PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 193,921 words · 491 reading sections
134 ROMANS 5: 13—21.
not exist in our version. The Greek may mean either that the design of the introduction of the law was that sin might abound ; or, simply, that such was the result. Which idea is to be preferred depends on the view taken of the word rendered abound. This word may, according to a very common usage, mean, to appear, or h…
546 wordsSECTION 182ROMANS 5: 12—21. 135
unto eternal life" is the same with the "justification of life" in v. 18; both expressions mean ' that justification which is connected with eter- nal life.' It will be remarked that these words answer to the death spoken of in the preceding clause. As death is the consequence and attendant of sin, so the justification…
230 wordsSECTION 183DOCTRINES.
1. The doctrine of imputation is clearly taught in this passage. This doctrine does not include the idea of a mysterious identity of Adam and his race ; nor that of a transfer of the moral turpitude of his sin to his descendants. It does not teach that his offence was personally or pro- perly the sin of all men, or tha…
316 wordsSECTION 184136 ROMANS 5: 12—21.
of his argument that that sin was the ground of the loss of the divine favour, the withholding of divine influence, and the consequent corrup- tion of our nature. 3. Whatever evil the Scriptures represent as coming upon us on ac- count of Adam, they regard as penal; they call it death, which is the general term by whi…
560 wordsSECTION 185ROMANS 5: 12—21. 137
6. The design of the apostle being to illustrate the nature and to con- firm the certainty of our justification, it is the leading doctrine of this passage, that our acceptance with God is founded neither on our faith nor our good works, but on the obedience or righteousness of Christ, which to us is a free gift. This …
180 wordsSECTION 186REMARKS.
1. Every man should bow down before God under the humiliating consciousness that he is a member of an apostate race ; the son of a re- bellious parent; born estranged from God, and exposed to his displea- sure, vs. 12, 15, 16, "^c. 2. Every man should thankfully embrace the means provided for his restoration to the di…
332 wordsSECTION 187138 ROMANS 6: 1—11.
knowledge and conviction of sin, in order to be prepared for the appre- ciation and reception of the work of Christ. The church and the world were prepared by the legal dispensation of the Old Testament for the gracious dispensation of the New, v. 20. 9. We should open our hearts to the large prospects of purity and b…
104 wordsSECTION 188CONTENTS.
As the gospel reveals the only effectual method of justification, so also it alone can secure the sanctification of men. To exhibit this truth is the object of this and the following chapter. The sixth is partly argumenta- tive, and partly exhortatory. In verses 1 — 11 the apostle shows how unfounded is the objection, …
95 wordsSECTION 189CHAP. 6: 1—11.
^What shall we say then] Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? ^God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein 1 ^j^now ye not, that so many of us as were baptized inta Jesus Christ were baptized into his death 1 ^Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death : that like as…
243 wordsSECTION 190ROMANS 6: 1—11. 139
live in sin that grace may abound. This objection arises from ignorance of the doctrine in question, and of the nature and means of sanctification. It is so preposterous in the eyes of an enlightened believer, that Paul deals with it rather by exclamations at its absurdity, than with logical arguments. The main idea of…
241 wordsSECTION 191COMMENTARY.
(1) What shall we say then? What inference is to be drawn from the doctrine of the gratuitous acceptance of sinners, or justification with- out works by faith in the righteousness of Christ? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? i. e. be more con- spicuously displayed. The form in which the objection to the …
350 wordsSECTION 192140 ROMANS 6: 1—11.
express the general idea that our connexion with sin had been effectually broken off. This is effected, as he immediately teaches, by the death ot Christ. His meaning, therefore, is, ' How can those who, in virtue of their union with Christ, have been effectually freed from the dominion of sin, live any longer therein …
594 wordsSECTION 193ROMANS 6: 1—11. 141
of the devil, 1 John 3:8; to save his people from their sins, and to pu- rify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, Tit. 2 : 14. (4) Therefore we are buried by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up, &;c. ' Such being the nature and design of the gospel, if we accept of Christ at all, it …
606 wordsSECTION 194143 ROMANS 6: 1—11.
things intimately united, as things growing together, to branches of the same tree, limbs of the same body, &c. &c. The idea, therefore, here expressed by it, is an intimate and vital union with Christ, such as exists between a vine and its branches. Compare John 15 : 1 — 8. In the likeness of his death ,■ i. e. in a …
595 wordsSECTION 195ROMANS 6: 1—11. 143
struction of the power of sin. There is probably no allusion in the use of the word crucijied^ either to the slowness or painfulness of that particu- lar mode of death, as though the apostle meant to intimate that the de- struction of sin was a gradual and painful process. This indeed is true, but is not here expressed…
589 wordsSECTION 196144 ROMANS 6: 1—11.
