Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-26
Sunday School Lesson
BY
Rev. Hugh 7. Stevenson.

They viii be considered when at the
Judgment Christ judges our works. the
Master recognized the young rulers
need, so he tried to turn the thought OF
the rich young man to know God, which
was not In the thought Of the inquiring
youth. we must never forget that "this
is life ETERNAL. to know God and Jesus
Christ, Whom He hath sent" This
young man thought that he could do
something not included In the Ten
Commandments to gain Heaven. Our
Lord unmasked the self-righteousness
of the rich young ruler, who had over
looked his relations with God. He had
failed TO realize that omission of doing
wrong failed to satisfy the requirements
of the law.
He was pretty well satisfied with his
record, which was largely conferred upon
himself. He had overlooked q very
grave sin, which in his case was the
love Of money. He thought that he was
honest when he came seeking to know
how to obtain eternal life, but he was
unwilling to deny himself, take up his
cross and follow Christ. When Jesus
demanded that he sell what he had and
give 1t to the poor, he was unwilling to
give I'D everything that he had for
Gods glory. He could meet the test of
obeying the law in reference to his fell
lows, but lacked q love for God. The
love of riches triumphed over his desire
for eternal life, for he turned sadly but
decisively away from the Lord Jesus,
who looked after him with heart hum
ger that longed to make him one OF
His disciples.
The Cost Of Discipleship.
When the rich young man left. Jesus
took advantage of his departure to i'm
press upon His disciples the llindrance
Of riches in the development of spiritual
life. Jesus never said q word against
the possession of money. In His COM
ment upon the difficulties Of "a rich
man entering the kingdom Of God" the
Master was emphasizing the fact that
the possession Of wealth may lead peo-
pie to trust in riches" rather than
couldn't possess civilization nor could
institutional Christianity be established
throughout the world. The demand for
the young man to give up his all for
the glory of God contained the seeds Of
spiritual improvement for him. Unless
we put Christ first, seek first the king
dom of God and serve Him with all
that we possess and are, we cannot
count ourselves His disciples. Francis
Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary OF
the Roman Catholic Church, stated that
III 1llS BIcdJ cApCLIcLCc, ACdkAlS t1iS
confessions Of thousands, no one ever
confessed to him that he was guilty OF
the sin of covetousnesS. Nevertheless,
moved by this sin, men have defrauded
their neighbors and governments. It
has prompted them to Cypress their
employees, steal and even commit muir
der. Through Gods power and grace,
all who repent of their sins and believe
in Christ as their redeemer may be
saved.
Let us hear the Lords call and give
up all for Him. All that we possess
and can be is through His grace and
love. If with His salvation, He has
freely offered us all things, we ought to
be willing to donate all that we possess
for His service and glory. The greatest
need today in the work Of building up
the church of the living God and adj
vancing His kingdom Is that all who
profess to be His followers shall be stew
ards not only of the manifold grace OF
God but also of the gold and property
that He has intrusted to them as trus-
tee, to be used not for themselves but
for the advancement of Christ's king
dom among men. We know that He
will recognize every effort that we make
for Him and will reward us for every
sacrifice that we make for the purpose
of advancing His kingdom. If Chris
tians shared their incomes, the work
at home and abroad would be album
dainty financed. Let us prove our love
by giving our all to Christ and thus
"lay up for ourselves treasures In
Heaven" .&