The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-04-29
THE PULPIT.
a SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. ROBERT ROGERS.
Theme: Overcoming EVIL.

Brooklyn. N. Yin the Church OF
the Good Shepherd, the rector, the
Rev. Dr.. Robert Rogers, preached
Sunday morning on Overcoming
Evil" The text was from Romans
1921: BE not overcome of evil,
but overcome evil with good" DR..
Rogers said:
This is the closing verse of a rather
remarkable chapter. The words i'm
mediately preceding my text, If
thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he
thirst, give him drink" BLESS them
which prosecute you, bless and curse
not" do not sound like the words of
a Jew who was trained under the
maxims, love thy neighbor and hate
thine enemy. They have much more
the sound of the voice of Jesus, who
said, Love your enemies" 1t is
very impressive to think how deeply
Jesus was able to fasten His peculiar
teaching upon a man like Paul, who
had been trained in the religious
philosophy of the old schools.
Paul has lost his old prejudices; he
has separated himself from the mar
row tenets of Judaism; he has i'm
bibed the spirit of Christ; he has been
born again into a new world of moral
philosophy, and he has been regarded
as the best interpreter of the Cos
pei of Christ among the writer's of the
New Testament. Luther said the
Epistle to the Romans is a complete
epitome of the Gospel. In u text
Paul has something to say about evil
and something to say about good.
He does not deny the existence of
evil, as some moderns are doing; he
does not pass it over as merely good
in the making" He says, "Abhor
that which is evil" hate it, fight it,
overcome it. But while he thus pre-
sents the reality of evil and the i'm
portant influence it has in human ex-
perience, yet he looks upon it as
something to be conquered, to be
eliminated from life. He looks upon
it as only a temporary condition of
things. 1t is not a necessary COM
plement of character. He says, BE
not overcome of evil" therefore, a
man can be free from it.
1t is a matter of very great i'm
portance to every man to be sure Of
this truth, that sin is not a necessity
of his being; many a man is in deep
Encouragement because he has been
taught the permanence of this in
eradicable faint of SIM" this neces-
sary weakness and frailty Of human
nature.
Paul has a much finer conception of
a mans possibilities. BE not over
come of evil, but overcome evil with
good" is his message to every mans
soul, and in this he is but following
his Master, who said" Be We perfect
even as your Father in Heaven is per-
feet" Thus if we follow Paul's teach
ing it will be wise for us to know of
a certainty that there is evil in the
world, that we can know it inwardly
by conviction, that W e can know it.
outwardly by it's consequences. But
let US at the.same time know that we
have the power to be separate and
tree from it and the ability to con-
luer it.
Paul has also a philosophy of good.
Good is the power which overcomes
evil: While evil is transient and TEN;
eternal. Good comes from God.
Wherever evil is present bring good
to meet it. Wherever hatred is pres
cnt bring love to conquer it. Wher-
ever ignorance and superstition is
present bring truth to enlightea it.
Wherever lust and impurity are pres
ent bring love and purity. Wherever
unbelief and recklessness al present
bring your faith to victory. Wher-
ever despair or moral rebellion is
present bring hope. Wherever strife
and enmity are present bring charity.
This is Paul's philosophy of good
overcoming evil. Once set free the
forces of good in a mans individual
life he will be saved from wrong.
Once set free and active the forces of
God in a community or city and evil
will be destroyed. This is not a mere
system of theory or speculation; it
has the power of demonstration be-
hind it. The experiences of life are
full of illustrations of this fact, but
let me especially tell you something
about a wonderful work being done
in Emanuel Church, Boston, and
which is being taken up by other
churches, and will grow more and
more widely as it is investigated and
its marvellous power comprehended.
The whole genius of this great
work lies in the power of good over
coming evil. The two clergymen in
that church are curing men and wom-
en- of such evils as drunkenness, drug
habits, gambling, kleptomania, muir
derous impulse, despair and morbid
ness, leading to :i.icidal mania, and
mental prostration. A young woman
was recently cured of the habit Of
lying and %impudence to parents and
teachers, a very g%rievous afliction
which seemed impossible of cure by
the best skill and advice. These are
a type of a hundred other evils which
yield to this new method Of treat
ment. You will notice that each II
has it's basis IN moral disorder Of
some kind, and I have nc doubt what
ever that every moral delinquency is
remediable in the same way.
The method by which this moral
healing is accomplished is plain to
every student of psychology, but it
is not easy to explain to others. The
point of great interest to you and
me, ordinary people, is this: There
seems TO be in every human being
what is called a sub-consciou.ness, or
sublimal self. In other words, q
substratum of morality-a foundation
moral nature. 1t is 10 this funda-
mental moral nature that these heal
ers appeal. When the man afflicted
with the cursed habit Of drunken
ness applies for relief, he is put into
a hypnotic sleep, which frees him
from the ordinary cares of everyday
experience. While in this state of
sleep, this moral nature of which