News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1921-05-25

~ If they have had experience in lead
ing men to Christ.
more recent definition is one given
by DR.. e. S. Ames, associate professor
OF philosophy in the University OF Ihl-
cago. He declares that religion IS
complex of activities and emotions, an
organization of attitudes and hapltS
In the service Of commanding Ideals"
and that at expresses itself in politlcal
economic and social relations" he
further asserts that religion arises
from human nature itself"
From these definitions, elaborate but
elusive, we turn to our text and Ets
context. The latter part Of the first
chapter of the Epistle Of James deals
with the subject Of real religion.
Every good gift and every perfecT
gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of Lights" Real re-
l1g1on, which is the binding back OK
the soul to God, is from above. "Of
His own will begat He US with the
word of truth" This marks the be.
ginning of real religion. Only twice
born people possess real religion; all
other is unreal and unsatisfying. Ii
does not meet either the need OF the
heart or the demands of the con-
science. There is no entrance into the
kingdom of God except that of the
new birth. Unless a man be born
from above he cannot see or enter thel
kingdom of God. Apart from seeing
and entering the kingdom of Goa
there can be- no real religion.
The greatest loss that has come tt
the churches of America in the last
thirty years is the loss of proper en-
phasis upon this great and fundamen-
tai truth-"Ye must be born again.
AS a consequence of this vague re-
ligiousness has taken the place of q,
vital Christian experience.
The result of the new birth and the
new life from God is that its recipient
becomes a spiritual child of God. This
new relationship brings with it new
responsibilities. These responsibilities
as outlined in this Scripture mark QUIT
the path of the one who is truly anC
swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to,
wrath" The Fathers children must
be swift to hear" that is, alert to,
hear the voice of God as it speaks,
through the indweling Spirit, and byl,
the study of the Word, or in the provi-
Dental circumstances of life. In theI
midst of the babel of false religious
no oil 70 he
voice of God.
Being thus swift to hear" the
Christian must also be "slow to
speak" not desiring to parade his
knowledge and make for himself q
name; not seeking prominence and
popularity but walking humbly before
God Anyone-who, has a name to
make for himself in this world can
never be used of God. There is only
one name to be exalted, and that "the
name of Jesus" If the Christian has
opportunity to speak, and is led to
tell of those things which he has been
swift to hear" he may possibly find
little or no response to his message.
His hearers may turn away and criti-
cize What then? Shall he be angry
or resentful? No. he must be ''slow TO
wrath" for such wrath or anger or re-
sentiment "worketh not the righteous
ness of God" 1t only units for serv.
ice. All such clamorings of the self.
life must be resisted and the engrafted
Word be received with meekness, for
this alone is able to save your souls"
that is, to keep us eXperimentally in
the way of salvation. The Word must
be transmitted into life so that we
shall be "doers of the Word and not
hearers only AS food unassimilated
poisons us, so hearing without apply
ing produces harmful and disastrous
effects. But the man who looks into
"the perfect law of liberty" and ad.
iusts his life according to its teach
ings, is preserved in the way of real
religion and true blessedness
Real religion relates both to ones
self and to others. IF any man among
YOU seem TO be religious and bridletb
not his tongue but deceiveth his OVID
heart, this mans religion is vain." His
profession is empty. The evidences of
the new life are absent and he stands
condemned by his own inability to re-
strain and control himself
Real religion in its exercise toward
others is said to consist in visiting
1.-THE fatherless and widows in their af.
Fiction" This is the outward express
sion of real or true religion. The prac-
tice of those things suggested by the
phrase visiting ,the fatherless and
widows" Is part of our outward serv-
ice The doing of such things is the
natural outflow of the life which is be-
gotten within us by the sovereign grace
Of I.nd