eolveretur; resurgendo o.utem totam vitam longer walkellt oharitabl7 (literally, f},~mrrl- noetre.m in peoulium o.ocepit; morte igitnr ing oo looe,flrcharity; i.e. in oontinuing to BP,t et roeurreotlone sun promeritue est ut tam e.t ne.oght hie conscientious scroples). With ln morte qua.m in vito. glorim nomlnis ejus thy meat dettroy not him, for whom Christ servio.mus" (Calvin), I•'or the idee. of this died (cf. 1 Cor. viii. 11, Kat lr:roA,,-ra, J bd8,- whole pn.ssage (vers. 7-9), of. 1 Cor. vi. vii>11 M,Mpb, , , . a.' &11 XpuT-rbr lr.1d8a11,11 ). 20; vii. 23; 2 Cor. v. 15. "Destroy" seems to denote causin"' hi3 The apostle now returns lo his immediate more.I_ a.o_d religious ruin by shaking J.ia conscient10urness'. and perhaps np,etting subject, wo.rning (11,B in ver. 8) the one party a.lloge~her the fa.1th he has, which, thoagh ago.inst judging e.nd the other age.inst de- weak, 1s ree.I. 1pising, on the ground of all alike having to Ver. 16.-Let not then your good be evil abide hereafter ·the Divine jndgment (of. spoken o~. :• ~ou_r good" is your enlighl,m. Matt. vii. 1, seq.; I Cor. iv. 8, 5). The dis- ment, which_ IB rn 1taelf a good thing:; but it will be " eVll spoken of" as a bad ·thin" if tinction in ver. 10 between the two pe.rties, it lends to superciliousness and nncharita.b'le- marked in the original by the initial ll, 6~ ness. e.nd the following 4) 1<al a-I,, is somewhat lost Vcrs. 17, 18.-For the kingdom of God is in our Authorized Version. not eating e.nd drinking, but righuotl.Blless e.nd pea.ce and joy in the Holy Ghost. For Vers.10-18.-But thou, whyjudgest thou he that in these things aerveth Christ is thy brother 1 or thou too, why settest, thou acceptable to God, and approved of men. at nought thy brother 1 l!'or we shall e.ll The conclndiug cla.nse here has reference t-0 sta.nd before the judgment-see.t of God (so, " let not your good," etc., preceding. It i., re.ther the.n of Christ, as in the Textus tbe pre.ctical fruits of r.. ith the.t commend Receptus). l!'or it is written, As I live, it to men, a.a well e.s being the test of its se.ith the Lord, every knee she.ll bow to me, genuineness before God. and every tongue she.ll confess to God (Isa.. Vers. 19-21.-Let us therefore follow xlv. 23, quoted very freely from the LXX.). after the things that make for (literally, So then every one of us she.ll give account the things of) peaoe, e.nd the things where- of himself to God. Let us therefore no longer with one may edify another (literally, the judge one e.nother. This concluding appeal things of the edification of one another). is e.ddressed to both parties. In all that l!'or meat's'ee.ke destroy;not the work of God, follows St. Pe.ul retnrns exclusively to the "Destroy," or rather, ot1erthrow--the word more enlightened ones, whose feelings were is 1<a.-cl.>..v,, not lr.iro.U.ue as in ve:r. 15--is in o.ocorde.nce with his own ; e.nd he now connected in thought with the edification, presses o. further thought upon them, namely or building up ( oi1<06op.fw) before spoken of. of the harm they might be doing to the " The work of God" is that of hiB grace in very souls of the weak ones by tempting the wee.k Christian's soul, growing, it may them, either by word or example, to disobey be, to full assure.nee of faith (cf. 1 Cor. iii. their own oonsciences, But judge ye this 9," ye a.re God's building"). Upset not the rather, that no me.n put a stumbling-blook in rising structure, which is God's own, a.s ys his brother's way, or an oooasion of falling may do by putting II stumbling-block in the (,r1<c/.116C&Aov). For the meaning of the word, weak brother's wl\y, All things indeed a.re cf. Luke xvii. 1; oh. ix. 83: xvi.17: 1 Cor. pure (i.e. in themselves e.ll God's gifts gi,en i. 23: Rev. ii. 14. for man's service a.re so) ; but it is evil to Ver. 14.-I know, and am persuaded in that me.n who eateth with offence ( i.e. the Lord Jesus (I myself know it; my very if the ee.ting be to himself a stnmbling- faith in Jesus carries to me the oonviotion blook. The idea is the same a.sin ver. H). of it: I do not hesitnte to declo.re my own It is good (~C&Abv, not of ind.ispensa.bl.:, obli- decided view, tho.t the scruples of these gation, but e. right and noble thing to do) weak brethren are unfounded) that there is neither to ea.t 11.esh, nor to drink wine, nor nothing unolee.n of itself (of. Matt. xv. 11 ; nnything whenby thy brother stnmbleth, l\fork vii. 18; Aote x. 15 ; 1 Tim. iv. 4) ; or is offended, or is made 1ceak. The con- save that to him who aooounteth anything cluding words iu italics are of doubtful to be unolea.n, to him it ls unolee.n. To him authority : they l\?O not r,.'q aired for tho it beoomes defiling, because partaking of it sense. For St. Pt\ul'e expression of his own defiles hie oonscienoo (of. 1 Cor. viii. 7 ), randiness to deny himself lawful things, if Ver. 15.-l!'or ('YA/' here certainly, rather he might so avoid offence to weo.k brethren, than 5~ e.e in the '.l'extue Reoeptus. It in- of. 1 Cor. viii. 13. troducoB Cl reason for the geueml ndmouitiou Ver. 22.-Hast thou faith 1 have it to thy- beginning o.t ver. 18) it on aooount of mee.t self before God. H,\st thou t\11 enlightenc,I (not hero, thy maat, o.s iu the Authorizod faith, showing thco the unimportance of VQl'lliou) thy brother la 1ri1vad, thou no thcdu obscrvwioce? Do not l_lllladu it ncecl- THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THt ROMANS. Cou. xt\r, 1-23
lessly befol'(' men. @b,«s µo, 3•";t«< Bor, eateth not or faith : tor whatsoever la not or -rh,,ios ,7 -,al d'"lp.-«rµb•os; µ~ iµol 11,irc- faith ia 1in. For sense of ll1111tpi11,a-6«,, of. "°' 6>..>..' dp,,,(.,..., -ro <Tw«Ms (Ohryeostom). ah. iv. 20; Matt. xxl. 21; Mark xi. 28; Happy is he that judgeth not himeelf in JM. i. 6. Faith hero denotes an 8ISUred that thing which he &lloweth. Thy wook belief that what one does is right; nor ls it brother. if be abstains ooneoientiously, is neoossary to give the ward a wider or dif- thm hRppy; tal..--e e&re that thou art equally ferent sense in the oonoluding olause (T«il'I'« tto in the exel'<'ise of thy freedom; for he 6~ .-d.....« tr•pl -rijs ,rpo1<,.,,.fll'I/S inro9£0'£0,S ,rp11- that alloweth himself in anvthing that he 'r41 .-q; D11il>..'I', o!/ ,.,pl ,..,f,,.,..,,,, Ohrysostom). is not fully oonnnoed is lawful passes, ipso Henoe to see in it (as has been done) the fa~-f-0. judgment on himself. doctrine of the sinfulness of all works done ,er. 23.-But he that doubteth (or, wa- apart from faith in Christ is to introduoe an f'ef'elJ1) is oondemned if he ea', beoaue he idea that is not there.