The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-10-18

having no need of Christ as a saviour
make of Him only a teacher ana eA-
| ample, or, at best, no more IMAM q
martyr. Having lowered the moral
standards Of the universe to the ieNel
of their limp se~nkmentality, they re-
quire no divine Saviour to hit mem up
| to any higher level OF lie.
Now, however plausible these senti-
| mental theories may be, and however
popular they may be, it IS eVidt1t
that they will not work. Both as
to men and doctrines it IS true tnat
'by their fruits ye shall know them
and the Inevitable fruitage OF law
less sentiInentallty IS laWleSsness III
every department Of life. Men may
call such sentimentaiity "broadness,
"~hberality." tolerance or what not,
but the outcome OF it all IS none the
less da naging to character and de-
structive Of order. In civil lie IL may
| cal itself Humanity but. as Dr.
| White truly affirms it is really the
greatest cruelty.' In religious and
social life the case is just the same
with it. It prattles to the people N
dulcet tones, and destroys them while
it pets them. In the pulpit it IS moth
ing less thar clerical demagogy.
It is time we had done with this
whole type Of things. The moral ma
ture can no more thrive on senseles5
SAGE arinity thar the body can grow
strong on a diet OF sweet meats. There
is a majesty about law that may not
be trified with. There is a sternnesS
about justice that may not be safely
gnored. There is an lnffeN1bllty
about righteousness that may not be
despised. God is love, but His love
is not Indifferent to the distinctions OF
right and wrong. He has some moral
character, and He proposes. out Of
.-.~- Co, tho u,11I hniD" of mara
agents, to enforce His moral laws by
appropriate penalties. indeed, a sys-
tenn of law Without penalties Is no
more than q bundle Of impotent adj
vice. which sinners may trample
under foot at will. All that we know
about Gods government, whether We
draw our differences from the study
of nature or the study of the Scrip
lures, shows US that it is a govern
ment Of unbending Righteousness and
infinite power. II one remain on the
right side of it, it blesSes him with
~boundless mercies; but if he thrust
himself against it, he finds it a con-
Stunning fire. Electricity will light a
mans house, turn his machinery, and
heal his diseases when rightly ap-
piled; but it will also burn his habita-
ton, oyernwhelm his enterprises, and
destroy his life when 1t is wrongly
used. The law of gravity will both
sustain and kill him according to the
attitude which he assumes to 1t. This
seems to be the most merclful ar
rangement Of natures forces for the
welfare of mankind. Any other ar
ranseInent would be fitful and unre-
liable. And the moral law is not less
uniform ana majestic in it's operation
than are the laws Of nature. The soul
that sinneth, it shall die No plea
of "heredity and environment avalls
N.Y. 81 - 81 &,r~
back penalties Of the law which we
nave wilfuIly despised and detied. We
know in our Utmost souls that we are
free, and that our sins are not mis-
fortune, but misconduct. We know
that it is not ignorance, but lnlQufty
which explains our wrong doing. The
simplest among us knows what is
right, and approves It co., however
much he may the wrong pursue.
We need a gospel preached hat
shall recognize these facts, and en-
force Gods lOng-negiected law. If
the reign of sentimentality shall con-
tinue much longer. men will lose the
senses OF sin, and begin to hold that
the only crime in the universe is the
disposition to condemn wrong IN
deed, some have reached that station
Of moral deterioration already. It
has come to pass that the preacher
VINO speaks a stern word on behalf OF
virtue is set on, while he who handles
the word Of God deceitfully and
pleads for selfjndulgence, is set up
by certain classes among us. If a
man agrees with the creed of historic
christianity these classes account him
mean and narrow, but if he proclaim
some parVenu creed of recent prom
inence, he is glorified as a thinker"
MOdiSh vice thus would drive obsolete
virtue out of society in the name Of
good FORM" in order that men might
be saved by taste rather than by grace.
V,ba tbipo in tho world 7 nv, -.