Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Timothy 1:9
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
9. knowing this ] The A.V. putting a full stop after ‘lawfully’ gives an entirely wrong turn here; the R.V. puts a comma and inserts ‘as’ in order to shew the connexion of ‘knowing’ with ‘a man’; we may continue the above rendering rather more idiomatically, if it be handled as law should be and with the knowledge that.
the law is not made ] There is no article, and we may with the R.V. translate, law is not made; not thereby drawing a marked distinction between ‘law’ here and ‘the law’ of Moses above, but following St Paul’s instinct of language, and by the omission drawing attention to the play on words or the antithesis intended, in a crisper and more proverbial way. This explanation will satisfy all the cases of omission of article before ‘law’ quoted by Winer from Gal 2:21; Gal 3:11; Gal 3:18; Gal 3:21; Gal 4:5. Cf. Winer, 19, Moulton n.; Lightfoot’s Gal. 11. 19. Here ‘law’ and ‘the lawless’ stand in sharper contrast without the article.
for a righteous man] By ‘righteous’ we may well understand one ‘who has his measure of fruit in holiness’ (Ellicott, quoting Hooker), in contrast to those who not only ignore the law as any check on their life, lawless, but are positively disobedient or unruly, delighting in open defiance of it; being ungodly, with no fear of God or sense of His presence before their mind; and sinners, marked as such by definite acts of sin (Luk 18:13), (2Pe 1:6); (for the two words together compare Judges 15).
unholy ] They are further breakers of the first and second commandments; the word describes the disregard of duty to God, and only occurs here and 2Ti 3:2; but the corresponding word for the performing of this duty occurs in 1Ti 2:8, ‘lifting up holy hands in worship.’
profane ] breakers of the third and fourth commandments; the N. T. use of the word describes disregard of God’s day, Mat 12:5; of God’s house, Act 24:6; of God’s law and truth, 1Ti 4:7; 1Ti 6:20; 2Ti 2:16; of God’s name and birthright blessing, Heb 12:16.
murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers ] breakers of the fifth commandment, cf. Exo 21:15. In this and in the following words St Paul evidently singles out the worst breaches of the Jaw, his argument being ‘the law was meant to convict the vilest you apply it to the holiest.’ Hence, we must keep the stronger meaning ‘parricide,’ though the Greek word by its proper derivation means ‘father-beater.’ When it came to have the meaning ‘parricide,’ a different derivation was also assigned to it and the spelling a little altered accordingly. For similar corruptions in English to fit a supposed derivation compare ‘reindeer,’ ‘causeway,’ ‘camel leopard.’
manslayers ] breakers of the sixth commandment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Knowing this – That is, If anyone knows, or admits this, he has the prover view of the design of the law. The apostle does not refer particularly to himself as knowing or conceding this, for then he would have uses the plural form of the participle (see the Greek), but he means that anyone who had just views of the law would see that that which he proceeds to specify was its real purpose.
The law is not made for a righteous man – There has been great variety in the interpretation of this passage. Some suppose that the law here refers to the ceremonial laws of Moses (Clarke, Rosenmuller, Abbot); others to the denunciatory part of the law (Doddridge and Bloomfield); and others that it means that the chief purpose of the law was to restrain the wicked. It seems clear, however, that the apostle does not refer merely to the ceremonial law, for he specifies that which condemns the unholy and profane; the murderers of fathers and mothers; liars and perjured persons. It was not the ceremonial law which condemned these things, but the moral law. It cannot be supposed, moreover, that the apostle meant to say that the law was not binding on a righteous man, or that he was under no obligation to obey it – for he everywhere teaches that the moral law is obligatory on all mankind.
To suppose also that a righteous man is released from the obligation to obey the law, that is, to do right, is an absurdity. Nor does he seem to mean, as Macknight supposes, that the law was not given for the purpose of justifying a righteous man – for this was originally one of its designs. Had man always obeyed it, he would have been justified by it. The meaning seems to be, that the purpose of the law was not to fetter and perplex those who were righteous, and who aimed to do their duty and to please God. It was not intended to produce a spirit of servitude and bondage. As the Jews interpreted it, it did this, and this interpretation appears to have been adopted by the teachers at Ephesus, to whom Paul refers. The whole tendency of their teaching was to bring the soul into a state of bondage, and to make religion a condition, of servitude. Paul teaches, on the other hand, that religion was a condition of freedom, and that the main purpose of the law was not to fetter the minds of the righteous by numberless observances and minute regulations, but that it was to restrain the wicked from sin. This is the case with all law. No good man feels himself lettered and manacled by wholesome laws, nor does he feel that the purpose of law is to reduce him to a state of servitude. It is only the wicked who have this feeling – and in this sense the law is made for a man who intends to do wrong.
For the lawless – To bind and restrain them. The word here used means, properly, those who have no law, and then those who are transgressors – the wicked. It is rendered transgressors in Mat 15:28; Luk 22:37, and wicked, Act 2:23; 2Th 2:8.
And disobedient – Those who are insubordinate, lawless, refractory. The word properly means those who are under no subjection or authority. It occurs in the New Testament only here, and Tit 1:6, Tit 1:10, where it is rendered unruly, and Heb 2:8, where it is translated not put under; that is, under Christ.
For the ungodly – Those who have no religion; who do not worship or honor God. The Greek word occurs in the following places, in all of which it is rendered ungodly; Rom 4:5; Rom 5:6; 1Ti 1:9; 1Pe 4:18; 2Pe 2:5; 2Pe 3:7; Jud 1:15. The meaning is, that the law is against all who do not worship or honor God.
And for sinners – The word used here is the common word to denote sinners. It is general, and includes sins of all kinds.
For unholy – Those who are regardless of duty to God or man, Robinson, Lexicon. The word occurs in the New Testament only here, and in 2Ti 3:2. It has particular reference to those who fail of their duty toward God, and means those who have no piety; who are irreligious.
