The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-22
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
MANS FREE AGENCY: GODS METH
DDS WITH HIS CREATURES.
4 Short, Pertinent Discourse by the
Rev. Thomas l.. Allen, ID. ID. (Epis-
copaIian), Of Cazenovia, y. Y.
Not by constraint, but willingly .
of a ready mind."-II Peter v, ,.

Man Is the aFDller OF MS own ueSlllS.
Created as he was in the image of God, he
shares with his Maker the plenitude Of
being. He is not merely a rational, SEN
tent creature. capable of knowledge, love
and enjoyment; capacities such as these
come far short of constituting complete
ness, fullness of being.
To all other faculties, powers and capaci-
ties, conscience, or the moral sense, and
free will must be added, to make man. in
his degree. what his Creator is in His de-
gree. Were man lacking in either respect
it would not be true to say he is a being
created in the image of God, after His
likeness. To be like God he must be capa-
bic Of mora! discrimination. and also be
able TO act, mot by constraint, but will
ingly and of a ready mind"
By giving man these capabilities God has
placed him in a relation TO the divine gov
eminent different from that Of any other
Of His creations with which the earth is
supplied. All irrational things are subjects
of laws, which hey have no power to re-
sist. They are constrained to fulfil their
prescribed destiny. and never can be worthy
Of either praise or blame. If, for instance,
a tree yield fruit after its kind, we attrib-
ute to it no virtue; or. if it wither and
perish, we charge it with no fault; simply
because, in either case, the result was not
Que to it's own v~olition. 1t did not act, but
was acted upon by forces, to it, Irresistible.
The animal creation rises a grade higher.
The animal has consciousness, and, in a
limited degree, intelligence and will: but at
the utmost these endowments come far
short of making him an accountable crea-
tureS answerable as a moral agent. Though
he prey upon other forms Of life to sus-
tain his own. we attribute to him no moral
turpitude. His intelligence and his reason
ing power, if any he has, are not sufficient
to enable him to act from motives Of right
or wrong, so, whatever he does, he can
incur no guilt as an offender against moral
law.
AS regards man, however, the case is far
different. He is neither the unconscious
and passive subject of laws which compel
him to act in one way, and not in another,
nor the morally irresponsible creature Of
instincts or of undiscriminating impulses.
Between him and the lower oders Of crea-
ton there is a great gap which evolution
lists have sought eagerly but in vain to ill
with "a missing link"
PRESSURE OF IMPULSES.
Man, to be sure. has natural impulses
and he feels the pressure of them. He is,
also, subject to external influences, and he
feels the force of them. But he also
thinks, reflects, reasons, balances consid-
e~rations, weighs motives, listens to the plea
of conscience, forms judgments, comes to
conclusions, decides, resolves and then acts.
Hence his conduct does not take any direc-
ton that inward impulses or external infiu-
ences may give it. He himself determines
it. To the extent that he can do this, he is
superior to Unborn passions and idiosyn-
crasies of nature and to outward circum-
stances. He withstands them and triumphs
over them. Even another will may be no
bar to this conduct. He can, and often
does, combat, resist, defy and disregard it.
| Though overpowered and coerced by SUI
perior physical strength. yet the will may
be resistant and defiant still.
Practically this power which makes mar
a self-determining being is unconquerable,
and God, by giving him this power, has
liberated him from the rule Of compulsion
in the sphere Of morals and religion as well
,as in other spheres. God gives the COM
mandant, saying, d this, not by con-
~straint. but willingly and Of a ready mind"
making our obedience or disobedience, as
the case may be. an act OF choice on our
part. Motives are presented, reasons urged,
arguments pressed, persuasion brought TO
bear, rewards promised, punishment threat
ened. but when all has been said and done
to aid and influence us in reaching right
conclusions and taking right action there is
| still that supreme power in the soul which
| says. 81 will or CT will not" and the de-
cision, whichever it is, stands. God will
never override it nor ooerce a different de-
termination.
The entire doctrine Of responsibility is in
volved in this truth. What a man does and
is he chooses to do and be. His acts have
the quality Of moral goodness or of moral
badness and render him the proper object
Of commentator if the former or Of repro
baton if the latter.
What an unutterably awful power it is
that of free will, without which man would
not be man nor heaven what II is, the
abode of intelligent beings, happy in doing
the will of God. not by constraint like
slaves or senseless things, but willingly
and Of a ready mind. For it is the glory
and the bliss Of the angels to be the minis
tiers of God. ito do His pleasure" to take
the word from His mouth and to accom-
plish that whereunto He sends IT.
Not to will what God willeth-that is the
sole cause of all real suffering and misery
in the universe. There is no hell other than
tina which self-willed, rsbellious souls thus
make for themselves. The fire is kindled
by their own hand; the torments are self
inflicted. God is the fountain Of infinite
rectitude, purity, wisdom, truth and love,
and If His will were perfectly done by His
children, whom He made in His own i'm
age, there would be nothing TO prevent
these attributes from having perfect scope
and complete sway in the divine govern
ment. Then the children would be as blest
and happy in their degree as the All-Father
is in His degree.
GODS DESIRES.
And that is what God desires. He wiileth
not the death, neither the misery, Of the
sinner, but rather that all should cease
from sin and Twelve in the blissful en-
joyment OF His glory-live where all that
infinite wisdom. power and love can do to
make beatitude, is done world without end.
The laws He ~ordains; the rules of life He
gives to men; the requirements He lays
upon them, nave no other end in view than
this. By them all men may. if they will,
move and act I'm harmony with the eternal
wisdom, ana by so doing, enjoy to the full
the blessedness of being.
But. alas! the readiness Of mind is mostly
to rebellion and disobedience. Men resist
the wisdom. the love. the majesty and the
eloquent pleadings Of Almighty God. They
viii TO thwart His counsels and mar His
work. They set up their own standards