Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 6:17
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
17. that ye were ] i.e. obviously, “that whereas you were, &c.”
servants of sin ] Such, without exception, was the former state and position of the justified. They were ruled by the principles, and under the claim, of sin; the will alienated from God, the person liable to doom.
ye have obeyed ] Better, ye obeyed; at the time of faith. See note on obedience, Rom 6:16.
from the heart ] The words are added as indicating the grand requisite of reality, and as implying the heartiness of the consequent life of holy “bond-service” (see Rom 10:9-10); perhaps too in allusion and contrast to any idea of a forcible subjection which might be suggested by the phrase “ye were delivered over ” just below. See next note.
that form of doctrine which was delivered you ] This rendering of the Gr. cannot stand. The margin E. V. is correct: the form of doctrine into which yon were delivered. Here we have to ask, (1) what is the “ form of doctrine”? The word rendered “form,” (same word as ch. Rom 5:14, but there certainly with different reference), usually means, in St Paul, something guiding or formative whether fact, principle, or person; (e.g. Php 3:17; and 1Co 10:6, where literally “figures, types, of us”). The phrase here would thus mean, “the principle, the rule of doctrine;” i.e. that rule of life which the “doctrine” in question, viz. the apostolic teaching, furnishes. Such a reference of the word “form” is specially apt here, since the moral results of faith are now in view. The reference of the phrase to shades and varieties of Christian teaching is certainly wrong; for such a reference would be out of place here, where the subject is the antithesis of the main truths of sin and salvation. The phrase thus = “The guiding principles learnt from the preaching of the Gospel.” (2) What is the meaning of “ into, or unto, which ye were delivered, or handed over”? The allusion is to that metaphor of slavery which runs through the context. The Christian has been taken, by Divine mercy, from the hands of one Master to be put into the hands of another. The transference is, in one aspect, voluntary, (“yield yourselves,” “from the heart,”) but in another aspect it is the sovereign act of grace. (See Col 1:13 for similar imagery). The new Master is here the Ruling-Principle of the Gospel, just as, in Rom 6:16, it was Obedience to that Gospel.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But God be thanked – The argument in this verse is drawn from a direct appeal to the feelings of the Roman Christians themselves. From their experience, Paul was able to draw a demonstration to his purpose, and this was with him a ground of gratitude to God.
That ye were … – The sense of this passage is plain. The ground Of the thanksgiving was not that they had been the slaves of sin; but it is, that notwithstanding this, or although they had been thus, yet that they were now obedient. To give thanks to God that people were sinners, would contradict the whole spirit of this argument, and of the Bible. But to give thanks that although people had been sinners, yet that now they had become obedient; that is, that great sinners had become converted, is in entire accordance with the spirit of the Bible, and with propriety. The word although or whereas, understood here, expresses the sense, But thanks unto God, that whereas ye were the servants of sin, etc. Christians should thank God that they themselves, though once great sinners, have become converted; and when others who are great sinners are converted, they should praise him.
The servants of sin – This is a strong expression implying that they had been in bondage to sin; that they had been completely its slaves.
From the heart – Not in external form only; but as a cordial, sincere, and entire service. No other obedience is genuine.
That form of doctrine – Greek, type; see the note at Rom 5:14. The form or type of doctrine means that shape or model of instruction which was communicated. It does not differ materially from the doctrine itself, you have obeyed that doctrine, etc. You have yielded obedience to the instructions, the rules, the tenor of the Christian revelation. The word doctrine does not refer to an abstract dogma, but means instruction, that which is taught. And the meaning of the whole expression is simply, that they had yielded a cheerful and hearty obedience to what had been communicated to them by the teachers of the Christian religion; compare Rom 1:8.
Which was delivered you – Margin, Whereto ye were delivered. This is a literal translation of the Greek; and the sense is simply in which you have been instructed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin] This verse should be read thus: But thanks be to God that, although ye were the servants of sin, nevertheless ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine that was delivered unto you; or, that mould of teaching into which ye were cast. The apostle does not thank God that they were sinners; but that, although they were such, they had now received and obeyed the Gospel. The Hebrew phrase, Isa 12:1, is exactly the same as that of the apostle here: In that day thou shalt say, I will praise thee, for thou wast angry with me: that is, although thou wast angry with me, thou hast turned away thy wrath, c.
That form of doctrine] here Christianity is represented under the notion of a mould, or die, into which they were cast, and from which they took the impression of its excellence. The figure upon this die is the image of God, righteousness and true holiness, which was stamped on their souls in believing the Gospel and receiving the Holy Ghost. The words refer to the melting of metal; which, when it is liquified, is cast into the mould, that it may receive the impression that is sunk or cut in the mould; and therefore the words may be literally translated, into which mould of doctrine ye have been cast. They were melted down under the preaching of the word, and then were capable of receiving the stamp of its purity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin: q.d. But as for you, God be thanked, that though once you were the servants of sin, viz. when you were ignorant and unregenerate, yet now you are freed from that bondage, and set at liberty from the power and dominion of sin.
But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you: this phrase expresses the efficacy of Divine doctrine in the hearts of believers; it changeth and fashioneth their hearts according to its likeness, 2Co 3:18. Hence in Jam 1:21, it is called an ingrafted word; it turns the heart and life of the hearer into its own nature, as the stock doth the scion that is ingrafted into it. The doctrine of the gospel is the mould, and the hearer is the metal, which, when it is melted and cast into the mould, receives its form and figure.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. But God be thanked, that ye werethe servants of Sinthat is, that this is a state of things nowpast and gone.
but ye have obeyed from theheart that form of doctrine which was delivered yourather,”whereunto ye were delivered” (Margin), or cast, asin a mould. The idea is, that the teaching to which they had heartilyyielded themselves had stamped its own impress upon them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin,…. Not that the apostle must be thought to give thanks to God for that these persons had been the servants of sin, than which nothing is more disagreeable to God, or caused more shame to themselves; but that inasmuch as they had been in the drudgery and service of sin, they were now freed from it. Just as if a person, that has been a slave for some time in Algiers, should bless God, or be thankful to the instrument of his deliverance, that whereas he had been in such slavery, he is now redeemed from it: wherefore it is added,
but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. By “the form of doctrine”, is meant the Gospel, which is the “doctrine” of the Scriptures, of Christ and his apostles, and is sound and according to godliness; and is a “form”, or contains a summary and compendium of truths, and is a pattern or exemplar, according to which ministers are to preach, and people to hear and receive. So the word which is the same with here, is used by the Jewish y writers for a form, copy, pattern, or exemplar of any sort of writings This form of doctrine is , “a Cabala”, but not like that of the Jews’ oral law, or form of traditions z, handed down, as they say, from one man, and set of men, to another; but this is delivered from the Father to Christ, from Christ to his apostles, and by them to the saints; and “into which they were delivered”, as it may be rendered, as into a mould; and so received the impression of it, and were evangelized by it: so such are who have a spirit of Gospel liberty, in opposition to a spirit of bondage; who live by faith on Christ, and not by the works of the law; who derive their comfort from him, and not from anything done by them; whose repentance and obedience are influenced by the grace of God, and who are zealous of good works, without any dependence on them. This form of doctrine was “obeyed” by them; by which is meant, not a mere obedience to the ordinances of the Gospel; nor a bare hearing of the doctrines of it, and giving an assent unto them; but an embracing of them by faith for themselves, so as to lay hold on Christ in them, submit to his righteousness therein revealed, and be willing to be saved by him, and him alone, in his own way; and this is the obedience of faith: the reason why faith is expressed by obedience is, because faith receives truth upon the veracity of God, and not upon the dictates of carnal reason; and is always more or less attended with external obedience to the will of God; and that is rightly performed only by faith. And this obedience did not lie in words, or proceed on mercenary views, and in an hypocritical way; but was “from the heart”; and was real and sincere: and good reason there is why a hearty, cheerful, and voluntary obedience should be yielded to t he Gospel; since it is from God; Christ is the substance of it; it is truth, and the word of our salvation. The Alexandrian copy reads, “from a pure heart”; and the Arabic version, “from the sincerity of your heart”; and the Ethiopic version, “with your whole heart”.
y T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 26. 1. Bava Bathra, fol. 44. 2. R. Moses Kotzensis Mitzvot Tora, precept. Affirm. 50. z Vid. Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whereas ye were (). Imperfect but no “whereas” in the Greek. Paul is not grateful that they were once slaves of sin, but only that, though they once were, they turned from that state.