And profane – This does not necessarily mean that they were profane in the sense that blasphemed the name of God, or were profane swearers – though the word would include that – but it means properly those who are impious, or who are scoffers; notes, Heb 12:16. The word occurs only in the following places, in all of which it is rendered profane: 1Ti 1:9; 1Ti 4:7; 1Ti 6:20; 2Ti 2:16; Heb 12:16. A man who treats religion with contempt. mockery, or scorn, would correspond with the meaning of the word.
For murderers of fathers – The Greek properly means a smiter of a father (Robinson), though here it undoubtedly means a parricide. This was expressly forbidden by the law of Moses, and was a crime punishable by death; Exo 21:15. It is said to have been a crime which the Roman law did not contemplate as possible, and hence that there was no enactment against it. It is, indeed, a crime of the highest order; but facts have shown that if the Romans supposed it would never be committed, they did not judge aright of human nature. There is no sin which man will not commit if unrestrained, and there is in fact no conceivable form of crime of which he has not been guilty.
Murderers of mothers – A still more atrocious and monstrous crime, if possible, than the former. We can conceive nothing superior to this in atrocity, and yet it has been committed. Nero caused his mother to be murdered, and the annals of crime disclose the names of not a few who have imbrued their own hands in the blood of those who bare them. This was also expressly forbidden by the law of Moses; Exo 21:15.
For manslayers – This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means a homicide – a murderer. The crime is expressly forbidden by the law; Exo 20:13; Gen 9:6.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. The law is not made for a righteous man] There is a moral law as well as a ceremonial law: as the object of the latter is to lead us to Christ; the object of the former is to restrain crimes, and inflict punishment on those that commit them. It was, therefore, not made for the righteous as a restrainer of crimes, and an inflicter of punishments; for the righteous avoid sin, and by living to the glory of God expose not themselves to its censures. This seems to be the mind of the apostle; he does not say that the law was not MADE for a righteous man, but , it does not LIE against a righteous man; because he does not transgress it: but it lies against the wicked; for such as the apostle mentions have broken it, and grievously too, and are condemned by it. The word , lies, refers to the custom of writing laws on boards, and hanging them up in public places within reach of every man, that they might be read by all; thus all would see against whom the law lay.
The lawless] . Those who will not be bound by a law, and acknowledge none, therefore have no rule of moral conduct.
Disobedient] . Those who acknowledge no authority; from , negative, and , to subject; they neither acknowledge law, nor executive authority, and consequently endeavour to live as they list; and from such dispositions all the crimes in the following catalogue may naturally spring.
For the ungodly] . The irreligious-those who do not worship God, or have no true worship; from , negative, and , to worship. For sinners, those who transgress the laws; from , negative, and , to hit the mark. This has been elsewhere explained.
For unholy] . Persons totally polluted-unclean within, and unclean without; from , negative, and holy.
And profane] . Such who are so unholy and abominable as not to be fit to attend any public worship; from , denoting privation or separation, and , a threshold or pavement, particularly of a temple. Our word profane comes from procul a fano, “far from the temple.” When the ancients, even heathens, were about to perform some very sacred rites, they were accustomed to command the irreligious to keep at a distance; hence that saying in a fragment of Orpheus:-
‘ .
“I will speak to whom it is lawful; but these doors, O, shut against the profane.”
And that of Virgil, AEn. vi. ver. 258.
Procul! O procul! este profani.
Far! ye profane! get hence.
Murderers of fathers] . The murderer of a father or a mother, notwithstanding the deep fall of man, and the general profligacy of the world, has been so rare, and is a crime so totally opposite to nature, that few civilized nations have found it necessary to make laws against it. Yet, such monsters, like the most awful and infrequent portents, have sometimes terrified the world with their appearance. But I think the original does not necessarily imply the murder of a father or of a mother; comes from , a father, and , to strike, and may mean simply beating or striking a father or mother: this is horrible enough; but to murder a parent out-herods Herod.
Manslayers] . Murderers simply; all who take away the life of a human being contrary to law. For no crime, unless it be murder, should any man lose his life. If the law did not speak differently, I should not scruple to say that he whose life is taken away, except for murder, is murdered.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By the law is to be understood the moral law, (though possibly not excluding the law of Moses, consisting in many ordinances), as it is armed with stings and terrors, to restrain rebellious sinners; by the
righteous man, one in whom a principle of Divine grace is planted, and, from the knowledge and love of God, chooses the things that are pleasing to him, and is ardent and active to do his will. Now it is true, the holiness commanded in the law, that, consists in the love of God and our neighhour, obliges every reasonable creature indispensably and eternally; but as the law was delivered in so terrible a manner, as it has annexed so many severe threatenings to the transgressors of it, it is evident that it is directed to the wicked, who will only be compelled by fear from an outrageous breaking of it. And this may be emphatically signified in the word here used, , for it signifies to be laid, as well as to be made. The law non objicitur is not lald against a righteous man. Thus we translate it, Mat 3:10; The axe is laid unto the root of the trees: there is some difference in the construction; here it is immediately joined with the dative case, there with an accusative case, with the preposition between the verb and the case; but that must be the sense. It is very probable, that these false teachers had been terrifying the Christians with the law, in opposition to whom the apostle saith, the law was not made for a righteous man, as to its condemning office; it was never intended against a righteous man, but against men that committed and lived in gross sin and wickedness. These sinners are first mentioned in general terms, then the apostle proceedeth to a more particular enumeration of them; whether in them (as some think) the apostle hath respect to the several precepts of the decalogue, I cannot determine. By the lawless he meaneth persons living without any respect to the laws of God or men. By the
disobedient he meaneth such as will live in subjection to no government. The word by us translated
ungodly, signifieth such as live without any religion, having no regard to the worship of God, . The word translated sinners signifies infamous, scandalous sinners.
Unholy and profane are also general terms, signifying persons that have no piety, but lewdly talk of things sacred, and live as lewdly.
Murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers: the words signify such as strike or beat their parents, though they do not give them mortal wounds, and well expresseth violaters of the fifth commandment.
