ACC ~ Romans 11 v32

CONSIGNED ALL TO DISOBEDIENCE. AMBROSIASTER: From earliest times all nations lived in ungodliness and ignorance because they were without God.For this reason the law was revealed, by which the worst ones could be restrained. But by the activity of the adversary sins began to multiply, so that through the commandment man was considered more guilty still. Then God, who in the mercy of his goodness always takes care of human creation, seeing that even without the law sin still existed and that by the law it could not be wiped out, de-creed that he would require only faith, by which the sins of all men might be abolished. Thus although man had no ground for hope through the law, he was nevertheless saved by the mercy of God. To consign everything to disobedience means that this decree comes as a gift from God at a time when everyone was laboring in unbelief, so that grace might appear to be the freest of all rewards. Therefore nobody should boast, for the one who is proud of his ignorance is to be pitied. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

JEROME: This is complete righteousness in man, not to impute any virtue that he can attain to himself but rather to the Lord, the giver. AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 13.

AUGUSTINE: The apostle did not mean by these words that God would not condemn anybody. What he meant is made clear by the context. Paul was speaking about those Jews who would one day believe. THE CITY OF GOD 21.24.

NOT CONSIGNED WITHOUT THEIR CHOICE. PELAGIUS: God has not imprisoned them by force, but for a good reason he has confined all those whom he found in unbelief, i.e., all Jews and Gentiles. He confined the Jews because previously they were only sinners, not faithless as well. But since they have not believed Christ they are equal to the Gentiles and receive mercy in the same way. God does all this so that he may have mercy on them all. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

WHETHER CONVICTED OR CONSIGNED. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul has put “consigned” here instead of “convicted.” For God convicted the Gentiles, who had received the natural law and had created things to teach them the knowledge of God yet had not benefited from either the one or the other. He also convicted the Jews, who had received more teaching still (for besides nature and the creation they had also received the law and the prophets, who taught them what they needed to know) and had become liable to even greater punishments as a result. But God was pleased to offer salvation to each of them, even though basically they deserved to perish, if only they would believe. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

CONSIGNED BY DIVINE PERMISSION, NOT BY DIVINE ACTION. JOHN OF DAMASCUS: This is not to be taken in the sense of God acting but in the sense of God permitting, because of free will and because virtue is not forced. ORTHODOX FAITH 4.19.

Rom