Then don’t let your good be slandered,
Parallel Translations
-
Then don’t let your good be slandered,
-
Cause not youre treasure to be evyll spoken of.
-
Cause not your commoditie to be euill spoken of.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Romans 14:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 10:29-30 Conscience, I say, not your own, but the other’s conscience. For why is my liberty judged by another conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced for something I give thanks for?
- Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.
- 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 We are avoiding this, that any man should blame us concerning this abundance which is administered by us. Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Another argument: for that by this means the liberty…
Another argument: for that by this means the liberty of the Gospel is evil spoken of, as though it openeth the way to attempt any thing whatsoever, and boldeneth us to all things.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 16 Let not then your good be evil spoken…
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Ver. 16. Let not then your good] That is, your Christian liberty purchased by Christ.
Read full note →
Be evil spoken of] Gr. be blasphemed. Contumely cast upon the people of God is blasphemy in the second table. God, for the honour that he beareth to his people, counts and calls it so.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Here is another argument against offences; it will cause…
Here is another argument against offences; it will cause our good to be blasphemed, or evil spoken of. Some, by good here, would understand the Christian faith, or the gospel in general; but others do rather understand it of our Christian liberty in particular: q.d. Give none occasion for this great privilege of your Christian liberty to be traduced; use it so, as that neither the weak Christian nor the infidel may reproach or accuse you as licentious or contentious: see 1Co 10:29,30.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Let not then your good be evil spoken of.…
Let not then your good be evil spoken of. The Vulgate Latin reads it, "our good", and so the Syriac version; the sense is the same, and to be understood either of the Gospel in general, which is good in its author, matter, effects, and consequences; is good tidings of good things, and which might be blasphemed by the men of the world, on account of the divisions and contentions among the professors of it, about such little trivial things, as eating this or the other sort of food; and therefore care should be taken, that it be not evil spoken of through such conduct: or else the doctrine of Christian liberty in particular, which is a good thing; Christ has procured it, and bestows it upon his people; it is a valuable blessing in itself, and is attended and followed with many considerable privileges and immunities; but may be evil spoken of by those, who do not so well understand it, through an imprudent use of it by those who do; and who therefore should guard against any reproach that may be cast upon it; and rather than this should be the case, forego the use of it, in things of an indifferent nature; see Co1 10:30; so that this is another of the apostle's reasons, why though nothing is of itself unclean, yet it should be abstained from on account of others.
; so that this is another of the apostle's reasons, why though nothing is of itself unclean, yet it should be abstained from on account of others.
Read full note →
Romans 14:17
rom 14:17
rom 14:17
rom 14:17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink,.... Neither the kingdom of glory, nor the ultimate glory and happiness of the saints in the other world, is attained to by any such things; for neither eating and drinking, nor not eating and drinking, can recommend to the divine favour, or give a meetness for heaven, or a right unto it; see Co1 8:8, nor does the kingdom of grace, the principle of grace, lie in such things, nor in anything that is external; nor does the Gospel, or Gospel church state, which frequently go under this name of the kingdom of God, consist of such things as the ceremonial and the legal dispensation did, but the Gospel and the dispensation of grace are opposed unto them; see Heb 9:10.
But righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of glory, which is the kingdom of God, because of his preparing, giving, calling to, and putting into the possession of, is attained unto by righteousness; not the righteousness of men, but the righteousness of Christ imputed by God, and received by faith; and through peace made by the blood of Christ, and rejoicing in him, without having any confidence in the flesh, which is a branch of the Spirit's grace in regeneration. The kingdom of grace, or the governing principle of grace in the soul, and which is of God's implanting there, lies in righteousness and true holiness, in which the new man is created; in truth and uprightness in the inward parts, where the laws of God are put and written; and in peace of conscience, arising from the blood and righteousness of Christ; and in that spiritual joy and comfort the Holy Ghost produces, by leading to a sight of Christ, and an interest in him and his atonement. The Gospel, which gives an account both of the kingdom of grace and of glory, reveals the righteousness of Christ, and teaches men to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world: it is a publication of peace by the blood of Christ; it calls men to peace, to cultivate peace one among another, and to seek those things which make for it; and when it comes in power, is attended with joy in the Holy Ghost, and is the means of increasing it; and this is another reason, persuading to Christian forbearance, in the use of things indifferent.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Let not then your good and lawful liberty be…
Let not then your good and lawful liberty be evil spoken of - By being offensive to others.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. Let not then your good be evil…
Verse 16. Let not then your good be evil spoken of] Do not make such a use of your Christian liberty as to subject the Gospel itself to reproach. Whatsoever you do, do it in such a manner, spirit, and time, as to make it productive of the greatest possible good. There are many who have such an unhappy method of doing their good acts, as not only to do little or no good by them, but a great deal of evil. It requires much prudence and watchfulness to find out the proper time of performing even a good action.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Let not then your good ... - That which…
Let not then your good ... - That which you esteem to be right, and which may be right in itself. You are not bound by the ceremonial law. You are free from the yoke of bondage This freedom you esteem to be a good - a favor - a high privilege. And so it is; but you should not make such a use of it as to do injury to others.
