The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 469

and rolief; ehe may invito the cnrelees to the house of God. And a woman's inflrJP,nce it often 11owerful for good where even a. Christian man would utterly fail to reach the hardened heart.-O. H. I. Vel'II, 1-10.-Words of CO'IIRtBelfM' a, Ohristian Ghwrch. The practkal exhortations given in most of these closing chapters of this Epistle have reference mainly to the duties of individual Chrietiane. 'fhe exhortations of this last chapter refer sr,ecially to the duty of the local Church in ite corporate capacity. I. ATTENTI,ON TO BTR_ANGEl!S· ~onsideration for strangers was constantly impressed upon the Jewish people Ill ancient times. "Oppress not the strangern (Exod. xxii. 21; xxiii. 9, etc.) ; "'rhe stranger that dwelleth among you shall be unto yon as one born among you, and thou she.It love him as thyself" (Lev. xix. 34). And Malachi denounces judgments upon those "that turn aside the stranger from his ri"ht" 0 (iii. 5). So here Paul enjoins it upon the Church at Rome. "I commend unto you Phoobe our sister . . . that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever businees she bath need of you" (vers. 1, 2). Th,P,Te is much,need/or such an exhorta,tion in the Christian Churches of to-day. Stran"ers go in and out of our Churches unnoticed and uncared for. False modesty or exce~ive etiquette prevents the members of the Church from speaking t.o them. Consider the possible effects of such neglect. A young man, far from home, exposed to many temptations and godless surroundings, enters a church. No one speaks to him. He drjfts away. He knows that in the drinking-saloon, perhaps, he will find a. welcome and a friendly shake of the hand. "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." Why should not Christians be a.~ anxious to welcome the stranger to the house of God as the godless are to welcome him to their haunts of giddy pleasure and sin? Another, hovering on the verge of unbelief, unsettl.ed by the silly popular literature of our day, enters a Christian chnrch. He sees an element of unreality and of selfishness strongly marked. He too drifts away. Or some stranger enters a Christian church who is in trouble or in perplexity, and to whom a word of sympathy or guidance would be welcome. But from the self- absorbed and stand-off Christians no encouragement is received. Can we wonder that such persons are alienated from the Church, are often alienated from Christ? .il.nd what doea Christ think of all this 1 Listen to his words on the great day: " I was a stranger, and. ye took me not in." And when those whom he shall thue address shall say," Lord, when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee not in?" then shall he answer them, " Inasmuch as yo did it not to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to me." Attention shown to the stranger is regarded by the Saviour as attention shown to himself. Such attention "becometh saints" (ver. 2). But however the Church may treat strangers, they need not remain strangers to Christ. He has a word and a welcome for o.ll, II. ATTEN.TION TO ONE ANOTHER, While we are to think of strangers wo must noi forgot our own, brethren. "We have careful thought for the stra111;0r, And smiles for the sometime guest: But oft for our own 'l.'he bitter tone, Though we love our own the best." St. Paul hero exhorts lhat they should greet one another as brethren. "S.\lute one another with an holy kiss" (ver. 16)-the customary mode of salutation at the time. Is not this exhortation also-namely, of friendliness and brotherly kindness amo'lg Christians-much needed in the Christian Church of to-day? How many professing Chri.stians pass in and out of thEl same church, sit down at the same communion-table, and never exchange greetings with one another I AIM I :i.fter centurios of Christianity, we are but beginners in the sohool of Christi Our profession of friendship for Christ is not worth much it we are not willing to rnake frionds of his brethren. Ilut it may be said "\Ve cannot ignore social ditfcrenceR. How am I to recognize in the street as n friend, how r1m I to slmko hnn<ls with, one of lower socil\l position?" Ah, yes I tir;te ia tho 1litliculty, Missionr1rlcs tell us thnt cnste in gasteru countries is oue oi tho 468 THE EPIS1'LE OF PAUL 'l'O 'l'liE HOMANS, [oa. xvi. 1-27,