This dark and painful picture of the pagan world is only the more distressing when we remember that it is painted / in even more revolting detail by the classical writers of the Roman world.

It is a picture of the degradation into which mankind ever sinks when turning from the truth of God and no longer restrained by his grace.

It was given as the reason why Paul gloried in the gospel and desired to have it proclaimed in Rome. It should arouse all Christian readers to-day to hasten the preaching of this gospel as the only hope of the human race. The entire paragraph, vs. 18-32 is summarized in verse 18, which states (1) that the truth as to God has been manifest to men, vs. 19, 20; (2) that by them it has been hindered or repelled, vs. 21-23; and (3) that consequently the wrath of God has been revealed as r sting upon the, vs.24-32.

"The wrath of God" is a phrase which easily may be misunderstood. It must not be associated with any ideas of human passion or frailty or revenge. It must not make us unmindful of the universal love of God. It is in fact the reverse side of his love. It is the attitude against sin which a holy God must take as he sees how sin wounds and tortures and destroys the creatures who are the special objects of his care. God loves the sinner but he hates and punishes sin.

His wrath "is revealed," not in the gospel alone or by any supernatural act but by what history shows of the degradation which results sin, and the universal con v1ctiorroi'the race that sin is inevitably punished by pain and misery and death. This revelation is "from heaven," the dwelling place and throne of God; by which is meant that this inseparable relation between sin and punishment is a divine arrangement. It operates as a natural law, but it is in accordance with a divinely established order.

This condemnation of God is revealed -., against all un godliness and unrighteousness of men"; that is, against all impiety, or all failures in the religious sphere, and against all injustice, or all failures in the moral sphere. This distinction is kept up through the remainder of the chapter, where the apostle pictures first the impiety and then the immorality of the heathen world.

Both these forms of guilt are due to the fact that men are refusing to live in accordance with the light given them. They sinfully" hinder the truth"; they repress it, they hold it down or hold it back, so that it is not allowed to produce its natural effect upon moral conduct. This truth is none other than the truth concerning God, and so concerning right and duty.

1. The truth has been manifested both in the light of conscience and by the witness of external nature, vs. 19, 20. "That which is known of God," without the revelation in Christ, is revealed in the hearts and minds of men. This revelation is imparted by God himself, and it is mentally discerned by reflecting upon his works. These display his "everlasting power and divinity." Probably the first impression which nature gives is that of power; it speaks to a thoughtful mind of a First Cause, of an unseen Creator, whose power is limitless; yet it also speaks of his "divinity," that is, of his other perfections, his wisdom and his goodness. The very world itself is described by the word "cosmos," which means "order," and which argues for design on the part of the Maker. Then, too, as a closer know1edge of the world points back the mind to vistas of uncounted ages, one naturally concludes that the creative Power is "ever lasting," eternal; and the attributes thus revealed in nature all testify that this eternal Power is a divine Person. Thus arguing from "cause and effect," from "design," from "order" and from "being," man finds in external nature that real knowledge of God which the voice of conscience confirms. Possibly Christians do not always appreciate natural religion as fully as they should. It gives such a true revelation of God that men have no excuse for either impiety or injustice. In fact, its very design is" that they may be without excuse." This startling statement, how ever, must be interpreted to mean merely that in case man fell into error as to belief or conduct, the fault would be wholly his own.

(2) As a matter of fact, this truth has been hindered and repelled and corrupted and lost, vs. 21-23. Paul here states the important and practical principle that religious· knowledge unless acted upon never can be retained. He traces the steps by which the heathen world descended from a knowledge of the true God to the most degraded and ignorant idolatry; (and it is possible even to-day for men to move in the same direction.)

First, there was indifference to God. Knowing h1m, they neither praised him for his perfections nor thanked him for his goodness: "They glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks."

Then, they became vain in their reasonings," for nothing can be more ridiculous than the religious speculations of irreligious men. Those who refuse to worship God; and who do not love to obey him are often the authors of theories and mistaken beliefs as popular as they are "empty" and absurd.

Then, they totally forgot God. "Their senseless heart was darkened." The whole inner being, deprived of a knowledge of truth and holiness and right, became wholly corrupted.

The next state which resulted was that of intellectual pride coexisting with spiritual and moral folly. "Professing themselves to be vise, they became fools." V. 22. Such, in view of their spiritual impotence and their inability to keep men from moral corruption, is the divine estimate of the proudest philosophers of Greece and of Rome, and of all the boasted wisdom of the Euphrates and the Nile. Even to-day the blindest infidelity is coincident with the most insufferable conceit. The modern wise man worships himself. The folly of the ancient world manifested itself in gross forms of idolatry. This was the last stage in 1·eligious degeneracy: "They . . . changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." The odiousness of idolatry is not only in its resultant immorality but in that it caricatures and slanders God. It does not stop in likening him to a man. but it figures him as a bird, a beast, or a reptile, and teaches men to offer divine worship to the most foul and repulsive forms.

Such is Paul's startling review of the religious history of the race. Beginning with the worship of the living and true God, mankind gradually descended to idolatry and fetishism. The development has not been upward, but downward. Paganism has no saving power in itself. The only hope for the world lies in the gospel of Christ.

3. Finally, Paul shows how "the wrath of God " has been revealed, vs. 24-32. It has been manifested in his abandonment of the heathen to the consequences of their guilt. They willfully turned from him, and became worshippers of idols, and he therefore allowed them to suffer the inevitable result of an ever deepening moral degradation.

In this degeneration, Paul notes three stages, each one marked by the statement, "God gave them up." Vs. 24, 26, 28.

First of all, he "gave them up unto uncleanness." They were allowed to be swept by the strong currents of their impure desires down into the abyss of immorality and vice; and this because they chose to worship "the creature rather than the Creator," the ever-blessed God. Vs. 24, 25.

Thus Paul intimates that morality depends upon religion, and cannot endure long without the sanctions of religion. Nor can anyone to-day neglect the worship of God without falling into the peril of evil thoughts and impure desires.

Secondly, "God gave them up unto vile passions." They became the victims of the most abnormal lusts and the most degrading vices. Vs. 26, 27. All of the abominations to which Paul refers are said to be fully corroborated by the heathen writers of his day. Their very statements emphasize the truths that sin brings its own punishment in the form of more shameful sins and that the yielding to wrong desire always results in bondage to passions even more perverse and "vile."

