The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-04-20
"A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. A. 3. KlNSoLVlNc. D. D.
Subject: Presumptuous Sins-The Com
monest Sin Among Men is Sacrificing
the Interests of the Spiritual and Eter-
nal to the Carnal and Temporal.


monest Sin Among Men is Sacrificing
the Interests of the Spiritual and Eter-
nal to the Carnal and Temporal.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.-Dr. Arthur E. Kin:
solving, rector of Christ Church, preached
an excellent sermon Sunday morning, on
"Presumptuous Sins" The two texts
were from Matthew iv: 5 and 6: "Then
the devil taketh him into the holy city
and he set Him on the pinnacle OF the
temple, and saith unto Him, if Thou art
the Son of God cast Thyself down, for it
is written, He shall give His angels charge
concerning Thee; and on their hands they
shall bear Tnee up, lest hapiy Thou dash
Thy foot against stone. Jesus said unto
him. Again it is written. thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy Cod" and Psalms
xix: l3: Keep back Thy. servant also
from presumptuous sins; let them not
have dominion over ME; then shall be
upright and innocent from the great trans
gression." DR.. Kinsolving said:
In pursuing our purpose OF trying to IN
terpret the unfolding life Of the Lord Je.
we preached last Sunday the tempted Je-
sus. We found in the narrative of the
temptation record of just mental and
spiritual struggle as we should have ex.
pected Him to 20 through at this stage of
His career It is impossible to suppose
that He could have decided instantaneous.
" and without long meditation and con-
fict upon the plan of His life as the sent
of Cod" Clearly He had plan and adj
hered to it throughout life.
We remarked upon the deep interest
that each one of us has in the moral strug-
gle and victory of Jesus, and how just IN
proportion as we are led by the Holy
Spirit to lofty and noble ideals of life, we
are conscious Of these subtle earthly lures
which would defect US from our truest
paths.
We spoke of the fatalistic non-resistance
to temptation so much in vogue. nowadays
as something not worth while, because IN
a world where the frailty of man is ex-
posed to such overwhelming allurements
of world, flesh and devil, it is certain be-
forehand that n vast percentage Of men
and women will fall. The Maker of men
and not the victims Of sin is the most re.
sponsible, so this school teaches, and by
such doctrines the person assailed is in.
duced to yield without struggle. Jesus
conflict and victory teach us that this is
a libel upon God Through a putting
forth of such strength as We have,
through prayerful desire to be and do
what is right, our vision is cleared and our
wills grow strong, and while God can
never entirely shelter us from temptation
He can and does defend US in temptation,
and with every solicitation to wrongdoing
show us the way of escape.
Then we tried to learn the lesson OF
Christ's first temptation. The question
which first confronted Him as our repre-.
sentative was the old and ever-pressing
question OF daily bread. The tempter pro-
ceeds upon the assumption that. all man
needs for his sustenance IS food Tor the
physical life. You have a. right to this,
he says, on any terms. and there is nothing
else to be considered by comparison with
this. So make provision for yourself and
the body's bread first. "You are to feed
the hungry; feed first yourself" "1f Thou
art the son of God. command that these
stones be made loaves-and then You may
live to execute Your Fathers business"
The answer Of Jesus came from Man
gaunt and weary by long fasting and days
of conflict. THE physical life is not mans
only life, and will not act as If it were,
He says, "by exempting Myself from nri'
vations which I have come to share with
Nv brethren. If ! am hungry. that lies
within the will of God for Me, and
choose hunger in that will, rather than
satisfaction outside of and against that
will. I will not hurt or kill My moral or
spiritual life as the filial, dependent and
obedent Child Of God by providing on
guilty terms for the feeding of Ny bodily
life. For if. through privation, the bodily
wrapping Of life should perish there would
still be left My essential manhood and
Nv eternal relationship with the Father
Therefore I choose the obedient and de-
pendent life. and will trust the care and
wisdom of My Father unto the end.'
Jesus there enunciated philosophy OF
life which is as sane as it is lofty and spir-
itual. Perhaps the commonest sin among
men is sacrificing the interests of the spir.
itual and eternal to the carnal and tenn
poral. All about us they are prone to live
as if man did live by bread alone, and
where this is true they will have bread on
any terms, and getting it becomes the con-
suming passion of life. By choosing, in.
stead, the hunger that resulted from dwell.
ing in the will of God, rather than the
passing qualification gotten at the price OF
discbedience, our Master won for US the
great initial victory over temptation, and
by His spirit and example has been lead
ing millions to victory along the same
path ever since.
In the second temptation-1 take the
order given in St. Matthew as the natura
order-the point of attack has changed
The tempter had sought to overthrow the
obedience Of Christ by an assault upon
His physical appetites and faith in His
Fathers care. He had overcome the temp.
in God. So now the attack is made upon
Him through that very trust. An un:
swerving loyalty and confidence in the will
of God has been discovered. That loving
trust it was which made Him choose. to
suffer the pangs OF hunger. rather than
arbitrarily terminate them by miracle
wrought for Himself All. then, here is
His strength, so near by. there must lurk
His weakness! Then" we read, "the
devil talseth Him into the holy city and
setteth Him upon that corner of the wing
of the temple which overlooks from its
dizzy height the priests court below,
where the thousands of Jewish pilgrims
have gathered from all over the world:
If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself
down. That will be an ideal and perfect
test of your filial relation and your
Fathers care for You. Descend, heaven
borne, into the midst of priests and people,
win instantly the aeclamation and popu-
lar welcome which You will else have to t.
conquer by long years of suffering and fail
ure. What worship and honor and homage
will he Yours! How quickly You will stand
at the head of believing Israel! Surely,
there is nothing to fear, for 1t IS written,
He shall give His angels charge, concern,
ing Thee; and on their hands they shall
bear Thee up, lest, haply, Thou dash Thy
foot against stone.
The very choice of the location of the
temptation attests the subtlety of the
temnter. He is taken to the Holy City
and to a pinnacle, or wing, of the temple.
Think what must have been Jesus sacred
love for Jerusalem and how naturally and
deeply His mind would have been lnfiu-
enced by the surroundings. Al the pas
sionate religious patriotism Of His nature,
all His deepest springs OF feeling would be
touched by the sacred associations of the
Holy City. Beautiful for elevation: the
iov nf tie whole earth. the city Of the