The herald., 1893-02-20
The sinlese Chriat.

Tne S1nless ChrlSt.
DR.. Thomson preached yesterday
morning to an audience that crowded
the large building to the doors, taking
his text from Hebrews iv., 14-16, and
laying special stress upon the 10Th verse !:
"For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling OF
our infrmities but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without SIM"
The Sinless Christ was announced by
DR.. Thomson as the topic of his dis
course, and he began by saying that a
mistake is not sin, neither can unbe-
lief be recognized by thinking people as
sin any more than belief can be reck-
oned as virtue. We have to believe as
we see and understand, and the speaker
had no sympathy with people who
called others bad names because they
differed in belief. We are responsible
for the way in which we examine truth.
In the world unseen the realm of evil
may be enlarged. The savage does not
know the sins we know, aud we don't
know the sins the angels may be
aware of.
What is sin? p? The man who does what
he knows is wrong is Ia sinner. That is the
pith OF the answer in simple language.
Sin is committed in three forms: First,
against the Deity; second, against other
people, and third, against ourselves.
The latter form contains the secret of
the worlds progress. When we learn
not only to do our duty to God and to
others, but also to ourselves, such re-.
forms and improvements will ensue as
were never dreamed of. The man who
does not educate his faculties is SHINING
against God. We must protect our
selves. The fact is we submit to wrong,
we don't protest against evil doing and
that's why we have boodlers in politics,
hypocrites in the pulpit and time-servers
in our schools.
Christ's temptation was real his pas
sion, pride and ambition were all ap-
pealed to. There must have been some
thing in him that responded to the
temptation; if he was omnipotent, then
his temptation was q sham. He was
here as a man, with a mans powers,
and Invested of supernatural helps, he
met the tempter and slew him. This is
our encouragement. Some people speak
of sin as if it were necessity of human
life, and, indeed, they have many facts
to back them up; but no power can
make me transgress the laws OF my con-
science. Did you ever commit sin
that you were forced to commit? No.
People used to say, though il is not said
30 much now, "Satan made me do it,"
but the more modern excuse is the law
of heredity, by which we blame our
wrongdoing on our ancestors. Th ese
evil tendencies may make life hard and
oppressive sometimes, but they afford
no excuse whatever for wrongdoing.
Christ as representative of con-
science proved that man can live with
out sin. Why do ethical societies shut
out the man who was the true head. who
was the doer as we'll as the teacher :?
Conscience has right to be angry.
Christ called His opponents vipers and
other unpleasant names with bitter,
blasting emphasis. If one of His min
listers were to speak 30 plainly in this
day he would be forced to change his
quarters. In the Old Testament human
nature is represented as corrupt thing
but Jesus never said SO, and ii the fall
of Adam was an important thing He
would have mentioned it.
Referring rapidly to the Hindoo
dreams of metempsyc the Chal-
dean watch towers, the pyramids built
by the Egyptian dreamers and the
Eleusinian mysteries, the speaker said
that he was thoroughly acquainted with
the fight against the miracles and the
resurrection made by the Dutch and
German schools and by their imitators
in France, England and America. In
spite of all the argument to the contrary
the reverend doctor believed that man
could get the strength of heaven into
his life to do these, things, and if they
are not true, then Christianity is the
most gigantic falsehood ever palmed
upon the earth.
On the one side we have following
OF teachers, narrow, bigoted, heartless,
arrogant and dogmatic, and on the
other the select number who have
coined the phrase of The Higher Criti-
cism, an expression that in itself ia full
of arrogant conceit. These people are
as full of assumption as the others. Lord
pity their shallowness
We have the perfect religion and the
perfect character to go with that reli-
gion. What more do we need?
"My strength is az the strength of ten,
Because my life is pure"
The speaker closed with an eloquent
peroration.
The subject for next Sunday morning
is The Mantle of Elijah.