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of all, righteousness through faith was gradually cast out. For if you keep the sabbaths, why do you not also get circumcised? and if you get circumcised, why do you not also offer sacrifices? For if one must keep it, one must keep the whole law; but if one must not keep the whole, then not a part either. But if you shudder over the part, lest you be judged for transgression, otherwise it is necessary to fear for the whole also; but if the whole, when transgressed, does not punish, it is clear that neither does a part; but if a part does, much more does the whole; and if it is necessary to keep the whole, it is necessary to disobey Christ, or, by obeying Christ, to become transgressors of the law. For if it is necessary to keep it, those who do not keep it are transgressors, and Christ will be found to be the cause of this transgression for us; for He Himself annulled the law concerning them, and commanded us to annul it.

ζʹ. Do you see what the Judaizers are contriving? They show Christ, the cause of our righteousness, to be the cause of sin, as Paul also says: Is Christ then a minister of sin? Then, having reduced the argument to an absurdity, he no longer needed any construction for its refutation, but was content with the prohibition alone, saying, By no means! For against things that are utterly shameless and impudent, there is no need for constructive arguments, but it is sufficient to prohibit them only. For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. See the wisdom of Paul. They wished to show that he who does not keep the law is a transgressor; but he turned the argument to the opposite, showing that he who keeps the law is a transgressor, not of faith, but of the law itself. For 'what I destroyed, these things I build again,' he says of the law. And what he says is this: the law has ceased, 61.645 and this we have confessed, by means of which, having abandoned it, we fled for refuge to salvation by faith. If, therefore, we contend to establish it, by this very act we become transgressors, contending to keep what has been annulled by God. Then he also shows how it was annulled. For I through the law died to the law. This has a twofold interpretation: for he either speaks of the law of grace (for he knows to call this a law, as when he says, 'But the law of the Spirit of life has set me free'); or here he means the old law, showing that through the law itself he died to the law; that is: The law itself led me to no longer attend to it. If, therefore, I were to attend to it, I transgress it also. How and in what way? Moses says, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; him you shall hear,' speaking of Christ. So that those who do not obey Him, transgress the law. And again, we must understand this in another way, 'Through the law I died to the law'. For the law commands one to do all the things written in it, and punishes the one who does not do them. Therefore we have all died to it, for no one has fulfilled it. And see how even here he carries on the fight against it with moderation; for he did not say, 'the law has died to me,' but, 'I have died to the law'. And what he says is this: just as it is not possible for a dead man to obey the commandments of the law, so neither is it for me, who have died by its curse; for by its word I died. Let it not then command one who is dead, whom it itself has killed, and not with a bodily death only, but also a spiritual one, through which it also brought on the bodily one.

For that he says this, he has shown through the following. 'For that I might live to God,' he says, 'I have been crucified with Christ.' For since he had said, 'I died,' lest someone should say, 'How then do you live?' he added also the cause of life, and showed, that the law killed a living man, but Christ took a dead man and made him live through death; and he shows the wonder to be twofold, that He both gave life to the dead, and bestowed life through death. And He now calls life the

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παντὸς, ἐξεβλήθη κατὰ μικρὸν ἡ διὰ τῆς πίστεως δικαιοσύνη. Εἰ γὰρ σάββατα τηρεῖς, διὰ τί μὴ καὶ περιτέμνῃ; εἰ δὲ περιτέμνῃ, διὰ τί μὴ καὶ περιθύεις; Εἰ γὰρ φυλάττειν χρὴ, ὅλον τὸν νόμον χρὴ φυλάττειν· εἰ δὲ ὅλον οὐ χρὴ, οὐδὲ μέρος. Εἰ δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μέρους φρίττεις, μὴ παραβάσεως κριθῇς, ἄλλως καὶ ὑπὲρ παντὸς ἀνάγκη φοβεῖσθαι· εἰ δὲ ὅλος παραβαινόμενος οὐ κολάζει, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ μέρος· εἰ δὲ μέρος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὅλος· εἰ δὲ ὅλον ἀνάγκη φυλάξαι, ἀνάγκη παρακοῦσαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἢ ἀκούοντας τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραβάτας γενέσθαι τοῦ νόμου. Εἰ γὰρ δεῖ φυλάττειν αὐτὸν, οἱ μὴ φυλάττοντες αὐτὸν, παραβάται, καὶ τῆς παραβάσεως ταύτης εὑρεθήσεται αἴτιος ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστός· αὐτὸς γὰρ τὸν νόμον ἔλυσε τὸν περὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ λύειν ἐκέλευσεν.

