you." The Son of God was here speaking of food and clothing, and other temporal necessities of life. This Law of Loyal Effort operates faithfully, fulfilling its assurance for the man who sincerely seeks the spiritual first has already placed himself in position to receive what God has to give. This is true through the co-operation with God in the administration of His Natural and Moral Laws in the world. It is also true in respect to His special providences over the lives of men. If this Law of Loyal Effort for the Kingdom of Christ and His righteousness were fulfilled in its ideal perfection, there would be no want in all the world. Sin, with its consequences of ignorance and selfishness, is parent cause of all distress. This is true respecting the common necessities of life. If God's blessings were fully put to use, and if the spirit of Jesus Christ were universally operative, people would rarely want the necessities of life, nor would they be allowed to suffer from such want. The world suffers mainly because of its unused moral and spiritual resources. This final Law of Devotion to God rightly coordinates the economical, the educational, and the spiritual problems of life: for it lifts the world to that consecrated plane of effort where all their wants shall be supplied. The outlook with which this part of the Sermon on the Mount closes is filled with calm assurance. Christ said, "Be not there 3. Calm Outlook for Loyal Effort Matthew 6:34 fore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." To-morrow may seem to have its cares in waiting. But to-day, for the Christian, is secure in the favor of God; and so will to-morrow be when it has come. The first duty is to be Christian, and to strive for Christian ideals. Therein is security. The soul has calm repose that seeks first the Kingdom of Christ and His righteousness. Thus Christ set forth Man's duty toward God, in these Laws of Worship and Devotion. First, Christ laid down the general principle of sincerity as a condition that is necessary in all manner of approach to God. After this, Christ analyzed the Laws that regulate the external Forms of Worship,-Alms-Giving, Prayer, and Fasting. Finally, He defined the inner spirit of all right relations with God. That inner spirit is one of complete devotion to the Father and to His Son, in a life of love, and confidence, and loyal effort for the things of Christ. In all of His discussion of this part of the Law of His King dom, Christ has wrought out one high and ennobling conception of the relation of Man to God. It is this: That Man meets his full responsibility only when he has an abiding Faith that God will be faithful, and a Love for God and Man that throws life, with loyal effort and full consecration, into the services of God. Such a conception leads logically to the thought of effective living, which Christ considered in the remaining part of this Sermon on the Mount. CHAPTER X THE KINGDOM: THE LAWS AND TESTS OF "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God that worketh in you." Philippians 2:12-13. "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:16, 22, 23. "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples." John 15:8. The substance of this chapter is intimately personal.1 As already seen in previous chapters, the organizing of Christ's Kingdom included four things. The first of these was the choosing of the Twelve Apostles, and the dedication of them to their special work. The other three things were accomplished by the Lord in this Sermon on the Mount. These three things were, the definition of Citizenship in the Kingdom, the exposition of the Law of the Kingdom, and the description of the Tests of the Kingdom. The subject of Citizenship, and the larger part of the Law, have been studied in previous chapters. The remaining portion of the Law, and the Tests of the Kingdom, will be studied in this chapter. The general subject of Law, as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount, is being studied under four main divisions. Three of these have been considered: the Laws of Law itself, or the status of the Ancient Law; the duties of Man to Man; and the duties of Man to God. Under all of those divisions of the Law, Christ dealt with the principles that applied to the fundamental relationships of life within His Kingdom. But there still remains a group of special principles which He laid down, apparently for the particular and practical guidance of individual life and conduct. These last principles, since they are related to the fundamental Laws already studied, may rightly be called the By-Laws of the Kingdom. However, they are here grouped as the fourth general division of the Law of the Kingdom, and will be studied under the following outline. 1Such Scriptures as those at the head of this chapter might be richly multiplied. Compare 1. John 3:1-3; Philippians 4:5; and 4:8; 1. John 4:11; Romans 12:11, 21; I. John 2:6; Philippians 1:10-11; 2. Peter 1:4-11; and Jude 20-21. IV. The Laws of Effective Life and Service In Christ's general discussion of the Law, His first group of Laws were related to Law itself; the second group, to Man's duty to Man; and the third, to Man's duty to God. This fourth group of Laws is concerned largely with Man's duty to himself. These Laws show how a man should regulate his own life so that he may have all the advantages of being capable within himself, and of becoming thereby an effective citizen "Study To Show Thyself Approved unto God" 2. Timothy 2:15 Matthew 7:1-27 Luke 6:37-49 in the Kingdom of Christ. I. 1. The Law of Right Social Attitude: the Suspension of Judgment. The first Law which Christ prescribed for regulating the "Let Brotherly Love Continue" personal life of the individual was that which requires a right social attitude between Man and Man. This Law calls for a suspension of critical judgment respecting other persons. Christ said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." This Law is important because it provides for self-defense, and for maintaining open attitudes for service to others. The underlying principle of this regulation is, that men get out of life just what they put into life. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The world is generous, as Luke, in his account of this argument, has emphasized; but the world is also exacting in its judgments and rewards. The individual is the architect of his own destiny in the minds and hearts of men. This Law applies alike to the restraints of life, and to the positive services. Always there is a reflex, or a recoil. Christ placed this law, because of its importance, first among these regulations of an effective citizenship. Suspended judgment keeps a man in an attitude to serve, and also keeps the channels of service open between Man and Man. The Law of Education: Preparation and Fitness for Service. The second Law of effective living is concerned with "Take Heed unto education. Christ insisted that a man should be prepared for the service which he desired to render. In stating this Law of Education, Christ touched upon both the intellectual and the moral sides of life. The citizens of His Kingdom, both as servants and as leaders in spiritual things, must prepare themselves for their places and work. Christ did not prescribe college graduation, nor indeed did He outline any particular standard of curriculum attainment. His Law of Education, however, is definite, practical, and generous. Christ did not even suggest that the lack of ordinary schooling should prevent a person from service. Certainly He did not do that. But He did insist that a man must be prepared in mind and heart for serving others. A citizen of the Kingdom must know the truth by which he would guide others, and he must first practice that truth in his own heart and life. Paul stated this Law in these words: "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." 1. Necessity for Luke 6:39-40 Christ, defining this Law on the side of its intellectual application, declared that His disciples and servants must know the truth. He put the matter in strong language: “Can the blind guide the blind? Shall they not Knowing the Truth both fall into the pit?" Lack of knowledge on the part of leaders brings disaster. This also is true, as Christ here pointed out: the measure of true knowledge there is in those who lead is the measure also of their possibilities of service. "The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher." In the nature of the case this is true. No man can teach beyond what he knows: he can teach only so far as he knows, if haply he can do that. No man can lift another above his own level of attainment. Spiritual leaders, having a superior knowledge and experience of the truth, must work on the God-ward side of those whom they would instruct and guide in the way of righteousness. This law, which applies to all common Christian service, is susceptible of unlimited application in the general field of intellectual effort. But this Law, however wide its application, can never get away from its true religious significance: for all truth is of God. The spiritual insistence of this Law rightly extends to all right efforts of study and research to know all the facts and truths whereby God has conditioned the lives of men, and their services to Him and to their fellowmen. On the moral side of life, Christ insisted that this Law of Education required the attainment of character as a necessary prere 2. Necessity for quisite of effective service. There must be a moral consistency between what a man is and what he would help others to become. A man should first embody in his own life the truth which he would successfully apply to others. "Cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and |