OVERCOMING THE TENDENCY TO PHARISEEISM—By J. P. Crenshaw
OVERCOMING THE TENDENCY TO PHARISEEISM---By J. P. Crenshaw OVERCOMING THE TENDENCY TO PHARISEEISM
J. P. Crenshaw
“Except your righteousness shall exceed the right-eousness of the scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the kindom of heaven.”
To read that single passage is to announce the seri-ousness of our present thought. Such tendencies as those prominent in the Pharisees will keep us out of heaven.
We have available at least three sources of in-formation concerning the Pharisees, the New Testament, the writings of Josephus, and the Talmud. This last, the Talmud, being the work of the Pharisees, may be taken as a full delineation of their religious system, but tell us little of their position and influence as a political party. The name Pharisee means “The Separated,” and of course it meant separated only in a religious, not in a political respect. The Pharisees seem to have come into notice with the Maccabees as a reaction against the tendency to adopt Grecian customs. It became the largest and strictest sect, and was devoted to strict conformity to the Law of Moses. Herein is seen the reason for its popularity. We all admire strictness in adherence to the Law. They were the men who separated themselves from all Levitical impurity. Admirable trait indeed. The world today clamors for good mixers; the Lord is still looking for good separatists, men who will so far depart from all iniquity that God can afford to bless them and their influence among men today. As we watch the slow development of this sect, it gives us ground for serious thought in our religious growth and development. Our New Testament introduction to the Pharisee is in Matthew 3:7, when John the Baptizer was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “When he saw- many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism.” He called them a “generation of Vipers.” Here we find Pharisee and Sadducee joined in heart and action and notice no difference between them. But as our references multiply we are impressed with the zeal of the Pharisee. He is outstanding in this respect, and who among us is not deeply moved in the presence of real zeal in matters religious. True, their zeal always had one end, the restoration of the Hebrew Commonwealth in all its ancient glory and power, together with its ancient institutions unimpaired.
They were the acknowledged religious teachers, as Jesus puts it “The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2). Here is where, in following the line of thought and growth of the Pharisee, my mind begins to become disturbed, and. I begin to examine my heart and life to see if I have like tendencies. See now the danger, men with such zeal and yet their worship and teaching “Not according to knowledge.”
It may appear strangely inconsistent that a body of men who affected such an extraordinary zeal for the preservation of the Mosiac institutions in their purity, should have overlaid them with a mass of traditions for which no authority could be found in the written word. But when the religion of a body of men has taken the direction of ritualism, as it did in the case of the Pharisees, they are urged forward by a strong impulse to multiply rites and ceremonies, for in such observance their religious life consists, and the more they multiply outward forms, the more devout do they seem in their own eyes. The result is inevitable; the bringing in, one by one, of rites for which no warrant can be found in God’s revealed will.
You ask; are not men afraid to thus add to the things revealed? I answer, ground for justification can always be found, and made to sound plausible. Maybe their reasoning was something like this; the Law of Moses does not insist on daily prayers. Now, surely Moses could not have omitted from a Law that specified so particularly daily teaching of God’s word, such an important thing as constant prayer. So what? He must have given such commandment orally to the elders in his day, and from them the teaching was handed down from generation to generation. Is there anything in this line of reasoning that sounds familiar and up to date?
Josephus wrote, “The Pharisees have delivered to the people from the traditions of the Fathers many observances which are not written in the Law. They make these of equal authority with the written word.” If you care to read the same language in a much later document, read the argument the Roman Catholic church makes for the authority of their traditions. Can you now think of any departure from the New Testament pattern that might not be explained and justified in this manner?
We have little interest in the hundreds of human additions to divine law as the Pharisees introduced and observed them, but may I suggest, We have an abiding interest in the SPIRIT that led to Pharisee- ism as it was in the days of our Lord on the earth. This SPIRIT may be defined as one that begins on ground both safe and sure, a devotion to God’s truth that leads to separation from worldliness, but at the same time gradually adds human ideas until it becomes a self-righteous, self-sufficient attitude which slowly but surely reaches a state of conceit and selfsatisfaction that is willing to legislate where God has not spoken.
