The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-12
REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL.
Rev. J. ". Rogans Sermon on the
Overcoming Of sin.

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Overcoming Of sin.
Rev. J. W. Rogan preached MS last ser
mon yesterday morning at the First Pres
byterian church, prior to his departure to
! Tennessee on a six weeks vacation. His
text was from Revelations iii, y:
To him that overc0meth viii I grant 10 SIT
down upon my throne, even as am sat down
/ with tne Father upon his throne
This chapter, the preacher said, contains
/ the seven letters TO the seven churches IN
1 Asia, and the text contains the promise
made TO the church at LaOdicea. All Of
! these letters open with a command to the
churches, followed by a sublime titIe.to our
ascended Lord after which comes an ex-
! hOrtatlon and a promise of reward. These
/ letters, while addressed primarily TO the
| seven churches in Asia, were Intended for
all churches in all times and in all coun-
| tries.
In the text Christ speaks OF his throne
and the warfare to be cCJmplshed by the
| church collectively, and each individual
| thereof, before they could sit down upon
his throne. The christian life is represented
as a warfare, with heaven as the final re
| ward 70 him that overcometh.
The preacher went on to speak of the diff
ferent individuals who have different
temptations TO overcome. Some need
to overcome the world, 50 engaged are they
with its business and pleasures that they
seldom give a thought b the existence Of a
world and life beyond this. II anything
IS clearly demonstrated in the Bible, it Is
the fact that man cannot serve two mas
ters He cannot serve the world and
Christ at the same time, for the world is
enmity toward God.
The speaker proceeded to excoriate those
men who go with the world for fear that
they be considered singular Such men,
he said, have not got the moral courage ID
go against the world and to stand up for
what they believe to be right.
Another besetting sin of the age,
the preacher said, and one to be over
come by those who desire 70 sit down
with Christ on his throne, is the wicked
ness and weakness of the flesh. Umpire
mediatedly mon find themselves doing
wrong simply through the weakness of their
character Those who lack the moral stamina
or backbone know from sad experience
how hard il is to do right, especially in GER
tain things and on certain occasions, for
some are particularly weak in some special
point and it is their fierce temptation.
They do not do wro & Intentionally, but
because of the weakness of the flesh, which
tries them and drives them with irresistible
power. 1t is on this rock that many men
wreck their salvation.
Another besettlng sin to be overcome by
church members is that of lukewarmness.
With the lapse Of time many allow good
impressions TO weaken and their best i'm
pulses TO flicker and die. This class of per
sons, the preacher said, sometimes fiatter
themselves that because they do nothing
radically wrong they are not in dangerous
state In this they are deceived like the
man who isdying from exposure to the cold
Of winter The very numbness and absence
OF feeling which comes over him is the
numbness Of death, and unless all spiritual
indifference and lukewarmuess is shaken off
spiritual death must follow
Another class which must overcome its
besetting sin, said the preacher, is the
numerous class which is not in tone with
the world. They have resisted so far its
allurements and temptations, but the
struggle is so fierce aud exhausting that
they feel like grounding their arms and
surrendering. "But don't you do it, - said
the speaker THE law of the spiritual world
Is the same as the natural world All
great achievements are only accomplished
by much labor aud a man cannot reign be-
fore he has overcome. The man who is
successful is the man who has overcome
that which stood between him and
success. Theman of wisdom has over
come ignorance; the man of smooth, even
temper has conquered himself
In the text the reward of overcoming is
heaven-to sit down with Christ on his
throne. How many men labor hard to win
prizes IN this world, which when won are
not worth the effort. Certainly they are
not satisfying, but in this instance to over
come is TO win heaven. 1t is to eat of the
tree of life for ever more, 50 that the second
death has no power over us. 1t is to be
pillar in the temple of God and to have
written upon our foreheads new name.
1t is prize worth the winning, but not to
him that sinneth is the promise made, for
then none would have hopes; not to him
that is faultless and not TO him that falls,
not to him that makes beginning, but to
him that overcometh, to the one who is
faithful to the end is the prize offered