The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1879-12-11
DANGER IN THE CHURCHES.
CREED OR CHANACTER, WHICH, THE
TEST OF TRUE MANHOOD?
Discourse of Rev. J. f. McClelland in St.
Paul NJ. e. Church, Sunday Morning,
October 18th.


and the rain descended and the floods came, and
not, for it was founded upon ar9ck.
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish
And the r% H hs the the
the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell,
The Sermon on the Mount may be
regarded as Christ's inaugural. It was
His first authoritative utterance to all
His people. In it the Gospel was epi-
tomized in few simple precepts, and
the words we have chosen are the
summing up Of the great discourse.
They are the enforcement and appli-
cation and intended to give point to
what he had previously said.
When a cutler finishes a doughty
sword, that is meant for stern work in
battle, he takes care not to let the
weapon leave his hands until he has
put upon it a sharp, keen edge. And
Christ seemed to feel that this sermon
of his was to be the great authorita-
tive sermon of His ministry, and that
it must not leave his hands until a
good sharp edge had been put upon it.
And now it is worth our while to
know where the emphasis in it comes
out. There had been great multitudes
listening to it; they had hung upon
the words of His lips; many had gone
to some trouble to hunt him out. He
was on the mountain side with His
people, and there multitudes had gath
cred from the region round about at
the risk of exposure in that Syrian
cline, to hear His strange utterances.
All this would have elated any COM
mon man. Anybody else would have
been carried away by it; but no
thought of that kind entered the mind
of Jesus. He had mastered any ambi-
ton of that kind. His desire lay in
another direction. It was not simply
to make them hear, but to make them
obey. All the while the multitudes
were listening to His new doctrines,
He seemed to be wondering and ask
ing. How many Of those who listen
will really understand my words; how
many will get beyond the husk and to
the kernel inside; how many will full
fill the truth in daily life? And
then, to impress upon them the full
import of His teachings, he warned
them that every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not, shall be likened unto foolish
man, which built has house upon the
sand; and the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house, and it fell; and
great was the fall Of it." How fer
vent and lifelike! We seem to hear
the sweeping Of the tempest in carry
ing down the walls of the one and
leaving the other unshaken. Jesus
does not intimate that there was any
intrinsic difference in the two build
ings. The one built upon the sand
may have been constructed of Just as
good material as the one built upon
the rock; but there was lack of
depth in the foundation beneath the
soil. So the difference in men is not
so much as their difference in their
knowledge of the truth, and not so
much difference in the kind or amount
of truth, but it is altogether in their
way of using it. The stress is laid
upon the practical side, the one that
heareth and doeth is the wise man,
and he that heareth and doeth not is
the foolish man. The distinction
seems to stand out in all the teach
ings of Christ. He states it plainly
that mot every one who crieth, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of |
heaven, but they only that do the will
of the Father" He says again that
not every one must be judged q true
disciple because he comes to you in
sleeps clothing, for many wear this
garb in order to deceive. He
also tells US not to trust every tree
that shoots out luxurious branches,
but wait and taste of its fruit before
deciding upon its character
There never was teacher who laid |
SO much stress upon merit or the per-
formance of duty as to make it a test
Of discipleship. The difference be-
tween men, at the final day, what will
it be? Will it be in their faith or
creed? No. What then? ''Then
shall the King say unto them on His
right hand, come We blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the
world; for [ was hungered, and we
gave me meat; | was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink; | was stranger, and
ye took me in; naked, and We clothed
me; | was sick, and ye visited me; |
was in prison, and ye came unto me-"
And when, with the modesty of truth
and goodness, they answered, when
saw we Thee an hungered, and fed
Thee, or thirsty and gave Thee drink;
when saw Eve Thee stranger, and
took Thee in, or naked, and clothed
Thee; or when saw we Thee sick, or
in prison, and came unto Thee?"
Then shall the King say: "Inasmuch
IS We have done this unto one of the
east of these, my brethren, We have
lone it unto me-" As much as to say
that the great paramount thing in the
Christian life is to do the duty en-
oined; almost the same as saying
that salvation is conditioned on good
works; that mans way of living is to
be the test of his final destiny, and
that simply to know the Gospel, or to
believe it, is nothing without full
fllment of its obligations in our daily
life.
The time has come when this truth
should be insisted upon more promi-
nently than in the past. Heretofore
when men have preached the practical
side of religion, we have generally
been disposed to put them under ban
for being mere moralists. We have |
laid such great stress on the right |
faith and the true creed, that we have
almost forgotten the other side. The
Church has always put more depend
ence on creed than on character The