Now, this condition is fatal to holiness “Without which no man shall see the Lord,” for it involves wrong motives, and no one can serve God acceptably while moved by motives that are displeasing to him. Another thought that frightens; this spirit may develop in my heart without being recognized and identified in my appraisal of my thoughts and actions.
Am I today in danger of being found the unhappy possessor of any tendency found in the Pharisee of the long ago? A few minutes of earnest, honest examination of self and of every longing that moves us may be most profitable here.
According to the Talmud the Pharisees were of seven kinds:—
1. The Schechemite Pharisee: Who keeps the Law simply for what he may profit thereby, as Schechem submitted to circumcision only to obtain Dinah (Gen. 34:19). Now, I am quite certain that Jesus taught that we are to choose to serve him with a full consideration of what 'it costs to be a Christian. And I am equally sure that when a man is more concerned about what he can make out of being a Christian than what it may make out of him, he has missed the mark. When a man’s religion is shaped by his business or social needs he has the tendency of the Sche- chemite Pharisee.
2. The Tumbling Pharisee: who to appear to men to be humble walks always with his head hanging down. This man and the No. 3 The Bleeding Pharisee: who in order not to look on a woman walks with his eyes closed, and thus often meets with wounds, are of the same mind. How often are we seen in some action which is intended to denote a humility or some other trait that we do not actually feel at all? Why such action? To appear to men in a certain light. Until we reach the place where we are much more concerned about how we appear to God than how we seem to men, we are surely leaning toward Pharisee- ism. Now, I count it an extremely difficult thing to feel the eye of God on my daily conduct much more keenly than I respond to the criticism of my fellow man. It seems to me, so much depends on how you speak of me. In the preparation of this lesson, did I think of having you commend me for it, or did I think of hearing Jesus say when I see him, I am glad that you called attention to that danger; issued that warning.
One of the occupational diseases to which preachers are susceptible is “I-strain.” I mean the perpendicular pronoun; the personal pronoun, first singular, nominative case. A spot appears before the eyes of the soul which distorts the vision, blurs the insight, and causes spiritual myopia. The spot may grow larger untl it blots out the landscape. Progress toward any significant goal becomes more difficult. The sufferer may remain blissfully unconscious of his condition until he runs headlong into other human beings who resent being jostled and pushed around. This spot is the preacher himself. It is due to acute inflammation of the ego. Jesus once told a story of a successful citizen who has become known as a man of dubious distinction under the title of the rich fool. In the Bible the story is told in five sentences, one hundred and seventeen words. Of this number sixty- one are spoken by this prosperous farmer. Thirteen of these sixty-one words consisted of “I,” “my” and their derivatives. “What shall I do; I will tear down MY barns, I will store MY goods.” Jesus told another story about a wonderful Father who had two sons; one of whom said “Give ME the portion of goods that falleth to ME.” The other said “Lo, these many years have I served thee, and I have never disobeyed thy command, yet thou never gavest ME a kid, that I might make merry with MY friends.”
Some one had said that the cross is a cancelled “I.”
“I-strain” is not limited to preachers, but we are peculiarly susceptible to it. Invested with authority as ambassadors of Christ, it is perilously easy for us to feel we are the authority. Well-intentioned listeners encourage this dangerous tendency in us. We talk: they listen and approve. When we open our mouths let no dog bark, let no listener question what we say. You know, my friend, a gospel minister must speak with authority, but always “Thu3 saith the Lord” is the secret of that authority. As a minister he is a transmitter of the word of God which carries its own power and authority. It is when the minister becomes more enamored of the quality of the transmitter than of the message and its source, that he ceases to be a gospel messenger. Some self-confidence every minister of Christ must possess; but the Christian paradox is that true self-confidence comes when we place our complete confidence in another, in him whose servants we have promised to be. “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). The people that are in the most danger of frustrating God’s gracious purpose are not men and women steeped to the eyebrows in the stagnant pool of sensuous sin, but the clean, re-spectable, church-going, sermon-hearing, people who enjoy a tendency toward Phariseeism.
