"You are not under the law,
but under grace" (Rom. 6:14).

In Part I of this miniseries, we
considered the meanings of law and grace. We listed the negative consequences
of taking the law to be our rule of life and the positive consequences of
having Christ as our rule of life instead. We then began to give examples of
dangers of overemphasizing "you are not under the law" and
underemphasizing "but under grace." This is sometimes called
antinomianism, meaning "opposition to the law." We considered the
dangers of using freedom from the law as an excuse for sin and of teaching that
the Old Testament is not applicable to Christians.

                
More Dangers of Antinomianism

Negating the Sermon on the
Mount. A certain teaching has come to my attention on three different
occasions:(1) I heard it taught at a Bible Conference; (2) a sister in Christ
told me it was taught in her Sunday school class; and (3) I recently found it
taught in a book. It has to do with Matt. 5:40-42:"If any man will sue
you at the law and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And
whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks
you, and from him who would borrow of you turn not away." The teaching is
that this passage does not apply to Christians today because it is
"kingdom truth." Lewis Sperry Chafer, a leading proponent of
dispensationalism, writes that there "are some aspects of the kingdom law
never attempted by Christians (see Matt. 5:40-42), but its whole character,
being legal, is opposed to grace" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 4,
page 245). My first answer to this is that if such acts as described by the
Lord are done only as obedience to law, then they will have no merit before
God. But how can we say that such practices would be "never
attempted" by those under grace. Surely grace would lead us to go even
further than what is here prescribed by the Lord to His disciples.

 

Let us try briefly to analyze this
teaching. First, what do these people mean when they say that the Sermon on the
Mount is "kingdom truth"? I suppose they are saying that this
behavior will characterize those who are saved during and survive the Great
Tribulation, and live on earth during the 1,000 year (or millennial) reign of
the Messiah. Now what people are going to reign with Christ during the
Millennium? Is it not the Church that is raptured to be with Christ just prior
to the beginning of the Great Tribulation (1 Cor. 6:2; Col. 3:4; 2 Tim. 2:12;
Rev. 20:6)? Are we, the Church, held to a lower, lesser standard of behavior
than those over whom we will be ruling? Are we who presumably are going to
enjoy the closest relationship to Christ (as bride with the Bridegroom)
throughout eternity given a lower standard of morality in this present life
than others who will have eternal life? If the Church’s position in Christ
signifies a greater measure of God’s grace, then "shall we continue to
sin, that grace may abound?" (Rom. 6:1).

It is true that there are a few
expressions in the Sermon on the Mount that suggest an earthly heritage, such
as might apply to the millennial kingdom, for example, "Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). But surely the moral
teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount concerning anger (5:22), lusting
after a woman (5:28), our response to panhandlers (5:40-42), loving our enemies
(5:44), and how to give, pray, forgive, and fast (6:1-18) must be a part of the
"instruction in righteousness" for which "all Scripture … is
profitable" (2 Tim. 3:16).

Here is a final question to
ponder:How do you think Jesus Himself would have responded to one who took His
coat? I believe the Bible gives us the answer (see John 19:23). Christ is not
only our Saviour and Redeemer, He is also our Example (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21;
Phil. 2:5-8; 1 John 2:6).

Negating Old Testament
Illustrations of New Testament Teaching. At a Bible Conference we were
studying a passage in one of the apostle Paul’s Epistles that exhorted the
believers not to commit fornication. I made a comment about the tendency today
for people to redefine fornication and adultery to suit their own sinful
practices (Mr. Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky are prime contemporary examples of
this); these people are really trying to find loopholes in God’s law as the
Pharisees did (Matt. 23:16-19; Mark 7:9-13). I went on to refer to the Old
Testament verses that say over and over again, "You shall not uncover the
nakedness…" (Lev. 18:6-19). These verses reveal the scope of what God
intended in His prohibition of fornication and adultery. In God’s eyes, sexual
activity that is forbidden outside of marriage includes uncovering the
nakedness of another with our eyes (for example, pornography or voyeurism) or
with our hands (for example, necking, petting, or fondling).

