is followed by an account of his intercourse and relations with the other apostles after his conversion, showing that he owed his conception of the Gospel not to them, but to influence exerted on him from above (e.g. in the solitudes of Arabia, i. 17). His ministry had been acknowledged by the reputed pillars of the Church (James and Cephas and John) as having the same Divine sanction for the Gentiles, as their preaching had for the Jews. Since that time he had consistently maintained the freedom of his converts from the bondage of the Law, having even gone so far on one occasion as to rebuke Peter for his dissimulation, when he would have withdrawn from fellowship with the Gentile Christians at Antioch (i. 18-ii.)

Having thus disposed of the personal aspect of the question, he passes to its more doctrinal aspect by appealing to the spiritual blessing which the Galatians had experienced under his ministry when he preached the Gospel to them without any mixture of Jewish ritual. He proves that the Law has been superseded by the Gospel, the latter being the full assertion of that principle of faith that had always lain at the foundation of men's acceptance with God, even in the time of Abraham. He shows that the Law given by Moses could only create a sense of sin without providing a remedy. It was but a temporary means of training God's people for the enjoyment of their privileges as His children-standing in the same relation to the Gospel, as the children of Hagar the bondwoman did to Isaac the child of promise (iii.-iv.) In v.-vi. the apostle warns them against the abuse of their spiritual freedom, setting before them the true principles of Christian morality, and exhorting them to several duties of which they had need to be reminded. He concludes with a postscript in his own handwriting (vi. 11-18), in which he sums up the argument with an emphasis and decision that contrast strongly with the hesitation apparent in some of the earlier passages, where he is trying to vindicate his conduct without casting any unnecessary reflections on the other apostles.

He exposes the unworthy motives of his opponents, reaffirms the supreme importance of the Cross of Christ and of regeneration in Him as essential to the true Israel of God, and appeals to the marks which he bears of recent persecution, as the seal of his apostleship and the token of his renewed devotion to the Saviour. "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus.' Finally he invokes the Divine blessing on his converts in terms specially fitted to lift them above the thought of carnal ordinances "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren."

"1

The whole epistle is marked by a force and vehemence that strain the apostle's power of expression to the utmost. It has done more than any other book of the New Testament for the emancipation of Christians, not only from the yoke of Judaism, but from every other form of externalism that has ever threatened the

freedom and spirituality of the Gospel. It was Luther's favourite epistle, to which he was "wedded," as he said; and from it he largely drew his inspiration in his conflict with the Church of Rome.

1 With this we may connect the fact that in the very next epistle which he writes Paul styles himself "the bondservant of Jesus Christ" (Rom. i. 1, R.V. margin), being the first time, so far as we know, that he ever so designated himself.

CHAPTER XIII

"THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE "" ROMANS

WHO wrote it. The Pauline authorship of this

epistle is universally admitted. It has a fair amount of external evidence in its favour; but its strong resemblance to Galatians is enough to prove its common authorship with that epistle. Moreover, a comparison of its contents with other Pauline epistles and with the Book of Acts affords valuable confirmation of its genuineness and authenticity.1

From xvi. 22 we learn that the epistle was written by Tertius as the apostle's amanuensis.

To whom written.-" To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints." These words and

1 Besides the remarkable coincidences with regard to the time and place of its composition, p. 79, the following points are worthy of notice. (1) The statement of the apostle's long-felt desire to visit Rome, and of his hope of now doing so after fulfilling his mission to Jerusalem, is in harmony with the purpose he expressed at Ephesus some time before, i. 13; xv. 22-25; Acts xix. 21. (2) The request which the apostle makes to the Christians at Rome that they would unite with him in prayer that he "may be delivered from them that are disobedient in Judæa," corresponds with the later expression of his feelings as he was approaching Jerusalem (xv. 30, 31; Acts xx. 22, 23. (3) The apostle's teaching in this epistle and in Galatians is in striking harmony with his mission as the apostle of the Gentiles, and goes far to explain the accusation brought against him on his last recorded visit to Jerusalem (Acts xxi. 19). (4) The nature of the visit to Rome contemplated by the apostle when he wrote this epistle, namely "that I may come unto you in joy through the will of God, and together with you find rest" (xv. 32) is so very different from what he actually experienced, when he was carried a prisoner to Rome, that it could not have been so described by any one who drew his information from the Book of Acts.

