Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-06


heart will distinguish. Not all the
clamorous and self-complacent pro-
fessors of orthodoxy shall enter.
however repeatedly, loudly and
familiarly they call Lord. Lord.
| The confession Lord, Lord" is
| symbolic of sound creed, as well as
a religious profession. 1t is as much
as to say that there are many who
have an unhesitating belief in the
doctrine of grace and of God, who
nevertheless are not true disciples of
Jesus. He demands a profession OF
his name, but those who offer only
this, he will exclude and reject.
Faithfulness as well as faith. is nee
essary to secure entrance into that
realm of bliss where his servants
serve him with no divided allegiance.
| The Times of Testing
So loyal was Jesus to the spirit
of truth, and so Indifferent to it's
outward seeming, that he early won
for himself the name of hereto, and
as such was put to an ignominious
death. OF course, he was orthodoxy
| itself, but he did not square with the
crooked little sticks which the priest
| ly measures tried to apply to him
| as standard. He had no zeal to con-
| form to their type of correctness,
for he measured himself-and he
lald this down as Il principle for
all MS disciples-by the unchanging
Will OF the Father. and by revela-
| tlon or the great day of clear vision.
| AS Jesus lived his own life serene
ly in the brightness of truths reveal
ing, so he taught that there is a day
| coming when all mems characters
shall be discovered, and their judg-
| ment settled. Doubtless there will
| be great CONSERVATION among many
! of the loudly professed followers of
Christ Astonished and incredulous
/ they will cry; Lord, Lord, have we
not stood among the people as thy
| representatives in the world, preach
ers of the gospel? Have we not cast
out demons in thy name, and in thy
name done many wonderful works."
| UP from the depths of a citys
Sums, by way of a rescue mission,
occasionally comes a dramatic story
| of one whose life had in its time
stood high and shining. but who, for
one cause or another, had become a
| castaway. OF the thousands who ap-
! Piled to the Bowery Branch of the
New York P. NJ. c. A. for relief
work last year twenty per cent. were
college men. Once leaders of men
now needing to be lifted out of the
gutter. How vividly they illustrate
| the Masters teaching that no man
is saved by his standing. Position
in life, reputation, diplomas. useful
ness-none of these are sufficient to
save in the crises of life, or in that
other great hour, when the soul
stands before it's Maker for judg-
ment. 1t is then that the thoughts
OF the heart must chord with the
outward seeming in loving fidelity
to the Christ whose friendship is
| life for two worlds. The thought is
startling, but fully warranted, that
those from whom men might vote
as the most religious, may be found
among the rejected before the
Searcher of hearts.
What Counts on the Great Day
In the book of Matthew the Judg-
ment day is depicted for us in the
imagery of Christ seated upon the
throne dividing the sheep from the
goats. The sheep he places on his
right hand and the goats upon his
left To those on his right hand he
says: Come We blessed of my Father
inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the
world. "Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these, my
brethren. ye have done it unto me-"
To those on his left hcnd he says:
Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels. Inasmuch as
We did 1T not unto me of the least
of these ye did it not unto me-"
The great final test of religion is
not righteousness, but a relation; not.
what have I done. not what have I
believed, not what have I achieved,
but what is my relation to Christ? +?
So the great Teacher makes it plain
that he will openly declare that he
never knew these loud professors.
He dismisses them with the simple
command: Depart from me We
workers of iniquity." AS unbelief
departs from the loving God - re-
fuses to follow, obey and love him
so unbelievers must forever depart
from the presence of God, and from
the glory of his power. "outcast."
Parable of Foundation and Floods
This whole mountain side sermon
concludes with one of those exuuis-
ite parallels whose pictorial beauty
and spiritual insight, always remark
able. are in this case elevated into
strain of solemn grandeur and aw-
| full pressiveness. Jesus compared
the persons who hear and do his
words to man who built his house
upon a rock. "And the rains de-
scended and the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat upon that
house; and it fell not, for it was
| founded upon a rock" Those who
heard his sayings and did them not
he compared to a man who built his
house upon sand. And the rain
descended, and the floods came and
the winds blew, and smote upon
that house; and it fell; and great
was the fall thereof"
Every Jew could understand the
smile. AS in all hilly countries the
streams of Galilee rush down the
torrent beds during the winter and
early spring, sweeping all before
them, overlooking their banks, and
leave beds of alluvial deposit on
either side. When summer comes
their waters fall. and what had
seemed a goodly river, is a tract
covered with sand and pebbles. A
stranger coming to build might be
attracted by the level surface of the
sand. 1t would be easy to build there
on such a house a winter torrent
had swept down in its fury, and the
storms had ragged, and then the
whole fabric, on which time and
money had been expended, had given
way and fallen in a heap of ruins.
When Storms Come