regard to scriptural usage or truth, to carry the opposite interpretation through. In this whole passage there are two classes of persons spoken of, those connected with Adam and those connected with Christ. Of the former it is said, " they die," v. 15 ; " they are condemned," vs. 16, 18 ; "they are made sinners," v. 19, by the offence of one man. Of the latter it is said, that to them " the grace of God and the gift by grace hath abounded," v. 15 ; " that they are freely justified from many of- fences," vs. 16, 18 ; " that they shall reign in life through Christ Jesus," V. 17 ; " that they are regarded and treated as righteous," v. 19. If these things can be said of all men, of impenitent sinners and hardened repro- bates, what remains to be said of the people of God 1 It is not possible so to eviscerate these declarations as to make them contain nothing more than that the chance of salvation is offered to all men. To say that a man is justified, is not to say that he has the opportunity of justifying himself; and to say that a man shall reign in life, is not to say he may possibly be saved. Who ever announces to a congregation of sinners that they are all justified — they are all constituted righteous — they all have the justification of life 1 The interpretation which requires all these strong and plain declarations to be explained in a sense which they confessedly have nowhere else in the Bible, and which makes them mean hardly any thing at all, is at variance with every sound principle of construction. It is not within the bounds of possibility that " the many (i.e. all) shall be constituted righteous;" that is, "justified, pardoned, accepted and treated as righteous," means nothing more than that acceptance is proffered to all men. Paul's doctrine, therefore, is, * As on account of the offence of Adam, all connected with him are con- demned ; so on account of the righteousness of Christ, all connected with him have the justification of life.'
(19) For as by one man^s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. This verse pre- sents the doctrine of the preceding one in a somewhat different form. As in the doctrine of justification, there are the two ideas of the ascrip- tion of righteousness, and treating as righteous ; and in the doctrine of the fall, the ascription of guilt (legal responsibility), and the treating all men as guilty ;^ so either of these ideas is frequently presented more prominently than the other. In v. 18 it is the latter, in each case, which is made most conspicuous, and in v. 19 the former. In v. 18 it is our being treated as sinners for the sin of Adam, and our being treated as righteous for the righteousness of Christ, that is most prominently pre- sented. In V. 19, on the contrary, it is our being regarded as sinners for the disobedience of Adam, and our being regarded as righteous for the obedience of Christ, that are rendered most conspicuous. Hence Paul begins this verse with ./or. 'We are treated as sinners for the cffence of Adam, /or we are regarded as sinners on his account,' &c. &c. Though the one idea seems thus to be the more prominent in v. 18, and