“TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE.”
By G.
WHEN Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, He commissioned His disciples to carry on the Gospel work among men. This commission is brief, yet comprehensive: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:18-20. They were to go in the strength of His power,—I have all power, go ye therefore. This was a guarantee of help to the extent of the power of Christ. They were to teach (margin, “make disciples”) of all nations. In the kingdom of God there is no recognition of any national qualification as recognized among men. They are redeemed “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” It was not mere theory that was to be taught to all nations. They were to be taught to “observe all things” that Christ had taught; not merely to concede the truth of the Gospel, but to formally practise the commandments and ordinances after the example of Christ. Of true disciples it will be said in the end, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Christ’s ministers were commanded to baptize those who believed. This implied more than passive doctrine; it meant practically observing the ordinance. Being baptized was a public witness, or confession, of faith in Christ. It was following the example of Christ, who Himself had been baptized. The apostles understood their commission, that it meant for them to teach actual obedience in very deed. This alone is proof of discipleship. When Peter, under the Pentecostal outpouring, preached the Gospel at Jerusalem, conviction went to the hearts of the people, and they said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter told them what to do, saying, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Here was a definite act, in which the individual believer must participate. Not that the baptism would take away sin; but that the faith manifested in the baptism would justify him before God. The act of baptism was the obedience of faith. Baptism was not the only thing that Christ commanded His disciples to observe. In the thirteenth chapter of John is the record of His washing their feet, just before participation in the newly-instituted ordinance of the Lord’s supper. When He had washed their feet, He said to them, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. ‘If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’” This, then, is one of the things that a minister sent of God will teach the people to observe. And why not, when we have the Lord’s assurance that there is happiness connected with it? Of course, like every other Christian duty, the happiness comes of doing it by faith, and not as a mere formality. The Lord’s supper is an institution which the minister of Christ must teach believers to observe. Not only was it commanded to the twelve, but some years after the Lord’s ascension He showed to the apostle Paul that it was His will to have His death commemorated in this manner. Paul says: “I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” 1 Cor. 11:23-26. These are ordinances instituted by the Lord Himself, and in every instance He illustrated by example Himself just how He would have them observed. There is no excuse for mistake or neglect in these matters. Furthermore, He is equally emphatic in regard to the observance of the law of God; therefore His ministers ought to be just as explicit in teaching men to observe the Decalogue. When a certain lawyer asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, the Master referred him to the law. “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The lawyer answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” And Jesus said to him, “Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Luke 10:25-28. From Matt. 22:35-40 we learn that all the law is comprehended in the words of the lawyer. And Jesus tells us that “it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. The same thought is expressed in the fifth chapter of Matthew, where the context leaves no doubt that the Decalogue is the law to which He refers. In that connection also the duty of His ministers to teach the observance of the law is made very plain: “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.” “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom. 7:12. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth.” Ps. 119:142. G.