Manslayers, androfonouv, signifies such as kill men, whether maliciously or passionately, violaters of the sixth commandment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. law is not made for a righteousmannot for one standing by faith in the righteousness ofChrist put on him for justification,and imparted inwardly by theSpirit for sanctification. “One not forensically amenable to thelaw” [ALFORD]. Forsanctification, the law gives no inward power to fulfil it;but ALFORD goes too far inspeaking of the righteous man as “not morally needing the law.”Doubtless, in proportion as he is inwardly led by the Spirit, thejustified man needs not the law, which is only an outward rule(Rom 6:14; Gal 5:18;Gal 5:23). But as the justifiedman often does not give himself up wholly to the inward leading ofthe Spirit, he morally needs the outward law to showhim his sin and God’s requirements. The reason why the tencommandments have no power to condemn the Christian, is not that theyhave no authority over him, but because Christ has fulfilledthem as our surety (Ro 10:4).
disobedientGreek,“not subject”; insubordinate; it is translated “unruly,”Tit 1:6; Tit 1:10;”lawless and disobedient” refer to opposers of the law,for whom it is “enacted” (so the Greek, for “ismade”).
ungodly and . . .sinnersGreek, he who does not reverence God, andhe who openly sins against Him; the opposers of God,from the law comes.
unholy and profanethoseinwardly impure, and those deserving exclusion from theoutward participation in services of the sanctuary; sinners againstthe third and fourth commandments.
murderersor, as theGreek may mean, “smiters” of fathers and . .. mothers; sinners against the fifth commandment.
manslayerssinnersagainst the sixth commandment.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man,…. No man is naturally righteous since Adam, excepting the man Christ Jesus: some that are righteous in their own opinion, and in the esteem of others, are not truly and really so; none are righteous, or can be justified in the sight of God by the works of the law; those only are righteous men, who are made so through the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to them: and such a righteous man is here intended, who believes in Christ with the heart unto righteousness, who lays hold on Christ’s righteousness, and receives it by faith; in consequence of which he lives soberly, righteously, and godly, though not without sin, since there is no such just man upon earth. Now for such a man the law was not made; which must be understood not of its original constitution and make, for it was certainly made for, and given to Adam, who was a righteous man, and was written upon his heart in a state of innocence; and who had a positive law made also for him, and given to him as a trial of his obedience to this: it was also delivered to the Israelites on Mount Sinai, who were, many of them, at least, righteous men; and besides all this, the law was made for Jesus Christ; he was the end, the mark, and scope at which it aimed, and for whose sake it was given to Israel, that he might be made under it, and fulfil it. Nor does this expression deny all use of the law to a righteous man, which has been pointed out on the preceding verse, but only removes an unlawful use, and a wrong end of the law: it never was made with any such view as to obtain righteousness by it; for, a righteous man, as Adam, in innocence, and all that are justified by Christ’s righteousness, need it not for such a purpose, because they are already righteous; and sinners can never attain to righteousness by it, since it cannot give life unto them: it is made therefore not for the former with the view now mentioned, but for the latter, and that both for the restraining of sin, and punishing of sinners. The words , may be rendered, “the law does not lie upon a righteous man”, or against him. It does not lie as a weight or burden on him; its precept does not lie on him, as a task to be performed; nor does its penalty, the curse, lie on him as a punishment to be bore by him: it does not lie upon him, nor against him, as an accusing law, its mouth is stopped by the righteousness of Christ, by which he is denominated a righteous man; nor as a terrifying law, and bringing into bondage by its threats and menaces; nor as a rigorous law, obliging to obedience in a forcible and compulsive way; seeing there is no need of it, the righteous man delights in it, and cheerfully serves it, and the love of Christ constrains him to obey it freely. And much less does it lie on him, or against him as a cursing or condemning law, since Christ has redeemed him from the curse of it.
But for the lawless and disobedient; by the “lawless” are meant, not the Gentiles, which were without the written law, but such who have it, and despise and reject it, and live not according to it, but transgress it: and “the disobedient” design such who are not subject to it: who are sons of Belial, children without the yoke; who cast the law of the Lord behind their backs; who are not, nor can they be subject to it, without the powerful and efficacious grace of God. Now the law lies upon, and against such persons, as an accusing, terrifying, cursing, and condemning law.
For the ungodly, and for sinners; by the “ungodly” are intended, such as are without God in the world, who neither fear God, nor regard man, who neglect and despise the worship of God, and say to him, depart from us, Job 21:14 and by “sinners” are designed notorious ones, who are exceeding great sinners, always sinning, making sin their constant business and employment; on and against these the law lies:
for unholy and profane: such are unholy persons, who are destitute of inward principles of truth and holiness, and who live unholy lives and conversations; and “profane” persons are those who profane the name of the Lord by cursing and swearing, and who profane his day, doctrines, and ordinances, and live dissolute and profane lives, being abandoned to all sin and wickedness; these three couples of wicked men, expressed in general terms, seem to have respect greatly to the moral part of the four precepts of the decalogue, as the following particulars do to the other six:
for murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers; though there is no law that expressly mentions this, yet is beyond all doubt a breach both of the fifth and sixth commands; and if cursing parents, and disobedience to them, were punishable by the law with death, then much more the murder of them; see Le 20:9 though the words will bear to be rendered, “for strikers of fathers, and strikers of mothers”; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render them, and against this there was an express law, Ex 21:15. According to the Pompeian law, one guilty of parricide was to be sewed up in a sack with a dog, a cock, a viper, and an ape, and cast into the sea, or into a river h:
for manslayers, guilty of the murder of any man, which was always punishable with death, and was a breach of the sixth command; see Ge 9:6.
h Pompon. Laetus de Leg. Rom. p. 156.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Is not made for ( ). The use of for (perfect passive of ) is a common enough idiom. See the same point about law in 1Tim 1:18-23; Rom 13:13. For “knowing this” ( ) see Eph 5:5.
Unruly (). Dative (like all these words) of the late verbal ( privative and ). In N.T. only here, Titus 1:6; Titus 1:10; Heb 2:8.
Ungodly (). See Rom 4:5; Rom 5:6.
Sinners (). See Ro 3:7.
Unholy (). Common word ( privative and . In N.T. only here and 2Ti 3:2.
