The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-06-24
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
Az ELOQUENT DISCOURSE sNrITlsp.
"chRlS1S GIFT CT LIFE"
The Rev. George II. Lunn breaches From
Text Which He Declares shows in
Compact Form the Predominste Aim
OF Jesus-The Larger Life.


tor. preached on "Chrst's Gift OF Lie.
The text was taken from John x:l0: u
am come that they might have lie Nj.
lunn said:
! am sure that DO not exaggerate when
! sar tnat 10 words OF our Lord are more
profoundly significant than these words of
the text We nave IN a compact form a
statement O! the purpose OF Jesus CHRIST.
All else ls subordlnated 10 this great and
ppecomlnate an. Jesus Christ has come
INFO the world 10 give that life IN ever IN
crelslng abundance. Ihls j. not a conclu-
slon OF mine worked cat after special in
vestlgat,on; II j the simple and clear and
forceiul statement o: our Lord Himself.
rest upon HIS word as a tinality. And
hnd IN this verse fuller and richer eX-
preston OF the purpose OF Christ than Is
found anywhere eise IN Scripture.
What, then, l. the lie which Christ
seeks 20 give: i i the life OF fellowship
with God, the Father; a fellowship begun
on earth and continued throughout the
ages OF eternity. II Is the life OF spiritual
oneness with God, united 10 Him IN
thought, IN purpose, in all our varying ac-
Invites. II Is the larger HE which com.
prehends our present lie, enrlching II with
al the holy purposes OF God, our Saviour,
lifting ~ by - power into the purified at
mC,phere oi noble deeds, done Tor HIS
sake. IN other words, II i the life OF
which our Master spoke when He said that
To lose u was calamity, even though
man should gain the whole world.
] think | am right IN saying that a great
many people interpret the words and work
o. our Lord as applying chiefly 10 the other
word. not altogether but chiefly. They
regard the religion OF Christ as an insur-
ance OF safety Tor the next world rather
than definite program OF activity FOR the
present. They think more OF the saving
OF the soul after death than OF saving the
lie before death. No stronger illustration
of this thought can be found than the
large numbers OF men who delay their de-
CisIon IN reference 10 Christ 20 some more
convenient season. They saw. not now,
but at some future time, ! Will settle the
great question OF my souls relation TO
God. You cannot hnd man who viii not
express some wish TO lead a better life;
bat IN near.y every case they see no need
OF an immediate decision. In my pastoral
work | have come IN contact with this ex-
perence time and again. And as / have
endedvored TO understand what Is the un.
derying cause of so much Indecision re-
gardlng religious things, j find that most
OF 4 can be traced TO this fundamental
mislnterpretation of the words and work
OF Jesus Christ our Lord. You may eX-
press tins IN many ways, but at heart the
point Is thls-the saving of the soul after
death. instead OF saving the life right here
and now; the gaining of heaven hereafter,
rather than entering into heaven now.
And because Of this Interpretation men
feei no immediate necessity of getting
right with God. SO long as they are rea-
sonably sure OF life here. they are willing
TO delay the great decision OF the soul
Against this view OF religion allow me 10
bring the message of the Saviour, Il am
come that they might have lie and that
they might have it more abundantly." You
- h. l. al
INTO contact with this purpose of Christ at
every turn. Repeatedly do you find the
word life. We are struck with the fact
how constantly the word lie was on the
lips OF Jesus. 1t ls word which gives US
the very heart OF Jesus teaching. He was
always pralslng, always promising life. III
thou wit enter into life keep My COM
mandments,' He that heleveth on Ne
hath life, AS the Father hath life in
Himself, so hath lie given to the Son to
have lie in Himself" Because ! live We
shall live also "Ne will not come unto
Ne that ye might have life Everywhere
we find this same eager pleading with men
TO enter INTO HE, and we further find that
Jesus identified lie with goodness. To
Jesus life consisted in goodness. Wicked.
ness l. death. The soul that Slnneth. II
shall die Is not so much a threat as the
statement of n great truth. For the sin
ming soul dies by reason OF the very fact Of
its shining. There is no lie for the hu-
man soul but IN righteousness. Jesus.
therefore. uses language which we may
justly call yIo,cnt when He referred to the
possibility OF a mans losing MS higher
life Better 20 cut of the offending hand
or foot II 1t hinders the a-prIng soul.
Better 10 pluck out the eye which causes
stumbling u by that means the real lie OF
God may be gained. | have called this
language violent, and such il Is. Not that
Jesus anticipated any literal lnterprcta-
tiop and literal following The fo,ceful
illustration - used 10 emphasize a terrible
and an eternal truth. The very possibility
of a mans failing 20 enter into the HE OF
fellowship with God, was thought which
brought strong tears to the eyes Of the Sa.
v.oUr OF men. ! tel you that IN these days
we are harborlng IN our hearts a senti-
mental sympathy which oyerooks sin and
CoadOnes InIguIty and seeks 20 apologize
for the stern words OF the Saviour. There
was no doubt a ringing doom against sin.
But 1t was not the doom OF a threat.
Jesus never threatened. He revealed
what sin J.; ITS very nature ls death. The
open door of life IN God is before men.
To pass by that door does not mean that
God viii arbitrarily punish, but that the
very passing II by Is death. The issue of
Sin is doom. exile into the night, the
eclipse OF desOiatlon and abandonment.
Does there move IN your hearts the sus-
pIcion that such a doom Is exaggerated and
overdoue; When that suspicion comes 20
me, and IT often comes. ! remember the
words OF a sainted preacher: When ] am
tempted 10 think that the doom is over
done, | must remember that the Son Of
God, my Saviour, with an infinite insight
INTO all things, super,atively sensitive
knowing the inmost heart OF life, He, our
Saviour, pronounced the doom 10 be just.
This Christ. who gave Himself for US, who
loved us, tod us in words--I venture 20
Say loving words, OF appalling terTOT-that
for the deliberately sinful, and for the de-
hberateiy unjust. there - no place but the
night, no place but the outer darkness. no
place but ultimate separateness, no pace
but ultimate forsskenness and abandon.
ment. These are my Masters words. and
against them ] will rear no petty imagina-
tion Of my own; ] will rather silence my
own unilumined suspicion and humbly aud
quietly take my place with Him. The
wages Of sin is the night IL il the night
now, Il - the night hereafter The es-
sence of sin ~ death; II u exile; 70 Is aban-
doEment. Jesus words were violent, bat
He was not seeking 20 produce fear, but
Now 10 al Of us who feel this fact SO
Ieenly Jesus brings His evangel of forgive
ness and peace. The words spoken 20 long
ago have their greatest significance now.
for we can see, a. those Jews could no. see
their fuller and more profound meaning
A lie spoke q tho Father in such init
mate Germs, bitter resentment arose IN
Their hearts. A lie tod them OF He will
lu-ncss 90 Jay down His life for His sheep
they ret0rted He hath a demon a.sl j.
mad; why hear ye Him. Possibly we
would nave spoken likewise bad We been
living then. Bot now in the light OF the
centuries past. we look upon that lonely.