The life and work of St. Paul

486 THE LIFE AND WORK OF ST: PAtTfc.
with the truths of revelation, any attempt to show that in such passagesboth
on this and on other subjects he appears to contradict himself. 1 He
would very briefly, and with profound indifference, have contented himself
with saying that his remarks in these passages are not in pari material He
is not there speaking or thinking at all of the doctrine of redemption. He is
there talking about " the justification of the Law," which is a very different
thing from " the justification by faith." He is there using general language,
altogether irrespective of the GospeL Protestant commentators with all their
elaborate and varying theories that in these works faith is included as the
highest work; 3 that they are perfected in faith; 4 that "works will be adduced
in the day of judgment, not as meriting salvation, but as proofs and results of
faith ;" 6 that " the imperfect works of the sanctified will be rewarded, not on the
ground of the Law, but on the ground of grace;" 6 that he was mentally refer-
ring to a " prevenient grace " over the Gentile world, and so on are doubtless
dogmatically right, but they are far more anxious to save St. Paul's orthodoxy
and consistency than he would have been himself. It is at least doubtful
whether such considerations were consciously present to his mind. He would
have held it enough to reply that, in these passages, he was only applying
the current language of morality to the concrete relations of actual 7
life and
;
that " the doctrine of justification cannot conflict with the doctrine of God's
righteousness by virtue of which He will reward every man according to his
works." 8 When St. Paul was using the language of accurate theology, he
would have shown the nullity of righteousness by works. But, in any case,
he would have thought far more highly of the possibility of such righteousness
than of the righteousness of dogmatic orthodoxy, or the righteousness of
the letter ; the righteousness of the jealous heresy-hunter, or the righteousness
of the religious partisan. 9
Lastly, it will be seen how little St. Paul is troubled by the apparent paradoxes
which result from the doctrines which he enforces. By those who
those who huck-
manipulated truth to suit their own parties and purposes ; by
stered the Word of Life ; by those who pushed truths into extravagant infer-
ences, and then condemned them on the ground of their possible misapplication
his doctrines were denounced as " dangerous ;" and we know as a fact that,
even in his own lifetime, what he taught was made a handle for evil doctrine, 10
and was subjected to perilous perversions. 11 When such arguments as these
wore urged against him, St. Paul treated them with entire disdain. Truth
1 For these antinomies, which exist in theology as they exist in nature, and are complementary
truths of which the harmony is to he found in the Infinite, see Excursus XXI.
3 "Haeo descriptio justitiae legis, quae nihil impedit alia dicta de justitia fidei"
(Melancthon in Horn. ii. 13). He is here " laying down those general principles of justice,
according to which, irrespective of the Gospel, all men are to be judged " (Hodge on
Rom. ii. 6).
8 Limborch. 4 5 6
Luthardt. Gerhard. Stuart.
7 8
Baur, N. Test. Thed. 181 ; Pfleiderer, i. 78.
Lange on Eom. ii.
6^10.
9
Lehrgerechtigkeit ; Buchstabende Echtigkeit, Negationsgerechtigkeit, Parteigerech-
tigkeit (Lange, ubi supra).
1 Kom. iii. 8. H 2 Pet. 111. 16, orpe^Xovo-iv . . . irpbs TT\V I6ia.t> avrSiy