HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.–Luke 15:28
The Comparative Silence of the New Testament on Our Duty to Our Equals
Now it will at once occur to you, hearing that theme, how little is said of it in the New Testament. On the matter of our duty to our equals, the New Testament is comparatively silent. It speaks to us, not infrequently, of the duty which we owe to our superiors.
- Men are to reverence those who sit in Moses’ seat;
- they are to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s;
- they are to pray for kings and all who are in authority.
It speaks constantly of our duty to inferiors. That is one great theme of the New Testament. Everywhere, with all variety of appeal, that is insisted on and urged. But as we read the Gospels and Epistles we gradually become aware of a strange silence–it is the silence, the comparative silence of the Gospel, on the matter of our duty to our equals. That does not mean that such duties were of little consequence to the men who have given us our New Testament. It means that there were certain causes, which inevitably put the emphasis elsewhere. Let me suggest three of these causes to you.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW …..