4. The Mortar Pharisee; who wears a mortarshaped cap to cover his eyes in order not to see any impurities or indecencies. Here is a very serious thought. What do I see along life’s way? As I peep out from under my self-devised protective cap, what do I see? The Pharisees saw Jesus “eating with sinners.” They saw only a serious breach in what they had decided should be his proper conduct. He saw the sick that needed a physician, the lost that needed a saviour. Do I see what he saw or what the Pharisees saw? Do we see a brother who needs loving, tender, reassuring saving help, or do we see one out of line with what we have decided must be his course?
One on whom we are ready to heap scalding, heart-breaking criticism and ridicule? Jesus and the Pharisees looked at the same woman and saw these very different things. I believe we have tendencies either like Jesus or the Pharisees. I pray God we may see what Jesus sees today when he looks at us. Did it ever occur to you that in the day when Phariseeism was born and flourished the Jews were a long way from God? They had witnessed no prophet for hundreds of years, and maybe, the same spirit developing among us would indicate the same distance from God existing? In the presence of the divinely inspired prophet of Jehovah no tendency like that of the Pharisee, so cold, so formal could have taken root. Maybe, beloved, when so tempted we are walking in the wrong atmosphere. Did you ever hear Brother Don Morris preach his sermon on the subject, “The Jericho Road?” Each of the three men looked at the same “Certain man” but 0; what an eternal difference in what they saw.
5. The what-am-I-yet-to-do Pharisee; who not knowing much about the law, and never desiring to learn for himself; as soon as he has done one thing, asks some one else, what is my duty now? I do not know which of all these characteristics of the Pharisees is more prominent in my life; I hate to suggest that maybe I have some of each one in my make-up. But, I do not know that just at this point, I am nearly sure to blush as I preach. How much of the word of the Lord have we learned individually? I mean, how much have I dug out and appropriated for myself? Did we ever memorize a sermon, the product of great thought of some deeply spiritual mind, or nearly memorize it, and preach it, and claim for our own the praise; is that a tendency to Phariseeism? I am not pleading for originality on the part of each of us, I am pleading for actual indwelling of our preaching material, I am suggesting that we become what we learn, and learn all we can. In Jeremiah h:l God gave us his definition of a man, “One that does ALL that he knows God wants him to do, and at the same time, learns more and more duty.” Executes judgment and seeks truth. A very different idea of a man from the popular conception. I believe that God expects me to know of his will and Word to read for myself the signboards along the road of life, and not to have to ask another the way. Just how much do I know?
6. The Pharisee from Fear; who keeps the law because he is afraid of future judgment. That a man ought to be afraid of judgment is certain, that a man remember that he will be judged according to the deeds done in the flesh is plain teaching, but I remember too, that “perfect love casteth out fear.” A man can appreciate all the solemnity of eternity and still obey the commands of the Lord and so trust his promises that the reward of Jiis presence far outweighs the fear. One of the troubles about being led by fear is that one day a man forgets his fear, then what will control him? Boy slipping off the roof when his trousers caught on a nail. When he started slipping, he started praying, “Lord, help me.” When he caught on the nail he said, “Never mind now, Lord, I’m hung on a nail.”
7. The Pharisees from Love; who obeys because he loves God with all of his heart, his soul, his mmd and his strength. No tendency here I wish to avoid. Only imitate. The severity with which our Lord denounced the Pharisees seems at first view surprising- when contrasted with the general mildness of his dealing with sinners. Rut we must remember that they sat in Moses’ seat, they were the acknowledged leaders and guides of the people in religion. Does that sound to you like the position preachers occupy today? It was therefore, of supreme importance that the hollowness of their system and the hypocrisy of their lives should be fully exposed by the all-knowing Saviour for the benefit of all of us whe were to live in after ages.
