The Weightier Matters by C. L. Taylor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Feb 23, 1915

"The Weightier Matters"

By C. L. Taylor

By C. L. TAYLOR

JESUS spoke the words. He spoke them to church people,—to those who thought themselves the chosen children of God.

He said to them, "Ye . . . have left undone the weightier matters."

The divine Son of God made a comparison, and sought to show to the church of His day that in the service of the Father there are some things which are of greater importance than others.

"Weightier matters"! All had weight; but while some were weighty, others were weightier. Read the text: "Ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone." Matt. 23:23, A. R. V.

It is a beautiful and wonderful thing to be absolutely honest with God in the payment of tithe. God's tithe is sacred. To withhold it is to make one's self a robber, and to invite spiritual disaster; while to be faithful in returning to God that which is His, is to show a faithfulness that moves the Almighty to open the windows of heaven and to pour out a blessing that there shall not be room to receive it. See Mal. 3:8-10.

Yes, tithing is a weighty matter before God. Nevertheless, there are weightier matters. Jesus said it, and it is so.

Many a church member who has been enthusiastic and loyal in the payment of tithe, will fail of heaven at last. For some reason, he allowed himself to be tricked into believing that the performance of this duty constituted his highest obligation.

Think on this, dear reader: Knowing of God's requirement regarding tithing, it would be impossible for one to neglect tithing and yet reach heaven; but, on the other hand, it would be possible to pay tithe and still fail of heaven. Neglect of it would keep one out, but observance of it would not necessarily carry one in.

Ye ought not to have left the tithe unpaid, said Jesus to the Jews, but ye ought to have done the others. It was important that they should not neglect the weighty matter of tithing, but how much more important that they should embrace the weightier responsibilities!

"Justice, and mercy, and faith"—how vital are these to the very soul life! In matter of faith, one cannot be well-pleasing to God without it. Heb. 11:6. It is God's gift (Eph. 2:8), by which salvation is brought to man (Rom. 1:16, 17), and by which he is kept throughout life (1 Peter 1:5). And to be merciful, to have the spirit to treat others as God has treated us, is as important as to have faith. It is the quality of mercy to reveal the love of God. God is merciful, and His earthly family are to be like Him.

PASSED OVER THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS

But the church people with whom Jesus associated, passed over the matter of faith and the love of God, refusing to see that their mere round of service, apart from faith and love, was of no merit before God.

The great and the greater should have been joined in their lives. Tithing and the love of God should have been together. The love of God in their hearts, and faith prompting their acts, would have made their lives fruitful, pleasant, and blessed. The Holy Spirit, leading to and working through tithe paying, would have vitalized that service, and caused it to lift the soul heavenward.

Just so it is to-day. No work in itself can truly take the place of the life-giving Spirit of God. The "greater matters of the law" may not be neglected without loss of all.

We are therefore again brought to this question: Have I the Holy Spirit? Has its presence brought the love of God into my life? Rom. 5:5.

Let the illustration of the electric railway be once more used, and then inquire, Am I a part of the mere equipment — a rail, a tie, a car, a piece of wire—but lifeless because severed from the source of power? If so, I will thank God for the privilege of being a part of the equipment, but I will hasten to see that the connections are made, that thus the Holy Spirit may work through me both for my own and for others' salvation.

Works are great, but Holy Spirit love and power are greater. Preaching is a mighty work under God for man's salvation (1 Cor. 1:21), but it is to be accomplished "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4); for, lacking the Spirit and the love of God, it is only as "sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal." 1 Cor. 13:1.

EVEN A MARTYR MAY BE LOST

How splendid is philanthropy! Yet one may go even so far as to give himself a martyr for others, and still utterly fail to profit, because the deed has not been vitalized by the love of God in the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 3.

Let no one, then, allow himself to be misled. There are great things, and there are greater things. Nearly all Christian people are in possession of the first, but comparatively few have gained the second. God gives both—both are in the law of His ordaining. And faith grasps both.

Do you pay tithe to God, and are you loyally working for Him? Bless His name it is so. This is great and good. And if in your heart you are conscious that the current of His vitalizing, refining, uplifting Spirit is flowing through and making effective each day's deeds, you may praise Him still more for this greater and better blessing. You will indeed be able to say with the apostle, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift." 2 Cor. 9:15.