Romans 3

— the righteousness of God.] See the note on chap. i. 17.

— (I speak as a man)] I, Paul, must be understood to speak what has just been objected, as in the person of an unbelieving Jewish man pleading for himself. Dr. Wells. The phrase “to speak as a man” here means, to speak agreeably to the notions of the persons one is arguing with, and to argue from those notions. Pyle.

— the law of faith.] The Gospel, or Gospel method of justification, is called “the law of faith,” as opposed to “the law of works.” Parkhurst. The term “law,” as denoting the Christian religion, appears to have been so used by the Apostles for the sake of the Jews, to whom, as being accustomed to that term, it was probable that the Gospel would be thereby more easily recommended. See Rom. viii. 2; ix. 31; Gal. ii. 19; v. 23; Jam. iv. 11; Gal. vi. 2; Jam. i. 25; ii. 12. Schleusner.

Romans 3:6

6. God forbid: &c.] The Apostle here answers the foregoing objection: God forbid, says he, that we should entertain such a thought, as if God either were, or could be, unrighteous: “for then how shall God judge the world?” Burkitt. The very idea of God’s judging the world, implies that it shall be done in righteousness. For, if any person were to have injustice done him on that occasion, it would not be judgment, but a capricious exercise of power, whereby the judge would be dishonoured. In this idea is founded the answer which Abraham made to God, and which the Apostle appears now to have had in his eye. See Gen. xviii. 25. Dr. Macknight.

Romans 3:7

7, 8. For if the truth of God had more abounded through my lie &c.] The Apostle again speaks in the person of a profane objection. As if he had said, Thus some man may possibly plead for his sin: The truth of God hath gained by my lie; the faithfulness of God is made more manifest by the unfaithfulness of men; therefore why should I be judged and condemned as a sinner, when the glory of God will shine more bright upon the occasion of my sin? The free grace of God discovered in the Gospel will be manifested, say some, and magnified in the pardoning of our sin: let us therefore sin our fill, that the immeasurableness of Divine goodness may appear, and the abundance of pardoning mercy may abound. The Apostle rejects this doctrine and practice, of “doing evil that good may come,” with abhorrence and detestation, affirming that “their damnation is just,” who either fasten the doctrine upon the Apostles, or advance it themselves. Burkitt.

7. — through my lie] As “truth” signifies also fidelity or faithfulness, so “lie” on the contrary imports also infidelity or unfaithfulness: and it is here used to signify that sin of not making good use of the oracles of God intrusted to the Jews, called their “unbelief,” ver. 3, and “unrighteousness,” ver. 5. So also ver. 4. “Let God be true, but every man a liar;” that is, the unfaithfulness of men, in neglecting to do their part, doth no way prejudice, but rather commend, the faithfulness of God, in allowing them those mercies, of which they make such ill use. Dr. Hammond.

From Exod. xix. 5—8; as also xxiv. 3—7; Deut. v.

27; and xxvi. 17; it appears that the people solemnly pledged themselves by a vow of obedience, to “do all that the Lord had spoken.” Hence the wickedness of the Jews is in several places of the Old Testament, as well as here, denoted by lying; every violation of God’s commands being a breach of their promise and covenant, and so a lie. Dr. Wells. The original word is used in no other passage of the New Testament. It signifies every sort of departure from truth, rectitude, and honesty; impiety, wickedness, and crimes of all kinds; and the whole clause appears equivalent to that in the 5th verse, “if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God.” Schleusner.

Romans 3:8

8. And not rather, &c.] And why may it not be rather inferred and said, &c. Dr. Wells.

— whose damnation is just.] For adventuring to do evil that good may come; or for laying these slanders to the Apostle’s charge. Burkitt.

Some persons understand the censure of the Apostle with reference to the slanderers; others with reference to that ungodly resolution, “Let us do evil,” &c. Both expositions are good. Take it the first way, and the slanderer may read his doom in it: here is his wages, and his portion, and the meed and reward of his slander. Take it in the other sense, with reference to the resolution, “Let us do evil, that good may come;” it teaches us that no pretension of doing it for God’s glory, to a good end, or any other colour whatsoever, can excuse those that presume to “do evil;” but that still the evil that they do is damnable, and it is but “just” with God to render “damnation” to them for it. Bp. Sanderson.

Romans 3:9

9. What then? are we better than they? &c.] To return then to the former objection. If it be asked, What difference is there between Jew and Gentile? I answer, there has been all along a considerable one in respect of the written law; but now under the Gospel, as all are found to be sinners, either against the law of nature, or against that of Moses, all stand equally in need of a Redeemer, all are alike capable of His redemption, and there is no difference at all left. Pyle.