Though there were among them honest and good men, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, yes and Saul of Tarsus, still as a body they were the representatives of formalism and hypocrisy, twin vices that nearly always are found locked in each oth’ ers’ arms. The history of the church of Christ for nineteen centui les shows how needful it was that the great Master himself should lift the veil, once for all, from such a system, and exhibit it in its naked deformity that all future generations might see and abhor it. In turning your mind and mine to what Jesus said to and about the Pharisees, I would first remind us that the difference between the Old Law and the New that was, at the beginning, most evident was that the New Testament gospel was written “in the heart,” of men, not on tables of stone. Did you ever hear the remark from the lips of a gospel preacher that it makes me mad to have one say of us, “You folks do not believe in heart-felt religion.” It frightens me, beloved. To think that a man acquainted with me, watching me live day after day, should say that I lack heart conviction. As long as a man might draw such a thought concerning me, I am in danger of being led by tendency to Phariseeism. The New Law to which Jeremiah 31:33 pointed was to be “written in their hearts” and thus a law that does not command my affections could not be the one to which reverence is there made. The Pharisee taught such a servile adherence to the letter of the law that its remarkable character as a schoolmaster to lead to Christ was completely over-looked, and that its moral precepts, intended to elevate men, were made rather the instruments of lowering their reverence and even their morality. Jesus points men only to the law of God as the supreme guide of life, the Pharisees multiplied minute precepts and distinctions, their traditions, to the point that the law was almost lost. Here I am confronted with two tendencies, either of which will prove ruinous. I can select certain things in religion, things that I think are favorable to my way of living, and I can magnify them and their importance out of proper proportion in an attempt to make myself look good; or I may lean so far from such danger that I will just not require anything definite in religion, not even keeping one’s self unspotted from the world. Jesus taught that true piety consisted not in forms, but was bom out of deep, abiding convictions; not in any outward observances, but in an inward Spirit. The Pharisees in all their teachings encouraged exactly the opposite. Any vain or trifling question might take precedence over great principles of duty to God or man. Am I always on safe ground here? Is my interest in both my salvation and yours so great that I may not notice any personal slight or injury arising; may not get excited unless the matter may lead to someone being lost?
Christ taught humility as an essential, integral part of true Christianity; the Pharisee had no place for this cardinal virtue either in his thinking or living. When Jesus said: ‘‘Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20), that statement was very significant: He claimed a superior system and maintained that it took more devotion to follow him than any .Pharisee had ever enjoyed. I am asking you to remember that statement: it takes devotion to follow Christ. If we are trying to follow him today by attending so many services with strict regularity, and giving so much with proper regard, and in all this are forgetting to love him supremely we are walking the way of the Pharisee. Jesus charged the Pharisee with many things. A few of them are:
The law of Moses said in Deuteronomy 14:22 : “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.” Jesus said, “These ought ye to have done.” That is right; but that which Christ here condemns, and that which gives me a scare, is “Ye have omitted.” What? Judgment, justice to others, both in matters of action and consideration of their feelings: Mercy, compassion and kindness to the unfortunate; judgment and mercy toward men and faith toward God.
All things of God’s law are weighty, important, but those are most weighty which are most expressive of inward holiness of heart; the instances of self-denial, turning away from worldliness, submission to the will of God. “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8). This, beloved, is the obedience that is better than sacrifice. This, my good people, is not hard to learn, not difficult to understand, just tremendously difficult to practice. But until I learn actually to live a life consecrated to the principles here involved, I cannot see how God can tell me from a Pharisee.
2. In the same chapter, Matthew 23:26, Jesus says, “Thou blind Pharisee, ye make clean the outside of the cup, but within it is full of extortion and excess. Cleanse first that which is within the cup, that the outside may be clean also.”
