The theme of gratuitousness plays a very important role in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. The letter deals with divine justice, and it is here that the fundamental difference between human justice and divine justice appears: through the law, the fault of men appears; they are slaves to evil, but God himself pays the price for the redemption of the slave; he frees us. Human sin is thus established, and instead of condemnation, the guilty party who repents and appeals to the mercy of the judge is offered forgiveness as a gift. Not only does divine justice offer acquittal, but it also makes us righteous, because the gratuitousness of the gift reveals to us the immensity of divine love. As price of redemption, he offered his own life for us, without regard to our merits, without distinction, he offered it for all of us, even though we were all equally guilty. He offered his own life in Jesus Christ his son; the grace offered to us is himself, for his life is shared with us, his own spirit is poured out upon us and makes us like him, making us also sons of God. Thus, divine justice not only acquits the repentant guilty party, but also makes him righteous. This is how we must understand the word “justify,” not in the sense of excusing, but in the sense of making righteous in turn, of transforming the guilty person into a righteous person when he acknowledges his mistakes.
Here are some key words in Greek to understand this legal vocabulary, which reminds us of a trial, but this trial takes place according to divine justice, which is quite different from human justice.
hamartía (ἁμαρτία) error, fault. The word ἁμαρτία is usually translated as sin. But in its original meaning, this word means to miss the target, to have no part (μέρος), to fail to achieve the goal. It thus refers to error, to having missed the target, to a fault. Saint Paul says that God covers up mistakes, hides them to say that he does not bring them to light before the man who would be crushed by them. God is the one who does not take faults into account during a trial, who shows mercy, who acquits, that is, lets go of faults, releases them. The verb used in verse 7 ἀφέθησαν as in a trial is ἀφίημι, meaning to let go. This means not taking a fault into account. As Psalm 130:5 says, “God, if you kept track of faults, who could stand?” (אִם־עֲוֹנֹ֥ות תִּשְׁמָר־יָ֑הּ אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י מִ֣י יַעֲמֹֽד). But, as we shall see, God does not limit himself to not counting faults, to letting go, to erasing our wrongs. He does not abandon his children, he does not leave them adrift, he also offers them the means to grow, to experience good, to become a source of good in the image of the father.
apolutrōsis (ἀπολύτρωσις): redemption. This is an important concept. It involves paying a price to redeem a slave or a prisoner. Humanity is imprisoned, enslaved by the cycle of violence in which offense is met with offense, evil with evil. To set us free, Christ paid the price. To show us the way to forgiveness, he, the innocent one, had to forgive his executioners, and in that forgiveness he included all of humanity, blinded as it was: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To forgive means to renew the gift, infinitely, 70 times seven times, as Jesus says. It is the gift of divine life, offered freely to humanity, without regard to the merits of any individual, but to all without distinction. The life of God is always offered to those who want to receive it. It is not something we can appropriate for ourselves; it is beyond what we can achieve on our own or beyond any price we could pay to buy it. We can only welcome it when God gives it to us: “No one takes my life, but I lay it down [in your hands or as an offering] of my own accord [of my own free will].” (John 10:18). To enable us to find the way, he came to join us and paid the price with his own life. He became one of us and exposed himself to the misguidance and blindness of men who did not recognize his innocence. Thus, he, the innocent one, showed us the way to forgiveness that frees us from what holds us captive; he redeemed us.
Redemption is the price we pay to buy back prisoners: in verse 24, there is a particular emphasis on telling us that this price is offered to us; it is a gift (δωρεὰν) of God’s grace (χάριτι). The gift of God’s grace is the life of his own Son, Jesus Christ, offered for us. To accept the gift of God’s grace is to accept Christ himself, his own spirit that makes us in his image and likeness.
dikaiosúnē (δικαιοσύνην): justice. The word justice plays a central role: there is the justice of men and the one of God. In the context of a human trial, rendering justice implies conviction if the accused is found guilty or acquittal if he is found innocent. In divine justice, it is different. God knows the faults of men; they are not hidden from him (Psalm 69:6), but if we appeal to his mercy in an act of faith, that is, of filial trust, he does not count them (οὐ λογίζεται), he does not take them into account. But there is something even more extraordinary at this moment: not only is man acquitted, but he receives the very spirit of God, which makes him righteous, but righteous according to divine justice. Entering into a filial, trusting relationship with God implies that the same spirit, the life-giving breath of the Father, is communicated to the son. So, the one whom God justifies is made righteous in the sense that he is inhabited by this divine spirit who shows mercy to men. The one who is thus justified will therefore be gradually transformed by the spirit that dwells in him. The acquisition of the Spirit will create an inner habitus that disposes the human heart to goodness, as Thomas Aquinas says in the commentary below.
