The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-03-07
THOUGHTS FROMTHEPULPIT
Evangelist introduced with a Brief
Prose Poem on Spring Robins.
DR.. Mcbride Talks on Human Perfection-Dr.
Haines's Sermon 20 Young Men
Third Christian Church.

Yesterday morning IN announcing the
services for the day and week az Meridian
street VI. T.. Church DR.. Cleveland spoke
as follows:
Il heard good news this week. The
robins have come. They are singing in the
barren branches. Great faith they have.
They will be building their nests In
few days in barren branches not doubling
the summer wall come and build emerald
arbors above them TO protect their young
and supply them with abundance OF food.
Great faith have they. it Is wonderful
they can sing when there is nothing but
barren branches and swelling buds. But |
never knew a robin to buiid In dead tree.
If you haven't heard the robins sing IN
your heart you have reason to question
whether there Is any sap left In you. If
you only had as much faith. as mnch good
sense as these robins you would sing once
in a while before the summer days come.
Let us see If we cannot hear the robins
sing The crows sit on the branches of
dead trees. but there 10 not much music IN
their song. The way to drive these crows
OF is to get LEAKAGE. blossom and sap"
Rev. ii. &. Mcbride. of the New York
Last Conference. and who will cOnduct re-
vival services at Meridian-street Church
this week. preached the sermon of the
morning. taking as his text the forty
eighth verse of the fifth chapter OF the
Gospel of Matthew:
Be We therefore perfect, even as your Father
which Is In heaven Is perfect
The first inquiry which arises in the
mind" said Mr.. Mcbride, "as to this passage
of Scripture Is, what are We to understand
by being perfect, even as our Father which
Is III heaven Is perfect. You have heard
the remark made too often that there Is
none of MS perfect Now there must be
some sense IN which you and L can be per-
feet, and not only perfect but perfect even
as our Father W hich is In heaven is perfect,
or the Savior would never have given eX-
preston 10 this very significant language.
He does not mean TO mock Us. He does not
intend to require impossibilities, and yet
lie commands Us to be perfect. even as our
Father which is in heaven is perfect. OF
course we are not expected to be OmDlpo-
tent, Omnlsclent, omDipresent or eternal,
but still we are to be like God. We are to
be pure as he Is pure. This was our origi-
nal state. We were created in the image
and likeness of God, which consists in
Righteousness and true holiness, and the de-
sign of the atonemeDt is to restore men to
this primitive state.
DIR. Clarke. in commenting on this
passage. says that perfection is the
restoration of man to thatI state of holt
ness from which he fell. by creating him
anew In Christ Jesus. and restoring to him
that image and Likeness which he bad lost
higher meaning he says IL cannot have.
and lower meaning il must not have. 1t
is claimed by many that we can never be
perfect In this life as was Adam before the
fall. If by this Is meant az pure as Adam
before the fall, we disagree. but IL by 1t is
meant that we can be as perfect as Adam
before his fall we agree. There isa wide
difference between Adamic purity and per-
lection. Adam possessed physical, INTEL
lectual and moral perfection. We may
never possess his physical perfection In this
Qnence of sin. the body has become de-
fectIve. and the subject of almost every
conceivable form of disease. The COM
monty received opinion Is that the atone
removal of our bodily defects in this life.
A provision has been made In the atone
ment for any loss which may have been
sustained by the fall when these bodies of
ours will not only be restored to their
Chrlst's glorious body, who was the second
Adam. We may never possess intellectual
perfection in this life. Adams knowledge
appears to have been intuitive and not like
ours. acquired. He called all the
before him. But as regards moral
perfection and moral purity We are unable
to see why our loss by the fall Is not pro-
vided for in the gospel. 1t is o failure IL
and say that here and now in the pres.
ence of God and man and angels and devils,
thank God 1t Is not failure. Where
sin abounded grace has much more
scribes this state:
"My heart thou knowest can never rest
Until thou grant me peace;
Till or nay reason repossesst,
And all my sin shall cease"
Every man who has the hope of seeing
God as st. John says. purifieth himself
even as God is pure. i lay down the DrOpO-
sition that when we have availed ourselves
of the benefits of the atonement to the ex-
tent to which they arc offered they may be
yp6 "
capacity as God In His infinite capacity.
Can we be perfect as God isl Certainly, In
some sense. or the SAVIOR would not have
commanded MS to be. If a man or q woman
keeps Christ's commandments his Father
will love him and they Will come
and make their abode with him. Such
man Will be filed with the fullness of
God. / submit that when this comes TO
pass we are like Him and as He is in purity.
Is one ray of light the sunf Is one drop of
water the oceans Yet is not the roy of
light like the sun and the drop like the
ocean, The only difference is in quantity.
The perfection of God Is absolute, TO which
nothing can be added: the perfection of
man is relative TO which endless additions
can be made Fill bottle with sea water.
cork it and place IL IN the ocean and you
have an illustration of Christ being in you
and of YOU being in Christ. So we may
carry God In our hearts. but not all or
Him. Blessed Lord give Us a baptism this
morning. Let IL begin with the minister
fuSt ana In the hearts OF Inc people. we
are eXhorted in this blessed word to stand
perfect and complete In all the light of
God. Not when we are free from mistakes.
for that we can never be. but when
patience has had its perfect work In us
then we shall be perfect. Stephen was
filed with the Holy Ghost. and being SO
filed. people were unable to resist the
wisdom and power with which he
spoke. He was laymaD,
business man. / would like to know what
would come to pass il during the week the
business men of this church would be so
filled with the Holy Ghost. 1t would not
DO a great while until this city would be
turned right side up. The church has got
to he in many places too respectable; it has
come To be dress parade movement. Full
ness of JOY is the Christians impervious
shield and the Lord has this shield for
every man. 1t IS turnover salvation that
has to reach people to recommend religion
and bring them TO the fullness of Its Joys
This means an expulsion OF all sinful ap-
petites and affections. and filing the
cleansed soul with God"
Sermon to Young Men.
At the First Presbyterian Church, last
uo,p olya