The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 310

~h'l"ery•~ lash still falls? How beautiful is that gospel which hM lifted woman out of her dq,rsdation; which has emancipated alroady so many millions of slaves; which ho.s abe>lished cannibalism in so many islands of the sea; which hl\s put n.n end to the imttee and other cruel ceremonies in India ; and which is drawing the nations of the earth t<.iget.her in a universal brotherhood of good will and peace I III. lT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO DB A BEABER OF THIS MESSAGE. "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace I" What share are we taking in this glorious work? "Consecrated capital," says Dr. A. T. Pierson, "is not only potent; it is well-nigh omnipotent. To have and to use money well is to multiply personal power a thousa.ndfold, nay, to multiply one's self a thousandfold. The giver is potentially wherever his gift is. Sarah Hosmer's frugal savings educated six young men to preach the gospel in Oriental lands, and where they were, she had her representatives and preached through them. A man recently died in New York whose noble bene- factions had spread so fat, that in not less than two hundred and fifty different places he was represented by a mission Sunday school, a church, an asylum, a hospital, a college or seminary, or some other form of beneficence: his money made him virtually omnipresent as a benefactor." Oh that individual Christians would awake to their opportunities! Oh! that they would realize the moral grandeur and glory of being a bearer of the gospel message, and a helper in the gospel cause 1-C. H. I. Veni. 16-21.-77le 7ason of neg'leded opportunitiu. L IT m Goo's PART TO PBO• VIDE TBl!: OPPOBTm<"'ll'IES. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (ver. 17). The apostle recognizes that men cannot be condemned for unbelief, if they have not had the opportunity of hearing the gospel. No person will be con- demned in the day of judgment who has not had the opportunity of salvation. And lest any one, applying this role to the case of Israel, should suggest that they had not such an opportunity, he asks the question, "But I say, Have they not heard?" Can the plea of ignorance be pnt in on their behalf? Nay. "Their sound" (that is, the voice of God's messengers, referred to in ver. 15) "went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." God has done his part for the enlightenment and salvation of men. He has revealed himself in his works of nature. He has revealed himself in his Word. He has revealed himself in his Son. Jesus is the Emmanuel, .. God with U&.. IL IT IS JUJ!i's PAll:T TO AVAIL BIIISELF OF TBEH. The mere possession of gospel privileges is no guarantee of salvation. "But they have not all obeyed the gospel" (ver. 16). Israel had the Law, with its types and ceremonies, pointing to Christ; their prophetB, who spoke of him. Yet, with all their privileges, they rejected Christ. " He came unt.o his own, and his own received him not." It will not profit us that we have been bronght up in a Christian home, in a Christian Church, or that we have had the Bible in our hands, unless we ourselves "obey the gospel," accept its invitations, respect its precepts, and submit ourselves to Jesus as our Saviour and our King. Yet there sre many who are resting entirely upon their privileges, without exercising that living personal faith in Jesus Christ for which these privileges afford the opportunity and the help. IIL OnuatoNI11E8 NEGLECTED WILL BE TAKEN AWAY. Israel had been from thP beginning forewarned of this. So long ago as the time of Moses it had been said t.o them, " I will provoke you t.o jealow!y by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger yon " (ver. 19). Then Isaiah repeated a similar warning, "I was fomid of them that sooght me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me" (ver. 20). The same lelBOn in the history of Israel is repeated by Christ more than once in his parables. In the parable of the wicked husbandmen, the lord of the vineyard is represented as letting out his vineyard "unto other husbe.ndmen, who sh.a.1.1 render him the fruits in their seasons" (Matt. xxi. 41). The same lesson is taught in the parable of the wedding-feast, where the invitation, rejected by the regule.r)y iovited guests, is sent out to the highways and hedges. We have the same truth 1n the fldrable of the talents. '' Unto every one that bath shall be given .•. but from him that bath not shall be taken away even that which he bath" (Matt. :xxv. 29), 'flu:, hutory of the Jew, i, a ,ol,emn warning againat the neglect of opportrmitiea. It 1s a 11uleIUD warning to all those who, though brought up in Christian hon:ies and in • oir. x.1-21.] TBE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 809