Lastly, Paul declares, "God gave them up unto a repro bate mind," a mind in which the distinctions between right and wrong are confused or lost, a mind which the disapproval of God cannot fail to rest. Such an inner disposition cannot fail to express itself in "things which arc not fitting," which cannot be thought to be suitable or right. Of these Paul gives some twenty-one examples, and reaches the climax of his terrible indictment in the statement that those guilty of these crimes commit them with the full knowledge of the penalty of death which they deserve, and, worst of all, they rejoice in others, and encourage others, who practice the same sins.

This willful impurity, springing from defiant impiety, forms together with it a more melancholy and vivid and detailed picture of the universal depravity of the heathen world than Paul furnishes in any other portion of his epistles.

Is it not true that the elements of this picture are re S produced in all quarters of the world to-day? Was there not need, and is there not need, of that righteousness which God graciously provides for all through the Saviour, Jesus Christ his Son?

b. The Principles of Divine Judgment. Ch. 2:1-16

1 Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things. 3 And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things; and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent ance? 5 but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 who will render to every man according to his works: 7 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: I but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, 9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek; 10 but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek: 11 for there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law; 13 for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified; 14 (for when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law1 these, not having the law, are the law unto themselves; 15 m that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them); 16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.

A large part of the religion of some men seems to consist in their readiness to find fault with others. Such was the case of the Jew whom Paul here describes. In the midst of the flood of Gentile pollution and iniquities, which Paul has pictured in the preceding chapter, he sees one who, like a judge, from the heights of his tribunal, sends a stern look over the corrupt mass, condemning the evil which pervades it and applauding the wrath of God which punishes it. The man is not named, however, until Paul proceeds, vs. 17-29, to set forth the guilt and condemnation of the Jew. Meanwhile Paul sets forth the fact of divine judgment and its two great principles. Ch. 2:1-16.

1. The fact of divine judgment is here stated in view of the sins of the heathen world and of the condemnation of them by the Jew. "And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things." This is really a statement of the fundamental fact underlying the opening chapters of the epistle. Chs. 1:18 to 3:20. Whosoever sins incurs the condemnation of God, he here declares; but the Gentiles have sinned, ch. 1:18- 32, and the Jews have sinned, chs. 2:17 to 3:8; therefore the whole world is guilty and in need of the righteousness which God provides, ch. 3:9-20.

To the fact of the inevitable punishment of sin, con science is a witness. This is what Paul means as he ad dresses the one who is criticizing the Gentile world. "Wherefore thou art without excuse, 0 man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things." Ch. 2:1. The criticism of others shows that one has a conscience, but if he has a conscience by which he condemns his fellow men, he should be guided by that conscience himself. The deceitfulness of the human heart is strikingly exhibited in the different judgments which men place on themselves and others, condemning in others what they excuse in themselves. Not infrequently the most censorious are the most guilty. Men commonly observe in others the faults which exist in them selves.

So, too, those who are most censorious of others seem to imagine that they will be judged by some other rule and thus escape the condemnation of God. At least, Paul so intimated m reference to the Jew: "And we know that the judgment of God is according to 1.ruth against them that practise such things. And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?" Vs. 2, 3. The Jew seems to have supposed that he occupied a privileged position. He imagined that in some way he could escape the judgment. which was coming upon the Gentile, whereas in reality, this judgment would be" according to truth," that is, in accordance with guilt, with facts, and with desert.

Then, again, the Jew was falsely interpreting the very mercy of God. He was despising it as merely good-natured indifference to sin: "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" V. 4. Towards the Jews, God had shown peculiar goodness and patience and forbearance. They had misunderstood his purpose, which was to incline them to forsake their sins; instead, by their hardness and impenitence of heart, they had treasured up for themselves "wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." V. 5.

There is to be such a day of retribution and punishment, a day when God's opposition to disobedience and sin must be manifested against sinners. This fact the universal conscience of mankind attests.

2. The principles of such judgment, however, will be absolutely just: (a) Each man will be judged according to his deeds, vs. 6-11, and (b) each man will be judged ac cording to his light, vs. 12-16.

Thus God, as Paul continues to affirm, (a) "will render to every man according to his works." The final awards of God are to be not according to a man's profession; the Jew thought that he might escape because he had Abraham as his father. Nor are these awards to be according to man's relations in life; the Jew thought that he was secure because he belonged to the chosen race and was thus an heir of the Kingdom. God is to award to every man ac cording to his conduct; for, as Paul asserts in his climax, "there is no respect of persons with God," v. 11. The intervening verses are an impressive enlargement and application of this principle, that judgment will be according to conduct. To those whose rule in life is to persevere in doing good, whose object in life is to obtain hereafter a glorious, honored, imperishable existence, God will give "eternal life," a reward which does not mean merely an endless continuance of existence, a kind of existence, life in its fullness, a life of Blessedness-, a life of glory.

On the other hand, to those who belong to the class of selfish intriguers, whose motive is not "the truth" but immorality, there will be God's anger in its tranquil, judicial form of "wrath," and in its outward self-manifestation of "indignation." ·

Then, in reverse order, Paul emphatically repeats his statements as to God's judging men according to their works. There will be outward calamity and inward anguish upon every soul belonging to a man who brings evil to pass, "of the Jew first, and also of the Greek"; but there will be radiance of glory, honor, and eternal repose to every man who works at what is good, "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Of course it is needless here to raise the question as to whether this passage teaches salvation by works instead of by faith. The words must be read in connection with the chapters of the epistle of which they are a part. Suffice it to say that one who does so "seek for glory and honor and incorruption" will naturally accept the way which God provides through Jesus Christ, and only through faith will any man be able to attain that righteousness which God requires. This, however, is a thought aside from Paul's immediate argument. His emphatic statement here is to the effect that the regular judgment of God will be according to the conduct and the deeds of men.

(b) The judgment of God will be also according to the light which each one severally has enjoyed. Vs. 12-16. This is a further proof of the justice of God, v. 11, for, as the ground of judgment is to be "works," so the rule of judgment is to be light: "For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law," v. 12. That is, the heathen who have sinned without the advantage of the Mosaic Law will perish also by the sentence of God, as being unfaithful to the light of nature but without any reference to the Mosaic Law; and the Jews, who have sinned in the midst of a system of revealed law, will be judged by this law as if it were the author of their condemnation.

