The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-10-25
THE PULPIT .
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. w. H. BURCWIN.
Subject: Sowing and Reaping.

day morning on Sowing and Reap
ing" His text was chosen from Gal
latians kits: BE not deceived; God
is not Knocked; for whatsoever man
soweth, that shall he also reap. For
he that soweth to the flesh shall OF
the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the spirit shall Of the spirit
reap life everlasting" Mr.. Burgwin
said:
Our statement Of the substance of
Christian doctrine in the four preced.
ing discourses has presented the Crea-
tor of all things as merciful and
bouDtifuI Provider for His creatures.
Man, because OF unique relationships
to God, is the object of His particu-
lar and peculiar favor. Insisting that
AL have sinned and come short OF
the glory of God" the divine love
finds way to satisfy infinite justice
and to redeem for eternity every SIN
ner who will be saved. The nature of
the sinner, as created, preciudes the
idea or the possibility OF compulsion.
There is, however, a too general ten
dency to discount Scriptural teachings
to feel that Cod having done so
much for man, will do more, that. in
some way, comfortable and blissful
future is assured us, even though un-
belief and disobedience mark our con-
duct here. The apostle combats such
a conception. Jesus Himself contra
diets it: "Ye cannot serve God and
Mammon." The Scriptures uniformly
oppose t by precept and example.
1t is my task this morning to en-
force this thought: ALI men are re-
deemed by Christ; but we are not
saved from our guilt and its fixed
penalty until we are in accord with
Christ and the divine plan. What the
sowing is the harvest will be. This
is the truth as taught US.
Our text is a warning-an unmistak-
able danger signal. This warning is
given in view of real dangers appar-
ent to all observers of human nature.
1t assures us that God does not make
spiritual OF moral paupers Of men.
Men cannot be redeemed without God;
but, in the divine economy, God does
not save the man without the man
himself. The man, in addition to
Gods work, must work out his own
salvation. For man there is a sowing
and there is reaping. There is good
seed for sowing in moral and spirit
ual SOIL; there is other seed which de-
velOpS degraded human character.
Man selects his own seed and sows it.
The seed proceeds to follow the law
of nature. 1t brings forth after its
kind-noisome weeds or golden grain.
It is an eternal harvest Of "corrup-
ton" or of Everlasting life" Even
if man be deceived, God is not Knocked.
This Scripture warns us that every
mortal has freedom to direct his own
career within well known fields, for
good or evil. Above the human actor
is the Divine Governor, who will not
compel human loyalty, but who, rul-
ing in more extensive fields than the
merely finite and human, invariably
directs the mortal to the future his
own freedom has chosen, to the reap
ing Of the harvest his own life has
soWn. Thus it is clear that. mans
destiny is in his own control.
1t becomes apparent that this uni
versal governor in administering his
government is not anarchic.i He is the
supreme exponent Of order and law;
He, the arch-opponent Of confusion.
All disorder tends to confusion, in
particular as in universal dominion.
The human sinner is a begettor Of
confusion in that he interferes with
law and order. He thus challenges
the divine wisdom, power and will.
He is rebel against the Creator and
Ruler of all things. Were all nature
to follow him, the original chaos and
anarchy would prevail in all realms.
Perfect order in human life would
bring man to the perfect destination
for which he was originally designed.
That perfect order becomes q real fact
for man through Jesus Christ, who is
the eXemplar OF that order, who His
own self bare our sins in His own
body on the tree, that we, being dead
to sin, should live unto righteousness;
by whose stripes ye were healed" II
we encourage sin in our lives, If we
do not persistently resist the devil, we
are sowing accursed seed; we are not
dead to sins, we do not live unto right
eousness; consequently, that perfect
order is not an actuality for us, though
it remains a possibility, because of the
divine mercy and our ability to sow
the seed of repentance, by Gods help,
if we will.
Evidently, then. the glorious destin-
alton of man as described in Scripture,
bringing the creature back to his lost
estate, where he is conformed to the
image Of Him who is the express
image of Gods substance, is not an
arbitrary goal to which every creature
move whether or no. The attainment
of that destination is matter of
choice and decision on the part of the
creature-that decision and choice in
dicating his accord with the will and
plan of the Creator. Man has goal,
a great purpose for living, set before
him. the life everlasting" of our text,
toward which it is his personal re-
sponsibility and duty intelligently to
direct his way. He is not like the crick-
ct. If you have ever noticed this in
sect in an open space, bound for some
where, you will remember that he
spring 4 foot or so into the air, turns
a Somersault or two at each jump,
his course being zigZag and uncertain.
as likely to terminate in one place as
another. so far as you can determine.
Many mortals do resemble the insect,
with this exception. that the unintel-
ligent, zigzag course cannot possibly
bring them to the right destination.
That this zigzag course exists indi-
Gates that the truth has been perverted.
Men have been deceived. In their con-
fident intellectual self-conceit they
have proclaimed various notifications
of the Christian plan as we possess it.
In their reasonings and speculations
they have argued that loving God
would not do this. that He would not