National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-02-22
DANGER OF RELIGIOUS FORMS.

Pastor Newman Talks About the Com
fusion ofEnds with Gnstrumentalities.
At the Congregational Church, corner Of
Tenth and e northwest, yesterday morning
Rev. $. VI. Newman preached a practical
sermon from Galatians II; 20-"l am cruci-
fed with Christ, nevertheless | live; yet
not ], but Christ llyeth I'm mo.n lie said
these words gave the great law Of the Chris.
tian life, showing that IL is TO flow from
the presence Of Christ in II, Ills power over
1t lie differed from the statement
Of tho author OF 'Eceo Homo
who said that thq fDunler Of
community would unhCsitatingly choose to
paint the law-mOking power In the breast
Of each individual rather than TO be at the
trouble of codlfying laws, because Chri5ts
method was unique Even Christians are
apt to declare that the life which does not
conform TO some given rule Is not Chris
ti0n life, and men universally have always
been quick to lay down rules, Christ
governs by principle, and not by rule, be-
cause Of the tendency to make rule an
end instead OF an instrumcntality. An end
is that for which we live; an instrument
tally Is that by which we live and grow.
When thing becomes an end to us we
labor for its continuance In itself rs the
thing Of excellence, and so when forms and
ceremonies become ends In themselves the
meaning Of Chrisps life ia lost. True,
form may be n safeguard, II is so TO the
aged; strict cOnformance 20 rules of exer-
else, labor, and diet are means of prOlong-
ing their lives. Yet the aged man does not
live longer that he may conform to rules,
but he rather conforms to rule that he may
prolong his life. So those who labor for
the elevation of the race should keep In
mind the fact that specific modes of action
are only instrumentalties by which mems
lives are fashioned, their usefulness Sc
CURED, and the great end of life better
accomplished.
In church life form very easily slips from
its place as an fundamentally over into the
place Of an end in itself. For this reason
Christ broke up form, and said that man
was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sab
bath for man; In other words, II was not an
end but an instrumentality. This merging
fundamentally with end Injuries in two
ways: First 1t leads to uncharitableness; II
the form Is an end that should be Kept In
sight at all hazards, then men who do not
adhere TO form should be condemned; sec
ond, 1t produces very charitable Judgment
of ourselves and makes life q very super
fetal thing, instead of the highly-aspiring
and deeply-dclving thing II ought to be.
If we have gone to church and TO PRAYER
meeting and have carried ourselves decently
in the eyes Of the community, we congratu-
late ourselves on having fulfilled the law.
IL was this danger that caused Christ to
leave the world without leaving behind any
code of laws for the government Of COM
munities. There was danger Of worshiping
the form and ignoring the fact In the sec
ond place, Christ governed by principle and
not by rule, because that thing over which
rule prevails cannot reach the finest adap-
tation OF the needs OF the world. 1t has been
discovered IN medicine that rules cannot be
innexibly adhered to in all cases, but RENE
dies must be adapted to the temperament Of
the sufferer, and that that physician is the
most successful in treating us who has the
greatest knowledge of our constitutional
peculiaritles and the judgment to prescribe
accordingly.
So IN the law, the time has passed when u
large number Of crimes receive the same
punishment without reference to degree or
circumstance, and there are recognized
many grades Of crimes, for each of which
there is assigned a special punishment,
which in turn is tempered by circumstances.
In the third place, Christ governed !, y prin-
Ciple and not by rule, because He desired
that lie should not be lost sight of In adj
herence to form; lie desired men to love
Him and not q rule. The preacher closed
with an appeal to his hearers to "get down
beneath all surfaces, get back behind all
curtains, get out Of all these ordinations OF
men, get out Of all these requirements I'M
der which you may have been satisfied to
live, and ask yourselves, DO love the
Lord Jesus Christpn