Chapter 4
The great gospel doctrine of
justification by faith without the works of the law was so very contrary to the
notions the Jews had learnt from those that sat in Moses’ chair, that it would
hardly go down with them; and therefore the apostle insists very largely upon
it, and labours much in the confirmation and illustration of it. He had before
proved it by reason and argument, now in this chapter he proves it by example,
which in some places serves for confirmation as well as illustration. The
example he pitches upon is that of Abraham, whom he chooses to mention because
the Jews gloried much in their relation to Abraham, put it in the first rank of
their external privileges that they were Abraham’s seed, and truly they had
Abraham for their father. Therefore this instance was likely to be more taking
and convincing to the Jews than any other. His argument stands thus: "All
that are saved are justified in the same way as Abraham was; but Abraham was
justified by faith, and not by works; therefore all that are saved are so
justified;’’ for it would easily be acknowledged that Abraham was the father of
the faithful. Now this is an argument, not only à pari—from an equal
case, as they say, but à fortiori—from a stronger case. If Abraham, a
man so famous for works, so eminent in holiness and obedience, was nevertheless
justified by faith only, and not by those works, how much less can any other,
especially any of those that spring from him, and come so far short of him in
works, set up for a justification by their own works? And it proves likewise, ex
abundanti—the more abundantly, as some observe, that we are not justified,
no not by those good works which flow from faith, as the matter of our
righteousness; for such were Abraham’s works, and are we better than he? The
whole chapter is taken up with his discourse upon this instance, and there is
this in it, which hath a particular reference to the close of the foregoing
chapter, where he has asserted that, in the business of justification, Jews and
Gentiles stand upon the same level. Now in this chapter, with a great deal of
cogency of argument, I. He proves that Abraham was justified not by works, but
by faith (v. 1-8). II. He observes when and why he was so justified (v. 9–17).
III. He describes and commends that faith of his (v. 17–22). IV. He applies all
this to us (v. 22–25). And, if he had now been in the school of Tyrannus, he
could not have disputed more argumentatively.
Verses 1-8
Here the
apostle proves that Abraham was justified not by works, but by faith. Those
that of all men contended most vigorously for a share in righteousness by the
privileges they enjoyed, and the works they performed, were the Jews, and
therefore he appeals to the case of Abraham their father, and puts his own name
to the relation, being a Hebrew of the Hebrews: Abraham our father. Now
surely his prerogative must needs be as great as theirs who claim it as his
seed according to the flesh. Now what has he found? All the world is
seeking; but, while the most are wearying themselves for very vanity, none can
be truly reckoned to have found, but those who are justified before God; and
thus Abraham, like a wise merchant, seeking goodly pearls, found this one pearl
of great price. What has he found, kata sarka—as pertaining to the flesh, that is, by circumcision
and his external privileges and performances? These the apostle calls flesh,
Phil. 3:3. Now what did he get by these? Was he justified by them? Was it the
merit of his works that recommended him to God’s acceptance? No, by no means,
which he proves by several arguments.
I. If he
had been justified by works, room would have been left for boasting, which must
for ever be excluded. If so, he hath whereof to glory (v. 2), which is
not to be allowed. "But,’’ might the Jews say, "was not his name made
great (Gen. 12:2), and then might not he glory?’’ Yes, but not before God; he
might deserve well of men, but he could never merit of God. Paul himself had whereof
to glory before men, and we have him sometimes glorying in it, yet with
humility; but nothing to glory in before God, 1 Co. 4:4; Phil. 3:8, 9. So
Abraham. Observe, He takes it for granted that man must not pretend to glory in
any thing before God; no, not Abraham, as great and as good a man as he was;
and therefore he fetches an argument from it: it would be absurd for him that
glorieth to glory in any but the Lord.
