Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1903-02-19
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
An ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
RULES FOR SERVICE"
he Rev. DIR. j. Wilbur Chapman breaches
on What We Should DO to, Get Our
Reward at the Hands Of Coda Heart
Cry to the People.

on What We Should DO to, Get Cur
Reward at the Hands Of Coda Heart
Cry to the People.
New York Cry. The distinguished
and well-known evangelist, the Rev. DR.. j.
Wilbur Chapman, has furnished for pub
ication the following sermon entitled
Rules of Service" It was preached from
the text: mo man that. wa1reth entang
leth himself with the affairs of this life,
him to be a soldier. And if man also
strive for nlasteries, vet is he not crowned,
except he strive lawfully 2 Timothy, ii: /
It is not enough simply to perform what
might be called good deeds, in the estima-
applause of men, and miss his reward at I
the hands of God. Neither is it enough |
that one should be so given to service that |
he might win the applause Of people every
where: There Is no special promise IN |
Gods word written for the man who is
must have had this in mind when he said:
"Yet is he not crowned except he strive
lawfully" 1t is good thing for the Chris
tian to square his life, both public and pri-
vate, his innermost thoughts, and the hid
den man Of his heart. by the word of God,
from Gods plan and the Holy Ghosts
guidance. When John, in Revelation,
wrote, "Iet no man take thy CROWN he
presented what to my mind is one Of the
most solemn subjects in all the Bible,
namely, that one might be saved, have his
be perfectly sure Of being ultimately re-
ceived into His presence. and be saved
throughout eternity, and yet miss his re-
ward and lose his crown.
This chapter is note Of warning and
heart cry to people everywhere to search
t3,o;r Evoc aiGo1 hy thn Shirt tn ask God
to deal very thoroughly with them even
though this dealing may mean the cutting
off Of some very much loved sin or the Civ
ing up of some long cherished plan.
l. All service must be prompted by
right motives.
It is not so much how the work appears
outwardly that commends it to God-in
this His Judgment is given differently from
that OF nan, but it is altogether question
as to what, back Of it all, prompted the
and It's hearty acceptance by our Master
is an illustration of this fact for in the de-
sire that prompted the gift was found
that wi,lch was Of ten thousand times
more value than the gift itself.
One might preach the gospel and win
hundreds OF souls for Christ, and the mo-
tives that prompted the preaching be
wrong. One might sHeerintend Sunday
school with much success. be a teacher OF
1 Acknowledged ability, lead the young .peo
: pies weak in the church be a chosen lead
er Of the mission work, and upon al thess
positions have the seal Of the approval O
men aud the plaudits Of the multitude be
cause 6f acknowledged success, and ye
1niserably fail at the great day eff award:
: to receive one single crown for fa1thfulnes
simply because the werk was born In sci
fisilress and carried on IN pride. It wa
not dome ior the glory sof God, but rathe
for the glory of man. One might built
churches, and for his supposed generosity
be high1s esteemed of nlen, and yet re
: ceive i eebuke FROM the lips of the riser
: Christ sDne might enaow schools whicl
:, God wouid use for the betterment of SO
city and ior the accomplishment OF Hi
(. own purposes or the working of His owl
] plans, ard yet have no recognition on .th'
5 great day of awards One might give hi
money toeclothe the poor and feed the hun
CRY; as Eaight be known wherever th
English language is spoken, for his Chart
- able works. and when the great day O
8 awards should come might hear the Mas
ter say.
q depart, for I never knew you.''
4 His soul is saved, but his life is lost Al
rs of these things are true. because, whil
/ ~outwardis the service was wonderful ant
the success great, the motive that prompt
,ed it all was selfish. Jesus Himself ha
!. should say: sAord, have we not prophe
Ssed in Thy nanae, and in Thy name don,
many wonderful works?' Thus the teach
= ing becomes more intense and the lessor
, more startling, 4or one might even thinl
, that he was shaping his life according t.
! Gods plan and yet most terribly miss thu
: reward.
When Paul wrote his first letter to th'
q Corinthians he said; For other founda
= ton can mo man lay than that is laid
2 which is Jesus Christ II any mans worl
he himself shall be saved; yet so as b,
fire. This is very clearly, 70 my mind,
lesson to Christian workers III general, bu
to ministers in particular. The foundatio~
is the same for us all-Jesus Christ, bu
| the supeTstructure may be very different
1t Is q most solemn thought-one of the
most solemn [ know-that when the grea,
| day OF fire shall come every mans work
shall be tried, of what sort it is. The min
astry of the man whom the world honorsd
shall be touched BY fire. The service oi
the Christian 5a worker, from the + first effort
; be tested. The teaching Of the Sunday
2 school teacher, throughout his or her EN-
tire Christian experience, shall be brought
beneath the searching light OF the Son oi
God. The testimony of every Christian
IN every land shall be searched through
place of business. in the streets, at home
or in foreign lands, by day and by night,
shall be tested by the fire Of God. IF the
work is burned, the man shall suffer loss.
but he himself be saved, though as by fire.
It il tremendously solemn message.
I might have all the experience God has
given me, as preacher. teacher evangelist,
father, husband, friend, and then stand be;
fore God at the last with all my work
swept away, going into His presence with
the smell Of fire upon my garments. God
forbid. Paul had this fate in mind when
he said Il Cor. TX: 25, ~: Every man
that striveth for theamastery is temperate
in all things. Now. they do it to obtain a
corruptible crown, but we are inccrrupti-
ble Bat I keep under my body, and
bring it into subjection, lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others,
myself should be castaway," or Gas We
have already seem, "be disapproyed"
God keep us from meeting such an ex-
perience as this on that great day!
2. We must labor with clean hands
God never uses an unclean man. It is
possible that one may be saved, and yet
allow sin IN some way to control him, but
it is not possible for God to use that which
is either common or unclean. "Come out
from among them and be ye separate, and
touch not the unclean thing''-from which
command of the Scriptures we learn that
if one is in the very slightest touch with
the world he is against God, and soon loses
his power; he is shorn of his testimony,
and God sets him aside. .ssearch me, oh