Mexico Missouri message., 1912-05-23

/ neighbor; for we are memb,.s a- "'s
! lnother"-Eph. AIS.
IN this lesson Jesus makes q s.r,
| further application, or rather g.yes ',,
I another illustration of the r..,..-....
/ ness of his new kingdom, which rr.,,
/ be greater than that taugEe by ~
/ Pharisees. We have studied tba D.,
cred relations of the righteous r.,
now we are to consider the matter ~,
| truth. We have first a paragfsnb FROM,
Jesus, then an ethical teachirz and sn
| plication from the writings Of Jane,
| the apostle.
Under the old law men swore h,
heaven which ia Gods throne, by IN.
earth which is his footstool, BIZ Jern.
salem which was his peculiar chose,
city. They swore by the head and
yet they could not change one hair
white or black. Jesus contrasts an
OF this with his new kingdom IN
which absolute simple veracity in Oh,
speech Is all that is to be required
| This makes all oaths profane When
men live in these new relations. WITH
/ this new consciousness OF God they
will speak the truth naturally ana Of
necessity. TO such there wiu be m
need for any form OF speech or oath.
for the simplest, plainest speech viii
be the only necessary and the alto
gether satisfactory medium OF giving
and of creating assurance. How about
oaths In court? Jesus Is speaking 10
the members OF his new kingdom. Be
tween them yea and nay is suflEier,
but as between them and others We
must adjust ourselves and Therefore
we do not read into this any admoai
ton not to take an oath in court.
Should Be Swift 10 Hear.
BE not many teachers We now
turn TO a paragraph from the Epis.e
OF James which has its peculiar value
and interest as showing the difficulty
Of mastering the tongue. In the
church of Christ there must OF ncCes.
sity be a great many more disciples
Qesrners) than teachers. Every man
should be swift TO hear, but the posi-
ton of teacher carries w!'l It such
burden of responsibility that 10 one
should audaciously ASSUME Il. see
Eph. All, etc. With this responsible
fly is also a corresponding heavier
judgment II we stumble. he that
stumbles not in teaching, ia she use
OF his tongue, is indeed perfect nan
and one that IS able TO BRIDE tie
whole body; TO guide the ship o' H'e,
OF state. and OF the church, amidst
the fiercest storms.
Tho tongue is a fire" II IS IN.
deed for 1t inflames with anger the
whole body, the family. society and
tho nation. History is ablaze with The
confiagrations that are O consequence
OF untimely words and OF unhrlded
tongues, Prov. 1871, etc. The tongue
giving utterance TO the thoughts OF the
heart (for out OF the abundance OF The
heart 1t speaks), will intiame lust
wither purity and consume strength.
1t fires jealousy and burns the sweet
bonds of friendship. 1t Will sever the
ties OF home, burn away the iounda
lions of character, Of commercial ~
tegr!ty, social purity and destroy the
bonds OF civic righteOusness. 10 Is
indeed "a world OF iniquity among oai
members" Let us quote from Dr. T.
A. Torrey: The fires Of bell are
kindled by idle words that set men
thinking wrong about God and sin ana
Christ and the Bible. Men usually
careful in handling fire are careless
about the tongue. Whence come the
words that infiame the Imagination
and the passions? Whence come the
words that undermine faith and the
credibility OF the Bible? II any man
question James words that the tongue
can no man tame he has evidently
never tried It himself" This does not
mean, however, that the tongue can
not be tanned, for what is imposslo.e
with man is possible with God. james
draws frightful picture OF the uh'
tanned tongue and OF It's evil conse
quences,
Profane Men Classified
These things ought not TO ne.
No more can a fountain yield lIesu
and salt water at one and the sa.-o
time, or a fig tree yield olives thaL
for a Christian to bless God and WIZ
the same tongue curse his fellow men
Not only is 1t unkind but It is ""
Christlike. Sarcasm means Li''~.',
to tear flesh like dogs the cN"'I
oteer's whip tore the flesh so We ".'
the tongue as a lash, biting the 7e"'.
tive spirits OF men; verify these 'A'"-s
ought not to be-" phillips h'.''-
said, Tell me the words a maa a''-
and reproduce his tone OF voice "N'
I'll tell what sort of man he is
II is a literal fact that the -s-'~. 90 %
man is he who usually exempt 400
other virtues and We ca1a2. ca
plastic too strongly that no A."
nan swears. Profane men are
three classes; those who are J"..".
less. those who are ignorant d. .'.
guage and have a paucity o. e...'
sions at their command, and ."..
who use profanity to emphaslEe 49,,
and generally the greater the '-'
more and stronger the oaths. We "