The Last Command

The last charge given to the disciples before the Lord was taken from them has often been quoted as emphasizing the importance of baptism. The argument is sound and strong. Christ told his disciples to preach the Gospel and baptize believers. Then he immediately added, "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). This admonition coming so definitely in connection with the ordinance of baptism, is surely most significant, and if a man refuses to recognize the command to be baptized we should hardly expect him to trouble about obeying Christ in any other matter. The command involves much more than the initial act of obedience. It may involve much labour until Christ is formed in us.

No doubt there is a very natural tendency to choose the injunctions which accord with our own judgment, and to neglect all others. We must be on guard against this fatal weakness if we desire to be true Christian disciples. We must obey the Master in all things that he has commanded, even when his laws are far removed from human judgment or from our natural inclinations. He commanded his disciples to return good for evil, to love even their enemies, to do good to those who wronged them, and to pray for those who despitefully used them (Matthew 5:38-48). These are hard sayings, not much heeded even in Christendom. Christ taught non-resistance to evil, forgiveness from the heart for every wrong, gentleness of speech, and refraining from retaliation.

Christ condemned the use of oaths (Matthew 5:33-37). Some disciples have regarded this as applying only to serious oaths such as were at one time required in every judicial court. They have supposed that it had no reference to the many meaningless oaths with which ordinary conversation is interlarded. There is good reason to believe that this is a complete misinterpretation of the command. If the Lord had made any exceptions they would surely have been in favour of the serious oaths which a lawful court of justice might require. The condemnation was of a kind of speech which was common in the first century, and perhaps even more prevalent in our time: meaningless oaths which slip from careless tongues without expressing any serious intention. The Jews had fallen into the error of using such words in their conversation. Jesus condemned the practice. Surely he would protest quite as much against the meaningless oaths of ordinary conversation now. Sometimes the words are from pagan gods, sometimes corruptions of the names of God and Christ. They come of evil, and should be avoided. The command not to resist evil is more far-reaching and difficult (Matthew 5:39). It seems so contrary to natural instincts and to temporal interests. Some would say that one who made a serious attempt to carry the precept into effect would be despised and oppressed from school days onward. So there is a growing tendency to regard such an attitude as a "slave morality", not to be cultivated or admired by free men. We see in the state of Europe today an illustration of how the rejection of Christian ethics has worked.

It is not possible to find many examples either of success or failure in the application of Christian principles in this matter, for they have so rarely been attempted. Both in national and individual life, the most that has been accomplished has been in the nature of compromise. Even this has saved the world from some evils. The history of the last two thousand years has been black enough, but we can see evidence that it would have been still blacker if no attempt had been made to learn from Christ. We can see now the effect of a thorough return to paganism and the casting off of the last restraints imposed by the compromise with Christianity. The pagan mind endures little, and is unkind. It envies, it rejoices in iniquity, and it is puffed up with pride. In short, it is in nearly all matters the opposite of Christian love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)