II. It is
expressly said that Abraham’s faith was counted to him for righteousness. What
saith the scripture? v. 3. In all controversies in religion this must be
our question, What saith the scripture? It is not what this great man,
and the other good man, say, but What saith the scripture? Ask counsel at this
Abel, and so end the matter, 2 Sa. 2:18. To the law, and to the testimony
(Isa. 8:20), thither is the last appeal. Now the scripture saith that Abraham
believed, and this was counted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6);
therefore he had not whereof to glory before God, it being purely of free grace
that it was so imputed, and having not in itself any of the formal nature of a
righteousness, further than as God himself was graciously pleased so to count
it to him. It is mentioned in Genesis, upon occasion of a very signal and
remarkable act of faith concerning the promised seed, and is the more
observable in that it followed upon a grievous conflict he had had with
unbelief; his faith was now a victorious faith, newly returned from the battle.
It is not the perfect faith that is required to justification (there may be
acceptable faith where there are remainders of unbelief), but the prevailing
faith, the faith that has the upper hand of unbelief.
III. If he
had been justified by faith, the reward would have been of debt, and not of
grace, which is not to be imagined. This is his argument (v. 4, 5):
Abraham’s reward was God himself; so he had told him but just before (Gen.
15:1), I am thy exceeding great reward. Now, if Abraham had merited this
by the perfection of his obedience, it had not been an act of grace in God, but
Abraham might have demanded it with as much confidence as ever any labourer in
the vineyard demanded the penny he had earned. But this cannot be; it is
impossible for man, much more guilty man, to make God a debtor to him, Rom.
11:35. No, God will have free grace to have all the glory, grace for grace’s
sake, Jn. 1:16. And therefore to him that worketh not—that can pretend
to no such merit, nor show any worth or value in his work, which may answer
such a reward, but disclaiming any such pretension casts himself wholly upon
the free grace of God in Christ, by a lively, active, obedient faith-to such a
one faith is counted for righteousness, is accepted of God as the
qualification required in all those that shall be pardoned and saved. Him
that justifieth the ungodly, that is, him that was before ungodly. His
former ungodliness was no bar to his justification upon his believing: ton
asebeµ—that ungodly one, that is,
Abraham, who, before his conversion, it should seem, was carried down the
stream of the Chaldean idolatry, Jos. 24:2. No room therefore is left for
despair; though God clears not the impenitent guilty, yet through Christ he
justifies the ungodly.
IV. He
further illustrates this by a passage out of the Psalms, where David speaks of
the remission of sins, the prime branch of justification, as constituting the
happiness and blessedness of a man, pronouncing blessed, not the man who has no
sin, or none which deserved death (for then, while man is so sinful, and God so
righteous, where would be the blessed man?) but the man to whom the Lord
imputeth not sin, who though he cannot plead, Not guilty, pleads the act of
indemnity, and his plea is allowed. It is quoted from Ps. 32:1, 2, where
observe, 1. The nature of forgiveness. It is the remission of a debt or a crime;
it is the covering of sin, as a filthy thing, as the nakedness and shame of the
soul. God is said to cast sin behind his back, to hide his face from it,
which, and the like expressions, imply that the ground of our blessedness is
not our innocency, or our not having sinned (a thing is, and is filthy, though
covered; justification does not make the sin not to have been, or not to have
been sin), but God’s not laying it to our charge, as it follows here: it is
God’s not imputing sin (v. 8), which makes it wholly a gracious act of
God, not dealing with us in strict justice as we have deserved, not entering
into judgment, not marking iniquities, all which being purely acts of grace,
the acceptance and the reward cannot be expected as debts; and therefore Paul infers
(v. 6) that it is the imputing of righteousness without works. 2. The
blessedness of it: Blessed are they. When it is said, Blessed are the
undefiled in the way, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
wicked, etc., the design is to show the characters of those that are
blessed; but when it is said, Blessed are those whose iniquities are
forgiven, the design is to show what that blessedness is, and what the
ground and foundation of it. Pardoned people are the only blessed people. The
sentiments of the world are, Those are happy that have a clear estate, and are
out of debt to man; but the sentence of the word is, Those are happy that have
their debts to God discharged. O how much therefore is it our interest to make
it sure to ourselves that our sins are pardoned! For this is the foundation of
all other benefits. So and so I will do for them; for I will be merciful, Heb.
