FROM THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
Ernest Holmes
God and Creation
We are to know the Truth by its fruits. The certain estimate of reality is ever evidenced by its worth in actual living. We are not to separate life from living nor God from His creation. One is the Cause, the other is the effect. The invisible things of God are manifested through the visible, and unless the invisible thought and desire of man is in line with Truth, his acts will fall into error. While we are told not to judge, we are clearly warned not to fall under the illusion of accepting the false for the true.
Entering the Kingdom of Reality (Matt. 7:21)
It is not everyone who says: "Lord, Lord," who enters the kingdom of harmony; only those who do the will of love can enter. The temple of Truth is approached by the pure in heart and entered by those who serve but one master, which is Truth.
In no way can this passage (from Matt. 7) be misconstrued to mean, or even to suggest, anything like the theological hell. Jesus never taught the popular concept of hell. He was laying down a philosophy of life for time, as well as for eternity. He knew that eternity must be made up of different times. To suppose an eternity without the element of time, is to suppose an impossibility, for it means to suppose an unexpressed existence.
The wise man builds his house on the solid rock of Truth, and not on the shifting sands of instability. He measures causes by effects and estimates Reality by that which is real and enduring. The foolish man, living only in sense perception has no measure for Reality and builds his home on false opinion and erroneous concept; the vicissitudes of fortune upset his frail building, the storms of experience tear the walls apart, while the edifice falls about him in ruins. Truth alone endures to Eternal Day.
The Healing of the Centurion's Servant (Matt. 8:5-14)
In Matthew Eight, we have a beautiful story in the life of Jesus which shows his great compassion and love for humanity: the healing of the centurion's servant. Note that the centurion would not allow Jesus to come to his house, but asked him to speak the word only.
The centurion, being a man in authority on the physical plane, recognized that Jesus exercised like authority on the mental and spiritual planes. Without this recognition, he would not have known that Jesus could heal his servant by the power of his word. "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." It is no wonder that Jesus marveled at this faith. And how quickly was this faith answered by an affirmative response from a heart of love and a mind of understanding. "Go thy way; and as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee."
How simple the words, yet how fraught with meaning! What majesty and what might! From whence came the power of this spoken word? Is it not necessary to suppose that the word of man - when spoken in compliance with the law of Truth - is also all-powerful? We cannot believe that Jesus had an occult power not possessed by other men. To think this would be superstition. We certainly cannot suppose that he was especially endowed with power from on high, for this would be to believe in a partial God. There is but one logical explanation of the power of Jesus: He believed what he taught, and so completely lived his teachings, that he was able to demonstrate them. But we should remember that his will was ever in accord with the Divine Mind."
Ernest Holmes
God and Creation
We are to know the Truth by its fruits. The certain estimate of reality is ever evidenced by its worth in actual living. We are not to separate life from living nor God from His creation. One is the Cause, the other is the effect. The invisible things of God are manifested through the visible, and unless the invisible thought and desire of man is in line with Truth, his acts will fall into error. While we are told not to judge, we are clearly warned not to fall under the illusion of accepting the false for the true.
Entering the Kingdom of Reality (Matt. 7:21)
It is not everyone who says: "Lord, Lord," who enters the kingdom of harmony; only those who do the will of love can enter. The temple of Truth is approached by the pure in heart and entered by those who serve but one master, which is Truth.
In no way can this passage (from Matt. 7) be misconstrued to mean, or even to suggest, anything like the theological hell. Jesus never taught the popular concept of hell. He was laying down a philosophy of life for time, as well as for eternity. He knew that eternity must be made up of different times. To suppose an eternity without the element of time, is to suppose an impossibility, for it means to suppose an unexpressed existence.
The wise man builds his house on the solid rock of Truth, and not on the shifting sands of instability. He measures causes by effects and estimates Reality by that which is real and enduring. The foolish man, living only in sense perception has no measure for Reality and builds his home on false opinion and erroneous concept; the vicissitudes of fortune upset his frail building, the storms of experience tear the walls apart, while the edifice falls about him in ruins. Truth alone endures to Eternal Day.
The Healing of the Centurion's Servant (Matt. 8:5-14)
In Matthew Eight, we have a beautiful story in the life of Jesus which shows his great compassion and love for humanity: the healing of the centurion's servant. Note that the centurion would not allow Jesus to come to his house, but asked him to speak the word only.
The centurion, being a man in authority on the physical plane, recognized that Jesus exercised like authority on the mental and spiritual planes. Without this recognition, he would not have known that Jesus could heal his servant by the power of his word. "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." It is no wonder that Jesus marveled at this faith. And how quickly was this faith answered by an affirmative response from a heart of love and a mind of understanding. "Go thy way; and as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee."
How simple the words, yet how fraught with meaning! What majesty and what might! From whence came the power of this spoken word? Is it not necessary to suppose that the word of man - when spoken in compliance with the law of Truth - is also all-powerful? We cannot believe that Jesus had an occult power not possessed by other men. To think this would be superstition. We certainly cannot suppose that he was especially endowed with power from on high, for this would be to believe in a partial God. There is but one logical explanation of the power of Jesus: He believed what he taught, and so completely lived his teachings, that he was able to demonstrate them. But we should remember that his will was ever in accord with the Divine Mind."
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