Romans 4:15

4:15 The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break! (literally where there is no law, neither is there transgression): Paul always uses the word “transgression” to denote disobedience of a clear commandment of God (see also 2:23; 5:14; Gal 3:19; 1 Tim 2:14). Transgression only exists where the law exists, which is why the law always brings punishment. The law that God gave to the Israelites specified requirements in great detail, which made the people more accountable for sin than before. So when they inevitably disobeyed the law, God brought more severe punishment upon them.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom 4:15. Νόμος, the law) It occurs twice in this verse; first, with the article, definitely; next, indefinitely.—ὀργὴν, wrath) not grace, see the next verse. Hence the law is not of promise and of faith.—οὐδὲ παράβασις, there is not even transgression) He does not say, not even sin, comp. ch. Rom 5:13, Rom 2:12; offence, ch. Rom 5:20, and transgression have a more express referece to the law which is violated. Transgression rouses wrath.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_4:15. On the connection see above. The assigning of a reason (γάρ) has reference to the previous κεκένωται ἡ πίστις κ. κατήργ. ἡ. ἐπαγγ., which are closely connected (see Rom_4:16), and not merely to the κατήργ ἡ ἐπα γγ. (Chrysostom, Fritzsche, Mehring, and others). The law produces wrath. It is the divine wrath that is meant, not any sort of human wrath (against the judgment of God, as Melancthon thought). Unpropitiated, it issues forth on the day of judgment, Rom_2:5 ff., Rom_3:5, Rom_9:22; Eph_2:3; Eph_5:6; Col_3:6 al[1038]; Ritschl, de ira Dei, p. 16; Weber, vom Zorne Gottes, p. 326 f.

οὗ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι νόμος Κ.Τ.Λ[1039]] Proof of the proposition that the law worketh wrath: for where the law is not, there is not even (οὐδέ) transgression, namely, which excites the wrath of God (the Lawgiver). This short, terse and striking proofwhich is not, any more than the three previous propositions introduced by γάρ, to be reduced to a justifying explanation (Hofmann), or to be weakened by taking οὐδέ to mean just as little (Hofmann)proceeds a causa ad effectum; where the cause is wanting (namely, παράβασις), there can be no mention of the effect (ὀργή). This negative form of the probative proposition includesin accordance with the doctrine of the Apostle elsewhere regarding the relation of the law to the human ἐπιθυμία (Rom_7:7 ff.; 1Co_15:56; Gal_3:19 al[1040]), which is kindled on occasion of the law by the power of sin which exists in manthe positive counterpart, that, where the law is, there is also transgression. Paul however expresses himself negatively, because in his mind the negative thought that the fulfilment of the promise is not dependent on the law still preponderates; and he will not enter into closer analysis of the positive side of itviz., that faith is the conditionuntil the sequel, Rom_4:16 ff. Observe moreover that he has not written οὐδὲ ἁμαρτία, which he could not assert (Rom_4:13), but οὐδέ παράβασις, as the specific designation of the ἁμαρτία in relation to the law, which was the precise point here in question. Comp Rom_2:23; Rom_2:25; Rom_2:27, Rom_5:14; Gal_2:18; Gal_3:19. Sins without positive law (Rom_4:13) are likewise, and indeed on account of the natural law, Rom_2:14, objects of the divine wrath (see Rom_1:18 ff.; Eph_2:3); but sins against a given law are, in virtue of their thereby definite quality of transgression, so specifically and specially provocative of wrath in God, that Paul could relatively even deny the imputation of sin when the law was non-existent. See on Rom_4:13.

[1038] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

[1039] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[1040] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 4:15 . ὀργήν : wrath, i.e. , the wrath of God. See on Rom 1:18 . Under a legal dispensation sin is stimulated, and brought into clear consciousness: men come under the wrath of God, and know that they do. This is the whole and sole result of “the law,” and hence law cannot be the means through which God administers His grace, and makes man the heir of all things. On the contrary, to attain this inheritance man must live under a regime of faith, οὗ δὲ : δὲ is the true reading (see critical note), not γάρ : but where law is not, neither is there παράβασις . It would not have been true to say οὐδὲ ἁμαρτία , for Paul in chap. 2 recognises the existence and guilt of sin even where men live ἀνόμως ; but in comparison with the deliberate and conscious transgression of those who live ἐν νόμῳ , such sin is comparatively insignificant and venial, and is here left out of account. The alternative systems are reduced to two, Law and Grace (or Promise).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 15, 16. “For the law worketh wrath: and, indeed, where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but also to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all;