8:12.
Verses 9-17a
St. Paul
observes in this paragraph when and why Abraham was thus justified; for he has
several things to remark upon that. It was before he was circumcised, and
before the giving of the law; and there was a reason for both.
I. It was
before he was circumcised, v. 10. His faith was counted to him for
righteousness while he was in uncircumcision. It was imputed, Gen. 15:6, and he
was not circumcised till ch. 17. Abraham is expressly said to be justified by
faith fourteen years, some say twenty-five years, before he was
circumcised. Now this the apostle takes notice of in answer to the question
(v. 9), Cometh this blessedness then on the circumcision only, or on the
uncircumcision also? Abraham was pardoned and accepted in uncircumcision, a
circumstance which, as it might silence the fears of the poor uncircumcised
Gentiles, so it might lower the pride and conceitedness of the Jews, who
gloried in their circumcision, as if they had the monopoly of all happiness.
Here are two reasons why Abraham was justified by faith in uncircumcision:—
1. That
circumcision might be a seal of the righteousness of faith, v. 11. The
tenour of the covenants must first be settled before the seal can be annexed.
Sealing supposes a previous bargain, which is confirmed and ratified by that
ceremony. After Abraham’s justification by faith had continued several years
only a grant by parole, for the confirmation of Abraham’s faith God was pleased
to appoint a sealing ordinance, and Abraham received it; though it was a bloody
ordinance, yet he submitted to it, and even received it as a special favour, the
sign of circumcision, etc. Now we may hence observe, (1.) The nature of
sacraments in general: they are signs and seals-signs to represent and
instruct, seals to ratify and confirm. They are signs of absolute grace and
favour; they are seals of the conditional promises; nay, they are mutual seals:
God does in the sacraments seal to us to be to us a God, and we do therein seal
to him to be to him a people. (2.) The nature of circumcision in particular: it
was the initiating sacrament of the Old Testament; and it is here said to be,
[1.] A sign—a sign of that original corruption which we are all born
with, and which is cut off by spiritual circumcision,—a commemorating sign of
God’s covenant with Abraham,—a distinguishing sign between Jews and Gentiles,—a
sign of admission into the visible church,—a sign prefiguring baptism, which
comes in the room of circumcision, now under the gospel, when (the blood of
Christ being shed) all bloody ordinances are abolished; it was an outward
and sensible sign of an inward and spiritual grace signified thereby. [2.] A
seal of the righteousness of the faith. In general, it was a seal of the
covenant of grace, particularly of justification by faith-the covenant of
grace, called the righteousness which is of faith (ch. 10:6), and it
refers to an Old-Testament promise, Deu. 30:12. Now if infants were then
capable of receiving a seal of the covenant of grace, which proves that they
then were within the verge of that covenant, how they come to be now cast out
of the covenant and incapable of the seal, and by what severe sentence they
were thus rejected and incapacitated, those are concerned to make out that not
only reject, but nullify and reproach, the baptism of the seed of believers.
2. That
he might be the father of all those that believe. Not but that there were
those that were justified by faith before Abraham; but of Abraham first it is
particularly observed, and in him commenced a much clearer and fuller
dispensation of the covenant of grace than any that had been before extant; and
there he is called the father of all that believe, because he was so
eminent a believer, and so eminently justified by faith, as Jabal was the
father of shepherds and Jubal of musicians, Gen. 4:20, 21. The father of all
those that believe; that is, a standing pattern of faith, as parents
are examples to their children; and a standing precedent of justification by
faith, as the liberties, privileges, honours, and estates, of the fathers
descend to their children. Abraham was the father of believers, because to him
particularly the magna charta was renewed. (1.) The father of believing
Gentiles, though they be not circumcised. Zaccheus, a publican, if he
believe, is reckoned a son of Abraham, Lu. 19:9. Abraham being himself
uncircumcised when he was justified by faith, uncircumcision can never be a
bar. Thus were the doubts and fears of the poor Gentiles anticipated and no
room left to question but that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
Col. 3:11; Gal. 5:6. (2.) The father of believing Jews, not merely as
circumcised, and of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, but because
believers, because they are not of the circumcision only (that is, are
not only circumcised), but walk in the steps of that faith—have not only
the sign, but the thing signified-not only are of Abraham’s family, but follow
the example of Abraham’s faith. See here who are the genuine children and
lawful successors of those that were the church’s fathers: not those that sit
in their chairs, and bear their names, but those that tread in their steps; this
is the line of succession, which holds, notwithstanding interruptions. It
seems, then, those were most loud and forward to call Abraham father that had
least title to the honours and privileges of his children. Thus those have most
reason to call Christ Father, not that bear his name in being Christians in
profession, but that tread in his steps.