Be evil spoken of - Greek, Be blasphemed. Do not so use your Christian liberty as to give occasion for railing and unkind remarks from your brethren, so as to produce contention and strife, and thus to give rise to evil reports among the wicked about the tendency of the Christian religion, as if it were adapted only to promote controversy. How much strife would have been avoided if all Christians had regarded this plain rule. In relation to dress, and rites, and ceremonies in the church, we may be conscious that we are right; but an obstinate adherence to them may only give rise to contention and angry discussions, and to evil reports among men, of the tendency of religion. In such a case we should yield our private, unimportant personal indulgence to the good of the cause of religion and of peace.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Let not then our good, or which we have…
Let not then our good, or which we have a Christian liberty to do with a good conscience, be evil spoken of, because of the disputes and quarrels you have about it. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Let not then your good--that is, this liberty of…
Let not then your good--that is, this liberty of yours as to Jewish meats and days, well founded though it be.
be evil spoken of--for the evil it does to others.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Your good—Your right-doing as in eating meat, or…
16. Your good—Your right-doing as in eating meat, or your Christian integrity in any case.
Evil spoken of—Endeavour not only to be and do right, but also so to appear clear and right that others may not misinterpret you to their own soul’s damage.
Read full note →
It, perhaps, often needs an apostle to apply and modify these principles wisely and apply them rightly. Generally, in this world, it is about as much as a man can do to be and do right, and then let his character in the long run speak for itself. It is often right for a man to say, “It is my business to be right, it is other folks’ business rightly to interpret me.” Yet there are other cases, like the present, where it is of primary importance to secure that others may not be harmed by misunderstanding our principles of action.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. then] therefore. The word sums up and applies…
16. then] therefore. The word sums up and applies the previous reasonings.
your good] i.e. your Christian light and liberty, in the “kingdom of God.” Misuse of this would be sure to embitter Christian intercourse, and to weaken the tenderness of conscience and so the holiness of life in the community. Cp. 1Pe_2:12; 1Pe_2:15-16.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Your good.—That blessing of Christian liberty which you…
(16) Your good.—That blessing of Christian liberty which you enjoy. This is not to be used so as to give rise to reproaches and recriminations which will make a bad impression on the outside world.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Let not then your good be evil spoken of.…
Let not then your good be evil spoken of. "Your good" is your enlightenment, which is in itself a good thing; but it will be "evil spoken of" as a bad thing, if it leads to superciliousness and uncharitableness.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Let not then your good be evil spoken off
Rom_14:16
Let not then your good be evil spoken off
Read full note →
We ought not, for we have none too much.
We may through--
1. Ignorance.
2. Levity of temper.
3. Moroseness.
4. Want of stability.
5. Improvidence.
6. A number of little things which, like dust upon a diamond, obscure its lustre, though each particle is almost nothing. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
Let not your good be evil spoken of
1. The Bible speaks much of the beauty of holiness. It represents Jesus as the altogether lovely. His beauty consists in His perfect excellence, in the absolute symmetry of His whole character.
2. Believers are epistles of Christ. They are His witnesses. It is their solemn duty to make a fair representation of what He is, and what His religion is before the world.
3. There are two ways in which professors dishonour Christ, and make a false representation of Him and His religion--when by breaking the law they give men to understand that Christ allows such transgressions, and when they cause even their good to be evil spoken of, i.e., when they so act on right principles as to give those principles a bad character, or so conduct themselves as to mislead others as to the true nature of the gospel. This is done--
I. When men so use their Christian liberty as to injure their brethren. The distinctions between months, days, and meats had been abolished. It was right that this fact should be asserted and taught, and that Christians should act upon this liberty; but if they so used it as to destroy their brethren, they sinned against Christ, and caused their good to be evil spoken of. So now in regard to temperance, men may make such a use of truth, and so act on true principles as to do great harm.
