Post by Cindy on Jul 1, 2015 9:58:24 GMT -5
I want to share from a commentary written in 1909 about the outer court in Ezekiel's description of the temple. I think you'll find it edifying.
I.THERE IS AN OUTER COURT IN ALL RELIGION. There are always people who seem to stand midway between the Church and the world. In some cases they are like Elijah’s contemporaries, halting between two opinions (1 Kings 18:21). They may be described as like the scribe who was “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). Feeling a certain attraction for religion, they are drawn into association with public worship. Others, like the money-changers and cattle-vendors whom our Lord disturbed, find it possible to make worldly profit for themselves by hanging on to the fringe of religious ordinances.
II. THEY WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT ENJOY CERTAIN PRIVILEGES. These people can see what is going on in the more sacred interior of the temple. Though they take no part in the services, they are able to witness the sacrificial rites. Similarly, there are regular attendants at Christian churches who do not enter into the more intimate life of the community nor enjoy its highest advantages. Yet they have some privileges. It is something to see the door, if we have not yet knocked at it. Knowing the way ought to be a preparation for entering it. In a professedly Christian country, where New Testament facts are familiar to most people, and where few are quite out of the range of potential religious influences, privileges are enjoyed which bring a responsibility not shared by the more ignorant heathen.
III. THEY WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT MISS THE BEST BLESSING. At most they have Esau’s blessing, not Jacob’s. Like Balsam, they see the Christ, but “not near;” therefore, like that unhappy prophet of Moab, they must be excluded from the covenant of promise. It is an aggravation to the torment of Dives that he can see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. The knowledge of Christian truth and the sight of Christian grace do not save the souls of men who will not yield themselves to Christ in heart and life. We have to beware of a common snare. Many are tempted to believe that they are safe because they are in some sort of external association with religion. We need to understand distinctly that this will not avail. There must be personal membership in the kingdom of heaven for all who will enjoy the real blessings of the kingdom.
IV. IT IS NOW POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT TO ENTER THE INNER COURT. This was even true of the old, narrow Jewish religion, on the condition that the Gentile proselyte was circumcised and became a Jew. It is certainly true of the free, world-wide Christian gospel. None need linger in the outer court. There is room within the privileged Church for every soul on earth, and a welcome from Christ for all who will come. But observe, in conclusion, the distinction between outer and inner courts in the Christian Church is spiritual, not visible. Professed Church-members may be in the outer court; while those who join no earthly community, and are regarded by their brethren as religious Bohemians, are in the inner court if their hearts and lives are truly near to Christ.
Ezekiel Vol. II. 1909 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.). The Pulpit Commentary.
I.THERE IS AN OUTER COURT IN ALL RELIGION. There are always people who seem to stand midway between the Church and the world. In some cases they are like Elijah’s contemporaries, halting between two opinions (1 Kings 18:21). They may be described as like the scribe who was “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). Feeling a certain attraction for religion, they are drawn into association with public worship. Others, like the money-changers and cattle-vendors whom our Lord disturbed, find it possible to make worldly profit for themselves by hanging on to the fringe of religious ordinances.
II. THEY WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT ENJOY CERTAIN PRIVILEGES. These people can see what is going on in the more sacred interior of the temple. Though they take no part in the services, they are able to witness the sacrificial rites. Similarly, there are regular attendants at Christian churches who do not enter into the more intimate life of the community nor enjoy its highest advantages. Yet they have some privileges. It is something to see the door, if we have not yet knocked at it. Knowing the way ought to be a preparation for entering it. In a professedly Christian country, where New Testament facts are familiar to most people, and where few are quite out of the range of potential religious influences, privileges are enjoyed which bring a responsibility not shared by the more ignorant heathen.
III. THEY WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT MISS THE BEST BLESSING. At most they have Esau’s blessing, not Jacob’s. Like Balsam, they see the Christ, but “not near;” therefore, like that unhappy prophet of Moab, they must be excluded from the covenant of promise. It is an aggravation to the torment of Dives that he can see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. The knowledge of Christian truth and the sight of Christian grace do not save the souls of men who will not yield themselves to Christ in heart and life. We have to beware of a common snare. Many are tempted to believe that they are safe because they are in some sort of external association with religion. We need to understand distinctly that this will not avail. There must be personal membership in the kingdom of heaven for all who will enjoy the real blessings of the kingdom.
IV. IT IS NOW POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THE OUTER COURT TO ENTER THE INNER COURT. This was even true of the old, narrow Jewish religion, on the condition that the Gentile proselyte was circumcised and became a Jew. It is certainly true of the free, world-wide Christian gospel. None need linger in the outer court. There is room within the privileged Church for every soul on earth, and a welcome from Christ for all who will come. But observe, in conclusion, the distinction between outer and inner courts in the Christian Church is spiritual, not visible. Professed Church-members may be in the outer court; while those who join no earthly community, and are regarded by their brethren as religious Bohemians, are in the inner court if their hearts and lives are truly near to Christ.
Ezekiel Vol. II. 1909 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.). The Pulpit Commentary.
!!
