CRITICAL NOTES
Romans 16:17.—No argument here for tradition or the inquisition. For even common people may discern true doctrine from false. We must seek for light on God’s revealed word.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Romans 16:17-19
Mark the separatists.—It is to be borne in mind that there are separatists and separatists. Separation is not in itself a crime; some of the movements which have been most beneficial to mankind have been caused by separatists whose names have been cast out as evil. Jesus Christ Himself was a separatist, and was crucified as a destroyer of ancient customs; St. Paul was a separatist, and the Jewish Church regarded him with disfavour. On the separatist is thrown the onus probandi. If he can show worthy cause for the step he has taken, well and good; but if not, we must mark him and avoid.
I. Mark the separatist as to:
1. His doctrine. Is it contrary to, is it out of harmony with, the received doctrine? This question supposes that the doctrine which we have learned is the truth, and that is older than the hills, coequal with the divine existence. The novelty of a doctrine is rather a primâ facie argument against than for its truth, though unsound minds eagerly accept a doctrine simply because it is novel. Creeds are to be exploded, not because they are unsound, but because they are old-fashioned. Bread is an old-fashioned article of food, but it still holds a place amid most luxurious modern banquets. Mark the new doctrine; examine its claims; but do not be like some hosts, who always appear ready to smile upon a fresh face.
2. His style of delivery. In these days style is all-important. The manner in which the thing is dressed is quite as impressive as the thing. A flowing writer commands attention. What do we care about thought, if we are only charmed with glowing periods? A graceful speaker will win the modern audience, and lead captive silly souls; the man who with good words can put his own conduct in a rosy light, and by fair speeches can deceive and flatter the hearts of his hearers, will easily cause divisions and offences. We love good style, but we ask that it be the exponent of good and true doctrine.
3. His motive force. Is he serving the Lord Jesus Christ, or his own belly? There was not very much to be gained in the way of earthly good on either side in those early times. Perhaps there was the promise of gain on the side of ungodliness—that is, against the doctrines taught by the apostles. It is always difficult to judge motives; but if a man lose money, fame, influence, position, by his advocacy of certain doctrines, we may be persuaded that he, at all events, feels that they contain truth. So far he proves his sincerity.
II. Resist the separatist:
1. By obedience. The simple man, rough in speech and rude in manners it may be, will not be able to withstand the man of honeyed words and flattering speeches. But the obedient soul, however simple, will be made strong. Obedience is better than eloquence; the willing and the obedient shall eat the good of every land, intellectual and moral. Stand in the strong tower of obedience, and no weapon thrown by seductive besiegers shall do any damage.
2. By wisdom towards the good. We are asked, What is the good? We reply that the good is the morally fit and proper; the good is marked out by the noblest men of the past. What the All-good tells me is good I believe; what the Bible positively declares to be good I believe; what my enlightened conscience affirms to be good, and in the practice of which I find peace and rest, I joyfully accept.
3. By simplicity concerning evil. Some people are simple enough concerning evil; they are easily caught and victimised; the honey beguiles, and they are ignorant of the sting which it encloses. Notwithstanding the advance of education and of science and of a free press, the simplicity of many modern souls is most amusing. After all, it may be that the simplicity of the cheated is better than the duplicity of the cheater: the simplicity of the good may excite the laughter of the fast men, but while it may occasion some mistakes, it will in the long-run keep them in the safest pathway.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Romans 16:19
What obedience does.—In the concluding chapter of this epistle St. Paul warns against such doctrines and practices as militate against a true and pure Christianity, which he styles “the doctrine which ye have learned,” and properly characterises the teachers and promoters of false doctrines as intent on serving themselves. But to those who had given up idolatry and committed themselves fully to the service of the one true God, through the grace of Christ our Lord, he says, “Your obedience is come abroad unto all men”—i.e., is generally known, for it could not be otherwise.
