The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 19

ho.Ting condemno.tion, and not enlighten- chapf.er le not ro the Old Te!!toment e.t 1111, bnt mon t, for Its purpose. ro facts by e.11 a.oknowledaeit. He is 'Jff'er- 'fhese two verses, 19 o.ntl 20, ce.rry ont ing the world e. philO!!Ophy of human hi!Mry the thought of 'l't/11 &l../,6rn1.11 1<a.".'•Xo"""'" in ro iwconnt for the present JJP,rplexrng state ver. 18, their purport being to show tbet the of thinga-for the undoul,ted diFJCOrrl be- Arr(f3.,a, o.nd A3,,c(a of men have been in spite tween conscience and perfonno.nce, between of TmowZedge,, and therefore involve them ideal and pra.otice,-bis purpose beinu t.o ~11 in sin. For sin implies knowledge of show universal guilt on the part of ~an. good and evil ; it is not impnterl to the But bis position here is 'lDite consistent bl'Ute beasts, who but follow their nature.I with what he sa.ys elsewhere (11.8 in eh. v.) instinots, he.ving no perception of God or e. of Adam's original transgression. For his Divine le.w. Now, to man, even without whole argument in this chapter involves the any specie.I revele.tion, God manifests him- doctrine of the fall of me.n, who is conceived self in two way&--outwardly in nature, o.nd to have been originally endowed with Divine inwardl,i; in oonscience. In these verses the instincts, and to have forfci ted his prerogative outward me.nifeste.tion is spoken of, the through sin ; and this is the eaeential mean- other being more especially noted in eh. ii. ing of the pictme given us in Gen. iii. of the 14, eto. But here, too, an inward manifes- original transgression. (2) The entire drift tation is implied by the word voooµ,11a, e.s of the chapter is against the view of the con- before by iv a.il'l'ois. To the animals below demnation of mankind being due simply to us the phenomena of nature me.y be but o. the sin oft he progenitor being imputed to the spectacle before their eyes, making no o.ppeal race. For all men are represented as guilty, to a mind within. But to mo.n they have e. in that all have sinned against light which language-they awake wonder, awe, ndmi- they might have followed. This view does ro.tion, e. sense of infinite mysterious power, not, indeed, preclude that of an inherited o.nd, to the receptive of such impressions, of infection of nature predisposing o.11 to sin; ideal beauty indefinable. To the psalmists no.y, it rather necessitates it; for why should of old they spoke irresistibly of God ; of one the sin have been so universal but for snch infinite and eternal Being, above nnd beyond predisposing cause? Still, the distinction o.11; and their consciences, owning the su- between the two views is important in regard premacy of good in the moro.l sphere, con- to our conception of the Divine justice. 3. curred with their sense of the evidences of It me.y, however, be said tho.t the distinction beneficence in nature, so o.s to convince is without a real difference in this regard; them also of the TighteomneBB of God. All for that, if the inheriten infection is such men (the apostle would se.y) were originally that hlll becomes inevitable (as seems to be endowed with a like cnpe.city of knowing implied by its alleged universality), it may God; and their failure in this regard, shown appear as inconsistent with the Divine in the various forms of idole.try prevalent justice to condemn men for it, as it woald throughout the world, he views o.s the first be to impute to them their progenitor's stage in the development of human sin. transgression. In reply to this difficulty, it 'file next stage is general moral degro.dation, may be said the.t Scripture nowhere says regarded e.s the judicial consequence of the that men e.re finally condemned for it. On dishonour done to God. It is, indeed, a the contrary, the gospel reveals to us the necessary consequence; for low o.nd unworthy atonement, preordained from the first, for conoeptions. of Deity bring with them moral the avoidance of such final condemruition; deterioration; when man's Divine ideal be- o.nd this retrospective as well 11S prospective comes degraded, with it he becomes degraded in its effects (eh. iii. 25, 26), and e.s far- too. Witness, for instance, the debauohes reaching e.s was the original transgression and cruelties that so commonly acoompanied (eh. iv. 12, eto.). And our e.postle (eh. ii. 7, idolatrous worship. Lo.stly, the final stage 14, 15, 16) expressly asserb! the solve.tion of this moral degradation is represented in of all who, according to their light, ho.T'S an unveiled picture of the utter wickedness, done what they could. The fact is, that and even unnaturo.l vice, e.t that time in the argument before us (e.s in other prev11len t; and oondoned in the bee.rt of the passages of similar purport) it is only the bonsted oiviliz11tion of the heo.then world. tiri11ciple, or the ground, of man's possible Buch is the drift of the remainder of this Justification before God that is under re- first cho.pter. The argument suggests the view. The intention is to show the.t thid following thoughts. (1) There is no mention oonnot be man's own " works or de:.-ervings,n here of Arl11m's tronsgression as the origin as of debt, but ie another which the gospel of human sin. The ree.son is tb11t the reveals. Be it observed, lastly, th11t o. clear apostle is arguing from a philosophical view of this position is important, not only rather than II thcologiool point of view, for our apprehension of the truth of things having Gcntilo 11s wo' J as J owi~h thinkers l\lld of the me:.\niu~ of the gc,spel, but also in his viow o.s 1·011uor11. His 11ppl·ol in this for our right womi tone of wind and e.Ui• 12 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [au. I, 1-811.