Romans 15

Notes

Ver. 1. Such of us therefore as established in the faith of the gospel liberty, or who re arrived to greater measures of knowledge and .ce, ought, from a compassionate and tender regard our Christian brethren, whose faith is staggering, 1 whose judgment and other spiritual attainments : but small, to be meek, forbearing, and patient wards them, and should make kind allowances for. d endeavour to relieve them, under their prejudices ubts, and fears, rash censures, and conscientiow cuples, and not aim at gratifying our own inclina ms, much less our own humour, pride, and passions xr ought we to do anything which is barely lawful ir elf at the expense of offending and injuring the tende inds of others. 2, Let each of us therefore labour t have towards our fellow-Christians and neighbour such a condescending and engaging manner as wil 'st soften their temper, instruct and win them, ant ake their souls to grow in grace and knowledge, com rt and holiness, to complete salvation. 3. For eve: ir blessed and all-sufficient Lord Jesus did not indulg Ss own ease or pleasure, or seek his own'safety o nour, to the neglect of others, when here upon earth it, to promote our salvation and his Father's honow mdescended and denied himself in numberless ir ances, and freely submitted to all manner of harc lips, sufferings, disgraces, and malignant and _ bla: hemous reproaches, as is represented through Davi . - z - AT ccLAtanerae thinge wart PRANTL AN Pd ht da wesg ener one errr: ww type in Ps. Ixix. 4. And whatever things were ten in the Old Testament by the inspiration of the rit of God, were written, not only for the instrucof our ancestors, but for ours also, that by means ts types, prophecies, histories, and examples, as l as doctrines and laws, we might be excited, anied, and encouraged to proper patience under our ibles, and made partakers of the joys of faith, the ce of a good conscience, and the comforts of the ly Ghost, in order to confirm our well-grounded ves of all needful grace from God now, and glory eafter. 5. In order therefore to your dutiful and cessful improvement of the Scripture, may that God o is infinitely patient and long-suffering, and who is author, fountain, and giver of all Christian patience 1 spiritual comfort, grant you a harmonious, tender, 1 peaceful disposition towards each other, that you y be entirely united in al] doctrines and duties which ong to your Christian state and character according the example and command of Christ, and as may be ist for his glory, and acceptable to God through him; That, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, ye \y, with united hearts and voices, cordially agree in ur profession, worship, and practice, to advance the honours and show forth the praises of God, as your God in Christ, who is the centre of all our spiritual union and fellowship.—7. Notwithstanding therefore your different opinions about matters of little importance, let the endearing example of our great Lord and Saviour in bearing with our infirmities who are believers, and receiving us into, favour, union, and communion with himself and his Father, influence you cordially to embrace one another as brethren, without distinction of nations or parties, that ye may glorify God by your harmoniously walking together in faitt and love, and in the fellowship of the gospel, till ye arrive at all possible perfection in his glorious presence for ever. 8-12. And to show you how Christ ha: admitted both Jewish and Gentile believers to equa privileges and blessings, without making any distinc tion under the gospel state, observe, on the one hand how he sprung from, and appeared as a member ani how he sprung from, and appeared aS a Memiver ane minister of, the Jewish church, and taught, obeyed, and suffered, to display the faithfulness of God, and to ratify; establish, and render. efficacious the gracious promises which had been made to the ancient patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;—-and, on the other, that many of those promises spoken by David, Moses, and Isaiah represent Christ as publishing the truths of God to the Gentiles, and bringing them into his church, as joyful and grateful members thereof, subjected to him as their Head, and trusting in him as their Saviour, along with the Jews. It is therefore proper that both parties should receive each other with all readiness of mind as their brethren in Christ. 13. Now may that gracious God, who is the object, ground, and author of all that hope which we, whether Jews or Gentiles, have of spiritual and eternal blessings, plentifully enrich and satiate you with all sorts of divine joys and comforts, and with an abiding, solid, and evangelical peace in your own souls, and with one nother, in the lively exercise of faith in Christ and the promises of the everlasting covenant, that ye may + ante have a onnd bunt full and assured hope of uture blessedness through the powerfully enlightening, trengthening, witnessing, and confirming operation of he Holy Ghost! 