Faith deprived of its object, the promise made void for those who are under the law, why all this? Simply because the law, when not fulfilled, brings on man God’s disapprobation, wrath, which renders it impossible on His part to fulfil the promise. This passage, like so many others already quoted, is incompatible with the idea which Ritschl forms of divine wrath. This critic, as we know (see on Rom 1:18), applies the term wrath, in the Old Testament only, to the sudden punishment with death of exceptional malefactors, who by their crime compromised the existence of the covenant itself. But in these words the apostle evidently starts from the idea that whatever is under the law is ipso facto the object of wrath, which applies to the entire people, and not to a few individuals only. Melanchthon applied the term wrath in this verse to the irritation felt by condemned man against the judgment of God. He forgot that the loss of the divine inheritance results to the sinner, not from his own wrath, but from that of the judge.

The article ὁ, the, before the word law, proves that the subject here is the law properly so called, the Mosaic law.

It would be improper to translate: “for it is the law which produces wrath,” as if wrath could not exist beyond the jurisdiction of the law. Chap. 1 proves the contrary. But the law produces it inevitably where it has been given. The preponderance of egoism in the human heart once granted, the barrier of the law is certain to be overpassed, and transgression is sure to make wrath burst forth.

T. R., with the Byzs., the Greco-Latins, and the oldest versions, connects the second part of this verse with the first by γάρ, for. This reading appears at the first glance easier than that of the Alex.: δέ (now, or but). But this very circumstance is not in its favor. The three γάρ, which have preceded, may have also led the copyists to write the same particle again. The context, carefully consulted, demands a δέ rather than a γάρ. For what says the second member? That without a law transgression is not possible. Now this idea does not logically prove that the law necessarily produces wrath. This second proposition of Rom 4:15 is not therefore a proof, but a simple observation in support of the first; and this connection is exactly marked by the δέ, which is the particle here not of opposition (but), but of gradation (now), and which may be rendered by and indeed. This second proposition is therefore a sort of parenthesis intended to strengthen the bearing of the fact indicated in the first (15a): “In general, a law cannot be the means fitted to gain for us the favor of God; on the contrary, the manifestations of sin, of the evil nature, acquire a much graver character through the law, that of transgression, of positive, deliberate violation of the divine will, and so increase wrath.” Παράβασις, transgression, from παραβαίνειν, to overpass. A barrier cannot be crossed except in so far as it exists. So without law there is no sin in the form of transgression.

The article ὁ is wanting here before νόμος, law. And rightly so; for this saying is a general maxim which does not apply specially to the Jews and the Jewish law (as 15a). The Gentiles have also a law (Rom 2:14-15), which they can observe or violate. In the latter case, they become objects of wrath (chap. 1) as well as the Jews, though in a less degree.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_4:15

