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THE K I N G ’ S B US I NE S S
T he words of Christ The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “ If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, EVEN THE "WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and to the- doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing. ” (1 Tim. 6:3-5). _ _ *n n The final commission of Jesus Christ was, “ Go ye therefore and TEACH all nations * * * teaching them to observe ALL THINGS "WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.” (Matt. 28:19-20). And was not this com mission renewed in the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8) when Jesus said, “ Ye shall be WITNESSES UNTO ME, both in Jeru salem, and in all Judea and unto the UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH?” Previously Jesus had said, “ The Comforter, which is the. Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, shall bring all things tq your remembrance, WHATSOEVER I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU.” It seems strange that any question should arise as to WHAT TEACH INGS were referred to by Jesus, or as to what dispensation it was in which He intended these teachings to be promulgated. The Church has always emphasized the teachings of Jesus as set forth in the Gospels, and up to but a very few years ago, there was no thought of eliminating, these teach ings as not directly applicable to the present age. All the old commen taries, while taking into consideration the intermediate character of the four Gospels because of their falling between the dispensations of Law and Grace, apply Jesus’ teachings directly to the Church. Naturally the Bible student would view all Jesus’ teachings in the light of the work of the Cross m which the Gospels culminate, and in the light of the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower believers to carry out all that Jesus requires. Indeed, it would seem that Jesus requires nothing that is not re-emphasized in: the Epistles, and certainly the “ fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23) embraces everything in the Sermon on the Mount. The warning we are seeking to sound is simply this Beware of the lazy man’s attempt to consign to the Jews everything that galls the flesh in the teachings of Jesus, and be slow to try to slide out .from under the Sermon on the Mount by letting it drip off your umbrella onto the Mil lennial age. The Sermon on the Mount closes with the words: “ WHOSOEVER heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. # * * And EVERY ONE that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.” (Matt. 7 :24-27). This final warning is directed to “ WHOSOEVER” and “ EVERY ONE.” The writer does not care to be among those who say that “ whosoever” and “ every one” in this passage has reference only to the Jews in another dispensation for then we could not consistently say that “ whosoever” in John 3:16 and many other passages embraces Jew and Gentile, bond or free. The distinctly Jewish application of some things Jesus said, we do not seek to deny. That some statements have reference to oriental conditions and customs of the time, is doubtless true. That some of Jesus’ sayings partake of the spirit of the age of Law in which He was ministering and which He was bringing to a close, is evident. That some difficulties are
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