II. When undue stress is laid on trifles. Paul says that religion does not consist in meat and drink; and to act as though it did is to slander the gospel. This is true of fanatics of all classes, and all bigots. They belie religion, as the tattooed New Zealander or painted Indian misrepresent the human face divine.
III. By the sanctimonious, who make a false representation of religion and cause it to be evil spoken of when they hold it up thus caricatured before men.
IV. By the censorious. Not only in making non-essentials of too much importance, but also in misrepresenting the spirit of their Master. His religion does not justify their harsh judgments.
V. By those who carry any right principle to excess.
1. By the Puritans in regard to the Sabbath, to things indifferent in worship, to days of religious observance.
2. By Quakers in regard to dress and conformity to the world.
3. By those who deny the Church any liberty in her organisation. In every case of this kind the human degrades the Divine. What is indifferent is made essential, and what is essential is made indifferent. (C. Hodge, D.D.)
Good evil spoken of
(Missionary Sermon):--Our good is evil spoken of--
I. If we propagate among others that which we do not receive for ourselves. Create any great system of efforts, and there will be many blindly carried away with it. Many are, therefore, induced to enrol themselves in our missionary associations. Come, see my zeal, said the ancient king, for the Lord of Hosts. Was not his zeal selfishness rather? But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, etc.
II. When we violate that solemnity which is appropriate to all such transactions. May it not be feared that, in some cases, too great a temper of flippancy has pervaded our assemblies, and characterised our institutions? Could a traveller, in exploring the vestiges of an ancient city, pass along its fallen theatres, its broken aqueducts, its prostrate temples, with levity? Could a philanthropist proceed through the walls of the lazaretto, or the cells of a prison, in a careless and unfeeling mood? Could a negotiator address the revolted and the insurgent with a sportive look and in a jocular tone? Let us copy His faithfulness who upbraided Capernaum, and imitate His compassion who wept over Jerusalem; remembering that we are now labouring in the same course, and should know the fellowship of the same sufferings.
III. When we forget that due estimate which we should take of what is distant and of what is near in the condition of mankind. Cast your eyes on your native land. Tens of thousands are before you, most imbruted, most immoral. And these are your kinsmen; a thousand ties of brotherhood make them one with yourselves. Cast your thoughts upon the distant realms of idolatry. You cannot tell how great is that darkness, for there is no contrasting light; you cannot tell the dimensions of that misery, for there is no measure by which you can gauge them. And in some districts of our favoured kingdom there are more Christian pastors than these societies have scattered around the circumference of the globe. Now, our good may be evil spoken of if we adopt any invidious partiality in our judgments. There are no souls more precious than those which throng the margins of the Indus, the Ganges, and the Nile; but the souls are alike precious which throng the majestic strands of the Severn, the Humber, and the Thames.
IV. If we forget the proportion which should exist between effort and prayer. There is a devotion which becomes selfishness. It wraps itself in a contemplative dream; it will make no sacrifice, engage in no exertion. There is an exertion which becomes impious. It is full of noise and ostentation. Now, it is necessary that devotion and activity be blended. Our labour must be habitual, not accidental--our devotion must be habitual, and not fitful. Look at the apostles--what were their prayers? Pentecost fully come--what were their deeds? Think of angels--they do always behold the face of their God; but they are winds--they are flames of fire. Think of the Son of God, how He spent whole nights in prayer! you see Him going about doing good. Let our prayers sanctify our efforts--let our efforts authenticate our prayers; let us take heaven by violence through the means of the one, and earth by violence through the means of the other.
V. When we call in the aid of worldly excitement. Have all our institutions to say that they are unspotted from the world? Has there been no strange fire which we have offered before the Lord? Has there been no suppression of truth, no evasion of facts, no adornment of narrative? Surely, if our purpose be to captivate the world to the Saviour, we must be on our guard, lest, in attempting it, we ourselves be led captive by the world.
VI. If we entertain a light view of the eternal danger of the heathen. Make Christianity a question of comparative advantage, of ameliorated state, a measure to give an increase of light already sufficient, a confirmation to hopes already well founded, and the missionary apparatus will soon come to neglect; men will necessarily decry it, as an unmeaning toy and a gaudy superfluity.
VII. If we obtrude party opinions and singularities. How pleasing is it that ours is a common cause, and that now, more than ever, ours is a common spirit. When the infidel and the scorner see we are moving in our different tracts, and yet are moving under a common influence and for a common purpose, we shall thus vindicate our good, and, in the absence of all that is little in sectarianism, we shall have our good compelled to be spoken well of.
