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"Lay not up . . . . . treasures upon earth . . . . . treasures in heaven . . . . . where thy
treasure is, there will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore
thine eye be liberal, thy whole body shall be full of light: but if thine eye be grudging
(poneros), they whole body shall be full of darkness . . . . . Ye cannot serve God and
mammon" (Matt. 6: 19-24).
Matt. 20: 15, "Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" may be rendered, "Art thou
envious at my being liberal?" This strong emphasis upon the snare of wealth brings the
parallel of Matt. 19: closer. "The strait gate" which few find and the "eye of the
needle" are the same.
One cannot have the niggard's eye, or lay up treasure on earth, or seek first the things
of self, or walk the broad and easy road, if one seeks perfection and an entrance into the
kingdom. Matt. 5:-7:, Hebrews, Philippians, and Rev. 2:, 3: may each have their
distinct departments in the Divine Plan, but one great principle runs through them all.
#9.
The Sermon on the Mount.
Parallels with Philippians.
pp. 139 - 142
We have sought to show that the Sermon on the Mount, while not the "Laws of the
kingdom" or the "Charter of the Church", gives exhortations and commands to those
believers who in a period of rejection look forward to the kingdom and give up all in
their desire to be counted worthy to obtain an entrance and receive the reward.
It will be confirmatory evidence to show the parallels that exist between the Sermon
on the Mount and the epistle to the Philippians. We already know that Philippians is the
epistle of the Prize. It stand to the church of the one body in the same relationship as the
Sermon on the Mount stand to the subject of the kingdom of heaven. While the sphere of
these two parts of Scripture varies, the underlying principle is the same.
(1). THE PLACE OF SELF.--We observed that the believer is urged in Matt. 6: to
"seek first the kingdom of God", so in Phil. 2: the apostle writes:--
"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of
others . . . . For all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's."
(2). SUFFERING, REJOICING AND REWARD.--The Sermon on the Mount says:--
"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great
is your reward in heaven" (Matt. 5: 11, 12).
Philippians says:--