Man, in turn, will be able to forgive: “Forgive us our trespasses, and we will forgive those who trespass against us” (Luke 11:4).
The justice of God (δικαιοσύνην) corresponds to an acquittal for those who recognize themselves as guilty. To acknowledge one’s fault, one’s error, means to discover that one was mistaken, that true happiness lays elsewhere, in the gratuitousness of the relationship of love with God and with our neighbor.
kháris (χάρις): grace. This word plays a key role: it is translated into Latin as gratia, grace, that which is given freely, which literally corresponds to the English word charity. The word gratuitous comes from gratia, that which is given by grace, gratis [which in turn comes from the ablative plural gratiis meaning: by grace, by good grace, the gifts]. This word is also used to express gratitude, to give thanks. The grace of God, which makes us children, is the very gift of the Holy Spirit who transforms our hearts and creates in us a habitus that disposes the human heart to goodness. This is also where charisms (from χαρισμα) come from, the gifts of God’s grace, fruits of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in man.
Romans 3:19-31: The law and judgment condemn, but God shows mercy, he gives his Spirit
19 Οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι ὅσα ὁ νόμος λέγει, τοῖς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ λαλεῖ, ἵνα πᾶν στόμα φραγῇ, καὶ ὑπόδικος γένηται πᾶς ὁ κόσμος τῷ θεῷ·
19 We know that whatever the law says, it declares it to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
20 διότι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ· διὰ γὰρ νόμου ἐπίγνωσις ἁμαρτίας.
20 Therefore, from the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified (δικαιωθήσεται shall be justified) before him; for by the law [is] the recognition of error.
Divine law helps humanity to become aware, to recognize what leads it astray in the pursuit and attainment of happiness. Thus St. Augustine explains that every man seeks his own happiness, but he is mistaken about where to find it; he seeks it where it is not. (See article Augustine on happiness) This is the error of human beings: they imagine, for example, that their happiness lies in the possessions of their neighbor, and they do not see that true happiness consists in friendship and mutual love, which are irretrievably compromised when we appropriate something for ourselves and not for the common good, or sharing. The first commandment invites us to rediscover the path to happiness, reminding us that everything is granted to us by divine benevolence and that by welcoming life, in ourselves and in our neighbors, with thanksgiving, the path to happiness in friendship and family ties opens up before us. Jesus sums up the whole law as love of God and neighbor (Matthew 38:40).
21 Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν·
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the law and the prophets.
22 δικαιοσύνη δὲ θεοῦ διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ εἰς πάντας καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολή·
22 But the righteousness of God [manifested] through faith of Jesus Christ [is] for all and upon all who believe: for there is no difference:
This refers to the faith of Jesus Christ, the author of faith, as stated in Hebrews 12, 2, and the object of faith. By transmitting his spirit to us, he also makes this faith and love similar to his own possible. Thus also says the commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, lectio 3, 302: “Consequenter autem assignat causam huius iustitiae, et dicit iustitia autem Dei est per fidem Iesu Christi, id est quam ipse tradidit. Hebr. XII, 2: aspicientes in auctorem fidei. “ ”Then [the Apostle Paul] points out the cause of this righteousness and says that the righteousness of God is through the faith of Jesus, that is, the faith that he himself transmitted (Hebrews 12:2: “We who look to the author of faith [Jesus Christ]”). Indeed, the Epistle to the Hebrews uses the Greek word ἀρχηγὸν arkhēgón, the initiator, the founder, the author, to refer to Jesus as the author of faith. Many translations of this passage from Romans 3:22 translate faith as faith in Jesus Christ, but the text says exactly the faith of Jesus Christ, a faith of which he is the model and author, the faith he passed on to us, as St. Thomas says below, commenting on this verse. Thomas also reminds us that this faith itself is a gift; it is not something from which we can derive merit and claim before God in order to be acquitted or justified, that is, to be declared righteous. He thus also recalls St. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians (2:8), which says, “It is by grace that you are saved .” Here the word grace translates the Greek χάρις kháris (see explanation of this word in the introduction above).
