THE teachings of Christ Jesus invariably point to the necessity of gaining freedom from bondage to sin both in order to manifest sound health and also to win salvation. Recognizing that all causation is mental and spiritual, he urged upon his hearers the paramount necessity of freeing one's self from every type of sinful belief and wrong desire. To drop away from the forms of sinful living which were outwardly manifest was not enough: the cleansing must be from within, and it must be thorough, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" he exclaimed, "for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess." And he followed with the stern admonition to cleanse that which is within the platter in order that the outside may be clean also.
Definite and complete instructions for those seeking to gain a larger spiritual concept through mental cleansing are set forth and elucidated in the Christian Science textbook in a way that makes the method perfectly plain. In speaking of those who pray for the outward effect, Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 8): "Their prayers are indexes which do not correspond with their character. They hold secret fellowship with sin, and such externals are spoken of by Jesus as 'like unto whited sepulchres . . . full ... of all uncleanness.'" Thus clearly did our Leader supplement Jesus' injunctions.
To be effective, then, cleansing must be from within. We must turn upon our mentalities the white light of spiritual Truth if we would make sure of the quality of our thoughts. Willingness to do this indicates an honest desire for purity and spirituality. Unwillingness to face the situation arises from a desire to hold to secret faults, either for love of sinful so-called pleasures or for fear of the consequences in giving them up. Either condition should be healed, else spiritual progress will be impeded. In a sentence just before the above quotation from the textbook, our Leader has touched upon this situation and hinted its remedy. "We never need to despair of an honest heart," she says; "but there is little hope for those who come only spasmodically face to face with their wickedness and then seek to hide it."
