The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1892-12-13
SUNDAY SERMON.
The Discourse of Rev. Powick to the NJ.
Congregation

The Discourse of Rev. POwick to the NJ. Il.
Congregation.
The sermon in the NJ E. church on Sun
day morning was from John, 2.1; my lit
tie children, these things write l unto you
that ye sin not And if any man sin we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous" Note the tenderness of the
address: "My little children" The reference
is to spiritual children. He writes not to
children in years but to those whom he had
been the means Of bringing to Christ. They
included fathers" and young men,
One of the most touching traditions of the
early church is one that informs us that when
the Apostle of love was too old to preach he
was often carried into the church where he
would say Little children love one another"
The church was his family and its members
were his children. With the solctude Of
father and the tenderness Of mother he
admonishes them against the evils that sur
rounded them. And when he could no
longer address them in person he writes unto
them that they sin not. That is the pur-
pose Of his message is to impress them with
the duty of living without sin and to show
them how to do it. This very declaration
shows his hostility to several conceptions Of
religion which existed in his day and which
still linger among us. One was that heather
notion that sin is somehow inevitable and
that religion has little or no relation to it.
II a man was rich he might thank the gods
for it, but if he was virtuous he might thank
himself Religion was a way Of gain, net of
godliness,
Then there was that autinomian idea that
a man might be an outrageous sinner and at
the same time by some sort Of ecclesiastical
leperdemain pure and holy saint; that an
orthodox creed would atone for heterodox
heart and scaddalous life And again there
was the Jewish conception of religion as pro-
yiding pardon for the guilty while scarcely
rising to the apprehension Of spiritual
renovation by which man might avoid sin
altogether. But John writes to enable men
TO "sin not" Christianity proposes TO save
men from sin and not in sin. The character
making power of religion is the full measure
of it's value. A religion that does not keeT
from sin can scarcely save from hell. Upon
what ground men who are made no better by
their creeds and professions and devotioni
expect to get TO heaven is incomprehensible
But John also makes known the manner il
which we may avoid sin. He shows plainl!
that the thing is possible, Men say "it can
not be-" But John says it can and must be
"He that commtteth sin is Of the devil.
1rHe that is born of God doth not commit si
for his seed remaineth i'm him and he canno
sin because he is born of God" Men seldor
attempt the impossible. They never ris
above their faith They often fall beneath i
But the attaiumeuts Of men are TO be take
as the limit Of their possibilities Let
moralist believe he must commit some 81
and he will not strive for perfection. Con
vince the wretched drunkard, libertin
prostitute, thief, liar, that there is hope f
them in a Saviour who is able to save TO Il
uttermost and mu'utudes Of them wou
seek an interest in his blood Many wretch,
outcasts from society remain such throul
despair. A prisoner once expressed regret
me that his term of imprisonment was
near out. ~ must leave the Jail with &
brand of a felon, and where shall l go al
what shall ! do2" John tells them Of t
advocate with the Father'-of the obtain
of mercy for the guilty and strength for
strengthless
Jesus the prisoners fetters breaks
And bruises satan head,
Power into streng gthless souls he speaks,
And life into the dead.
We hear much Of the Comforter VIII
Jesus wss to send to convict the world Of 8