23 πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
24 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·
24 They are acquitted by gift (δωρεὰν) through the grace (χάριτι) of this one through redemption, the one [who is] in Christ Jesus:
On the key words used in this verse: redemption (ἀπολύτρωσις), gift (δωρεὰν) and grace (χάρις), see the explanations in the introduction above
25 ὃν προέθετο ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον, διὰ τῆς πίστεως, ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι, εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ, διὰ τὴν πάρεσιν τῶν προγεγονότων ἁμαρτημάτων,
25 it is he whom God placed in front of men as a propitiatory victim, through faith, in his blood, to be the visible sign of his righteousness, through the remission of previous sins,
26 ἐν τῇ ἀνοχῇ τοῦ θεοῦ· πρὸς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ, εἰς τὸ εἴναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον καὶ δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ.
26 in the patience [restraint] of God: a visible sign of his righteousness for the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Ποῦ οὖν ἡ καύχησις; Ἐξεκλείσθη. Διὰ ποίου νόμου; Tῶν ἔργων; Οὐχί, ἀλλὰ διὰ νόμου πίστεως.
What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out. By what law [could one boast]? by the actions [which accomplish the law]? No, rather [we could boast] by the law of faith.
Here Paul wonders whether possessing the law of Moses, the word of God, can be a source of pride compared to other peoples. Or whether it is the fact of fulfilling the requirements of the law that can be a source of pride. No, it is not because we are a people who have received the word of God and fulfill the requirements of this law that we can boast. In fact, the requirements of the law only highlight the shortcomings of human beings; they do not have the power to save them. Through faith, however, we can share in the spirit of love of Jesus and trust in God. This is no longer a privilege offered only to the Jewish people, but to all human beings. Through faith, we can rediscover our filial relationship of trust in God. It is Jesus who made this possible, showing us the merciful face of God, his infinite forgiveness, which we can access through faith, which makes us righteous, because by accepting his forgiveness, we are filled with gratitude and love, and we rediscover our filial trust.
A law external to the human being cannot transform him. We must welcome God’s spirit of love and enter into a trusting filial relationship with him in order to be transformed deeply. Otherwise, the law will only serve to highlight our lack of love and our transgressions. As the book of Proverbs (26:16) says: “The righteous falls seven times,” in the sense of his fallibility. Human beings will never measure up by their actions alone. Their hearts and minds must be transformed, and the prophecy of Ezekiel 36:26-27 be fulfilled: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my laws, and you will keep my judgments and be faithful to them.” This is achieved when human beings regain their trust in God through faith, so that their hearts are filled with love and gratitude, seeing all that he does for us. Human beings cannot live up to divine love in their works; they will always fall short. The law will help them to see their shortcomings, but it is through faith, by regaining filial trust, that they will be able to receive God’s forgiveness, measure the extent of his love, and be filled with love in turn. Thus, human beings are made righteous: not because they have attained perfection on their own, but because they have recognized their mistakes and accepted God’s forgiveness with trust.
28 Λογιζόμεθα οὖν πίστει δικαιοῦσθαι ἄνθρωπον, χωρὶς ἔργων νόμου.
28 We consider, therefore, that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
29Ἢ Ἰουδαίων ὁ θεὸς μόνον; Οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ἐθνῶν; Ναὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν·
29 Or [is he] the God of the Jews only? But is he not also of the [other] peoples? Yes, also of the [other] peoples:
One belongs to the Jewish people by bloodline, but anyone can join the new people through the act of faith.