I. This obedience came by hearing, as the word itself implies.—“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Hearing, to be profitable, must be serious, attentive, and conscientious. There must be a desire to learn, to profit, and to do what is seen to be good and right. Obedience to the teaching of the gospel of Christ, to be acceptable, must proceed from repentance, be inspired by faith, and be animated by the love of God, through the influence of divine grace. The obedience of the early Christians prompted them to meet the most fearful trials, and in many cases to endure martyrdom itself. The case of the martyrs at Sebaste, under the emperor Licinius, A.D. 320, well illustrates this obedience of faith in the last extremity. They were condemned to stand naked on a frozen lake during a night of bitter cold, though if any were willing to renounce Christ, they might go into a tent or cottage on the shore, where they would find food, clothing, light, and fire. In the middle of the night two men perishing with cold presented themselves at the door of the hut, and found relief and refreshment at the expense of faith and duty; but the centurion himself, with a faithful companion, went out and took the place of these two, and when the sun arose the exact number of the condemned was complete, made perfect through fearful suffering, “faithful unto death.” Our obedience is to be continued through “all the changes and chances of this mortal life,” and is to be “a light shining in a dark place.”
II. The obedient are wise unto that which is good.—They learn to distinguish “good” in reality from good only in name and appearance. To them nothing is good which has not its origin in right principle. Hence corrupt maxims, deceitful habits, and selfish purposes are avoided and hated. “Their eye is single, and their whole body full of light.” “Their eyes look right on.” They do not escape adversity, but are assured it will turn to their advantage, here or hereafter: in trial they find compensations, and in the deepest affliction the comfort of divine love. They walk on steadily, rejoicing in the presence of their Master and in the expectation of eternal blessedness. “The wisdom which is from above is theirs,” and leads them above all things to do the will of their Father in heaven. They have one aim, to keep as far as possible the words of Christ: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” And so, adding grace to grace, they daily approach nearer the standard they have in mind. A friend once visited the studio of Michael Angelo, and saw him engaged on one of his great statues. In a month or two he came again, and thought that the artist had made no progress; but Angelo pointed out a line here and a wrinkle smoothed out there, when the friend said, “True; but these are but trifles.” When the great artist replied, “Trifles make perfection; but perfection is no trifle.”
III. The obedient are simple as concerning evil.—Their motives are unmixed; for so the word translated “simple” primarily means. They are not like the animal which looks up with one eye and down with the other. They realise the impossibility of serving both God and mammon. They are what they seen. They eschew
“hypocrisy,
The only ill that stalks abroad unseen by men or angels;
But goodness thinks no ill where no ill seems.”
“In simplicity of godly sincerity they have their conversation [i.e., their behaviour] in the world.” The plans, plots, and devices of the worldly enter not, should not enter, into their thoughts, or ever be entertained by them. “They avoid evil, turn from it, and pass away.” And as they hate evil, the baleful effects of evil shall not permanently affect them, and swift-winged calamity shall turn away from them. They must, however, know something of the world in order to be safe—“wise as serpents, but harmless as doves”; but they pray and endeavour to escape evil, to be delivered from its tyranny and power, “hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”—Dr. Burrows.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 16
Romans 16:17-18. Archbishop Tait on divisions.—Speaking at the Swansea Church Congress, Archbishop Tait said: “It is now many years since, I remember, this happened to me: I was travelling a whole day in the mail in company, as it happened, with a great historian, politician, and literary man, well known in that day, and well remembered still, who had then but recently returned from a lengthened sojourn in India. We were talking of the divisions which at that time distracted the kingdom of Scotland in religious matters; and he said, ‘When a man has lived a long time in a country in which people worship cows, he comes to think less of the divisions which separate Christians.’ I presume there was a great moral lesson in this random saying. I confess it made a great impression on my heart. I have never forgotten it, and it has been the endeavour of my life to profit by it. A godly bishop said to me once of a brother as godly as himself, but much given to controversy, ‘Poor man, he is always writing about the three orders of the ministry, when those to whom he is writing are doubting whether there be a God in heaven.’ ”