Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1864 edition. Excerpt: ... Adam all men are subject to death; see Excursus C. to Koppe's Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Zachariae, in his Biblische Theologie, Vol. VI., p. 128, has an excellent exposition of this whole passage. The question of the imputation of Adam's sin, he says, is this, "whether God regarded the act of Adam as the act of all men, or, which is the same thing, whether he has subjected them all to punishment, on account of this single act." This, he maintains, the apostle asserts and proves. On this verse he remarks: " The question is not here immediately about the propagation of a corrupted nature to all men, and of the personal sins committed by all men, but of universal guilt (Strafwiirdigkeit, liability to punishment,) in the sight of God, which has come upon all men; and which Paul, in the sequel, does not rest on the personal sins of men, but only on the offence of one man, Adam, ver. 16." Neither the corruption of nature, nor the actual sins of men, and their liability on account of them, is either questioned or denied, but the simple statement is, that, on account of the sin of Adam, all men are treated as sinners. Zachariae, it must be remembered, was not a Calvinist, but one of the modern and moderate theologians of Gbttingen. Whitby, the great advocate of Arminianism, says, on these words: " It is not true that death- came upon all men, for that, or because all have sinned. [He contends for the rendering, in whom.'] For the apostle directly here asserts the contrary, viz. that the death, and the condemnation to it, which befell all men, was for the sin of Adam only; for here it is expressly said, that by the sin of one man many died; that the sentence was from one, and by one man sinning to condemnation; and that by the sin...