DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 DURHAM, N. C. 
 
 Rec'cL 
 
 {XLIL^L 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/northcarolinaser00bran1 
 
NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 t> 
 
 : 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 a- 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 Rev. L. BRANSON, A. M. 
 
 im-» 3 
 
 RALEIGH, N. C: 
 
 L. Branson, Publisher and Bookseller. 
 
 1881. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 1. It is desired to preserve some of the Sermon Literature of 
 the State. 
 
 2. Very few Worth Carolina Ministers have ever had any 
 Sermons printed. 
 
 3. This volume is published by subscription, in order to sell 
 it at the lowest figures. 
 
 4. The print, being large, is well suited to the aged and also 
 to the young. 
 
 5. These are Sermons of living men well known among us. 
 
 G. It is designed to publish Volume II. when there is sufficient 
 demand for it. 
 
 July 14th, 18SL 
 
 L, BRANSON, Editor. 
 
 Copyright, 1881, by j Edwards, Broughton & Co, 
 
 h Branson, Raleigh, N. C. I Printers, Raleigh, N, C. 
 
ScK. R. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 I. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING UP A CHRISTIAN 
 
 CHARACTER, 5 
 
 By Rev. L. S. Burkhead, D. D., Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE FIXEDNESS OF MORAL CHARACTER, . 25 
 By Rev. R. L. Abebnethy, D.D., Rutherford 
 College, N. C. 
 
 III. 
 
 APOSTASY, ......... 34 
 
 By Rev. R. O. Babbett, Statesville, N. C. 
 
 IV. 
 A PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF FUTURE FELIC- 
 ITY, .... 41 
 
 By Rev. B. Yobk, D.D., Rutherford College, N. C. 
 
 V. 
 
 THE END FOR WHICH CHRIST CAME, , . 53 
 
 By Rev. John R. Bbooks, Fayetteville, N. C. 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE ONLY FOUNDATION, ..... 97 
 
 By Rev. Solomon Pool, D . D. , Gary, N. C. 
 
 VII. 
 
 ON HEAVEN, ......... 79 
 
 By Rev. T. W. Guthrie, Rockingham, N. C. 
 
 VIII. 
 THE UNREASONABLENESS AND SINFULNESS 
 
 OF MAN'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD, . . 90 
 By Rev. John S. Watkins, Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 *H3 
 
4 Contents. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE HUMAN BODY .102 
 
 By Rev. J. J. Renn, Thomasville, X. C. 
 
 X. 
 
 OX THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT, . .116 
 
 By Rev. Geo. W. Neal, A. M., Xewbern, X. C. 
 
 XL 
 
 CHRISTIAN HOLINESS, I2S 
 
 By Rev. Thos. S. Campbell, Madison, X. C. 
 
 XII. 
 
 FUNERAL OF FAXXIE SHERWOOD YORK, . 144 
 By Rev. L. Branson, A. M., Raleigh, X. C. 
 
 XIII 
 
 COMPLETENESS OF CHRIST AS A SAVIOUR, . 155 
 By Rev. II. T. Hudson, D. D., Shelby, X. C. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 OX FORGIVENESS. ....... 1G7 
 
 By Rev. F. D. Swindell, Kinston, X. C. 
 
 XV. 
 
 THE GRANDEUR OF GOD'S DOMINIONS, „ . 178 
 By Rev. Dr. E. L. Perkins, Newport, N. C. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 THE NEW COMMANDMENT, ...... 197 
 
 By Rev. Frank H. Wood, Newborn, N. C. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA SERMONS. 
 
 
 BUILDING UP A CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 By L. S. Bukkhead, D. B., of the N. C. Conference. 
 
 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, 
 praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking 
 •for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.— Jude 20: 21. 
 
 This Epistle of Jude seems to have been designed 
 for all the people of God, in every place and through 
 all time. All are exhorted to contend earnestly for 
 the " faith which was once delivered unto the saints," 
 lest they be carried away from the truth by the in- 
 fluence of corrupt teachers and false doctrines, and 
 thus led into sin and on to ruin. Jude then sets be- 
 fore us examples showing how God's judgments 
 overtake and overthrow all who rebel against his 
 just authority and the wise administration of his 
 moral government. "I will therefore put you in 
 remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that 
 the Lord, having saved the people out of the land 
 of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed 
 not." " And the angels which kept not their first 
 estate, but left their own habitation, he hath re- 
 served in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto 
 the judgment of the great day." "Even .as Sodom 
 
6 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, in like 
 manner giving themselves over to fornication and 
 going after strange flesh, are set forth for an exam- 
 ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." In or- 
 der to prevent all to whom this Epistle is addressed 
 from being overthrown and destroyed, to prompt 
 them to the abandonment of error and sin, and to 
 urge them to the cultivation of practical godliness, 
 in order that they might " grow in grace " and at 
 last receive an "abundant entrance into the everlast- 
 ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," 
 our author urges the exhortation of the text. 
 
 It is the duty of every man to build up and maintain 
 a pure and consistent. Christian character, and thus ex- 
 hibit the excellency of the Gospel, glorify God and bless 
 the ivorld. 
 
 The text calls attention to the importance of the 
 construction, growth, maturity and stability of individ- 
 ual Christian character, embracing the design of 
 personal salvation, blessing the world by a holy in- 
 fluence and manifesting God's wisdom, mercy and 
 love, in the Gospel of his Son, in the eyes of man- 
 kind. Every human being is building up a char- 
 acter of some sort — every one must build, every one 
 is building. Each one must work out his own des- 
 tiny. Each one should work out his own destiny 
 with a firm reliance on the truth that " God works 
 in him," if he would be pure and holy here and 
 happy and glorious hereafter. The character which 
 a man builds should be founded on " the Rock," 
 rise in strength and beauty, stand secure and firm 
 
.'Christian Character. 7 
 
 ■amid the storms of earth and time, and receive the 
 approval of God. No man can work out his own 
 destiny, either for weal or woe, without influencing 
 the destiny of others. " No man liveth to himself 
 and no man clieth to himself." No man lives alone 
 who obeys God, No man perishes alone who disobeys 
 God. In other words, no man can " work out his 
 own salvation " without working for the salvation 
 of others ; nor can any man labor to advantage for 
 the spiritual and eternal welfare of others, without 
 being employed at the same time in the cultivation 
 of personal holiness. " Without faith it is impossi- 
 ble to please God." Therefore we must "have faith 
 in God" — be in the faith — living by faith, as an ac- 
 tive operating principle, urging us on in the perform- 
 ance of good works, if we would labor successfully 
 for ourselves and others. Should we attempt to "pull 
 the moto out of our brother's eye" while a "beam 
 is in our own eye," we would act unwisely, per- 
 vert the gospel plan and bring ourselves under the 
 disapprobation of God ; and at the same time fail to 
 help ourselves or benefit our brother. Hence our 
 first work is to look well to our own personal salva- 
 tion. Be sure that we are right ; sure that we have 
 "" passed from death unto life ;" sure that the "Spirit 
 of God bears witness with our spirits that we are the 
 children of God ;" and sure that our works demon- 
 strate the correctness of our faith : for then, and then 
 only, will our efforts bless mankind and lead sinners 
 to Christ. Our own souls are of vastly more impor- 
 tance to us than all the souls of all the ^vorld besides. 
 
8 North Carolina Sermoks. 
 
 We should never for a moment lose sight of theif 
 priceless value, their fearful responsibility and their 
 imminent danger ; but solemnly pondering the 
 great truth that " every one of us must give account 
 of himself to God," we should prosecute the work 
 assigned us, "doing all to the glory of God" and 
 " looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 unto eternal life." Thus we shall receive the divine 
 blessing, and through our instrumentality the world 
 shall rejoice and heaven sing. 
 
 " Building up yourselves on your most holy faith." 
 The system of faith upon which we are exhorted 
 to build, is the " Gospel of the grace of God"— the 
 great plan of recovering mercy revealed in the Holy 
 Scriptures. This is the grand system of faith Jude' 
 tells us " was once delivered to the saints," and is- 
 justly called a system of " most holy faith." It is a* 
 divine system-— God is its author. Like its author, 
 it is perfect and holy. It is the most perfect system 
 that human intelligence ever contemplated, or that 
 the great God could have given to man. Infinite 
 goodness could not have prompted, and infinite wis- 
 dom could not have devised less than the most per- 
 fect system. If, therefore, we allow the Gospel of 
 Christ to be a grand system of divine origin and 
 procurement, for the restoration of fallen man to the 
 forfeited favor and image of God, and the very best 
 that infinite skill could have provided, it will follow 
 that this gospel has claims upon us immeasurably 
 higher than any or all other systems can pre- 
 sent. The reason is obvious. God is our creator 
 
Christian Character. 2 
 
 and glorious benefactor. " Every good gift and 
 ■every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down 
 from the Father of lights, with whom is no variable- 
 ness, neither shadow of turning." We belong to 
 God — soid, body and spirit. He not only made us, 
 but also bought us with a price, no less precious 
 than the "blood, of Christ." Hence the Almighty 
 has an indisputable right to furnish a system of lav/ 
 for our government, mark out a course of conduct 
 for us to pursue, authoritatively command us to walk 
 therein ; and if we choose to set at defiance his right- 
 eous will, to punish us as our deeds demand. God 
 has not only the right to make these claims upon 
 us, but it is in the highest sense proper according to 
 the clearest principles of reason and equity, that 
 these claims should be acknowledged and obeyed by 
 us, and that he should have the service of all our 
 powers through the whole eternity of our existence. 
 Hence St Paul says: "I beseech you, therefore, 
 brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, hoi}", acceptable to 
 God, which is your reasonable service?" This system 
 of " most holy faith " reveals the source and meas- 
 ure of moral obligation. So soon, therefore, as we 
 k now what God requires of us, we are bound to obey, 
 from the heart and implicitly, all his commandments. 
 Obedience to his will is righteousness. Disobedience 
 is wickedness. One course of action is right and 
 leads to heaven ; the other is wrong and conducts to 
 hell. We are moral agents, and may obey or diso- 
 bey. This system of holy faith is presented to man. 
 
10 "North Carolina Sermons; 
 
 His mind is illumined and his heart is touched by 
 the grace and Spirit of God, and duty and interest 
 alike press him to embrace this great salvation and 
 live forever. If he heed the voice of God, the dic- 
 tates of enlightened reason, the pleadings of personal 
 interest, and receive and obe}^ the will of God, all 
 shall be well. If he refuse them, by his own volun- 
 tary act he seals his own doom ; and, deep, dark 
 and ruinous though it be, God is just, and his wis- 
 dom and glory are manifested in the impenitent 
 sinner's destruction. 
 
 By faith man lays deep down upon the immuta- 
 ble basis of eternal truth — the truth that "God is in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself" — the 
 solid foundation of Christian character. Embracing 
 Christ as the only saviour of sinners,, he plants him- 
 self firmly on " the Rock of Ages," the sure founda- 
 tion, and by the exercise of living faith, winch de- 
 rives its efficiency from the sacrifice of Christ, man 
 becomes " a new creature' 7 by the regenerating power 
 of the Holy Ghost, and henceforth is able to "live by 
 faith" — that faith which "sweetly works by love 
 and purifies the heart." The foundation of Chris- 
 tian life and character being thus securely laid, the 
 building must rise through the blessing of God and 
 the efforts of the builder. All who have thus laid 
 the foundation, are affectionately addressed by our 
 text as "beloved" as brethren in Christ The senti- 
 ment is " ye" who have this faith, who have received 
 the Gospel, and who are still grounded in the prin- 
 ciples of truth,, having resisted successfully the at- 
 
Christian Character. 11 
 
 tacks of sin, Satan and false teachers, take warning 
 from the example of others who have fallen from 
 grace, and remember that although you have begun 
 to build, your house is as yet incomplete — that you 
 are still in a world of sin and " there are many ad- 
 versaries." The great burden and heat of the day 
 are still before you. The great battle of life must 
 be fought before you can be crowned a victor. The 
 building must still continue to go up to completion 
 before the cap stone can be laid in its place. 
 
 True, you ma} r conquer; but, then you may be con- 
 quered. God is for you, and his grace is sufficient. 
 If you employ this grace and do your duty, all will 
 be well. But if you fail in duty and perseverance, 
 you will perish. There is onh r one way of success ; 
 that is, improve what you have received. The Mas- 
 ter says, "occupy till I come." You have faith in 
 Christ — build upon this all the principles and graces 
 of the Gospel system, and you shall never be 'put to 
 shame. But should you fail in this work, all who 
 pass by will begin to mock, saying, "this man began 
 to build and was not able to finish." 
 
 " Building up yourselves." The figure is architec- 
 tural. The improvement and completion, or the 
 growth and maturity of Christian character, is rep- 
 resented by the rearing up and completion of a 
 building upon its proper foundation. AVhen an ed- 
 ifice is to be erected, the architect first conceives and 
 then drafts the design. He instructs the builder in 
 thepZcm, selects the material and directs how this 
 material is to be incorporated into the superstruc- 
 
12 North Carolina Sermons-. 
 
 ture, so as to fill up the draft and complete the de- 
 sign. God is the architect of Christian character. 
 He has conceived and drafted the design, given all 
 necessary instruction, furnished all necessary mate- 
 rial, and so thoroughly prepared us for the work of 
 building that there can be no excuse for us should 
 we refuse to build, use improper material, or should 
 our house fail to receive the approval of the Great 
 Architect. Man is a moral agent, and the divine 
 plan is placed before him in all its grandeur and 
 beauty. All the material is selected, marked and 
 numbered, and God teaches him to build wisely. 
 While this is true, there are other "so-called" archi- 
 tects ; and these propose other plans, the use of other 
 materials, and urge us to build for other objects. 
 Satan and false teachers are forever thrusting new de- 
 signs before our minds and hearts, and telling us that 
 we need not be so particular about the foundation, 
 the material to be used, or the precise character of 
 the model after which our building should be fash- 
 ioned. But we should be wise to comprehend the 
 divine plan, and to examine and approve the divine 
 material. While God teaches us. to build of "gold, 
 silver and precious stones" — that these are neces- 
 sary to the construction of a beautiful and substan- 
 tial edifice — Satan and false teachers would persuade 
 us to build of "wood, hay and stubble," and thus 
 deprive us of the approval of God. If man should 
 build in opposition to the will of God, his labor shall 
 be lost and his building fall into hopeless ruin;-; ior, 
 " except the Lord build the house they labor in vain 
 
Christian Character. 13 
 
 that build it." Christian character is the house 
 completed or in process of completion, according to 
 the design of God. 
 
 A man may be thought to possess all the elements 
 and ornaments of Christian character, when, in fact, 
 he may be destitute of the first principles of saving 
 faith. The estimation, therefore, which the world 
 places on a man does not always designate his real 
 worth. A good name is desirable, and may be earn- 
 estly sought when sought in harmony with correct 
 principle. The reputation which should be sought 
 is the pure and sweet light that radiates from a pure 
 heart and a virtuous life. This is the "true renown 
 begun on earth, and lasting in the skies." But in 
 this fallen world and wicked generation, praise is 
 not always bestowed where it is due. Oftentimes 
 .men, whose characters are pure and good, are neg- 
 lected and slandered and the world, spurns them as 
 unworthy. Hence many of the great and good live 
 in obscurity, while the base and mean are exalted to 
 place and power. Such is the baseness of the carnal 
 mind — and there are so many carnal minds — that 
 few escape its wicked and. slanderous attacks. 
 
 "Be tliou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, 
 Thou shalt not escape calumny." 
 
 And oftentimes 
 
 " Envy doth invade 
 Works breathing into immortality, and cast 
 Upon the fairest piece the greatest shade.*' 
 
 Blessed be God, the character of the truly good 
 man shall ultimately triumph and be "had in ever- 
 
14 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 lasting remembrance." Then, what though his good 
 name be filched from him, and he should go down 
 to his grave beneath a cloud of reproach ! Even in 
 that case the light radiating from the grand princi- 
 ples of the Gospel which he possessed and exempli- 
 fied in life, would break forth from the tomb, dispel 
 the clouds of slander, command the admiration and 
 guide the footsteps of coming generations. Jesus 
 Christ was the perfect model, after which our charac- 
 ter should be fashioned. Yet the church and the 
 world united in heaping reproaches upon his name 
 and in condemning him to the cruel death of cruci- 
 fixion. But, a glorious light breaks forth from the 
 cross and sepuleher, which is driving error, preju- 
 dice, malice and sin, like vapors before the rising 
 sun. And now, in mid-heaven and full orbed glory 
 he shines, and to the brightness of his redeeming 
 light the eyes of the world are directed ; and thus 
 glorious light shall triumph over darkness until 
 "heaven's last thunder shakes the world below " ; 
 and then it shall flame up from deep vaults of death 
 to the gates of glory ; and focalized there, illumine 
 the city of God with fadeless glory forever. And the 
 same principles of eternal truth that make Jesus 
 Christ so glorious in the eyes of men and angels, 
 shall bless, exalt and glorify in the degree of their 
 possession, all the faithful and holy who follow in 
 Ins footsteps. But a reputation without the holy 
 principles of troth and purity to save it from decay 
 and rottenness, is an insignificant myth — the shifting 
 shadow of a crazy building whose foundation is 
 
Christian Chaeactee. 15 
 
 sand; and when the storms arise and the floods come, 
 this rickety house shall fall into hopeless ruins and 
 shed no halo of glory upon the world, but lead others 
 to the eternal shades of darkness and death. Yet, 
 hundreds and thousands are pursuing this ignis 
 fatuus, without regard to the great principles of vir- 
 tue and truth. 0! what folly! It is like flying 
 from the proud temple of security, when the tem- 
 pests are gathering, to perish in the pelting hail; 
 or, like forsaking the gallant ship that has braved a 
 thousand storms, to contend, without so much as a 
 single plank, with the angry deep. But to fallen 
 ambitious man, there is a bewitching spell even in 
 an unsubstantial name. Pollock sings of this "fleet- 
 ing phantom," — 
 
 "Her voice was sweet to mortal ears. 
 And touched so pleasantly the strings of pride 
 And vanity, which, in the heart of man, 
 Were ever strung' harmonious to her note, 
 That many thought, that to live without her song^ 
 Was rather death than life." 
 
 In view of this evil tendency of human nature., 
 how necessary that all should seek the grace of God 
 and labor to build up such a character as heaven 
 will own and bless! — such characters as shall de- 
 serve the approbation of all good men. The great 
 principles of Christian character may be learned 
 from a careful study of the word of God. Paul says: 
 " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are 
 honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever 
 things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, what- 
 soever things are of good report; if there be any 
 
18 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 virtue and if there be any praise, think on these 
 things." Here the Apostle presents as subjects for 
 deep investigating thought, all the principles of 
 truth, honesty, justice, purity, and the things that are 
 lovely and of good report, in one brief sentence. What 
 fields for thought open out before the mind ! What 
 is truth? How is truth to be applied in the work of 
 human effort and salvation? What is honesty? 
 How is it to be exhibited in all our relations with 
 God and men? What are the principles of justice? 
 How are we to be just to ourselves, our fellow-men 
 and to God ? What are the principles of purity, and 
 how are they to shine with unclouded lustre in all 
 we think, fee], hope, desire, imagine and say and do ? 
 What are the lovely things? How shall a man so 
 adorn himself — his soul, mind and heart — as to be 
 beautiful in the sight of God, and of all the pure and 
 good? What things are of good report f and how 
 shall we think on all these things, so as to properly 
 develop and cultivate them in our hearts, lives and 
 influence, for the glory of God and the good of man- 
 kind ? Behold, another string of jewels taken from 
 the writings of St. Peter: "Add to your faith, virtue: 
 and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temper- 
 ance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, 
 godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness ; and 
 to brotherly kindness, charity." The Bible gives 
 full and specific directions in reference to all these 
 great principles, virtues and graces ; and gradually 
 unfolds their deep significance, profound importance 
 and expanding glory — as a man thinks, and prays ? 
 
Christian Character. 17 
 
 and labors to incorporate -them into his character, 
 each in its appropriate place to shine out in his life 
 in symmetrical beauty— all blending into harmo- 
 nious completeness. As man, in earnest thought, de- 
 vout prayer, and patient, energetic effort, ascends 
 the scale of moral excellency, God comes down to 
 his help ; and thus, by the cooperating influence of 
 divine and human agency, man rises in glory and 
 approximates perfection. Here is another sentence 
 more grand and comprehensive still : " Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy Gocl, with all thy heart, and with 
 all thy soul, and with all thy mind," and, "thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor as thyself." Here, all the law and 
 the prophets / all the graces, virtues, beauties and 
 glories of Christianity unite and blend in the divine- 
 principle of love, and shine out in this centre and 
 circumference of Christian duty, obligation and 
 privilege. ! here are broad fields for cultivation j 
 an infinite ocean for navigation, and infinite depths, 
 heights, lengths and breadths to be traveled, pene- 
 trated, scaled and measured by human thought! 
 " ! the depths of the riches both of the wisdom 
 and knowledge of God 1" In the light of love the 
 building shines with increasing beauty and glory, 
 as it nears completion ; but man must build on, sing 
 on and shine on, as his life-work advances. In sun- 
 shine and storm, in cold and heat, in sickness and 
 in health, at home and abroad, in prosperity and in 
 adversity, aye— in all and singular of life's vicissi- 
 tudes he builds on. The activity of his faith, the 
 ardor and glow of his love, the patience of his hope 
 
18 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 and the song of his joy, sings out upon the air, un- 
 der every stroke in the cause of God and of human- 
 ity, for the encouragement of all who are engaged 
 in the sublime work. Let all work on and sing on I 
 
 "Whatever tempts the soul 
 To loiter ere it reach its goal, 
 Whatever syren voice would draw 
 Thy heart from duty and its law>, 
 O ! that distrust, go bravely on," 
 Until the victor's crown be won, 
 
 "Praying in the Holy Ghost" The influence and 
 operations of the Holy Ghost are necessary to the 
 successful completion of the sublime work where- 
 unto we have been called. Without his influence 
 and help, we cannot accomplish anything that is 
 good. Though God has given his Son to die for us; 
 though Christ suffered the agonies of the garden 
 and the death of the cross, for our redemption, all is 
 vain unless the Holy Ghost perform his blessed work 
 of illumination and purification upon our minds 
 and hearts and lives. He must quicken our dead 
 souls, " convince of sin, of righteousness and of judg- 
 ment." He must regenerate and sanctify, bear wit- 
 ness with our spirits, console and encourage our 
 hearts; guide into all truth, and "show us things 
 to come." Through his blessed influence and power 
 we must realize that the " kingdom of God is not 
 meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost." He must enable us to 
 " walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort " 
 of his blessed influences, and thus multiply our 
 
Christian Character. 19 
 
 power for good in the world. He is the divine living 
 source of all the Christian graces. Hence these 
 graces are called the "fruits of the Spirit." " Love, joy, 
 peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
 meekness and temperance," are all "fruits of the 
 Spirit." He is ever with his people ; He " helpeth 
 our infirmities }i and " maketh intercessions for us 
 with groanings which cannot be uttered." Now, 
 these divine influences and their glorious fruits are 
 given, through the atonement of Christ, to every 
 child of God in answer to prayer. Prayer is essen- 
 tially necessary to a saving interest iti the "system 
 of most holy faith." It is a solemn duty, and also an 
 instrument for the attainment of an end. Hence, in 
 order to secure the approbation of God, the influ- 
 ences and graces of the Ploly Ghost, and to success- 
 fully "add to our faith " and " build ourselves up " 
 in holiness of heart and life, we must "pray in the 
 Holy Ghost." The duty and efficacy of prayer is in 
 harmony with reason and sound philosophy, and 
 clearly taught and positively enjoined in the Holy 
 Scriptures, on all men. " Prayer is the offering up 
 of our desires to God, for things agreeable to His 
 will, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the help of the 
 Holy Ghost, with confession of sin and a thankful 
 acknowledgment of all his benefits to us through 
 the blood of atonement." Man must desire the 
 things that are in harmony with the will of God, be- 
 cause such things are essential to his highest good 
 and grandest development, in time and eternity. 
 He must ask for these things "in the name of Christ " 
 
20 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 because all good must come to him through the 
 work of atonement. Christ is the only way to the 
 Father, and his name the only security that will 
 enable us to draw on the Bank of Heaven. His 
 name is "all-prevailing." Hence the sacred poet 
 sings : 
 
 'I can no denial take, 
 When I plead for Jesus' 1 sake." 
 
