The apostolic aim.
There was great dignity in the character, demeanour, and language of the Apostle Paul. This was not inconsistent with the modesty and humility which were the ornament of his Christian character. But whilst he felt his personal unworthiness, feebleness, and utter insufficiency for the vast and arduous work entrusted to him, his sense of the grandeur of the work raised his conception of his own high vocation. It were well that all Christian ministers should cherish lowly views of self, and, at the same time, lofty views of the ministry they have received from God.
I. OBSERVE THE QUALIFICATIONS BESTOWED UPON PAUL. He describes these in order both to justify himself in the tone of his Epistle, and to secure the respectful attention of his readers.
1. Whence were they derived? They were not the ordinary gifts which Providence bestows upon men to fit them for the work of life. They were traced to Christ ("by whom"), the Giver of all blessings to his Church. It was the prerogative of the glorified Redeemer to confer gifts upon men. "He gave some, apostles," etc. Having redeemed his Church at a cost so great, he could not leave it without providing for the supply of all its needs.
2. In what did they consist? Paul uses two terms. One of these denotes the more general gift, "grace." By this may be understood, not only the enlightening and quickening influences of the Holy Spirit, which bring the soul into the enjoyment of the new and higher spiritual life, but all that distinguishes Christian character, and fits for an effective and beneficent witness to the Saviour. The other term is "apostleship." The apostles occupied a place so prominent and so honourable among the servants of Christ, that we cannot be surprised that a special word is here employed. Paul was "called to be an apostle;" and he often refers to the memorable occasion when he was arrested upon his errand of persecution, converted to Christ's faith and service, and commissioned for the great and holy work of his life. He claims to be not behind the chiefest of the apostles, and glories in the grace of God which was manifested unto and in him.
II. OBSERVE THE END SOUGHT BY PAUL. "Spirits are not finely touched but to fine issues;" and such endowments as were conferred upon Paul must have been in preparation for no ordinary service.
1. The character of this end was moral, spiritual. It was to overcome the disobedience and rebellion of sinful men; to vanquish these by the grace of the cross of Christ, and by the power of the Spirit of God. The obedience which our King and Father requires, he has resolved to secure by means devised by infinite wisdom and provided by infinite love. The gospel of Christ, received by faith, is to be the means of reconciling man to God.
2. Faith, then, occupied a place of immense importance in the teaching of the apostle. This Epistle to the Romans is, in itself, sufficient proof of this. Justification with God, and subjection and consecration to God, are secured by faith in the Mediator, Christ. Christian obedience is prompted, not by constraint or fear, but by this intelligent and lofty motive.
3. The sphere of this apostolic mission was unlimited, save by the boundaries of humanity. "All nations" were comprehended within the commission he received. A great modern preacher, John Wesley, is said to have claimed "the world as his parish." It was a sublime view of his ministry which Paul took; and it was taken, not under the influence of enthusiasm or self-importance, but upon the highest of all authority—that of the Saviour and the Lord of all.
4. The ultimate issue of the apostleship of Paul seems to be implied in the expression," for his Name." It was the glory of the Son of God which his servant faithfully and consistently sought; there was nothing personal or selfish, nothing petty or unworthy, in his aims. The Name of Christ is in itself above every name, and at that Name every knee shall bow. This assurance was enough to animate and sustain the apostle in all his labour and in all his suffering. In all, "Christ should be magnified."
APPLICATION.
1. All hearers of the gospel are summoned to the obedience of faith.
2. All who have received the gospel have received also some trust and some grace, which render them responsible for making known the revealed means of salvation to their fellow-men.
The Roman Christians.
In the great capital of the empire and of the world there was thus early constituted a congregation of Christian worshippers and disciples. Amidst the grandeur, the opulence, the vice, that prevailed in this, as in every metropolis; amidst proud patricians, turbulent plebeians, and wretched slaves,—there existed already an obscure but, to us, notable society, composed of Jews, Romans, and foreigners resident in the city, to whom Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, wrote this letter. The members of this society were not characterized by any outward marks of distinction which would render them interesting to the inhabitants of Rome generally. Yet, whilst the great and learned and wealthy, who either never heard of the Christian Church in their midst, or who, if they heard of it, despised it,—whilst they, for the most part, are forgotten, that Church is still remembered with deepest interest. Notice the marks by which it was distinguished to the view of the inspired apostle. He wrote "to all that be in Rome," who were differenced from those around them in certain respects.
I. THEY WERE CALLED OF CHRIST. They had, for the most part, never seen the Lord Jesus; but their souls had heard his holy, gracious call.
1. They had been addressed by the audible voice of his uttered Word. The call of the gospel had reached their understanding.
2. They had experienced the inner call of his Spirit. To each one of them might the apostle say, "The Word is nigh thee, even in thy heart."
