圣经注释书

使徒在本章继续论述称义的道理。他既已证明外邦人和犹太人都有罪，如今在本章：一、他答复一些可能针对他论犹太人之言所提出的异议（罗3:1-8）。二、他肯定全人类——犹太人和外邦人——共同的罪咎与败坏（罗3:9-18）。三、他由此推论，称义必然是因着信，而不是因着律法，并为此提出几个理由（罗3:19-31）。他著作中许多的离题之笔，有时使他的论述略为难懂，但他的主旨是清楚的。

The apostle points out the peculiar privileges of the Jews, Romans 3:1-8. But shows that they, also, as well as the Gentiles, had sinned, and forfeited all right and title to God's especial favor, Romans 3:9. The corrupt state of all mankind, Romans 3:10-18. All the world is guilty before God, and none can be justified by the works of the law, Romans 3:19, Romans 3:20. God's Mercy in providing redemption for a lost world, by Jesus Christ, Romans 3:21-26. This excludes boasting on the part both of Jew and Gentile; provides salvation through faith for both; and does not set aside, but establishes the law, Romans 3:27-31.

Dr. Taylor observes: - "In the preceding chapter the apostle has carried his argument to the utmost length: what remains is to keep the Jew in temper, to fix his convictions, and to draw the grand conclusion.

"He has shown that the Jews were more wicked than the Gentiles; that their possession of the law, circumcision, and outward profession of relation to God, were no ground of acceptance with him. This was in effect to say that the Jews had forfeited their right to the privileges of God's peculiar people, and that they were as unworthy to be continued in the Church as the Gentiles were to be taken into it; and consequently, in order to their enjoying the privileges of the Church under the Messiah, they stood in need of a fresh display of grace, which if they rejected, God would cast them out of the vineyard. The apostle was sensible that the Jew would understand what he said in this sense; and that it must be very irritating to him to hear that his law, circumcision, and all his external advantages, were utterly insufficient to procure him the favor of God. This at once stripped him of all his peculiar honors and privileges; and the apostle, who had often argued with his countrymen on these points, knew what they would be ready to say on this subject; and, therefore, introduces a dialogue between himself and a Jew, in which he gives him leave to answer and defend himself. In this dialogue the apostle undoubtedly refers to the rejection of the Jews, which he considers at large in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters. After the dialogue is finished, he resumes his argument, and proves, by their own Scriptures, that the Jews were guilty as well as other men; and that no part of mankind could have any right to the blessings of God's kingdom by any works which they had performed, but merely through the propitiatory sacrifice offered by Christ; and that this, far from destroying the law, was just the thing that the law required, and by which its claims were established.

"The sum and force of the apostle's argument is this: All sorts of men, Jews as well as Gentiles, have sinned; therefore, none of them can lay claim to the blessings of his kingdom on the ground of obedience. The Jew, therefore, stands as much in need of God's grace to give him a title to those blessings as the Gentile; and, consequently, the Gentile has as good a title as the Jew. And, when all are in the same circumstances, it is perfectly absurd for any to pretend to engross it to themselves, exclusively of others, who are only as bad as they.

"Thus the apostle solidly proves that we, Gentiles, through faith alone, have a good and firm title to all the blessings of the Gospel covenant - election, adoption, pardon, privileges, ordinances, the Holy Spirit, and the hope of eternal life."

As the nine first verses are a dialogue between the apostle and a Jew, I shall prefix the speakers to their respective questions and answers, to make the whole the more intelligible to the reader.

