ACC ~ Romans 3 v9 - 20

OVERVIEW:

In the final analysis there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Paul quotes the Scriptures at length to demonstrate this point, and the Fathers echo him. Total depravity was a part of human life from the time Adam fell into sin, and no one escapes its effects. No one has brought goodness to full expression, whether in Sodom, Jerusalem or the church. While in this body, we all behold the good only through a glass darkly. The purpose of the law was to demonstrate the true nature of righteousness in order to show just how far we have all fallen away from it and how hopeless our present condition is. What Paul meant by the law caused some puzzlement among the Fathers. Some argued that Paul was referring to the Old Testament (AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM). Others, however, wanted to say that the law referred to here is the law of nature innate in everyone, which condemns through conscience (ORIGEN et al.). Either way the result is the same—the law condemns, and only Christ can save. The law is like a doctor who points out what our disease is and shows how it must be cured. As such it is a good thing, even if it is painful to experience. Although the law can diagnose our illness, it has no power to cure us. Instead it makes us more miserable, since we come to understand what is wrong with us without being able to do anything about it. We may want to escape its clutches, but without the grace of God we lack the power to do so.

3:9 | Under the Power of Sin

ALL HUMANITY IS UNDER THE POWER OF SIN. ORIGEN: Here it must be understood that the reference is to all men, whether they are under the written law [of Moses] or the natural law. For we understand that this applies to the Gentiles in the same way as we have already said above. When they begin to do the works of the law by nature and become a law for themselves, then they are reproached by their conscience for the things they do which are contrary to that law. For this reason it seems to me that those who have thought that the law of nature is the law of God and that the law of Moses is merely the written law are correct. If Paul was speaking of the written law, the law of Moses, when he said: “Sin is not imputed when there is no law,” neither Cain nor those who perished in the flood nor those who were burnt with fire at Sodom would have had their sins imputed to them. But since we see that not only did they have their sins imputed to them, they also suffered retribution for them, it is clear that Paul was speaking here of the natural law, which with the exception of the early years of childhood, is present in all men. For this reason he was quite right to say that all are under the power of sin. Whence it seems to me that the philosophers were right when they said that every mortal being on coming to the age of discretion, when by the entry of the natural law it might distinguish between good and evil, first of all discovers what is evil and afterward combats it by means of instructions, precepts and warnings, so as to move on to virtue. I think that Paul was agreeing with them when he said: “But when the commandment came, sin sprang to life.” … It must not be thought that everyone is guilty of all the sins which are listed below. Rather, some are guilty of some of them, and others are guilty of others but in such a way that taken together the whole range of sinfulness is found in the human race. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ALL ARE GUILTY. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying: “Why go on talking like this? For we have shown by the examples given that all, Jews and Gentiles alike, are guilty and that the law is being pursued in vain.” For Paul first showed that the Gentiles are guilty according to the law of nature and also because they did not accept the law of Moses, for which reason their case is very dire indeed. Then he showed that the Jews were also guilty. While they appeared to be living under God’s law and defended their privilege by the merit of their ancestors, they in fact brought the grace of God into disrepute because they rejected the promise made to their ancestors. CoMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul’s intention here is to say: Come then, after refuting their position, let us demonstrate the greatness of ours. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

WHETHER THE JEWS ARE BETTER OFF. PELAGIUS: Paul finds no reason for saying that the Jews are better than others. … Both Jews and Gentiles are under sin—something we not only deduce by reason but also corroborate by the witness of the Jews themselves. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:10 | None Is Righteous

COMPARING JERUSALEM, SODOM AND THE CHURCH. ORIGEN: It may appear that there are other scriptural passages which seem to contradict this one by suggesting that some people were righteous, e.g., when it is said of Sodom in relation to Jerusalem: “Sodom is righteous compared with you.” But note carefully what Scripture actually says. It does not say that Sodom was righteous but that since Jerusalem had committed so many sins and what it was doing was so awful, Sodom appeared to be righteous by comparison. … For this reason, I am afraid that when I look at those of us who are in the church of God and who claim to follow his law and the commands of the gospel, there are not a few unbelievers who appear to be righteous by comparison. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