Thus sin is the cause of death not election or pre destination, not lack of knowledge or ignorance of Christ, but voluntary, willful sin, disobedience to law, unfaithfulness to light, will occasion" death." The word "perish" finds its contrasts in such statements as "salvation," ch. 1:16; "shall live," ch. 1:17; "eternal life," ch. 2:7; "glory," ch. 2:10. It is further contrasted with the word "judged" in the same verse. The heathen shall perish as the natural consequence of their moral corruption. The Jews, and all who have enjoyed a clear and positive revelation of the will of God, will be subjected to a detailed inquiry such as arises from applying the particular articles of a code. The Jews, therefore, instead of occupying a privileged position because of their familiarity with the Mosaic Law will be held actually more accountable: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.  V. 13.

Paul here is not stating the way and power by which a man can obey law and can be just before God. He is simply declaring that God is impartial and will judge every man according to his works and his light; but it is the very de sign of Paul to show that on these principles no flesh can be justified, ch. 3:20.

This question, however, arises: If only "doers of the law" are "justified," how can the rule apply to Gentiles who have never heard the law? The answer is that the general rule does apply in principle to Gentiles, for their moral instincts and their consciences are to them what the revealed law of Sinai is for the Jews. That they have some standards of right and wrong written, not on tab lets of stone, but on their hearts, is evidenced by their actions, by their recognition of the voice of conscience, and by their expressions of moral judgments. Vs. 14, 15.

It is evident, then, that in spite of his severe arraignment of the heathen world in the preceding chapter, Paul recognized certain indestructible moral elements as still remaining. Something good could be found in the nature of even the most degraded heathen. Some law is still written on their hearts. This is a great source of encouragement as one seeks to find an entrance into their hearts for the gospel of Christ. None is wholly indifferent to kind ness and love.)

It should further be noticed that Paul indicates here that conscience is universal and inflatable. Of course it cannot tell a man what is right and wrong, but it never fails to indicate to him whether his purpose was consciously right or wrong. That is to say, conscience may need enlightenment but it never fails to approve or rebuke what is right or wrong in moral intention. However, for its enlightenment it needs both the revealed law of God and his glorious gospel of grace.

While recognizing that the heathen perform many deeds which accord with the requirements of law, Paul declares that they so habitually transgress this law that, judging by its requirements, they will stand condemned "in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men." V. 16. It is further declared that all which has been said as to the certainty and the principles of divine judgment is "ac cording to" the gospel which Paul has preached. They are essential parts of it. The good news of salvation is incomplete unless it warns men of the "wrath to come" and points out to men the need as well as the way of salvation.

Last of all, Paul declares that this divine judgment is to be administered by Jesus Christ. He is "to be the Judge of the living and the dead." Yet the burden of this very epistle is to show how he can secure pardon and purity and peace and eternal blessedness for all, whether Jews or Gentiles, who put their trust in him.

c. The Guilt of the Jew. Chs. 2:17 to 3:8

17 But if thou hearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God, 18 and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth; 21 thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? "thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples? 23 thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God? 24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles be cause of you, even as it is written. 25 For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision. 26 If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision? 27 and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much every way:first of all, that they were intrusted with the oracles of God. 3 For what if some were without faith? shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God? 4 God forbid:yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written,

That thou mightest be justified in thy words,

And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. 5 But if our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men.) 6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 7 But if the truth of God through my lie abounded unto his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? I and why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), Let us do evil, that good may come? whose condemnation is just.

It is surprising to see how seldom men realize the rather obvious truth that great opportunities are inseparable from great obligations. This is true of those who enjoy special privileges of power or of wealth or of knowledge. One of the most striking instances is in the case of the teachers who boast infallible accuracy in their interpretation of Christian truth and yet show no more Christian love and honesty and helpfulness than the very men they denounce as heretical and false.

This was exactly the case of the Jews whom Paul is here describing. They were actually less sinful and de graded than the Gentiles yet, judged by their conduct, and in view of their superior moral enlighte11ment and religious privileges, they were relatively no better; they were equally guilty in the sight of the law, and just as truly in need of the righteousness which God demands, which can be found only by faith in Christ.

1. The superior position and responsibility of the Jew, vs. 17-20, are set forth, first, in terms defining his unique relation to Cod. The very name of "Jew," which he boasted, indicated that he belonged to the chosen race, the covenant people of God. The law upon which he relied as a guarantee of his salvation, the whole Mosaic system, and the Jews' entire civil and religious polity, were gifts from the hand of God. This very God in whom they placed a false confidence, supposing themselves the exclusive objects of his love even w!-,en disobeying his law, is indeed the living and true God. They did possess a peculiar knowledge of his will, although they regarded this knowledge as itself so precious as to make correspond ing obedience relatively unimportant. They claimed a unique ability to detect the most delicate shades of moral distinction, being "instructed out of the law," trained by oral instruction in the whole content of the Scriptures which are indeed the very Word of God.

The superior position of the Jew is set forth, in the second place, by four current and highly colored titles defining the Jew's relation to the heathen, which, in view of the Jew's moral failure, Paul mentions with a slight touch of ridicule: "Thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form [the exact outline, the precise formula] of knowledge and of the truth."

All these advantages of the Jew were real, and all these by easy comparison can be applied to Christians. They, too, have a unique relation to God as a people chosen for "his own possession"; they, too, are expected to be the moral guides and the religious leaders of the world; and if they fail to show superior virtue and unselfishness and purity and love, their guilt is correspondingly greater.

2. The guilt of the Jew, vs. 21-24, is set forth in striking contrast with his advantages which Paul has just enumerated. He is charged with theft and adultery and sacrilege, and with other transgressions of the very law in which he gloried, by which transgression God was dishonored, and, as a result, his name was," blasphemed among the Gentiles." The last words are quoted from the Old Testament prophets, not so much as a fulfilled prophecy as a fitting descriptive phrase. In ancient days the Gei1tiles beheld the misery of Israel and blasphemed God as one who was not able to protect his own people and worshipers; in the time of Paul, the Gentiles were blaspheming the name of God as One who could not keep from sin his chosen people, the custodians of his law and the special objects of his grace.

So to-day reproach is often brought upon the name of Christ by the inconsistencies of Christians. They are not worse than other men; they are usually much better, but in comparison with their high claims and in view of their exalted privileges, their conduct is often unworthy of their Lord. When, for instance, the world remembers the loving spirit of the Master and beholds the bitterness and un kindness of his followers, it often utters with irony the once beautiful phrase of Tertullian: "See how these Christians love one another."

3. In the third place, to establish the guilt of the Jew, Paul answers certain objections that the Jew is supposed to make to the charge that he, as truly as the Gentile, is under the condemnation of God. Chs. 2:25 to 3:8.

