The Penn's Grove record., 1906-04-06

an he sald. lie claimed to be the
Messiah and He claimed to bring about
the kingdom of God by diffusing the
spirit Of hope and faith and good will.
The apostles went forth and preached
what? Not the Ten Commandments
or the Sermon on the Mount, but This
is the Messiah. The Deliverer is
In the nature of the case He
could not do it alone. If it were to be
some sudden upheayal, some cata-
clysm, some march of armies. it could
De done in a single period, but if good
Will, peace and universal helpfulness
were TO be brought about, that would
take generations. That must 90 from
kingdom to kingdom, from city to city
and nation to nation. And so He called
a few men to carry the message-frst
twelve, then seventy. Then He died.
Then, after His resurrection, He sent
others. He sent them in the spirit Of
good will and helpfulness, to heal the
sick, cleanse the leper and restore COM
fort to the sorrOwing. To minister to
everybody, rich, poor, wise, ignorant,
to the Jew and the Gentle,
There was something more. In all
ages men have believed in some great
occult power lying back of the phe-
nomena of nature. The Jews thought
there was n great God who inexor-
ably demanded righteousness Of His
people, and Jesus said, God is such a
n as l am, actuated by the same
spirit. In My life and teachings 1 am
interpreting this great Infinite Power,
this just, wise God, this eternal Infinite
Presence" And He illustrated His
meaning by the parable of the king
whose subjects rebelled against him;
by the parable of the lost sheep and
the parable of the prodigal son. That
is the kind Of Father that God is" said
Jesus.
There is still more in Christ's mes
sage. In all ages men have been try
ing to get to this unknown God. They
have said: 1--WE have done wrong, we
have aroused the wrath of this God.
He is right to be angry with US. How
shall we appease His anger? We will
offer sacrifices" 1t is difficult in this
twentieth century to realize what wor-
ship was twenty centuries ago. Pic
ture the temple, the altar, the white
robed priests. All around in the outer
court the cooling of doves, the bleating
of sheep, and within, by this altar, a
butchers shop, a shambles. Priests
cutting the threats of lambs and cattle
and the blood flowing in great rivers
out from under the altar. Why? Be-
cause these people thought God had a
right to be angry-and they were right.
He had a right to be angry-and they
thought He was angry-and they were
half right in that-and they thought
the way to peace was by sacrifice, and
they were wrong in that. Jesus
offered a sacrifice, so far as we know,
or told anybody else to offer sacrifice.
This world is Gods reformatory and
what He has done is this: His Marshal
has come for you and me. Has He
come in power, with greatness of riches
or wonderful display OF intellectual
wisdom? No. Come how? In sympa-
thy, in tenderness, in love, in purity
and truth and righteousness. We can
see no way to happiness save by en-
downing with truth and purity and
righteousness. He has come to uS-to
you and me.
He says, "You can do the same
thing" You say: 81 have no power"
Neither had l." 81 have not wealth"
Neither had L" II was not an eccle-
siastic." Neither was l." Come TO
Me: get My spirit; live as I lived; be
willing to lay down your life for others,
as 1 was for you"
1 have tried this morning to get be-
hind all definitions, all creedal state
ments, not because 1 think they are
bad. but because 1 am sur the spirit
of Christ transcends all definitions and
creedal statements. Christianity! What
is it? 1t is the new doctrine of God.
1t is the new faith in God. 1t is the
faith of God, who is in His world as
He was in Jesus Christ. comforting the
sorrowing. helping the tempted, in
structing the ignorant. 1t is the new
hope. the hope of the kingdom of God
that is coming. There is coming the
time when men will give to their fell
low men fair, honest, generous meas
ures and will do unto others as they
would be done unto" That is right
eousnesS. There is coming a time when
there will be peace in every heart be-
cause it is at harmony with itself, and
peace in the whole world between man
and man. nation and nation. And 1t IS
a new hope that Christianity brings
when it says: Now, you can work for
that because you are working in the
spirit of the Eternal. and it is the spirit
of good will, of service, of sacrifice, OF
laying down our lives for others as He
laid down His life for us"
Christianity! What is it? 1t is that
"God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him might not perish, but
have everlasting life" That is the the
ology Of Christianity. THE kingdom
of God is at hand" That is the hope of
Christianity. "A new commandment
give 1 unto you: that We love n anoth-
er as 1 have loved you" That is the
law of Christianity.