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 T this point
our argument, that "all the families of the earth shall be blessed
in Abraham and his seed," we will notice the supposed disproof of
our views by the text of Ro 2:12 -It reads as follows: "For as
many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and
as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law." Then
follows the parenthetical statement, thus, "(for not the hearers of
the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be
justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by
nature" [or, truly do] "the things contained in the law, these,
having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work
of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing
witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing
one another;) in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
This portion of Scripture is supposed to militate against the idea
that those who have died without ever having heard of Christ, may,
possibly, be made alive again to hear of him, and so be judged by
the gospel as to their final destiny. It is confidently asserted
that the Apostle’s language shows that the heathen sinners "shall
perish without law," or the gospel. This text bears something of the
same relation to the view we advocate relating to the promise and
oath of God to Abraham, that Joh 5:28,29 does to the
non-resurrection of the wicked dead; with this difference, however,
this is a solitary text; there being none other that expresses the
same sentiment this is supposed to convey. Let us then examine the
text and context and see if we can arrive at its true sense and
intent.
The Apostle’s controversy was especially with the "Jew," who "rested
in the law," etc., and was "confident that himself was a guide to
the blind," etc; ( Ro 2:17-19). Paul had told them that tribulation
would be visited upon "every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew
first, and also [afterwards] of the Gentile: but the glory, honor,
and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also
to the Gentiles: for there is no respect of persons with God."
Ro 2:9-11. He then adds, "For as many as have sinned without law"
[the Mosaic, or Jewish law] "shall also perish without law:" [the
Jew’s law]: "and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged
by the law... in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
Thus reading the text, (as we must get the sense) without the
parenthesis, we see what the Apostle designed to teach. The
Gentiles, to whom he preached, were not under the law, of which the
Jew boasted; they were not to be judged by that law. If the Gentile
sinned (using the term sin in its proper sense) his sin was not
against the law, for he was not under it, but he sinned against the
gospel light, now brought unto him by the preaching thereof: his sin
(be it remembered) is "in the day when God shall judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ; or, by the preaching of the gospel." "For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow; and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart." - Heb 4:12.
It is by the preaching of the gospel (which Paul calls, "my gospel")
that "God shall judge the secrets of men;" and it is "in the day"
when the gospel is preached to them that the judgment takes place on
the hearers of it: "the secrets of their hearts are then laid open;
their disposition towards God and his Son, the LIFE-GIVER, are
manifested, and then, if they reject the proffered mercy, although
never under the law, they "shall perish without law;" but not
without having first rejected the message of God’s love made known
to them according to the promise and oath of God.
To suppose those who are said to perish without law, also perish
without the knowledge of God’s willingness to save them by Jesus
Christ, is to envelop God’s promise and oath in thick darkness, and
is a dishonor done to His government of the creatures He has made,
out of all harmony with His revealed character; for, "God commendeth
his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us." - Ro 5:8. Are we to admit that the same God will doom
millions on millions of these same sinners, for whom Christ died, to
eternal death for not believing on Him of whom they never heard? We
think the Apostle to the Gentiles would characterize such preaching
as "another gospel" from that which he had preached.
As to what Paul saith in parenthesis, { Ro 2:13-15}, it only shows
there is intelligence in human beings to see truth when made known
to them, and lays the foundation for responsibility so far as the
truth is presented to their minds; but states nothing of the final
doom of such as never have been blessed with the truth of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, which is to judge those who hear it. It is then,
that men pass into the investigating judgment, which fixes their
final state of life or death eternal. The light which is necessary
to this end, is what God’s promise and oath to Abraham secures to
"every creature" possessed of human nature, and will surely be
imparted to them in some way, at some time, before they receive life
eternal or are doomed to death eternal. God cannot be thwarted in
his work whether we believe it or not. His promise and oath stand
and will stand against all the theories and unbelief of good or bad
men. He will take care to see the end is reached, however impossible
it may seem to us. The means are His. Faith is ours.
After it has been demonstrated that this promise and oath never have
been fulfilled, either to all families, nor all nations, it is said,
" Some of all nations have been blessed in Abraham and his seed, and
that some of all nations have been blessed according to the promise
and oath. But, for the sake of the argument, suppose we admit this
assumption; then the promise and oath should be altered to
correspond, and would read thus: "By myself have I sworn... that in
thy seed some of all nations shall be blessed."
What would be thought of an immensely wealthy man if he should
promise, and confirm it by an oath, saying, "In my wealth the United
States shall be blessed." But the facts prove that only one of those
States ever received any blessing from his wealth, or every heard of
his promise and oath? Would any thinking man, knowing these facts,
say the promise and oath had been fulfilled?
What is the difference between a promise to nations and to families?
It takes families to make nations; and a nation, as such, cannot be
blessed without the families composing it being partakers of the
blessing in some degree. God, clearly, included families when he
spoke of the blessing to come through Abraham for He expressly said
so to Abraham, Ge 28:14, thus, "In thee and in thy seed shall
all the families of the earth be blessed." To say that "all nations
mean something short—far short—of "all the families" of which those
nations are composed is making a distinction where God has made
none, but has expressly joined the two together, so that the one
includes the other; and "what God has joined together let not man
put asunder," saith Jesus.
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