sin means, is pardoned, is freed from the guilt and punishment of sin by justification. This verse then assigns a very important reasor for the truth which the apostle had so frequently stated, viz. that the believer could not live in sin. ' For he that is dead with Christ is thereby justified, and freed from the punis…
599 wordsSECTION 197ROMANS 6: 1—11. 145
verse, therefore, is introduced as the ground of the declaration "we shall live with him," at the close of v. 8. 2. The perpetuity of the life of Christ is one of the points in which our life is to be conformed to his. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once, &c. This verse is an amplification and explanation …
565 wordsSECTION 198146 ROMANS 6: 1—11.
2. There can be no greater contradiction and absurdity than for one who lives in sin to claim to be a Christian, v. 2. 3. Antinomianism is not only an error, it is a falsehood and a slander. It pronounces valid the very objection against the gospel which Paul pronounces a contradiction and absurdity, and which he evid…
525 wordsSECTION 199ROMANS 6 : 12—23. 147
6. To be in Christ is the source of the Christian's life ; to be like Christ is the sum of his excellence; and to be with Christ is the fulness of his joy, vs. 2 — 11,…
36 wordsSECTION 200CHAP. 6: 12—23.
*2Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ^^Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of right- eousness unto God. ^*For sin shall …
279 wordsSECTION 201ANALYSIS,
Paul, having shown, in the preceding section, that union with Christ secures not only the pardon, but the destruction of sin, exhorts his bre- thren to live agreeably to the nature and design of the gospel, vs. 12, 13. As an encouragment in their efforts to resist their corruptions, he assures them that sin shall not h…
214 wordsSECTION 202148 ROMANS 6; 12—23.
of the present, life. The knowledge of these consequences tends to secure the continued fidelity of the Christian to his new master, vs. 16—23.…
25 wordsSECTION 203COMMENTARY.
(12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, ha. * Seeing that the design and nature of the gospel are such as stated in the pre- ceding section, those who profess to have embraced that system, or to be united to Christ, should show the evidence of their union by holiness of life.' To reign, of course, signifi…
526 wordsSECTION 204ROMANS 6: 12—23. 149
and body, as instruments of righteousness unto God. This clause is sim- ply explanatory of the former. (14) For sin shall not have dominion over you, &c. This clause is vari- ously explained. Some make the future here to express obligation, ' Sin ought not to have dominion over you.' But this is not the natural force …
588 wordsSECTION 205150 ROMANS 6: 12—23.
with Christ has made us free. While under the law, our spirit is legal and slavish ; and our works are works of constraint and fear. When under grace, our spirit is filial and free (ch. 8 : 15) ; and our works spon- taneous and cordial. Paul teaches this doctrine at length in the next chapter, and shows that the freedo…
573 wordsSECTION 206ROMANS 6: 12—23. .51
believers cannot live in sin, inasmuch as they have become the servants of another master, he applies the general truth stated in the preceding verses more directly to his immediate readers, and gives thanks that they, being emancipated from their former bondage, are now bound to a master whose service is perfect liber…
569 wordsSECTION 207152 ROMANS 6: 12—23.
What he seems to have regarded as incongruous, is the comparison of the believer's devotion to God and holiness, to a slavery, while it is a voluntary and delightful service. The point of the comparison, how- ever, is merely the devotion and constancy of the obedience. For as ye have yielded your members as servants t…
569 wordsSECTION 208ROMANS 6 : 12—23. 153'
expressed in the text. This interpretation gives a good sense, and is consistent with the use of the phrase to have fruit of, in the sense of deriving benefit from. For the end of those things is death. The sense of this clause depends on the preceding. If the interpretation of the former part of the «entence just giv…
535 wordsSECTION 209DOCTRINES.
1. The leading doctrine of this section, and of the whole gospel, in reference to sanctification, is, that grace, instead of leading to the indulg- ence of ^n, is essential to the exercise of holiness. So long as we are under the influence of a self-righteous or legal spirit, the motive and aim of all good works are wr…
464 wordsSECTION 210REMARKS.
1. We should cultivate a sense of the divine favour as a means to holi- ness. We must cease to be slaves before we can be children. We must be free from the dominioo of fear before we can be under the government of love. A self-righteo b spirit, therefore, is not more inconsistent with…
55 wordsSECTION 211ROMANS C: 12—23. 155
reliance on the righteousness of Christ, in order to justification, than it is with the existence and progress of sanctification. Whatever tends to destroy a sense of the divine favour, must be inimical to holiness. Hence the necessity of keeping a conscience void of offence ; and of maintaining uninterrupted our union…
339 wordsSECTION 212CONTENTS.
