The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 77

The Gentile llhRll perish Recording to the me11Sure of hie sin; the Jew according to the mea~ur,' of bis. For law must pass into life, otherwise it is void and useless, BI\Ve for oondemnat.ion. We hRve here-the Gentiles and the Je,ve in their respective relations to Law; and the supreme sin of the Jews. l. THE GEN'l'ILES AND THE JEWS IN TREI'R RESPEOTIVE RELATIONS TO LAW, The Gentile might have pleaded that his ignorance should Sl\ve him; the Jew certainly did 1111SU.me that his knowledge would save him. Paul will lay to their oharge "thnt they are all under Bin" (eh. iii. 9), and to this end he now shows that they are all under law before God. 1. Gentila. (1) The law of instinctive impulse: "by nature;" "e. law unto themselves." A correct and complete philosophy of the religions nature and relations of man seems almost impossible to us now; but doubtless we must recognize here the fact that man has still, more or less, the nRtive impulses of righteousness moving in the heart, which but for the Fall would have been perfect and all-containing in ua, and but for the redemption would have been altogether lost. This, then, is one part of man's primal oonstitution as a moral a.nd religious being ; he is moved to love and serve God, and t.o work righteousness, by an original instinct of his nature. Hence heroism. generosity, et.c., in ancient and modem world. God works in man, a.nd so far forth man does not suppress God's working. (2) The law of reflective consciousness: "their conscience bearing witness therewith;" "their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them." Man does not show his true moral nature till the instinct of the heart is obeyed with the intelligent approbation of the reflective con- sciousness. The instincts of the hea.rt, so far as they approach completeness, afford the essential contenai of the moral law; but it is for man to discern, embrace, and obey. And, till right.eousness is wrought thus of deliberate choice, it ma.y scarcely be called righteousness. For there are other impulses, which may lea.d to wrong; and, till the discerning jndgment has checked the native impulse, there is hardly moral worth in the one more than in the other. The "thoughts"muet excuse or accuse; then the will may act. 2. Jews. But man's heart is corrupt and man's mind is dark by reason of hereditary sin; therefore to the Jews God gave, in trust for the world, a Law, to correct and ccm1irm the law of the heart and mind. The coinciden·ce of the Law of Sinai with the true law of the heart and mind; the convincing authority of that Law, in its Divine power of a.wakening a.nd purifying the law within. Hence to the Jew there was added the Law of revela.tion. He was doubly taught his duty. II. Tm; SwPBEllE BIN OF THE JEWS. But to what end was the Law given, whether of natme or of revelation? To teach righteousness. And therefore the man who wrtrof:ht unright.eoUS11ess, according to his knowledge of the Law, whether Jew or Gentile, frustrat.ed the purpose of God, was under condemnation, and would "perish." Yet the Jew gloried in his enlightenment, oblivious of its purport and intent I 1. The Boast. (1) Personal. (a) His name--" a. Jew." Called by God, indeed, but for work rather than privilege. He perverted his call by a. narrow, selfish exclusion. (b) Rest- ing upon the Law. Knowledge was safety, he thought; whereas knowledge was duty (see vers. 18, 20). (e) Glorying in God: a merely national God to him, and One who would merely" save." (2) Relative. (a) Guide of the blind. (b) Light of them that are in darkness. (e) Corrector of the foolish. (a) Teacher of babes. 2. The shame. (1) Inconsistency (vers. 21-23). (2) Crime (vers. 21-23). (3) Blasphemy (ver.24). T;,.ei,- God indeed; what must he be I . Our higher privilege, in the matt.er of la.w: Christ, and the Spirit. Our graver peril: orthodoxy, and the no.me of Christian. "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the ihingB which I say?" (Luke vi 4-6).-T. F. L. Vera. 26-29.-Symbolic religion. Closely involved in the Jew's boast of his name ad Law and God was his glorying in circumcision, the outward sign of the covenant of the Law. Thia leads the apostle to enunciate the law of symbolic religion, and to ~ t.he supreme value of a true spiritualism. L SYIIBOLIC RELrnroN. The law of all symbolism in religion is wrapped up in the worda, "Cirenmcisiun indeed profiteth, if thou be a door of the Law." That is, the sign ii of worth just in so far aa it leads to, and attests, tho thing signified. 1. Personal m.l,,ue. Man's naturr, is complex, and the spiritual and the sensuous react on each Mb.er. Hence a definit.e, tangible sign may help the spirit. Bo circumcision: God's OR, n.1-29.J THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 71