It is characteristic of apostolic ethics to turn from details of conduct to the main principles which should permeate every Christian life. The central truth governing all religious behaviour is our relationship to God, as manifested and actualized in Christ Jesus. Thus the historical facts of Christ's death and resurrection necessarily give rise to doctrine, and they cannot be separated from our belief without tending to overthrow the whole edifice of Christian living based on Christ as its Foundation. It matters comparatively little whether a man eats meat or abstains from it, observes certain days or disregards their special sanctity, provided that the scruple alleged or the freedom enjoyed is conscientious, springing out of his conception of the nature of the religion Jesus Christ has revealed. It is not for others to despise the punctilious or to blame the informal. Each will be judged by his Master. That Master is Lord of both quick and dead; he presides not only over our earthly life, but over our departure to the larger life. Christians may differ in point of intellectual attainment and particular opinion, but every face believingly turned to the Sun of Righteousness reflects some of its glory; every worshipper is brought near to every other as he gathers at the feet of the Infinite Object of adoration and praise.

I. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST.

1. Christian freedom is not unconditional liberty. "Ye are not your own" is the watchword of grateful service. The emancipation of a slave does not set him free from all law; he is released from degrading servitude to be useful to his country and king. Modern civilization teaches the compatibility of numerous statutes with true essential freedom. The rule of Christ is recognized and illustrated in the Acts of the Apostles, "Thou, Lord, show which of these two thou hast chosen;" "The Lord added to them daily." "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" is the first question of the new life. There would be no difficulty in any department of Church-fellowship if the authority of Christ were fully recognized. "One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." Finances, activity, brotherly regard, all flourish where hearts are surrendered in entirety to the sway of Christ.

2. This Lordship means protection as well as government. As under Roman law' each noble patrician had his clients, whose wrongs he redressed and whose interests he promoted, so the Saviour throws the aegis of his love over his subjects, directing them by his wisdom, shielding them by his interposition. "Fear not; no man shall set on thee to harm thee." The very end of government is the welfare of the governed. Old ideas that the monarch has no duties and the people no rights have passed for ever; and we are warranted in seizing nobler conceptions of the sovereignty of God than prevailed when despotism reigned unquestioned. Let men beware lest they lop off limbs from the body of Christ, and by their divisions and excommunications rend his seamless garment.

3. The dominion of Christ may well console us as we think of the dead. He is the Lord of all worlds, has "all authority in heaven and earth." His voice comforts the bereaved, sounding amid the stillness of the sepulchre, "Fear not: I have the keys of death and of Hades." "He is not the Lord of the dead, but of the living.' The dead pass not into a dreary unillumined state; they "depart to be with Christ." And where mournful reflections on wasted lives, sudden departures, check hopeful sorrow, and memory emits little fragrance from the past; yet we may leave all in his hands who, as the supreme Architect of humanity, rejoices in restoration rather than destruction. "Shall not the Judge... do right?"

II. THE MANNER IS WHICH THIS LORDSHIP WAS WON.

1. By stooping to the condition of his subjects. He is Lord by creation, but still more by virtue of his redemptive work. Well has he earned his title who entered into our humbling nature, tasted our sorrows, and drank the cup of bitterness as our Sin Offering. He himself passed through the gloomy portals of death, and in rising again revealed both the love and the might of God. Only he can be a true Master who first subordinated himself to service. For the suffering of death is he crowned with glory and honour. He can declare, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." "Because I live, ye shall live also."

2. After this model, service to the Church becomes the stepping-stone to honor. Christ has furnished the pattern to his followers according to which office and rank are conferred. He who is most profitable to the body is to be most esteemed by the members. Empty sinecures are unknown in his kingdom. And if we would benefit our fellows, we must by real sympathy share their need and trouble. "He that will be greatest, let him be your minister." Christ rose as the Firstfruits, and in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own rank. - S.R.A.

To the weak and scrupulous the apostle says, "Why judge?" To the strong and liberal, "Why despise?"

