The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-01
LOVE AND GOD.
They Are One, Says Rev. j. #
. Stout.

They Are One, Says Rev. j. Il.
Stout.
Rev. J. F. Stout, D. D., preached at
the First NJ. E. church yesterday morn
ing from the text, HE That Loveth
Not, Knoweth Not God, for God Is
Love."-I. John w., 8. The following
is an outline of the sermon:
Y That God is almost universally recog-
nized. All races that have developed any
power to think have had some slight concep-
ton Of the existence Of q power above which
exerts direct influence on human life.
In connection with this recognition Of the
fact of the divine existence is universal
desire to know what He is. That He is great
all agree that He Is wise most concede, but
whether He is good is the burning question,
and there has been, among all thinking peo-
pies, an eager search from the beginning to
find out the secret Of His nature. What God
is we must learn either from nature by the
things He has brought to pass, or from Him
self as revelation. The first might avail II
we were endowed with perfect intelligence
for then we could make no mistakes, form
no misconceptions, but since are by ma
ture dull, since the best human conceptions
founded on the observed facts of nature are
Zeus, Venus, Juno, Isis, Osiris Baal, Astarte
there arises need for revelation when
shall draw aside the veil of mystery and
give us to see what He is. This revelation
of Himself He gives and it Is condensed for
us in the closing words of our text, God Is
love-
The logic of Christs life affirms in the
most definite way the truth Of the text. IT
God is revealed in Christ, If we are to under
stand the motives and actions OF God as De-
ing revealed in the motives and actions OF
Jesus then we have an opportunity to dls-
cover what is the one thing which above all
others marks the Almighty in his relations
with men. In Jesus are seen in their COM
pletest discernment compassion, sympathy,
mercy, forgiveness loyalty, but all these are
the credentials of love.
That supreme act of loyalty to the loved
in, who down de-
clared as the act Of God. Jesus was without
any doubt incarnate love- but He was at the
same moment the incarnation OF God' anu
t'God is love-"
This revelation about the nature OF God is
given to the intelligence Of the human race,
but this is reinforced and proved by reve-
lation to the heart of the individual, so that
in any case a man may for himself know mat
God is love.
with reference to this great truth man
kind may be divided into two classes Those
who know, and those who do not. Among
those who know Him not are they who think
they cannot know Him, and so cut themselves
off from the knowledge itself; agnostlcs VINO
become dogmatic in their declarations with
reference to the necessity OF human fgnor-
ance about God. They who think they know
Him and do not; since they do not His will,
they cannot have the knowledge, and an evil
life is better evidence of lack OF knowledge
than their positive evidence given with the
lips; and in addition to these they who are n
different to Him and give the matter no at
tention thought.
They who know Him are they who hope
that Him whom they know is God; they who
in much trembling fear that perhaps they
may be mistaken and yet do know Him;
and they who know that they know Him and
,exut in the knowledge as the best Of ALL
These grades of knowledge are, after all, grades
1of love; if the love is weak, then is the sense
of knowledge dim, but if strong then is the
knowledge strong. That which is to be Guilt
waited is love, not knowledge.
ar There is divinely outlined process by which
we come to the fullness Of love in Christ Jesus,
and knowledge of God, who Himself is love-
The steps in the process are: A turning away
from the sin which has alienated US from God
the counting of the cost and probabilities of
salvation by the divine method the venture
of faith as the result Of our judgment from
the probabilities, which steps usher US into
the divine relation in which through the con-
scious fellowship with God we grow into the
love of Him with whom this blessed relation
is established, and live in the consciousness
OF a constantly developing knowledge. We
come to see the fullness of the revelation of
truth by this inner revelation, which afirms
the teaching Of the Word and the logic of the
Christ life.