To that form of doctrine whereunto ye were delivered ( ). Incorporation of the antecedent ( ) into the relative clause: “to which form of doctrine ye were delivered.” See on 5:14 for . It is hardly proper to take “form” here to refer to Paul’s gospel (2:16), possibly an allusion to the symbolism of baptism which was the outward sign of the separation.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
That ye were. The peculiar form of expression is explained in two ways; either making the thanksgiving bear only on the second proposition, ye obeyed, etc., and regarding the first as inserted by way of contrast or background to the salutary moral change : or, emphasizing were; ye were the servants of sin, but are so no more. Rev. adopts the former, and inserts whereas.
From the heart. See on 1 21.
Form of doctrine [ ] . Rev., form of teaching. For tupon, see on 1Pe 5:3. The Pauline type of teaching as contrasted with the Judaistic forms of Christianity. Compare my gospel, Rom 2:16; Rom 16:25. Others explain as the ideal or pattern presented by the gospel. Form of teaching, however, seems to point to a special and precisely defined type of christian instruction.
Was delivered unto you [ ] . But this rendering is impossible. Render, as Rev., whereunto ye were delivered. For the verb, see on 4 25. They had been handed over to the educative power of this form of teaching.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But God be thanked,” (Charis de to theo) “But thanks to or toward God,” Let thanks, gratitude, or gratefulness be directed or offered to God, because you and I are not what we one time were, Eph 2:1; Eph 2:6.
2) “That ye were the servants of sin,” (hoti ete douloi tes hamartias) “That you all were (once) slaves of sin,” Working for Satan alone, although that was your state of sinful allegiance in times past, Eph 2:2-3; 1Th 1:9-10.
3) “But ye have obeyed from the heart,” (hupekousate de ek kardias) “But you all obeyed from (out of) the heart” The heart “believes unto righteousness,” Rom 10:10; “obeying the gospel” is declared to be “believing the report” that Christ died for all, Isa 53:1-11; Rom 10:16.
4) “That form of doctrine which was delivered you,” (eis hon paredothete tupon didaches) “That type of teaching unto which ye were delivered;” “Believing the gospel” is called obeying or giving heed to the gospel call –Baptism is never referred to as obeying the gospel, or as being any part of the gospel, Rom 1:16; 1Co 1:17; 1Co 15:1-3. Believing the gospel, with the heart, is said to be unto (eis) believing into righteousness and obeying the gospel, Rom 10:10; Rom 10:16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
17. But thanks be to God, etc. This is an application of the similitude of the present subject. Though they were only to be reminded that they were not now the servants of sin, he yet adds a thanksgiving; first, that he might teach them, that this was not through their own merit, but through the special mercy of God; and secondly, that by this thanksgiving, they might learn how great was the kindness of God, and that they might thereby be more stimulated to hate sin. And he gives thanks, not as to that time during which they were the servants of sin, but for the liberation which followed, when they ceased to be what they were before. But this implied comparison between their former and present state is very emphatical; for the Apostle touches the calumniators of the grace of Christ, when he shows, that without grace the whole race of man is held captive under the dominion of sin; but that the kingdom of sin comes to an end, as soon as grace puts forth its power. (196)
We may hence learn, that we are not freed from the bondage of the law that we may sin; for the law does not lose its dominion, until the grace of God restores us to him, in order to renew us in righteousness: and it is hence impossible that we should be subject to sin, when the grace of God reigns in us: for we have before stated, that under this term grace, is included the spirit of regeneration.
You have obeyed from the heart, etc. Paul compares here the hidden power of the Spirit with the external letter of the law, as though he had said, “Christ inwardly forms our souls in a better way, than when the law constrains them by threatening and terrifying us.” Thus is dissipated the following calumny, “If Christ frees us from subjection to the law, he brings liberty to sin.” He does not indeed allow his people unbridled freedom, that they might frisk about without any restraint, like horses let loose in the fields; but he brings them to a regular course of life. — Though [ Erasmus ], following the old version, has chosen to translate it the “form” ( formam) of doctrine, I have felt constrained to retain type, the word which Paul uses: some may perhaps prefer the word pattern. (197) It seems indeed to me to denote the formed image or impress of that righteousness which Christ engraves on our hearts: and this corresponds with the prescribed rule of the law, according to which all our actions ought to be framed, so that they deviate not either to the right or to the left hand.
(196) Our version of this verse conveys the idea, that the Apostle gave thanks that they had been the servants of sin; but ὅτι is often rendered for, as in Mat 5:3; Luk 10:13; and in Mat 6:5, followed by δὲ as here, in Rom 6:6. The rendering may be this, —
But thanks be to God; for ye have been the servants of sin, but have obeyed the form of doctrine, in which ye have been taught. — Ed.
(197) The version of Calvin is, “ Obedistis vero et animo typo doctrinæ in quem traducti estis.”
The word τύπος, is rendered in Joh 20:25, print, that is, of the nails, — in Act 7:43, in the plural, fiqures, that is, images, — in Act 7:44, fashion, that is, pattern or model, — in Heb 8:5, pattern, — in Act 23:25, manner, that is, form, — in Rom 5:14, figure, that is, representative, — in Titus 2:7, pattern; and in all other instances in which it occurs, except in this place, it is rendered example, and in the plural, examp1es, as afforded by the conduct of others, or by events; see 1Co 10:6; Phi 3:17; 1Th 1:7; 2Th 3:9; 1Ti 4:12; 1Pe 5:3. The idea of mould, which some give to it, is without an example in the New Testament.
Our version is that of [ Castellio ], in the meaning of which most critics agree. [ Grotius ] gives this paraphrase, “ Obedistis ad eum modum quem doctrina evangelii præscribit — Ye became obedient to that rule which the doctrine of the gospel prescribes.” [ Wolfius ] quotes from [ Iamblichus ], in his life of [ Pythagoras ], passages in which τύπος is used for form, model, or manner , —”τὢς παιδεύσεως ὁ τύπος — the form of instruction;” and “τύπος διδασκαλίας — the form or manner of teaching.”
The grammatical difficulty is best removed by [ Stuart ], who considers τύπον to be for τυπω, the case being changed by the preceding pronoun, no uncommon thing in Greek: the literal rendering would then be, —”Ye have obeyed the form of doctrine, respecting which (or, in which, see Mar 5:34) ye have been instructed.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) Have obeyed.Rather, obeyed. (See Note on Rom. 6:2.) In like manner correct have yielded to yielded in Rom. 6:19.
That form of doctrine.That pattern of teaching, or express moral rule of life.
Delivered you.Literally, to which you were deliveredto the direction of which you were handed over.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Thanked ye were God be thanked that your service of sin is in the past tense, and is now forever over.
Form of doctrine The true doctrine of grace; the opposite of and emancipation from your old service of sin and instalment under the rule of Christ.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were servants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered, and being made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.’
But Paul now thanks God that while his hearers had been the servants of sin, they had responded from their hearts to the ‘form of teaching’ that they had received. There is possibly an indication here that even by this stage there was a ‘form of teaching’ delivered to new Christians, possibly prior to or immediately following baptism. Or it may have reference to the body of tradition about Jesus Christ that had been put together by the Apostles (possibly called ‘The Testimony of Jesus’ compare Rev 1:2; Rev 1:9; Rev 12:17; Rev 19:10; and see 2Ti 1:8). And they had become ‘obedient from the heart’ to it. Thus they had been freed from sin’s servitude, and had become servants of righteousness. Experiencing the righteousness of God when they had been ‘accounted as righteous’, they had then become servants of righteousness, living it out in their lives.
