Romans 5

Romans 5:1

By this faith therefore it is, that as many as sincerely embrace the gospel are freely pardoned and accepted by God in Christ; and being so, they are reconciled unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ: and though they have formerly been Gentiles, need not become proselytes of the Jews, need not any legal performances of circumcision &c., to give them admission to the church of Christ, as the Judaizing Gnostics contend.

Romans 5:2

Nay, by him we have already received, by faith only, (not by virtue of those performances,) reception and admission to those privileges, to this evangelical estate, wherein now we stand, and have done for some time, and have a confident assurance that God, which hath dealt thus graciously with us, will, if we be not wanting on our part, make us hereafter partakers of his glory: and this is matter of present rejoicing to us.

Romans 5:3

And we not only rejoice in this hope of future glory, but (on this score) also we are infinitely pleased with our present sufferings, (see note [b] Heb. iii,) whatsoever befall us now, knowing that although our afflictions be in their own nature bitter, yet they are occasions to exercise and thereby to work in us the habit of many excellent virtues; as first, patience and constancy, which is required of us, and which is most reasonable to be shewed in so precious a cause.

Romans 5:4

And this patience works another fruit, for without that we could have no way of exploring or trying ourselves touching our sincerity, which is only to be judged of by trial, and without this trial and approbation of our sincerity we could have no safe ground

Romans 5:5

Which hope being thus grounded will be sure never to fail us; it is impossible we should ever be ashamed or repent of having thus hoped and adhered to Christ. An evidence of which we have in God’s having so plentifully expressed his love to us, in testifying the truth of what we believe, by sending his holy Spirit to that purpose, which assures us that we can never miscarry in depending on him for the performance of his promises, that being the great fundamental one promised before his death, on which all the others depend.

Romans 5:6

This appears from the very beginning of Christ’s dealing with us; for without all respect to any worth in us, Christ, when we were all in a sick, yea, a mortal, that is, sinful (see Theophylact) damnable estate, (see note [b] 1 Cor. viii,) came then in a most seasonable opportunity to rescue us from that certain damnation which attended us as impious wicked creatures, vouchsafed to suffer in our stead, himself to die, that he might free us from certain eternal death, if we would now reform, and come in to the obedience of the gospel.

Romans 5:7

And what a degree of love this was, you may judge by this, that among men, though for a very merciful person (see note [b] Matt. xx.) some one man would perhaps venture his life, yet for any man else, though he were a righteous and just man, you shall hardly find any man that will be so liberal or friendly as to part with it.

Romans 5:8

Whereas God’s expression of mercy was infinitely above this proportion of any the most friendly man; for he, when he had nothing in the object to move him to it, when we were so far from being good or just men, from being merciful or pious in the highest degree, that we were profane customary sinners, he then sent his Son Christ to die for us, to obtain, by the shedding of his own blood, pardon of sins for us upon our reformation and amendment.

Romans 5:9

And having thus died, and done so much for us, when we had nothing (but our sins) to provoke him to or make us capable of any mercy, much more now being thus far restored to his favour, and by that ransom of his paid for us, redeemed out of that certain

[a] justified] Having formerly given the notion at large of δικαιοῦν, to justify, note [b] on ch. iii, all that is here necessary to be added will be by way of inquiry, whether the passive δικαιωθέντες, being justified,

Romans 5:10

For if God, when men lived and went on in sin and hostility against him, were pleased to have such favourable thoughts toward them (see note [m] Matt. v.); if by the satisfaction wrought for our sins by Christ, we were then thus far restored to his favour, that he was pleased to propose unto us free and easy conditions of mercy in the gospel; if he then used us so friendly, as not to preclude the way of salvation, but called us to repentance, with promise of pardon for all past sins upon our coming penitently in unto him; much more easy will it be, and agreeable to that former essay of his goodness to us, now (after he hath gone so far with us) to rescue us out of the power and danger of our sins, by his rising from the dead, ch. iv. 25, and sending that Spirit by which he was raised, to raise us up to a new life. And this also, as far as concerns God’s part, is wrought for us.

Romans 5:11

And yet this is not all; but having received these benefits of reconciliation, (and promises of future salvation, if we be not wanting to ourselves,) we have now ground even of the greatest joy and confidence, and dependence on God in all that can befall us in this life, (see ver. 3,) through this same Christ Jesus, who having made peace between God and us, and tendered us such easy conditions of mercy now under the gospel, hath also given us a title to all consequent acts of friendship and kindness which can be received from God, so that all that now befalls us, being for our good, is consequently matter of rejoicing to us.

Romans 5:12

From all which, the conclusion is, that as by Adam’s disobedience to that law given to him under the penalty of death, (that is, by eating the forbidden fruit,) sin came into the world, and death or mortality by sin, and, being come in, seized not only on Adam, to whom it was particularly and expressly threatened, (In the day that thou eatest thou shalt die the death.)

