For of whom a man is overcome] This is an allusion to the ancient custom of selling for slaves those whom they had conquered and captivated in war.
The ancient law was, that a man might either kill him whom he overcame in battle, or keep him for a slave
. These were called servi, slaves, from the verb servare, to keep or preserve. And they were also called mancipia, from manu capiuntur, they are taken captive by the hand of their enemy.
Thus the person who is overcome by his lusts is represented as being the slave of those lusts. See Rom. vi. 16, and the note there.
Ver. 19. While they promise them liberty , etc.] Not Christianliberty, which lies in a freedom from sin, its dominion, guilt, and condemnation, and in serving God with liberty, cheerfulness, and without fear; but a sinfulcarnalliberty, a liberty from the law of God, from obedience to it as a rule of walk and conversation, and from the laws of men, from subjection to the civilmagistrate, and from servitude to masters, and obedience to parents; a liberty to lay aside and neglect the ordinances of the Gospel at pleasure, and to live in all manner of sin and wickedness; a liberty which is contrary to the nature, will, and work of Christ, to his Spirit, and to the principle of grace in the heart, and to the Gospel, and to the conduct and conversation of real saints. Now this was the snare by which the false teachersbeguiled unstable souls; liberty being what is greatly desirable to men, and is suited to their carnallusts and interests: but a vainpromise was this, when they themselves are the servants of corruption ; of sin, which has corrupted all mankind in soul and body; and particularly the lust of uncleanness, which these men walked in, and by which they not only corrupted themselves, but the good manners of others also; and which tended and led them both to ruin and destruction, signified by the pit of corruption: and yet these very preachers, that promisedliberty to others, were the servants of sin; they were under the power and government of sin. They were not only born so, and were homeborn slaves to sin, but they sold themselves to workwickedness; voluntarily and with delight, they served divers lusts and pleasures, and were slaves and drudges thereunto; as likewise to Satan, whose lusts they would do, and by whom they were led captive; so that their condition was mean, base, and deplorable, and therefore could never make good their promise, or give that which they had not themselves: and which is confirmed by the following reasoning, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage : as this is a certain point in war, that when one man is conquered by another, he is no longer a free man, but the other's prisoner and captive, and is in a state of servitude and bondage; so it is when a man is overcome by sin, which must be understood not of a partial victory or conquest, for a good man may be surprised by sin, and overtaken in a fault, and be overcome and carried captive by it for a time, as was the apostle, (see Romans 7:23Galatians 6:1); and yet not be a servant of corruption, or properly in a state of bondage to it; but this is to be understood of a total and complete victory, when a man is wholly under the dominion of sin, it reigns in his mortal body, and he obeys it in the lusts of it, and yields his members instruments of unrighteousness; such a man is neither a free man himself, nor can he much less promise and give liberty to others.
Verses 17-22 - The word of truth is the water of life, which refreshes the souls tha receive it; but deceivers spread and promote error, and are set fort as empty, because there is no truth in them. As cloudshinder the ligh of the sun, so do these darken counsel by words wherein there is n truth. Seeing that these men increase darkness in this world, it is very just that the mist ofdarkness should be their portion in the next In the midst of their talk of liberty, these men are the vilest slaves their own lustsgain a complete victory over them, and they ar actually in bondage. When men are entangled, they are easily overcome therefore Christians should keep close to the word of God, and watc against all who seek to bewilder them. A state of apostacy is wors than a state of ignorance. To bring an evilreport upon the good way of God, and a false charge against the way of truth, must expose to the heaviest condemnation. How dreadful is the state here described! Ye though such a case is deplorable, it is not utterly hopeless; the lepe may be made clean, and even the dead may be raised. Is thy backslidin a grief to thee? Believe in the LordJesus, and thou shalt be saved __________________________________________________________________