NO ONE HAS BROUGHT GOODNESS TO FULL FRUITION. ORIGEN: That no one has done good, not even one, is a hard saying and difficult to understand. How is it possible that no one, Jew or Greek, has ever done anything good? Are we supposed to believe that nobody has ever shown hospitality, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, delivered the innocent from the hands of the powerful or done anything similar? It does not seem possible to me that Paul was intending to assert anything as incredible as that. I think that what he meant must be understood as follows. If someone lays the foundation for a house and puts up one or two walls or transports some building materials to the site, can he be said to have built the house, just because he has set to work on it? The man who will be said to have built the house is the one who has finished off each and every part of it. So I think that here the apostle is saying that no one has done good in the sense that no one has brought goodness to perfection and completion. If we ask ourselves who is truly good and who has done good perfectly, we shall find only him who said: “I am the good shepherd,” and again: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

NO HOPE WITHOUT CHRIST’S MERCY. AMBROSIASTER: From unrighteousness Paul goes on to list their evil deeds and even adds some worse ones, in order to show that there was no hope for them unless they cried out for the mercy of Christ, who forgives sins. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NO, NOT ONE. PELAGIUS: The psalm from which this quote is taken speaks of the fool. Paul shows that witness to the fool will be fulfilled particularly at the coming of Christ. When he appears, not one righteous person will be found. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:11 | No One Seeks God

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY. ORIGEN: Even the apostle Paul himself says that he knows in part and understands in part. So who is there who can make a claim that he understands? For however much he may understand, it will appear that he understands through a glass darkly and that only after he lays aside this earthly body will he see face to face. … Thus it is that “no one understands, no one seeks for God.” For as long as we are preoccupied with the cares of the body and seek the things of the body, we cannot seek God nor can we think his thoughts. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THE LAMENESS OF ASA. AMBROSIASTER: Seek God. Do not be like Asa the king of Judah, who after receiving many blessings from God fell so far that when he suffered lameness in his feet he would not seek God even though there was a prophet present. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SEEKING GOD’S WILL. PELAGIUS: One who does not understand does not seek. Or perhaps it is that one does not understand because one does not seek. One seeks for God by enquiring after his will. … The sinner has not known the will of his master. “Know me, know my will,” as the popular saying goes. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:12 | All Have Gone Wrong

WHO DOES GOOD? ORIGEN: It seems to me that Scripture would not say that they had gone wrong if there had not been a time when they were standing in the right way. From this it appears that the original work of God in creating a rational nature was right and that this being was put in the right way by the gift of the Creator himself. But since he turned aside from this to sin, Scripture rightly says that he has gone wrong. Remember how Adam, the first man, was deceived by the serpent and turned aside from the right way of paradise to the fallen and crooked paths of this mortal life. As a consequence therefore, everyone who comes into this world in the following of Adam has gone wrong and become unworthy, just as he did. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: One who does not look for support is bound to fall away and become useless for the work for which he was made. But if there is no one who does good, in what sense does Paul later on accuse those who devour God’s people and ruin the needy? For they were not God’s people if they did not do good. … But this has more to do with the exposition of the psalm than with the apostle’s concern here! PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

FROM BAD TO WORSE. AMBROSIASTER: No one doubts that those who do not look to God for help are inclined to seek help from vain things, and vanity is an idol. Thus they become useless. Once that happens they cannot do good either, for those who have already fallen just go from bad to worse. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PAUL’S SENSE OF PSALM 14. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: 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.

3:13 | The Venom of Asps

IMPURITY ON DISPLAY. ORIGEN: This comes from Psalm 5[:10]. It seems to me that Paul is using this text to describe different types of human sin. The analogy: Every grave contains the uncleanness of the dead body inside. This is why our Lord said in the Gospel that the scribes and Pharisees were whited sepulchres. On the outside they appear to be beautiful, but on the inside they are full of all sorts of uncleanness. But in this passage Paul seems to be revealing something more than this about the sins of those whom he is talking about, because he says that they are an “open” grave, not one which is shut and covered up. Those who were called a closed sepulchre had enough sense of shame not to reveal their sins to the public. But these people are called an open grave because they have their uncleanness and impurity on display, and they are so accustomed to evil that … whenever they open their mouth, instead of speaking the Word of God, the word of life, they open their throat and speak the word of death, the word of the devil, not from the heart but from the grave. Whenever you see a man cursing and swearing, you may be sure that he is one of this type.

“They use their tongues to deceive.” “To deceive” means to say one thing and think another. I am not certain that even the justified and the elect are entirely free of this sin. Some commit it more and others less. The only one who is perfect in this respect is the one of whom it is written: “He had committed no sin, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” There may be someone who is careful and cautious enough to avoid major failings in this respect, but who is there who does not fall into this trap either from a sense of shame or from neglect? Occasionally things which should be done are overlooked because of forgetfulness, and in order for no blame to appear they are excused in a way which does not correspond to the facts. This is why Peter, realizing that these are all different types of deception, wrote this in his epistle: “Put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. Like newborn babes, long for pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation.”

