The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 359

h!ltr~d which prevail around them;· whilst in tho most civilized c<,mmuniticR ther'! are multitudes who prefer ~h~ir own p_leasure · and interest ~ all beside. Christianity reveals to us the true prmc1ple of umversal brotherhood, basing it upon the Fatherhor,d of God and the redemption of Christ. 'l'he apostle of love, St. John tells us that "God is ~oye," and makes thia the Christian's m?tive to the love of his brother. And Paul, wr1tmg to the Ephesians, says, "Walk m love, even as Christ aL'lO loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering_and a sacrifice to G~." _And here the precep~ of the apostle must be taken along with what goes before m this Epistle and it must be remembered that the entreaty is nrged "by the mercies of God." All i:a.nhly duties have a heavenly origin. Religion is designed to govern our whole spirit and life. The man who believes in the infinite love, in the fatherly heart, of God, who believes that God sent his Son to save us from hatred and: all other sins, h&B a root for hie renewed dispositions and hie changed habits of regarding and treating his fellow-creatnres. it becomes natural to him to live a life of love. ' II. LOVE INVOLVES ALL VIRTUE, AND 18 THE COMPENDIUM OJ' THE MORAL LAW. We have the unquestioned authority of our Lord for this view of love; for Je,713 approved of the summing-up of all duty, of the whole Decalogne, in both tables, in the two precepts, "Love God," and "Love thy neighbour." Where there i., true love vice and crime are banished. And every virtue and grace may be regarded in practi~ as the fruit of this plant. Even justice, the first of the virtues, is not ahove this alliance; for how can we wrong those whom we love? It is thus we must acconnt for the exhortation, with which ver. 9 closes, coming in this place. Evil is hatred, and is therefore abhorred; good is love, and is therefore sought and held fast with a firm gr&Bp. Some, indeed, interpret this clause," Cleave to the Good One, i.e. Christ," bringrno- the motive of a personal attachment to the Saviour to bear upon the redeemed natnr;. Let us not neglect the Divine method, or spurn the aid which infinite wisdom and grace have preferred. Is it in any respect hard for ns to obey God, and follow in the steps of Christ? Then let ns call to mind the love of God revealed in his dear Son, and allow that love to prompt us to obedience, gratitnde, and consecration. And let us, adopting Christ's new commandment, live in the spirit of love and kindness. This, by the help of the Holy Spirit, will render difficult duties e.asy, and will enable us to fulfil, in the right spirit and in the right way, the will of God concerning us, in all our relations with our fellow-creatures. III. CHBISTiAN LOVE SHOULD BE UNFEIGNED. As variously rendered, " without dissimulation," "withl!lut hypocrisy." There were hypocrites, not only among the Jewish Pharisees, whom Christ denounced for their pretences and insincerity, but also among the Christian communities. Thus Ananias and Sapphira professed love and generosity, but there was no reality corresponding to the profession. It is hard to understand how, in those times, there could have been any inducement to hypocrisy. However, the language of :the apostle here seems to imply that there was a danger of some professing disciples of Christ avowing a love which they did not really feel There is certainly such danger now. Public sentiment requires that charity should be pro- fessed among Christians. Yet there obtains very much which is inconsistent with such profession. There are those who call one another "dear brethren," who nevertheless slander and injure one another when opportunity occurs. It is the curse of the so-called religious world; and it would be well for a while to have in this matter a little less profession and a little more practice. The pretence of brotherly love without the reality is self-delusion, and it is most pernicious in its influenoe over the unbelie¥ic.g world. IV. CHRISTIAN LOVE SHOULD BE CHARACTERIZED BY SYMPATHY AND TE..'IDEB:SESS. The Iangun.ge used by the apostle here is very remarkable: " Be tenderly affectioned ono to another." There is a qun.lity in Christian love which is :i,>eculiar to our religion, which was but little known previously to our Saviour's comLDg, and which may be sought almost in vo.in in the heathen world to-day. We are not to show kindness merely from a senso of duty ; but to do so in tho ~pirit ,,f him who brnke not the bruised reod, who was often moved with compassion, who, even on the cro..«s, ,'\'43 meok and gentle, considem~o nnd forgiving. Pn_ul h~d much _of t_he sa1:11e spi~it. A koon Jorrical mind, a rhetoricnl style, n commnndin~ will, were m 1nm uruted with the tendel'U:ss of th@ uurse, the moth@r. His was the love of for\>Qa.rw.i.ce u.ud 1,atience, of 358 THE EPISTLE OF r AUL TO THE ROMANS. [cm, xu. 1-21.