The New York herald., 1878-11-18
FIFTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH.


TworoLD BASIS OF FArTH-sERMoN BY REV.
DIR. ARMTrAGE.
The Rev. DR.. Armitage preached last evening
the subject Of the twofod basis of faith, taking his
text from H. Timothy. L., 12-'I know whom
have believed. and persuaded that he is able to
keep that which have committed to him unto that
day."
There can be no real faith in the atheist said the
reverend Doctor, and in the speculative. All real
faith stands upon fact--the faith of acknowledged
truth. So here Paul says, II persuaded, Iknow."
His faith, then. persuasion. endowing him with
all the vital of knowledge. His faith rested
upon living personality, designated In the text by
the threesold pronoun. 'whom. "he and "him, and
upon the perpetual ability, "he is able to keep"
1t is delightful thought that the words "what"
and (which" were not substituted by the apostle
for the personal pronouns "he" and "him. This per-
sonality Of faith in it's object distinguishes the rel-
gion of Christ from all others. 1t shows that the
object of Christian faith is being and not sent
ment, life and not dogma Mans faith feels the
indispensable need of sympathetic vitality. He
needs not an historical but living Saviour Christ
is hfe and personal Christ Jesus is not
myth, but an embodiment Of all that faith can en-
brace. The object of faith therefore, invested
with infinite freshness and eternal newness. II know
whom have believed in the boundlcss varieties of
His life. These all living truths, facts. living
themselves over again. in every age and in every man
stimulated the apostle Paul in his work, and he
wished it to stimulate his Timothy with the
nerve
THE SECOND BASIS OF FAITH
Faith rests upon perpetual ability springing out
of this living personality HE whom Ihave believed
that Here we see that h
practical trust to the keeping of this living ability
The apostle means that he had deposited everything
will Ghria fQre Epqni he dance trf,
great for his own guardianship. 1t must be kept.
His Redeemer knew all the danger and all the foes to
which He received from His servant not
perimenal trial The apostle that the ability Of
Christ to keep this trust is limtable and absolute.
He looked upon Christ the creator of all life and
the upholder Of all who confide in Him, and there
fore as having pledged His eternal fidelity to keep
what His saints have committed to Him, and He has
ratified that pledge not only by His creative
and miraculous works. but by His native power and
life Christ had already magnifed this pledge in the
past experience Of the apostle He had already kept
him through perils of every sort that. like the
he could say, Il know. His faith then had crystal
lized to knowledge knowledge that now inter-
with and enwrapped in his self lfconsciousness.
well he knew himself. in his own
inability, and he intelligent judge
so then we sum all up in the thought that his past
faith and present knowledge had wrought out for him
full persuasion concerning the future. / am per
suaded. he sys-that is he was convinced prevailed
upon allured and over to the convctionthat the
saving ability which had secured his safety in
the past would insure the future HE is able to
keep that which have committed to him. He be-
heved that that ability could be impaired. It's
perpctuy Of exercise only to be measured by the
continuance of the thing to be kept. THAT which
have committed to him.. Here is an unmeasured age
intervening necessity. and here is akeeping ability
which parallel herewith. "He shall keep
til that day" Iis . singular thing that the phrase
"that day has no antecedent in the compost
ton of this epistle. But the apostles mind
was so intensely fixed upon the day in
which the Mediator should give up His charge. be-
cause the apostle should be threatened with danger
no longer, that the thought absorbs him, and he
speaks of that day without antecedent. He felt
assured that the keeping of his soul by Christ till the
day OF the Redeemer's coming linked up his eternal
salvation commensuratey with the Redeemers life
With the double ukes Of this anchor fastened into
the very rock of ages itself there power in
devil to make his faith falter. blush never
tnged his cheek when he spoke of Chrsts glory for
he said 81 not ashamed OF the Gospel of Christ"
and msgiving of his own salvation seized his
breast with this twofod basis of faith beneath his
feet In life and death he steadfast and immov-
able. because he could say in both. II know whom
have believed and am persuaded that he is able to
keep that which have committed to him unto that