The bite of the serpent kills the body with its poison. Even a bite of a poisonous word may kill the soul by deception. This may be applied both to those who surround others with slanderous remarks and of those who, by heretical teaching tainted with the poison of the devil, deceive the souls of the simple. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THEIR TONGUES DECEIVE. AMBROSIASTER: Already chained to evil, they wanted if possible to devour the good, so that just as a sepulchre is open to receive corpses, so their throat is open to devour the good. … The words of men are like tiny mice. They speak in order to deceive, and just as poison flows from the lips of a serpent, so trickery and deceit flow from their lips. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE VENOM OF DECEPTION. PELAGIUS: The stench of their teaching and flattery contaminates and kills those who listen. This is why a grave is carefully sealed, so that it does not continue to breed disease among the living by its odor. They express one thing with their mouths but another with their hearts. The venom of asps is mentioned because it is supposed to be themost harmful. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:14 | Curses and Bitterness

A MOUTH FULL OF CURSES. ORIGEN: Paul did not say that their lips were full of the poison of asps. For although many may be involved in sins of that kind, there are not many who are totally given over to the harm which that poison can do. On the other hand, there are many whose mouths are full of curses and bitterness. For whose mouth is so pure that he never curses? I am not speaking now of those who deserve to be cursed but of those whom God has not cursed, i.e., the just and innocent. For this vice is so prevalent and so automatic a trait of human weakness, especially with respect to those who are under or inferior to us, that many people would not even think to call it cursing. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HURLING BITTERNESS. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear and obvious that evil people are always throwing curses and bitterness at the good in an attempt to harm and distract them. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

MALICIOUS TALK. PELAGIUS: There is not just one kind of malicious talk. What is said out of malice is without doubt said recklessly. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:15 | Swift to Shed Blood

THE FEET THAT MOVE TO UNDERMINE THE LIFE OF THE SOUL. ORIGEN: This may seem to be an infrequent crime. But we take it to include not only those who shed blood by killing the body but also those who by some deception or other separate the soul from God. … For if the one who separates the body from the soul which gives it life is called a murderer, how much more truly will the one who separates the soul from the true life, which is God, be called a murderer?

Feet in this passage refers to the way we live our life, as the prophet says: “My feet had almost stumbled.” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

SWIFT TO MURDER THE PROPHETS. AMBROSIASTER: Scripture says this about the murder of the prophets, whom they killed without hesitation—“slow to do good but swift to murder.” COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PELAGIUS: Either Paul is referring to murderers or he means those who kill souls by flattery, which is why Paul said in the Acts of the Apostles: “I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:16 | Ruin and Misery

HURRYING TO DESTRUCTION. AMBROSIASTER: Since they hastened to do evil, Paul called their path a ruinous and unhappy way. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PELAGIUS: Souls are exhausted and made miserable by their teaching and behavior. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:17 | The Way of Peace

CHRIST OUR PEACE. ORIGEN: Christ is our peace. Therefore the way of peace is the way of Christ, which sinners do not know. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: Everything which resembles the teaching of God is at peace with him, but everything which is contrary to it is at odds with him. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE WAY OF HOSTILITY. AMBROSIASTER: Having chosen the way of hostility, along which they were heading toward the second death, they did not want to know about the way which leads to eternal life. This is called the way of peace, because with God as its guardian it will have no disturbance. Those who will the good have this rest with God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

3:18 | Fear of God

WHAT OUGHT TO BE FEARED. ORIGEN: If someone is always thinking of what will please or displease God, then it can be said that the fear of God is always before his eyes. But such a person must be experienced and diligently instructed in the law of God so as not to be afraid when there is no reason to fear. For the fear of God must always be placed before our eyes: not the eyes of the flesh—for it is not something visible or corporeal that we are talking about here—but the eyes of the mind, to which an understanding and awareness of the fear of God are evident and by which, as we have said above, we can discover what ought and ought not to be feared. The one who fears God does not fear the powers of this world. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

