The Penn's Grove record., 1906-08-17
II PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
REV. /. W. HENDERSON.
Subject: The Christ Life.

~
10 live is Christ" He said in the
course of his sermon:
1t is my desire to convey to yonr
minds and to press lastingly upon
your hearts some homely, yet help
full, truths relative - the Christ life.
Persuaded Of the similarity of your
cares, trials, difficulties, problems. to
my own, and recognizing the com
mon needs OF all men, I would talk
to you about this text.
Horace, the old Roman poet, sings
the praises of him to whom it is
sweet and honorable to die for his
Country. I bring to you from the
Book of Books nc note of death, but
a psalm of life. For me to live is
Christ" and to pass beyond the veil
is but to enter into life more abund-
ant" Thus says Paul. For him and
for us there is no death. To live the
Christ life here is to dwell within the
glory of His presence there. For
me to live is Chris+"-a plan of self
dedication to His service here, Al
earnest of our entrance into joy
eternal there. For apart from Me
We a do nothing" saith the Lord.
ST. Paul, the most strenuous of
Christians, epitomizes the Christian
life in these words to the church at
Philippi. His utterance states the
sum and substances of the complete
spiritual life. Our aim and our
pleasure it should be, as it is our
duty, as men and women who love
u Lord, to so live, that men, look
ing upon us, may view in us the
risen Christ.
The text presents to our minds a
fourfold thought. Broadly speaking
we may say that men have four rela-
lions in this life-to God, to society,
to the home and to themselves. To
set forth the same thought different
ly: Men have spiritual, civil, domes-
tic and personal duties. Relation
might be multiplied upon relation;
duty upon duty could be indefinitely
remarked. But that would be to
suggest subdivisions rather than fun
damentals. Indeed, I am cognizant
that. the moral duty to the home ray
easily be included under the head of
social relations. But for the pur-
pose of the moment we will resolve
the ethics of the Christ life into the
aforementioned divisions.
The first, the greatest, the noblest
imperative in the life of the mar who
desires to conform to the pattern of
the true Christ life, who wishes to
make the words of Paul his motto
for right living, is to love and to
serve and obey our Heavenly Father.
I. may say that the whole duty of
man is bound up in this declaration.
For, christianity speaking, there is
no department of life into which the
service of our God does not enter.
Loyalty to God is the basis of all
purest living and highest thinking.
To be true to the Father is to be
loyal to society and strong for self.
We may not be true to God and I'M
true to the social, civil and domestic
conditions with which the mere fact
of life c%onfronts us.
THE earth is the Lords and the
fulness thereof" sings the psalmist.
To be a traitor to the world is to be
craven toward the Maker. We nay
not praise God with our lips and dis
obey Him in our every act. Our
words, honeyed though they be, will
count naught for is unto righteous
ness. The test of fealty is in action.
We must measure true to the ideals
that we preach. Prayer and praise
are worthy, but they are not service.
Prayer pleases God and it strength
n us. Praise, no doubt, makes JOY
among the angels who surround the
throne. But it is the service which
does things; the prayer which re-
solves itself into action; the praise
that is founded upon the knowledge
of a task, through His grace, well
done, which makes most for pleasure
and for JOY in the heart of our King.
The Christ was true to God and to
man and to self. The happiness of
His Fathers universe was His hope
and care. To His home, to His
neighbors, to His country, to all
trusts, the Saviour was faithful. He
had an eye singly toward holy and
hallowing service. Preaching a Cos
pei of life, He lived a life of love.
And so, to be like Christ we lust
live like Christ. His hopes must be
u hopes; His pleasures must be
our pleasures. The motive in His
life must be the force which, in our
lives, will make for goodness and
goodness. And goodness is but
goodness raised to infinity.
AS the Christ was, so must the
Christian be, truly spiritual. His
guide and his guard must be the
Comforter who cometh from above.
Divinity, deep down in his heart, will
be the power and the handspring in
his life.
Christianity is pure politics, clean
business methods, sturdy honesty
ao1 ,1A114 ~Y,ra4-A oil 14n1lnd :nfn
one. A clear conscience means a
brave ballot; and, conversely, a dirty
ballot means a smeared soul. Up
right business methods earn their
own reward; perhaps not in unde-
served dividends and wrongly divid-
ed or diverted profits, but in happi-
ness of heart. Honesty is but a step
toward holiness. Nobility and sin
certify are mighty forces. And these
facts the civic and the business
worlds are recognizing more and
more. Dishonesty is a bad asset;
and the Christian man, who stands
four square to the world upon the
rock Christ Jesus. is to have the call.
Time-serving politicians may scott;
those who define character in the
terms of preferred stock, and who
prefer gold to goodness, may con-
tinue to misjudge what is highest in
life; sin may seem still to have the
stranglehold upon the world; Chris
tians may stumble, yea fall, upon the
Kings highway, be dereliet to duty
and to faith, may initiate poor, fore
warned Peter and deny the Christ,
but sle eternal principles of individ-
ual and OF social righteousness are
b and to win.
But while many Of us are, through
the grace of God, enabled to approx
mate righteousness in our wider So
cial relations, there are but few of
us who are Christlike in the home
life. I have sinned must be our
plea; for pardon must be our prayer.
A renewed life must be our resolu-
ton, that Christ may be our portion.
The gross sins of the believing
Christian are, largely, not those of
immense or awful delinquency. Host
of us managed to keep out of prison.
FEY. of us have to stand for 1rial
upon charges of overt crime. Most
q. US, by the mercy of God, are guilt