— for we have before proved &c.] The Apostle charged this upon the Jews in the second chapter; and upon the Gentiles in the first chapter, ver. 19—32. Dr. Wells.

Romans 3:10

10. As it is written, &c.] These Scriptures are connected from different parts of the Old Testament; but there are many editions of the Septuagint Greek, in which they all stand together in the fourteenth Psalm. Dr. Doddridge.

It is not necessary, in order to make good the Apostle’s words or argument, that this passage should be spoken of the Jews of that age in general, especially seeing that they are there said to have “devoured God’s people,” and to have “shamed the counsel of the poor.” It is enough that they should generally agree to the

The law convinceth all mankind of sin. Anno DOMINI 60.

Romans 3:19

19.—what things soever the law saith.] The foregoing quotations, although taken from the Psalms, being called sayings of the law, it is evident that “the law” here denotes the whole body of the Jewish Scriptures. Dr. Macknight.

—may become guilty before God.] That is, ‘subject,’ or ’liable, to punishment from God.’ Parkhurst. Liable to the Divine justice. Abp. Tillotson.

In the first chapter of this Epistle St. Paul gives a dreadful description of the heathen world, so bent to sin, that they were abandoned to it, given up to vile affections and a reprobate mind. He tells us elsewhere, that “all have sinned; all the world is guilty before God; the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.” The writers of the Old Testament give the same account: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one. There is not a just man that doeth good, and sinneth not.” The Pagans give the same account. St. Paul’s contemporary Seneca complains, that every one has sinned more or less: that there is not a man to be found, who could acquit himself: that the misfortune of human nature is such, that there is a natural love of sinning: and he informs us, not only what men were at that time, but that heretofore they had sinned, and would continue to do so as long as they lived. All history and philosophy attest this truth: all laws, precepts, and government suppose it. But the strongest, unhappiest proof of all is, that every one of us knows it by experience; and “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,” 1 John i. 8. Was the case otherwise, we should have no occasion for, no interest in, a Saviour: the end of His coming was “to save sinners:” they are the object of His mercy, and all men are the object of His mercy, for “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men:” and the Gospel, the good tidings of peace and salvation, is commanded to be preached in all the world “to every creature.” Dr. Glocester Ridley.

Romans 3:20

20. Therefore by the deeds of the law &c.] The Apostle here draws his conclusion from what he had before premised concerning both Jew and Gentile: namely, that “by the works,” whether moral or ceremonial, “of the law,” considered in contradistinction to the Gospel, and so exclusive of the grace of God in Christ, “shall no flesh,” Jew no more than Gentile, “be justified in the sight of God.” Bp. Bull, Dr. Wells.

—be justified] God’s justifying us doth solely, or

chiefly, import His acquitting us from guilt, condemnation, and punishment, by free pardon and remission of our sins, accounting us and dealing with us as just persons, upright and innocent in His sight and esteem. Dr. Isaac Barrow.

The original verb, here rendered “shall be justified,” is most usually applied to evangelical justification; and signifies to justify, to esteem, pronounce or declare just or righteous; that is, to acquit or absolve from past offences, and accept, as just, to the reward of righteousness. In this view it is plainly a forensic term, or a term belonging to courts of judicature, answering to the Hebrew word, for which the seventy have used it in Deut. xxv. 1; 1 Kings viii. 32; 2 Chron. iv. 23; Iasi. v. 23: and other places. Compare Prov. xvii. 15. It is in the New Testament applied either to present justification in this life, Acts xiii. 39; Rom. v. 1, 9; viii. 33; 1 Cor. vi. 11; Tit. iii. 7, &c. or to final justification at the last day, Matt. xii. 37; compare Rom. ii. 13. Parkhurst.

That the word is here taken in a forensic or judiciary sense is manifest, both from the phrase with which it is connected, and which signifies, ‘in the sight, judgment, or estimation, of God:’ and also from Pacviii. 2, evidently alluded to by the Apostle, where David most humbly prays that he may not fall under the strict judgment of God. This passage is particularly to be observed, because it clearly shews what the Apostle meant by justification in the whole of his argument concerning faith and works. Bp. Bull.

