The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 424

hBst choRen; 11 " The Lord nclded to them daily." "Lord, what wilt tbon have me to do?" is the first question of the new life. 'fhere would be no difficulty in any depart- ment of Church-fellowship if the authority of Christ were fully reco=ized. "One is your M~eter, even Christ, and all ye are br?thren;" Finances, activity, brotherly regard, all flounsh where hearts are eurrenclered m entirety to the sway of Christ. 2. This Lordship means protection as well as govtrnment. As under Roman law each noble patrician had his clients, whose wrongs be redressed and whose interests he promoted, eo the Saviour throws the mgis of his love over hie subjects, directing them by his wisdom, shielding them by hie interposition. " Fear not ; no man shall set on thee to harm thee." The very end of government is the welfare of the governed. Old ideas that the monarch has no duties and the people no rights have pMsed for ever ; and we are warranted in seizing nobler conceptions of the sovereignty of God than prevailed when despotism reigned unquestioned. Let men beware lest they lop oft' limbs from the body of Christ, and by their divisions and excommunications rend his seamless garment. 3, The dominion of Christ may well console us as we think of the duvJ. He is the Lord of all worlds, has "all authority in heaven and earth." His voice comforts the bereaved, sounding amid the stillness of the sepulchre, "Fear not: I have the keys of death and of Hades." "He is not the Lord of the dead, hut of the living." The dead pass not into a dreary unillumined state; they "depart to he with Christ." And where mournful reflections on wasted lives, sudden departures, check hopeful sorrow, and memory emits little fragrance from the past; yet we may leave all in his hands who, as the supreme Architect of humanity, rejoices in restoration rather than destruc- tion. "Shall not the Judge . . . do right?" II. THE MANNER rn WBIOH THIS LORDSHIP wAS WON. 1. By stooping to the condition of his subjects, He is Lorrl by creation, but still more by virtue of his redemptive work. Well has he earned his title who entered into our humbling nature, tasted our sorrows, and drank the cup of bitterness as our Sin Offering. He himself passed through the gloomy portals of death, and in rising again revealed both the love a.nd the might of God. Only he can be a true Master who first subordinated himself to service. For the suffering of death is he crowned with glory a.nd honour. _He can declare, "I he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." "Because I li,e, = ye shall live also." 2. .After this model, se1-vice to the Church becomes the stepping-sfone to honour. Christ has furnished the pattern to his followers according to which office and rank are confe1Ted. He who is most profitable to the body is to be most esteemed by the members. Empty sinecures are unknown in his kingdom. And if we would benefit our fellows, we must by real sympathy share their need a.nd trouble. "He that will be greatest, let him be your minister." Christ rose as the Firstfrui~ a.nd in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own rank.-S. R. A. Ver. 17.-Essentials of the kingaom of God. Differences of opinion respecting festivals to be observed and foods to be abstained from were certain to arise in commu- nities composed of Jews of every sect and Gentiles of every race. And we may be thankful that these differences manifested themselves so early in the primitive Church, since they furnished an occasion for a deliverance by the apostle on such a theme. We are glad to have such a valuable weighty aphorism as that of the text. The apostle's firmness and meekness equally diplay themselves. He wants none to suffer bondage, nor yet does be permit their liberty in Christ to be harmful to their brethren, I\Ild thus a topic of reproach in the world outside. And he makes the position clear by dis- tinguishing between what is fundamental in religion, and what is temporary, local, a.nd adventitious. I. 'l'BE NON-ESSENTIALS OF THl!I CHRISTIAN LIFE. The "kingdom of Goo" is a com- prehensive phrase, denoting the new sovereignty established by Christ in the hearts of mdividuals where he rules in power and grace, and likewise embracing the whole com- pany of those tbroucrhout the globe who, by personn.l reception of the truth, have entered Into a eooiety with duties and privileges omnMting from the Kingship of the Redeemer. Tlte code of life lays down no ha,-d specific rules of absti11e11ce or co11formity. "E<\ting and drinkin"" nre no necessary pnrt of Christian living. It is tho spirit in which certnin nctio;s are performed or certain privations submitted to rather than the thin~ themselvoe which mnke men Christians, EietllNlal observa11ces do ,wt constitute rel iyion.  THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [on. xiv. 1-28,