The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-02

u morality of the eminent profession. have selected as my text a brief but significant sentence from Saint Paul letter to Timothy-"We know the law is good if man use it lawfully" Paul was lawyer. He had studied law at the feet of the most distinguished lawyer in Jerusalem. In the opening ot this pastoral letter to his understudy ln the gospel, he gave the high purpose and end of the law if properly use and proslaims in my text that the law is good if. used lawfully. The law is good if its purposes, aims and ends are properly maintained.
 The law is divided into three depart. ments: the law of nature, the law Of God revealed in the Bible and the law of man enacted by the civic power for the preservation and good of society The first department has been. turned over to the scientist, the second to the preacher and the third to the lawyer. The scientist works in the fields of nature; the preacher and the lawyer deal with folks. As matter of fact, all law is from God and is to the same end-the uplift and welfare of hu- manity. The first system of laws was delivered to Gods chosen nation in it's infancy, incapable of making laws. The first government was a theocracy. Moral, civil and natural laws were combined in lifting a ract from savagery to civilization. God led them by the clouds, sifted their meal through the air, gave them meat from the finger of the wind and watei from the rock to teach them that He was the leader of nations, the source of all things and the author of all laws
 He selected Moses whom He had trained as His vice-gerent. He was the legislator, judge, lawyer and priest Later Aaron, the brother of Moses, wal placed by his side as the priest The brothers clasped hands to build and execute Gods laws in religion and civil governmental lift nation from barbarism to civilization. Moses ruled in the courts; Aaron served in the tabernacle-one at the bar of justice and the other at the altar of sacrifice The lawyer and the priest, the judges and the prophets, the lawyers and the preachers have been co-laborers down the ages. The law seeks justice, the gospel offers mercy. The law dis covers and punishes crime, the gospel offers pardon and restoration to the criminal. The old English lawyers worked side by side with the preacher. If the neighbors were in trouble touch ing the law, they brought their troubles to the lawyer and he as an elder brother helped them adjust their difficulties according to the law and charged nothing. Whatever they gave him was received as an honorarium. The lawyer who is. in his business for the sheckels is lio more worthy of his calling than a preacher who breaches for money. The relation of the work of the lawyer and the preacher is aptly illustrated by little farm scene in my In the earlier days before the invention of the thrashing machine, we scattered our wheat on the barn floor and thrashed the wheat by driving mules around over it. remember we go into the barn floor-an obstreperous animal. took the reins, my brother got behind him with a pitchfork and we properly landed him in the barn. was the preacher and the pitchfork brother was the lawyer. It is my business as a preacher to beg and implore men to do right; it is the lawyers business with the law and the court to. get behind him and make him do. right. The lawyers and the preachers can clean up this country if by some means they could be induced to rise to the full power of their pro- fession and calling and lock hands and go at it.
 The %authornof my text was both lawyer andta preacher. He was also a Roman. The Romans did two things; they built roads and made laws
 This preacher and lawyer and Roman was fine instrument for God to use ill defining and explaining the law to all ages and to point out its nature and purpose. In the context given above, he writes, "Now the end of 'th' law in love out of pure heart and of { good conscience and of faith un feigned." This remarkable stat' ment is not comprehended by a glance
 That the purpose, aim and end of law is to create love, develop conscience and establish faith does not appear to the casual reader. Let us turn the light on by reading Romans 13 :10-"LOve Worketh no i'll to his neighbor, there
 fore love is the fulfilling of the law The highest accomplishment of law ii the absolute safety of every citizen
 The best guarantee of that safety is Hove that ,worketh no i'll to his neigh
 bor.' The nature of law, divinely authorized and righteously executed will produce respect and reverence fol government, out of which grows, love and devotion, therefore the end of the law is love-. Obedience to law is its own reward and no only satisfies but strengthens and builds a good con
 science therefore the ''end of the law is good conscience" The forced obedience to a righteous law will create honor and veneration for the law anC ultimately faith in the law and the law giver, therefore the ''end of the law is faith unfeigned." F
 For example, let parents begin ant continue their home with laws, kindly given and strictly enforced. The re
 suit will be the children will first honor and reverence their parents and then devoutly love them. Obedience to their laws will give good conseienct
 and love and obedience will create faith in the parents and in the home government. On the other hand. lei there be no discipline, no laws and nc obedience, The result will be rebellion
 hatred, guilty. and remorseful con
 science and finally doubt as to al
 home values. How remarkable that
 Paul should have written, ''the end Oi the law is love out of pure heart
 good conscience and faith unfeigned. . This is as trna in. national aa ir