Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-28

Him. Now whether you and I shall be such
an one as these, having such a character,
being close to God, aud bringing others close
to Him, depends upon us. We can be, by
Gods grace, if We will. God, who has
made us in His image, has thereby made it
possible for us.
Character, we say, is likeness to God, or if
that seems too vague or high, put it in this
way: Character is likeness to Christ. In Him
we behold man like us, living the divine
life. Following Him we learn what it is
for man to be like God. All greatness, all
worth, all high character is an approach,
whether conscious or not, to the life of
Christ Wherein any man is good, whether
in his high purpose or his unstained hon.
esty or his love for his fellow men Or his
gentle courtesy-therein the man is little
like Christ. The best that is in you is a
faint reflection of the good that dwells in
Christ And il you would have high char
acter, and make the most of yourself and
realize the possibilities of your nature, and
be what you may be and what God wants
you to be, study the life of Christ. Read
it over and over in the pages of the gospels
till you get it by heart. See how He de-
ported Himself; see how He faced trial,
met temptation, encountered difficulty; see
how He used His life; listen to His words;
ask yourself often how would Christ have
acted, what would He have said in this
case and in that, if He had stood here where
1 stand.
1t is the mission of the Christian religion
to emphasize the pre-eminence of character.
That know, has been sometimes half-for-
gotten, but it has lain at the heart of Chris
tianity all the way through, nevertheless,
this truth of truths, that character is pre-
eminent above everything.
Imagine man reading the Bible for the
first time-even the Jewish part of .it-a
man with no prejudice, it'll no previous
knowledge, who had never even heard the
names of Jew and Christian; he might miss
some things which we account important,
some
ARTICLES OF OUR FAITH
he might not find but this at least he would
discover: That the God of the Bible is a
God of Righteousness, and that He who has
made man in His own image, wants US to
ae like Him. Where will you open the
Bible, at what page soever, and find any
thing required of man above character?
"What doth the Lord require of thee but
to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with thy God - so say all the
prophets. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as
thyself," so says the Master; so say all who
walk in His steps. The Scriptures, old and
new, are ethical to the heart God insists
upon right life. Nothing can take
the place of it, the creeds are but reasons for
right living; the sacraments are but helps
toward character; the test of the whole
matter of religion is the fruit which it yields.
And as a tree is for the fruit, and not the
fruit for the tree, so is all religion for good
living, and valuable and true only as it
makes men good and brings out the image
of God which is in them.
This cannot be emphasized too strongly
this Christian truth of the supremacy of
character. 1t cannot be said too often that
no man can be good Christian without be-
ing good man. No adherence to church
formularies, no attendance upon church
services, no participation in sacraments, no
amount of theological faith is going to avail
the man who is not daily striving after
character, who is not to his utmost living
honestly, honorably and helpfully among
his fellow men. Little children, let no
man deceive you. He that doeth righteous
is righteous even as He is righteous He
that committeth sin is of the deYil." There
is the clear mark of division. Every good
man is, so far, a Christian. "Why call ye
me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which
I say" eff thou wilt enter into life
listen: What is the great essential condi-
tion? What is required OF a man who
would enter into life? ''If thou wilt enter
into life keep the commandments" What
an emphatic declaration of the supremacy
of character! GEORGE HODGES.