Paul clearly considered that it was important that they recognised what obedience to God meant. It did not mean following their own inclinations and ideas about God. Rather it meant responsive obedience to His revealed truth. Today that ‘form of teaching’ is found substantially in the New Testament. We do well to ensure that we live according to it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 6:17. But God be thanked Here the Apostle thanks God, that whereas they had been heathens, and so ranked among the servants of sin, they were now become Christians, and consequently ranked among the servants of the Gospel, or such as were obedient to it. This he explains by a metaphor taken from the coining, stamping, or casting of metal in a die or mould. the , (the form, as we translate it,) that is, the stamp, die, or mould, is the doctrine of the Gospel. Their being put into or under this mould, was their passing out of the heathen into the Christian state. By the counsel of God, who had before determined to take the Gentiles into his Gospel church; by the preaching of the Gospel, whereby they were called into the church; and by their willingly embracing the genuine faith of the Gospel, they were put, or delivered, into or under the die or mould, from which they had received a new impression, or were fashioned into new creatures. And their obeying from their heart the mould, or model of doctrine, refers to their first faith, at their conversion. By this they were put or delivered into the die or mould of the Gospel: and their farther and continued obedience is what the Apostle in this chapter earnestly exhorts them to; namely, that as they had, through the grace of God, the doctrine of the Gospel, and were now put into it, so they would labour to admit a clear, fair, and full impression upon their hearts and lives. The figure upon the die is the image of God in righteousness and true holiness: for the new man (Eph 4:24.), or the Gospel state, is created or erected in righteousness and holiness after the image of God. This therefore is the figure upon the stamp or mould: this the image and superscription of God: and the Christian’s duty and great work is, to be conformed to this image; to take care that a full and fair representation of it be struck upon all his principles and actions: that in the disposition of his mind, and in every part of his conversation, he may shew the image and superscription of God, bright and perfect, as upon a newly-coined piece of money. See on chap. Rom 5:14. Elsner, and Sykes on Christianity, p. 178.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 6:17 . Propositio minor .
, ] animated expression of piety; “ardor pectoris apostolici,” Bengel. Comp Rom 7:25 .
. ., . . . [1467] ] has emphasis: that ye were slaves of sin (that this condition of bondage is past ) etc. Comp Eph 5:8 . The prefixing of , and the non-insertion of a , clearly prove that this is the true interpretation, and not that, by which the main idea is discovered in the second half: “non Deo gratias agit, quod servierint peccato, sed quod, qui servierint peccato, postea obedierunt evangelio,” Grotius. In that case at least would be indispensable in the first clause. The mode of expression is purposely chosen , in order to render more forcibly apparent their earlier dangerous condition (whose further delineation in Rom 6:19 , moreover, points to the former heathenism of the readers).
] , , , Chrysostom. Comp Job 8:10 ; Mar 12:30 ; Wis 8:21 al [1470] ; Theocr. xxix. 4; also , , and similar phrases in Greek writers. The opposite: .
. . .] may either be resolved: ., ., with Chrysostom and others, including Rckert, Reiche, Kllner, Tholuck, de Wette, Fritzsche, Winer, and Philippi (see Fritzsche, Diss. II. p. 133, Conject. p. 34; Bornemann, Schol. in Luc. p. 177); or: . . ., . (as in Rom 4:17 ); or: . . ., . i. e. . (see Castalio and Grotius on the passage, Kypke, II. p. 167, Ewald and Hofmann). It is decisive in favour of the first mode of resolution that is never equivalent to ; [1471] while to take absolutely either in the sense of the obedience of faith , Rom 1:5 (Ewald), or in that of absolute obedience (“as obedient servants in contrast to sinful ones,” Hofmann), is inadmissible, because in its antithetical correlation with needs a more precise definition. And this it has precisely in . . . [1472] , which cannot therefore indicate whereunto (Ewald and Hofmann) the has taken place, an artificial farfetched expedient, which is wrung from them, in order to get instead of obedience towards the doctrine obedience as effect of the doctrine (comp Mat 12:41 , where however stands by its side, which is in fact of itself a complete conception). The , . is usually (and still by Hofmann) understood of Christian doctrine generally, so far as it is a definite, express form of teaching. But since the singular expression does not thus appear accounted for, and since the Roman church was undoubtedly planted through the preaching of Pauline Christianity, which is certainly a particular type , different from Judaistic forms of Christian teaching and in various points even contrasting with these, it is preferable to understand by it the distinct expression which the Gospel had received through Paul , consequently the doctrinal form of his Gospel (Rom 2:16 , Rom 16:25 ), in opposition to anti-Paulinism (Rckert, Exo 1 , de Wette, comp Philippi). This . is decisive in favour of the interpretation “form of doctrine” in an objective sense, and against the subjective explanation: image of the doctrine, which is impressed on the heart (Kypke). Following Theodore of Mopsuestia, Oecumenius, Calvin, Grotius, Calovius, and many others, Reiche (as also Olshausen, Reithmayr and Krehl) take in the sense of exemplar , ideal which the doctrine holds up , consequently in that of the ethical rule, which as model of life is contained in the Gospel ( .). [1475] This is in harmony neither with the nor with the . Unsuitable to the former is also the interpretation of Beza and others, to which Tholuck inclines, that the evangelical doctrine is “quasi instar typi cujusdam, cui veluti immittamur , ut ejus figurae conformemur.” Van Hengel understands in the sense of obedience toward God , and as quod attinet at; Paul in his view says: “obedivistis Deo ad sequendam quam profiteri edocti estis doctrinae formam.” This form of doctrine, to which the Romans were directed at the founding of their church, had been, he conceives, probably more Judaistic than purely Pauline. But against the absolute interpretation of . see above; while the assumption of a not truly Pauline is irreconcilable with the expression of thanksgiving, and is not supported by Phi 1:15 , a passage which is to be explained from the peculiar situation of the Apostle. We may add that Paul aptly specialises the which was set forth in the major, in Rom 6:16 , quite generally (as obedience to God in general) at the subsumption in the minor, Rom 6:17 , as obedience to his Gospel .
.] , Chrysostom. The reference to God , which is also to be observed for the passives in Rom 6:18 , is plain from . That it is not to be taken as middle ( to yield themselves , so Fritzsche) is shown by the same passives in Rom 6:18 . either with the dative or with , in the sense of delivering over to the disposal and power of another , is very current everywhere in Greek literature ( Jdt 10:15 ; Rom 1:26 ; Xen. Hell. 1, 7, 3; Dem. 515, 6, 1187, 5); but whether in a hostile sense or not, is conveyed not by the expression itself, but simply by the context. To the expression itself the abolition of one’s own self-determination is essential. So also here. The Christian has at his conversion ceased to be sui juris , and has been given over to the morally regulative power of the Gospel . On comp Jamblichus, de Pythag. vit. 16 : , Plat. Rep. p. 412 B: , p. 397 C: , Jamblichus l.c [1477] 23: , Isoc. Antid. 186: .
[1467] . . . .
[1470] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.
[1471] In the passages quoted by Kypke from Greek authors means to obey in reference to something , to be obedient in a matter . Reiche’s judgment of these passages is erroneous. See on 2Co 2:9 .
[1472] . . . .
[1475] So probably Chrysostom took it, who explains . by . So also Theophylact.
[1477] .c. loco citato or laudato .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1848
CONVERSION A GROUND OF THANKSGIVING
Rom 6:17. God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
EXEMPTION from the punishment of sin is doubtless an inestimable blessing; but deliverance from its power is equally precious. The most advanced Christians greatly delight in this part of salvation. Hence St. Paul thanks God for bestowing this mercy on the Church at Rome. We shall consider from the text,
I.
