is of God by faith" (Phil. 3:8-9). Paul therefore strove for the righteousness of God which comes by faith, ignoring his own righteousness which was of the law, for God has concluded all under sin that he might have mercy upon all, both Jew and Gentile, and upon the same terms. Therefore he says again in his letter to the Romans (3: 20-26), "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth through faith in his blood, to declare his (God's) righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time his (God's) righteousness that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

Here we are clearly taught that the righteousness that we must have to be justified before God is not our own, but is imputed to us because of our faith in God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. This righteousness, then, we must obtain through Christ. He is the chief seed, he is Abraham's son and Lord, and even Abraham himself must obtain his inheritance through Jesus Christ. In him all the promises of God are Yea and Amen, as saith the apostle (Rom. 15:8-9), “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written."

Christ confirmed by his death the promises of God that the inheritance and blessings set forth therein might be realized and be entered upon at the time of recompense by both Jew and Gentile. He is the one great sacrifice for sin accepted of God. His blood was shed to wash away the sins of the heirs of promise, of those who believe the promises of God, that their faith in these promises may be accounted to them for righteousness. He is the Father's executive, as he said, The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22).

Now as this righteousness is obtainable upon the same terms by both Jew and Gentile, Paul says again (Rom. 9:30-32), "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel which followed the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law."

DOING BY NATURE THE THINGS CONTAINED IN THE LAW

We will now call attention to some of Paul's words found in his letter to the Romans, which some of our modern interpreters and writers have construed in such a manner that it is like turning Paul's batteries upon himself and making him say in one place what he emphatically contradicts in another

place, thus rendering Paul's testimony unworthy of acceptance, which we can in no wise allow.

In Romans (2:11-16) he says, "For there is no respect of persons with God, 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 (for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing, one another). In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."

Now as a specimen of the manner in which Paul's words in this place are wrested and misapplied by one of the chief lights of the Presbyterian Church, we quote the following from Matthew Henry's commentary. It says, "Three degrees of light are revealed to the children of men; first, the light of nature. This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged, 'As many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law'; that is, the unbelieving Gentiles, who have no other guide but natural conscience and not any supernatural revelation, should not be reckoned with, for the transgression of the law they never had, nor come under the aggravation of the Jews' sin against, and judgment by, the written law, but they shall be judged as they sin against the law of nature."

If the above is a true interpretation of Paul's words, then Paul here flatly contradicts himself in other places and also contradicts Christ and the other apostles. First, John says in his first Epistle (5: 19), "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lieth in wickedness." Here John, unlike Matthew Henry and his kind, makes no exception of the pious heathen who worship sticks and stones, and who do the best they know how, and are sincere, walking not by the light of revelation, but by the light of nature. Second, Jesus said, No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Now how does the Father draw men to Christ? The next saying of Jesus shows how, for he says, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God." Jesus then explains, "Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." Now how does the Father teach men? It is by the Scriptures which he hath given; and so Jesus says again, "They are they which testify of me."

When Peter said to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus replied, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Peter had been with John the Baptist, and saw that Jesus answered to the character of him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write; and through this means he understood that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the way that men were taught of God, and by which they come to Christ. Therefore the heathen which have no revelation cannot come to Christ by the light of nature; and as there is (as Peter says) no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," therefore the heathen which know nothing of

Christ and therefore cannot come to him, cannot in that condition be saved by the dim light of nature.

Third, Paul in writing to the Ephesian Christians says, "Remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh made with hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." What can be more emphatic than this, that Gentiles which have no revelation, and therefore know nothing of the covenants of promise, are without hope, and without God in the world!

Fourth, the Prophet Isaiah saith, and Paul quotes and applies his saying in his first letter to the Corinthians (2:9), "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him; but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." As these things, therefore, are purely matters of revelation, how comes it that the heathen have found them out without revelation, but by the light of nature? It is impossible, for Paul adds, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (see I Cor. 2: 7-16): That is, they are discerned by the Holy Scriptures, correctly understood as they were by the apostles when their understandings were opened that they might understand the Scriptures, which are the spiritual things of God.

