Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-08-01
tI.n Fellowship of our Congregational

tIan Fellowship Of our Congregationa
know very we'll that correct doctriu,
Il important. Right living must Away
J be connected with right htHkfHg. Bul
are we not laying too much stress upor
1.-The thinkingf Are we not apt to imagine
. yes, and TO preach, that men must thinh
and believe as We do or they cannot be
Christiansi
But after all character 10 the most val
liable thing. The iUe 10 the surest test
lOf Christian discipleshlp. BY TIED
fruits ye shall know them: BY theiI
life, by their conduct, by their character
Every man 10 confronted with THU
great question, "How shall llvef What
e right, what is wrongf What u the
life which God expects from mer'
want you this morning to listen to these
words. I want you to think OF them
after you leave this church. "What
doth the Lord require Of thee, but to do
justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy Godf' 49,.
Now here ID an outline of the life that
God approves. And you will notice that
two duties toward man are here specified
l-justice, or strict equity, and "mercy.'
Justice and mercy toward man, and hu-
mIlIty before God. This is what the
Almighty demands Of you and me, my
friends. What the world needs to-day
is better, holier liring. We have been
long enough putting up sectarian bars,
while the world has been dying for the
merciful and tender life OF the Son OF
God.
The question has been asked: "If sal.
walton Is simply Christllkeness, how is IL
to be manlfesteds Simply by public
profession Of faith through the sacra.
ments Of the churchw 1t has been re-
marked that Instead Of the church being
the first place, It would seem to be just
the reverse. "If thy brother have aught
against thee, 20 .frst and be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come aud ofier
thy gift" In the Sermon on the Mount
Christ has great deal to say about right
Iiring; and II you study carefully the
Ten Commandments you will find that
God lays great emphasis upon equitable
treatment between man and man.
On one occasion the Pharlsees came to
Christ, and one OF them, u lawyer, put
to him this question; "Master, which ls
the gredt commandment In the lawF'
And He said unto him: "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This Il the great and first command
ment. And the second IL like unto it. IL
is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself, On these two commandments
hang the whole law and the prophets
So there are but teo rules for human
conduct. The whole lac, the ehole I've
Of man comes under these two all-em-
braclng commands. One has to do with
God, and the other with man. Our
treatment of man, our dealings with
men-these are as sacred, these are us
religious, as our duties to our God. I.
No amount Of praying, no amount OF
Biblical study, my friends, will ever
atone In the sight Of God for our neglect
of our brother. And no amount OF char
ity will compensate for the neglect OF
our duties to God. DO Justly, love mer-
CIV, be merciful, and walk humbly with
your God. When Christ came he taught
the Fatherhood Of God. He taught the
brotherhood of man. Therefore II God
Il nv father, and every human soul Is
created In the image Of God, a son OF
God. then every man IL brother to me.
and my duties to the brotherhood OF hu-
manity are as religious and as sacred as
my duties to GOd-communion with hu-
manity rs sacred as communion with
God.
Our text recognizes the brotherhood OF
man. God could teach as the sdcredness
Of our duties one 10 another. DO Justly,
love mercy. And when Jesus came he
taught the same truth, only In another
form Love your nelghbor as yoursey.
We talk a good deal about religion.
We lay down the laws OF religion, and,
like the Pharisees, we are Inclined to be
ouite ceremonious about It. Ii IL all
very well to Join the church. IL Is very
desirable to be able to talk fluently In
the social meeting. But religion Is much
more than this. IL has It's seat In the
heart. II manifests itself In the life-in
Justice and mercy to our fellows, and love
to God.
The Pharisees' religion consisted In
outward Observances OF the ceremonial
and traditional laws. They offered sac
rihces. They were very punctillous
about ablutions and tlthes, but they neg.
lected truth and purity, and did not
strive to be pure In their motives before
God. And YOU know what Christ said
10 them: aye have made void the rOri
of God, because of your tradition. Ye
hypocrltes, well did Isaiah prophesy OF
YOU, saying: This people hOnoreth me
with their lips, but their heart is Tar
from me. But In vain do they worship
me, teaching as their doctrines the pre-
cents of men," Now may not this be
said of much Of the teaching In c0nnec-
tion with religion to-day!
Why 10 It that many men are seekinga
church that has over Its doors simply
this motto: "L0ve to God and love to
man.? Why? Because we have lost
very much OF true religion In sectarlan
blgotry. Is not the church guilty to-day
of teaching rs Its doctrines the precepts
Of men2 Some people say they want to
be Christians, but they cannot subscribe
TO this and that dogma. My friends, no
creed IL as beautiful as good life.
uIIath not God showed thee, d man,
what l. right; and what doth the Lord
require Of thee, but to do Justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy Cody" Is not that simple enough
for any man? Is your life In harmony
with thlsY This IL the teaching. This
Is the will Of God. DO you fulfill ity
1t Is conduct, It has been said, In the
ordinary affairs OF life, which In the
home, In business and public life, Is the
first duty Of the saved man, and connec-
tlon with the visible church, through the
sacraments and other religious services,
his second. No amount OF praying In
the church can make right the wrong In
the market place. No attempted fattery
of the Eternal will ever atone for my
slander of the fair name OF my nelghbOr,
or the sinful indulgence of neshly appe-
lite, or the criminal neglect In any way
of the claims Of my fellowmen. Church
services, my friends, are only the means
to nm end-that end righteous conduct. II
Is not what man says With his tongue,
but what he does with his life. 10 h this
that influences.
But are men saved by their good work.
No! we do not think so. But we do
maintain that true love for Christ always
opeus mems hearts toward their fellow
meu-and this 10 what God expects OF ms.
Let Us get Christ into our hearts. Let
us obtain such conception OF Him aud
Ills life that we shall reproduce Him.
May men see In us the kindness, the just
Ice, the mercy, the honesty, the love, the
fraternal interest, the JOY, OF Christs
life. DO justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly with your God: