The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 318

his roundabout way, going a.bout to establish his own righteousness, wl\s I\ delusion, a sna.re, a loss, and not a. gain, for it kept him long years from Christ. Let us be clonr that we a.re not under a. simila.r delusion. Let us give up self-righteousneea and ta.ke God's better wav. II. A RISEN SAVIOUll IB THE END OF THE LAW AND OnJECT OF' FAITH, (Ver. 4.) Now, the moment we a.re led t.o take a spiritual view of God's Law, to see that it demands perfect mot'ive as well as decent outward morality, we see that we cannot keep it in its length and breadth; and therefore, instead of living by Law-keeping, we a.re condemned by the Law as its transgressors. Self-righteousness is seen to be self- deoeption. Condemnation is seen to be our natural state. Then is it that Christ and his perfect righteousness dawn upon our condemned and polluted souls. We see that he has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and so the Law serves its purpose when it lays us down at the feet of Christ, to be justified by faith. Instead of trusting our own righteousness, we see in our risen Saviour the true Object of faith and Source of righteousness. We pass out of shame into confidence in his finished work.1 III. Tms 11.ISEN SHIOUR IS EASILY FOU1''D. (Vers. 6-9.) The idea of the human heart is that by some prodigious effort salvation must be secured. Abana and Pharpar are further off, as well as likelier rivers, than this brawling Jordan hard by, and so Naaman cries out, " May I not wash in them, and be clean?" Only ask us to do some great thing in order to salvation, and our self-righteousness will be secured, and we shall be satisfied (cf. 2 Kings v. 12, 13). A far-off salvation suits man's taste the best. Set it in heaven, and he will reek his brains for some ingenious device by which he will fly away and be at rest. Set it beyond the sea, and boats will be built and the voyage nndertaken with alacrity (cf. Dent. xxx. 11-13). Make salvation to consist in a bringing of Christ down from above, and men like Titans will try to scale Olympus. Make salvation to consist in a descent to the lower world to bring Christ up from the dead, and many will try a journey like Orpheus after the lost Eurydice, to bring the Saviour from the shadows. But we have got to see that the risen Saviour is not so far away or so hard to find as thls. As Charles Kingsley once wrote to a la.dy, " My object has been and is, and I trust in God ever will be, to make people see that they need not, u St. Paul says, go up into heaven, or go down to the deep, to find Christ; because he, the Word whom we preach, is very near them, in their hearts and on their lips, if they would but believe it; and ready, not to set them a.float on new and untried oceans of schemes and projects, but ready to inspire them to do their duty humbly and simply where he has put them-and, believe me, the only way to ?'e!!enerate the world is to do the duty which lies nearest us, and not to hunt after ~ far-fet.<:hed ones for onrselves." 1 In the Word of the gospel the risen Saviour comes near to every one of us. We do not require any prodigious effort to reach him, We have simply to opei. the eye of faith, and there he is. IV. THE Jll8E!i S.AVIOUB MUBT BE CONFESSED WREN FOUND. (Vera. 10, 11.) Faith in a risen Saviour wbo is waiting to be found of us must prove its genuineness by the confession of hie Name. It is when we take the Lord's side deliberately that we have tested the reality of our faith. There is a cowardly tendency to helieve, but not con- fess• to get the benefits of salvation without running a single risk for our Saviour. But' such a selfish, easy-going faith is mere delusion. Whoever really believes in Jesus will not be ashamed to confess him. And conaequently we are encouraged first to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and then to confess him as our risen Saviour before men. There is undoubtedly a disposition to separate salvation from confession of G'hrist. It is thought to be wise and prndent to accept of the benefits Christ can offer anti at the same time to be silent about them. "Secret disci pies hip" is thought to be- a maBterpi~ of wJsdom. Every~hing. is thus gained, aud nothing risked or lost. But is everythmg gamed? Is nothrng risked or lost? Is the secret disciple ever likely to become a man of nobility and courage? Does he secure even self-respect? Must he not feel very much as a debtor who is ~]ways trying to shirk his obJigatic,ne and ignr,re the debt? (!r take the ma~tcr .rn. the ~oncrcte. Was Nicr..demus nc,ble as he visited Jesus by mght, and kept his d1sc1plcsb1p a secret from ' &,e Kingeley'e striking 11ermon OD "Sha.me," in his 'Sermons for tho Tlmo1,' 2nd edit., p. 231, etc. • (,'f. Cl..arlee Kingi,le,'11 'Life,' i. p. 481. on. x, 1-21.] THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 317