The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1913-09-26

IL 6Qau Do db WOOls
Jesus asked the
question, b a t
think ye Of Christ? There must be
some reconciliation between this claim
of reason and the text.
In the first place we must have In
mind the person receiving the appeal
he is unrighteous. He may be, con-
trasted with the wicked man referred
to in the same verse, but the matter
of his unrighteousness, or unregen-
erateness is the thing now to be held
in mind. Then we must consider the
sphere of thought. The man is not
asked to forsake all his thinking, for
in some things his thoughts are cor
rect, indeed, more correct than those
of the righteous man. Those things
belong to the unregenerate state and
he thinks rightly on them. Ministers
sometimes preach to their congrega-
tions on subjects that are not spirit
ual, and many that are in the pews
know far more about the subject than
the preacher, and often smile at his
ignorance. The unrighteous man
thinks quite properly on finance, com
merce and politics, but when it comes
to spiritual things he is out Of his
realm. Here the person who may be
OF very limited intellectual attain
ments may be his instructor. The At
rican or Korean may know far more
Of spiritual things, because born again.
than the educated European. Thus
we find that the appeal is to the un-
righteous person, and the sphere OF
thought is the spiritual. Here Is
where the unrighteous man Is asked
not to think. And why?
The words Of the lord. my thoughts
are not your thoughts imply that
there is some unfavorable comparison
between the thoughts of the lord and
those of unregenerate man. Gods
thoughts are certainly always right.
II this be true, mans thoughts are
certainly wrong. When man stands
naked before God this fact will be
demonstrated to the confusion of null
utudes.
We may also say the unrighteous
man should forsake his thoughts be-
cause they have been shown to be
usually wrong. That man has some
quite correct thoughts in the spiritual
sphere may be conceded, or responsi-
bility would be lessened, but the law
of his thinking is wrong. Habitually
his thoughts are wrong. A compare
son. of mans thoughts and those OF
the lord as given in the Bible clearly
demonstrates this. When Jesus was
on earth he said to the Pharisees that
they thought in their prayers they
should be heard for their much speak
ing, that is, a prayer 20 minutes
long was twice as good as one ten
minutes long. The Bible declares that
men thought God to be as one of
themselves. Simon Magus thought
that the gift of the holy spirit could
be had for money, and the apostle pro-
nounced fearful curse on him. He
has successors in these days. Naaman
furnishes US an illustration of how
men think as to the conditions Of re-
demption. He thought that the
prophet Elisha would come out and
call on his God and pass his hand
over the place Of the leprosy-but
nothing of the kind. He was simply
Instructed by the prophet, who did not
seem overwhelmed with the great
Syrian's magnificence, to dip seven
times in the Jordan, and his flesh
should be. as that of little child.
How squarely are mans thoughts on
redemption opposed to Gods simple
requirement to repent and believe!
Again, as long as man is unregen-
crate he has principle in him that
vitiates all right thinking on spiritual
subjects. Here 1t may be said sin
lieth at the door. The stream cannot
be pure If the fountain is foul. One
of the tests of a mans regenerate
state is his changed thinking on spirit
ual subjects. He sees things differ
entity, new world has been opened
to him. He often wonders why he
did not see things as he now sees
them. His unrighteousness explains
this difficulty.
Another reason for forsaking his
thoughts is that he is wasting time in
doing that which has already been
done, even conceding that he thinks
rightly. One may ask in wonder, am,
I not to think this religi Ius problem
out for myself? No. 1t has already
been thought out, and the record is in
the Bible Some one may say this In
Inmates ready-made thinking. and
ready-made things are to be suspect
ed. We do not suspect suit of
clothes ready to be put on, If pur-
chased at a reputable store, nor a.
piece of furniture, nor prepared foods.
This is an age of ready-made things.
and If we have the guaranty that the
maker is reliable we may be content.
God has thought all these things out.
No man could have done It. No man
ever evolved anything that even tnti-
mated the way Of redemption through
a substitute such as Jesus Christ Is
to be. There Is not a
thing about sin, redemption, or mans
origin, nature, possibilities. destiny,
that is not clearly proclaimed in the
Bible. Let man take Gods thinking
and no disappointment awaits him.