Thomas Aquinas

After the Apostle showed, through the conduct of the apostles, that the legal observances were not to be kept — which he himself was saying — here he raises a question to the contrary. And concerning this he does three things. First he raises the question; second he resolves it, at the words God forbid, etc.; third he manifests the solution to it, at the words for I through the law, etc.

The first can be expounded in two ways according to the Gloss. First thus: for someone could say that the apostles, in abandoning the law by coming to the faith of Christ, had sinned. But from this the Apostle introduces, as it were, a certain unfitting consequence, namely that Christ would be the author of sin, in that he calls men to his own faith. And this is what he says: "But" — that is, but — "if we," the apostles, "seeking to be justified in him," that is, through him, namely Christ, "are found" — that is, are manifestly shown — "ourselves also," we apostles, "sinners," on account of the abandonment of the law, "is Christ then the minister of sin?" That is, is he leading us into sin, he who called us from the state of the law to his own faith? Below, chapter 4: "made under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law," namely from the burden of the law. The Apostle answers, "God forbid," because he is rather the minister of justice. Romans 5:19: "through the obedience of one, many are constituted just." 1 Peter 2:22: "who did no sin," etc.

And that Christ is not the minister of sin in withdrawing men from the old law is evident, because "if I myself build up again the things which I destroyed," namely the pride that gloried in the law — wishing to return to glorying in the law — "I make myself a transgressor," taking up again what I destroyed. 2 Peter 2:22: "the dog returned to his vomit," etc. Joshua 2: "Cursed be the man who shall rebuild Jericho." Now he says "the things which I destroyed," not the law itself, as the Manichees would have it, since the law is holy (Romans 7:12), but the pride concerning the law, of which it is said in Romans 10:3: "seeking to establish their own righteousness," etc.

But if someone should object that, since he himself formerly destroyed the faith of Christ, he was making himself a transgressor by building it up, the answer is clear: for he indeed attempted to destroy the faith of Christ, but he did not prevail, on account of the truth. Acts 9:4: "Why do you persecute me? It is hard for you," etc. But the pride of the law was vain, and therefore it could be destroyed, and it was not to be rebuilt.

It can be expounded in a second way, so that what he says, "we ourselves also are found sinners," is referred not to the abandonment of the law, as has now been expounded, but rather to the very observance of the law. For it is manifest that whoever seeks to be justified professes that he is not just, but a sinner. The sense, therefore, is: if we, seeking to be justified in Christ, from this very fact that we seek to be justified, are found — that is, are shown by reason to have been ourselves also sinners, because we were observing the law — is Jesus Christ then the minister of sin? Namely, in that he commanded men, after his passion, to observe the legal precepts, which cannot be done without sin. And it must be noted that this exposition proceeds according to the opinion of Jerome, who held that immediately after the passion of Christ the legal observances were deadly.

It can be expounded in a third way, so that what he says, "we ourselves also are found sinners," pertains indeed to the state in which the law was observed, yet not in the sense that they offended on account of the observance of the law, but on account of the defect of the law, which could not take away sin — so that the sense is: if, seeking to be justified in him, we are found ourselves also sinners, that is, having sin, the law not taking away sin, according to that saying in Romans 3:9: "we have charged that Jews and Greeks are all under sin," is Jesus Christ then the minister of sin, in that he would lead us back to the observance of the law, in which we were under sin? And this exposition proceeds according to the exposition of Augustine.

And he answers, according to both expositions, "God forbid," because I destroyed the law understood carnally, by judging and teaching spiritually. Hence if I wished again to build up the observances of the carnal law, I would be a transgressor of the spiritual law.

It can also be expounded in a fourth way, as follows. He had said that man is not justified by the works of the law. Someone could say that neither is he justified through the faith of Christ, because many, after receiving the faith of Christ, sin. And this is what he says: "if, seeking to be justified in Christ," that is, through the faith of Christ, "we are found," after receiving the faith of Christ, "ourselves also," we the faithful, "sinners," that is, living in sins, is Jesus Christ then the minister of sin and of damnation, just as the minister of the old law is the minister of sin and of damnation? Not that the law induced men to sin, but occasionally, because it forbade sin, and did not confer the grace that helps one to resist sin. Hence it is said in Romans 7:8: "sin, taking occasion, by the commandment," etc. But Christ gives helping grace. John 1:17: "grace and truth were made through Jesus Christ." Hence he is in no way the minister of sin, neither directly, nor occasionally.