the absence of any mention of bishops and deacons either in this epistle or in the account of the welcome which Paul received from the Roman brethren three years afterwards (Acts xxviii. 15) would seem to indicate that there was no formally organised Church in the city, but merely groups of believers meeting for worship in private houses (xvi. 5). They seem to have been mainly of Gentile origin (i. 5, 6, 13-15; xi. 13-24; xv. 15, 16). But the whole tenor of the epistle, abounding as it does in quotations from the Old Testament and in allusions to the Jewish Law, clearly shows that they had been led to a knowledge of the truth through their connection with the Jewish faith as proselytes of the gate (indeed, some of them appear to have been born Jews-ii. 17; xvi. 7— and hence the expression, “I speak to men that know the law "-vii. 1). The Jews had for a long time been a numerous and powerful section of the community at Rome, and their religion had gained great influence among the educated classes. The introduction of Christianity among them had apparently been due not to apostolic labour (certainly not to the labours of Peter whose alleged episcopate of twenty-five years at Rome is contrary to all the evidence of the New Testament), but to the influence of Christian travellers, especially, we may believe, of the "sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes," who had witnessed the wonderful works of God on the great day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 10). Although Paul had never been at Rome, many of the Christians there were personally known to him-possibly owing to their banishment from Rome by the Edict of Claudius,- —as we may infer from the numerous greetings in the closing chapter. From i. 7, 8; xv. 14, it would appear that the condition of the Christians at Rome was in many respects satisfactory, and in keeping with this we learn from Tacitus that a great multitude of Christians suffered martyrdom there in the reign of Nero a few years later. But the Apostle's language (in chap. xiv.) would indicate the existence of weakness and disagreement among them, in connection with certain scruples

felt by some of their number with regard to the eating of animal food and the observance of days and seasons. They were also liable to many serious temptations, as we may infer from the exhortations in xii.-xiii.; and their spiritual life required to be strengthened (i. 11).

Where and when written.- From the writer's circumstances, as stated in xv. 22-26, viewed in the light of Acts xx. 1-3, xxiv. 17-19; 1 Cor. xvi. 1-4; 2 Cor. viii. 1-4, ix. 1, 2, we gather that the epistle was written towards the close of Paul's second visit to Corinth (early in 58 A.D.), on the eve of his journey to Jerusalem to carry up the alms collected for the poor brethren there, after which he was to make his long - intended visit to Rome.1

Its Character and Contents. In an intellectual sense this epistle may be said to be the apostle's masterpiece; theologically it is the most important of all his epistles. Coleridge has pronounced it "the most

1 In remarkable harmony with this inference as to the date of the epistle are the facts (1) that of those who were with Paul previous to his journey into Asia, as stated in the Book of Acts (xx. 4), three, namely, Sosipater, Gaius, and Timothy send their salutations in this epistle; (2) that salutations are sent to Priscilla and Aquila (xvi. 3), who are mentioned as having rendered great service and incurred great danger on behalf of the apostle and in the interests of the Church of the Gentiles-which finds confirmation in Acts xviii. 2-26; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; (3) that the apostle speaks (xv. 19) of having preached the Gospel "from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum"-a country adjoining the western frontier of Macedonia, a statement which could not have been made before the visit recorded in Acts xx. 2, as the previous visit, of which an account is given in Acts xvi.-xviii., was confined to the eastern coast of Europe.

Equally in keeping with the inference as to the place of composition are the facts (1) that "Gaius my host" and "Erastus the treasurer of the city," send their greetings (xvi. 23), the former being mentioned in 1 Cor. i. 14 as one of the very few persons at Corinth whom the apostle had himself baptized, the latter in Acts xix. 22 as a companion of Paul and in 2 Tim. iv. 20 as left behind. at Corinth; (2) that Phoebe, by whom the epistle was apparently sent to Rome, is commended (xvi. 1-2) as "; a servant of the church that is at Cenchreæ," this being one of the ports of Corinth which had been previously visited by Paul (Acts xviii. 18).

In connection with the mention of Phoebe it is interesting to observe that even at this early period the Christian Church had learned to appreciate the value of female energy and devotion.