Profane (). Old word from , to go, and , threshold. See Heb 12:16.
Murderers of fathers (). Late form for common Attic (from , father, and , to smite) only here in N.T.
Murderers of mothers (). Late form Attic . Only here in N.T.
Manslayers (). Old compound (, man, , murder). Only here in N.T.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Knowing [] . The participle is connected with tiv one, a man, in the preceding clause.
Is not made [ ] . Lit. Is not laid down, set, appointed. Comp. 1Th 3:3. This is the only instance of its use with nomov law. That usage is frequent in Class. See, for instance, Thucyd. 2 37. Righteous [] . Morally upright. Not in the Pauline sense of justified by faith. Comp. 2Ti 2:22; 2Ti 3:16. This appears from the way in which the opposite of righteous is described in the next clause. Lawless [] . Recognizing no law; a sense which accords better with the following context than not having a law, as 1Co 9:21. Disobedient [] . Only in Pastorals and Hebrews. Better unruly. Disobedient is too specific. It means those who will not come into subjection. It is closely allied with lawless. In the one case no legal obligation is recognized; in the other, subjection to law is refused. Ungodly – sinners [ – ] . The same collocation in 1Pe 4:18; Jude 1:15. See on godliness, 2Pe 1:3.
Unholy – profane [ – ] . Anosiov unholy, Past o See on holiness, Luk 1:75. Bebhlov profane, comp. ch. 1Ti 4:7; 1Ti 6:20; 2Ti 2:16; Heb 12:16. The verb bebhloun to profane, Mt 12:5; Act 24:6, and often in LXX Derived from bhlov threshold (comp. bainein to go). Hence the primary sense is that may be trodden. Comp. Lat. Profanus before the temple, on the ground outside. What is permitted to be trodden by people at large is unhallowed, profane. Esau is called bebhlov in Heb 12:16, as one who did not regard his birthright as sacred, but as something to be sold in order to supply a common need.
Murderers of fathers – murders of mothers [ – ] . Both words Past o and o LXX Both in Class. More literally, smiters of fathers and mothers, though used in Class. Of parricides and matricides. Derived from ajloan to smite or thresh. The simple verb, 1Co 9:9, 10.
Manslayers [] . N. T. o. Once in LXX, 2 Macc. 9 28.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Knowing this,” (eidos tonto) “knowing or being aware of this” – this that is to follow.
2) “That the law is not made for a righteous man,” (hoti dikaio nomos ou ketai) “That the law was not laid down for a just or righteous man,” for none existed as such, by nature, Rom 3:19; Rom 3:23; Rom 3:9-10; Heb 7:19; Luk 5:32.
3) “But for the lawless and disobedient,” (anomois de kai anupotoktois) “But for the lawless and unruly.” The restrictions of law (in general) are for those who deliberately rebel against righteousness, who desire no restrictions against their wishes or conduct, no matter how it may affect others.
4) “For the ungodly and for sinners,” (asebesi kai hamartolois) For impious ones and those who habitually miss the mark of righteous conduct.” The law was made for those whose mental attitude toward God is irreverent, Pro 11:31; 1Pe 4:18; Jud 1:15.
5) “For unholy and profane,” (anosiois kai bebelois) Those who act with disdain, irreverence, and disrespect toward most any form or expression of reverence toward God.
6) “For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers “ (patroloais kai metroloais) This refers ‘to unnatural treatment of parents, whether physical murder or mental destruction and depression of their motives to live. Mat 15:4-6; Mar 7:9-13.
7) “For manslayers.” (androphonois) “For men-killers – killers of human beings.” Gen 9:6. Those who disregard the nature and purpose of law, as divinely revealed, disregard ‘the way of salvation and Christian service for which man exists – to glorify God. 1Co 10:31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9 That the law is not made for a righteous man The apostle did not intend to argue about the whole office of the law, but views it in reference to men. It frequently happens that they who wish to be regarded as the greatest zealots for the law, give evidence by their whole life that they are the greatest despisers of it. A remarkable and striking instance of this is found in those who maintain the righteousness of works and defend free-will. They have continually in their mouth these words, “Perfect holiness, merits, satisfactions;” but their whole life cries out against them, that they are outrageously wicked and ungodly, that they provoke in every possible way the wrath of God, and fearlessly set his judgment at naught. They extol in lofty terms the free choice of good and evil; but they openly shew, by their actions, that they are the slaves of Satan, and are most firmly held by him in the chains of slavery.
Having such adversaries, in order to restrain their haughty insolence, Paul remonstrates that the law is, as it were, the sword of God to slay them; and that neither he nor any like him have reason for viewing the law with dread or aversion; for it is not opposed to righteous persons, that is, to the godly and to those who willingly obey God. I am well aware that some learned men draw an ingenious sense out of these words; as if Paul were treating theologically about the nature of “the law.” They argue that the law has nothing to do with the sons of God, who have been regenerated by the Spirit; because it was not given for righteous persons. But the connection in which these words occur shuts me up to the necessity of giving a more simple interpretation to this statement. He takes for granted the well-known sentiment, that “from bad manners have sprung good laws,” and maintains that the law of God was given in order to restrain the licentiousness of wicked men; because they who are good of their own accord do not need the authoritative injunction of the law.
A question now arises, “Is there any mortal man who does not belong to this class?” I reply, in this passage Paul gives the appellation “righteous” to those who are not absolutely perfect, (for no such person will be found,) but who, with the strongest desire of their heart, aim at what is good; so that godly desire is to them a kind of voluntary law, without any motive or restraint from another quarter. He therefore wished to repress the impudence of adversaries, who armed themselves with the name of “the law” against godly men, whose whole life exhibits the actual role of the law, since they had very great need of the law, and yet did not care much about it; which is more clearly expressed by the opposite clause. If there be any who refuse to admit that Paul brings an implied or indirect charge against his adversaries as guilty of those wicked acts which he enumerates, still it will be acknowledged to be a simple repelling of the slander; and if they were animated by a sincere and unfeigned zeal for the law, they ought rather to have made use of their armor for carrying on war with offenses and crimes, instead of employing it as a pretext for their own ambition and silly talking.