 But in making our appeals to God for "things agree* 
 
 able to his will," and in the " name of Christ," we 
 
 need and must have the help of the " Holy Ghost." 
 
 No man can "build himself up," or even retain that 
 
 which he already has, without persevering and 
 
 humble prayer. 
 
 4 'Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
 The Christian's native air." 
 
 If the vitalizing respiration of this "native air' 5 
 should cease, the Christian would droop and die. 
 Hence he must " pray without ceasing." Sin must 
 be confessed and forsaken. God's great benefits must 
 be acknowledged with grateful thanksgiving. Ap- 
 proaching the mercy-seat with humility, sincerity, 
 importunity, and faith in the atoning blood of 
 Christ, with all malice and envy and hatred aban- 
 doned, and seeking the help of the Holy Ghost, our 
 prayers shall be heard and rich mercy and grace 
 received. " What things soever ye desire, when ye 
 pray believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have 
 them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye 
 have aught against any : that your Father also 
 which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses* 
 
Christian Character. 21 
 
 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your father in 
 heaven forgive your trespasses." 0! how sad to see 
 a man kneeling before the great God asking for the 
 forgiveness of his sins, when his heart is filled with 
 bitterness and wrath towards his fellow-man ! How 
 many repeat the Lord's Prayer with sin and Satan 
 in their hearts ! ! God 5 help us to forgive that we 
 may he forgiven ! 
 
 "Keep yourselves in the love of Gog." 
 
 This grand result is to be accomplished by faith- 
 fully performing all our duties ; patiently bearing all 
 our crosses, trials and sufferings ; cheerfully submit' 
 ting to God's will concerning us ; and by " looking 
 for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal 
 life." Our duties to God, ourselves, the church and 
 the world must be diligently and faithfully perform- 
 ed. We must " trample under foot that enthusias- 
 tic doctrine " which teaches " that we are not to do, 
 good unless our hearts are free to it." We must, 
 obey God, whether " our hearts are free to it " or not. 
 Our hearts must be compelled to do and suffer God's- 
 will. The will of God is the rule of life, and we must 
 walk by this rule. The approbation of God is not 
 merited by our efforts to do his will ; but without 
 these efforts the favor of God cannot be retained. 
 While good works cannot merit the blessings of 
 God's favor, they are necessary to show that we have 
 obtained and do noiv retain God's favor. They cannot 
 go before and justify us before God ; but they are ev- 
 idences that we have been justified by faith in Christ. 
 
 The tree is good because it has been grafted into 
 
 2 
 
22 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Christ; and good works show that the tree is alive 
 and bearing fruit. If good works cease in the life, this 
 will prove that the tree has been severed from Christ, 
 and is under his curse. Therefore, it is absolutely 
 necessary to keep our hearts and lives in living connec- 
 tion with the blood of atonement, that we may "grow 
 in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." The works we perform and the sufferings 
 we endure for Christ's sake, tend to keep us in our 
 proper relation and place: show our union with 
 Christ, and that we are flourishing in all the vigor 
 of Christian life ; and bearing fruit to the honor 
 and glory of God, and blessing mankind. Thus, 
 "keeping ourselves in the love of God," we increase- 
 in strength ; and assisted by the grace and spirit of 
 God, go forward in the grand work of " building up 
 ourselves on our most holy faith." Soon the work 
 will be done, whether well done or not. God grant 
 that the cap-stone may be laid in its appropriate 
 place, amid the shoutings of angels and men ; and 
 then standing in the "image and likeness" of Christ, 
 the building completed, we shall remain forever 
 glorified and demonstrate the power of God to save 
 from sin. 
 
 ! let us all labor to " keep ourselves in the love 
 -of God," and exhibit in our lives the fruits and 
 graces of the Spirit; and thus call back a lost race 
 to God and heaven ! 
 
 . " Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 unto eternal life" This language directs the mind 
 and heart to the medium and channel through which 
 
Christian Character. 23 
 
 We may reach the source of all good, obtain supplies 
 for life and godliness, and secure a glorious destiny 
 of eternal good. Much good may be secured and 
 enjoyed in this life. The reward of Christian effort 
 begins as soon as we give ourselves to God. Virtue 
 has its reward in this world as well as the world to 
 come. Vice also has its reward here as well as here- 
 after. The way of the " transgressor is hard," not 
 simply because he will be punished in eternity ; but 
 also because every transgression of God's law is de- 
 veloping and strengthening the evil that is- in and 
 over him and lessoning the probabilities of his return 
 to God; while they constantly and certainly multi- 
 ply the probabilities of his final destruction. He 
 that '" soweth to the Spirit" shall not only " reap 
 eternal life " in a future state ; but as he sows, he re- 
 ceives the divine blessing, and harvests of spiritual 
 good are waving about him, and are constantly be- 
 ing gathered even here. As the Christian, therefore, 
 is faithful in the discharge of all the duties which 
 he owes to God and man, he grows in all the graces 
 and virtues of Christian character ; and in the ratio 
 of his growth and advancement in the service of God 
 will be his reward here and hereafter. "The righteous 
 shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands 
 shall be stronger and stronger." " The path of the 
 just is as the shining light that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day." The blessed principles 
 3f the Gospel which have sustained and cheered the 
 man of God as he has been employed in the w T ork of 
 the Lord here, amid life's vicissitudes, will be present 
 
2-1 . North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 to give him hope, peace and joy in the hour of death,- 
 He shall see with inexpressible delight, over the 
 arch-way of the gate of death, in letters of golden 
 beauty, the thrilling song of glorious triumph : "0 I 
 death, where is thy sting I ! grave where is thy 
 victory ! The sting of death is sin, the strength of 
 sin is the law : but thanks be unto God which giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 "Jesus, the vision of thy face 
 Hath overpowering charms ! 
 Scarce shall I feel Death's cold emhrace, 
 If Christ he in my arms. 
 
 Then, while ye hear my hcartstring's hreak 
 
 How sweet my minutes roll, 
 A mortal paleness on ray cheek 
 
 Ami glory in my soul." 
 
 And then, beyond death and the grave — beyond 
 earth and time — the good man, ranking the angels 
 and standing next the throne of God, shall be 
 crowned with glory. And then on through the end- 
 less cycles of increasing glory and augmenting bliss 7 
 in company with unfallen angels and the redeemed 
 and glorified from every age and nation — and bap- 
 tized with light and love from the "face of God and 
 the Lamb," — shall remember that all this unspeak- 
 able blessedness came to him as the result of "look- 
 ing for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto 
 eternal life;" and still "looking," he shall shout "unto 
 him that loved us and washed us in his own blood, 
 and made us kings and priests unto God, be glory 
 forever" 
 
Moral Character. 
 
 lo 
 
 THE FIXEDNESS OF MORAL CHARACTER. 
 
 By R. L. Abeesethy, D. D., 
 (Of the N. C. Local Ministers' Conference.) 
 
 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he that is filthy, let 
 trim be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: 
 and he that is holy, let him be holy stilL — Rev. 22 : 11. 
 
 It was Plato who first discovered a dualism among 
 the entities and principles of the universe. To every 
 reflecting mind the arrangement seems to be a ra- 
 tional necessity. Every positive implies a negative; 
 and these terms are so correlated that the one can 
 only be known through the real or imaginary ex- 
 istence of the other. Light and darkness, heat and 
 cold, height and depth, large and small, are dualis- 
 tic terms in nature exhibiting physical relations re- 
 ciprocally dependant upon each other. So, too, in 
 "the intellectual world, we have knowledge and ig- 
 norance, wisdom and folly, learning and not learn- 
 ing, development and undevelopment, all of which 
 indicate similar relations of different states or grades 
 of intellectual advancement. 
 
 The same principle obtains in moral relations ; 
 and our text is only an expression of certain grades 
 or states of moral character that have been attained 
 during man's probationary 7 existence, and which 
 shall be announced by the Judge at the last day, 
 fixing man's destiny without the possibility of change 
 in grade to all eternity. He who, when weighed in 
 
26 North Carolina Sermons; 
 
 the scales of eternal justice, shall be found " unjust,"" 
 shall be pronounced to hold that elemental grade in 
 all the coming cycles of the future. He that is- 
 " filthy " before the throne of the Eternal Judge, 
 shall drag his moral carcass of foulness and stench,, 
 riveted to his immortal nature, through the un- 
 quenchable fires of the damned, forever. He whose- 
 undying nature has been unfolded along the line of 
 true righteousness and holiness,, shall stand before 
 the throne fixed in the moral habitudes of righteous- 
 ness and holiness forever. There can possibly be 
 no change of grade in moral character beyond the- 
 bour of men's dying. 
 
 In discussing this important subject, we propose 
 to consider and illustrate certain propositions which 
 seem to grow out of this text. 
 
 1. Though death produces great changes in the physical} 
 mid mental natures of man, yet it leaves his moral nature- 
 entirely unchanged. 
 
 This proposition, we admit, is in direct opposition 
 to certain dogmas of the Romish church which teach 
 the necessity of purgatorial fires somewhere in 
 Pluto's dominions, unknown to the Protestant 
 world, to burn out these objectionable elements of 
 human depravity, during the interim between death 
 and the general judgment. 
 
 There are others, too, in the Protestant church, 
 who hold that Christians cannot live without sin ; 
 but that, in passing through the trying ordeal of 
 death, there is some process of divine operation, un- 
 known to us. through which the soul is cleansed and 
 
Moral Character. 27 
 
 fitted for association with the holy beings in the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 To say the least of this latter opinion, it stands in 
 direct opposition to the whole tenor of Scripture, 
 while at the same time it either logically transfers a 
 portion of Christ's work 121 man's salvation to quite 
 a different field assigned it by the Scriptures, or en- 
 tirely removes the necessity of His aid in man's 
 complete redemption. 
 
 As it regards the former opinion, we would gladly 
 spread the mantle of Christian charity over the 
 dogma and its advocates, and attribute so gross an 
 absurdity to a misconception of the divine oracles, 
 did not the records and character of this class of 
 religionists bid us think otherwise. 
 
 In discussing this text, we shall attempt to sustain 
 our proposition — 
 
 First. From the phenomenon of sleep. 
 
 Without entering into a philosophic discussion of 
 sleep, all must admit that it is a state of unconscious- 
 ness. In this respect it is the symbol of death ; for, 
 as far as we can judge from outward appearances, 
 death is an unconscious state. Whether the soul in 
 its intellectual and moral essences, maintains a state 
 of separate organization and consciousness from the 
 body during the rest of the body in the grave, is 
 not now under discussion. All we wish at present 
 to assume is, that death, like sleep, is an unconscious 
 state. But during a state of sleep there are no 
 changes wrought in man's moral nature. His bodily 
 powers have been recuperated and his mental nature 
 
2S North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 has been revived. Yet be awakes from a night's 
 slumber with all bis moral feelings, habitudes and 
 aspirations unchanged. 
 
 Secondly. We argue this proposition from a state 
 of insanity, 
 
 There is certainly a wide difference physiologi- 
 cally between a state of sleep and a state of insanity 
 in man. Yet in regard to the power to recognize 
 moral relations, the only grounds upon which moral 
 character is formed, both states are the same. In 
 sleep man lives a vegetable life onl} r , with all the 
 functions of intellectual and moral life entirely sus- 
 pended. In a state of insanity man lives an animal 
 life, w 7 ith the powers of moral recognitions suspend- 
 ed. In the former condition, his intellectual and 
 moral powers are both dead to oar mode of living 
 existence. In the latter condition, his moral powers 
 are dead, because the bases upon which they rest 
 have been suspended. In both cases, he is, so far as 
 the power to recognize moral relations is concerned, 
 as if he w 7 ere literally dead. And yet, do we not re- 
 member cases of long standing where the subject 
 when awaking to a state of sanity again, exhibited 
 all the characteristics of moral character unchanged, 
 with which he entered that state? 
 
 Thirdly. We have an argument in favor of this 
 proposition upon the physiolog} 7 of our being. 
 
 The doctrine of waste and renewal in the human 
 body, an idea so consonant with the analogies of 
 universal nature, cannot, we think, be questioned 
 by any intelligent person. According to this view 
 
Moral Character. 29 
 
 we are constantly dying in a physical sense. Our 
 entire body dies and passes away from every two to 
 seven years. And yet, the sinner of seven years ago, 
 unchanged by divine grace, is the same sinner to- 
 day, only more fixed in his courses of vice. He has 
 died physically, and yet his moral identity has re- 
 mained unchanged. 
 
 2. The moral characters we form in this life go with us 
 into eternity and shall remain unchanged forever, only be- 
 coming more intensified as we advance in the future. 
 
 We discuss the truth of this proposition, 
 
 First. From the nature of probation itself. 
 
 We can have a conception of but one eternal, in- 
 finite and perfect intelligence. Such a being admits 
 of no progression, no advancement. Such a being 
 is God. He is the same yesterday, to-day and for- 
 ever, All other moral intelligences must have been 
 created in an undeveloped state, so as to fill out a 
 dualistic relation between what we might denomi- 
 nate a moral zero and perfection. This period of 
 duration constitutes the probation of any created 
 moral intelligence. During this period, he must be 
 circumscribed by laws peculiar to his own sphere. 
 If he pass this period safely, he reaches a state of 
 perfection beyond all possibility of falling. His 
 moral character is then fixed to all eternity, without 
 the possibility of change. Such, we conceive, is 
 man's condition in our present state. 
 
 Secondly. We discuss the truth of this proposition 
 from the testimony of Nature herself. 
 
 The tendency of Nature is to a fixed condition of 
 
30 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 things, The little acorn containing elemental se- 
 cretions from every organ of the parent tree, falls 
 into the earth and there awaits the action of chem- 
 ical laws for its development. There is no tree in 
 that acorn. It is only a bundle of undeveloped pos- 
 sibilities. Light and caloric play upon these con- 
 fined elements ; atoms move among each other in 
 accordance to natural laws ; little rootlets shoot 
 themselves into the earth and draw up nourishment, 
 while tiny leaflets peep up into the sun's light and 
 breathe the atmosphere like a living animal. The 
 oak thus continues to enlarge and spread its mighty 
 boughs toward the bending heavens till finally it 
 reaches a certain stature when it becomes fixed in 
 growth and form, and there is no law of which we 
 are cognizant to change it back again into an acorn. 
 
 See the little child upon its mother's knee. It is 
 neither a man nor a woman as yet. It sleeps, eats, 
 drinks and grows till finally it reaches thestature of 
 complete manhood, when it becomes fixed unchange- 
 ably in all time. The sun rises in the east and the 
 day enters upon a probation. In a few fleeting 
 hours he hides himself behind the western hills, and 
 the day is fixed in the calendar of eternity forever. 
 So, too, with old time and man. Eternity will soon 
 close upon each, and man's destiny is fixed forever 
 in heaven or in hell. 
 
 3. The moral characters we form here, going with us 
 into eternity and remaining unchanged, shall become the 
 chief grounds of our happiness or misery forever. 
 
 We are, under the influence of good and evil, the 
 
Moral Character. 31 
 
 arbiters of our own destiny. Oar future home will 
 not be so much a gift, upon the one hand to the 
 good, and a sentence, upon the other to the bad, as 
 it will be an arrangement of our future destiny in 
 strict conformity to the eternal laws of the fitness in 
 tilings. The righteous go into heaven and the wick- 
 ed into hell as naturally as water flows into water ; 
 and the text is simply the decisive announcement of 
 results attained during our trial state upon earth. 
 The good, in conformity to moral law, have formed 
 characters suitably adapted to the exercises and en- 
 joyments of the beings in the home of God; while 
 the wicked, disregarding the requirements of moral 
 law, have taken upon themselves, and affixed to 
 their immortal natures, habitudes of thought and feel- 
 ing diametrically opposed to the nature and char- 
 acter of the ever blessed God. Upon this lawless 
 and abnormal development of the ungodly, his hell 
 is based. The corrupted appetites, lusts and pas- 
 sions of the hell-bound sinner, now being affixed to 
 his nature, will be carried by himself into the nega- 
 tive dominions of the damned, to find naught upon 
 which to satiate their burning, corroding thirst- 
 Turning then upon the soul itself, they become the 
 " worm that never dies/' with its ten thousand snaky 
 heads, and as many tails as heads, all tipped with 
 stings, forked, and long, and venomous, and sharp ; 
 and, as the soul writhes and bleeds and groans for- 
 ever, it is continually transpierced by sting of head 
 or tail. 
 
 The tendency of the age is to erase, if possible. 
 
32 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 from the human mind the idea of a hell of fire and 
 brimstone. In the light of this text, the difficulty 
 would not be removed. The ungodly carries a hell 
 in his own bosom, even under the modifying influ- 
 ences of God's Eternal Spirit. Beyond the gates of 
 death all moral restraint ceases forever, and then, 
 •0, my soul ! what a terrible outgushing of the pent 
 up fires of the lost soul will be to the ungodly ! 
 Remorse, despair, anger and wrath will prey upon 
 the guilty soul, as it writhes amidst the woes of the 
 damned, gazing upon the thunder-scarred walls of 
 its prison-house, and reading in letters of living fire 
 its destiny-dooming sentence, sparkling forever 1 
 Its wails will rise, forever and ever, and its tears 
 shall forever fall, "but not in mercy's sight." Re- 
 pentance and Despair, as if to assuage the pangs of 
 the wretched lost, shall walk the regions of unfading 
 fire, presenting cups of burning gall to all their 
 parched lips. Virtue, hoiy maid of heaven, shall 
 stand before each face which way soever he may 
 turn, to let these wretched beings see how much 
 they have lost; and ever anon the thunders of God's 
 eternal wrath fall upon each ear with these words: 
 " In yonder's life, ye knew your duty but did it not." 
 
 O, sinner, turn; why will ye die? 
 
 4. The doctrine of this text is a satisfactory answer to 
 the objection of the Vniversalists, that " God would be un- 
 just to inflict an eternity of punishment upon a sinner for 
 a finite act of transgression." 
 
 We admit the truth of the objection ; and yet, in 
 
Moral Character, 3-3 
 
 the light of this subject, we think we can see why a 
 sinner should be eternally punished. 
 
 Sin arises from a refusal, upon the part of an in- 
 telligent being, to meet moral obligation or duty. 
 This refusal to meet obligation depends upon the 
 status of the human will. The outward action is 
 not the sin ; it is only the outcropping of depravity,, 
 indicating the moral state of the will. The sinner, 
 therefore, is a sinner, because his will is opposed to 
 God's will. Every act, therefore, that he does, and 
 every thought that passes through his mind is sin, 
 no matter what may be the character of the outw r ard 
 act. This accords with the declaration of the Apos- 
 tle, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him." 
 Another divine writer says that "Every imagination 
 of the heart is evil, and only evil, and that contin- 
 ually." 
 
 The sinner, then,, is a sinner, because his will is 
 opposed to God's will. He is sent to hell because 
 he is a sinner. 
 
 But we have previously shown that the moral 
 character of the sinner remains unchanged in hell 
 forever. His character depending upon the status 
 of the will shows that the will must stand unchanged 
 forever. It must, therefore, logically follow that the 
 sinner sins on in hell forever; and his moral de- 
 servings, keeping pace with his sinning, demand 
 eternal punishment. 
 
 And now unto Him who is able to save all to the 
 uttermost that come unto God through Him, be 
 present and eternal praises. Amen. 
 
34 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 APOSTASY. 
 
 By Rev, R, G, Barrett-, A. M., 
 '{Of the North Carolina CoMerence.*) 
 
 For it is impossible for those who were once "enlightened, and have 
 tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy 
 Ghost, 
 
 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world 
 'to come, 
 
 If they shall fall away, to renew them again Unto repentance; see- 
 ing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to 
 an open shataa-Hek vi : 4, 5, 6. 
 
 There are those who seem to think the apostle is 
 speaking of backsliders in these verses. This, how- 
 ever, is a mistake ; he is not speaking of backsliders, 
 but of apostates. To illustrate this statement, let us 
 suppose a case : Suppose a man should profess reli- 
 gion, join the church, and live a consistent Christian 
 life for ten years, but at the end of that period 
 should fall into sinful habits, and commit evils that 
 would exclude him from the church, yet should ac- 
 knowledge the Bible to be true, aiid still hold Jesus 
 Christ to be the true Messiah and the only Saviour of 
 sinners ; is there anything in the way of renewing 
 him again unto repentance? Surely not. He is a 
 backslider; but he may return to God, by repent- 
 ance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ* 
 He has not denied the existence of God ; nor has he 
 rejected and counted Christ an imposter. The 
 apostle here places no barrier in the way of his re- 
 turn. Nor does the Bible anywhere teach that the 
 backslider may not retrace his steps. The text, 
 
Apostasy. 35 
 
 therefore, does not refer to that class of persons at 
 
 all. 
 
 But take another case. Suppose a man, after pro- 
 fessing the Christian religion, joining the church 
 and living a consistent life for a number of years, 
 should renounce his profession and fall into a course 
 of sin and wickedness, and openly pronounce the 
 Bible to be false and Jesus Christ to be the veriest 
 imposter; is it possible for him to repent? Why, 
 he is an apostate! He has no Saviour, he has re- 
 nounced the only Name given under heaven where- 
 by men can be saved. May he return ? To whom 
 can he go for salvation? Has he not spurned the 
 only Saviour offered to man, or that ever will be 
 offered ? This is the character described in the text, 
 the apostate : he cannot be renewed again unto re- 
 pentance, " it is impossible," "seeing he has cruci- 
 fied the Lord afresh and put him to an open shame." 
 
 The question before us, therefore, relates to apos- 
 tasy from the Christian religion. The apostle evi- 
 dently teaches this doctrine in our text. He teaches 
 that christians may apostatize from the faith, yea, 
 that they have apostatized. For consider the im- 
 port of the terms employed ; the terms " enlighten- 
 ed," " tasted of the heavenly gift," " partakers of the 
 Holy Ghost," " tasted the good word of God and the 
 powers of the world to come." These terms certainly 
 appear to describe christians; they are such as are 
 generally used in the scriptures to describe chris- 
 tians — persons who have been converted, who have 
 been pardoned, who have experienced the washing 
 
36 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
 And, if there were any doubt as to the true meaning 
 of these terms, the apostle goes on in the text speak- 
 ing of the same persons as having once repented ; 
 else, what does he mean by the expression " to renew 
 them again unto repentance," if these very same 
 "once enlightened" persons had never repented? 
 So we conclude that the persons described by the 
 Apostle in the text were fully pardoned and thor- 
 oughly regenerated christians. Now mark you ! 
 these christians fell away ; not only backslid, but 
 apostatized utterly : for the expression in the text, 
 " if they shall fall away," should be translated, and 
 have fallen away. It should be in the past tense. 
 Dr. McKnight, a Calvinist, but a candid man, so 
 translates it. Dr. Clarke endorses him. And the lat- 
 ter learned divine severely criticises our translators 
 for their want of candor, and for their undue bias to- 
 wards the dogma called the "perseverance of the 
 saints." So it is quite possible, according to the 
 teaching of the apostle in this text, for christians to 
 apostatize, to utterly fall away, to " fall from grace." 
 And, it is to be observed, the Scriptures fully sus- 
 tain the apostle in this view. We cite a few pas- 
 sages: "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the 
 salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be 
 salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to 
 be cast out and trodden under foot of men." It is 
 implied here that salt may lose " his savor ;" and 
 is it not a known fact that it sometimes does ? So 
 it is alike implied that christians may lose their 
 
Apostasy. 37 
 
 religion; and is it not so that some men do, and 
 are thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out? 
 " Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and 
 blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blas- 
 phemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven 
 unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against 
 the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him : but who- 
 soever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not 
 be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in 
 the world to come." This passage seems to doom 
 the apostate irretrievably. "If a man abide not in 
 me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered ; 
 and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, 
 and they are burned." We must abide in Christ, or 
 be cast into the fire ; we seem to be left to our own 
 option about it. " For if we sin wilfully after that 
 we have received the knowledge of the truth, there 
 remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain 
 fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indigna- 
 tion, which shall devour the adversaries." " For if 
 after they have escaped the pollutions of the world 
 through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, they are again entangled therein, and over- 
 come, the latter end is worse with them than the 
 beginning. For it had been better for them not to 
 have known the way of righteousness, than, after 
 they have known it, to turn from the holy com- 
 mandment delivered unto them. But it is happened 
 unto them according to the true proverb, The dog 
 is turned to his own vomit again ; and the sow that 
 was washed to her wallowing in the mire." " They 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
38 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 that forsake the Lord shall be consumed." But why 
 multiply quotations on this subject. Neither is 
 there need for comments on these quotations ; their 
 import is plain and conclusive. And the learned 
 Dr. Clark well adds : " Were there no Scripture ex- 
 press on this subject, the nature of the present state 
 of man, which is a state of 'probation or trial, must 
 necessarily imply it,"— that is, must imply apostasy. 
 " Let him who most assuredly standeth, take heed 
 lest he fall." 
 
