The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-09-16
LIFE, EATH, JUDGMENT.
strong Sermon at Tho First l,ap,ist
Church by DIR. VIM. IIayno I.caven,
OF rcxas.

v,
VIM. Haync Lcavcll filled the pulpit
at the First Baptist church on Sunday
morning. He preached again at night
ut the union service ut the Presby-
terian church. Nowberry should and
does feel proud Of DR.. Lcavcll. He il
Ncwbcrry boy and has forged to the
front and is now preaching to one Of
the largcst congregations in the South
in the city Of Houston, Texas, and
stands in the front rank of pulpit ora
tors in the entire country. The pasto-
rates he has occupied is evidence of
this, otherwise he could never have
sustained himself. He preached for
several years in Boston. In social life
he is pleasant and jovial and is sure to
win friends wherever he goes. We
never miss an opportunity when :hc
comes on visits to Ncwbcrry to hear
him preach. Both sermons on Sunday
were strong in their simplicity and in
the force OF their delivery. We give Il
full synopsis Of the sermon on Sunday
morning. 1t was from the text, "It is
appointed unto men once to die, and
then the Judgment" The subject was
Life, Death, Judgment.
He spoke III part rs follows:
In recent years too much emphasis
has been lifted from the moro sombcr
aspects Of our religious faith. Since
men learned to interpret the "lakc Of
n ri l,nt l,nt a 1,
mctaphorical descriptions of IL moral
situation, the warnings of fear have
had less full and less clear utterance.
The full throatcd cry of the old
preachers seems to be fading more and
moro into distant echo. The less
distinct the receding echo becomes the
more positive grows our hope that men
have been too long frightened by their
ghosLly fathers in the Gospel. We be-
gin TO think that since it is physically
impossible for there to be anywhere in
Gods universe real lake of fire and Il
literal worm that grows on ever more,
it is also spiritually impossible for
there to be any moral conditions Of
which such figures of speech are right
and trnc representations.
This modification of the ancient
views Of hell has weakened our fear of
future suffering, which has in turn
diminished our fear of doing evil
1t is time for one
to pause in solemn consideration when
he reduces the hopes of his faith to the
low level OF q mere desire to cscaDe
the tormcnts Of hell: time to review n
spiritual condition which makes it Dos
sible to sec in the sacrifice OF Jesus
Christ nothing more than benevolent
effort to save men from future suffer-
ing. a man who serves God
from fear of hell would serve the dcvil
just as dcvoutly if he should become
convinced that tho punishmcnts of the
devil were more terrible than the Dun-
ishments OF God.
Fear Of a future hell Is neither the
highest nor best nor worthiest n6l.
most powerful influence toward Cody
living. TO love God because he first
loved us: to answer love with love: to
serve Christ because he first served MS:
to answer service with service: seems
to me not only more worthy, but more
powerful incentives to faith and Cody
living.
Bnt the warnings are there-and
cannot be overlooked. They are ut-
tered by the same voice, penned by the
same hand, rest upon the same auth
ority.
There are three things which the
text emphasizes as important and un-
denlablc~"lifc, death, and judgment.
TO live is great boon and it is a great
responsibility. We are not here for
existence merely but that we may live.
TO man in full possession of his facul-
ties life in this world is great thing
OF mighty moment, for in his hands lie
The issues of immortality. Life with
all its responsibilities, because OF it's
responsibilities, is IL great task and
great pleasure. The man who has no
sense OF responsibility does not live,
does not know the first syllable of the
meaning of life.
We live but must die: "An that
lives must die. Passing through ma
turc To eternity" There is sense in
which man never dies. 1t is the conf
dent belief Of the Christian that death
is but the agent which opens the gates
into an existence that has no end. But
in another sense all who live must die
--dio out of this world.
Into some OF your homes perhaps The
black robcd messenger has folded his
sable wings and gone away in the com
pany of your children, your husbands,
yonr wives, your parents or some one
whom you loved. Tho gentle, who
make life sweet and winsOmc shedding
peace and beauty everywhere, die.
The brave, afraid OF no fear and Offer
ing service where danger full armed
stands, die. The young whose eyes
arc full of hope and whose heart is full