For the unrighteous and disobedient Instead of “unrighteous,” it would have been better if translators had made use of the word “lawless;” for the Greek word is ἀνόμους, which does not differ much from the second word in the clause, “disobedient.” By sinners he means wicked persons, or those who lead a base and immoral life.
For the ungodly and profane These words might have been fitly rendered “profane and impure;” but I did not wish to be fastidious in matters of little importance.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) Knowing this.The teacher of the Law, being aware of this great truth, now to be detailedviz.:
That the law is not made for a righteous man.The stern Mosaic Law was enacted centuries before the Messiah Jesus had given to men His new Law. The Law of Moses was not, then, enacted for a righteous manthat is, for a Christian in the true sense of the word, who has sought and found justification by faith in Jesus, and who, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, is living a new life. In other words, the teacher, Paul says, must teach the flock of Ephesus (1) the true use of the prohibitions of the Law, viz., that they served to convince a man of his hopeless condition; they showed him he was a slave to sin, from which wretched bondage, the Law, which made him bitterly conscious of his condition, gave him no assistance to free himself; (2) the teacher was to press home to the people that the Law, good though it was, if used as a means to open mens eyes to see their true condition, was not made for them if they were reckoned among the righteousthat is, if they had found acceptance in the Redeemer. In the case of these justified and sanctified ones the moral law was written in their hearts and was embodied in their lives.
But for the lawless.Now the Law was not made for the holy and humble men of heart, whom St. Paul trusted formed the main body of the congregation of believers in Ephesus, and in every city where men and women were found who called on the name of the Lord Jesus, and who struggled to follow their dear Masters footsteps. It was made centuries before Jesus of Nazareth walked on earth, as a great protest against the every-day vices which dishonoured Israel in common with the rest of mankind. The terrible enumeration of sins and sinners in these 9th and 10th verses, while following the order of the ancient Tables of Sinai, seems to allude pointedly to the vices especially prevalent in that day in the great centres of the Roman empire.
And disobedient.More accurately rendered, unruly, or insubordinate.
For the ungodly and for sinners.These four terms with which the Apostle opens his sad list of those for whom the Law was enacted, generally denote those who care nothing for human law, and who despise all obedience; who to their careless neglect for all constituted authorities, unite irreligion and contempt for all sacred things.
For unholy and profane.The persons designated in these terms are those wanting in inner puritymen who scoff at holiness of life and character in its deepest sense. These six classes may be assumed in general terms to include the prohibitions of the first four Commandments (the First Table, as it is termed), where sins against God are especially dwelt upon. The sins against man, which form the subject of the prohibitions of the Second Table (Commandments Five to Ten), are included in the following enumeration of wrong-doers.
For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers.The original Greek expressions here require the milder rendering, smiters of fathers and smiters of mothers, and refer to persons of various ages who refuse all reverence, even all kindly treatment, to their parents. The words of the Fifth Commandment exactly explain this unnatural conduct.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Not made for Literally, does not lie for, does not exist for. The term lies does not express a penal effect upon the just man, though the severe strain of the following verses indicates that such is the implication. Legal penalty is not for the good, but for the criminal.
A righteous man As the subtle teacher of the fables and genealogies claimed to be. The law did not exist for the purpose of making him wise in his own conceit. Law, here, means not the absolute rule of right, for that exists for, and is binding on, all beings; but it means the vocal or written expression of that rule; the commandment in words. For beings who do absolutely and continually right, no such verbal commandment would be needed. It would be intrinsically good, but relatively superfluous. In practical daily morals this truth has been recognized among the best pagan writers. From many passages in Wetstein we select the following: Antiphon says, “The man doing no wrong needs no law.” “Aristippus, being asked what was the superiority of the philosophers, replied, in the fact that if the laws were abrogated we should live the same.” AElian says, “Solon did not legislate for lions, when he enacted that it was obligatory to support one’s parents.” See our note on Mat 11:30. But Paul’s righteous man is the gospel ideal; the made righteous, not by nature, but by grace purifying and exalting nature. To him Christ, by faith embraced, is the substitute for law, being a living law, and the Spirit is the quickener to a conformity with Christ. As the man sinks below Christ, he sinks into law, and feels its enslaving and condemning power until he rises again into Christ.
The objects of law are now first described in three severe antitheses. The lawless are those who ignore law, and act as if it had no existence; the disobedient recognise law and consciously rebel against it. The ungodly neither recognize nor reverence God, and think and live as if no God existed; sinners know God, yet consciously disregard his authority as God, and transgress his commandments. Unholy are those whose hearts and lives possess no inward purity or conformity to the divine ideal; the profane are those who regard nothing and nobody as sacred or holy.
The above three antitheses specify qualities of character; the following epithets characterize classes of evil men according to their evil actions. The apostle’s mind evidently runs along the prohibitions of the second table of the decalogue, from the fifth to the ninth commandment, selecting what he deems the most flagrant transgressions of each. The transgressors against the fifth commandment are parricides and matricides; and against the sixth are manslayers.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ti 1:9. Knowing this, &c. The apostle’s thought seems to be this, “That a law in the general,(for there is no article, as in 1Ti 1:8 to determine or confine it to the Jewish law)is chiefly intended to restrain men from actions injurious to the public:” what it says, therefore,chiefly relates to crimes, and their punishments; but the genius of Christianity is so sublime, that while it brings us to an all-sufficient Saviour, it leads us to all the heights and depths of holiness and loveto a religion which is not supported by slavish fear, but governs the soul by the most liberal and noble principles which can influence and animate an intellectual being.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Ti 1:9-10 . ] is not to be referred to , but to , i.e. to the teacher of the church. The use of the same verb is against the construction with . As to the meaning of the word, it is to be observed that here, as in many other passages of the N. T., it expresses not only the idea of knowing, but also that of “weighing, considering.” De Wette says, “as he knows and considers.” The law is rightly used only when it is considered that, etc.
