The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-04-04
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What Constitutes a Religious Man.
Terse Comments on the Topic, Etc
TOR April 5: Songs of the Heart. Nv
The Men Whom God Accepts" Ps.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
It is better to be accepted Of God
than to be applauded of men.
4 X
A religious man is not necessarily
enc who wears some church's label.
Nor il he necessarily an ecclesiastical
upon various doctrinal propositions.
But he is a religious man who seeks
after a personal experience of God,
and who endeavors to conform his life
to the requirements of Jehovah. In
the words of the topic, he is a man
whom God accepts, even though he be
not acceptable to the world and the
Church.
Those that seek God, God seeks
Amos r. Wells.
There has been times when the
Church over emphasized doctrine, from
realization of the truth that las q
man thinketh in his heart SO Is he.
One result of this was that some men
substituted assent to certain creedal
statements for actual lives of holiness
did not practice them. In the present
study, the Bible lays stress upon char
acter and conduct, rather than upon
anything else.
"Who shall ascend into the hill of Je-
hovah,
And who shall stand in his holy place
He that hath clean hands and a pure
heart;
Who hath not lifted up his eyes unto
falsehood,
And hath not sworn deceitfully."
X X
Goodness is a universal language.
X X X
This is the day of clean hands. Not
for a generation has there been such
an insistence upon private morality in
public men. The old school OF poll
ticians find themselves impOtent and
dishonored. The Ten Commandments
are being given a place as campaign
documents. Integrity today is the most
valuable of political assets. The peo-
pie have so far agreed with the Psalm
list that they are determined that the
man OF unclean hands and impure life
shall not ascend into Capitol Hill, or
any other holy place of erninehce, hon.
or and power.
Only the penitent, the pardoned and
the pure may be counted as belonging
to the company of Gods friends.
finguished Canadian author declare
that the day has passed when men
could hold places of honor in the
Church simply because of their wealth,
or OF their eminence in political or
social circles. High as well as lowly
must pass the test of godliness, before
religion can afford to put her seal upon
them. There are apparent some signs
that the plain men of integrity and
spiritual life will come to be regarded
=, tC
to be feared that these pious, honora-
bic. unselfish and helpful men have
been passed by, while the Church has
tagged as leading laymen" men who
did not have these qualities. but pos
sessed, instead, a certain kind of emil
nence. Small wonder that the Church
has had frequent cause to be ashamed
of her leading laymen-" Let us be
brave enough and Christian enough, to
honor those whom God would honor,
rather than those who, in one way or
another, have secured the honor, of the
world.
A pure heart is a better credential
with God than a fine appearances.
The sophistication of present-day
Christianity, which makes 1t one OF
the great world forces, is not wholly
an advantage, for it initiates asainss
the simple mindedness. brave gen.
uineness, and utter frankness of q
humble Christian faith. Religions
day of danger has ever been her time
of power and wealth and learning;
she has been strongest and has grown
most when, in questionable simple
heartedness, she has sought to carry
out the teachings of her lowly mas
ter Most Of us will confess that we
have found Christianity at. its best in
the lives of the plain people. who have
kept their hearts with an diligence,
knowing that out of 1t are the issues
OF life.
Most people are seriously concerned
about making themselves acceptable
70 men; whereas the thing which
they desire can be best achieved in
directly, by making themselves ac-
ceptable to God Moreover they
who care most to please God are de-
livered from the slavery of trying to
please their fellows.
X y
Love ever seeks its own; like at
tracts like; the religious person has an
affinity for other religious persons,
and O. constant desire for the society
of God.
Gods favor Is to be won in Gods
way After all our str1vings, it is sin
the beloved that we are accepted.
Yet as Hudson Taylor pertinently re-
marked. ''the fact that our hottest
things need to be accepted through
Christ Is no reason why we should
neglect to be holy
NEWS AND NOTES.
A joint committee of American
mission boards has reported that the
majority of missionaries do not adj
vocate naming this generation, or
any other time limit, for the evangerI-