ACC ~ Romans 3 v21 - 31

OVERVIEW:

In Christ the righteousness of God was made manifest apart from the law. But the Fathers did not agree about the precise meaning of this. Did God reveal himself apart from the natural law or apart from the law of Moses? It seems from the context that the law of Moses is meant, but this forced Origen, for example, to enter into a long explanation as to why this verse does not contradict what he had already said about the natural law. Others gave differing interpretations of what was meant by the righteousness of God. Was it God’s mercy, as Ambrosiaster claimed, or was it the new life God gives us in Christ and not a divine attribute as such, as Augustine claimed? This debate still goes on in the church.

Sin is universal and embraces even the saints. Christ has bought us back from sin and the devil and given us justification as a free gift. Christ was sacrificed for us in order to pay the price for our sins by his blood. In this way he fulfilled the Old Testament law and made it redundant. The result of Christ’s sacrifice is that now we can receive the righteousness of God, dispensed freely to all who believe in him.

No human being can claim the credit for his or her salvation, because that is a free gift of God’s grace. We are justified only by faith, not by works, however good they may be. The principle of justification by faith alone removes any distinction between Jews and Gentiles, since everyone must come to Christ in the same way—by faith. Justification by faith in Christ abolishes the law but does not discredit it. On the contrary, it fulfills what the law was trying to demonstrate but could not achieve by itself.

3:21 | Witness from the Law and the Prophets

NATURAL LAW OR MOSAIC LAW? ORIGEN: We have just said that in the above verses Paul was speaking about the natural law and not about the law of Moses, but now it appears that there can be no doubt that he is referring to the law of Moses, by which the righteousness of God is made manifest through faith in Christ Jesus in all who believe, whether they are Jews or Gentiles, and who are justified not by works but by the grace of God, who has redeemed them in Jesus Christ. Does this mean that our interpretation of the foregoing was mistaken? . . .

Just as there is nothing in this verse which makes it possible for us to argue that it is talking about the natural law and not about the law of Moses, so there is nothing in the preceding verses to indicate that they are talking about the law of Moses and not about the natural law. Thus we would argue that just as the foregoing cannot be used to interpret what we now have before us, so neither should our interpretation of it be altered simply because what follows cannot be read in the same way.

Does this mean that the apostle has contradicted himself? There are plenty of people who would like to think so! … But we shall try to show how this passage does not go against our interpretation of the foregoing one. We have often said, and have expounded this most clearly in the preface, that the apostle mentions many different kinds of law in this epistle, and only the most attentive reader will be able to detect when he is shifting from one to another. … The law of nature was able to explain the nature of sin and give us some knowledge of it, but the righteousness of God is above and beyond this, and the human mind is unable to attain it by its natural senses. … For this the law of Moses was required, to teach us what God’s righteousness is. Do not be surprised that the word law is used here in two different senses! . . .

Moreover, there is a way to tell which meaning of the word law is intended. The Greek language uses articles in front of proper names. Thus when the law of Moses is intended, the article is used, but when the natural law is meant, the article is omitted. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

MADE PERFECT BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT COMES FROM GOD. APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: [The righteousness of God] has not been manifested in opposition to the law but as an increase of good and as the free gift of God, so that we may no longer be judged according to human righteousness, which is always under judgment, but that we may be made perfect by the righteousness which comes from God. For this is the righteousness which comes by faith in Christ to all who believe and which dwells in them all. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear that the righteousness of God has now appeared apart from the law, but this means apart from the law of the sabbath, the circumcision, the new moon and revenge, not apart from the sacrament of God’s divinity, because the righteousness of God is all about God’s divinity. For when the law held them guilty, the righteousness of God forgave them and did so apart from the law so that until the law was brought to bear God forgave them their sin. And lest someone think that this was done against the law, Paul added that the righteousness of God had a witness in the Law and the Prophets, which means that the law itself had said that in the future someone would come who would save mankind. But it was not allowed for the law to forgive sin.

