The Penn's Grove record., 1903-09-04
SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
POWER OF RELIGION"
A Remarkably Strong Deliverance on the
Subject of the Moral and intellectual
Force of Christianity-Religfon Gives
an Ideal. and an Incentive to Reach 1t.

A VI LA1O ~
Force of Christianity-Religion Gives
an Ideal. and an Incentive to Reach 1t.
PARIS, KY.-The Rev. Henry Knott,
Of St. Peters p. e. Church IN this
city, preached a strong sermon on Inc
Moral and Intellectual Power OF Religion,
The text was chosen from Matthew v: ~:
"Be We therefore perfect even as your
Father. which is in heaven is perfect.
Mr.. Knott said:
The Sermon on the Mount contains the
sum and substance. of Christianity. In
other words. we find it to be the very
heart Of the Gospel; its divine precepts
transcending in moral grandeur the lottlese
conceptions ever thought or spoken py
man. Great souls afiame with the
sacred fire of inspiration have but MIR
rored the ~shadowssof the tremendous real
tiles of the future, and the mind OF genius
searching for truth apart from revelation
has failed to discover the meaning and the
end of life. Here we have a command ut
by One who gave to humanity the
kew to perfection. The Christ has drawn
the veil aside and disclosed the way, the
truth, the life. By revealing the character
of Coda holiness radiant with loye-we
are brought face to face with the posslbli-
ity of attainment through the law and the
hid in Calvary's cross. BY initiating
LIE cAdJ1DlC VI suO1f 6C1l6 AhNSt w b
grow into that glorious perfection OF the
Father manifested in His only begotten
Son.
I do not wish you to misunderstood the
inference just quoted. Man shall never at
tain the absolute perfection of God, for
there is an impossible gulf between the
Creator and the created. In being, for
mans immortality had a starting point
while God has even been in an eternity OF
time. III space, man subject to locasiza-
ton, he&e or there-the infinite Father ON
nipresent, everywhere. In power man a
creature az environment circumscribed by
laws whether natural or spiritual, free yet
not free, a mysterious paradox, his soul the
battle ground 'twixt wills Human and di-
vine: while God is the source OF creation,
the Alpha and Omega of all things in heay-
en- and earth, even holding in His almighty
hand the first link of that wondrous chain
Of causation. sH
God is perfection: All His love and
mighty attributes blended together IN one
harmonious whole, Interchangeable In Wis
dom, Justice and, truth. Man, fallen, per-
verified, possessing no natural worth, bear.
ing always the curse of sin, a subtle tend.
ency to thwart right, that supreme law oil
spiritual life. By nature prone to evil, cor
rupted. helpless, his only virtue that which
is derived through grace. No, he can never
be perfect as God is perfect, but through
the intellectual and moral power. OF relig
ion and obedience to its commands he car
relatively climb undreamed heights OF spir'
itual manhood, and by the evolution OF his
immortal soul in Christ win that glorious
crown of destiny which the heavenly Faith
er has willed all born of woman should
through obedience acquire perfection. Thu:
we derive the full meaning of the text;
wonderful in its implication, giving us tht
assurance of success; divine in its com
mand, disclosing the possibilities of ON
nature that we as Christians have a dlvln
ity stirring within us the source of a glor
ious power to press toward the mark FOL
the prize" a life complete IN its fulhIlmenI
of that end which God intended it to at
tain, to be perfect in obedience to the su
preme law of it's existence, even as it,
Creator is perfect.
Without religion a man can never real
ize the possibilities of his spiritual nature
With a natural tendency toward the pass
ing, the finite and the changeable, he need:
an influence to call him to a sense of the
liaseEHa44~snd iafnite Many, neonle take
superficial view of Christianity and neve,
really understand what blessings it con
fers. Man was not created to be the play
thing Of the Almighty, but for a purpose
to be a son, worthy to stand before hi
Fathers face and to live with Him In Low
ing communion.
You are all familiar with the story o
Adam dreadful fall into disobedience ant
sin. Through the marvellous faculties o
the soul many Christian men have, at on
time or another, experienced a momentar.
consciousness of what then was lost. II
enable US to regain much of that pristin!
state Christ came into the world, lived
suffered, died and made it possible for us
hu rnoElnn Ennwn 1tc rlnRIac IN His owl
perfect life, to once more become the son
and daughters of God. Religion leads u
back from worldliness to self-recollectiol
and gives to souls fevered with sordid de
sires a quickening principle of a higher am
nobler life; inspiring intellect with truth
and the heart with a pure and exaltet
love. 1t animates conscience with a su
preme sense of duty and places thought Il
juxtaposition with the will of God, clothin
every aspiration with a purifying virtue
thus leading all the faculties of our beinI
upward and onward toward perfection.
The immortal ~iongings of the soul cal
only be satisfied by God. Every facult,
we possess leads US to His feet. There
no real happiness apart from that whlcI
comprehends His love and finds its su
preme good by a steadfast d~evotedness t
the precepts of His law; Unfortunately
there are men and women who look upol
religion as a means to conciliate the divin
power, which through sin they have OF
Tended. They imagine it places them In
conciliatory attitude with Deity, and tina
by its medium they viii obtain in the fu
ture some ~indeinable reward, forgettin
that religion is a life, a state, which call
into operation all the spiritual potential
ties of their glorious nature and througl
temptation, sorrow and suffering crown
them at last with victory over the worl'
and self.
Thus we perceive that Christ came upol
power of endless life. Revealing the char
acter of God, He made it possible for me-
to conform to that perfect original. l.
His Gospel He lays oown a code of morals
so sublime, that if we would absorb then
into thought and action we should fulfil
while here our destiny. Religions blessin
is the supreme good for every man to al
tain. 1t is not an emotion, or merely be
lief, it is a vitalizing energy in the depth
of the human soul, subduing to God all tn
powers of being, i~ncarnating In the hear
q consciousness of a magnificent future
quickening the intellect, conscience, affet
tions and will into vigorous and holy &C
ton, inspiring the mind with a profounI
love of truth and flooding the soul with
beace which the crash of worlds could no
disturb. Religion, then, is a necessity Q
life. Without it existence is a deluslon,
shadow, lacking substance and meaning.
To grow into the stature and fulness o
Christ, in other words, to become a Christ
man, is the design for which we are en-
dowed with certain faculties. Man is PIE
eminently a moral being. This is his natur
and the path of his life winds toward tn
perfection of those qualities which consti
tute the essence of his spiritual life. Iii
true happiness consists in bringing himsel
into relation, into union with God. Go'
is holy, the source of all perfection. Il
the heart of man He has placed a deep AM
abiding consciousness of right and wrong
AT every turn duty confronts him; on on
side lies goodness, on the other evil, wit
an inward voice ever commanding with dl
yin authority to discriminate between
fhtnrnfaE sha choice of that which j
lawful An-sU2ting against sin, ever.
thought and action being approved or con
demned by this inward monitor. NThere l
not q man or woman living who does no
feel that conforming to the will of God j
the paramount duty of life. The soul j
the great battle-ground where the materia
and ~corruptible strive in eeaseless warfar
against the spiritual and eternal. BY sub
mi ting to the lower instincts of our ma
ture we are destroying that which is high
! est and best and wilfully striving ~suncon
sciously, it may BEL to thwart the grea
and which the heavenly Fathers marvel