Page:Christian Marriage.djvu/42

 especially since this regulation has been the work of the Christian State. In view of our Lord's doctrine about the State, and of His recognition of the legitimacy of the Mosaic legislation as a necessary concession to the hardness of men's hearts, it is much to be considered whether His declarations about marriage ought to be applied without many modifications to the circumstances of the modern world.

A representative example of the teaching which I deprecate as implying an indefensible handling of the Gospel is provided in Bishop Gore's deservedly popular exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. The passage runs thus:

"Our Lord proclaimed, as a prominent law of His new kingdom, the indissolubility of marriage. And for us as Christians it is perfectly plain that not all the parliaments or kings on earth can alter the law of our Lord. And if any ministers of Christ, or persons claiming to represent the Church of Christ, ever dare to let the commandment of men, in however high places, override the law of Christ, they are simply behaving in a way which brings them under the threat which our Lord so solemnly uttered: 'Whosoever shall be ashamed of me