The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 32

autobiography of St. Paul is at onoe Interesting and truthf'nl, As Pe.ley, In hl11 ' Horii! Paulinro,' he.e BO 0181\rly shown, Paul's 11.0COunt of hie own peraone.l history, II'! gi.yen in his writings, is borne out in the fu~lest me.nner by the account given of him in the Acts of the Apostle.q, written by a different person and at a different time. The irresistible truthfulness of the story of Paul's conversion and Apostleship is ao etrong, that the study of it led the celebrated Lord Lyttleton, who had been for me.ny years a sceptic, to embraoe the religion of Jesus Christ and become one of Its ablest advocates. In the.."8 opening verses of the Epistle to t,he Romans, St. Paul gives us, in brief but weighty words, the story of his life. L AN Al'OllTLE's TITLE. "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ" (ver. 1), St, Paul's titles a.re not numerous or high-sounding. He gloried in the title of "servant,,_ eervant of Jesus Christ. Oonsider what it meant for Pa'IJ), that 1uJ beca1M and lived a le'l"Vant qf Jesus Christ. It meant to him loss of worldly prospects. " For whom I have suffered the loss of all things." It meant to him bodily suffering. "I bear about with me in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." It meant to him-a man of high ment.al endomnents, a ma.n of unblemished character-a life spent largely in the prison-cell, 'With the chains bound upon his wrists. It meant to him-and he knew it well-a life ended on the scaffold, or, like his Master's, on the cross. " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." But he had counted the cost, Three things sustained him as he trod that lonely path of service and suffering. He looked back to the cross of Jesus. He had the love of Jesus and the spirit of Jesus in his heart. And he looked forward to the crown of glory that awaited him. There- fore he was able to say, "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." It means m11i,ch the same to be a servant of Jesus <Jlzrut in our own day. You may not meet with bodily suffering as a consequence of your faitclulness to Jesus. But there are other sufferings, perhaps just as bitter and as hard to bear, which must be endured by the faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Make up your mind to this-that you are not the servant of the world, and then what the world may say of you will affect you very little. ..4. servant of Jesus Christ. St, Paul was what he professed to be. The world has confirmed the description, Could the same be said of us? Could we look up to God, or look into the faces of our fellow-men, and say, "Yes, I am a servant of Jesus Christ"? II. .A:s APOSTL1!:'s woBX, AND now HE nm IT. " Called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God" (ver. 1). The word "apostl,i" means a messenger, or one who is sent. This was Paul's work, to be an apostle or messenger of Jesus Christ. Th.is was the form of service he rendered to his Master. His work, the great ambition of his life, was to win men to Christ. General Lew Wallace, in that beautiful story of his, 'Ben Hnr; a Tale of the Christ,' speaks of Jesus Christ as "the one Man whom the world con.Id not do without." That, too, was St. Paul's firm conviction. This was <me of the things that carried him on in his work. He realized the power of the gospel. He felt that it was something more than human. Heart and conscience and intellect told him it was Divine. He, who was so well instructed in the Jewish Scriptures, knew that the prophets EpOke of Christ. " Which he had promised afore by hie prophets in the holy Scriptures" (ver. 2). He knew that Jesus had come. He knew that he had died upon the cross. Ye.s, and he knew that he had risen again. Look at the fourth verse: "Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holineSE, by the resurrection from the dead." Had he not seen him? Had he not heard his voice-that voice that spoke to him on the way to Damascus, nnd changed for ever the whole current of his life? Yes; Paul knew whom he had believed. He bad no doubt about it. He knt-w what Christ had done for him. And he knew what Christ could do for the world. He knew bow much the world needed Christ. And so he went forth on those great missionary journeys of hi,ll, burning with the one over- whelming, overmastering desire, to preach Christ crucified, and to persuade men In Christ's stead to be reconciled to God. This ia one of the great secrets of BucceBsjul tJJ<Jrk fur CM-iat ,till. We mUBt have a personal knowledge of Jesus as our own Saviour. "An educated ministcy is desirable," said the late Dr. Cooke, of Delfaet, "but a ror.verted ministry is indispensable." And we must then go forth in the conviction diat n,er, 11e;oo Christ, and that he will save them if thc1 come to him. mr. L 1-82,] THE EPIB'rLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMA.NB .