VIII. When there is any disposition to disparage the missionary character. We have formed a heroism of principle and a dint of courage which were unknown; we can bring forth, confidently, men who have died unshrinkingly as martyrs. Can we ever use one term of detraction towards these men? Can we ever yield to them a supercilious patronage and a grudging support? We are honoured that they will go--we are honoured that we may sustain them. Let us remember that the very life--credit--character of our missionary institutions, must depend on the men whom we entrust with this work; and when they have been thus faithful in their work, let us give to them all that cordiality of confidence which they so well deserve, and which it would be unjust to refuse.
IX. When we apply a harsher rule to our converts than we apply to ourselves. The former may occasionally be carried away by error; but let us think of our own deviations at home. We should, indeed, be disheartened if ever we had to report of any of our native Churches abroad what the apostles had to report of Corinth and of Galatia.
X. If we at all encourage the hope of an unscriptural consummation. Remember that the present dispensation is a spiritual one; that it is complete, and nothing can be added to it; that it is an unearthly one, and therefore cannot admit of secular aggrandisement; and it is a final one--it therefore allows of no ulterior revelation. What know you other than this--than that all the world should be Christians?--other than this, that the gospel shall be universally preached? This is your consummation: you desire here no other paradise but to see the earth filled with the trees of righteousness.
XI. If we do not follow up our exertions and improve our success. We have made a lodgment, and Gods salvation has been openly showed in the sight of the heathen; and there have been those who have gone up to occupy the breach. Shall we leave them to perish? We have sown the seed; the harvest is come--it invites the sickle. Who would not enter with ecstasy into such a field, and crowd as labourers into such a harvest? (R. W. Hamilton, D.D.)
Our good
(Christian liberty.)
I. Is evil spoken of--
1. By the enemies of the truth, when they see a want of harmony in the Church.
2. By the weak, when they condemn the free conduct of their stronger brethren.
3. By the strong, when they give offence to the consciences of the weak.
II. Must be protected.
1. Against what?
(1) Reproach.
(2) In consequence of--
(a) Offence.
(b) Misuse.
2. How?
(1) By not laying too much stress on matters unessential.
(2) By a supreme regard for those things that are indispensable.
3. Why? Thereby--
(1) We serve Christ.
(2) Win the approbation of men. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
Misrepresented goodness
Some men seek to impress the world by their goodness when they really have no goodness. Such were the Pharisees. But the apostle has in view men who have goodness, but who do themselves injustice. We need to be careful about the manifestation of our religion, as well as about the reality of it. It is possible to be very good, and yet so to act as to put men out of conceit with religion itself. There is a book entitled Roses: How to grow and How to Show them. Anybody might say, Ah! the question is, how to grow them. Bring your flower into fulness of glory, and it will show itself and win the prize. But it is just for want of this particular skill that many a clever grower has missed the prize. So it is with character. Our good to be evil spoken of.
I. By sadness. A serious spirit is a true spirit, and one we should ever cherish. But how easy it is to turn it into sourness, and thus make a grand character repulsive! With all our solemnity there ought to be cheerfulness. A man who is all laughter counts for little, a man who is all groans counts for less; but he who lets a hopeful spirit shine through all his religion does much to recommend his faith.
II. By narrowness. The world often miscalls a noble self-denial strait-lacedness, and we must be prepared for it. But there is sometimes self-denial that is really narrowness, and that damages the reputation of good men. This illiberality of mind sometimes reveals itself in an orthodoxy that prevents a man from looking calmly and boldly at religious questions, sometimes in a harsh, exclusive denominationalism; sometimes in an asceticism which makes a man intolerant of recreations; sometimes in a fear of worldly conformity. Let us beware of this suspicious, conceited, uncharitable spirit. Let us hold a theology as broad as judgment, mercy, and truth. Christ stood at the utmost remove from the pettifogging Pharisee. He was the ideal Catholic. Let it be thus with us.
III. By hardness.
1. You may see this in business men sometimes. A Christian trader is in all things severely conscientious. And yet nobody likes him. The reason is his conscientiousness looks very much like selfishness, and is currently reckoned as such. Now, he might be all that a smart business man needs to be, and yet be popular into the bargain. He wants to understand the by-play of life--how to soften the severe rigid laws of the business sphere with little acts of forbearance, patience, generosity.