I. THE SUPREMACY OF CONSCIENCE.

1. This principle is the master thought of the chapter (vers. 5, 12, 13). Nothing is to supersede personal conviction.(1) Human passions are not to bar Christian rights. For matters that do not interfere with the happiness of others do not mind the denim of your Christian character by fallible men. Feel that you owe allegiance to Christ, and in that feeling be calm.(2) There is no appeal to public authority. Uniformitarians would have thought this just the occasion for the Church to decide once for all, and so put an end to variety. But as the great apostle would not interfere, no Church has a right to rule in these matters.

2. But let us not mistake supremacy of conscience for that of the individual will. The apostle asserted the sanctity of convictions, but we must not exalt our opinions to the rank of convictions.

II. THE VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.

1. By unchristian judging. Judging is persecuting; it was the procedure of the dark ages. But consider the judgment that is not peculiar to Rome, but which belongs to human nature. Take these cases cited by the apostle — Sabbath observance, and abstinence from things pronounced worldly. How do we treat those who do not hold our views on these matters? You hear insinuations about laxity or Sabbath breaking or worldliness: then about socinianism or infidelity; then immorality. This is judging. It is not life or liberty that is assailed, but character. Look at the wrong of this. Note(l) Its arrogance. Such judging is only to be defended on the claim of infallibility, and therefore Rome is consistent, but Protestants are not. Are those who judge free from human frailty? Or are they not generally the weakest of both sexes?(2) Its failure to procure what it aims at — uniformity of opinion. This is the ideal good which men have tried for ages to attain, but is Christendom more united than in the apostle's days?(3) It destroys free inquiry. We boast in opposition to Rome, of our free and open Bible. But do we not really say, "Here is the Bible; read it for yourself; but find these doctrines there and no others." Hence men will not bear to hear the truth. They think they have it already in the compass of a single mind, and they come to church to hear it repeated.

2. By contemptuousness. The sin of judging is the sin of the narrow minded; the sin of the liberal minded is contempt for narrowness and scorn for scruples. There is a distinction between largeness of view and largeness of heart. A narrow mind is not always a narrow heart. There are worse things than narrow views. The missionaries often hold narrow views, and yet these men give their lives to turn men to God, and shame those of larger views. Take heed how ye despise any of God's little ones, for what is largeness of view compared with devotedness of life? Good men usually cling to a superstition or a form for the sake of some deep truth with which it stands connected.

(F. W. Robertson, M.A.)

Peter Cooper of New York, a man who spends a large amount of money on philanthropic objects, took a great interest in a Woman's Art School. One day he stood watching the portrait class in that institution, whilst they were drawing a likeness of the same model from different positions. One scholar took the face in profile; another had it turned a little into the shadow; a third saw more of the full face, and represented it accordingly; whilst others worked still further into the light or away from it. Of course the portraits thus taken were very different; some of them, indeed, so different, that any one unacquainted with the original might have been almost excused for thinking that they were portraits of different people. Mr. Cooper observing the scene, said, "Such a sight as this should be a lesson in charity, when we perceive how the same person may be so different, according to the way he is looked at by various people."

(Sunday at Home.)

It is a comfortable thought that the smallest and most turbid mud-puddle can contain its own picture of heaven; it shall be a symbol to me that even a human breast that may appear least spiritual in some aspects may still have the capability of reflecting an infinite heaven in its depths, and therefore of enjoying it. Let us remember this when we feel inclined to deny all spiritual life to some people, in whom, nevertheless, our Father may perhaps see the image of His face. This dull river has a deep religion of its own — so, let us trust, has the dullest human soul, though perhaps unconsciously.

(W. Hawthorne.)

Observe —

I. THE CHARACTERS REPROVED. Those who —

1. Judge others.

2. Despise others.

II. THEIR REPROOF.

1. They forget that all are amenable at the judgment seat of Christ.

2. That they invade the prerogative of God.

3. That they must give account of themselves.

(J. Lyth, D.D.)

