The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-04-23
THE CHURCHES
A Strong Sermon by
Mr.. KinCaid.
Methodist Episcopal Pastor Tells Of
the Need Of Virtue Among
Christians.

Honolulu's churches were well filed
yesterday. Showers kept some folks
at home; but only a few. The people
of this city are not to be deferred from
religious services by small happen
ings. At Central Union Church there
was big crowd. The Easter musical
program was repeated and the sing
ers who won encomiums on the great
feast deserved fully as much praise for
their efforts yesterday.
The pastor. Rev. VIM. NJ. Kinca!d.
spoke on The Christian Life-What
Is it?' In the course of his remarks
he said. What is Christian Life? Ii
Is not easy to define it. | am not sure
that II Is possible to define 1t all You
can't define a rose--the perfume will
escape through the meshes of your def
milton and escape you. And so | can
not define the Christian life. But |
think we can all agree upon this
namely, that Christian life is the ex-
preston OF something of the moral
character of God. Ii is Christian be-
cause Christ has signally revealed in
his life what the divine character is,
and any man who takes up in his life
something of the moral character of
God. and expresses 1t, has so far found
the Christian life. You see how large
and unfettered thing the Christian
life truly is. You cannot, therefore.
put it all into any one particular ex-
preston. You cannot force Ii into any
one rigid form of utterance. Christian
life comes from God alone, and il mus,
have the liberty and alrgeness of Gods
moral nature wherever IL is found.
What differing forms the expression
of the Christian life will take! Here
u little child learning. to be kind to
his brother; there a great man speak
ing of the conscience of a nation: yon-
der a monk in his cell studying the
discipline Of tne heart; beside you. a
young man resisting the temptation
which fingers in his mind from the
suggestion of yesterday Here a wo-
man in her home quietly influencing
her children for truth and right. Yon-
der a Christian preacher speaking TO
throng of listeners. There a clerk
performing his duties in faithfulness.
Is all this Christian life? Yes, 1t is
all Christian life. and IL our definitions
are not large enough TO contain il,
then the definitions must yield. for the
God Is finding its expression in an end
less variety Of forms. But some may
say. What then becomes of the great
doctrines of our faith? To be a Chris
tan must not one hold certain views
of the Trinity. of the atonement, and
Of the church,
The first answer is very simple.
Here are men all around me to whom
some of the great truths of my faith
are absolutely meaningless. They are
more precious to me than diamonds,
but they find little or no sig
nificance in them. What shall I say
then? Shall / say that they are not
Christians? God forbid. by their
) fruits we shall know them" | go back
10 Jesus and listen as he lnstructs his
disciples as to how they are to dis
tinguish his true followers. Does he
say that only those who accept the
doctrine OF the Trinity, and some par
ticular ones of the atonement or the
church are his followers? Oh listen,
HE that is not against us Is on our
side; for whatsoever shall give you a
cup of cold water in my name, because
YOU belong to Christ; he shall not lose
his reward"
How often do we find in the com
munion of other churches those that
surprise us by the saintless OF their
lives! We hold such churches to be In
error. We could point to dozen doc
trines that are unbelievable. and are
rejected bv us as contrary TO the spirit
J and teachings OF Christianity. But
when a Cardinal Newman the whole
religious world without distinction Of
sect, feels that dedicated life has end
ed. light from God extinguished
Aeain. how often do we find that people
whose orthodox Is OF the most rigid
type, lack something which we expect
them to possess. IL is impossible to
persuade any jury of intelligent, OBJ
servant men that man who Is mean
and avaricious in his business, a domes-
, tic tyrant, hard employer, is a Chris
4 tian because he is a member of a church
; termed orthodox, and can define and
, illustrate every doctrine OF the Calvin
|, lstic faith with copious quotations OF
, scripture. We have come to measure
the Christian life by other tests. We
say that a man Is Christian, not because
he says he is converted, but we say he
Is converted because we have found out
that he Is a good man.
Not so long ago Americas greatest
preacher passed away, whose orthodoxy
and heterodoxy were the conversation
OF the churches the world over. / see
him preaching his last sermon not
knowing 1t to be his last. Then. when
/. the lights are lowered and the crowd IL
. gone, there come into the empty churcf
two little ragged. wretched lads, and
7 see the great preacher pausing on hie
i, way down the aisle TO talk TO them o.
. the love OF Christ, STOPPING over their
in tender fatherliness. Then he asks the
choir, who were still there, to sing:
OF card the yOica of Jegua saw.
|, Come unto me and rest"
And then He lays His hand In bless
ing upon those little walls, and thu
Henry Ward Beecher leaves for the
.dst time the church where he had min.
= istered for a lifetime, and goes home
DO you think want TO hear any more
chatter about his orthodoxy or hetero-
doxy? I have looked into the hear
Of The man and 1 know God Ii In him