2. And you may see this hardness in family life. It was said of the mother of one of our most distinguished women that she did her duty to her children, made sacrifices for their welfare, and yet there was no sympathy in it all. And the gifted daughter grew up feeling that the lack of warmth and love in her early training was a lifelong loss. Oh, what a grand thing is graciousness in all our spirit and conduct! Some excellent people are sadly wanting here. They do not know how to show their roses--they thrust the posy into your face and you are more scratched with the thorns than regaled by the fragrance. We often hear about diamonds in the rough; there are Christians after that order, but it is a serious defect to be in the rough--Christs diamonds, like Himself, ought to be full of beauty and grace.
IV. By unseasonableness. Character is timeliness, a fine perception of what is becoming to the persons, to the place, to the hour. If we do not attend to this our mirthfulness may be reckoned levity, our strictness intolerance, our liberality weakness, our large-mindedness licence. We have need to pray constantly that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom, etc.; so shall we serve the apple of gold in the basket of silver. Let us not despise this matter. Do not say, Let us get the solid thing, and never mind the rest. A jeweller works altogether with gold and gems; but it is not enough to mix these anyhow. So we, as Christians, must be careful how we arrange our precious material, for of the virtues we may make an eyesore or a picture. We must work with judgment, sympathy, courtesy, or our good will be evil spoken of. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Reputation
I. Nothing is more easily destroyed than a good reputation. You may be years, a life-time even, in building it up, and yet a moment, a single act, may suffice to destroy it. A breath of scandal may blast it, an indiscretion may tarnish it, a dead fly in the ointment may make it offensive. How sedulously should we guard it!
II. Nothing on earth is so valuable or so potent as a good name. Wealth beside it is dross. Office, station, fame, are nothing worth in comparison. Talent, learning, and gifts of oratory, pale and fade in the presence of it.
1. For our own sake we should sacredly guard it--for it is our crown jewel, the one potential element of usefulness we possess.
2. For societys sake we should do nothing, omit nothing, that will tend to obscure it. For Christs sake and the Churchs sake, we are bound to guard it as we would guard life itself: to wound it is to wound Christ in the house of His friends, and bring reproach upon His Church. Oh, it is these tarnished reputations, these soiled garments, these discredited names, in the household of faith, that so weaken the testimony of the Church and fill the mouths of scoffers and infidels. (Homiletic Monthly.)
The importance of a good man taking care of his reputation
Character and reputation are not convertible terms.
1. A bad man may have a good reputation. He may have the art of so concealing the reigning elements of his character as to give to his compeers a false impression. Hence, in all circles there are counterfeits that pass for true coin. The miser in heart passes for a philanthropist; the sensualist in heart for a man of chastity.
2. A good man may have a bad reputation. Genuine saints have often been regarded as great sinners. Against this the text is a warning.
I. There is a danger in this, arising--
1. From some things in society.
(1) Its envy. All men instinctively feel that goodness is an excellency, and those who have it not naturally envy those who possess it. The ugly envy beauty, the poor wealth, the obscure fame, the depraved excellence. The delight of envy is ever to mal-represent its object.
(2) Its self-complacency. All men desire to be on good terms with themselves, and to be regarded by society as worthy of honour. But the virtues of the good flashing on the lives of the corrupt tend to destroy this. A bad man in the presence of a good man must feel self-condemned.
(3) Its stupidity. The great bulk of society are so dull in relation to spiritual virtues that moral distinctions are disregarded by them, and they often confound good with evil.
2. From some things in the good man himself. The more goodness a man has in him, the less suspicious he is, the more confiding, and the more regardless of conventional proprieties. He is natural, and like all natural objects shows himself as he is. He is likely to care no more for what men think of him than trees for the opinion of the birds, or flowers for the opinion of spectators. Great goodness is constantly making conventional mistakes and trampling artificial properties underfoot.
II. There is an evil in this. A mans power to do good depends greatly upon the faith that society has in his goodness. If society suspects his genuineness or disinterestedness, he may preach like Paul, but he will accomplish but little good. Hence it has often happened that truly good men and powerful preachers have, by disregarding certain recognised proprieties of society, destroyed their usefulness for ever. Conclusion: Hence, because of this danger and evil, let us walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise; let us avoid the very appearance of evil, knowing that the loss of reputation tends to disqualify us for usefulness. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
On the imprudent way of discharging sacred duties
Perhaps there never was a time since the world began in which so much was done for the cause of God and of truth, as at the present. Yet it becomes us to rejoice with trembling, and to act with care. In proportion to our zeal, is the enemys malignity; while we act, the world watches, and connects the cause with the demeanour and temper of those who have espoused it. Sacred duties may be discharged in such a way as that they may be evil spoken of, and neutralised completely in their influence and effect. Take the case of--
I. Social prayer. Our good may be evil spoken of--
1. When the prayer-meeting is left without some wise and judicious leader.
2. When they are converted into anything but what they profess to be--meetings for prayer--when the time is much occupied in exhortation, or discussion.
