8 

8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God - Neither by eating, nor by refraining from it. Eating and not eating are in themselves things merely indifferent.

8:10 For if any one see thee who hast knowledge - Whom he believes to have more knowledge than himself, and who really hast this knowledge, that an idol is nothing - sitting down to an entertainment in an idol temple. The heathens frequently made entertainments in their temples, on what hath been sacrificed to their idols. Will not the conscience of him that is weak - Scrupulous. Be encouraged - By thy example. To eat - Thoughwith a doubting conscience.

8:11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? - And for whom thou wilt not lose a meal's meat, so far from dying for him! We see, Christ died even for them that perish.

8:12 Ye sin against Christ - Whose members they are.

8:13 If meat - Of any kind. Who will follow this example?What preacher or private Christian will abstain from any thing lawful in itself, when it offends a weak brother?

9 

9:1 Am I not free? am I not an apostle? - That is, Have not I the liberty of a common Christian? yea, that of an apostle? He vindicates his apostleship, Co1 9:1-3: his apostolical liberty, Co1 9:4-19.Have I not seen Jesus Christ? - Without this he could not have been one of those first grand witnesses. Are not ye my work in the Lord - A full evidence that God hath sent me? And yet some, it seems, objected to his being an apostle, because he had not asserted his privilege in demanding and receiving such maintenance from the churches as was due to that office.

9:2 Ye are the seal of my apostleship - Who have received not only faith by my mouth, but all the gifts of the Spirit by my hands.

25 This chapter contains the last public discourse which our Lord uttered before he was offered up. He had before frequently declared what would be the portion of all the workers of iniquity. But what will become of those who do no harm? Honest, inoffensive, good sort of people? We have here a clear and full answer to this important question.

25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him - With what majesty and grandeur does our Lord here speak of himself Giving us one of the noblest instances of the true sublime. Indeed not many descriptions in the sacred writings themselves seem to equal this. Methinks we can hardly read it without imagining ourselves before the awful tribunal it describes.

25:34 Inherit the kingdom - Purchased by my blood, for all who have believed in me with the faith which wrought by love. Prepared for you - On purpose for you. May it not be probably inferred from hence, that man was not created merely to fill up the places of the fallen angels?

25:35 I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink - All these works of outward mercy suppose faith and love, and must needs he accompanied with works of spiritual mercy.But works of this kind the Judge could not mention in the same manner. He could not say, I was in error, and ye recalled me to the truth; I was in sin, and ye brought me to repentance. In prison - Prisoners need to be visited above all others, as they are commonly solitary and forsaken by the rest of the world.

25:37 Then shall the righteous answer - It cannot be, that either the righteous or the wicked should answer in these very words.What we learn herefrom is, that neither of them have the same estimation of their own works as the Judge hath.

25:40 Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it to me - What encouragement is here to assist the household of faith? But let us likewise remember to do good to all men.

25:41 Depart into the everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels - Not originally for you: you are intruders into everlasting fire.

25:44 Then will they answer - So the endeavour to justify themselves, will remain with the wicked even to that day!

25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting - Either therefore the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not: the very same expression being applied to the former as to the latter.The Judge will speak first to the righteous, in the audience of the wicked. The wicked shall then go away into everlasting fire, in the view of the righteous. Thus the damned shall see nothing of the everlasting life; but the just will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here,

1. That the punishment lasts as long as the reward; but,
2. That this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then.

2 

2:11 Dead with him - Dead to sin, and ready to die for him.

2:12 If we deny him - To escape suffering for him.

2:13 If we believe not - That is, though some believe not, God will make good all his promises to them that do believe.He cannot deny himself - His word cannot fail.

2:14 Remind them - Who are under thy charge. O how many unnecessary things are thus unprofitably, nay hurtfully, contended for.

2:15 A workman that needeth not to be ashamed - Either of unfaithfulness or unskilfulness. Rightly dividing the word of truth - Duly explaining and applying the whole scripture, so as to give each hearer his due portion. But they that give one part of the gospel to all (the promises and comforts to unawakened, hardened, scoffing men) have real need to be ashamed.

2:16 They - Who babble thus will grow worse and worse.

2:17 And their word - If they go on, will be mischievous as well as vain, and will eat as a gangrene.

2:18 Saying the resurrection is already past - Perhaps asserting that it is only the spiritual passing from death unto life.

2:19 But the foundation of God - His truth and faithfulness.Standeth fast - Can never be overthrown; being as it were sealed with a seal, which has an inscription on each side: on the one, The Lord knoweth those that are his; on the other, Let every one who nameth the name of the Lord, as his Lord, depart from iniquity. Indeed, they only are his who depart from iniquity.To all others he will say, "I know you not." Mat 7:22-23

18 

18:7 And shall not God - The most just Judge, vindicate his own elect - Preserve the Christians from all their adversaries, and inparticular save them out of the general destruction, and avenge them of the Jews? Though he bear long with them - Though he does not immediately put an end, either to the wrongs of the wicked, or the sufferings of good men.

18:8 Yet when the Son of man cometh, will he find faith upon earth - Yet notwithstanding all the instances both of his long sufferingand of his justice, whenever he shall remarkably appear, against their enemies in this age or in after ages, how few true believers will be found upon earth!