Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-03-20

7oeth the will Of my father who IS fn
heaven. Matt. T:2l.
The paragraph selected for oar
study is wisely entitled Lessons by
the Way and easily falls into three
sections. There are two parallels
about the kingdom, a reply as To
who shall be saved, and an answer
to the advice given Jesus about Herod
seeking after his life
The first section is properly a por-
ton of the preceding paragraph which
relates to the incident of the woman
healed on a Sabbath.
|. What the Kingdom of God iz
like, wv. 1921. The word, there
fore" ". is, R. W, links tl1La
section with the lesson OF
last week wherein we observed
the effect upon his adversaries when
Jesus worked his miracle of healing
upon the woman ". 13). and they
were put to shame" v. IL. With this
fact in mind it is easy to reconcile
the principles advanced by the two
different parallels, viz, the fact or
intense opposition on the part of his
enemies, and that of rejoicing on the
part of his friends.
Symbols Of Evil.
The faithful servants of an absent
but expected Lord are ito watch for
him that they may give him suitable
welcome when he comes. This king
dom is to be outwardly prosperous
| and grow to that extent that it shall
be shelter to the birds, which rep
resent the nations, Eek. H:23- Rzt
! at the same time there is to be an i'm
| ward growth as well, one of leayen
! (yeast), putrefaction See |. Cor. 5-67,
! also Gal. 5:8, 9. A mustard seed thus
| growing large is abnormal; the birds
are symbolic Of evil; SO Jesus teaches
us here as elsewhere Matt. 13:zA
90),. that the kingdom is to be OF a
mixed, character. an intermixture OF
good and evil, opposition and victory
History has abundantly fulfilled these
predictions, though at the time Jesus
uttered these words nothing seemed
more improbable than such a suggest
| ed development, either of outward
prosperity and power, or acf such
| possibility of finding evil within.
Common Question.
n. Who shalt be saved, w. z2-34
| What is more natural in view Of these
/ thoughts than to ask this question.
| question that is a most common one
/ still Notice, he did not answer in a
way to satisfy idle curiosity, hut di-
rected each to his own duty, to see tx
they themselves had entered the kinsT
dom rather than be concerned about
how many are to be saved. The secs
ret then is stili secret He told
them to strive (contend earnestlyi
to enter in. Soon the door Will b.
lsshut, now they are able to enter, then
act at all. He is the door" Jci1N
/ 10:9 There is one form of work
4 which is essential to the salvation o.
i the believer, see John 6:29. WORKS. :
altruistic service, is an essential part
of Christianity, being an evidence OF
faith, James 2:17, IS, but altruisn Is
not the whole of religion as some
seem to imply. We do not drift into
the kingdom, Acts 1922; I. Cor 9:z4-
27; Heb. All; 2 Pet 1:10. All one
needs to do to be lost is to do moth
ing. To be saved calls for an HON
est, earnest effort Jesus again sug+
gests his return as he reveals the
kind of seeking which fails to find an
entrance. In another passage Matt
7:13, 14) Jesus states this same
thought. The way of unrighteousnesz
is broad, easy TO follow and many
walk therein. Whereas the way OF
life is narrow, straight and few
choose to follow it, To be even 50
familiar as to have eaten and to have
drunk in his presencescr to have lived
on the same street, will not suffice.
and will not merit an entrance. In
another connection Matt 25) Jesus
taught that even if admission is
claimed on the basis Of actual service.
rendered there was still lacking one
thing viz, the Lords knowledge OF
them. To be casually, superiicizlly
familiar with him is not enough-shey
did not know him. Many of our
first" people will then be last.
when that door is closed, and they
find themselves without.
Contempt for Herod.
Ill. Warning about Herod, w. 81
35. Why the Pharisees gave Jesus
this warning is hard to tell. They
were not interested in his safety par
ticularly and perhaps only wanted to
} frighten him and thereby limit his<fn-
fiuence and activity, see Neh. 6:9-11.
Amos 7:12, IS. There is no doubt.
however, of the truth of their words
and we know that Jesus never need
lessly incurred danger He had his
work to do and could not be killed
until it was done. John 11:S-10- The
} mention of the usurper called from
Jesus revelation of his compassion
ate lcye for the city of Jerusalem in
spite of the way it had treated him;
His contemp for Herod, "that fox
is the only record Of such words hav-
ing passed his lips. His dealings with
Herod were most solemn. The figure
of the hen and her brood as applied
J to himself is another one of those as
sertions he made which prove his
deity. He could have given that
doomed city safety, comfort and rest.
but its day was about at an end. Re
iecting the Messiah consequently LEFT
the house vacant The soul that an
, swers his Il would" by a would not
is also doomed to desolation. John
$40. Jesus spoke of himself as pro
ceeding to do his own work in his
own way and in his own time. That
program included his death (v. 33),
but his note of impending doom is
. ended in one of prophetic hope. in
which he indicated that there is to be
] day when Jerusalem shall say
, blessed is he that cometh in tbs
: name of the Lord"
Word and Work-the two WIS
You'll soon get spiritually gorged I
it is all word and no work, and yos
: will soon be without power if it il
all work and no word. If you wan
to be healthy Christians, there mus
be both word and work."-D. L
Moody