Cherokee scout. [volume] (Murphy, N.C.) 188?-1961, 1904-11-08
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
a STRONG DISCOURSE ENTITLED.
MANS CONDITION. COOS R=M=LY."

@. B., IL. D.-The Spiritual Helpless
ness and Hopelsssness Of Man.
LONDON, ENGLAND,-The following ad.
! dress, entitled, Mans Conditi5nl Gods
| Remedy" was delivered at the Mi.dmay
i Conference by Sir Robert Anderson, K, 9,
B., LIZ. D.
TIE special s,s.yJeet assigned to me ID
VThe Spiritual Heip.essness of Man BY
Nature, and the New Birth From Above"
am not here to defend the 1oGlAas that
theology has based upon this truth. What
concerns Us is the truth itself; say This
with emphasis, because of what Is pass
And the should be our position in re.
| gard to all the great doctrines of faith.
! The age of creedS is passed. In days of
chivalry, when men had respect for truth
and honor, creeds shut out those who
could not honestly accept them. But now
they avail netting to protect the gold
against thieves and robbers" Men viii
publicly, and in the most solemn way,
pledge their belief in every Christian
churches; and'a as soon as tReS Secure the
prestige and pay which Office affords, they
use the ealpitS to attack the very truths
They are pledged and subsidized to defend.
This being SO, let us abandon the out
works of our creeds, and, falling back
upon the Bible, stand faur-square III its
defense.
In this spirit + approach my subject. 1
Gam not iGhefah1 of wha@ theology teaches
about human depravity, nor of the contro-
Sersies respecting it which preceded the
settlement of our creeds. But on this
platform ] will recognize no authority save
an open Bible. My reason for saying this
| Is because here, as on many other CUES
| tons, the opponents of the truth owe their
| vantage ground TO what Il called Chris
tan doctrine on. the subject. For the
| doctrine Is Inconsistent with facts, where
! as between truth and fact conflict is i'm
Possible.
A natural man, j. e., a man who has
not experienced the new. birth, and who
has mot the Spirit of God, may live a
life of the highest morality and recttude.
Scripture testifes that in these qualities
the Apostle Paul made no advance after
his conversion. 1t is no answst tie this
to say that in his uheenSetted days he
came under the external influences of d.
vine truth. The fact remains that they
were 0nconverted days, and that with
ehch an environment he was able to main
tain such a life of purity and piety and
zeal, albeit he was spiritually dead in sins.
He took to religion as another man might
take to pleasure, or to study or to trade,
or to drink. But Ia this, as he himself
declares, he was only following his natural
naind." $3.50 : = -
Neither Is it an objection that such a
case is exceptional What man has done
men may do. If the Fall made it impos-
sible for men to live pure and upright
lives, in would be unjust in God to judge
them for their vices.
There are two great standards or prin-
ciples of divine judgment. With those
who hear the Gospel, the consequences of
accepting or rejecting Christ are final and
irreversible. As for the rest, men will be
judged by the law Of their being, whether
as stamped en- heart or conscience, or as
formulated in express commands at Sinai.
THE NATURAL MAN. Z
The first three chapters of Romans claim
notice here. The first chapter describes
the condition in which the mass of the
heather world was sunk even in days
when the tide of human progress and cul-
a ssrs tEse = the a2sd. and Mhe9, 2Ose,
Paganism held up standard of 4ife as
high as any that apostate ClIriskndom
presents-cults of which one at least had
such spiritual vitality that three ceA turies
Afterwards it bid fair to suppiant Chris
tlanityt as the religion Il am pot fspeak-
ing or the true Christianity Of tie true
Church. of God) maintained its ascend
ancy, it was first by penal laws of ex-
IRENE severity, and second by adopting
the chief characteristic rites and errors
of the Paganism which it thus, prosecuted.
These things need stating if we are to
understand Alright the. closing words of
the first chapter, of Romans. The vile
practices of The heather world were not
due to ignorance. They knew that their
deeds were. evil. They knew the ,judg-
ment of God, that they who practiced such
things were worthy of death, and yet they
practiced them.
But the case of Saul of Tarsus was
wholly different. If what men call con-
science were the arbiter of human con-
honestly believed to be right, his was
perfect life. As judged by any and every
human standard, Saul of Tarsus was
pattern saint; but as judged by God he
was a pattern sinner. And il you read
the middle verses of Romans intelligent
~, this is the lesson you will learn from
them: 1t is Gods estimate of the life
of the natural man at his best-the life OF
the upright, pious, Jealous Jew under law.
'For that which is highly esteemed among
men is abomination in the sight of God"
The story is told of the first Duke of
Cambridge, that when, in the reading Of
the Decalogue, the Seventh Commandment
was reached, instead of the orthodox re-
spouse, he answered, in an aside, that was
plainly audible, ri never did that" But
here was man who could make a like
response to every commandment in the
Decalogue. Gas touching the righteous
ness that is in the law, blameless." Such
was his pround boast.
You will say, perhaps, that this only
proves that he was utterly blind and dead.
But that IS precisely. what | am insisting
on; that so far is it from the truth that
human nature is hopelessiy corrupt and
depraved, as men judge of corruption and
depravity, that a natural man may live a
life that would put to shame half the
saints in the calendar. By course of un-
christian ascetieism and severe penances
tor furnishing the body" these calendar
saints attained to what men deem saint
ship. But to this man saintship was as
natural as sin was to many Of the saints
Of the calendar.
One OF the tests which people hold to be
final is that man shall Edo his best"
hm This man nam id EEs ie e1Pe s5d b Of
best was record" that has never been
beaten What purity of life was hist
What piety! What burning zeal! What
self-sacrifcing devotion to what he he
ieved to be the cause of God! But looking
back upon it all, he writes, "Who was be-
fore blasphemer." And what bias
phemeri
And so, when he comes under the Divine
GearcEight, he declares himself the chief
OF sinners. Scanning the long line of all
the sinners of the race, he takes his place
at their head "of whom am the first"
IT these were not Ines words OF an IN
spired Apostle in an inspired epistle, we
might suspect exaggera5ion. And yet they
only express the well recognized principle
that privilege increases responsibility and
responsibility deepens guilt. +Of course he
knew no better. But that only made his
man who ought to have known better it
was he. And SO he takes his place as
chief of sinners" And he hInbly adds,
81 obtained mercy"
And he repeats this. For he was twice
mercied. It is not Gods way to put