The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-01-12
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. ROBERT BRUCE HULL .
Theme: The Christian Ideal.

ulOll ling plCoShCo Ao
sermon az pastor of the Sumner
Avenue Baptist Church. corner OF De-
catur street. His subject was THE
Christian Ideal" He took as his
texts Matthew xx:2S, "The Son Of
| Man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister and to give His life as
a ransom for many" and Romans
viii:9: eff any man hath not the spirit
of Christ he is none of His" He
said, among other things:
Jesus Christ on earth was the Ideal
Man. His life vas the ideal life. Our
| manhood and our lives will be ideal
as we approach in u actions to the
pattern He has set. The purpose OF
the life of Jesus was service and sac
rifce. This must, therefore, be the
purpose of every true disciple. 9th
erwise the denunciation Of the great
apostle is over us and we hear the
terrible words, IF any man have not
| the spirit of Christ he Is none Of His"
| On this day, when we begin u labor
| together as pastor and people, 1t Is
we'll that we should all bear in mird
that the purpose of this Christian life
is service. The word minister means
precisely this. Your servant for
Jesus sake" was the title Paul gave
himself in writing to the Corinthian
Church. This is the ideal which. by
Gods help, I shall keep before my
own eyes, and this same ideal OF h
Christian life I shall in all my minis
try seek to present to you. can ask
you to do nothing nobler or higher
than the example of Christ and I dare
not place before you anything lower
than this.
There is dignity in this service. The
law Of Gods own being is to give
Himself to others. Because He Is om-
nipotent He creates. Because OF
Astounding strength He works. OF
Him Jesus says: my Father worketh
hitherto and I work" We have this
principle, therefore, that the most
eminent are those who most eminent
ly serve. The we'll known motto Of
the Prince of Wales. "Ich, Dein," I
serve, Is an illustration in point. All
great souls delight in service. Eli
jah's constant motto was, "The Lord
God before whom I stand" and thus
standing before God and in His sery-
ice he could defy kings, priests and
peoples. David rejoiced to say. "Tru-
ly I am Thy servant" Go through
the great names of Bible stories or
| secular history and one and all are es-
/ teemed because of service rendered.
The more of self-saerifce there is in
the service the more nearly it APP
/ proaches the ideal and the more sure
ly it is honored Of men and esteemed
Of God. Lowell sings truly:
Count me Ger earth's chosen heroes;
They were men that stood alone,
While the men they agonized for
Hurled the centumelious stone.
Jesus service eliminated in giving
His life as a ransom for many. This
is the highest service; we honor SOL
diers, not because they fight, but be-
cause they are willing to die. When
| Morayian missionaries are willing to
enter a leper colony and brave a lep-
er's death that they may ave some,
they manifest again the spirit of the
Master whom they serve When Gar
ibaldi's men asked him what their re-
ward should be for service in his
army, he is reported to have said:
you will suffer hunger. You will go
barefoot over rough ways. You Will
be clothed in, rags. You will have
sickness, wounds and death. but Italy
will be free" The noble Italians
! shouted: 1--WE are the men! We are
the mem" -
Even to-day with pageants by sea
and land, with booming guns and
ringing cheers, with breeze-blown ban
ners and marvellous illumtnations, we
celebrate the heroic bravery Of the
~discoverer and the persistent toll OF
the inventor. In every human heart
there is a God-implanted admiration
for service and sacrifice.
Such effort represents love, the
mightiest force in the universe. God
could compel service, but, as He has
/ made US, He cannot compel love. 1t
Is love that is needed more than serv-
ice. If there be first a loving heart,
though the service be imperfect, yet 1t
is appreciated. Soldiers have per-
formed duty at the point OF the COM
mander's pistol, but they were not he
roes. God does not forcerus to hate
full tasks, but says: "Son. daugh-
ter, give Me thy heart" The SER
vice of the Christian, the service Of
this Church, is to be Christlike. Not
| for self, not for advantage or glory
as an organization, but for God and
humanity are we to live and labor.
This effort is to be given to help the
lowest as we'll as the highest. Our
| Lords disciples were amazed that He
would talk to a poor sinful woman
who was a Samaritan. Their exclu-
~siveness and their pride would have
passed her by with contempt. Not so
Jesus.
He came to give His life a ransom
for many. His work was to save that
which was lost. For the lost He made
atonement. For the lost He sends
out His disciples to preach. For the
sake Of the lost He declares: "Lo. 1
am with you Away" Our Christian
life is to be like His. Yes, our Chris
tian life is to be like His. Christ
in us, the hope and glory" We are
not simply imitators. The Christ
life in us will work as Jesus did.
The spirit of Christ will manifest
itself in the earnest and loving SER
vice Of all men from the lowest to
the highest. 1t is said that over the
gate to Plato's academy were these
words: LET no n enter here who
does not know geometry" That was
the crown and pride of earthly wis
dom.
The spirit of Christ says: Who
soever will may come" and Him
that cometh to Me I will in no wise
cast out" Because God knew the
,ood of b.,p,ap co,1s He cama 70