II. It was
before the giving of the law, v. 13–16. The former observation is levelled
against those that confined justification to the circumcision, this against
those that expected it by the law; now the promise was made to Abraham long
before the law. Compare Gal. 3:17, 18. Now observe,
1. What
that promise was—that he should be the heir of the world, that is, of
the land of Canaan, the choicest spot of ground in the world,—or the father of
many nations of the world, who sprang from him, besides the Israelites,—or the
heir of the comforts of the life which now is. The meek are said to inherit
the earth, and the world is theirs. Though Abraham had so little of the
world in possession, yet he was heir of it all. Or, rather, it points at
Christ, the seed here mentioned; compare Gal. 3:16, To thy seed, which is
Christ. Now Christ is the heir of the world, the ends of the earth are his
possession, and it is in him that Abraham was so. And it refers to that promise
(Gen. 12:3), In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
2. How it
was made to him: Not through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith. Not through the law, for that was not yet given: but it was upon
that believing which was counted to him for righteousness; it was upon his
trusting God, in his leaving his own country when God commanded him, Heb. 11:8.
Now, being by faith, it could not be by the law, which he proves by the
opposition there is between them (v. 14, 15): If those who are of the law be
heirs; that is, those, and those only, and they by virtue of the law (the
Jews did, and still do, boast that they are the rightful heirs of the world,
because to them the law was given), then faith is made void; for, if it
were requisite to an interest in the promise that there should be a perfect
performance of the whole law, then the promise can never take its effect, nor
is it to any purpose for us to depend upon it, since the way to life by perfect
obedience to the law, and spotless sinless innocency, is wholly blocked up, and
the law in itself opens no other way. This he proves, v. 15. The law worketh
wrath—wrath in us to God; it irritates and provokes that carnal mind which
is enmity to God, as the damming up of a stream makes it swell-wrath in God
against us. It works this, that is, it discovers it, or our breach of the law
works it. Now it is certain that we can never expect the inheritance by a law
that worketh wrath. How the law works wrath he shows very concisely in the
latter part of the verse: Where no law is there is no transgression, an
acknowledged maxim, which implies, Where there is a law there is transgression
and that transgression is provoking, and so the law worketh wrath.
3. Why the
promise was made to him by faith; for three reasons, v. 16. (1.) That it
might be by grace, that grace might have the honour of it; by grace, and
not by the law; by grace, and not of debt, nor of merit; that Grace,
grace, might be cried to every stone, especially to the top-stone, in this
building. Faith hath particular reference to grace granting, as grace hath
reference to faith receiving. By grace, and therefore through faith,
Eph. 2:8. For God will have every crown thrown at the feet of grace, free
grace, and every song in heaven sung to that tune, Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto thy name be the praise. (2.) That the promise might be
sure. The first covenant, being a covenant of works, was not sure: but,
through man’s failure, the benefits designed by it were cut off; and therefore,
the more effectually to ascertain and ensure the conveyance of the new
covenant, there is another way found out, not by works (were it so, the
promise would not be sure, because of the continual frailty and infirmity of
the flesh), but by faith, which receives all from Christ, and acts in a
continual dependence upon him, as the great trustee of our salvation, and in
whose keeping it is safe. The covenant is therefore sure, because it is so well
ordered in all things, 2 Sa. 23:5. (3.) That it might be sure to all the
seed. If it had been by the law, it had been limited to the Jews, to
whom pertained the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law (ch.
