^ John Bright said of a certain freethinker that he was " a Christian without knowing it"; and although we cannot allow
* J. Vaughan.
342 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
that a man can be a Christian without being aware of it, it yet remains possible that sincere reflection may bring a doubting thinker much nearer to the evangelical truth than he apprehends. Let us never discourage reading, reflection, research, as if these j necessarily put the thinker farther from Christ. By intellectual ^ processes many are brought to the threshold of the spiritual Kingdom : just as the star guided the wise men of old into His presence who came to guide our feet into the way of peace.^
1 (2) There is a nearness to personal godliness that is brought
\| about by moral integrity. As some are brought near to the
I kingdom by intellectual influences, others approach it from the
• standpoint of conscience. We cannot fail to detect the genuine
i ethical ring in this interlocutor : " Which is the first command-
i ment of all ? " And when Jesus had indicated the twofold
supreme commandment, the scribe said unto Him, " Well,
Master, thou hast said the truth : for there is one God ; and
there is none other but he : and to love him with all the heart,
and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with
/all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more
ithan all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices." This is not the
expression of a merely curious or polemical temper, there is
nothing here captious or controversial, but at once we feel that
we are dealing with one who is deeply sincere, and is anxious to
understand and possess the very essence of righteousness. And
our Lord, who knew what was in man, instantly recognised the
scribe's moral sincerity and enthusiasm. " And when Jesus saw
that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God."
^ The biographer of Horace Bushnell tells us that the young student for seven years failed to find the power of Christ. There was nothing positively or distinctively Christian about him, and there was in him a growing spirit of doubt and difficulty as to religious doctrine; yet during all this time of grave perplexity and distress he was marked by scrupulous conscientiousness, stern integrity, purity, and honour, and in the end he became the confessor of Christ with the power of Christ.^
We need it every hour —
A conscience clear. That shall be as a tower
Of strength and cheer.
» W. L. Watkiuaon. » Ibid.
ST. MARK 343
We need it every hour —
A true pure life, Which failure cannot sour
Or turn to strife.^
(3) There is a nearness to personal godliness that is brought y I about by ceremonial faithfulness. A true inclination and sus- |ceptibility of soul are developed by a right use of the Divinely lappointed means and channels of grace. It seems that the I faithfulness of this scribe to the study of the law and the v" » ordinances of worship had brought him hard by the blessing.
^ " Oh, there are worse things in the world than going to church," answered Dr. Elliot, " Farquhar preaches a fine dis- course, and, joking apart, you'll get into the way of the thing. I really enjoy it. I remember once when I was a student going home for my Spring holidays and walking through the fields to church with my mother on a fine morning. I've never forgotten the look on her face when she turned to me and said —
I joy'd when to the house of God, Go up, they said to me.
In these days, I thought it was a way mothers had. But now, there's no saying, I may get to have that inward look on my face too."
" You're a good fellow, Elliot ! I don't count this a visit, mind! Come often and see us," Colonel Morton said; for the doctor had turned to go as he finished the sentence.^
IV.
Not in the Kingdom.
1. "Not far from the kingdom of God." Was that a satis- factory position, or was it not ? There is a conventional way of [looking at it which is occupied mainly with the unsatisfactoriness i of it. " Not far from it : not in it. The man might just as I well be miles away." A very common way that of looking at { the position. It is not Christ's way. He says this of a certain young man with a feeling of genuine respect and admiration for ^ , him. For the moment, at any rate, under the quickening influence of the magnetic inwardness of Christ's teaching, so true,
^ Sara A. Underwood. * J. F. Hogg, The Angel Opportunity, 101.
344 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
so thorough, so real, the scribe — for he was a scribe — with all his traditions, had been lost in the man, and he had felt a thrill of responsiveness to Christ which he could not suppress. Against all his prejudices he acknowledged the rare spirit of Christ's reply to the question he addressed to Him, and the feeling was mutual. Christ and this man drew to one another. There was not much difference between them on the matter of