Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-02-05
SELF|SHNESs IS
THE GREATEST SIN
sEIElNpuLGENcE AN AMERICAN
EVIL, REV. G. W. CHEsSMAN
TELLS BAPTIST CHURCH CON-
GREGATioN.

THE intense cold weather kept the
attendance down at the Baptist
church Sunday night The pastor, &.
W. Chessman, spoke on the subject
The Greatest Sin" He said in part:
Isaiah enunciated the greatest sin
i'm the Words We have turned every
one to his own way The greatest
sin is selhshness. 1t is the mother ii
all sins, the root OF all iniquities. The
supreme good to Jesus was the will
of God. i do always the will of my
Father, he testified The greatest sin
is the opposite to this -self-will. 1t is
My will be done
'sThe trouble with Dives was here.
He was not drunkard. AT
least the record does not so charge
him. His sin was failure to respond
to need knocking at his door. He ban
quoted and lived in ease and luxury,
He was sclf-centered and repudiated
all social responsibilities.
1.-THE sin is common enough today.
People there are who live only for
things delightful and pleasurabie,
There Is no response to challenging
needs that call upon them for heroic
self-sacriflce. An evil in theA social
life of the city that does not directly
touch them they are unconcerned
about. They feel no sense OF respon'
sibility to fight for Others who are
frightfully touched and degraded by
tie evil Life is filled with crucial eX
periences wherein man, II he would
act his noblest. cannot follow the dc
tates of self.will, but must ally him
self with aggressive antagonists OF
social wrong.
This living UP to ones highest Is
no child's play. 1t is not game o.
ping-pong. To do the will OF God II
not walking in a garden OF perpetua
delight. Jesus himself did not find
SO. The Son of God walked in thu
garden of Gethsemane and kneelih'
there sweat great drops Of blood al
he cried to the Father Not my vii
but Thine be done. Gethseman
must lie in the pathway of any mai
who elects to do, not his own bu
Gods will. 1t is no trifing matter.
lit is so easy to commit the grea'
est OF all sins. There are so man
ways to be guilty of it. Self-scrutih
reveals 1t in the best OF lives. W
need to repent and keep on repentih
Of this most subtle sin and paralleilh
our tepentance there must be new a
cisions. new self-denials In the serlou
task Of pouring out our lives Tor I'll
sood Of others. The summum bonul
az human life is the will of God an
we need to constantly keep the tru'
before us. Not my will but Thine
done, o God. No matter II 1t NEAR
the Cross for my lie: the surrend'
OF ease, Of comfort. This Is the mig
way to lofty Christian character
fAs Presbyterian Church.
A good congregation, considerlr
the ewather, gathered yesterday NOR
ing In the Presbyterian church. ia
tor vonckx preached on the Ne
Birth. In substance he said:
THE Christian life IL not reform
ton hut a transformation that
brought about by the New Birth
"The New Birth is essential 10 I
ability to see and know the kingae
of God. AS the animals have the II
ulties that are essential to the ann
to understand the human realm u
80 the human does not possess [
abilities to understand the splrlt'
realm. even rs the Scriptures sta
The natural man receiveth not
things OF the Spirit neither can
know them for they are splritua
discerned.
"The New Birth is mysterious
cannot be fully understood, but t
we know, that it is experienced II
accepting Jesus Christ as the Save
and Master Of the life
Owing to the cold and the blizz
Il. Nv,