עברית

Theodore of Mopsuestia

Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500 · 490 passages across 31 books

Commentary

421–440 of 490
Romans 1:13

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Paul here shows quite clearly that he wanted to go to Rome but that he had often been prevented. At the same time he wants to put them in fear, lest perhaps it was because of their unworthiness that he had been prevented from going to them.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 1:18

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Since the forthcoming punishment of the ungodly and unrighteous has already been decreed, it is essential to walk in the righteousness of faith, in order to avoid the evils to come. Paul rightly said that the wrath of God is being revealed … in this present age, when God restrains himself and does not render the full punishment, so as not to remove the opportunity to repent, with the result that either they will turn around and be saved or else they will turn away and have no excuse.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 1:25

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The truth about God is that he is the true God. But human beings have made idols and falsely called them gods. They have transferred the truth of God to idols. In other words, they have changed what could rightly be said and thought about God into a lie by applying it to idols instead.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:2

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

“Judgment” means the tribunal and judgment seat of God, and as if to make the condemnation of the wicked certain Paul added “rightly.”

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:12

For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

So as not to appear to be condemning them out of hatred Paul has repeated himself here, saying that those who have sinned without the law will perish without the law and that those under the law will be judged by the law.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:16

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Paul continually preached that there will be a day of judgment and that it will be necessary to have believed in Christ in order to escape punishment.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:17

Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

This is not to be read as a question, as some people think, but rather as a statement, as if to say: “Not as a true Jew, albeit in secret, but merely claiming to be one and making false pretenses.”

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:20

An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

By “embodiment” is meant not the form but the substance and the knowledge and the truth, like the one “who was in the form of God.”

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 2:29

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

“Spiritual” here does not refer to the Holy Spirit. For Paul is not talking about those who have been put right by grace but is referring above all to those outside the faith who do the works of the law and who show themselves to be better than those transgressors who are under the law.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 3:12

They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Paul did not treat this passage as if it were prophetic but rather because what David said about transgressors was still a good summary of what was going on in Paul’s day. Even now we still cite texts of this kind in our sermons, because what they say can be applied to our congregations.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 3:27

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Now you say to me (says Paul), What new law has thrown the old one out? For when the ruler adds to the law, the law is changed. Paul answers: When the law of works came in it did not abolish the former law—on the contrary, it actually contained the former law. But when the law of faith appeared it did abolish the earlier law, having overcome the boasting which came from the law of works. These things have been given to us by the grace of God, which our forefathers, however hard they may have tried, were unable to obtain.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 3:28

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Paul did not say “we hold” because he was himself uncertain. He said it in order to counter those who concluded from this that anyone who wished to could be justified simply by willing faith. Note carefully that Paul does not say simply “without the law,” as if we could just perform virtue by wanting to, nor do we do the works of the law by force. We do them because we have been led to do them by Christ. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.AUGUSTINE:This must not be understood in such a way as to say that a man who has received faith and continues to live is righteous, even though he leads a wicked life.

QUESTIONS 76.1

Romans 4:8

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Sinful works are not counted against the faithful. God’s love of humanity is the greatest thing that has happened.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 5:13

(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

The coming of the law did not remove sin. On the contrary, even though the law was observed and kept by men, sin continued to increase and the law could do nothing to stop it.… So far was the law from being the cure for sin that Paul even says that there would not have been sin at all had there been no law! By “law” Paul means the discernment which comes by both the natural law and the law of Moses. For without this discernment, nobody would be able to call sin by its name, since there would be no way of knowing the difference between good and evil.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 5:14

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Death came to all men not because they committed the same sin as Adam but because they sinned.… Death is not just the punishment for one particular sin; it is the punishment for every sin.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 5:16

And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

There is one great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift in Christ. Adam’s sin brought punishment on all those who came after him, and so they died. But the free gift is different. For not only did it take effect in the case of those who came afterward; it also took away the sins of those who had gone before. It is therefore much greater, because where sin harmed those who came after, grace rescued not only those who came after but those who had transgressed before as well.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 5:17

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Paul shows just how superior grace is to sin, because while death, which came into the world by the sin of Adam, held full sway, the enjoyment of the gift of grace through Christ has been given to us, through which we shall be raised from the dead and in righteousness cease to sin. But we have not yet received it fully; it does not yet hold full sway. We are still waiting for the life to come, even though we now enjoy it in part.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 5:21

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul says that just as sin once ruled us even against our will, because we were so used to it, so now our zeal for God reigns and will reign in us forever. Since we have been made worthy of eternal life through the resurrection and live in true and certain righteousness, we shall no longer be receptive to sin.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Having shown that they should avoid sinning for the sake of future benefits, Paul goes on to add that they should live as though they were incapable of sinning at all. For if the time was coming when they would be transformed and act as sinless people, then here and now they ought to cleanse their minds of any thought of sin and earnestly try to do what is good.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 6:15

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

I think that Paul is saying this to the Jews because it is the nature of the law to tell us what we should and should not do. If we find ourselves outside the law, there is nothing to stop us from doing what we like, but if there is some way of determining what should and should not be done, then we are back under the law again, and what is said here will easily apply to us. Paul has expressed himself in this seemingly contradictory way because he is saying that since we are free of sin we are no longer under the law. He does not mean that the outpouring of grace has given us license to sin.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

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