For the law worketh wrath, etc. That is, it causes men to be the subjects of wrath. It brings them under condemnation. So far from imparting life, it causes death. If, therefore, the inheritance is suspended on the condition of obedience to the law, it can never be attained; for by the law no flesh living can be justified. The connection of this verse, therefore, may be with what immediately precedes. The promise fails if it be by the law, for the law worketh death. The truth here presented, however, although thus incidentally introduced, is none the less a new and substantive argument for the doctrine of justification by faith. It is the same argument as that urged in Gal_3:10, derived from the very nature of the law. If it works wrath, if all who are under the law are under the curse, if the law condemns, it cannot justify. As, however, there are two ways in which, according to the apostle, the law works wrath, so there are two views of the meaning of this passage. First, the law works wrath, because it says, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them, Gal_3:10. As the law, from its very nature, demands perfect obedience, and condemns all who are not perfect, it, by its very nature, is unsuited to give life to sinners. It can only condemn them. If there were no law, there would be no sin, and no condemnation. But as all are under the law, and all are sinners, all are under the curse. The other way in which the law works wrath is, that it excites and exasperates the evil passions of the heart; not from any defect in the law itself, but from the nature of sin. This idea the apostle presents full in the seventh chapter; where it is properly in place, as he is there treating of sanctification. Here where he is treating of justification, that idea would be inappropriate, and therefore the former interpretation is to be decidedly preferred. Calvin, Tholuck, and others, however, understand the apostle to reason thus: The law, instead of freeing men from sin, incidentally renders their transgressions more numerous, conspicuous, and inexcusable, and thus brings them more and more under condemnation. Nam quum Lex nihil quam ultionem generet, non potest affere gratiam. Bonis quidem ac integris viam vitae monstraret; sed quatenus vitiosis ac corruptis praecipit, quid debeant, praestandi autem vires non subministrat, reos apud Dei tribunal peragit. Quae enim est naturae nostrae vitiositas, quo magis docemur, quid rectum sit ac justum, eo apertius nostra iniquitas detegitur, maximeque contumacia; atque hoc modo gravius Dei judicium accersitur. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. The interpretation given to this clause depends upon the view taken of the preceding one. It assigns the reason why the law works wrath. If the law be understood to work wrath by exasperating the evils of our corrupt nature, then the meaning of this confirmatory clause must be, that the law makes sin more inexcusable. It exalts sin into transgressions, ἀμαρτία into παράβασις. Thus again Calvin says, that the reason why the law works wrath is, quia cognitione justitiae Dei per legem perceptâ, eo gravius peccamus in Deum, quo minus excusationis nobis superest non loquitur apostolus, he adds, de simplici justitiae transgressione, a quâ nemo eximitur; sed transgressionem appellat, ubi animus edoctus, quid Deo placeat quidve displiceat, fines voce Dei sibi definitos sciens ac volens perrumpit. Atqui ut uno verbo dicam, transgressio hic non simplex delictum, sed destinatam in violandâ justitiâ contumaciam significat. But all this belongs to the inefficacy of the law to produce holiness, and not to its impotency in the matter of justification, which is the point here under consideration. The apostles argument here is, that the inheritance must be by faith, not by the law, for the law can only condemn. It works wrath, for without it there would be no condemnation, because there would be no transgression. Besides, Paul does not make the distinction between sin and transgression, between ἁμαρτία and παράβασις, which the former interpretation supposes. What is here said of transgression, is, in Rom_5:13, said of sin. Where there is no law, there can be no sin, because the very idea of sin is the want of conformity to a rule, to which conformity is due; so that where there is no rule or standard, there can be no want of conformity. Such being the meaning of this clause, it is plain that by law, the apostle does not intend the Mosaic law, but law as the standard to which rational creatures are bound to be conformed. If men would only acquiesce in Pauls idea of law, they could not fail to receive his doctrine concerning sin and justification. If the law is holy, just, and good; if it is spiritual, taking cognizance not only of outward acts, but of feelings, not only of active feelings, but of the inherent states of the mind whence these (ἐπιθυμίαι) spring; if it condemns all want of conformity to its own inflexible standard of complete perfection, then there must be an end to all hope of being justified by the law.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A reason of the first confirmation, why the promise cannot be apprehended by the Law: because that the Law doth not reconcile God and us, but rather denounceth his anger against us, forsomuch as no man can observe it.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Because the law worketh wrath--has nothing to give to those who break is but condemnation and vengeance.

for where there is no law, there is no transgression--It is just the law that makes transgression, in the case of those who break it; nor can the one exist without the other.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Because the law worketh wrath] For law νομος, any law, or rule of duty. No law makes provision for the exercise of mercy, for it worketh wrath, οργην, punishment, for the disobedient. Law necessarily subjects the transgressor to punishment; for where no law is - where no rule of duty is enacted and acknowledged, there is no transgression; and where there is no transgression there can be no punishment, for there is no law to enforce it. But the Jews have a law, which they have broken; and now they are exposed to the penal sanctions of that law; and, if the promises of pardon without the works of the law, do not extend to them, they must be finally miserable, because they have all broken the law, and the law exacts punishment. This was a home stroke, and the argument is unanswerable.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. For the law causeth wrath, etc. This is a confirmation of the last verse, derived from the contrary effect of the law; for as the law generates nothing but vengeance, it cannot bring grace. It can indeed show to the good and the perfect the way of life: but as it prescribes to the sinful and corrupt what they ought to do, and supplies them with no power for doing, it exhibits them as guilty before the tribunal of God. For such is the viciousness of our nature, that the more we are taught what is right and just, the more openly is our iniquity discovered, and especially our contumacy, and thus a heavier judgment is incurred.