INTRODUCTION TO Romans 3

In this chapter are an answer to several objections which follow one upon another, relating to what the apostle had said concerning the equality of the Gentiles with the Jews; and various proofs out of the Psalms and Prophets, showing the general depravity and corruption of mankind, of the Jews as well as of the Gentiles; and the conclusion from all this, that there is no justification by the works of the law, but by the righteousness of God received by faith, of which a large and clear account is given. The first objection is in Romans 3:1, and is taken from the unprofitableness of being a Jew and a circumcised person, if that is true which is asserted in the preceding chapter; to which an answer is given, Romans 3:2, showing that though many things might be instanced in, in which the Jew had the advantage of the Gentile in external things; this might be mentioned as one for all, and taken sufficient answer, that the Jews had the oracles or word of God committed to their trust, by which they became acquainted with the will of God. The apostle foreseeing that another objection would arise upon this; what signifies their having the oracles of God, when these are not believed by them? prevents it by observing, Romans 3:3, that though some did not believe, some did, and as for the unbelief of others, the truth and faithfulness of God in his word were not made void by it; however false and deceitful men are, God is always true to his word, Romans 3:4, and which is confirmed by a passage of Scripture, cited out of Psalm 51:4, hence arises another objection, that if the righteousness of God is commended and illustrated by the unrighteousness of man, then it would be unjust in God to take vengeance on men for their sins, Romans 3:5, which is removed with abhorrence, and answered by observing, that if there was any truth in it, the world could not be judged by God, as it certainly will, Romans 3:6, but still the objection is continued and strengthened, Romans 3:7, that if God is glorified through the sins of men, not only men ought not to be punished for them, but they should not be reckoned sinners, or as doers of evil things, but of good things, and be indulged in them; to which is replied, that this was the common calumny cast upon the doctrine of the apostle, and persons of such principles and practices are deserving of damnation, Romans 3:8. Having removed these objections, the apostle reassumes his former assertion, and supports it, that a carnal circumcised Jew is no better than a carnal uncircumcised Gentile; it being already sufficiently made to appear, that they are both under the power and guilt of sin; and as a further evidence of it, he produces several passages out of the book of Psalms, and out of the prophecies of Isaiah, which fully express the sad corruption of human nature, and especially of the Jews; and this account begins in Romans 3:10, and ends in Romans 3:18, and which account he suggests, Romans 3:19, carries in it such a full conviction of the truth of what he had said, that all men are under sin, that no one would be able to open his mouth in his own defence, but all must acknowledge themselves guilty before God: and then he proceeds to the conclusion he meant to draw from all this, that there is no justification of any before God by the deeds of the law; giving this as a reason for it, because the law discovered sin, but not a justifying righteousness, Romans 3:20, that is revealed in another way, by the Gospel, and not the law, though both law and prophets bear a testimony to it, Romans 3:21, which righteousness is described by the author of it, God; by the means through which it comes to the use and comfort of men, the faith of Christ; and by the subjects of it, them that believe; in the justification of which there is no difference, Romans 3:22, of which a reason is given, Romans 3:23, taken from the general state of men, as sinners, and bereaved of the image of God: the several causes, ways, means, and end of the justification of such persons are suggested; the moving cause is the free grace of God, the meritorious or procuring cause the redemption that is in Christ, Romans 3:24, and his propitiatory sacrifice, Romans 3:25, which is owing to the eternal purpose of God, whose end in it was to declare his purity, holiness, and justice; which end is repeated and enlarged on, in Romans 3:26, upon which the apostle asks, Romans 3:27, what is become of boasting in the creature? and answers himself by saying, it was excluded, not by the doctrine of works, but by the doctrine of faith, and particularly the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ; wherefore the conclusion stands firm and just, from the premises, that justification is by faith without the works of the law, Romans 3:28, and it is further confirmed, that Jews and Gentiles, with respect to their state and condition God-ward, are on a level; he is the God of the one, as well as of the other, Romans 3:29, and this appears by his justifying both in one and the same way, through faith in the righteousness of this Son, Romans 3:30, and the chapter is concluded by obviating an objection that might be made, that through this doctrine of justification by faith the law is made void, and is of no use, Romans 3:31, to which the apostle answers, that this is so far from being fact, that the law is established by it.

A. RABBINIC DOCTRINES; MERIT, PRIVILEGE, &c. (Cch. 2, 3)

The following extracts from the Talmud are from the late Dr A. M Caul’s Old Paths. The original Rabbinic, as well as the reference, is there given in each case.

