The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-08-30
A HALF HOUR WITH A
RICH MAI" TOPIC Of
LAST N|9HT'S ST RIM D n
By DR. R. Id DAV| |DSON

VI OIh Ih IL y n " v y "
Rev. r. l.. Davidson, pastor OF
Broadway Baptist church, spoke tC
the largest audience of the summer
at last nights services on the sub
ject. "A Half Hour with q Rich
Man" saying in part:
"A rich young ruler came running
to Jesus and, lneeling asked Hin
what good thing he might do to in
herit eternal life Jesus told him
to keep the commandments. He re-
piled that he had kept all of them
from his youth and wanted to know
what else he could do. Jesus in
formed him that he lacked one' thing
and told him to go and sell his goods
and distribute to the poor and come
and follow him and he should have
treasures in Heaven. The rich mar
refused to do this and went away
sorrowful The preacher said that
there were three respects in which
the young man was right and three in
which he was in error.
He was right in believing that
riches create no aristocracy or favor
with God. With men, money creates
an artistccracy and. like charity
covers a multitude of sins, but with
God it begets neither favor nor dis
favor. Money. in itself possesses
neither virtue nor vice. 1t is only the
,ove of money that is the root OF
every kind of evil. A man may
so use money as to make il an aid
to Christian living, and he may Sc
trust in it as to make it q fearful
handicap. Christ said that it was
easier for a camel, hump. feet, load
and all to go through a needles eye
than it was to get man who trust
ed in riches squeezed through the
strait gate.
THE rich man was right in be.
lieving that man may be decent
and all right in the sight of men and
yet be wrong in the sight of God.
Men judge motives by acts; God
judges acts by motives A man
may keep all of the commandments
outwardly and yet in his heart break
every one Of them.
And again the rich man was right
in thinking that a man may lack
one thing and yet be lost. This rich
young man possessed wealth and
honor and moral courage and sincerity
and earnestness and humility and
reverence and exemplary morality and
orothodoXy and yet Jesus said he
lacked one thing. That one lack
was fatal for it was the one thing
he was after-'eternal life A watch
may lack nothing but main spring
A ship may lack only a compass
but it dare not leave the harbor
A man may lack nothing but life.
but If he lacks this he is dead.
would rather be the most home,y,
bony living man on earth than the
most beautiful corpse. The beauty
Of the corpse is a fading beauty.
THE rich man was in error in
thinking that a man can be saved
by doing his best when his best
is not perfection. If a man is go
ing to save himself by words his
works must be perfect. 1t is not
sufficient to discharge a man from
note that he has done his best. He
must pay it in full. If a man is 60
ing to be saved by keeping the law
of God he must keep it perfectly.
THE rich man was in error in
thinking that he must do something
to be saved He was more concerned
about doing good than about being
good. A man cannot do good until
he has been made good. An evil
tree cannot bring forth good fruit.
nor can an evil man bring forth good
deeds. When he is made good his
conduct will be good. A man cannot
merit eternal life by doing good deeds
which he is only able to do when
God has poured some of his goodness
into him. Eternal life is the gift of
God The wages of sin is death
but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ Good works
come as the fruit and result of saliva
ton and not as the procuring cause.
THE rich young man was in error
again in thinking that eternal life
came at the end Of his religious life
and not at the beginning. Jesus
said, Verify, verify l say unto you,
he that heareth my word and believ-
eth on him that sent me hath ever
lasting life To the believer in
Jesus, eternal life is a present pos
session. 1t is as truly his the mo.
ment he believes as it will be after
he has been in heaven ten thousand
years.
The rich man, though in reach of
eternal life. rejected ii and turned
away because he loved money more
than he did life. We see here the
awful mystery enacted before our eyes
Of soul gathering up its powers to
put away the offer of eternal life. We
see here the awful mystery enacted
before our eyes of q soul gathering
up its powers 10 put away the offer
Of eternal life. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved
for God takes no pleasure in the
leath of the wicked"