By wrath, understand God’s judgment, which meaning it has everywhere. They who explain it of the wrath of the sinner, excited by the law, inasmuch as he hates and execrates the Lawgiver, whom he finds to be opposed to his lusts, say what is ingenious, but not suitable to this passage; for Paul meant no other thing, than that condemnation only is what is brought on us all by the law, as it is evident from the common use of the expression, and also from the reason which he immediately adds.

Where there is no law, etc. This is the proof, by which he confirms what he had said; for it would have been difficult to see how God’s wrath is kindled against us through the law, unless it had been made more apparent. And the reason is, that as the knowledge of God’s justice is discovered by the law, the less excuse we have, and hence the more grievously we offend against God; for they who despise the known will of God, justly deserve to sustain a heavier punishment, than those who offend through ignorance.

But the Apostle speaks not of the mere transgression of what is right, from which no man is exempt; but he calls that a transgression, when man, having been taught what pleases and displeases God, knowingly and willfully passes over the boundaries fixed by God’s word; or, in other words, transgression here is not a mere act of sin, but a willful determination to violate what is right. The particle, οὖ, where, which I take as an adverb, some consider to be a relative, of which; but the former reading is the most suitable, and the most commonly received. Whichever reading you may follow, the meaning will be the same, — that he who is not instructed by the written law, when he sins, is not guilty of so great a transgression, as he is who knowingly breaks and transgresses the law of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) But in reality the Law is unable to admit them to this. It has an entirely contrary function—namely, to call down punishment upon the offences that it reveals. The Law and faith, therefore, mutually exclude each other, and faith is left to be the sole arbiter of salvation.

Where no law is.—Transgression is ex vi termini the transgression or breach of law, and therefore has no existence in that age of unconscious morality which precedes the introduction of law.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. the law worketh wrath: for] “For” indicates that this statement confirms that just made, namely, that inheritance by law must bar the fulfilment of the promise.—“The faith” in question was said to be “reckoned for righteousness” to the believer; “the promise” in question was that that believer, as such, should “inherit the world.” But if once the Law, with its only possible terms, interposes between the sinner and justification, he is hopelessly cut off (1) from a valid “righteousness,” and (2) therefore from the “heirship” attached to it. Justification and inheritance are equally out of his reach; because inevitably, as applied to fallen man, the Law (just because holy and absolute) “works wrath;” produces what in the nature of things calls down the Judge’s pure but inexorable wrath; for it produces “transgression” by the fact of its application to man as he is.—Note that “transgression,” not “sin,” is St Paul’s word here. “Sin” is wherever the Fall is; “transgression” is a narrower word; the “overstepping” of a definite condition.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace,.... Meaning either the promise of being heir of the world, or the inheritance itself, or adoption which gives heirship, or remission of Sin, or the blessing of justification, either and all of these are of faith; not as the cause or condition of them, but as the means of God's fixing and appointing to be the recipient of all and each of them: which is done, "that it might be by grace"; appear to be of the free grace and favour of God, as each of these blessings are: forasmuch as every blessing is received by faith, it is manifest it must be by grace; since faith itself is a gift of God's grace, and lies purely in receiving favours at the hand of God, to whom it gives all the glory of them: and this is done with a further view,

to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed. The promise of the above blessings, particularly of the inheritance which is made in the covenant of grace, ordered in all things and sure, and which could not be disannulled by the law that came after it; this being by faith and of grace, and not of works, nor at all depending upon them, becomes sure to all believers, to all Abraham's spiritual seed:

not to that only which is of the law; to the Jews, who are said to be of the law, in distinction to the Gentiles who were without it; and designs such of them as were believers in Christ, and to whom the Gospel was the power of God unto salvation; to these the promise was, and was sure, and not to them only:

but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; to the Gentiles, who though they are not by natural descent from Abraham, yet are of the same faith with him, and so are his seed in a spiritual sense:

who is the father of us all; whether Jews or Gentiles, who are Christ's, and so Abraham's spiritual seed, and heirs of eternal life, according to the free promise of grace.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Ver. 15. No transgression] sc. Is imputed by men where there is no law written. See Rom 5:13.