Therefore, what is called the righteousness of God appears to be mercy because it has its origin in the promise, and when God’s promise is fulfilled it is called “the righteousness of God.” For it is righteousness when what is promised has been delivered. And when God accepts those who flee to him for refuge, this is called righteousness, because wickedness would not accept such people. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

RIGHTEOUSNESS MANIFESTED. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not say that the righteousness of God has been “given” but that it has been “manifested,” thus destroying the accusation that it is something new. For what is manifested is old but previously concealed. He reinforces this point by going on to mention that the Law and the Prophets had foretold it. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

THE TESTIMONY OF LAW AND PROPHETS. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: What he means is that although the righteousness which was to be revealed in Christ was not known in the natural law, it was foretold by the testimony of the law of Moses and by the preaching of the prophets. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS BY WHICH SINNERS ARE CLOTHED. AUGUSTINE: The righteousness of God is not that by which God is righteous but that with which he clothes man when he justifies the ungodly. To this the Law and the Prophets bear witness. … The righteousness of God is not manifested outside the law, since in that case it could not have been witnessed to in the law. It is a righteousness of God apart from the law because God confers it on the believer through the Spirit of grace without the help of the law. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 15.9.

THE RECOGNITION OF SIN. PELAGIUS: The righteousness which has been given to us freely by God, not acquired by our effort, has been made plain without the written law, and having been hidden in the law has been revealed with greater clarity by the examples of Christ, which are more obvious. The law and the prophets foretold that this righteousness would come in the last times, or perhaps this means that they both bore witness to the recognition of sin. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:22 | The Righteousness of God Through Faith

RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH. AMBROSIASTER: What else comes through faith in Jesus Christ except the righteousness of God which is the revelation of Christ? For it is by faith in the revelation of Jesus Christ that the gift long ago promised by God is acknowledged and received. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

OUR FAITH. CHRYSOSTOM: In order to stop anyone from asking: “How can we be saved without contributing anything at all to our salvation?” Paul shows that in fact we do contribute a great deal toward it—we supply our faith! HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

SALVATION IN THE GOSPEL. AUGUSTINE: How could Paul have promised glory, honor and peace to the good works of Gentiles apart from the grace of the gospel? Because there otherwise is no acceptance of persons with God. And because it is not the hearers but the doers of the law who are justified, he argues that all, whether Jew or Gentile, shall alike have salvation in the gospel. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 44.

IN FAITH, NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. PELAGIUS: This refers to the faith by which one believes in Jesus Christ. In this there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE. GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: Paul says “for all” meaning first the Jews, in that it was from among them that salvation first arose, and then the Gentiles, in that from the Jews grace had abounded even to them so that now both share in it together. This grace is not given in general but only to those “who believe,” but it is common to all these without distinction. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

3:23 | All Have Sinned

A PROPER FEAR. IRENAEUS: We ought not to be puffed up or severe on those of ancient times, but ought ourselves to fear, lest after we have come to the knowledge of Christ we obtain no further forgiveness of sins. If later we do things displeasing to God, we are shut out of his kingdom. AGAINST HERESIES 4.27.2.

NATURE AND THE LAW HAVE FAILED. SEVERIAN: Paul shows that nature has failed the Gentiles and that both nature and the law have failed the Jews, before going on to mention the grace of the gospel and saying: “What do we have by grace which is special and superior? Faith, made effective by the righteousness of Christ.” … Paul does not say that all have broken the law but that all have sinned in a general sense. Now the one who is lacking something tries to make up his deficiency. The Jews had the law, but they were lacking the fullness of grace. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

ALL INCLUDES SAINTS. AMBROSIASTER: This includes both Jews and Greeks. For all here includes even the saints in order to show that nobody can keep the law without faith. For the law was given in such a way that faith was also embedded in it. This faith looked toward a future salvation. Thus the death of Christ benefits everyone, because it has here in this world taught what is to be believed and observed, and in the future it will deliver everyone from hell. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NOT TO ELICIT DESPAIR. CHRYSOSTOM: There is no difference at all between the Greek, the Scythian, the Thracian or even the Jew, for all are in the same plight. … Even if you have not done the same sins as others, you have still been deprived of God’s glory just as they have been, because you are among those who have offended. … However, Paul was saying this not to cast them into despair but rather to show the love of the Lord toward man, as he goes on to say [in the following verses]. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

THE GLORY OF GOD. PELAGIUS: All sinners need the glory of God because they do not have their own. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:24 | Redemption in Christ

