Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-12-06
WHOLE NUMBER 1913.


cording tp the testimony of Jesus OhriStr
Win all his native goodness. there was fatt{
lack. What was ify He did not fall becuual
of what he bnd. bn, hrcause Of what iipi had
not u was not his morality that would prts
vent his receiving eternal life. This was riglt
and good. and secured the admiration of Jesa
himself Bnt II was what his morsli'v lacked,
II was deficiency that simple morality could
not give. These We ought ~ have doue,"
says Christ. land not left the other undOne."i
In searching for the fatal deficiency, we must
not look 10 the outward conduct hut 10 the
inward life We must 20 10 the very fountain
Of mans being We mnst 90 brnpaih mans
morality and discover his spirituality. Wa
must 20 hnck of the bud and blossom nf NOR z
~ conhnct and Discover the nature OF the hid
den root We must see what the heart is. (
what The spirit ~. We must gn to the deep
and hidden springs ot moral aciions--into thp
silent and mvstic chambers of the soul, where
motives rOncpive and where moral life II
born. We want to know IL the morality In
question hos its beginning in purp heaven-born,
l love 10 God and man. We want to trace the
! stream not only hack 10 the hills from whence
" apparently conps. but down iuto the earth,
| among the crevicfs Of the rock, still following
| it ss the tiny ril brcomes percoIsiing drops .
oozing from its grave-bed.ull al las. we discoy
er that II has come as pure rain from the clouds
ot heaven. The real origin of the stream Il IN
the sky. Was there any such bpsvenly origin
! TO the river of this Young mans moral good ,
| nrssi Had he kept the G. ,mmundmenis from
his youth up. because OF bis supreme love 70
| Gudy rtni
| Mlsos summed ND the lew In the ti,caineue
or ten Commandments. Christ summed II UP,
In the two great Commandments. Paul de.
clares that ,he law is fulfl"d In one wo-d--
| Love" Love j. the essential element of all .
trne obedience. If there Is any lack here, IL is
fatal lack. A morality that flows not from
supreme love tn God, IL like n stream cut OF
| from, tta ia aud
Obedience without love, lacks the one ihing.
There is n iaial lack in all Our doings if We /,
are destitute Of suprme love 10 God. Though
L sprak with the tongues Of men aud of sn-
gels" SAWS the apostle, "and have not charity. Z
! or hrayrn- born love, am become as sounding
brass or a tinkling cvmbal. And though /
have the gin of prophecy. and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and though
have all faith 50 that l could remove noun
| taIns and have not charity. am nothing. And
! though beslow all my goods 10 feed the poor
and though give my body to BE- burned and
have moi charity, It profteth me nothing"
| Onr good works will profit us nothing In OBJ
| tanning eternal life If we are without charity.
| The purest morality, without the new heart of
| love, will not save us. Righteousness with
| out love, is filthy rag in the sight of n pure
and holy Gnd. The best and most upright of
men need 10 he horn into God 10 holy love, for
Except u man re born again he cannot see the
Kingdom of God"
Here was the fatal lack Of the emiable
Young man ofthe gospel. There WAS no lova
in his righteousness God was not supreme In
his heart. He had an idol there that he wor-
shipped above his Maker. He wanted eternal
life. for Ire came running 10 Jesns to know
what he should do to Obtain IL. He had been
doing from his youth Up that migbt obtain u.
Still he WAS not satisfied; eternal life seemed
as far off rs ever. He hoped to learn of Jesus
some one thing he vet might do and Sc
cure the cherished object of his life. Thus.
all his righteous doings from his youth were
conceived in srfishness. He had done all In
hope of some signal reward which be called
eternal life He really confessed that he had
been selfish from his youth up. t-..
What is eternal lifes John saws Il Is ito
know God and Jesus Christ whom he has
sent" To know God. And who Is GOdt
John says again, "He is love" To know love-,
then, is eternal life. To know love is to love.
We cannot know love hut by loving. To
know God, therefore, is to love CD Hence.
10 love God is eternal life. Therefore. eternal
life is purr holy. disinieresfed love. This. he
young man thonght IN obtain by some selfish.
| doing-as though selfshneSs could work its
way into henevolrnce Is there not here a Ia.
mentable, fatal lack Is there mot here gulf
that nature caunpt bridget How is selfshness
ever to project itself over into benevoleBcer
| L. il moi true that except man he born again
he cannot enter the Kingdom of GOdr The
doctrine of evolution does not hold iu the SAL
IL
nra heart frnm which you can evolve that
| love which is eternal life. II must begin in
the soul as a new creation. We must be born
agnIn. 20 50
But I pracerd to inqnirp in the 3D. place.
how was he. made to kRO,O his lack? He was,
conscious that there was a lack, hut he was
not fully aware of what il was. Jesus knew
the young mans heart, and he knew how TO
reveal 10 so thTt the young man might know
il himself The heart of the youth was set
upon his rich $ He worshipprd them ss his
| Gnd They were the idol of his affections
therefore, when Christ said to him, "go and
sell all that thon hast and give the poor"
he knew IN moment that he was a mammon
wnrshipper--that he had no real love of God
| In his heart, that all his obedience frnm hia
youth WAS oHtward--hai he had not kent the
| Commandments of God in his heart. He saw.
as by flash, the true state Of his d drkened
soul. He knew in MON mt that his life was
isolated-cut OFF from God All his morality,
that had hitherto appeared 50 fair and bcauli'
ful. turned into filthy rags in his sighi,4 In
| that hour of revelation, he saw his lack, his
utter dpstitutiun Of all true Righteousness OF
soul. Though II was one thing, II was every
thing. He knew now that he loved riches
better than life-betier than God. He knew
now. that he had never oheyed God from any
love 10 him, that all his doings, though so good
| in themselves were really farce, as they
were not prompted by any true and real love
TO God or man. Jesus did not command him
| TO sill his possessions and give to the poor he
cause this was tho thing he needed TO do
in order 10 have eternal life. Life comes not
from doing. hut frnm being. Life is born TO
u.s. II comes ns gift from him Who ever liv
eth, from him who Is The life. Giving our
properly To The poor will not secure rs life,
"Thonah give all my goods to feed the
poor" savs The apostle. "withont charity, am
nOihng" Christ laid the command upon the
Young man that he might know his lack. THAI
he might know that he was utt'rly destitute OF
The love of God in his heart. He would have
him realize his true and real c"ndiuon as 3
sinner in the sight of God as the first step in
the way of his salvation. He would have him
know that eternal life was not the result of
human end"avor. but of Gods m'rcy and
grace. II lac had known this. when he came
running 10 the Master. he would not have ask
ed what he should do that he might have eter.
nal life, but he would have asked for eternal
| life itself .' FI-i
My dear young friends, are you conscious OF
any lack 7 Arr You satisfied in yourselves that
you are right in the sight of G0df Some o.
you may have lived hlameless lite In tho
sight of men. Is this your hope? Is there not
something which stands between you and
your God, which should you be required tp
surrender. would reveal your want Of love to
your Heavenly Fatherf With all your native
goodness, do you not know that the lack Of
| ,.,a .yonuina Inve in vnur anui fnF God srM