The law worketh wrath] That is, manifesteth it, and so seemeth to work it, as likewise affliction doth corruption in God’s children; stir the puddle with a stick, and the mud will soon be on the top of the water. Rub the brand, and sparkles will fly abroad.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because the law - All law. It is the tendency of law.

Worketh wrath - Produces or causes wrath. While man is fallen, and a sinner, its tendency, so far from justifying him, and producing peace, is just the reverse. It condemns, denounces wrath, and produces suffering. The word “wrath” here is to be taken in the sense of punishment. Rom 2:8. And the meaning is, that the Law of God, demanding perfect purity, and denouncing every sin condemns the sinner, and consigns him to punishment. As the apostle had proved Rom. 1; 2; 3 that all were sinners, so it followed that if any attempted to be justified by the Law, they would be involved only in condemnation and wrath.

For where no law is ... - This is a general principle; a maxim of common justice and of common sense. Law is a rule of conduct. If no such rule is given and known, there can be no crime. Law expresses what may be done, and what may not be done. If there is no command to pursue a certain course, no injunction to forbid certain conduct, actions will be innocent. The connection in which this declaration is made here, seems to imply that as the Jews had a multitude of clear laws, and as the Gentiles had the laws of nature, there could be no hope of escape from the charge of their violation. Since human nature was depraved, and people were prone to sin, the more just and reasonable the laws, the less hope was there of being justified by the Law, and the more certainty was there that the Law would produce wrath and condemnation.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For the law worketh wrath, not of itself, nor by the intention of the lawgiver, but in as much as it is the occasion of greater punishments, when persons transgress it knowingly. (Witham) --- The law abstracting from faith and grace, worketh wrath occasionally, by being an occasion of many transgressions, which provoke God’s wrath. (Challoner)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The law worketh wrath; i.e. the wrath of God: and this it doth not of itself, but occasionally, in respect of our disobedience. This is a confirmation of what was said in the foregoing verse, that the inheritance is not by the law, and the works thereof; he proves it from the effect and work of the law, such as it hath in all men since the fall; it worketh wrath; it is so far from entitling men to the promised blessing, that it exposeth men to the curse and wrath of God, Gal 3:10.

For where no law is, there is no transgression: q.d. And that it worketh wrath is evident, because it discovers and occasions transgressions, between which and God’s wrath there is an inseparable connection. This assertion is simply true of things indifferent, as were all ceremonial observations before the law required them, for then before the law it was no sin to omit them: but of things which are evil in their own nature, it must be understood respectively, and after a sort; that is, there was no such great transgression before the law was given, as afterwards. The reasons are; Because we are naturally bent to do that which is forbidden us; and so by the reproofs of the law, the stubbornness of man’s heart is increased. As also, because by the law comes the clear knowledge of man’s duty; and so the servant that knows his master’s will, and doth it not, is worthy of the more stripes.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Law worketh wrath—That is, where all are breakers of the law.

Wrath—The legal requirement of penalty. Justice, by its own essential nature, does rightfully require of guilt, the suffering of expiation; that justice existing in the divine mind demands penalty. That holy justice as so existing in the divine mind and government is called wrath. It is a holy but, to the sinner, a terrible divine attribute.

No law… no transgression—For beasts and machines (and for man if he is a machine) there is no holy moral law, and so for them no transgression. So for man the absence of law, just so far as it can be supposed to exist, is the absence of transgression. So, by contrariety, for sinful man the presence of law is the presence of transgression, and the presence of law and transgression is the terrible presence of wrath.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because the law - Considered apart from that grace, which though it was in fact mingled with it, yet is no part of the legal dispensation, is so difficult, and we so weak and sinful, that, instead of bringing us a blessing, it only worketh wrath; it becomes to us an occasion of wrath, and exposes us to punishment as transgressors. Where there is no law in force, there can be no transgression of it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

transgression

Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here the apostle suggests another reason, why no justification can be executed by the law, because it condemns, rather than justifies. The law worketh wrath: that is, it discovers the wrath of God due to our transgression, and then pronounces condemnation upon the transgressor; for were there no law, either natural or revealed, there would be no transgression, and, consequently, no condemnation.

