20 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [CHAPTER II. he speaks " before them all," that the hearers might be alarmed thereby. And this is what he says, Ver. 14. " Ifthou, being a Jew, livest asdo the Gentiles, and not asdo the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews ? MI But it was the Jews and not the Gentiles who were carried away together with Peter ; why then does Paul impute what was not done, in stead of directing his remarks, not against the Gentiles, but against the dissembling Jews ? And why does he accuse Peter alone, when the rest also dissembled together with him ? Let us consider the terms of his charge; "If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gen tiles to live as do the Jews ? " for in fact Peter alone had withdrawn himself. His object then is to remove suspicion from his rebuke ; had he blamed Peter for observing the Law, the Jews would have censured him for his boldness towards their Teacher. But now arraigning him in behalf of his own peculiar disciples, I mean the Gentiles, he facilitates thereby the reception of what he has to say ; which he also does by abstaining from reproof of the others, and ad dressing it all to the Apostle. "If thou," he says, " being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not asdo the Jews ; which almost amounts to an explicit exhortation to imitate their Teacher, who, himself a Jew, lived after the manner of the Gentiles. This however he says not, for they could not have received such advice, but under color of reproving him in behalf of the Gentiles, he discloses Peter s real sentiments. On the other hand, ifhe had said, Whereforedo you compel these Jews to Judaize ? his language would have been too severe. But now he effects their correction by appearing to espouse the part, not of the Jewish, but of the Gentile, disciples ; for rebukes, which are mod erately severe, secure the readiest reception. And none of the Gentiles could object to Paul that he took up the defense of the Jews. The whole difficulty was removed by Peter s submit ting in silence to the imputation of dissimula tion, in order that ne might deliver the Jews from its reality. At first Paul directs his argu ment to the character which Peter wore, If thou, being a Jew : " but he generalizes as he goes on, and includes himself in the phrase, 1 Ver. 15. " We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles."2 *. [For the bearing of this passage upon the Tubingen theory of Baur, "the most important of recent theological controvrrsies" see Lightfoot s Commentary on Galatians, Excursuson St. Pauland the Tkree, pp. 191 ff., and Fisher s Supernatural Origin of Christianity, pp. 2O5-ff. G. A.] 11 [Schaff says : "The following verses to the end of the chapter are a summary report or dramatic sketch of Paul s address to Peter." So also Meyer who gives four good reasons for this view. So also Schmoller (in Lange) and Ellicott. Others think that vv. 15-2: are addressed to the Galatians. G. A.] These words are hortatory, but are couched in the form of a reproof, on account of those Jews. So elsewhere, under cover of one mean ing he conveys another ; as where he says in his Epistle to the Romans, " But now I go unto Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints." (Rom. xv : 25.) Here his object was not simply to inform them of the motive of his journey to Jerusalem, but to excite them to emulation in the giving of alms. Had he merely wished to explain his motive, it would have sufficed to say, "I go to ministering unto the saints;" but now observewhathe says in addition ; For it hath been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints that are at Jerusalem. Yea, it hath been their good pleasure and their debtors they are." And again, " For iftheGen tiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them, also to minister unto them in carnal things." (Rom. xv: 26, 27.) Observe how he represses the high thoughts of the Jews ; preparing for one thing by means of another, and his language is authoritative. " We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles." The phrase, "Jews by nature," implies that we, who are not prose lytes, but educated from early youth in the Law, have relinquished our habitualmode of life, and betaken ourselves to the faith which is in Christ. Ver. 16. " Knowing that a man is not justi fied by the works of the Law, save through faith, in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus." Observe here too how cautiously he expresses himself; he does not say that they had aban doned the Law as evil, but as weak. If the law cannot confer righteousness, it follows that cir cumcision is superfluous ; and so far he now proves ; but he proceeds to show that it is not only superfluous but dangerous. It deserves especial notice, how at the outset he says that a man is not justified by the works of the Law ; but as he proceeds he speaks more strongly ; Ver. 17. "But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners is Christ a minister of sin ? " If faith in Him, says he, avail not for our justification, but it be necessary again to embrace the Law, and if, having forsaken the Law for Christ s sake, we are not justified but condemned for such abandonment, then shall we find Him, for whose sake we forsook the Law and went over to faith the author of our condemnation.3 Observe how, he has 3 [" Thus to be justified in Christ, it was necessary to sink to the level of Gentiles, to become sinners in fact. But are we not thus making Christ a minster of sin ? Away with the profane thought ! No, the guilt is not in abandoning the Law, but in seek ing it again when abandoned. Thus alone we convict ourselves of transgression. On the other hand in abandoning the Lawwe did but follow the promptings of the Law." Lightfoot. G. A.]