^ St, Paul, you see, has no doubt at all about this point. He says boldly, " It is God that justifieth." That is as much as to say, " I know, verily, that God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is on our side ; that He takes our part. And, therefore, I do not care who takes the other side ; there may be a host of enemies that seek to destroy us. But there is one Friend whose will is to save us, and I verily think He is stronger than they are." ^
Thank God that God shall judge my soul, not man! I marvel when they say, "Think of that awful Day- No pitying fellow-sinner's eyes shall scan With tolerance thy soul. But His who knows the whole, The God whom all men own is wholly just." Hold thou that last word dear, And live untouched by fear.
He knows with what strange fires He mixed this dust.
^ F. D. Maurice.
128 NO CASE
The heritage of race,
The circumstance and place
Which make us what we are — were from His hand,
That left us, faint of voice,
Small margin for a choice.
He gave, 1 took : shall I not fearless stand ?
Hereditary bent
That hedges in intent
He knows, be sure, the God who shaped thy brain.
He loves the souls He made;
He knows His own hand laid
On each the mark of some ancestral stain.
Not souls severely white,
But groping for more light,
Are what Eternal Justice here demands.
Fear not; He made thee dust.
Cling to that sweet word — "Just."
All's well with thee if thou art in just hands.^
^ It is on the doctrine of justification by faith alone that I delight to dwell when I am inclined to despond ; I then throw myself without reserve at the feet of Christ. You, my dear Wood, understand me in what I say, and know very well that I am not pleading the cause of Antinomianism. Nothing is more easy than to reconcile St. Paul and St. James, when we under- stand the scheme of redemption as revealed in the Gospel. I only refer to that doctrine which is our greatest comfort and con- solation when we are humbled and laid in the dust. It is not the only doctrine of Scripture, and therefore we shall miss the truth if we consider it without reference to others which limit and elucidate it ; but it is the doctrine that gives life and health to the humble and lowly of heart.^
11.
The Condemnation.
" Who is he that shall condemn ? "
Even if a charge is made, who will condemn ? The Judge, of course. And who is the Judge? It is none but Christ. Will Christ Jesus condemn ? Christ Jesus is the very person who has
^ Anne Reeve Aldrich, The Eternal Justice. ' Dean Hook, Life and Letters, i. 224.
ROMANS VIII. Z2y 34 129
made condemnation impossible. He has died for that purpose. More than that, He has risen; He has even taken His seat at God's right hand ; He also makes intercession for us.
The reasons which are given are four in number. They have been compared to the ropes which are used in mining operations. Every strand of these ropes is warranted to bear the weight of the entire tonnage which in their corded combination they are ever required to bear. That they will stand the utmost strain which may be put on them in use is thus absolutely sure. In like manner each of the grounds on which justification by God is said to rest is all - sufficient to sustain it. What should be said of them when viewed in their entire and perfect com- bination ?
1. Christ Jesus died, — That He died is certain. Eespecting the fact of Calvary there is no serious dispute. Infidelity has no foothold to assail it. But how came He to die ? Death is the penalty of transgression. He must have been made under the law, of which it is the penalty. Was He a transgressor of it? No. Then how came He to die ? " It is Christ that died." " It is Christ " — the Sent of God, to be the Saviour of the world, the Divinely commissioned and appointed Surety of sinners. " It is Christ that died " — " the just for the unjust " — to make atonement for their sins. There it is; His death was vicarious — in their stead ; penal — the punishment of their sins ; expiatory — mag- nifying the Divine law, satisfying the Divine justice on their behalf ; their condemnation was fully borne in it ; it left nothing for them to bear ; in point of law it was as much their condemna- tion as it was His ; and hence no legal claim remains to be made upon them and no judicial condemnation to be passed upon them ; their absolution, justification, acquittal is, in short, a matter of common equity, of necessary justice. A debt cannot be paid twice over. The first settlement of the claim is its final settlement.
^ Pearson gives three reasons for the death of Christ: (1) First, it was necessary, as to the Prophetical office, that Christ should die, to the end that the truth of all the doctrine which He deUvered might be confirmed by His death. (2) Secondly, it was necessary that Christ should die, and by His death perform the Sacerdotal office. For Christ had no other sacrifice to otfer for our sins than Himself. Therefore if He will offer sacrifice for sin. He