Morning journal and courier., 1885-03-12
THE LENTEN DIsCOURsEs.


 THE LENTEN DIsCOURsES.
 Rev. Dr. Harwood at St. Paups
 Church Last Evening at the
 United Lenten Service.
 Rev. Dr. Harwood, who conducted the united service at St. Pauls church last even ing, took for his text Romans xiv, IT, ''Fo1 the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" The subject of the discourse was "The Spiritual Life-Its Perversions' It is difficult task to speak on the perver-i sions of Christianity must needs ,se just discrimination. All great things esle- cially the historic, undergo change ard are re- produced in different form or ara counter feited. As the lustre of the diamond changes | with time and artifce, so the '-iho anu iiear' l undergo transmutations are pushed to eA- tremes and becomo something else Liberty becomes licepse and license becomes tyranny. The Christian church is different from other public organizations in that it is conducive | to both public and private good. It is as a stream with it's pools and tributaries, with ;ts current hindered by obstacles and then thrown forward by a sud
  opposition Extreme activity and conserva- tism strive with each other. In the church the minds of men are in more of 8 clash bat tie than in any other organization. In it every noble thought has it's caricatures and every doctrine it's denials But it's founda- tions are so strongly laid that hostile minds cannot demolish them.
 The more profoundly we consider Christi anity as public organization and look at its l influence on the hearts and lives of men the l more we see of the phenomena of contradic | tion and perversion. The first is used by the enemies of the gospel and is bold, blind and l wide in it's reach; the latter is the work of professed friends of the gospel an the result of ignorance and self-will. Its influence is so | great that we cannot estimate the effect in the history of Christian doctrine.
 | Christianity is misinterpreted and then perverted by those agencies which are ad- l dressed to the mind the emotions or to the lives which are followed by Christians; ol perverted by the teachings, rules or tests in
 troducing motives foreign to the true ides oe spiritual life. The two main fea
 lures of the spiritual life are the deatl
 of Christ and overcoming of sin and the new life in the resurrection of Chris
 and righteousness The divine spirit quick | ems the soul in it's motives, emotions anc
 powers, and the introduction of principle
 foreign to these ideas comes in the form O ] something supplementary or addltlona 1 which is thrust in where the spirit has su l preme jurisdiction. It works long train O
 mischief which it is almost impossible to un
 do. ''Ye are all sons of God through faitl in Christ Jesus;" stAll are one in him. Each generation differs from every other. II
 one effort is made in one way and in anothe ! in other ways but each has to look out fo this influence in addition, for it paralyzes tn | law of life in Christ Jesus. There is typ
 of religion which respects the sensibilitie
 and is affected by the perception of the vas l and infinite Again. mysticism is recog nized in this subject, not a shadowy, ia away feeling, but an inward sense of wrap communion with God, which though recog , l nized only few can attain.
 1 Another type is the sentimental religion l in which the whole force of religion is spen 1 in the emotions. There is no power to com | pei to do justly; the only aim IS to feel gooo This type overlooks the fact that Christian I ty is moral force. It is supposed to be tn | very essence of converted life. A maIke contrast to this is the notional religion which assumes that Gods religion can b 3 reduced to form and tabulated. Its 'strengt g is in it's logical notions and conclusion; tn l heart is encased in the irons of it own nc tions and has no time to walk in the spirit c ! ! 1 divine righteousness Its influence is to dt ! stroy the character, to narrow the -opinio and deform the divine agency. It is pre
 dominant where religion wears hard col
 face Who can estimate the responsibilit of perverted Christianity? If the secrets c
 all hearts were known it has been the mos l active of all agents in bringing the religion C | Jesus Christ into contempt.
 $ A third form of it is that which makes It ligion system of rules and regulations T respect to diet, dress and amusement. Tn V gospel does not deal with diet. "Meat con mendeth us not to God" The conscience ( each man must direct, assisted by Christia
 charity. Religion should be religion of th l spirit, not of the letter. The doctrine
 'fmeat'' crushes the life out of the pure go
 pei.
 To get the pure gospel we must go bac T to the simple first principles and hold thel :. | as truths of the reason, conscience and Tiff | Religion will then make better men and w - men, and if carried out it should be wi :, make the church radiant with the light an 7, ! glory of the spiritual lives of it's members.