RAGS OR ROBES
14
In Romans 4, the apostle cites Psalm 32, and to this passage we now turn our attention. David's testimony is
particularly useful because of the precision of his language. He describes the blessedness of the man unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works, by saying:
`Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin' (Rom. 4:8).
Here we have balancing terms. To impute sin is to lay sin to the charge of any one, and to treat him as a sinner.
To impute righteousness must in the same way set righteousness to one's account, and treat one as being righteous.
David does not use the same terms as does Paul, but the apostle sees in the words `iniquities forgiven' and `sins
covered' and the non-imputation of sin, Old Testament equivalents.
RAGS OR ROBES
We return to the title adopted for this chapter Rags or Robes and find them both in the prophecy of Isaiah:
`We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf' (Isa.
64:6).
The use of the plural `righteousnesses' sounds a trifle strange to English speaking people, but the figure known
as the Plural of Majesty, that accepts the Editorial `we', is very common in the Hebrew of the Old Testament.
`Bloods' in Genesis 4:10 indicates `life's blood',
`Blindnesses' in Genesis 19:11 Great blindness.
It is correct to read `The sacrifices of God IS' (Psa. 51:17) for the plural is not intended - the phrase means `The
supreme sacrifice'. So in Hebrews 9:23 `Better sacrifices' means `The one infinitely better Sacrifice'.
So the prophet says `All our most righteous deeds' are as filthy rags, not merely our evident sins. The proximity
of rags and fading leaves turns our thoughts back to Genesis 3. The `robe' as opposed to the `rags' is found in Isaiah
61:10 :
`He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness'.
We come back therefore to our opening pages, and rejoice that, while we must never `cover up' sin, God does
blessedly `cover' it by reason of the satisfaction made by the Offering of His beloved Son on our account.
Let us take another look at Romans 3:25,26 which reads:
`Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness ... that He
might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus' (Rom. 3:25,26).
The word translated `propitiation' here, is `the mercy seat' in Hebrews 9:5. This propitiation has been `set
forth'. Protithemi `set forth' is found elsewhere only in Romans 1:13 and Ephesians 1:9, where it is translated
`purposed'. God `purposed' or `set before Himself' in His great redemptive plan, the propitiation. He set it forth in
the typical mercy seat, and it was before Him when He passed over the sins of men before Christ actually came to
the earth. It is possible that the words `through faith in His blood' should be treated as an adverbial clause added to
the propitiatory. `Through faith' is the means of subjective appropriation of the Atonement; `in His blood' is the
objective medium of its exhibition. Thus:
Received through faith - Subjective
THE PROPITIATION
Exhibited by the shed blood - Objective
We may therefore set out in tabular form this wondrous truth in Romans 3 thus:
The Initial cause
Unmerited. A free Gift (24).
The Meritorious cause
The Redemption (24).
Through faith, the Propitiatory (25).
The Righteous cause
In His blood (25).