THE RANSOM OF CAPTIVES. ORIGEN: Redemption is the word used for what is given to enemies in order to ransom captives and restore them to their liberty. Therefore human beings were held in captivity by their enemies until the coming of the Son of God, who became for us not only the wisdom of God, and righteousness and sanctification, but also redemption. He gave himself as our redemption, that is, he surrendered himself to our enemies and poured out his blood on those who were thirsting for it. In this way redemption was obtained for believers. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THE DEVIL LOST ALL WHOM HE HAD HELD CAPTIVE. AMBROSIASTER: They are justified freely because they have not done anything nor given anything in return, but by faith alone they have been made holy by the gift of God. Paul testifies that the grace of God is in Christ, because we have been redeemed by Christ according to the will of God so that once set free we may be justified, as he says to the Galatians: “Christ redeemed us by offering himself for us.” For he achieved this despite the fierce attacks of the devil, who was outwitted. For the devil received Christ (in hell) thinking that he could hold him there, but because he could not withstand his power he lost not only Christ but all those whom he held at the same time. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

BUYING US BACK. PELAGIUS: We have been justified without the works of the law, through baptism. In this way God has freely forgiven our sins even though we are undeserving. Christ has redeemed us with the blood of his death. … For we were all condemned to death, to which Christ handed himself over, though he had no need to, in order to redeem us by his blood. … Note also that Christ did not merely buy us but bought us “back,” because we were once his by nature, even though we were separated from him by our sins. If we stop sinning, our redemption will indeed be profitable for us. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE GLORY OF GOD. PROSPER OF AQUITAINE: Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed. GRACE AND FREE WILL 10.2.

3:25 | Jesus Christ Is Our Expiation

AN EXPIATION BY CHRIST’S BLOOD. Origen:

Although the holy apostle teaches many wonderful things about our Lord Jesus Christ which are said mysteriously about him, in this passage he has given special prominence to something which, I think, is not readily found in other parts of Scripture. For having just said that Christ gave himself as a redemption for the entire human race so that he might ransom those who were held captive by sin … now he adds something even more sublime, saying that God put him forward “as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” This means that by the sacrifice of Christ’s body God has made expiation on behalf of men and by this has shown his righteousness, in that he forgave their previous sins, which they had committed in the service of the worst possible tyrants. God endured this and allowed these things to happen. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

NULLIFYING THE SENTENCE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says this, because in Christ God put forward, i.e., appointed, himself as a future expiation for the human race if they believed. This expiation was by his blood. We have been set free by his death so that God might reveal him and condemn death by his passion. This was in order to make his promise clear, by which he set us free from sin as he had promised before. And when he fulfilled this promise he showed himself to be righteous.

God knew the purpose of his lovingkindness, by which he determined to come to the rescue of sinners, both those living on earth and those who were held bound in hell. He waited a very long time for both. He nullified the sentence by which it seemed just that everyone should be condemned in order to show us that long ago he had decided to liberate the human race, as he promised through Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.” And in case it might be thought that this promise was for the Jews only, he said through Isaiah: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

For although the promise was made to the Jews, God knew in advance that the ungodly Jews would reject his gift. Therefore he promised that he would allow the Gentiles to share in his grace. In view of this the ungodly negligence of the Jews was thwarted. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SANCTIFYING ONE’S SOUL. GREGORY OF NYSSA: Christ, being an “expiation by his blood,” teaches each one thinking of this to become himself a propitiation, sanctifying his soul by the mortification of his members. ON PERFECTION.

DECLARING GOD’S RICHES. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul calls the redemption an expiation to show that, if the Old Testament type had such power, much more did its New Testament counterpart have it. … What does it mean “to show God’s righteousness”? It is like declaring his riches not only for him to be rich himself but also to make others rich. … Do not doubt, for righteousness is not of works but of faith. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE. PELAGIUS: God has set forth Christ in public so that anyone who wants to be redeemed may draw near to him. Christ performs the work of expiation for all who believe that they need to be set free by his blood. Christ died for our former sins in order to reverse God’s judgment, by which he had finally determined to punish us for them. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

BOTH PRIEST AND LAMB. THEODORET OF CYR: The mercy seat was gold-plated and placed on top of the ark. On each side was the figure of a cherub. When the high priest approached it, the holy kindness of God was revealed.

The apostle teaches us that Christ is the true mercy seat, of which the one in the Old Testament was but a type. The name applies to Christ in his humanity, not in his divinity. For as God Christ responded to the expiation made at the mercy seat. It is as man that he receives this label, just as elsewhere he is called a sheep, a lamb, sin and a curse.

