St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1938-03-25

LESSON IEAI-NaTk Is4s4Ss
GOLDEN TEXT-This people honoreth
me with their lips, but their heart Is far
from me. Mark 7:6.
PRIMARY TOPICAL Dinner-Time.
JUNIOR ToPIC-What Il Real Re-
ligionp
TOPIC-What Counts with God7
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT
TOPIC-Sidestepping Responsibilities.
The never-ending struggle OF
Christianity is to keep the simple
gospel of the grace Of God in Christ
Jesus free to operate in all its glory
and power, unencunbered by the
traditions and formulas Of men. It
has been my privilege to read q
recent book by a brilliant young
man who, while serving as a profes-
sor Of philosophy in a large univer-
sity, Is also versed in the related
fields of theology, psychology, psy-
chiatry, and psychotherapy. He has
had first-hand experience in dealing
with the problems Of men and
women. With this background OF
both study and experience he gives
1t as his absolute conviction that
we must get back to the original
simplicity of the Christian gospel"
He suggests that we need to dust
off the additions and superstruc-
lures" that have been added since
Christ came to seek and to save the
lost.
Our lesson for today finds Jesus
meeting that very issue with the
traditionalists Of His day. The
Pharisees and a delegation OF
scribes, who had come all the way
from Jerusalem to Capernaum to
seek to ensnare him.
l. Washed Hands and Unwashed
Hearts wv. 1-6).
In the process Of interpreting the
law of Moses and applying 1t to the
affairs of daily life the religious
authorities of Israel had developed
a mass of intricate and onerous
rules which had literally buried
the law itself and had substituted
ritualistic Journalism for spiritual
life. So fond had the scribes and
the Pharisees become of these tradi-
tions that they became bold enough
to declare that they were far SD
perior to the law itself.
Their attack on Jesus because His
disciples ate with unwashed hands
did not refer to the proper cleans
ing Of ones hands before eating,
but to the ceremonial washings
which were said to be necessary II
one had accidentally touched
a Gentle, or something that a Gen.
tile had touched in the market place.
Jesus skillfully and finally dis
poses of that question by reminding
the directors that they were serving
God with their lips only, but their
hearts were far from Him. Washed
hands are not a thing to be con-
demned, and Jesus says nothing
about that point. When the wash
ing Of hands becomes Of more i'm
portance than the cleansing Of the
heart, however, the soul Is In real
danger. We do not have the tradi-
tons of the Jews, but all too often
within the church we have estab-
lished rules, imposed restrictions
required submissions which are not
scriptural, and hence which we may
not honestly require Of our neighbor.
Before we rest back in the assurance
that we are better than the scribes
and Pharisees we will do well to
take stock" and determine wheth-
er we too have fallen into their
error.
II. Traditions Of Man Versus the
Commandment Of God (vv. 7-13).
Here is the heart Of the entire mat
ter, for while we may not always
be aware of il the fact Is that
our anxiety to maintain human
tradition which is contrary to the
law and Spirit of God is fundament-
ally for the purpose Of evading our
full and true responsibility.
The Jew who was so avaricious
that he did not wish to support his
aged and needy parents could en-
tirely evade that God-given respon-
sibility by declaring that his prop
erty was "Corban," dedicated to
God. Thereafter no matter how
great was the need Of his parents
they could receive nothing. The
execution Of this oath was carried
out to such a fine point that son
who had declared his property to
be "Corban" could visit sick
father or mother for only a brief
period lest he might stay long
enough to perform some duties Of q
nurse and thus indirectly contribute
to his parents by saving them some
expense.
Thus do men even In our day
make 'the word Of God Of none eff
feet" ". 49,, through their tradi-
tons. No right minded person OBJ.
jects to the worthy traditions Of
worship and service which are such
precious heritage Of the Christian
church. Rightfully apprehended and
properly used they are both desir.
able and helpful. But we must new.
er permit the grace and power Of
God in Jesus Christ ito be brought
under the trammels of human teach.
ers or the arrangements Of human
of1ce-bearers. The first movement
toward the mastery Of the soul by
tradition is the movement Of that