Evening star., 1925-02-21
Sunday School Lesson

proach, free from any law-breaking
and marked by philanthropic serv-
ice. The quickest way to secure a
repeal of bad laws was in the judg-
ment of the apostle for a group OF
God-fearing and philanthropic men
to be called upon to endure suffering
as patriots and martyrs to their faith.
Resistance should always be made in
lawful ways. whenever there is a
need Of reform.
Spirit of Cftizenship.
No Christian will fail to pay his
taxes, whether they be town, county,
school, city, internal revenue or in
come tax. They must be met not
because one fears the consequences
of neglect, but out of love for our
country and the desire to advance it's
interest. The man who loves his
nation never seeks to dodge paying
his taxes or performing his full duty
as citizen. The nations that de-
termined to pay their debts to US
have commenced to prosper. There
Is a close connection between our
prosperity and meeting our obliga-
tions.
Paul emphasizes the teachings of
Christ in reference to love, when he
calls for men to observe the second
portion of the Ten Commandments,
that defined our obligations to our
fellow citizens. II we love our neigh
bors as ourselves the spirit of envy
will be crushed, the desire for display
will be lessened and we will cease to
be careless concerning our obligations
to our fellowmen. He calls for the
development of a spirit of good will
and fraternity among men that will
make wars impossible. The obliga-
tion to love one another Is a debt.
which we can never pay, except by a
life o flowing service for the benefit OF
others. A good neighbor becomes a
good citizen. His spirit of philan-
thropy fills the community with JOY
that makes life worth while and
makes obedience to law easy.
The citizen who loves his fellow
citizen is not moved by fear to obey
the law. He is not prompted by self
interest. He is not thinking Of how
he may obey the letter Of the law
and destroy its principles. The
Christian is prompted by love that
worketh no I'll to his neighbor'' to
fulfill the law. Love removes the
spirit Of self-interest and fills US with
| sympathy for others in need.
Source of senship.
Water rises to its level Citizen
ship unless linked up with the source
of all government is in danger of
becoming destructive. We have wit
messed In recent years how men by
boring in have tried to change our
form Of government. The only safe
guard is to be found in men and
women whose lives reveal their close
fellowship with God.
There existed in the time that Paul
penned the epistle to the Romans GER
tain social evils and vices that are
still with US. The apostle warned
the members Of the church in Rome
against the danger of their day,
which threatens society today as
much as It did then. Paul speaks of
three classes Of iniquity, which he
classified as works of darkness"
immortality, evil thinking and de-
sires, and the indulgence in anything
that was not clean and Christlike had
to be overcome. The apostle sought
to encourage them to master the
the fact that the Lords return was
imminent.
In calling for them to look for the
Lords return and to put on the
Lord Jesus Christ" Paul revealed the
source Of good citizenship. Democ-
racy without the hope Of the second
advent and the life of Christ lived
daily by His disciples is in danger.
When the church realizes that His
coming draws near and commences to
reveal to men the character of their
Lord in their daily life, the dangers
that threaten a social upheayal will
give way to a period of peace. prog
ress and prosperity through the OBJ
servance of law and the main tanning
of order, not by force, but through
love. Human brotherhood and the
fraternity OF nations is of slow
growth. but history reveals its de-
velopment.
While We do not know when our
Lord will return, we do know that IL
We are loyal to His teachings and
that OF His great apostles, we will
recognize that there Is a close rela-
tion between patriotism and religion.
We will reveal our love to God, our
country and fellowmen by loyalty to
the Nations flag, Constitution and
laws. One can't be disloyal to the
state and love God One can't be
faithful to Christ and look for His
return and be untrue to his service
as q citizen.