The Tupelo journal., 1910-02-25
FALSE AND TRUE
DISCIPLESHIP
Sunday Seheol Lesson fss FEB. n. 1910
Specially Arranged for This Papsr


LESSON TExT.-Matthew T:13-29. Mem
DRY verses. 10. IA.
GOLDEN TExT.-"Not ewSry one that
saith INTO me. Lord, LORD, shall enter
into the kingdom of HeaveA; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which. is in
Heaven."-Matt. 7:21.
TIME and place same as In previous les
sons.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
/. The Only Way of Entrance Into
This Kingdom Is Through the Narrow
Gate of Obedience to It's Laws.-Vs.
13, IA. Enter We in" to the kingdom
of heaven, eternal life, the Christian
life. at" or by. "the strait gate"
The narrow, difficult gate. Strait"
here is a different word from
straight" and is still used in such
expressions as HE is in a strait" j. e.,
a narrow place, or "the straits (the
narrows) of Gibraltar" "Strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way" (Gk.),
compressed, pinched, straitened.
(which leadeth" (Gk.) leadeth
away from destruction, unto life,"
the true life. the life Of heaven on
earth, eternal life. Few there be
that find It," A fact at the time. He
does not say it will always be so, he
does not say it must be so.
Note that the narrowness of the
gate is a necessary fact. inherent in
the very nature Of things. The mar
rowness of the gate is not confined
e. tbo L;pudop, of boovop Tho gate
to every best good is narrow.
II. Strive to Enter, for the Gate to
Destruction Is Widely. 10. IN Luke
1920 we are urged to strive, to
agonize like an athlete with his whole
nature, to enter in. Compare the
parallels of The Pearl, The Hid Treas
ure. For wide is the gate, and broad
is the way, that leadeth to destruc-
ton" There are a multitude of sins,
each of which is a way to ruin The
end of sin is destruction. 1t destroys
life, health, happiness, hope, heaven.
The destruction begins in this world;
1t is completed in the next.
III. A Warning Against False
Teachers.-Vs. 1920. Beware of false
prophets. A prophet is one who speaks
under divine influence, a revealer and
Interpreter of Gods will. A false
prophet was therefore one who pre-
tended to speak Gods truth, when he
did not, one who spoke falsehood in
Gods name. Come to you in Sleeps
clothing, hidden under the fleece of a
sheep, so as to look like a sheep, as
in Aesop's fable.
"But inwardly they are ravening
wolves" Those who snatch away by
force, like the harpies in Virgil. whose
name comes from the Greek word for
%"ravening."
How can we know who are false
~teachers?" 16. "Ye shall know them
by their fruits by their conduct, and
the results to those who follow their
teachings. In time their real nature
will appear in their acts.
do men gather grapes of thorns."
The beatitudes, the fruits of the Spir-
it, from bad hearts and bad principles.
II. Every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit" fruit according to its ma
ture. This is not only the test, but
also shows us how to obtain good
fruit, as in Luke CAB.
". Not Professions but Character
and Deeds will enable one to belong to
the kingdom.-Vs. 21-23. mot every
one that said unto me, Lord, Lord"
thus making a profession of being his
disciple. But he that doeth the will
Of my Father"
v. The Rock Foundation of Our
Hopes to Become Members Of the
Kingdom. The Lord pictures two
houses, one built by a wise man, the
other by a foolish man. THE house
is the general fabric of an outwardly
religious life" The house contains q
mans expectations of happiness, his
prosperity, his success, his whole flu
ture, all that into which he puts his
labors, his love, his time, his hopes.
1t is where he lives. Whosoever hear
eth these sayings of mine. Both
classes of men hear the word. So far
they are alike. In like manner the
two houses have externally the same
appearance" The same storm beats
upon both. rs. 1.-THE rain descended,
floods . winds. TheSe
represent prosecutions, temptations,
evil influences, bad companions, world
ly pleasures, appetites and passions,
all Satan's weapons of attack.
So our Master himself grew in his
boyhood. There was plenty of evil to
test him and to train him by victory.
But his home was also near the great
routes of travel, within hearing dis
lance, as the boy grew older, of the
Injuries of the rich, and the crimes of
Rome. THE perfection of his purity
and patience was achieved, not easily.
as behind a wide fence which shut the
world out, but amid rumor and scan
dial, with every provocation to unlaw.
full curiosity and premature ambition.
Walter Besant says, 1T was
not as a rustic preaching to rustics
that our Lord went about"
A Prayer.
Our gracious God, we come before
~ 49, H., ~.~oo anl rofhnrs