The Pharisees claimed to know and teach the divine will; but they only hindered the success of Jesus' Help and hindrance. mission. Even many of his students stood in his way. If the Master had never taken a student, or taught the unseen verities of God, he would not have been crucified. The determination to hold Spirit in the grasp of matter is the persecutor of Truth.
While respecting all that is good in the Church, or out of it, our consecration to Christ should be on the ground of demonstration, not profession. In conscience, we cannot hold to beliefs outgrown; and by understanding more of the divine Principle of the deathless Christ, we are enabled to heal the sick and to triumph over sin.
Neither the origin, the character, nor the work of Jesus was generally understood. Not a single component Misleading conceptions. part of his nature did the material world measure aright. Even his righteousness and purity did not hinder men from saying: “He is a glutton, and a friend of the impure; and Beelzebub is his patron.”
Remember, thou Christian martyr, it is enough if thou art found worthy to unloose the sandals of thy Master's Persecution. feet! To suppose that persecution for righteousness sake belongs to the past, — and that Christianity to-day is at peace with the world, because it is honored by sects and societies, — is to mistake the very nature of this religion. History ever repeats itself. The trials encountered by prophet, disciple, and apostle, “of whom the earth was not worthy,” await, in some form, every pioneer of Truth.
