Romans 12:17

Recompense to no man, &c. Matthew 5:39; 1 Thessalonians 5:15, (a pregnant parallel to this context;) 1 Peter 3:9.

Provide things honest Lit. thinking beforehand honourable things; using forethought so as to secure the reality and the appearance of rectitude in your life and its surroundings.

in the sight of all men i.e. so that all shall see the resultsof the forethought, in the absence of all fair ground for scandal; in your well-ordered household, avoidance of debt, attention to civil duties, &c. "All men:" here, no doubt, the "all" suggests the duty of avoiding just reproach from without as well as within the Church. This watchfulness about the opinion of others is anything but a slavery to opinion. It is an anxiety to "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." (Titus 2:10.) It is the very opposite of the tendency to make concessions of principle, or to adopt fashionsof opinion as a standard of duty.