After saying my piece, I was
reprimanded by a brother for "teaching the law." I was taken aback by
this, to say the least. I know that this brother would not find it acceptable
for a Christian to engage in these immoral activities. But I gathered from his
comments to me that he thought we should be preaching and teaching only the
grace of God and the love of Christ; if we do this everything else will fall
into place in the Christian’s life and he/she will not need exhortations from
the law.

I agree, as stated in Part I, that
the power for living in the way that God wants us to live comes only from
focusing on Christ—His love, His sufferings, His death, His resurrection, His
place now in the glory, and His coming again for us. However, I observe from
reading Paul’s Epistles that we Christians need regularly to be reminded from
God’s Word as to the basic principles of what God is like and what He expects
from us, along with the ministry of Christ.

 

The Epistle to the Ephesians is a
prime example of this. This Epistle is often considered to contain the most
lofty truth of any book in the Bible, and to contain the least amount of
corrective ministry of any New Testament Epistle. In the first three chapters
we revel in declaration upon declaration of God’s purposes for His people, our
spiritual blessings (1:3), our inheritance in Christ (1:11), our position in
Christ as seated in Him in the heavenlies (2:6), our salvation flowing from
God’s grace (2:8), Christ dwelling in our hearts (3:17), and the revelation of
"the love of Christ which passes knowledge" and of "Him who is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think"
(3:19,20). As we read these wonderful passages, do not our hearts expand in our
desire to live more faithfully for Him who gave His all for our sakes?

But what do we find in the last
three chapters of this Epistle?

"Be ye therefore followers
[or imitators] of God" (5:1).

"No … idolater has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (5:5).

"Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth … neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting" (4:29; 5:4).

"Redeeming the time, because
the days are evil" (5:16).

"Honor your father and
mother" (6:2).

"Let not the sun go down upon
your wrath…. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger … be put away from
you, with all malice" (4:31; compare with Matt. 5:21,22).

"But fornication and all
uncleanness … let it not be once named among you as becomes saints…. No
whoremonger nor unclean person … has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (5:3,5).

"Let him who stole steal no
more" (4:28).

"Wherefore putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor" (4:25).

"Covetousness, let it not be
once named among you…. No … covetous man who is an idolater has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ" (5:3,5).

 

We see that the apostle Paul, even
when writing to the recipients of the most exalted truths concerning their
position in Christ, did not leave it up to their own thoughts and imaginations
as to how to follow Christ. If we look carefully at the preceding ten
paragraphs, do we not find allusions (some clearer than others) to the Ten
Commandments? The order found in this Epistle is most instructive:First the
groundwork is laid of our position in Christ as recipients of His love, grace,
and spiritual blessings. Then we are reminded of a few of the ways we can and
should respond to such grace. "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and
just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). "This is the love of God that we keep
His commandments" (1 John 5:2,3). As being "not under the law but
under grace" (Rom. 6:14), our focus is on Christ, not the law; this is
what gives us the power to keep God’s Word. But at the same time, as we read
the Scriptures, we are continually being given "instruction in
righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16) and are being challenged as to whether we are
coming up to even the minimum standards of holiness that God has set
forth for His people.

Yes, we all need "instruction
in righteousness" along with the ministry that empowers us for living
righteously.   A few months ago I was reading a book to one of my
grandchildren. The book contained occasional exclamations such as "gee"
and "gosh" which are euphemisms for "Jesus" and
"God." When I came upon such words I substituted more neutral
exclamations such as "wow" and "hey." My daughter-in-law,
looking over my shoulder, asked me later why I changed some of the words. When
I explained it to her she said she had never been taught the connection between
those words and the third commandment. She appreciated what she had just
learned because she wanted to do everything possible to please her Lord and
Saviour. While the instruction related to the Ten Commandments, this clearly is
not a case of being "under the law," but is "instruction in
righteousness."

Believing that one can be a
Christian and still do whatever he pleases. We have to tread carefully here
for the ground is treacherous. We dare not say anything that would suggest that
our salvation is based on anything other than God’s free gift of grace through
faith (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8). At the same time, the Bible shows us over and over
again that we are to look for "fruit" and "works" as
evidence to support one’s statement of faith in Christ. Here are some examples:

"Faith, if it has not works,
is dead, being alone…. Faith without works is dead" (Jas. 2:17,20,26).

