moral necessity
Puritan Board Junior
Volume I of William Perkins, the work entitled An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, the introduction begins on p.173. Here is an interesting quote that I wondered if you all had some thoughts on.
Perkins says, "The scope and drift of this large sermon; namely, to teach His disciples, with all that believe in Him, to lead a godly, a holy, and blessed life. Although this be evident in the text, yet the popish teachers have depraved this end and scope, saying that Christ herein propunds a new law, far more perfect than the law of Moses, and also delivers new divine counsel to His disciples, which was not given in the law or the prophets. But they err and are deceived, for Christ's intent is to clear the true meaning of Moses and the prophets, which was corrupted by the false gloss of the Jewish teachers, and not to add any new law or counsel thereunto, as afterward will plainly appear [Matt.5:17; 7:12]. Again, there cannot be given unto man a more perfect rule than Moses' law, the sum and scope whereof is, "To love God with all the heart, with all the soul, and with all the strength" [Deut.6:5], than which there cannot be greater perfection in a creature. We therefore upon the consideration of this worthy end must labor to show the greater care and conscience, to learn and do the things propounded in this sermon."
My first thought was, he just spoke a rebuttal against what we today see as New Covenant Theology. But, I didn't know that this aspect of NCT had roots in Rome. I found that very interesting.
Do any of you know of any citations from Catholic writers that would illustrate this, or of any contemporary authors who critique NCT with the same accusation regarding their similarity with Rome?
The footnotes reference Jansen. comment. in concord. Evang. cap. 40. Bell. lib. 4. de Justif. c.3.
I guess "Bell." would be Bellarmine, perhaps. Not sure of the others...or of any contemporary authors who bring up the same point.
Anyway, I also thought the quote might be useful to some who encounter NCT now and then.
Thanks for your thoughts...
Perkins says, "The scope and drift of this large sermon; namely, to teach His disciples, with all that believe in Him, to lead a godly, a holy, and blessed life. Although this be evident in the text, yet the popish teachers have depraved this end and scope, saying that Christ herein propunds a new law, far more perfect than the law of Moses, and also delivers new divine counsel to His disciples, which was not given in the law or the prophets. But they err and are deceived, for Christ's intent is to clear the true meaning of Moses and the prophets, which was corrupted by the false gloss of the Jewish teachers, and not to add any new law or counsel thereunto, as afterward will plainly appear [Matt.5:17; 7:12]. Again, there cannot be given unto man a more perfect rule than Moses' law, the sum and scope whereof is, "To love God with all the heart, with all the soul, and with all the strength" [Deut.6:5], than which there cannot be greater perfection in a creature. We therefore upon the consideration of this worthy end must labor to show the greater care and conscience, to learn and do the things propounded in this sermon."
My first thought was, he just spoke a rebuttal against what we today see as New Covenant Theology. But, I didn't know that this aspect of NCT had roots in Rome. I found that very interesting.
Do any of you know of any citations from Catholic writers that would illustrate this, or of any contemporary authors who critique NCT with the same accusation regarding their similarity with Rome?
The footnotes reference Jansen. comment. in concord. Evang. cap. 40. Bell. lib. 4. de Justif. c.3.
I guess "Bell." would be Bellarmine, perhaps. Not sure of the others...or of any contemporary authors who bring up the same point.
Anyway, I also thought the quote might be useful to some who encounter NCT now and then.
Thanks for your thoughts...
