South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-31
MISHAWAKA GENERAL NEWS
NewsTms 1SouhM MAR SheetH omePho 11o;


of the lofty virtues or Jesus, IL may
be well TO speak OF Ills lowly virtues
OF fairness. This quality of fairness
will account for the severity with
which He greeted candidates for
discipleship. If you will follow
Jesus through His eventful three
years you will find the quality Of
fairness fits Him like a garment.
He never forgets or fOrsakes il for
moment 30 that the text of the
hour is representative OF His whole
appeal; II you would follow Me,
take the cross. enter denials path
way and follow Me
The outstanding significance Of
Christ's proposition is just this
that He dares 10 make His appeal
for Christian discipleship on the
basis of its hardest and most trying
aspects. This text does not mean
that there is nothing but denial, no
object in Christianity highway but
a cross. Oh. no! Many are the joys
which His sublime eloquence pic
tured for the redeemed: many the
beati.Gdes that fell from His lips;
many the fellowships of love and
devotion which He used as allure
ments to the consecrated life But
Christ wanted to put the other side
out first the side OF self-denial. the
side Of renOuncing the self-centered
life. the side of surrender. the side
Of the cross He paid mankind the
tribute of heroic strength when He
showed the hard side of discipleship
first and challenged them TO come
on.
These ideas are corrobOrative OF
this thought of Christ's bold and
heroic daring in appealing to the
courageous and the sacrificial in
mankind at the very gate of disci-
pleship. Such courage is so fair
and so challenging as TO awaken in
the race a struggle TO measure up TO
the appeal.
When you appeal to human hero
ism, you usually get a response.
When you tell a true man or woman
that a worthy thing is hard to do.
you do not discourage them: you
merely nerve them to accomplish
christianity has never suffered
for recruits in those days or in those
places in which dangers were in
volved or disasters were eminent.
and from Stephen until the Chinese
heroes in the Boxer outbreak the
prospect of a cross has never lost a
real convert
At First Baptist.
Men, are your lives such that
your children can initiate YOU and
still live good. clean. lives or are you
living such lives that YOU cannot cor
rect your own children without being
reibuked by your own dirty. sinful
habits?"
In these words Rev f E. ShoufIer
of the First Baptist church brought
before his audience Sunday morning
the full significance of the words of
the apostle James when he warned
the early Christians to keep them
selves unspOtted from the world.
My text assumes" continued the
pastor, that there are spotted lives
which are caused by worldly stains.
There is an element of warning as
well rs an element Of caution in
these words Of James. The outstand-
ing sins will be a real signal to keep
away, but the hidden sin mysteries
that one rlIbs up against every day
will often be uncoRsciOusly absorbed
by the soul.
Life must become mature in this
complex mass which we call the
world from which come the crimson
stains of sin which soil character.
Walk through filth and some of it
sticks to your clothing and the clean
er the robe the palmer will be the
stain. Thus we meet the sins of en-
vironment. The evil about US will
fasten itself upon US and strength of
character will not always prevent the
sin coloring. How much worse are
the conditions when debased motives
meet the low desires and poisonous
passions of other low characters.
With ones own life spotted and
stained one may find it impossible to
lead others TO a real appreciation Of
ones higher ideals.
Religion OutdOcS Environment.
Pure and undefiled religion is
greater than environment. Christi
anity is such a religion. II has a def
mite personal Christ quality. while
environment at its best is a mixture
of good and bad Environment can
never produce anything but an aver
age life for environment always is
an outside force. Christianity par
takes OF the same characteristics. yet
II IS more for II is a heart process
that cleanses the soul IL is a real
heart-changing process.
NO person who loves and serves
Jesus will want 10 boast Of the stains
that the worldly life had placed upon
him. He Will not even tolerate some
things that he once loved nor Will he
defend his conduct when. by free
will and choice he breaks some laws
of our Lord. The Christian religion
refuses TO he degraded and we can
always be safe in following the stan
dards OF our Lord. When undecided
W-hot Ia do under certain conditions
tn eChristian is safe because he can
give Jesus the benefit Of the doubt"