The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-04
Says DIR. McVOy in Sermon
at Highlands Methodist
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Christ Only Teacher, He Says, Who
Practiced What He Taught.
Those Who Hate Can Have
No Peace

yesterday morning. No other teacher ever
approximates him in greatness. No other
man ever set the standard SO high as
did Jesus. He is the only teacher that
has ever come into this world who per-
fectly practiced what He taught and this
| is what makes Him so great"
| The subject of DR.. Mcvoy's sermon
was "The Incompatible Teacher" lie
took as his text Luke 23:34: Then said
Jesus, Father forgive them. for they
know not what they do" He spoke in
part as follows:
"I suppose, il I were to ask each Of
| teacher that ever came into this world.
without hesitation you would answer Ie-
| sus Christ. And beyond a doubt He
was. No other teacher even approxiirates
Him in greatness. The best we can say
of other teachers is that they are moons
and stars-Jesus is the sun. He made an
| astonishing claim when He said: 4 am
/ the light of the world and yet He
spoke the truth
Set High Standard
| "No other man ever set the standard
so high as did Jesus Christ. So pure
and lofty. and yet so simple were His
teachings we do not wonder that the
people heard Him with astonishment, and
i exclaimed: Never man spake as did
this man.
But, listen! IT is one thing to teach
and it is quite another thing to practice
| what you teach in your own life.
1T is easy for me to stand in this pull
pit and tell you people how you ought
put into practice what J preach. And
even the best preachers in the world
sometimes fall short when it comes te
practicing what they preach
''You have heard of the two brothers
who lived side by side in a double apart
ment. Their name was Brown. one was
a preacher and the other i physician.
One day a gentleman called and asked
| If DR.. Brown was at home. Tho servant
who went to the door replied: Which one
do you want?-the one who breaches or
the one who practices? There are many
| who preach, but not so many who prac-
| tice
ut is easy for the parent to tell the
| child what to do, and what net TO do
But it is not so easy for the par
ent to practice in his daily life
what he breaches to the child. And
that is one reason why many
parents have such a hard time with
their children-they do not live whai
they teach. And care not how good
our teaching may be, yet it is only q
| hollow mockery unless we live it.
Pfacticed What He Preached
| Now listen: Jesus Christ is the only
teacher that has ever come into this
world who perfectly practiced what He
taught.
The best men and women on earth
have gone wrong at times, but Jesus
never went wrong. He always prac-
ticed what He taught.
Listenl We hear Him at the begin
ming of His ministry in the wonder
very strange and hard things, and one
was this: Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute
you"
mo other man ever taught such
doctrine as that. Well, someone says:
That is all very beautiful as a the
ory, but no human being can ever put
it into practice And yet Jesus put it
into practice and If you and l have
His spirit, we can put it into practice
| also
Jesus at the Cross
Jesus preached the great doctrine of
| forgiving those who wrong us, and He
| lived it every day of His life, but
never did He practice that doctrine SO
sublin,ely as He did there on the cross.
| Look on that scene a moment! Jesus
was as innocent of having done wrong
| as a babe on its mothers breast.
"IIe came down here to tie the cords
| of love around a sinful world, and
draw it back to God. Every day of His
| Life He went about doing good. And
yet they took Him and barred His back,
and beat Him with the cruel whip un-
! til the blood oozed from His body. Then
they mocked Him. They put upon Him
purple robe and pressed a crown
| of thorns upon His head and placed
| reed in His hand for a sceptre, and
seated Him on a throne, and spit in
| His face.
Then they laid Him on the cross and
drove the spikes through His hands
and feet and lifted Him up on that
cross to die between two thieves whom
they crucihed with Him-one on each
side
"Now, there He is the most shame
| fully treated, the most unspeakably
outraged man in history. Wasn't that
| enough to embitter even the best
man who ever lived and fill his heart
with unutterable hate and revenge?
Forgave His Enemies
! "But did it have that effect upon
Jesus? Did it? Listen! Lifting His eyes
| to the heavens, He cries out from a
heart still full of love: Father, for
| give them; for they know not what
| they do Never was a man so severe
Ily tested as was Jesus Christ.
| And yet He stood the test;
He practiced the high doctrine. He
| mics. bless them that curse you. do
good to them that hate you, and pray
for them that despitefully use you,
and persecute you Yes, He was the
one teacher who always lived what He
thought.
81 am thinking just here of that
beautiful picture of Jesus st. Peter has
drawn for us. Listen Christ also suf-
fered for us, leaving us an example,
| that we should follow His steps; who
did no sim neither was guile found
| in His mouth Who, when He was re-
viled. reviled not again when He suf-
| fered, He threatened not.
| "But how far short most of us fall
| in following the example of Christ.
When people wrong US, we hate them,
| and we grit our teeth and declare that
we will pay them back, and we keep
| this hate locked up in our hearts and
| our whole life is embittered by it.. How
many people in the world today, how
many people in Birmingham today, are
nursing hate in their hearts.
'Love Your Enemies"
$50 7 bring YOU this word from the