One objection is that circumcision is of no profit or avail if those thus sealed as the people of God are none the less under his disapproval and wrath. To this Paul replies that a mere outward seal or sign has no validity unless it is accompanied by the faith and obedience which the sign is supposed to signify. There were, indeed, real blessings belonging to the people of God, but these were conditional upon obedience to his law. True "circumcision" was the putting away from the heart of all evil desires and thoughts. Those were God's true people, whether Jews or Gentiles, who put their trust in him and obeyed his holy will: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; .  . . but he is a Jew who is one inwardly."

Nor have these words of Paul lost their meaning for the Christian Church. Its sacraments have deep significance when they are accompanied by faith and love, and when they express a real spiritual relation to God; but if these are absent, then Church membership or sacraments or ritual observances become meaningless and empty forms. The true Christian is not a man who has merely submitted to certain rites, but one who . has adopted these rites because he believes were established by his Lord and desires thus to express his love and devotion to him, seeking for praise "not of men, but of God," ch. 2:25-29.

To Paul's charge of guilt against the Jew, another objection is supposed to be raised: Paul has proved too much; if the Jew, in spite of his possession of the law, in spite of his being sealed as a member of a chosen race, is under "the wrath of God," and is as truly under condemnation as the Gentile, then the Jew has no advantage over the Gentile, a suggestion as abhorrent to the Jew as it was contrary to his sacred Scriptures. "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision?" Ch. 3:1. "Much every way," replies the apostle, "first of all, that they were intrusted with the oracles of God," v. 2. This trust was indeed a treasure; it did place the Jew in a position of privilege, not only because it gave to him a matchless revelation of God's will, but because it contained God's promises of a coming Saviour and God's assurances that Israel should some day be a source of blessing to the whole world. The rejection of the Messiah, the unbelief of some Jews, could not "make of none effect the faithfulness of God." Rather, his punishment of those who refused to believe, and his future fulfillment of his promises of blessing, would bring into fuller light his justice and his grace.

David appreciated this principle. When he had fallen into sin, and had turned to God in penitence, he felt that his very sin was designed .to bring into stronger relief the justice of God. Speaking of that justice as though it could be brought to trial, he declares its absolute and complete acquittal:

"That thou mightest be justified in thy words,

And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment." V. 4.

To this conclusion an objection is at once supposed: If the unbelief and sin of the Jew has been the occasion for the clearer revelation of the justice of God, has it not been for real service to God, and can God, will God, punish one who has thus really conferred a favor upon God?

To this objection Paul makes two, solemn answers, First, on this ground there could be no judgment, for at last; every man could say that his sin had been the occasion of revealing the justice of God in punishing sin. Secondly, if the good which God brings out of evil justifies the evil, then all might act on the false principle of doing evil that good might come. However, Paul at once repudiates this principle as odious, as he turns from the denial of a future judgment as absurd. Vs. 5-8.

Here Paul has brought his readers into the sphere of great mysteries, but he states clearly certain supremely important truths.

(a) God does give to some men peculiar advantages and privileges; but he requires of them proportionate faithful ness and service. Christians do have advantages over pagans; the possession of the Bible and the gospel and the means of grace are great privileges; but judged by their conduct, in view of such advantages, Christians can make no claim of righteousness or of merit; their only hope is in the redemption that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

(b) The promises of God to Israel are certain to he fulfilled, in spite of partial blindness and temporary unbelief. As Paul shows more perfectly in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of the epistle, a converted Israel is yet to be a source of blessing to all the nations of the world.

(c) A coming judgment, when rewards and penalties will be determined according to conduct and opportunity, is so certain that Paul docs not even pause to debate its reality. He at once dismisses a statement which calls in question this undoubted fact.

(d) In spite of the truth that God can bring good out of evil, this result never relieves of guilt the one by whom the evil has been done. The end never justifies the means. If an act, out of which some good comes, is not to be regarded as bad and is not to be punished, then any crime might be encouraged for the sake of a good result, and all real distinction between right and wrong would be obliterated. Even Paul's statement of free grace was so" slanderously reported" as to indicate that it encouraged men to sin in order that grace might abound; but here, as ever, Paul repudiated the charge. Of one who would say, "Let us do evil, that good may come," Paul declares that his "condemnation is just."

d. The Whole World Condemned. Ch. 3:9-20

9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; 10 as it is written,

      There is none righteous, no, not one;

11. There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God;

12. They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable;

      There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre;

     With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God:20 because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin.

Here Paul reaches the first great conclusion of his epistle. The Gentile has sinned against the. light of nature and conscience, the Jew in defiance of revealed law; there fore the whole world is under condemnation. This conclusion is so stated as to form likewise a climax to the charge against the Jew which Paul has just been making: for it is phrased in quotations found in the Jewish Scriptures, ·from which Paul assumes that there can be no appeal.

The paragraph falls into three parts. The first states the conclusion that all are under sin. V. 9. The second enumerates the grounds of this Judgment. Vs. 10-18. The third pronounces the sentence of universal condemnation. Vs. 19, 20. .

"What then?" asks the apostle, in view of peculiar privileges, "are we better than they?" Are we morally superior? Are we more acceptable to God? "No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin."

The Jew may have had certain outward advantages, but morally, as Paul now definitely affirms, Jews and Greeks are on the same level; all are under the guilt and power of sin. It is true that however men may differ among themselves as to individual character, as to out ward circumstances, social or religious, when they appear at the bar of God, all are on equality, all are sinners, and as such, are deserving of punishment.

The Scripture proof that all men are under sin and therefore are in need of the righteousness of God, is presented in a picture Paul forms by grouping together pencil strokes made by the hands of various psalmists and prophets. It is an appalling picture of the human heart and of human weakness and sin, all the more terrible be cause true of even the most privileged people of God.

These quotations show first the character of sinful men, vs. 10-12, then their conduct in speech and action, vs. 15-17, and lastly the cause or source of their sin, namely, that "there is no fear of God before their eyes," v. 18.

First, then, as lo the general state of mankind as under sin, Paul insists negatively that II there is none righteous, no, not one." This total lack of righteousness is traced to the fact of an entire absence of moral intelligence: "there is none that understandeth." With no real knowledge oi God and of related duties it is impossible for one to be righteous. Then, further, "there· is none that seeketh after God." That is, there is no right affection, no desire or de termination to worship God or to obey his will.