"I am the true Vine, and My
Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes
away" (John 15:2; compare Rom. 11:17-21).

"Not every one who says unto
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

In the Parable of the Sower there
are three groups that initially give the appearance of being saved, even
showing "joy"; but only those in the last group are really saved, in
that they "hear the Word, and understand it, and also bear fruit, and
bring forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matt.
13:18-23).

On several occasions I have heard
of professed Christians who reportedly have made the following kinds of
statements:

"I am content to know that I
have put my trust for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and have the assurance
of going to heaven. I do not care for rewards or anything else. Therefore, I
intend to live out my life the way I want to live."

"I have the assurance of
going to heaven; it does not matter if I commit such and such a sin because I
know I will not lose my salvation."

 

"The Bible says that we are
not under the law but under grace. That means that God by His grace gives us
freedom to do whatever we want to do without judging us."

I fear greatly for the eternal
welfare of the people who make such statements. We are not
in a position to make judgments as to who is truly saved and who is not.
Thankfully, this is totally in God’s hands and "the Lord knows those who
are His" (2 Tim. 2:19). But I believe that if we encounter any such
people, we should not take for granted that they are saved. Rather we should
give them the gospel on the assumption that they never really were saved, and
never truly have come face to face with that Man of Calvary who was forsaken of
God because of our sins, that we might never be forsaken.

(To be continued.)

 

Fairest of all the earth
beside,

Chiefest of all unto Thy
bride,

Fullness Divine in Thee I
see,

Beautiful Man of Calvary.

 

Drinking a dire and
dreadful cup,

Crucified Jesus lifted up,

Bearing our guilt and
misery,

Sorrowful Man of Calvary.

 

Granting the sinner life
and peace,

Granting the captive sweet
release,

Shedding His blood to make
us free,

Merciful Man of Calvary!

 

That Man of Calvary

Has won my heart from me,

And died to set me free,

Blest Man of Calvary!

 

               
M.P Ferguson

Does the teaching of Christ in the
Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) apply to the children of God today? I suggest
an affirmative answer to this question for reasons that I will now present.

In the passage referred to, the
Lord unfolds the moral character and principles that are to govern the action
and relation of His disciples in a time preceding the thousand-year reign of
Christ over the earth. It is plain that much of the Lord’s teaching has in view
a time of suffering, rejection, and persecution—conditions such as we know in
the present age, not those of the time when the glory of the kingdom fills the
earth. The kingdom in glory could not come without a people being prepared for
the Lord. The Lord’s teaching makes plain the moral character and holy
principles that govern those to whom the kingdom in reality belongs, whether
viewed in its aspect of present spiritual blessing, or of future manifestation
in glory in either the earthly or heavenly spheres.

The Lord’s rejection was a matter
of prophecy, with His ascension to God’s right hand and later coming in glory;
therefore an interval must be contemplated between His first coming as
"born King of the Jews" (Matt. 2:2) and the actual setting up of that
heavenly kingdom of which Daniel prophesied (7:13,14). What, then, did the
message mean that both John the Baptist and the Lord delivered, "The
kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7)?

First, it is evident that the King
Himself had come. His works of power witnessed to Him. He was Master over all
creation, and of Satan too. Yet He was rejected—"His own received Him
not" (John 1:11). Did this necessitate the postponement of the announced
kingdom, or put in abeyance what would have then been set up if He, the King,
had been treated otherwise? No, for there was the predetermined purpose of God
to be fulfilled in any case.

It was not His purpose to set up at
that time the kingdom in glory, for it could only come when the Son of Man
should come from heaven. The nation of Israel, because of their fleshly desires
and carnal interpretations, were entirely mistaken in their expectations. They
had missed God’s mind in at least one important feature as made known in the
Old Testament. This was one reason they saw no beauty in Jesus that they should
desire Him (Isa. 53:2), and in due time their cry was, "Away with
Him" (John 19:15). He was not the man to rule over them.