3. When the language employed in prayer is pompous and inflated.
4. When undue familiarity with God is used in prayer.
5. When prayers are spun out to an unreasonable and wearisome length. Whitfield once said to a good man who had fallen into this error, Sir, you first prayed me into a good frame, and then you prayed me out of it.
6. When much time is occupied in prayer with such petitions as are only applicable to the case of the leader.
II. The visitation of the sick. This duty is improperly discharged.
1. When the conversation is confined entirely, or chiefly, to the disease under which the patient labours.
2. When an indiscriminate offer is made of the consolations of the gospel, which belong to believers only.
3. When special reference is not had to the peculiar circumstances of the case in prayer.
4. When there is harshness or severity in the manner of address.
III. Domestic religion and instruction.
1. Where there are no stated periods for the observance of family religion and instruction, but it is left to convenience, or caprice--to inclination, or to chance.
2. When the reading and explanation of the Scriptures do not form a great part of domestic instruction.
3. When the duty is hurried over with carelessness and haste.
4. When there are no inquiries made, as to their increase in the knowledge and understanding of Divine things.
IV. Active employment in religious and benevolent institutions. Such as Bible associations and Sunday Schools. Conclusion: Observe some general principles, the observance of which are of importance in efforts to do good.
1. Look well to your motives. If they are wrong, your conduct cannot be acceptable to God, nor is it likely to do your Christian profession credit before men.
2. See that your spirit and temper are always suitable to the character you sustain, and the objects which you have in view.
3. Do as much good as you possibly can in private.
4. Never talk much in what you do, or of what you do. Let your works, and not your words, praise you in the gate--and rather imitate the deep and silent river, that pursues its noiseless way, and is only known by the fertility and luxuriance it diffuses in its course--than the impetuous brook, that attracts the eye by its clamour, only to behold its shallowness.
5. Persevere in all you undertake, and then your activity will not be attributed to the mere impulse of the moment, but look more like the result of conviction and principle.
6. Let there be a cheerful alacrity in all you do, that it may appear to spring from a willing mind, and be esteemed rather your relaxation than your work.
7. Avoid the introduction of your own particular religious tenets.
8. Never do evil that good may come.
9. Seek to do good, abstracted from all the evil which may be connected with it.
10. Never refrain from doing good, for fear of its being evil spoken of.
11. Refer all that is good in what you do to God, and all that is evil to yourselves.
12. Cherish an abiding sense of your own helplessness, and ever rely on the power of God for strength, the Spirit of God for direction, and the work of Christ for acceptance.
13. Keep your great account in view--and the Lord grant you may find mercy of the Lord in that day. (T. Raffles, LL.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 16–18. Let not then your good be evil spoken…
16–18. Let not then your good be evil spoken of. You have greater knowledge than these weak brethren, and know that “nothing is unclean.” That is “good.” But if you sternly insist on your right to do what the weak regard as sinful, your “good” will be evil spoken of.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Rom_14:16. Let not your good be evil spoken of.—Let…
CRITICAL NOTES
Rom_14:16. Let not your good be evil spoken of.—Let not Christian liberty be abused by offence given to the weak.
Read full note →
Rom_14:17. The kingdom of God.—What commends us to God is not the outward but the inward, only the outward must be in conformity with the inward. Peace, in opposition to discord among brethren; a peaceful and gentle demeanour.
Rom_14:18. Acceptable to God.—The things being required of Him. Approved of men, is profitable to them. Saying of the Rabbins: “He who conscientiously observes the law is acceptable to God and approved of men.”