NO FEAR OF GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Since people of this kind have no sense, they have no fear of God. For “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,” says Solomon. But Scripture did not say that they did not have the fear of God. It said: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” For seeing how evil their works were and not being horrified by them, they are said not to have the fear of God before their eyes. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PELAGIUS: Paul concludes with the fear of God, because if the people had always kept that before their eyes they would not have transgressed, for a servant will not dare sin when his master is present. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:19 | The World Held Accountable to God

THE WHOLE WORLD. ORIGEN: Here we must consider carefully what this law is that speaks to those who are under the law. By what it says to them it deprives them of every excuse, so that they can find no hiding place for their sins. It is this which stops every mouth and makes the whole world accountable to God. Now if we want to take this as referring to the law of Moses, which without doubt spoke only to those who had been circumcised from their mother’s womb and had learned what the law was, how is it possible that by that law, which applies to only one nation, every mouth should be stopped and the whole world should be held accountable to God? What have the other nations to do with that law, and why does it affect the entire world? And how is it that a knowledge of sin is said to have originated with the law of Moses, when there were many before his time who were well aware of their sins?

From this it appears that the apostle Paul is not speaking here about the law of Moses but about the natural law which is written on the hearts of men. … This natural law speaks to all men who are under that law with the sole exception, it seems to me, of those children who are not yet able to distinguish good from evil. . . .

When Paul says “the whole world” he is not talking about trees and rocks and so on but about the rational animal, i.e., the human being. Anything which is not rational is excluded from consideration in this context. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

BOUND IN SIN. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear that the law censures those who did not believe first of all their leader Moses nor their ancestors the prophets, whom they killed, nor the apostles who were their kinsmen according to the flesh, whose blood they spilled. They were always ungodly and rebellious against God, so as to be condemned by the law whose authority they thought should be despised.

Paul says this because with the Jews bound in sin the whole world has become subject to God. For there is no doubt that the pagans were immersed in sins and wickedness and that for that reason the whole world bowed before God in order to obtain forgiveness. The “whole world” means Jews and Gentiles, from whom believers are set apart. Therefore when Paul affirms that the Jews, who had received God’s law and to whom the promise had been given, were bound in sin, there is no doubt that all the Gentiles were guilty of death … for all have been found guilty and need the mercy of God, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

EVERY MOUTH STOPPED. CHRYSOSTOM: Note that Paul was in the habit of referring to the entire Old Testament as “the law” … for here he calls a psalm “the law.”

When he talks about every mouth being stopped, he does not mean that the purpose of their sinning was to shut them up but that the reason they were rebuked was that they might not sin in ignorance. Furthermore, it was not just the Jews he was referring to but the whole of mankind. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

THE NATURAL LAW. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Paul is talking about the natural law here. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

UNDER THE LAW. PELAGIUS: In case the Jews might claim that these verses of the psalm were spoken about the Gentiles, Paul indicates that what has been said in the law has been said to those who are under the law. Of course, it is a question as to who is meant by saying that the fool claims that there is no God. The Jews did not say this in words but in deeds, for they claimed to know God but denied it by their behavior. Paul is not talking to the Gentiles here, because he has already made similar statements about them. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

3:20 | Knowledge of Sin Comes Through the Law

THE LAW REVEALS SIN. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The law did not create sin; it revealed it. STROMATA 2.7.34.4.

THE LAW AS GOOD MEDICINE. ORIGEN: Let us see in what way knowledge of sin comes through the law. It comes insofar as we learn through the law what to do and what not to do, what is sin and what is not sin. It is not, as the heretics claim, that God’s law is a bad root or a bad tree through which a knowledge of sin comes. Rather the law is like a medicine through which we perceive the true nature of our disease. … The medicine itself is good, not least because it enables us to isolate the disease and seek to cure it. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ALL FLESH. AMBROSIASTER: Paul never says that they will not be justified before God because they have not kept the law of righteousness in the commandments but because they have refused to believe the sacrament of the mystery of God, which is in Christ. For God has declared that they should be justified by Christ and not by the law, which may justify for a time, but not before God. Therefore those who keep the law are justified in time, not before God, because faith, by which they are justified before God, is not in them. For faith is greater than the law. The law pertains to us but faith pertains to God. The law has a temporary righteousness, but faith has an eternal one. When Paul says “all flesh” he means every human being … but when he says “in the flesh” he means those who are bound by sin. For just as righteousness makes them spiritual, so also sins make them carnal, and they take the name from the deed.

By faith the law is abolished, and faith then follows. What then is this law through which he says that sin is made known? Made known how? It is evident that long before Moses the patriarchs were not ignorant of sin. Joseph was thrown into prison, albeit by the wickedness of others, and both the butler and the baker of Pharaoh were in prison because of their sins. In what way then did sin lie dormant?