 

It seems clear then that no matter
what the Jews expected, it was not the kingdom in glory that was being
proclaimed as near. God’s purposes were in process of accomplishment, and the
test for Israel in particular, yet also for the world, at this juncture, was
not whether they would have the kingdom in glory but whether they would have
God’s King of that kingdom. He was rejected. Did that mean that the
kingdom He announced as at hand was pushed off into the distant future? No; it
came, now exists, and in the form that was according to the purpose of God for
that foreshadowed interval which continues until the coming of the Son of Man
in the clouds of heaven to take His own throne. In its present form, as fully
revealed in the Lord’s parables, it fills the interval of which we have spoken,
and then continues in its form of manifested glory and power in what is called
the kingdom of the Son of Man.

What is the present form of
the kingdom that fills this interval? Its moral character, governing principles,
and condition in various ways is what very largely made up the Lord’s teaching.
To this belong the mysteries of the kingdom, those similitudes found in the
parables, and "things new and old" (Matt. 13:52). The kingdom in this
form embraces all who profess allegiance to Christ. Such are responsible to
show conformity to the moral character that the King Himself made known in His
teaching concerning the kingdom. This is surely to find manifestation in and
among those who gather together unto His name—His disciples. To them in
particular the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) is addressed.

The kingdom of heaven was at hand
during the Lord’s ministry on earth. It actually came when in resurrection He
could proclaim that all power in heaven and on earth was His (Matt. 28:19,20),
though that still did not mean the immediate restoration of the kingdom to
Israel (Acts 1:6,7). For during the course of the kingdom that had now come in
there were other purposes to be fulfilled that were not made known until the
apostle Paul was raised up to reveal the mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph.
3:9,10). The kingdom of heaven is not the Church, which is the body of Christ,
but this Church is in the kingdom. The kingdom embraces Christendom, the sphere
of profession which may be real or not; but all true disciples of the
kingdom since Pentecost and until the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18) are in the
body of Christ which is the Church.

 

Now whatever may be the high and
heavenly calling and position of the Church as revealed by Paul, it remains
true that the assembly of those who are gathered together unto Christ’s name,
whether before or after the conversion and apostolic ministry of Saul/Paul, is
that company in which the kingdom should find manifestation in its moral and spiritual
features and holy principles as made known by the King. This remains true, no
matter what higher and more intimate relation Church truth makes known. In
fact, all the practical teaching of the Epistles is in agreement with and only
emphasizes that of the Lord Himself in relation to the character and conduct of
disciples of His kingdom. These teachings of the Lord may be too little
observed and heeded as applying to practical Christian walk by those who firmly
hold to the truth of the Church and Christ its Head in heaven. Surely we,
of all people, should show ourselves good citizens of the kingdom of the
heavens, "for our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens
(Phil. 3:20, JND). The following Scriptures make mention of the kingdom as
having a present application:Rom. 14:16-18; Eph. 5:5-10; Col. 1:13; 2 Pet.
1:10,11; Rev. 1:5,6,9.

With these considerations before
us, we may see that while parts of our Lord’s teaching may primarily relate to
Israel (Matt. 13:44), or to the nations (Matt. 13:47-50), or to the time after
the removal of the Church when another Jewish remnant will be raised up (Matt.
10:22,23; 24:3-32), or to the Church itself (Matt. 13:45,46; 16:18; 18:20; John
10:13-17), yet there is that which applies in moral and spiritual ways to the
believer today. This is true even where the reference is evidently to the
millennial form of the kingdom as in Matt. 5:5 ("the meek … shall
inherit the earth"), for is not the earth part of Christ’s
inheritance, and are not those who now believe co-heirs with Christ (Rom.
8:17)? Hence may not even such a word apply to those who as meek do not put
forth present claim as to inheritance here, but await the hour when He takes
possession as the Son of Man, the appointed Heir of all things (Psa. 8:6-8; Heb.
2:7,8)? Surely it is so, even though they are distinctly heavenly in destiny as
the body and the bride.

