(Rom. 15: 28). "Fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5: 22); "Fruit of the light" (Eph. 5: 9, R.V.);

"Fruits of righteousness" (Phil. 1: 11); "Fruit unto God" (Rom. 7: 4), and "Fruit that may

abound to your account" (Phil. 4: 17). Paul always urged the believer to go on unto

"I am debtor" (Rom. 1: 14).--In verse 5 Paul speaks of "grace and apostleship";

here he speaks of responsibility and indebtedness. What he "ought" to do. It is a

perversion to look upon grace as a release from all responsibility and obligation, as

giving a liberty that is but a veiled license. "I am debtor", said Paul the apostle to the

Gentiles. "You are debtors", he said to the Gentile saints when speaking of Jewish

believers (Rom. 15: 27). The "grace and apostleship" was unto "all nations" (Rom. 1: 5).

The indebtedness was to Greek and barbarian, wise and unwise, in verse 14. They are

but two sides of one truth. That indebtedness included "Rome also" (verse 15).

Rome and the gospel! Rome the proud mistress of the world. The ruthless, crushing

iron kingdom on the one hand, the gospel, the preaching of the Crucified on the other.

The gospel may be well enough for barbarians and fools, but Rome! Paul had, however,

perceived that "all the world was guilty and helpless before God". The highest pinnacle

of Roman glory was transient, enduring but for a moment; the purest wisdom of this

world was but foolishness with God. "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (verse 16) said

Paul.  Unless we can feel the force of the figure here we shall lose much of the

triumphant ring of Paul's words. There are several examples of the figure of belittling or

tapeinosis in Romans. "I would not have you ignorant" (1: 13) means much more than a

negative wish.  It was a strong desire that they should know his intentions and

hindrances. "And being not weak in faith" (4: 19); in reality Abraham was very strong

in faith. "Hope maketh not ashamed" (5: 5), yes, but that is not its meaning. Hope

triumphs over all tribulation and rejoices in the prospect of the glory of God. The street

urchin who replies to our question as to whether he would like this or that by saying

"Not half!" is undoubtedly using slang, but those acquainted with the writings of

James Russell Lowell will see in the slang of to-day the tropes and figures of

to-morrow's poetry. When Paul said, "I am not ashamed", he meant that he gloried in the

gospel committed to him. Though he be loaded with ridicule and contempt he knew

enough of the power of that gospel to lift him above it all. This same undaunted spirit is

manifested in the last epistle he wrote, and the cause is much the same:--

In this section of Rom. 1: the argument is indicated by the presence of the word "for".

He says, I am ready to preach even at Rome, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. The

reason why he gloried in the gospel, and was willing to preach it to wise and unwise, he

expresses by saying, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that

believeth". The power is next discerned in the words "for therein is righteousness of God

revealed from faith to faith" (verse 17). The power of God was manifested to the Gentile

world by His works in creation (1: 20), but the power of the gospel is something

different from this evidence of the old creation, because it belongs to the new, even that

power which is so signally connected with the risen Son of God (1: 4). Christ crucified