Here he clearly shows that he means two uncircumcisions, one natural, and the other voluntary, which, as has been said, occurs when one does not in the least cut off the passions of the flesh, and two circumcisions, one in the flesh, and the other in the spirit, circumcision of the heart. He who is uncircumcised, he says, by nature, who has the circumcision of the passions through the fulfillment of the law, that is, as said above, the justifications of the law, will condemn, that is, accuse, not circumcision (for it was difficult to speak of it in this way), but you, who are actually circumcised in the flesh outwardly, but uncircumcised in your heart, as a transgressor of the justifications of the law. Thus it is not circumcision (which it seems to respect) that reproaches, but the offender or transgressor of it. Then, having proved this, he clearly defines who the true Jew is, and makes it clear that the Jews did everything out of vanity. For it is not the Jew, he says, who is such outwardly, but who is inwardly so, who does nothing merely sensually, but understands spiritually the Sabbath, and sacrifice, and purification. When he says: circumcision, which is in the heart, according to the Spirit, it paves the way to the Christian way of life and shows the necessity of faith; for faith in heart and spirit has praise from God, who searches the heart, and judges nothing according to the flesh. It follows from everything that life is needed everywhere. By the name of uncircumcised or pagan he means, as stated above, not an idolater, but a pious and virtuous person who does not observe. However, Jewish rites.

CHAPTER THREE

So, what is the advantage of being a Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision? A great advantage in all respects, and especially in the fact that the word of God has been entrusted to them. For what then? if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God? Nohow.

Having rejected all the decrees of the law by saying what is the advantage of being a Jew, he sees the naturally arising objection and prevents it. What objection is this? The following: if there is not the slightest benefit in these decrees, then for what purpose were the Jewish people chosen? This objection is solved with his characteristic wisdom. In words he agrees and says that it is of great benefit to the Jew, and in proof of this he cites not the merits of the Jews, but the gifts of God. He did not say that the Jews were very superior to other nations, because they had done this and that well, but that the word of God had been entrusted to them, and this is God's beneficence, and not their superiority. What does it mean to be entrusted? Given, commissioned; God recognized the Jews as worthy and therefore entrusted them with heavenly revelations. In saying this, he outwardly protects them; but at the same time he makes a new accusation, proving that they did not believe in the words of God, which served to their honor. But this accusation is not presented on his own behalf. As if he were saying: "What profit does it profit the Jews that they have received the revelation of God, when they did not believe it? It seems that this objection also solves by justifying not the Jews, but God. If they did not believe, then is it from God? Will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God, that is, the revelations and good deeds entrusted to them? The unfaithfulness of the Jews not only does not cause any harm to God, but, on the contrary, proves His great love for mankind, because He deprives those who subsequently dishonor Him of beneficence. You see how He accused the Jews of the very thing they boasted of, that is, that they had received the law.

God is faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written, Thou art righteous in thy words, and thou shalt prevail in thy judgment.

I said above that some did not believe. Meanwhile, not some turn out to be unfaithful, but all. Therefore, in order not to upset the Jews, he wisely conducts his speech and sets forth what has been experienced in the form of an assumption. Suppose he says that everyone was unfaithful. What of this? And in this case, God is justified. That is: if we judge and compare what God gave to the Jews and how they behaved before Him, then righteousness remains on the side of God, as David says (Psalm 50:6).

If our unrighteousness reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? Will not God be unjust when He expresses His wrath? (I speak according to human reasoning). Nohow. For otherwise how can God judge the world?

There is one objection here. Others might say: if God has done us good, and we have come ungrateful to Him, He is even more faithful; then why is He angry, that is, He punishes us, if we have become the cause of His justification and victory? Such is the objection. The Apostle resolves it very wisely and in rebuke of the Jews. From the fact that God punishes you, it does not follow that you are the cause of God's victory; for it is unjust for the victor to punish him who was the cause of the victory. But God is not unjust: otherwise, how can God judge the world if He is unjust? Therefore, when God punishes you, and He is not unjust, it follows that you did not become the cause of His victory by sinning: for God could have conquered otherwise, if you had not been evil. The words, I say, according to human reasoning, have this meaning. Thus, he says, I answer in justification of God according to human reason, that is, as only a man of sound mind can answer: for the actions of God have some reasons that are incomprehensible to us, surpass human reason, and do not need our protection.

