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2 Pet. 2 :13-14 condemns likewise those who have “eyes full of adultery.” Mt. 5 :29 teaches that no price is too great to pay for the separation of the soul from sin. Paul teaches the crucifixion of the flesh with the affections and lusts. Gal. 5 :24. Mt. 5 :32 forbids the putting away of a wife except for fornication. Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor. 7:10-11 is in agree ment. Mt. 5 :34 disapproves of the use of rash oaths in con versation. James 5 :12 takes up the same pojnt. Mt. 5:39 teaches non-resistance. Rom. 12:17 makes a similar demand upon the Christian. Mt. 5 :40 is against lawsuits among believers. 1 Cor. 6:1, 7 contains the same teaching. Mt. 5 :42 calls upon us to give to the poor. 1 Jn. 3 :17 tells us that the love of God does not dwell in a man who withholds from the poor. Mt. 5 :44 teaches us to love enemies and bless those who curse us. Rom. 12:44 teaches the same. Mt. 5 :48 exhorts us to aim for perfection. 1 Jn. 2 :6 or 1 Thess. 4 :3 demands no less. Mt. 6:1 teaches the blessedness of giving alms without ostentation. Giving with simplicity is likewise enjoined in Rom. 1.2:8; Col. 3 :23 or 2 Jn. 8. Mt. 6 :5 makes a similar suggestion about prayer. Eph. 6:18'covers the same point. Mt. 6:7 deplores the use of vain repetition in prayer. The Holy Spirit teaches the church likewise. Jude 20. Mt. 6:15 makes the sense of our own forgiveness de pend upon willingness to forgive others. Jas. 2:13 like wise teaches that if we do not have mercy upon offenders, we will not receive fresh mercies ourselves. Mt. 6:16 condemns a morbid and hypocritical religion. The same point is covered in Rom. 14:22. Mt. 6:19 encourages us to lay up treasures in heaven rather than upon earth. We meet the same teaching in 1 Jn. 2:15 or 1 Tim. 6:16. Mt. 6 :74 tells us we cannot serve two masters. Jas. 4 :4 or 1 Tim. 6:10-11 teaches to the same effect. Mt. 6:25 exhorts us not to give up to anxiety. The same teaching is repeated in Phil. 4 :6-7. Mt. 6:33 calls upon us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, if we expect to partake of His blessings. 1 Tim. 4 :8 reminds us likewise of the profitable ness of godliness, both here and hereafter. Mt. 7:1 opposes rash judgment of men. The same teaching occurs in Rom. 14:4 and 1 Cor. 4 :5. Mt. 7 :7 contains an exhortation to prayer which is practically duplicated in 1 Thess. 5 :17. Mt. 7:12 exhorts us to fair treatment of our fellow men. Rom. 13:8 or Phil. 2 :4 contains the same teaching. Mt. 7:15 warns us against false teachers. Similar warning > occurs in Rom. 16:17. Mt. 7 :24-26 closes the Sermon with a warning that the sermon consists of teachings having to do with the foun dations of character, and intended for “whosoever” and “everyone.” 1 Thess. 4 :2 and 1 Tim. 5 :21 contain similar charges.
The Sinai of the New Covenant B y K. L. B. “The Sermon on the Mount is the proclamation
of the King concerning the righteous demands of the King and the righteous principles of the kingdom over which He will reign, and by which He will govern the world . . . Any expo sition which says that the Sermon on the Mount is the Gospel and gives exclusively Christian teaching which is to be followed by the church, and through which the world is to be improved, is wrong . . . It is the Magna Charta of the coming kingdom. When the King comes back, the kingdom will be administered according to the righteous demands of this proclamation.” f OMMENT has been desired on the above state ments, taken from a popular Christian periodical. The author seems to have guarded his expres sion s somewhat, so as not- to be classed with those who take the extreme position that the contents of the synoptic Gospels have no direct application to the church. We do not know of any expo sition which says that the Sermon on the Mount “is the Gospel.” The Gospel is the good news of salvation through the crucified and risen Saviour, and at the time this sermon was given, the cross was in prospect. We know of no commentator who teaches that this sermon is “exclusively Christian inching, to be followed by the church.” The church has always accepted and ap plied the teachings of Christ given outside this sermon and the further revelations recorded in the epistles. The beatitudes with which the sermon begins, depict the complete Christian character and the blessedness thereof. They anticipate 1 Cor. 13. They would have been like a dash of cold water on the Jewish enthusiasm for a glorious earthly monarchy, and they are, in fact, a paradox to the mind of the flesh to this day, for their rewards are all “in heaven” (6:12), their treasures “laid up in heaven, not upon earth” (6:20), and the subjects of His kingdom have their hearts in heaven (6:21). When we come to the ethical teachings of this sermon, the fact that we find them all practically duplicated in the epistles, .would seem to give warrant to the church for considering these precepts a standard of Christian conduct for all believers. Mt. 5 :19 warns against the ignoring of “these com mandments” and says that any who teach others to break them shall be called “least in the kingdom.” Paul gives similar warning in 1 Tim. 6 :3—“If any man teach other wise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is ac cording to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing,” etc. Mt. 5 :20 calls for a righteousness exceeding human righteousness. Rom. 10 :3 t 4 and Phil. 3 :9 make the same demand. Mt. 5 :22 warns against display of anger. The same is stressed in 1 Jn. 3:15 and 1 Cor. 6;9-10. Mt. 5 :23-24 teaches the duty of being reconciled to those who have aught against us. Paul saw the same need. Eph. 5:21. Mt. 5 :25 admonishes us to agree quickly with our ad versaries. Heb. 12:14 or Rom. 12:16 covers the same point. Mt. 5 :28 condemns the adulterous lust, of the eyes.
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