Capital Crimes

for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.  Romans 4:15  NASB

Law – Paul is often credited with separating Law and grace.  At least that’s the view of the Reformation Church.  According to Church doctrine, Paul explained that once Jesus died for our sins, the penalty was paid and the Law (i.e., the Jewish Torah commandments) were set aside so that we might experience God’s free grace.  With this doctrine in mind, you can see the translators’ decision to capitalize the first occurrence of nómos, but not the second (I’ve highlighted both for you below).  Actually, in the Greek original all the letters are capitals.  The only reason to capitalize the first occurrence of nómos but not the second is because the translators want you to the think that Paul is speaking about Torah in the first instance but not in the second.

ὁ γὰρ νόμος ὀργὴν κατεργάζεται, οὗ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος, οὐδὲ παράβασις.

This creates a theological dilemma.  What can Paul mean when he says there is no violation where there is no law (small l).  He certainly can’t mean that no one does anything wrong in the absence of law.  Civilization would collapse without some form of law (which we usually refer to as “common law”) even if that law/expectation isn’t written down.  Moral and ethical expectations still apply.  If the first occurrence of nómos means Torah, then why doesn’t the second occurrence mean the same thing?  And if the second occurrence also means Torah, then Paul’s statement seems utterly false.  Even where no one acknowledges or knows Torah, people still do bad things.  There is still some kind of standard.  In fact, if Paul were really accurate, he should have said, “where there is no Torah, there is also no sin” (hamártēma instead of parabasis).  A violation of common law isn’t sin because sin is a religious concept.  Sin depends on the existence of a divine law-giver whose will is opposed.  Ethical misconduct isn’t sin.  It’s a violation of human protocols and expectations, not divine ones.  The only way Paul can assert that there is no violation where there is no law is to take the idea in its strictly religious sense.  There is still unethical behavior but there isn’t any divine law that’s broken.

However, Paul uses the word parabasis on purpose.  The verb means “to overstep,” “to transgress,” or “to let pass.”  Most importantly, in the LXX it’s used as a term for the violation of God’s commandments and ordinances.  Note the comment by Schneider, “In the NT it denotes sin in relation to the law. In Rom. 2:23 the Jew dishonors God by transgressing the law, and in 4:15 the law brings wrath because there is transgression only where there is law.”^[1]  Apparently, Paul sees no difference between the first instance of nómos and the second.  Both are connected to God’s Torah.  So, if you want to capitalize the first occurrence, you should also capitalize the second.  If the Torah brings wrath (God’s judgment) in one case, it does the same in the other case, even if it isn’t recognized.  When it comes to the relationship with God, Paul doesn’t provide an exception for common law societies.  They all fall under God’s judgment (Romans 3:23), although that doesn’t mean that they all receive the same punishment.

Uriel Ben Mordechai translates this verse, “where Torah doesn’t exist, neither does wrongdoing.”[2] He recognizes that nómos needs to be translated consistently.  The problem with this translation is “wrongdoing.”  Since parabasis is the LXX way of describing violation of the Torah, perhaps it should be equated with hamártēma (sin).  Then we would translate, “where there in no Torah, there is no sin.”  And, in fact, that’s true if we realize that “sin” is a religious concept, not an ethical one.  Paul is not saying that people without ethical standards can do whatever they wish.  He’s saying that in the absence of Torah the concept of sin doesn’t apply.  But that doesn’t mean God overlooks their actions.  They are still accountable.  They are just accountable on a different basis.

What’s the bottom line?  If you want to talk about grace, you will have to talk about sin, and if you want to talk about sin, you will have to talk about Torah.  You can’t separate the idea of grace from God’s instructions given to Moses.  You can talk about human ethical standards, but then you can’t connect these to God’s grace.  God doesn’t forgive your ethical misconduct.  That’s a human society issue.  God forgives sin—and for that to occur you must first embrace God’s terms and conditions, called Torah.

Topical Index:  sin, violation, Torah, law, Romans 4:15

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 772). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

[2] Uriel Ben Mordechai, Kosher Paul, p. 76.