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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S ter. Nevertheless the Old Testament is to the Christian believer still the Old Testament or Covenant, and therefore cannot be his rule.of faith and practice, for to him has been given the New Tes tament or Covenant. A new covenant must of necessity supersede an old one, especially when the old was definitely given to a distinct people by name, and under special and peculiar circum stances, differing entirely from those which accompanied the giving of the New. The ignoring of this fact and the in discriminate appropriation of the Old Testament by the Church has led to endless confusion, and direful results. Even in the Apostles’ time the “Judaiz- ing” of the Church was the source of much error, and caused the Apostle Paul, especially, much labor to correct. The Epistle to the Galatians was writ ten with the definite end in view to counteract the alarming tendency to mingle law and grace. These difficul ties were a continuation of the Savi our’s troubles in getting His disciples to comprehend the scope of His mission ;after His rejection by Israel, viz: That the Gospel was now intended for world wide dissemination, and that the Gen tiles were to have as large a share in its blessings as God’s people Israel. Whatever excuse there may have been for misapprehension in former times, none exists' now, and especially since Galatians was writt^i, for there the line of demarcation between the purposes of Law (the Old Testament message), and of Grace is clearly drawn. Therefore as a rule of life the Old Testament has for the believer now no controlling value whatever. To fol low its teachings would be not only to prefer the shadow to the substance, but would lead to hopeless confusion, inac curacy, and erroneous practices and methods. In the New Testament, however, the Christian has a complete work by
these were to a greater or lesser degree incorporated into the various systems of human law. Especially is this true of the Ten Commandments, which being brief and definite, easily lent themselves to the purposes of human legislation. Freely is it agreed that to the ex tent that Gentile nations in any age have thus borrowed these Jewish laws of divine authorship, to thait extent have they benefited. For these laws represent God’s unchanging principles of righteousness, obedience to which is always wholesome. And even though these laws have been warped, distorted, mutilated and modified by human governing agencies that appropriated them, still they have been an improvement upon what pre ceded them, viz: the laws which had only a human, that is to say, a pagan origin. But has not the Law and indeed the entire Old Testament been given to the Church? Again the answer is. No, if by being given to the Church is meant that the Old Testament is in any sense in tended to be to the Church a rule of faith and practice. It has come into thé possession of the Church, and that in a more real and definite sense than it came into the hands of Gentile nations. In fact it is a part of the Church’s heri tage,—a priceless heir-loom that has many glorious uses. It is truly in spired and of intense interest because of its peerless historical account of cré ation, and of the race,—especially. Is rael; because of its matchless devo tional portions that comfort the hearts of men in all ages; its revelation of the marvelous attributes and works of God; its specifications of God’s plans and purposes; but perhaps most of all on account' of its illuminating prophe cies, many of them since fulfilled, and many others yet to be, the fulfilment of the former being an earnest to the be lieving heart of the reality of the lat
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