The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-06-11
\ SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN INTERESTING DISCOURSE BY
DR.. LYMAN ABBOTT.
subject: The Secret of Christ1anity-Not
Fine Windows and Music. But M alxing
the World Wiser and Better-A Chris
tian's Duty Summed UP in One Law.

Fine Windows and Music, But M alxing
the World Wiser and Better-A Chris
tian's Duty Summed UP in One Law.
New YORK CITY.-At the Church of the
Pilgrims, Brooklyn, DR.. Lyman Abbott
If Christianity" He took for his text
Luke ii: IL: Unto you is born, this day,
n the city of David, Saviour, which Is
Christ the Lord" and said:
In the Anglo-Saxon version of the New
Testament the word Saviour" is rem
Tered for the AngloSaxon word "helper"
You know also that the word Christ" is
lot proper name, but title equivalent
20 "The Messiah'-the Lord.
Every great movement has at the heart
IT 1T some secret, which If we can discover
it, will disclose to us the secret of that
great movement. What is the secret at
The heart of Christianity, which has made
t the great power that it is? In asking
you to consider this question you will un-
1erstand, of course, that am not under
taking in half an hour to answer the entire
question; | am only going to try in that
aalf hour to indicate the essence of Chris
ianity-the secret of its vitality. The
Jewish people were in more than one sense
"a peculiar people," Among other things
IN this: That their faces were turned to-
ward the future. All other nations look
backward for their golden age, but these
peculiar people" looked forward for theirs.
They believed that a time was coming
when there would be peace instead of war
and for themselves prosperity instead of
universal poverty. They believed that this
great time would come through their own
nation and that Jerusalem would become
Che holy city and the mistress of the world.
And their prophets even pointed forward
20 this divine consolation, and they indi-
tod %l,o4 "
liverer. Sometimes they regarded the ma
ton itself as that deliverer; sometimes
succession of prophets; sometimes single
prophet, sometimes a single man, as a king
or prioce, as teacher, as a priest, as
MAN of Sorrows, and acquainted with
grief" However different or incongruous
Or inconsistent those prophesies might be,
ward to great delivery and delivered So
the shepherds perfectly well understood
the angels when they said: "The deliverer
has come; the helper is here. You will find
Him Graded in the manger." When Jesus
began His ministry His first sermon. of
which we have a record, was preached IN
the synagogue at Nazareth. He went into
the synagogue, roll was open before Him
and He read one of the prophecies of the
great delivcrer who was coming and then
said: This day is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears. | have come. [ am that deliv-
erer." Having begun His ministry in this
way. He went out to be helper and fed
the hungry, taught the ignorant and healed
the sick and dispensed the gospel of hope.
Once John the Baptist, perplexed to know
if this was the Messiah, for things went on
much the same and nc great thing seemed
to be accomplished sent Him a message
saying: art Thou the Messiah?" and
Christ said to the messengers, ''Wait here,
see what you will see, and then go and tell
your master" The waited and saw, and
then Christ told them: Go your way and
tell John what things We have seen and
heard: how that the blind see, the lame
the dead are raised to the poor the gospel
is preached"
No man can undertake to help his fellow
men really sincerely on large scale, with
out coming in contact with men who do
not want the help those who are making
something out OF the misfortunes of their
fellow men. Christ came in contact with
such, and they leagued themselves together
to destroy Him. He was arrested and
asked, care You the Messiah" And I'M
der solemn oath He said. EI am" Plate
said, "Are You king" He said. ri am"
To both the Jewish tribunal and the Ro-
man He said Il am" and for that He was
condemned to die and for it He died.
When He died the hopes of His disciples
dissipated. They said, eve thought He
He was not" Rumors of His ascension be-
gan to circulate, and, little by little they
became convinced. and then they said,
'''Ah, He is the deliverer, after ALL" If you
will turn to the Book of Acts and read one
Of the sermons there you will see that was
the burden of all the apostolic ministry
No new theology, ethic or law. Their mes.
sages were all the same: "The deliverer is
come. He is here; the deliverance has be-
gum"
In the first century rule was by absolute
despotism. Gradually government has been
(, transformed, until now it is completely es-
tablished, and there is no government in
Europe west of Russia that does not at
least recognize the fact that government is
not for the government, but for the gov
erned. All industry was servile. Half the
Roman population were slaves and the
other half were on the edge of famine and
only kept alive by the largess of Others
Wherever Christianity has gone the chain
has dropped from the slave and labor has
been emancipated. There were no schools
IN Rome and none among the Jews except
those connected with the synagogue. but
wherever Christianity has gone it has es-
tablished schools and wealth has been diff
fused among the people. This is called an
age of concentrated wealth. That is not So
There never was an age and that is espe-
cialy true of America, when wealth was
more distributed. There are charities
everywhere. The church has also changed
the conception of punishment, so that pun
ishment has become reformatory The OBJ
iect of the old pagan religion was not to
help man; it was TO appease the wrath of
God or to purchase the favor of corrupt
bic God. Chris tianity has altered all that
with various deg rees of success. The church
of Christ is engaged In the work of lifting
the burdens of men, IN inspiring them with
courage and nobler purposes Christianity
is not a mere sum of doctrines. new
method of worship or a new law of morals.
1t is a great historical movement.
Flowing down through the centuries with
ever widening and deepening current, bless
ing every land it has touched and carrying
with it some measure of helpfulness, Chris
tianity has done, through the centuries.
what Christ did in those four short years
it has helped the helpless, fed the hungry,
taught the ignorant, given courage to the
despairing and brought glad tidings to the
poor. The secret of Christianity. then. is
helpfumess. This it is that distinguishes
the theology of the Christian religion from
the theology of all other religions 1t is
new doctrine respecting God-not absolute
" so, but still new contTasted with the
foouhiyac <f ~