The character of all while in an unconverted state
All are servants of sin till they receive converting grace
[All indeed are not slaves to the same sin. Some are led captive by their lusts and passions: others are drawn away by the pleasures and vanities of the world: others are under the dominion of pride and self-righteousness; but all, without exception, are alienated from the life of God [Note: Eph 4:18.]: all are full of unbelief and self-sufficiency.]
This, however humiliating, is an indisputable truth
[The Scriptures every where assert this respecting fallen man [Note: Joh 8:34. Rom 6:16. with the text.]. The most eminent saints confess it to have been their own case [Note: Tit 3:3.]: experience proves it with respect to ourselves. The very excuse which men offer in extenuation of their sins, viz. that they cannot live as God requires, establishes this truth.]
But it does not remain so in regenerate persons; as appears from,
II.
The change they experience in conversion
God instructs them in the form of sound doctrine
[There is in Scripture a form of sound doctrine. This in all its parts is set before them. They are enlightened by the Spirit to understand it: they have it applied with divine efficacy to their souls.]
This form of doctrine they obey from the heart
[They yet indeed feel a law of sin in their members; but they no more serve sin willingly as before: on the contrary, they now delight in the law of God. They obey it, not in appearance only or by constraint, but willingly and without reserve.]
They are now cast, as it were, into the mould of the Gospel
[This is the force of the original; and is the marginal version [Note: .]: this is also the case, wherever the Gospel takes effect [Note: Col 1:6.]. The wax has every lineament of the seal, and the coin of the die: so do they resemble God, who are renewed by the Gospel [Note: 2Co 3:18.].]
The blessedness of this change will appear if we consider,
III.
How great a cause of thankfulness such a conversion is
The Apostle thanks God that they were no longer slaves of sin
[Sin is at all times a ground of shame and sorrow [Note: Rom 6:21.]. Paul esteemed it so in his own particular case [Note: 1Ti 1:13.]: every saint of God views it in the same light: St. Paul therefore did not mean that their subjection to it was a ground of thankfulness; but the subject of his thanksgiving is, that the Romans, who once were slaves of sin, were now entirely devoted to God.]
This is a ground of unspeakable thankfulness on many accounts:
1.
On account of the moral change in the persons themselves
[What can be more deplorable than to be a slave of sin? What can be more truly blessed than to have all our actions and affections corresponding with the word of God? Surely this is a ground of thankfulness.]
2.
On account of the effects of this change on society
[How much better member of society must a child of God be than a slave of sin! How much happier would the world be, if such a change were general! On this account therefore it became the Apostle to be thankful.]
3.
On account of the eternal consequences that must follow this change
[They who die slaves of sin must suffer its punishment: they are now the children of the devil, and must soon be his companions in misery [Note: Joh 8:44.]; but the regenerate are children and heirs of God. Surely eternity will scarcely suffice to thank God for this.]
We shall conclude with a suitable address
1.
To the unregenerate
[All who have not been freed from sin are of this number. Alas! the friends of such have little cause to thank God for them: they have rather reason to weep and mourn [Note: Jer 13:17.]: they may indeed bless God that the stroke of vengeance has been delayed. O that all such persons might know the day of their visitation! Let all cry to God for his converting grace: nor let any rest in an external or partial change. Nothing but a cordial compliance with the Gospel, and a real conformity to it, will avail us in the day of judgment.]
2.
To the regenerate
[The foregoing marks have sufficiently characterized these persons. Such persons will do well to reflect on the mercy they have received: the recollection of their past guilt will serve to keep them humble. A consciousness of their remaining infirmities will make them watchful: a view of the change wrought in them will make them thankful. Let the regenerate then adopt the words of the Psalmist [Note: Psa 103:1-3.] let them beware of ever returning to their former ways [Note: 2Pe 2:20-21.]: let them press forward for higher degrees of holiness and glory [Note: Php 3:13-14.].]
3.
To those who doubt to which class they belong
[Many, from what has been wrought in them, have reason to hope; yet, from what still remains to be done, they find reason to fear. Hence they are long in painful suspense. But let such remember, that sin, if truly lamented and resisted, does not prove them unregenerate [Note: Jam 3:2.]: on the contrary, their hatred of it, and opposition to it, are hopeful signs that they are in part renewed: nevertheless, let them endeavour to put this matter beyond a doubt [Note: 2Pe 1:10.]. Let them look to Christ as their almighty deliverer [Note: Joh 8:36.]: let them pray for, and depend upon, his promised aid [Note: 2Co 12:9.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
I pause over this verse to consider it alone, as it stands, in my view, unconnected with every other. And, I do it the rather, because I am free to confess, that I have never yet seen any Writer, which hath given to my satisfaction the full sense of it. I should observe, that the words, as they stand in our translation, are perfectly correct, and in exact agreement to the original. There is no possibility, without injury, to add to the verse itself, or to take from it. Paul thanks God, that they were in times past the servants of sin. But now, were in obedience, from the heart; that is, were now regenerated. Some read the passage: God be thanked that though ye were the servants of sin. But certain it is, that the original favors no such latitude of construction. But, say you, can it be thought, that the Apostle would thank God, that they had been in the drudgery of Satan, wearing his livery, and doing his service? Could this be a motive of thankfulness? To which in answer, I say, without deciding positively upon it; if the Lord’s glory be the more advanced, and sin, which in itself is a deadly evil, working nothing but death, and everlasting ruin; be overruled, for bringing about greater glory to God, and greater happiness to man; it then puts on a different aspect. Just as poison is sometimes made a sovereign medicine for healing: and sickness, when sanctified, hath been found a means, under the Lord, of changing the heart. The sin of Adam, laid the foundation for the manifestation of Christ, as a Savior. The Son of God would have been known as the Head and Husband of his Church, had sin never entered into the world; for he betrothed her to himself from everlasting, Hos 2:19 . But as the Redeemer, the Church would never have known him, had not her shame in sin, afforded an opportunity for the display of his glory, in washing her from her sins in his blood! And in this case, all those sweet songs in heaven would have been lost, which the redeemed now chant aloud, and will be sung by the Church forever, Rev 5:9 . For myself, if I know anything of my own heart, I hope that 1 can truly say, I hate sin, I would not willingly and wilfully commit a single sin for the world: yea, I loath myself in my own sight for sin, the sin of my poor fallen nature. And sin becomes more bitter to me, as Christ becomes more precious. But, with all this, I say, I would rather be a sinner saved, and saved in such a way as I am saved in, by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; than to have never known sin, neither known. Christ as a Savior. Angels in heaven, which have never sinned, may, and do, praise Jehovah for his glory, and their happiness: but no angel can know Jesus, and love Jesus, for the same cause as a poor sinner can; and for which his name is called Jesus: he shall save his people from their sins, Mat 1:21 . I therefore can accept the Apostle’s words in this verse, just as they are; and find cause to bless God, that I was once darkness, and in the shadow of death, when the Son of God came and brake my bands asunder. Like the poor man in the parable, having lain at the gate in a state of nature, full of wounds and sores; I can now better value a state of grace in the Lord Jesus, having been cleansed and healed in his blood. And, having once known by deep affliction, what it was to be miserable in sin; I now can better tell what it is to be everlastingly blessed and happy in Christ. God he thanked, (saith Paul,) that ye were the servants of sin. And God be thanked, my soul makes her responses to Paul’s words, and adds, that by the regeneration of the Holy Ghost, the soul-union with Christ, and the gift of the Father to his dear Son; by grace I am enabled to obey from the heart, that form of doctrine which hath been delivered.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Ver. 17. That form of doctrine ] Gr. “That type or mould;” the doctrine is the mould, hearers the metal, which takes impression from it in one part as well as another. And as the metal hath been sufficiently in the furnace, when it is not only purged from the dross, but willingly receiveth the form and figure of that which it is cast and poured into, so here.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17, 18. ] The dilemma solved for them by reference to the matter of fact: that they were once servants of sin, but on receiving the gospel, obeyed its teaching: and consequently were freed from the service of sin, and became the servants of righteousness : and this in the form of a thanksgiving to God ( 1Co 1:14 ) whose work in them it was.
