Paganism Surviving in ChristianityLewis, Abram Herbert
Religion
Paganism Surviving in Christianity
Lewis, Abram Herbert
Christianity and other religions; Paganism
“Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I came not
to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and
earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away
from the law, till all things be accomplished. Whosoever, therefore,
shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever
shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.”[154]
When Christ speaks of the law (τὸν νόμον) in these emphatic words, He
cannot mean the ceremonial code, for these ceremonies were typical of
Him and must pass away with His death. Besides this, the word fulfil
(πληρῶσαι) means the opposite of destruction (καταλῦσαι). Christ
fulfilled the law by perfect obedience to it. He corrected false
interpretations, and intensified its claims. He taught obedience to
it in the spirit as well as the letter, and urged obedience from love
rather than fear. Such a work could not have been done in connection
with the dying ceremonies of the Jewish system. Such a work Christ did
do with reference to the Decalogue. In connection with the passage
above quoted Christ immediately refers to two laws from the Decalogue,
explains and enforces their meaning in a way far more broad and deep
than those who listened to Him were wont to conceive of them.
On another occasion[155] a certain shrewd lawyer sought to entrap the
Saviour by asking “which is the greatest commandment in the law.” The
question has no meaning unless it be applied to the Decalogue. Christ’s
answer includes all the commandments of the Decalogue, and thus avoids
the trap designed by the questioner, who sought to lead Him into some
distinction between laws known to be equal in their nature and extent.
In the sixteenth chapter of Luke,[156] Christ again affirms in the
strongest language, that “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
than one tittle of the law to fail.” Language could not be plainer than
that which is used in these statements.
These sentiments accord fully with the practice of Christ relative to
the Sabbath. He boldly condemned the unjust requirements which the Jews
had attached to the observance of it, and taught that works of mercy
were to be freely done on that day; that it was made for man’s good,
and not his injury. But He never taught that because it was “made for
man” therefore it was to be abrogated, or unsanctified. Neither did
He delegate to His disciples any power to teach the abrogation of the
law, or of the Sabbath. On the contrary, their representative writings
contain the same clear testimony in favor of the perpetuity of the law,
and show the same practical observance of the Sabbath. Paul, the great
reasoner among the Apostles, after an exhaustive discussion concerning
the relations between the law and the Gospel, concludes the whole
matter in these words:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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