"Ye are the salt of the earth." "Ye' are the light of the world." THE LIGHT OF LIFE: EVERY CHRISTIAN'S DUTY IN NEW COMPILED BY R. J. ELLIS, MISSIONARY, BENGAL. BIEN 'I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.' Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth : that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. PREFACE. A CHRISTIAN can be useful and influential in the best sense, only as he complies with the precepts of Christ. It is clear that He requires of His followers nothing short of perfection, and it is to the Book which treats of Him and of His doctrines that we must come in order to know wherein this perfection consists, and how it is attainable. The manual now presented is believed to contain every command or exhortation which may be considered binding on any Christian. Some commands addressed to special individuals, as to the apostles, or respecting certain individuals, as in I Cor. xvi. 10, II; or to persons under peculiar circumstances, as in John xii. 35, 36; or to individual Churches, as in 1 Cor. xvi. 2, are not here included. The observance of the Sabbath is so obviously an indispensable privilege of the Christian that it has not been enjoined in the New Testament, and is therefore not included in the duties set forth in this manual. It is probable that the majority of readers of the New Testament have never made for themselves even a list of the duties binding upon them such as is contained in the Index at pp. 115, 116. Still more may never have viewed what is required of them in the collected form in which it is presented in this manual. To such readers, Christian Duty, as here set forth, will perhaps appear appalling and onerous. It is, how ever, not the less binding; and in seeking to discharge it fully and lovingly, the reward should be steadily kept in view; while the promised grace of the Lord Jesus will, if always sought and used, be ample even for the weakest and most imperfect. Let not any one strive to fulfil his duty in his own strength. Even Christian Duty-so delightful when the heart is full of love to God and to men-is irksome and burdensome when undertaken apart from Christ. The use of this manual will be best understood by those who endeavour most fully to comply with its precepts. To them it will in no wise supplant THE BOOK from which it is compiled. The constant perusal of the New Testament brings us into contact with the Great Pattern, Whose life was an embodiment of the duties here collected; and it is only as we walk with Him, and study His life, that we can hope to bring out in harmonious combination the seemingly opposite characteristics which make the Christian at once the sworn enemy of undutifulness, both in himself and in others, and the true friend of even the most undutiful. Following Him, we participate practically in the dutifulness of the Beloved, which has secured for us entire and everlasting acceptance. If any one into whose hands this manual may fall should be led by it to a chosen walk with Christ, and to a more manifest holding forth of the word of life as it is in Him, the object of its publication will have been secured by BENGAL, August 25th, 1875. THE COMPiler. |