Arizona republican., 1911-05-15
PRACT|C|NG
 THE FAITH PauTs AdmOnition to ReIig-
 iOus Converts THE NECESSITY IF WORK Not Enough to Believe Only. Christ Demands Service From Followers and Con secration Is Best Shown by Living the Law.
THE NECESSITY OF WORK

Preaching from the text T therefore. q prisoner of Jesus Christ. besoech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called taken from Ephesians iv:2. Dr. Henry Martyr Campbell. pastor of the First Presby- Terian church of this city. delivered a practical sermon to professors of the Christian religion before large con- gregation yesterday morning.
 Without in any way belittlinS the dignity or denying the necessity of be- lief, Dr Campbell laid stress on the supreme importance of putting the pre- ceptS Of the religion into practice in every day life. and presented the fal- lacy of a faith which is lacking utter ly in works.
 He said in part:
 Two things characterize the writ ings of the apostle Paul The one is his splendid logic and the other is his boundIess earnestness. Both of these two characteristics are eyer present in his writings. You search in vain for better examples of direct clear, fair, sharp. reasoning than you find in the writings of the apostle. I once heard a great lawyer give the writings of the apostle to the -gentiles credit for all 1he logic that he had How frequently the word logic is found in his writ ings. The word therefore" or the word which is it's equivalent where fore" Listen. Wherefore seeing that We are compassed about with SD great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so
 T-a -fHE !, tience the race that is set before us.' or. again, Therefore we should give the more earnest heed to the things that we have seen and heard lest at any time We should let them slip" Or again. Therefore there is no JoGdem- nation to thee that are in Christ Jesus or again. T beseech you therefore by the mercies Of God that ya present your bodies a living sacrifice Yes, again and again we find the apostle using one of these logic words. And he does ir in the text "I therefore, prisoner Of Jesus Christ. heseech you that yc walk worthy Of the vocation Wherewith ye are called Now the word therefore" always refers Us to something he has alread. said and up- on which he is going to rest what he is about to say. Now what has he been saying in this connection? If you will turn to the opening chapters of this epistle you will discover that he k em- phasizing the though of the boundless grace of God. He has been telling those 10 whom he had been writing to medi- tate upon what they had once been by nature that they might have bet ter realization of what they now Were bv grace And in view of all the Lord had done for them he says. I therefore beseech you" The apostle is here as everywhere a master of logic Then the other characteristic is here too. His earnestness is manifest. It is set forth by two expressions as here found. The expression -T beseech you indicates it Not "I wish you would; II W WOuld be delighted if you would: God wants you to do it.. or even "I am anxious that you dO.' but T 3eseech you. Earn estness, Then the same thought is in dicated in the expression "A prisoner of Jesus Christ Why does the apostle speak of that? Not for the glory of it. Not that he might lead them to praise him for his self f-sacrifice. Not that.
 But I fancy that he may persuade them that he. being a prisoner, will speak truthfully as well as earnestly. He is. when he utters these words, a prisoner. He does not l-nOw put that he will be soon put to death, and he wants those to whom he writes to know it that they may believe that he is writing and speaking with all earn estness. If there is any time in mans life when he should speak truthfully and earnestly and directly and impar- tially it is when he is a prisoner eX- pecting death: when he is about ready, as he thinks. to exchange worlds. That was exactly the position Of the writer. ] saw some time since a theme pub- lished for a sermon It was this, "A Prisoners Dying Thoughts The i'm plication was that a prisoner would speak earnestly and cOncernedly if he felt that he was soon 10 be put to death. The implication was proper. So he would. And that was the position Of the apostle He felt that perhaps the time was drawing near when he should depart out Of the world and he spoke earnestly. I want that thought to be in your minds as we mediate upon the truths Of the text this morning. want you to remember the deep earnestness Of the writer when he said 'I beseech you as a prisoner of God, that ye walk worthily of the vocation where with ye are called"
 Let us read the text as an exhorta- ton to us all in the light of what God in Christ has done for us. God sent His son to us. He came to earth for us; he walked the world with its weari- ness and discouragements for you: He went to the cross for you; and to the grave for you; and burst its bands for you. You are the recipient of His sal vation; your feet are on the rock. You are an heir of heaven; you are q child of the King; son of God; an elder