• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

COMMENTARY ON DO § Practical and Explanatory COMMENTARY ON omans Practical and Explanatory COMMENTARY ON omans Practical and Explanatory Howard Winters A critic on the sacred text should be Candid and learn'd, dz'spassionate and free; Free from the wayward bias bigots feel, From fancy's influence and intemperate zeal; For of all arts sagacious dupes invent, To cheat themselves and gain the world's assent, The worst is Scripture warped from its intent. JJ Cowper CAROLINA CHRISTIAL~ P.O. Box 5423, Station B Greenville, S.C. 29606 DEDICATED TO Dennis Conner, a brilliant young preacher of the gospel whose suggestion, "You need to write a commentary on Romans," set my will aflame. Copyright © 1985 by Howard Winters Printed in the United States of America Table of Contents Preface ......................................................... 6 Introduction ..................................................... 9 Abbreviations and Explanations .................................... 14 Romans 1 ....................................................... 15 Romans2 .......................................................27 Romans 3 .......................................................37 Romans 4 ........................................................49 Romans 5 .......................................................58 Romans 6 .......................................................67 Romans 7 .......................................................77 Romans 8 .......................................................87 Romans 9 ......................................................104 Romans 10 ..................................................... 118 Romans 11 .....................................................127 Romans 12 .....................................................143 Romans 13 .....................................................153 Romans 14 ..................................................... 163 Romans 15 ..................................................... 174 Romans 16 ..................................................... 184 PREFACE Originally I had not planned to write a preface to this work (for some reason I have an aversion to prefaces in commentaries), but after months of indecision I have decided that three questions need to be answered: 1. What is the nature of these comments? The first thing that one will 0 bserve in the reading of these notes is that they are neither critical nor scholarly. They were not meant to be. My purpose was to state as simply and as concisely as possible what I believe each text means­ that is, to give the meaning of what the author had in mind as he wrote the words under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In most cases I have not given the alternative possibilities; I have simply stated my own conclusions. And to make the whole work as brief as possible, I have, rather than quoting the Scriptures that substantiate my conclusions, simply given the reference. Those who wish to may look up the references and read them; those who do not will not be de­ tained by lengthy quotations. Another thing, little or no reference is made to the original language. Having neither the capability nor the desire to deal critically with questions of Greek construction and grammar, I set out to write notes on the English text. This I have done to the best of my ability without getting in­ volved in the critical aspects of construction and grammar, either in Greek or English. One final thing, there are very few quotations given from other com­ mentators and writers. This by no means should be construed to mean that I did not use them, or do not appreciate the marvelous work they have done, or that they have said nothing worth quoting. To refrain from quoting has, perhaps, been the most difficult part of my task. By design I sat out to state my conclusions, not theirs. So in no sense of the word are these notes meant to be critical. They are designed to be practical and explanatory. 2. How are the quotations from the different translations to be taken? While the KJV is the basic text, I have made extensive use of other transla­ tions and paraphrases. As I prepared the notes, I kept constantly before me ap­ proximately 30 different versions, making use of the vocabulary of each when I thought it would be helpful in understanding the divine message. Often at the end of a statement from the KJV, where my comments ordinarily appear, I cite the same word, phrase, clause, or sentence from another version. This is done, 6 not because I believe it is a better translation of that section (that would enter the critical sphere and thus go beyond my purpose), but because I was con­ vinced that it would give insight to the meaning. The quotations from the dif­ ferent versions should thus be considered explanatory, not more correct translations. Undoubtedly, in some cases they may prove to be more correct; in others, perhaps not so; but it was my judgment in every case that they gave some valuable insight to the meaning of the passage under consideration (in fact, I am convinced that a useful commentary could be built from the transla­ tions alone). 3. Why write a commentary of such simple nature? Perhaps the reason can best be told by a little personal history. I was reared under the influence of denominationalism in the poverty­ stricken mountains of East Tennessee. But worse than the poverty was the isolation. Until a few weeks before I obeyed the gospel, I had never heard of the churches of Christ as I now know them. But I loved the Lord, believed the Bible to be the inspired word of God, the only source of religious truth, and I desired with my whole heart to do that which was right in the sight of God. As I studied the Bible (the only religious book I possessed) I preached and put into practice everything I learned from it. This created some problems in the church for which I preached, problems which eventually led to division. About the time the division took place, my oldest brother heard some preachers on the radio in a distant city. He identified them with our needs and desires - the desire to go back to the Bible and follow it in every act of faith and practice. He contacted them and asked them to come and help us. In a few weeks one of the radio preachers, Oswald D. Wilson, who had a short time previous to this renounced the digression of the' 'Christian church," came to our community and scheduled a five-night's meeting with the small rural church for which I was preaching. On the second night of the meeting, every member of the church which was present, except one (my mother, and she maintained until the day of her death that she had been Scripturally bap­ tized in her youth), including me, went forward to make the good confession and to be baptized (the following day) for the remission of our sins, as Peter had instructed penitent believers to do on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36-38). The next day (there was no prepared place to baptize that night) when we assem­ bled to obey our Lord, seven more members, not present the night before, came to make the confession and thus the whole congregation were baptized together. After the meeting was over, and because of our remote location, we were largely isolated from other members of the church, except for an occasional visit by someone or an annual event when some distant preacher came for a week's meeting. It was a considerable time before I had the benefit of a single paper or book published by our brethren. I had no helps in my study, teaching, and preaching, and no one to guide me in the study of the divine word. How my 7 heart longed for some help in studying the Scriptures, in teaching classes, and in preparing sermons can never be told. Then one day, in the providence of God. a preacher who had come for a Saturday night's preaching engagement told me about a set of books that I ought to have. He said that he had a dealer­ ship with some bookstore and that he would get them for me at his exact cost. I ordered them. The next time he came he reached to me one of the most precious possessions of a lifetime, The PeoPle's New Testament With Notes, by B.W. Johnson. When I got home and began to explore them, a whole new world suddenly opened to me. Here was a storehouse of Bible knowledge, such as I had never dreamed existed, condensed and ready for my use. I learned therefore that I could drink freely from the labors of another's study. There was help available! And I could learn from books. What a giant step that was for an illiterate mountain preacher. (Incidentally, as I write this, I am in my library, surrounded by hundreds of books, reaching from floor to ceiling, all of them dearly loved - each has a marvelous story all its own as to how it entered my affections, but no human book has ever opened up so many fresh new in­ sights, or approaches, or instilled in me so many new ambitions, hopes, and dreams as did my first examination of Johnson's notes. I still treasure that set as a part of my permanent library, and thank God for the man who introduced me to them and indirectly to the world of Biblical literature.) As I continued to use Johnson's notes, and as I added other great books to my collection, I had instilled in me a burning desire to help others by means of the printed page just as others had helped me. I am not presumptious enough to think that I could produce anything as valuable as Johnson's notes, but it is my prayer that I can make some kind of a contribution to the study of the holy Scriptures - that I might be able to make the task of understanding the divine message a little easier ... and vastly more exciting. It is because of that burn­ ing desire, flaming now more strongly than ever, that I set my hands to prepare these notes.

Load more

  196

Copy Link