Furthermore, the ancient mercy seat was bloodless because it was inanimate. It could only receive the drops of blood pouring from the sacrificial victims. But the Lord Christ is both God and the mercy seat, both the priest and the lamb, and he performed the work of our salvation by his blood, demanding only faith from us. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

3:26 | Justified by Faith in Jesus

AT THIS PRESENT TIME. ORIGEN: God allowed all this so that afterward, that is to say in our time, he might show forth his righteousness. For at the end of the age, in the most recent times, God has manifested his righteousness and given Christ to be our redemption. He has made him our propitiator. If he had sent him as the propitiator at some earlier time, there would have been fewer people whose sins needed propitiating than there are now. For God is just, and therefore he could not justify the unjust. Therefore he re-quired the intervention of a propitiator, so that by having faith in him those who could not be justified by their own works might be justified. These are the presuppositions on which the apostle’s exposition here is based.

Paul was right to add “at the present time,” because at the moment God’s righteousness is revealed for our justification. But when the day of judgment comes, it will be revealed for retribution. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HE JUSTIFIES THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH. AMBROSIASTER: The present time means our time, in which God has given what long before he had promised to give at the time at which he gave it. Paul has rightly said that God gave what he promised in order to be revealed as righteous. For he had promised that he would justify those who believe in Christ, as he says in Habakkuk: “The righteous will live by faith in me.” Whoever has faith in God and Christ is righteous. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

BELIEVERS FOUND RIGHTEOUS. PELAGIUS: Paul wants to show that God had waited for sinners to reform themselves but that they had abused his patience and gone on to greater sins. The believer in Jesus is the only one who has been found righteous, and God has justified him not by works but by faith. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:27 | Faith Excludes Boasting

BOASTING EXCLUDED. AMBROSIASTER: Paul tells those who live under the law that they have no reason to boast basing themselves on the law and claiming to be of the race of Abraham, seeing that no one is justified before God except by faith. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is at great pains to show that faith is powerful to a degree which no one ever imagined the law could be. For after saying that God justifies man by faith, he takes up the question of the law again. He does not say: “Where are the good works of the Jews?” but: “Where is their boasting?” Thus he takes every opportunity to demonstrate that it was all talk and that they had no deeds to back them up.

What is “the principle of faith”? This is salvation by grace. Here Paul shows God’s power in that he has not only saved, he has also justified and led them to boast in a different way—not relying on works but glorying only in their faith. In saying this Paul is trying to get believing Jews to behave with moderation and to reassure unbelieving Jews so that they might be persuaded to accept his point of view. For if the one who has been saved is proud because he abides by the law, he will be told that he has stopped his own mouth, that he has accused himself, that he has renounced any claim to salvation and that he has excluded boasting. But the unbeliever may be humbled by these same means and brought to accept the faith. See how great faith is, in that it has removed us from the former things and does not even allow us to boast of them! HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

THE LAW OF FAITH. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: 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.

AN IMAGINARY DIALOGUE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: This verse is written in the form of an imaginary dialogue with a Jew. The Jew asks the questions and Paul gives the answers. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: This is addressed to the Jew. The principle of faith is … the New Testament, which is God’s appointed object of faith. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

JUSTIFIED BY MERCY AND GRACE. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: For who will glory, or for what, when everyone has become worthless and gone out of the right way, and nobody does good works anymore? Therefore he says that all glorying is excluded. … How? We have acquired the forgiveness of our former sins and have been justified freely by the mercy and grace of Christ. COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

A NEW COVENANT. THEODORET OF CYR: By “boasting” Paul means the proud spirits of the Jews and their excessive arrogance. For they thought they were the only ones who enjoyed God’s providence. But after the divine grace appeared and spread to all nations, the boasting of the Jews ceased. … Paul calls faith a law, recalling the words of the prophet Jeremiah: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers.” INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

3:28 | Faith, Not Works of Law

THE THIEF ON THE CROSS AS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. ORIGEN: It remains for us who are trying to affirm everything the apostle says, and to do so in the proper order, to inquire who is justified by faith alone, apart from works. If an example is required, I think it must suffice to mention the thief on the cross, who asked Christ to save him and was told: “Truly, this day you will be with me in paradise.” … A man is justified by faith. The works of the law can make no contribution to this. Where there is no faith which might justify the believer, even if there are works of the law these are not based on the foundation of faith. Even if they are good in themselves they cannot justify the one who does them, because faith is lacking, and faith is the mark of those who are justified by God. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

WITHOUT WORKS OF THE LAW. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says that a Gentile can be sure that he is justified by faith without doing the works of the law, e. g., circumcision or new moons or the veneration of the sabbath. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE DOORS OF FAITH OPEN TO THE WORLD. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not say a “Jew” or “one under the law” but widens the discussion and opens the doors of faith to the world, saying a “man,” i.e., the name common to our race. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

APART FROM WORKS OF THE LAW. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul did not say “we hold” be-cause 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.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Paul says this because we cannot be justified by the works of the law but only by faith. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

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.