] We may, with Hofmann, take this sentence quite generally, so as to understand by not any special law, but law in general, and by any one who does rightly, , and not for the law’s sake (Theophylact: ). In that case we would have the same thought here as in Antiph. ad Stobaeum , 9: (comp. also the expression of Socrates in Clemens Alex. Stromata , iv. 678: ).
The sentence, however, may also be taken in such a way as to make the Mosaic law (notwithstanding the omission of the article; comp. Rom 2:12 ; Rom 2:14 ; Rom 2:23 , al. ), and the righteous man in the specially Christian sense, i.e. the man who, in faith as a child of God, fulfils the divine will in the free obedience of the spirit. In that case we have here the thought which forms the fundamental idea of Paul’s view regarding the relations of the Christian to the law (comp. Rom 6:14 ; Gal 5:18 , al. ). As Paul in 1Ti 1:11 appeals to the gospel entrusted to him for confirmation of the thought expressed in this verse, the connection of ideas decidedly favours the latter view, which is adopted also by Matthies, de Wette, Wiesinger, Van Oosterzee, et al.
] has not, as Heydenreich thinks probable, the additional notion of an oppressive burden; , simply means, according to a usage current even in profane writings: “the law is given, exists.” Otto rightly remarks: “the is one which has not only been given, but is still valid.” The collocation does not occur elsewhere in the N. T.; comp., however, Luk 2:34 (Phi 1:16 ); 1Th 3:3 ; especially also 2Ma 4:11 .
If the law was not given for the (as the heretics falsely maintained), then it is valid only for the . This thought Paul emphasizes by pointing out the nature of the in various aspects, mentioning them at first in pairs.
] These two ideas, which express the most decided contrast, are rightly placed first. , in 1Co 9:21 , means the heathen (Rom 2:14 : ); but here it means those who withstand the law, who do not serve the law, but their own pleasure; comp. Mar 15:28 .
To this corresponds the following (only here and in Tit 1:6 ; Tit 1:10 ; comp. Heb 2:8 ), as a designation of those who submit themselves to no higher will, no higher order. It is quite arbitrary, with Tittmann and Leo, to refer . to divine, and . to human ordinances.
] These ideas (found together also in 1Pe 4:18 and in Wisd. 41:5) are distinguished from the foregoing by a more definite reference to God; (used by Paul only here and in Rom 4:5 ; Rom 5:6 ) is the man who does not stand in awe, who has no holy awe of God in his heart.
] give prominence to the opposition to what is holy. (again in 2Ti 3:2 ), when joined with in the classical usage, refers to the injury of human rights (Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 8. 13: , ). This distinction, however, cannot here be pressed. , which occurs only in the Epistles to Timothy and in Heb 12:16 (the verb in Mat 12:5 ; Act 24:6 ), is synonymous with . In these first three pairs the are characterized as those who stand opposed to what is divine, recognising no divine law, and having no awe of God, and whose life is not consecrated by communion with God.
The ideas that follow refer, on the other hand, to our relations with our neighbour.
] only here in N. T.: parricides and matricides . Hesychius explains them: , , ; and similarly Matthies: “those who actually assault father and mother.” As the word occurs in this wider sense in Demosth. 732, 14; Lys. 348, ult.; Plato, Phaed. chap. 62, it may be so taken here. At least we cannot, with de Wette, quote the following as a cogent reason against it.
] 2Ma 9:28 ; . in N. T.; the compound is selected to correspond with the previous words.
, ] refer to un-chastity, the one towards the female, the other towards the male sex; for this latter, comp. Rom 1:27 ; 1Co 6:9 .
] The Scholiast on Aristoph. Plut. v. 521, says: , . This crime is often mentioned in Greek authors; but also in Exo 21:16 ; Deu 24:7 .
, ] stand both in opposition to truthfulness; is one who wantonly breaks an oath, as well as one who swears something false.
We cannot help seeing that in enumerating these various classes of the , the apostle has had the Decalogue in mind, not adhering to it strictly, but partly extending, partly limiting it, still without departing from its order.
In order to describe the as a whole, the apostle adds: .
The expression . . is one of those which only occur in the Pastoral Epistles, and help to give them a peculiar impress; comp. 2Ti 4:3 ; Tit 2:1 ; Tit 1:9 .
In 1Ti 6:3 and in 2Ti 1:13 , we have ; in Tit 2:8 , . In these epistles is even used figuratively in another connection; thus Tit 1:13 ; Tit 2:2 ( in opposite sense, 1Ti 6:4 ); elsewhere in the N. T. it occurs only in its proper meaning. The expression is particularly frequent in these epistles, sometimes denoting “the doctrine” (so here) in the objective sense, sometimes subjectively, “the teaching” (comp. chap. 1Ti 4:1 ; 1Ti 4:6 ; 1Ti 4:13 ; 1Ti 4:16 , al. ; 2Ti 3:10 ; 2Ti 4:3 ; Tit 1:9 ff.).
He lays emphasis on sound doctrine, as opposed to the of the heretics. Luther translates inaccurately by “wholesome;” the wholesomeness is only the result of the soundness. By . . is here meant the pure gospel, free from all foreign admixture, having nothing unclean or sickly in it. The apostle here is certainly thinking chiefly of the ethical side of the .; still Leo is wrong in translating it “sound morality.” By the form Paul gives us to understand that there are indeed other forms and shapes of unrighteousness, incompatible with the pure doctrine of the gospel. The neuter form is strange. In explanation, we might appeal to passages like 1Co 1:17 , Heb 7:7 , and others, where the neuter denotes persons; but the use of the verb is against this. It is better to regard it as a transition from persons to things. [58]
[58] As Wiesinger rightly remarks, vv. 9 and 10 show that the apostle is not contending here against actual Judaizers, but “against such as consider the law a means of attaining to a still higher moral perfection.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
Ver. 9. Is not made for a righteous ] For he is freed by Christ from the coaction, malediction, and irritation of the law. The law lieth not upon the righteous (so the Greek soundeth), it urgeth not upon them, as it doth upon the wicked. To these it is as chains and shackles, to the righteous as girdles and garters, which gird up his loins and expedite his course the better. It confineth him (saith Rev. Dr Preston) to live in that element where he would live; as if one should be confined to Paradise, where he would be, though there were no such law. The wicked (on the contrary) it confineth to the place where he would not be, and to the actions that he would not do; as Shimei confined, leapeth over the pale after profit and pleasure, and dieth for it.
