The citizen., 1914-03-19
LESSON FOR MARCH u
LESSONS BY THE WAY.

LESSON TExr-Luke Is:1s-1
GOLDEN TExr-"Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord. Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom Of heaven: but he that
doeth the will Of my father who is in
heaven. In.
The paragraph selected for our
study is wisely entitled Lessons by
the Way" and easily falls into three
sections. There are two parallels
about the kingdom, 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 por-
ton OF the preceding paragraph which
relates to the incident of the woman
healed on a Sabbath.
!. What the Kingdom Of God 10
like, w. 1921. The word, there
fore" ". IS. R. W. links this
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 II IL easy to reconcile
the principles advanced by the two
different parallels, viz, the fact Of
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 to 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 II shall
be q shelter to the birds, which rep
resent the nations. Eek. 1923. But
at the same time there is to be an In
ward growth 40 we'll. one Of leaven
(yeast), putrefaction. See l. Cor. 6:67.
also Gal SIS, Q. A mustard seed thus
growing large is abnormal; the birds
are symbolic Of evil; 90 Jesus teaches
us here as elsewhere Matt 1924
30), that the Kingdom is to be Of q
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 suggest
ed development either of outward
prosperity and power, or Of such .
possibility Of finding evil within.
Common Question.
u. Who shaii be saved, w. ESQ.
What is more natural In view Of these
thoughts than to ask this question.
question that II Q most common one
still. Notice. he did not answer in a
way to satisfy idle curiosity, but d.
rected each to his own duty, to see II
they themselves had entered the king
dom rather than be concerned about
how many are TO be saved. The sec
ret then is still q secret. He told
them to strive" (contend earnestly
to enter in. Soon the door will be
shut. now they are able to enter. then
not at all. He IL the door," John
1859. There II one form Of WORK
which is essential to the salvation Of
the believer. see John 6:2S. Works"
altruistic service. is an essential part
VI Shiisuahiey, ooih6 oh o'ioohSV Va
faith. James 2:17, IS. but altruism Is
not the whole Of religion as some
seem to imply. We do not drift into
the kingdom. Acts 14:22; I. Cor. 9:24-
27; Heb. All; q 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 sus-
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 unrighteousness
is broad. easy to follow and many
walk therein. Whereas the way OF
life is narrow. straight, and few
choose to follow II. To be even so
as to have eaten and to have
drunk in his presence. or 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 II admission is
claimed on the basis of actual service
rendered there was still lacking one
thing, vA., the Lords knowledge Of
them. To be casually, superficially
with him ia not enough-they
did not know him. Many Of our
first people viii then be last"
when that door is closed. and they
find themselves without. blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the
Lord"
Word and Work-the two W's.
You'll soon get spiritually gorged II
I is all word and no work, and you
will soon be without power II It is
Ill work and no word. II you want
% be healthy Christians. there must
20 both word and work."-D. L.
Moody.
~. Warning about herod, w. 81.
IS. Why the Pharisees gave Jesus
his warning is hard to tell. They
we're not interested In his safety par
icularly and perhaps only wanted TO
righten him and thereby limit his In.
iuence and activity. see Neh. 6;s-11;
AMOS 7:12, l3. There is no doubt
iowever. of the truth OF their words
nd We know that Jesus never need.
essly incurred danger. He had his
york TO do and could not be killed
ntil II was done, John 1850. The
mention OF the usurper called from
esus a revelation OF his compassion