The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-11-23
g., THURSDAY, NOVERBER %, 1898.
PRACTICAL RELIGION.

PRACTICAL RELIGION.
A SERMON BY REV. CHAS. G.
FINNEY.
The Need Of Practical Christian
ity as Exemplif1ed by the Life
and Teachings Of Jesus Christ.
PART FOURTH.
s. The love of Christ. You are
to bear witness to the reality of the
love of Christ by the regard you show
to his precepts, his honor, his king
dom. You should act as if you be-
lieved he died for the sins of the
whole world, and as if you blamed
Christians for rejecting this great SAL
vation. This is the only legitimate
way in which you can impress sinners
with the love Of Christ. Christians,
instead of this, often live so as to make
the impression on sinners that Christ
is so compassionate that they have
very little to fear from him. l have
been amazed to see how certain class
of professors want ministers to be al
ways preaching about the love of
Christ. If a minister breaches up
duty and urges Christians to be holy
and to labor for Christ they call it all
legal preaching. They say they want
to hear the gospel. Well, suppose you
present the love of Christ. How will
they bear testimony in their lives? !?
How will they show that they believe
it7 Why, by conformity to the world
they will testify point blank that they
do not believe word of it, and that
they care nothing at all for the love of
Christ only to have it for a cloak, that
they can talk about it, and so cover
up their sins. They have no sympathy
with His compassion, and no belief in
it as reality, and no concerns for
the feelings of Christ which fills his
mind when he sees the condition of
sinners.
E. The necessity of holiness in
order to enter Heaven. 1t will not do
to depend on talking about this. They
must live holy and thus testify that
men need not expect to be saved un-
less they are holy. The idea has so
long prevailed that we can not be per-
feet here that many professors do not
so much as seriously aim at sinless
life. They can not honestly say that
they even so much as really meant to
live without sin. They drift along
before the tide in loose, sinful, un-
happy and abominable manner at
which doubtless the devil laughs, be-
cause it is, of all others, the surest way
to hell.
7. The necessity OF self-denial,
humility and Observation-Disclosures.
Christians ought to show by their own
example what the religion is which
is expected of men. That is the most
powerful preaching after all, and the
most likely to have influence on the
impenitent, by showing them the great
difference between them and the Chris
tians. Many people are trying to
make men Christians by different
course, by copying as near as possible
their present manner Of life, and con-
forming to them as much as will pos
sibly do. They seem to think they
can make men fall in with religion
best by bringing religion down to their
standard, as if the nearer you bring
religion to the world the more likely
the world would be to embrace it.
Now all this is as wide as the poles
from the true philosophy of making
Christians, but is always the policy ol
carnal professors. And they think
they are displaying wonderful sagacity
and prudence by taking so much pains
not to scare people at the mighty
strictness and holiness of the gospel
They argue that if you exhibit religion
r to mankind as requiring such change
in their manner of life, such innova-
tions upon their habits, such separa-
ton from their old associates, why
F you will drive them all away. Thl:
: seems plausible at first sight, but it /:
not true. Let professors live in thi:
lax and easy way and sinners say, 81
!, do not see but am about right, or al
, least so near right that it is impossible
God should send me to hell for the
difference between me and these pro
fessors. 1t is true they do a little
t more than do; they 60 to the com
t munion table and pray in their fami
lies, and few such like little things
but they can not make any such grea
difference as Heaven and hell" No
: the true way is to exhibit religion ane
. the world in strong contrast or yo'
, never can make sinners feel the neces
/ sity of change. Until the necessit,
e of this fundamental change is EN-
S bodied and held forth in a stronI
light by example how can you max
men believe they are going to be sen
: to hell if they are not wholly trans
\ formed in heart and life.
e This is not only true in philosophy
n but it has been proved by the histor
: of the world. Look at the mission
y of the Jesuits in Japan by Franc
Xanier and his associates, how the
a lived, what contrast they showed be
!. tween their religion and the heather
b and what results followed. Now,
was reading a letter from one of OF
e missionaries in the East who writes,
It believe, to this effect, that missionar
It must be able TO rank with the Englis
nobility, and so recommended his II
q ligion to the natives. He must &c
q q away up above them so as to show
~ superiority, and thus impress the'
with respect. Is this philosophy?
this the way to convert the world