The place assigned to Word and Sacrament in the spiritual perspective of this Commission is well worthy of notice. It portrays the minister of the gospel in the character of a teaching prophet rather than in that of a sacrificing priest. The ministry is first a ministry of the Word, and then of the Sacraments. Thus Baptism— the Sacra- ment of regeneration— is closely associated with preaching and teaching ; while the Lord's Supper — the Sacrament of sanctitication — is not directly mentioned, although included among the ' ail things whatsoever I have commanded you.' The Word must not be exalted at the expense of the Sacraments, nor the Sacraments at the expense of the Word. When each is assigned its true place as a means of grace, the work of evangelizing and edifying, committed to His Church by Christ, will most surely prosper.
statement of the views of llm^^ ■ of the Commission, see Harii.i' 1., I simi of Christianity, i. Jijtf. l'-..r Eesch and Marshall in Exp'is. Time.
by Chase and Arniitasje Robin
COMMON LIFE The teacliingot our Lord upon
this subject is no more restricted and delinite than it is upon any other of life's relations. It was never His purpose to draw uji anything like a code of laws for the icLiiil.it imi of human life. Indeed, it is just this iihlriniiwii. ->, tliis liberty, this leaving all detail lu ilir >|.miIuii,1 guidance which He pronused, that lias iiia.lr the religion of Jesus so far transcend every other religion that hap been given to men. Christ left His teaching unrestricted, that by its inner and spiritual power it might be able to adapt itself to the ever-changing needs and thoughts of men. That doctrin.- whidi makes itself particular, which binds itself u). ^ith the peculiar circumstances of a definite pc<.i.lc, a definite clime, a definite era, must of necessity pass away with those circumstances to wliich i't specially applied. Our Lord, in that He laid down principles, not rules, has gi\en us that which will apply to all peojiles and <limes and eras. Christianity is the universal faith, because it is founded upon the universal needs of the human heart (Jn 8^i- == 141=. is).
It is, of course, true that Cliristianity is particular to this extent, that its Founder faces .and combats those particul.ar evils which chanced to be most lu-evalent at the time when He lived on earth. Had renunciation of the world in the monastic sense been as widespread as it became two centuries after His death, we should certainly have had more definite teaching upon our .subject. But
it was Pharisaism that He had to oppose, not asceticism. There were, indeed, the Essenes at the time of Christ, but that community was never a large one, nor were their tenets so opposed to the truths He taught as to demand His special attention. The Baptist, it is true, was an ascetic (Mt 3^11 Mk F, Mt ll'«|| Lk T'") ; but we never find liim commanding others to lead his life. John preached repentance, but a repentance that did not entail renunciation of the world. Even the publicans and the rough soldiery of Herod, when they came seeking his advice, were not required to give up professions so fraught with temptation. All that lie asked of them was that they should perform the duties of flieir callings honestly and honourably (Lk ;i"'"). It was therefore in opposi- tion to the ritualism of the Pharisees alone that Christ had to develop His teaching as to common life. Purity and holiness in the eyes of the Pharisees were matters of ceremonial observance
far more than of lieari extent had they el.-iiidr; it was no longer [mssi the toiler to attain to they had rendered po and the leisured couM v ness. It is for this lea find our Lord in streni ternalism. It is ever
d lif,.
\l.,s
1 to such an !• ritual, that I" "11 man and the sense which l.v the wealthy
■ lelle liullteOUS-
■ -u (iintinually tiiiM lo all ex- n of heart and
life, not that of ceremonial, tliat He demands of His followers. Consider, for example. His fulfilling of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. Through- out it is the Law's moral requirements that He treats of ; and the discourse is prefaced by the assertion that the righteousness of the new' king- dom must start by exceecliiii; that of the scribes and I'h.iiisees (Ml .'"1-"). He --in'.iks of lea.st com- maii.liiients. the breaking '>f " hifh iloes not exclude from the kiimdnin (v.'*'); aiel »hieh He accounts the- urratei- ;,,..l ^^W^v\^ I he h'~, IS manifested by Ills saving -• I'li-t 1h. iee.,iHil,.| I,, II, y brother, and then e(aiie anil (illiT lh\ ;jitl ■ n,'!. From a
Sahl.alh, subordinating all external and eeremonial rei|uirenients to those spiritual commands of love lo (hill and to our neighbour which He made all- important (_Mk 2-»-28, Lk 6'-'= 13'"-''). In regard to the question of washing the hands before eating, He comes into open conflict with the Pharisees, upbraiding their hypocrisy, and contending that defilement comes not from external things, but from within the heart (Mt 15'--», Mk 7'"=^).
All this tends towards the placing of a higher value upon common life. He is thus clearing the way for the reception of the thought that God maybe as truly served in the round of daily life and toil as in those observances (list imtively called religious. We have the Imlilest assert ion'of this truth in the jiarable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Lk Is'''-'), wherein He points out that the st liefest -nay, the supererogatory — perform- ance of ritual cannot win justification "in the sight of (hill, while simple repentance, utterly without these (hin.Lis. is assured of pardon and peace. We are nut tuhl whether the repentance of this publi- can entailed the giving up of his profession; but in the case of /acclianis there is evidence that it did not (Lk lO'-'"). Apparently, then, in the eyes of our Lord, even this, the most despised of callings, could be followed by a member of the kingdom. Levi, it is true, is.is' called to leave all and follow (Lk 5-"-) ; hut his la-e we must regard as an exception, lie shewed a special aptitude, and was called toas|.erial oHne.