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58.

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ ;)

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men un.o justification of life.

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

20 Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

St. Paul, after having shewn that by the one Offence of
Adam all Men were condemned to Death, inquires if it
were possible to preach as they had been accused of
doing, (chap. iii. 6.) that by the continuance of Sin the free
Grace of God to eternal Life would be more abundantly
given to Man-To confute this prevailing Error, he af-
firms the obligation of Christian holiness from the rite
of Baptism, by which Christians were instructed that as
Christ was crucified, and gave up his Body as a sacrifice
to Sin, so those who are baptized unto him should con-
sider their Bodies as dead and buried with him unto Sin,
and as raised with him to newness of Life, by the same
quickening Spirit who raised the dead Body of Christ
from the Grave-The old Man, or the natural Man,
being put to Death with Christ-the power of Sin is de-
stroyed, and Man is delivered from its dominion- Those
who are dead unto sin with Christ, will live with him unto
God for ever-Which things the Romans are exhorted to
consider.

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that
grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into

THE GOSPEL PRIVILEGES A REASON FOR HOLINESS.

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58.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection :

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

§ 19. ROM. vi. 12-14.

St. Paul exhorts the Romans, as they are now by the Death
of Christ redeemed from the Dominion of Sin, not to
suffer Sin again to reign over their mortal Bodies-to
subdue them-He calls upon them to resist the tempting
power of Sin, and to surrender their Souls and Bodies to
the service of Righteousness unto God, for they are no
longer under the Law, which exacts a sinless Obedience
without Mercy-but they are admitted into the Dispen-
sation of the Gospel, which gives Pardon and Grace.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that
should obey it in the lusts thereof.

ye

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God,
as those that are alive from the dead, and your members
as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye
are not under the law, but under
grace.

$20. ROM. vi. 15-18.

The Apostle then inquires if it was rational to suppose, as
some did, that Sin might abound, because the Jews were
delivered from the Law (which exacted a perfect Obedi-
ence, without any condition of Pardon,) and were ad-
mitted into the Dispensation of Mercy-He affirms, on
the contrary, that, under every Dispensation, those who
continue in Sin are the Servants of Sin, and become sub-
ject to eternal Death-Those only who are obedient to
the Faith of the Gospel receive the reward of Righteous-
ness, the free Gift of eternal Life-St. Paul rejoices that
the Romans, who had been the Slaves of Sin, had now

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obeyed the form or mould of Doctrine imparted to them Corinth.
in Baptism, by which they were emancipated from its
Slavery and were become the Servants of Righteousness.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under
the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righte-
ousness?

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin; but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

$ 21. ROM. vi. 19, to the end.

The Apostle reasons with the Romans in allusion to their
own Customs, (the Laws of Slavery being familiar to
them) that they might better comprehend the tyranny that
Sin had exercised over their bodies-He exhorts them,
as they are now made free from Sin, as they were before
free from Righteousness, to yield their Members, which
had formerly been employed in the service of Sin, whose end
was Death; to the service of Righteousness, whose end is
eternal Life-The wages of Sin being eternal Death-
the free gift of God eternal Life, to those who serve him.
19 I speak after the manner of men, because of the
infirmity of your flesh; for as ye have yielded your mem-
bers servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto ini-
quity; even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness unto holiness.

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free
from righteousness.

21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness; and the end, everlasting life.

28

23 For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

a

28 Here the comparison of the apostle is naturally preserved -the Greek word ofúvia signifies the daily pay of a Roman soldier. The Greek word xapiopa, translated in this passage free-gift," Estius thinks (as mentioned by M'Knight) may be rendered a donative, which the Roman generals voluntarily bestowed on their soldiers, as a mark of favour. Eternal death being the natural consequence or reward of sin-Eternal life not the natural reward of righteousness, but the free gift of God, through Christ. The word 'EXɛv0epwlivres, v. 18. denotes the act of giving liberty to a slave, called by the Romans emancipation.

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THE LAW THE DISCOVERER NOT THE CAUSE OF SIN..

$ 22.

ROM. vii. 1-6.

riod, 4771. The Apostle, still further to convince the Jews of the ineffi

Vulgar Æra,

58.

cacy of the Law to Justification, affirms that the Law of
Moses, like the Law of Marriage, was dissolved by
the Death of either Party-That as they have been put
to Death by the Law in the Body of Christ, they were at
liberty to be married to another Husband, even to Him,
who though put to death, was raised again from the
Dead, that with him they might live unto God-He as-
serts, that before they were dead with Christ in the Flesh,
their evil Propensities, which were made manifest by the
Law, subjected them to Death-but they were now de-
livered from the Power of the Law, having given up,
with Christ, the fleshly Body of Sin, which held them
bound under its curse, that they might serve God in the
spiritual Obedience of the Gospel, and not in the old
Ceremonies and Letter of the Law.

1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that
know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a
man as long as he liveth?

2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband, so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

3 So then, if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another

man.

4 Wherefore my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death.

6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being Idead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

§ 23. ROM. vii. 7-12.

The Apostle here supposes a Jew to inquire whether the Law
then was the cause of Sin; to which he replies, that it
could not be the cause of Sin, because it prohibited Sin-
The evil Propensity was in Man, and the Law served only
to discover it-St. Paul, to avoid giving Offence, de-
scribes in his own Person the State of the unregenerate
Jew under the Law-He shows that the Law disclosed
what was Evil, and prohibited it-by which the sinful
Nature of Man was strongly excited to Disobedience and

Corinth.

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Julian Period, 4771. Vulgar Æra,

58.

Rebellion against its prohibitions-Sin had no power to Corinth.
condemn without the Law, for without it there was no Sin,
Sin being a violation of the Law-As soon as the Law
came Sin recovered its power to condemn Man to death,
and subjected him to its curse-And the Law that
was ordained to life, prohibiting Sin, was by Sin made
an occasion of Death-For Sin gaining strength by
the Commandment, deceived him into Disobedience, and
by the Law brought him to destruction - Wherefore
the Law and the Commandment, as they prohibit Sin,
are holy, just, and good-But still, as the Apostle
has implied, they lead to Condemnation, and not to
Salvation.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God for-
bid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I
had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt

not covet.

8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead.

9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

12 Wherefore the law is holy; and the commandment
holy, and just, and good.

§ 24.
ROM. vii. 13-24. and part of ver. 25.
The Jew is now supposed to inquire, if the Law, which is so
good and holy, is the cause of their Death? to which
the Apostle replies, that it is not the Law, but Sin, which
is the cause of Death, and the exceeding enormity of Sin
is manifested, when it subjected Sinners to death by a
Law, which was holy, just, and good-He affirms that
the Law itself promotes Spirituality; but to shew its
Inefficacy, for want of supernatural Assistance, for Sanc-
tification, he represents still in his own Person that the
unregenerate Jew, under the Law, was sold under Sin,
that is, without the power of escaping from its Service;
and describes the two contending Principles of the Nature
of Man, which are always opposed to each other-Under
the Law the carnal Nature prevails over the inward Man,
or the spiritual Nature-The Mosaic Law gives Man
the knowledge of his Duty, without the Power of per-
forming it, and he is brought into subjection to the Law
of Sin and Death-In this miserable Condition the Apos-
tle exclaims, Who then can deliver me from this Body,
which is sold, or is the Property of Sin?-He joyfully