For if God's faithfulness is exalted by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner? and shall we not do evil that good may come out, as some curse us, and say that we teach so? Righteous is the judgment upon such.

He repeats what he said before, in order to make it clear. If through my transgression God appeared righteous and faithful; then why, finally, should they condemn me, who have benefited the glory of God? In that case, I do not deserve condemnation, but a reward. And if this is true, then what the Gentiles say about us will also be true. The pagans, hearing the words of Paul: "When sin abounded, grace abounded" (Romans 5:20), subjected them to ridicule and asserted that the Christians were saying: "Let us do evil, that good may come out, let us sin more, that grace may abound." These words of the Gentiles, spoken by them in mockery and mockery of us, are also true in the present case, if we assume that God manifests His goodness through our wickedness and ingratitude. But in fact, it is not so. The speech of the pagans is always the speech of the speakers, a lie. Righteous is the judgment on such, that is, they will be punished justly. Thus, by sinning, I do not become the cause of God's justification, because I am condemned as a sinner; for if I had sinned for the glory of God, I would not have been condemned.

So, what then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written, There is neither righteous nor one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God; all have gone astray, they are worthless to one; there is no one who does good, there is none. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues; the poison of adders is on their lips. Their lips are full of backbiting and bitterness. Their feet are quick to shed blood; destruction and destruction in their ways; they do not know the way of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Having said above that the Jews have a certain advantage, because the law has been entrusted and entrusted to them, he now proves that they have no advantage in their works. For because they have not kept what is entrusted to them, they will be subjected to great condemnation. Therefore, although they had a certain advantage as chosen by God, but since by their deeds they dishonored the God who honored them and chose them, not only do they no longer have any advantage, but they will also be subjected to greater condemnation. He says, as it were, on behalf of the Jews: "What then?" Do we have an advantage, are we superior to others, are we Jews more pleasing to God, who have received the law and circumcision? Not at all. For the Jews, to say the least, sinned in the same way as the Gentiles. And where can this be seen from? Of the prophets, namely David and Isaiah. For the speech that begins with the words, "No one is righteous," and ends thus: "Curses and sorrows are full of essence," belongs to David (Psalm 13:3,5; 9:28; 139:4), and the speech from the words "their feet are swift to the words they know not the way of peace" belongs to Isaiah (Isaiah 59:7,8); then again follow the words of David (Psalm 35:2). Therefore he presents the most significant prophets as accusers of the Jews, and shows that they speak in perfect accord. Why, after the words of Isaiah, the words of David are again quoted. For Isaiah speaks clearly of the Jews; David also speaks of them. Further, as soon as one deviates from good, he immediately becomes useless. For depravity is nothing but the perversion of the natural motives for good: wherefore, by stirring up a man to the unnatural, it makes him useless. For nature no longer uses it, just as it does not use it in the administration of the affairs of its sick. Destruction and destruction are sin, for nothing destroys the soul so much as sin, in its wrong way. For virtue, as our natural good, makes us a smooth and smooth path, and depravity, as an unnatural thing, known for its shortcomings and excesses, sometimes makes us rush upward, and sometimes downward, and therefore makes our movement uneven and difficult; Not to mention the fact that she prepares a punishment for us after that. They do not know the way of peace, that is, of a godly life; for a godly life is the path of tranquility. Take, says the Lord, My yoke, and you will find rest (Matt. 11:29): this is the way to the true peace of Christ!

But we know that the law, if it speaks, speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God, because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified before Him; for sin is known by the law.

So that the Jews may not object: This is not spoken to us, it says: the law, if it says anything, it speaks to those who are under the law. What, he says, is there any need to speak to others, when the law has been given to you? The whole Old Testament is called the law, and not only the law of Moses, just as he now called the prophecies of Isaiah and David the law. Words stop every mouth, depicts the boasting of the Jews and the unstoppable striving of their tongue. With them the prophet bridled it like a rushing stream. But the Apostle does not mean that they sinned in order that their lips might be stopped; but for this reason they were rebuked by the prophets, so that they would not represent their sins by their sins of ignorance, and would not boast. And not only the Jews, but the whole world becomes guilty before God, that is, condemned, devoid of boldness, not justified by their own works, but in need of outside help, that is, of the grace of Christ. Why then do you, Jew, boast of the law, when you are guilty on an equal footing with the rest of the world, as not justified by the works of the law?