ζʹ. Ὁρᾷς τί κατασκευάζουσιν οἱ ἰουδαΐζοντες; τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἡμῖν αἴτιον, τοῦτον καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἀποφαίνουσιν αἴτιον, καθὼς καὶ Παῦλός φησιν· Ἆρα Χριστὸς ἁμαρτίας διάκονος; Εἶτα εἰς ἄτοπον τὸν λόγον ἀναγαγὼν, οὐδὲ ἐδεήθη λοιπὸν κατασκευῆς πρὸς τὴν ἀνατροπὴν, ἀλλ' ἠρκέσθη τῇ ἀπαγορεύσει, μόνον, εἰπὼν, Μὴ γένοιτο. Πρὸς γὰρ τὰ λίαν ἀναίσχυντα καὶ ἀναιδῆ οὐδὲ κατασκευαστικῶν δεῖ λόγων, ἀλλ' ἀρκεῖ καὶ ἀπαγορεῦσαι μόνον. Εἰ γὰρ ἃ κατέλυσα, ταῦτα πάλιν οἰκοδομῶ, παραβάτην ἐμαυτὸν συνίστημι. Ὅρα τοῦ Παύλου τὴν σύνεσιν. Ἐκεῖνοι δεῖξαι ἐβούλοντο, ὅτι ὁ μὴ τηρῶν τὸν νόμον, παραβάτης· οὗτος δὲ εἰς τοὐναντίον περιέτρεψε τὸν λόγον, δεικνὺς ὅτι ὁ τηρῶν τὸν νόμον, παραβάτης, οὐ τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νόμου. Ἃ γὰρ κατέλυσα, ταῦτα πάλιν οἰκοδομῶ, τὸν νόμον φησίν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· πέπαυ 61.645 ται ὁ νόμος, καὶ τοῦτο ὡμολογήσαμεν, δι' ὧν ἀφέντες αὐτὸν, κατεφύγομεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως σωτηρίαν. Ἂν τοίνυν φιλονεικήσωμεν στῆσαι αὐτὸν, αὐτῷ τούτῳ παραβάται γινόμεθα, τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ λυθέντα φιλονεικοῦντες τηρεῖν. Εἶτα καὶ πῶς κατελύθη, δείκνυσιν. Ἐγὼ γὰρ διὰ νόμου νόμῳ ἀπέθανον. ∆ιπλῆν ἔχει τοῦτο τὴν θεωρίαν· ἢ γὰρ νόμου τοῦ τῆς χάριτός φησιν· οἶδε γὰρ καὶ τοῦτον νόμον καλεῖν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ὁ δὲ νόμος τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐλευθέρωσέ με· ἢ τὸν νόμον ἐνταῦθα τὸν παλαιὸν λέγει, δεικνὺς ὅτι δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ νόμου τῷ νόμῳ ἀπέθανε· τουτέστιν· Αὐτός με ὁ νόμος ἐνήγαγεν εἰς τὸ μηκέτι προσέχειν αὐτῷ. Εἰ τοίνυν μέλλοιμι αὐτῷ προσέχειν, καὶ αὐτὸν παραβαίνω. Πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; Μωϋσῆς φησι, Προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε· περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγων. Ὥστε οἱ μὴ τούτῳ πειθόμενοι, παραβαίνουσι τὸν νόμον. Καὶ ἑτέρως δὲ πάλιν τοῦτο νοητέον ἡμῖν, τὸ, ∆ιὰ νόμον νόμῳ ἀπέθανον. Ὁ γὰρ νόμος πάντα κελεύει ποιεῖν τὰ ἐγγεγραμμένα, καὶ τὸν μὴ ποιοῦντα κολάζει. Οὐκοῦν ἅπαντες αὐτῷ τετελευτήκαμεν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐπλήρωσε. Καὶ ὅρα πῶς καὶ ἐνταῦθα μεμετρημένως ποιεῖται τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν μάχην· οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὁ νόμος μοι ἀπέθανεν, ἀλλ', Ἐγὼ τῷ νόμῳ ἀπέθανον. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ὥσπερ τὸν νεκρὸν καὶ τεθνεῶτα οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπακούειν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ νόμου, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἐμὲ τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἀρᾶς τῆς ἐκείνου τελευτήσαντα· τῷ γὰρ ἐκείνου λόγῳ ἀπέθανον. Μὴ τοίνυν ἐπιταττέτω τῷ τεθνεῶτι, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνεῖλε, καὶ θάνατον οὐ τὸν σωματικὸν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ψυχικὸν, δι' οὗ καὶ τὸν σωματικὸν ἐπήγαγεν.

Ὅτι γὰρ τοῦτο λέγει, διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς ἐδήλωσεν. Ἵνα γὰρ Θεῷ ζήσω, φησὶ, Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν, Ἀπέθανον, ἵνα μή τις εἴπῃ, πῶς οὖν ζῇς; ἐπήγαγε καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἔδειξεν, ὅτι ὁ μὲν νόμος ζῶντα ἀπέκτεινεν, ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς νεκρὸν λαβὼν, διὰ θανάτου ἐζωοποίησε· καὶ διπλοῦν τὸ θαῦμα δείκνυσιν, ὅτι καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν ἐζωογόνησε, καὶ διὰ θανάτου τὴν ζωὴν ἐχαρίσατο. Ζωὴν δὲ λέγει νῦν τὸν