Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

how eagerly they have rushed forth to shed innocent blood, beginning with our Savior, and
continuing through the centuries, deluging the world with martyrs’ blood, and would today if they
could. The Inquisition would revive this day if they had the power.
16. “Destruction and misery are in their ways.” Wicked people are total strangers to happiness;
though so blinded by the devil, they think they are the best people in the world, as in the case of
counterfeit professors.
17. “The way of peace they have not known.” This statement relieves this entire catalogue of the
foolish interpretation which unsaved preachers frequently put on it, identifying it with Christianity,
but which is true, under their bogus type, you see not really true, as these people “have not known
the way of peace.” Hence they have never been Christians.
18. “The fear of God is not before their eyes.” Wickedness, like righteousness, is progressive.
Here we reach the climax. They have passed the dead-line and the Spirit of conviction has been
grieved away. So they are doomed. Without the fear of God there is no more hope for a sinner than
a devil. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” When there is no fear there is no place
to begin. The Holy Spirit abides in every land, convicting every soul, till He is grieved away.
Conviction fills the soul with fear, yet there is no salvation without love, i.e., the divine love poured
out in the heart by the Holy Ghost (Ch. 5:5) in regeneration. Then love and fear consist till
sanctification gives perfect love, which casts out fear (1 John 4:18). The unconvicted sinner has
neither fear nor love. He is like a demon. The convicted sinner has fear and no love. The converted
man has love, but is not free from fear, while the sanctified has perfect love and no fear.
19. “We know that so many things as the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that
every mouth may be stopped and the whole world become guilty before God.” So long as Adam the
First is on hand, you are under the law, because he broke it. The only way for you to be exonerated
before the law is to satisfy it, which you can only do by having the man of sin executed. Then the
law has no more quarrel with you. Your Christ has paid the penalty and gives you grace to live in
harmony with the divine administration, after the penalty has been executed against the sin principle
in your heart by exterminating it. We have now traversed the sin-side of the Pauline argument, and
with the next verse enter upon the grace-side of this wonderful exposition of the redemptive scheme.
You see now why Paul got a thrashing wherever he went. If he had contented himself simply to
preach love and mercy, like the modern clergy, he might have saved his body from flagellations and
stonings. But that is not the divine order. A man will never take bitter, caustic medicines till he finds
that he is sick, and it is medicate or die. Under the delusions of Satan, none think they are sick till
it is too late, unless they receive the light of the Holy Ghost in a radical conviction. This comes under
the preaching of the Sinai Gospel, which uncaps hell and shakes the people over it. What an awfully
unpopular introduction is this, holding all the starchy church people, as well as outsiders, right over
an open hell and shaking with a strong arm, warning them that they will drop in with all their water
baptism, sacraments, church rites, loyalty, and good works, if they do not come to God individually
and cry for mercy till he saves them of His own free grace and power! Let a man come into a popular
church and preach to them the utter futility of all their boasted righteousness, and tell them they are
all on their way to hell right along with the slummites, and see how quickly they will run him out.
We cry aloud to the people, holding up the panacea all in vain, because they do not think they need