Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-06-18
THE UNNECESSARY BURDEN.

GlOSC, anu 10 US, " lay upoA ) va Az
other greater burden than these neces-
sary things Acts Is: Is.
It is recorded in the Book or Acts
that the apostles and elders IN Jeru-
salem in a certain crisis in church
history, wrote circular letter 10 tne
brethren at Antioch, and to those IN
SYRIA and Clicia, outlining for thelr
information the fundamental prlncI
nles and essential duties of the Chris
t,an faith and containing this slgnln-
cant statement: For 1t seemeo soou
to the Holy Ghost, and to u.s. TO lay
unon YOU no other greater burden imam
these necessary things" In this Gee
laration of the wise leaders OF the
church at Jerusalem there Is contain
cd the idea of a Discrimination DE-
tween essentials and non-essentlals III
Christian precept and practlce-a us
+inction which has ever since com
mended itself to the enlightened lntel-
uoence and conscience of thougntlul
Christians. The yoke which jesus
Christ imposes is by His own uellni-
tion of it light. The commandments
which Cod Himself gives are not
ar,ovous" But when silly Galatians
are bewitched by heretical teachers VI
carnal Laodiceans depart from the
simplicity of the Gospel to serve iuolS
of gold and silver, and to court .no
favor Of the world, the burden OF NE
ouick1v becomes heavier, and lts uln-
culties are multiplied:
In every century Satan and MS
ooents have been busy inventing un.
necessary burdens for the oachs y,
fallible Christians. When the uevh
cannot tempt a good man outiAsn'
;n+o sin he does what from his stand
noint is the next best th1ng-maKes
hin, foolish or fanatical, and so loaoS
him down with distracting douDts VI
imaginary duties as practically 10 par
o1yya his power for good In human
society For the over-burdened man
oonnot in the fullest degree be the
oeec,ent man. The soldier cannot ngnt
at hia hest when overweighted with
knapsack and blanket. 80 the chris
tian foeman must proceed TO the Tray
IN LIGHT marching order, laying ASIDE
every weight and the sin that doth
en- easily beset him, If he Is to DO MS
hest work as spiritual comDatant'
Tho unnecessary burden takes many
forms Sin itself Is the first 1llustra-
tion that suggests itself of this KIND
If needless burdening. God does not
mean that any repenting man should
struggle along under the load OF un-
forgiven sin. Rather, the glad testl-
mony of every child of God should BE-
at the Cross the burden or my SIN
has rolled away!" The straight gate Is
too narrow to allow of heavenbound
pilgrim's carrying through it a great
pack Of unforgiven iniquity, nor can
even the sin of yesterday be borne as
a load through to-day. The pilgrim
must confess and forsake each days
sin. and so be delivered from It's drag,
as he goes along.
Legalism is a burden which from
the days of the apostles has been I'M
posed upon many unnecessarily The
Galatians Of old were caught In yoke
To them the Jewish law became
kind of relentlessly prosecuting Phar-
aoh pursuing them even as they sought
to reach the Christian Canaan. They
were still, though professed Chris
tians, entangled in the mesh of rites
and rules and rabhinic refnements OF
a man-made tradition. To them cir
cumcision was more than Christ, and
a single letter in one word of the Law
as weighty as the whole Sermon on
the Mount. From this enslavement to
legalism even an apostle Paul with
difficulty delivered the foolish Gala
tians"
Many people through lack of faith
carry an unnecessary burden of care
and worry There Is no right-minded
man who is or would wish to be
wholly careless in this necessitous
world, but many of the cares which
people assume (and seek to transport
about with them like so much extra
are not caused by the very nature of
things but arise from the worrying
tempers of the people in question.
God means that all men should work
but that none should worry. The real
and inescapable burdens Of life are
heavy enough without laying upon
ones own shoulders or on those of
others needless burdens of anxiety
and distress Of mind which little
more faith, and a closer walk with
God, would dispel as the rising of the
sun scatters the brooding mists of the
morning.
Consider whether in your life you
are not carrying some unnecessary
burdens which neither the Lord nor
His apostles ever meant to lay upon
you The essentials of Christianity
are important and imposing enough
to keep everybody sufficiently busy and
occupied who concerns himself with
them without superadding upon that