For whosoever shall keep the whole law
Or the greatest part of it, excepting only in one point, as
follows: Adam, in a state of innocence, was able to keep the
whole law, but by sin he lost that power, nor can any of his
posterity now keep it perfectly: they are all transgressors of
it, and liable to its penalty; unregenerate men are not obedient
to it, and have an aversion to it, and despise it, and cast it
behind their backs; regenerate persons, who love it, and delight
in it, after the inner man, do not keep it perfectly; the several
parts of the law may be indeed kept by a believer, and that
sincerely, but not to a perfect degree, for in many things they
all offend; Christ only has perfectly kept it, and is the
fulfilling end of it for righteousness; men of a pharisaical
disposition may fancy they have kept it wholly, as the young man
in the Gospel, and Saul, before his conversion; but this is but a
fancy, and a sad mistake: the case in the text is only a supposed
one, and, as it is here put, implies perfection; for it follows,
and yet offend in one point;
sin, which is a transgression of the law, is an offense to God
the Father, who is of purer eyes than to behold it; to Jesus
Christ, who loves righteousness, and hates iniquity; and to the
blessed Spirit who is grieved and vexed by it; and to the justice
of God, which being injured by it, demands satisfaction; and to
the law of God, which accuses, convinces, reproves, and condemns
for it. The word used signifies to "fall", and designs more than
stumbling, even an open breach and violation of the law; and
which being made, by any, in a single instance,
he is guilty of all:
this seems to agree with some common sayings of the Jews, that he
that is suspected in one thing, is suspected in the whole law
F25; and he that keeps this or the
other command, keeps the whole law; and he that breaks this, or
the other command, breaks the whole law; as whether it respects
the sabbath, or adultery, or that command. Thou shall not covet,
or any other F26: and this must be understood, not
of every particular command in the law, as if he that is guilty
of murder is in that instance also guilty of adultery; or he that
is guilty of adultery is in that instance guilty of murder; but
the sense is, that he is guilty of the breach of the whole law,
though not of the whole of the law; as he that breaks anyone
condition of a covenant, which may consist of many, though he
does not violate every condition, yet breaks the whole covenant;
so he that transgresses in anyone point of the law, breaks the
whole, commits sin, and is deserving of death, and is treated by
the law as a transgressor of it, let it be in what instance it
will. But it does not follow from hence, that all sins are equal,
as the Stoics say F1, for there are greater and lesser
sins, ( John
19:11 ) though not some venial, and others mortal, for the
wages of every sin is death; nor that the punishment of sin will
be alike, as all sins were punishable alike by Draco's laws, but
not by the law of God, ( Matthew
11:22 Matthew
11:24 ) but this may be fairly concluded from hence, that
there can be no justification in the sight of God, by an
imperfect obedience to, the law, or by a partial righteousness:
the law requires perfect obedience, and in failure of that,
though but in one point, curses and condemns; and likewise it may
be inferred from hence, that a man is not at liberty to obey and
neglect what commandments of the law he pleases, but should have
respect to them all; which seems greatly the design of the
apostle, as appears by what follows.