I HAVE treated so fully of the main outlines of St. Paul’s theology in the sketch of the Epistle, to the Romans that I need not here enter upon it, but it may be convenient to the reader to see at one glance two of his own most pregnant summaries of it. These are Rom. 3:21–26; Tit. 3:3–7, for further explanation of which I must refer to pp. 208, seq. 536.
Rom. 3:21–26: “But now apart from Law, God’s righteousness has been manifested, being witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets—even God’s righteousness (I say) by means of faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all believers; for there is no difference. For all sinned and are falling short of the glory of God, being male righteous freely by His grace, by the means of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as “a propitiary” by means of faith in His blood for the manifestation of His righteousness, because of the praetermission of past sins by the long suffering of God—with a view (I say) to the manifestation of His righteousness in the present season, so that He may be righteous and the giver of righteousness to him who is of faith in Jesus.”
Tit. 3:3–7: “For we were once ourselves also foolish, disobedient, wandering slaves to various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and the love to man of our Saviour God appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to His mercy He saved us by means of the laver of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost, which He poured forth upon us richly by means of Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by His grace we should become heirs of eternal life according to hope.”
By “antinomies” I mean the apparent contradictoriness to human reason of divine facts. Such antinomies must arise when Reason seeks to know something of the absolute, stepping beyond the limits of experience.
Among the apparent antinomies left without any attempt—because there is no possibility—of their reconciliation to our finite reason in the writings of St. Paul, are—
1. Predestination Rom. 9. (as explaining the (Absolute rejection of Israel from the dependence). objective and theological point of
view).
Free Will (Moral self– Rom. 9:30–10:21 (as explaining determination). the rejection of Israel from the
moral and anthropological point of
view).
2. Sin through Adam’s fall; Rom. 5:12–21.
Sin as inherent in the flesh; 1 Cor. 15:50, seq.
3. Christ judging allChristiansat His Advent; Rom. 2:16; 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:10.
God finally judging all men through Christ; 1 Cor. 4:5 (15:24, 25)”.
4. Recompense for ALL according to works; Rom. 2:6– 10; 2 Cor. 5:10.
Free forgiveness of the redeemed; Rom. 5:4; 9:11; 11:6.
5. Universal Restoration and Blessedness; Rom. 8:19– 23; 11:30–36.
A twofold end; Rom. 2:5–12. “The perishing;” 2 Cor. 2:15, &c.
6. Necessity of human effort; 1 Cor. 9:24. “So run that ye may obtain.”
Ineffectualness of human effort; Rom 9:16, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth.”
The two are brought together in Phil. 2:12, 13, “Work out your own salvation … For it is God winch worketh in you.”
To these others might perhaps be added, but none of them causes, or need cause, any trouble to the Christian. On the one hand, we know that omnia exeunt in mysterium, and that we cannot think for five minutes on any subject connected with the spiritual life without reaching a point at which the wings of the soul beat in vain as against a wall of adamant. On the other hand, we must bear in mind that Paul almost created the language of Christian theology; that he often enshrines in a single word a whole world of ideas; and that he always refuses to pursue the great saving truths of religion into mere speculative extremes. If we cannot live as yet in the realms of perfect and universal light, we have at any rate a lamp which throws a circle of radiance around our daily steps.
“Lead thou me on. I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.”