The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-13
NO FORCED REFORMATION
MAN, DIR. LYMAN ABBOTT SAYS, CAN
NOT BE NODDED At WILL.
St. Paul's Recognition of the Hope
Law, Either Human or Divine.
Brooklyn Eagle.

ings of st. Paul" Dr.sAbbott's lecture fol-
lows in full:
"Paul's EpistIe to the Romans more near
ly resembles a treatise than any other Of
his epistles. At very early date it was
published in two editions. one with the
personal matter omitted from it, and with
the reference to the Romans omitted from
it, and in this form it serves the purpose of
a general treatise or circular letter to the
churches. The other is in the form with
which We are familiar. There is some diff
ference of opinion among scholars as to
which of these was the early form, but it is
not important to determine that question.
Whether Paul first wrote it as a letter, and
then it was re-edited to be treatise, or
whether he first wrote it as a circular letter
or treatise, and then added to it to make it
a letter, in either case the form indicates it's
essential character-that IS, indicates that
it is general rather than specific, fitted to
serve the purpose of a treatise.
1T was written to the Christian church
at Rome. OF this Christian church at
Rome we know nothing though we can sur
mise some things. We know this: That the
Jews We're scattered throughout the Roman
empire, and wherever they went they car
ried with them something of the qualities
were shrewd thrifty and successful as
traders. They mixed freely with men of
the Roman empire in trade, but they mixed
with them no otherwise. What Shakespeare
makes Shylock say might well have been
said by a Jew in the first century: L will
buy with you, sell with you talk with you,
walk with you, and so following; but will
not eat with you, drink with you or pray
with YOU They possessed q viriIe and ag-
gressve faith, and it was the only virile
and aggressive faith iii the Roman empire.
OF that we shall see more presently. They
believed in one God, who was a righteous
God, and who demanded righteousness of
His people, and they carried this belief in
righteous God and in the laws of righteous
ness, as interpreted in the Ten Command
ments by the prophets, with them wher-
ever they went. They carried it, it is true,
as we are very apt to carry our faith in the
law, rather for the benefit of other people
than for themselves, more earnest to en-
force their conceptions of law on others
than to obey their conceptions of law them
selves. But still they had virile faith and
real religion, and men of intelligence and
probity (and there were such men in the
general degradation and degeneracy of the
Roman empire) were attracted to their
MAKEUP OF THE ROMAN CHURCH.
so there sprang up in every community
what were called by the Jews proselytes,
what are called in the book of Acts devout
people. They were still pagans. They were
not circumcised: they did not generally wor-
more or less, in one true God as against
the belief in the many gods, and in a right
eous God us against the belief in the i'm
moral gods, and the spiritual gods against
the belief in the gods that could be repre-
scented by idols and images The church at
Rome was already composed OF three ele-
ments. 1t was composed partly, undoubtedly,
of Jews who had accepted the Christian re-
lgion. IT was composed partly of pagans
who had accepted the Christian religion.
But it was probably, though this is sur
mise, composed very largely of proselytes
who had accepted the Christian religion.
That is to say, of pagans who no longer
believed in Jove and Mercury and Venus;
who no longer worshiped in pagan temples,
or who did so simply as matter of con-
venience and conformity to the fashions of
the times who believed, more or less truly,
in one righteous God; who to that extent
had accepted Judaism Out of this class, the
most moral the most intelligent and the
most liberal of the Roman empire, freed on
the one hand from the trammels of Judaism
freed on the other hand from superstition
of paganism. the Christian churches We're
largely cOmposed-the Christian church Ina
the Roman capital was probably very large
ly composed
1T was to this church Paul wrote his let
ter, about the year So A. D.. that is four
years after Nero had assembled the throne.
Paul was stifl at Ephesus on his journey to
Jerusalem. whittier he was to carry con-
tributionS from the Macedonian churches to
the poor. He had already written those let
tiers to the Corinthians, at which we have
glanced. He had seen the license of pagan
ism casting off all moral restraint, and
thinking that liberty allowed every form OF
immoral conduct He had written strenu-
ously in rebuke of that notion He had writ
ten that letter to the Galatians, at which we
have glanced--to the Galatians, churches
largely made, up Of Jews who had fallen
back into Judaism, and were living under
the restraint of the ceremonial law. He had
written of the obligation of moral life to
one; lie had written of the freedom from
the Mosaic ritual to the other. We teach
erS learn, If we are wise teachers at all,
much faster than our pupils, at least we
learn more from our teaching than we ever
communicate, and Paul by his teaching had
learned as well as communicated. He had
pondered the relation of law to life; he had
pondered the relation of the Mosaic law to
life. He had begun life, you remember, a
PhariSee, believing that religion consisted
III obedience to the law, and, primarily,
chiefly and pre-eminently obedience to the
ceremonial law, because it was the cere-
monial law that dictated what the
duties that man owed directly and imme-
diately to God. He had cast off this yoke
of bondage, and he had exhorted his
verts to cast it off. And yet when he came
ready to cast off all law and all moral obli-
cation and to consider themselves set free
therefrOm, set free to follow their appe-
titles and their passions wherever their in
clinatonS led them.
I'm this letter to the Romans he brings
together his composite teaching. He con-
siders more thoroughly than he had done
either in his letter to the Corinthians or I'm
his letter to the Galatians the whole rela-
ton of law TO life. That may be said to be
the subject OF his epistle. 1t is divided into
four parts. In the first he discusses law
as a remedy for evil time and an evil |
life. In the second he sets forth the goS-
pei as a remedy for an evil time and an
evil life. IL the third he considers how far
that gospel extends and who may take adj
vantage of it And. in the fourth he enters
into some practical applications and general
ethical reflections
ROMAN WORLD IN PAUL'S TIME.
I'VE shall best consider this epistle by
following these divisions Though they are
not as sharply marked in the letter as
have marked them and take them seriatim.
But to do this we must first endeavor to
form a picture of Roman world at the
time when Paul wrote the epistle to the
Roman capital. for the City of Rome was
as you know, the capital of the Roman en-
pire. From it proceeded all the laws and
all the authority. The Emperor was an alb
solute despot, and all provincial governors
were appointed by him and answerable TO
him. There was no such diffusion of gov
eminent as exists in our time. Everything |
was centralized in one imperial city. And |
all authority and all government was |
centralized there, SO was all life. The rela-
ton of Rome to the empire was something |
analogous to the relation of Paris TO