In fact, the law has three aspects to it. The first concerns the mystery of God’s divinity. The second is what is fitting according to natural law, which forbids sin. And the third is the deeds of the law, e. g., sabbaths, new moons, circumcision, etc. Here Paul refers to the natural law which was partly reformed and partly confirmed by Moses, which made sin known to all who were bound in wickedness. … The law shows the coming judgment of God and that no sinner will escape punishment, in case someone who has escaped for a time thinks that the law is an illusion. This is what the law shows: that sin will be dealt with by God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE LAW DISCLOSES SIN. CHRYSOSTOM: Once more Paul jumps on the law but this time with restraint, for what he says is an accusation not against the law but against the negligence of the covenant people. … The law accomplished its task of disclosing sin to them, but then it was their duty to flee it. But since they did not flee it, they brought an even greater punishment on themselves, and the good deeds of the law have just provided an excuse for greater chastisement from God. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 7.

THE LAW ITSELF DOES NOT FORGIVE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: The apostle is not contradicting what he said [in 2:15] above (“They show the work of the law in their hearts”) when he says: “no human being will be justified … by works of the law.” He attacks the flesh, whose wisdom cannot submit to the law of God. For the law was able to reveal sin, but it does not reveal its full horror. Then too, the law is bound to punish and does not forgive the repentant sinner. But Christ grants remission of sins to believers and teaches how the vices and the wisdom of the flesh can be eradicated. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

FOUR STAGES OF RELATION TO THE LAW: BEFORE THE LAW, UNDER THE LAW, UNDER GRACE AND AT REST. AUGUSTINE: Some think that statements like this are an attack on the law. But they must be read very carefully, so that neither is the law condemned by the apostle nor is free will taken away from man. Therefore, let us distinguish the following four states of human existence: before the law, under the law, under grace and at rest. Before the law we follow the lust of the flesh. Under the law we are dragged along by it. Under grace we neither follow it nor are dragged along by it. At rest there is no lust of the flesh.

Prior to being addressed by the law, we do not struggle, because not only do we lust and sin, we even approve of sinning.

Under the law we struggle but are defeated. We admit that what we do is evil and that we do not want to do it, but because there is as yet no grace, we are defeated. In this state we discover how far down we lie, and when we want to rise up and yet we fall, we are all the more gravely afflicted. The law is good because it forbids what ought to be forbidden and requires what ought to be required. But when anyone thinks he can fulfill the law in his own strength and not through the grace of his Deliverer, this presumption does him no good but rather harms him so much that he is seized by an even stronger desire to sin and by his sins ends up as a transgressor. So when the man who has fallen realizes that he cannot raise himself, let him cry to his Deliverer for help.

Then comes grace, which can pardon previous sins, give aid to the struggling, supplement justice with love and take away fear. When this takes place, although fleshly desires continue to fight against our spirit in this life and try to lead us into sin, yet our spirit does not give in to these desires because it is rooted in the grace and love of God and ceases to sin. For we do not sin by having these perverse desires but by giving in to them.

These desires arise from the mortality of the flesh, which we inherit from the first sin of the first man, which is why we are born carnal. Nor will they cease until, by the resurrection of the body, we shall obtain the transformation which has been promised to us. Then we shall be in the fourth state, where there is perfect peace. Perfect peace is the state in which nothing will resist us because we do not resist God. Free will existed perfectly in the first man, but in us, prior to grace, there is no free will which would enable us not to sin but only enough that we do not want to sin. But grace makes it possible not only for us to want to do what is right but actually to do it not in our own strength but by the help of our Deliverer, who at the resurrection will give us that perfect peace which is the consequence of good will. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 13-18.

RECOGNITION OF SIN. PELAGIUS: By the works of the law Paul means circumcision, the sabbath and the other ceremonies, which had less to do with righteousness than with carnal pleasure. Through the law comes neither forgiveness nor sin itself but rather recognition of sin. Through the law a man realizes what sin is, either because the natural law had been forgotten or because before the written law was given, the lesser sins [i.e., the sins which were more harmful to oneself than others, like lust, drunkenness, etc.] were not recognized as sins. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

KNOWLEDGE OF SIN. GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: The purpose of the law, says Paul, is to give us a knowledge of sin not only to forbid the doing of things which are inappropriate but also to punish those who do such things. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.