The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 164

too fur rem<'t"<'d_ from t.he pnSl!llge l,eforo rule "·e must obey. Dnt il still will try to us t.o be mken m nny connection with it, usurp lordship over us-in vo.in, however, Xeithrr is tlil' first 1'8!11lon at all c-og-rnt. if we resist the ,usurp,\iion : o~ ,cupmlu,, vo,.->..a bears the sense of in..•truments as\rnll fiµ,aw. The sense thus given to the verse is M of tt1eapom, and may more suitably bear what its own language nnd the previoll8 it he:re. When St. Paul elsewhere speaks oontext suggest. Bntver. 15, which follows, of armonr. it is the armour of light, or of suggests a different meaning. " What then? nghteo11$n=<, which we are told to tai•e up, shall we Bin, because we are not under law and to I"" 011, in order to fic-ht a~inst our but under graoe?" Suoh a question cot1ld spiritual E>nemiee. Suoh a~ C'OD~<'ption is not arise on the etntement of the preceding inappli<'-&b!e to our own"'~ which we verse, if its meaning were understood to ha\"e alNady, which we may use either for be that grace will enable us to avoid sin; good or e,iL and which require the pro- it rather supposes the meaning that gro.oa iection of heaven!, armour rather than oondones sin. Hence, in ver. 15 o.t least, being themselves armour; and we cer!runly a different aspeot of the difference between oould not be told to take t.bem np or put being under lnw and being under grace them on. We may, ip. the next pince, observe seems evidently to come in: namely, this- that the two clauses of this ,crse are that the principle of law is to exa.ot complete differently expr~"lld in two respects. (1) It obedience to it.s behests; but the principle i~ onr members onlv that we are forbidden of grace is to aocept faith in lieu of com- to yield to sin ; but ourseloea, with our plete obedience.; If, then, l.µ.CLfl..-ia t,,,_.,,, 06 members, we are bidden to vield to God. 1e11p1rotr<1 in ver. 14 is to be understood in For few of the persons addressed, if even a,,,o-reement with this idea, it must mean, any, could be supposed, deliberately and of "Sin, though it still infects you, shall not choice, to offer their whole being to the lord it over you so as to bring you into con- se:nice of sin as such; they were only liable demnation." Calvin has a good note on the t,o succumb to sin, in this or that way, verse. He allows the first of the expositions through soliciting lusts. But the regenerate of it given above to be "una qum cmteris Christian offers and presents hie whole self prohabiliue euetineri queat." But be thinks to God. and desires to be hie entirely. (2) In that ver. 15, following, requires the other, the first clanse we find the present impera- and he concludes thus : " Vult enim noe tive, ra.purrcl,,.-r•; bnt in the second the consolari apoetolus, ne e.nimis fatiecamus aorist imperative, -,;-cr.pa.trrl,uan. The dis- in studio bene agendi, propterea quod multae tinction between the two t.ensee in the im- imperfectionea adhuc in nobis sentio.mus. pera.tive is thUll expressed in Matthim'e Utcnnque eni.m peccati aouleie vexemur, ' Greek Grammar:' " that the aorist desig- non poteet tamen noe eubigere, quia Spiritu nates an action passing by, and considered Dei superioree reddimur : deinde in gratia abstmctedly in its completion. but the conetituti, eumns liberati a rigide. Legie preseui a continued and frequently repeated exactione." It may be that the apostle, action." Onr giving ourselves to God is when he wrote ver. 14, meant what the aomething done once for all; our yielding previoos context suggests, but passed on in om i:nembers as instruments of sin is e. ver. 15 to the other idea. in view of the way IIOCCEIIBion of acts of yielding. in which hie words might be understood. Ver.14.-!'or sm lb.all DDt have dominion In what follows next (vere. 15-23) is over you.: far ye are not under law, but introduced the second illustro.tion (see muler grace. AB to the force of the futore former note), drawn from the human rela- here, ov ,cvp,d,u•i, see what was said under tions between masters and slaves. It comes ver. 5. Here also no more seems, e.t first in by way of meeting the supposed abuse sight, •to be meant than that God, if we of the statement of ver. 14; but it serves respond to hie grace, will not let sin have as a further proof of the general position dominion over us ; we shall, in fact, if that is being upheld. The word ,c11p1e6uei we are willing, be enabled to resist it. in ver. 14 suggests this particular illustra- "Invitos noe non coget [pecce.tom] ad eer- tion. We being under grace, it bo.d been viendnm tibi" (Bengel). .And the reason said, sin will not be our master, whenoe the given is suitable to this meaning: "ll'or inference was supposed to be drawn that we ye are not under law" (which, while it may sin with impunity, and without thereby makes lllll sinful and exact.a its full penalty, snbjecting ourselves to the mastery of sin. imparts no power to overcome it), "bot Nay, it ie replied, but it will be our mneter, under g:mce" (which does communicate if in practice we consent to be its servants. BOCh power). Thus undentanding the vene, Vera. 15, 16.-What then t shall we ain, we see the distinction between /J<,.(Tt>..,ubr~ in because we are not 'lllUl.er law, but under Yer. 12 and ,cup..WEL here. In ver. 12 we graoe 1 (D0e11 being under graoe mean that are exhorted not to let sin rei.g,,, ; we are to we may allow ourselves in sin without being O'lfll no allegiawie to ii u a kmg whoae under sin's thraldom ?) God forbid, ~o" mr. vi.1-28,] 'l'RE EPIBTTJE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 161