Gwatkin: misunderstanding the gospel

Thursday, November 12, 2015
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
    —Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is a complete misunderstanding of the Gospel if we find the substance of it in the moral teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Lofty as that teaching is, the speaker’s claims are still more commanding... Christ’s Person, not his teaching, is the message of the Gospel. If we know anything for certain about Jesus of Nazareth, it is that he steadily claimed to be the Son of God, the redeemer of mankind, and the ruler of the world to come, and by that claim the Gospel stands or falls.
    ... Henry M. Gwatkin (1844-1916), Early Church History to A.D. 312, v. I, London: Macmillan, 1912, p. 54 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 5:21-22,27-28,31-39,43-44; 20:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 6:26-27
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You are the Gospel. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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