Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-01-04
lI77as POPULAR
lfMSA PULPIT

! Therefore. glorify God in your body"
N every age men have lavished trtas-
ure time and toll upon temples, upon
| buildings where they supposed Col
dwelt, but, says the apostle. ii is a far
nobler ambition and a more acceptable
service to perfect the human body,
Gods living, breathing, throbbing.
thinking conscious temple.
The Greeks developed the intellect
and the body. Their civilization failed
| because they ignored the spiritual But
the Christian should develop the entire
man, body. mind, and spirit. Man
should glorlfy God with his body as
truly as his spirit, for they are both
Gods, "Glorify God in yonr body,
which is his" Are we doing this?
Are we keeping our bodies clean
with water and sweet with purity?
These hearts, hands. feet, eyes. ears
and tongues of ours are put parts Of
our bodies, which should be used only
in acts, deeds and words that will goi-
rify God.
! The tongue Is one of the most unruly
parts of our bodies, and perhaps it is
| harder to glorify God at all times with
| it than with any other member. If
| there had been a stenographer for
| every one of us for the last month and
he had taken down every word that
escaped our lips, all that we have said,
either in earnest jest, joke, insinuation
or oath, and it should be read out here
| tonight before this congregation.
would not some things be heard which
would not make your Savior and mine
appear glorious?
| Again, there are other sins which SO
| degrade and defile the body as to make
| it II theme too painful for children Of
God, of refinement and culture and del
| icate sensibilities to dwell upon. To
| speak on this theme from the pulpit
surely requires the most infinite rev.
erence l have always hesitated here
| lest my rebukes should be like the lights
of ancient Pharos, which at times oc-
| casioned the loss of the very ships
they were meant to save. But, friends,
young and old. | would persuade you
with tears in soul, if not in eyes, that
there is no enemy SO dangerous, de-
| grading and destructive to the human
| body as the sin of unchastityr
! If you will not be wOoed by persua-
sive appeals. l beseech you in the
name of Jesus. who died for II
body as well as your soul, to be arous-
ed by those awful words of inspira-
ton, Him that defileth the body God
| will destroy"
| Remember that the vicious and vir-
tuous life has physical basis; that
little by little you are establishing in
your bodies trunk lines of virtue or
trunk lines of vice: that every volun-
! tary act, whether good or evil, beats
| its own PAN a little smoother for an
other Of like cii91dcter, and renders it
! just that much more difficult for one
of the opposite nature to get the right
way.
SO every day we fo low any sin.
whatever it may be, we are voluntar-
! lily strengthening with on own blood
meshes of our own physical organism,
which shall soon bind us b 'dy and
soul, wretched slaves to the passions
and appetites of our own nurturing-
All character has physical basis, and
character determines destiny, both
in this world and in the world to
come.
Life is no fiction, neither is the
Judgment a fiction. We shall all be
judged for what we We're and what we
are in body and in spirit Heaven is
no dead level but the eternities for US
depend upon what we are in this
world in body and soul.
Our character! Our real self, What
we are through and through in body
and in spirit, that alone determines
what we are to be in the world to
come. And what we are here and now
depends solely ON what we do with
Jesus.