—for by the law] Namely, by the law thus considered in opposition to the Gospel, (Dr. Wells,) “is the knowledge of sin;” its chief efficacy is to discover sin, and condemn us for sinning. By “the law” here we are to understand both the natural and the written law. Burkitt. The term signifies law in general; and comprehends the law written on man’s heart, Rom. ii. 15, as well as the law of Moses; for by both “is the knowledge of sin.” Dr. Macknight. And, that it comprehends natural as well as revealed law, appears from the conclusion which the Apostle draws, and from the whole tenour of his subsequent argument; which would have very little weight, if there were room to object, that although we cannot be justified by our obedience to the law of Moses, yet we may be justified by our obedience to God’s natural law. Dr. Doddridge.

Also, by “the law” and “the deeds of the law” are to be understood both ceremonial and moral law, especially the latter; for “by the” moral “law is the knowledge of sin:” it is the moral law that forbids theft, adultery, and the like. Besides it is evident, that the opposition runs all along, not between ceremonial and moral works, but between works in general, and faith, ver. 20, 22; between the law of works, and the law of

Righteousness is imputed to those who believe in Jesus. Anno DOMINI 60.

Romans 3:21

21. But now the righteousness of God &c.] The Apostle, having proved negatively, that by the works of the law justification is not to be had for any person, whether Jew or Gentile, comes now to prove the affirmative part of his assertion; namely, that God hath manifested another way of justification in the Gospel, that is to say, by faith in Jesus Christ. Burkitt. See the note on chap. i. 17.

— without the law] That is, without the observance of the law, in the sense above mentioned, as contradistinguished from the grace of God in the Gospel. Dr. Wells, Bp. Bull.

— being witnessed by the law and the prophets.] The example of Abram’s justification by faith, recorded Gen. xv. 6; and the passage, which the Apostle quotes Rom. iv. 6—8, from Ps. xxxii. 1, 2; as well as that from Habakkuk quoted Rom. i. 17; are clear testimonies from the law and the Prophets, that there is a righteousness without law which God accepts; and that the method of justification, revealed in the Gospel, is the method in which men were justified under the law, and before the law; in short it is the method of justifying sinners established from the very beginning of the world. Dr. Macknight.

Romans 3:22

22. — by faith of Jesus Christ] The way of justifying men by faith in Christ, or by that course, which is now prescribed us by Christ. Dr. Hammond.

— for there is no difference.] Between Jew and Gentile, as to their manner of justification. Dr. Whitby.

Romans 3:23

23. — come short of the glory of God.] This is, come short of meriting by their own works to be partakers of “the glory of God” in heaven. Dr. Wells. Locke explains “the glory of God” to mean, ’that glory, which God hath appointed for the righteous’ and Dr. Whitby understands it of ’the fruition of God in glory.’ But from a comparison of this passage with John v. 44, and xii. 43, where the same word is rendered “honour” and “praise,” which is here rendered “glory,” Dr. Macknight is of opinion, that the phrase in this place might very well be translated ’the praise’ or ‘approbation of God.’ Parkhurst.

Romans 3:24

24. Being justified freely] Gratuitously, as a free gift. Parkhurst. Not claiming it by any merit or work of ours. Schleusner. Freely as to the motive of it, namely, by God’s mere grace or favour; and as to the meritorious cause, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Dr. Wells.

— through the redemption] Purchased by the death and blood of Christ shed for us: we having “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,” Eph. i. 7; Col. i. 14. Dr. Whitby. The original word denotes that kind of redemption of a captive from death, which is procured by paying a price for his life. Dr. Macknight.

Romans 3:25

25. — a propitiation] The original word is properly an adjective, signifying ‘propitiatory,’ and agreeing with the substantive ’lid’ or ‘cover’ understood, which is expressed by the Seventy in their version of Exod. xxv. 17, where the cover of the ark is called ‘a propitiatory cover;’ because it was the throne on which the glory of the Lord received the atonement, made by the high priest on the day of expiation, and from which God dispensed pardon to the people. In allusion to this ancient worship, the Apostle represents Christ as ‘a propitiatory’ or ‘mercy-seat,’ set forth by God for receiving the worship of men, and dispensing pardon to them. Or if ‘a propitiatory’ is, by a common figure, put for a propitiatory sacrifice, the Apostle’s meaning will be, that, by the appointment of God, Christ died as a sacrifice for sin, and that God pardons sin through the merit of that sacrifice. Hence Christ is called “a propitiation,” 1 John ii. 2; iv. 10. Parkhurst, Dr. Macknight.