9:4); but therefore it was by faith that Gentiles as well as Jews might become
interested in it, the spiritual as well as the natural seed of faithful
Abraham. God would contrive the promise in such a way as might make it most
extensive, to comprehend all true believers, that circumcision and
uncircumcision might break no squares; and for this (v. 17) he refers us to
Gen. 17:5, where the reason of the change of his name from Abra— high
father, to Abraha—he high father of a multitude, is thus rendered: For a
father of many nations have I made thee; that is, all believers, both
before and since the coming of Christ in the flesh, should take Abraham for
their pattern, and call him father. The Jews say Abraham was the father
of all proselytes to the Jewish religion. Behold, he is the father of all
the world, which are gathered under the wings of the Divine Majesty.—Maimonides.
Verses 17b-22
Having
observed when Abraham was justified by faith, and why, for the honour of
Abraham and for example to us who call him father, the apostle here describes
and commends the faith of Abraham, where observe,
I. Whom he
believed: God who quickeneth. It is God himself that faith fastens upon:
other foundation can no man lay. Now observe what in God Abraham’s faith
had an eye t—o that, certainly, which would be most likely to confirm his faith
concerning the things promised:—1. God who quickeneth the dead. It was
promised that he should be the father of many nations, when he and his
wife were now as good as dead (Heb. 11:11, 12), and therefore he looks upon God
as a God that could breathe life into dry bones. He that quickeneth the dead
can do any thing, can give a child to Abraham when he is old, can bring the
Gentiles, who are dead in trespasses and sins, to a divine and spiritual
life, Eph. 2:1. Compare Eph. 1:19, 20. 2. Who calleth things which are not
as though they were; that is, creates all things by the word of his power,
as in the beginning, Gen. 1:3; 2 Co. 4:6. The justification and salvation of
sinners, the espousing of the Gentiles that had not been a people, were a
gracious calling of things which are not as though they were, giving being to
things that were not. This expresses the sovereignty of God and his absolute
power and dominion, a mighty stay to faith when all other props sink and
totter. It is the holy wisdom and policy of faith to fasten particularly on
that in God which is accommodated to the difficulties wherewith it is to
wrestle, and will most effectually answer the objections. It is faith indeed to
build upon the all-sufficiency of God for the accomplishment of that which is
impossible to anything but that all-sufficiency. Thus Abraham became the
father of many nations before him whom he believed, that is, in the eye and
account of God; or like him whom he believed; as God was a common
Father, so was Abraham. It is by faith in God that we become accepted of him,
and conformable to him.
II. How he
believed. He here greatly magnifies the strength of Abraham’s faith, in several
expressions. 1. Against hope, he believed in hope, v. 18. There was a
hope against him, a natural hope. All the arguments of sense, and reason, and
experience, which in such cases usually beget and support hope, were against
him; no second causes smiled upon him, nor in the least favoured his hope. But,
against all those inducements to the contrary, he believed; for he had a hope
for him: He believed in hope, which arose, as his faith did, from the
consideration of God’s all-sufficiency. That he might become the father of
many nations. Therefore God, by his almighty grace, enabled him thus to
believe against hope, that he might pass for a pattern of great and strong
faith to all generations. It was fit that he who was to be the father of the
faithful should have something more than ordinary in his faith-that in him
faith should be set in its highest elevation, and so the endeavours of all
succeeding believers be directed, raised, and quickened. Or this is mentioned
as the matter of the promise that he believed; and he refers to Gen. 15:5, So
shall thy seed be, as the stars of heaven, so innumerable, so illustrious.