As a result, viewed in its positive aspects, there is a general apostasy from truth and virtue: "they have all turned aside"; the demoralization and degradation are complete:11 they are together become unprofitable," that is to say, corrupt, useless, worthless.

As a practical result, there is a total absence of goodness. It is so universal as to admit of not a solitary exception: "there is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one."

The evil conduct of men is defined in the matter both of speech and of action. Paul mentions the throat, the tongue, the lips, the mouth. He declares "their throat is an open sepulchre"; that is, their throat threatens destruction. It is death to some one whenever the mouth is opened. "With their tongues they have used deceit"; that is, habitually and continually by flattering and smooth speaking they deceive and betray. "The poison of asps is under their lips"; that is, the falsehood and calumny which evil lips give out is like the poison of an adder. "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."

This last expression, indicating violent speech, forms a fit introduction to Paul's mention of conduct which is characterized by murder and oppression and fierce discord.

"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Destruction and misery are in their ways;
And the way of peace have they not known."
Vs. 15-17.

The source of all this iniquity is traced by the apostle to the absence of all true piety, to the lack of reverence and respect for God: "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

In pronouncing the sentence of God upon such sinners, Paul answers first an imaginary objection made by the Jew to the contents of the last paragraph. He is supposed to say that the foregoing descriptions may apply to the heathen, but they cannot refer to Israel. Paul at once shows the absurdity of such a suggestion: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law." That is, as Paul insists, the per sons to whom most obviously the Old Testament Scriptures must apply are the very persons for whom and by whom these Scriptures were written. They had a twofold design: First, to silence any who .might endeavor to declare their innocence; and secondly, that the whole human race should be placed in a position of owing to God the penalty of transgression, "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God." This is "because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight."

Such in its essence is the great conclusion toward which Paul has been moving through all the previous chapters. He wishes to show the universal need of a righteousness which God alone can provide, and to do so he shows that law in itself is not a means whereby a man can be made just. The law has a different function: "through the law cometh the knowledge of sin." This is its true function. It was never designed to save men or to deliver them from the power of evil. Its purpose has ever been to reveal the actual sinfulness of men. It may have other purposes; it does indeed fulfill other offices; but it is utterly powerless to meet the needs of a lost world, or to deliver men from the slavery and the guilt of sin. Whether this law is contained in the Scriptures or whether it is written on the hearts of men, "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

2. The Divine Method and Provision. Ch. 3:21-31

21 But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:25 whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; 26 for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what man ner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith. 28 We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also:30 if so be that God is one, and he shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.

31 Do we then make the law of none effect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law.

How can a man be right with God? How can one who is guilty of sin be forgiven, pardoned, declared righteous, and regarded as though his sins had never been committed? No more important question possibly could be asked, and in all the Bible probably there is no more complete and satisfying answer than in these words of Paul. He has recorded here the very essence of the gospel which he desired to preach at Rome, the very sum and substance of the good news which this epistle sets forth. One who wishes to know the very heart of the Christian message need ponder only these words; and one who reads them in the light of the Old Testament and the New can not fail to be moved by their unique expression of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul has been insisting that the whole world is in need of righteousness and is under the condemnation of God; here he declares that through the atoning work of Christ a righteousness has been provided, and is offered freely to all on the ground of faith alone. This righteousness is "manifest" in the gospel. It is "apart from the law"; it is not secured by obeying the law: it is offered to those by whom the law has been broken; it is nothing which can be merited, earned, or deserved. However, it is in perfect accordance with the law, it is "witnessed by the law and the prophets," as Paul demonstrates clearly in the next chapter of this epistle. It is provided by God himself, for the "righteousness of God," v. 22, here denotes not the attribute of divine' justice but the righteousness which God offers to man.

It is received by faith. In fact, faith is its distinguishing feature; it is not a righteousness by works, but a righteous ness "through faith in Jesus Christ," and it is "unto all them that believe." Faith. however, is not a ground of merit; but merely the instrument by which this righteousness is received.

This righteousness of God is of universal application, as it is needed by all, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." Paul does not mean that all have sinned equally, but all, without exception, have failed to attain the "glory," the praise, the approbation of God, and are therefore under his condemnation. All such, however, if they put their trust in Christ are "declared to be just," for here the word "justified," v. 24, does not mean" made righteous," but declared righteous. Paul is here describing "justification"; sanctification will of course follow. Faith is certain to issue in a life of holiness. However, at once, before such a life has been lived, one who accepts Christ as a Saviour is declared to be righteous.

This is due to no merit on the part of man. The source of this "justification" is the unmerited favor of God. Men are "justified freely by his grace."

However, this gracious justifying act on the part of God is not due to any indifference to sin, nor to his failure to observe moral distinctions. God has made it possible at infinite cost. It is "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This redemption, this deliverance from the guilt and power and penalty of sin was accomplished by the atoning death of Christ, "whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood." This propitiatory death of Christ, however, was not intended to induce God to love sinners: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." In this propitiatory sacrifice God revealed his own attitude toward sin and made it possible for him to forgive sinners.

The mystery of atonement Paul does not attempt to solve. He does not explain just how the death of Christ constitutes him a "propitiation." The fact, however, is at the very heart of the Christian gospel, and Paul does make it clear that the supreme element in propitiation is the vindicating of divine righteousness: "To show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done afore time, in the forbearance of God." V. 25. Here the phrase, "righteousness of God," denotes his attribute of justice. It was necessary for him to show his unchanging attitude towards sin. During past generations God appeared to deal lightly with transgressors; he seemed almost indifferent to their guilt. Occasionally he gave some signal manifestation of divine displeasure and inflicted some startling penalty, but he was long-suffering and gracious and allowed men living in sin to attain old age; even whole nations were permitted to continue for long periods openly violating his sacred laws. However, in the death of his own Son, God made it evident once and for all that he is not indifferent to sin. The cross is the vindication of his righteousness. However, it is much more. It is the means of salvation for man; for it is in view of the cross that God now, "at this present season," can "himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus." One who accepts the crucified Saviour as his Lord really submits to the divine sentence upon sin; he becomes right with God. He is declared to be just; and God who thus justifies sinners is shown to be just.

There are mysteries involved, but there is no doubt

that as one gazes upon the cross of Christ, he feels the burden of guilt roll away, and he finds peace with God and power for a new and higher life.

Paul has completed his superb statement of the great principle of justification by faith; however, as the chapter closes, vs. 27-31, he adds certain inferences by which the principle is commend and established.