There is a stress on as referring to a state past . So Eph 5:8 ; on account of which stress apparently the , which would naturally follow it, is omitted.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
17. . ] Attr.: the simple construction would be . (or ) ), ye obeyed ( . on account of above) from the heart (reff.) that form of teaching (so ch. Rom 2:20 ; see examples in Fritzsche, vol. i. p. 418; most probably used of the practical norma agendi accompanying the doctrine of the gospel; so Calv., Luth., Beza, Reiche: De W. thinks it is the Pauline form of teaching, of justification by faith, distinguished from the Judaistic) to which ye were delivered ([not as E. V., ‘ which was delivered you ’] this inversion to the passive agrees admirably with , as a mould, exemplar, or pattern after which they were to be fashioned: so , Arrian. Enchir. ii. 19 (Thol.): and Beza, ‘hoc dicendi genus magnam quandam emphasin videtur habere. Ita enim significatur evangelicam doctrinam quasi instar typi cujusdam esse, cui veluti immittamur, ut ejus figur conformemur, et totam istam transformationem aliunde provenire.’ (Thol.) And Chrys. remarks, , . See on the construction, Winer, edn. 6, 24. 2. b).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 6:17 . Paul thanks God that his readers have already made their choice, and made it for obedience. : the co-ordination seems to imply that Paul is grateful (1) that their servitude to sin is past having the emphasis; (2) that they have received the Gospel. Yet the two things are one, and it would have been more natural to subordinate the first: “that though ye were slaves of sin, ye obeyed,” etc. must be resolved into . . The alternative is (Kypke). But only means to be obedient with respect to something, not to be obedient to some one, or some thing, which is the sense required here. A true parallel is Cyril of Jerus. Catechet. lect. iv., iii.: ; the catechumens were handed over to the faith. But what is the to which the converts at Rome were handed over? Many, in the line of these words of Cyril, conceive of it as a “type of doctrine,” a special mode of presenting the Gospel, which had as catchwords, e.g. , “not under law but under grace,” or “free from sin and slaves to righteousness,” or more probably, “dying with Christ and rising with Him”. In other words, Paulinism as modern theology conceives it. But this is an anachronism. It is only modern eyes that see distinct doctrinal types in the N.T., and Paul, as far as he knew (1Co 15:3-11 ), preached the same Gospel as the other Apostles. It is unnecessary, also, to the argument. In whatever form the Gospel won the obedience of men, it was inconsistent with their continuance in sin. Hence it seems nearer the truth to take in a more general sense; it is teaching, of course in a definite form, but regarded chiefly in its ethical requirements; when received, or when men were handed over to it, it became a moral authority. Cf. Hort, Romans and Ephesians , p. 32 f. What is the time referred to in the aorists and ? It is the time when they became Christians, a time really fixed by their acceptance of the Gospel in faith, and outwardly marked by baptism. Baptism is the visible point of separation between the two servitudes to sin and to God.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Romans
‘THE FORM OF TEACHING’
Rom 6:17
There is room for difference of opinion as to what Paul precisely means by ‘form’ here. The word so rendered appears in English as type , and has a similar variety of meaning. It signifies originally a mark made by pressure or impact; and then, by natural transitions, a mould , or more generally a pattern or example , and then the copy of such an example or pattern, or the cast from such a mould. It has also the other meaning which its English equivalent has taken on very extensively of late years, such as, for instance, you find in expressions like ‘An English type of face,’ meaning thereby the general outline which preserves the distinguishing characteristics of a thing. Now we may choose between these two meanings in our text. If the Apostle means type in the latter sense of the word, then the rendering ‘form’ is adequate, and he is thinking of the Christian teaching which had been given to the Roman Christians as possessing certain well-defined characteristics which distinguished it from other kinds of teaching-such, for instance, as Jewish or heathen.
But if we take the other meaning, then he is, in true Pauline fashion, bringing in a vivid and picturesque metaphor to enforce his thought, and is thinking of the teaching which the Roman Christians had received as being a kind of mould into which they were thrown, a pattern to which they were to be conformed. And that that is his meaning seems to me to be made a little more probable by the fact that the last words of my text would be more accurate if inverted, and instead of reading, as the Authorised Version does, ‘that form of doctrine which was delivered you,’ we were to read, as the Revised Version does, ‘that form whereunto ye were delivered.’
If this be the general meaning of the words before us, there are three thoughts arising from them to which I turn briefly. First, Paul’s Gospel was a definite body of teaching; secondly, that teaching is a mould for conduct and character; lastly, that teaching therefore demands obedience. Take, then, these three thoughts.
I. First, Paul’s Gospel was a definite body of teaching.
Therefore we have to notice that the great, blessed peculiarity of the Gospel is that it is a teaching, not of abstract dry principles, but of concrete historical facts. From these principles in plenty may be gathered, but in its first form as it comes to men fresh from God it is not a set of propositions, but a history of deeds that were done upon earth. And, therefore, is it fitted to be the food of every soul and the mould of every character.
Jesus Christ did not come and talk to men about God, and say to them what His Apostles afterwards said, ‘God is love,’ but He lived and died, and that mainly was His teaching about God. He did not come to men and lay down a theory of atonement or a doctrine of propitiation, or theology about sin and its relations to God, but He went to the Cross and gave Himself for us, and that was His teaching about sacrifice. He did not say to men ‘There is a future life, and it is of such and such a sort,’ but He came out of the grave and He said ‘Touch Me, and handle Me. A spirit hath not flesh and bones,’ and therefore He brought life and immortality to light, by no empty words but by the solid realities of facts. He did not lecture upon ethics, but He lived a perfect human life out of which all moral principles that will guide human conduct may be gathered. And so, instead of presenting us with a hortus siccus , with a botanic collection of scientifically arranged and dead propositions, He led us into the meadow where the flowers grow, living and fair. His life and death, with all that they imply, are the teaching.
Let us not forget, on the other hand, that the history of a fact is not the mere statement of the outward thing that has happened. Suppose four people, for instance, standing at the foot of Christ’s Cross; four other ‘evangelists’ than the four that we know. There is a Roman soldier; there is a Pharisee; there is one of the weeping crowd of poor women, not disciples; and there is a disciple. The first man tells the fact as he saw it: ‘A Jewish rebel was crucified this morning.’ The second man tells the fact: ‘A blaspheming apostate suffered what he deserved to-day.’ The woman tells the fact: ‘A poor, gentle, fair soul was martyred to-day.’ And the fourth one tells the fact: ‘Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins.’ The three tell the same fact; the fourth preaches the Gospel-that is to say, Christian teaching is the facts plus their explanation; and it is that which differentiates it from the mere record which is of no avail to anybody. So Paul himself in one of his other letters puts it. This is his gospel: Jesus of Nazareth ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.’ That is what turns the bald story of the facts into teaching, which is the mould for life.
So on the one hand, dear brethren, do not let us fall into the superficial error of fancying that our religion is a religion of emotion and morality only. It is a religion with a basis of divine truth, which, being struck away, all the rest goes. There is a revolt against dogma to-day, a revolt which in large measure is justified as an essential of progress, and in large measure as an instance of progress; but human nature is ever prone to extremes, and in the revolt from man’s dogma there is danger of casting away God’s truth. Christianity is not preserved when we hold by the bare facts of the outward history, unless we take with these facts the interpretation of them, which declares the divinity and the sacrifice of the Son of God.
