The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-04-25
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SUNDAY SERMON 4:
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A Scholarly Discourse By !
Rev. DR.. II. NJ. Sanders. =
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venue Baptist Church. in the absence
OF the pastor. the Rev. Or. Robert
Macdonald. the pulpit was occupied
Sunday morning by the Rev Henry NJ.
Sanders ID. D.. of Manhattan. The
preachers subject was "The Characte
of Jesus" His text was Matthew
xxii.42 "What think We of Christ?
Whose Son Is He?" and he said
The character of Christ is the ulti-
mate fact In Christianity. 1t Is the
central citadel of our faith. What
Hugomont was to Waterloo the charac-
ter of our Lord is to our religion.
Around il the fiercest fight and blood
TEST carnage ragged but IL was found
impregnable. and because il was not
captured Napoleon was defeated. So
the character OF Christ stands to Chris
tendon. II Vt could be shown to be
false all would be gained by its foes.
but that character stands because 1t
comes out of the flames OF criticism.
without so much as the smell Of fire
upon its garments. Who Christ was
and what He was. therefore. are ques-
tons that have not lest their interest
for mankind. Ever Jesus Christ is the
most powerful spiritual force. He is
to-day what He was for centuries. the
object of the love and reverence of the
good; and the cause of hope and repent
ance TO bad; of strength to the NOR
ally weak. inspiration to the despoId-
ent: consolation TO the desoate; cheer
10 the dying. II has been the incen.
tive OF the most unbOunded benevo-
lence. the most se.f-sncrfclng devo-
ton. the Infinite within the limits OF
our humanity, and faith has baheld in
His stHf ariuoc tbn uprffaa fpr human
sin. Surely no other has done such
work as this He Is to-day the worlds
imperishable wonder: its everlasting
problem The nan who would assail
our faith with a'y degree Of success
must do IL through the Founder
want 20 direct your attention 10 some
of tie features Of that character which
strike Is as being unique.
In the first place. IL is the fi1wless-
ness e. that character. He completely
satisfies our ideal of human virtue.
You cannot thiak OF Cod as being
more holy than He. In the world He
lived 4 perfectly sinIess life Mt all
points. We shall seek la vain FOR any
trace of sin in that life which would
indicate 4 viii detected from God. No
pride. ambition cOvetousEess. malice,
paitprirg with truth. no deviation from
the most exact rectitude. 1t was life
of the highest purity. OF the most i'm
partial equity, uncalculating self-sacri-
fee and sternest veracity. And yet our
Lords faultlessness of character does
not rest upon our inability to detect
evil. H. the first place. He never ac-
knoVledged sin in any form. but lives
Himself free from every kind of sin.
either Of commission or omission. Sin
is the transgression of the law or any
want of conformity thereto. But Jesus
never left undone anything He ought
to have done. He said. 81 have glori-
fed Thee on EARTH" and 81 do always
the things that please Him" He
throws down the challenge. Which
of YOU convinceth Me of sin:'
Then, again, the faultlessress stands
the test # intimacy. "No man is
hero to his valet" said Thackeray.
When Whitfield was asked whether
cer,ain nan were a Christian. he said:
"How dc l know? l have never lived
with him" But the people who lived
with Jesus are the most outspnken in
the expression of His holiness. John
declare that He was "a lamb without
spot or blemish." Such was the testi-
mony Of friends. His SiIlessness
stands the test of enmity. of those who
lay in wait to entrap Hin, and yet
their testimony is explicit. PLATE de-
clared II find no fault in Hint" the
centurion who superintended the Cruci-
fiXion said Truly this was he Son Of
Cod ard the traitOrous disciple de-
clared that he had betrayed iauocent
blood" When we look Into the life OF
Jesus we find that the record sustains
this testimony of friend and foe alike.
He never repents. never expresses re-
Cret for anything. 1t is clear that He
has no cOmpunctions of c1nscier ce. no
feelings of unworthiaess. He tells us
that He goes back TO God untarnished.
And all this in view of the well known
fact that the nearer man lives to God
the more he realizes his defects. The
measure of human perfection is the
conscience. Carlyle says that tae
greatest of faults is to be conscious Of
nothing. The worse a man is the less
conscience speaks to him. If the shield
be dull 're ~ less spots upon 1t make
little difference, but If perfectly pol
isEed one spot mars il.
Jesus never accused Himself. Abra-
han, Moses. Samuel and Ezekiah all
had u acknowledge imperfections.
Peter wept tears and Paul speaks Of
hin self as ''the CHIEF of sinners" Ed
ward Payson says he did not know
auy evil Of which he did not feel the
possibility il his WI nature, and
Jorathan Edwards in writing his diary
stained the manuscript with tears OF
cOntritiOn al he wrote. You detect no
such thing with Jesus. Why? Be
cause he was a Pharlsee, satisfied with
external righteousness Had He fam
tas-c ideas OF holiness? He made tae
most exalted standard for r,en and
yet never gave the slightest intimati m
that He fell below it. lie said: IF ye
(nct WEI repe at" and "Ye mot wei
must he born again" In ali matters
OF human sym juthy where He could
ally Himself with man He did so, but
IN sin He always separated Himself.
The sO-ralled Lords Prayer Is not
the Lords prayer except that He gave
II. When He said. "Our Father. who
are ia heaven. forgive us our sins" 1t
was a prayer He never meant for Him
self, The symmetry OF His character.
the con. .pleteness OF II and the idea Of
goodness which is presented by Him is
harmonious. There is nothing one
sided or narrow which is so often dis
cernible IN the greatest of men. AS a
rule we cannot exemplify one aspect
of human goodness except at the cost
of the rest. 1t would seem as IL nature