EXPOSITION on Romans
Robert Haldane
PREFACE
ALL Scripture is given by
inspiration of God. Every page of the sacred
volume is stamped with the impress
of Deity, and contains an
inexhaustible treasure of wisdom,
and knowledge, and consolation. Some
portions of the word of God, like
some parts of the material creation, may
be more important than others. But
all have their proper place, all proclaim
the character of their glorious
Author, and all ought to be earnestly and
reverentially studied. Whatever be
their subject, whether it relates to the
history of individuals or of
nations, whether it contains the words of
precept or exhortation, or whether
it teaches by example, all is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness.
But while every part of the word
of God demands the most serious
attention it is not to be doubted
that certain portions of the sacred volume
call for more frequent and deeper
meditation. In the Old Testament, the
Book of Psalms contains a summary
of all Scripture, and an abridgment of
its most important instructions
and sweetest consolations. In the New
Testament, the Epistle to the
Romans is entitled to peculiar regard. It is
the part of Scripture which
contains a detailed and systematic exhibition of
the doctrines of Christianity. The
great truths which are embodied and
inculcated in every other part of
the Bible, are here brought together in a
condensed and comprehensive form.
More especially, the glorious doctrine
of justification by faith is
clearly unfounded and exhibited in the strongest
light.
The Epistle to the Romans has
always attracted the peculiar notice of
those whose study has been
directed to the interpretation of Scripture. To
the this portion of the Divine
record, all who look for salvation by grace
have constantly appealed, and here
they have a rich mine of evidence, alike
solid and inexhaustible No
considerable difference of interpretation has
ever been given of its contents by
those who have renounced their own
wisdom, and determined to follow
implicitly the obvious meaning of the
word of God. This Epistle has been
equally an object of attention to those
who admit the authority of
Scripture, but follow their own wisdom in
forming their system of religious
doctrine. Salvation by grace and salvation
by works are so incompatible with
each other, that it might well be
supposed no attempt would ever be
made to bring them into harmony.
Still the attempt has been made.
Human wisdom cannot receive the
doctrine of the Epistle to the
Romans, and men professing Christianity
cannot deny it to be a part of
Scripture. What, then, is to be done? A
compromise is proclaimed between
the wisdom of man and the revelation
of God. All the ingenuity of Mr.
Locke, one of the most acute and subtle
metaphysicians that ever appeared,
has been exerted to bring the doctrine
of Paul into accordance with human
science. Like him, many others have
labored to give a view of this
Epistle that may reconcile human merit with
divine grace.
Nothing is more manifest than the
direct opposition between the doctrine
of inspiration, as unfolded in the
Epistle to the Romans, with respect to
the state and prospects of
mankind, and the doctrine of this world’s
philosophy. Paul contemplates all
men in their natural state as ruined by
sin, and utterly unable to restore
themselves to the Divine favor.
Philosophers, on the contrary,
survey the aspect of society with real or
affected complacency. They
perceive, indeed, that imperfection and
suffering prevail to a
considerable extent; but they discover a vast
preponderance of happiness and
virtue. They cannot deny that man is of a
mixed character; but this is
necessary, in order that his virtue may be his
own, and that, in passing onwards
to the summit of moral excellence, his
strength of principle may be more
illustriously displayed, and his
happiness promoted by his progress
in virtue, as well as by his
advancement in knowledge. Nor is
this remarkable difference altogether
confined to philosophy. Even many
professors and expounders of
Christianity cannot entirely
accord with the Apostle Paul in his
representations of human nature.
Man, it seems to them, is not so
completely lost but that he may do
something to regain the Divine favor;
and if a sacrifice were necessary
for the expiation of sin, its blessing must
be equally bestowed on all
mankind.
The doctrine of justification, in
particular, so far transcends the powers of
our discovery, that men are ever
attempting to set it aside, or to mold it
into accordance with their own
preconceived notions. How wonderful is
the contrast between the
justification of which this Apostle treats, and the
justification which critical
ingenuity has often extorted from his Epistles!
While Paul speaks of the believer
as possessing a righteousness perfectly
commensurate to all the demands of
the law, and standing at the bar of
God spotless and blameless, human
wisdom has contrived to exhibit his
doctrine as representing salvation
to be the result of a happy combination
of mercy and merit.
The doctrine of salvation by faith
without works has ever appeared to the
wise of this world not only as a
scheme insufficient to secure the interests
of morality, but as one which
disparages the Divine authority. Yet its good
effects are fully demonstrated in
every age; and while nothing but the
doctrine of salvation by grace has
ever produced good works, this doctrine
has never failed of its designed
object. In all the ways of God there is a
characteristic wisdom, which
stamps them with the impress of divinity.
There is here a harmony and
consistency in things the most different in
appearance; while the intended
result is invariably produced, although in a
way which to man would appear most
unlikely to secure success.