14. And indeed I am firmly persuaded that ye, my dear Christian brethren, are abunjantly endowed with such benevolent graces of the Spirit as dispose you to mutual kindness in your -emper and behaviour one towards another, and with such knowledge of all things necessary to salvation as renders you capable of instructing each other in the most important truths of the gospel, and of admonishing and exciting one another to everything truly virtuous. 15, 16. I have nevertheless written with the greater plainness and freedom on the head of you Christian liberty and obligations to mutual charity. because, by the transcendent grace of God, I have beer called and furnished to be an apostolic preacher o Christ and his unsearchable fulness in the gospel, espe cially to the Gentiles, that many of them, being con ~- nt A hee ee miniotentiane micht he devoted as living BEY CW Ube NH wesc samy arn n-- . . _ 'ted by my ministrations, might be devoted as living, ly, and acceptable sacrifices to God, and might offer to him the sacrifices of praver, praise, and chari- j le contributions, —both they and their services being nsecrated by the effusion of the gifts, graces, and ictifying influences of the Holy Ghost. 17. Inj1 nsequence of which call to this office, and success srein, I have great reason to rejoice and glory, not jeed in myself, but in and through Christ, by whose ace I have so abundantly and so successfully laboured preaching the gospel, and bringing multitudes of entile sinners to the faith of Christ, to the praise and ory of God. 18, 19. But in this my humble and ly glorying I neither dare boast of anything I have yne myself, nor ascribe to myself what others have yne, but I merely hint at what Jesus Christ, by means “my preaching, labours, and sufferings, has wrought, y the almighty influences of his Spirit, in bringing iultitudes of the Gentiles to receive and profess him ; their Lord and Saviour, and to live in obedience to is laws: ana encouraged by his miraculous and graious operations, which attested my call, mission, and 1e truths which Ll preached, 1 nave, unuer wie wuucu f the Holy Ghost, with great freedom, faithfulnes uness, and success, published the glad tidings of sa ation through Christ to sinful men, all along fro: erusalem, through Canaan, Syria, Lesser Asia, ar rreece, till I came to Illyricum, at no great distan com Rome. 20, 21. And in my muinistrations specially studied, agreeably to a prediction of Isaial o publish these astonishing mysteries of the gosp vhere they had never been preached before, that so aight the more remarkably act as one who had r eived an immediate commission from Christ, a! reeded no human assistance to introduce me, 22-2 Vly necessary and extensive labours in these regio ave, under the direction of God's providence, hi lered me from visiting you, as I sometimes intende mut the gospel being now extensively known, a! churches planted in all these places, I hope, accord? o my long fixed inclination, soon to see you. Al - - »* .- a a. my long fxed inclinavion, soon tu sec yuu. sane he Lord permit me, as I intend to attempt the proration of the gospel in Spain, I expect to visit you I pass westward into that ignorant and idolatrous intry, and to be helped forward by you in my jourto it, after you and I have had some comfortable 1 edifying fellowship together. 25, 26. But at preit I am obliged to go south to Jerusalem with the itribution which the Christians of Macedonia and haia have made for their holy but poor brethren Judea. 27. In this the contributors have been exmely forward and cheerful, as indeed just gratitude d common benevolence required that they should; 'if the sinners of the Gentiles have received the enhing gospel of Christ from Jerusale:n, and by means Jewish apostles and preachers, and have been thereby ide partakers along with the Jews of all spiritual and 2rnal benefits, it is certainly proper that they in return ould assist with their temporal substance the poor wish saints at Jerusalem, and the places about. 28, . However, when I have manifested my tender regard my dear countrymen, and have faithfully delivered » them this collection, I intend, if the Lord will, to 'e you on my way to Spain, And from what I have cperienced of Christ's powerful operations by me, I ope to come to you plentifully furnished with gospel istructions, offers, and encouragements, and thereby ) be an instrument of conveying to you the most abunant gifts, graces, and comforts. 