Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-07-25
lpuRLrsHED by REauEsr.]
gfhMlters Ess esac Church. /.
sSss a SERMON,
i SpY REV. a. Il. PARK, GARDNER, Me.

SIS biD gs y TINT thou affirm constantly.
Eg that they which have believed In God
ns % De careful to maintain good works.
prominent feature of the present time.
" hiSa s,t must ass havos struck every one who
SIS seaass Haat rs transpiring, isthe alarming
mum yer q of q defalcations. Cashiers or Other
81 Ss persons 70 Whom money had been intrusted
q lor 81 ssstskaseeping, betray their trust, and
rs i sPteaNa Speyertyfand ruin far and wide.
3 4smoss aallySana sometimes two or three
tles " y = gay, The Spublie hear of another
topos!y ot tu9as, and the consequent
u SssSsaass1g sSMg Some bank ormapnfaotory
u ~ a eWs; ayp many Now England towns
Ties diamally like that from Fall
B, wfence, South Hadley.--some man
s. 81 ' SSafated With other peoples money,
8 and. gone 10 the penitentiary.
tls remarkable how many Of these de-
/ fanlters are religious. It!is usually men
toned in connexion with their, orimes-Aso
1 commonly, that the fact has ceased to sur.
y prise tls .sthat they were prominent NOM
bers5of this or that evangelical church,
active in The prayer room and tho SUNDAY
School. How this happens Is easily ex-
planned. When man is selected for a
position that requires integrity and consci.
ientionspess, SIT is in his favor if he be q
professedi Christian; il Is thought he will DO
less likelyto steal. There will soon be au
end, however, Of this preference for Christ
ians, # matters continue to unfold as of
late. II lis painfully evident that macy
! DefSonS arc making use Of religion to coyor
Y Y up their Wickedness, imposing upon the
public, and very likely upon tbemselve, =
1 sths apostle says, "deoeiving and being
sCols s9Robert Iogersoll cannot do as much
70. ptomote infdelity by his lectures ss those
State prison Christians DO by their thefts
II Every orime: perpetrated by prominent
church member ia trumpcted !. through our
Yepnblic from Maine to California; it hbs
4 d larger audience, and speaks with mofe
disastrous emphasis, than the eloquent leo.
turet from Illinois.
8 Sg Few forms Of robbery are moro meaau
thans defaulting; housebreaking is much
8 'refsrable. The burglar takes your money
beosuse he is stronger than you, and inn
1 .peri)s his own life to get it; perhaps he Is
r poor, too, and needs 1t. But the defaulter
4betrsys the trust yeposed in him, taking
.iadvantage of pcobloss confidence to rob
then, without e iqourrigg any personals peril,
nid without tho roc- excuse Of poverty.
IL OF all :ogues hs'is the guilticst, aud being b
man Of some education and intelligence
I I ought to know'it.
The example Of these States prison
y Christians suggests to ,yus some timely
] thoughts upon tho relations of virtue and
.SIgodliness. 5tN."' %'#! !
.,iIlBl we dee tho natural fruits, Of an erro-
2ineous belief which has troubled tho Church
.of Christ in oil ages, namely, the doctrine
that men can be- Christians and live in
awiekednessH tn other words, that salvation
y I, IS Hy faith without good works. This error
was held in the days of the apostle james,
y and notwithstanding the strength which ho
denounced it, it has been quietly cherished
ever since. II is. supposed that title to
heaven is secured by having faith in Christ
sand confessing him, and that believers NAV
live as they please, because Christ bears oil
their guilt. The promise, "He shall save
his people from their SINS"
Wo can easily imagine how one Of those
pious defaulters, after taking another $l0..
q 600 Of his neighbor's money out Of tho safe
and venturing it on the uncertainties Of
Wall street, mightgo into prayer meeting
and sing:
(. gsN othing, either great or small
#HS,afs Remaines for me to do"
And we can fancy him saying in his exhor.
tation: "Brethron, I am a great sinner, my
own righteousness appears to me but
] filthy rags, and all my hopo Of salvation is
IN Christ" ..tas.0lr1,
SIoh is that "fath without works -
which tie apostle declares t'is dead, beine
alone" And who can tell how much Of e
there is 10 our churches2 Who knows
how many are pursuing evil courses, knowo
& to be evil, and comforting themselves with
the belief that they are being saved in their
sins2
aIt is a faithful saying, and worthy Of all
! acceptation, that Christ Jesus came Into the
world to save sinners" But, says our text:
'a.ehis 10 a faithful saying, and these things
4 j will that thou affirm constantly, that thew
which have believed In God might be care.
fplto maintain good works." One saving
I ID as faithful as the other, and as important
Co be remembered. The Bible gives the
first for thetc comfort Of poor sinners WHO yare
trying la syain3to earn salystion byttheir
own efforts: Chsist Jesas oane into tha
1sssofla 70 say IA sihners;;o ard III gives tho
tc fogI beliagers, WHO aro mot
y tliet whiah iiaso,