Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-08-06
orRIsrIAN FNpFAvoR.


1O--Cenment by Rev. ;. Il. Dasle.
Topic "a suggestion In addition IL Pet
49,
The reference here IS TO the familiar
passage Ia the epistle Of Peter In which
be sets forth the necessity and impor-
lance Of Developing many o. the Chris
tian gsaees. The Christian life consists
of 40 one virtue. but 81 mNar and
these are Ultimately associated toseth-
cr, ana tAa Development Of ons Oft
times leads to the development OF
anothes ard the neglect Of one win
also oflsh hiaaer the growth and de-
velopn4eat o. others. Therefore, the
apostle SAYS to his readers, Giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue and
10 virtue knowledge and TO knowledge
Temperance and te temperance patience
and 10 patience goodness ana to sodN-
ness broaaerly kindness and TO brother
ly kiHdAeSs charity" This is the sum
In addition to which the topic refers.
The lesson before us In addition con
sists of eight parts. a. Faith. Faith is
the foundation. 1t isnot taken for grant
ed. Without faith it is impossible to
please God or 10 serve Him. A life
might contain many noble virtues, but
unless based upon and inspired by
faith In God through Christ it is not &C
Iceptable unto him. 90 Virtue. This
is not charity, but yalor. 1t refers to
bravery or to Christian courage. 1t is
the courage that inspires a man with
no fear OF doing right, but makes him
afraid to do that which is wrong in the
sight Of God CD knowledge. The
knowledge here referred TO is not the
knowledge which comes through the
study OF books, but practical knowl-
edge. II Is a knowledge that makes US
know the right and the wrong and in
cludes the power OF doing the right
and stunning the wrong. "a Temper
ance. The word temperance here means
self control. II has no special applica-
ton to sobriety or temperance in drink.
1t Includes temperance In all things
control OF the tongue, the temper and
the appetites and the passions. t5l Pa
thence. There is no more important
virtue than that OF Christian patience.
God Himself is our greatest example
of patience. How patiently He bears
with us in all our shortcomings and in
our transgressions against His lawl In
this respect we should follow His ex-
ample. 90 Goodness. Goodness refers
TO reverence for God or to piety. Ii
should include reverence for every
thing that pertains TO God and should
manifest itself in pious and godly
life. "a Brotherly kindness. All men
are brothers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
1t follows therefore that brotherly
kindness includes all men II refers not
to those who are bound TO us by the
natural ties OF life, but those who are
bound to US by the common tie of rela-
tionship TO Jesus Christ. Our attitude
toward all these should be that of
kindness. Kind words and kind deeds
should characterize our relationship to
all men. % Charity. Charity means
love. IL includes love to God and also
love 10 men.
The Importance OF all these virtues.
both singly and in combination, is
evident and apparent TO us all The
beauty OF life founded upon faith
and developed by the addition OF such
virtues as the apostle has mentioned
until II reaches Its climax in love to
God and love to men is self evident and
IS at once seen 10 be worthy the am
bition and the desire of all Christians.
1t is worth noticing also that these
virtues are intimately associated the
one with the other. II one figure In a
problem in addition is wrong. il neces-
sarily makes the entire problem wrong.
It would be impossible TO get the cor
rect result If one OF the parts OF the
problem Is defective. II Is also true
in our moral lives that one defective
virtue may destroy the beauty and the
glory of many others. How many peo-
pie there are in the world who would
be looked upon almost as models IL il
were not for one defect in their lives.
"A false note In music win destroy the
entire harmony: so a false note In ones
life will destroy its harmony These
graces must be developed la the de-
veloping of each one Of them. There
fore 1t well becomes US to give time
and thought 10 the solution OF this
problem suggested here by the apostle.
We should strive 10 be proficient in
adding one virtue TO the other until we
shall possess the entire list and are
able TO demonstrate in our lives that
this example has been correctly solved.