Morning journal and courier., 1888-08-20
CaRIsTIAN1rx's GRANDEUR.

/ Sermon by the Rev. .. ID. Paine at the
First Congregational Church, Fair
Haven.
Rev. S. D. Paine supplied the pulpit of the
First Congregational church yesterday morn
| ing. There was large audience present
The reverend gentlemen took for his text,
Romans, LIST chapter and 10Th verse: 81 am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. for it is
the power of God unto salvation" The fol-
lowing is . brief synopsis of the sermon:
When Paul wrote the epistle to the Church
of Rome it consisted of eight or nine thou
sand members, mostly converts from JudA-
ism and Polytheism, who FIRST introduced
Christianity into the great capital of the
German Empire We have no means of know
ing. In the year go of the Christian era a
strong Christian church existed there. Paul
affirms that he is not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ When he made that assertion
there were not fifty Thousand Christians in
the whole world. 1t was opposed by all re-
hgions and all the governments on the face
of the earth. To-day there are over four
hundred million nominal Christians in the
world, and Christianity is the dominant re-
ligion of the world. The most powerful ma
tions of the world are Christian. The wealth,
the intellect, the arts, the sciences, the ar
mics and navies of the world are in the
hands of Christians. There is not to day
single strong noM- Christian nation ON the
face of the earth. We can appropriate the
language of st. Paul and affirm that we as
Christians are not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ
author of our religion. He was the grandest
character that ever entered the lists of human
history. The traitor Judas, who sold him
for thirty pieces of silver, exclaimed as stung
by remerse: / have betrayed innocent blood.
The judge PLATE, who condemned him, said:
I find no fault in Him. The dying thief
cried out: He hath done nothing amiss. The
centurion who watched Him die on the cross
said Truly this was the Son of God. Napo-
leon said he was more than a mere man.
Rosseau, the French sceptic, believed that if
Socrates died the death of philosopher
Jesus Christ died the death of God. Place
Christ by the side of any teacher, philosopher
appear by the side Of this matchless, peerless
Galilean carpenter.
2. We are not ashamed of the doctrines
Christ taught. He revealed God as q loving
Father to all the human race, the brotherhood
of man, the duty of forgiveness to our ene-
mics. He taught the most stringent and un-
compromising code of ethics, extending to
the thought as well as the word and outward
act. He was the incompatible teacher He
taught that the sum and substance of all re.
igion was to love God supxemely and to love
our neighbor as ourselves.
3. We are not ashamed of the fruits of
Christianity during the last 1900 years. It
has changed the face of society, elevated wo-
man, humanized man washed the blood from
the arena of the Roman amphitheater, enuan-
cipated the slave, and if the church would
only give the gospel free course and not i'm
pedeit by sel6shness, world illness, etc it would
soon became universal. The old gospel that
Paul preached in Ephesus, Phillipi, Berea,
Athens end Rome has lost none of its pows
er.
Christianity is the only religion that pro.
fesses to be able TO regenerate or recreate
man. It is the power Of God unto salvation.
It is the only religion that aims at universali-
ty. Other religions are local, or, at most.
only national. The religion of Jesus Christ |
is destined to conquer the world We build |
our faith in its future conquests; first, on the |
glorious prediction of Gods word; second, on |
the triumphs Of the past; third, on the as
pect of the present. We do not need the |
thirty nine articles of the Episcopal church |
Or the twenty five articles Of the Methodist |
Episcopal church, or the Eve points of Cal
Vinism, so much as we need the plain. sim |
pie gospel of Jesus Christ.
At the close of the sermon many of the /
congregation shook hands with Mr Paine /
md thanked him for his eloquent sermon +
Among them were many comrades of Fair
Haven, who wore the G.. A. r. button on
heir coats. The people Of the First church
pioyed the SERMON Tsgy much. I