The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-03
THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE
JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF IS TIE OBJECT
OF SAVING FAITH.
Sermon by Rev. Francis P. Mutually, D. Z
The Intellectual Lights Of LOgicinns
pale Their Intellectual Fires Be.
fore the Intuitive brightness Of
the Stars that Illumiiae the Fir.
mament of the Soul.

in him Should not perish, but have everlast,
ing life.-John III: 16.
Two of the many truths embraced IN this
comprehensive sentence are: % That laIGh is
the only condition of salvation, ana l2) 1nat
Jesus Christ himself, is the object OF saving
faith. ,..
Volumes have been written to explain faith:
and vet not word Is necessary IN order tnat
any sane man may know what 1t ls we
know it by our own consciousness, as we
know love, hope, fear: and every 4ther natil.
raj state of mind. What inner feeling reveals
to the soul. logical dsquisition clouds, rather
than illumines. lntuitive cognitions burn
brightly as stars In the tirinnm ent OF the soul,
and arc not TO be discovered by the lamp OF
cogitation. Mans every day IRE being gi Iiie n1;
vital thing with ench one Of us TO require
explanation. If there lives soul that does
not know, by experience. what iaith 1S,a tne
works Of the worlds ablest tneologlans coulu
not reveal 1t TO that soul.
1t Is not therefore any part OF the Work as
sitned to the Christian teacher, TO give q phi
iosop9lic exposition Of the nature Of fsith.
THE EXCLUSIVE BUSINESS OF THE PREACHER
is to direct faith to the true object-the object
on which the well-being of humanity de-
pends. A guide Is not TO explain the struct..
ilre of the eye, but to show the right way, ana
SO the preacher is not to give the philosophy
OF faith, but to show the object Oh which IL
What is that object? The text answers this
question very decidedly. But does the preva-
lent preaching OF our cay agree with the an.
swer the text gives? II appears to me that
not few of our religious instructors make
the object of faith to be proposition, that
more make 1t q system of propositions, some
u system OF facts, and others the evidences OF
the truth OF certain statements, and very
many represent 1t as plan, the plan OF sat-
vation, and seem TO think that the highest eX-
ercise OF tuith Is to Perceive the nice adjust
ment aid wonderful concentrations of this
plan. In contradiStn1tinn to all these views
the Bible teaches that the object o.: saving
faith is person, and that person, the God.
man, the Word made flesh. who was dead and
is alive and who has the keys of hades and
with you always. even to the end Of the
world" "God SO loved the world as To give
His only begotten son that who>oevet be-
leveth in him should not perish but have eV-
erlastlng life"
admit, nay proclaim with absolute con-
viction that belief of the facts OF the saviour S
life, and knowledge Of the doctrines OF the
Bibe, are necessary in order to bring Jesus
Christ Himself, in living form before the soul.
But industry is not wealth, though 1t may be
necessary 10 wealth, study Is not learning,
though without 1t no one can become learned;
and SO the belief of propositions, although u
condition of the exercise OF saving alth Is not
this faith itself. Jesus Christ Himself Is the
object of saving faith, and not propositions or
doctrines or a system or 4 plan, not even tne
system of divine truth, the plan OF salvation
or the doctrines Of e. ace. And If this tie true
how much less is 1t 4 system OF church gov
ernment, or Of ritualistic forms. TO illustrate
this assertion and to impress, 1T once, Its I'M
portance and Its truth, let us view 1t In rela.
ton to the needs of the soul and the demands
and represen tatiOns OF the Gospel.
THE SOUL OF MAN NEEDS A MORAL TRANS
FORMATION.
This is essential to his true freedom, dignity
and bleSSeduesS. That 1t is, is proved by uni
versal experience. attested by our own con-
seriousness and declared with extraordinary
force and frequency by the word OF God. A
new character, heart. lifeare Involved In the
change demanded, nothing less. Now faith
In propositions cannot effect this moral revo-
luton. Its great essential condition Is thai a
love for goodn ness, holy goodness, be genera
ted In the soul
Ourloves are our masters. They inspire our
activities and work our faculties according to
their bent. The strongest love Ia the monarch
of the SOUL and the mOulder of the character.