But for the lawless, &c. ] Those masterless monsters, that send messages after Christ, saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” But shall they thus escape by iniquity? “In thine anger thou wilt cast down these people, O God,”Psa 56:7Psa 56:7 . Aut faciendum, aut patiendum. Either do or suffer. They that will not bend shall break; they that will not be Christ’s subjects shall be his footstool: his arrows are sharp in the hearts of the king’s enemies, whereby the people (that fall not down before him) fall under him, Psa 45:5 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ti 1:9 . refers to , as knowing this (R.V). For the expression cf. , 2Ti 1:15 and Eph 5:5 . : Although when anarthrous may mean the Mosaic Law, the statement here is perfectly general (so R.V.). The Mosaic Law does not differ in the range of its application, though it may in the details of its enactments, from law in general, of which it is a subdivision. Law is not enacted for a naturally law-abiding man (dative of reference). is used here in the popular sense, as in “I came not to call the righteous”. It is unnecessary to suppose that St. Paul had his theory of justification in his mind when writing this; though of course those who “are led by the Spirit” are of the highest quality, (Gal 5:18 sqq. , Gal 5:23 ). The enumeration of those whom legislators have in view when enacting laws naturally begins with , of whom the , unruly , those who deliberately rebel against restriction of any kind, are the extreme type. There is no special class or quality of crime involved in the terms and . As the series advances, the adjectives indicate more definite and restricted aspects of lawlessness: the first three pairs represent states of mind; then follow examples of violations of specific enactments. Since St. Paul is here dealing with the law of natural religion, it is not safe to deepen the shade of , . . . by looking at the conceptions they express in the light of the Lord.
is a pair of epithets familiar from its occurrence in Pro 11:31 (quoted 1Pe 4:18 . See also Jud 1:15 ). The is one whose mental attitude towards God Himself is that of deliberate irreverence; the acts contumeliously towards recognised expressions or forms of reverence to God.
Alford and Ellicott, following a hint from Bengel, suppose that in the series commencing St. Paul is going through the second table of the Decalogue. It is an argument against this that when St, Paul is unquestionably enumerating the Commandments, Rom 13:9 , he places the command against adultery before that against murder (so Luk 18:20 ; Jas 2:11 ; Philo, De Decalogo , xxiv. and xxxii.; Tert. de Pudic , v., all following LXX ( [256] ) of Deut. chap. 5). There is therefore no necessity to give the weak rendering smiter of a father (R.V. m.) in order to make the word refer to normal breaches of the Fifth Commandment, It can, of course, both by derivation and use, be so rendered, The Greek word, like parricide in Latin and English, may be applied to any unnatural treatment of a parent.
[256] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
The apostle is here purposely specifying the most extreme violations of law, as samples ( ) of what disregard of law may lead to. The healthy, wholesome teaching of Christ is of course in opposition to such enormities; it is also in opposition to the false teachers; these teachers have failed to attain to a pure heart, etc. Consequently, although professing to teach the Law, they find themselves in opposition to the essential spirit of law. Let them, and those who listen to them, take care lest their teaching inevitably issue in similar enormities.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
not. App-105.
made = appointed.
righteous. App-191.
lawless. App-128.
disobedient = not under subjection,
undisciplined. Greek. anupotaktos. Here; Tit 1:6, Tit 1:10. Heb 2:8.
ungodly. Greek. asebes See Rom 4:5.
sinners. Greek. hamartalos. Compare App-128.
unholy. Greek. anosios Here and 2Ti 3:2. Contrast Act 2:21.
profane. Gr bebelos. Here, 1Ti 4:4; 1Ti 6:20. 2Ti 2:16. Heb 12:16.
murderers, &c. Greek. patraloas . . . metratoas. Only here.
man Greek. androphones. Only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Ti 1:9. , knowing) construed with , use.-, for a righteous man) Many things which follow are put in antithesis to this one word. Therefore righteousness is widely spread.- ) is not in force, doth not exist among us, in its application is not intended [is not made]. Therefore a true teacher ought not to use the law against a righteous person, Gal 5:23. The antithesis is , in the following verse.-, for the [lawless] unrighteous) Paul here names the unrighteous according to the order of the Decalogue; from which it is evident that the commandment, Honour thy father, is fourth, not third.[6]- , lawless and disobedient) Referring to the first commandment, the foundation of the law, the foundation of all obedience.- , for the ungodly and sinners) not reverencing the name of God, and thereby involved in great guilt,[7] Exo 20:7,- , for unholy and profane) despising the true worship of God with a profane mind.[8] Such were those very persons whom Paul notices; comp. 1Ti 4:7. is compounded of the inseparable preposition, , Lat. ve, and , a threshold, especially a sacred threshold: whence , , places accessible to the common people. See E. Schmid. on Matthew 12, and Eustathius.
[6] The Church of Rome suppresses the second commandment, and divides the tenth into two. So Beng. also. Thus our fifth is his fourth. To make our fifth into third, their third and fourth must be joined and made second.-ED.
[7] Referring to the third commandment, as we divide them.-ED.
