Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-25


We are to study today in the Sermon
on the Mount the constitution of the
Kingdom of God. It is the background
upon which the Naval Conference that
was formally opened by King George
In message that was heard around
the world last Tuesday morning was
convened. The success of the confer
ence for disarmament depends upon the
extent that the statesmen of the five
powers are able to incorporate the
teachings of the Lord Jesus into their
conference. It, in all probability, will
go down in history as the most impor-
tant international conference. Mems
hopes for the success of their delibera-
lions are based upon the fact that the
representatives of all the nations par
ticipating have publicly pledged them
selves to seek in advance the spirit Of
good viii and peace among all nations.
When Christ was born in Bethlehems
manger the angels proclaimed that
peace on earth to men of good will was
assured by the birth of our Lord, whose
message we study today.
While the statesmen of England are
working with those of other nations
in the interest of peace among all ma
tons, Great Britain is facing in India
one of its most dtflcult and perilous
problems, because Mahatma Ghandi,
the foremost apostle Of non violence"
has succeeded in unifying the men of
the Hindu. Mohammedan and various
other faiths into a great nationalistic
movement that proposes to test the
principles of the Sermon on the Mount
in way that threatens the integrity
OF the British Empire. Ghandi has
courageously dared champion and has
succeeded in persuading men of the
faiths n fa 20
the teachings of Christ concerning the
character of the Kingdom of God No
other movement in history has ever at
tempted it on so gigantic a scale. If
the followers Of Ghandi were made I'D
OF individuals who had been born again,
the world would witness the birth of
a nation whose constitution had been
given to the disciples Of the Lord Jesus
in His Sermon on the Mount.
Christ's- ministry in Galilee had been
so popular that He was followed from
place to place by rapidly increasing
number OF disciples, who were expecting
that He was about to establish q tenn
pora1 kingdom. They came from every
community and at all hours. They were
multitude OF restless souls with hearts
hunger1ng for His teachings and many
OF them were afflicted with bodily dis
eases, who sought Jesus that He might
heal them. Among the crowd that was
pressing upon the Lord Jesus He saw
the faces of some Of His Jerusalem foes,
who had determined to destroy the
Masters life.
After spending a night in PRAYER.
Jesus selected IL from among the dis
ctples who had followed Him throughout
the Galilee campaign and appointed
them apostles. This marked q new
epoch in the ministry Of the Lord Jesus.
In the former period Jesus had sought
to make clear the difference between
the physical and spiritual truths. He
commenced now to teach them the
moral and spiritual principles of the
kingdom by preaching an appropriate
ordination sermon. He was trying to
prepare them for their task of carrying
on the work OF, the kingdom when He
should be removed by His coming death
upon the cross. We are to consider in
this weeks lesson His outline of the life
ana practice OF the ideal Christian that
He gave 70 the apostles In His Sermon
on the Mount. Our lesson is taken from
what, in the Judgment of centuries of
Christian history, has been considered
the most sacred possession that Christ
has given to His church.
Standards Of Life.
IA CHab sermon, delivered when He
SET them apart as His apostles, we find
tne constitution of the kingdom; the
practical principles that should govern
the life Of every Christian and deter
mine his conduct. In the first and
last OF the beatitudes, with which He
opened His sermon on the mount we
nnd presented the supreme reward Of
human faithfuineSss The promises
between point out different aspects of
happiness that the ideal follower of
the Lord Jesus viii obtain. They de-
monstrate that the standards of Christ's
kingdom contradict the modern stand
ards of men as much as they did those
OF the Lords day. "a character that
has for its root poverty of spirit, and
Tor Its fruitage persecution for right
eousneSS sake, is as unwelcome now as
1t was then. And yet the beatitudes
are simply the character and conduct
OF Jesus of Nazareth translated into
human words for the instruction Of
members OF His kingdom" Recognizing
our own shortcomings, we ought to re-
Jolce in the Masters assurance that
they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness shall be filed" The
supreme happiness is promised to those
who are pure in heart, not like the
PhariseeS, who sought to be outwardly
fair and ceremonially pure, but by being
born again, washed in the blood of the
Lamb through repentance and faith in
Christ.
The mission Of Christians in the
world, He pointed out, was to help save
the world, because He told them that
they were the salt OF the earth" and
the light OF the world" Being through
their spiritual lives the salt of the
earth" taught the disciples that they
were to purify the world and keep
society from spelling. Their lives were
to exercise an antiseptic influence in
the world that would keep humanity
from becoming utterly corrupt. He
warned them that If they should turn
out to be merely nominal Christians,
their lives would be useless in developing
the kingdom. In fact, they would not
be Mt for membership in the kingdom.
AS lights they were to be the source Of
moral and spiritual illumination to men.
We can not shirk our task. We are not
called upon to parade our virtues, but
to brighten up the world and to inspire
men through the character of our lives
to desire to be Christians and help
them find their way to the Lord Jesus
to be saved.
Standards Of Obedience.
President Hoover has stressed the
importance Of observance of all the
Nations laws. When the faithful
Hebrew spoke of the law he referred
TO the first five books Of the Bible.
y a