SCRIPTURE READING EXERCISE.

BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. (Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "Whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scripture, might have hope."—PAUL.

NOTES.

1. Chronological Order: The arrangement of the Epistles as found in our Bibles and as followed in these lessons, is not one of chronological order. As far as the chronological order can be followed at all, it is generally conceded to be about as follows:

1. I and II Thessalonians, A. D. 50, 51.

2. I and II Cor., Gal., Rom., A. D. 55, 56.

3. Phil., Col., Eph., Philemon, A. D. 60, 61.

4. 1 and 2 Tim., Titus, A. D. 64, 65.

As implied above, there is some variation in these dates among authorities on the Epistles.

2. The Epistles of St. Paul: "St. Paul contrived, in a remarkable degree, to maintain a connection with the churches he founded. The care of all the Gentile churches (II Cor. xi: 28) he exercised not merely by occasional revisiting them, but by letter. Of the letters thus produced we possess thirteen. The originals have indeed naturally disappeared; they were written by amanuenses, and authenticated by the addition of a paragraph in St. Paul's own writing (Gal. vi: 11), or by his signature (II Thes. iii: 17). With the exception of the three pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus, which are still questioned by some critics, the epistles ascribed to St. Paul in our New Testament are generally and justly received as his. These thirteen epistles all belong to the later half of St. Paul's ministry. The first eighteen years after his conversion give us not one epistle. In the year 52 or 53 A. D. the two epistles to the Thessalonians were written. Then follows another blank period till 58, when, within the space of one year, the four great epistles to the Corinthians, Galations, and Romans were produced. Again there occurs an interval of five years till 63, when the four 'Prison Epistles' appeared; and finally, yet another gap, until 66-68 A. D., when he sent the pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus. In the character of these groups there is a marked difference, while within each group the epistles belonging to it resemble one another. In the earliest group there is a reflection of St. Paul's preaching to the heathen, in which the second coming and the kingdom of Christ are in the foreground. The second group exhibits the doctrines of grace in conflict with Judaism, and also shows us in detail the difficulties Christianity had to overcome in the social ideas and customs of the Roman world. The third group is characterized by a calmer spirit, a higher reach of Christian thought, more constructive statements regarding Christ's person. In the fourth group we have chiefly instructions regarding church order, interspersed with passages of remarkable beauty and richness." (Bible Treasury, p. 135).

3. The Pastoral Epistles: The Epistle to Timothy and Titus are called pastoral because they give directions for the training and governing of the churches, the proper treatment of individual members, old and young, official and unofficial, back-sliders and heretics. They treat of practical wisdom, warning and encouragement, rather than of doctrine.

4. Their Author: "Paul, originally called Saul, was born in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, of parents who were Jews, apparently of a strict type, but he had the rights of Roman citizenship. He was sent when young to Jerusalem, where he studied at the feet of a great Jewish doctor, Gamaliel, and wrought at the trade of a tent-maker. Here he became zealous for the law, and distinguished himself by his enmity against those Jews who had apostatized from the faith of their fathers. He went about persecuting the Christians everywhere, and dragging them before the Sanhedrim, that they might be put to death, till, on the road near Damascus, whither he was bound, under commission from the Sanhedrim, in the work of persecution, he was arrested in his course, and suddenly converted, by an apparition of the glorified Christ himself, into a disciple and preacher of the faith he had been seeking to crush." (Bagster Bible Helps, p. 69.)

5. The General Purport of the Epistles: The general purport of these epistles is to teach that salvation is not possible by the works of the law, but is the free gift of God by and in Jesus Christ; and that every man, Jew as well as Gentile, is equally in need, as he is equally capable of this salvation, which is represented as experienced by faith in Christ crucified leading to death with Christ, rising again with Christ, and living with Christ in the inner life. This is the burden of the epistles as it is the sum of Paul's gospel, and it is the exact opposite of the Pharisaic creed in which he had been brought up; his antagonism to that creed now not only enabled him to define better the character of the new faith, but to become the apostle of it to all nations as a religion deriving its inspiration direct from Christ, and alone adequate to the exigency of Jew and Gentile alike, seeing 'all had sinned and come short of the glory of God.'" (Bagster Bible Helps, p. 69.)

6. The Style of the Epistles: The style of these letters shows a man of an eager and impetuous temper, who, on that account, as well as through the fulness of his matter, is impatient of dialectic restraint. The theme is a pressing one, and the writer is to intent to gain his end to study his steps. In his hurry to carry his thought forward he sometimes forgets what he has been saying, and passes on to another point, more urgent perhaps, leaving the original sentence unfinished; while in his eagerness to express himself he is often careless of the coherence of his thought. [May it not be that the defect here pointed out can be accounted for by some of the passages being lost?] He has no time to adjust himself to any formulae: he must make his way at any expense. All forms are alike to him, and he will use any or use none, if only he can thereby gain his point." (Bagster Bible Helps, p. 69.)