3. They had responded to the call by their faith and obedience; they had not received the grace of God in vain.
II. THEY WERE BELOVED OF GOD.
1. In common with all mankind, they were the objects of Divine pity. "God so loved the world," etc.
2. But there was a special sense in which they were partakers of the love of God. He had revealed his love to them, and they loved God, because he first loved them. He loved his own image reflected in their character and life.
3. This love was especially manifested in their adoption. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God!"
III. THEY WERE SEPARATED UNTO HOLINESS. The word "saint" is now appropriated to personages of peculiar and distinguished piety. But it serves to remind us that Christians were intended to be pure amidst a sinful world and a sinful generation—a condition of the Divine favour, as well as a result of the privileges enjoyed by the people of God. The term may be thus unfolded. Saints are
Such "notes" of true, experimental Christianity were, indeed, not peculiar to the Roman Christians; but their conspicuous presence in the society addressed by the apostle was an earnest of the fruits of true religion which should abound wherever the gospel was proclaimed and received.
A yearning heart.
The ministry of the gospel of Christ may be fulfilled in either of two ways—by personal visitation and oral teaching and preaching; or by written communications, in the form of letter or of treatise. Paul, like many since his time, adopted both methods, and it would be hard to say in which he was the more effective. When he could not himself visit a city he could write to those who dwelt there. This difference between the two methods is observable—that by writing he could only reach those already favourably disposed towards Christian doctrine, whilst by word of mouth he often gained access to the hearts of unbelievers.
I. BENEVOLENT PURPOSES MAY BE PROVIDENTIALLY HINDERED. God often in mercy frustrates the wicked counsels of malicious men. But not only so; he sometimes hinders his servants from carrying out designs good in their motives. It happened now and again to Paul that, wishing to visit some country or city on an errand of mercy, his way was in that particular direction hedged up, and his steps were turned else-whither. The apostle's wish to visit Rome was natural, disinterested, and praiseworthy, and, in God's time, was fulfilled. But, up to the date of writing this Epistle, he had been hindered from carrying that wish into effect. We are taught that all our plans, even those of special evangelistic services, should be formed with submission to the wisdom and the will of God.
II. SPIRITUAL EFFORT IS WITH A VIEW TO SPIRITUAL FRUIT. The apostle looked forward to some result of toil. He had reaped a harvest, more or less abundant, in other fields of labour, and his purpose in visiting Rome was to gather fruit unto God. What was this "fruit"? The conversion of men to the faith and obedience of the gospel, and the growth of Christian character in those who professed to be followers of Christ. In these spiritual results the evangelist, the pastor, reaps the harvest of his toil. To this end the Lord of the harvest thrusts forth labourers. "Herein is the Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." Barrenness and unfruitfuiness in the spiritual domain are a source of grief and distress and disappointment.
III. THE CHRISTIAN LABOURER IS A DEBTOR UNTO ALL MEN. Paul felt that, in preaching the gospel to his fellow-men, he was paying them what was their due—that necessity was laid upon him. What was, and is, the ground of this obligation? In the case of Paul, the signal conversion from the career of the persecutor to the life of the Christian, and the Divine commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, formed peculiar reasons and motives urging such devotion. Yet every Christian, having received spiritual blessings through the agency of his fellow-men, is thereby bound to transmit to others what he himself has received. And Christ's own authority sanctions our regarding spiritual service rendered to men as some fulfilment of the great debt we all owe to him. The extent of this obligation is universal. It includes all nations and races, Greek and barbarian; all classes and characters, wise and unwise. Paul was ready to minister to Hebrews and heathen, Romans and Greeks, bond and free. He knew that the reception of his message would bring the true wisdom and the true liberty to men of every tribe and of every type, and therefore he sought to discharge his debt to all mankind.
APPLICATION. The Christian labourer should seek that his labour may be directed by the distinctively Christian spirit; that it should contemplate the special Christian aim and result; and that it should display true Christian comprehensiveness and charity.
Glorying in the gospel.
It was not through any shrinking from either publicity or persecution, criticism or cruelty, that Paul had not, up to the date of writing this letter, visited Rome. Circumstances, in which he recognized the action of Divine providence, had hitherto hindered him from carrying his wish into effect. And now it was the holy ambition of his daring and benevolent heart to publish the gospel of Christ in the metropolis of the empire, of the world.
I. THERE WERE REASONS WHICH WOULD HAVE RENDERED SOME MEN ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Now, indeed, in our day, when Christianity can point to the triumphs of eighteen centuries, when Christianity has received the homage of the noblest intellects and the purest hearts, when Christianity commands the reverence of civilized humanity, it is not easy to understand how, at the first, there should have been any temptation to be ashamed of the religion of Jesus. But let us put ourselves in the position of those who lived in the first century of our era, and we shall feel that, for them, confidence and courage in no ordinary degree were needed in order to profess and promulgate the faith.