And on the other hand, let us keep very clear in our minds the broad and impassable gulf of separation between the Christian teaching as embodied in the Scripture and the systems which Christianity has evolved therefrom. Men’s intellects must work upon the pabulum that is provided for them, and a theology in a systematised form is a necessity for the intellectual and reasonable life of the Christian Church. But there is all the difference between man’s inferences from and systematising of the Christian truth and the truth that lies here. The one is the golden roof that is cast over us; the other is too often but the spiders’ webs that are spun across and darken its splendour. It is a sign of a wholesome change in the whole sentiment and attitude of the modern Christian mind that the word ‘doctrine,’ which has come to mean men’s inferences from God’s truth, should have been substituted as it has been in our Revised Version of my text, by the wholesome Christian word ‘teaching.’ The teaching is the facts with the inspired commentary on them.
II. Secondly, notice that this teaching is in Paul’s judgment a mould or pattern according to which men’s lives are to be conformed.
Christ is the type, the mould into which men are to be cast. The Gospel, as presented in Scripture, gives us three things. It gives us the perfect mould; it gives us the perfect motive; it gives us the perfect power. And in all three things appears its distinctive glory, apart from and above all other systems that have ever tried to affect the conduct or to mould the character of man.
In Jesus Christ we have in due combination, in perfect proportion, all the possible excellences of humanity. As in other cases of perfect symmetry, the very precision of the balanced proportions detracts from the apparent magnitude of the statue or of the fair building, so to a superficial eye there is but little beauty there that we should desire Him, but as we learn to know Him, and live nearer to Him, and get more familiar with all His sweetness, and with all His power, He towers before us in ever greater and yet never repellent or exaggerated magnitude, and never loses the reality of His brotherhood in the completeness of His perfection. We have in the Christ the one type, the one mould and pattern for all striving, the ‘glass of form,’ the perfect Man.
And that likeness is not reproduced in us by pressure or by a blow, but by the slow and blessed process of gazing until we become like, beholding the glory until we are changed into the glory.
It is no use having a mould and metal unless you have a fire. It is no use having a perfect Pattern unless you have a motive to copy it. Men do not go to the devil for want of examples; and morality is not at a low ebb by reason of ignorance of what the true type of life is. But nowhere but in the full-orbed teaching of the New Testament will you find a motive strong enough to melt down all the obstinate hardness of the ‘northern iron’ of the human will, and to make it plastic to His hand. If we can say, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me’ then the sum of all morality, the old commandment that ‘ye love one another’ receives a new stringency, and a fresh motive as well as a deepened interpretation, when His love is our pattern. The one thing that will make men willing to be like Christ is their faith that Christ is their Sacrifice and their Saviour. And sure I am of this, that no form of mutilated Christianity, which leaves out or falteringly proclaims the truth that Christ died on the Cross for the sins of the world, will ever generate heat enough to mould men’s wills, or kindle motives powerful enough to lead to a life of growing imitation of and resemblance to Him. The dial may be all right, the hours most accurately marked in their proper places, every minute registered on the circle, the hands may be all right, delicately fashioned, truly poised, but if there is no main-spring inside, dial and hands are of little use, and a Christianity which says, ‘Christ is the Teacher; do you obey Him?’ is as impotent as the dial face with the broken main-spring. What we need, and what, thank God, in ‘the teaching’ we have, is the pattern brought near to us, and the motive for imitating the pattern, set in motion by the great thought, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me.’
Still further, the teaching is a power to fashion life, inasmuch as it brings with it a gift which secures the transformation of the believer into the likeness of his Lord. Part of ‘the teaching’ is the fact of Pentecost; part of the teaching is the fact of the Ascension; and the consequence of the Ascension and the sure promise of the Pentecost is that all who love Him, and wait upon Him, shall receive into their hearts the ‘Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ which shall make them free from the law of sin and death.
So, dear friends, on the one hand, let us remember that our religion is meant to work, that we have nothing in our creed that should not be in our character, that all our credenda are to be our agenda ; everything believed to be something done ; and that if we content ourselves with the simple acceptance of the teaching, and make no effort to translate that teaching into life, we are hypocrites or self-deceivers.
And, on the other hand, do not let us forget that religion is the soul of which morality is the body, and that it is impossible in the nature of things that you shall ever get a true, lofty, moral life which is not based upon religion. I do not say that men cannot be sure of the outlines of their duty without Christianity, though I am free to confess that I think it is a very maimed and shabby version of human duty, which is supplied, minus the special revelation of that duty which Christianity makes; but my point is, that the knowledge will not work without the Gospel.
The Christian type of character is a distinct and manifestly separate thing from the pagan heroism or from the virtues and the righteousnesses of other systems. Just as the musician’s ear can tell, by half a dozen bars, whether that strain was Beethoven’s, or Handel’s, or Mendelssohn’s, just as the trained eye can see Raffaelle’s magic in every touch of his pencil, so Christ, the Teacher, has a style; and all the scholars of His school carry with them a certain mark which tells where they got their education and who is their Master, if they are scholars indeed. And that leads me to the last word.
III. This mould demands obedience.
And so the requirement of the Gospel which we call faith has in it quite as much of the element of obedience as of the element of trust. And the presence of that element is just what makes the difference between a sham and a real faith. ‘Faith which has not works is dead, being alone.’ A faith which is all trust and no obedience is neither trust nor obedience.
And that is why so many of us do not care to yield ourselves to the faith that is in Jesus Christ. If it simply came to us and said, ‘If you will trust Me you will get pardon,’ I fancy there would be a good many more of us honest Christians than are so. But Christ comes and says, ‘Trust Me, follow Me, and take Me for your Master; and be like Me,’ and one’s will kicks, and one’s passions recoil, and a thousand of the devil’s servants within us prick their ears up and stiffen their backs in remonstrance and opposition. ‘Submit’ is Christ’s first word; submit by faith, submit in love.
That heart obedience, which is the requirement of Christianity, means freedom. The Apostle draws a wonderful contrast in the context between the slavery to lust and sin, and the freedom which comes from obedience to God and to righteousness. Obey the Truth, and the Truth, in your obeying, shall make you free, for freedom is the willing submission to the limitations which are best. ‘I will walk at liberty for I keep Thy precepts.’ Take Christ for your Master, and, being His servants, you are your own masters, and the world’s to boot. For ‘all things are yours if ye are Christ’s.’ Refuse to bow your necks to that yoke which is easy, and to take upon your shoulders that burden which is light, and you do not buy liberty, though you buy licentiousness, for you become the slaves and downtrodden vassals of the world and the flesh and the devil, and while you promise yourselves liberty, you become the bondsmen of corruption. Oh! then, let us obey from the heart that mould of teaching to which we are delivered, and so obeying, we shall be free indeed.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
But . . . thanked = But thanks (Greek. charis. App-184.) to God. Compare 1Co 15:57.
were. But that service is past.
form. Greek. tupos. See Rom 5:14.
doctrine = teaching. Greek. didach. Only here and Rom 16:17 in Rom.
which . . . you = unto (App-104.) which ye were delivered.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17, 18.] The dilemma solved for them by reference to the matter of fact: that they were once servants of sin, but on receiving the gospel, obeyed its teaching: and consequently were freed from the service of sin, and became the servants of righteousness:-and this in the form of a thanksgiving to God (1Co 1:14) whose work in them it was.
