-I "2 



ROMANS. 



of his apostleship; chaps, iii.. iv.. a defence of his 

 preaching (justification hv faith, life by the Spirit, not 

 according to the flesh) ; chaps, v., vi., practical exhor- 

 tation, to stand f.ist in the freedom for which Christ 

 freed us. 



The EpMe* to the CoraUkieuu. In these we also 

 discover the apostle attacking error and defending 

 hiin-rlf. lint the error is hv no means so fundamental. 

 There is no evidence of Judaizing opposition. The 

 evils in the Corinthian Church were mostly practical ; 

 party spirit prevailed, some sexual sins were tolerated, 

 disorders were allowed in the public assemblies, and 

 among the believers there were erroneous views re- 

 specting the resurrection. News of all this having 

 come to Kphesus, the apostle writes thence his first 

 letter, probably just l>efore the riot spoken of in Acts 

 xix. This letter deals first with the party divisions 

 and Paul's mode of teaching ; chaps, i.-iv. (It is not at 

 all certain that these parties were fully developed di- 

 visions in the church, though sonic attempt to prove 

 this.) In chaps, v.-vi. he alludes to the sin of un- 

 chastity, and to the habit of going In-fore heathen 

 magistrates. Then follow replies to questions that 

 had been submitted to him about marriage, and meat 

 that had been offered to idols ; chaps, vii.-viii. A di- 

 gre-M,.m of a personal character then occurs ; chaps. 

 is. -x. A direct censure of the disorders in church as- 

 semblies (chap. xi. ) prepares the way for a discourse 

 about spiritual gifu (chaps, xii.-xiv.), in the midst of 

 which (chap, xiii.) is placed that remarkable eulogy on 

 "love' as " a still more excellent way. " The discus- 

 sion about the resurrection (chap, xv.) is the only por- 

 tion of the epistle that is distinctly doctrinal, and the 

 latter part of it assumes a prophetic character. In- 

 junctions respecting the collection for the saints at 

 Jerusalem, a matter which the apostle was now press- 

 ing upon many of the churches, and personal notions 

 and greetings make up the conclusion in chap. xvi. 



After writing this epistle Paul left Kphcstis, and 

 _ through Troas (2 Cor. ii. 12) sailed to .Mace- 

 donia (Acts xx. 1. 2). From some point in this prov- 

 ince he wrote 2 Corinthians (2 Cor. viii. I, ix. 24). 

 It i.s possible that lie wrote a brief letter previous to 

 this, out nothing can be proven on this point. Some 

 have thought that he made a brief visit to Corinth be- 

 fore writing 2 Corinthians, but this also lacks sufficient 

 proof. Yet the ocea-ion of the second letter preserved 

 rot us was evidently intelligence received from that 

 city (chap. vii. 7-Hi), and this, too, not altogether re- 

 assuring. The larger part of the Corinthian Church 

 seems to have accepted the admonitions given in the 

 first letter, but Paul's opponents were embittered. 

 The second epistle, in its abrupt changes of style, tone, 

 and topic, shows the conflicting feelings of the apostle. 

 He strives to win the malcontents, but evidently in- 

 tends to exercise severe discipline upon them, should 

 they remain refractory. Hence no one letter of Paul's 

 reveals the man more fully ; none of his writings show 

 greater tact, power, and eloquence. The epistle is 

 usually divided into three parts : chaps, i.-vii., a rep- 

 resentative of the apostle's character and labors, but 

 with constant appeals to the Corinthians themselves ; 

 chaps, viii., ix.. further directions about the collection 

 for the poor saints at Jerusalem ; chaps, x.-xiii., a de- 

 fence of his apostolic dignity, varied in tone and 

 method, full of tenderness, yet very forcible in its ap- 

 peals. This defence differs greatly from that in < lala- 

 tians ; the defection at Corinth was not doctrinal, but 

 l>ractical and personal. Hence he seeks far more to 

 win by personal appeals. To the Galatians he speaks 

 as by direct authority, making known the one revealed 

 gospel; to the Corinthians he speaks as the : 

 clothed with authority, but desirous to win back those 

 who have erred. It is, therefore, difficult to analyze 

 this epistle, which for this very reason remains the 

 most interesting picture at once of the apostle and of 

 the earlv Gentile Christian Church. 



