Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-02-24
FAITH THE GIFT OF GOD.

Subject of the Address of Rev. DR.. VIM
cent at the jackson Street NJ. E. Church
Last Evening.
The Rev. DR.. Vincent preached an inter
esting sermon on the subject of 'Faith," at
the Jackson Street Methodist church last
evening, taking his text from Paul's letter
to the Ephesians, II chapter, VIII verse:
''For by grace are We saved, through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God
The reverend speaker said that there was
sometimes difference of opinion among
expositors of the word as to what construc-
ton should be put upon certain passages,
but there was one thing upon which all ex-
positors agreed, viz: that faith, hope, and
the belief in Immortality were the direct
gifts of God.
What sight was to the artist faith was to
the Christian. He saw the beauty that
slumbered in the organic world. 1t was the
artists province to see in landscape, or
beautiful piece of scenery, what the ordinary
eye would invariably fail to detect. When
the true artist touched any of the great
scenes of ature they became monuments of
genius. The money consideration of a true
of. He touched figure with hispencil, and,
lo!' it was immortal-a production for all
time.
The Christian, though not an artist in
nature, might be an artist in spirit. He
closed his eye in faith, and wonderous
visions were seen. Paul described faith as
the evidence of things not seen. There was
that wonderful power in man by which he
could see the immo rtal
Faith acts-it is reproductive. A man
learns by faith to cast away all burdens and
anxiety. By the wonderful power of faith,
the soul may submit to the mysterious inhu-
ence of the unseen.
All men live by faith. Faith in Jesus
Christ, was the very principle of Christian
experience. Whatever Christian faith man
possessed was contained in the book.
Christ's love aud power deals only in a
spiritual, invisible world, and faith was the
only avenue it could be viewed from. If a
man was saved by the gospel, it was because
he had faith in the power of Christ to save.
God also governs in human history. The
history of Egypt and Assyria had the divine
touch. The very facts upon which saving
faith rested were the gifts of God. The
speaker believed in justice, in everlasting
righteousness as resting in the Fathers care.
There were three ways of training boy
the of physical restraints was one
way. Iron was stronger than muscle or
bones, but the speaker would not G i've much
for boy that was SO trained until he was
fifteen years of age. That BOY would
plunge into the hideous designations of life.
The boy should be won by offices of love,
and given generous freedom, when
at last he would recognize the
1t was so with Christ, in his promises to
Christians. Restraints would have to be
contended with and sometimes patiently
borne. The loss OF many mans fortune
had been the means of his everlasting sal
walton. Affection and sorrows were fire.
quently the gifts of God. Electricity was a
reality, although it could not be seen. God
was a reality, although he was invisible.
The divine presence was dream to some,
while to Others it was genuine, marvellous
fact. Some persons were trying to obtain
intellectual faith.
The faith that saved was a faith of the
heart unto righteousness. TO the man
whose faith was of the intellectual quality,
religion and Immortality were nothing but
myth. The man who uses the prompt
lngs he had would have moro light.
There is power in man that sees more by
: not looking at the things that are seen. The
man who looks into the infinite here would
be most at home there. The man who held
the highest spiritual converse here, would be
most at home in the midst of the immortal
spirits there. There were hidden reasons
for which God did many things, and it was
better to have faith that believed in and
acted spiritual ife-a faith that in seekin g
spiritual solace through Christ, rested its
hope on an everlasting Immortality.