The love OF sin, In the form OF carnal pleas
ure, e,self-aggrandiZement, or self assertion is
the sovereign passion OF depraved hearts.
TO dethrone this despot and eXpel him from
the soul, there must be generated within ana
fOstered to an all.cOnquering passion, the love
OF goodness. CAN faith in propositions about
virtue, and holiness, and events of u far dis
tant period, ever accomplish this? Never.
The soul must have goodness embodied III d
living, present, personality, must zee his ra;
diant countenance, feel his warm breath and
listen to the thrilling music OF his lips, In Or
der to be the subject OF his heart-captivatIpg
power. In Christ 1t has all this and nowhere
else He is not dead, but living Saviour,
in whom you have love, the tenderest the
BILE, blended with purity radiant with the
etfulgence of the Godhead. In Him. you
have the truth respecting God, and respect
ing man-what divinity really Is and human, l!.l,I1o
streams from His robes. The accents of Heav-
en- tone their music in Fills ntterances, The
spirit Of all goodness Is His very life. 1t Is,
as the eye Of faith looks at Him that the sou soul
sees what Fin Is, and loathes it-what good
ness Is and loves 1t. Beholding. rs In glass,
the glory of the Lord, we are changed into
the same image. The living Christ, not an
ABSTRACT creed, Is the magnet 10 draw, and the
power to transform the souls of men. No
power can change heart, but heart and the
true creed for man is the Christ Of God;
AS He Is necessary TO the sanctifcation OF
our nature SO Is He, also, to its satisfaction.
What can allay the restless anxiety OF the un-
resenerate soul? What can answer to its
sense of dependence its consciousness OF
wrong-its craving for objects of love?
OUR SENSE OF DEPENDENCE
is deep, ineradicable, and ever operative.
Constant, and often terribly painful is man g
consciousness that both his being and his well.
being depend on objects outside Of himself
leaning Oh objects external to himself, that
have failed him. Nay, all on which he is de-
pending, he sees floating away on the restless
tide of destiny. His soul Graves some per-
manent resting place, some rock on which to
stand amidst the surging sea of change-some
object IN which to center his soul In implicit
confidence. Without this, inner satisfaction
is an impossibiliy. Now, what will give 1T?
Will faith that rests III propositions give
it? or a faith that stops at the beauty and
truth OF u system? Never! Words are but
as air, the medium of vision, systems hut
statuary-tha forms without the life. The
soul cannot build on air, or be inspired with
hope by cold marble. Jesus Christ himself
and he only, meets this want. Faith in him
means confidence in infinite love. unerring
wisdom and Almighty power. In him we
have not only promise, but friendship; not
only facts OF history, but active, unchangtng
and imparing affection-not only pathetic
story of redemption, but living Redeemer, the
same yesterday. to-day and forever; not only
Jehovah who has been the shepherd OF His
people, but Jehovah who is our Shepherd.
| THE SOULS SENSE OF GUILT
| ia another principle of painful restlessness
The consciousness Of ill-desert is universal
felt by the strong and the nervous. the cul
tured and the rustic, men of genius ana mum
BILE plodders, and it is connected with grea
distress of souls, It cherishes the serpent d
reniorse within and points TO the approach
ing thunderstorm of punishment without
What will remove this? Will faith in any
proposition? Will even the belief Of the
story of the cross, viewed as an event OF near
ly nineteen hundred years ago? NO! Tht
sinner must believe in Jesus christ ST. ntmseli I'M ,
Now appearing in the presence OF COO for us
now lamb as it had been slain, in the mids
of the throne above-must hear the Saviour
himself saving TO him "Fear not" 1t IS only
when the sinner believes in the great Higl
Priest over the house of God. still bearing TN