[8] This will answer to our fourth commandment.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Ti 1:9
as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man,-The righteous man is one made righteous, by faith in Jesus Christ, and does not need the Mosaic law with its earthly penalties to govern him.
but for the lawless and unruly,-These refuse to be bound by any law, and submit to no higher authority.
for the ungodly and sinners,-[These have no reverence for God, and are such as God disapproves; are marred or polluted by sin, separated from God, so as to be openly hostile to him.]
for the unholy and profane,-Those who do not regard that which is sanctified or made holy by God, but profane his most sacred institutions. [Those who are impious or scoffers. One who treats the will of the Lord with contempt, mockery, or scorn.]
for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,-Often when the parents become old and burdensome they are killed by their children to be free from the trouble that the care of them imposes on them. [We can conceive nothing superior to this in enormity, and yet such crimes have been committed.]
for manslayers,-Those who commit murder. [A crime against which all nature revolts. This sanctity of human life is founded on the fact that man was made in the image of God.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the law: Rom 4:13, Rom 5:20, Rom 6:14, Gal 3:10-14, Gal 3:19, Gal 5:23
the lawless: 2Th 2:8,*Gr.
disobedient: Rom 1:30, Tit 1:16, Tit 3:3, Heb 11:31, 1Pe 2:7, 1Pe 3:20
the ungodly: 1Pe 4:18
profane: Jer 23:11, Eze 21:25, Heb 12:16
murderers: Lev 20:9, Deu 27:16, 2Sa 16:11, 2Sa 17:1-4, 2Ki 19:37, 2Ch 32:21, Pro 20:20, Pro 28:24, Pro 30:11, Pro 30:17, Mat 10:21
manslayers: Gen 9:5, Gen 9:6, Exo 20:13, Exo 21:14, Num 35:30-33, Deu 21:6-9, Pro 28:17, Gal 5:21, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15
Reciprocal: Exo 21:15 – General Zec 5:3 – sweareth Luk 7:37 – which Rom 3:10 – none Rom 5:6 – ungodly 1Co 6:9 – unrighteous 1Co 14:22 – not to Gal 5:19 – Adultery 1Ti 6:9 – which 2Pe 1:20 – Knowing 2Pe 2:8 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ti 1:9. The law is not made for a righteous man. 1Pe 2:14 says that, governors are not only for the punishment of evildoers, but also for the praise of them who do well. Also in Rom 13:3-4 it is clearly shown that the same ruler who is to punish them who do evil is also expected to praise the righteous. Hence we know that Paul is here speaking only of the penal section of law. Lawless and disobedient refers to the members of society who are disturbers of the peace. Ungodly and sinners could well be used interchangeably if taken separately, but when combined in one phrase there is some distinction. The Greek word for the former has special reference to the personal attitude toward God. Such a person practices a life of sin, but he does not even have any concern whether such a life is displeasing to God or not. The Greek word for the latter term has chief reference to the kind of life the man is living, without any consideration of his mental attitude about God; that idea is not in the word. Unholy is a general term applying to all people who are unrighteous, since holiness is another word for righteousness. Profane means those whose lives are such that they can scarcely be distinguished from men of the world who make no profession of righteousness. Murder is a capital crime no matter against whom it is committed, but when perpetrated against one’s parents, it also violates all the laws of affection that are intended to keep families united. Man-slayers. The law of the land makes a distinction between manslaughter and other degrees of killing. Murder strictly consists of the unlawful taking of human life which is performed intentionally, while other instances of killing may be designated only as manslaughter. Yet if that is done as a result of carelessness, or in other ways that could have been avoided, it is also wrong and the law of God as well as of man provides some penalty for the act.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Ti 1:9. The law. There is no article in the Greek, but St. Pauls use of the words elsewhere (e.g. Rom 6:14; Gal 5:18) justifies the translation. The law would not be needed but for the lawless element in men which needs correction.
Disobedient. Better insubordinate, the state of the carnal mind which is not subject to the law of God (Rom 8:7). The next four words, while expressing different shades of evil, have this in common, that they all speak of evil in its relation to God, of sins against the First Tablethe ungodly, who have no reverence; the sinners, who, apart from special offences, are without God in the world; the unholy, in whom there is no inward purity; the profane, in whom there is not even any show of consecration to His service. The words that follow, as describing sins against the Second Table, begin naturally with those against the fifth commandment. In the strong words chosen to indicate the sins of deepest dye in each case, we may probably trace a righteous indignation at the sins of the Heathen world, like that in Rom 1:24-32; possibly also as in Rom 2:21-24, to the vices which stained the lives even of these boasters of the law.Murderers of fathers, The Greek is more generic, smilers, without necessarily implying death as resulting from the blow. It is distinguished here from man-slayers, and so sins against the fifth and sixth commandments come in their natural order.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our apostle here declares the persons,
1. whom the law was not made for; and,
2. them for whom it was made.
It was not made for a righteous man, that is, say some, it was not made for him as a burden, to be an uneasiness to him, because he has a love to it, a delight in it, and does voluntarily comform himself to the observations of it;
others say thus, The law was not made for a righteous man, that is, the righteous man is not under the coercive or vindictive, but directive, power of the law only: he is not under the curse of the law actually, though all are under it meritoriously; adn accordingly the law was never made to terrify, and affrighten, and condemn them.
Next the apostle declares for whom, for what persons, and for what purposes, the law was made, intended, and designed; namely, for restraining and condemning first, in general, all lawless persons, sons of Belial, as the scripture calls them, that is, men without yoke; the moral law in general is a rule of holy living, and the gospel in particular is Christ’s yoke; now such as will not wear the yoke of Christ, must expect no benefit by the cross of Christ: then he instances in particular, what and whom the law was made for, namely, to deter and restrain persons from all impiety and profaneness, from all disobedience and stubbornness, from murder and manslaughter, from sodomy, from whoredom, and all manner of uncleanness, either natural or unnatural, from theft, from perjury, from lying and falsehood; and, summarily, to curb and restrain wicked men from the practice of every thing which is contrary to the pure and holy nature of God.
Learn hence, That there is such a propensity and inclination in the corrupt and depraved nature of man to the practice of all sins, even the greatest, the vilest, and the worst of sins, that the law of God, with all its threatened punishments, is not sufficient to deter, to terrify, or restrain sinners from the commission of them; but such as will not be under the restraining, must lie under the condemning, power of the law.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
1:9 {8} Knowing this, that the law is not made for a {e} righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for {f} sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
(8) He indeed escapes the curse of the Law, and therefore does not abhor it, who fleeing and avoiding those things which the Law condemns, gives himself with all his heart to observe it: and he does not make a vain babbling of outward and curious matters.
(e) And such a one is he, whom the Lord has endued with true doctrine, and with the Holy Spirit.
(f) To those who make an art, as it were, of sinning.