Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

pre-eminance!"
verily."
nothing to do with business and civil
government. God will not use a flood to
let the world start over again. It is not
impossible that man with his
bombs
may destroy all modern industry, and all
engaged therein, and leave just a few
rural folks to start over again in the
rudiments of civilization.
GODLINESS, HARMONY,
PROSPERITY
Asa's reforms in putting away the
idols and false gods brought the people
closer together. Some of the people from
other tribes joined them. A morally
clean city attracts clean people. Saloons
and gambling
attract and breed an un
clean population. Freed from the wor
ship of idols, the people brought offer
ings to God and entered into covenant
with Him, with all their heart and all
their soul.
Why are church treasuries empty
Partly, at least, because the worship of
idols that are dedicated to pleasure re
quires so much money, and that is paid
first. We can attend church, and skimp
the treasury. For our fun we pay cash
in advance.
In a lonesome valley in the Rockies,
curiosity led me to follow what looked
like a blind trail up the steep side of the
mountain,
where could it go At the
end of the trail, there was an open cave
that extended more than arm's length
into the solid rock, with a flat smooth
floor. In the middle of this floor sat
Billiken,
"The god of things as they
ought to be." Scattered around him was
money, much money, a good hand full.
A few nickels, fewer pennies, mostly sil
ver from half dollars down. Folks who
would have stolen from a blind man
were too superstitious to steal from
Billiken. Many who would have fail
ed to feed a hungry
man were
afraid to leave that lonesome "grove"
without making a donation. How we are
wed to our idols!
In. 2 Chron. 16:13 we come to a sad
disappointment. For 39 years Asa had
led the nation in the fear of God. Then
he suffered from a sore disease. "Yet in
his disease he sought not to the Lord."
It is possible to think much of personal
religion, and forget the place of religion
in society. It is also possible to become
so absorbed in public affairs as to neg
lect our own soul's interest.
the
"That in all things Christ may have
PRAYER MEETING TOPIC
April 27, 1955
Rev. John O. Edgar
WRONG MOTIVES IN RELIGION
John 6:26, 27
Scripture Beading: John 6:50-58
Additional references: John 6:66-69; I
Cor. 11:28-30; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 3:17-19;
I Sam. 4:3, 10, 11
Psalms
59:7, 8, 13, 14, page 147
34:1-5, page 81
103 : 11-15, page 244
15:1-3,
page 26
Almost everyone knows the meaning
of the term "rice Christians."
It no
doubt originated in Eastern countries
where people embraced Christianity for
the food which the missionaries would
give them, rather than because they had
entered into a personal relationship with
Christ. Perhaps the first "rice Chris
tians"
were some of those who were fed
at the time of the feeding
of the fivethousand.
On the day following the mir
acle there was a group who sought Jesus
and would have made him king. It was
not because they comprehended him as
the Messiah, but because they were in
terested in material things. With such a
miracle worker as king, it would mean
victory against all political enemies.
Moreover, such a person could easily
solve the nation's food problem and
labor for food could become something
of the past.
Jesus, perceiving that the people did
not understand Him, and that they were
interested only in the material aspects
of the miracle, denounced them, saying,
"Verily, verily, (Amen, amen) ye seek
me not because ye saw the miracles, but
because ye did eat of the loaves and
were filled." Note how emphatic the de
nunciation is, by the use of. the words
"verily,
THE SELFISH MOTIVES OF THOSE
WHO FOLLOWED CHRIST
Jesus states plainly that those who
came to Capernaum seeking Him had no
spiritual interest and that they were
only interested in having
their physical
appetites gratified. In all ages the
Church has been troubled by those who
professed Christianity
for selfish rea
sons. Simon Magus, the sorcerer, em
braced Christianity at the time of the
if the gift of
apostles, and offered money
the Holy Spirit would be conferred upon
him. With this power of the Apostles
Simon could soon have become a weal
thy man. Sometimes people will join a
church because of the standing it will
give them in the community. A mer
chant might be active on various boards
or committees of a church but his mo
tive might be entirely mercenary and
not because of his love for Christ.
Again, there are some who may ac
cept an office in the church because of
the power, influence or prestige that
may be connected with the office. Some
people have an inflated ego when elected
to a church office, but unless one ac
cepts the office in humility, and with a
true desire to serve Christ, his motives
are vain.
THE FAILURE TO DISCERN CHRIST
Those who had sought only the satis
faction of appetite did not discern
Christ. Most of the sixth chapter of John
is devoted to this theme. In the 53rd
verse he says, "Verily, verily, (Amen,
amen) except ye eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink his blood ye have
no life in
you."
These words were spoken
long before the Lord's Supper had been
instituted by Jesus, but He is here set
ting forth the spiritual experience of the
sacrament. The feeding of the multitude
was more than feeding the hungry. It
was in truth a sacrament. No doubt
there were some, who while eating the
loaves and fishes, realized that they
were in truth feeding upon Christ in a
spiritual way. It was an experience
somewhat similar to communion. Prob
ably there were only
a few who were
able to comprehend this deeper meaning
of the miracle!
Paul warns that we should discern
the Lord's body
and blood when we
come to the Lord's table. The failure to
do so is to eat and drink judgment to
one's self. Too often men have sought
the blessing of the Lord's Supper in its
outward observance instead of its in
ward significance. For example, we
might consider the communion break
fasts of the Catholic Liquor Dealers of
New York, which are conducted by high
officials in the church. In so far as we
are able to judge, it would seem that
those who have but little regard for the
souls and bodies of men would not in
a proper way be able to discern the body
of the Lord.
THE FALLING AWAY OF THOSE
WITH WRONG MOTIVES
Those who seek only the loaves and
fishes, and who fail to discern Christ,
will sooner or later fall by the wayside.
In John 6:66 we read, "From that time
many
of his disciples went back and
walked no more with him." Those who
follow Christ and join the church for
mercenary motives will almost inevit
ably fall away. They
are like the seed
which falls in sandy ground and springs
up quickly, but soon dies for lack of
nourishment.
For Discussion
1. Give examples of people who have
wrong motives in religion.
2. Can one who is not born again dis
cern Christ
3. Discuss the motives of Saul in I
Sam. 15:10-23.
For Prayer
1. For the congregations of our church
that are without pastors.
2. For our Sabbath Schools.
3. For our Home Missions.
220 THE COVENANTER WITNESS