The tipitlli t<! ihr H-niKiii*. 1. The purpote. Com- 



ing to Corinth the apostle remained there three 

 months (Arts xx. ''}, and during this time wrote the 

 Kpistlc to (he Romans ; a fuller, more didactic set- 

 tinir forth ol'the same great truths of salvation \vhi-h 

 formed the theme of ( ialatians. I'.nl the polcmi ; 

 tone has largely disappeared. This would indicate 

 that the state of things in Corinth was more .satislii 

 tory. At all events it enables us to determine more 

 certainly the purpose of the epistle. 



The article in the BuiTANNirA, while clearly right 

 in maintaining that the church at Rome was made 

 up mainly of Gentile Christians, attempts to show 

 that the purpose of the epistle was largely polemic, 

 that is, directly in opposition to the false views of .Jew- 

 ish believers, if not of Jodaisifig teachers. No doubt 

 there are abundant indications of such opposition. 

 The conflict in Galatia was quite recent, and indeed 

 there was a permanent antagonism between the uni- 

 versal scope of the gospel as maintained by Paul and 

 the narrower view. But in this epistle the p 

 statement of the universal aim of the gospel is domi- 

 nant; the polemical purpose is incidental. Tin- 

 apostle sets forth his own views, knowing that most of 

 the Roman Christians are in sympathy with him. Bc- 

 jng unable to visit them on account of the collect ion ho 

 is to carry to Jerusalem, he writes to them by Phoebe, 

 xvi. 1, in order to strengthen and instruct them. It is 

 the comparative freedom from a polemic purpose that 

 makes the epistle what it is, the fullest statement of 

 Paul's sotcriologieal views. On the other hand it ii 

 a letter, not a theological treatise, and as a letter 

 adapted to the needs of the church it includes refer- 

 ;o the tendencies that were likely to penetrate 

 wherever Jewish influence was felt. Moreover, as a 

 letter it deals with the great matter of salvation by 

 faith, not abstractly, but in vital and personal fashion. 



2. The tlieme. of the epistle, so far as its doctrinal 

 contents (chaps, i.-xi.) are concerned, is given in 

 chap. i. 1C: The gospel "i.s the power of God unto 

 salvation to every one that belicvcth ; to the Jew 

 lirst. and also to the Greek." The next verse shows 

 that justification by faith i.s an essential part of this 

 statement : but the theme' is a wider one; salvation 

 by faith to all classes. The three leading ideas, pre- 

 sented in varied order and relations, are these : univer- 

 sality, grace, and faith. Salvation i.s for all c! 

 therefore, it must be of grace, and hence is an 



by faith ; or being of faith, it is of grace, and hence 

 universal. The three ideas enter everywhere, and al- 

 ways in vital relation, distinguishable, but not divisi 

 ble from each other. 



3. The miiti'iit* of the epistle. Accepting the usual 

 division into didactic (i. -xi.) and hortatory (xii.-xvi.) 

 portions, it is only necessary to indicate the leading 

 parts of the former. After the address, introduction, 

 and theme (i. 1-17), we find four main divisions: (I) 

 All men, Gentile and Jew, need salvation, for all are 

 sinners; i. is-iii. '2>>. Hence (2) righteousness from 

 (rod (justification) i.s by faith, as the Old Testament 

 indicates; iii. 21-iv. 25. (3) Thus men are saved; 

 tins is the' power of God unto salvation ; v.-viii. (4) 

 Historically, it was for the Jew first, but also for the 

 Greek, and despite the unbelief of the former, God's 

 promise stands ; ix.-xi. (It is to be noted that accord- 

 ing to another analysis, chaps, iii. 21-v. may be 

 regarded as treating of justification by faith, and 

 chaps, vi.-viii. of sanctification by faith.) 



It is clear to every one who accepts the cxev 

 method that Paul in the earlier part of his letter lays 

 stress upon the way God accounts men righteous, ami 

 that he afterwards meets the objections arising from 

 the ever recurring notion that such justification fails 

 of resulting in actual righteousness. Midway between 

 \vo points the apostle inserts the remarkable 

 parallel and contrast between Adam and Chri.-t MS 

 representations of fallen and saved humanity. The 

 relation in both instances is at once representative and 

 vital Hence chap. v. 12-21 is not an episode, but 



