The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-10
RIGHTEOUSNESS HIS THEME
THIS, AS TAUGfHT iBY JESUS, IN
CLUDES JUDGMENT, MERCY
AND FAITH.
FORMER IN SENSE OF JUSTICE
Says thes Reverend Gentle
man, Has More to DO With
Christian Character.


M. e. church, preached the second in
the series of sermons on "Christs EN-
phasis on Great Things yesterday
morning. His specific subject was
righteousness, and his text was
Matt ", s.: Blessed are they that do
hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filed"
This beatitude sounds the key note OF the
gospel, said he. 1T rectifies human opinion
not only about righteousness, but it's results
ana places the possession of 1t as the highest
satisfactory results. Blessed are they who
from the hunger Of their hearts give them
selves to the search for righteousness, ignor-
Ing otner and lesser things, for they shall
nave, as result OF their search, fulfness Of
life which In noaother way come to the
searcher after truth Accepting this asser-
ton or the text, 1t becomes matter of sur
passing interest to inquire into the meaning
Of this term that we may realize more Of
the meaning of the emphasis Christ puts
Hpen 1t, not only in his direct statement, but
also In the whole trend of his teachings.
mere are some misconceptions which, when
disposed OF, shall open the way to a better
conception of the subject ~ go
righteousness, says one, is the keeping
by the subject of the. Divine kingdom. of
set of arbitrary precepts, which in themselves
are not necessary, save only as they prove
the loyalty of him who chooses to serve God
with all his heart. Thisl position Is evidently
IN the text that Gods standard of righteous
ness Is not given as test of the loyalty of
the subject but as a revelation Of the es-
sentia1 truth. His teachings are not true be-
cause they are revealed but revealed because
they are true. He who has this view of
righteousness is always lat war with God
ana IS ready to say Withf the slothful serv-
ant, Lord, knew Thee that Thou art a hard
man, and so refuses obedience. Another saws
righteousness consists III 1the doing of good
works, set for the inaipiaual by an authorita-
hn-& hi i
Pater Nosters and attends his church then he
is righteous. Against this theory Jesus gives
HIS most earnest protest 1t is entirely out
OF harmony with His teachings He has said
no word which can,tbe fairly construed as
justifying it. - lr-s o.
The third says righteousness is entirely of
zoo man can have none of his own; indeed
II IS not demanded Of him, for the righteous
ness OF Christ is impaired to him. Since he
mas no deposit of righteousness to make
MN solvent Christ makes for him deposit
OF MS own righteousness, on which he can
draw and pay his obligations. By this method
ne does not become righteous but comes
TO be considered righteous by a fiction to
S wnlch Jesus has lent Himself. There are
some things in the writings of Paul which
LOOK as though there were truth in the theory
when taken alone, but it is against the whole
treno OF the teaching of Jesus. who makes
SPECIFIC demands on the individual that he
hlmseff become right and that he shall do
fight things. Rejecting these false corcep-
uons we are ready to study the teachings of
1.-THE Greek word rendered bara and oIr
Wnere righteousness, may. be more clearly
translated by the old English word right
'ee &c which is normal right. Sin
Is abnormal monstr0city and the sinner
must De brought from This abnormal wrong
conqltlon to normal condition., he must he
rlghtened with himself and God, and right
eousness is the state Of being so related IF Is
because. these things are wrong with His
sens and daughters that Jesus came TO the
world, and His purpose is to set them right.
w nndH 70
Vlduai soul Is transformation from that
winch Is wrong, to that which is right and
COD designs, not that a Divine plan shall he
niabt whereby men may have the fruits Of
Ilghteousness without Being themselves right
put that they shall become right. have in
themselves righteousness and so receive The
fruits OF righteousness not an impaired right
eousness- He that, hungering after right
eousness. searches after it shall be flia5.
that IS, he shall have righteousness and all ifs
beneficent results ~ 10
The emphasis which Jesus gives TO this
righteousness is discovered in His direct state
ments IN the Sermon on the Mount than
when nothing could be more explicit They
are, nrst, the text, as the general declaration
Oh the truth. Again there follows the state
ment OF Matt ", 20: For say unto you that
except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the Seribes and Pharisees.
saa IN no case enter into the kingdom of
first the kingdom of God and His righteous
ness, and all these Things shall be added
unto you. These statements are illustrated
and. enforced by the passage which declares
the rejection of the ulrighteous prophets. and
the dramatic description of the two houses
one built on the sand and one on the rock
eeaching the necessity OF an absolute obedi-
ence to the requirements of righteousness as
revealed In the teachings Eof Jesus.
righteousness, asrltaught by Jesus, in
cluoes three things, as, Stated by Himself,
Judgment. mercy and faith
Judgment in the sefrses of Justice is the
HrSC necessary principle and teaching of
righteousness. 1t is thenfrst lesson taught
the race, and it is bynthe hardest work that
me world, at its best, has come to accept
justice as obligatory, ton .sall men. 1t is ac-
cepted in theory, and vet in the best places
It IS poorly rrrcticed ea1fd in the worst the
attempts toward it are the rnerest mockerv
The dispensation of aw staught the Hebrew
race the lesson of justine SO clearly that
Whlle their supposed best did not come up to
tne locals OF Jesus, yet they went far be-
yono any other peoples the world knew any-
thing about. There was no place on tha acc
OF the earth where the individual Jared So
Wen as In Judea, no place where he had so
goou standing before the law, and so ia
voraDie an opportunity for justice All the
law OF the Hebrews, except some little copied
from the neathen, spralg up from the very
roots OF Justice This Is the lesson that
must De learned first, for the heart that has
not opened to justice is not ready for the The
larger demands of the gospel made upon H.
me love OF God for the individual has shown
I Igi ~ IN an tne laws OF divine origin 1t is
snaii nave chance to live on earth and
Just treatment at the hands of society and 81
ne iays on the strong the obligations of see
lns liat the weak as well as the strong, NAV
get chance at life It Is as true of indsvid,
uais as or nations God expects that he sbaIi
De nrst OF all Just, for this is at the basis
OF ms character, and nothing else is possibIa
IN christian development until he is inst
All this appears plainly, not only from the
statement OF the text. but from the whole
chapter OF denunciatfon to which have
cdlieu your attention, which from first To
iasI arralgns these supposed religionists for
their departures from Justice
mercy is one Of the included factors Of
righteousness, that Righteousness which 81
not only patterned rom God but wii u ,n IS
parted by Him to HIS disciples. Notbine
AFTER justice which has to do with the foun
ta,aehs Oh things, has more to do with Chris
Ian character and more distinguishes It
than mercy. The parable of the Good Sa
marian Is very clear In efts teaching The
ProdigaL Son is picture never surpassed
ant Only OF inc mercysof the Father, but of
az VINO partake OF HIS nature. The prayer
of-Jesus on the crosse Father, forgive them
they know not what they do Is a raw OF
God-light strayed from heaven itself light
ing up a mercy that IS infinite. The chapter
including the lost Sheep, the lost piece OF
money, the lost son, is al chapter on mercy.
Look at its closing picture of the Judgment
Here are gathered the, righteous and the un-
righteous on the right and the left of the
Judge. The one is exalted and the other
degraded, In contrast Ia which the distin-
gushing characteristics is mercy for the un-
fortunate, or Its opposite The whole ex-
ample of the Master Himself breaches mercy
from the time He went forth into the desert
to prepare to grapple with the worlds foes,
through to the final sacrifice when He Law
down His life for those who treated Him with
contempt. hated Him, betrayed Him and
Knocked Him, yet through 1t all were most
needy of the results Of His infinite mercy.
This divine mercy Is a part of the righteous