— through faith in his blood.] This expression is found no where else in Scripture. But the Apostle’s meaning is sufficiently plain, namely, that God dispenses pardon to all who have “faith in Christ’s blood,” as shed for the remission of sin; who trust to the merit of that sacrifice for the pardon of their sin; who approach God with reverence and confidence through the mediation of Christ; and who, discerning with admiration the virtues which Christ exercised in His sufferings, endeavour to imitate them. This appears to be “faith in His blood.” Dr. Macknight.

— for the remission of sins that are past.] That is, even of those sins which were committed before Christ’s coming in the flesh, the expiation whereof could not be made by any legal sacrifices, but only by His oblation and death, which was prefigured thereby. Bp. Hall, Dr. Macknight.

Or rather, as “the righteousness of God” always signifies in these Epistles our justification by faith in Christ; (see the note on chap. i. 17;) “His righteousness,” here spoken of, cannot be demonstrated, as some suppose, by winking at the sins committed in former ages, but by proposing by the Gospel the way of remitting men’s past sins through faith in Christ. Dr. Whitby. The Apostle speaks of those sins, whereby Jews as well as Gentiles had polluted themselves formerly, that is, before their conversion to the Christian religion. Schleusner.

Romans 3:26

26. — that he might be just.] That is, might appear to do nothing inconsistent with His own Divine justice in thus remitting or passing over sins, inasmuch as Christ has made satisfaction for them by His blood. Drs. Whitby and Wells.

— the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.] Religion, as it stood under the Old Testament, is perpetually styled “the fear of God:” under the New, “faith in Christ.” But as that “fear of God” does

We are justified by faith, yet the law is not abolished. Anne DOMINI 66.

Romans 3:28

28. Therefore we conclude &c.] The sum or result therefore of this discourse is, that by this evangelical way the favour of God is to be had for those, who never had to do with the Judaical law, circumcision, &c. Dr. Hammond. See the concluding note on this chapter, from Bp. Bull.

Romans 3:29

29. Is he the God of the Jews only? &c.] For otherwise it would follow, that God hath care or consideration for no other part of the world, but only for the

Jews, which certainly is not true; for He is the God of the Gentiles also. Dr. Hammond.

Romans 3:30

30. Seeing it is one God, &c.] The force of St. Paul’s reasoning here must be sought from Zech. xiv. 9; where the Prophet, speaking of the time when the Lord shall be King over all the earth, and not barely over the little people shut up in the land of Canaan, says, “in that day there shall be one Lord;” that is, God shall not be, as He now is, the God of the Jews alone, whom only He hath known of all the people of the earth; but He shall be the God of the Gentiles also, the same merciful, reconciled God to the people of all nations. This prophecy the Jews understood of the times of the Messiah, and the Apostle here presses them with it. Locke.

— by faith, — through faith.] It appears that these two phrases are equivalent; signifying that both Jews and Gentiles have one and the same method of justification. Hardy.

31. Do we then make void the law through faith? Do we contradict it, or say it is an useless thing, or against the promises? Gal. iii. 19, 21. Dr. Whitby.

— yea, we establish the law.] Forssmuch as we shew, that this our doctrine is witnessed by the law itself, ver. 21; and that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, who is the end of the law, Gal. iii. 24; Rom. x. 4. Moreover our doctrine differs from the law, rightly understood, only as the substance does from its shadow: we preach Christ, the true propitiatory mercy-seal, ver. 25, typified by that under the law: we preach spiritual circumcision, or purity of heart, chap. ii. 29, typified by the circumcision of the flesh. And as the legal types were fulfilled by the coming of Christ the Antitype, so the moral part of the law was raised to the highest degree of perfection and obligation by Christ, and incorporated into His own law: and consequently what our Saviour says, Matt. v. 17, is most true, namely, that He “came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it;” and also, as is here said, to “establish” the moral and spiritual part of it, by making it of perpetual obligation. Dr. Wells.

St. Peter hath long ago observed, that in the Epistles of his brother Apostle St. Paul, there are “some things hard to be understood,” which the ignorant and unlearned did in his time, as indeed there are some such that still do so in our time, “wrest to their own destruction,” 2 Pet. iii. 16. And he seems in that place to have a special reference to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, which indeed hath more of those difficult passages, than any other of his Epistles. Such is his discourse of justification by faith without works, which runs through the Epistle: which was abused even in the apostolical age to a dangerous kind of Solfidianism by the Gnostick hereticks, against whose perverse interpretation St. James afterwards wrote his Epistle as an antidote. And indeed St. Paul himself expounds his meaning in another Epistle very plainly to the same purpose: “In Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love,” Gal. v. 6. From whence it is evident,