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS? PELAGIUS : Some people misinterpret this verse in order to do away with the works of righteousness, saying that faith by itself is enough, even though Paul says elsewhere: “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” If this seems to contradict the sense of the other [verses], what works did the apostle mean when he said that a man is justified by faith, without works? Obviously, these are the works of circumcision, the sabbath and so on, and not the works of righteousness about which St. James says:

“Faith without works is dead.” [In this verse] Paul is speaking about the man who comes to Christ and is saved when he first believes by faith alone. But by adding the works of the law Paul is saying that there are also works of grace which believers ought to perform. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:29 | God of Jews and Gentiles

FATHER OF THOSE WHO KNOW HIM. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: One righteous person is no different from another righteous person, whether Jew or Greek. For God is not only the Lord of the Jews but of all humanity. He is the Father of all who know him. To live well and according to the law is to live. To live rationally according to reason is to live. Those who lived rightly before the law were classed under faith and judged to be righteous. Those who were outside the law, having lived rightly, on hearing the voice of the Lord … may turn and believe with all speed. STROMATA 6.6.

ONE FLOCK OF GOD. TERTULLIAN: Is not all humankind one flock of God? Is not the same God both Lord and Shepherd of all nations? ON MODESTY.

GOD OF LAW AND GOSPEL. ORIGEN: Here Paul gives a short sharp answer to those who would say that there is one God for the Jews and another for the Gentiles, i.e., one God of the law and another of the gospel. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THE GOD OF THE GENTILES. AMBROSIASTER: Undoubtedly there is only one God for everybody. For even the Jews cannot claim that their God is not the God of the Gentiles also, because they believe that the origin of all people is from the one Adam and that no one who comes willingly to the law may be prevented from accepting it. Some Gentiles actually went with the Israelites into the desert of Egypt, and the Israelites were ordered to accept them as long as they agreed to be circumcised and eat unleavened bread, or the Passover, together with the rest of them. Then again Cornelius, a Gentile who was not judaized, received the gift of God, and it is clear from holy Scripture that he was justified. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

GOD OF ALL. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul shows that the Jews, by trying to put the Gentiles in their place, were insulting God’s glory by not allowing him to be the God of all. But if God is God of all, then he takes care of all, and if he takes care of all, then he saves all alike by faith. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

ABRAHAM RIGHTEOUS BEFORE HIS CIRCUMCISION. PELAGIUS: Did God create only the Jews, and is he exclusively concerned with them? For even if the Gentiles sinned, so did the Jews, and even if the Jews repent, so do the Gentiles. If Christ came to the Jews as promised by the law, he came to the Gentiles as well. For the prophets often spoke of the calling of the Gentiles. Paul wants to show the Gentiles that the first saints had not been circumcised and that Abraham was righteous before his circumcision. But he adds “as well,” so as not to appear to be excluding the Jews. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:30 | God Justifies Believers Through Their Faith

FAITH PREFIGURED IN THE JEWS. IRENAEUS: We were prefigured in the Jews, and they are represented in us, that is, in the church, and they receive the reward for what they achieved. AGAINST HERESIES 4.22.2.

BOTH JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. ORIGEN: Not only does Paul say that there is only one God for both Jews and Gentiles, but he adds that this God is the one who justifies the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith. … Neither the circumcision nor the uncircumcision enjoys any advantage in this. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

JUSTIFIED IN THE SAME WAY. AMBROSIASTER: By “the circumcised” Paul means the Jews who have been justified by their faith in the promise and who believe that Jesus is the Christ whom God had promised in the law. By “the uncircumcised” he means the Gentiles who have been justified with God by their faith in Christ. Thus God has justified both Jews and Gentiles. For because God is one, everyone has been justified in the same way. What benefit then is there in circumcision? Or what disadvantage is there in uncircumcision when only faith produces worthiness and merit? COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

JEROME: Paul shows clearly that righteousness depends not on the merit of man but on the grace of God, who accepts the faith of those who believe without the works of the law. AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 2.7.