MAIN HOMILETIC S OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Rom_14:16-18
A new kind of kingdom.—We cannot prevent our good being evil spoken of, for evil men will both think and speak evil. St. Paul himself did not prevent it. Jesus Christ, the best of men, was numbered among the transgressors both in His death and in His life. We cannot hope to escape slaneer, but we must strive so to live that the slanderous tale may be baseless. We must conduct our lives according to the laws of God’s spiritual kingdom, and thus we may move in peace amid the strife of evil torgues. “Let not then your good be evil spoken of: for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Here we have a new kind of kingdom set up in the world—new, doubtless, in the apostle’s day. If not new in these times, certainly far different from the kingdoms set up by men. Let us examine and compare the constituent elements of this kingdom. This is a kingdom in which:—
I. Material forces do not reckon.—Take any kingdom of human device and material forces are placed in the ascendant. The kingdom of the state of course depends upon material forces. The commercial kingdom is mainly materialistic. The modern intellectual kingdom is tending in the same direction. What about our moral kingdoms—our kingdoms for social reform? There is a constant appeal for funds; there is a large number of secretaries; there is extensive organisation. He who said the kingdom of God is not meat and drink stood almost alone, and yet he effected the greatest moral and social reformation the world has seen.
II. External pomp does not count.—The modern conception of a kingdom is that of one in which there shall be effective display. This is the day for advertisements. A kingdom without external pomp is not our modern notion. A kingdom without its banquets! A kingdom without either meats or drinks does not suit an earthborn and earthbound nature. Complexity and not simplicity is too much the modern idea of a kingdom, whether commercial, social, or ecclesiastical.
III. Vague yearnings are not sufficient.—George Eliot says: “Justice is like the kingdom of God: it is not without us as a fact; it is within us as a great yearning.” The reputation of George Eliot is such that to say the sentence looks to us meaningless might be to provoke the smile of contempt. Is then justice a yearning? Is the just man one who has a yearning after an abstraction defined as justice? Suppose justice to mean rectitude in dealing—would it satisfy any one if a man pleased himself with wronging his neighbour and indulging in yearnings after justice? Whatever may be said of the definition of justice, we are quite sure that the definition of God’s kingdom is not correct. The kingdom of God is both within us and without us. It is within us as a sanctifying force, making us righteous, producing peace, inspiring joy; it is without us, for it is seen in righteous conduct, in holy lives. It is not enough to yearn after righteousness. Vapid sentimentalism is not adequate. We must strive after righteousness. Christ’s righteousness must be both imputed and imparted. Great yearnings tell of the dignity of human nature; but great yearnings, earnest desires, without corresponding efforts tell of human littleness.
IV. The territory cannot be measured.—“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink.” Viewed from the standpoint of the political economist, it is a non-productive realm, and the members are supposed to be non-producers, and therefore not valuable as citizens of earth. But the members of this kingdom do always increase the material wealth of any kingdom. They own no lands, it may be, but all lands are better for their presence. The political economist has not the word “righteousness” in his vocabulary, but he shows how much is lost to the community by the dishonesty of men, by the need of overlookers, etc., so that the righteous man is indirectly a producer of material wealth. The territory of this kingdom cannot be measured. It is unseen, but extensive.
V. The possessions cannot be either weighed or calculated.—They are of little account at the bank; and yet how much gold many a man would give for peace of mind, for joy in the Holy Ghost, if he only understood the priceless nature of the blessing! The small footrules of time cannot be applied to the righteousness of God. We can measure the great mountains on the surface of our planet, but the great mountain of God’s righteousness is of infinite height. The righteousness also of the true member of God’s kingdom rises high above scales of human measurement. The scales of time can be so adjusted as to be sensitive to the slightest air motion, but they cannot weigh righteousness, peace, and joy. Blessed possessions above all price! More to be valued than fine gold! Better far than rubies or diamonds!
I. This is a kingdom in which all the subjects are kings.—They are kingly, not by their first but. their second birth. They are kingly, not in outward seeming always, but in inward worth and nobility of character. They are kingly, not in knowing earthly love, but in knowing the love of heaven. They are kingly, not in being able at state etiquette, able in court graces, able in senate or in war, but as being able in heaven’s graces, in overcoming the great enemies of humanity, in loving and serving the eternal Righteousness.
II. This is an ecclesiastical kingdom in which all are priests.—No sphere for priestly ambition, for priestly assumptions, for sacerdotal claims, in this realm, for all the members of this kingdom are priests. They offer themselves living sacrifices; they wear the splendid vestments of righteousness. There floats around them the sacred incense of peace. They walk through earth’s aisles chanting hymns of praise, for the joy of the Holy Ghost inspires and gladdens their nature.