1. I suppose "Christ" slipped into certain MSS. because Paul had been speaking of Christ, and it was thought to be natural that he should continue to use the same name. He knew that Christ is God, and when he was speaking of Him it was no deviation for him to call Him God. It was necessary, too, because he was about to quote an Old Testament passage which speaks of the sovereignty of God, which is to be confessed by all mankind. It would have been most important to draw a distinction between Christ and God if there had been any doubt as to His divinity.

2. St. Paul mentioned the future judgment, that by its influence the Roman Christians might cease the mischievous meddlesomeness of judging, when the Judge was at the door. A day is to come when men shall be judged after a better fashion than we can judge. How dare we, then, travesty God's great assize by ourselves mounting the throne. Moreover, we impudently intrude ourselves into the office and prerogative of Christ. "It is all needless, too; for both your brother and yourself will stand before the judgment seat of God, who will manage the affairs of men far better than you can." And, finally, your judgment is unprofitable: you would spend your time better if you would recollect that you will be yourselves examined by an unerring eye. This judgment will be: —

I. UNIVERSAL — "all." There will come a judgment for the strong and for the weak. No elevation in piety will exclude us, and no weakness will serve as an excuse. The man of one and the man of ten talents must alike be reckoned with. What a motley throng will gather at that assize, of all nations and peoples and tongues! Persons of all ages. Kings and paupers, saints and sinners, will be arraigned.

II. PERSONAL (ver. 12). If it only dealt with actions, words, and thoughts, the account would be solemn enough, but we must each one give an account of himself, of what he was as well as what he did, of what was in his heart as well as of that which came out of it in his deeds.

III. DIVINE, and therefore —

1. According to truth. God will make no mistakes.

2. By the supreme standard of perfect justice.

3. Most searching.

4. Impartial.

5. Final.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

This is often spoken of as the most terrible event in human history. And so it will be, and the happiest too. "We must all stand," etc.; then —

I. LIFE IS NOT A SET OF BROKEN ACCIDENTS AND CONFUSED OCCURRENCES. It seems to be so — act seems separated from act, and thought from thought, and thought from act, and we often know not what to make of life. But then life will appear in its completeness and its meaning be clear. This —

1. Should cause us to look more into the bearings of our life. We ought not to live at haphazard, but thoughtfully.

2. Should elevate life, and redeem it both from hopelessness and vulgarity.

II. WE SHALL BE INDEPENDENT OF THE MISJUDGMENTS OF MEN. There is a sense in which a concern for what our neighbours think of us may be just and proper. Nothing is more valuable than the words of the good and wise. But we ought not to be distressed in mind and hindered in our work by the unjust judgments of the world. In the long run we may get even better judgments from the world if we seek to live in the spirit of the judgment of Christ. But let those who fight against God's people remember that they grasp a blade without a handle. Comfort yourselves, then, that Christ is Judge, and will vindicate righteousness.

III. WE OUGHT TO MAKE PREPARATION FOR SO SOLEMN AN EVENT. If you are invited to meet some grand personage on some special occasion and make no preparation, you will be given to feel your want of preparedness by the contempt of those who are about you. Should we, then, as men of common sense, make no preparation for the supreme event in our history. Do not prepare in a spirit of fear, but as a matter of right, and as an expression of love? We are not to get up ourselves in fine rags and gilt, but meet our Judge in the robe of character which He has fashioned and adorned.

IV. WE NEED HAVE NO UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE DECISION. We know the Judge and His method. We can therefore judge ourselves now. Everything righteous and noble will be approved; everything base and bad will be condemned. Right is right eternally; wrong is wrong for ever. Have we repented, etc.?

V. TRIFLING EXCUSES WILL NOT FOR ONE MOMENT BE TOLERATED.

(J. Parker, D.D.)

1. Christ Himself spake of judgment, but never after this fashion. He never spoke of Himself as put upon His trial, but always as the Judge. Here, however, Paul speaks of himself as appearing at the judgment. What is the fair inference? Clearly, that high as Paul was, Jesus Christ is far higher. God cannot be judged, but every intelligent, accountable creature will be judged. Jesus Christ was not a creature, but God manifested in humanity.

