Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-10-29

the LAVA Summary of the Ser
mon.
The Rev. c. M Oliphant delivered a
very interesting sermon yesterday
morning in the First Christian church.
on the subject: 'SThe Letter and the
Spirit"
His text was taken from Second
Corinthians, Sc: .The letter kilieth,
but the spirit giveth life" His text
teaches that that frame of mind which
leads one into liberalism, the mere
saying and doing what n finds ex-
pressed in words and nothing more, is
distinctive Of moral and spiritual life,
but that frame of mind which leads one
into fellowship with the spirit, the pur-
pose of anything, giveth life. Every
ordinance, law and institution has its
letter and spirit. Sometimes one Or
dinance shows the spirit of another,
and sometimes the letter and spirit are
not exactly identical.
Baptism and the Lords Supper have
their letter and their spirit, but when
| We confine ourselves to the letter OF
them, to us there is but little in them,
but when we perceive with the mind
their design they become to us great
forces of character.
Sometimes the letter says more
than it means. AS in the illustration
OF Abraham offering up his son as a
sacrifice. He was told to take. his son
to the mountain Moriah and offer him
up as a sacrifice, but when he was about
to Stay his son an angel Of the Lord
told him not to do it. His willingness
to do 1t proved a test for the Lord.
Another illustration was with reference
to the s%criptural passage: He that
believeth not is damned" The letter
of this would include all beings irres-
pective of circumstances, but the very
spirit of the Gospel implies that those
will be damned who are able to be-
lieve, yet do not believe.
The second division Of the sermon
was: The letter does not always say
all that it means. The great commits
sion Of the Savior, Go teach all ma
tions," is an illustration of this. The
plan OF the work and methods are left
to human wisdom. Another illustra-
ton is Christian conduct. He who
does simply what he finds stated in so
many words in the Gospel and moth
ing more has a wrong conception of
the Gospel. Also he who does all
things which he does not find expressly
prohibited in the Gospel also has a
wrong conception. The new testament
is a book of principles and we are to
apply these principles to different lines
of conduct.
The third point: 1--WE may observe
the letter yet fail to observe the spirit.
The scripture says pray without see
ing, and yet a man may stand all day
long on the street corner and be seen
by his fellow men praying. | say such
a one observes the letter of the scrip
ture and yet fails to observe the spirit. 4"
Baptism: "Men are commanded to
be baptised, yet if they stop with the
mere form OF baptism and fail to grow
UP into Christ and walk in the new
lsfe they observe the letter, which kill
eth, and fail to observe the spirit,
which giveth life"
Fourth point: "We may observe the
| opliAI dlQ hCI CAC iCItCi. we dlc
taught not to forget the assembling Of
ourselves together, yet the person who
is physically unable to attend public
worship may in a degree comply with
this admonition by ~communing with
| God in prayer and Bible study"
The Fifth point: I'VE see the dis
tinction between the letter and spirit
in business affairs and material things.
In our transactions with our fellow men
how often the will is accepted for -he
deed. we see this distinction in the
different branches of civil government.
The legislative branch makes the letter
of the law, while the judicial branch
judges the purpose of the law, and the
executive branch is to carry out the
law, and is even commissioned with
%pardoning power lest the judicial
branch has mistaken the spirit of the
law"
Sixth division: "The scriptures very
clearly distinguish between the letter
and spirit of the Gospel and it is we'll
7 for US to observe these distinctions.
| lest the Gospel becomes to us a dead
letter, rather than a spiritual reality,
which giveth life, and that abun-
| dainty"