13

the nature of the law, but from the indolence of those who received it. But it entered in alongside, he said, and not, it entered, showing its use to be temporary, and not principally preceding. “But where sin increased, grace superabounded; that, as sin reigned in death, so also might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” For not only did it deliver from punishment, but it has also given us the myriad good things we spoke of before; but how did sin increase? The law gave myriad commandments, wishing to support man from every side. But with all of them being transgressed, sin was naturally more abundant. CHAPTER 6. “What then shall we say? Am I to continue in sin, that grace may abound? By no means. We who died to sin, how shall we still live in it?” He returns again to the aforementioned argument; and this is the meaning: Some, slandering the Apostle, said: Since we have sinned greatly, let us not cease from sinning, so that more grace may be given; but he refutes this, first, with the prohibition, saying, By no means! as he is accustomed to do with acknowledged evils. Then also with an irrefutable argument: We who, he says, died to sin, how shall we live in it? What he says is of this sort: We have become 95.484 dead to sin, having believed and been enlightened; and by ‘dead,’ so as no longer to obey it. “Or are you ignorant, that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death; that, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with the likeness of his death, we shall also be of his resurrection.” Since what was said was secure, he explains it to us. What then is, ‘we were baptized into his death’? It means that we ourselves also die as he did. For baptism is the cross; therefore, what the cross of Christ and the tomb were, this baptism has become for us, though not in the same things. For he died in the flesh and was buried, but we have done both to sin. For this reason he did not say, ‘we have become united with the death,’ but ‘with the likeness of the death’; for both this and that are a death, but not of the same subject; but the one is of the flesh, that of Christ; the other of sin, which is ours. “That our old man was crucified with him.” He did not say, ‘is crucified,’ but, ‘was crucified with him,’ bringing baptism near to death. “That the body of sin might be destroyed.” He calls all wickedness the body of sin; for just as he calls complete vice the ‘old man,’ so also the ‘body’ of that man is the vice composed of different parts of wickedness. “That we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been justified from sin.” In this way, he says, I wish it to be dead, not so as to be annihilated and perish, but so as not to sin. Because just as one who has died is freed from sinning, lying dead, so also is the one who has ascended from baptism. Since he died there once, he must remain forever dead to sin. “But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.” He quickly brings on the crown of the contests; but the greatest good for us, even before the crown, is to have communion with the Master. “Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all.” That is, he was not even liable to that death; but he died for our sin, that he might destroy it, and cut its sinews and all its power. “But the life that he lives, he lives to God.” That is, indestructibly, so as no longer to be held 95.485 by death; for if he died the former death not being liable to it, but on account of the sin of others, much more now will he not die, having destroyed it. “So you also must consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let not therefore sin reign

