The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 143

t.ion, and are made hein of eternal life. All this justification eeouros for ue in ite very natnre. IT. THE MEANS OR INSTRUMENT OF JUSTIFICATION, In plain l\nd unequivocl\l lam,u:\s:e we are here t,a\d that by faith we must be justified in order to hl\Ve peace with C'n>d. This is the grand central truth of the New Testament. If it be removed, what messnge does the gospel bring? "If righteousness come by the Law," sl\y& St. Paul, "then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. ii. 21). Christ's whole life of doing and suffering, and his awful death, would be a cruel superfluity-the more oruol because superfluons, if by any other means fallen man could procure acceptance in God's sight. Paul cautions the Romans a,,.o-ainst any other way of justification. "A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law" (eh. iii. 28). And when the Galatians showed a tendency to depart from this doctrine, under the influence of J udaizing tenohers, in the strongest terms the apostle censures them : "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grsce of Christ unto another gospel" (Gal. i. 6). He addresses them as foolish; accuses them of returning to the beggarly elements; and says he is afraid lest he has bestowed upon them labour in vo.in. 'l'he theory of justifi- cation by works, therefore, is not one on which nothing has been said, or which has been left doubtful. It is distinctly condemned by the apostle as inconsistent with and prejudicial to the spirit of Christianity. When Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a self- righteous Pharisee, came to Jesus by night, how did the great Master feed this hungry son!? Did he tell him to go and do some work of merit? No. The way, and the only 'ITTlY, to eternal life which Jesus pointed out to him was faith. If good works were of any avail, here was a man whose training had abundantly fitted him for doing good works. But from the Saviour himself he was to learn that he, a master in Israel, knew not the 'W&Y into the kingdom of God. Yet are there not many professing Christians who rest their hope of an entrance into that kingdom upon their own righte0nsness? Are there not many the language of whose heart is, " I have kept all the commandments from my youth up; I have lived a pure life; I have been regular in attendance on the ordinances of God; I have no fear" ? Such was the language of the rich young man; and Jesus a.aid to him, "One thing thou lackest." We must guard, too, agaimt the Mtion that, if 'W6 believe, our faith i8 the ground on which we are justifu:il. It is b&ro, indeed, to see how sush a notion could arise, in the face of all that t.he Scriptures teach against justification by works. For to make faith the ground oL our justification-the propt,er quod, to use a legal phrase-is to put faith in the position of a meritorious work. And that en.eh has no efficacy for justification has been abundantly shown. Faith is merely the means or instrument by which we lay hold on the justifying right.eoumess of Christ. Suppose a man owed you a sum of money, and that, in the days when imprisonment for debt was legal, he bad been imprisoned till the debt shonld be pa.id. Another man comes and pays the debt. You give him a receipt, and he takes that to the prisoner, who is by it set free. How absurd it wonld be for any one to say that it was this debtor's a.et of taking the receipt that cancelled. his obligation I Precisely similar is it to say that the a.et by which we take hold of the great atonement is that which gives us acceptance with God. We are ;u.tif,ed by ma:uu of <N1" faith, and not beca'll,Beof it. But without that act of believing, the atonement is not ours, peace with God is not ours. By faith we lay hold of jUBtification; by faith we take hold of_ the pro':°ises-promises for_ the life that now is, and the promise of a better and unending hfe Jn the many mansions of the Father's house. " We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (ver. 2). IIL Tm: EFFECT oP rosTIFICATION. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesua Christ." This peace with God has a twofold aspect. It concerns God's relation to 111 and OW' relation to God. 1. Pf,(UIJ with God as it affects God', rel,atwn to u. At firat God was at peace with man, until man sinned and thus became M enmity with God. And while God hates sin •nd must reward it, he wllleth r,,,t the death of the sinner, but rather that he should tnm from his wicked way and live. All through the agp,a, God, like a loving Father, has been seeking to bring back the wanderer11, to reconcile his erring children to himself. At last he sent his own Son. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that be loved us, and sent hie Son to ba t!.e l'ropitiation for our 11iI1.1." If that Propitiation he.a any meaning at ul, it le that cm v.1-21.] THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 139