30 ἐπείπερ εἷς ὁ θεός, ὃς δικαιώσει περιτομὴν ἐκ πίστεως, καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν διὰ τῆς πίστεως.
30 Since there is one God, who will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised on the basis of faith.
31 Νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως; Μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ νόμον ἱστῶμεν.
31 Do we then make the law ineffective because of faith? God forbid: on the contrary, we uphold the law [literally: we maintain the law standing, firm, we keep it’s validity].
Commentary by Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 3, lectio 3, [86180], paragraphs 302, on Romans 3:22.
Consequenter autem assignat causam huius iustitiae, et dicit iustitia autem Dei est per fidem Iesu Christi, id est quam ipse tradidit. Hebr. XII, 2: aspicientes in auctorem fidei, et cetera. Vel etiam quae de ipso habetur. Infra X, 9: quia si confitearis in ore tuo dominum Iesum, et in corde tuo credideris quod Deus illum suscitavit a mortuis, salvus eris.
Then, however, he attributes the cause of this righteousness, saying that the righteousness of God is through the faith of Jesus Christ, that is, the faith that he himself has transmitted to us. According to the letter to the Hebrews 12:2: “We who look to the author of faith, Jesus Christ,” or rather, the faith we have in him, in Romans 10:9: “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Dicitur autem iustitia Dei esse per fidem Iesu Christi, non ut quasi per fidem mereamur iustificari, quasi ipsa fides ex nobis existat et per eam mereamur Dei iustitiam, sicut Pelagiani dixerunt, sed quia in ipsa iustificatione qua iustificamur a Deo, primus motus mentis in Deum est per fidem. Accedentem enim ad Deum oportet credere, ut dicitur Hebr. XI, 6.
However, it is said that God’s righteousness is through the faith of Jesus Christ, not in such a way that through faith we deserve to be made righteous, as if this faith came from us and through it we deserved God’s righteousness [righteousness in the sense that he makes us righteous and acquits us], as the Pelagians have said, but because in this justification [in the act of making us righteous] through which we are justified by God, the first movement of our spirit in God is through faith. Indeed, whoever comes to God must believe, as it is said in the letter to the Hebrews 11:6: [“Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”]
Thomas Aquinas speaks here of faith as man’s first movement toward God. That is to say, believing that man has entered into a filial relationship with God and that he lives this trusting relationship, that is, one that gives faith, within him. This filial relationship, realized through the faith that connects us to God as children, is a gift. God offers us the opportunity to be his children in advance, by giving us life, without regard to our merits. But it is up to man to accept this gift, and if he has refused it, to ask for it again so that God can give it to him again, forgive him, that is, give again and again. It is therefore up to man to turn to God, to convert, to undergo a conversion, to turn to God in order to accept his gift and his forgiveness. Faith is therefore a gift, and it is up to man to ask for it or accept it, since it is always offered.
Unde et ipsa fides quasi prima pars iustitiae est nobis a Deo. Eph. II, 8: gratia estis salvati per fidem, et cetera. Haec autem fides ex qua est iustitia, non est fides informis, de qua dicitur Iac. II, 26: fides sine operibus mortua est, sed est fides per charitatem formata, de qua dicitur Gal. V, 6: nam in Christo Iesu neque circumcisio aliquid valet sine fide, per quam in nobis habitat Christus.
Therefore faith itself, as the initial element of righteousness, comes to us from God. Thus in the letter to the Ephesians 2:8 it is said: [” For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”] However, this faith, through which righteousness comes, is not the formless faith referred to in the letter of James 2:26: “Faith without works is dead,” but it is faith formed by gratuitous love (charitas), about which it is said in the letter to the Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, without the faith through which Jesus Christ dwells in us.”
Eph. III, 17: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris, quod sine charitate non fit. I Io. IV, 16: qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Haec est etiam fides de qua dicitur Act. XV, 9: fide purificans corda eorum, quae quidem purificatio non fit sine charitate. Prov. X, 12: universa delicta operit charitas.
