The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 34

every one; and it is the work and duty or the Christian Church to bring it within the reach of every one. I. A FACT STATED. "The gospel or Christ," says St. Paul, 11 ls the powor of God unt{l Rllvatfon to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and nlso to the Greek" ("er. 16). This was the oause of his readiness to go and prcaoh tho gospel at Romo also (ver. 15), just as he had already preached it to bigoted and fanatical Jews, and to the cultured and llCCpt.ical Greeks. He knew no difference of nation or of language, of creed or class, so far as the need of the gospel and the power of it wero concerned, His m~<'e was that Christ Jesus came into tho world to save sinners, and he know that he wonld find sinners everywhere. 1. The gospel is a message/or the rich. It tells them of 11, treasure that is incorruptible, that fadeth not away. It shows them how to bt>come rich toward God-first, by having Christ,'\nd having him, we have all things; and then, by making a good use of the earthly possessions which God has given them. 2. The gOS[Wl i.s a message for the poor. It teaches them to be industrious and contented. It shows them in the earthly life of Jesus Christ himself, and in the lives of hundreds of bis followers, how a peaceful and happy mind may exist, and how a useful life may he spent, even amid circumstances of outward poverty. 3. The gospel is_ a message for the men of inul/..ed and learning. What sublime ideas it puts before us I with what pure and lofty motives it inspires us! and with what a glorious hope it cheers us on I Contrast the fatnre to which the atheist or the a,,anostic looks forward, with the future which is the Christian's hope, an eternity of conscious enjoyment of what ie noblest nnd best. The gospel has a claim upon the ignorant and poor because of its simplicity and its comforts. But it has just as strong a claim upon men of giant intellect and '"ig0rous understanding. And observe how some of the foremost men in science, in literature, and in statesmanship have recognized that claim, and responded to it. What 11nmcs in literature and science stand higher than those of Newton and Faraday, Thomas Chalmers and Hugh Miller, Sir John Herschel and Sir David Brewster, all humble believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? Or to take one case only from our British st:,;tesmen, that of the late Lord Cairns, Lord Chancellor of England. During the term of office of the last Conservative administration a Russian war was felt to be imminent, and much ~cit.em.ent prevailed both within and without the cabinet. One day the "·ife of a jmiior member of the cabinet inquired of Lady Cairns, "What is the secret of the lord chancellor's constant and unruffled calmness, which my husband tells me pervades the whole place so soon as Lord Cairns appears?" "It is this," was the reply; " he never att.ends a cabinet meeting without spending half an hour immediately beforehand alone with his God." Upon young men of education and learninr,, upon young men of thoughtfnl minds, we would press home the claims of the gospel; yes, the personal claims of the Lord J esns Christ himself. The gospel is a message for every one. It is a message for the sorrowing. It is a message to the sinner. It has melted the hardest heart; it has made the impure man pure, the intemperate man temperate, the dishonest man honest; and changed the proud and haughty man into a man of humble and gentle spirit. Over and over again it has proved itself to be "' the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." II. A E.EABON GIVE:& A.ND AN OBLIGATION FELT. 1. St. Paul gives a reason why the gospel, is a 'ITl,l!$SG,fle for every one. "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith" (ver. 17). A gospel that tells of a perfect righteousness is the univera.l n&ed of the human heart. In the opening chapters of this Epistle the apostle enlarges on that idea more fully. He shows how the heathen needed a riahteousoess. Then he shows how the Jews needed a righteousness, condemned as they were by that holy Law whose requirements they failed to fulfil. And then, having shown the universal need-" for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God n (eh. iii. 28}-he speaks o! the ~nivereal. righteousness which .is unt~ and u~n all them that believe. There JB no difference in the need. There 1e no difference 1n tbe gospel me88Bge. 2. We have here also an obligation felt. "I am debtor both to tbe Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise " (ver. 14), Tbere are few statements so lllblime u that from any human pen. The old Latin poet represent.II one of hie characters as sayi11;g, "Homo sum, nih!l humanum a ~e alieoum puto" (" I am a man, and everything human has an 1nterest for me ). Tbil is a fine sentiment; but here, in the case of St. Paul, wo have a man expressing 011, 1. 1-32.J TltE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TtlE ROMANS. 27