The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-02-24


Sturdy words need to be spoken on
this point, to meet the misconception
of those who would emasculate the
Temptation; and Rev. DR.. ]. H. Jow-
EFT, of New York, has spoken them:
Whatever else my Lord shall be to
me- he shall not be a counterfeit man,
exposed 20 counterfeit fire, a mere
stage fire, a man played upon by harm
less sheet lightning, and never NOV
ing amid the dread bolts and forked
fame His shall not be the sham fight,
and mine the actual struggle, or he
can be no leader of me. He himself
suffered being tempted. He felt the
real heat of the fire. he felt the fasci-
nation Of the real seduction, Jesus Of
Nazareth had the real devil to meet
and the real battle to wage, and the
garlands on his noble brow were nobly
won"
The Lure of New Religions.
Because, with a certain muddy
Drained class of people, sin and the
| devil have gone out of fashion (though
not out of business) there is today a
great vogue of esoteric religions. Des-
pite the repeated exposure of these
oriental cults, which batten on the
credulity and foolishnesS of silly WO-
men and Hke-minded men, the popu-
! larity of these various little groups
/ does not diminish. The easiest way
known to me for any man with a glib
tongue, a knowledge of human nature,
and slight familiarity with the
/
start new religion, with grotesque
name and rites.
All of these fraudulent faiths are
alike in disdaining the doctrine of sin.
Some love to call it experience" And,
if the reports of the various legal in
designations be true, the adherents of
these faiths get experience. Frankly,
this sublimated balderdash is often
only a cloak for what the Bible knows
as sin and the penal code knows as
crime. The immortal Yezidis of the
TIgris Valley are not far removed
from the new cults of Boston and
Chicago.
The Bible is amazingly true to life.
It squares with our knowledge of hu-
man nature. 1t does not blink any of
the ugly facts of existence. Instead
of attempting to ignore the hideous
reality of sin, 1t provides a Savior
from sin, who was tempted in
all points like as we are" In the
story of the temptation or Jesus we
all may read the struggle that awaits
every soul. over it all is written large
the promise that no life is destined
to defeat. The power of Christ is
pledged to the preservation of Christ's.
A Three-Battle War.
To the mind of the lonely, spent,
and hungry young man, worn with his
long vigil of forty foodless days, the
tempter appeared. There is no need
to apparel him in horns and hoofs;
the devil wears evening clothes OFTEN
er than the rig of red AS sugges-
ton, as a WhiSper-it matters not how
Satan came The point is that what
ever is diabolical is of the devil
Three shrewd attacks upon the SOW
ereignty of the soul of Jesus were
made. For that was the real issue, as
if is in all temptations. to determine
who should reign in the house of Man
soul.
A weH-fed man may not be tempted
by food; how a starving man may II Is
fs71 MS
shelter warmth appeal to even the
highest reason. And Jesus was hungry.
So Satan babe him turn the stones INTO
bread Now it surely was Gods Will
that his Son should be fed-but not in
Satan's way. Better hunger than dls-
honor. Allegiance to evil is too high
price to pay for life. The first temp
tatiOn, which Jesus promptly repulseo'
is the one that is every DAY conLron llt Ing
men in business and politics. The great
word-a motto for the shield OF every
knightly soul-Was spoken by Jesus aS
he spurned the enticement: Man Shall
not live by bread alone.
More subtle was the second on
slaught When Jesus would not re-
spond to a physical allurement, he was
attacked in his faith. THESE splrltudA
temptations are usually more power
full than those of the flesh. Prove
yourself and God by casting yourseH
down from the pinnacle of the tenn
pie; the angels will bear you up, salu
the Evil One glib to quote scripture.
Faith exercised needleSSly, and at SIN
behest. is folly. Everything should be
reserved for it's highest use. God does
not give us faith for exhibition pur-
poses He gives proofs to the nearI
that are more convincing than those
to the eyes.
The third allurement was to take a
short cut to his dominion ana king
dom by compromising with the oeElt'
'I'll agree to let you have the WorlC'
. It'll o1Ixv yIeadc X0IIrS6lf
atory to me. Let me be overload, ana
you may be King of the kings" rms
was nothing else than the common
temptation to compromise: 1.-The END
iustifies the means BY the devifs
program, Jesus would escape shame
and sorrow and rejection and CALVARY.
But he knows that Gods crowns are
to be earned in Gods way, so he cried
Get thee hence, Satan. Thou snalI
worship the Lord thy Cod
Thus was won the great victory, ana
the scathless Christ offers himself IN
sympathy to all the tempted world we
cry with Sidney Lanier:
But Thee, but Thee, o Sovereign seer
But Thee, Q poets Poet, wisdom's
Tongue,
But Thee, o mans best Man, . love
O perfect life in perfect labor writ,
all mems Comrade, Servant, King
or Priest
What If or yet, what mole, WILL
flaw, what lapse,
What least defect or shadow of defect
What rumor, tattled by an enemy
OF inference loose, what lack of grace
Even IN fortunes grasp, or sleeps, or
Deaths
oh. what amiss may forgive in Thee.
Jesus good Paragon, Thou Crystal
Christi
Some Great Patriots.
Terse comments for Feb. IS, THE
Home Missionary Whose Life Has
Most Inspired Me-" Acts 1O;25-35-
Another man Of the new order of