Exposition of Romans 13-16, Exposition of Romans · Chapter 1 · Verse 8
VERSE 8. Owe no man any thing, but to louelove one another.—
IN this and the two next Verſes following, is the ſecond part of this Chapter; teaching louelove to our Neighbours.
M. Caluin makes this another argument, to vrge ſubiection to Magiſtrates, becauſe to reſiſt them, is a violation of Charity.
M. Beza and Gualter, make it alſo to pertaine vntounto the former, and to be the remouing of a grand impediment of due ſubiection: which impediment is the vnkind ſuit and contention betweene men, which when the Magiſtrate hath determined, the party which is caſt, begins many times through corruption to hate the Magiſtrate, and to deny due reſpect: now ſay they that ſuch ſuits the occaſion of ſuch deniall, might be taken away, the Apoſtle bids them to owe nothing one to another but louelove.
But I thinke rather that here is a new matter; though the manner of propounding it, vnderunder the terme of owing, might bee occaſioned from the verſe precedent: and indeed the precepts of godlineſſe are of neare acquaintance, and runne as we may ſay in a bloud.
In this whole part are two things: A commandement, and the reaſon.
The commandement: that wee ſhould louelove one another; ſet downe in theſe words; which hauehave a prohibition: Owe no man any thing: and a correction or exception; but to louelove one another. Owe no man any thing: whether mony, labour, &c.
But to louelove one another. foreign, niſi, but: this is not declaratiue, pay your debts, that mutuall louelove may flouriſh: but exceptiue, Owe nothing but louelove,
One another. Not the Magiſtrate onelyonly who can compell; nor friends onelyonly, which can requite; nor rich onelyonly, who can reward; but one another: Let the rich louelove the poore, and the poore the rich.
The ſumme is in two precepts; A negatiue, owe nothing to any; an affirmatiue, owe louelove to all: theſe ſeeme, but are not contrary.
Debt is double: Ciuill, as money, &c. which wee muſt not owe. Naturall and Diuine, as louelove, which wee alwayes muſt owe.
Betweene theſe two debts there is great difference, beſide the Excellency of one, which is louelove, aboue the other.
1. Ciuill debts when they are once paid, the Obligation is void LoueLove is alwayes to be payed, and alwayes to be owed.
2. In Ciuill debts, he that payes hath the leſſe, and hee that receiues hath the more; not ſo in louelove, for he that loues, the more he loues, the more his louelove increaſeth.
3. Ciuill debts, may be pardoned and forgiuen; a man may giuegive out his bond, and releaſe his debtour; but no man hath power to diſcharge his neighbour of his louelove; though it may be in pride or heat, we ſometimes ſay wee care not for ſuch a ones louelove, yet this is no diſcharge.
Naturall debts cannot be forgiuen. No more can a man diſcharge his neighbour from louing him, then a husband can diſcharge his wife from her coniugall faith, or a father his child, of his honour and dutifulneſſe.
We muſt owe nothing but louelove. Doctr. LoueLove alone is a perpetuall debt. Here are two branches.
1. We muſt pay and diſcharge all our ciuill debts: proued by the Law, Exod. 22. of reſtoring things ſtollen, treſpaſſes done, things committed to our truſt, borrowed, or found. Alſo by the ſtory of the woman, ſometimes the wife of one of the ſonnes of the Prophets, 2. King. 4.1.2.3.4.5.6.7. Eliſha chargeth her to pay her debts, ver. 7.
Ioſephus affirmeth aIoſeph. Artiq. lib. 9. ca. 2. Sic Hieron. & Occelamp. in Proph. Abdiam. Lyra in locum Reg. & Serrar. ibid.that her husband was Obadiah, Ahabs Steward, who hid and maintained a hundred Prophets in the time of Iezebels perſecution b1 Reg. 18.4., and by that meanes came greatly indebted: for the payment of which debts, the Lord wrought a miracle by Eliſha.
2. We muſt alwayes owe and pay louelove: Ioh. 13.34. and 15.12. 1. Ioh. 3.11. ſo Phil. 1.9. I pray that your louelove may abound, foreign, yet more and more. More and more notes the quantity, yet notes the perſeuerance of it. In the Iubilee all ciuill debts were remitted to the Iewes: and we hauehave many payments for yeares, and during naturall life; but charity neuer faileth, but is perfected in another world.1 Cor. 13.8.
