The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-11-02

Toying, In consequence, national prosper
fty. John considered himself the bear
err not of glad but Of dreadful udings,
for he said. The one who comes after
me comes with a winnowing fan IN his
hand and he Is going to burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire "
BY the kingdom of heaven, Jesus did
not mean a place that is to be reached
after death. He came not with the prom
Use Of b!essedness in a future state alone.
but offered the kingdom at the present
time. He insisted that men go into it
then and there He said that it was in
their midst, that it WAS close at hand.
Neither die He mean the organization
which we today know as the church.
When we pray for the spread OF the king
dom the spread Of the church may be
the idea in our minds, but IT was not so
with the Master Indeed with the excep-
tion Of one single doubtful passage, Jesus
never made reference to the church dur-
ing His entire ministry. The church is
an organization which requires, for ad-
mission 10 membership. the acceptance or
4 creed, and most % our creeds are hu-
man patchwork. While the kingdom is
a divine society into which one is admit
ted who possesses the right disposition OF
heart zone must affirm this or that to be
. member Of the church; one must he
something, to be a part OF the Kingdom
of God. Every person who Is like Christ
in character. or is OF His mind Is in
Guided IN the kingdom. No natural read
ing Of the church include Plato; no
natural reading or the kingdom cnn ex-
clude him
Jesus meant by the kingdom OF God.
the reign OF God in the heart OF men
irffi {a1
lation 20 God, fraternal relation 20
mon. ana service as the keyword Of con-
duct
one may get an idea as to the import
ance which Jesus attached to the l5lng-
dom by noting the frequency Of the
currence or tho word In His preaching
Nearly all the parallels which He after
wards spoke are designed TO illustrate
certain phases OF the kingdom. In Ills
great discourse, called the Sermon on
the Mount" lie enunciated the constitd-
ton of the kingdom He'looked upon one
young man and loved him because he
was not far from the kingdom. He con-
demned the Pharasees because they shut
the doors Of the kingdom in mems faces.
One of HIS broadcast Invitations was to
the nations of the world to sit down with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the king
dom. The Kingdom is an ideal world.
1T Is Il worldwide state whose law Is
the divine will. WHOSE members obey the
spirit of Jesus. whose strength s good
ness whose heritage is God"
It is not confined to the present, but
extends into the future 1t Is both here
and 10 coma
Nov" said Jesus, this being the con-
dition, that the time is ripe and the
kingdom of heaven at hand. repent ana
believe the good news There Is no
single world in all the language of the
church that has been more thoroughly
misunderstood and abused than the word
repent" The idea which today is con-
veyed by the word is almost, if not
quite, totally foreign TO the thought
which Jesus expressed Jesus spoke in
Greek. and the Greek word which He
employed means simply Ito think after
or to change the mind on reflection"
while the idea conveyed TO our minds by
the word repentance" is that of sorrow
or pain. 1t Is nothing less than pre-
posterous to say that Jesus called upon
men. in view OF the nearness OF the king
dom. 10 feel soTrowful or miserable. 1t
is foreign TO His method to call upon
men 10 indulge in a passive state. His
call was always to activity. 1t is true
our modern word repentance" has come
to mean "godly sorrow for sin and a
turning away from SIN" And. while this
is a thoroughly wholesome thing, it is
certainly not what Jesus urged His first
hearers to do. We can scarcely think Of
the Master standing before HIS people,
and saying TO them In view of the tine
Tor God 5 visitation to His people it be-
ho0Ves you to be very miserable Try. if
you can. to feel yourselves condemned
Settle yourselves into a state of woe and
wretchedness. Feel lost if you can"
The plain meaning of Jesus words was
this: Here is new condition that con-
fronts YOU. Arouse yourselves out OF
your lethargy. Fix your minds on the
great truth Change the attitude of
your hearts toward God and men"
1t is significant that while the word
which has been translated repent APP
pears in each of the synoptic gospels, be-
ing used by Matthew, Mark and Luke, it
entirely disappears from the gospel of
John. But the idea by no means dis