There is a stress on as referring to a state past. So Eph 5:8; on account of which stress apparently the , which would naturally follow it, is omitted.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 6:17. , but God be thanked) This is an idiom peculiar to Paul, who usually expresses categorical propositions, not categorically and nakedly, but, as it were, with some modifying qualification, i.e., with an intimation of affection, thanksgiving, prayerful wish for them, etc.-1Co 14:18; 2Ti 2:7, note. The enthymeme[61] of this passage stands thus: you were the servants of sin; but now you have become obedient to righteousness: but there is added the moral mode[62] or moral sentiment, God be thanked, that though ye were the servants of sin, ye have now obeyed righteousness. This mode, however, in this place, implies this also, that this is the blessed state of the Romans, which they ought by all means to maintain. This observation will clearly bring out the meaning of the apostles language in many passages, and will show the ardour that was within his breast.-, that) so that, with indeed, to be understood, Joh 3:19.[63]-, servants) especially in heathenism.- , from the heart) The truth and efficacy of the Christian religion [lies in its having its root in the heart.] Wicked men cannot be altogether wicked with their whole heart, but even unconsciously and continually repent of their past conduct, and of their slavery to sin; but good men are good from the heart, and without constraint. [It is not any doctrine of men, but the doctrine of God alone, which takes by storm (takes complete possession of) the human heart.-V. g.]- ) This is the explanation or , comp. , Gal 1:6; you were obedient to [with respect to, towards] the form of doctrine (comp. , obedient in all things, 2Co 2:9) unto which you were delivered (which was delivered to you). The case of the relative, expressed in abbreviated form,[64] depends on the word preceding, ch. Rom 4:17, or following ch. Rom 10:14.-, you were delivered) Elsewhere the doctrine is said to be delivered. That phrase is here elegantly inverted, and is a very graceful expression respecting those who, when freed from sin, devote and yield [present] themselves, Rom 6:16, with a great change of masters, to the honourable service of righteousness.-, form) a very beautiful term, Exo 25:40. The form meant is the form of Christ, Gal 4:19.-, of doctrine) That rule and standard, to which the servant conforms himself, is merely shown to him by the doctrine; he does not need to be urged by constraint.
[61] The simple enunciation. See Appendix.
[62] See Appendix, under the title, Modalis Sermo. A proposition not stated nakedly, but with intimation of feeling accompanying it. Instead of the naked statement, Ye were servants of sin, Paul says, in the moral mode, Thanks be to God, that, though ye were servants of sin, ye have now obeyed, etc.
[63] Light is (indeed) come into the world, and (yet) men loved darkness, etc. So here, = though ye were,-yet now, etc.-ED.
[64] See App., tit. Concisa Locutio.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 6:17
Rom 6:17
But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin,-[As it is the apostles object to show that believers cannot live in sin, inasmuch as they have become the servants of another master, he applies the general truth stated in the preceding verses more directly to his immediate readers, and gives thanks to God that they, being emancipated from their former bondage, are now bound to a master whose service is perfect liberty.]
ye became obedient from the heart-The heart is the inner, spiritual man, embracing the will, the intellect, and the affections. The obedience from the heart requires that the mind, the will, and the affections should all enter into the service. The mind must be enlightened, the will guided, and the affections enlisted before the form of teaching can be obeyed. A peculiarity of the dispensation of Christ is that the service must be from the heart-that is, an outward performance without the desire of the heart to obey God is not acceptable. All service, then, must spring from the desire to obey God. It is the leading motive of all service. Honor and obedience to God from the heart are much the same. God said: Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1Sa 2:30). We become servants of righteousness and servants of God by obeying him. The desire to obey God, then, underlies all service, all ends, desires, motive; the desire to obey God underlies even the desire to enter into Christ. We wish to enter into Christ that we may obey him. Then the desire to obey God must be present in, and lead to, all service to God. Nothing we do is acceptable to God unless it is done that we may obey and know him. It is the leading motive that underlies all motives. Other motives may be absent without invalidating service, but no service is acceptable where this desire to obey God is absent. When we rightly understand God, the desire of salvation is the desire to obey him. Peter says: Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently. (1Pe 1:22). The one leading motive and desire that is essential to all service that we render to God is the desire to obey him as Lord of heaven and earth. We can desire to obey him only as we believe and trust him. Then obedience to the gospel means doing the things that bring us into Christ and commit and obligate us to do the whole will of God. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance from sin, and burial out of self puts us in Christ, and binds us to a life of service to him, and are the obedience of the gospel.
to that form of teaching-The teaching was that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised again for our justification. The form of teaching includes the dying to sin as well as the burial and resurrection to life. We die to sin and are quickened by faith; we are buried through baptism, and rise in Christ Jesus to walk in the newness of life imparted through faith, just as the principle of life is imparted by begettal, but it can enjoy no distinct and personal life until it is delivered into the new state suited to the development of life. Obedience to the form of teaching includes the quickening through faith, the death to sin, the burial and resurrection through baptism into a new life in Christ. This binds to an obedience to all the laws and regulations of the Christian religion that fit us for enjoying the blessings of heaven.
whereunto ye were delivered;-[The imagery here used is taken from the custom of delivering slaves from one master to another. Sin is before Pauls mind as a master to whom the disciples had been slaves, and he conceives of them now as delivered from this master to the form of teaching to become henceforth obedient to it.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
sin Sin.
(See Scofield “Rom 3:23”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
But: Rom 1:8, 1Ch 29:12-16, Ezr 7:27, Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26, Act 11:18, Act 28:15, 1Co 1:4, Eph 1:16, Phi 1:3-5, Col 1:3, Col 1:4, 1Th 1:2, 1Th 1:3, 1Th 3:9, 2Th 1:3, 2Ti 1:3-5, Phm 1:4, 2Jo 1:4, 3Jo 1:3
that: 1Co 6:9-11, Eph 2:5-10, 1Ti 1:13-16, Tit 3:3-7, 1Pe 2:9, 1Pe 4:2-5
but ye: Rom 1:5, Rom 2:8, Rom 15:18, Rom 16:26, Psa 18:44, *marg. 2Co 10:5, 2Co 10:6, Heb 5:9, Heb 11:8, 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 3:1, 1Pe 4:17
that form: 2Ti 1:13
which was delivered you: Gr. whereto ye were delivered
Reciprocal: Lev 25:10 – proclaim Lev 25:55 – my servants Deu 6:21 – General Deu 16:12 – General Deu 27:9 – this day Job 36:11 – If Jer 24:7 – for they Mic 7:19 – subdue Act 8:23 – the bond Rom 2:20 – the form Rom 6:16 – whether of sin Rom 6:19 – for as ye Rom 6:20 – the servants Rom 7:25 – thank God Rom 10:16 – obeyed 1Co 6:11 – such Gal 3:1 – ye Gal 5:7 – obey Eph 1:13 – after that ye heard Eph 6:6 – from Col 1:13 – and 1Th 2:13 – effectually 2Th 2:10 – they received 2Th 2:13 – we 1Ti 2:1 – and Jam 1:21 – the engrafted
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
:17
Rom 6:17. God be thanked cannot be understood until the entire verse is considered. That will show that the rescue from a sinful service is the fact for which Paul thanked God. Form is from TUPOS and one of Thayer’s definitions is, “A pattern in conformity to which a thing must be made.” The “pattern” is the example that Jesus set when he died for sin, then was raised from the grave to die no more. The sinner must die to sin, be buried with Christ by baptism, then arise to walk in a new life.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 6:17. But thanks to God. In reminding them which of these masters they served (Rom 6:16), his heart speaks.
That ye were the servants of sin. Were is emphatic; this state is past, and for this the Apostle is thankful, although this negative side of salvation cannot be separated from the positive.
But ye obeyed from the heart. The moral change at conversion made their true, internal attitude that of obedience.
That form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered. This rendering is greatly to be preferred to that of the E. V. The change to the passive suggests the Divine agency in delivering them to this form of teaching. This phrase, literally, type of teaching, is interpreted: (1) of Christian doctrine in general; which is objectionable, because in that case type would be unmeaning; (2) of the Pauline teaching, over against the Judaistic forms of Christianity; (3) of the ideal, or, pattern, presented by the gospel, the ethical rule of life it gives. The second interpretation is the best. Obedience to this type of teaching, over against legalism, is something for which to thank God; be-cause it is Gods work, and because it is worthy of thanks. It follows that it is important to know what Pauls teaching is. The next verse should be connected more closely with this; a semicolon substituted for the period.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
We must understand these words, as if the apostle blessed God, because they were once slaves to sin and Satan: but thanks God, that the time of that bondage was past and over; as if he had said, “God be thanked, that though formerly ye were the servants of sin, yet, since your conversion, you are become obedient to the precepts of Christianity, having obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine, or (according to the original) being cast into the mould of that doctrine, which was delivered to you.