7. Date of the Epistle to the Romans: Although this epistle stands first among the Pauline letters, this position has been accorded to it, not because it is the earliest in point of time, but partly owing to its doctrinal importance, and mainly on account of its being addressed to the metropolis of the world. Its probable date is the early spring of the year 58 A. D." (Bible Treasury, p. 135.)

8. Its Purpose: St. Paul's primary purpose in writing to the Romans was to explain why during the many years of his missionary journeyings he had never yet reached Rome, and to pave the way for his intended visit. He had many friends among the Christians of Rome (ch. 16), and it is likely that in a friendly way they had been chiding him with attending so much to others, and so little to them. He assures them that this was due to no oblivion of the claims of Rome, nor to any intentional neglect on his part. On the contrary, he, himself a Roman citizen, had intensely felt the attraction of Rome, and had 'oftentimes' (i: 13) proposed to visit it, and had only been hindered by work from which he could not escape." (Bible Treasury, p. 135.)

9. The Gospel According to St. Paul Expounded in Romans: "St. Paul takes the opportunity of presenting an exposition of his 'gospel' more systematic than we have in any other of his letters. Why, if he expected so soon to see his friends in Rome? Possibly because it was said that he shrank from bringing his bare and simple gospel into the trying light of the metropolis. It is not this, he says, that hinders him from coming to Rome. 'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.' (i: 16). And having good reason to know the precariousness of life, and the delays which may hinder and retard the best intentions, he at once proceeds to give the main outline of his habitual teaching. It was natural that, while proposing greatly to extend his mission, he should wish to make clear to the church of the imperial city, the center of the Gentile world, what his gospel was, and that it was applicable to Gentiles as well as to Jews, to metropolitans as well as to provincials. The letter is a justification of his mission to the Gentiles." (Bible Treasury, p. 135.)

10. The Church at Rome: "The name of the original founder of the Roman Church has not been preserved to us by history, nor even celebrated by tradition. This is a remarkable fact, when we consider how soon the Church of Rome attained great eminence in the Christian world, both from its numbers, and from the influence of its metropolitan rank. Had any of the Apostles laid its first foundation, the fact could scarcely fail to have been recorded. It is, therefore, probable that it was formed, in the first instance, of private Christians converted in Palestine, who had come from the eastern parts of the Empire to reside at Rome, or who had brought back Christianity with them, from some of their periodical visits to Jerusalem, as the 'Strangers of Rome,' from the great Pentecost. Indeed, among the immense multitudes whom political and commercial reasons constantly attracted to the metropolis of the world, there could not fail to be representatives of every religion which had established itself in any of the provinces. On this hypothesis, the earliest of the Roman Christians were Jews by birth, who resided in Rome, from some of the causes above alluded to. By their efforts, others of their friends and fellow countrymen (who were very numerous at Rome) would have been led to embrace the Gospel. But the Church so founded, though Jewish in its origin, was remarkably free from the predominance of Judaizing tendencies. This is evident from the fact that so large a proportion of it at this early period were already of Gentile blood; and it appears still more plainly from the tone assumed by St. Paul throughout the Epistle, so different from that in which he addresses the Galatians, although the subject-matter is often nearly identical." (The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Conybeare & Howson), p. 544.)

A Pen Picture of Paul: Paul was small in size, and his personal appearance did not correspond with the greatness of his soul. He was ugly, stout, short, and stooping, and his broad shoulders awkwardly sustained a little bald head. His sallow countenance was half hidden in a thick beard; his nose was aquiline, his eyes piercing, and his eyebrows heavy and joined across his forehead. Nor was there anything imposing in his speech, for his timid and embarrassed air gave but a poor idea of his eloquence. He shrewdly, however, admitted his exterior defects, and even drew advantage therefrom. The Jewish race possesses the peculiarity of at the same time presenting types of the greatest beauty, and the most thorough ugliness; but this Jewish ugliness is something quite apart by itself. Some of the strange visages which at first excite a smile, assume, when lighted up by emotion, a sort of deep brilliancy and grandeur. (The Apostles, Renan, pp. 165-6.) See also description of Paul, Richards & Little's Compendium.

1. See Seventy's Bible Dictionary, Art. "Pauline Epistles." There is a fine analysis and history of each Epistle; they are grouped chronologically and the student would do well to read them in that order.