The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-11-28

spiritual truth, (3) unwilling
Searthly possessions and swof
so unwilling to trust Eli to
Master" Or teacher; the
in r. V. What good thing /
What act of sacrifice or her6Gsn. what
generous action, what penance or suffer-
ing? His idea is that he, must do some
thing to purchase eternal life. His ques-
tion shows that he believes in a. future
state; he was not Sadducee. }
II "Why callest thou Me good"
why askest thou Me concerning that
which is good?-R. V. Christ did not say
the young man had called Christ good"
the question Jesus asked would lead di-
rectly to His divinity Why do you CAT
Me good? Do you, see Me merely as
man., or are you looking at Me as the
Messiah? If we accept the Revised Yer
sion the thought is really the, same: Why
do you ask Me concerning eternal life? Do
you recognize Me as divine teacher,
whose, teaching is eternally true, and are
you willing thus to accept My instruction!
None good but one" Zone there is
who is good.'"'-R. V. God is the only
One who is absolutely and eternally good;
but Christ is God and therefore Christ is
good, in this absolute and unlimited
Z,
Himself; but dffuses it, seeks to make
men after His own pattern of goodness. See
Luke h 9; @: 81; Psa. 81: %, 81; Matt.
E25; q. ss'Wilt enter into life" If thou
wilt become a true child of God in this
world and so have lasting possession of
eternal life. keep the commandments"
While we cannot work our way to heaven,
or purchase eternal life by our good deeds.
yet there are, some things that we must
do before we can seenter into life" "The
commandments of God, ;nbt one mere
T, but all of them-1must be kept. Many
admire them, andSanow they ought to
keep them, but how few, comparatively,
Is: (which p Like stRe Phariisees gen.
orally. he made Distinction between what
dairy commandments. TO what especial
and great scofnmandnent do you refer?
Jesus replies by endmerating the COM
mandments in thfs verse and the next.
"Thou shalt do no murder, ETC." These
commandments all belong to the second
table Of the law, which relate to the duties
Of man to- man;
%. - these thihgs have I kept" He
was strictly moral and had lived a good
life, outwardfys What lack I YET" He:
was conscious of a,Iack in his spiritual,
life, and this question was serious in
Quiry as to its cause. ~,
81. "If thou wilt be-. perfect" Jesus
beholding him loved him (Iark 10: 2D,
and said unto him, one thing thou lackest.,
If thou wilt be perfectTthat is, if thou
wilt be a thorough man of God; if thou
wilt be complete and have all hindrances
what thou hast Jesus struck right at
the center of the young mans difficulty.
He was. ready to give all to Godsbut his
property; this was the, cone thing" over
which he was about to stumble and fall
Some seem to think this commarsl was
very difficult; Shut it has come TO many
others and they, have. stoed the test. 1, It
came to the Apostles, to Martin Luther,
to john Wesley, and; In fact; in one form
or another, the same command comes to
every Christian. This young mans riches
were his idol. ."Give to the poor" He
was asked to use his wealth for God and
humanity. Treasure in Heaven" What
a promise is this. Notice, /. Heaven is
the only place where genuine, abiding
treasure is to be found. 2. The character
Of the treasure will be in harmony, with
the character Of heaven. 8. The obtain
course we pursue in this world. The only
way w lTHuCl pei ioLiHS Soouo SlclhdiJ "
secure stately furniture from the moths,
the richest metals from canker, and pre-
cious stones from thieves. is to tansmit
them to heaven by acts of charity. e'Fol-
low Me-" Be Ny: disaiple. How many
because; they are not willing 70 give up
the things of this world, have lost the
honor Of, becoming ambassadors for the
Most High. '.t-GI ~. .
%. event away sorrowful."' His coun-
tenauce fell and he went away grieved.
He went away reluctantly, but he. went.
He wanted eternal life. but he wanted
his possessions more, and in keeping them
he lost D true. joy, (2) discipleship and
i3) treasures in heaven. His choice was a
%. "a rich man shall hardly, enter"
Thisris amply confirmed by experience.
Rich men seldom become true Christians.
The reason is not far to SEEK The process
OF gaining wealth encourages, self.seeking,
and the possession of it encourages self
importance; but the spirit that can enter
theskingdom is the spirit, Of a little child.
The danger is that those who have riches
will &astsfn them Mark 10: 24)) instead
of trusting in God. - 2: !: !. ~. y
24.Sa"The eye of needle ;Tt;has been
suggested. that the needle 's:eye was
small gate, leading into the city. intended
only forei foot passengers and that the
camel could only squeeze through with the
greatest difficulty, but ait is now generally
thought that the calling this small gate
the needles eye isSa; modern custom, and
not in use in the time of Christ -,
80 %. "Exceedingly amazed Like all
Jews, they had been accustomed to re-
gard worldly prosperity as special mark
of the favor Of God. .'tWho then
can be saved" An admission that all
men by nature share the same guilt and
love OF the world How may rich man
enter heaven? /. 1t is, always difficult
in his peculiar circumstances. .. 1t is
impossible if in mind and heart he cleaves
to his wealth. 3. 1t becomes possible by
miracle of divine grace. Many who have
not riches are seeking wealth as the chief
good, because they already trust in it. =.
26. with men .... impossible" Ac-
cording to the power and ability of men
this is impossible, but God, by His power,
is able to save a man that even the
things that allured him most will lose
their attraction to him. ."Christ can re-
move the difficulties and renew the heart.
He can take away the love of riches and
can put into mans heart new motives,
that will make him more diligent, in bust
ness than the love OF riches can"