Learn hence, That to be turned from the service of sin, to the sincere obedience of the gospel, is a mercy that we can never be sufficiently sensibly of, and bless God for. God be thanked, that although ye were the servants of sin, ye are no longer so.
Learn, 2. That the doctrine of the gospel has a divine efficacy attending and accompanying it on the hearts of believers; it has a transforming power to change and fashion men’s minds into the likeness of it, as the mould doth the metal that is cast into it: The doctrine of the gospel is the mould, and the heart is the metal, which, when melted and cast into the mould, receives its form and figure.
Oh happy they! who having all their days sat under dispensation of the gospel, are able at last to say, We are transformed and changed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Vv. 17, 18. Now God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye obeyed from the heart that type of doctrine which was delivered you; then being made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Ver. 16 established the necessity of choosing between the two masters: sin which leads to death, and faith which produces righteousness. The apostle declares in Rom 6:17and he gives God thanks for itthat the Romans have already made their choice, and that the good one. The exclamation: thanks be to God, is not an oratorical form; it is a cry of gratitude from the depths of the apostle’s heart for the marvellous work which God has wrought without him among those former Gentiles.
But can he give thanks because they were formerly servants of sin? There are two ways of understanding the form used here by St. Paul: either the thanksgiving is made to bear only on the second proposition, and the first is regarded as serving only to bring out by contrast the excellence of the change which has passed over his readers: God be thanked that whereas formerly ye were servants…, ye have now obeyed…Or it is held that the first proposition belongs also to the contents of the thanksgiving; for this view it is enough to emphasize strongly the imperfect were: because ye were, that is to say, are no longer. In this sense the analogous expressions are compared, 1Co 6:11; Eph 5:8 (see Meyer, Philippi). The second explanation is supported by the fact, that in the first meaning the contrast could not fail to be indicated by the particle , as well as by the prominent position occupied at the beginning of the sentence by the verb , ye were. But the use of the particle is much rarer in the New Testament than in profane Greek. The place of the verb would undoubtedly be a more valid reason; in any case it explains how the apostle could follow up the expression: thanks be to God, immediately with the idea: servants of sin. But it is nevertheless true that the first meaning remains the simplest and most natural. Numerous examples of this mode of expression can be cited.
The imperfect , ye were, brings out the duration of the past state; the aorist , ye obeyed, refers to the decisive fact by which they adhered to the gospel and broke with that former state.
The expression , from the heart, indicates their inward readiness, and the absence of all constraint. The gospel answered to a moral want within them.
The following proposition may be construed in three ways: 1. , because ye obeyed the form of doctrine to which ye were given over (Chrys., Thol., De W., Mey., Philip., Winer); 2. V , because ye gave obedience to (or: in relation to) the form of doctrine which was transmitted to you ( ); so Hofmann: 3. (combining the meanings of the previous constructions). Of these three constructions the first alone is admissible, because to obey any one or anything is expressed in Greek by with the dative, and not with the preposition ; the latter would denote quite a different thing (the aim of the obedience). Paul congratulates the Romans on the fact that they have adhered with faith, docility, and eagerness to the form of Christian doctrine which was brought to them by those who first communicated to them the knowledge of the gospel. Does this form of doctrine denote Christianity in general, or a more special form of Christian teaching? In the former case, would not Paul have simply said: because from the heart ye obeyed Christ or the gospel? The choice of so exceptional a term, and so unique as that which he thinks good to use here, leads us rather to think of a special and precisely-defined form of Christian teaching. The reference is to that gospel of Paul (Rom 2:16, Rom 16:25) which the first propagators of the gospel at Rome had preached there. Paul knew well from his own experience it was only in the pure spirituality of his gospel that the true power of Christian sanctification was to be found, and that every concession to the legal principle was at the same time a barrier interposed to the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence his heartfelt joy because of the form of doctrine which had marked with its profound impress the moral life of the Christians of Rome. Could he without charlatanism have expressed himself thus, if, as so many critics think, the doctrine received by those Roman Christians had been of a Judaizing nature, and in contradiction to his own?
All the terms are, as it were, deliberately chosen to express the receptive condition of the readers. And first the word , type, form (from , to strike), which denotes an image deeply engraved, and pitted to reproduce its impress; comp. Act 23:25, where this word denotes the exact tenor of a missive, and the analogous term , 2Ti 1:13, used almost in the same meaning as here. Then the passive , literally, to be given over, which strongly expresses the sort of moral subjection which results from the power of Christian truth once accepted. One is free to acquiesce in it or to reject it; but the Christ received becomes a master who instantly dispossesses the previous master.
If it is asked wherein exactly consisted this precise form of the truth of the gospel of which the apostle was here thinking, it seems to us that we find it best summed up in 1Co 1:30, where Christ is presented, first, as our righteousness, then as our sanctification, lastly, our final redemption. It may be said that the whole didactic part of our Epistle is embraced in these three terms: chap. 1-5 in the first (, righteousness), chap. Rom 6:1 to Rom 8:11 in the second (, holiness), and the end of chap. 8 in the third (, redemption).
Some critics regard Rom 6:18 as the conclusion of the argument; but instead of the particle , now, it would require to have been , therefore, which is found indeed in two Mjj., led astray by this supposition. We are not yet at the conclusion. The assertion: ye were made subject to righteousness, belongs still to the premisses of the argument. Here in fact is the reasoning as a whole: In Rom 6:15 the objection: Will the believer wish to sin even once? From Rom 6:16 to Rom 6:18 the answer. Rom 6:16, the major: Man cannot be absolutely free; he cannot help choosing between two masters, sin or righteousness. Rom 6:17-18, the minor: Now when you decided for faith (Rom 6:17), you accepted subjection to righteousness (Rom 6:18). The conclusion follows of itself. Therefore your progress in goodness is henceforth a matter of necessity. Accordingly, the objection started is resolved: you could not sin even once without renouncing the new principle to which you have given yourselves. We thus see how Paul has succeeded in rediscovering a law even in grace, but a law inward and spiritual, like his whole gospel. It is Christ Himself who, after having freed us from sin by His death, by uniting us to His life as the Risen One, has made us subject to righteousness.
But the apostle, in his exposition of the relation between the believer and his new master, had used an expression which jarred on his own sense of propriety, and which he feels the need of excusing and explaining. It was the word servitude (slavery), applied to the believer’s dependence on righteousness. Is then the practice of goodness a servitude? Is it not, on the contrary, the most glorious freedom? Most certainly, and to this thought the remark applies which begins Rom 6:19; after which, in the second part of the verse, the apostle concludes this development with a practical exhortation.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered;
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
17. Grace belongeth unto God, because ye have obeyed from the heart that type of teaching unto which ye were committed,
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 17
That ye were; meaning that ye are not now.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
6:17 {9} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that {s} form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(9) By nature we are slaves to sin and free from righteousness, but by the grace of God we are made servants to righteousness, and therefore free from sin.
(s) This type of speech has a special meaning in it: for he means by this that the doctrine of the gospel is like a certain mould in which we are cast, to be shaped and fashioned like it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The form of teaching Paul had in mind was the teaching that the Lord Jesus Himself gave during His earthly ministry and then through His apostles (cf. Gal 6:2), in contrast to the Mosaic Law. God had not forced Paul’s readers to yield to it as to law. They had willingly embraced it as law for themselves. They had committed themselves to it from their hearts. Paul was not stressing the fact that the Lord had committed His teachings to his readers, as the AV translation implies, but that they had committed themselves to it.