Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-19

Christ's resurrection is a historical
reality. This fundamental fact pro-
| duced the church, that testifles today
by its presence and power in the world
10 the Lords resurrection. Jesus staked
His Mission, Messiahship and Message
upon His resurrection that He predicted
would occur, as it did, upon the third
DAY after His death upon the cross He
pointed to 1t as demonstration of His
deity. The observance of the first day
OF the week as the Lords day is a
weekly testimony of Christs victory
| over death. The existence of the New
testament is by-product Of the reSur-
rectlon of Jesus. The power of the
| Lords day, the Lords word and the
Lords people all are due to His triumph
over the grave. The church with its
message of the risen Christ satisfies the
| religious longing of the human soul for
an assurance that there is future life
beyond the grave. The gospel of the
resurrection fills men with comfort
cheer and courage. 1t has made Chris
t1anity the most vital faith in the his
| tory OF mankind through its molding
and Transforming power.
| II Jesus had not risen from the dead,
as He promised, there would have been
! no forgiveness for the sinner. The dis
| clpleS gave up all hope and expectancy,
when Jesus died upon Calvary's cross
II Jesus had not risen, we would have
no foundation for our faith, basis of
forgiveness, or hope for the establish
ment OF peace. Peter questioned the
practlcability of the Lords methods OF
securing forgiveness. He evidently had
| by his own attitude toward others felt
the reproof Of the Master, who urged
that one should go alone and seek the
restoration Of the proper relationship
among His followers by visiting the one
who had wronged him. If in that In
tervtew he could not persuade him, then
ne was to take one or two mutual
friends, and as a last resort he was tc
utilize the power of public opinion by
appealing to the church. According tc
Christ Jesus we should not retaliate any
injury, insult or injustice. We are not
to nurse grudge, but we have a re-
sponsibility placed upon us by the
wrongdoer that we cannot neglect, fol-
we must make an effort to win the one
who has wronged us without limiting
the spirit Of forgiveness.
Unlimited Forgiveness.
It is evident that Peter had not
thought through the principles of for
glveness taught by the Master, although
he In all probability was trying to solve
the extent Of forgiveness The rabbis
| taught that man should be entitled
to forgiveness for three times, but not
four. Peter had failed to grasp Christ's
doctrine of reconciliation between alien
ated brothers. Jesus had insisted that
Self-interest called for quarrels II
be made up at once He taught that
love required that it should be on
grounds independent of their attitude
and relation toward one another. One
has no right to expect forgiveness from
the Heavenly Father for the sin he has
committed. Peters question shows that
he was considering the Masters posi-
ton as a personal problem. He was
perplexed because Jesus was demanding
that one should think only of the othel
persons rights. He thought that the
| Master had no sympathy for the in
jured person. This furnished the Lore
an opportunity to expound the limits o.
forgiveness. The unlimited forgive
ness of offenses is a distant contribu-
ton of Christ to the religious ideals Of
the world. His reply until seventy
times seven" made complete division
between ancient and modern morality
The former was based upon the false
theory that 1--WE have right to resent