The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-12-01
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED.
"FREEpoM IN CHRISTI"
The Rev. Edward Hunting Rudd Shows
How Faith Unfolds sItself in Many
Forms of Christian Experience-Re-
nentance Grouth and Service.

preached Sunday morning in the Tomp-
kins Avenue Congregational Church to a
large audience. His subject was Free
dom in Christ" and the text was from
John H.: l3 and Il: But as many as
received Him to them gave He the right
to become children of God, even to them
that believe on His name, who were born
not of blood nor of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man, but of God" Mr..
Rudd said:
Can l do as 1 please? Or must will to
do as another pleases? Am l free agent
or are limitations placed upon me? Is lib
erty unrestrained freedom, or am l the
more truly free when my actions and
words are controlled by divine laws, i'm
posed willingly upon man by his own en-
lightened self?
To answer these questions inteiligently,
clearly and helpfuliy takes US at once into
that field of Christian sociology and OF the
interrelation of man with man and of man
with his God which SO engages the atten-
ton of men everywhere to-day. The place
and duty of the church is very clear. it
is to show men in the spirit of candor, OF
sympathy, OF open mindedness, of toler-
ance, that the word of God gives US great
elemental teachings by a master thinker
and reasoner. who was divine and who
claims the right to influence men. The so.
called great problems of labor and capital
will find permanent solution only by
the arbitrament of the Man OF Galiiee.
But it is your duty and mine to remind
ourselves and others that according as we
God in Christ shall the problems of life
be met and be grappied and worth while
results be achieved.
We are here to-day to ask entrance into
the light. We are here to know more
truth, so that truth may make us free.
We long to know how to be happily and
contentedly free. To have our freedom
so used that everywhere men shall recog-
nize it as the article they wish, and. pos
sessing it with us, We shall together make
men strong. Bearing one another's bur-
dens we shall surely fulfill in part the law
OF Christ The gospel of st: John, sim
pie yet profound, shows us how to gain
freedom in Christ. 1t reminds us what ls
SO necessary to recall in this easy going;
non.thinking age, viz, that in no real and
permanent sense are men children Of God
until Christ has made them such by vital
union with Him. That we have no right
TO call ourselves children until God Him.
self transfers that right to us by an act OF
will and obedience on our part, so recog-
nized by Christ, who has in the very pro-
cess OF our obedience done His part. To
claim the friendship of another is not to
possess it. 70 say of Christ and our rela.
tons to Him, as we say OF some well
known people, ooh, yes. know Him well;
He is a warm personal friend" when IN
reality little more than formal lntroduc-
tion has been given, Is in essence to know
only about Him. and that in a formal
sense. instead of being divinely commits.
stoned by the living holy spirit OF God
to be "chiid of God' and an heir with
Christ to eternal life. Manifest.y, then,
this is an important matter to Us all
even to the careless, thoughtless ones who
make up part OF every audience. Have
we any right to call ourselves children
OF God?" And if we have, what has God,
by His regenerating spirit, done in US!
II was our New England poet, Lowell,
who said:
The thing we long for-that we are
For one transcendent moment.
But even the poet fails to be true TO
fact unless we have such definite, genu-
inc faith in Gods power and willingness
to give us Himself and to make us sons
and daughters of the living God. that we
receive Him and by that act avail OF Him
as our Saviour not only for one transcend
ent moment. but for all the moments for
the rest of time, and in that act We ere
born of God, and by that act we are
given the right to become-aye, to be be-
gotten az children OF God.
Almost immediately IN this sublime.
scholarly and heart searching gospel OF
John, that great disciple, speaking the
words o. Christ Himself. begins BY divid-
ING mankind into the same two divisions
which are represented in this audience,
Nvn
have received Him and those who, though
they were His own by creation. received
Him not, by reQenerating faith. And l
want jus: now. il possible, to avoid abb
struse, moss covered theological term5 and
phraseology, and TO c.othe these burning
issues in Simple. clear Bible language, but
none the less to remind ourselves that
many OF us arc longing to get oat into the
open sky, in some OF the o.d fashioned,
necessary doctrines of the word OF God.
We have gotten some OF the choicest and
most essential statements of divine truth
beclouded, and We are not quite sure
where We are May Gods spirit enlight-
ell and allay doubt aad uncertainty on
these truths this day. I'd align Is all
in the comforting strength OF HIS own
soaship. And frankly believe. my broth
er man, We cannot BIZ satisfied IN this sub
lime hour by turning to tie poets, much as
they will uplift and rcs: Us. Even ri.ousn
YOU turn to Emerson, who has been so ez-
aitcd and almost deified by some ii New
England Uritarianism End ask him aoout
man. and in one place be will tell you:
a nan is the whole encyclopedia OF facts.
The creation OF ! thousand forests Is IN
one acorn. and Egypt. Greece. Rome.
Gaul. Britain, America, lie folded already
il the fist man" Yes, potentiaiity lies
enfo!ded. bit naugft else can bring it to
surface aad % living power save the touch
cF Christ the Rcdcencr OF Manhood. Nor
docs the statement of Car.y.e satisfy me.
tcr you -ecal in his essay on character
ist:cs." iIe says: Man stands in the cen
trc OF nature: his fraction OF time. cncir-
c:cd o. eternity. his handbreadth OF space
cnc:,cicd by intinit"Ge." / say this can
NOT satisfy you for you long 10 know how
yor can best live and cXpard. wiliic You
:.rc IN this centre OF nature" and wnere
and row you are II spend eternity. And
You turn to that beautifully human and
real poet. Robert Burns, ard remember
with min, "'Itl5 mar : I man for a that,
and hcra yoa feel thai you may be arsn-
inc in crcic, aud il Burns had only
known more OF the Man OF Calvary, he
would have Eeaa saved many OF the sins
which hligntcd his whole lie. Or you
may stand with that dea: English poet,
GRAY. as from aiar he behold Eton Col
lege and exelaims, An. tell them they are
- 4 Al. "a