Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-06
taking BEARINGS. "
THE DANGERS TO CHRISTIANS DRIFT.
ING AIMLEssLY ABOUT.
Text of an Interesting Sermon Delivered
Yesterday Morning by Rev.
A. NJ. Growden.

At the mornings services yesterday al
the First Christian Church, Rev. A. NJ
Growden, the pastor, spoke from the text:
And if ye salute your brethren only
what do ye more than others? Do not
even the Gentiles the same? Ye, there
fore, shall be perfect, as your Heavenly
Father is perfect. Matt. v, 47-4S.
1 think it wise to take bearings to-day.
At sea the mariner, at the hour of noon.
takes his position to take observation of
the sun. 1t is moment of importance.
The welfare of the ship and its precious
human freight depend upon a perfect OBJ
servation and an exact calculation. In q
short time the result is ascertained-so
much ''southing," so much ''northing"-
yes, and so much "leeway."
How much "southing" and "northipg~
and Roadway have you made during the
run of 1889? Are you much nearer to
Heaven than when you believed? How
much "leeway" have you made-how far
have you drifted from the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus?
I'VE ought to give the more earnest heed
to these things, lest at any time we should
let them slip"
Let US look up to the sun of righteousness
and see through the light of Heaven
whittier we are drifting or Steering"
He who is not constantly striving to do
more than others is not working out his
salvation with fear aud trembling. He is
drifting, and should take bis bearing, and
take a new departure. Christ, in the pas
sage of our text, rebukes a number of very
common sins. Ifyour religious profession
is only to love those who love you, what
reward have you? Do not the publicans
the same? The publicans were not re-
markable for piety; they were looking after
the perishable things of life; they loved
those who loved them, and if your stand
ard is no higher than that, where will you
receive any reward?
Christs teaching antagonlzes our nature;
it is natural to love those who love you,
and to hate those who do not love you, but
it is not Cnrist-like. Remember His prayer
on the cross-that prayer for those who had
prosecuted Him, crowned Him with
thorny crown, crueified Him between two
thieves Father, forgive them" Can you
pray sincerely to-day in that strain? It is
to God the sweetest music that springs
from the soul.
Those who profess to be followers of the
Christ are to do more than others. God is
not satisfied if you are not superior to the
standard ofmorality. Ifyou love where love
is, and hale where hate is, are you not still
in the gall of bitterness and the hands of
iniquity"? Where is your reward? IF
you salute your brethren only, what do ye
more than others?" 1t is not sufficient
that you love the church, its ordinances
and elevated pleasures. What good soul
would not love the house of God? You are
to do more than this.
Robert Burns once spoke to a beggar
clothed in rags, and friend observed:
why did you notice that man?n Said
Burns: II did not speak to the clothes; 1
spoke to the man."
If we could only see in every man some
thing that Christ did TO love, we would
soon love the world in the sense of desir-
ing and striving to save it. God hates sin,
but loves the sinner. He loved to such q
degree that HI gave His Son to die for it,
The mission of every Christian is to save
others.
If you would do more than publicans
and 6nSayed Gentiles, do as Christ did. Go
seek aid to save was the inspiration of His
earthly life. Shall it not be yours during
this year?
To do more than others must be our rule.
There is danger in doing less.
The religion of Christ demands spiritual
development. To stand still is to die. If
you are not better than you were last year,
you are worse. Graces and faculties that
are not exercised are taken away.
On examining the crustacea taken from
the waters of the Mammoth Cave in Ken
lucky, you find the organs of vision. The
eye looks perfect, but it is mockery; the
optic nerve is shrunken; the eye is there,
but no vision. Choosing to dwell in dark
ness, nature has removed that which
would be useless TO them. So it is in the
spiritual world. If the spiritual faculties
are not exercised decay and deprivation is
the result. Nothing is given in vain. To
use is to improve; TO neglect is to lose.
The man who gained another's talent re-
ceives in addition the talent from him who
gained nothing. Some in the church grow
year by year, and it is because they have
learned TO gain spiritual interest. Others
become smaller each year, because they
live loyelsss, neglected. lives.
To some the church appears as an arsenal
whence they may obtain weapons to fight
everybody. To others it is as an hospital,
where they may have their broken spirit
ual limbs reset. To others it is place of
entertainment and display, where every
thing that is esthetic shall appear, and
everything that is solid and edifyipg shall
be omitted
In my judgment their views are wrong.
The church is the trainiDg-ground for
heaven place where rough diamonds
are polished to glitter forever in the dia-
dem of King Jesus; a place where love
shall burn out the dross from purified
hearts; a place where the angels love to
dWell-the great missionary center for the
worlds evangeliZation.
God proposes 10 save the world through
the church. Many ask, How can man
be perfect as the Father is pertect?n Many
affirm that perfection is not attainaDle.
The perfection spoken of here is attain
able. The language refers to the perfection
of Divine love, and a man becomes more
like the Divine Being as he learns to love
those who are not mis- brethren, and who
do not salute him. Let your love be per-
feet, embracing enemies as well as friends,
as the love of God is manifested to the evil
as well as 10 the good"
When the individual rises to the sublina-
ity of this great lesson, life will truly be
TRANSPORTED for him. When the church is
filled with the love of Christ-that love
that constrained Him to tabernacle
amongst men, to welcome sinners to his
fold-yes, to die for an unbelieving world
then shall she walk forth clear as the sun
fair as the moon and terrible as an army
with banners.
God hasten the day when Christians
shall not be satisfied with what has been
done, but awake to the realization of the
work yet to be done.