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Christian should be obedient to th e laws except where Such laws contradict th e plain teachings of th e Word of God.— Evans. The passage distinctly forbids revolutionary action in a Christian. Action w ithin th e lim its of th e existing constitution he may employ, for th e constitution is in fact “ th e power th a t is,” be it good.or bad, b u t he must not plot for its demolition no r act in any way of violence.' The passage by no means forbids the Christian fco tak e full advantage of his civil righ ts of exist ing law as P au l himself took advantage of his civil rights. Its unm istakable d rift is w hat is always th e d rift of Scrip tu re (as it is no t th a t of hum an n a tu re ), to emphasize th e Christian’s duties far more th an his righ ts.—Moule. v. 2. - R esisteth th e ordinance of God. The fact th a t th e ea rth ly govern m ent may be co rrup t and tyrannical does no t disprove th e divine origin of government any more th a n th e fact th a t p aren ts may be un faith fu l to th e ir duties proves th a t th e fam ily is no t a divine institution. P au l does no t teach th a t any degree of ty ranny is to be subm itted to by a Christian. If t h e ' government attem p ts to force him to violate a divine command, for example, to desist from preaching th e Gospel or to tak e p art in pagan worship, he must resist even unto death. Most of the apostles suffered m artyrdom for th is principle.— Shedd. Shall receive dam nation. L iterally “judgm en t.” Same word as 2:2, 3; 3 :8 ; 5 :16 ; 1 Cor. 11:29. — Camb. Bible." v. 3. Rulers n o t a te rro r to good works. He is speaking of w hat is com monly th e case. Even th e worst author-" ity is b etter th an m ere force.-^—Horn. Com. Do th a t which is good. This is th e best way to shake off th e fear of ru lers.— Torrey. Should th e Christian suppo rt th e power of th e sta te even in its u n ju st m easures? No, th ere is nothing to show th a t th e submission re quired by P aul includes active co-oper ation. I t may even show itself in th e form of passive resistance and it does not a t all exclude p ro testation in word and even resistance in deed provided th a t to th is la tte r th e re be joined th e calm acceptance of th e punishm ent in flicted. This submissive, b u t. a t th e same tim e, firm c o n d u c tis also homage to th e inviolability of au tho rity . Ex perience proves th a t it is in th is way all tyrannies have been morally broken and all tru e progress in th e h istory of hum anity effected.— Godet.
v. 4. H e is th e m in ister of God. Human society is so constituted th a t th e instinct of self preservation compels men to set up a form of government. The universality and necessity of govern m ent proves it to be God’s will th a t men live under rule. B u t God has no t pre scribed a definite form of rule, Conse quently th e principle of government as sumes an infinite variety of forms. We find th a t opposition, nearly always, to the -men actually in power, tends to weaken and destroy th e principle of government and leads toward anarchy. F requ en tly the m urder even of a bad ru ler is followed by u tte r lawlessness and infinite loss to a nation. Conse quently, opposition to th e individuals in power is practically,-w ith few excep tions, an opposition to th e divine prin ciple of government. Remembering th a t nothing takes place w ithout fore sight and perm ission of God, we will say as P au l says, th a t th e existing rulers, by whatever steps they mounted th e throne, have been pu t on it by God. —Betts. - v. 5. Ye m u st needs be subject. The man who never bows will never soar.— Jow ett. F o r conscience’ sake. We can not be obliged from conscience tow ard God to be subject -to ru lers in those things which they have no au tho rity from God to require and for refu sal of obedience to which we have authority. — Burrows. v. 7. H onor to whom honor is due. Christians are not to neglect th e laws of social life or to overlook th e fact th a t distinction of ran k is highly neces sary for th e economy and safety of th e world.—-Neil. T rib u te to whom trib u te is due. The disciple of Christ, as such, while his whole being has received an emancipation unknown elsewhere, is to be th e faith fu l subject of th e emperpr, the orderly inh ab itan t of his q u arte r in th e city, th e punctual taxpayer, th e ready giver of no t a servile, yet a gen uine deference to th e representatives and m inisters of. hum an au tho rity .— Exp. Bible. v. 8. Owe no m an any th ing b u t to love. Love is a debt which is multi plied by paying.—Augustine. The debt of love can never be fully discharged.-__ Milton. This does n o t mean th a t love .is to be an unpaid debt in th e sense in which a neglected bill is unpaid. I t is to be a perpetu al payment, one which in th e n a tu re of th ing s can never be paid off and which will th erefo re be ever recu rring as a new demand for th e
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