The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 458

epeal..o of her, must have been known by usual autographio boned.lotion, he feols him pel'!!Onlilly, and done work of ,;hich he bound to add ono additional warning. The \\"8.B ~ n t . It ie to be obaerved how, thought ooours to him, and he oannot but in Mllmg her "the helm·ed," be avoids, give expreseion to it. Tho warning fa mth delicste propriety, adding "my," 68 he nga.inat a olass of porsone whose misohlevous does in speaking of his male friends, e.ctivity he ha.d had experlenoe of elsewhere, Ver. 13.~alute Rufna llhoaen in the and att.empts by some of whom to disturb Lord. &nil bis mother and mine. Observe the peaoe of the Roma.n Ohuroh he may the gl'608fnl way in whioh St. Paul intimates possibly have hca.rd of. Thoy mo.y havo his c-bligation to the mother of Rufus, who been Judaists, or others who taught views at some time (th0ngh ,;hen and where we ooutra.ry to the received faith, o.nd so caueed know not) had hc>en as a mother to himself. divisions a.nd oft'enoes in the Ohurohes. For Similar delioate courtesy of langu:i.ge ie allusions to such elsewhere, of. Gal. i. 6, seq.; espeoiaUy observable in the Epistle to Phi- iii. 1, seq. ; Col. ii. 8, seq. ; 2 Cor. xi. 13, aeq. lemon. For proof of such ha.vin~ hl:en at work !l:~er- , ere. l 4,, 15.-Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, ,;a.rds a.t Rome, ef. Phil. 1. 15, seq. ; w. 2, Hennas (not., Bllrely, as Origen supposed, 17, seq. the e.uthnr of • The Shepherd of Herma.s,' Ver. 17.-Now I beseeoh you, brethren, 'llrhich is said in 'Canon Muratori' to have mark them whioh oause the divisions and been written by a brother of Pius I., and olfenoes (.,.a o-1«l.vatt11..., meaning " co.uses of OIIIIDOt well ha ,e been of earlier date tba.n stumbling." Both the words have the the second century), Patrobaa, Hermes, and article, so as to denote things known ol) the brethren that are with them. Salute oontra.ry to the dootrine whioh ye lea.med; Philologus, and J'ulia (these, being oonpled and a.void them; rather, turn awa'!I from together, may have been man a.nd wife, or them; i.e. shun them ; ha. ve nothing to do brother e.nd sister), Nereus, and bis sister, with them. The a.llusion seems to be, not ud Olympas, and all the aaints which are to persons within the Ohmch, but rather t.o with them. The " brethren" in ver. 14, outsiders, who come with new notions to _and the ·•saints" in ver. 15, saluted in con- disturb its peace. nection with the gronps of persons na.med, Vers. 18-20.-P'or they that are suoh may possibly mea.n the congrega.tions that serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their assembled under the lea.dership, or perhaps own belly (cf. Phil. iii.18, 19). Had St. Paul at the houses, of those persons. If so, there thought these people sincere though mis- would appear to have been three congrega- taken, he would doubtless have treated them tions in Rome known of by St. Panl ; for see with the tenderness he shows towards the ver. 5, which, indeed, seems in itself to weak brethren. But he regards them as imply that the Church that was in the self-interested, and of the flesh ; and against honse of Priscilla and Aquila was not the such disturbers of the Church's peace he is, only one. here as elsewhere, indignant (cf. Gal. i. 7, Ver. 16.----Salme one anotherwith an holy 8; ii 4; iii. 1 ; v. 11, 12). In speaking of kifls. All the Churches of Christ salute you. them as serving, or being slaves to, their own For !illusions to the kiu of peace among belly, it cannot ho concluded certainly that Christians, cf. 1 Thess. v. 26; 1 Cor. xvi 20; he attributed to them habits of sensuality. 2 Cor. :riiL 12; 1 Pet. v. U. Justin Martyr He may only mean that it is the gratifica- (' ApoL,' 85) speaks of it as exehanged before tion of the lower part of their nature that the Eucharist, and it is alluded to by many they have in view; and there may be Fathers, directed in the • .Apostolical Consti- allusion to the motive of such persons being tntions,' e.nd has its place in ancient liturgies the desire of eating and drinking at the cost (see Bingham, ::s::v. iii 3). St. Panl, of of the Churches. In 'The Teaching of the course, in enjoining it here and in other Twelve Apostles' (alluded to under oh. xii Epistles, has in view the concord which it 6, uq.) the desire to live without worldng at expressed. In sending salutations from the cost of the Church is set down as one " all the Churches of ChriBt n ( ,ra.,r,.,, omitted of the marks of a false 11postle or a. fa.lee in the Textns Beceptus, having authority prophet. And by good words and fair decidedly in it.! favour), he may be under- 1peeche1 deoeive the hearts of the simple l!tood as conveying to the Roman Christians (rather, innocent, or harmleH. So the word the fooling towa.rda them that had been ex- fmucos is tranela.ted in Heh. vii. 26. It is r,ressed generally by the Churches he had different from luclp<>1os in ver. 19, though the visited. He may have spoken wh,,rcvcr he Autl1orized Version makes no differnuce). w1;nt of his intentior, of viBiting Home, and 'J'or your obedienoe is come abroad unto all I>'=rlrn.r,11 of meanwhile !lendi.og a letter men. 'fhis is apparently o.dducod o.s o. thither; e.nd the several Churches may have reason for his exhorting them to bowo.rc of charg,,,J him with kind mesaages. Before thn11C seducers, with o. confidence that thoy auth,,nticating thi,ee wutatiODB with hill will not be seduced by them, ver. 19 being ea. s.n 1-27.J TllE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE BOMANS. 451