St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-05-09
ALL CANNOT BE GOOD.
Rev. William Wilkinson Says tn
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Yesterday Rev. William Wilkinson
probably surprised some of the persons
who heard him by saying that it is idle,
in the present state of society, to think
that every member of the body, social
and polite, will be ordinarily decent.
MANY of the outcasts of our Cites"
said he, "are sinned against, at least as
much as they sin against our laws, often
man.made, and With little of JUS
tice in them. There are now, set
up views of man, of sin, of
the power and the immediate effects of
saving grace, which do not derive their
authority from Holy Scripture. or from
the best traditions of the church of
God. These views, looked at alone, as
ideals, may be all right; but, when they
are, made the measure by which every
man is to be judged; when men are to
stand or fall by them they become de-
fusion on one part and stone of Stum-
bling on the other. A principle may be
absolutely true in itself, yet so stated or
applied to special, particular cases as TO
become, in effect, terribly wrong. In
our dealings with ourselves, in our
intercourse with others, it will save us
from a world of mistake and from
positive and cruel injustice. if we keep
with men and women as they are, and,
by the grace of God, it is the duty, as it
is the glory, of the church to assist i'll
making them what they ought to be.
But she cannot accomplish the result
aimed at in day, or week, or year.
Time is factor to be taken into clear
consideration in the solution of prob
lem so important. and patience, as we'll
as faith, prayer and labor, must have
their perfect work.
For lack of attention to the princi-
pies laid down grave failure has been
the outcome of much work which de-
served to have been done on proper
lines. Many hearts have been
made very sad; many plans to
lift men out of degradation
naught. The fault was not in the eff
fects desired; it was in the way taken to
reach it. 1t can never be by us seen too
wildly or remembered too we'll that
all the mighty changes i'll nature are
slow. gradual, constant and progressive.
The ocean changes its bed, the earth its
surface, the winter to midsummer,
youth to age by imperceptible change.
So as a rule it must be in the kingdom
of grace. The man who expects the
vicious and the bad to hear the gospel,
to repent, to be saved and. on the in
slant, to begin to manifest the grace of
character shown in men who, by long
life of Self-denial, have made holy living
delightful Joy is not wise. He is
doomed to bitter disappointment for
himself and for others. He places the
beginning for the end. The whole race
of men have an inheritance of sin in its
dire results upon our bodies, minds,
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weakness, pain and WEAKNESS; III poor
thinking, in wicked living. This is
known to every psychologist; and every
Observant man, apart from religion of
any kind, knows this grave truth.
truth which is set forth every year with
more clearnesS. The old Hebrew
prophet probably spake better than he
knew when he said, The fathers have
eaten sour grapes and the children's
teeth are set on edge We have to do
with this law of inheritance of moral
yes. and of immoral qualities.
1T is not the time for me to discuss
the justice or wisdom of this state of
the facts; but they are around US, be-
fore US, and in every one of us. Suffice
it to say that the law which trans
mits a tendancy to vice, is the same
which hands down to generation after
the theologian. but | have to do with
another law, that of divine grace as it is
manifested in Christ Jesus Exactly;
but grace has to be made manifest by
human agency. The music is heard,
and, in this instance, seen, if present,
in human lives. We know what they
are, at best. 1t was this fact which
made st. Paul declare, In me, that is,
in my tiesh-'there dwelleth no good
thing;' and that we have this treasure
grace in earthen vessels that the glory
may be of God and not of u.s. 1t is be-
cause these considerations are too often
forgotten that the good sometimes re-
ceive more esteem than they merit, and
the bad more blame-yes, and punish
mcmillan they deserve. WickedneSS is
often disease. If the epithet, wicked
can. accurately, be given to such
cases. Oliver Wendell Holmes, wrote
paper years ago, to show this, and our
very best thinkers, all the world over,
understand it now, as few did then.
This does not do away with the need of
salvation, of Christ, or rewards. or of
punishments, in general, any more than
the existence of scarlet fever does away
with the need of doctors, of nurses, and
medicine. There are thousands of men,
who, if they. today, should be truly coll
verted to God. and with all their might
should seek to do the will of the Lord,
would every hour of their lives feel
with dire effect the past in ways it is
hard for persons with better organism
understand or appreciate.
This thought should teach US lessons
of charity and give tone and color to all
our estimates of men. 1t should give
US strong support in work which other
wise would make Our whole head sick
and our heart faint 1t iSthe glorious
duty and mission of the church to de-
nOunce sin, to point to It's remedy, and.
as the most trenchant motive she can
offer against it, to show men, that an
all wise maker of the universe has
shown that this days sins lead to our
children's sorrows. The law of inherited
tendencies ought to make US mindful of
living holy lives. and this is the will of
God concerning US all. So should we
assist each with power in the develop
ment of moral sense which would
make for righteousness and be an I'M
told blessing to our descendants in ages
yet unborn, and in no mean estimate adj
vance the progress of the world. Every
pure life, which sees God and walks
with him, is a star in the moral firma-
ment, the magnitude and influence of
which no man knows but all feel,
whether they know it or not"
CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY
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