The apostle, having shown in the preceding chapter, that the doctrines of grace do not give liberty to sin, but on the contrary are productive of holiness, in this chapter first illustrates and confirms his position that we are not under the law, but under grace, and shows the consequences of this change in our relatio…
89 wordsSECTION 213156 ROMANS 7: 1~G.
7 — 25, contains an exhibition of the operation of the law, derived from the apostle's own experience, and designed to show its insufficiency to pro- duce sanctification, as he had before proved it to be insufficient for justifi- cation. This section consists of two parts, vs. 7 — 13, which exhibit the operation of the…
97 wordsSECTION 214CHAP. 7: 1—6.
*Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth 1 ^For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. ^Sq then if, while her hu…
207 wordsSECTION 215ANALYSIS.
This section is an illustration of the position assumed in v. 14 of the preceding chapter ; we are not under law, but under grace. Paul remarks, as a general fact, that the authorit}-- of laws is not perpetual, v. 1. For example, the law of marriage binds a woman to her husband only so long as he lives. When he is dead…
222 wordsSECTION 216COMMENTARY.
(1) Know ye not brethren (^for I speak to them that know the law), how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth P The senti- ment of this verse, viz. the obligation of the law is not perpetual, is ex- pressed very generally, and not precisely in the form suited to the illus- tration which follows. The…
579 wordsSECTION 217158 ROMANS 7: 1—6.
this law is plain, for she is not reg-arded as an adulteress if, her husband being dead, she be married to another.' Laws, therefore, are not neces- sarily of perpetual obligation. (4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, &c. Where- for…
602 wordsSECTION 218ROMANS 7: 1—6. 159
The law of which the apostle is here speaking, is evidently not the Mosaic law merely. It is not the doctrine of this, and of similar pas- sages, that Christ has delivered us from the Jewish economy, and left us at liberty to embrace the simpler and more spiritual system of the gospel. The law of which he speaks is tha…
585 wordsSECTION 219160 ROMANS 7: 1—6.
above, was prominent in the apostle's mind when he used the words "in the flesh." The motions of sins, i. e. emotions or exercises of sin, for sinful feelings. Which were by the law. The obvious ellipsis in this clause may be vari- ously supplied. * Which are made known by the law,' according to ch. 3 : 20 ; or * whic…
589 wordsSECTION 220ROMANS 7: 1—6. 161
are introduced into a new and gracious state, in which they are accepted, not for what they do, hut for what has been done for them. Instead of having the legal and slavish spirit, which arose from their former relation to God, they have the feelings of children.…
48 wordsSECTION 221DOCTRINES.
1. The leading doctrine of this section is that taught in v. 14 of the preceding chapter, viz. that believers are not under a legal system ; and that the consequence of their freedom is not the indulgence of sin, but the service of God, v. 4. 2. This deliverance from the law is not effected by setting the law aside, o…
254 wordsSECTION 222REMARKS.
1. As the only way in which we can obtain deliverance from the law is by the death of Christ, the exercise of faith in him is essential to holi- ness. When we lose our confidence in Christ, we fall under the power of the law, and relapse into sin. Every thing depends, therefore, upon our maintaining our union with Chri…
186 wordsSECTION 223162 ROMANS 7: 7—13.
sequences are so important, should not be entered into lightly, but in the fear of God, vs. 2, 3. 6. The practice, common in many of the Protestant countries of Europe, and in many states of this Union, of granting divorces on the ground of cruel treatment, or, ' incompatibility of temper,' is in direct contravention …
69 wordsSECTION 224CHAP. 7: 7—13.
7 What shall we say then 1 Is the law sin 1 God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law : for I had not known lust, except the law had said. Thou shalt not covet. ^But sin, taking occasion by the com- mandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. ^For I was alive withou…
159 wordsSECTION 225ANALYSIS.
Paul, having shown that we must be delivered from the law in order to our justification (chs. 3, 4), and that this freedom was no less neces- sary in order to sanctification (ch. 6. ch. 7 : 1 — 6), comes now to explain more fully than he had previously done, what was the use and effect of the law. This is the object of…
250 wordsSECTION 226COMMENTARY.
(7) What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Far from it, ^o,. The apostle asks whether it is to be inferred, either from the general doctrine of the preceding section, respecting the necessity of deliverance from the law, or from the special declaration made in v. 5, respecting the law's producing sin, that the law was…
569 wordsSECTION 227164 ROMANS 7 : 7—13.
with the last member of the preceding one. It is rather co-ordinate with it, and is a virtual answer to the question, Is the law evil 1 To this question Paul replies, in v. 7, No ; on the contrary, it leads to the know- ledge of sin. And then in v. 8, he adds, it is not evil in itself, although incidentally the cause o…
584 wordsSECTION 228ROMANS 7: 7—13. 165
upon his mind, and after it began to produce its proper effect. In the former state, he was alive, and sin was dead ; in the latter, sin became alive, and he died. (9) For I was alive without the law once ; but when the command- ment came, sin revived, and I died. The word for connects this verse logically with the tw…
570 wordsSECTION 229166 ROMANS 7: 7—13.
pointing' of this passage is doubtful. In our version it is commonlj pointed thus, " For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me," &c. But, for the reasons assigned on v. 8, the words hy the com- mandment should be connected with the subsequent rather than with the antecedent clause. It was by the commandm…
573 wordsSECTION 230ROMANS 7: 7—13. 167
ful,' &c. That it might appear working, i. e. might be apprehended in its true character from its effects. Sin, therefore, and not the law, is the cause of death. And the turpitude and enormity of sin are made the more conspicuous by the law, inasmuch as it makes even that which is in itself good a source of evil.…
60 wordsSECTION 231DOCTRINES.
1. The law, although it cannot secure either the justification or sanc- tification of men, answers an essential part in the economy of salvation. It enlightens conscience and secures its verdict against a multitude of evils, which we should not otherwise have recognised as sins. It, there- fore, produces that state of …
417 wordsSECTION 232168 ROMANS 7: 14—35.
people of God, as detailed in the Scriptures, we cannot be true Chris- tians. Unless we have felt as Paul felt, we have not the religion of Paul, and cannot expect to share his reward, vs. 7 — 13,…
38 wordsSECTION 233CHAP. 7 : 14—26.
**For we know that the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, sold undei sin, *^For that which I do I allow not : for what I would, that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I. ^^If then I do that which I would not, I con- sent unto the law that it is good. ^^Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me…
534 wordsSECTION 234ROMANS 7: 14—25. 169
slave are indeed his own acts, but not being performed with the full assent and consent of his soul, they are not fair tests of the real state of his feelings. The propriety and truth of this representation of the state of the believer, and of the influence of the law, is reasserted and con- firmed in vs. 18 — 20. The …
232 wordsSECTION 235COMMENTARY.
(14) For we know that the law is spiritual ; but I am carnal, sold under sin. The connexion between this verse and the preceding pas- sage seems to be this. It had been asserted, in v. 5, that the law was incidentally the cause of sin. The result, however, was no reflection on the law ; for it was holy, just, and good,…
335 wordsSECTION 236170 ROMANS 7: 14—25.
the frequent expressions, "all flesh," " no flesh living-," &c.), is nsed for that which is corrupt, or for human nature considered apart from divine influence, ch. 8 : 1 — 11. John 3 ; 5, 6, and other passages, too numerous to be cited. To be carnal, therefore, when spoken of men, means to be under the government of t…
591 wordsSECTION 237ROMANS 7: 14—25. 171
New Testament. Matt. 27 : 43, " Let him deliver him, if he will have him, i. e. if he delights in him;" Matt. 9: 13. 12: 7. Heb. 10: 5, 8, and Ps. 21 : 9. 39 : 7, in the Septuagint. The word will, therefore, does not express so much a mere determination of the mind, as a state of the feelings and judgment. ' What I lov…
594 wordsSECTION 238172 ROMANS 7 : 14—25.
(18, 19, 20) These verses contain an amplification and confirmatior; of the sentiment of the preceding verses. They reassert the existence and explain the nature of the inward struggle of which the apostle had been speaking-. ' I am unable to come up to the requirements of the law, not because they are unreasonable, bu…
592 wordsSECTION 239ROMANS 7: 14— -25. 173
the last clause of v. 18. / would, means either / approve or love, as in v. 15; or I purpose, as in v. 18. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. The same conclusion from the same premises as in V. 17. ' The things which I do, when contrary to the characteristic des…
600 wordsSECTION 240174 ROMANS 7 : 14—25.
/ consent to it, v. 16. As /, in the language of the apostle, includes, at» it were, two persons, the new and the old man, the flesh and the spirit, it is necessary to limit the proposition whether he says, " In me there is no good thing," or " I delight in the law of God." The former was true only as to his jlesh ; th…
604 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1851). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.