III. This is a kingdom in which all are successful.—No blanks in this kingdom; no disappointments; no working for honours and dying of broken hearts. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men. St. Paul was not approved of men—that is, not of all men: approved of men who worthily bear the name, who show the nobility of manhood. Let us then in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost serve Christ, and we shall meet with highest approvals. Heaven’s plaudits will amply compensate for every loss, for every effort, in the cause of truth and righteousness.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom_14:16-18
“Let not then your good be evil spoken of.”—
1. We are to inquire what we are to understand the apostle to mean by our good. And here we may meet with different opinions: some, by our good, understand our religion, which is indeed every Christian’s chief good; and according to this sense of the words the apostle must be understood to exhort us to have a regard to the honour of the gospel in all our actions, to administer no occasion to the enemies of our religion either to deride or despise our holy calling. And thus the text amounts to an argument or exhortation to move us to a simplicity of manners and an inoffensive behaviour, for fear lest we bring a reproach upon our profession. But the apostle seems to aim at something further: his business here is, not to deter us from the practice of evil, but to direct us in the use and practice of that which is good, that our virtue may be without offence, and secured from calumny and reproach; and our good, mentioned in the text, is not the topic from which the apostle draws an argument or exhortation, but is the subject-matter concerning which he is giving directions. According to this interpretation of the words the text may be thus paraphrased: Be not content with merely doing that which is in itself good and commendable, but look forward to the consequences which are likely to attend it, and endeavour to prevent any mischief that may grow out of it to yourself or others, that your good may be inoffensive and irreproachable. In this sense it is that I propose to consider the text, and shall now proceed:
2. To show that our good is often exposed to be evil spoken of through our own indiscretion, and consequently that it is often in our own power to prevent it. This is one way by which men expose their good to be evil spoken of. Their mistake lies in not rightly distinguishing between a servile compliance with the world and a prudent behaviour towards it; and yet there is as much difference between them as between virtue and vice: one is the way which men who sacrifice honour and conscience to their interest make use of; the other is the method which wise and good men take to recommend the practice of virtue and religion. And what a wide difference is this! In the first case to comply with the world you must be like it, you must conform yourself to it; in the other you treat the world civilly, that it may the more easily become like you—that you may gain upon and instil the principles of virtue, which may be infused by gentle degrees, but cannot be obtruded by noise and violence. Sometimes men expose their good to be evil spoken of out of pure pride and haughtiness of temper: this is the case when men have such a contempt for the world as not to think it worth their while to guard against the misapprehensions of those about them. They reckon it below their dignity to render any account of what they do, and a mark of guilt to descend so low as to justify their actions. But surely, if we estimate the thing fairly, it is betraying of that which is good to reproach, and laying of stumbling-blocks in the way of the blind.
3. That as it is often in our power to prevent our good from being evil spoken of, so in many cases it is our duty. This duty may, I think, be deduced from these principles: the honour of God and of truth, the charity that is owing to our brethren, and the justice that is due to ourselves.—Sherlock.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 14
Rom_14:18. Livingstone’s answer to the charge of neglecting his work.—When Livingstone was charged with neglecting missionary work, he boldly answered: “My views of missionary duty are not so contracted as those whose only ideal is a man with a Bible under his arm. I have laboured in bricks and mortar, and at the forge, and at the carpenter’s bench, and in medical practice as well as in preaching. I am serving Christ when I shoot a buffalo for my men, or take an astronomical observation, or write to one of His children who forgot during the little moment of penning a note that charity which is eulogised as ‘thinking no evil.’ ”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 16. “Therefore let not thy good be evil spoken…
16. “Therefore let not thy good be evil spoken of.” We must not only keep our own conscience clean but the consciences of others also.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Let not then your good be evil spoken of…
Let not then your good be evil spoken of [Do not so use your liberty--the good you enjoy--as to provoke blame or censure, for by so doing you lose your power to influence others for good, whether they be weak or strong. A bad name has no power in God's kingdom-- 1Ti_3:7 ; Mat_5:16 ; Act_22:22 ]:
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 So do not allow what you consider to be…
So do not allow what you consider to be good to be spoken of as evil
"If someone thinks that something is evil, do not do it, even if you consider it to be good"
Read full note →
For the kingdom of God is not about food and drink, but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit
Paul argues that God set up his kingdom so he could give us a right relationship with himself, and to provide peace and joy. AT: "For God did not set up his kingdom so that he could rule over what we eat and drink. He set up his kingdom so we could have a right relationship with him, and so he could give us peace and joy" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
good
kingdom of God
righteous
peace
joy
Holy Spirit
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.