A further question is asked,
"Is a man not saved if there is no mercy in him?" the reference being
to the fifth beatitude—"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive
mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Now God is rich in mercy, and those who are His
children are to be imitators of Him (Eph. 2:4; 5:1). To find a man implacable,
merciless, unforgiving, unmercifully pursuing the erring, refusing to show mercy
and forgiveness to those who have injured him, raises serious question as to
whether that man’s sin-hardened soul has ever been softened by the blessed
inflow of God’s mercy meeting his own great need as ungodly and without
strength, no matter how loud the profession of the lips. It is by his fruits
that we know the real, the true believer. In this both Paul and James agree.
That believers should be merciful is to be expected. That alone is consistent
with the knowledge of how God has been rich in mercy for them. Thus they will
glorify their Father who is in heaven, and receive mercy according to His
perfect love and interest in His children, while also to show mercy to another
is the sure way to reap it in our own time of need. Not to show mercy is to
lack in righteousness, which is to act in consistency with the place we are in
and the way we have been put into it (see Matt. 18:21-35).

"Be ye therefore merciful as
your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). "Put on therefore …
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind" (Col. 3:12).

(From Help and Food, Vol.
46.)

What was the bearing of the
doctrine of Christ respecting the kingdom of heaven upon the precepts of the
law? The Lord opens this subject with the words:"Think not that I am come
to destroy the law or the prophets:I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill" (Matt. 5:17). I take this word "fulfill" in its largest
sense. First, in His own person the Lord fulfilled the law and the prophets in
His manner of life and in righteous subjection and obedience. His life here
below exhibited the beauty of obedience to God without flaw for the first and
only time. Second, His death provided the strongest, yet most solemn, approval
that the law could ever receive, because the Saviour took upon Himself the
curse that the law pronounced upon the guilty. There was nothing the Saviour
would not undergo rather than God should have dishonor.

Third, the Lord declares an
expansion of the law, or righteous requirement, giving to its moral element a
larger scope, so that all that was honoring to God in it should be brought out
in its fullest power and extent. The light of heaven was now allowed to fall
upon the law, and the law was interpreted, not by weak, failing men, but by One
who had no reason to evade one jot of its requirements; whose heart, full of
love, thought only of the honor and the will of God; whose zeal for His
Father’s house consumed Him, and who restored that which He took not away. Who
but He could expound the law in this way—not as the scribes, but in the
heavenly light? The commandment of God is exceedingly broad, whether we see
that it makes an end of all perfection in man (Psa. 119:96), or that the sum of
it has been fulfilled in Christ.

 

Far from annulling the law, the
Lord illustrated it more brightly than ever, and gave it a spiritual
application that man was entirely unprepared for before He came. And this is
what the Lord proceeds to do in the wonderful discourse that follows. After
having said, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in
no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled," He adds, "Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so,
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I
say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven" (Matt. 5:18-20). Our Lord is about to expand the great moral
principles of the law into commandments that flow from Himself, and not merely
from Moses, and shows that this would be the great thing whereby persons would
be tested. It would no longer be a question of the ten words spoken on Sinai
merely; but, while recognizing their full value, He was about to open out the
mind of God in a way so much deeper than had ever been thought of before that
this would henceforth be the great test.

The expression, "Except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven," has not the smallest
reference to salvation and justification, but to the practical appreciation of
and walking in the right relations of the believer toward God and toward men.
The righteousness spoken of here is entirely of a practical kind. God insists
upon godliness in His people. "Without holiness no man shall see the
Lord" (Heb. 12:14). There can be no question that the Lord shows in John
15 that the unfruitful branches must be cut off, and that, just as the withered
branches of the natural vine are cast into the fire to be burned, so fruitless
professors of the name of Christ can look for no better portion. 

Bearing fruit is the test of life.
These things are stated in the strongest terms all through Scripture. In John
5:28,29 it is said, "The hour is coming in the which all who are in the
graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth; those who have done good unto
the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil unto the resurrection of
judgment." There is no disguising the solemn truth that God will and must
have that which is good and holy and righteous in His own people. They are not
God’s people at all who are not characterized as the doers of that which is
acceptable in His sight. If this were put before a sinner as a means of
reconciliation with God, or of having sins blotted out before Him, it would be
the denial of Christ and of His redemption. But there is not the least
inconsistency nor difficulty in understanding that the same God who gives a
soul to believe in Christ works in that soul by the Holy Spirit to produce what
is practically according to Himself. For what purpose does God give him the
life of Christ and the Holy Spirit if only the remission of the sins were
needed? But God is not satisfied with this. He imparts the life of Christ to a
soul, and gives that soul the Holy Spirit to dwell in him. As the Spirit is not
the spring of weakness or of fear "but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7), God looks for suited ways and for the exercise
of spiritual wisdom and judgment in passing through the present trying scene.

