Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-06
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.

| In the opening part of this noun
| tain discourse Christ explained the
( essence of righteousness by describ-
ing it's purely Godward character
/ through the filial relationship of men
to the heavenly Father. In this les
| son. which is the second part of His
sermon, Jesus points out the practical
! and profitable character of His re-
| ligion by showing how this spiritual,
vital fellowship would protect men
| from the evils of formal righteousness
and religion. and also inspire those
Christian activities which would bring
| life into conformity with the divine
ideal.
While the closing section of the pre-
the Masters criticism of the scribes
as interpreters of Gods law. the open
| ing section of the portion assigned
for this weeks study contains His
criticism of the Pharisees, who aimed
| to carry out the scribes' principles in
| insight into their hypocrisy. Jesus
pointed out the three outstanding
| perils of conventional righteousness.
| He condemned the hypocrites that
! turned the synagogue into theater
by their acting in an effort to secure
public approval. when by true wor-
! ship they should have sought the APP
prevail of God. He drew the mask
! from the faces of those who. in their
thanksgiving, prayers and fasting. tried
! to conceal the unworthy motives that
! prompted them in their public worship
| in the synagogue and street. and ex-
| posed their desire for reputation. The
value of religious observance is not in
| influencing humanity. but in their
power to draw US nearer to the rather
deeds only when they spring forth
from the souls intimate Fellowship
with the Lord Jesus.
In His own graphic way the Master
taught His disciples the duty and
privilege of private prayer. Christ
I fought to have secret place where
lie can be alone with God. 1t is only
in hours of close communion with the
Father that one can come to know
Him. whose, fellowship should be
!sought without ostentation and with
Iout the "use of vain repetitions." As
children drawing near to paren
;who knows our needs far better thar
1--we do ourselves, so we are to ap'
iproach the throne of grace. In the
;disciples there are three parasitic
address to the Father, the petition.
! which pertain to His interests and thu
lretitions which relate to the affair!
of men. Any prayer which. does no
,give first place to God is an Inversion
of the true order. Next come th1
affairs of His kingdom. Last com.
lpurely personal petitions, bread fol
tsustenance, pardon for our sins ant
lpurity for our souls. In it's brevity
balance and breadth it is unequaled
Having taught them how to pray il
la spirit of love and forgiveness, Chris
Ioutlines the citizens conduct in the
Kingdom.
The Great Builder dug down deel
until he found certain rock bottom
principles upon which every Chris
tan can build strong and enduring
lcharacter. He advocated the su
!periority of the spiritual over thu
material by protesting against the
mad scramble for gold. Character
is reflected in the attitude toward
!money" Probably that is why Jesu.
spoke more about money than any
jother subject. Most men are afrai(
of poverty. but Christ emphasized
that the rich were in peril of losing
their possessions through deprecia
ton and dishonesty. He advocated tn,
investment in the securities of thu
kingdom because the heavenly treas