 The contrary doctrine, therefore, that of the 
 " perseverance of the saints," is erroneous. God is 
 consistent. The doctrines of the Bible do not clash, 
 do not conflict one with another. The conflict is 
 with the creeds of men. There is the rub. Men go 
 to the Bible with their opinions already formed, in- 
 stead of going to it to find out what it teaches, and 
 then form their opinions. This is reversing the or- 
 der. It is an effort to make God conform to man's 
 views. But mark you, God does not teach the ab- 
 solute certainty of apostasy in one breath, and then 
 in the next contradict himself! Never! That is 
 characteristic of men ; that is what men often do ; 
 they often contradict themselves. But God never 
 does. It is difficult to find the Scripture, indeed 
 there is none, that plainly and positively declares the 
 " unconditional perseverance of the saints." " For 
 I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor an- 
 gels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- 
 ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth] nor 
 any other creature, shall be able to separate us from 
 
Apostasy 
 
 ,he love of God, which is in Christ Jesus war Lord," 
 is about the strongest, most plausable, and the one 
 most frequently offered in support of this dogma of 
 men. This passage has been complimented as the 
 most sublime and beautiful ever uttered by the 
 apostle Paul, and is said to surpass anything of the 
 kind ever produced by Grecian sages or Roman ora- 
 tors. But does this deny or contradict the plain 
 statement of our text, that christians " have fallen 
 away," have utterly apostatized from the faith? 
 Most assuredly not. The passage, at most, is only a 
 poor, presumptive argument in favor of " persever- 
 ance," and -does not give the shadow of support to 
 the idea of " unconditional perseverance." Does the 
 apostle mean to say that it is impossible for God to 
 remove his love from us ? or that it is impossible 
 for us to remove our love from him ? Or does he 
 mean both, that God's affection cannot be separated 
 from us, and that our affection cannot be separated 
 from God? He cannot mean either; for he is 
 speaking of agents outside of God, and of us. He 
 says these outside agents cannot separate us from the 
 love of God, He is speaking of what third parties 
 cannot effect in the case ; and not of what God can 
 do in the matter, nor of what we ourselves can do. 
 Before this, or any other passage in the Bible, can 
 be made to prove "unconditional perseverance," it 
 must first be shown that becoming a christian de- 
 stroys the free agency of man ; it must be shown 
 that man, once a christian, loses all power to do any 
 wrong for which he may be held responsible ; that 
 
40 North Carolina" Sermons. 
 
 lie loses all power to love the world more than he 
 loves God ; that he loses all power to backslide ; that 
 he cannot apostatize. But such a conclusion is in 
 direct conflict with our text, which positively de- 
 clares the doctrine of apostasy. And as it is more 
 likely that men misinterpret the Bible than that 
 God should contradict himself, we nmst conclude 
 that the " unconditional perseverance of the saints"" 
 is a doctrine of men, without any foundation in the 
 sacred Scriptures for its support. Therefore, those 
 who go about teaching " onco in Christ, always iia 
 Christ," just because they have heard others say so,- 
 and not because they have examined the Scriptures 
 and find it to be true,- deserve to be censured. The 
 simple are led by such teachers to embrace wrong 
 notions of God, of religion, of duty, and of responsi- 
 bility. " And if the blind lead the blind, both shall 
 fall into the ditch." The people should be taught 
 the principles of the Bible. Christians should be 
 warned of the danger of back-sliding, of the dreadful 
 possibility of apostasy, and not be told perpetually 
 that there is no danger of falling. " Comfort ye f 
 'comfort ye, my people," but do not tell them that 
 ■their " waifare is accomplished," that the "battle is- 
 fought," th-at the victory is achieved, while they are 
 still in a state of probation, while they are yet on trial : 
 rather exhort them to " watch and pray," lest they 
 enter into temptation and "make shipwreck con- 
 cerning faith." " For it is impossible to renew again 
 unto repentance those who have fallen away, seeing 
 they crucify to themselves" — in their own mind— 
 
Ftjture Felicity. 41 
 
 "the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open 
 shame." That is, they inwardly approve and eon- 
 sent to his crucifixion, a crucifixion both public and 
 shameful. It is impossible to restore them to a sec- 
 ond repentance while they remain in this state of 
 mind, which is precisely the state -of mind the Jew 
 was in when he cried "crucify him'! crucify him!" 
 I do not say, however, that the apostate is predes- 
 tinated to remain in this state of mind. The apostle 
 •does not say that he is. He onty says salvation is 
 impossible to him while be remains in that state of 
 •mind. It may be traa, therefore, that " while the 
 lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner may re- 
 turn," not -excepting even the apostate. 
 
 A PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF FUTURE 
 FELICITY. 
 
 By B. York, I>. D., 
 (Of the North G&rolma Local Ministers" Conference.) 
 
 'For we know that if ©ur earthly house of this tabernacle were dis- 
 solved, we have a building of Ged,a house nottmade^-ith hands, eter- 
 nal in the heavens.— 2 Cor. v. L 
 
 Mutation, or the law of change, is indelibly writ- 
 ten on all things earthly : the fr gile flower, un- 
 folding its delicate petals to kiss the morning dew, 
 may fade ere it is noon.; and its fragrance and 
 
42 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 beauty perish together. The centenary flower,, 
 which is one hundred years in blooming, only for a 
 few minutes remains full-blown, and then closes its 
 petals to be seen no more. The leaf now so* fresh 
 and green, within the lapse of a few months, is- des- 
 tined not only to fade and change its color, but also 
 to drop from its- parent stem, and, falling to the 
 ground, mingle in common dust with all its prede- 
 cessors. The forest trees, now so gaily attired in 
 their verdant robes, will soon be dismantled of all 
 their beauty, and the wintry winds sigh through 
 their leafless boughs. Nor are these constant mu- 
 tations confined to the vegetable kingdom ; for man,. 
 though created in the image of his glorious creator, 
 is subject to similar changes: he is compared in 
 Scripture to grass, to the flower of the field, and to- 
 the fleeting vapor. Hence ihe poet— 
 
 ""Life is «i span, a fleeting hour : 
 How soon the vapor flies ! 
 Man is a tender transient flower' 
 That e'en in blooming dies.'" 
 
 Man is the most beautiful and expressible object 
 in nature ; but alas how soon his beauty vanishes I 
 From the fair cheek of } r outb, the rosy tints may 
 fade by sickness, in a day ; the eyes, sparkling with 
 youthful vivacity, joy and hope, will grow dim with 
 age, and glaze in death ; the raven locks or golden 
 curls falling in graceful festoons upon the fair neck,, 
 will turn gray by the frosts of many winters, and 
 the erect form stoop beneath the accumulated weighi 
 of years. 
 
Future Felicity. 43 
 
 It is consoling to the sorrowful heart to look be- 
 yond this scene of fading, changing and dying, to 
 the shining shore and fadeless beauty beyond the 
 river. 
 
 u O, the transporting, rap'trous scene 
 That rises to m} r sight; 
 Sweet fields arrayed in living green, 
 And rivers of delight." 
 
 To these glorious scenes, our text directs our 
 thoughts. 
 
 There is a perceptible difference between faith and 
 knowledge : " Faith," as defined by the apostle, " is 
 the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of 
 things not seen ;" and, when the evidence is suffi- 
 ciently clear, strong and harmonious, it challenges 
 our belief; nor can we withhold our assent to the 
 truth of the proposition, though we may not ac- 
 knowledge it. Knowledge is the result of the com- 
 bined evidence of the outward senses and internal 
 consciousness: what we see, hear and feel, we do not 
 say we believe ; but we know. Hence the poet — 
 
 "What we have felt and seen 
 With confidence we tell. 
 And publish to the sons of men 
 The signs infallible." 
 
 There is also a marked difference between mathe- 
 matical or physical knowledge and moral knowledge. 
 If we know that a triangle is equal to two right an- 
 gles, we not only know that it is so now, but we 
 know that it has always been, and always will be; 
 
44 "North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 for the relation of the parts never changes. If the 
 relation of the parts change, the triangle will cease 
 to be a triangle, and the right angle will cease to be 
 arightangle; consequently a different thing. Again, 
 if a body at rest be struck with two equal forces at 
 right angles with the acting forces, the body so af- 
 fected must move; but the tendency to obey the one 
 is equal to that of the other ; hence it must move in 
 a line equally distant from those marked by the im- 
 pinging forces — that is, in the diagonal of a square — • 
 and, if we know this, we shall know it forever, or as 
 long as we know anything. 
 
 But we can not say so much for moral knowledge ; 
 for you may know to day that you have a good and 
 sufficient title to your real estate : but you may not 
 know this a week or even a day hence ; for you may 
 voluntarily transfer your title to another, and then 
 you cannot know what does not exist. The sinner 
 may know to-day that he is a sinner, that he is a 
 violator of the moral law, consequently exposed to 
 the wrath of God ; but he may not know this to- 
 morrow ; for, by repentance towards God and faith 
 in our Lord Jesus Christ, the relation which he sus- 
 tains to God may be changed from that of a blind 
 child of the wicked one to a son or daughter of the 
 Lord Almighty ; and, on the other hand, you may 
 know to-day that you are a child of God and au heir 
 of heaven, but you may not know this to-morrow ; 
 for you ma}^ wilfully sin, and thus cease to be a 
 son or daughter of God. Now since the relation 
 of the parties has changed the title to the hcav- 
 
Future Felicity. 45 
 
 enly inheritance, which is the result of that relation 
 is forfeited ; consequently cannot be known. 
 
 We know,— who know ? We. We do not know 
 what Paul knew as an inspired apostle; but we 
 know what Paul knew as a christian, and what is the 
 exalted privilege of every christian to know. 
 
 What do we know ? We know that. That taken 
 abstractly means nothing, but taken concretely it 
 means much, very much ; for it is a substitute for 
 the clause we have a building of God, a house not made 
 with hands eternal in the heavens. Drop that and the 
 involved clause, and read, we know we have a build- 
 ing of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in 
 the heavens; and this is the glorious object of the 
 christian's knowledge. The object of the christian's 
 knowledge is of surpassing excellence; its value 
 cannot be estimated— compared to it, the wealth of 
 worlds is but a gaudy toy. 
 
 But how do we know that we have a building of God. 
 a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens f 
 This knowledge is based on the knowledge of a fact 
 necessarily antecedent to the former, viz : the knowl- 
 edge of sins forgiven, a knowledge that we have 
 passed from death unto life, that our relation to God 
 has been changed, and we have become the sons and 
 daughters of the Lord Almighty. Now, in virtue 
 of our sonship, we are heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 with the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as our heavenly 
 Father has many mansions in his house, in virtue 
 of our heirship, we know we have a mansion in 
 heaven, a house not made with hands. This knowl- 
 
46 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 edge is satisfactory ; it rests upon a foundation that 
 cannot be moved nor shaken ; it pours a full tide of 
 consolation and joy in the believing soul ; it enables 
 the christian to look calmly and undismayed upon 
 his fast-decaying earthly house, knowing that he has 
 a better house, a fairer mansion located in a better 
 country, and that, when his earthly house shall have 
 been dissolved, he will be translated to his heavenly 
 home, "be clothed in upon with his house which is 
 from heaven," and though absent from the body 
 he will ever be present with the Lord, which is far 
 better. 
 
 But another question may arise in the minds of 
 some : Can a sinner know his sins on earth forgiven? 
 We answer in the affirmative, he can. Then how 
 can he know that his sins are forgiven ? If one has 
 a pain in the head or arm, or is sick, he does not 
 send for his family physician to tell him what he 
 already knows; but how does he know it? He 
 knows it by his consciousness; and if the pain cease, 
 or the sick man become well, he needs no one to in- 
 form him of that fact, for his consciousness satisfac- 
 torily testifies to it ; but his consciousness cannot 
 tell him what caused the pain, or what caused it to 
 cease— if he knows this he must know it from some 
 other source; for consciousness can only testify to 
 the fact itself — beyond this it is an incompetent wit- 
 ness. In like manner the sinner who sees himself 
 as he is — who apprehends the full extent of the dan- 
 ger, to which his sins have exposed him, who feels 
 the burden of his guilt, the heavy load of sin press- 
 
Future Felicity. 47 
 
 ing upon him — knows he is- a sinner, and if this 
 load of sin be removed, he knows it; bat how does 
 he know it? He knows it by his consciousness or 
 the witness of his own spirit, (I use the terms con- 
 sciousness and spirit as synonyms) but, as his spirit 
 can only testify to the change which has taken place, 
 or the fact itself, there is need of another witness to 
 testif}' what this change is, and this witness is the 
 Spirit itself bearing witness with bis spirit that this 
 change is the new birth, the pardon of all his sins, 
 and the full assurance that he has passed from death 
 unto life. Hence the pardoned sinner can now say 
 with full confidence, I know that God, for Christ's 
 sake, has pardoned my sins. 
 
 But to illustrate: Mr. A has a litigated case in- 
 volving all his temporal interest, which is to be tried 
 m a foreign court to which he can have no personal ac- 
 cess ; but there is an attorney who practices in that 
 court whom he can employ as counsel; to him he 
 sends his plea and has it recorded according to law, 
 together with his affidavits, by which he hopes to 
 make good his plea ahd gain his suit. The time 
 for trial arrives, the court sits, the case is tried, and 
 one hastens to inform Mr. A that his suit has been 
 tried, and, according to rumor, decided in his favor; 
 this information may afford A some consolation by 
 inspiring additional hope, but it is b}' no means 
 satisfactory ; for, though the informant testifies to 
 the fact itself, he leaves the result involved in a mist 
 of uncertainty, since rumor is not a reliable source 
 of information, nor was the informant authorized to 
 
48 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 communicate the result to the plaintiff; but in the 
 meantime he receives official documents from his 
 attorney that he had gained the suit. This relieves 
 him of all suspense and anxiety — dispersing all doubt 
 and giving entire satisfaction. So every sinner (and 
 we all are sinners or have been) has an important 
 suit — having violated the law whose penalty is 
 death, not only involving his temporal but also his 
 ■eternal interest — which is to be tried in the high 
 Chancery of Hevaen, to which he can have no per- 
 sonal access; but he has an advocate in the court of 
 heaven — Jesus, the friend of sinners — to him he can 
 apply or present his case, and through him, and 
 him only, can he approach God ; for God, out of 
 Christ, is a consuming fire. 
 
 But what is the sinner's plea? The only plea 
 which he can make that will avail, the one which 
 every sinner must make who sues for pardon, is the 
 •death of Christ. His death is vicarious: it satisfied 
 the law, appeased divine justice, and reconciled God 
 the Father to man. But the sinner must be recon- 
 ciled to God, for the carnal mind is enmity to God; 
 it is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. 
 
 The humble penitent approaching the throne of 
 grace — the mercy seat, the altar of prayer — may 
 successfully urge his plea, Jesus died ! He died 
 even for me, the chief of sinners. Write it, record- 
 ing angel, write it in the book as with a pen of iron 
 and with the point of a diamond ; let the blood of 
 the atonement be the ink ; there let it remain un- 
 blurred and unblotted, with not a single letter erased; 
 
Future Felicity. 49 
 
 for this is my only hope of salvation. Jesus his ad- 
 vocate pleads for him — every wound of Jesus pleads ; 
 yes, every drop of blood speaks, and it speaks better 
 things than the blood of Abel: the blood of Abel 
 cries with trumpet tongue for vengeance — but the 
 blood of Jesus pleads for pardon, peace and heaven, 
 
 "Five bleeding wounds he bears, 
 Received on Calvary; 
 They pour effectual prayers, 
 
 They strongly speak for me ; 
 'Forgive him r O forgive,' they cry, 
 'Xor let that ransomed sinner doe." 1 
 
 While the sinner is thus agonizing, and urging 
 his plea at the altar of prayer, suppose one approach 
 him and say, (as some imprudently do,) I believe 
 your &ins are pardoned } I believe you have religion, 
 can you not arise and tell what Christ has done for 
 you I But the language of such a penitent would 
 be : I do not feel it, I want to know it • but the load 
 of sin is removed, the sinner knows this, his con- 
 sciousness or spirit bears testimony to the fact ; but 
 beyond this his spirit is an incompetent witness ; 
 but the Holy Spirit bears witness with his spirit 
 that this change is the pardon of all his sins — the 
 regeneration of his nature-— and now, being justified 
 by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Now he can confidently say, I know my sins, 
 which were many, are all forgiven ; for in the mouth 
 of two or three witnesses every word shall be estab- 
 lished. The witness of our spirit and that of the 
 
50 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Holy Spirit are generally simultaneous, nor can any 
 difference of time be discriminated; but this is not 
 always the case; it was not so in mine, for several 
 minutes passed between the removal of the burden 
 and the witness of the Spirit; and I have known 
 some to go for months after they had been relieved 
 from the load of sin before receiving the witness of 
 the Spirit. 
 
 In the heavens. The Scriptures speak of three 
 heavens: the atmospheric region is called heaven, 
 as the fowls of heaven ; the region of the stars is also 
 called heaven, as the stars of heaven ; St. Paul speaks 
 of a third heaven, the region of perpetual bliss. 
 
 We do not know in what part of the universe 
 heaven, or the home of the good, is located, since 
 this has not been revealed ; but we know that heaven 
 is where Christ is, for his presence makes heaven: 
 the display of his glory, the smiles of his face, and 
 the raptures of his love would make any place 
 heaven. 
 
 "The smilings of thy face, 
 How amiable they are I 
 'Tis heaven to rest in thine embrace, 
 And nowhere else but there." 
 
 Heaven, in the Bible, is generally represented as 
 being above. This expression may be used in a 
 moral as well as a physical sense. In a moral sense 
 it is elevated above all evil, it stands securely high 
 above all danger; for neither temptations nor evils 
 of any kind can ever reach that high and holy place ; 
 
Future Felicity. 51 
 
 it is the residence of the holy angels, the bright 
 happy home of the soul. 
 
 "All the stormy winds that blow ; 
 Every swelling tide of woe, 
 All the bitter tears that flow, 
 Flow below heaven."' 
 
 Every bloodstained battle field, all the garments 
 rolled in blood, the thunders of the death-dealincr 
 cannon, the roar of musketry, the clash of resounding 
 arms, the sighs and groans of the wounded and dy- 
 ing, the shouts of the victors, are all seen and heard 
 below heaven. 
 
 Why should he who lives in a deep, dark ravine, 
 where but few straggling rays of sunlight can pene- 
 trate, dread to ascend to the mountain top, above 
 the storm's career, where the thunders roll, and the 
 lightnings flash far beneath his feet, and where the 
 unclouded sun perpetually shines, scattering ni^ht 
 and gloom away? 
 
 Why should the christian, the follower of Christ, 
 dread to leave this vale of tears, those scenes of fad- 
 ing and dying, and ascend to his bright mansion— 
 his heavenly home ? It is true that he will be ab- 
 pent from the body of his earthly house, but he will 
 be forever present with the Lord of life and glory, 
 svhich is infinitely better. 
 
 "Why should we start and fear to die ? 
 
 What tim'rous worms we mortals are ! 
 Death is the gate to endless joy, 
 And yet we dread to enter there." 
 
52 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 " Eternal in the heavens." The crowing glory of 
 the heavenly felicity is its duration. How unlike 
 the fleeting shadows, fading beauties, and dying 
 flowers of earth. 
 
 "These mortal joys bow soon they fade ! 
 How swift they pass away ! 
 The dying flower reclines its head, 
 The beauty of a day." 
 
 But on the shining shore beyond the river, flowers 
 forever bloom, celestial fields arrrayed in living 
 o-reen. everv face shines with immortal beauty, and 
 every eye sparkles with heavenly delight. There is 
 no night there ; for 
 
 "God the Son forever reigns 
 And scatters night away." 
 
 Who can estimate the value of eternal felicity ? 
 of that life which knows no end? of that house 
 which never decays nor grows old ? but, like the 
 crystal waters of the river of Paradise, flows on for- 
 ever ! 
 
 Christians, you have a present knowledge of 'future 
 felicity; then, with you this happiness has already 
 commenced. One has said, and not without reason,j 
 the way to heaven is heaven, it is heaven begun,J 
 heaven in miniature. Then press with vigor on, 
 till you gain the crown, and reap the golden harvest] 
 of a well spent life. 
 
 Those of you who have never tasted that the Lord 
 is good, have never realized the joys of pardoned sin, 
 turn your wayward feet from the pathway of de- 
 
The Mission of Christ. 53 
 
 s'truction, and seek God while he may be found, and 
 call upon him while he is near; for time is short, 
 but eternity is long. The lost are miserable, but 
 the saved are happy, Then choose life and live. 
 
 THE END FOR WHICH CHRIST CAME. 
 
 By Rev. J. R. Brooks, 
 Of the North Carolina Conference. 
 
 lam come that they might have life, and that they might have it 
 more abundantly.— John x: 10. 
 
 The coming spoken of in the text may refer re- 
 motely to what the Son of God, as Mediator, did for 
 oar race before His incarnation. It probably, how- 
 ever, refers chiefly to His manifestation and sacrifice 
 in the flesh — to His incarnation and life, His minis- 
 try and death, His resurrection and intercession. 
 
 In the text He tells us the end of His mediation : 
 " I am come that they might have life, and that they 
 might have it more abundantly." 
 
 The first end and effect of the Saviour's mediation 
 is that we have our natural life— our existence as 
 moral beings. 
 
 It is not believed that God would ever have created 
 
 man a moral being apart from His purpose and plan 
 
 to redeem him. Redemption was not the result of 
 
 •any after-thought on the part of the Almighty — was 
 
 4 
 
54 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 no improvised plan for meeting an unforeseen exi- 
 gency in man's affairs. On the contrary, it was 
 part of God's "eternal purpose, which He purposed 
 in Christ Jesus," concerning our race. Christ is the 
 Lamb that was, in the purpose of God, " slain from 
 the foundation of the world.'"' There was evidently 
 unity of design in creation and redemption. Hence 
 it was, probably, that God, by Jesus Christ, created 
 as well as redeemed our race. St. Paul more than 
 intimates that the Son of God was anointed for both 
 these acts in the great drama of human existence. 
 And that the Messiah created man with reference to, 
 preparatory for, and for the sake of, the glorious re- 
 sults of redemption. The attentive reader of his 
 epistles to the Ephesians and Collossians will hardly 
 fail to notice that the apostle seems to connect both 
 these works in man's behalf with each other. Also, 
 that he connects both of them with Christ as the 
 Author of both, assuring us that man was originally 
 s< created by Jesus Christ," and is now "created anew 
 in Christ Jesus." 
 
 r But, whether man was created on the basis of the 
 atonement or not, it is very certain that he was per- 
 mitted to live after the fall only on that basis. For, 
 by sin he forfeited the right to life, and the penalty 
 of the law would instantly have cut the race off had 
 not Christ, by becoming our Substitute, stayed the 
 execution of the sentence. And, if justice had not 
 demanded the sinner's death, the goodness of God 
 would have forbidden the propagation of our race, 
 apart from any provision for its holiness and hap- 
 
The Mission of Christ. 55 
 
 piness. This position is so well sustained by the 
 general teaching of God's word that it is not neces- 
 sary to quote particular passages. It is very certain 
 that every man is born into the world on the basis 
 of the atonement, in view of its provisions, and in 
 reach of its benefits — that no man would have been 
 born had not Christ become his Substitute and Sure- 
 ty — had He not agreed to redeem him and bring to 
 bear influences adapted to make his existence a bless- 
 ing and a success. Christ came and stood for us, 
 then, that we might be born into the world, with all 
 the glorious possibilities involved in our existence 
 as moral beings. He has come that we might come; 
 He has lived in the flesh that we might live also. 
 
