ACC ~ Romans 5 v13

BEFORE WHICH LAW WAS SIN GIVEN? ORIGEN: We have already said on many occasions that in this epistle Paul mentions many different laws, though most often he is discussing the natural law, which also seems to be the case here. For until the natural law comes, sin is indeed dead. Thus it is that at a particular age, when a per-son begins to be capable of rational thought and to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, then sin, which before that time is considered to be dead inside him, is said to revive, because now he has a law inside him which forbids and a reason which shows him what not to do.

Why does Paul say that sin was “in the world” and not that sin was “in men”? The world includes cattle and other animals, not to mention trees and other things like that, but obviously sin does not dwell in them! It seems to me that here the apostle is referring to those men who are capable of reasoning and are subject to natural laws. Those people who have not yet reached the age of reason are not included in this context.

Another argument against those who think that this [verse] refers to the law of Moses is that in that case, the devil and his angels would be absolved, because where there is no law, sin would not be imputed. And how, before the law of Moses, would the serpent have been condemned or death have entered the world by the devil’s scheming? COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

IN WHAT SENSE WAS SIN BEFORE THE LAW? AMBROSIASTER: Before the law was given, men thought that they could sin with impunity before God but not before other men. For the natural law, of which they were well aware, had not completely lost its force, so that they knew not to do to others what they did not want to suffer themselves. For sin was certainly not unknown among men at that time.

How is it then that sin was not imputed, when there was no law? Was it all right to sin, if the law was absent? There had always been a natural law, and it was not unknown, but at that time it was thought to be the only law, and it did not make men guilty before God. For it was not then known that God would judge the human race, and for that reason sin was not imputed, almost as if it did not exist in God’s sight and that God did not care about it. But when the law was given through Moses, it became clear that God did care about human affairs and that in the future wrongdoers would not escape without punishment, as they had done up to then. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

BEFORE THE LAW OF MOSES, NOT OF NATURE. DIODORE: Sin was in the world before the law of Moses came, and it was counted, though not according to that law. Rather it was counted according to the law of nature, by which we have learned to distinguish good and evil. This was the law of which Paul spoke above.PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

LAW DID NOT STOP SIN BUT MADE IT MORE DISCERNIBLE. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The coming of the law did not remove sin. On the contrary, even though the law was observed and kept by men, sin continued to increase and the law could do nothing to stop it. … So far was the law from being the cure for sin that Paul even says that there would not have been sin at all had there been no law! By “law” Paul means the discernment which comes by both the natural law and the law of Moses. For without this discernment, nobody would be able to call sin by its name, since there would be no way of knowing the difference between good and evil. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

SIN NOT COUNTED WHERE THERE IS NO LAW. AUGUSTINE: Paul said this in opposition to those who thought that sin could be taken away through the law. He says that sins were made apparent by the law, not abolished. He says not that there was no sin but only that it was not counted. Once the law was given, sin was not taken away, but it began to be counted. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 27-28.

THE NATURAL LAW. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: “Before the law” refers to the law of Moses, inferring that sin is not counted where there is no law. This time, however, Paul means the natural law, because of which Cain transgressedand after him those who transgressed the natural law. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

NOT COUNTED TEMPORARILY. PELAGIUS: The law came to punish sin. Before it came, sinners enjoyed at least the length of this present life with less restraint. Sin indeed existed before the law, but it was not counted as sin because natural knowledge had been almost wiped out. How did death reign, if sin was not counted? You have to understand here that it was not counted “for the time being.” PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

SIN STRENGTHENED BY LAW. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The law of Moses was the power constraining the weakness of sinners. It proved to be not the answer to sin but rather a provocation to wrath. For it was necessary for transgressors to undergo the punishments prescribed by the law, and wherever there was transgression, there was also sin. So if sin brought death in its wake, it may undoubtedly be said that death, having been born of sin, was strengthened by this very thing. But when sin was taken away death was also weakened, and it disappeared along with its parent. Therefore there was death in the world until the coming of the law. For as long as the law was valid, the crime of transgression could be laid against those who had fallen, but once the law was removed, the accusation of transgression disappeared as well. Therefore when the guilt ceased, death also came to an end. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

BEFORE THE LAW CAME TO AN END. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul is not, as some think, accusing those who lived before the law but rather everyone together. When he says “before the law” he does not mean before the law began but before the law came to an end, because as long as the law was in control, sin retained its force. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

SIN COUNTED UNDER THE LAW OF NATURE. OECUMENIUS: When Paul uses the word sin here he is thinking primarily of the transgression of the law of Moses and its commandments, e.g., circumcision, sabbath observance, the food laws, etc. Nevertheless, sin in general already existed in human nature, and it was counted. By this I mean things like murder, robbery, child abuse and so on. … For there was a law of nature which covered things like that. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

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