 

While the people looked up with
ignorant eyes to the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, our Lord
declares that this sort of righteousness will not do. The righteousness that
goes up to the temple every day, that prides itself upon long prayers, large
alms, and broad phylacteries, will not stand in the sight of God. There must be
something far deeper and more according to the holy, loving nature of God. With
all the appearance of outward religion, there generally was no sense of sin nor
of the grace of God. This proves the all-importance of being right, first,
in our thoughts about God; and we can only be so by receiving the testimony of
God about His Son. In the case of the Pharisees we have sinful man denying his
sin, and utterly obscuring and denying God’s true character as the God of
grace. These teachings of our Lord were rejected by the outward religionists,
and their righteousness was such as you might expect from people who were
ignorant of themselves and of God. It gained reputation for them, but there it
all ended; they looked for their reward now, and they had it (Matt. 6:2,5,16).
But our Lord says to the disciples, "Except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case
enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Allow me to ask a question here:
How is it that God accomplishes this in regard to a soul that believes now?
There is a great secret that does not come out in this Sermon on the Mount.
First of all, there is a load of unrighteousness on the sinner. How is that to
be dealt with and the sinner to be made fit for and introduced into the kingdom
of heaven? Through faith he is born again; he acquires a new nature, a life
that flows from the grace of God through the bearing of his sins by Christ upon
the cross.

This is the foundation of practical
righteousness. The true beginning of all moral goodness in a sinner—as has been
said and as it deserves to be often repeated—is the sense and confession of his
utter lack of goodness! Never is anything right with God in a man till
he gives himself up as all wrong. When he is brought down to this, he is thrown
upon God, and God reveals Christ as His gift to the poor sinner. He is morally
broken down, feeling and owning that he is lost unless God appears for him; he
receives Christ, and what then? "He who believes on the Son has
everlasting life" (John 3:36). What is the nature of that life? In its
character it is perfectly righteous and holy.  The man is then at once
fitted for God’s kingdom. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). But when he is born again he does enter there. "That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit" (John 3:6). The scribes and Pharisees were only working in and by
the flesh; they did not believe that they were dead in the sight of God;
neither do men now. But what the believer begins with is that he is a dead man,
that he requires a new life, and that the new life that he receives in Christ
is suitable to the kingdom of heaven. It is upon this new nature that God acts,
and works by the Spirit this practical righteousness. Thus it remains in every
sense true, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven."

(From Lectures on the Gospel of
Matthew.)

"Therefore all things
whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them:for
this is the law and the prophets" (Matt. 7:12).

This is in no way dealing with men
according to their ways, but the contrary. It is saying, as it were, "You
who know the heavenly Father, who know what His grace to the evil is, you know
what is comely in His sight; always act upon that. Never act merely according
to what another does toward you, but according to what you would that another
should do to you. If you have the slightest love in your heart, you would
desire that they should act as "the children of your Father who is in
heaven" (Matt. 5:45). Whatever other persons may do, my business is to do
to them what I would that they should do to me, namely, to act in a way
becoming the child of a heavenly Father. "This is the law and the
prophets." He is giving them exceeding breadth, extracting the essence of
all that was blessed there. This was clearly the gracious wish of a soul that
knew God, even under the law; and nothing less than this could be the ground of
action before God.

(From Lectures on the Gospel of
Matthew.)

The so-called "Lord’s
Prayer" (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4; perhaps more appropriately called the
"Disicples’ Prayer"), and the way it is often used, have been
severely criticized in some quarters. Some of the criticism is deserved because
of the way people have misused it by thinking that the number of times they
recite it has as much value as the words themselves.

Some of the criticism, however, is
undeserved, in my judgment. There are some who have gone to the opposite
extreme of teaching that this prayer has absolutely no relevance to the
Christian today. Thus we hear objections such as the following:

1. Praying to "our Father who
is in heaven" suggests that He is a great distance away from us.

2. Praying "Thy kingdom
come" is cruel because vast numbers of people will perish when Christ
comes to set up His earthly kingdom.