 A. more important end of Christ's coming is that 
 we might have spiritual and eternal life. 
 
 By this is not meant simply spirit life — exist- 
 ence as a spirit or a moral being, which has just 
 been noticed. But reference is had to that supernat- 
 ural and spiritual endowment, whose elements and 
 functions are faith in God, and peace with and love 
 to Him and man ; that endowment which involves 
 or issues in purity of heart, holiness of life, and spir- 
 itual happiness. The Messiah did not, through His 
 creative or mediatorial work, bring us into being 
 under the dire necessity cff dragging out a miserable 
 and eternal existence on the low level of sin and 
 suffering. But he brings to bear influences that are 
 adapted to lift us to the high plane of faith in, and 
 communion with God, and of an eternal life of love 
 and joy in heaven. 
 
56 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Now, how does the Saviour accomplish this work ? 
 He does it, first, by the verbal instructions of His 
 ministry and the dramatic teaching of His life and 
 death. He does it, secondly, by the atoning and 
 propitiatory effect of His sacrifice, and by His inter- 
 cession in heaven. 
 
 Let us hold out attention to this point for a min- 
 ute. 
 
 First, then, we say Jesus gives us spiritual life 
 through the moral effect of His teaching, while liv- 
 ing and while d} r ing. 
 
 Two sets of facts or conditions are necessary to the 
 existence of every kind of life of which man, while 
 in the flesh, is capable. The one set is subjective, 
 the other objective. The one inheres in his nature 
 —is a part of himself—awhile the other is external 
 to him, and is separable from him. Take, for ex- 
 ample, physical life. Here we have one of each of 
 these conditions, which corresponds with the other, 
 in the lungs and the atmosphere. Deprive a man of 
 either of these, and lie cannot live and breathe phys- 
 ically. His lungs may be perfect, but they will not 
 act without the atmosphere. And the atmosphere 
 with which he is surrounded may be perfectly 
 adapted to sustain physical life, but if he has no 
 lungs he cannot breathe *t and live. And if the 
 lungs are diseased or the atmosphere is impure, 
 the life that is conditioned on them will, to the same 
 extent, be unhealthy. 
 
 Take social life. Two of its elements are confi- 
 dence and love. To live socially, man must breathe 
 
The Mission op Christ. 57 
 
 an atmosphere that is adapted to support faith and 
 affection. Now, in order to the existence of this life 
 in one man, he must have the power to confide in 
 and love others. And there must be in others real 
 or supposed trustworthiness and lovableness. In 
 other words, he must have a. social nature, and others 
 must furnish a healthy social atmosphere for that 
 nature to breathe. Let either of these conditions be 
 lacking, and he cannot live and breathe socially. 
 And so would it be universally if there were uni- 
 versal lack of either of these conditions. And if 
 either of them were impaired, to the same extent 
 would the life be that is based on them. 
 
 This is true of the spiritual life which Jesus came 
 to secure for us. For, in very important respects, 
 spiritual life is only a higher and purer type of so- 
 cial life, God, as well as man, being the object of 
 confidence and love in the former. And, of course, 
 in order to its existence, the same external and in- 
 ternal conditions of life must exist. There must be 
 in us the power to confide in and love God, and we 
 must see or believe that He is worthy of our confi- 
 dence and affection. In other words, we must have 
 the power to breathe spiritually, and we must be 
 surrounded with a healthy spiritual atmosphere. 
 In the absence of either of these conditions, spiritual 
 life is impossible to us. And if either of them is de- 
 fective, so will be the life that is dependent on them. 
 
 Now, to meet this two-fold necessity of man's case, 
 God, in the beginning, established both these con- 
 ditions of spiritual life. In creation He endowed 
 
58 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 man with the power to believe on and love Him, 
 together with all the other faculties that inhere in 
 the nature of a moral and responsible being. In a 
 revelation made to Adam, He unquestionably estab- 
 lished the external conditions of life. It is true we 
 know but little of that revelation, but it must have 
 been adapted to develop and sustain man's faith in 
 and love to God. Adam doubtless saw that God is 
 worthy of man's confidence and affection. And, see- 
 ing this, he might have lived, and breathed, and 
 grown spiritually forever. And he did live and 
 grow so long as these external conditions of life re- 
 mained intact. 
 
 But Satan threw a vail over God's character and 
 obscured its purity and loveliness. He successfully 
 attacked the ground of man's faith in God's truth- 
 fulness and justice. He said, substantially: "God 
 is false. Ye shall not surely die in the day ye eat of 
 the forbidden fruit. God is not just. He does not 
 hate sin and will not punish your disobedience. Ye 
 may with impunity disregard His prohibition." 
 He next struck a fatal blow at man's confidence in 
 God's goodness and lovableness. He said : " God is 
 selfish. He does not wish you to be wise and happy 
 like Himself." His exact words were: " God doth 
 know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes 
 shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing 
 good and evil." And having gone thus far, it was 
 very natural and easy for him to go a step farther 
 and persuade man that, as God is neither holy nor 
 good, He will not reward his obedience with a happy 
 
The Mission of Christ. 59 
 
 Immortality. In this way be represented God as a 
 false and hateful Deceiver, rather than as a true and 
 unselfish Friend— as one whose threatening^ man 
 need not fear, and whose promises he need not be- 
 lieve. He thus, in an instant, substituted the oxy- 
 gen of truth with the hydrogen of falsehood, in the 
 spiritual atmosphere with which man was surround- 
 ed. And the result was that man's spiritual lungs 
 collapsed, his spiritual heart ceased to beat, and all 
 the wheels of his spiritual machinery stood still. 
 In other words, man listened to Satan's slanderous 
 falsehood touching God's character, and, believing 
 that falsehood, he died spiritually. And until the 
 atmosphere of truth is restored to him he can never 
 live again. He may live on physically; he may 
 tower in intellectual grandeur and strength, but 
 until this blight of falsehood and distrust is removed, 
 he cannot breathe spiritually — he cannot live toward 
 God. 
 
 Now, this was what Jesus Christ, by his verbal 
 instructions and dramatic teaching did for man. 
 He lifted the vail from God's character, and revealed 
 anew and more clearly the glory of His holiness 
 and the richness of His love. In this way he " de- 
 stroyed the works of the devil," and thus accom- 
 plished the avowed "purpose" of His "manifesta- 
 tion." And it was in this way that He justified the 
 assertion of St. John, that " the Son of God is come, 
 and hath given us an understanding, that we may 
 know him that is true * * *. This is the true 
 God and eternal life." The Son of God has indeed 
 
60 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 "come" and "given us an understanding" of, or 
 an insight into, the character of" Him that is true," 
 thus enabling us to see and " know " that he is true, 
 contrary to Satan's teaching. And we find also, 
 that this knowledge tends to lift our souls, in con- 
 fidence and love, to " the true God and eternal life." 
 Now, how did the Messiah impart to man this 
 knowledge of the true God ? 
 
 Passing over the revelation made in type, promise 
 and prophecy, under former dispensations, we call 
 attention to what He did after His manifestation in 
 the flesh. 
 
 1. Jesus showed God to man in His life and exam- 
 ple. When Philip said to Him, "show us the Father," 
 He replied : " He that hath seen Me hath seen the Fa- 
 ther." And it was true ; for the holiness and good- 
 ness of the Deity shone out most gloriously and con- 
 spicuously in the words and works of this incarnate 
 Jehovah. " The face "—life—" of Jesus Christ " was 
 luminous with "the light of the knowledge of the 
 glory of God"— the glory of His holiness and love- 
 as that " face" reflected "the image of Him that is 
 invisible." In a word, this God-man lived the di- 
 vinity of His nature and character, and thus showed 
 most plainly and strikingly that Satan is false and 
 wicked, and that God is true and good. 
 
 2. Jesus revealed God to man in the preaching of 
 Himself and His apostles. The sum of that preach- 
 ing, as to God's nature and character, is that "God 
 is light" and "God is love"— That He is pure and 
 true— free from the darkness of falsehood and in- 
 
The Mission of Christ. 61 
 
 justice in His character. And that he is loving and 
 lovable— free from selfishness and malevolence in 
 His nature. The burden of His and their theme 
 was that God is too holy to do wrong Himself, and 
 too just— hates sin too much— to suffer wrong in oth- 
 ers to go unpunished. Also, that, at the same time, 
 He is too full of love and goodness not to do all in 
 His power to promote man's happiness. 
 
 3. Most specially did Jesus show God to man in 
 His sufferings and death. In His crucifixion, we 
 have the intensest display of the divine holiness and 
 love that the Messiah could have made. In His 
 suffering unto death, He more effectually contradicts 
 Satan and vindicates the divine rectitude and good- 
 ness than he had none in His life and ministry. In 
 His agony and blood, He said to man : God so loves 
 truth and hates sin that He dies rather than allow 
 His word to fail or sin to go unpunished. In His 
 groans and death, He said : God is so merciful and 
 good— so forgets self and loves man, that He gives 
 His own life rather than see the sinner die— 
 
 "To shame our sins, He blushed in blood, 
 He closed His eyes to show us God." 
 
 As the Prophet of God and " the Light of the 
 world," He had, during His life, dispelled the dark- 
 ness that had gathered about the divine character. 
 Now, in His death, as the Priest of God, He lifts or 
 rends the vail which had hung as a pall over that 
 character and over man's prospects. The rays of 
 light which shone out so gloriously from this "Sun 
 
62 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 of Righteousness/' as He. rose above the Mount of 
 Beatitudes and the Mount of Sorrow, converged to the 
 same point, and then streamed out upon an astonish- 
 ed and gladdened world through this one channel : 
 " God so loved the world that He gave His only be- 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 
 not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 
 Thus it was that the dark and poisonous atmos- 
 phere of falsehood and distrust, with which Satan 
 had shrouded God's character, was displaced by the 
 bright, pure and warm atmosphere of truth, confi- 
 dence and love, enabling man once more to live 
 spiritually. At least, in this way were the external 
 conditions of such life re-established. 
 
 We remark in the second place, that Jesus gives 
 us spiritual life through the atoning effect of His 
 death, and through His life of intercession in 
 Heaven. 
 
 We have already seen that by the atoning effect 
 of His sacrifice, He removed the legal and moral 
 barriers out of the way of man's living in the flesh. 
 Also, that by the moral effect of His teaching, in 
 life and in death, He restored a healthy atmosphere 
 to his spiritual nature. It was necessary for man 
 that He go a step farther, and remove from his soul 
 the spiritual death and moral weakness, induced by 
 his sin and fall. 
 
 Look at that poor collier. His life has been 
 choked out of him by the poisonous damps of the 
 mine. Because of the effect of this deadly atmos- 
 phere, his blood has been poisoned and his heart 
 
The Mission of Christ. 63 
 
 and lungs have ceased to act. He can never live 
 and breathe again without the application of resto- 
 ratives. An extraneous force must be brought to 
 bear upon him. Resuscitation must come from with- 
 out. Some friend must inflate his lungs and start 
 his heart to beating again, even after he has been 
 lifted to a pure and healthy atmosphere. 
 
 This is precisely the case with man's spiritual na- 
 ture and its necessities since the fall. Even after 
 the healthy atmosphere of truth has been restored 
 to him, his soul is still "dead in trespasses and sins." 
 His spiritual lungs have to be inflated and his heart 
 started to beating by some external force. His 
 spiritual blood must be purified, and other effects of 
 the fall must be removed by a power other and 
 greater than his own. In a word, new life and new 
 strength must be imparted to his soul by some liv- 
 ing and powerful Friend. This Jesus does for him 
 through the agency of the Holy Spirit, whose gift to 
 man He secures by the atoning and propitiatory ef- 
 fect of His sacrifice and by His intercession in 
 Heaven. By virtue of His death, and in answer to 
 His prayer, the Holy Spirit comes and sheds the 
 light of life upon man's intellect, breathes the breath 
 of life into his spiritual nostrils and lungs, and sheds 
 the light of love abroad in his heart. Thus his 
 spiritual blood is purified, his spiritual nature is re- 
 newed and invigorated, and he is lilted to his feet 
 again, and enabled to " walk in newness of life." 
 
 After imparting this new life to the soul, Christ, 
 through the agency of the Spirit, becomes its Sup- 
 
64 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 porter. The material sun not only awakens nature in- 
 to a new life, but, by his light, heat and electric power, 
 he develops and fosters, supports and strengthens that 
 life. So, the "Sun of Righteousness" not only 
 " quickens " man's dead soul into spiritual life, but 
 He sustains, developes and strengthens that life. 
 By the light of His truth, the warmth of His love, 
 and the electric power of His grace, He enables the 
 Christian to grow up into Christ, his " Head " in ail 
 things. Through the agency of the Spirit and the 
 instrumentality of His word, He becomes the "bread 
 of life " and the "sincere milk" and "strong meat ; ' 
 on which man's soul feeds and grows. Through 
 Church ordinances and other means of grace, and 
 by His direct influence on the soul, He "helps our 
 infirmities" and "strengthens us with might by 
 His Spirit in the inner man." Dwelling Himself "in 
 our hearts by faith," He enables us to become "root- 
 ed and grounded in love" — strengthened and estab- 
 lished in the life of God. Thus His "strength is 
 made perfect" to man in his greatest weakness and 
 want. In the face of fiercest temptation, and in the 
 hour of sorest trial, we may confidently and joyous- 
 ly sing : 
 
 "Strong in the strength which God supplies 
 Through His eternal Son." 
 
 A word as to what Jesus means by our having 
 life " more abundantly." His words seem suscepti- 
 ble of two different constructions, which, however, 
 harmonize with each other. First. He may mean 
 
The Mission of Christ. 65 
 
 that the volume of life which flows through the pure 
 soul is broader and deeper, fuller and stronger, in 
 consequence of His mediatorial work than it would 
 havft been simply because of His creative work — ■ 
 That the intenser display of God's character, made in 
 redemption, develops a more vigorous and joyous 
 life of love and gratitude than did the feebler display 
 made in creation. Secondly. He may mean that 
 the larger measure of knowledge and gracious in- 
 fluence imparted to man under the present dispen- 
 sation-— since His manifestation and death— lifts him 
 to a higher plane of intelligence, love and joy, than 
 the one on which he lived under former dispensa- 
 tions — That, as vegetable life is more luxuriant, vig- 
 orous and fruitful under a tropical sun than it is in 
 colder regions, so spiritual life may and ought to be 
 more vigorous and fruitful under the directer and 
 more powerful rays of the "Sun of Righteousness," 
 in the dispensation of the Spirit, than it was under 
 those of the Father and the Son. 
 
 Bear a word in conclusion, by way of application. 
 
 1. If we owe our existence in this world, and the 
 possibility and hope of attaining unto eternal life in 
 the world to come, solely to the Lord Jesus, should 
 we not gladly consecrate our lives to his service, and 
 live wholly unto Him? St. Paul thought so. He 
 says : " "We thus judge that if one died for all, then 
 were all dead " — judicially and spiritually — " and 
 that they which live should not henceforth live unto 
 themselves, but unto Him which died for them and 
 rose again." 
 
66 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 2. If, after Jesus has performed every work and 
 brought to bear every influence that is adapted to 
 develop our spiritual life, we are still "dead in tres- 
 passes and sins," we are wholly without excuse. 
 And, in the day of final accounts, we will be utterly 
 and hopelessly " speechless." 
 
 3. Do not we, living in the dispensation of full 
 gospel light and grace, show great lack of gratitude 
 for the work of Jesus, when we move on the low 
 plane of religious doubt and fear, and are controlled 
 more by the spirit of compromise than we are by the 
 Spirit of consecration ? Whatever may be our views 
 touching the doctrine of entire salification or 
 Christian perfection, we certainly ought to breathe 
 a purer atmosphere and live a " higher life " of reli- 
 gious enjoyment and usefulness than did those 
 whose lots were cast in a darker and less spiritual 
 dispensation. "Jesus being now glorified," and 
 " the Holy Ghost," in the richness and fullness of 
 His influences, " being now given," " rivers of living 
 water" should, for the refreshment of himself and 
 others, " flow " out from the soul of the consecrated 
 believer. 
 
 God help both writer and reader to realize how 
 priceless a boon is life !— help them to prize more 
 highly the unspeakable privilege of living spiritu- 
 ally and eternally !— help them, above all else, to so 
 appreciate the work which Jesus has done for them, 
 as constantly and perseveringly to live for Him a 
 life of love, purity and joy—a life of consecration, 
 activity and zeal! 
 
The Only Foundation. 67 
 
 THE ONLY FOUNDATION. , 
 
 By Solomon Pool, D. D., 
 Of the North Carolina Local Ministers' Conference. 
 
 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is 
 Jesus Christ.— I Cor. iii : 11. 
 
 Many persons are satisfied with a very carelessly 
 constructed system of theology. The} 7 bestow less 
 thought upon eternal than upon temporal concerns. 
 They are careful to inform themselves well in secu- 
 lar matters, but in respect to religion they hastily 
 assume some principle and then hurry away. And 
 yet there are probably very few who do not form 
 some actual and positive opinion upon religious 
 matters, however carelessly obtained. Upon this 
 are based their expectations of a better future. Upon 
 this, as a foundation, whether false or true, fanciful 
 or real, hope rears her superstructure. All have 
 hope, and to something all trust ; the pagan to his 
 idol-gods, the Mohammedan to his Koran, the Hin- 
 doo to his Shastra, the Infidel to his Skepticism, the 
 Pharisee to his Self-righteousness, the Christian to 
 his Saviour. 
 
 The text is an expression which pertains to archi- 
 tecture, and sets forth the only true foundation on 
 which hope can build. All other. foundations are 
 vain and unreal, for " other foundation can no man 
 lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 
 
68 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Without the effort at anything new or original, I 
 propose in this discussion, first to consider a few of 
 the fake foundations which underlie the hopes of cer- 
 tain classes to be met in an average American con- 
 gregation ; and secondly, to notice the only true 
 foundation. 
 
 1. False Foundations. 
 
 Of course I shall not notice the vain hope of those 
 who trust to idols, for we have no pagans in our 
 midst. Nor shall I refer to the Mohammedan faith, 
 for there are no followers of the false prophet among 
 us. I also pass unnoticed the bold and daring atheist 
 who denies the existence of his Creator, and b'rain- 
 lessly affirms that all things come by chance! As 
 far back as the days of David none but the "fool" 
 dared say such a thing, and he only in his heart. 
 A specimen of the living atheist cannot be found in 
 an average American congregation. He must be 
 dug out as a fossil imbedded in the moral strata of 
 a distant epoch, or be sought among the rubbish 
 and debris of buried centuries. Nor shall I notice 
 that rank form of infidelity which denies the au- 
 thenticity of divine revelation, blasphemously en- 
 thrones Reason as the god of the universe, and bases 
 its hopes of a better state upon human systems 
 alone. Passing by all these, I propose to consider 
 the false foundations upon which three several 
 classes in our own midst base their hopes of eternal 
 happiness. 
 
 The first of these base their hopes of salvation on 
 
The Only Foundation. 69 
 
 the general mercy of God, without reference to the 
 atonement of Christ. They faintly hope that perhaps 
 all this talk aboutfuture, eternal punishmentis a mis- 
 take; thatperhaps all these appealsfrom thepulpitare 
 only part of the preacher's business; that he presents 
 his cause just as do other professional men, and after 
 all perhaps the whole exercise is merely perfunctory, 
 and does not actually demand their serious atten- 
 tion. That the infinite goodness of God will cer- 
 tainly rescue them, and that they cannot really be 
 sent to such a place of torment as the Bible speaks 
 of. It is upon some such vague conception as this> 
 that many base their hopes and seem satisfied. With 
 such an uncertainty before them in temporal matter 
 they would not for a moment think of embarking in 
 an enterprise of trade, and yet they risk upon it their 
 eternal interest. The frail skiff in which they would 
 not venture out upon the serene bosom of an inland 
 bay in time, they carelessly board and launch forth 
 upon the great ocean of eternity. 
 
 The error of this class is manifest first from the 
 fact that their view is not in unison with revealed 
 truth. This mercy to which they trust is not that 
 which has been offered to man. It is true that God 
 has promised his mercy, but only on specified condi- 
 tions; those conditions must be complied with, or 
 we cannot justly claim the promise. Suppose you 
 are suffering with some dreadful malady ; a benev- 
 olent man offers to relieve you ; he certainly may 
 reserve the right of doing it in his own way. It 
 matters not whether it be by a potion which yoa are 
 
70 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 to imbibe, or by a touch of his hand, or by the use 
 of his lancet, or by bidding you employ the service 
 of a third person to whose care you are to entrust 
 yourself. You might perhaps have preferred a dif- 
 ferent method, but you will certainly admit that he 
 has the right of befriending you in his own way. 
 and especially if that be the only efficient wa3 T . You 
 might have liked it better perhaps if he had simply 
 by a magic touch, or by a motion of his hand, bidden 
 den the awful disease begone, but say have you there- 
 fore any just ground of complaint ? In his benevo- 
 lence and his wisdom he has prescribed the best, and 
 perhaps the only means for your restoration. If you 
 refuse that, you die. And so it is with reference to 
 spiritual things. Man is diseased. A moral malady 
 threatens him with eternal death. The poison of 
 sin is in his veins. God has revealed the plan 
 whereby he may be saved. He bids him look to the 
 Saviour and live. He offers salvation and eternal 
 life, but it is only through his Son. He declares ! 
 that the believer in Jesus shall be saved — that the 
 unbeliever shall be damned. That there is no other 
 way given among men whereby we can be saved, 
 but by simple faith in Christ. That as the leprous 
 Syrian captain could only hope to be healed by 
 seven ablutions in the waters of Jordan, so the lep- 
 rosy of sin can only be washed away by atoning 
 blood. It might have accorded better with your 
 feelings if God had allowed you to dictate the terms 
 of your pardon. It might have been less humilia- 
 ting to your pride to go directly to Him for mercy, 
 
The Only Foundation. 71 
 
 ther than to the. Babe of Bethlehem, the Man of 
 Sorrows ; but the revealed plan is different, and in 
 rejecting that you scorn his bounty and insult his 
 
 ^on. 
 
 Then too, this presumptuous confidence in God's 
 mercy does violence to his character. It makes him 
 merciful, but destroys his justice. It belies the writ- 
 ten word, and dismantles Deity of part of his glory- 
 Look at some of the declarations of Holy Writ. Re- 
 rring to the enemies of Christ, it is written, "Their 
 end is destruction " (Philip, iii : 19) ; " when they 
 shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction 
 cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman 
 with child ; and they shall not escape " (I Thess. v : 
 2, 3) ; "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 
 with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking ven- 
 geance on them that know not God, and obey not 
 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be 
 punished with everlasting destruction from the pres- 
 ence of the Lord" (II Thess. i : 7-9) ; " Fiery indig- 
 nation shall devour. the adversaries; * * ven- 
 geancebelongeth unto me, I will recompense, saiththe 
 Lord" (Heb. x: 27-30) ; " Our God is a consuming 
 fire" (Heb. xii: 29). These and untold similar dec- 
 larations of sacred truth, are made false by him 
 who claims salvation through the mercy of God, 
 outside of Christ. 
 
 Do you complain that a single sin cannot justly 
 deserve eternal punishment ? How can you decide 
 a question, of whose merits you may be utterly igno- 
 rant? And there is no one v\ho can say he has 
 
 
72 North Carolina Sermons, 
 
 committed but one sin. The most moral and u 
 right will not, nor will they deny the corruption 
 their natural appetites and affections. And theli 
 after having sinned every day, can they justly di( 
 tate the terms on which they will agree to be pa< 
 doned ? And then, in order to accommodate therji 
 selves, they propose to substitute for the gospel pis) 
 of salvation, one of their own invention, which b 
 lies the written word, eliminates some of the su 
 limest of the Divine attributes, and annuls the who 
 work of redemption. 
 
 But this is not all. This vain confidence in tl: 
 Divine goodness must be destructive of all morali 4 
 and uprightness. The good and bad are place! 
 upon the same footing. There is no incentive t 
 holiness and no restraint upon vice. If the Divin 
 mercy will rescue all, then the floodgates of sin an 
 thrown wide open, and the world is deluged witi 
 nncleanness. He who builds upon such a founds: 
 tion, builds upon sand. Hope may rear upon it he 
 beautiful superstructure, but, however attractive an! 
 charming, the whirlwind of God's wrath will sweei 
 it away. 
 