(On the Talmud as evidence to opinion in St Paul’s day, see just below, Appendix B.)

“Every one of the children of men has merits and sins. If his merits exceed his sins, he is righteous. If his sins exceed his merits, he is wicked. If they be half and half, he is an intermediate person, בינוני.” p. 125.—“Circumcision is equivalent to all the commandments that are in the Law.” p. 230.—“The wise men have said, that Abraham our father sits at the door of hell (Gehinnom), and does not suffer any one that is circumcised to be cast into it.” p. 229.—“Amongst all the commandments, there is not one that is equivalent to the study of the Law. Whereas the study of the Law is equivalent to all the commandments; for study leads to practice. Therefore, study always goes before good deeds”. p. 131.—“What is a sojourning proselyte? A Gentile, who has taken upon himself the commandments given to the sons of Noah, but is not circumcised nor baptized. Such a one is received, and is of the pious of the nations of the world. And why is he called a sojourner? Because it is lawful for us to let him dwell among us in the land of Israel.… But a sojourning proselyte is not received except during the celebration of the year of jubilee” (p. 34); i.e., during one year in fifty. But elsewhere the Talmud says that there has been no jubilee since the Captivity of the Ten Tribes (p. 35). Full proselytism is thus the only real hope for a Gentile.—“What constitutes a Stranger (i.e. a full proselyte)? Sacrifice, circumcision, and baptism. At the present time, when there is no sacrifice, circumcision and baptism are necessary; and when the Temple is rebuilt, he must bring a sacrifice. A Ger (Stranger) is not a Ger until he is both circumcised and baptized.” p. 154.

These extracts may aid us, in some measure, in estimating the kind of prejudice against which St Paul aims in Romans 2 &c.

The work from which the extracts are taken, The Old Paths, (נתיבות צולס), is itself no mean illustration of the prophecies of Romans 11. It was originally a serial, circulated (1836–7) among the Jews of London, as “a comparison of Modern Judaism with the religion of Moses and the Prophets;” and it is a deeply earnest while most temperate appeal by a Gentile Messianist to Jews.

CHAPTER 3

Romans 3:2. μὲν γάρ] Lachm. following B D* E G, min[723] vss[724], Chrys. Aug. reads ΜΈΝ. The ΓΆΡ was easily lost in consequence of its seeming unnecessary, and of the recollection of Romans 1:8; but is supported by 1 Corinthians 11:18.

Romans 3:9. ΠΡΟΕΧΌΜΕΘΑ] D* G 31, Syr[725] Erp. Chrys. ms. Theodoret have ΠΡΟΚΑΤΈΧΟΜΕΝ (or ΚΑΤΈΧ.) ΠΕΡΙΣΣῸΝ, and, with several other authorities, omit Οὐ ΠΆΝΤΩς. This ΠΡΟΚΑΤ. ΠΕΡΙΣΣ. is an erroneous gloss; and the omission of Οὐ ΠΆΝΤΩς is explained by its being no longer suitable after the adoption of ΤΊ ΟὖΝ ΠΡΟΚΑΤΈΧΟΜΕΝ ΠΕΡΙΣΣΌΝ; see Reiche, Comm. crit.

Romans 3:11. In important codices the article is wanting before συνίων and ἘΚΖΗΤῶΝ. But see LXX. Psalm 14:2.

Romans 3:22. ΚΑῚ ἘΠῚ ΠΆΝΤΑς] is wanting in A B C P א*, Copt. Aeth. Arm. Erp. Clem. Or. Cyr. Aug. Deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8. But when we consider that a gloss on ΕἸς ΠΆΝΤΑς was quite unnecessary, and on the other hand that ΚΑῚ ἘΠῚ ΠΆΝΤΑς was equally unnecessary to complete the sense, we may assume that the twice repeated ΠΆΝΤΑς may have even at a very early date occasioned the omission of ΚΑῚ ἘΠῚ ΠΆΝΤΑς.