Also, in the letter to the Ephesians 3:17, it is said: “May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith,” which cannot be done without gratuitous love (charitate). And in the first letter of John 4:16: “Whoever remains in love (in charitate) remains in God, and God in him.” This is the faith referred to in Acts 15:9: “purifying their hearts by faith,” a purification that certainly cannot be achieved without gratuitous love (charitate). [And it is said in] the book of Proverbs: “Free love (charitas) covers all sins (delicta).
Commentary of Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 3, lectio 3, [86180], paragraphs 307-309, on Romans 3:24.
Secundo ostendit quae sit causa iustificationis. Et primo ponit ipsam causam, cum dicit, per redemptionem ut enim dicitur Io. VIII, 34: qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati: ex qua quidem servitute homo redimitur si pro peccato satisfaciat. Sicut si aliquis ob culpam commissam obnoxius esset regi ad solvendam pecuniam, ille eum redimere diceretur a noxa, qui pro eo pecuniam solveret. Haec autem noxa ad totum humanum genus pertinebat, quod erat infectum per peccatum primi parentis.
Secondly, he shows what the cause of justification is. And first, he presents the cause itself when he says: “by redemption (per redemptionem)”, as, indeed, it is said in John 8:34: “whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. ” Man is redeemed from this kind of slavery if he makes satisfaction for his sin [that is, if he offers reparation]. For example, if someone, because of a fault committed, was required to pay a sum to the king, we would say that the one who redeemed him from his fault is the one who paid the sum for him. However, this fault is one that affected the whole human race, which was corrupted because of the sin of the first parents.
Unde nullus alius pro peccato totius humani generis satisfacere poterat, nisi solus Christus qui ab omni peccato erat immunis. Unde subdit quae est in Christo Iesu. Quasi dicat: in alio non poterat nobis esse redemptio. I Petr. I, 18: non corruptibilibus auro vel argento. Secundo, ostendit unde ista redemptio efficaciam habuit cum dicit quem proposuit Deus propitiatorem. Ex hoc enim Christi satisfactio efficaciam ad iustificandum habuit, et ad redimendum, quia eum Deus ad hoc ordinaverat secundum suum propositum, quod designat cum dicit quem proposuit Deus propitiatorem. Eph. c. I, 11: qui operatur omnia secundum consilium voluntatis suae.
That is why no one else could have given satisfaction [offered reparation] for the sin of the whole human race except Christ alone, who was free from all sin. And [in Romans 3:24] after “They are acquitted by gift [freely] through the grace of this one through redemption,” he adds: “who is in Christ Jesus.” As if to say: “For us there could have been no redemption in any other person.” In the first letter of Peter 1:18, it is said: “[Knowing that it is not] with perishable things such as silver or gold [that you have been freed from the futile way of life handed down to you by your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.].” Second, [the apostle] shows where this redemption derives its effectiveness when he says [in Romans 3:25]: “God presented him as a propitiatory sacrifice.” It is, in fact, from this that the satisfaction [reparation] offered by Christ derives its effectiveness in justifying and redeeming: from the fact that God had appointed him (ordinaverat) for this purpose, which [the apostle] indicates by saying: “He set him forth as a propitiatory sacrifice.” In the letter to the Ephesians 1:12, he says: “Who accomplishes everything according to the design of his will.”
Vel proposuit. Id est pro omnibus posuit, ut quia humanum genus non habebat unde satisfacere posset, nisi ipse Deus eis redemptorem et satisfactorem daret. Ps. CX, 9: redemptionem misit dominus populo suo. Et sic, dum satisfaciendo, nos redimit a noxa peccati, Deum peccatis nostris propitium facit, quod petebat Psalmista dicens: propitius esto peccatis nostris: et ideo dicit eum propitiatorem. I Io. c. II, 2: propitiatio. In cuius figura, Ex. XXV, v. 17, mandatur quod fiat propitiatorium, id est quod Christus ponatur super arcam, id est, Ecclesiam. Tertio, ostendit per quos redemptionis effectus ad nos perveniat, cum dicit per fidem in sanguine eius, id est, quae est de sanguine eius pro nobis effuso.