3. Praying "give us this day
our daily bread" is totally unnecessary when our refrigerators and
freezers are well stocked.

4. Praying "forgive us our
debts as we forgive our debtors" makes God’s forgiveness of us dependent
upon our works.

5. There is no mention of praying
"in Jesus’ name" (John 14:13,14; 16:24,26).

I do not propose that we adopt
this exact prayer for our use today. There are many more themes and topics of
prayer for the Christian than are covered by this one. Also, if we understand
what it means to pray "in Jesus’ name" (that is, we are confident
that Jesus is praying the very same thing for us), it brings great value to our
prayers. But I do propose that every theme of this prayer and every
principle lying behind it can indeed be a valid topic of prayer for the
Christian today.

Let me begin by quoting two highly
esteemed authorities on this point:"Such prayer intelligently used
[my italics] is in [no] wise inconsistent with Christian position" (F.W.
Grant, The Numerical Bible, Matthew, p. 92). "There is not a clause
of that prayer, I believe, but what one might proffer now, even to ‘Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors’" (W. Kelly, Lectures on the Gospel
of Matthew, p. 153).

"Our Father who art in
heaven." Does this really denote distance when it will take only "a
moment, a twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52) for us to be raised from earth
to heaven at the Rapture? It is blessedly true that our position in Christ is
"in the heavenlies" (Eph. 2:6 JND), so as we address our Father in
heaven we are reminded of the fact that we are there too, in Christ.

"Hallowed be Thy name."
In an age when the names of God and of His Son are being trampled on and used
so carelessly, well might we desire that His name be treated with the greatest
respect and holiness—beginning with ourselves.

 

"Thy kingdom come."
"For this kingdom of the Father we must look beyond all dispensations to
the sabbath of God’s own rest. To confound it with the millennium whould be an
entire mistake and necessarily lower its character terribly" (F.W. Grant, The
Numerical Bible). Should we not desire the eternal state in which Christ
has "delivered up the kingdom to God" after having "put all
enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:24-28)? Consistent with our desire for
the coming of our Father’s kingdom would be our desire that Christ should be
the absolute Ruler of our personal lives.

"Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven." It seems that with each new generation man has more
of an attitude of doing "that which [is] right in his own eyes"
(Judg. 21:25). How much better off this world would be if its inhabitants
desired God’s will, rather than their own to be done. Again, it is well
to make it personal:"Not my will but Thine be done in all
that I say and do today."

"Give us this day our daily
bread." Let us acknowledge daily our dependence upon the grace and mercy
of our Father for our every physical, material, and spiritual need. Even if our
refrigerators, freezers, and pantries are well-stocked today, things can change
quickly with a prolonged power outage or an unexpected layoff from one’s
employment.

"Forgive us our debts, as we
forgive our debtors" (see also verses 14,15). It must be remembered that
the disciples are being taught to pray to their "Father." The prayer
is for a Father’s forgiveness of His child’s sin and waywardness, rather than
God’s judicial forgiveness of our sins when we first trust in Christ. Just as
King David could not enjoy his salvation until he had repented of his
sin concerning Bathsheba and her husband (Psa. 51:12), so we will not be able
to enjoy a sense of God’s forgiveness of our sins if we show an
unforgiving spirit toward others. Furthermore, if one who says he/she is a
believer in Christ but is steadfastly determined not to forgive one who
has deeply offended or sinned against him/her, we might well wonder if that
person has truly entered into a relationship with Christ as Lord and
Saviour.

"Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil." Let us not be like Peter who boasted,
"Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death"
(Luke 22:33). This prayer expresses a proper lack of self-confidence
with regard to handling trials and temptations, as well as a proper dependence
upon God in case He should lead us into a trial or testing.

In conclusion, I am not advocating
the adoption of this prayer as something we do by rote or routine. But from
time to time it would be well to ask ourselves whether we are including the
different elements of this "Disciples’ Prayer" into our own prayers
to "our Father."

 

Have you ever wondered what is the
attraction of reunions of military units? Why would people want to be reminded
of some of the most uncomfortable if not painful and even terrifying times in
their lives? I used to wonder about that but as I have gotten older I have come
to appreciate in a limited way (I have never been in the military) the strength
of the bonds that are forged when people work for a common goal, battle a
common enemy, depend upon each other for their survival, and suffer together.

