Thus by himself did Christ purge our sins, making an atonement for them by the sacrifice of himself in his death, that they pout never be imputed unto them that believe.
And this part of this verse will afford us also this distinct bier. vation:—So great was the work of freeing us from sin, that it could no otherwise be effected but by the self-sacrifice of the Son of God.
Our apostle makes it his design, in meee places, to evince that none of those things from whence mankind usually did, or might, with any hopes or probabilities, expect relief in this case, would yield them any at all.
The best that the Gentiles could attain, all that they had to trust unto, was but the improvement of natural light and reason, with an attendance unto those seeds and principles of good and evil which are yet left in the depraved nature of man. Under the conduct and in obedience unto these they sought for rest, glory, and immor-
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tality. How miserably they were disappointed in their aims and expectations, and what a woful issue all their endeavours had, the apostle declares and proves at large, Rom. i. 18, unto the end.
The Jews, who enjoyed the benefit of divine revelations, having lost, for the most part, the true spiritual import of them, sought for the same ends by the law, and their own diligent observation of it. They “rested in the law,” Rom. ii. 17, namely, that by it they should obtain deliverance from sin and acceptance with God; and “ followed after it,” chap. ix. 31; that is, to attain righteousness and salvation by it. And this seemed to be a sufficient bottom and foundation for them to build upon; for having lost the spiritual understanding, the use and end of the law, as renewed unto them in the cove- nant of Horeb, they went back unto the primitive use and end of it upon its first giving in innocency, and foolishly thought, as many more yet do, that it would do the same things for sinners that it would have done for men if they had not sinned in Adam; that is, have given them acceptance with God here and eternal lite here- after. Wherefore the apostle in many places takes great pains to undeceive them, to rectify their mistake, and to prove that God had no such design in giving them the law as that which they would im- pose upon him.
And, first, he asserts and proves in general, that the law would decewe their expectations, that “ by the deeds of the law no flesh should be justified,” Rom. iii. 20; and that it would not give them life, Gal. iii. 21, or righteousness. And that they might not complain that then God himself had deceived them, in giving a law that would not serve the turn for which it was given, he declares, secondly, that they had mistaken the end for which the law was renewed unto them; which was, not that it might give them life, or righteousness, but that it might discover sin, exact obedience, and by both drive and compel them to look out after some other thing that might both save them from their sin and afford them a right- eousness unto salvation. And furthermore, he, thirdly, acquaints them whence it was that the law was become insufficient for these ends; and that was, because it was become “weak through the flesh,” Rom. viii. 3. The law was able to continue our acceptance with God in that condition wherein at first we were created; but after that man by sin became flesh,—to have a principle of enmity against God in him, bringing forth the fruits of sin continually,—the law stood aside, as weakened and insufficient to help and save such a one. And these things the apostle expressly and carefully insists upon in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians.
But, thirdly, Though the law, and an earnest endeavour after the observation of it in general, would not serve to save us from our sins, yet there were especial institutions of the law that were ap-
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114 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. I.
pointed for that end and purpose, as, namely, the sacrifices in par- ticular, which were designed to make atonement for the delivery of sinners, and to procure their reconciliation with God. These the Jews principally rested on and trusted unto. And, indeed, to expect righteousness and justification by the Mosaical sacrifices, as they did, was far more rational than to expect them by the works of the moral law, as some now do; for all good works whatever are required in the law, and so far are works of the law. For in the sacrifices there was a supposition of sin, and an appearance of a compensation to be made, that the sinner might go free; but in the moral law there is nothing but absolute, universal, and exact right- eousness required or admitted, without the least provision of relief for them who come short therein. But yet our apostle declares and proves that neither were these available for the end aimed at, as we shall see at large on the ninth and tenth chapters of this epistle.
Now, within the compass of these three,—natural light or reason, with ingrafted principles of good and evil, the moral law, and the sacrifices thereof,—do lie and consist all the hopes and endeavours of sinners after deliverance and acceptance with God. Nothing is there that they can do, or put any confidence in, but may be referred unto one of these heads. And if all these fail them, as assuredly they will (which we might prove by reasons and demonstrations in- numerable, though at present we content ourselves with the testi- monies above reported), it is certain that there is nothing under heaven can yield them in this case the least relief.