2. Religious truths frequently conceal each other. This truth of the judgment day hides from some eyes the fact of the judgment which is going on every day. You are all now upon your trial. And there are certain results of this trial that are akin to sentence. Does not the drunkard and the sensualist of every shape suffer a present punishment? Are not integrity and truthfulness generally recognised with favour?

3. By the mention of this fact, the Apostle Paul teaches the members of the Church in Rome to be liberal in the estimate they form of each other. There is, however, a false liberality. There are some that would apply these remarks to the facts and doctrines of the gospel, and to moral principles. Now hear what the same man wrote: "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you any other gospel than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

I. THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT. The emphasis of the text is in the words "We shall." Judgment is no probability. But what is judgment ? There is trial — the idea of really testing the character, of summing up and judging the totality of a man's life. Then there is the disclosure, the bringing out of everything. Then there is decision upon the case, and sentence. Let us consider some facts which make this appear certain.

1. There is a looking for of judgment in every man. When Adam and his wife had eaten of the fruit they hid themselves. What was this but an expression of expectancy that God would come and judge them! Is this peculiar? No. What do the fears and the remorse of the man who has done wrong say but that he expects judgment!

2. This Divine and real judgment seems needful. "Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?" Look at the mistakes that occur concerning men. A man is in reputation for religion and may have a heart as black as hell. Now, is this to be perpetual? No; there is a sort of necessity in God's nature to put everything right and to give to every man his real character.

3. It is indicated by present punishment and reward on a limited scale. During the storm you have often heard the thunder at the distance before the tempest has broken over your dwelling, and just so may you hear the trumpet of the future judgment in what you now experience when you have done wrong.

4. By the voice of Old Testament and New God speaks to you of this judgment.

II. OUR PERSONAL APPEARANCE IS CERTAIN. There will be no escape from a final Divine trial. You may leave a pious home to get far from what you call cant, but you will not escape from this judgment. There will be no evasion, excuse, proxy.

III. CHRIST WILL BE THE JUDGE, and mark what this involves. The Judge will be —

1. Visible. Christ has taken His human nature to heaven.

2. Competent, and the multitude, without exception, will feel that competency. Just as you often have been conscious of the presence of greatness when you have been with some man whose intelligence very far exceeded your own, so will it be felt before the judgment seat of Christ.

(S. Martin.)

I. THE FACT.

1. All.

2. Shall stand.

3. At the judgment seat of Christ.

II. THE CERTAINTY OF IT.

1. Attested by reason and revelation.

2. Confirmed by the oath of God.

III. THE ISSUE. Every one shall give an account —

1. Of himself.

(1)His conduct to man.

(2)To God.

2. Before God Himself.

(J. Lyth, D.D.)

In the establishment of this we see —

I. THE HONOUR AND DIGNITY WITH WHICH THIS INVESTS INDIVIDUAL HUMAN LIVES. Look at society. A few men are eminent, but the millions lead ordinary lives. We are limited, fettered, and we are ready to say, "What is man?" Yet God is to judge him, and individually. A human court puts honour on man's nature by his very trial. A leopard leaping from his cave to tear asunder his victim is not a subject of arrest and trial. He is shot, and that is the end of it. Man has a knowledge of God and of immortal verities. Therefore he is judged.

II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HUMBLEST LIFE AND OF THE HUMBLEST ACT OF ANY LIFE. Too often we gauge character and success by their conspicuousness. We note the obsequies of the great, but who notes the paupers funeral? But the text —

1. Gives a significance to the poor man's death.

2. We are apt to measure our own lives by our larger efforts, and forget the little acts that, like drops, go to make up the continuous stream of life. It is these smaller actions that at once show and shape character. Christ represents the good as amazed at the final judgment because such little acts as the cup of water were remembered; and so the wicked. Phidias polished the back of his statues, for he said that though men saw not his work, the gods beheld it. Every deed, however small or secret, comes under the cognisance of God. To neglect to adjust our inward life to this truth and cultivate the merely outward exhibitions of character is as irrational as it would be to burnish the ornaments of an engine and build the boiler of defective metal, or decorate the outside of an edifice while its foundations and walls are insecure.

