Responsive Reading: Romans 6 : 12-18

12.     Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13.     Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14.     For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15.     What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16.     Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17.     But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18.     Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

1. Psalm 32 : 1, 2

1     Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2     Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

2. Psalm 85 : 7-13

7     Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

8     I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9     Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

10     Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11     Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12     Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13     Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

3. Matthew 8 : 18

18     Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

4. Matthew 9 : 1-8

1     And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

2     And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

3     And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4     And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5     For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6     But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

7     And he arose, and departed to his house.

8     But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

5. Luke 7 : 36-48, 50

36     And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

37     And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38     And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39     Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40     And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41     There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42     And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43     Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44     And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45     Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46     My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47     Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48     And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

50     And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

6. John 14 : 8-13

8     Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9     Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10     Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11     Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12     Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13     And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

7. Romans 5 : 1, 2, 8-11

1     Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2     By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

8     But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9     Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10     For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11     And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

1. 18 : 1-9, 13-14 (to ;)

Atonement is the exemplification of man's unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love. Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage. His mission was both individual and collective. He did life's work aright not only in justice to himself, but in mercy to mortals, — to show them how to do theirs, but not to do it for them nor to relieve them of a single responsibility.

The atonement of Christ reconciles man to God, not God to man;

2. 19 : 12-28

The Master forbore not to speak the whole truth, declaring precisely what would destroy sickness, sin, and death, although his teaching set households at variance, and brought to material beliefs not peace, but a sword.

Every pang of repentance and suffering, every effort for reform, every good thought and deed, will help us to understand Jesus' atonement for sin and aid its efficacy; but if the sinner continues to pray and repent, sin and be sorry, he has little part in the atonement, — in the at-one-ment with God, — for he lacks the practical repentance, which reforms the heart and enables man to do the will of wisdom. Those who cannot demonstrate, at least in part, the divine Principle of the teachings and practice of our Master have no part in God. If living in disobedience to Him, we ought to feel no security, although God is good.

3. 22 : 20-27, 30 (Justice)-31

Love is not hasty to deliver us from temptation, for Love means that we shall be tried and purified.

Final deliverance from error, whereby we rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's vicarious effort.

Justice requires reformation of the sinner. Mercy cancels the debt only when justice approves.

4. 23 : 1-11

Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices of self to save us from sin. One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. The atonement requires constant self-immolation on the sinner's part. That God's wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man-made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology, but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at the feet of everlasting Love.

5. 24 : 20-22

Does erudite theology regard the crucifixion of Jesus chiefly as providing a ready pardon for all sinners who ask for it and are willing to be forgiven?

6. 5 : 22-25

Prayer is not to be used as a confessional to cancel sin. Such an error would impede true religion. Sin is forgiven only as it is destroyed by Christ, — Truth and Life.

7. 327 : 1-7

Reform comes by understanding that there is no abiding pleasure in evil, and also by gaining an affection for good according to Science, which reveals the immortal fact that neither pleasure nor pain, appetite nor passion, can exist in or of matter, while divine Mind can and does destroy the false beliefs of pleasure, pain, or fear and all the sinful appetites of the human mind.

8. 362 : 1-12

It is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene of Oriental festivity. A "strange woman" came in. Heedless of the fact that she was debarred from such a place and such society, especially under the stern rules of rabbinical law, as positively as if she were a Hindoo pariah intruding upon the household of a high-caste Brahman, this woman (Mary Magdalene, as she has since been called) approached Jesus.

9. 363 : 8 (Did Jesus)-7

Did Jesus spurn the woman? Did he repel her adoration? No! He regarded her compassionately. Nor was this all. Knowing what those around him were saying in their hearts, especially his host, — that they were wondering why, being a prophet, the exalted guest did not at once detect the woman's immoral status and bid her depart, — knowing this, Jesus rebuked them with a short story or parable. He described two debtors, one for a large sum and one for a smaller, who were released from their obligations by their common creditor. "Which of them will love him most?" was the Master's question to Simon the Pharisee; and Simon replied, "He to whom he forgave most." Jesus approved the answer, and so brought home the lesson to all, following it with that remarkable declaration to the woman, "Thy sins are forgiven."

Why did he thus summarize her debt to divine Love? Had she repented and reformed, and did his insight detect this unspoken moral uprising? She bathed his feet with her tears before she anointed them with the oil. In the absence of other proofs, was her grief sufficient evidence to warrant the expectation of her repentance, reformation, and growth in wisdom? Certainly there was encouragement in the mere fact that she was showing her affection for a man of undoubted goodness and purity, who has since been rightfully regarded as the best man that ever trod this planet. Her reverence was unfeigned, and it was manifested towards one who was soon, though they knew it not, to lay down his mortal existence in behalf of all sinners, that through his word and works they might be redeemed from sensuality and sin.

10. 497 : 13 (We)-19

We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

11. 21 : 1-5

If Truth is overcoming error in your daily walk and conversation, you can finally say, "I have fought a good fight ... I have kept the faith," because you are a better man. This is having our part in the at-one-ment with Truth and Love.

12. 568 : 24-30

For victory over a single sin, we give thanks and magnify the Lord of Hosts. What shall we say of the mighty conquest over all sin? A louder song, sweeter than has ever before reached high heaven, now rises clearer and nearer to the great heart of Christ; for the accuser is not there, and Love sends forth her primal and everlasting strain.