law which God gave to them at mount Sinai, was not a law of coalition, but a law of separation. It was calculated for the Jewish nation alone, and intended to bind none but that nation, and those individuals of other nations, who should be incorporated with them. Neither the moral nor ceremonial law extended to the nations round about them. These were all left without law. This the apostle repeatedly asserts in the text and context, in which he sets Jews and Gentiles in direct contrast in respect to law. "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law: for not the hearers of the law are justified before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves." In the beginning of the next chapter he asks and answers an important question upon this subject. “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? much every way; chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." If the oracles of God were confined to the Jews, then the laws of God were confined to them; for the oracles of God contained all his laws. The heathen therefore, who had not the oracles of God, were without law. And further forward in this chapter, the apostle declares, "that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law." By this, he meant to distinguish Jews from Gentiles, and to represent the Jews only as bound by their own law. As the heathen never had, nor heard of the Sinai law, so they were never bound by it. They are as much without law, as if that law had never been given.

3. The heathen are not under the law of faith, or the gospel of Christ. This indeed is designed for all nations, and will bind them as soon as they come to the knowledge of it. Wherever the gospel comes, it requires all men immediately to embrace it. But so long as the heathen are destitute of the knowledge of the precepts and penalties of Christianity, they are not bound by it. The apostle represents the heathen in this very light. "For there is no difference," says he, "between the Jew and Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" By the heathen are to be understood, not all the Gentiles, but only those who

have never had, nor heard of the gospel. And all these are certainly without the law of faith. In a word, since the heathen are altogether ignorant of all the laws which God has ever given to men in any age of the world, they are under no divine law whatever. They are as much without law, as if they did not belong to the race of Adam, and had been shut up in the bowels of the earth, ever since it was created. They have neither seen God at any time, nor heard his voice. God has neither written to them, nor expressly laid a single command upon them. He has neither required any duty of them, nor promised any favor to them, nor denounced any punishment against them. They are all absolutely without law. I proceed to show,

II. That the heathen who are without law, are nevertheless sinners.

This is asserted in the text. "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law." It is here declared that all who are without law are actually sinners, and deserve to die. Again the apostle says, Again the apostle says, "Until the law, sin was in the world;" that is, all the long space from Adam to the giving of the law at mount Sinai, men were universally sinners. And in the chapter preceding the text, he gives a black catalogue of the sins of the heathen world, who were without law. "As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperings, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." Profane history, both ancient and modern, confirms this account of all the heathen nations. But is it not contrary to both scripture and reason, to suppose that men should sin without law? We read, "sin is the transgression of the law;" and that "where no law is, there is no transgression." The meaning of these texts may be easily explained. Sin is a transgression of the law, because the transgression is sin. But though every transgression of the law be sin, yet it does not follow that every sin is a transgression of the law. Those who are under the law always sin when they transgress it; but those who are without law, may sin without transgressing any divine law. It may,

however, be thought more difficult to explain the other text, "where no law is, there is no transgression." But the plain

and obvious meaning of this is, that where there is no law there is no transgression of law; though there may be sin, by some other way than by transgressing law. And to make it appear that the heathen may sin without transgressing any divine command, I would observe,

1. That they may be under moral obligation to do right, without law. Moral obligation is founded in the nature of things, and is prior to and independent of all written or verbal obligations. No law can make that right which is wrong in the nature of things, nor that wrong which is right in the nature of things. It is right in the nature of things, that men who are moral beings, should love one another; and wrong in its own nature, that that they should hate one another. It is right in the nature of things that the heathen, who are moral beings, should love one another, and wrong in the nature of things, that they should feel and express a contrary, malevolent spirit. Hence they are under moral obligation to do what is right, and to refrain from what is wrong in all cases. This obligation does not depend upon their knowing God, or knowing his laws; nor upon their knowing his existence. If there were no God, the heathen and all the rest of mankind would be under moral obligation to love one another, and to express their love in a proper manner. As it does not depend upon the will, or law, or existence of God, whether two and two shall be equal to four, so it does not depend upon the will, or law, or existence of God, whether men shall be obliged to love one another as themselves. This is an immutable duty, as the other is an immutable truth; and they are both founded in the nature of things. Those, therefore, who are without law, are under moral obligation to do right, as well as those who are under law; and this their moral obligation will bind them in all cases, in all places, and in all times, as long as they remain moral agents.

