(a) We propose to consider, first, three moral conditions which are sufficiently similar to admit of such treatment, and which all depend upon a lack of zeal or whole-heartedness. In Ja 1°'" we find a severe condemnation passed upon the Slipi'xos or double-souled man. In Rev S's-i' the severest Judgment of all those passed upon the Seven Churches is the denunciation of the lukewarm (X>^iu.poi). And, again, in Rev 21' the first of those whose portion is the second death are the cowards (5fi\oi). These three words, especially in view of the context they are in, seem to convey more than a reproach upon vacillation of purpose. The man who is double-souled and unstable in all his ways fails to obtain his prayers ; his life loses consistency and firmness, and becomes like the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. So the lukewarm is worse than the open enemy (' I would thou wert cold or hot'), and tlie coward is coupled in his condemnation with the unfaithful
«nother context. If Ro 1 represents the darker side of his mind, Ro 2, not to mention his practical altitude towards the nentUes, reprewnts the aspect of the question neglected here.
as well as those who are guilty of open and obvious sin. All three are cases of insincerity. They are attemi)ts to serve two masters, and they lack the absolute singleness of aim which Christ demands of tliose who follow Him. The severity of the condemnation upon them is the measure of the importance of the demand made upon the believei. He is to live a spiritual life pure and simple, guided by spiritual principles and spiritual aims; cowardice or lukewarmness or double-souledness is nothing less than the surrender of all this ; in other Avords, the rejection of Christ. On the positive side, we have St. Paul's exhortations to sincerity of work (Col 3^), to tolerance of weaker consciences in all things lawful (1 Co 8*"'', Ro 14), and these exhorta- tions are based upon the same general principle. The sole concern of men is to be their relation to God, and this will colour all that they do in the ordinary ways of life.
Under the same condemnation will be placed various sensual sins. Thus St. Paul bases his exhortation to purity on the true function of the body, and its capacity as a temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Co 6'- etc.). Covetousness, mentioned at the end of a list of sensual sins, is stigmatized as idolatry (Col 3') ; the love of money is said to have power to pervert men from the faith, and to be a root of all evil things (1 Ti 6'°) ; and again the love of pleasure is set over-against the love of God (2 Ti 3'). In all these cases the error lies in mis- direction of aim, the transient is preferred to the eternal. Thev are not merely breaches of law, or, as a Greek philosopher might have said, disturb- ances of the due balance of man's nature. In the light of the faith they are errors in principle, a choice of the wrong thing altogether.
This singleness of aim takes shape in social life in various noticeable forms. The bond which holds the Christian society together is love — love to God and love to the brethren. This, in itself, would prevent any violence of self-assertion or rivalry. But there are also positive virtues based upon the conception of the Christian society. One of the most striking of these is humility. This appears in St. Paul primarily as a social virtue. It consists in voluntarily accepting a subdued estimate of oneself. It is distinguished from all diffidence or indisposition to accept the call of God to special work by the fact that it deals fairly and simply with reality. On the practical side it con- sists largely in doing without hesitation or discon- tent the work assigned. So St. Paul exliorts the Romans (12*) not to think more highly of them- selves than they ought; and gives as his reason their unity in the body of Christ. Immediately afterwards he exhorts them to perform faithfully the function that has been allotted to them in the Church. So in the Epistle to the Philiiipians (2^1 the spirit of humility is opposed to the vainglorious temper, and the factious ungracious service of a hireling. So St. Peter finds in huniUity the princijile of church order (1 P 5'). Thus the normal aspect of this Wrtue in the apostolic writings is social ; it answers to the social reserve of the Greeks — the disposition to give and take without savage selfishness or personal rivalry. But it difiers widely from this, in that it is not based upon the mere fact that all men cannot have tlie same thing, and must give way to one another ; it rests upon a positive love of men, one to another, and a profouncf conviction of the unique value of spiritual thing.s. Moreover, it goes back upon the exaiiijile and the precept of Christ Himself ; it is a conspicuous embodiment of His mind and temper.
In this connexion it will be well to speak of another virtue which holds a high place in St. Paul's teaching. In the list of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5'-^), the virtue which appears at the