The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-04-22
CHRIST'S RELATION
TO HIS DISCIPLES.

Tho Reverend 8. C. Eby preached sun
day morning ut the Church OF the DNihe
humanity. on the subject Confession OF
the Divine Name"
His text was: also I say unto you
xrhosoeyer shall confess me before men'
him shall the Son Of Man also confess De-
fore the angels of God: but he that oe-
meth me before men shall be denied De
fore the angels Of God" Luke XII, D. -.
He said in part: MANS IDEAS OF OWNS
things are at first naturaiistc anu IA"
terialistic. His God is such a one as nni
self. In order to reach down to TINS piano
Of thought divine revelation ID coucneo ~
terms and figures which are ops'ous.y
limited and anthromorphic- At first view
our text accommodates itself to the no.lon
that our Lords relation to his DISCIPLES Was
an external one. and that his Ia.or Wa
the Messiahship. His attitude to them III
the world to Come would depend on their
personal attitude to him in the present
small nal deEree Of spiritual insight we cannot
ever becoming intrinsically ~ansagonhsn..
Divine love is 1mmutable In Its benesoienfs
and bene1cence. On the other hano' IL
absurd to think Of spiritual life or char-
acter, standing in need OF any outWaro OF
personal acknowledgements OIL conAession VI
the part Of tho Son Of Man. ,r,h,,,c
we have here q tsuration or rn;rituaI
al expression OF q univeasut fwofoid
t5ura; Man it looks to the world. and III is
furnIshed with ideas and Impressions. ann
and standards. drawn from woaru,y ,ooHs TO
the Lord and heaven. and can be furnlsi 60
with affections and thoughts erman 70
angelic life and heaven ard Az ara ae natura: in
love owe and thought before they can become
spiritual. Man is the divine
~ IN human COn0ltlOnS, anu
plane Of thought and life: Tbs world IN 1T Il,
self is SO vain and and h bH RBnWinK the faai heave
ans and coming down to Its level. The Son
of Man takes the love OF God and rams
l nssSs # intS n into ali mems sorrows. He
bears our common burdens and tastes our
Common woes. He meets and overcomes the
temptations that ru aIoria eaf the nature he
Ssssnmed He goes about doing good to IL
lustrate the fact that the divine love from
onlv good and righteous. In a word. the
Son Of Man is the character OF God brouEht
within range Of every human eye; so tnas
and live. because I live. ye shall live
also is
Teaching and life, and from affection to
keep the truths which he taught. He that
leveth me k ss I.sar my hstWe mma abis world and
the other. between the earth and heaven.
To confess before men Is to adopt the
truths of the gospel as the PRINCIPLES s anu
loves and believes must come out IN the
conduct of life. Confession OF the Son OF
Man Is no mere assent TO a Greco OF an
approval of pious traditions or vocal assev-
e%rations of beliefs or attachments 1t is use
less to cry Lord, Lord unless there Is such
an inward faith in the ideals OF the Lords
life as leads one to desire an attempt 10 put
them to the touch of practical performance.
Confession is from the heart. through the
thought, and into the hands. When men
have this kind of faith. in the Lords life
as being the highest and truest human life.
receive life from him. their characters be-
come the fruit and expression of their be.
lief. They become an epistle known ana
read by every one Of discerning mind. Their
OF what they are.
"When such men lay aside the gross body
at death they are still themselves and the
characters they have made persist in the
new environment of the spiritual world.
And the judgment that occurs after death
is simply the revealing in spiritual life of
Judgment is not an official assize. but the
normal exhibition of growth. Nature works
a Judgment on the seeds that are planted
in the soringtime by giving them every OPP
that are in them. So every man IN this life
is choosing and planting the good and true
germs of heavenly life. or the evil and false
seeds Of selfishness and worldliness. When
no extraneous testimony to tell him what
he is. He who has chosen the principles
and purposes Of the good lfe-the life OF
the Lord-wil manifest the nature OF .he
Son Of Man I'm his character and conduct in
the world to come. Christ in him, as ruth
Impaired and embodied. will be a living
attestation of what he Is. Ihe Son Of Man