The mind of every man is by nature
disaffected to the doctrine of this
Epistle; but it is only in
proportion to the audacity of his unbelief that any
one will directly avow his
opposition. While some, by the wildest
suppositions, will boldly set
aside whatever it declares that opposes their
own preconceived opinions, others
will receive its statements only with
the reserve of certain necessary
modifications. Thus, in the deviations from
truth in the exposition of its
doctrines, we discover various shades of the
same unhallowed disregard for the
Divine testimony.
The spirit of speculation and of
novelty which is now abroad, loudly calls
upon Christians to give earnest
heed to the truths inculcated in the Epistle
to the Romans. There is hardly any
doctrine which has not been of late
years exposed to the corruptions
and perversions of men who profess to
be believers of Divine revelation.
Many, altogether destitute of the Spirit
of God and the semblance of true
religion, have nevertheless chosen the
word of God and its solemn and
awfully momentous truths as the arena
upon which to exercise their
learning and display their ingenuity. In
consequence of the Scriptures
being written in the dead languages, there is
doubtless scope for the diligent
employment of critical research. But if it
were inquired how much additional
light has been thrown upon the sacred
volume by the refinements of
modern critics, it would be found to bear a
very small proportion to the evil
influence of unsanctified learning applied
to the holy doctrines of
revelation. It has become common, even among
Christians to speak of the
critical interpretation of Scripture as requiring
little or nothing more than mere
scholarship; and many seem to suppose
that the office of a critical and
that of a doctrinal interpreter are so widely
different, that a man may be a
safe and useful critic who has no relish for
the grand truths of the Bible.
There cannot be a more lamentable delusion,
or one more calculated to
desecrate the character and obscure the majesty
of the word of God. To suppose
that a man may rightly interpret the
Scriptures, while he is ignorant
of the truths of the Gospel, or disaffected
to some of its grand fundamental
doctrines, — to imagine that this can be
to him a useful or even an
innocent occupations — is to regard these
Scriptures as the production of
ordinary men, treating of subjects of
ordinary importance, instead of
containing, as they do, the Message of the
Most High God, revealing life or
death to every soul to whom they come.
If the Scriptures have not
testified in vain that the carnal mind is enmity
against God; if we are bound to
believe that there is no middle state
between the Christian and the
unbeliever; can we wonder at the manner in
which they have been perverted,
not only by the ignorance, but by the
inveterate prejudices, of men from
whom the Gospel is hid? Is it
reasonable — is it agreeable to
the dictates of common sense — to believe
that the critical interpretations
of such men are not tinged with their own
darkened and hostile views of the
Divine character and the Divine
revelation? And yet such is the
opinion entertained of the labors of some
of the most unenlightened
commentators, that their works have obtained a
celebrity altogether unaccountable
on any principle of Christian wisdom.
Christians ought to be
particularly on their guard against tampering in any
degree with the word of God. We
should never forget that, when we are
explaining any expression of
Scripture, we are treating of what are the very
words of the Holy Ghost, as much
as if they had been spoken to us by a
voice from heaven. The profane
rashness of many critics is much
emboldened by the circumstance
that men have been employed as the
instruments of the Almighty in
communicating His revelation. A sort of
modified inspiration only is
granted to the Scriptures, and they are often
treated as the words merely of
those who were employed as the penmen.
When God is thus kept out of
sight, little ceremony is used with the words
of the Apostles. That profound
reverence and awe with which the
Scriptures ought to be read and
handled, are in many instances too little
exemplified. The poor man’s Bible
is the word of God, in which he has no
suspicion that there is anything
but perfection. The Bible of the
profoundly erudite scholar is
often a book that is not so necessary to
instruct him, as one that needs
his hand for alteration, or amendment, or
confirmation. Learning may be
usefully employed; but if learning ever
forgets that it must sit at the
feet of Jesus, it will be a curse instead of a
blessing. It will raise clouds and
darkness, instead of communicating light
to the world.
The evil of studying the
Scriptures, and commenting upon them with as
little reverence as a scholar
might comment upon the plays of
Aristophanes or Terence, has
extended itself much farther than might be
supposed. This is the spirit in
which the Gerrean Neologians have written;
and indeed it is to be feared
that, as the Neologian form of infidelity
originated from this profane
method of criticizing the Scriptures, so the
same cause may produce the same
effect in this country. Certain it is that
works have been republished or
translated here, which are very little
calculated to uphold the ancient
faith of the Church of Christ, or to
advance the knowledge of the truth
as it is in Jesus.
From present appearances, there is
every reason to fear that Britain will be
inundated with German Neology. The
tide has strongly set in, and unless
the Christian public be upon their
guard, the whole country will be brought
under its influence. It is a
solemn thing to be instrumental in ushering into
more extended notoriety
publications that have a tendency to lower the
character of the Holy Scriptures,
to introduce doubt and confusion into the
minds of those who are weak in the
faith, and to embolden others who
seek an apology for casting away
the fetters of education and authority,
and desire to launch out into the
ocean of wild and dangerous speculation.
