transgression here is not a mere act of sin, but a willful determination to violate what is right.^141
The particle, οὖ, where, which I take as an adverb, some consider to be a relative, of which; but the
former reading is the most suitable, and the most commonly received. Whichever reading you may
follow, the meaning will be the same, — that he who is not instructed by the written law, when he
sins, is not guilty of so great a transgression, as he is who knowingly breaks and transgresses the
law of God.
Romans 4:16-17
- Propterea ex fide, ut secundum gratiam,
quo firma sit promissio universo semini non ei - Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by
grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all
quod est ex Lege solum, sed quod est ex fide
Abrahæ, qui est pater omnium nostrum,
the seed; 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 us all,- (sicut scriptum est. Quod patrem
multarum gentium posui te,) coram Deo, cui - (As it is written, I have made thee a father
of many nations,) before him whom he believed,
credidit, qua vivificat mortuos et vocat ea quæ
non sunt tanquam sint.
even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth
those things which be not as though they were.
16.It is therefore of faith,etc. This is the winding up of the argument; and you may summarily
include the whole of it in this statement, — “If the heirship of salvation comes to us by works, then
faith in it vanishes, the promise of it is abolished; but it is necessary that both these should be sure
and certain; hence it comes to us by faith, so that its stability being based on the goodness of God
alone, may be secured.” See how the Apostle, regarding faith as a thing firm and certain, considers
hesitancy and doubt as unbelief, by which faith is abolished, and the promise abrogated. And yet
this doubting is what the schoolmen call a moral conjecture, and which, alas! they substitute for
faith.
That it might be by grace, etc. Here, in the first place, the Apostle shows, that nothing is set
before faith but mere grace; and this, as they commonly say, is its object: for were it to look on
merits, absurdly would Paul infer, that whatever it obtains for us is gratuitous. I will repeat this
again in other words, — “If grace be everything that we obtain by faith, then every regard for works
is laid in the dust.” But what next follows more fully removes all ambiguity, — that the promise
then only stands firm, when it recumbs on grace: for by this expression Paul confirms this truth,
that as long as men depend on works, they are harassed with doubts; for they deprive themselves
(^141) It is better to take this sentence, “Where there is no law, there is no transgression,” according to its obvious meaning; as it
comports better with the former clause. The reasoning seems to be this, — “The promise is by faith, and not by the law; for the
law brings wrath or condemnation: but where there is no law, there is no transgression to occasion wrath.” The same idea is
essentially conveyed in verse Romans 4:16, where it is said, that the promise is sure, because it is through faith and by grace.
Had it been by the law, there would have been transgression and wrath, and hence the loss of the promise.
This verse is connected with the Romans 4:13 rather than with the 14th. It contains another reason, besides what Romans
4:14 gives, in confirmation of what is said in Romans 4:13. Hence Macknight renders , in this verse, “farther,” which renders
the connection more evident. “Where no law is, there is no transgression, and therefore no wrath or punishment; but where law
is, there is transgression, wrath, and punishment.” — Pareus