1. The Epistle to the Romans.
THE subject of the Epistle to the Romans, speaking generally, is “RIGHTEOUSNESS:” — not alone how as a sinner I can be justified or counted righteous, and how God is righteous in doing this, but also how practical righteousness is wrought out in me, — how I am made to “bring forth fruit unto God.”
The first few verses, chapters 1:1-17, are introductory. They give us, as the opening verses of these Bible books mostly do, the character of the epistle in a few words. From them we learn that these Roman saints, destitute, or nearly so, of New Testament Scripture, and haviiig never seen the Apostle, he was anxious to establish them in the faith that they already professed, and for that purpose to declare to them (authoritatively as an Apostle could) that gospel to which he had been set apart. He was not ashamed of it. It was the power of God to save those that believed; not only from wrath and curse but, as we shall see, from sin also. It was this, because “to faith” the righteousness of God, — the very thing man as a sinner dreaded, — was revealed in what was “gospel” (good news) to him, requiring only faith on his part to receive it.
The body of the epistle begins with verse 18 God’s wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of men — that was, as a class, the Gentiles, — and on the other hand against the unrighteousness of those who,, having the truth, held it without practical effect, — as a class Israel. The Gentiles are now first taken up (19–2:16) They had turned away from the God that even nature spoke of to them, and had been given up to violate nature shamefully among themselves. Their sins were manifest even to themselves, although they loved them. Their philosophers (2:1-5) were no better; they did the very things they judged. In God’s judgment-day what men had done alone would be the question. And there is added foe the conscience of the Jew, that Jew and Gentile would then stand before One who was no respecter of persons; and if hearing the law were not enough, but men must be justified by doing, it was possible that the Gentile who had no law might after all condemn the Jew that had. Not that any could be justified by doing; that is presently denied (3:20), and the very thing the Apostle is about is proving all to be together guilty.
He now turns (17) directly to the Jew. He was One-resting in the law, as given to him alone, and boasting of his knowledge of God and of His will. Whit was he in reality? Worse than the heathen philosophers, the law he had he broke, and made the name of the God he boasted in to be blasphemed on his account among the Gentiles. What would the outward form of circumcision profit, with the heart uncircumcised within (17-29.)
And this was not the denial of the Jews’ privileges; they had above all the word of God confided to thy; and if they had not been faithful to their trust, that did not set aside His faithfulness. Nay, man’s unrighteousness would commend the righteousness of Goth, and man’s lie His truth. Yet that did not take away the justice of His judging (3:1-8)
As for the Jew, already proved under sin just as the Gentile, his law had already explicitly declared that none was righteous, none did good; and it was to those under law it spoke. Thus, if the Gentile’s sins were manifest, the law itself spoke to the Jew who was under it, that every mouth might be stopped, and the whole world become guilty before God. By deeds of law, therefore, — and this includes all possible good deeds, upon man’s part, — no flesh can be justified (or counted righteous) in the sight of God; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (3:9-20)
Man having in this way no righteousness for God, God manifests His own for man. Not in the law, but “without,” or apart from “law” altogether, although both law and prophets bear witness to it. If it had been in the law it would have been in judgment of all, but in the gospel, and declared by the atoning blood of Christ (25), it is “unto” or “for all;” as to them that believe, “upon all” (22): justifying them freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (24). Thus the blood of Christ declares as to the past God’s righteousness in passing over the sins of bygone generations; and for the present time, that He is righteous in justifying the believer in Jesus (25, 26).
By this means man’s boasting is excluded; and he being cast as a sinner entirely upon God’s grace, the Gentile could not be shut, out from blessing, for was He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yet law was not made void but established (29-31), for its true power was in conviction of sin, not sparing it or the doer of it, (see again verse 19).
Moreover, Abraham’s case (for the Jew traced all he had to Abraham), was not an exception to this principle of grace. He could not boast. What was counted to him for righteousness was not work, but that “he believed God,” — the same way in which God justified the ungodly now (4:1-5).
David, too, described the blessedness of him, not who did no sin, but to whom the Lord did not reckon it, thus reckoning righteousness without works (6-8).
Moreover, as to Abraham, it was not when a circumcised man that he was thus reckoned righteous, but when uncircumcised — in short, a Gentile. And circumcision was given him as the seal of the faith he had while, in that condition. How vain to bring it up then, to exclude the Gentiles from Abraham’s blessing! (9-12). So also the promise of inheritance was not by law, (which came long after Abraham). Had it been, it would not have been believing that God put His seal upon, but doing — faith would have been made void; and besides, none would have got the promise, for law works only wrath, as we have seen (13-15). Faith then is God’s principle, grace making the promise sure to all the seed, and that seed is, therefore, all believers: Abraham “father of us all” — “of many nations.” Such he was “before Him whom he believed, even God,” whose way is to display, His power in man’s extremity by giving life to the dead, (spiritually or naturally), and who speaks of things not [yet] existing as if they were already in being (16, 17).
The faith of Abraham is now brought forward therefore as the pattern of our own. He had to believe in a God of resurrection, who came in, as it were to give new life, his body being now dead, when he was about a hundred years-old, that he might have the promised seed. He took God’s word for this, looked not in at himself, but out at the promise, and therefore it was reckoned to him for righteousness, (18-22). We are called to believe in the self-same simple manner on One who has not indeed given us a promise, but who as the God of resurrection has acted for us in raising up for our justification — to show His acceptance of the work done in our behalf — Him who was delivered for our offenses; (23-25.)
A blessed picture follows of the consequences of our justification (chapters 5:1-11). Peace with God, — a present standing in His grace, — as to the future, that glory of God from which once we were shut out, in such clouded prospect before the soul, that all the clouds by the way are lit up by it. We rejoice in tribulations themselves, which in God’s hand prove blessing to us; that love of God being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given to us — that love He has commended to us in the gift of Christ for us, when yet we were sinners, ungodly and without strength (5-8). This love assures us of no wrath being in the future for us (9); for when our hearts were at enmity to Him, the death of His Son reconciled us; and much more then shall we, so reconciled, be saved by Him who now in the presence of God for us in glory, lives to effect the complete and final salvation of those for whom He died. (Comp: Heb. 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25).)
One last thing remains to perfect the picture of our blessedness; and it is indeed the climax of the whole. The heart is brought back from its wandering to the place of rest, the only possible place of rest and joy: “and not only so, but we also joy in GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation” (11, margin). We see how this connects the being counted righteous with the working out of righteousness in the soul. The prodigal with his Father on his neck, gets not only the son’s place but the son’s heart.
This closes the first part of the Epistle.
[To be continued, if the Lord will.]
THE Bride may have all sons of precious things, but she herself is for the Lord.