The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 292

by en euy transition, "those who followed a.pplioation. of the term afp, .. ,r to the Ohris" a particular way of thinking"-"& eohool tian faith; not, however, on the ground the.• of thonght." Thus it occurs in Dionysius the term denoted a flagrantly erroneous and of HaliC&l'naseus, • De Dem. et Arist.,' 7, eto. vicious form of doctrine; for there ls no• (see Liddell and Scott). This sen'Se was so thing to show th&t this we.a the idea wh'ioh current in Dionysius's time as to sppoar in TertlillUB·meant to convey to Felix's mind, Latin in the contemporary writings of in so designating either Ohristia.ns or their Cicero; thus, in • Promm. Po.rad.,' Cicero faith: wbat, indeed, should Felix oe.re about writes, "Cato in ea. est hmresi [sc. the Stoic], the soundness or ·uusoundncss of their doc., qum nullum seqnitur fiorem orationis ; " trin:es P The apostle rather repudiates the • Ad Fe.mi!.,' x:v. 16; • Ad Att.,' xiv. 14. term, because, as signifying" choioe," it in:i- Similarly Vitruvius writes, • Proof.,' 5, plied th&t the views referred to were adopted •• Pythagorm hmresin sequi." It is not on the prompting of individual opinion or always ee.sy to discriminate whether the liking. That it WRS not this, he shows by "school of thought" so designated means referring p&rtly to the broad be.sis of Divine the we.y of thin.king itself or the set of men revelation in general as propounding the who held it. In this sense the word is used doctrine of the resurrection, which lay at in the New Testament. Thus Acts v. 17, the foundation of the Christian faith ; and " the high priest e.nd all they that were with partly to the fact that. his accusers them- him, which is the heresy (a1f'•=) of the selves admitted that doctrine. Christians Se.dducces;" where it means the sect, and believed that Jesus •was raised from · the not their views. So again, Acts xv. 5, dead, not bec,mse they " chose " to think so, •· certain of those of the heresy of the P~ but because God's Word taught, them so to risees;" ibid., uiv.5, "ringleader of the hereJJy believe. . We a.re thus landed at the con- of the Nazarmans," where Tertullus pie.inly clnsi_on that, antecedently to its introduction: meant those who held the views of the into the language of the Chqrch, the term Na.za.rlll8.ns, and not the views themselves. ti1pe0',s denoted a sohool of thought or:a set But, on the other hand, in the same chapter of opinions ; sometimes the opinions ,them- St. Paul in his reply (ver.14), when he says, selves; sometimes the people holding them; "After the way which they calla.heresy, so but that it was understood to do so with serve I the God of our fathers," evidently. reference to points on which there did not uses the term llB applying to "the Way" appear to :be any decisive authority to• de- itself (comp. Acts ix. 2), and not to. the termine men's convictions, 'and respecting people who followed it. In Acts xxvi. 5, which, therefore, men might choose their '' after the stra.itest heresy of our religion own opinions as they thought themselves ( 6f171cncefos) I lived a. Pharisee," the word best able. This conclusion will help us to may be taken either way. In Acts xxviii. understand its import in 1 Cor. xL 19, in the 22, "concerning this heresy, it is 1.-nown to passage before us, e.nd in 2 Pet. ii. 1, as well us that everywhere it is spoken against," as the passage. in Titus iii, 10, 11, in which it seems, of the two, to be rather the more the case of" a man that iii an heretio (ltv- obvious way to take it of "what Paul Bpc.nros o.lpeTut6s) "·-is·dealt witli.. It is clear, thought," than of the persons so thinking. from eh. i. 6-9i that .the apostle regarded If, however, it be taken of persons, it is of the'·' gospel" which had been delivered to course to be ie.ken of them as holding and • the world (Jude 3) by himself and his.fel- represr:,nting such views. In 2 Pet. ii 1, low-apostles, as being a revelil.tion so certain •• false teachers, who ~hall privily bring in and authoritative. that. any teaoher intro- JiereaieB of perdition," the qualifying geni- ducing doctrine seriously infringing upon tive, "of perdition," would seem to favour its substantial import .would subject himself our understanding the " heresies" of the to the. extreme malediction of God. The doctrines of these false teachers, rather than whole. tenor ot" this Epistle shows that its of the parties following .their teaching. On author coneidered·the Churches of Ge.latia the whole review of these passages, it is of as at this very time in danger of either pro- the utmost importanoe to note the manner ducing from their own bosom, or else admit- in which, in Acts xxiv.. 14, et.c., St. Paul ting from the teaching of others, doctrine treats Tertullus's application of the term to which would be thus fa.tally subversive of the Christian faith. "I confess," he says, the truth. Was it not, then, extremely pro- " that after the way which they call o.1pE<m, bable that, when here enumerating, with an 110 serve I the God of our fathers, believing especial eye to the. case of the Ohurches he all things which are according to the Law, was addressing, "the. works of the flesh,". a11d which are written in the prophets : which would cut off those who gave them-< having hope towa.rdi; God, which these also selves up to their practice from the, inhe- themst;lvi,s look for, that there l!hall be ,a ritance of the kingdom of God, he would :resurrootion, both of tue just and unjust." specify this pa.rtioule.r " work" of propound• In thus spt,aking, the apostle rnpudiates the ing, or emlllaoing when propounded by OH. v. 1--26.j THE EPIS'rLE ,ro THE GALATIANS. 259