This was that which he believed, when it was counted to him for righteousness,
v. 6. And it is observable that this particular instance of his faith was against
hope, against the surmises and suggestions of his unbelief. He had just
before been concluding hardly that he should go childless, that one born in his
house was his heir (v. 2, 3); and this unbelief was a foil to his faith, and
bespeaks it a believing against hope. 2. Being not weak in faith, he
considered not his own body, v. 19. Observe, His own body was now dea—ecome
utterly unlikely to beget a child, though the new life and vigour that God gave
him continued after Sarah was dead, witness his children by Keturah. When God
intends some special blessing, some child of promise, for his people, he
commonly puts a sentence of death upon the blessing itself, and upon all the
ways that lead to it. Joseph must be enslaved and imprisoned before he be
advanced. But Abraham did not consider this, sy
katenoeµse—he did not dwell in his thoughts
upon it. He said indeed, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred
years old? Gen. 17:17. But that was the language of his admiration and his
desire to be further satisfied, not of his doubting and distrust; his faith
passed by that consideration, and thought of nothing but the faithfulness of
the promise, with the contemplation whereof he was swallowed up, and this kept
up his faith. Being not weak in faith, he considered not. It is mere
weakness of faith that makes a man lie poring upon the difficulties and seeming
impossibilities that lie in the way of a promise. Though it may seem to be the
wisdom and policy of carnal reason, yet it is the weakness of faith, to look
into the bottom of all the difficulties that arise against the promise. 3. He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief (v. 20), and he
therefore staggered not because he considered not the frowns and
discouragements of second causes; sy diekritheµ—he disputed not; he did not hold any
self-consultation about it, did not take time to consider whether he should
close with it or no, did not hesitate nor stumble at it, but by a resolute and
peremptory act of his soul, with a holy boldness, ventured all upon the
promise. He took it not for a point that would admit of argument or debate, but
presently determined it as a ruled case, did not at all hang in suspense about
it: he staggered not through unbelief. Unbelief is at the bottom of all
our staggerings at God’s promises. It is not the promise that fails, but our
faith that fails when we stagger. 4. He was strong in faith, giving glory to
God, enedynamoµtheµ—he was strengthened in faith, his faith got
ground by exercis—rescit eundo. Though weak faith shall not be rejected,
the bruised reed not broken, the smoking flax not quenched, yet strong faith
shall be commended and honoured. The strength of his faith appeared in the
victory it won over his fears. And hereby he gave glory to God; for, as
unbelief dishonours God by making him a liar (1 Jn. 5:10), so faith honours God
by setting to its seal that he is true, Jn. 3:33. Abraham’s faith gave God the
glory of his wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and especially of his
faithfulness, resting upon the word that he had spoken. Among men we say,
"He that trusts another, gives him credit, and honours him by taking his
word;’’ thus Abraham gave glory to God by trusting him. We never hear our Lord
Jesus commending any thing so much as great faith (Mt. 8:10 and 15:28):
therefore God gives honour to faith, great faith, because faith, great faith,
gives honour to God. 5. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised he
was able to perform, pleµrophoreµtheis—was carried on with the greatest confidence and
assurance; it is a metaphor taken from ships that come into the harbour with
full sail. Abraham saw the storms of doubts, and fears, and temptations likely
to rise against the promise, upon which many a one would have shrunk back, and
lain by for fairer days, and waited a smiling gale of sense and reason. But
Abraham, having taken God for his pilot, and the promise for his card and
compass, resolves to weather his point, and like a bold adventurer sets up all
his sails, breaks through all the difficulties, regards neither winds nor
clouds, but trusts to the strength of his bottom and the wisdom and
faithfulness of his pilot, and bravely makes to the harbour, and comes home an unspeakable
gainer. Such was his full persuasion, and it was built on the omnipotence of
God: He was able. Our waverings rise mainly from our distrust of the
divine power; and therefore to fix us it is requisite we believe not only that
he is faithful, but that he is able, that hath promised. And therefore it
was imputed to him for righteousness, v. 22. Because with such a confidence
he ventured his all in the divine promise, God graciously accepted him, and not
only answered, but out-did, his expectation. This way of glorifying God by a
firm reliance on his bare promise was so very agreeable to God’s design, and so
very conducive to his honour, that he graciously accepted it as a
righteousness, and justified him, though there was not that in the thing itself
which could merit such an acceptance. This shows why faith is chosen to be the
prime condition of our justification, because it is a grace that of all others
gives glory to God.