First, boasting is excluded. "A law," or divine ordinance, or spiritual institution, whereby a man rests for his salvation wholly upon the merits and work of Christ, must make it impossible for such a man to glory or to boast in the presence of God. Therefore, Paul concludes, "a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law"; his justification is entirely aside from any obedience to the law; it is by faith alone. As Paul elsewhere shows, faith will result in obedience, and justification will issue in holy living, but the truth that justification is by faith alone is the very heart of. Christianity. It is rightly regarded as "the article of a standing or falling Church."

Secondly, by this "law" of justification, God is presented in his true character. If some men are saved by a law of works and some by a law of faith, then there must be two Gods, an idea absolutely abhorrent to the Jew. However, since there is but one God, "the God of Jews," who is "the God of Gentiles also," therefore, there can be but one way of salvation, and the only possible method of justification must be by faith in Christ.

Last ,of all, Paul raises the imaginary objection that justification by faith makes "the law of none effect." It is said to obliterate all moral distinctions, to regard law as useless and worthless, to annul the divine ordinances recorded in the Ol<;l Testament Scriptures. On the contrary, Paul states, by declaring this doctrine "we establish the law." He demonstrates this claim in various parts of the epistle, and first of all in the chapter which immediately follows.

3. The Proof from Scripture. Ch. 4

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God. 3 For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. 6 Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works, 7 saying,

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.

8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.

9. Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness. 10 How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them; 12 and the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he bad in uncircumcision. 13 For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:15 for the law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression. 16 For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to- the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. 18 Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb; 20 yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned unto him; 24 but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.

When Paul has clearly defined the doctrine of justification by faith, he naturally turns for the confirmation of its truth to the Old Testament. He still has in mind the Jew who is supposed to feel that this doctrine sets aside the inspired Scriptures. In these Scriptures, on the contrary, Paul finds the most unanswerable evidence that his teaching is true. He selects the crucial case of Abraham, the father of the Jewish race, the most impressive and important figure who appears upon the stage of human history between Adam and Christ.

a. The case of Abraham is decisive, at least to the mind of the Jew, because he towered above all other men in his moral grandeur, and if anyone was accepted of God, it must have been he, for he was known as the "friend of God." If he was not justified by works, no man could he; if he was justified by faith, there can be no other way of justification for any man. Vs. 1-8. "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?" The last clause refers to the human nature which he shared with all men. The question then is, what did Abraham attain thr01.1gh his own natural efforts? How was he justified? Was it on the ground of his illustrious acts? These gave him a place of honor among men, but: did they secure his justification and thus give him a ground of boasting before God? "What saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him far righteousness. " Nothing is said here about works; it is his faith, his trust and confidence in God, which is "reckoned," imputed, accounted unto him as righteousness. Abraham, therefore, did not earn righteousness; he received it as a free gift. A laborer who works for pay can claim his wages a debt that is due; but such was not the case with the old patriarch; and such is never the case when a man is justified by God. It is to one who has no confidence in his own works, but trusts in a God who justifies freely, and actually docs pronounce righteous an ungodly man-it is to such a one that "faith is reckoned for righteousness." V. 5.

To this great truth David likewise testifies in the Thirty- second Psalm when he says:

"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin."

The psalmist thus pronounces happy, not one who has kept the law, not one who is being rewarded for his good "'works," but one who has broken the law and who, as he has turned toward God in penitence and truth; has been forgiven and declared to be just. Nothing could be more clear, nothing more startling, yet nothing more comforting, than the truth that when we are conscious of our sins and turn to God in the name of Christ, trusting in his redeeming grace, we are pardoned and justified and can know the joy of salvation.

b. That justification is possible for all Paul next declares when he shows how it is as independent of religious ceremonies or of special privileges as it is of boasted deeds of the law. Justification is by faith alone, although the experience inevitably results in holy living; so too, faith naturally is expressed in religious rites; but before these, and aside from these, God justifies those who believe in Jesus. Vs. 9-11.

This is what Paul means by asking whether justification was granted to those alone who had received the sacra mental seal of circumcision, or to all who trusted in God and accepted his promises of grace. That righteousness was independent, and preceded any such external rite, was evident from the case of Abraham, for he was justified before he received this seal.

Paul takes us back to that night when the aged patriarch, standing childless and alone under the Syrian sky, received from the Lord the promise that his seed should become as the stars of the sky in multitude. Then it was, we are told, that he "believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness." It was years after that Abraham received circumcision as a seal of the covenant promise of God. Justification, then, preceded and was quite independent of circumcision, yet the latter became "a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision," v. 11.

Therefore, Abraham became, in the spiritual realm, "the father of all them that believe," whether Jews or Gentiles, and his own experience became a proof that men are justified independently of all ceremonies and rites. The latter may be regarded as seals by which covenants are confirmed; they may be signs and symbols of benefits conferred, but in themselves they are powerless, and their efficacy is dependent upon the faith of the recipient and the grace of God the Giver. The real descend ants of Abraham, therefore are not those literal Israelites who are lineal descendants of Abraham, nor yet are they those who imitate his acceptance of ceremonial rites, but those who emulate and share his faith. To them as to him, faith is "reckoned" "for righteousness."

c. This righteousness is independent of law and is received by faith alone; in the case of Abraham, faith evidently was the acceptance of a promise and not obedience to law. It was, however, vital and unquestioning, and it accepted as certain what reason might have ridiculed or denied. Vs. 13-22.

The promise to Abraham, in its ultimate scope, was "that he should be heir of the world." The fulfillment of this promise was to be realized through Christ and his followers. In a t rue. sense they yet are to "inherit the earth." Yet for Abraham this hope was not conditioned upon the fulfillment of law, but upon a righteousness which resulted from faith. V. 13.

"Faith" and "promise" belong to a different domain from that of "law." The latter would exclude the former, and make them of no effect. The real effect of law is to bring condemnation. Where "there is no law," there may be fault and sin, but not "transgression"; that is, no actual breach of law, which is to say that "law," instead of bringing blessing, has no power but that of increasing guilt and of making men liable to the "wrath of God." Vs. 14, 15.

For this reason it was the plan of God to condition his great blessings not upon obedience to law but upon faith, for faith as exercised by man implies "grace" on the part of God; and such a system made the fulfillment of the promise possible, not only to those who had the Mosaic law, but to all persons who, by their faith in God, are true children of Abraham. Thus, as Christian believers, we can claim that Abraham is "the father of us all," and can share in all the blessedness promised to him when Cod called him "a father of many nations." Vs. 16, 17.

