based on the preceding statement, but rather it gives a reason for it. The verse emphasizes the inability of the law to meet man’s need, rather than man’s inability to meet its requirements. “If there had been a law which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Gal. 3 : 2 I). “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” It discovers the disease but provides no remedy. It denounces the debtor, but offers no aid to the delinquent. It reveals the required standard of righteousness, but renders no aid. It imparts no power. Man, who is without strength, looks to it in vain for assistance or even encouragement.

The law is weak and beggarly (Gal. 4: 9). The word for “knowledge” (epignosis) is variously rendered. W. E. Vine translates it as “full knowledge.” Vincent as “clear and exact knowledge”, and Moule as “moral knowledge”. As Mr. Vine points out the subject is expanded in ch.7. The inadequacy of the law is summed up in the words of ch.8 : 3 “For what the law could not do . . .” This is true of both the moral and ceremonial aspects of the law. “One might as well attempt to cross the river on a millstone, as to get into heaven by works” (Stifler-- quoted by Dr. Thomas). As Dr. Thomas points out, the apostle in these verses pronounces a verdict on all systems of religion, both Gentile and Jewish. All are failures. The words of the flesh shall be justified” apply to man in general apart from any racial, social or credal distinctions,

Having proven that all men, Jew and Gentile alike, have been ruined by sin, and are under sin, and subject to the wrath of God and His righteous judgment, the apostle proceeds to show that redemption has been accomplished through the propiatory sacrifice of Christ for all who believe without distinction. In these chapters (3 : 21-5: 21) the cardinal truth of the gospel, justification, is considered in its varied aspects. The epistle is a legal document, and justification is a legal term. It denotes the legal and full acquittal of the believer in Christ by God from every charge of guilt. The exposition of the truth is the answer to one of Job’s problems, “How should man be just with God?” (ch.9: 1). In this section the apostle enters fully into the discussion of what is stated in ch.1: 17 as to the gospel being a revelation of the righteousness of God from faith to faith. He first refers to righteousness manifested or revealed, and then adverts at some length to faith in contrast to works as being the way or mode by which righteousness is reckoned or imputed. (3: 27-5: 21).

This paragraph is short but very important, On the margin of his Bible, Luther wrote with regard to vv. 24-25: “This is the chief point and the very central place of the epistle, and of the whole Bible.” Commenting on this portion Moule says, “Golgotha is the observatory from which you count and watch the moving heaven of His being, His truth, His love.” These movements are traced out in a special way in the epistle and in this brief section. They testify to the fact that “His goings forth are from old, from the days of eternity” (Mic.5: 2).

“But now . . .”These words would almost remind us of the experience of Elijah when he was told to stand on the mount before the Lord. After the hurricane, and the earthquake and the fire, illustrative of God’s ways of judgment and wrath, there was a “still small voice.” Seemingly it was then that Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle and went forth. The voice of the law in earlier chapters is like peals of thunder striking fear and dread. Before it man’s mouth is shut. “BUT NOW . . .” the storm has ended, and are called upon to listen to the “still small voice”, the voice of grace. It is not till the stern voice of justice has closed man’s mouth can the silvery tones of grace be effectually heard. A man cannot hear properly while he is speaking. The mouth and the ear cannot be open simultaneously. But when he sees himself that he is vile and puts his hand to his mouth (Job. 40: when he confesses “I am undone”, then grace whispers peace in the ears of the penitent. He is delivered from going down to the pit, for a ransom is found, and his iniquity is removed. (Job. 33: 24)

“But now righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested.” The expression “righteousness of God” is to be understood in two different ways. Righteousness is one of the divine attributes, and this is undoubtedly the way the word is to be interpreted in vv. 252.6. The cross is a vindication of God’s righteous character. But in vv. 2 I-22 the term is qualified by the words “apart from law” and “by faith of Jesus Christ.” This would suggest that the expression is to be understood objectively, as referring to the righteousness which is reckoned to the one who believes the message of the gospel. Seven things are state- in connection with it in these verses which we do well to note, they are expanded more fully in chs.4-5.

1. It is an “apart from the law righteousness.”

It is not provided on the basis of obedience to the works of the law. If it was it would be reckoned as of debt. (4: 4).

Abraham is the witness from the books of the law, and David from among the prophets. The garments worn by the priestly family were not woven by Moses but by the pattern weaver, so the law was not instrumental in weaving this fabric of righteousness, the garments of salvation with which the believer is clothed. Yet as Moses saw no fault or flaw in those linen garments, so the law cannot detect any imperfection in the righteousness of God reckoned to the one who is “of faith in Jesus” (v. 26). On the contrary it witnesses to its sufficiency, for ‘Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (10 : 4).

The RV. properly leaves out the words “and upon all” for the apostle is here emphasizing the universality of the provision without any attempt to differentiate between the “unto all” and “upon all”. It is unto all because “all sinned.” The tense of the verb indicates that it refers to the fact that all are viewed as having sinned in Adam, as is later taught in ch.5: 12. All have come short of the glory of God, and the change in the tense points to the abiding character of the result of that sin. Its effect was not only universal but permanent. When the Lord was on the mount of transfiguration we are told that He received from the Father honour and glory. None other has been worthy of such approbation, all come short of it.