Or [he says]: “He has placed before,” that is, he has placed before all, so that, since the human race had no means of satisfying [repairing], only God himself could give it someone to redeem it and give satisfaction. Psalm 110:9 says, “God has sent redemption to his people.” And so, at the same time as he gives satisfaction, he redeems us from the guilt of sin“: he makes God forgiving of our sins, which is what the psalmist asks for in Psalm 79:9, saying, ”Be forgiving of our sins.” That is why [the apostle] says that he is the one who makes [God] propitious, or as the first letter of John 2:2 says: ” [He is] the propitiatory victim [for our sins, and not only for ours but also for those of everyone].” As a figure [foretelling] this, in the book of Exodus 25:17 it is commanded that a propitiatory be made, that is, that Christ be placed on the ark, which signifies the Church. Thirdly, [the Apostle] shows through what [means] the effect of redemption reaches us, when he says through faith in his blood (Romans 3:25), that is, that faith which is about his blood shed for us.
Ut enim pro nobis satisfaceret, congruebat ut poenam mortis pro nobis subiret, quam homo per peccatum incurrerat, secundum illud Gen. II, 17: quacumque die, et cetera. Unde dicitur I Petr. III, 18: Christus semel pro peccatis nostris mortuus est. Haec autem mors Christi nobis applicatur per fidem, qua credimus per suam mortem mundum redemisse. Gal. II, 20: in fide vivo filii Dei, qui dilexit me, et cetera. Nam et apud homines satisfactio unius alteri non valeret, nisi eam ratam haberet. Et sic patet quomodo sit iustitia per fidem Iesu Christi, ut supra dictum est.
Indeed, in order to give satisfaction for us, it was fitting that he should suffer the penalty of death for us, that penalty which man had incurred because of sin, according to the book of Genesis 2:17: “[And of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat] for in the day that you eat of it of death you shall die.” “ That is why it is said in 1 Peter 3:18: ”Christ died once for our sins.” This death is applied to us through faith, by which we believe that he redeemed the world through his death. Galatians 2:20 says: “I live by faith in the Son of God, [who loved me and gave himself for me].” Indeed, even among men, for one to offer satisfaction [reparing] in place of another would not be valid without the agreement [faith] of the other. Thus, it appears how there is righteousness [acquittal, justification] through faith in Jesus Christ, as was said above.
Commentary by Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 3, lectio 4, [86181], paragraphs 317, on Romans 3:28.
Deinde cum dicit arbitramur enim, ostendit modum quo per legem fidei gloria Iudaeorum excluditur, dicens: arbitramur enim nos apostoli, veritatem a Christo edocti, hominem quemcumque, sive Iudaeum sive gentilem, iustificari per fidem. Act. XV, 9: fide purificans corda eorum. Et hoc sine operibus legis. Non autem solum sine operibus caeremonialibus, quae gratiam non conferebant, sed solum significabant, sed etiam sine operibus moralium praeceptorum, secundum illud ad Tit. III, 5: non ex operibus iustitiae quae fecimus nos, et cetera. Ita tamen quod hoc intelligat sine operibus praecedentibus iustitiam, non autem sine operibus consequentibus, quia, ut dicitur Iac. II, 26: fides sine operibus, scilicet subsequentibus, mortua est. Et ideo iustificare non potest.
Then, indeed, when [the apostle, in Romans 8:28] says, “We consider [that man is made righteous by faith, apart from the works of the law],” he shows the way in which the law of faith excludes [a reason of] glory for the Jews, saying: we, the apostles, taught about the truth by Christ, believe that every man, whether Jew or belonging to [other] peoples, is made righteous by faith. In the book of Acts 15:9 it is said: “[He did not distinguish between us and them], purifying their hearts by faith .” And this without the acts [accomplishing]the law. Not only, however, without the ritual acts, which did not confer grace but only signified it, but also without acts [arising] from moral precepts, according to what [is said in] the letter to Titus 3:5: “[He saved us], not because of righteous things we had done, [but because of his mercy],” etc. However, this must be understood [in the sense of] without the works that precede righteousness and not without the works that follow, as it is said in the letter of James 2:26: “faith without acts,” that is, acts that come after, “is dead” and therefore cannot justify.
Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans 4:1-8:
1 Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν εὑρηκέναι Ἀβραὰμ τὸν προπάτορα ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα;
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2 εἰ γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἔχει καύχημα· ἀλλ’ οὐ πρὸς Θεόν,
2 If Abraham was justified by his deeds, he might have had something to boast about, but not before God.
3 τί γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; Ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
3 But what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (δικαιοσύνην justice).
The word δικαιοσύνην justice related to God includes not only acquittal, but also the act of making righteous the one who has declared himself guilty (see the explanations of this word in the introduction above).
4 τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ ὁ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ὀφείλημα·
4 To the one who works, the wage is not granted as a favor, but as a debt.
χάριν is the grace, that which is given, offered graciously, that is, freely. The word gratis comes from grace.
5 τῷ δὲ μὴ ἐργαζομένῳ, πιστεύοντι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἀσεβῆ, λογίζεται ἡ πίστις αὐτοῦ εἰς δικαιοσύνην,
5 On the contrary, to the one who does not work, but has faith in the one who acquits the ungodly, his faith is counted for his acquittal.
6 καθάπερ καὶ Δαυὶδ λέγει τὸν μακαρισμὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ᾧ ὁ Θεὸς λογίζεται δικαιοσύνην χωρὶς ἔργων·
6 Just as David also says the happiness of the man to whom God declares an acquittal without the acts:
7 Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι·
7 Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven and whose errors are covered.
What is usually translated as sin is the word ἁμαρτία, which means error or fault. Here, St. Paul says that God covers errors, hides them, to say that he does not bring them to light before man, who would be crushed by them. God is the one who does not take faults into account during a trial, who shows mercy, who acquits, that is, lets go of faults, releases them. The verb used here, ἀφέθησαν, comes from ἀφίημι, which means to let go, as in a trial that ends in acquittal.
8 μακάριος ἀνὴρ οὗ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται Κύριος ἁμαρτίαν.
8 Happy is the man whose error the Lord will not count.
Commentary by Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 4, lectio 4, paragraph 325, on Romans 4:4
Sed contra hoc potest obiici, quia ex consuetudine operum exteriorum generatur interior habitus, secundum quem etiam cor hominis bene disponitur, ut sit promptum ad bene operandum et in bonis operibus delectetur, sicut philosophus docet in II Ethicorum. Sed dicendum est quod hoc habet locum in iustitia humana, per quam scilicet homo ordinatur ad bonum humanum. Huius enim iustitiae habitus per opera humana potest acquiri, sed iustitia quae habet gloriam apud Deum, ordinatur ad bonum divinum, scilicet futurae gloriae, quae facultatem humanam excedit, secundum illud I Cor. II, 9: in cor hominis non ascendit quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se. Et ideo opera hominis non sunt proportionata ad huius iustitiae habitum causandum, sed oportet prius iustificari interius cor hominis a Deo, ut opera faciat proportionata divinae gloriae.
But, against this, it may be objected that through the habit of external deeds, an internal habit is engendered, through which the heart of man is also disposed to good, so that he is ready to act with solicitude and to find his happiness in good deeds, as the Philosopher [Aristotle] teaches in the two Ethics. But it must be said that this takes place in human justice, by which man is oriented toward a human good. For the habitus of this justice can be acquired through human deeds, but the justice that is clothed in glory before God is oriented toward the divine good, that is, toward future glory, which exceeds human capacity [to attain it], according to what is said in the first letter to the Corinthians 2:9: what God has prepared for those who love him does not reach the heart of man. Therefore, the works of men are not proportionate to causing the habitus of this justice, but it is necessary that the heart of man be first made righteous internally by God, in order to accomplish deeds proportionate to divine glory.
Romans 5:5, 20b-21:
5 ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν.
5 But hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
[…]
20 Νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν, ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ παράπτωμα· οὗ δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις·
20 But the law came in so that the trespass might abound. But where fault abounded, grace abounded all the more.
21 ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ, οὕτως καὶ ἡ χάρις βασιλεύσῃ διὰ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, διὰ Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν.