Possibly this reasoning of Paul seems somewhat difficult to follow; hut its great essential teaching is clear and is full of comfort for every reader, for it gives assurance that, through faith alone, may be received all the blessed promises of God, for eternity as well as for time.

The faith of Abraham was extraordinary in the extreme. It was, however, centered upon God, "who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were." V. 17. In such a God he evidently trusted, for when he received the promise he was as good as dead and his heart no longer cherished the hope of an heir. Yet, contrary to all human probability that the promise could be fulfilled, and fully conscious of all the apparent impassibilities involved, he praised God for the miracle which was to be performed, "being fully assured that what he had promised he was able also to perform." It was through such faith that Abraham became "a father of many nations"; it was such faith that God graciously "reckoned unto him for righteousness," v. 22.

Such faith, indeed, was extraordinary, but its essence was quite plain. It consisted in taking God at his word, in believing that what he said was true, in trusting that what God promised he would bring to pass. Nor does our faith differ from this in kind. God does not expect us to believe what is irrational, but he promises blessings that we cannot explain, which will be granted by methods we cannot understand. We are conscious of unworthiness and fault, but he promises to pardon, cleanse, relieve; we come with simple faith in the power of Christ and find forgive ness, peace, and rest. He promises us resurrection and endless glory and by faith we die with hopes reaching be yond the grave.

d. It is indeed in the sphere of death and resurrection that the thoughts revolve all through these paragraphs, and particularly as we reach the great application of the story with which the chapter closes, vs. 23-25. All this narrative, Paul declares, "was not written for his sake alone," simply to record that Abraham was justified by faith, "but for our sake also," to assure us that we, too, receive a similar acceptance if we have a like faith. The promise to Abraham was practically that of life from the dead. As Christians we trust the same God who also "raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" and conditions our pardon and acceptance and righteousness upon our faith in him "who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification." The death and resurrection of Christ are inseparably united as the ground of our salvation; yet they can be distinguished in their pur pose and effect. Looking at them separately it is possible that Paul here means that Christ died to atone for our sins and rose again with a view to securing our justification. As, however, the word "for" should probably be interpreted in the same sense in both clauses, the more exact meaning may be that Christ who was surrendered to death because of the offenses we had committed, was raised to life because of the acquittal he had secured for us. What ever the exact translation may be, it is clear that the resurrection was "the crown and seal to the atonement wrought by his death," and that it envokes the faith which makes his atoning work effectual for believers. In any case, the inspiring truth is taught that our justification is secured by the death and resurrection of our Lord, and-if this is its ground, then surely in such a plan of salvation there can be no place for pride or self-reliance or human merit, but only for humble, confident, grateful faith. As the whole chapter has therefore shown, the Old Testament Scriptures agree with the New in assuring us that faith alone is the way by which men can be justified in the sight of God.

4. The Blessed Results. Ch. 5:1-11

1 Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness; 4 and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope: 5 and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us. 6 For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; 11 and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Paul has already exhibited the need, the exact nature, and the Scripture proof of the doctrine of "justification' 'by faith." He now presents some of its blessed consequences. It is true that practically the whole remaining portion of the epistle unfolds the new life of holiness and happiness which issues from justification. Here, however, the stress is laid upon the acceptance with God which the justified enjoy, and upon their certainty of sharing his eternal glory. · In fact this certainty of salvation is the essential burden of this passage, vs. 1-11. The questions might naturally arise as to whether the trials and tribulations incident to the life of a Christian may not cause faith to fail, and whether believers may not be swept away from their position of acceptance with God. Paul here gives the assurance that justification by faith is permanent and is sure to issue in blessedness which is eternal.

a. First of all, then, is the assurance that "being there fore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." When Paul speaks here of "peace with God," his phrase is not equivalent to "peace from God," or to "the peace of God." The latter may denote the peace which God himself enjoys, or the peace which he inspires in the hearts of his children. But "peace with God" denotes a relation to him. It indicates pardon and acceptance and is contrasted with enmity or wrath. It signifies the position of those who once were under condemnation but now are enjoying the full measure of divine forgiveness and favor. It is a relation with God which results from the atoning work of Christ, and in consequence of this relation a peace which is not born of earth enters the souls of the justified, a peace which God supplies, a peace in some measure like to that which the "God of peace" himself enjoys.

b. It is through Christ also that "we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." As our peace with God is grounded on the atoning death of Christ, so it is by the power of the living Christ that we are brought into the atmosphere and position of conscious peace and acceptance with God. "This grace wherein we stand" is more fully described in the eighth chapter of this same epistle; and there it is pictured as the position of sons who live in fellowship with God, who are not merely forgiven enemies or pardoned sinners, but children who have received "the spirit of adoption" whereby they cry "Abba, Father." It is Christ who has given us such "access" to God, such an "introduction" as persons of note are given into the presence chamber of a king. Only those who are cons9-ious of being justified can really enjoy that true fellowship with God which is made possible by Jesus Christ our Lord.

c. It is, however, not peace with Christ, nor the position of sons, but the prospect of glory which forms the chief element of that blessedness of justified souls here set forth: "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God," v. 2. As Paul argues more fully in the eighth chapter of the epistle, "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him." To share such heavenly splendor, to behold the King in his beauty, to be like him when we sec him as he is, all this is the inspiring hope of those who have been justified by faith in Christ. Nor is this hope dimmed-it rather is brightened-by the distress and trials which now encompass us. The secret lies in the purpose and results of these very persecutions and trials, so that "we also rejoice in our tribulations," knowing that these tribulations result in steadfastness, in approved ness, or tried integrity, and this in turn issues in a stronger and dearer hope. Thus the very tribulations become a ground and a source of strength for that confident expectation of glory which belongs to the justified.

And this "hope putteth not to shame," it does not deceive, it does not mock us, it is not disappointed, and for two reasons. First, "because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us." This is the first mention in the letter of the Spirit; in the eighth chapter are found some of the most significant statements in reference to his- work which the Bible contains. This first mention reminds us that his power and influence make us conscious and certain of the love which God has toward us.

There is, however, a ground of hope outside ourselves, and this is found in a historic fact, in that supreme fact, namely, the atoning death of Christ: "For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly," v. 6. Sin is here called weakness. As sinners we are pictured as suffering from moral infirmity and as in need of healing and of strength. It was for us that Christ died "in due season," or, as Paul says elsewhere, "When the fulness of the time came," to meet the great crisis which sin had produced.