Romans 3:25. Τῆς ΠΊΣΤ.] Τῆς is wanting in C* D* F G א, min[726], and several Fathers (A and Chrys. omit the whole διὰ τ. πίστ.). Suspected by Griesb., and deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. Still the omission of the article might easily occur if the copyist, as was natural, glanced back at ΔΙᾺ ΠΊΣΤ., Romans 3:22.

Romans 3:26. ΠΡῸς ἜΝΔΕΙΞ.] Following A B C D* P א, min[727], we should read with Lachm. and Tisch. πρὸς τὴν ἔνδειξ. The article was passed over in accordance with Romans 3:25.

ἸΗΣΟῦ is wanting in F G 52 It.; and is expanded in other authorities (ΧΡΙΣΤΟῦ ἸΗΣΟῦ, or ΤΟῦ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ ἩΜ. ἸΗΣΟῦ ΧΡΙΣΤΟῦ). Notwithstanding the preponderating testimony in its favour, it is properly deleted by Fritzsche and Tisch. 7. Supplied from looking back to Romans 3:22.

Romans 3:28. ΓΆΡ] Elz. and Tisch. 7. read ΟὖΝ, against very preponderating testimony, by which also the arrangement ΔΙΚ. ΠΊΣΤ. ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΝ (Elz.: Π. Δ. Ἄ.) is confirmed. Since according to the different modes of apprehending the connection, the emendation might be ΟὖΝ as well as ΓΆΡ, external attestation only can here be regarded as decisive.

Romans 3:29. The reading ΜΌΝΩΝ (so Tisch. 7. instead of ΜΌΝΟΝ) is insufficiently attested by B, min[728] and Fathers; and arose easily out of the context.

οὐχὶ καί] Elz.: ΟὐΧῚ ΔῈ ΚΑΊ, against decisive testimony. The ΔῈ was easily introduced into the text by the contrast, whether the two questions might be taken separately, or together as one.

ἘΠΕΊΠΕΡ] A B C D** א, min[729], Clem. Or. Cyr. Didym. Damasc.: εἴπερ. Recommended by Griesb.; adopted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8. But how easily may the ἘΠΕΊΠΕΡ, only occurring here in the N. T., and therefore unfamiliar to the copyists, have been exchanged for the familiar ΕἼΠΕΡ!

[723] in. codices minusculi, manuscripts in cursive writing. Where these are individually quoted, they are marked by the usual Arabic numerals, as 33, 89.

[724] ss. versions. These, when individually referred to, are marked by the usual abridged forms.

[725] yr. Peschito Syriac

[726] in. codices minusculi, manuscripts in cursive writing. Where these are individually quoted, they are marked by the usual Arabic numerals, as 33, 89.

[727] in. codices minusculi, manuscripts in cursive writing. Where these are individually quoted, they are marked by the usual Arabic numerals, as 33, 89.

[728] in. codices minusculi, manuscripts in cursive writing. Where these are individually quoted, they are marked by the usual Arabic numerals, as 33, 89.

[729] in. codices minusculi, manuscripts in cursive writing. Where these are individually quoted, they are marked by the usual Arabic numerals, as 33, 89.

罗 3:1-8.

对犹太人异议的回应

1, 2. 这样说来，犹太人有什么长处呢？——意思是："若最终的审判只在乎内心的光景，而外邦人在神的约之外，其内心也可能与在约内的犹太人一样美好，那么我们犹太人虽有这一切特权，又有什么优越之处呢？

长处…… - 本章第一部分的目的是要回答犹太人可能对前一章的陈述提出的一些异议。第一个异议记在本节。如果使徒所陈明的观点是正确的，犹太人自然会问：他从自己的宗教能得到什么特别的益处呢？这异议特别起因于 Romans 2:25-26 所主张的立场，即如果一个异教徒行了律法所要求的事，他就必被看作“像”受过割礼的一样。于是就有了这问题：“割礼有什么益处呢？”