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11 For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law will perish also without law; and as many as have sinned under a law will 13 be judged by that law; (for not the hearers of [the] law will be just before God, but the doers of [the] law will 14 be justified: for when the gentiles, that have not a law,

do by nature the things contained in the law, these, not 15 having a law, are a law to themselves: who shew forth

the works of the law, which are written in their hearts; their conscience witnessing with them, and their reasonings be16 tween themselves accusing or excusing one another): in the day when God will judge the secret things of men by Jesus Christ, according to the gospel which I preach.

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But if thou be called a Jew, and rest in [the] law, and 18 glory in God, and know his will, and discern the things 19 that are excellent, being instructed out of the law; and

be confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a 20. light to those that are in darkness, an instructor of the

unwise, a teacher of babes, having the form of know21 ledge and of the truth in the law; thou who teachest

another, teachest thou not thyself? thou who preachest 22 that a man should not steal, dost thou steal? thou

who sayest that a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost 23 thou commit sacrilege? thou who gloriest in the law,

through transgression of the law dishonourest thou God? 24 (For the name of God is evil spoken of among the gentiles through you;" as it is written.) 25 For circumcision profiteth indeed, if thou keep the

law but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy cir26 cumcision becometh uncircumcision. If therefore the

uncircumcision keep the righteous ordinances of the law, shall not the uncircumcision of such be counted for cir27 cumcision? and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, and fulfilleth the law, condemn thee, who under the letter of circumcision art a transgressor of the

28 law? For he is not a Jew, that is one outwardly; nor 29 is that circumcision, which is outward, in the flesh but

he is a Jew, that is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not according to the letter: whose praise is not from men, but from God. CH. III. "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is 2 the benefit of circumcision?" "Much every way: but

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chiefly because to the Jews were committed the oracles of 3 God. For what if some had not faith? shall their want 4 of faith make the faithfulness of God without effect? By no means: yea, let God be true, but every man false: as it is written; That thou mightest be justified in thy words, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.' 5 But if our unrighteousness enhance the righteousness of God"—"What shall we say? Is God unrighteous that inflicteth punishment? (I speak according to the manner 6 of men.) By no means: for then how shall God judge 7 the world?" "For if the truth of God have abounded to

his glory through my unfaithfulness, why am I still 8 judged as a sinner?” “And why say ye not, (as it is slanderously spoken of us, and as some affirm that we say,) 'Let us do evil, that good may come?' whose condemnation is just."

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What then? do we excel the gentiles? No, surely for we have before brought a charge against Jews and gen10 tiles, that they are all under sin as it is written, "There 11 is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that un12 derstandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They

are all gone out of the way, they are together become worthless there is none that doeth good, no not even 13 one. Their mouth is like an open sepulchre; with their

tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under 14 their lips their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery

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* Or, magnify. Or, illustrate. Or, make more manifest. See S. 12. and Wakefield. N.

17 are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not 18 known there is no fear of God before their eyes." Now

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we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to those that are under the law: so that every mouth is stopped, and all the world becometh subject to the judge20 ment of God. For by the works of a law no man can be justified in his sight: for by law is the knowledge of sin. But now, without a law, God's method of justification is manifested; being attested by the law and the prophets; 22 even God's method of justification by faith in Jesus Christ,

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unto all, [and upon all,] who believe: for there is no 23 difference for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory 24 of God; being justified of free bounty, even by his fa

vour, through the redemption which is by Christ Jesus; 25 whom God hath set forth as a mercy-seat, in his own

blood*; to shew his method of justification concerning the remission of past sins, through the forbearance of God; 26 to shew, I say, his method of justification at this present time that he might be just, and the justifier of him who hath faith in Jesus.

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Where then is glorying? It is excluded. By what law? 28 Of works? No: but by the law of faith. For we conclude that man is justified by faith, without the works of 29 the law. Is God the God of the Jews only? is he not of

So Locke. "through faith in his blood," is the reading of the received text, and of Archbishop Newcome. The words dia iss are omitted in the Alexandrian and some other manuscripts, and they obscure the sense. The apostle represents Christ as a mercy-seat, consecrated by his own blood, upon which the goodness of God, as it were, takes its stand, and declares his gracious purposes and dispensations to mankind. See Locke, and Taylor's judicious note upon the text. The word iλasngiov never signifies" propitiation," as it is translated in the public version; but is always used wherever it occurs, both in the Cld Testament and the New, to express the mercy-seat, which was the golden lid of the ark, upon which the Shechinah or cloud of glory rested, and from which oracles were dispensed. Exod. xxv. 22; Numb. vii. 8, 9; Lev. xvii. 2; Heb. ix. 5. It must be evident to every unprejudiced person, that this beautiful allusion of the apostle, which is intended to represent Christ as the messenger of divine mercy, and the medium of divine communications to mankind, gives no countetenance to the commonly received doctrine of atonement by vicarious sufferings, though many lay great stress upon this text, misled by the common translation.

30 the gentiles also? Yes; of the gentiles also: since there

is one God, who will justify those of the circumcision by 31 faith, and those of the uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void law through faith? By no means: yea, we establish law.

CH. IV. "What advantage then shall we say that Abraham 2 our father found, as to the flesh? For if Abraham was

justified by works, he hath whereof to glory?”

3 not before God. For what saith the scripture?

"But

Abra

ham believed God; and it was counted to him for righte4 ousness. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not 5 counted matter of favour, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth in Him that justifieth the un6 godly, his faith is counted for righteousness. As David also describeth the happiness of the man to whom God 7 counteth righteousness without works, saying, 'Happy are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins 8 are covered: happy is the man to whom the Lord will not count sin.'

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Cometh this happiness then upon those of the circumcision only, or upon those of the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham for righ10 teousness. How then was it counted? when he was in

circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, 11 but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness arising from the faith which he had, being yet uncircumcised; that he might be the father of all those who believe, though in a state of uncircumcision, that righteousness might be 12 counted to them also; and the father of circumcision to those that are not of the circumcision only, but also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which 13 he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham,

*The ungodly man, N.

or to his offspring, through a law, but through the righ14 teousness arising from faith. For if those that are under

a law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is 15 made of none effect; because law produceth punishment* : 16 for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore righteousness is from faith, that it might be through favour; so that the promise might be sure to all the offspring, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of 17 us all, (as it is written, I have made thee a father of

many nations,') in the sight of that God whom he believed, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth those things 18 that are not as though they were: which man against

hope believed in hope, so that he became the father of

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many nations; according to that which was spoken, 19 Thus shall thine offspring be:' and because he was not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, nor the dead20 ness of Sarah's womb: nor did he stagger at the promise of God, through unbelief; but was strong in faith, and 21 gave glory to God; and was fully persuaded, that what 22 God had promised, he was able to perform also. Where

fore Abraham's faith was counted to him for righteous23 ness. Yet it was not written for his sake only, that it was 24 counted to him; but for the sake of us also, to whom

faith will be thus counted, if we believe in him that raised 25 from the dead our Lord Jesus; who was delivered up for our offences t, and was raised again for our justification. CH. V. Wherefore, having been justified by faith, we have 2 peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we have access also by faith into this favour

* worketh anger, N.

+ Christ was delivered up for our offences, not to bear the punishment of them, or to appease the anger of God, but to abolish the dispensation by which men were condemned as sinners, and to introduce a new and better dispensation by which they should be justified and treated as righteous. Thus he rose for their justification. See Ephr. it 14-16. So N. m. gracious gospel, N. t.

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