[b] Wherefore] Διὰ τοῦτο here being an illative form, and most fitly rendered wherefore, makes it here necessary to inquire how that which follows is inferred from what went before; and the satisfying

HAMMOND ANNOTT. VOL. II. D

Romans 5:15

In this place there ought to be, in ordinary manner of writing, another member of the period, answerable to the beginning of it, ver. 12, (the 13th and 14th verses being certainly to be read as in a parenthesis) after this manner, For as &c., So &c. But the apostle having insisted on the first part of the comparison thus far, and finding that the grace in

Romans 5:16

And as in respect of the likeness the advantage is on Christ’s side of the comparison, believers being not so like Christ in degree of holiness as they were like Adam in degree of sin; so again, for the sin for which Christ wrought atonement, the advantage is great again on Christ’s side above Adam’s. And not only as by Adam, so by Christ; but the benefit far exceeded the hurt; for indeed the charge or indictment, (see note [b] ch. iii.) and consequently the sentence that was on occasion of one sin, did naturally and by the same reason belong to the condemnation of all others that were born after his image, sinners as well as he; but the gift that was brought in by Christ, pardon for all new creatures, was upon occasion of many sins, and to the justifying of those that were not righteous as Christ, no, nor as Adam, but had been guilty of more than one, even of many sins. And this makes the comparison again very uneven: for if as sin was a means to bring condemnation into the world, so the same or some other one sin had been the occasion of bringing mercy in, and pardon had been wrought for that one sin, and no more, or for those that should for the future perfectly and exactly obey, then the comparison had been equal; but the sins that occasioned the mercy, and have their parts in the benefit of this justification, are many sins, and the persons that should receive it not righteous in that degree as Christ was; and that makes the comparison uneven.

Romans 5:17

For if by Adam’s sin in that one kind death came into the world, and through that one man’s loins, and by the parity of reason, that death was entailed upon all his posterity, as being born after his ¹⁸ as by one man having sinned, ὡς δι’ ἑνὸς ἀμαρτήσαντος. one (offence) was to condemnation, κρίμα ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς κατὰρ. χάρισμα ἐκ. ¹⁹ sentence on occasion of ²⁰ mercy was by occasion of,

[b] before him] The importance of κατέναντι Θεοῦ is not ordinarily observed, and must be fetched from the use of 𐩬𐩬𐩬𐩬 in Hebrew, as it is used Gen. ii. 18, where God saith he will make Adam an help, we render it meet for him, and the vulgar, simile ei, like, or agreeable, or answerable to him; where the Septuagint have κατ’ αὐτὸν, by him, or on the side of him, or answerable, parallel to him. And to this Hebrew the Greek κατέναντι bears exact proportion, the word נָבַּר signifying coram, ex opposito, and yet used to denote that which is like and answerable. Thus it is certain St. Chrysostom understood the word in this place; for so saith he, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσε Θεοῦ· ὁ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ὁ Θεὸς οὐκ ἔστι μερικὸς Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ πάντων πατὴρ, οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς, “the meaning is, as God is no partial God, but the Father of all, so Abraham:” and again, “if he were not the Father of all that dwell on the earth,” τὸ κατέναντι οὐκ ἔχει χώραν, “this word should have no place,” ἀλλ’ ἠκρωτηρίασται ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεὰ, “but God’s gift would be maimed;” and in express words, τὸ γὰρ κατέναντι ὁμοίως ἐστὶ, “the word signifies, in like manner.” And so Theophylact from him, Κατέναντι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁμοίως τοῦ Θεοῦ, “before God, is instead of, like God."—This observation may possibly be useful to the finding out the full importance of some other places. As when the commandment is given to Abraham of walking before God, and being perfect, Gen. xvii. 1, which in this notion of before will be all one with, Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Romans 5:18

To conclude, therefore: as by one Adam’s offence (vv. 12. 16.) sentence came on all offenders, that is, upon all mere sons of Adam, to condemnation; so by the righteousness of one God’s gift of mercy in Christ (ver. 17.) is come on all men, Gentiles as well as Jews, to justification, that is, to the accepting them as just, (though they formerly lived in never so sinful a course,) if they imitate the righteousness of Christ by sincere renovation.

Romans 5:19

For as by Adam’s one act of eating the forbidden fruit, against which death was threatened, all his posterity, as such, and (much more) all that sinned in any other kind, that is, all mere men in the world, were subjected to that punishment, death, which was then pronounced only against the eating of that; so by Christ’s having performed exact perfect obedience, and then suffered death in our stead, or to make satisfaction for us, all men, even the Gentiles themselves, that shall come in to Christ, and perform sincere, faithful obedience to him, shall be justified (though they be not perfectly just) and accepted by him.

20 26 Moreover the law entered, that

Romans 5:20

As for the law, (that was given by Moses,) that came in by the by as it were, to give men the more convincing clear knowledge of duty and sin, and so though it were not designed to that end, (see Theophylact,) yet by consequence it became a means to aggravate and enhance sin, (see note [k] Matt. i,) to render it more exceedingly criminous by being against a promulgate law; and that again is a means of making the mercy now in the gospel to be far a greater mercy to the Jews, to whom Christ and the gospel were first sent:

[c] staggered] Διακρίνεσθαι is ἀμφιβάλλειν, ἀπιστεῖν, saith Phavorinus, to doubt, demur, dispute, and be incredulous. So is the word used Matt. xxi. 21, Acts x. 20, and xi. 2. 12, Rom. xiv. 23, James i. 6, and ii. 24, Jude 9 and 22. See Paulus Fagius on Pirche Aboth, p. 82.

Romans 5:21

That as we visibly see the great power and