2. The heathen may know their moral obligation to do right, without law. If moral obligation does not depend upon law for its existence, then the knowledge of its existence does not depend upon law. If the heathen are bound without law, then they may know that they are bound, without law. Their moral obligation is founded in the fitness of things, and they are endued with a moral discernment to discover that fitness. Their moral sense enables them to discover what is right and what is wrong in the nature of things. This moral sense is what is called conscience, which is a faculty that tells all men their duty, and makes them feel their obligation to do it. And as all the heathen on the face of the earth are possessed of this

moral discernment, so they are all capable of feeling their obli gation to do right, and to avoid doing wrong, in all cases. This the apostle expressly declares in the verses following the text. "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another." The heathen by nature have the knowledge of duty, because by nature they have a moral discernment. Without any other law than conscience, they are capable of discerning what is morally right and morally wrong, and their moral obligation to do the one and avoid the other. And since they know their obligation without law, they are capable of violating it without law, which is precisely the same as sinning without law. This leads me to observe,

3. The scripture represents them as actually sinning in the most gross and criminal manner. They are under moral obligation, and they know they are under moral obligation to do their duty, and yet they violate their obligation, by doing things of the most inhuman and atrocious nature. Their hearts are at variance with their conscience. No nations are more malevolent and cruel than the heathen nations all over the world. "Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known." Though they have not sinned against God, whom they have not known, nor against Christ, of whom they have not heard, yet they have sinned against one another in the most inhuman manner. They neglect to do what they know to be right, and do what they know to be wrong, and thus continually sin without law. It only remains to show,

III. That they must also perish without law. This the apostle expressly asserts in the text. "For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law."

To establish this serious and interesting truth, I shall observe,

1. Though the heathen sin without law, yet their sin deserves eternal destruction. The ill-desert of sin does not depend upon law. Whatsoever is criminal deserves punishment. Sin and the desert of punishment cannot be separated. And whatsoever deserves to be punished, deserves to be punished forever. The reason is, punishment cannot take away, nor diminish the ill-desert of sin. It is the very nature of sin to deserve punishment. Until, therefore, the nature of sin be

changed, it must deserve to be punished. But there is nothing in the nature of punishment to change the nature of sin. Upon this ground, sin committed without law, as well as sin committed against law, deserves to be punished forever, though not with an equal degree of positive evil. This our Saviour has told us is true, when he said, "That servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Heathen, who sin without law, deserve eternal punishment, as really as those who sin against the law and the gospel; though they do not deserve so great or heavy a punishment. The least sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and in that which is to come. Though the heathen are not so criminal as gospel sinners, yet they are criminal enough to deserve everlasting destruction.

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2. Since the heathen, who sin without law, deserve endless punishment, God has a right to make them forever miserable without law. He has an original and absolute right to punish his reasonable creatures for doing anything which is wrong, whether he had previously forbidden them to do it, or not. parent has a right to punish a child for doing that which he knew to be wrong, though he had never expressly forbidden such conduct. Though God has never forbidden the heathen to do things worthy of death, yet since they have done things worthy of death, he has a right to make them suffer eternal death, the proper wages of sin. His right to punish does not depend upon law, but upon his absolute sovereignty over his own guilty creatures. The heathen are his creatures, though they know him not, and he has a right to dispose of them to all eternity, according to strict justice, which requires him to reward every one according to his works. I may add more

over,

3. That God has told us in his word, that the heathen, who sin without law, shall perish without law. God might, if he had pleased, have saved the heathen, notwithstanding their desert of eternal destruction; but he has let us know in his word, that he determines to cast them off forever. He has already caused many of them to perish. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah were heathen, and them, we are told, he has "set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” David says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." And he prays for the destruction of the heathen. "Thou, therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen." And again he prays,