Arkansas State press. [volume] (Little Rock, Ark.) 1941-1959, 1946-07-26

LESSON TEXT-Exodus 20;7: Levitt
Gus 1912; Matthew 5.33'37 Mark 1875
8:34.36
MEMORY sELEcTIoN-But seek ye
first the kingdom Of God, and his right
eousness: and all these things small De
added unto you.-Matthew 6:33.
Reverence is not an incidental
thing which we may or may not
choose to have in our lives. 1t is
vital Reverence toward God and
the things of God will result in re-
spect for all values in life. 1t will
balance our thinking speaking, and
our acting toward our fellow men
as we'll as toward our God Our
lesson calls for
l. Reverence in Worship (Exod.
20:7; Lev. 1912.
The Lord rightfully expects from
us a proper attitude toward him.
II we worship him as we should, we
shall find that other matters fall
into their proper relationships.
Essential in true worship is rev.
erence for the name Of the Lord, for
that name stands for all the qualities
and characteristics of God. This
means that there must be no taking
Of the name of the Lord Tin VAIN
Our use of the word vain" car
ries the meaning of useless, with
out purpose or meaning" This is
part of what is In mind in this COM
mandment, for the name OF Je-
hovah is sacred and is to be rev.
erenced as standing for the eternal
God
IT is never to be used carelessly,
or for a frivolous purpose. All too
often we tell jokes or stories which
have no real purpose or meaning ex-
cept to elicit laugh, and in them
we use the name of God. We all
need to exercise care at that point.
The Hebrew word translated
vain has the additional meaning
of evil and falsehood" Men are
so bold that they may even use the
name of God to support themselves
III liz. IOd hCul dllNi Wiii III iic
wise hold them guiltless.
ii. Reverence in Words Matt. S.
$3.50.
The Sermon on the Mount ESQ.,
called, from which this portion Of
Scripture is taken, is difficult to in
terpret to the satisfaction of all
Some disregard its evident applica-
ton to the kingdom and. attempting
to apply it in the midst of an un-
godly generation, fall into such in
consistency that they abandon the
effort and regard the teaching of the
passage as impossible idealism.
Others. who rightly interpret the
passage as presenting the laws and
principles of life in the kingdom of
God, when it shall be fully set up
on earth with Jesus as King, fail to
make any application Of those prin-
ciples to life. This Is also an I'M
fortunate error.
We who follow the Lord Jesus are
not to swear by either things sa-
cred or things that might be called
secular. Perhaps he has in mind
that our lives should be so true that
men will not need to have any kind
of oath to be assured Of our sim
cerity and honesty.
Swearing should be entirely be-
yond the pale with Christian men
and women. II Is all too common
with both men and women. One
fears that this is true not only in
the world. but among protested be-
levers in Christ. Let US stop it!
Ill. Reverence in Works mark
1850.
Words which do not issue in works
are worse than meaningless. They
lead to acceptance Of formal re-
lgious system which is dangerous.
1T gives a sense OF religious sat
isfaction which is very superficial,
but of some apparent value. II car
ries with il no high ethical demands.
II helps man to feel religious with.
out being either ethical or moral.
II does not probe or arouse. 1t
soothes and Gains" w. r. White).
Who will deny that much of the
church life OF our day has reached
that same sad state OF much ado
about nothing" talk. talk, talk, and
no honest disposition to deal with
sin. or to seek holiness Of life. The
Lord hates it, and il is vain exer-
else as far as spiritual results are
concerned.
~. Reverence in Will mark 8:
34.36).
Here true reverence shows itself
In recognizing that Gods will Is
good and acceptable and perfect
Rom. l2:D.
Following the Christ Of Calvary
calls for willingness to say no
to self Literally, to deny any con-
nection with self-life) and to follow
through with him on the path Of
shame and crucihxion. No self
will and no compromise are per-
missible to Christs disciples.
foolishly to attempt to hold ones
life for self is to lose it. That pain.
ful loss has left brokenhearted,
wrecked lives all along the path of
mans history. But why should
anyone do 1t?
Equally foolish is the one who
supposes that this world has any
thing TO satisfy the human soul. As. |