The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-06-07

N"A1 EAS IlIA HT
Jesus three illustrations of that falls.
Righteousness which he will not conn.
tenance In his new kingdom. TODAY,
lesson is the last Of the present serIas
which has to do with the fundaments,
teachings expressed by Jesus In hi,
manifesto and 1t Is emphasized by Tho
Golden Text taken from James EMS.
tie.
Jesus begins with a short parable
which, though not recorded BY Mat.
thew as being used in this same con.
nection Is here used to introduce and
to explain what was said about the
mote and the beam. P~arenthetically
Jesus informs us that we are not
above u Master. We must teach
principally In the same manner hs
taught, Q. g.. by Il lives. He has
been setting forth the manner Of life
to be followed by his disciples. Hs
Is tho i~ncarnate truth, and in that
fact lay his power and C as a
teacher, 30 as we incarnate his llfe.
live his life before the world, we shall
most successfully teach. His sight
was unimpaired, hence his ability and
power. Jesus, however, guards
against any self-assumed righteous.
ness upon the part Of his followers by
telling us that everyone" that ID
every disciple, when he is perfected
shall be as his master" ". 40) No
leader or teacher has ever made any
great and lasting contribution or i'm
precision upon history except as be
has In a measure emulated the life Of
Jesus or followed the principles hs
taught the world.
Beam and Mote.
II Ia as we are being perfected. fol,
low on after p~erfectness In Christ
Jesus, that we are effectually able TO
see for ourselves and to lead Others.
Jesus by can of this teaching sbout
the beam and the mote shows us how
impossible 1t is for a man who Is him.
self di%sobedient to the truth to be
able to do anything that will help
others who are In a like state of dis
obedience. He plainly implies that
It Is not only impossible but actually
q sin for one who has a beam, a
Splinter" in his eye to attempt to re-
move the mote-a light speek of dust
from the eye of another. The sin
of attempting to teach that which we
ourselves do not obey Is greater than
the sin of him who is not obedient but
makes no attempt to teach the truth
and called forth the emphatic thou
OF Jesus. How many
fathers deSire their sons to walk In
the path Of truth and yet They make
no effort to remove the beam from
their own eyes--hypocrites--is 1t To-
be wondered at that they both fall
into the ditch?
Jesus emphasizes all Of this by use
OF the figure Of fruit-bearing, The
preposterousness OF looking Tor
flgs upon thorn bushes, or to look for
grapes upon a bramble bush Is pat
emit to all. We know that corruption %
not 80 much a matter Of infection 40
It has to do with inward purity. II
the tree Of life Is pure It will yield
fruit, for life always repro
duces Its W type, in the same man
ner the influence a man exerts fs the
influence of what he is In his own
life. II he Is COED, his influence will
be good; If he Is evil his influence will
be evil.
In verse As Jesus adds further
light upon this matter of hypocrisy
He has already told US we are to build
upon his words, which were the truth
Now he shows us that to call him
Lord. Lord" with lips only, and no'
because Of a heart conviction, even
1t be known and heard Of all
men, will not avail. This sort Of cry.
Ing aloud shall be tested by him who
knows the thoughts and the intents
Of the heart and it, too, shall receive
the Just reward Of all hypocrisy. TO
cry Lord, Lord to Judge others D?
different standards from those N
which we Judge ourselves, Is but an
other evidence of the sin Of selfish
hess.
Obedience the Only Proof,
If we will real Paul's epic upon
love Il. Cor. 13) daily 1t will clarh!
our vision and correct the motive OF
Dur lives SO that It's fruit will be &C
,eptable to God. Obedience is ue
n and only acceptable PROOF
hat we are friends of Jesus (Jonn
To further add light ana
to this whole matter
tells lis OF the two kinds q
upon which men buflc.
That upon the solid rock may be &C.
tried, as shall all the WORKS y
mans hands, but being rightly founo'
I'd the storm breaks and not ue
louise.
house. Not so he who builds upoa
sand: there we see the house 81
ng to pieces amid the storm, VINO
man who builds so safely? Is
he who comes to Jesus ina
his word and that doeth h
word as we'll? uBt there is ais a
builder who does not dig doWa
o the rock, is satisfied with loose soa
which amounts to no foundation !"
Ill. His house meets the same storm
with vastly different results wv
these structures may NwA
like. Which are you, a hearer only
n a nearer and q doer?
Is your house founded upon the w
ng word or upon the speculaticns
cienee? Face this question we MUS
Lesson outline:
|. False and True Teachers
s-45.
/. Danger, V. 80. 40.
2, Like teacher. like pupil, '. ~