Judaism was an imperfect religion; it needed fulfilment, and our Lord saw in His own revelation the accomplishment of this.^[1]  The fulfilment, however, took a form which no Jew could recognize and remain loyal to his ancestral faith.  Jesus brought together in His own Person great figures, institutions and prophecies of the Old Testament, which were quite distinct and independent in the Jewish religion, and from their union in Him there emerged an original and unpredictable religious conception.  Even in relation to its parent Judaism, Christianity is something new.

According to the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Judaism stands to Christianity as the shadow to the substance; to say that they are equally true would be to admit no difference between a reflection and the thing which casts it.

The Church has always strenuously maintained that she is the custodian of an unique knowledge of God.  Indeed, in early times, points of resemblance between its system and pagan cults were explained as due to the deceitful imitation of demons.  The only other special revelation, that to Israel, was incomplete; the final word of God to man was spoken in His Son.^[2]  The exercise of reason and moral earnestness was a tendency towards the truth they could never reach unaided in this paradoxical world.  Ultimate religious truth is for us revealed truth, ‘even as it is in Jesus’.^[3]

It will be observed that the Article, while affirming that Christ is the only Saviour, says nothing of those heathen who have had no opportunity of hearing the Gospel.  Doubtless they will be judged according to the light they have had and the use they have made of it.^[4]  But missionary work does not therefore become unnecessary; evangelism at home and abroad is a ‘must’ for the Church and all her members.^[5]

The Church has always strenuously maintained that she is the custodian of an unique knowledge of God.  Indeed, in early times, points of resemblance between its system and pagan cults were explained as due to the deceitful imitation of demons.  The only other special revelation, that to Israel, was incomplete; the final word of God to man was spoken in His Son.^[6]  The exercise of reason and moral earnestness was a tendency towards the truth they could never reach unaided in this paradoxical world.  Ultimate religious truth is for us revealed truth, ‘even as it is in Jesus’.^[7]

It will be observed that the Article, while affirming that Christ is the only Saviour, says nothing of those heathen who have had no opportunity of hearing the Gospel.  Doubtless they will be judged according to the light they have had and the use they have made of it.^[8]  But missionary work does not therefore become unnecessary; evangelism at home and abroad is a ‘must’ for the Church and all her members.^[9]