While some appearances in Germany
of a return to the Scripture doctrine
of salvation by Jesus Christ
should be gladly hailed by every Christian,
yet it must be admitted that those
who in that country seem to have made
the greatest advances in the
knowledge of the Gospel, are still far from
being entitled to be pointed out
as guides to the Christians of Great
Britain. Their modifications of
Divine truth are manifestly under the
influence of a criticism too
nearly allied to Neology. There is great danger
that in the admiration of German
criticism a tincture may be received from
continental errors. It would be
far preferable if learned Christians at home
would pursue truth in a diligent
examination of its own sources, rather than
spend their time in retailing the
criticisms of German scholars. ‘Their
criticisms,’ it is observed by Dr.
Carson, ‘are arbitrary, forced, and in the
highest degree fantastical. Their
learning is boundless, yet their criticism is
mere trash. The vast extent of
their literary acquirements has overawed
British theologians, and given an
importance to arguments that are
self-evidently false.’
In these days of boasted
liberality, it may appear captious to oppose with
zeal the errors of men who have
acquired a name in the Christian world.
The mantle of charity, it will be
said, ought to be thrown over mistakes
that have resulted from a free and
impartial investigation of truth, and if
not wholly overlooked, they should
be noticed with a slight expression of
disapprobation. Such, however, was
not the conduct of the Apostle Paul.
He spared neither churches nor
individual when the doctrines they
maintained turned to the
subversion of the Gospel and the zeal with which
he resisted their errors was not
inferior to that with which he encountered
the open enemies of Christianity.
He affirms that the doctrine introduced
into the Galatian churches is
another Gospel, and twice pronounces a curse
against all by whom it was
promulgated. Instead of complimenting the
authors of this corruption of the
Gospel as only abusing in a slight degree
the liberty of free examination,
he decides that they should be cut off as
troublers of the churches. Let not
Christians be more courteous in
expressing their views of the
guilt and danger of corrupting the Gospel,
than faithful and compassionate to
the people of Christ who may be
injured by false doctrine. It is
highly sinful to bandy compliments at the
expense of truth.
The awful responsibility of being
accessory to the propagation of error is
strongly expressed by the Apostle
John. ‘If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house, neither bid him
God-speed; for he that biddeth him
God-speed is partaker of his evil
deeds.’ If the imputation of
Adam’s sin and of Christ’s righteousness be
doctrines contained in the word of
God; commentaries that labor to expel
them from that word must be
grossly pestiferous books, which no
Christian ought to recommend, but
which, on the contrary, to the utmost
of his power, it is his duty to
oppose.
A very dangerous misrepresentation
of some of the great doctrines of the
Epistle to the Romans has lately
come before the public, in a commentary
on that Epistle from the pen of
Professor Moses Stuart of America. As
that work has obtained an
extensive circulation in this country, — as it has
been strongly recommended, and is
likely to produce a considerable effect,
— it has appeared proper to make
frequent references to his glaring
perversions of its important
contents. On the same principle, various
remarks are introduced on the
well-known heterodox commentary of Dr.
Macknight; I have also alluded
occasionally to the heretical sentiments
contained in that of Professor
Tholuck, lately published.
In the following exposition, I
have availed myself of all the assistance I
could obtain, from whatever
quarter. Especially I have made use of
everything that appeared to be
most valuable in the commentary of
Claude, which terminates at the
beginning of the twenty-first verse of the
third chapter. I have also had the
advantage of the assistance of Dr.
Carson, whose profound knowledge
of the original language and
well-known critical discernment
peculiarly qualify him for rendering
effectual aid in such a work. As
it is my object to make this exposition as
useful as possible to all
descriptions of readers, I have not always confined
myself simply to an explanation of
the text, but have occasionally
extended, at some length, remarks
on such subjects as seemed to demand
particular attention, either on
account of their own importance, or of
mistaken opinions entertained
concerning them. As to those which
required a fuller discussion than
could be conveniently introduced, I have
referred to my work on the
Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation.
By studying the Epistle to the
Romans, an exact and comprehensive
knowledge of the distinguishing
doctrines of grace, in their various bearings
and connections, may, by the
blessing of God, be obtained. Here they
appear in all their native force
and clearness, unalloyed with the wisdom of
man. The human mind is ever prone
to soften the strong features of Divine
truth, and to bring them more into
accordance with its own wishes and
preconceived notions. Those
lowering and debasing modifications of the
doctrines of Scripture, by which,
in some popular works, it is endeavored
to reconcile error with orthodoxy,
are imposing only in theory, and may be
easily detected by a close and
unprejudiced examination of the language of
this Epistle.
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