13

τοῦ νόμου φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν τῶν δεξαμένων ῥᾳθυμίαν. Παρεισῆλθεν δὲ, εἶπεν, καὶ οὐκ, εἰσῆλθεν, δεικνὺς πρόσκαιρον αὐτοῦ τὴν χρείαν, καὶ οὐ κυρίως προηγουμένην. «Οὗ δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις· ἵνα, ὥσπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ, οὕτως καὶ χάρις βασιλεύσῃ διὰ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν.» Οὐ γὰρ κολάσεως ἀπήλλαξε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μυρία ἃ προείπομεν δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ἀγαθά· πῶς δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία; Μυρίας δέδωκεν ὁ νόμος ἐντολὰς, βουλόμενος πανταχόθεν στηρίσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Πασῶν δὲ παραβαινομένων, εἰκότως πλείων ἡ ἁμαρτία. ΚΕΦΑΛ. ϛʹ. «Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; ἐπιμένω τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἵνα ἡ χάρις πλεονάσῃ; Μὴ γένοιτο· οἵτινες ἀπεθάνομεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, πῶς ἔτι ζήσομεν ἐν αὐτῇ;» Εἰς τὸ προειρημένον πάλιν ἐπανακάμπτει λόγον· ὁ δὲ νοῦς οὗτος· ∆ιασύροντές τινες τὸν Ἀπόστολον, ἔλεγον· Ἐπειδὴ μέγα ἡμάρτομεν, μὴ ἀποστῶμεν ἁμαρτάνοντες, ἵνα πλείων ἡ χάρις δοθῇ· ἀναιρεῖ δὲ τοῦτο, πρῶτον μὲν, τῇ ἀπαγορεύσει, λέγων, μὴ γένοιτο! ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων κακῶν εἴωθε τίθεσθαι. Ἔπειτα καὶ ἀναντιῤῥήτῳ λογισμῷ· Οἵτινες, φησὶν, ἀπεθάνομεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, πῶς ζήσομεν ἐν αὐτῇ; Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Νεκροὶ γεγόνα 95.484 μεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, πιστεύσαντες καὶ φωτισθέντες· τὸ δὲ νεκροὶ, ὥστε μὴ ὑπακούειν αὐτῇ λοιπόν. «Ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε, ὅτι ὅσοι ἐβαπτίσθημεν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν; Συνετάφημεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον· ἵνα, ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ δόξης τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς περιπατήσωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ σύμφυτοι γεγόναμεν τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐσόμεθα.» Ἐπειδὴ ἀσφαλὲς ἦν τὸ εἰρημένον, ἐπεξηγεῖται ἡμῖν αὐτό. Τί οὖν ἐστιν, εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν; εἰς τὸ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀποθανεῖν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος. Σταυρὸς γάρ ἐστι τὸ βάπτισμα· ὅπερ οὖν ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ὁ τάφος, τοῦτο ἡμῖν γέγονεν τὸ βάπτισμα, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῶν. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ σαρκὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἐτάφη, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀμφότερα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ, σύμφυτοι γεγόναμεν τοῦ θανάτου, εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου· θάνατος μὲν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο κἀκεῖνο, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὑποκειμένου· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν σαρκὸς, ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτίας, ὁ ἡμέτερος. «Ὅτι ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη.» Οὐκ εἶπεν, ἐσταύρωται, ἀλλὰ, συνεσταύρωται, ἐγγὺς φέρων τὸ βάπτισμα τοῦ θανάτου. «Ἵνα καταργηθῇ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας.» Σῶμα ἁμαρτίας τὴν πονηρίαν πᾶσαν καλεῖ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄνθρωπον παλαιὸν λέγει τὴν ὁλόκληρον κακίαν, οὕτω καὶ σῶμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου, τὴν ἀπὸ διαφόρων μερῶν πονηρίας συγκειμένην κακίαν. «Τοῦ μηκέτι δουλεύειν ἡμᾶς τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. Ὁ γὰρ ἀποθανὼν δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας.» Ταύτῃ, φησὶν, αὐτὸ εἶναι βούλομαι νεκρὸν, οὐχ ὥστε ἀφανισθῆναι καὶ ἀποθανεῖν, ἀλλ' ὥστε μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν. Ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ ἀποθανὼν ἀπήλλακται τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν, νεκρὸς κείμενος, οὕτω καὶ τὸν ἀναβάντα ἄγει ἀπὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Ἐπειδὴ ἅπαξ ἀπέθανεν ἐκεῖ, νεκρὸν δεῖ μένειν διὰ πάντος τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. «Εἰ δὲ ἀπεθάνομεν σὺν Χριστῷ, πιστεύομεν ὅτι καὶ συζήσωμεν αὐτῷ, εἰδότες ὅτι Χριστὸς ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὐκέτι ἀποθνήσκει.» Τὸν στέφανον ἐπάγει ταχέως τῶν ἀγώνων· μέγιστον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ στεφάνου ἡμῖν ἀγαθὸν γίνεται, τὸ κοινωνῆσαι τῷ ∆εσπότῃ. «Θάνατος αὐτοῦ οὐκέτι κυριεύει. Ὃ γὰρ ἀπέθανεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἀπέθανεν ἐφάπαξ.» Τουτέστιν, οὐδὲ ἐκείνῳ ὑπεύθυνος ἦν τῷ θανάτῳ· ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀπέθανεν, ἵνα αὐτὴν ἀνέλῃ, καὶ ἐκκόψῃ τὰ νεῦρα αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἅπασαν. «Ὃ δὲ ζῇ, ζῇ τῷ Θεῷ.» Τουτέστιν ἀκαταλύτως, ὥστε μηκέτι κρατεῖσθαι 95.485 ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸν πρότερον θάνατον οὐχ ὑπεύθυνος ὢν ἀπέθανεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἑτέρων ἁμαρτίαν, πολὺ μᾶλλον νῦν οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται καταλύσας αὐτήν. «Οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς λογίζεσθε ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι, νεκροὺς μὲν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ζῶντας δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. Μὴ οὖν βασιλευέτω ἡ