Omaha daily bee., 1883-07-24
,Pfa~aooiTsgRTHODOX SERMON.
The 1fSyS Standard for a Christian
Life,
As Set Forth by the New Prcsbyte-
rian Pastor.

Sunday morning Rev. r. G. Hall,
the new pastor of the Southwest Presby-
terrain church, preached an orthodox SER
mon, in reference to the command of
God to the inhabitants of this unholy
earth, and pointed the congregation to
the way which they might find this holi-
ness. The preacher, as his Father,
trusted in the efficacy of the pure gospel.
The text was the central clause of Lee
%viticus, IL, A. "And we hal be holy;
for l am holy"
The commands of God are never arbi-
trary, as so many have affirmed. When
christians serve their Heavenly Father it
is not a blind service. God truly has a
right to make His own laws, and to call
the attention of His subjects to those ex-
isting laws. He is the King, and we
are the subjects.
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or
transgression of the law of God, and sin
has made its abode on this once holy
habitation. But what could God do
otherwise than punish sin? Could a per-
fectly holy being, who reigns with perfect
laws all creation, admit persons who have
had unhallowed association to His dwell
ing place to live there foreverl Would
He not rather remove every vestage of
sin away aad then call them away from
the scene of contest to dwell in peace
and quietness!
We look at all the workmanship of
God and we think what a reasoner God
must be, and W. say also of His com
mands that they are reasonable ON
mands. He calls upon His subjects
everywhere to be holy, at work or at
rest, at the office, at the desk or at home.
But man, too often, looks at an ideal
of manhood, or that which appears to
him to be an ideal, and attempts to rem
der his life holy by following as nearly as
possible the traits of character therein
portrayed. But suppose this were car
ried to its fullest extent, each generation
would take a lower ideal and n deteriora-
ton would be the result. And a man
cannot live a perfect moral life and then,
on account of it, receive the blessings of
Christ's Righteousness, sooner than a man
can exercise perfect care in regard to his
health and maintain the same perfect
health after accidentally taking a large
dose of poison. God has laws and man
must obey them, and those laws refer to
the workings of nature which we see
about us, and they also refer to Christ
who was at one time ON earth, but who
was crucified.
When the appeal is made to the natur-
al heart, the demand is not lawful. but
God knows of and has pointed to the
remedy. There may be a stain upon a
mans character, and in after years by
carefulness that evil deed may be almost
forgotten, still he is not as perfect as the
one in whose life there can be seen no
blemish. Still, he who can proudly look
back on his past life and say, 'Where
can you find in me a cause for condemna-
ton" may come in the presence of God
and receive no more benefit than did the
Pharisee, who was not honored by God
rs much as the poor publican, whose very
title was associated with robbery and
w~ickedness. You may have n blameless
life and you will truly have n reward for
it, but that reward will be in this world
and number with the days of your pill
grimage here. And there before the
throne of God you would stand, having
received every benefit according to your
contract with your Heavenly Father.
For God not only looks at the outward
actions, but he looks also at the thoughts
and weighs each one. Have you, then,
never spoken evil of your neighber which
you could not have c~onclusively provenl
Have you always worshipped in the
proper spirit and not at the same time
condemned God in your hearth
/ am afraid the man of moral fame has
not taken the proper ideal; he has taken
that, which like himself, is also human.
A friend remarked to Michael Agnolo,
Gan you not rest satisfied, " after hehad
portrayed the character of Moses as well
as his artistic skill would permit. And
the artist replied, ''If my ideal were
higher, my work would have been great.
err" Thus by looking at your standard
then you stand before God imperfect.
Feel then that you are weak and that
you have need of the same certificate OF
the Holy Spirit, and feel also the
i, triumph which is obtained through the
, merits of Christ, who is the Redeemer.
God is not only a righteous Judge, buthe
/, is also a father who pities his children,
, and because of this care He has prepared
a way of escape, and that way of escape
is by his Son, Jesus Christ, The re-
demption is through Christand Him only.
Much dispute has arisen in reference
Q to the relation between the atonement
! and the Heavenly Father. 1t is by this
means that justice is satisfied, and
through this atonement We approach the
a throne of God. And herein lies the
' liberty of the Gospel of peace. Goddess
4 not call us to a liberty of sin, we have
! always that, but he from Sin calls us to
J a liberty wherein there is not sin.
Then You will serve Christ because
you love Him: and in Him you can see
sketched that which God demands of
you. If you take Christ as your Re-
deemer, follow Him, make his life your
life, behumble as He is humble. And
I, in this you are not without help. The