III. HOW MAJESTIC AN ATTRIBUTE IS MAN'S CONSCIENCE. True, conscience may be mistaken; but, enlightened by the Holy Spirit it is the echo of God's voice. Its remorse is an echo of His rebuke, and its approval an echo of His benediction. We may anticipate the final tribunal. Judging ourselves now, we shall not at last be condemned. How wicked, then, it is to put out this eye, to suffocate the voice of God within us! It is moral suicide.

IV. THE SECRET OF TRUE INDEPENDENCE FROM THE WORLD. If God be for us, who can be against us? Paul, Pascal, Luther, Wilberforce, etc., swung loose from entangling criticisms, undismayed by human censure in the thought of their personal responsibility to their Judge. "It is a small matter that we be judged of man's judgment"; this was their word. So may the maligned wait calmly for the final vindication.

V. THE BEAUTY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SAVIOUR'S WORK. Christ does not abolish judgment; He claims it as His own and thus asserts His Divinity. No man, no angel, can assume this function. It belongs to Omniscience alone. We learn how it is accomplished — by the self-conviction of the sinner. Before Christ on earth they who accused another stood self-convicted, and went away one by one. "He told me all I ever knew," said another. It was on the Cross that atonement was completed. It is on that ground we, as believers, are saved. The lustre of the Cross is shed on the judgment throne. The Judge is our Redeemer, friend, and advocate. We can have "boldness in that day," for we are in Him.

VI. THE DUTY OF ACCEPTING AND THE PRIVILEGE OF PROCLAIMING THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF THE SON OF GOD. Before His face we must stand. We cannot postpone the day. Nearer it comes every hour. Are you ready for it? Only in Christ can you be serene and safe, contemplating its approach.

(R. S. Storrs, D.D.)

Paul, RomansRomeBrother, Brother's, Christ, Contempt, Despise, Fault, God's, Judge, Judged, Judgest, Judgment, Judgment-seat, Naught, Nought, Pass, Placed, Regard, Respect, Seat, Stand, Tribunal1. Men may not condemn one another for disputable matters;
13. but must take heed that they give no offense in them;
15. which the apostle proves unlawful by many reasons.

Romans 14:10

     1310   God, as judge
     5184   standing
     5961   superiority
     8800   prejudice
     9210   judgment, God's
     9230   judgment seat

Romans 14:1-10

     5010   conscience, matters of

Romans 14:1-13

     5897   judging others

Romans 14:1-18

     6662   freedom, abuse

Romans 14:1-23

     4478   meat

Romans 14:9-12

     8444   honouring God

Romans 14:9-13

     6126   condemnation, human
     8844   unforgiveness

Romans 14:10-12

     2212   Christ, head of church
     9240   last judgment

Romans 14:10-13

     5821   criticism, among believers

July 25. "He that in These Things Serveth Christ is Acceptable to God" (Rom. xiv. 18).
"He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God" (Rom. xiv. 18). God can only use us while we are right. Satan cared far less for Peter's denial of his Master than for the use he made of it afterwards to destroy his faith. So Jesus said to him: "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." It was Peter's faith he attacked, and so it is our faith that Satan contests. "The trial of our faith is much more precious than gold that perisheth." Whatever else we let go let us hold steadfastly …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Twenty-First Day. Holiness and Happiness.
The kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Ghost.'--Rom. xiv. 17. 'The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost.'--Acts xiii. 52. 'Then Nehemiah said, This day is holy unto the Lord: neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled the people, saying, Hold your peace; for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to make great mirth, because they had understood the words.'--Neh. viii. 10-12. The deep significance of …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