 There is a second class who make a moral life th 
 foundation of their hopes. The principle they as 
 sume is, that general propriety of deportmen 
 merits the salvation of the soul. They claim salva 1 
 tion on the ground of good works instead of faith ii 
 Christ. There was a man of business whose honest; 
 was proverbial in the community where he ilved 
 but he made no profession of faith in Christ. H< 
 
The Only Foundation. 73 
 
 is approached by a friend who kindly enquired 
 ncerning his hopes for eternity. " They are en- 
 rely satisfactory to me, sir," he replied. " Do you 
 jlieve in God, and do you accept the Bible as his re- 
 eled will?" "Certainly! do, sir" he said. "Do you 
 :cept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, and look 
 r salvation through the atonement he has made ?" 
 By no means/' he replied. " Have you repented 
 • your sins?" "Not at all, sir," he said. " Do you 
 3 lieve that all men will be saved ?" "I do not sir." 
 'o you believe that some will be lost ?" " I certainly 
 b." "Then, sir," said the friend, " will you be good 
 Lough to tell me on what your hopes of heaven are 
 ased V "Upon this," he replied ; " I have all my 
 ife made it a point to be perfectly fair and honest 
 i all my dealings with my fellow-men; I have 
 ever wronged, nor cheated, nor defrauded a human 
 ieing; no one living or dead can say I have ever 
 one them an intentional wrong; I have been gen- 
 rous and liberal to the full extent of my ability, 
 ,nd am satisfied that in all respects my life has been 
 nore moral and exemplary than that of many of 
 ny professed christian neighbors. I do not believe, 
 ir, that God will east me into hell." Now here was 
 i most illustrious example of what may be termed 
 :ommercial integrity, and it existed without piety. 
 rhe religious element was entirely lacking, and yet 
 he man was self-complacent and tranquil upon the 
 subject of his soul's salvation. He had no love to 
 3od in his heart, and was therefore unfit for heaven. 
 He refused salvation through Christ, was trusting to 
 
74 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 his own fancied merit, and expecting to steal into 
 heaven as a thief or a robber. 
 
 There may be morality without piety ; from such 
 I withhold not the proper admiration, but it cannot 
 qualify you for heaven. All good works which do 
 not spring from faith in Christ and love to God are 
 no more than so many splendid sins. But while 
 there may be morality without piety, yet there can 
 be no genuine piety without morality. The infidel 
 Hume never uttered a more palpable fallacy than 
 when he affirmed that natural honesty of temper is- 
 a better security for a correct course of conduct than 
 religious principle. The man whose sinful nature 
 has not been renewed, is like him who carries gun- 
 powder in his pocket; it is liable at any moment to 
 ignite and blow him into ruin. Sin is gunpowder,, 
 temptation the spark. Piety is the only sure safe- 
 guard of virtue. The superstructure which hope 
 rears upon a moral life may be pleasing to the eye 
 and win the admiration of the world, but the foun- 
 dation is insecure, and it cannot stand the test of the 
 final day ; for " other foundation can no man lay 
 than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 
 
 The third class whom I notice base their religious- 
 hopes on sensibility. The former class based theirs 
 upon conduct, these upon emotion. Those upon 
 what they do, these upon what they feel. They love 
 to meet with the people of God in public worship; 
 their hearts glow, and their spirits are stirred within 
 them, as they engage in the outward formal services, 
 oi the sanctuary, or listen to the pointed appeals of 
 
The Only Foundation. 75 
 
 the preacher ; and yet all the while they may have 
 no evangelistic faith, or engrossing affection for the 
 Saviour. As respects vital godliness they may be as 
 soundly asleep as if hushed into the insensibility of 
 death. These feelings, it is true may be, and often 
 are, concomitants of piety, and so is morality. They 
 may be part of the superstructure, but not its foun- 
 dation. The grand fabric of christian character 
 rests upon a firmer foundation than mere sensi- 
 bility. 
 
 You may take the atheist, or infidel, or Moham- 
 medan, or pagan who has never heard of God or 
 Christ or heaven or hell, and his spirits will be 
 aroused under strains of melody, or in view of scenes 
 of beauty and sublimity. Let him stroll in the 
 golden blush of a serene May morning amid the 
 meadows and lawns besprinkled with blue and pink 
 and crimson and saffron ; let him ascend the moun- 
 tain side and behold the vast lineaments of creation, 
 the distant glimpses of cottage and field, of waving 
 forest and winding stream, of rushing mountain tor- 
 rent and overhanging glacier; would it bean evi- 
 dence of piety if his feelings were enkindled at such 
 a perspective as that? Then let his eyes be raised 
 to behold the shining canopy with its millions of 
 blazing suns and silver moons and gleaming stars," 
 let him fully realize that these are not dreary, un- 
 peopled solitudes, but that they all are magnificently 
 garnished houses of sentient, intelligent beings like 
 himself, and he would need no piety to elevate his 
 spirits in the midst of such a sublime contemplation. 
 
76 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 And so a man may be stirred by the recital of some 
 deed of injustice or of benevolence ; he may be 
 aroused by force of a logical argument; he may be 
 moved to tears by a remembrance of his own un- 
 grateful acts, and yet conscience may slumber on, 
 repentance may not be exercised, and faith may as 
 } 7 et have found no lodgment in his soul. So the 
 feelings may be stirred b} 7 the sacred services of the 
 sanctuary, when heaven with its glories is painted 
 in words that breathe and thoughts that burn, and 
 yet the love of God may never have taken possession 
 of the heart. All religious emotion, outsideof Christ, 
 is sheer sentimentalism, and no sure basis of reli-? 
 gious hope. 
 
 Then build upon the Rock of Ages. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord : "Behold I lay in Zion for a 
 foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner- 
 stone, a sure foundation." This stone, rejected and 
 set at naught of builders, has "become the head- 
 stone of the corner." It is the foundation of "Apos- 
 tles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the 
 chief corner stone." It is so strong and firm and 
 broad that all men may build securely upon it. The 
 storms cannot shake it, the floods cannot unsettle it, 
 the tooth of time cannot crumble it. This, and this 
 alone, is the only true foundation of religious hope — 
 simple faith in Jesus Christ, a renunciation of every 
 other refuge and a confident reliance upon him alone 
 for salvation. 
 
 It is related that when Johnson, the prince of 
 
The Only Foundation. 77 
 
 English writers, was about to die, he became deeply 
 concerned for his future. At a distance there lived 
 a pious old man in whom he had great confidence, 
 A messenger was dispatched to the old christian 
 with the request that he would come quickly and 
 instruct the dying man in the plan of salvation, 
 The message was delivered, but the old christian 
 simply took pencil and paper and wrote, " Behold the 
 Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." 
 He enclosed and sealed it, and sent it to the dying 
 man. The accomplished scholar seized the paper, 
 broke the seal and read ; but, disappointed and im- 
 patient, threw it aside, and bade the messenger hasten 
 back and again entreat the old christian to come to 
 his bedside and teach him the way of life. Again 
 the message was delivered, and again the old chris- 
 tian replied ({ Behold the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world." The dying man read it 
 once more. The truth, like sunlight, flashed upon 
 him. He looked, he saw, he trusted, and was saved, 
 I would tell you then 
 
 "That same old stoiy, 
 
 Of unseen things above, 
 Of Ji'sus and his glory, 
 
 Of Jesus and his love. 
 I love to tell the story, 
 
 More wonderful it seems 
 Than all the golden fancies 
 
 Of all our jewelled dreams. 
 I love to tell the stoiy, 
 
 'Twill be my theme in glory, — 
 To i ell the old, old story 
 
 Of Jesus and his love.'' 
 
78 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 A mother once took her idle boy who would not 
 learn and shut him in a room alone. In his hand 
 she placed the open book and bade him study. An 
 hour, and she returned. The boy had thrown his 
 book aside and was playing with the toys that lay 
 scattered upon the floor, or gazing at the paintings 
 which hung upon the walls of the room. She re- 
 moved from the room every toy, and every object 
 which she thought could attract his attention. An 
 hour, and she returned again. He was amusing 
 himself with the pictures of birds and flowers upon 
 the pages of his book. So she tore out the single 
 leaf which contained his lesson, and placing simply 
 that in his hand bade him keep his eye upon it. So 
 taking from your view every intervening object, 
 every earthly attraction, every worldly toy and pic- 
 ture, and every fond, vain hope, I would point you 
 simply to "the Lamb of God thattaketh away the sin 
 of the world." 
 
 I see two men go forth to build. One is wise, the 
 other foolish. Each rears a noble structure and 
 adorns it with all the charms and embellishments 
 of taste and art. In the outward form and appear- 
 ance of the two edifices I detect scarcely a shade of 
 difference. Each man, with self-complacency and 
 satisfaction, enters and for a time resides. But by 
 and by the heavens grow black with threatening 
 storm-clouds. The rain descends, the tempest beats, 
 the weird winds whistle, the floods rush on, and all 
 is hidden from my eye t in the gathered gloom. At 
 length the morning sunlight breaks upon the scene, 
 
On Heaven. 7& 
 
 and I look again. One building lies a heap of ruins > 
 it was built upon the sand. The other still lifts its- 
 towering height in bold defiance of the storm. It 
 has baffled the tempest and the flood, for it was 
 founded upon a rock. Hark ! from the dismantled 
 relics of the one, and from the abiding glory of the 
 other, there rings out the lesson of the text : "Other 
 foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which 
 is Jesus Christ." 
 
 ON HEAVEN. 
 
 By Rev. T. W. Guthrie, 
 Of the North Carolina Conference. 
 
 And the end everlasting life — Romans vi : 22. 
 
 In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would 
 not have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And i f I go and pre" 
 pare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; 
 that where I am, thereye may be also.— St. John xiv : 2, 3. 
 
 These texts bring to our attention a consummation 
 of blessedness of which we, in the present life, can 
 form no complete apprehension. We know nothing 
 of the future world, beyond that which God has 
 been pleased to reveal. None of us have ever been 
 to heaven, and therefore by experience we know 
 nothing of the glory of the place, and the habits of 
 its inhabitants. We have seen no one who has been 
 there, and therefore can gain no knowledge from the 
 
80 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 experience of others. Only one of our race ever was 
 there and returned, and he did not know whether 
 he went there in the body or out of it. He says he 
 was " caught up into the third heaven," beyond the 
 region of the stars — the place of angelic habitation* 
 where God displays his undimmed glory. But we 
 are none the wiser on account of what he saw and 
 heard. He says it was " unlawful" or improper for 
 him to publish what he saw. I suppose human lan- 
 guage to be too poor for such a purpose. The things 
 and scenes of heaven could be adequately described 
 only by a language, grander and nobler than any 
 known to this world. Had the apostle attempted to 
 describe what he saw and heard, his statement would 
 probably have been the basis of hopeless error or in- 
 curable skepticism. In the wisdom of God he was 
 restrained from giving us the information for which 
 curiosity would ask. The remarks we propose to 
 make on this interesting subject we will draw from 
 the teachings of the Bible, either by positive state- 
 ment or by inference. 
 
 Heaven is a place — a local habitation. For proof 
 of this we refer to the Bible. Jesus says: "I go to 
 prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
 place for you, I will come again and receive you 
 unto myself; that where I am ye may be also." The 
 apostle says : " We know that if this earthly house 
 of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build- 
 ing of God, an house not made with hands eternal 
 in the heavens." And, "so shall we be ever present 
 with the Lord." 
 
On Heaven. 81 
 
 The human body of our Lord Jesus Christ was 
 taken up into heaven, and he, in that body, sitteth 
 on the right hand of the Father to make "interces- 
 sion for us. Now, it is not supposable that His hu- 
 man body, though glorified, is so changed as to be 
 omnipresent, but must occupy only one place at the 
 same time, and therefore must have a local habita- 
 tion. We are informed that both Enoch and Elijah 
 were translated, soul and body, and doubtless were 
 carried into the heavenly state, having the same 
 change wrought in them at the time of their trans- 
 lation that will be wrought in all the good people 
 who finally get to the heavenly home. And as their 
 bodies are incapable of diffusing themselves so as to 
 occupy all space at the same time, so there must be 
 a place at which they dwell and which becomes 
 their home. 
 
 We do not desire to be understood as teaching 
 that those who reach the heavenly world are to be 
 always confined to one place out of which they are 
 never to go. So far from this, we may reasonably 
 infer that the vast and boundless universe of God 
 will be open to their entrance, and probably there 
 will be no world so distant that they cannot reach 
 and inspect it. Angels may possibly be their guides 
 in roaming through the sunlit paths of God's Uni- 
 verse, and in the cycles of ages all the worlds now 
 known to astronomers may be visited in person by 
 the redeemed of the Lord, and converse may be had 
 with their countless tribes of inhabitants ; and jour- 
 neys may be made to other worlds in the far distant 
 
82 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 space of God's boundless domain, the existence of 
 which has not entered in to the dreams of astron- 
 omy. 
 
 Heaven is also a state of conscious being. The 
 souls of the good when they leave their bodies at 
 death, do not go into a sleep of unconsciousness un- 
 til awakened by the judgment trump,; but enter at 
 once into a conscious and happy state of being. 
 They know themselves to be the same beings, who 
 have passed through the toils and trials of the pres- 
 ent life, and triumphantly made their w T ay to their 
 present home. The changes which have taken 
 place in them, whatever they may be, do not destroy 
 their identity or interfere with the functions of mem- 
 ory or consciousness. They not only know them- 
 selves but they also know others around them. Faces 
 with which they were familiar here, having pre- 
 served their general custom and features, are known 
 there, and happy greetings and reunions are ex- 
 changed between mutual friends who meet on that 
 distant shore, as together they sit down under the 
 shade of the trees, or walk along the banks of the 
 crystal stream. 
 
 At times the question arises in every mind, where 
 is heaven ? Where is the special future home of the 
 good ? The exact place God has not been pleased 
 to reveal. But one thing we are sure of, it is some- 
 where in the material universe of God as now created. 
 Astronomers tell us, by the use of telescopes, they 
 have discovered that there are five thousand suns, 
 including our own, which are the centers of solar 
 
On Heaven. 83 
 
 systems as our sun is the center of our solar system ; 
 and that the sesuns with their planets, moons, satel- 
 lites, and all which contribute to their completeness, 
 are moving around a common center in regular el- 
 lipses. What that center is we cannot exactly tell ; 
 it has been suggested that probably it is God's throne 
 or the world spoken of in the Bible as heaven. This 
 may be true or not; we have no means of knowing. 
 But our philosophy unquestionably teaches that 
 there must be, somewhere in the universe, some 
 great world out of which, in consequence of its size 
 and position, goes influences of sufficient force to 
 preserve the equilibrium in nature. If the teach- 
 ings of philosophy on this matter be true, then this 
 world is the seat of that city of walls, gates and tem- 
 ples which the apostle John saw. Whether the con- 
 ceptions of astronomy as stated before be true or not, 
 it is about the grandest thought that ever found a 
 w r ay into the human mind. 
 
 In the Bible we are taught that heaven is a state 
 of conscious perpetual union with our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. The happiness of the Christian in this life 
 is derived from the fact of his spiritual union by 
 faith with the Lord Jesus Christ. But here the 
 christian's happiness is often alloyed by causes which 
 have their existence from within as from without 
 him. In the very nature of things, it is not and 
 cannot be perfect. But in the heavenly state none 
 of these causes exist, therefore the happiness is com- 
 plete because the union is complete. The beauty 
 and magnificence of the place does not necessarily 
 
84 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 constitute the happiness of its inhabitants. The 
 cause is in the fact of their fitness in nature to be 
 there. Without this fitness the grandeur of the 
 place would be but the mockery of their misery. 
 Reason teaches that there must be a similarity and 
 agreement between the faculty of enjoyment and 
 the object to be enjoyed; therefore without the spir- 
 itual nature which unites the christian to Jesus 
 Christ and makes him one with time, he could not 
 be happy, even in heaven, but with it he would not 
 be miserable anywhere. 
 
 Heaven is a state of the highest possible enjoy- 
 ment. The enjoyment is not animal or sensual, but- 
 intellectual and spiritual. Jesus on one occasion, 
 speaking of the future life, said to the Jews, that in 
 "the resurrection they neither marry nor are given 
 in marriage, but are as the angels which are in 
 heaven." 
 
 From this statement we understand that the rela- 
 tions which the saints sustained to each other on 
 earth do not exist in the heavenly state. They re- 
 member that they were husbands and wives, parents 
 and children, and brothers and sisters, in the world 
 out of which they have come, and all the pleasures 
 which such memories afford are theirs in their full- 
 ness, but now the} r are saints and priests unto God 
 and the Lamb forever. They are brought into di- 
 rect contact and intercourse with all that is pure 
 and good in God's universe. They being holy, and 
 all around them possessing a like nature, is' the 
 ground of their enjoyment. There is nothing any- 
 
On Heaven. 85 
 
 where to mar the beauty or jar upon the symphony 
 of their natures. They once had pain, sorrow and 
 tears, but now all this is passed never to return. 
 Many of them were of obscure parentage and lowly 
 in condition, and all were once suffering children of 
 humanity. Now they are no longer servants and 
 laborers, but sons and daughters of God, and as such 
 they are of his household, and entitled to all the 
 privileges and emoluments of the family. Upon 
 their head once was placed the thorny crown of sor- 
 row, and their brow was wrinkled with pain, and 
 their hearts were pressed with the burdens they were 
 compelled to carry ; now upon their heads is placed 
 the crown of a king, and upon their brows is the 
 bloom of youth and beauty, and in their hearts is 
 the song of joy. " No chilling wind or poisonous 
 breath" ever reaches them now. The pains of death 
 are passed forever. Jesus wipes the last tear from 
 their eyes, and bears away the last sigh from their 
 hearts. 
 
 ^ Theintellectual enjoyments of heaven will be of the 
 most pure and elevating kind. The mind will be free 
 of the weights and clogs which swing around it in this 
 life, and will rise up to the joyful contemplation of 
 God in his nature, his ways, and his righteous govern- 
 ment. The plan of God in the redemption of the 
 human race will be unfolded to the enraptured 
 mind. The parts of that plan which are now so 
 mysterious and hard to be understood will 'be made 
 clear in the light of the heavenly state. The ways 
 of God as developed in Providence, now so difficult 
 
86 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 of comprehension, will be fully explained. The 
 mind will be able to see the unity and harmony of 
 all things which now seem to be so contradictory 
 and inconsistent. Every step which the mind-takes 
 in its investigations, will bring to it new and mul- 
 tiplied joys, and at the same time expand and de- 
 velop its powers far beyond what we in this life are 
 able to conceive. Besides all this, the society of 
 which each saint will constitute a part, will be of 
 the most pure and genial character. No jarring el- 
 ements will be there to mar its harmony, or disturb 
 its peace. No envying, no jealousies, no strifes and 
 no note of discord, will be felt, seen or heard, in all 
 that glory land. Prophets, patriarchs, apostles, 
 priests, kings and saints, of every age, of every sex, 
 and from every clime, will mingle together in terms 
 of the most intimate love and friendship. Over all 
 this countless, but happy multitude Jesus will reign 
 as the king immortal and eternal. His government 
 will be most benignant and every one of the gov- 
 erned will be more and more enraptured on the re- 
 flection that this grand and glorious Being, who 
 now wears the diadem of universal empire, is the 
 common brother of each. Angels, archangels, cher- 
 ubim, seraphim, and all the ranks of God's hosts 
 who kept their first estate, will be the bosom com- 
 panions of these children of humanit}- who are now 
 saved by divine grace. Their surroundings will be 
 on the grandest and most magnificent scale. Man- 
 sions and palaces built of the most costty material, 
 and furnished in the most gorgeous splendor, will 
 
On Heaven. 87 
 
 be the places of their immediate habitation. Crowns 
 more brilliant than ten thousand suns, will be placed 
 ■upon the head of each. Robes whiter and more 
 'costly than any worn b} r the most fortunate or noble 
 of earth, will adorn each one of the saints. Jewelled 
 palms of victory will be placed in each hand. And 
 thrones decked with jewels more costly and brilliant 
 than diamonds or rubies will be presented to these, 
 now made kings and priests unto God and the Lamb 
 forever. Each heart will be attuned to the sympho- 
 nies of the loving song of redemption. And the 
 voice of praise as it comes up from the myriads that 
 surround the throne of God, will swell and roll out 
 over the plains of that glorious land as the sound of 
 many waters, and the burstings of mighty thunders. 
 Oh happy people ! Oh glorious inheritance ! 
 •f' Heaven is a place of the most delightful employ- 
 ment. The most common and almost universal idea 
 of heaven is that it is a place of rest. Go ask some 
 suffering, toiling child of humanity, what is his 
 thought of heaven, and he will tell you rest, rest. 
 And this view presents it before his mind as furnish- 
 ing the most attractions, and as containing the 
 •strongest inducements and motives for striving to 
 get there. It is very pleasant to the many toilers of 
 earth, to feel that there is a place where the weary 
 may find rest, and where the wicked no more trouble. 
 Still that is not the whole of the story. There is a 
 more elevated and splendid fortune awaiting those 
 who gain that good world. Its inhabitants are not to sit 
 down in absolute idleness. No ; God has nrovided 
 
38 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 something better than that. They are to be actively 
 employed and yet their labors will not fatigue them. 
 They have dropped the cumbrous clay which attach- 
 ed to them in this life, and they are now spiritual 
 beings, and consequently incapable of fatigue. They 
 do not tire in their round of labor and toil. One of 
 their employments will be to sing. This they learn 
 as by intuition. They all sing the song of Moses 
 and the Lamb which we suppose is the song of re- 
 demption. The whole company is formed into a 
 grand choir, and all along the ranks no note of dis- 
 cord is struck. Each knows the chorus and they all 
 sing in the utmost harmony and with the spirit and 
 the understanding. St. John says he saw the mul- 
 titude and heard the singing. It was a burst of 
 praise that rolled over the jewelled walls of the city 
 and fell upon his ear as he stood on the distant Isle 
 of Patmos. But singing is not all. Their minds 
 are quickened. Enquiry is on the wing. They 
 look over the vast fields of creation, and the old 
 longing of which they had the earnest in this life 
 stirs their souls,, World after world rises to their 
 view, and the desire to visit them becomes intense. 
 And when the permission is given, they leave the 
 golden streets, the splendid mansions, thrones and 
 palaces for a season. With their harps of gold in 
 their hands, and the song of praise on their tongues, 
 they scale the jewelled walls or pass out through the 
 pearly gates, they take their march through the track- 
 les ether. Flying upon wings as angels, or sweeping 
 along in chariots of flaming fire, they reach some 
 
On Heaven. 89 
 
 ■distant world and folding their wings for a time 
 upon the crest of some tall mountain, they look 
 down upon its toiling millions, as they are moving 
 to their daily labors, or along the banks of its silvery 
 streams, or the shores of its glittering lakes and 
 oceans. Its animate life, its salubrious atmosphere, 
 and its loamy soil, together with its mineral wealth 
 becomes to them a source of rapturous and delight- 
 ful study. And mounting in the train of some pass- 
 ing comet as its swiftly glides on its way near by, 
 they move with the veloeity of light. Passing suns 
 and stars and systems of worlds, they sweep out into 
 the immensity of space far beyond the orbit of the 
 most distant world, — far out into the immensity of 
 darkness, into which as yet the light of no world 
 has penetrated, and the voice of no sound has broke 
 upon the silence which has reigned from all etprnity. 
 And lost in wonder as astonishment they await the 
 active and coming power of God. Soon the light of 
 a new world just pushed from the creative hand of 
 its Maker, breaks upon their enraptured vision, and 
 as the sons of Ood, they raise anew the song of praise. 
 And so million on millions of ages multiplied, the 
 praise of God shall their rapturous tongues employ. 
 Shall I be in that number ? Reader will you ? 
 The Lord grant we may. 
 
90 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 THE UNREASONABLENESS AND SINFUL- 
 NESS OF MAN'S ATTITUDE 
 TOWARDS GOD. 
 
 By Rev. John S.. "W atkins, 
 Pastor First Presbyterian Church,, Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 Then began he to speak to the people this parable: A certain man- 
 planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a 
 far country for a long time* And at the season he sent a servant to> 
 the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vine r 
 yard : but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And 
 again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated; 
 him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: 
 and they wounded him also, and cast him out, Then said the lord of 
 the vineyard, What shall I do ? I will send my beloved son : it may 
 be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the hus- 
 bandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is- 
 the heir r come,, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So 
 they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore 
 shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them ?. He shall come and de- 
 stroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.— Luke 
 xx : 9-1 li. 
 
