Christian Endeavor

Topic. - Christ'8 warnings.- Math. vii, 21-27. (A memory meeting suggested. ) Two things are necessary to our best encouragement and developmeut in Christian character. We must be instracted in the Christian life and enconraged by the blessedness and bappiness of fidelity to God, and, furthermore, we must be stimulated by being faithfully warned against the evil consequences 6ure to follow if we do not faithfully serve the Lord. Christ was faithful in warning His people as well as holding out inducements in the way of the precious promises of God. It is a noticeable fact that the warninge of Christ and of God's word are not emphasized today as they nsed to be and as they undoubtedly should be. If Christ thought it important and necessary to use warnings in presenting the truth of God, His disciples shonld not lightly disregard it, for "the servant is not greater than his lord." 1. Christ warns us against hypocrisy. "Not every otie that sayeth finto me Lord, Lord, sfiall enter into the kingdom of heaveÉ." To those who falsely' professed His name, He said He would say on the day of jndgment: "I never knew you. Depart f rom Ma " Theutter worthlessnessand weakness of hypocrisy in religión are apparent to all. j Christ knows that we are not sincere. We cannot deceive Him, nor can we deceive God. Nor do we usually deceive men. Sooner or later they will know if we are true or false, and instead of our profession benefiting us, it will injnre ns. Christ's warning against hypocrisy should stimulate ns to sincerity. If Christianity is worth imitating, it is worth possessiug. The real thing is always of greater and snrervaluethan the connterfoit. 2. Christ warns us against being hearers of His word only. It is not the one, He says, that heareth the word of God, hut the one that doethit that shall enter into the kiugdoin of heaven. Christ likened the one who heard, but did not do, to a man who bailt a house npon the sand, which was speedily and easily destroyed in the midstof the storm that carne upoii it. But him that both heard and did His sayings He likened to a man who bnilt bis house npon a rock, which withstood all the storms that came upon it. He clearly pointe out the conseqtiences resulting from not döing His will, but He leaves it for us to decide what we will do. Let us iinitate the wise man who built his house upon the rock. Let us both hear and do, thus obeying the injuuction of James to be doers and not hearers only. Bible Readings. - II Chron. xix, 10; Ps. xix, 9-11 ; Isa. iii, 11 ; Ezek. iii, 1719 ; Math. xviii, 6, 7 ; xxiii, 29-33 ; xxv, 1-18, 31-46; Lnkevi, 22-26 ; xi, 42-44; xvii, 1-4; John iii, 18-20; Col. i, 28, 29; I Thess. v, 14; Heb. xi, 7; Jas. i, 22-27.