Priscilla and Aquila are never
mentioned separately, but always together. Their marriage is an example of how
working, serving, and suffering together can strengthen the bonds between
husband and wife.

Priscilla and Aquila worked
together at their secular occupation (tentmaking, Acts 18:3). (For the purposes
of this article, secular occupation will mean the work by which one provides
for the physical needs of oneself or others.) I believe that in an ideal
environment all husbands and wives would do this. Unfortunately, in modern
society few couples can work together in the same secular work. However, even
if they are physically separated during their secular work, they can carry it
out with a common purpose; they can have a partnership of attitude. For
example, let us suppose the husband of a young couple with children goes out to
some job or business, while the wife stays home to care for the children and
house. The husband should not regard his job as a means to inflate his ego or
to make a name for himself in the business or professional world. The purpose
of his job is to glorify God, provide a means to lay up treasure in heaven, and
to provide for the physical and material needs of his family. Likewise, the
wife in spending the money her husband earns and in caring for the home should
not have as her goals keeping herself and the children in the forefront of
fashion or making her home the showplace of the neighborhood, but to glorify
God, have the means to lay up treasure in heaven, and provide for the various needs
of the family.

If the wife works outside the
home, her purposes should be the same ones; her work should not be a means to
pursue selfish ends. There should be this oneness of attitude toward the
purposes of secular work even if the couple cannot engage in exactly the same
work.

The husband and wife should also
minister together to the emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of the
family. Both should be interested in the training and discipline of the
children. Both should share the interests and activities of the children. Both
should provide time in their schedules for family worship, family
communication, and family recreation.

Aquila and Priscilla not only
worked together in their secular work; they also worked together in their spiritual
ministry. Together they traveled with the apostle Paul to Syria (Acts 18:18),
together they ministered to Apollos (Acts 18:26), and together they provided a
place in their home for the assembly (1 Cor. 16:19). Both are referred to as
Paul’s helpers in Christ Jesus (Rom. 16:3). The ideal Christian couple should
be seeking ways to serve the Lord together and to help one another develop and
use the spiritual gifts of each. A husband and wife can minister together in
teaching children, in visits to homes and hospitals, in tract distribution, and
in ministering to the saved and unsaved in their own home. If the husband has
been given a gift for public ministry, the wife can have a part in this as they
study the Bible and pray together. The wife’s spiritual and scriptural insights
spoken to her husband privately may be very helpful to him as he ministers
publicly. Even if their roles in the ministry are somewhat different, they
should have the partnership of a common purpose.

Serving the Lord together promotes
the unity of the couple as well as the interests of Christ. In fact, the unity
of the couple is one of Christ’s interests (Eph. 5:28-31). Working
together to promote spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being in each
other, in their own children, and in persons outside the family will form
special ties between husband and wife that can be formed in no other way.

What about suffering together?
When Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth, they were essentially refugees,
having been expelled from Rome along with other Jews by the Emperor Claudius
(Acts 18:1,2). They had suffered the loss of their home. Evidently they
eventually returned to Rome because Paul sent greetings to them and the
assembly meeting in their house when he wrote to the Roman believers (Rom.
16:3-5). Paul says of Priscilla and Aquila, "[They] have for my life laid
down their own necks [or risked their lives]" (Rom. 16:4). This may have
been during turmoil in Corinth (Acts 18:6,12-16) or turmoil in Ephesus where
Priscilla and Aquila lived after leaving Corinth (Acts 18:19; 19:23-41).
Obviously, being close friends of the apostle Paul could be dangerous. We know
of all too many incidents where trouble and suffering such as unemployment, the
death of a child, or the serious illness of one spouse has driven married
couples apart. But this should not be. It is a privilege to suffer with and for
Christ and it is a privilege to suffer with and for other Christians, including
our spouse. Love develops and deepens as we go through trials together. The
veterans who still gather to share their memories and comradeship years after
the battles in which they fought know this, and it is a principle suggested by
Scripture as well (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26; Heb. 13:3).

Like Priscilla and Aquila, let us
respond to Christ in such a way that all of life’s experiences, pleasant and
painful, draw us closer together in our marriages as well as in the assembly.