If I kept the outside of my home so well landscaped, and painted and cleaned up that you could not pass without remarking, “that fellow really takes care of his place,” but on entering you immediately saw the inside never had been swept or dusted, what would you think of me as a housekeeper? What does God think of us as heart-keepers? Do you suppose the Saviour would have to call us blind? The Holy Spirit used Peter to say:
“He that lacketh these things is blind.” What things? He lists them plainly: virtue or courage, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Friend of mine, just what is your true condition today in regard to these plain, simple, vital Christian virtues? Are we blind? God said if we lack these things we are blind. Are we blind to our inward holiness or lack of holiness? No formality here, these things are products of a man's heart. Jesus spoke of these same Pharisees in Luke 18:9 as “They which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.”
I must check closely here. Has my obedience been so entire and my consecration so complete that I may despise my brother who stumbles and falls? Tendency to Phariseeism. The parable Jesus used to teach these people the needed lesson pictured the Pharisee as arrogant and intolerant. “I thank God that I am not as other men are.” Jesus one day said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The contrast is very striking. The trouble with us may be that we want to be partly like one and partly like the other. As usual, brethren, there is no middle ground. I have to make up my mind which characteristics will be developed in my life. Jesus said, “Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Many, many other charges Jesus brought against the Pharisees, any of which may cause us much honest heart-searching to be sure that we are free of them. Here is one more:
Matthew 23:5-7 : “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.”
We thought along this line a few minutes ago when considering the Pharisees who were so anxious to appear to men righteous that they butted their brains out walking without looking where they were going. We need not again to dwell on it, but I feel personally, that right here may be one prominent danger spot for me. I wonder how many of the most serious mistakes I have made in life might have come from the desire for prominence among people. Why is it so hard for us to acknowledge we have erred; is it fear that we may lose standing with our public? Think for a minute here:
God will not forgive me until I repent, but I will not repent because if I confess my wrong, it will give someone a chance to point out my weakness. That becomes increasingly serious. I wonder just to what extent I am a slave to public opinion. But we must hasten on: the subject assigned me was “Overcoming the Tendencies,” not just pointing them out. Can these be overcome? Surely? Certainly? I am persuaded that we can get a one hundred percent vote here; unanimously in favor of “Yes.”, These things m your life and mine can and must be overcome. Otherwise we are without hope. Jesus said “Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.” That’s final. But, beloved, it cannot be done in a day. We have lived with each other too long to change so greatly, that quickly. It is a matter of growth, development in the heart. Love is the answer. Jesus said in Luke 10:2528, “A certain lawyer tempted him saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, what is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: This do, and thou shalt live.” No tendency to Phariseeism or any other ism to which the human mind is heir could live for one hour in the blazing light of such devotion. My mind dwells on the love of God. to me, and it swells and swells and rises to heights almost sublime. How much time and thought spent on my love to God ? Surely there should be some balance here. It is not even natural to be so loved and to be indifferent in return. Love always begets love among us. But for a moment, let us break this thought down a little. Let us analyze love partly.
1. Humility.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Do you really want to be poor in spirit? If you today could pick any position in the world around you, and occupy it for your own, I wonder which of us would be found poor in spirit? Jesus said they are the ones who have the kingdom of heaven as theirs. Do we want to feel our dependence, or do we wish to stand alone? Do you feel right now like your only hope to become great lies along the path of service to God and to men made in his image? Is that your idea of success?
I think what I need is to start all over on the basis of my comparisons. If I feel like I have worked hard, and have a right to rest awhile, instead of comparing my efforts with those of my brethren, why not use Paul as my measuring stick? Are we humble enough to go to heaven? I mean, way down deep in my heart, do I have the true humility that must mark the heavenward bound man?
Humility is an essential characteristic of the man who is right with God. The poor in spirit are the humble, the teachable, the open-minded, the trustful. The most dramatic illustration the world has ever seen of this spirit must have been the time recorded in John 13 : “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God—began to wash the disciples’ feet.” Read that verse over again. Humility is the door to all progress, and no man may enter into the kingdom of heaven without it.
