- panions, that they were innocent of all crime. And even as late
as the seventh year of Nero, the name of Christian had so little of an odious or criminal character, that Agrippa II. did not disdain to declare himself almost persuaded to assume the name and character. And the whole course of their history abundantly shows, that so far from the idea of attacking the Christian brotherhood in a mass, as guilty of legal offenses, and making their very name nearly synonymous with criminal, no trace whatever of such an attack appears, until three years after the last mentioned date, when Nero charged the Christians, as a sect, with his own atrocious crime, the dreadful devastation by fire of his own capital; and on this ground, every where instituted a cruel persecution against them. In connection with this procedure, the Christians are first mentioned in Roman history, as a new and peculiar class of people, called Christiani, from their founder, Christus; and in reference to this matter, abusive charges are brought against them.
Evil doers.—These passages are in ii. 12, iii. 16, iv. 15, where the word in Greek
is [Greek: kakopoioi], (kakopoioi,) which means a malefactor, as is shown in John xviii. 30,
where the whole point of the remark consists in the fact, that the person spoken of
was considered an actual violator of known law; so that the word is evidently limited
throughout, to those who were criminals in the eye of the law.
The name Christian denoting a criminal.—This is manifest from iv. 16, where they are exhorted to suffer for this alone, and to give no occasion whatever for any other criminal accusation.
A third characteristic of the circumstances of those to whom
this epistle is addressed, is, that they were obliged to be constantly
on their guard against accusations, which would expose them to
capital punishment. They were objects of scorn and obloquy,
and were to expect to be dragged to trial as thieves, murderers,
and as wretches conspiring secretly against the public peace and
safety; and to all this they were liable in their character as Christians.
The apostle, therefore, in deep solicitude for the dreadful
condition and liabilities of his friends, warns those who, in spite
of innocence, are thus made to suffer, to consider all their afflictions
as in accordance with the wise will of God, and, in an upright
course of conduct, to commit the keeping of their souls to
him, as a faithful guardian, who would not allow the permanent
injury of the souls which he had created. Now, not even a conjecture
can be made, much less, any historical proof be brought, that
beyond Palestine any person had ever yet been made to suffer
death on the score of religion, or of any stigma attaching to that
sect, before the time when Nero involved them in the cruel
