Christ's Yoke and the Yoke of Bondage.
By W. N. Glenn
WHEN a yoke is placed upon an ox, it is that he may serve and be in subjection to the one by whose authority he is yoked. So in the Scriptures, the figure of a yoke is used to indicate the subjection of men to the will of God or to the power of sin. Some hold and teach that the moral law is a yoke of bondage, from which, in the Christian dispensation, we are set free, to enjoy the "liberty of the gospel." Let us see if the inspired writings will bear out this theory. Paul says: "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Rom. 6:16 Christ says: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30. This call is to those who are burdened under sin; they are "heavy laden." The promise is of an easy yoke, in contrast to the one now being worn. What is it, then, for one to take upon him Christ's yoke? If we rightly understand the figure, it is to become submissive to his will—yield obedience to his commands. His test of allegiance is, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15, 23. Then it seems clear that his yoke is his commandments, and we are told by the beloved apostle that these "are not grievous." 1 John 5:3. When one came to Jesus asking what he should do to inherit eternal life, he answered, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." When the young man in surprise (supposing he had kept all there were) asked, "Which?" the Lord referred him to the moral law. See Matt. 19:16-22. In what, then, does the "yoke of bondage" consist? When the Israelites were serving the Egyptians, they were said to be in bondage. (The service of God is never so called.) When delivered from Egypt, and given liberty to serve the Lord, they were said to be brought out of bondage. Ex. 13:3; 20:2. And what did they gain by this emancipation? Was it exemption from the law of God? No; it was liberty to observe the law of Jehovah—a privilege denied them in Egypt. Here we have a type of unregenerate man in the bondage of sin, and the deliverance by Christ. Immediately after their escape from bondage, by the hand of their deliverer, Moses, the law of God was repeated to them from Sinai, as the embodiment of his will, together with blessed assurances on condition of obedience. Ex. 19:5, 6. So now, as the sinner is freed from past sins, through faith in Christ (Rom. 3:25)—that is, justified by faith—this same perfect law of liberty, the yoke of Christ, which Israel failed to keep, is again set before him in lieu of the "law of sin and death," the yoke of bondage, under which he has been serving. And what is the consequence? Let Paul answer: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:1, 2. It is evident, then, that even after justification by faith, one may backslide and cease to walk according to this law of the Spirit of Christ, as did Israel of old, and again become "entangled" in sin. Paul shows this danger, and the continual warfare, of the Christian, in Rom. 7:25: "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." And this gives us the force of his appeal in Gal. 5:1: "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage." W. N. GLENN.