 We will not have this man to reign over us.— Luke xix : 14. 
 
 Our Saviour in the parable of the wicked hus- 
 bandmen has thrown upon the canvass a picture, 
 which represents God's infinite love and mercy seek- 
 ing to restore fallen, guilty man, and in contrast, 
 man's cruel and wicked treatment of God. The 
 " householder " is the great God who is repre- 
 sented as mercifully employing ail possible means- 
 for the cultivation of his vineyard. The passage 
 has more immediate reference to the Jews. God sep- 
 arated his ancient people from other nations,, and 
 
Man's Sinful Attitude. 91 
 
 bestowed upon them countless privileges. He gave 
 them special revelations — the law, the covenants, 
 and sent them prophets and teachers. Notwith- 
 standing God's mercies to Israel, they hardened their 
 hearts against Him — they despised His ordinances, 
 and refused to listen to His prophets — and reached 
 the climax of wickedness in slaying His Son, and 
 thrusting Him out of His own vineyard. Christ is 
 still receiving much the same treatment — and men 
 are outraging the efforts of mercy to save them. In 
 the parable of the pounds, Christ is represented as 
 going to His own kingdom and distributing gifts 
 which are to be used. But his citizens hated him, 
 saying, " We will not have this man to reign over 
 us." 
 
 The subject which these passages open up to us is 
 this: The unreasonableness and sinfulness of 
 man's attitude towards God. 
 
 I. This unreasonableness and sinfulness appear, 
 in the first place, in the quiet and nonchalant way 
 in which man entirely ignores the rights of God. 
 He ignores God's rights as creator. He often for- 
 gets that the vineyard in which he lives, whose fruits 
 he enjoys, is God's vineyard. He lives and acts as 
 though it were his own creation and his own poses- 
 sion — when a moment's reflection must tell him that 
 he is only a tenant. The firmament over us with its 
 arch of beauty, the heavenly bodies that roll and 
 sparkle above us, and the earth beneath our feet 
 overspread with every object of attraction are God's 
 empire. Every creature holds his being, his life 
 
92 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 from Him. The air we breathe, the force that ani- 
 mates our frames, the light that shines, are all ema- 
 nations from the Creator's goodness. God's creation 
 of us gives Him an absolute right in us. The fact 
 of creation makes us His by an invulnerable title. 
 There is no creature God has made that is not in- 
 debted to Him, every moment, for everything. Has 
 not God a right to His own ? That which we make 
 out of materials furnished to our hands, we claim 
 as our own. And we do not recognize God's rights 
 in that which comes directly from His hands. We 
 attempt to expel the great householder, and call the 
 inheritance ours. 
 
 We ignore God's rights as Father. The earthly 
 parent who is kind and just and faithful, feels that 
 he has a right to claim the obedience, love and re- 
 spect of his children. From existing relations, he 
 is their constituted protector, guide and support. 
 While we claim and exercise this right we do not 
 recognize God's right to claim our obedience, love 
 and respect. 
 
 Man ignores God's personal rights. God has a right 
 to protect and uphold His honor and glory — rights 
 which men entirely ignore. We recognize our right 
 to protect our own honor and good name. When 
 men slander and curse us, or rob us of our posses- 
 sions, we demand immediate redress. And we have 
 no opinion of the man who has no regard for his 
 honor — who docs not feel indignant at slander and 
 abuse. And yet men can curse God, and abuse God's 
 property, yea seize it as their own, and cling to it 
 
Man's Attitude. 93 
 
 until it is wrested from them by death— and think 
 it all right and proper in the Almighty to take no 
 notice of it. We expect God to exercise infinite for- 
 bearance where we would have no patience whatever. 
 Man will challenge his fellow-man and fight a duel 
 over some little point of honor. He will try to take 
 away the life of his fellow-man for casting a stain on 
 his character. And that same person will expect Al- 
 mighty God to remain still and patient while he curses 
 
 Him, and insults Him through a whole lifetime. 
 
 Man ignores God's rights as Magistrate. God 
 as supreme magistrate and law-giver has a right to 
 protect the interest and dignity of His government- 
 rights which we entirely ignore. Earthly governors, 
 who are constituted executors and sacred guardians 
 of the law, feel bound to protect the interests of the 
 government, and the majesty of the law which is foun- 
 ded in right and truth. And their people demand this 
 protection. When a murder is committed, the gov- 
 ernment is regarded as criminal in failing to visit the 
 offence with condign punishment. Leaving out the 
 idea of the protection of society in the right of life 
 and property, there is a sentiment in every man's 
 heart which says— the offender must be punished— 
 it is right. And if the murderer be untouched, 
 the universal cry is, "the gallows has been cheated." 
 W 7 hen one person breaks into the house of another 
 and robs him even of a small amount, the injured 
 party will pay ten times the amount to arrest the 
 offender. He will have him hauled before a court 
 of justice and see that he is sent to the penitentiary. 
 
94 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 He completely damns the man, as far as he can- 
 damns him utterly for this world. The feelings of 
 humanity are not offended at this treatment, and all 
 the people say— amen. Yet when the infinite God, 
 the supreme law-giver, who is bound to protect His 
 throne, bound by His very nature to uphold the 
 majesty of that law which grows out of His own 
 holy being, bound to protect the interests of His 
 government— when this Almighty Being enforces 
 the penalty of His law, we are ready to cry, " injus- 
 tice, cruelty!" If a man commits a crime against 
 society, if he remain impenitent, he is considered 
 guilty to the last day of his life. Society punishes 
 all impenitent offenders against its laws, more or 
 less directly, throughout their whole lifetime. They 
 take in just as much of eternity as their influence 
 can compass— yea, they go beyond death, and plant 
 a stigma upon the name which is never mentioned 
 without a frown for generations after the offender is 
 gone. Society does this continually for one offence. 
 And when God's government, which extends over 
 eternity, leaves the offender, after a thousand offences, 
 to reap the eternal consequences of his wrong-doing, 
 it is considered monstrous. 
 
 Man ignores God's rights as Allwise. God has 
 rights which grow out of His infinite knowledge and 
 wisdom— rights which we often totally ignore — 
 rights we ourselves claim. We require of our little 
 children who are so inferior to us in knowledge and 
 wisdom, to submit to our decisions and teachings. 
 AVe do not feel always bound to explain to them the 
 
Man's Attitude. 9S 
 
 reasons for our conduct towards them. Often they 
 are unable to understand and appreciate them. We 
 say to them, It is enough for you to know that it is 
 I who speak. We require cheerful acquiescence 
 even when the child does not understand thereasons. 
 And yet with our poor, little, finite, narrow, short- 
 sighted minds, we set ourselves up and challenge 
 the wisdom of the allwise God, and bring him to 
 trial. What is man that he should undertake to 
 raise an objection to anything which God says ! I 
 imagine the ephemeral insect on the leaf of the forest 
 tree exalting itself to comprehend its structure, to 
 complain that it might have been made differently, 
 and better. Man setting himself up to repl} r against 
 God is equally ridiculous. W'hat the creature lias to 
 do is to learn what the creator says. And while our 
 reason tells us this, men are continually demanding 
 of the Almighty to explain the grounds of His con- 
 duct — and setting their wisdom against His. What 
 a strange and absurd attitude for a poor, weak, help- 
 less, sinful creature to assume towards his Almighty 
 Father ! 
 
 God, who is infinite in wisdom, in knowledge, in 
 goodness and love, has a plain right to demand of 
 His finite, short-sighted creatures, perfect acquies- 
 cence when He speaks to them. "Speak, Lord, for 
 thy servant heareth," should be the sentiment of 
 every creature. 
 
 II. Still further, we observe the unreasonableness 
 of man's attitude towarks God's embassy of reconcilia- 
 tion. 
 
§6 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 God's world is in a state of apostasy and rebellion. 
 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 
 "There is none that doeth good, no, not one." The 
 world is full of sin, misery, ruin and death. In God's 
 own dominions He is not recognized. He is hated 
 and rejected by His own creatures — and His right- 
 eous law places them all under condemnation. God, 
 in the fulness and freeness of His boundless grace, 
 condescends to lay aside the robes of heavenly roy- 
 alty and the splendors of His Throne, and comes 
 down among us in the person of Jesus Christ, His 
 Son, on a mission of reconciliation and peace. He 
 comes to his own empire and to His own creatures, 
 to redeem and restore them. Before such an exhi- 
 bition of infinite condescension and love there are 
 many who assume the attitude of bare tolerance. 
 They will consent to listen to what God Almighty has to 
 say through His embassadors. They will tolerate some- 
 times an appeal from Him. When they feel inclined 
 the} 7 will give ear to His message. The infinite God 
 coming down from heaven to persuade man to be 
 saved — to beg and entreat them not to ruin them- 
 selves, and offering a complete salvation — and the 
 •guilty creature deigning sometimes to listen to what 
 he has to say ! 
 
 If any human government sending a simple em- 
 bassy to another power, looking to the adjustment 
 of some difficulty which has arisen between them, 
 should be treated in anything like the manner we 
 treat God's embassy of mercy, that government 
 would declare war the next hour and open every 
 
Man's Attitude, 97 
 
 battery it could muster, and the whold world would 
 er}r, amen. 
 
 When human governments send embassadors to 
 a foreign court to engage in any treaty respecting 
 difficulties, they are treated with the highest regard, 
 
 And still the king of heaven, the immaculate, per- 
 fect son of God comes into our world clothed with 
 divine authority, bringing the credentials of heaven, 
 a being whom all righteous spirits — angels, archan- 
 gels and seraphim — magnify and adore, and he is 
 not suffered to live by his creatures. He is torn 
 away from Iiis gentle mercies, from His acts of 
 healing, from his tender sympathies, and cruelly 
 thrust out of his own dominions by his own crea- 
 tures. 
 
 "This is the heir: come let us kill him, and the 
 inheritance shall be ours." If the infinite God from 
 His imperial throne, had risen in the greatness of 
 His majesty, and hurled our earth from its place 
 and broken it into a million fragments — had He 
 ground it to powder and scattered it out on the 
 broad bosom of infinite space, He would have fol- 
 lowed the course w T hich human governments would 
 follow, if they could exercise the power. He would 
 have acted according to human modes of procedure. 
 
 Behold the horrible indignation to which Jesus 
 Christ has continued to submit even since His cru- 
 cifixion and exaltation. He has proven himself to 
 be the light and the life of the world. And yet how 
 the world has striven, for twenty centuries, to get 
 rid of him ! Why all this bitter opposition to Jesus 
 
98 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Christ throughout the earth ? " God hath a contro- 
 versy with His people. 'O my people, what have I 
 done unto thee : and wherein have I wearied thee? 
 Testify against me.' ' : Why these persistent attempts to 
 thrust him out of His own possession? What has 
 Jesus Christ done that the world should pitch against 
 him thus ? What charges can be brought against 
 him ? He was holy, harmless and nndefiled. He 
 was meek and lowly of heart, and ever went about 
 doing good. Why is the world trying to gather up 
 all its talents, and ransacking the earth to discredit 
 the Bible, when it is the greatest friend it has ever- 
 seen? Why all these desperate endeavors and keen 
 desires to show that the Bible is in conflict with 
 science? Why this delight in guessing that man is 
 only an evolution from lower forms — that he is far 
 older than revelation allows? Why the ready ac- 
 quiescence of men in the wildest speculation ? What 
 is there in the life, the character, the mission of Je- 
 sus Christ to excite all this opposition? The gates 
 of heaven "were open to receive him, and all the 
 heavenly hosts look on him with delight, and shout 
 their halleluiahs of praise. 
 
 There are many who declare that they cast no in- 
 dignity upon Jesus Christ. They are respectful to- 
 wards his teachings; but absorbed in their own pur- 
 suits and pleasures, they give him no thought, no 
 attention. They are entirely preoccupied. 
 
 Let us look at the unreasonableness and udekedness of 
 this attitude. 
 
 The work of redemption is the grandest and most 
 
Man's Attitude. 99 
 
 glorious of all God's achievements. It challenges 
 the attention of the visible and invisible world. It 
 awakens the wonder of the angels. With eagerness 
 and joy they desire to look into it. All heaven is 
 awake with profoundest interest. There never was 
 such an expenditure of divine power as is put forth 
 in this work of redemption. Christ is called the 
 wisdom of God, the power of Ciod — as if there were 
 no other wisdom and power. But above all, there 
 never w T as such an outgushing of compassion and love 
 — and this love so costly ! The price paid fortius re- 
 demption is beyond calculation. Shall the mighty 
 God expend all this wisdom, all this power, all this 
 love ; — shall He exhaust the divine resources and 
 achieve a wonder of love which excites the admira- 
 tion and attention of all heaven — a wonder that 
 gathers all the interests of eternity around it — a won- 
 der of love that shall be the chief attraction of His 
 intelligent beings throughout endless ages, and shall 
 the guilty creature before the presentation of this 
 great salvation assume the attitude of inattention 
 and indifference! Oh! the wonderful patience of 
 God! How amazing that Jesus Christ should sub- 
 mit to such indignity ! 
 
 III. We see the unreasonableness of man's attitude to- 
 wards God in the application and p>rosecution oj His 
 scheme oj mercy. 
 
 After we have broken God's law and dishonored 
 Him and brought upon ourselves His just judgment, 
 we have to be begged and entreated to accept a free 
 salvation. We act as though ive were the offended 
 
100 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 party, and wait until we are persuaded and almost 
 dragged into heaven. We demand that God shall 
 speak to us in an audible voice from heaven — that 
 He shall work some miracle before our eyes. We 
 demand that He shall regenerate our souls by some 
 stroke of power — while we are perfectly passive and 
 asleep. We require Him to supercede and override 
 our free agency, and save us in some miraculous 
 way from the sins we are unwilling to forsake. 
 
 How preposterous to take the position that God 
 must thrust us into heaven ! Imagine a prisoner 
 who has been long confined in a dungeon with man- 
 acles upon his hands and feet. For years his eyes 
 have never seen the blue canopy of heaven. Only a 
 dim ray of reflected light has stolen through his prison 
 bars. He has long been a stranger to the smiles of 
 a human face, and the sympathies of a human heart. 
 Some day the prison doors are thrown wide open, 
 the fetters are loosed, and a pardon signed and sealed, 
 is handed him. Would it not be very strange if he 
 should take the position that he must be persuaded 
 and entreated and forced out of prison? And yet 
 God is expected to beg and entreat His own chil- 
 dren, year after year, not to ruin themselves, but to 
 accept His overtures of mercy and pardon. Men 
 have to be plied, again and again, with all the mo- 
 tives that can be drawn from heaven, earth and hell, 
 to accept a free salvation from eternal ruin. And 
 Jesus Christ patiently stands at the door of the hu- 
 man heart and pleads for admission. 
 
Man's Attitude. 101 
 
 a O lovely attitude, he stands 
 With melting heart and bleeding hands ; 
 O matchless kindness, and he shows 
 This matchless kindness to his foes. 1 ' 
 
 He patiently takes all our insults and scorn, all 
 our contempt of his dignity and grace, of his cross 
 and his blood, and pleads on, saying—" Come unto 
 me and I will give you rest." 
 
 He extended the hand of love and 'grace first to 
 those who had crucified him. As soon as he rose 
 from the dead, he went first to fallen Peter who had 
 forsaken and denied him, and spread his love around 
 him. 
 
 We are inclined to look at this great matter of sin 
 and redemption— this great matter of salvation, al- 
 together from our side of the question— from the 
 side of our rights. The time will soon come when 
 Christ will speak from his side. He is appointed 
 Judge of the world, and all the universe shall be as- 
 sembled before him. As surely as there is a God ? 
 Christ will not then come only bringing pardons, 
 and pleading still with the guilty. He will come 
 clothed with all the rigors of judicial majesty. He 
 will separate the wicked to their fit award. " For 
 the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall 
 be able to stand ? He is like the refiner's fire, and 
 fuller's soap." The guilty soul that has rejected and 
 insulted him, and turned away from his bleeding 
 love, will tremble and shrink and shiver before his 
 offended majesty. 
 
 " Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye 
 7 
 
102 North Carolina Sermons 4 , 
 
 shall see Him, and they also that pierced Sim." 
 Every one of you shall stand face to face with that 
 Saviour. You will see the body that was pierced 
 for you— you will look into those eyes that wept 
 over you. What will you say when he shall appear, 
 no longer as the pleading Saviour, but as the Al- 
 mighty Judge. He will come with his winnowing 
 fan in his hand, he will thoroughly purge his floor 
 — the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 
 The goodness and forbearance of God have been 
 tried all in vain— mow behold His severity ! Be-- 
 bold the wrath of the Lamb f Depart ye cursed into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his an- 5 
 gels. And all the universe shall say, amen I 
 
 THE HUMAN BODY. 
 
 BJ- Rev.. J.. Jj Resn, 
 Df the North Carolina Conference.' 
 
 Neglecting of the t>ody,-=Col. ii: 23. 
 
 Man is "fearfully and wonderfully made/' a com-* 
 plex organism, consisting of body and soul, visible 
 and invisible, material and spiritual, a child of na- 
 ture and of God, constituting in himself, on the one 
 hand, a microcosm — image of the world — , and, on 
 the other hand, a microtheos — image of God. 
 
The Human Body. 103 
 
 These elements of manhood were divinely intend- 
 ed to exist together in harmonious relations in this 
 world, that by their co-ordination man might be 
 able to fulfil his grand mission as announced when 
 he was created in Adam, and also to attain his high 
 •destiny as announced in his redemption through 
 Christ. 
 
 This complete view of man as he is has never been 
 popular in any system of philosophy or religion, in 
 ancient or modern times. Theistic and atheistic spec- 
 ulations have both erred by magnifying one element 
 of manhood at the expense of the other, hence the 
 materialistic deification of nature on the one hand, 
 and the spiritualistic contempt of it on the other. 
 The one party has labored for ages to divorce spirit 
 from matter, the other to divorce matter from spirit. 
 Both have failed, and for the simple reason that 
 what God hath joined together no man can put 
 ■asunder. He has wedded together the visible form 
 and the invisible spirit in the nature of man, and 
 both are necessary for the performance of human 
 functions, and the attainment of human destiny: 
 and from the day when the apostle warned the Co- 
 lossians against u neglecting of the body " to the 
 present time the warning has been necessary. As 
 the result of ancient Gnosticism, which held that all 
 matter is essentially evil, out of which developed the 
 asceticism, monasticism, and mystic fanaticism of 
 the post-apostolic church, the necessity and impor- 
 tance of the human body was lost sight of, and, if 
 we are not mistaken, it is still greatly underestima- 
 
104 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 ted in christian thought. The sentiment is but toa 
 common that the body is a worthless clog retarding 
 the soul in its upward flight, a clumsy environment 
 from which escape should be regarded as the true 
 enfranchisement of the immortal mind. Such a no- 
 tion is supported by neither Scripture nor reason. 
 To redeem the human body from this humiliating 
 view is the object of this discourse. 
 
 The following reflections, therefore, on the sub- 
 jective importance of the body, and its relations to 
 the objective universe, will not, I trust, be deemed 
 out of place in this connection. It is of too great 
 importance to be ignored in any rational and Scrip- 
 tural attempt to describe man as he is, and as he is 
 to be hereafter. This is seen in the following par- 
 ticulars : 
 
 1. The body occupies an important place in man's crea- 
 tion. I will not sa}' that man could not exist until 
 a body was created for him, but he certainly did not 
 exist until that was done. The creation of the body 
 was the first act performed, and the first part men- 
 tioned in the Mosaic description of man's creation, 
 and, beyond question, occupies a prominent place 
 in the only authoritative account on record of man's 
 origin. The body is the substructure of which the 
 rational soul is the superstructure, and is as neces- 
 sary and important in its place as the base is to the 
 stately and beautiful column, or as the solid orb is 
 to the effulgence of the sun. 
 
 We may say without fear of contradiction that 
 God never did anything without sufficient reason. 
 
The Human Body. 105 
 
 for it, and that man would never have had a body 
 at all had it not been a matter of importance both 
 for his own good, and for the glory of his creator ; 
 therefore the very fact that he has a body, formed 
 by the power of God, is proof of its great impor- 
 tance. 
 
 2. The body occupies an important place in man's 
 work Here its importance appears in still stronger 
 light. It is absolutely necessary to man in order to 
 accomplish his God-given mission in that sphere of 
 life in which he was first placed. He was originally 
 destined to dwell in this world for a time, and for a 
 purpose. That purpose is declared in the divine 
 announcement, " Let us make man * * * and 
 let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
 over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and 
 over all the earth, * * * So God created man, 
 * * * And God blessed them, and God said unto 
 them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the 
 earth, and subdue it, and have dominion," etc. That 
 was his mission here, declared to him before his fall, 
 and hence he was placed in the material " garden 
 to dress it and to keep it." Man is divinely appoint- 
 ed as the absolute lord of this earth—may we not 
 say of all material things ? The objects over which 
 he is appointed to rule are specified in Genesis as 
 " every living thing," and, also, " over all the earth." 
 In the light of human history and modern science 
 we can apprehend, and to some extent comprehend, 
 what is the stupendous meaning of this clause, "over 
 all the earth." It seemsboth to refer to its immense ma- 
 
106 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 terial mass, and its invisible laws and forces. It has 
 long been compelled to yield to man's wants much 
 of its precious treasure— its vegetable, animal and 
 mineral wealth. Now, man, guided by the genius 
 of modern science, is compelling it to tell the story 
 of its birth and the long- hidden mystery of its 
 growth. He is translating and transferring the rock- 
 written language of primeval earth to his own im- 
 mortal vocabulary, to be preserved in the archives 
 of the universe when the original scroll of rock shall 
 have been "melted with fervent heat," He compels 
 the earth to surrender her long-imprisoned pre-his- 
 toric fauna and flora to adorn his museums, and 
 store his mind with truth. He has discovered and 
 formulated the laws that control her vast and com- 
 plicated machinery from the nebulous formation of 
 matter and of protoplasmic structure of organic be- 
 ing, to the attraction of gravitation which holds the 
 universe in leash. He is evoking the proud spirits 
 of her invisible forces, and they are coming forth to 
 do his bidding. Electricity carries his messages 
 around the globe with a speed that shames the fleet- 
 footed coursers of the dawn. Steam contributes its 
 titanic strength to bear his burdens, and supplement 
 the cunning skill of his fingers. The atmosphere is. 
 opening up to him a pathway through her trackless 
 domain. Light pencils for his esthetic taste the form 
 of beauty on the glowing canvass. Sound consents to 
 keep his thoughts and tones in store and repeat them 
 to future generations. When we consider what man 
 has achieved in the last century it is likely tkat at 
 
The Human Body. 107 
 
 no distant day the law of gravity itself will obey his 
 will on a scale which to us would now be miracu- 
 lous. 
 
 In view of the divine announcement of man's des- 
 tiny, in view of what he has already accomplished, 
 and the rapid advances he is now making in the 
 many departments of thought and activity, I doubt 
 not that the race is destined to remain on this earth 
 until the divine command is fulfilled to "replenish 
 the earth, and subdue it" until it reveals to him all 
 history of its past existence, until its every atom 
 contributes to his knowledge and welfare, and until 
 its every law and influence is subject to his will. 
 In the performance of these wondrous achievements 
 the body is an absolute necessity. I believe that ail 
 knowledge and force are vested in spirit, but I also 
 believe that neither can reach its highest achieve- 
 ment and manifestation without the agency of mat- 
 ter without the material means to control, combine 
 
 and manipulate material substance into outward and 
 visible expressions of thought and power. And 
 herein is revealed the superiority of men over an- 
 gels. Man is endowed with creative genius and skill; 
 and through the agency of his material form he is 
 able to demonstrate his wonderful endowments, and 
 to impress his subjective power upon the objective 
 world. Angels, whose mode of existence has no ma- 
 terial basis, are incapable it seems of manipulating 
 material substances. Are they learned in art and 
 science? Have they ever invented anything? Are 
 they endowed with genius and skill ? Have they 
 
108 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 ever, during their long existence, erected to them- 
 selves a single monument of art? If so, where is 
 the proof? It is not in the Bible ; it is not in na- 
 ture ; it is not in any part of the universe accessible 
 to us. So far as facts concerning them are revealed, 
 in the exercise of genius and skill, they have raised 
 not a stone, they have carved not a line to speak of 
 their presence in the universe. If they were blotted 
 out of existence to-day we have no evidence that 
 they would leave a footprint on the sands of time. 
 Doubtless they fill an important place, and have an 
 important place in the realm of sentient existence, 
 but it does not seem to lie in the God-like endow- 
 ments of creative genius and skill, manifesting them- 
 selves in art and science, the dreams of poets to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Here, then, is a vast difference between men and 
 angels, and a vast advantage on the side of man. 
 The being who is endowed with genius and skill, 
 and is prepared to exercise them, is, above all others, 
 most like God. Man is gifted with these, and 
 for their exercise the bod}^ is necessary. Such a 
 thing as practical skill in man could not be without 
 the body, nay without even the ten fingers. If all 
 men had been made just as they are, with the excep- 
 tion of the fingers, their earthly mission would have 
 been a total failure. The fingers areas necessary in 
 the work of subduing and dominating the earth as 
 are the brain and spirit of man. Had they been 
 left off he would have been deprived of the ability 
 to execute his will in the development of his higher 
 
The Human Body. 109 
 
 powers. His genius might inspire, his reason might 
 devise, his will might dictate, but without his fingers 
 there could be no execution ; and without the body 
 there could be no outer expression of the inner work- 
 ing of the soul. It is the medium through which 
 he acts upon the objective universe. By its help he 
 has extended his observations, his knowledge, and 
 his operations to an extent that borders on the mi- 
 raculous. 
 