4. It is by faith of Jesus Christ.

These words are not to be understood in a subjective sense, as in such words as the faith of Moses or the faith of Abraham. They are to be understood as referring to Christ as the object of faith.

This emphasizes the absolutely gratuitous nature of the way in which God justifies the individual. He that is athirst is invited to drink of the water of life freely or without any charge. The word is rendered “without a cause” in John 15 : 25. Man can submit no cause in himself for God to justify him. The cause is entirely in God Himself, and in the redemption He has provided.

It is by God’s totally unmerited favour. This is one of the words which the apostle revels in, one of his favourite words, as is evident from the fact that he uses it over 20 times in this epistle. He delighted in the gospel of the grace of God, unencumbered and unfettered.

The gates of justifying grace which lead to the halls of mercy and the banqueting house swing freely and easily on two pillars which rest on the impregnable foundation of redemption and propitiation. Paul is careful to lay this firm foundation in view of the tremendous superstructure he will presently erect upon it. If there is to be no crack in the edifice the foundation must be embedded in rock, the rock of ages. As these words are so basically important they must be considered a little more fully.

The content or meaning of this term may be gleaned from a consideration of the words used in the New Testament to convey the truth to our minds. The words and their meaning as may be confirmed from any Greek Lexicon are:

Agorazo-to purchase or to buy at the market. It is used in Rev.5:9;14:3,4;1.Cor.6:20,7,23;2.Pet.2:1.

Exagorazo-to buy out of the market, especially to buy a slave with a view to his freedom. (Gal. 3: 13; 4: 4, 5; Eph. 5: 16).

Lutruo-To loose by paying a price, to deliver. (1. Pet. 1: 18 ; Luke 24: 21).

Apolutrosis-a strengthened form of the same word-(Rom. Peripoieo . . to purchase, or to acquire. Acts 20: 28.

In “Old Corinth” a visitor may see the “old agora” the old market place where the slaves were bought and sold and where the guilty were judged. It was also the place of judgment. The “Bema” or the judgment seat was there. The stone is still there with the word “Bema” inscribed on it, as I saw when there in 1952. Various aspects of redemption are illustrated in the portions where these words are used. Seven may be referred to.

In its relation to the world, (Matt. 13 :44) and even false teachers (2. Pet. 2: 1). The whole world, in this sense, has been bought, in that the price necessary for their redemption has been paid in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. “He gave Himself a ransom for all” (2. Tim. 2: 5). His death being of infinite value is sufficient to meet the needs of all. None need perish. But that does not suggest that it has or will be made experimental in the case of all. “A person might be purchased without being actually set free” (W.E.V.).

(Gal. 3: 13; Eph. 1: 7 and Col.1: 14; Rom. 3: 24). In Gal. 3: 13 man is viewed as a captive and a criminal. It is by the substitutionary character of the death of Christ satisfying the demands of justice against us that we are set at liberty from the curse of the law. Of the word used in Rom. 3 : 24 (apolutrosis) Newell quotes Thayer as follows: “Everywhere in the New Testament the word for redemption denotes deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of a holy God and the merited penalty of sin. It is deliverance from the penalty of their transgressions through their expiation.” It is this that makes it possible for God to act in sovereign grace and justify the ungodly.

The Christian is one who has been set at liberty from iniquity, for redemption leads to liberty. A slave was sometimes bought with temple money, and was thus considered to have been freed from his slavery by the temple deity. Afterwards he was not to the enslaved by any man. This custom is hinted at in 1. Cor. 6: 20 and 7: 23.

A Spirit illuminated apprehension of the value of the death of Christ will deliver a person from bondage to rites and ceremonies as having any redemptive character, even as it was intended to deliver the believing Jew from all forms of traditional legalism.

(Rom. 8: 23; Eph. 4: 30; Eph. 1: 14). This the apostle considers fully in ch.8.6. Its relation to Old. Testament saints (Heb. 9: 15). They had died in faith looking forward to the coming of the Messiah.

(Luke 21: 28 and 24: 21). Israel’s day of redemption, which was one of the main burdens of the prophets, may be far nearer than we think.

The apostle makes it crystal clear that the redemption through which justification is possible is based upon the sacrificial death of Christ. The various words used in the New Testament in connection with this truth are very significant. In Heb. 2: 14-17 it is taught that one of the reasons for the incarnation was that our Lord might become a “merciful and faithful high priest-to make propitiation.” John refers to Him as the propitiation, or the sacrificial victim. (1. Jo. 22 : 4,10). Whereas in the passage in Romans the word used is that for the mercy-seat as in Heb. 9 : 5. Thus our Lord is the priest, the sacrificial victim and the mercy seat. Together they give us a composite picture of the redemptive work of Christ. On the word propitiation Dr. G. Thomas says: “Propitiation always means something that causes or enables someone to act mercifully or forgivingly. God requires the propitiation by reason of His justice, and He provides it by reason of His mercy.” The mercy-seat was the lid that covered the ark. On it the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled once every year on the day of atonement. It was the propitiatory. The corresponding word for propitiation in the Old Testament is to cover, to atone, or atonement.