30-32. In order to iy accomplishing these desirable designs, I earnestly ntreat you, by all the cdligations and endearments ol he love and grace of Jesus Christ and his Spirit, and y all that Jove wrought in your hearts by these divine ersons, or which you owe to them for all that they ave done for or in you, that ye im the most ferven! nanner join your believing, importunate, and perserering supplications to God with mine, for his guid ince, protection, and blessing to me—that I may be lelivered from all the snares and violence of my Jewist naannantiowe and that tha erallectian which J carrv ut secutors, and that the collection which I carry up ferusalem may not through prejudice be despised or ised, but kindly accepted by the believing Jews, as ean of weaning them from their dislike to me and Gentile converts—and that, being thus prospered my present way and work, I may, through the kind widence of God, have an opportunity of seeing and iversing with, and preaching to you, for our mutual nfort and edification. 33. Meanwhile, may that d, who is reconciled to us in Christ, and is the ithor of all our peace, comfort, and happiness, and 0 delights in our possessing our souls in peace, and ing together in harmony and love, be graciously 2sent with you, by the special influences of his Spirit, unite your hearts in the strongest brotherly affection, event all animosity and discord, and bless you with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus! Ver. 3. Christ willingly subjected himself to every inconvenne (Tha Wied had necte the favec had holes. hut Tesus had t° . oa Wr'hh ue wr eeanae - wom yw me an n---- = o . The birds had nests, the foxes had holes, but Jesus had } vid: there to lay his head. He willingly submitted to every 3, 4 ich. He was called a glutton, a wine-bibber, a friend of 'ans and sinners, because, like a skilful and kind physician, may ndescended to the society of the sick, that he might heal dar souls by teaching them truth, and calling them to repent. 13. It is very important fully to comprehend and feel that de Joy, and peace' are altogether gifts of God, and not pro- er ons of human power; that they are to be sought by prayer selves, and also by one Christian for another; and that —] are to be sought and expected, not in mere fractions of enent, but in the occupancy and 'filling' of the entire soul! C. Teg rt. 24. It does not appear from any scriptural record that of ever visited Spain. The want of such record is, however, gat 'oof that he did not visit it. Ecclesiastical tradition appears Lo. vour of his visit; nor is such authority, though in many cases sufficient ground, to be altogether rejected. But whether urpose of the apostle was fulfilled or frustrated, matters not : evidence of his inspiration is, in either case, alike complete. loes not say that God had commanded him, but that he de- { ,to go into Spain: and the Spirit instructed him to record holy desire, which God might grant or refuse as seemed lin his sight. Thus David desired to build the temple—God oved of the desire, yet refused its fulfilment, reserving it for her, And the sacred historian was alike inspired in record- tal ong against the Gentiles, and their admission into the chufcl on any terms but the observance of the Mosaiclaw. There e the apostle prays, and entreats others to pray, that, by th noval of these prejudices, his service may be rendered ac stable. C. .

Reflections.—With much tenderness and self nial should we behave towards our Christian breth no; and with kind affection bear with one another' firmities and study one another's spiritual edification is an inconceivable mercy to have access to peruse id a great honour to be diligent students, searchers id improvers of the holy Scripture. In the ministr his Son, and the ancient promises, God delightfull id the foundation of uniting Jews and Gentiles int 1e gospel church, and he hath done most marvellou ings to effect it. Richly replenished are all the pre ises with Jesus Christ and his grace; and with whz y and peace doth a right believing of them fill ov wiict Thrice hannv are they who believe them, t s! Thrice happy are they who believe them, to r own sanctification of heart and life, by the Spirit sod, and to their eternal salvation. Thrice happy : when ministers, depending entirely upon God, diligent, faithful, and successful in preaching the sel, and multitudes, through the gospel, attended the influences of the Holy Spirit, are turned to ist and his service. And it wears a hopeful appear2 when the fervent prayers of ministers and people united in behalf of Christ's interests and for one ther's mutual advantage, and when spiritual fellow> is their joint delight. '