Science and Health in the chapter “Recapitulation” asks this question, “How can I progress most rapidly in the understanding of Christian Science?”
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Asheville, NC 11-4-2015
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Asheville, NC 11-4-2015
- KJV II Timothy 3:16
- 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
- KJV Proverbs 4:1, 2, 5, 6, 14, 15, 17, 18
- 1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- KJV Isaiah 40:28-31
- 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
- KJV Lamentations 3:22-25
- 22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
- KJV II Cor 4:16-18
- 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- KJV John 13:31, 34, 35
- 31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
- KJV John 15:1-13
- 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
- KJV Deut 31:6
- 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
- KJV Isaiah 25:1, 4, 8
- 1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
- KJV John 5:24
- 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
- KJV Romans 15:4-6
- 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- S&H 495:25-19
- Question. – How can I progress most rapidly in the
understanding of Christian Science?
Answer. – Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe
the spirit. Adhere to the divine Principle of Chris-
tian Science and follow the behests of God,
abiding steadfastly in wisdom, Truth, and
Love. In the Science of Mind, you will soon ascertain
that error cannot destroy error. You will also learn
that in Science there is no transfer of evil suggestions
from one mortal to another, for there is but one Mind,
and this ever-present omnipotent Mind is reflected by
man and governs the entire universe. You will learn
that in Christian Science the first duty is to obey
God, to have one Mind, and to love another as
yourself.
We all must learn that Life is God. Ask yourself:
Am I living the life that approaches the supreme good?
Am I demonstrating the healing power of
Truth and Love? If so then the way will
grow brighter “unto the perfect day.” Your fruits
will prove what the understanding of God brings to man.
Hold perpetually this thought, – that it is the spiritual
idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to
demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing,
based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, over-
lying, and encompassing all true being.
- S&H 451:8
- Students of Christian Science, who start with its letter
and think to succeed without the spirit, will either make
shipwreck of their faith or be turned sadly
awry. They must not only seek, but strive,
to enter the narrow path of Life, for “wide is the gate,
and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat.” Man walks in the
direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure
is, there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affec-
tions are spiritual, they come from above, not from be-
neath, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit.
- S&H 113:3-11, 16-21
- The letter
of Science plentifully reaches humanity to-day,
but its spirit comes only in small degrees. The vital part,
the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love. With-
out this, the letter is but the dead body of Science, –
pulseless, cold, inanimate.
The fundamental propositions of divine metaphysics
are summarized in the four following, to me, self-evident
propositions.
1. God is All-in-all.
2. God is good. Good is Mind.
3. God, Spirit, being all, nothing is matter.
4. Life, God, omnipotent good, deny death, evil, sin,
disease. – Disease, sin, evil, death, deny good, omnipo-
tent God, Life.
- S&H 239:16
- To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our
affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and
obey as God. If divine Love is becoming
nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is
then submitting to Spirit. The objects we pursue and
the spirit we manifest reveal our standpoint, and show
what we are winning.
- S&H 292:31
- In his resurrection and ascension, Jesus showed
that a mortal man is not the real essence of manhood, and
that this unreal material mortality disappears in presence
of the reality.
- S&H 496:20
- “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is
the law,” – the law of mortal belief, at war with the
facts of immortal Life, even with the spiritual
law which says to the grave, “Where is thy
victory?” But “when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im-
mortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
- S&H 567:7-8
- To infinite, ever-present Love, all is
Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.
- S&H 224:4
- As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the
dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand
the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant
our feet on firmer ground. Every sensuous pleasure or
pain is self-destroyed through suffering. There should
be painless progress, attended by life and peace instead
of discord and death.
- S&H 323:13-18, 24-27
- In order to apprehend more, we must put into prac-
tice what we already know. We must recollect that
Truth is demonstrable when understood, and
that good is not understood until demonstrated.
If “faithful over a few things,” we shall be made rulers
over many;
The true idea of God
gives the true understanding of Life and Love, robs the
grave of victory, takes away all sin and the delusion that
there are other minds, and destroys mortality.
- S&H vi:13-20
- The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent
of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the
portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and
the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling
away. Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-
stone to faith. The only guarantee of obedience is a
right apprehension of Him whom to know aright is
Life eternal.
II Timothy 3:16
Proverbs 4:1,2,5,6,14,15,17,18
Isaiah 40:28-31
Lamentations 3:22-25
II Cor 4:16-18
II Cor 4:16-18
John 13:31, 34, 35
John 15:1-13
Deut 31:6
Isaiah 25:1,4,8
John 5:24
Romans 15:4-6
Proverbs 4:1,2,5,6,14,15,17,18
Isaiah 40:28-31
Lamentations 3:22-25
II Cor 4:16-18
II Cor 4:16-18
John 13:31, 34, 35
John 15:1-13
Deut 31:6
Isaiah 25:1,4,8
John 5:24
Romans 15:4-6
495:25-19
451:8
113:3-11,16-21
239:16
292:31
496:20
567:7-8
224:4
323:13-18,24-27
vi:13-20
Hymn
157 Jesus’ prayer for all his brethren
228 O Love divine, that dwells serene
46 Day by day the manna fell
Link to share this: https://pleasantviewer.org/progress/
Great ideas for readings. Thank you!