The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-29
PREACHED ON THE NEW YEAR.
Rev. Chas. IL. strong's Sermon at
ST. Johns Church.

ST. Johns Church.
At st. Johns Church. last night Rev.
Chas. H. Strong depressed from his
course of Sunday evening sermons on
Home and Happiness" in order to
deliver one suitable to the New Year.
This he did taking as his text Phil.
III: 1914. ,Bretheren, 1 count not
myself to have apprehended: but this
enc thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before,
l press toward the mark for the prize
OF the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus"
In part the speaker said that though
often in studying the life of St Paul
II seemed that the apostle was too
transcendent for the average person to
nope to follow in his steps yet in this
passage he descends more nearly to
level with his heares. Here he dis
plays his more human side like the
Lord himself when at the grave of
Lazarus, in the Garden of Gethsemene
and In the shadow of the cross.
The great end of st. Paul's life"
the speaker said. was to reach that
unrealized mark of perfection. How
su1ncient it is for you and for me
10 be satisfied to rise merely to the
conventional life of other menl ST.
Paul did not stop here he knew that
we are part of the divine nature,
children of God. 1 do not believe that
81. Paul or any other man-leaving
our Lord out of consideration-eve
attained perfection. A man can be
taultless but that is a negative state
OF goodness; perfection is more than
this.
Religion is not the doing of one
thing; 1t is the whole character and
atmosphere of the entire life: it is not
the sitting in church, nor the kneeling
at prayer, but in right, truth, integ-
rity and justice-the constant carrying
of the life of Christ into everything
that he does. When shall we realize
that religion is something more than
the easy duties of church life, that it
is the spirit divine of the Master
brought over and carried into our
own lives?'
Further in his address Rev. Mr..
Strong sought to impress that the
virtues are to, be practiced for Their
own sake and not with any thought of
reward. In st. Paurs life" he said.
the mark is what he Armed for, the
prize was only an incidental and acct
dental thing" In impressing this
proposition that virtue should be it's
own reward the speaker said that the
child that speaks the truth only be-
cause he is praised for it is a liar; that
the business man who IS honest sim
ply because he believes honesty to be
the best policy is a thief at heart, and
persons who are religious merely be-
cause they hope thus to reach heaven
are hypocrites. God, truth and hon
esty must be loved for themselves.
Many of us" continued the speaker,
think with regret of the innocence
of our early days, but this innocence
had its temptations, though unex-
pressed. 1t is the grander to know
things are evil, may be to have tasted
of them, and yet to be able to say L
know the evil, but with Gods help, l
will choose the good
In this life we find that there have
been errors and mistakes; in educa-
ton, in business, in a profession, in
our home life-everywhere st. Paul
tells us to forget these things. Do you
think it wrong to remember the Mas
ter's way, Go thou, and sin no more
We need all our energy and hopeful
ness; we want our strength, forgetting
those things which are behind and
reaching forth for those which are be-
fore ~
With the new year God has given
us another page, pure and white and
holy There viii be the same tempta-
lions, but try to carry to this page a
better spirit than before l beg you
carry, too, into these new things a
consecrated spirit"