December the Fifteenth what is My Tendency?
"Whether we live, we live unto...." --ROMANS xiv. 7-21. Unto what? In what direction are we living? Whither are we going? How do we complete the sentence? "We live unto money!" That is how many would be compelled to finish the record. Money is their goal, and their goal determines their tendency. "We live unto pleasure!" Such would be another popular company. "We live unto fame!" That would be the banner of another regiment. "We live unto ease!" Thus would men and women describe their …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Limits of Liberty
'So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. 14. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Necessity of Actual Grace
In treating of the necessity of actual grace we must avoid two extremes. The first is that mere nature is absolutely incapable of doing any thing good. This error was held by the early Protestants and the followers of Baius and Jansenius. The second is that nature is able to perform supernatural acts by its own power. This was taught by the Pelagians and Semipelagians. Between these two extremes Catholic theology keeps the golden mean. It defends the capacity of human nature against Protestants and …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 14:17.--For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. In this text we have the earthly revelation of the work of the Trinity. The Kingdom of God is righteousness; that represents the work of the Father. The foundations of His throne are justice and judgment. Then comes the work of the Son: He is our peace, our Shiloh, our rest. The Kingdom of God is peace; not only the peace of pardon for the past, but the peace of perfect assurance …
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
There still remain three trumpets, the greatest and most grievous of all, and therefore discriminated from the former by the appellation of Woes. For after the conclusion of the fourth trumpet, "I saw and heard," says he, "an angel flying in the midst of heaven, and saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, which are yet to sound." Also, c. ix. v. 12, and c. xi. v. 14. Doubtless, since the Christian …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

Thus Much Will Suffice to have Treated on Behalf of True Continence against The...
26. Thus much will suffice to have treated on behalf of true Continence against the Manichees deceitfully continent, lest the fruitful and glorious labor of Continence, when it restrains and curbs the lowest part of us, that is, the body, from immoderate and unlawful pleasures, be believed not healthfully to chasten, but hostilely to persecute. Forsooth the body is indeed different from the nature of the soul, yet is it not alien from the nature of man: for the soul is not made up of body, but yet …
St. Augustine—On Continence

Letter xxxi (A. D. 1132) to the Abbot of a Certain Monastery at York, from which the Prior had Departed, Taking Several Religious with Him.
To the Abbot of a Certain Monastery at York, from Which the Prior Had Departed, Taking Several Religious with Him. [50] 1. You write to me from beyond the sea to ask of me advice which I should have preferred that you had sought from some other. I am held between two difficulties, for if I do not reply to you, you may take my silence for a sign of contempt; but if I do reply I cannot avoid danger, since whatever I reply I must of necessity either give scandal to some one or give to some other a security …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

September 29. "Call not Thou Common" (Acts x. 15).
"Call not thou common" (Acts x. 15). "There is nothing common of itself" (Rom. xiv. 14). We can bring Christ into common things as fully as into what we call religious services. Indeed, it is the highest and hardest application of Divine grace, to bring it down to the ordinary matters of life, and therefore God is far more honored in this than even in things that are more specially sacred. Therefore, in the twelfth chapter of Romans, which is the manual of practical consecration, just after the passage …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity Treasure Christians have in the Gospel.
Text: 1 Corinthians 1, 4-9. 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5 that in everything ye were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge; 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom ye were called …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

A Summary of the Christian Life. Of Self-Denial.
The divisions of the chapter are,--I. The rule which permits us not to go astray in the study of righteousness, requires two things, viz., that man, abandoning his own will, devote himself entirely to the service of God; whence it follows, that we must seek not our own things, but the things of God, sec. 1, 2. II. A description of this renovation or Christian life taken from the Epistle to Titus, and accurately explained under certain special heads, sec. 3 to end. 1. ALTHOUGH the Law of God contains …
Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff—On the Christian Life