 By its muscular power, aided by the cunning fin- 
 gers, the telegraph line is laid and electricity tells to 
 the ends of the earth the workings of the mind ; 
 steam is harnessed and driven where the will dic- 
 tates ; ships are built and the ocean is crossed ; the 
 balloon is constructed and man ascends to the region 
 of the clouds; submarine armor is made and the 
 depths of the ocean are searched for its hidden 
 treasures; the telescope is raised and the material 
 eye reveals to the mind the mysteries of the starry 
 heaven ; and books are written that immortalize 
 the revelations of God and the achievements of man. 
 
 Without the aid of the body none of these things 
 could have been done. In all this, and infinitely 
 more, it is essentially necessary. Were the human 
 race suddenly translated from the earth it would 
 leave its monuments everywhere. In the pyramid 
 and pillar pointing to heaven, in the mining shaft 
 that taps the bowels of the earth, in the tunnel that 
 burrows through the mountain, and in many a work 
 of art the earth would be able to tell through all 
 her future course the story of man's former residence 
 
110 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 here. This he has clone, yet, doubtless, it is but the 
 beginning of inconceivable achievements to be ac- 
 complished before his earthly mission is over. And 
 the body is the executive agent performing it all. 
 If man, impelled onward by reason, genius and 
 skill, does all this in the temporary encampment of 
 this life, what will he not do when he reaches his 
 eternal home? We can only look up and wonder ! 
 3. The body occupies an important place in man's ulti- 
 mate destiny. In this the question of its eternal im- 
 portance is settled. From the Bible we learn that 
 the spirit cannot enter upon its final career without 
 the body ; hence the resurrection. The spirit can- 
 not be judged without the body ; hence the placing 
 of the judgment after the resurrection. And the 
 spirit is not glorified without the body. The apoca- 
 lyptic visions reveal the glorified saints in heaven 
 in bodily form, clothed in white robes, with crowns 
 on their heads, and with palms and harps in their 
 hands, as they sing the new song of their ultimate 
 salvation. The spirit cannot realize its high destiny 
 and fulfil its grand heavenly mission until "new 
 heavens and a new earth" are prepared for the body. 
 So important is it that the spiritual heaven itself, 
 hitherto inhabited by immaterial beings, must take 
 on a visible, material expression to accommodate it- 
 self to the wants of embodied men. On the night 
 before His crucifixion the Saviour said, " In my Fa- 
 ther's house are many mansions, * * * I go to 
 prepare a place for you ; and if I go and prepare a 
 place for you I will come again and receive you 
 
The Human Body, 111 
 
 unto myself, that where I am [in the body] there ye 
 may be also." Some sixty years after this He grant- 
 ed to St. John a prophetic revelation of "the New 
 Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, 
 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband " with 
 "all manner of precious stones " forher foundations, 
 and her walls "clear as crystal," filled with the light 
 of God and the Lamb. And this is the future home 
 of the embodied saints. Thus we see that heaven 
 itself must be re-edified to become a suitable abode 
 for the residence of redeemed and embodied men, 
 allied as they are, and must forever be, to the outer, 
 visible universe. 
 
 The Scriptures teach us that through universal 
 combustion all nature will be clarified and transfig- 
 ured, filled with light, and made fit material for the 
 exercise of the fully developed powers of glorified 
 man. Then, as the learned Schoeberlein has well 
 said, what holds good of nature in general, holds 
 pre-eminently so of the resurrection body. The 
 future body will be spiritualized because of the in- 
 dwelling supremacy of the life-giving Spirit of God. 
 Such a body will be essentially a body of light, a 
 heavenly body. 
 
 Being thoroughly imbued with the spiritual ele- 
 ment it will be in harmony with itself and with God, 
 hence it will be immortal. It is onty in this its true 
 spirituality that the body reaches its real destina- 
 tion. It will be a body of light, and hence it will 
 manifest to the universe the very finest shades of 
 thought and feeling which exist in the soul. 
 
112 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 But the glorified bodies will not be monotonous 
 duplicates of each other. As there is endless variety 
 of individuality in character, so this variety in its 
 most delicate shades will shine forth from the heav- 
 enly bodies. As one star differs from another star 
 in glory — -as there is one glory of the sun, and an- 
 other of the moon — so with the galaxy of resurrec- 
 tion bodies. 
 
 Here human nature will have attained to com- 
 plete glory. With the clarification of the body the 
 personality rises to complete inner unity. Whereas 
 in this life we consist of the three elements — body, 
 soul and spirit — which may even be separated from 
 each other, in the heavenly life the body and soul 
 will be so pervaded with spirit that the entire hu- 
 man being will present but one unitary spiritual 
 life. As Christ, the head of the kingdom, is the 
 Spirit by pre eminence, so we, his members, will 
 likewise be spirit — spirit in the highest, and, also, 
 most concrete sense, as a realistic unity of personal 
 and natural life through the power of the Holy 
 Ghost. And as the body will be a mirror of, so will 
 it be a suitable home for the soul. In the earthy 
 body instead of beholding heavenly things face to 
 face, we are shut up to the path of faith. But then 
 we " shall see face to face " " and know even as we 
 ourselves also are known." 
 
 As the body will stand in full communion with 
 the kingdoms of natural and spiritual light, it will 
 be superior to the laws of gravitation and passivity, 
 and will move at will through the realms of space. 
 
The Human Body. 113 
 
 Wherever the soul may will to be there it will be 
 able to be. Hence, the body will not be a prison, 
 but a free home for the soul. 
 
 Also it will serve the soul as a perfect organ for 
 intercourse with the outer world. This intercourse 
 will be as essential in the future as in the present, 
 It will onty then exist in perfection for nature will 
 then stand in a more obedient relation to the soul. 
 Man will enjoy nature through all his senses. He 
 will " eat of the tree of life," and " drink of the fruit 
 of the vine/' 
 
 The Paradise that existed before sin will be re- 
 stored in thousand fold splendor after redemption. 
 Ail natural features will be retained, though glori- 
 fied, and we will be able to recognize friends at sight 
 as we do here. But we may be sure that man's re- 
 lation to nature will be not merely receptive, but, 
 also, active. As it is man's calling even here to 
 shape nature to perfection, much more will it be 
 so hereafter. The whole realm of transfigured ma- 
 teriality will be one vast platform for the plastic in- 
 fluence of glorified men. Hence, science, and art, 
 and the mechanism of life, will reach the ideal per- 
 fection toward which they here grope in vain. 
 
 For his active relation to nature, man will have 
 in his glorified powers, the suitable means. As his 
 heart will beat with the heart of God, his spirit will 
 find no hindrance to its outgoings. l We are sown 
 in weakness, but ive rise in power.' We shall subsist 
 in ever full vigor and enthusiasm. Nor will the 
 body be more serviceable for communion with outer 
 
114 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 nature than with the world of personalities. It is 
 ■only through the body that love reveals its inner 
 life and imparts its gifts. If one personal spirit 
 could be conscious of the presence of another with- 
 out the medium of bodily organs of some sort both 
 the fact and the manner of it are alike inconceiva- 
 ble to us. 
 
 Thus we reach the goal of our search. Our bodies 
 are not mere caducous husks, to be thrown off when 
 the soul is ripe; but nature and the kingdom of 
 God, the rational soul and the human body belong 
 normally and essentially together. When the one 
 is transfigured the other is transfigured. And when, 
 at the goal of moral development, they are risen to 
 integral unity, then they persist, through eternit}^ 
 as intimately united as form and substance, light 
 and color. 
 
 Finally, our Lord Jesus Christ now exists in a hu- 
 man body, and will dwell in it with his saints for- 
 ever. His body is indescribably luminous as it was 
 seen, with Moses and Elias, on the mount of trans- 
 figuration, and, also, by John as He stood in the 
 midst of the seven golden candlesticks. And the 
 glorious wonder is the bodies of His saints will be 
 like His! He " shall change our vile body, that it 
 may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, ac- 
 cording to the working whereby he is able even to 
 subdue all things unto himself." "Howbeit that was 
 not first which is spiritual, but that which is natu- 
 ral ; and afterward that which is spiritual. The 
 first man is of the earth., earthy ■; the second man is 
 
The Human Body. 115 
 
 the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are 
 they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly such 
 are they also that are heavenly. And aswehavehorue 
 the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the im- 
 age of the heavenly.'' "Then shall the righteous 
 shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father; 
 who hath ears to hear let him hear," We learn 
 from this : 
 
 1. That the human body is not evil in itself, but 
 a necessary factor in the constitution, mission, and 
 destiny of redeemed and glorified manhood. 
 
 2. That man was never intended to live in eter- 
 nal, listless indolence, to enjoy, without effort or 
 thought, the spontaneous bounties of nature. 
 
 3. That, endowed with Godlike genius and skill, 
 and the power to execute, it is of the very essence of 
 the idea of man that to him is given the power and 
 assigned the duty, by divine help, of solving the 
 problem of his own perfected being, and the words 
 of Christ should ever be his motto • " My Father 
 ■worketh hitherto, and I work J' 
 
 4. That, if true to themselves and their God, men 
 may rise to dominion over all created things, and 
 reign with Christ "far above all principality, and 
 power, and might, and dominion, and every name 
 that is named, not only in this world, but also in 
 that which is to come, inasmuch as they constitute 
 His " church, which is His body, the fullness of him 
 
 THAT FILLETH ALL IN ALL." 
 
 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift !" 
 
116 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 By Rev. George W. Neat.,. 
 Of the North Carolina Local Ministers' Conference. 
 
 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the 
 children of God.— Rom. viii: 10. 
 
 I. God has given to man in the Physical world a witness to guide 
 him to knowledge. 
 
 II. God has also given to man a witness in the Spiritual world to 
 guide him tosalvation. 
 
 III. The unspeakable reward of accepting the Witness. 
 
 I. God has given to man in the Physical world a witness 
 to guide him to knowledge. 
 
 When Jehovah by his creative fiat spoke the uni- 
 verse into existence, He endowed matter with cer- 
 tain laws which should not only portray infinite 
 wisdom, but direct man, monarch of the new-born 
 earth, in fixing the position and relations of his own 
 planet amid other worlds. The Almighty has belt- 
 ed His works with significant lines, and clothed 
 them with burning truths that struggle to come 
 forth into noon-day light, and stand as witnesses for 
 Him. But he has decreed that the intellect He gave 
 man, must laboriously and reverently thread those 
 trembling lines, that penetrate the deep labyrinths 
 of his majesty, to realize the presence of that Wit- 
 ness who speaks for nature, and for Nature's God. 
 The omnipotent Father sweeps countless stars and 
 
Witness op the Spirit, 117 
 
 comets in the trackless regions of space, but in the 
 hands of man, He pats a measure to touch them in 
 their most eccentric flight, and stop them there to 
 see. He plants His witnesses from centre to circum- 
 ference of His vast domain ; bids man strive, search, 
 study, and adore the great tests which guide him in 
 the acquisition of knowledge. When the Psalmist 
 proclaims that the u heavens declare the glory of 
 Ood, and the firmament shovveth His handywork," 
 lie announces a great truth for every man, against 
 which no mortal eye must be closed. Every mind, 
 every heart, must humbly hear the sublime state- 
 ment, and faithfully work to evoke the voice of the 
 witness that stands ready to render the truthful ev- 
 idence. The mathematician may bring forth his 
 angles and curves, and lay them on the broad face 
 of the creation to elicit the deep-seated truth, as wit- 
 ness of the divine glory declared in the word of God. 
 This he must do, or fail to see the great panorama 
 before him. The untutored savage, as he trips in 
 the forest by night or day must turn his unculti- 
 vated mind to the Great Spirit, and wonder beneath 
 the transcendent power that hung above him the 
 arching sky. Every heart, every clime, every na- 
 tion, must seek, must hear, the witness, or remain in 
 darkness. Nowhere is the voice of the eternal Fa- 
 ther silent. In the stupendous world, and in the 
 smallest atom, the witness speaks. In all the rela- 
 tions and vocations of life, our merciful Parent has, 
 in infinite wisdom and goodness, provided a test to 
 be offered as a guide which man must approve and 
 
118 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 be benefited, or refuse, and suffer tbe consequences. 
 Divine munificence in tbe economy of nature has so 
 ordered the seasons and physical forces, that the 
 husbandman can and must soon learn, that there are 
 before him conditions of great value for acceptance 
 or rejection. He must study wisely the sure test 
 Which offers ample testimony. He must comply 
 with the conditions which nature in her imperative 
 mood strictly enjoins ; and when the harvest is 
 white and abundant, he will learn that obedience to 
 the witness has purchased an experience that is re- 
 liable, profitable, and competent to direct him amid 
 the chilling blasts and stern uncertainties that envi- 
 ron his way. He is free to use or disregard the fixed 
 standard ; but the consequences of his choice must 
 accordingly fall upon him. 
 
 The chemist has ascertained in obedience to the 
 great law of nature that certain elements, entirely 
 different, when mixed, combine indefinite and un- 
 alterable proportions, and afford to the world, by 
 divine arrangement, a blessing in the name of med- 
 icine. Experience teaches him to look as steadfastly 
 to these fixed principles of his science to guide him, 
 as the ocean bound mariner watches the magnetic 
 needle that is true to the pole. The practical phy- 
 sician relies upon the medicine which the chemist 
 has compounded by experience, and finds it by ex- 
 periment wisely adapted to restore the exhausted 
 functions of the patient, who is no less faithful in 
 testing the prescribed remedy. But the patient has 
 power to refuse the remedy and die. The doctor 
 
Witness of the Spirit. 119 
 
 can discard the skill of the chemist, and lose his 
 profession and its benefits to mankind. The chem- 
 ist in turn, can refuse to believe the teachings of his 
 own experimental science, and thus reject its trans- 
 ports, honors, and advantages which a gracious Crea- 
 tor has freely offered. But in all this, the benefit is 
 lost, because the faithful witness has been unheeded, 
 though still true with earnest pleadings to give the 
 needed guidance. 
 
 11. God has also given to man a witness in the Spiritual 
 world to guide him to Salvation. 
 
 1. The solemn import of the second proposition 
 asks every soul this question : If God has stamped 
 the impress of His beneficence on the material crea- 
 tion to direct His creatures, will He throw wonder- 
 ful man guideless and comfortless on the uncertain 
 ocean of a wonderful life for a wonderful end ? Will 
 divine goodness forsake the immortal spirit of an 
 intelligent being, when the greatest Witness and 
 Heaven's resources are needed in the fearful conflict ; 
 when an undying soul is trembling in the balance, 
 will Jehovah withdraw Himself and forget the no- 
 blest work beneath the sun ? 
 
 2. The witness awakens. The inspired language 
 of the text declares the awful character of the Wit- 
 ness. Who " beareth witness with our spirit that 
 we are the children of God." He comes with heav- 
 en's authority and high commission to stand at 
 every corner of man's uncertain way ; to wake the 
 sleeper, unconscious of his doom, and give him 
 
120 North Carolina Sermons". 
 
 power to see celestial light. With the searching 
 mandate of the divine Master, He proclaims to every fi 
 mortal heart, " Behold,. I stand at the door and 
 knock : if any man open the door, I will come in to* 
 him, and sup with him, and he with me." He stands, 
 has been standing, and continues to stand, as im- 
 plied in the Greek text, at the door of every soul. 
 Though armed with the omnipotent sceptre of eter- 
 nal majesty, He pauses at the door of human respon- 
 sibility, and knocks for admittance. He calls aloud 
 and persistently to the immortal spirit within to 
 open, but he dares not to force the door, and set His 
 holy foot over the sacred threshold, till the awakened 
 soul obeys the friendly voice, and gives an entrance. 
 The inmate of the implied mansion of the human 
 heart is represented in the Scripture as having an 
 Important part to act in the great transaction be- 
 tween the Holy Witness and himself. The door is 
 closed, and the iron bar of sin is across it. The all- 
 penetrating voice of the Great Spirit reaches the ear 
 of the sleeper within who is " dead in trespasses and 
 sin," and who alone must open, if ever the faithful 
 Witness enter to spread the joyous supper of His 
 high mission. The keeper of the house can refuse 
 to open the door, but the fearful consequences of the 
 broken obligation must rest upon him. 
 
 3. The Witness convinces of sin and bears testi- 
 mony to the same. 
 
 Who but the omniscient Spirit can penetrate the 
 dark recesses of the heart " that is deceitful above 
 all things and desperately wicked" and reprove "the 
 
Witness of the Spirit. 121 
 
 world of sin" as Jesus said ? Who but this divine 
 Messenger can break and lift the rock-like covering 
 that imbeds the turpitude of man's wicked heart, 
 and send heaven's reproving and vitalizing light 
 into that dismal domain ? The answer comes from 
 Jesus ; " I will send the Comforter, and He will re- 
 prove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
 ment." This Holy Witness with the dread agonies 
 I of the cross looks upon the sinner's fallen nature, 
 land pours the benedictions of infinite mercy upon 
 I its deadened energies in a way that he never forgets, 
 when the chain of his bondage is broken, and the 
 light of redemption in Christ beams upon his soul. 
 But with this high privilege, let the enthralled heart 
 of the impenitent tremble, because the same august 
 authority affirms with divine emphasis : "My Spirit 
 ; shall not always strive with man : Quench not the 
 Spirit." 
 
 4. The Witness regenerates, and bears testimony 
 to the same. 
 
 We have earthly friends that stand by us in the 
 j darkest hour of adversity ; peril their safety to shield 
 our defenceless head s and, when all is gone, extend, 
 as the last token of regard, the cordial grasp of a 
 friendly hand. They can pour out their sympathies 
 and tears in the trying hour of expiring nature. 
 But neither they, nor angel, nor archangel, can ex- 
 tract the scorpion sting of sin, and its distracting 
 guilt from the human heart, and impart ease to an 
 aching spirit. God alone can furnish the omniscient 
 agent who can explore the corrupt caverns of man's 
 
122 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 secret bosoin, and search out the lurking pride, mal- 
 ice, ill-will, presumption, vanity, ingratitude, nay, 
 the legion of licentious passions that are in league 
 with the fires of the nether pit. Who but the Holy 
 Ghost, faithful Witness, can drive a softening ray of 
 divine light into this granite-like dungeon of vipers 
 in man's heart ; burn out the deadly poison which 
 is infused into every vital fibre of a wicked nature; 
 exhume the loathsome body of sin, and seat the 
 demoniac in his right mind at the feet of Jesus upon 
 an elevated plane of purity and holiness? No won- 
 der, that the apostle, seeing his ruined estate, ex- 
 claims, "Oh wretched man that I am ! who shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death ?" but in de- 
 liverance, the climax of joy, " I thank God through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Yes, this vile nature of ours must be changed, 
 that we may discover fully our high relations to God 
 and man. The necessity of this radical change of 
 our fallen character is emphatically declared in the 
 infallible words of our Saviour to Nicodemus: "Ex- 
 cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he 
 cannot enter the kingdom of God." This is the de- 
 cree of the great Master, from which there is no re- 
 treat without loss. Man must come by divine ar- 
 rangement under this awful transformation in order 
 to appreciate those glorious teachings of the all-wise 
 Witness, who imparts knowledge on a plane that 
 human reason cannot fully reach. Granting all 
 that is right to the high claims of man's reason, 
 there are grand truths which ought not and cannot 
 
Witness of the Spirit. 123 
 
 be submitted to the standard of its tribunal for a 
 safe verdict. It is not expected of a person always 
 blind to know the beauties of nature, the glory and 
 benefit of the sun's light. No man can read the 
 Greek or Hebrew language, who is not acquainted 
 with their characters and principles. The world would 
 not call upon a Tyro in mathematics to calculate 
 the intricate movements of the complex machinery 
 of the universe ; but upon him, who, with thehigher 
 branches of this world-searching science, has stood 
 by experience on the plane of the eccentric comet 
 and the ever revolving orbs of space. 
 
 Our great teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, seals this 
 truth, as a guide to the philosophy of mankind ; 
 "Except a man be born again (from above,} 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God." We claim 
 that this word of the Master teaches among 
 other things that our sinful natures must be regen- 
 erated by the Holy Spirit before we can comprehend 
 in heaven's clear light those wonderful facts that 
 stand like blazing suns on the high elevation, upon 
 which he does his effectual and sublime work. The 
 Apostle Paul has graphical^ delineated this grand 
 idea in the following language: "The natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for 
 they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 
 The methods of instruction of this august Witness 
 impart knowledge with the certainty of demonstra- 
 tion, and carries satisfactory evidence to every heart 
 that submits implicitly and faithfully to His divine 
 
124 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 teachings. His processes are as certain in the mind 
 of the regenerated believer, as the conclusions of 
 geometry are to the student. He draws his diagrams 
 blazing with the light of the eternal Spirit, and 
 stamps, with electric speed, the full knowledge of 
 demonstration on the soul. It is the part of wisdom 
 in man to submit his will with all the pride of rea- 
 son to the word and ruling of the Spirit. This po- 
 sition is sustained by a cardinal truth of the religion 
 of Jesus Christ who declares "if any man will do 
 His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
 be of God." The words of the Master appear to im- 
 port surely that we must do the will of God before 
 we* can know the truth of the doctrine, whatever it 
 may be. Doing God's will, therefore, is the great 
 key to unlock heaven and bring down its light and 
 glory. But the fearful implication speaks from this 
 same impressive language that man can fail to do 
 the will of God, and lose the eternal reward of the 
 promised knowledge. 
 
 The inspired words of the text show that Jehovah 
 has embraced in this stupendous transaction two 
 witnesses of the highest authority. The Holy Spirit 
 and the spirit of man. Heaven and earth stand side 
 by side in the mighty decision that affects the final 
 and eternal destiny of the creature. The faithful 
 Witness lifts the curtain of the believer's heart, and 
 points with index finger his active consciousness to 
 the first stroke and place of conviction. He rolls 
 back the checkered pages of memory, and restores 
 the "wormwood and the gall." He flashes over his 
 
Witness of the Spirit. 125 
 
 soul the gracious light of the day of his awakening 
 from the terrible sleep of sin. He presents to his 
 grateful heart the radiant arm of Mercy staying the 
 ready sword of justice ; above all, He stretches before 
 the enraptured vision the omnipotent hand that 
 sundered the remorseless chain which bound his 
 captive spirit, and made him a free man in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 With this accumulated flood of testimony, He ap- 
 peals to the throbbing, humbled, thankful heart of 
 the christian who exclaims with all the emphasis 
 and truthfulness of his soul, " The Spirit itself bear- 
 eth witness with our spirit that we are the children 
 of God ; he that believeth on the son of God hath 
 the witness in himself." 
 