21 so that, as the fault reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness for the eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary by Thomas Aquinas on the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 5, lectio 1, paragraphs 392-393, on Romans 5:5
Dicit ergo primo: ex hoc possumus scire quod spes non confundit quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris, per spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Charitas Dei autem dupliciter accipi potest. Uno modo pro charitate qua diligit nos Deus, Jer. XXXI, 3: charitate perpetua dilexi te, alio modo potest dici charitas Dei, qua nos Deum diligimus, infra VIII, 38 s.: certus sum quod neque mors neque vita separabit nos a charitate Dei.
He says, therefore, first: from this we can know that hope does not deceive, since the gratuitous love (charitas) of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. However, God’s gratuitous love can be understood in two ways. One way is as the gratuitous love with which God loves us, as Jeremiah 31:3 says: “I have loved you with an gratuitous love (charitas),” and in another way, God’s gratuitous love (charitas) can be said of the love with which we love God, as in Romans 8:38: “I am sure that neither death nor life will separate us from the gratuitous love of God.”
Utraque autem charitas Dei in cordibus nostris diffunditur per spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Spiritum enim sanctum, qui est amor patris et filii, dari nobis, est nos adduci ad participationem amoris, qui est spiritus sanctus, a qua quidem participatione efficimur Dei amatores. Et hoc quod ipsum amamus, signum est, quod ipse nos amet. Prov. VIII, 17: ego diligentes me diligo. Non quasi nos primo dilexerimus Deum, sed quoniam ipse prior dilexit nos, ut dicitur I Io. IV, 10.
However, both of God’s gratuitous loves are poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Indeed, giving us the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son, leads us to participation in love, which is the Holy Spirit, and certainly, through this participation we become those who love (amatores) God. And the very fact that we love him is a sign that he himself loves us. As the book of Proverbs says: “I love those who love me,” and the first letter of John 4:10: “It is not as though we loved him first, but [we love him] because it is he who loved us first. “
Dicitur autem charitas, qua nos diligit, in cordibus nostris diffusa esse, quia est in cordibus nostris patenter ostensa per donum sancti spiritus nobis impressum. Io. III, v. 24: in hoc scimus, quoniam manet in nobis Deus, et cetera. Charitas autem qua nos Deum diligimus, dicitur in cordibus nostris diffusa, id est quia ad omnes mores et actus animae perficiendos se extendit; nam, ut dicitur I Cor. XIII, 4: charitas patiens est, benigna est, et cetera. Ex utroque autem intellectu horum verborum concluditur, quod spes non confundit. Si enim accipiatur charitas Dei qua nos diligit Deus, manifestum est quod his quos diligit seipsum non negabit. Deut. XXXIII, 3: dilexit populos, omnes sancti in manu illius sunt. Similiter etiam si charitas Dei accipiatur qua nos Deum diligimus, manifestum est, quod se diligentibus bona aeterna praeparavit. Io. XIV, 21: si quis diligit me, diligetur a patre meo, et cetera.
However, it is said that the gratuitous love with which God loves us has been poured into our hearts because it has been visibly shown by the gift of the Holy Spirit imprinted in us. The Gospel of John 3:24 says, “By this we know that God dwells in us, [through the Spirit he has given us].” However, the gratuitous love with which we love God is said to be poured into our hearts because it extends to perfecting our morals and the acts of the soul. Indeed, as it is said in the First Letter to the Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient, kind, [love is not envious, does not boast, is not proud, does not act indecently, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, does not keep a record of wrongs, does not rejoice in injustice, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things]. However, based on the two ways of understanding these two [God’s gratuitous love for humanity and humanity’s love for God], we conclude that hope is not deceived. Indeed, if we take the gratuitous love with which God loves us, it is clear that He will not refuse himself to those He loves. The book of Deuteronomy 33:3 says, “He loved the peoples; all the saints are in his hand.” Similarly, if we consider the gratuitous love of God through which we love God, it is clear that he has prepared eternal goods for those who love him. John 14:21 says, “If anyone loves me, he will be loved by my Father, and [I will love him and reveal myself to him].”
This article is related to the one that explains the biblical words that tell us that We are God’s children, not his servants, and also to the article that talks about The filial relationship.