The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-01-24
The PULPIT.
xScHoLhRLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. EDWARD NILES.
Subject: Godliness In Form.

Holding q form OF SOullness, uut AdT-
ing denied the power thereof" DE
said: ,
That distance lends enchantment
to the view" is true Of time as well
as space. The. older we grow, the
more immaculate appear the imagined
days of youth. Christian believers are
purer in our eyes in proportion to the
number of centuries that intervene.
Within the covers of every volume OF
sermons whether written il one age
OF another, are the well-nigh certain
ieremiads over these time Of extreme
worldliness, unequaled love OF money,
peculiar Indifference to spiritual
things" followed by laudations OF
the apostolic age as the golden era OF
Christianity. -:
A reconstruction Of conditions exist
ing in those New Testament ehurcnes
from materials afforded US IN the
epistles, warrant no such assumption.
Heresies then were rampant, lncon:
sistent lives numerous. backsllders
distrassingly frequent. The things OF
sense mace cogent appeal. The husks
of the gospel often satisfied to the dis
regard of its kernel. Paurs descrip-
ton of 1.-The last days" was based upon
facts about him. AS he penned the
sentence Of ous text, he probably had
in mind fellow communicates who
held the form Of goodness, but denied
the power thereof.
Since then outward changes nave
been many, kingdoms have come and
gone. languages have Lied and been
born church order and ritual been met
amorphosed. Human nature Is IN
affected by time or cline. So the New
Testament is not a graveyard, WIN
epitaphs of only antiquarian interest,
but is Photographic Of contemporary
heart throbs.
In our Borough of Brooklyn are 1885,
67S people holding to the Protestant
form of goodness. While statistics
are unable to figure out how many
hold to the Protestant power thereof,
if form and power were identical, not
one of the buildings where divine wor-
ship is being held tonight would haVe
a vacant seat and every theatre and
hall would be utilized for overflow
meetings.
The original of deny" has as its
root meaning mot to seek" Hold
ing a form Of goodness, they have not
sought for its power" The world mas
much to say about hypocrites. l be-
lieve the outcry against them Is Out
of all proportion TO their numbers.
The conscious hypocrite to-day is a
rare bird. I have made frequent hunts
or him. Despite the most diligent
search, I have seldom found him.
The number Of those called hypo-
critics, who would rightly be c%atalogued
as Journalists, is legion. They are not
striving to deceive others. They sue
coed in their strivir to deceive them
selves. Satisfied with the appurte-
nances, the trappings of goodness,
they inquire no further. Attendants
upon the services of the church, mem
bers of it, supporters of its outward &C
tivities, they fancy themselves to be
godly. Branded as Christians, they
but feebly apprehend what disrepute
they bring upon the name by their IN
feriority to the real article. Their
g~ullibility is wrongly taken for n.y.
pocrisy. They submit to the drudgery
of religion to pacify troublesome con-
sciences and impose upon themselves.
An important reason for so many
lapses from church membership is be-
cause so many become dissatisfied with
q form, vet fail to seek the reality, so
give up all.
Almost every one in this congrega-
ton. has a form of godliness. You look
good. i find little to criticise in what
you do. for there is so little you do on
-,L.aL 4o hocn N nriftpicm Tho fCn11hIQ
lies in what you do not. You may
have called me here to predigest your
spiritual food. to relieve you from
6rst-hand study Of the Bible, to rep
resent your church not only in Chassis
but in the tenement, to be your proxy
in heart to heart work for souls, your
substitute when the battle is on be-
tween good and evil, while you 60
your business and household ways dur
ing the week and on Sunday enjoy
your cushions ed pews, criticise the ser
mon and singing.
The Lord never called me to any like
task. If there has been any such tacit
agreement 1 now repudiate 1t. l am
called Of God to point out the forms
Of goodness as means of obtaining its
power. .
The imperative needs of our invent
i've age have almost bodily transferred
to our language the Greek here rem
dered power" in the word dynamo.
I believe in forms, just as the railroad
engineer believes in the third rafl, as
he believes in the elevated structure OH
the Williamsburg Bridge. But the
mass of iron is a senseless eyesore un-
til it is connected with the main line.
Even then it is useless until. related
to the power house, until the power,
the fre-fed dynamo, sends forth the
electric current, enabling the cars to
carry thousands of wage-earners to and
from their places Of everyday toll.
What private concern would be so in
n as to sink for two years such a
wealth of money in an enterprise for
accommodating rust?
The forms of religion are essential as
preliminaries to the accessories of
power. Churches, ministers. Bibles
were instituted and have been perpet-
uated because divihely ordained and
humanity tested to be good for making
the kingdom of heaven go upon
earth. In themselves, they have no
value. The power Of goodness gener-
ated in Christian lives must electrify
them or they are encumbrances.
You are commissioned to lead others
to Christ. Your commission gives you
power to act" Are you availing your"
self Of that privilege? l find no verse
in the Scripture which reads BE good
and you will be a Christian" I find
reiterated, over and over. do good"
Christianity is not colOrlessness. 1t
has no minus sign. 1t is ever positive.
A negative being is peculiarly abhor-
ront To Him uhosa hinst.anhY ia eni-