A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. [Another] (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the gospeL And his reverence for the gospel was founded not on its excellent system of morals merely, but on its efficacy in saving all who believe, whether Jews or Gentiles, ver. 16. This efficacy of the gospel arises from its teaching the true method of justification, that is, the method (t'justification by faith, ver. 17. It will be perceived how naturally and skilfully the apostle introduces the two great subjects of the epistle?the method of salvation, and the persons to whom it may properly be offered. COMMENTARY. Verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle. Agreeably to the ancient mode of epistolary address, the apostle begins with th declaration of his name and office. It was his office which gave him the right to address the believers at Eome, and elsewhere, with that tone of authority which pervades all his epistles. Speaking as the messenger of Christ, he spake as he spake, as one having authority, and not as an ordinary teacher. The original name of the apostle was Saul, demanded. He is tirst called Paul in Acts xiii. 9. As this change of his name is mentioned in the paragraph which contains the account of the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Cyprus, some have supposed that the name was assumed in compliment to that distinguished convert. This supposition does not seem to accord with the apostle's character, and is, on other grounds, less probable than either of the two following. First, as it was not unusual, mon g the Jews, to change the name of a person in consequence of some remarkable event, as in the case of Abraham and Jacob, Gen. xvii. 5; xxxii. 28; or when hu was advanced to some new office or dignity, Gen. xli. 45; Dan. i. 6, 7; so that a new name is sometimes equivalent to a new dignity, Eev. ii. 17, it may be...