Here Paul states that "Christ died for the ungodly." We had expected him to say that he died for us, but the substitution of this word brings out all the more clearly the thought of the great love of God in sending his son to die for the undeserving. This is emphasized in the verses which follow, where, in contrast with the love of man for man, we have the demonstration of the love of God toward us. Paul intimates that while it might be possible that one would not die for a righteous man, yet for a" good man," a loving, a deserving man, "some one would even dare to die." This possible manifestation of human love, however, is far surpassed by the love of God who "commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

The argument which Paul advances is this: If God so loved us while we were yet sinners, "much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him." If God has done so much for his enemies, what will he not do for his friends? "For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." It is evident that our eternal salvation is secure and certain. The God who made possible for us justification through the death of his Son, will undoubtedly grant us eternal blessedness as we share now in the life of the risen Christ.

No wonder, then, that Paul closes the paragraph with the assurance that we who are justified have triumphant joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Such peace with God, such access to a loving Father, such unclouded hope of glory, are the sure and inevitable blessings of all who are justified by faith.

5. The Universal Application. Ch. 5:12-21

12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:-13 for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many. 16 And not as through one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. 19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. 20 And the law came in besides, that the trespass might' abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly: 21 that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The analogy drawn by Paul between Adam and Christ is judged to be one of the most difficult and complex pas sages of the epistle. By some readers it is regarded as a parenthesis or break in the argument. By others, how ever, probably more correctly, it is looked upon as a climax to the discussion of the doctrine of justification by faith and as an introduction to the treatment of the doctrine of sanctification, or of the life of holiness in which justification issues.

It does, indeed, confirm the doctrine of justification by faith by showing that the same principles of divine government are involved in justifying those who are united to Christ by faith as in condemning those who share the nature and sin of Adam. On the other hand, by advancing from the truth of justification by faith in Christ to that of vital union with Christ, the ground is laid for the teaching which follows as to the sanctification and final glory of believers. Chs. 6 to 8.

Possibly the most important relation which this famous analogy sustains to the foregoing argument is in showing the wide application of justification; as the Paragraph immediately preceding reveals its permanence, vs. 1-11. this paragraph declares its universality, vs. 12-21. The sum of the message is simply this: the sin of Adam brought sin and death to all mankind, so the redeeming work of Christ brings righteousness and life to all who are united to him by a living faith.

The analogy involves not only such a comparison, vs. 12, 18, 19, but also certain contrasts, vs. 15, 16, 17. The comparison begins with a statement of the universal reign of sin and death due to the sin of Adam: "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned." The specific sin to which Paul here refers is un questionably that act of disobedience on the part of Adam commonly designated as "the fall;" and believed to be, as here intimated, the source of all human sinfulness and misery and death. By the last term, Paul evidently meant physical death, although it indicates all the misery and distress of which the death of the body is the symbol, including ultimately that separation from God which is the final penalty of sin. The penalty, Paul declares, has been visited on the whole human race in virtue of the fact" that all sinned.'' This last statement is commonly interpreted to mean that the guilt of Adam has been imputed to his descendants. It more probably refers to the actual guilt which men incur because of that tendency to evil which they inherit, which is believed to be a result of the disobedience of Adam. It is probably to be interpreted as a simple statement of the universal prevalence of sin, and of death which is its penalty, in order that Paul may com pare with it the wide influence of the saving work of Christ. Before completing this comparison, Paul pauses to demonstrate the fact that sin is universal. He does so by stating that "until the law sin was in .the world." This sin, however, was not in the nature of actual disobedience to a command as in the case of Adam, or of his descendants who received the law of Moses. Nevertheless, between Adam and Moses there was real sin; because death reigned like a cruel tyrant, all were subject to his power. There must, therefore, have been disobedience to law, not the law of Moses but the law written on the human heart. Tl1is universal sin could be traced as an effect "of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come." This universal result of Adam's sin is about to be compared with the salvation accomplished by Christ, but Paul first pauses to mention three contrasts between the work of the first and the last Adam. There is a contrast in quality: the one is all of sin, the other of bounty and of grace. "But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many."

So, too, there is a contrast in the quantity or the mode of working. In the case of Adam, the sentence pronounced was due to the act of a single man and had as its result a sweeping verdict of condemnation; but in the case of Christ, his work had its rise in many faults and its result in a declaration of pardon and righteousness: "And not a through one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification."

There was a third contrast: there was a difference in the whole character and consequence of the work of Adam and of Christ. Through the fault of one man, death, through that sole agency, began to reign as a cruel tyrant. On the other hand, those who receive the gift of righteous ness shall reign in life through the power of Christ, "For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ."

When at last Paul comes to complete his great comparison and to show that the wide effect of the sin of Adam has its parallel in the universal benefit accruing to all who put their trust in Christ, he docs so by showing that as one act of disobedience resulted in bringing all men under condemnation, so "one act of righteousness," namely, the voluntary death of Christ for the sins of the world, brings justification to all who put their trust in him. "So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life." Then, to sum up his entire analogy, Paul concludes, "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous."

It remains only for the apostle to show the true function of the law. He has stated that, even between Adam and Moses, sin and death had reigned supreme. In the earlier portion of his epistle he has shown that the law was unable to secure justification for men. What, then, was it province? Paul here declares that it" came in besides, that the trespass might abound." Instead of relieving men from the guilt of sin, it actually led to the multiplication of sins. Rut through the work of Christ a glorious result was achieved: "where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly." Until the coming of Christ, sin ruled in the realm of death like a pitiless monarch; but since the re deeming work of our Lord, grace has been enthroned and given sway over the followers of Christ, so that they may be delivered from death and made heirs of eternal life, vs. 20, 21. Thus Paul not _only shows the wide application of the justifying grace of God, but also indicates what in the next chapter he proceeds to develop, namely, that its issue is life in its largest and truest aspects, both for time and for eternity.

This is one of the most intricate and perplexing paragraphs in the Bible, and therefore its interpretation demands both humility and charity. Unfortunately, it has been for centuries the battlefield of theological controversy. Its statements are so profound and its implications are so wide that all readers should not expect to agree upon their meaning. The main message, however, is clear. It is intended to show the gracious provision which God has made for a race which has fallen wholly under the dominance of sin and of death, a provision of righteousness and of eternal life made possible through the atoning work and divine power of Jesus Christ our Lord.