Verses 23-25
In the
close of the chapter, he applies all to us; and, having abundantly proved that
Abraham was justified by faith, he here concludes that his justification was to
be the pattern or sampler of ours: It was not written for his sake alone.
It was not intended only for an historical commendation of Abraham, or a
relation of something peculiar to him (as some antipaedobaptists will needs
understand that circumcision was a seal of the righteousness of the faith,
v. 11, only to Abraham himself, and no other); no, the scripture did not intend
hereby to describe some singular way of justification that belonged to Abraham
as his prerogative. The accounts we have of the Old-Testament saints were not
intended for histories only, barely to inform and divert us, but for precedents
to direct us, for ensamples (1 Co. 10:11) for our learning, ch. 15:4.
And this particularly concerning Abraham was written for us also, to
assure us what that righteousness is which God requireth and accepteth to our
salvation,—for us also, that are man and vile, that come so far short of
Abraham in privileges and performances, us Gentiles as well as the Jews, for
the blessing of Abraham comes upon the Gentiles through Christ,—for us on whom
the ends of the world are come, as well as for the patriarchs; for the grace of
God is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. His application of it is but
short. Only we may observe,
I. Our common privilege; it shall be
imputed to us, that is, righteousness shall. The gospel way of justification is
by an imputed righteousness, mellei
logizesthai—it shall be imputed; he uses
a future verb, to signify the continuation of this mercy in the church, that as
it is the same now so it will be while God has a church in the world, and there
are any of the children of men to be justified; for there is a fountain opened
that is inexhaustible.
II. Our
common duty, the condition of this privilege, and that is believing. The proper
object of this believing is a divine revelation. The revelation to Abraham was
concerning a Christ to come; the revelation to us is concerning a Christ already
come, which difference in the revelation does not alter the case. Abraham
believed the power of God in raising up an Isaac from the dead womb of Sarah;
we are to believe the same power exerted in a higher instance, the resurrection
of Christ from the dead. The resurrection of Isaac was in a figure (Heb.
11:19); the resurrection of Christ was real. Now we are to believe on him that
raised up Christ; not only believe his power, that he could do it, but depend
upon his grace in raising up Christ as our surety; so he explains it, v. 25,
where we have a brief account of the meaning of Christ’s death and
resurrection, which are the two main hinges on which the door of salvation
turns. 1. He was delivered for our offences. God the Father delivered
him, he delivered up himself as a sacrifice for sin. He died indeed as a
malefactor, because he died for sin; but it was not his own sin, but the sins
of the people. He died to make atonement for our sins, to expiate our guilt, to
satisfy divine justice. 2. He was raised again for our justification,
for the perfecting and completing of our justification. By the merit of his
death he paid our debt, in his resurrection he took out our acquittance. When
he was buried he lay a prisoner in execution for our debt, which as a surety he
had undertaken to pay; on the third day an angel was sent to roll away the
stone, and so to discharge the prisoner, which was the greatest assurance
possible that divine justice was satisfied, the debt paid, or else he would
never have released the prisoner: and therefore the apostle puts a special
emphasis on Christ’s resurrection; it is Christ that died, yea, rather that
has risen again, ch. 8:34. So that upon the whole matter it is very evident
that we are not justified by the merit of our own works, but by a fiducial
obediential dependence upon Jesus Christ and his righteousness, as the
condition on our part of our right to impunity and salvation, which was the
truth that Paul in this and the foregoing chapter had been fixing as the great
spring and foundation of all our comfort.
Excerpt from:
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1662 - 1714)
Rick Meyers.
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. e-Sword ®: www.e-sword.net