2. Reverence:
I am persuaded that a basic constituent of love is reverence. I am afraid that we are losing that attitude of heart in our present day. Ask yourself honestly about your own reverence and that of your fellow associates. How often do we preach on this subject? Read any modern translation of the New Testament; are the changes such as tend to increase or decrease reverence? Take, for instance, the practice growing among us now, to use the pronouns “you” and “your” in our prayers instead of “thee” and “thou” and “thine.” Why be anxious to make talking to God sound like we are just addressing one another? I deplore any effort to bring God down to our level. Let us rise toward him instead.
3. Holiness:
“But as he which hath called you holy, so be ye holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). We have read this passage in years now past, mar-velled at it, decided that its claims were too high, and then treated it as though it did not mean what it clearly said.
I am now fully persuaded that holiness is our great need. Surely that would cure the tendency to Phariseeism. True separation from the world instead of some act to cause men to see that we are separated. In the Old Testament the word “holiness” meant the separation, or setting apart of the thing described as sacred to the purposes of God alone. Please do not cast that thought aside before considering it carefully. It meant that the only purpose of the thing described was to be sacred for God’s use. That is exactly what we mean by the term now if we use it seriously. The Prophet once said: “Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord.” The men who were to handle the holy, separated vessels were themselves to be holy, separated. How much more men who are the vessels? In the New Testament another word for holiness and sanctification means precisely the same thing. This word signifies something that is awful, full of awe. Holiness in a man is awe-inspiring. The reason is the man is separated to the service of God—belongs to God. Have you ever considered this? The real difference between men is to whom do they belong? Have we really been born again? “Not your own, bought with a price.” If not, beloved, that may explain our lack of power. We are actually trying to be holy without the possibility of success. Where is the power we lack? (See Php_2:12-13).
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Because the verse ends there, we quote that part and stop in the middle of the great thought. Listen: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Both to will and to do: both to desire and to accomplish his good pleasure. That, my brother, is sanctification. That will overcome every tendency to Phariseeism. But, oh beloved, let us not stop with any general idea here —let us be plain and specific and even personal. This condition of sanctification involves: First, a renunciation of all things of which the life of God disapproves. What things? All sin. “Transgression of law.” Everything I know to be wrong. Certainly, you say. But listen to James: “To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Not only is it sin to do wrong, but to neglect to do right is sin. James illustrates it thus: “We ought to say, if the Lord wills.” Do you feel that in your every day plans, let alone say it? We ought to say it. Wear the label of your loyalty. Use the speech of your surrender.
Paul goes even deeper: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” “He that doubteth is condemned.” So long as I am doing anything, either that which seems to be wrong or seems to be right, wondering whether I ought to do so, I am singing. My listening friend, eternity is too long for a man to be fooling around in his devotion to the Lord.
Almost daily someone asks: “Do you think I ought to go to this place; take part in this thing,” or some question of that nature? Suppose I reply:
“Ask your Master, you claim to belong to him. Look into the face of him whom you call Lord and King, ask him if you should go there? Remember this, however, that fact that you are in doubt answers your question. “He that doubteth is condemned.”There must then be the cutting off of all things of which God disapproves.
Then there must be an abandonment of the whole being to God. Paul said in Acts 27:23 : “My God, whose I am and whom I serve.” Just to what extent do we belong to God? Do we feel that we have been bought and paid for and delivered?
I think that these would naturally be followed by the maintaining of simple, quiet trust in him which expresses itself in joyful obedience and patient waiting for his leading in the guiding of his word.
If the dangers of tendencies to hypocrisy and pretense are to be overcome in my life; if the life of God is to be maintained in my heart and life, there must be this renunciation, the wrong things must be left out of my actions at all costs. The neglect of right doing must be remedied. The doubtful things along the border lines with which I have played and wondered and about which I have worried a little, must be cut off, however innocent they may seem. I must live upon the principle of simple faith in my Lord and Master, with immediate and ready answer to every demand of his gracious word and will.
He that comes still loving the world—still looking with regret upon what he must give up to follow Christ, is not going to be able to enter the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour.
How searching this test to all who profess to be Christians. It is perilous to tamper with the world, to look at its pleasures, or to seek its society. He that would enter heaven must come with a heart full of love to God; full enough to crowd out all other loves.