Fifth, in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (4:3) he says, "If our gospel is hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world (the devil) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

Now in regard to this Gospel which Paul preached, and called "our gospel," he says in another place, "If any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed." This completely ignores and rules out Matthew Henry, and his co-laborers, and their natural gospel which comes by the light of nature, and all others who recognize and agree with them in these things. Now these examples are sufficient to show that these men must have greatly erred and wrested Paul's words. We will therefore endeavor to set these things in order, and show that Paul's doctrine in his letter to the Romans agrees with what he says in other places. Therefore we ask, What does a Gentile do when he does by nature the things contained in the law? We will arrive at an answer to that question in this way: at Mount Sinai the Lord entered into a covenant with the people of Israel, and they promised saying, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." The Lord also said to them, "I will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto Moses. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him," or as Peter puts it, "He shall be destroyed from among the people."

Therefore to bring Israel to Christ that they might be justified by the faith that is in Jesus, and not by the works of the law, God gave them a law which pointed them to Christ. It was typical,- a shadow, of which Christ

was the substance, and so Paul says, "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." Wherefore, when Christ came, did the Jews as a people and nation accept him? No, they did not; they rejected and killed him; and in so doing, they broke God's covenant with them,- that is, they broke the law and refused to do the things contained in the law. Therefore the Jews, the natural branches, were broken off, and the Gospel was sent to the Gentiles, and they were invited to come and be grafted into the good olive tree, to be partakers of the root and fatness of the olive tree.

Now the Gentile was under no law that required him to accept Christ when he came, but the Jew was. Therefore when the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, they did voluntarily and of their own free will, naturally, or as Paul says, "They did by nature," the things contained in the law, when they believed the Gospel, and were baptized into Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and their faith in Christ and in the promises of God in him was accounted to them for righteousness. Therefore what Paul here says has no reference whatever to Gentiles who never heard of Christ, but he refers exclusively to those Gentiles to whom the Gospel was preached and who obeyed it naturally, of their own free choice, and who will be judged in the day of Christ, not by the law of nature, but by Paul's Gospel, as he himself says (Rom. 2: 16), "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."

Again Paul says (Rom. 2:25-27), “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? and shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?" Here again, How does uncircumcision, which is by nature, fulfil the law? and how does the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law? Simply by doing what the unbelieving Jew refused to do; and therefore he says (9:30-32), "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone."

66 THE EARNEST EXPECTATION OF THE CREATURE

These same commentators who wrest Paul's words and build upon them a natural gospel to Gentiles who never had any supernatural revelation and who lived and died without any knowledge of Christ, have also, by wresting another Scripture contained in the same epistle, concocted thereupon another gospel to dumb beasts, and a hope of their resurrection from the dead, in attempting to interpret Paul's words (Rom. 8: 19-22) saying, "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious

liberty of the sons of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not they only, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." The same interpreters explain the creature," and "the whole creation" as referring to the natural brute creation, and seek to find proof of such a theory, but in vain. Therefore without attempting to follow them through all their speculations about the lower animals and the probabilities of their resurrection from the dead, we will proceed to interpret Paul's words in harmony with himself, and with the writings of other inspired men.

The "creation" which Paul refers to in this place, is neither the Gentiles, as some imagine, nor the brute creation, as Matthew Henry's commentary puts it. Instead, he refers to that creation which God made at Mount Sinai when he laid the foundation of the Mosaic world, consisting of the whole house of Israel, every creature of whom was placed under the fiery law, called also the ministration of death, or as the Scripture that we are considering states it, "the bondage of corruption." Consequently, when Paul's opponents went among the churches of Galatia, bewitching the disciples and requiring them to be circumcised and keep the sabbath day and other holy days, new moons, et cetera, as required by the law, Paul writes to them and says, But now, after ye have known God, or rather are known of God, why turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage (the bondage of corruption)?" These people had been made free from sin and corruption through the faith of Christ, and so he says, "Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ profiteth you nothing; for I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of none effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law: ye are fallen from grace." This would place them again under the bondage of corruption and death (Gal. 5:2-4).

The Lord said by the hand of Isaiah to his people, "But now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not" (43: 1); and again, "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." Thus the house of Israel is God's "creation." On the same principle, the body of Christ is called a "creation," to whom Christ stands related and spoken of as the "beginning of the creation of God, the firstborn of every creature (Rev. 3: 14; Col. 1:15).

These "creations" and "creatures" have reference to people, and not to dumb animals. Consequently when Paul says (Rom. 8:19), "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God," he refers to the men of faith under the old covenant, who lived in hope of good things to come; and the doctrine contained in this passage is identically the same as that contained in his speech before King Agrippa where he said, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes instantly serving God hope to come. . . . Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" Thus the men of faith among the twelve tribes, who constituted the real tribes under the law of Moses,