Here observe, 1. The use of the law; it discovers sin, it convinces of sin, it condemns for sin, it denounces the wrath of God due unto sin.

And note, 2. The apostle’s arguments for the use of the law; he infers an utter impossibility of being justified by the law. That which condemns, cannot justify; but the law of God condemns the sinner for his transgression, therefore, it can never be the instrument and means of his justification.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. “For the law worketh out wrath; for where is no law, there is no transgression.” While the law is perfectly pure and holy, yet it is utterly incapable of love and mercy. All it can do is to condemn the criminal. Hence the silly nonsense of salvation by obedience, which could only turn over the whole human race to endless punishment. The law is the exponent of the penalty, and must be prefinite to all transgression.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for the law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression . [Abraham had, by reason of his human nature, to be justified by his faith. If justification had to be earned, and men had to seek it by the works of the law, then faith--all the things which we hope for and believe in--would be made void.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Because the law worketh wrath. The law threatens punishment to all who break its enactments, and since none keep it perfectly, it works punishment for all. Whereas, if no law had been given, there could be no transgression of its demands.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. ὁ γὰρ νόμος … κατεργάζεται. This verse indicates the true function of law, to show that it can have no effect upon the promise; it neither makes nor unmakes the kinship with Abraham, which is a kinship of character (faith) not of works. What the law does is to develop the moral sense of GOD’S will; in doing so it inevitably creates the sense of guilt; it cannot in itself evoke faith.

οὐδὲ κ.τ.λ. This clause seems to be added almost automatically; at least its bearing on the context is very difficult to see. Is it possible that it is a primitive gloss? Otherwise = where law is not in question (as in the case of faith and promise), neither can transgression be in question (we have not to consider the acts and doings of Abraham and his true seed, as qualifying them for the promise, but only their attitude towards GOD, their faith). The subject is worked out in ch. 7; cf. for similar anticipations Rom 3:20; Rom 3:24.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] For the law works (brings about, gives occasion to) wrath (which from its very nature, excludes promise, which is an act of grace,—and faith, which is an attribute of confidence);—but where (or, for where; but I should regard γάρ as introduced to suit the idea of the second clause rendering a reason for the first) there is no law (lit. ‘where the law is not’), neither (is there) transgression. ‘We should rather expect (says De W.) the affirmative clause, “And where the law is, there is transgression:” but the negative refers to the time before the Mosaic law, when there was no transgression and therefore also no wrath.’ Yes; but not because there was no transgression then; the purpose of the Apostle here is not to deny the existence of the law of God written in the heart (which itself brings in the knowledge of sin) before Moses, but to shew that no promise of inheritance can be by the law, because the property of the law is, the more it is promulgated, to reveal transgression more,—not to unfold grace. So that comparatively (see notes on ch. 7) there was no transgression before the law of Moses; and if we conceive a state in which the law whether written or unwritten should be altogether absent (as in the brute creation), there would be no transgression whatever.

But observe (see ch. 5:12-14) that this reasoning does not touch the doctrine of the original taint of our nature in Adam,—only referring to the discrimination of acts, words, and thoughts by the conscience in the light of the law: for παράβασις is not natural corruption, but an act of transgression: nor does the Apostle here deny the former, even in the imaginable total absence of the law of God.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. This verse is parenthetic, proving that Law and Promise cannot exist and be in force side by side. They are too much opposed in their effects and operation. Law presents itself to St. Paul chiefly in this light as entailing punishment. It increases the guilt of sin. So long as there is no commandment, the wrong act is done as it were accidentally and unconsciously; it cannot be called by the name of transgression. The direct breach of a known law is a far more heinous matter. On this disastrous effect of Law see 3:20, 5:13, 20, 7 ff.

οὗ δέ for οὗ γάρ is decisively attested (א A B C &c.).

παράβασις is the appropriate word for the direct violation of a code. It means to overstep a line clearly defined: peccare est transilire lineas Cicero, Parad. 3 (ap. Trench, Syn. p. 236).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.