Hence it is said that in Old Testament days sins were covered, whereas by the death of Christ sin has been taken away or put away. (John 1: 29; Heb. 9: 27). Christ having been set-forth-a mercy seat, a propitiatory. This may suggest that He was publicly set forth in contrast to the secrecy which characterized the work of the priest in Israel. Or it may refer to the fact that He was fore-ordained to be the mercy-seat in the eternal purpose of God, for the word is rendered “purpose” elsewhere. This is in keeping with what Peter stated on the day of Pentecost and in his first epistle. (Acts 2: 23; 1 Pet. 1: 20). The propitiatory nature of the death of Christ declared, or was the proof; it was the evident token, that God was righteous in passing over the sins of those who had lived and died “in faith” before Christ came, the Abels and the Abrahams.

It also declares that God is just at the present time when He justifies those who believe the gospel. The two periods covered in v. 25 are BC and AD. They do not refer to two periods in a believer’s life. It should be noted that He is the mercy-seat in virtue of His blood, and not in virtue of our faith in His blood. It is His expiatory sacrifice that constitutes Him a mercy-seat. And it is faith on the part of the individual that makes it experimental in his life, or actual in his experience. V. 26 may be paraphrased in this way. Christ has been invested with authority to show mercy to anyone who believes, by virtue of the value of His blood. The publican, standing afar off, evidently viewing the altar, cried, “Be merciful to me the sinner.” Be propitious to me, and he was justified. This illustrates Rom. 3 : 24-25.

The use of the word mercy-seat or propitiatory here is very instructive. The ark contained three things, the law, the manna, and the rod that budded. These were reminders of the three great sins of Israel in the wilderness. The law was the reminder of their sin of idolatry at Mt. Sinai. They had worshipped the golden calf, thereby returning to the worship of Egypt. It is an illustration of what is condemned in ch.1: 19-32.

The manna was a reminder of the wonderful goodness of God during their 40 years of pilgrimage. It was placed in the golden pot at the time the manna was first given. (Ex. 16). But it served also to remind the nation of the sin of the mixed multitude. They had loathed it. (Num. 16). Thereby they had despised the goodness of God as those described in Rom. 2: 1-16.

The rod that budded was the solemn reminder of the sin of Korah and his followers and the summary judgment which was meted out to them. They had seemingly erected a tabernacle of their own. They thought all the congregation was holy, and disputed the right of Moses and Aaron to exercise their ministry and authority. They might well represent the ritualist of ch.2: 17-3, 8.

That which made it possible for God to dwell in the midst of His people was the mercy-seat sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice. When Israel fell into idolatry the Lord removed from the camp and the tent or tabernacle was pitched outside. It was only later when the Tabernacle was erected and the mercy seat was sprinkled that the presence of the Lord returned.

When the men of Beth-shemesh removed the lid of the ark the anger of the Lord consumed 50,070 men among them. (1.Sam. 6: 19). Similarly if the cross is eliminated from our preaching it will only merit the frown and judgment of God. How blessed is the fact that provision has been made in the death of Christ for the need of all. The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared. None need perish, for concerning the mercy-seat God said, “There I will meet with thee, and commune with thee.” At the cross a just God and a guilty sinner may meet. It has been just such a trysting place for millions.

“0 safe and happy shelter !

0 refuge tried and sweet !

0 trysting place where Heaven’s love

And Heaven’s justice meet.”

REDEMPTION-RIGHTEOUSNESS RECKONED

(Chapter 3: 27-5, 21)

INTRODUCTORY. 3 : 27-31.

These verses serve as a confirmation of what the apostle has already stated and as an introduction to chs.4-5. The brief answers given to the three questions asked in these verses are expanded in the following chapters, the first two in chs.4-5 and the last in chs.6-7. There is a natural sequence of thought in the questions.

This refers to the Jew’s boasting as to his privilege. (2: 17). They gloried in their supposed superiority. But the law or principle of faith has excluded such glorying. “It shuts out the foul inflation of a religious boast.” It punctures and deflates the pride which is born of the false presumption of a meritorious claim. The works or deeds of the law, on which they based such a claim, cover or include both the moral and the ceremonial. It is the law in its entirety that is in view. The words of v. 28 are not a conclusion as the King James version suggests, but rather a confirmation and an explanation of the expression “the law of faith” (v. 27). They are, as it were, the smooth stone with which this vaunting Goliath that stalks the land is brought down. These words contain the emancipating truth of the Reformation, that justification is by faith apart from and entirely independent of the deeds of the law. This is illustrated inch. 4: 1-8.

The Christian’s Statue of Liberty