The Prophet says this in the same place: neither is there deceit in his mouth. God forgives sins and does not impute them to the one in whose mouth there is no deceit. How, then, can sins and the absence of deceit coexist in the same person? They coexist when he recognizes his sins, confesses repentance for them before God without covering them, and sincerely nourishes the desire not to fall into them again.
Deceit, δόλος, is a sin-loving disposition of the heart, with the desire to cover it not only before men, but even before God. When it is absent from the heart, one must suppose the opposite is present: a sincere love of good, with rejection of past love for sin and contrition over it.
Thus, in the Prophet’s words, which speak only of forgiveness, the thought of repentance is naturally understood as well. It is repentance with a sincere unwillingness toward sin. But where is faith in Him who justifies? Faith in Him who justifies is in the flow of the holy Apostle’s discourse, which is wholly about faith. It is especially in the preceding words, which directly express this truth.
The Apostle teaches this: the righteous appear righteous before God not because of works, though they have works, but because of faith. This is shown by the example of Abraham, the greatest of the righteous. As for sinners, there is no need even to speak. What works can they present, when all have sinned? They have nothing to present except contrition and unwillingness toward sin, with faith in the boundless mercy of Him who justifies.
Therefore let no one come before God relying on works. Come with faith alone, and you will receive justification. But how is this? The Apostle wanted to prove by the words of the prophet David that faith is imputed as righteousness. Yet he cites a passage that speaks only of the remission of iniquities and the non-imputation of sin. It is as though “the testimony does not fit the case” (Chrysostom).
This difficulty is already removed by the previous explanation. Once iniquities are forgiven someone, and sin is not imputed to him, all the conditions of forgiveness must be supposed present in the one shown mercy. These are the unwillingness to sin any more and faith in Him who justifies.
On the other hand, there are two states. One is righteousness and God’s good pleasure. The other is sinfulness and God’s displeasure. Therefore, when sin is not imputed to someone, he is no longer considered a sinner under wrath. He is received into good pleasure as righteous. For this reason, the non-imputation of sin stands on the same line as the imputation of righteousness. Both are accomplished in one act of mercy by the God who shows mercy and justifies.
But the main point is to keep the Apostle’s aim in view. His aim is not to explain the Old Testament order, but to clarify the New Testament from the Old. When the Apostles, preaching the Gospel, began to receive Gentiles into communion with God, the Jews reproached them. They said, “With you it is only faith and faith, and no works of the law. You have even begun to receive sinful Gentiles, though it is sinful even to touch them.”
The Apostle forestalls this and teaches: if with us it is all faith and faith, in this we take Abraham as our example, to whom faith was imputed as righteousness. And if we receive sinners into communion with God, the prophet David indicated beforehand that this is right. He blessed those whose sins were forgiven.
We receive sinners, but only after absolving all their sins beforehand, by the grace of the merciful God, for faith in Him who justifies. This is an order glorified by the prophet David. In blessing those to whom God does not impute sin, he “clearly blesses us and foretells the gifts of grace” (blessed Theodoret).
Having thus proved from the Old Testament that we rightly think a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law, he now applies the force of these proofs to those who believe in Christ the Lord. For this purpose he brings together the example of righteous Abraham and the testimony of holy David, saying:
THEOSIS