The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-06-02
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON sf
THE REV. JOHN c, AGAR
Subject: The first Temptation.

tSwedennorgianl, iae pastor, the heN.
john q. Ager. preached on The First
Temptation. The text was from Mat
thew iv:l-i: Then was Jesus led mp
into the desert by he spirit 20 be
tempted by the aevil. And having
tasted forty days and forty nights. he
after that was hungry. And the
tempter came 10 Him and said. IL thou
art the Son OF God speak, in order that
these stones may become loaves. But
He answering said, IL has been writ.
ten, Not by bread alone shall man
live. but by every wore that goeth
forth from the mouth OF God" Mr..
Ager said:
The gospel o. Matthew describes
specifically three temptations OF the
Lord in the wilderness immedla .sly
after His baptism. The form OF
the narrative suggests at once that
these stories are not history. but are
parallels. which picture the three gen.
eral ways in which fallen humanity
is approached and enticed = Internal
influences. Aud when so understood
they become In the fullest sen-e a
revelation OF divine truth 10 men. And
so understood they suggest az once
that there is some sort OF threefold
ness in our spiritual experiences. And
when we examine our spiritual ex-
perienceS carefully we are able 10 dis.
tinguiSh in our inner life three distinct
planes Of thought and feeling.
The first or lower OF these three
planes OF lie we are all familiar with.
Ii includes all thoughts and feelings,
all motives and impulses and appetites
that have reference exclusively 10 our
life in this world. This we call the
natural man.
Distinctly above this lies what we
call ordinarily the religious life. Its
thoughts and feelings and motives
have primary reference 10 those inter
ests that outlive our life in this world.
Its largest and dominant factors are
faith. conviction and duty. Faith
and conviction are beliefs, though be-
liefs have been touched and quickened
by religious emotion. Duty is the con-
duct that belief or faith or conviction
imposes that is. the dominion OF truth
over the lower impulses and appetltes.
Consequently this realm OF the life Is
predomnantly intellectual. lts dom
inant impulse is love OF truth and 10y
atty 10 truth 1t lies distinctly above
the natural man and is called the spir-
itual man.
These two realms Of thought. feeling
and action we can easily distinguish.
They make up the twofold life OF every
man who is honestly trying TO live n
true life in the world. But they evi.
dently do not include the highest spir-
itual possibilities OF human life. There
10 another realm OF life clearly set be.
fore us in the divine word, although
few Christians know practically much
about II. 1t is. in fact, the essence OF
all religious life. Ii is the life that Is
defined and cnjoined in the two great
commandments, TO love the Lord our
God with all our heart and soul and
mind and strength and 20 love our
neighbor as ourselves. This means
that the essence OF the heavenly life Is
love and whenever that gains posses
sion Of us, faith. conviction and duty
will all be swallowed up In love. We
shall sec with the eyes OF love and act
always from the impulse OF love. Love
going upward TO God and outward tc
man will be the sole motive power OF
I the life This is the highest state OF
man. the highest attainment OF human
nature. and may very properly bC
termed dlstlnctively the heavenly OF
celestial life.
There are, then. three distinct re
Gions Of life in us. The complete mar
Is n three-storied being. Consequently
there must be corresponding three
foldness in all our spiritual expert
ences. And it is this distinction tina
is pictured In these three typical tempt
atlons OF our Lord. The first is typ'
OF the temptations that belong TO tn,
lower or natural degree OF the mind
the second 10 spiritual and the thirC
TO the celestial or heavenly.
/ The first temptation is pictured as aI
/ appeal 10 a physical appetite. Afte
/ the forty days and nights OF fastinl
/ Jesus was hungry and there was moth
! ing TO satisfy His hunger. and IL II
suggested by the tempter that He con
vert into lOaves Of bread some Of tn,
stones that covered the ground.
This physical picture has very evi
IDENTIFY spiritual meaning. whicl
deals, not with the mere body and ~
cravings but with the essential maj
and his cravings and requirements. !
/ deals with the most universal fact o
human nature. hich is hunger. From
the merely material activities OF hl
/ physical body up 10 the highest activ
/ ity OF his spiritual nature man Is, In
sense, n mere bundle OF hungers Ant
/ this is true because be Is merely re
cipient; and every minutest vesicle o
/ both body and soul Is a mouth clamor
/ ing 10 be fed. But IL Is only n smal
/ part OF this universal hunger that w
are conscious OF. As in the body som
Of the more general organs make u
conscious of their needs when they ar
not supplied, while the needs Of th
numberiess smaller organs and veslcle
are met by physical processes that W
are wholly unconscious Of. so OF tl
uniyersae~a e~aunger OF the spirit only
small part ever falls within our con
sclousness. And this IS 80 because th
Lord requires OF Va only 30 much a
He must require Of Us 90 make u
images and llkeuesses OF FImself 7
be that % is Necessary that we shoulu
contribute 10 our life q certain neasur
Of activity and effort and co-operatio
and reciprOcatiOn. And 20 secure that
some Of the more external hungers 0
the body and Of the mind appeal 4
Us strongly enough 10 prompt Us 4
such action as is necessary 90 satisf
them.
hut IN our present condition all th
hungers Of Our natural life are more o
less perverted hungers. which seek "a
perverted and unhealthy satisfaction
And this we begin 10 recognize ns 500
as we begin 10 see what the true III
sf man is. The first evils the trut
reveals 90 Us are the indulgence q
wrong appetitcs. and passions. an
cravings. and the first task the trut
lmnn.na ON ua Is % refuse % iMns