Is it lawfull to borrow, or to buy for day? It ſeemes no: Queſt. becauſe the Apoſtle ſaith, owe nothing: and we hauehave experience that hence come many ſuits and controuerſies, to which purpoſe Ieremy ſometime complained.Ier. 15.10.
It is lawfull to borrow for neceſſity and conueniency. Anſw. When Chriſt commands to lend, Luke 6.35.hee implies a lawfulneſſe of borrowing: and without ſuch things the life and ſtate of man could not well conſiſt.
As for ſuits and controuerſies, that is Non cauſa pro cauſa. Indeed I reade that the Turkes hauehave few ſuits, becauſe they deale for ready money. But the true cauſe of ſuits about buying and borrowing is our corruption: of the creditour in exacting more then his due; in the debtour, for not keeping touch, and not paying at his day, or ſuch like: the meaning of the prohibition not ſimply to forbid all owing, but rather admoniſhing to deale iuſtly, to pay modo & forma, or otherwiſe to content.
Runne not into debt: thou maieſt borrow, Ʋſe 1 but if thou canſt be free from borrowing, vſe it rather, for it is a kind of bondage.
It is better to giuegive then to receiue. So, to lend then to borrow.
Borrowing is a fruit of ſinne, Deut. 28 44.as are ſickneſſes and other calamities, from which the Saints in this world are not priuiledged.
It is a kind of baſeneſſe to borrow, Debere verecundum eſt, Amb. l. de Tobia c. 21.non reddere verecundius: though it be more baſe not to pay that which is borrowed See Pro. 22.7.
To keepe thee out of debt, labour hard in thy calling, moderate thy expenſes, in diet, apparell, recreations, be huſbandly: Here are ſuch to be reproued, who borrow here and there, & yet will abate nothing of their pleaſures, though they engage lands and houſes for it. It may be queſtioned whether ſuch men and women be good; wiſe I am ſure they are not, and that doe their poſterity feele, who are many times driuen to beg for their reliefe.
Pay that thou oweſt, Vſe 2 it is the commandement of God, it is a point of conſcience. As thou deſireſt to free thy ſelfe from a ſnare, ſo endeuour to free thy ſelfe from being indebted, Pro. 61.2.3.4.5.
It is againſt nature that one man ſhould bee enriched by another mans loſſe.
The Aegyptians, Athenians, Romanes, Iewes, all Nations that hauehave loued faith and iuſtice, hauehave ſeuerely puniſhed ſuch as hauehave refuſed to pay their debts.
It is the note of an vngodly man, Pſal. 37.21.
Three ſorts of men deſerue herein much reproofe.
1. Such as will pay ſome, as fiue ſhillings in the pound, or thereafter: But Paul requires to pay all: the horrible couſenage herein deſerues a ſeuere law.
2. Such as it may bee will pay in the end, but they will driue the creditour off from day to day: Aquin. 2.2. q. 66 art. 3.For, Detinere quod alteri debetur, eandem rationem habet cum acceptatione iniuſta; ſaith the Schooleman: To detaine that which is due, is all one as if you robbed your neighbour.
3. Such which pay not at all, but in ſtead of diſcharging their debts, they diſcharge their tongues in euill and rayling ſpeeches againſt their creditours when they demand their due: when they borrow they ſpeake ſaire, when they ſhould pay they returne euill and opprobrious language. Reade Eccleſiaſticus chap. 29. the eight firſt verſes.
LoueLove is a debt, Ʋſe 3 and perpetuall. It is not a thing indifferent, but wee are bound in conſcience to owe and pay it one to another.
Many will ſay, they deſire not a mans louelove, they care not for it, neither then doe they care for Gods Commandement.
Some for their ciuill debts are much troubled, and full of care; the ſight of a Sergeant much affrighteth them, but who laments the want of louelove in himſelfe, which is ſummum fidei ſacramentum, the broad ſeale of our faith, as Tertullian ſpeakes.
In the primitiue times there was ſo much louelove, that it was ad ſtuporem Gentilium; but now there is ſo little, that it may be ad pudorem Chriſtianorum, to the ſhame of Chriſtians.