ONE GOD. CHRYSOSTOM: There is only one God, who is Lord of all, both Jew and Gentile. Even in ancient times the blessings of providence were shared by both, although in different ways. The Jews had the written law, and the Gentiles had the natural law, but in this they lacked nothing, because if they tried hard enough they could always surpass the Jews in their observance. … If there was no difference then, much less is there any now, and this Paul establishes even more firmly by demonstrating that both alike stand in equal need of faith. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

DISTINGUISHING “THROUGH FAITH” AND “ON THE GROUND OF FAITH.” THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul says “the ground of their faith” with respect to the Jews because, although they had other ways of seeking righteousness, they could not obtain it except through their faith. When speaking about the Gentiles, he says “through their faith” because this is the only claim to righteousness which they have. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

AUGUSTINE: The difference of preposition (“on the ground of” versus “through”) does not indicate any difference of meaning but serves simply to vary the phrase. ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 50.

THE SAME GOD. PELAGIUS: Jews and Gentiles have both believed in the same God and in the same Christ. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:31 | The Law Confirms Faith

CONFIRMING THE LAW THROUGH FAITH. ORIGEN: Whoever does not believe in Christ, of whom Moses wrote in the law, destroys the law. But whoever believes in Christ, of whom Moses wrote, confirms the law through faith, because he believes in Christ.

The Lord himself said: “I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.” None of the saints nor even the Lord himself has destroyed the law. Rather its glory, which is temporal and transient, has been destroyed and replaced by a glory which is eternal and permanent. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LAW NOT NULLIFIED. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says that the law is not nullified by faith but fulfilled. For its status is confirmed when faith bears witness that what it said would come has actually happened. Paul says this because of the Jews who thought that faith in Christ was inimical to the law because they did not understand the true meaning of the law. For Paul does not nullify the law when he says that it must come to an end, because he asserts that at the time it was given it was rightly given, but now it does not have to be kept any longer. In the law itself it is said that a time would come when the promise would be fulfilled and the law would no longer have to be kept. … “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers.” COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

UPHOLDING AND PERFECTING THE LAW. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul’s use of the word uphold shows that the law was failing. … The purpose of the law was to make man righteous, but it had no power to do that. But when faith came it achieved what the law could not do, for once a man believes he is immediately justified. Faith therefore established what the law intended and brought to fulfillment what its provisions aimed for. Consequently faith has not abolished the law but perfected it. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

ABRAHAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. [PSEUDO-] CONSTANTIUS: Paul does not contradict what he said above [in verse 27]. What he means by up-holding the law is that the law tells me that Abraham was justified not by works but by faith. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

THE LAW UPHELD BY RIGHTEOUSNESS. AUGUSTINE: How should the law be upheld if not by righteousness? By a righteousness, moreover, which is of faith, for what could not be fulfilled through the law is fulfilled through faith. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 19.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE. AUGUSTINE: Do we then make void freedom of choice through grace? God forbid! Rather, we establish freedom of choice. As the law is not made void by faith, so freedom of choice is not made void but established by grace. Freedom of choice is necessary to the fulfillment of the law. But by the law comes the knowledge of sin; by faith comes the obtaining of grace against sin; by grace comes the healing of the soul from sin’s sickness; by the healing of the soul comes freedom of choice; by freedom of choice comes the love of righteousness; by the love of righteousness comes the working of the law. Thus, as the law is not made void but established by faith, since faith obtains the grace whereby the law may be fulfilled, so freedom of choice is not made void but established by grace, since grace heals the will whereby righteousness may freely be loved. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 52.

LAW CONFIRMED BY FAITH. AUGUSTINE: The law is confirmed by faith. Apart from faith the law merely commands, and it holds guilty those who do not fulfill its commands, so that it might thereafter turn to the grace of the Deliverer those groaning in their inability to do what is commanded. QUESTIONS 66.1.

NECESSITY OF THE LAW. PELAGIUS: Is the law which enjoins us to be circumcised unnecessary? Not at all! On the contrary, we enable it to stand firm when we show that what it said is true, viz., that (spiritual) law would follow after (physical) law, (spiritual) testament after (physical) testament, (spiritual) circumcision after (physical) circumcision. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

TRUTH AND THE IMAGE OF THE TRUTH. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: On account of his humanity Emmanuel is called a prophet, who following Moses is the mediator between God and humanity. The law was a shadow, but even so it presented an image of the truth. Furthermore, the truth hardly destroys its images; rather it makesthem clearer. COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.