The Penn's Grove record., 1903-05-08
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN UPLIFTING AND ELOQUENT DIS.
COURSE ENTITLED FAITH"
The Rev. Roderick Terry Shows the Neces-
sity Of Establishing O True Spiritual
Life on a Proper Foundation-Why We
Have Hope into an Eternal Life.

The Rev. Roderick Terry Shows the Neces-
sity of Establishing q True Spiritual
Life on a Proper Foundation-Why we
Have Hope Unto an Eternal Life.
New YORK CITY.-Dr. Roderick Terry
pastor of the South Reformed Church
Madison avenue, preached Sunday morn.
ing on Faith" His text was chosen
from Jude 20 and 81: "But We, beloved,
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. keen
yourselves in the love of God, looking for
the mercy Of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life" DR.. Terry said:
we have no information concerning this
short Epistle of Jude beyond that which is
contained in the verses themselves. We
know not who he was, nor where he lived
nor to whom he wrote, nor the circum-
stances calling for the writing of the Epis.
tie further than the information we gain
regarding some of these facts from it's CON
tents. And inasmuch as this, as well as
the whole OF the revelation, though written
originally for certain people at a certain
time, was intended to be universal in its
scope, and was applicable to people of all
times, 1T Is not of SO much Importance to
US to know precisely for whom the words
were first intended, as to ascertain their
applicability to the different periods of the
church's history, and especially to the time
in which we live. 1t is written, as Jude
says, as g warning to Christians; that they
should Earnestly contend for the faith
which was ones delivered unto the Saints"
These words imply first, the Importance OF
guarding this faith once delivered to the
Saints, and in the second place, that there
were dangers lest this faith might be lost.
In regard to the first of these, however
needful at that time, or at any succeeding
time in the church's history such a warn.
ing may have been, it can never have come
with greater force than it should come to
Christ's people to-day. The necessity OF
contendlng for the faith, delivered once
for all to the Saints" is, in the present
needs to be repeatedly insisted upon. By
faith Is meant here, not that quality or
grace which the Christian possesses which
typi6es his feeling toward God; it has ref
erence rather to that which is believed in:
which st. Paul calls "The Faith Of the
Gospel" "The faith which is in Christ
Jesus" and which is used universally by
the sacred writers as synonymous with the
teaching which God gives concerning Him
self. This faith" says Jude, twas once
for all delivered unto the Saints" and he
exhorts Christians that they should ear
nestly contend for it. When this faith
was delivered unto the saints, and under
what circumstances, we are well aware; it
included the revelation which God made Of
Himself through all history, and His rela-
ton with His chosen people; it included
the life and the work of the Master, and
the influence which He shed upon His dis
ciples; it included the work and the teach
ings Of His followers; it was, in fact, the
revelation of God recorded through all the
Scriptures. Jude insists upon the neces-
sity that every one who is a child of God
should contend for this faith as thus by
revelation and miracle once for all deliv.
cred unto the Saints.
The writer Of the epistle makes no secret
of the reason why he found it necessary to
insist upon the Importance of thus guard
ing the faith as given to us by God, for the
dangers which menaced it were two fold;
in the first place they sprang from the nat
ural tendency of men to seek to reason out
for themselves all matters of faith or be.
lief, as they would reason out questions Of
history or of science. These men, pulled
up with their own supposed knowledge
were unwilling to abide by the clear and
simple words Of Scripture which came from
God. and not only interpreted them &C
cording to their WI judgment, but even
replaced them with ideas Of their W
The writer has little to say to these men,
whom he describes as those whose mouths
speak swelling words" as though the
words came not from any deep thought,
but he shows conclusively that they were
as conspicuous in the church then as they
are to-day. There is nothing harder fol
the natural man than to acknowledge and
live up to the acknowledgment of his ig
norance; there is no subject of thought OF
discussion-whether connected with the
life in this world or in the world to come
-rv-hsal -c,r ~r,11 ~ .oa1- - I,.Jlo ,-,41
the tools of their own mental equipment
and therefore men are always jealous when
the Bible declares that there are some
things which they cannot understand, but
that in regard to those very things they
must have faith; so that the first class Of
dangers to the maintenance of its true pc
sition on the part Of faith in human intel
lectuai life, springs from mental conceit
from the unwillingness of men to believe
that which seems inconsistent with, OIL
above their own reasoning.
When this epistle was written this class
of enemies to the faith, in that contention
against it which is always being waged
were not very conspicuous nor Influential
in the church, but to-day there is more
danger to the purity and the simplicity o.
the Christian faith from them than from
any other of its enemies, and it become:
the adherents of the cause of Christ to bt
strong and u%nyielding in their opposition
to the modern tendency; to elevate human
individual opinion as over against the re
vealed will Of God. When God says: "Ths
soul that sinneth, it shall die" and SONS
man rises in opposition and declares tina
"all good and bad shall finally inherit ever
lasting life" it Is time for the servant o
God to take a firm positioni in support of thu
revealed will of the Lord and to eontent
for the "faith once delivered to the Saints
When men declare that this very Bible
which contains Gods revelation to men, /
a somewhat uncertain guide to belief, al
unreliable anchor to hope, and proceed t.
tear it to pieces and to rob it of its sn
preme strength il its hold upon the con
sciences and minds of men, it is time TO
the servant of Christ to witt
emphasis his belief that !. is the revealed
will of God, and that of all His revelation
there shall fail not m jot or little. an
that a curse shall come upon him who tax
eth away from or addeth unto the word
which God hath given for our comfort an
our guidance. Surely there is need to-day
more than ever in the past, that in regar'
to all of Gods teachings, in regard to tn
word of Gods revelation, in regard to tn
plan of salvation, in regard to our hope o
heaven, even to our belief upon God Him
self, the Christian should stand firm, an.
should contend, with courage and Wit
zeal, in his own heart and in the world TO
the faith as it is in Jesus.
For that faith is also in danger OF beini
undermined by the human characteristic
universally found among men which max
them unwilling to accept of and to live u
to its moral and ethical teachings. TIL
standard of morality in the world beinl
much lower than that taught in the Scrip
lures. all men are apt to suffer their idea,
to drift lower and lower in sympathy Will
the ideas of the world. In the first plae'
this result occurs to-day, as in the time o
the writing of the epistle. from the creep
ing into the church of certain men who ar
themselves ungodly filthy dreamers, de
fling the flesh. despising dominion, speak
ing evil of dignities," criticising thos'
things which they know not. who IN tn
time of the writing of this epistle had be
come so conspicuous in the church life o
the time that they were called raging
waves~of the sea, foaming out their owl
shame, aurmuler s, complainers, havIn!
mems persons in admiration because of ad
vantage" 1t is a blessed thought that to
day such persons are o conspicuous II
the church. for this is an age of honesty
an age of the d~enouncing of all duphclty
an age. when Pharisees and hyprocrite
once brought to the light, are abhorrent t,
all classes of men, but while not openl,