Further Journeying About Galilee.
^C Luke VIII. 1-3. ^c 1 And it came to pass soon afterwards [ i. e.,. soon after his visit to the Pharisee], that he went about through cities and villages [thus making a thorough circuit of the region of Galilee], preaching and bringing the good tidings of the kingdom of God [John had preached repentance as a preparation for the kingdom; but Jesus now appears to have preached the kingdom itself, which was indeed to bring good tidings--Rom. xiv. 17 ], and with him the twelve [We here get a glimpse …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Perseverance Proved.
2. I REMARK, that God is able to preserve and keep the true saints from apostacy, in consistency with their liberty: 2 Tim. i. 12: "For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Here the apostle expresses the fullest confidence in the ability of Christ to keep him: and indeed, as has been said, it is most manifest that the apostles expected …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
WHEREIN ITS GOODLY LIGHT, WALLS, GATES, ANGELS, AND THE MANNER OF THEIR STANDING, ARE EXPOUNDED: ALSO HER LENGTH AND BREADTH, TOGETHER WITH THE GOLDEN MEASURING-REED EXPLAINED: AND THE GLORY OF ALL UNFOLDED. AS ALSO THE NUMEROUSNESS OF ITS INHABITANTS; AND WHAT THE TREE AND WATER OF LIFE ARE, BY WHICH THEY ARE SUSTAINED. 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.'-Psalm 87:3 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, THE LORD IS THERE.'-Ezekiel 48:35 London: Printed in the year 1665 …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Peaceable Principles and True: Or, a Brief Answer to Mr. D'Anver's and Mr. Paul's Books against My Confession of Faith, and Differences in Judgment About Baptism no Bar to Communion.
WHEREIN THEIR SCRIPTURELESS NOTIONS ARE OVERTHROWN, AND MY PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES STILL MAINTAINED. 'Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?'--Psalm 58:1 SIR, I have received and considered your short reply to my differences in judgment about water baptism no bar to communion; and observe, that you touch not the argument at all: but rather labour what you can, and beyond what you ought, to throw odiums upon your brother for reproving you for your error, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Journey to Jerusalem. Ten Lepers. Concerning the Kingdom.
(Borders of Samaria and Galilee.) ^C Luke XVII. 11-37. ^c 11 And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. [If our chronology is correct, Jesus passed northward from Ephraim about forty miles, crossing Samaria (here mentioned first), and coming to the border of Galilee. He then turned eastward along that border down the wady Bethshean which separates the two provinces, and crossed the Jordan into Peræa, where we soon …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Torments of Giant Bad Feelings
THE TORMENTS OF GIANT BAD FEELINGS I am just a bundle of feelings. I never imagined one could have such a variety of them as I am now experiencing. Most of them are bad ones and I am greatly disturbed by them. Really, I doubt whether I am sanctified, on account of the feelings I have. Do sanctified people always feel joyful? I have heard that they do, and if it is true that they do, then I am not sanctified. Big doubts take up company with me every morning, and so long as I feel as I do I do not …
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

Letter xxi (Circa A. D. 1128) to the Abbot of S. John at Chartres
To the Abbot of S. John at Chartres Bernard dissuades him from resigning his charge, and undertaking a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 1. As regards the matters about which you were so good as to consult so humble a person as myself, I had at first determined not to reply. Not because I had any doubt what to say, but because it seemed to me unnecessary or even presumptuous to give counsel to a man of sense and wisdom. But considering that it usually happens that the greater number of persons of sense--or …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Epistle Lii. To Natalis, Bishop .
To Natalis, Bishop [1463] . Gregory to Natalis, Bishop of Salona. As though forgetting the tenour of former letters, I had determined to say nothing to your Blessedness but what should savour of sweetness: but, now that in your epistle you have recurred in the way of argumentation to preceding letters, I am once more compelled to say perhaps some things that I had rather not have said. For in defence of feasts your Fraternity mentions the feast of Abraham, in which by the testimony of Holy Scripture …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Li. Dining with a Pharisee, Jesus Denounces that Sect.
^C Luke XI. 37-54. ^c 37 Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. [The repast to which Jesus was invited was a morning meal, usually eaten between ten and eleven o'clock. The principal meal of the day was eaten in the evening. Jesus dined with all classes, with publicans and Pharisees, with friends and enemies.] 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first bathed himself before dinner. [The Pharisee marveled at this because …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Death of the Righteous
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Paul was a great admirer of Christ. He desired to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. I Cor 2:2. No medicine like the blood of Christ; and in the text, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' I. For to me to live is Christ. We must understand Paul of a spiritual life. For to me to live is Christ, i.e.' Christ is my life; so Gregory of Nyssa; or thus, my life is made up of Christ. As a wicked man's life is made up of sin, …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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