Responsive Reading: Romans 6 : 1, 2, 11, 13, 14, 22

1.     What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2.     God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

11.     Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

22.     But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

1. Deuteronomy 30 : 6

6     And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

2. Psalm 49 : 1-3, 6, 7, 9

1     Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2     Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3     My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

6     They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7     None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

9     That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

3. Ezekiel 3 : 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21

12     Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.

14     So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

16     And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

17     Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

19     Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

21     Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

4. Matthew 23 : 1-14

1     Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

2     Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

3     All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

4     For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5     But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

6     And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7     And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

8     But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

9     And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

10     Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

11     But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12     And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

13     But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

14     Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

5. Matthew 21 : 31 (Verily)

31     Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

6. Matthew 5 : 1, 2, 8, 17-20

1     And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2     And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

8     Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

17     Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18     For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19     Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20     For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

7. Ephesians 2 : 4-10

4     But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5     Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6     And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7     That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8     For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9     Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10     For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

8. Revelation 2 : 1 (These) (to ,), 2, 3, 7

1     These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand,

2     I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3     And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

7     He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

9. Revelation 22 : 14

14     Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

1. 76 : 20 (man is)-21

…man is immortal and lives by divine authority.

2. 492 : 7-12

Being is holiness, harmony, immortality. It is already proved that a knowledge of this, even in small degree, will uplift the physical and moral standard of mortals, will increase longevity, will purify and elevate character. Thus progress will finally destroy all error, and bring immortality to light.

3. 539 : 3-7, 10-13

Error begins by reckoning life as separate from Spirit, thus sapping the foundations of immortality, as if life and immortality were something which matter can both give and take away.

God could never impart an element of evil, and man possesses nothing which he has not derived from God. How then has man a basis for wrong-doing?

4. 327 : 9-21

Evil is sometimes a man's highest conception of right, until his grasp on good grows stronger. Then he loses pleasure in wickedness, and it becomes his torment. The way to escape the misery of sin is to cease sinning. There is no other way. Sin is the image of the beast to be effaced by the sweat of agony. It is a moral madness which rushes forth to clamor with midnight and tempest.

To the physical senses, the strict demands of Christian Science seem peremptory; but mortals are hastening to learn that Life is God, good, and that evil has in reality neither place nor power in the human or the divine economy.

5. 67 : 18-24

The notion that animal natures can possibly give force to character is too absurd for consideration, when we remember that through spiritual ascendency our Lord and Master healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded even the winds and waves to obey him. Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods.

6. 328 : 4-13

Mortals suppose that they can live without goodness, when God is good and the only real Life. What is the result? Understanding little about the divine Principle which saves and heals, mortals get rid of sin, sickness, and death only in belief. These errors are not thus really destroyed, and must therefore cling to mortals until, here or hereafter, they gain the true understanding of God in the Science which destroys human delusions about Him and reveals the grand realities of His allness.

7. 476 : 9-20

God is the Principle of man, and man is the idea of God. Hence man is not mortal nor material. Mortals will disappear, and immortals, or the children of God, will appear as the only and eternal verities of man. Mortals are not fallen children of God. They never had a perfect state of being, which may subsequently be regained. They were, from the beginning of mortal history, "conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity." Mortality is finally swallowed up in immortality. Sin, sickness, and death must disappear to give place to the facts which belong to immortal man.

8. 339 : 20 (As)-32

As the mythology of pagan Rome has yielded to a more spiritual idea of Deity, so will our material theories yield to spiritual ideas, until the finite gives place to the infinite, sickness to health, sin to holiness, and God's kingdom comes "in earth, as it is in heaven." The basis of all health, sinlessness, and immortality is the great fact that God is the only Mind; and this Mind must be not merely believed, but it must be understood. To get rid of sin through Science, is to divest sin of any supposed mind or reality, and never to admit that sin can have intelligence or power, pain or pleasure. You conquer error by denying its verity.

9. 103 : 6-17, 25-32

The destruction of the claims of mortal mind through Science, by which man can escape from sin and mortality, blesses the whole human family. As in the beginning, however, this liberation does not scientifically show itself in a knowledge of both good and evil, for the latter is unreal.

On the other hand, Mind-science is wholly separate from any half-way impertinent knowledge, because Mind-science is of God and demonstrates the divine Principle, working out the purposes of good only. The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all. Evil is a suppositional lie.

The truths of immortal Mind sustain man, and they annihilate the fables of mortal mind, whose flimsy and gaudy pretensions, like silly moths, singe their own wings and fall into dust.

In reality there is no mortal mind, and consequently no transference of mortal thought and will-power. Life and being are of God.

10. 276 : 12-24

The realization that all inharmony is unreal brings objects and thoughts into human view in their true light, and presents them as beautiful and immortal. Harmony in man is as real and immortal as in music. Discord is unreal and mortal.

If God is admitted to be the only Mind and Life, there ceases to be any opportunity for sin and death. When we learn in Science how to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, thought is turned into new and healthy channels, — towards the contemplation of things immortal and away from materiality to the Principle of the universe, including harmonious man.

11. 324 : 4-18

The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

Unless the harmony and immortality of man are becoming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea of God; and the body will reflect what governs it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore "acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter, — certainly before we can reach the goal of Spirit, or life in God.

12. 311 : 22-25

When humanity does understand this Science, it will become the law of Life to man, — even the higher law of Soul, which prevails over material sense through harmony and immortality.