1. There were such reasons connected with the religion of Christ, in itself considered, its origin in Palestine; the birth of its Founder as a Jew, and as the Offspring of lowly parents; his ignominious death upon the cross; the mean condition of many of his first adherents and missionaries;—these were circumstances damaging to the religion in the eyes of carnal men. The religion itself, demanding contrition and repentance from all men as sinners, demanding faith in a crucified Saviour as the Mediator of Divine mercy, demanding a new heart, a child-like spirit, a life of self-denial, must have been repugnant to human pride. To this must be added the reproach that Christianity did not come among men recommended by the fascinations of philosophy, or the persuasiveness of eloquence and poetry; and the further reproach that it provided no gorgeous temples, no splendid ritual, no imposing priesthood.
2. There were reasons personal to the Apostle Paul, which, some might have supposed, would have made him ashamed of the gospel. He was a Hebrew and a rabbi, one held in high esteem and repute among the learned and the powerful of his countrymen: was he likely to devote himself to a doctrine which regarded Judaism as a preparatory dispensation, whose purpose was now answered, and which was to pass away; a doctrine which depressed the letter and the form which Judaism so dearly and so blindly prized? He was a scholar, versed to some extent in Greek learning, and with an intellect capable of expounding and adorning Greek philosophy: was he likely to accept crude and unlettered instructors and colleagues, and to abandon as worthless the wisdom of this world? He was a Roman citizen, entitled to the privileges and immunities attaching to that proud position: was he likely to ally himself with a religion the profession of which would be regarded with contempt by the civic authorities, unless, indeed, it might prove politically convenient to visit its propagation with penalties?
II. PAUL HAD, HOWEVER, MORE POWERFUL REASONS FOR GLORYING IN THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Though he simply said that he was "not ashamed" of it, the language and spirit of the passage imply that it was his joy, his glory, his boast. And in this he was not cherishing fanatical and unreasonable feelings; he had reason for his glorying.
1. The nature of the gospel was, to the apostle, sufficient ground for holding it dear, and for extolling its claims upon the respect of men. The Divine means for reconciling rebellious, guilty men to God, the righteous Judge and Ruler; the tidings of the Redeemer's advent, ministry, sacrifice, and glorification, was not only tidings to be received with devout thankfulness: it was a gospel of good news, to be diffused with the earnestness of cordial benevolence. A heart touched with the spectacle of human sin, misery, and helplessness, and capable of appreciating the marvellous provision of infinite wisdom and love, in the redemption by Jesus Christ, could not but be filled with joy, when entrusted with the privilege of offering to the dying sons of men a remedy so Divine.
2. Paul gloried in the gospel as the highest exhibition of God's power. Men are not wont to be ashamed of association with power; they rather pride themselves in and boast of their strength or the greatness of their resources, the might of their party or of their country. Now, the power of the gospel wore the guise of weakness; yet the weakness of God was stronger than men. A thinker, a philanthropist, may have more power than a king or warrior. Certainly, Christianity has shown how the weak things of the world confound the mighty. Spiritual alike in its origin, its instrument, and its sphere, the reality of its power is shown in its overcoming obstacles, in its achieving moral transformations, in its renewing the usages and principles of society.
3. Paul gloried in the special results which proved the power of the gospel. He saw in it the power of God "unto salvation." The prowess of the warrior is admired, as the means of human destruction. Too often, men most revere what they most dread. It is the glory of God that he is "mighty to save;" of Christ that he is "able to save to the uttermost;" of the gospel that it brings "so great salvation." Bringing salvation from sin, from condemnation, from all that sin involves, of moral mischief and misery, the gospel is emphatically Divine power. The apostle had felt this power in his own heart and life; he had witnessed unnumbered instances of this power, which were only less surprising and startling than that which his own life exhibited.
4. Another ground of confidence and boasting in the gospel was, to the mind of the apostle, its varied and widespread efficacy. In the expression "to every one that believeth," we have a statement of the condition upon which the delivering and healing power of the gospel is exercised—faith; and we have also an assertion of its universal adaptation. Although writing to the Romans, the apostle of the Gentiles puts prominently forward the fact that the offer of the gospel was first made to the Jew. This was not only the obvious course pointed out by God's providence; it was the express direction of the Author and Founder of Christianity. Yet there was in the gospel nothing limited or local; it was, and is, adapted to the spiritual necessities of the whole family of man.
APPLICATION.
1. Every hearer of the gospel should inquire of himself whether he has experienced its power over his heart and life.
2. Christians should so consider the glory of Christianity as to keep themselves from all danger of being, in any circumstances or in any society, ashamed of their religion.
3. No opportunity should be lost of commending the gospel, with its claims and privileges, to the acceptance of men, without respect to their race, their class, or their character. Unbelief alone is impervious to the power of the religion of Christ. All who sincerely believe will experience its renewing, delivering, and quickening power.