 III. The unspeakable reward of accepting the Witness. 
 
 The man who has accepted this Holy Witness and 
 submitted to be " led of the Spirit" in the vicissi- 
 tudes of his eventful career, now occupies an ele- 
 vated position above the level of nature, from which 
 his eye can sweep with accuracy the field of life's 
 and death's realities, and measure with composure 
 his responsible relations amid the mighty revolu- 
 tions of men and things. He has fled from the city 
 of destruction in the plain. He has ascended the 
 resplendent summit of Calvary, to which the great 
 Witness has led, and taken his stand safe beneath the 
 Cross on the hallowed brow of that sacred mount. 
 He sees below the world's dreadful conflict. He 
 reads the doom of fallen impenitent man amid the 
 
1^6 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 angry clin of the infuriated mob that press hard the 
 innocent steps of Jesus. He hears distinctly the 
 maddened shouts of Satan's hosts that would stifle 
 the great voice of truth, and settle its eternal decis- 
 ions with the thundering noise of the multitude. 
 Though safe beside the Cross, he trembles for the 
 curse of unbelief which is written in characters of 
 torment upon the brow of Priest, Scribe, and all who 
 reject Jesus, saying, "He saved others; himself he 
 cannot save; let Him come down from the cross, 
 and we will believe in Him." 
 
 Under the flood of divine light that pours from 
 the Cross upon his submissive head, he sees with 
 faith and patience the mighty wheels of God's provi- 
 dence, as they roll out in rapid succession the start- 
 ling destinies of men and nations according to their 
 deeds. When the hand of affliction is twisting 
 every nerve of his inmost heart, he bows his humble 
 head, and hears his Father's voice, " I will not leave 
 thee, nor forsake thee." If Satan marshals his ma- 
 lignant hosts and hurls his fiery darts, his ready re- 
 fuge lies behind the Cross. He looks upon the cross 
 and reads in the blazing handwriting of Deity, death 
 and victory. He turns his eye to the dark gateway 
 of the tomb of every mortal. Amid the gloom that 
 shrouds the dreadful entrance, the faithful Witness 
 pours the light of Calvary, and the trusting soul of 
 the christian man traces on its pale arch, " Death is 
 swallowed up in victory; death, where is thy 
 sting ? grave, where is thy victory ?" 
 
 The last visions of this transitory world are fading 
 
Witness of the Spirit. 127 
 
 fast amid the declining energies of mortal life. His 
 quickening eye sweeps the field of his earthly ca- 
 reer, trials and duty. He feels the powers of the 
 world to come, and, in the spirit of his divine Mas- 
 ter, he exclaims in triumph, " It is finished." In 
 the dreadful agonies of expiring nature, he holds 
 with unflinching grasp the mighty Cross. This 
 glorious symbol of death and life, radiant with 
 heaven's eternal light, transports him above the dis- 
 mal portal of the grave. 
 
 Its divine magnetism lifts his entranced soul 
 higher and higher amid the unfolding and unfading 
 glories of the heavenly Canaan, till the New Jerusa- 
 lem, flooded with the overwhelming splendor of the 
 Sun of Righteousness, breaks upon his ravished 
 vision, and throws wide its dazzling gates to wel- 
 come him whom Jesus loved ; and in his home of 
 eternal day with reunited family, his ransomed 
 powers forever and ever stretch along the infinite 
 scale of intellectual and spiritual progress, and meas- 
 ure the ever-widening fields of everlasting bliss. 
 
128 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 CHRISTIAN HOLINESS. 
 
 By Rev. Tiios. S. Campbell. 
 Of the North Carolina Conference. 
 
 This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole 
 limit thereof roundabout shall be most holy. Behold this is the law 
 of the house.— Ezek. xliii: 12. 
 
 But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in al 1 manner 
 of conversation ; Because it is written. Be ye holy; for I am holy.— I 
 Peter, i: 15, 16. 
 
 The prophet gave assurance that when God's peo- 
 ple should be released from captivity and restored 
 to their native land, the temple being rebuilt and all 
 the sanctities of God's service observed, holiness 
 would be their distinguishing characteristic. The 
 house where God is worshipped should be inscribed 
 with holiness. "This is the law of the house * * 
 * The whole limit thereof shall be most holy," &c. 
 This house and the law pertaining to it, may be 
 properly regarded as symbolical of the church in 
 general ; or specifically of the house where God is 
 statedty worshipped. It should be regarded as a 
 holy place. " Ye shall reverence my sanctuary." 
 For any other than the worship of God, and that 
 which properly pertains to his service, the house of 
 God should never be used. " This is the law of the 
 house." The church, in the aggregate of its mem- 
 bers, in all things relating to moral discipline and 
 in all the elements of moral character in each mem- 
 
Christian Holiness. 129 
 
 ber, should be holy. The whole economy of God in 
 the Bible aims at the restoration of man's moral na- 
 ture to the lost image of God. A church has been 
 organized for this end ; all its ceremonies and ordi- 
 nances bear the impress of holiness ; so that man 
 may be raised to an apprehension of its nature, a 
 knowledge of its necessity and the attainment of its 
 blessedness. Here is inscribed the law of the church. 
 It is the law of holiness. Its doctrines, its discipline? 
 its morals, its members, shall conform to this law. 
 This applies specially and particularly to the char- 
 acter, the life, and the conversation (example) of its 
 members. As he which hath called you is holy, so 
 be ye in all manner of conversation — i. e., in all 
 things. It is of incalculable importance that we 
 learn what the gospel proposes as our present duty 
 and personal privilege, and what spiritual excel- 
 lence it has for us now. It designs that the church 
 shall be useful in securing the holiness of its mem- 
 bers ; and further useful by diffusing holiness and 
 saving the world. By its organization and its mis- 
 sion, it is intended to be a power in the earth. The 
 greatest power of the church is in its holiness. We 
 may build churches, found charities, promote learn- 
 ing, educate ministers, send out missionaries, hold 
 protracted meetings, have revivals, increase our 
 numbers and extend our borders, but all will be in 
 vain if we fail to see and seek that spiritual perfec- 
 tion which the Bible places within our reach. God 
 requires holiness and that in perfection. " Walk 
 before me and be thou perfect." " Be ye therefore 
 
130 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 perfect." " Let us go on to perfection." But what 
 is this holiness — this perfection ? 
 
 God only is absolutely holy. His holiness is in- 
 finite purity. " Who is like unto Thee, glorious in 
 holiness?" He is usually designated " The Holy 
 One of Israel." Watson says: "The holiness of God 
 is that principle which causes him to prescribe jus- 
 tice, mercy and truth, and to forbid their opposites. 
 This makes him love righteousness and condemn 
 wickedness." The holiness of a moral agent is con- 
 formity to the known will of God. " The brightest 
 and loveliest idea that can enter the human mind 
 is that of moral order and purity of heart." Holi- 
 ness is purity of heart and righteousness of life. The 
 full idea may be expressed by the term uprightness. 
 A staff is mathematically upright when it stands 
 perpendicular to a plane. So we are risen from our 
 fallen condition by recovering grace. This grace 
 secures in us experimentally and practically, con- 
 formity to the will of God. This includes our justi- 
 fication and thorough renovation. Justification or 
 pardoning grace removes our guilt and condemna- 
 tion. This is granted through the merit of Christ, 
 and entitles us to heaven. The inward renewal fits 
 us for heaven by the destruction of sin. Without 
 the merit of Christ we could have no claim to glory; 
 without the new creation no fitness for it. By justi- 
 fication we become children and heirs of God. By 
 holiness we are made meet to be partakers of the in- 
 heritance of the saints. A minor may be heir to an 
 estate but lack the qualification to possess and en- 
 
Christian Holiness. 131 
 
 joy it. But when we are brought into this gracious 
 state we are at once both entitled and qualified. "As 
 many as received him to them gave he power (right 
 or privilege) to become the sons of God, which were 
 * * born of God." Purity of heart is the qualifi- 
 cation : "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they 
 shall see God." This purity consists in the removal 
 of sin and sinful principles, which is called anew 
 creation. "If any man be in Christ he is a new 
 creature," or there is a new creation — he is created 
 anew. Out of the elements of the moral wreck God 
 creates a new spiritual man bearing his own image. 
 In physics, any precious metal, as gold, is said to 
 be pure when all alloy is removed. So the heart is 
 pure when cleansed from the dross of carnality and 
 the alloy of unrighteousness. " I will turn my hand 
 upon thee and purely purge away thy dross and 
 takeaway all thy sin." " He will sit as a refiner 
 and purifier of silver and purge them as gold and 
 silver." " He shall baptize them with the Holy 
 Ghost and with fire." He will make a thorough and 
 complete purification. " The blood of Jesus Christ 
 cleanseth from all sin. He is faithful to cleanse 
 from all unrighteousness." We hence find the terms 
 saved, sprinkled, purged, cleansed, used as expres- 
 sive of the Spirit's operations. Not a few 7 have fallen 
 into the error that the change indicated is gradual — 
 that we gradually come out of the thraldom of sin 
 and are gradually restored to spiritual life and 
 health. But all the figures employed to aid our 
 ideas are such as to impress the thought that the work 
 
132 North Carolina Sermons, 
 
 is affected by a word or a spiritual influence as sure- 
 ly as that Christ restored sight to the blind, cleansed 
 the leper, raised the dead and cast out devils with a 
 word. If He is approached with earnest petition, 
 " Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," He 
 will respond " I will, be thou clean." Thou art then 
 raised not partially but entirely from the death of 
 sin unto the life of righteousness. The spiritual be- 
 ing is renewed, created anew— renovated. The first 
 stage of this work is usually called regeneration. 
 This word occurs only twice in the Bible (Matt, xix* 
 28 ; Titus iii: 5), and is clearl} 7 the same as trans- 
 formation. " Be ye transfoimed by the renewing of 
 your minds." For the want of better language we 
 speak of the second stage which is properly the de- 
 velopement and maturity of the grace and virtues 
 implanted in us by the renewing of the spirit of God. 
 Holiness implies, says Watson, both the regenera- 
 tion of those who have penitently received Christ 
 and the maturity of all the graces of their new na- 
 ture, by the same influences of the Holy Ghost. 
 This is holiness which means wholeness or com- 
 pleteness in fixedness of purpose and integrity of 
 moral character. It is an eye single and a heart 
 fixed. We may legitimately call this perfection or 
 completeness of christian character. First there is 
 purity, then maturity. According to this teaching, 
 we begin a new life when renewed in the spirit of 
 our mind. Then leaving the first principles we go 
 on to perfection or maturity. Mr. Wesley says 
 " The new birth is the entrance to holiness — the gate 
 
Christian Holiness. 133 
 
 to full salvation. Here inward and outward holi- 
 ness begins. We then grow up." He illustrates his 
 idea by a child born into the world (a perfect hu- 
 man being) whose physical being becomes stronger 
 and larger by degrees. So there are different stages 
 of the christian life as of the natural. We are born 
 of the Spirit, then increase in stature until we are 
 matured or perfectly developed. Such a life as God 
 imparts to the humble and contrite believer, will 
 evince its presence and power by all the activities of 
 holy obedience. The corn, or germ of grace, will 
 show itself not merely in the peering of the tender 
 plant, and growth of the sturdy stalk, but the full 
 corn in the ear. Hungering and thirsting after 
 righteousness — an all-absorbing desire for holiness — 
 is the legitimate effect of that sanctifying spirit im- 
 parted to them in the work of their new creation. 
 I will here say, there appears at this age seemingly 
 in the minds of many a less distinct idea of what is 
 meant by the terms sanctification, holiness and per- 
 fection, than in the earlier ages of our church. These 
 terms are frequently used in technical theology to 
 express one and the same thing, and at other times 
 to express different stages and attainments of the 
 christian life. They are frequently used inter- 
 changeably ; so that the growth and maturity of 
 which we have spoken are expressed by the one 
 word, sanctification, and this so frequently that 
 sanctification is made to denote the highest attain- 
 ment and privilege of the believer. There are three 
 
 kinds of sanctification taught in the Bible, or I ought 
 9 
 
134 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 to say the term embraces three distinct ideas. 1. 
 Ceremonial sanctification is frequently inculcated in 
 the Scriptures and should now be applied to church 
 purity — a moral life and due observance of the ordi- 
 nances. 2. Separation to the service of God. "Come 
 out and be ye separate." This is properly consecra- 
 tion in fact, such as every justified and regenerate 
 believer has made of himself when he gave up his 
 sins, and with entire submission surrendered his 
 heart to God. No one can be converted, using the 
 term to mean, changed in the affections and tenden- 
 cies of his heart, unless he is thus sanctified. Be- 
 lievers are therefore spoken of as the sanctified which 
 are in Christ who are called lo a holy life. 3. In- 
 wrought holiness is also expressed by the term. 
 Sanctification is used twenty-nine times in the New 
 Testament; in fourteen it means to make holy by 
 consecration, formal devotion to God, and in twelve 
 to purify — make holy really. 
 
 The celebrated Arminius says : "1. Sanctification 
 is an act by which anything is separated from a 
 common and consecrated to a divine use. 2. It is a 
 gracious act of God hy which He purifies man, who 
 is a sinner and yet a believer, from darkness, igno- 
 rance and indwelling sin, and imbues him with the 
 spirit of knowledge, righteousness and true holiness; 
 so that being separated from the world he lives to 
 God." Sanctification is, then, properly the occasion, 
 means or process of securing holiness and perfecting 
 that holiness, attaining to perfection. A misappre- 
 hension of many as to its nature has led to mistakes 
 
Christian Holiness. 135 
 
 and originated errors that have brought them to the 
 verge of fanaticism, if not into it — such as, that it is 
 a work different from regeneration and to be sought 
 for as we seek our first gracious state with bitter soul- 
 anguish and with strong crying and tears. Mr. 
 Wesley before he came to Georgia held and preached 
 that the sanctification of human nature is accom- 
 plished by human sufferings ; and that death will 
 destroy the body of sin. Later in life, and before 
 fully recovered from error on this subject, he said 
 that until sanctification is inwrought, our holiness 
 is mixed. We are humble, but not entirely ; our 
 humility is mixed with pride; meek, but that is 
 mixed with anger or some turbulent passion. Love 
 to God is damped by love to some creature. Will is 
 submissive, but not wholly. Many accepting this 
 as the true Wesleyan theory and the correct expo- 
 nent of Methodist doctrine on this important sub- 
 ject, have never been able to obtain a theory or spir- 
 itual state that is satisfactory. The fear is that many 
 base their theory more upon a defective experience 
 than upon the Bible. This blessed book, correctly 
 and consistent^ interpreted, nowhere sanctions the 
 idea of such a mixture or muddle in the experience 
 of him whose heart is united in confidence and af- 
 fection to God. The only two Scriptures relied upon 
 to sustain such a low view of christian experience 
 are I Cor. iii: 3, 4, and I Thess. v: 23. Here in Cor- 
 inthians Paul is speaking of them as carnal and in 
 chapter 1,2 he speaks of these same as sanctified 
 in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, i. e., holy ones. 
 
136 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 We must then conclude that the term carnal used 
 as descriptive of these christians does not mean that 
 they were in sin; but that they were human, weak, 
 imperfect, and therefore showed these evidences of 
 immaturity or spiritual infancy — babyhood; for 
 carnal (ver. 3) and babes in Christ (ver. 1) are synon- 
 ymous. In Thessalonians when Paul prays, "the 
 very God of peace sanctify you wholly," &c, he prays- 
 that God would devote, consecrate them completely; 
 fully grant them the complement of their regenera- 
 tion, perfect holiness ; that thus being the Lord's- 
 entirely they might lead a holy life and be kept 
 holy, in body, soul and spirit, to the end. What is 
 this but to be lifted out of sin on to the high plane 
 of a holy life ? " It shall be called the way of holi- 
 ness. The unclean shall not pass over it." I John,, 
 i: 9, shows that there is as ample provision for cleans- 
 ing from all unrighteousness, as for the forgiveness 
 of sin. We may ask if any one has saving faith at 
 all, whose desire falls below the wish, purpose and 
 effort to comprehend this complement of grace in 
 Christ? The mistake which includes the idea that 
 the christian's experience is mixed lies in accepting 
 the last twelve verses of the eighth chapter of Ro- 
 mans as the exponent of a christian's experience. 
 As though is true of a believer that he is in " bond- 
 age sold under sin ;" that sin dwells in him bring- 
 ing him into captivity to the law of sin and death. 
 If this is a correct representation of christian expe- 
 rience it is indeed mixed, and a muddle is made of 
 it. This view leaves the christian struggling with 
 
Christian Holiness. 137 
 
 the body of sin all his life : and his religion is a 
 fight without a victory, a toil without rest, and only 
 a trouble and sorrow. Yea, we must believe that a 
 man is free and yet in bondage; in health and yet 
 sick ; a servant and yet a rebel ; alive and dead ; a 
 saint and yet a sinner. To set the matter in its true 
 light, Paul in the first five chapters of this epistle 
 treats of righteousness and the remission of sins; in 
 the 6th and 7th chapters, of the power to conquer 
 sin and live in a holy manner. Then he draws the 
 conclusion in the 8th chapter, 1, 2 ver. : " There is 
 therefore now no condemnation to them which are 
 in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after 
 the spirit." The emphasis lies in the clauses in 
 €hrist and walk after the spirit. The law of the spirit 
 of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free, i. e., the 
 life-giving spirit hath made me free. When Paul 
 says "O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 
 me?" he is personating one not delivered. He does 
 not say, wretched christian, or regenerate creature; 
 but wretched man, doubtless intending by the 
 term, man, one who is struggling in the bondage and 
 darkness of sin — fallen nan, convinced of his ruin 
 and helplessness. This was the experience of one 
 who deplored his lost and helpless estate ; but not 
 of him who had passed from death unto life. He 
 dwelleth in the sunlight and rejoices in the liberty 
 of God's dear children. Paul shows in these chap- 
 ters what sort of persons we are before grace changes 
 us and what character we have after grace has 
 changed us. 
 
138 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 The work of purification or sanctification makes 
 us holy by the removal of sinful dispositions and 
 tendencies. The change wrought in us by the Spirit 
 is radical and thorough. Call it by what name you 
 please, it makes us free from the power and love of 
 sin. When known sin is indulged there is guilt and 
 condemnation. The doctrine of sin in believers — the 
 term believers signifying justified and regenerate 
 christians — is a mistake. Jesus says : "He that com- 
 mitteth sin is the servant of sin. Ye shall know the 
 truth and the truth shall make you free. If the Son 
 shall make you free ye shall be free indeed. He 
 that committeth sin is of the devil." " Whosoever is 
 born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed (the 
 vital principle of a holy life) remaineth in him and 
 he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Whoso- 
 ever abideth in him sinneth not." But it is neces- 
 sary to know what sin is. I am convinced that 
 many have about as vague ideas of sin as they have 
 of holiness. The theological definition is : A volun- 
 untary departure of a moral agent from a known 
 rule of duty prescribed by God, or a voluntary vio- 
 lation of a divine command. The Bible definition 
 is " Sin is the transgression of the law." "All un- 
 righteousness is sin." We may add as to its essence : 
 it is inclination, propensity, to do our own will 
 rather than the will of God. There are three classes 
 of sin : Violation of precepts, neglect of injunctions, 
 defect in the discharge of duty. The grand design 
 of the gospel is to deliver and restore man to spirit- 
 ual health and full allegiance; to bring him into 
 
Christian Holiness. 139 
 
 full conformity to the image of Christ, and impart 
 to him the spirit or mind of Jesus. It is to lift him 
 out of the pit of sin, wash away the defilements of 
 sin, plant his feet upon the rock, establish his go- 
 ings ; and put a new song in his mouth. " Wash me 
 thoroughly and cleanse me ; create in me a clean 
 heart and renew a right spirit within me. I will 
 sprinkle clean water upon yon, and ye shall be clean; 
 from all your filthiness will I cleanse you. I will 
 also save you from all your uncleannesses. Though 
 your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow." 
 In the office of our church for the Lord's Supper 
 the Collect in the service of consecration contains 
 the following petition : " Cleanse the thoughts of 
 our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit that 
 we may perfectly love Thee and worthily magnify 
 Thy holy name. "Here we pray as authorized by the 
 Scriptures quoted, for the destruction of sin, sancti- 
 fied affections and a holy life. This makes the heart 
 right, establishes the kingdom of God within, and 
 conforms us to the divine will. This is holiness. 
 It is radical and thorough. The sinful principle is 
 removed ; the old man put off, sin renounced, done 
 away ; Christ put on, accepted. Being divested of 
 sin by the operation of God we secure the image of 
 Christ, put on the new man ; We are imbued with 
 the loveliness, temperance, patience and forbearance 
 of the Lamb of God. With purified affections and 
 all inward feelings in harmony with the divine will, 
 we delight in the law of the Lord after the inward 
 man, and love him with all the heart. " Be ye holy, 
 
140 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 for I am holy." God requires it. It is a privilege, 
 no less than a duty. "The Lord thy God will cir- 
 cumcise thy heart to love the Lord with all thy 
 heart." This circumcision is remission of sin and 
 purification of the heart. "Thou shalt love the Lord 
 thy God with all thy heart." This is the perfection 
 of holiness taught in the Old and New Testaments. 
 Is it a mark that we can never reach ;. a goal that 
 cannot be attained ? But ye see your calling, breth- 
 ren ; ye may attain unto holiness in all the degrees 
 of moral purity; realize maturity of the christian char- 
 acter; be strong in the grace that is in Christ ; and 
 come to full age, perfect in Christ. To specify a 
 little : This perfection is maturity in religious knowl- 
 edge, such as Christ prayed might be enjoyed by 
 his disciples : " That they might know the only true 
 God." Then shall ye know if ye follow on to know 
 the Lord. The higher our degree of knowledge, the 
 more entire and earnest will be our consecration and 
 devotion ; the more completely absorbed in Christ 
 and filled with the love of God. It includes matu- 
 rity in religious experience. He enjoys the privi- 
 lege shared by God's ancient servants — that of walk- 
 ing with God. The Father says " I will dwell in 
 them and walk in them, and the}' shall be my sons 
 and daughters." They have Christ to dwell in their 
 hearts and are rooted and grounded in love. Ephs. 
 iii: 14-19. Hence follows entire conformity to God's 
 will in the outward life. He is acknowledged in all 
 our ways; and we respond fully to the precept " Be 
 ye therefore perfect." Or to change the form from 
 
Christian Holiness. 141 
 
 the imperative to the potential, " Ye shall be per- 
 fect," we find it both possible and fully within our 
 ability, as being graciously assisted, to be perfectly 
 conformed to the will of our father; so that what- 
 ever we do in word or deed we shall do in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus. We do it in respect of his au- 
 thority and with hearty good will to glorify him in 
 our bodies and spirits, which are his. Such are 
 wholly in all manner of conversation, in every ex- 
 pression of the temper of the mind, whether by word 
 or deed. Such we conceive to be the character of 
 christian holiness. It is both our privilege and 
 duty to secure it; for without holiness no man shall 
 see the Lord. 
 
 The attainment of this does not deliver us from 
 infirmity, exempt us from temptation or make us 
 infallible. The highest state of Christian enjoy- 
 ment, character and life, is consistent with the in- 
 firmities which are inseparable from us while on 
 probation. To endure to the end implies opposition 
 and struggle. But what is infirmity? Let us not 
 reckon sin an infirmity, as drunkenness, swearing, 
 covetousness, pride, etc. The liability to fall into 
 these or any other sin because of our weakness, is 
 infirmity. The liability to misapprehend, mistake, 
 or forget truth, and duty, is infirmity. It is imper- 
 fection and weakness in the physical and intellect- 
 ual man. It also includes frailty in the moral man; 
 so that we are liable to do wrong and may sin. 
 When Solomon says "there is no man that sinneth 
 not," we understand that he recognizes the fact that 
 
142 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 sin is an ever present possibility : no man is infalli- 
 ble and may not sin, through infirmity or otherwise. 
 Mr. Wesley says infirmity is in our human nature 
 while sin has its place in our moral nature. Still 
 he and others come near teaching that the suscepti- 
 bility to receive wrong impressions and the conse- 
 quent liability to fall into sin are closely allied to 
 sin. But there is a distinction that may and should 
 be preserved. 
 
 Again : Holiness even in perfection does not ex- 
 empt us from trial. God has said to Abraham, "walk 
 before me and be perfect." And yet God tempted, 
 tried Abraham. Gen. xxii. So, Job was perfect and 
 upright ; yet was sorely tried by Satan. James i: 12 
 pronounced a blessing upon those who are thus tried. 
 The highest degree of virtue and spiritual holiness 
 are consistent with these contests with the Tempter. 
 The blessed Jesus himself was compassed with in- 
 firmity and tempted in all points as we are. The 
 Son of God was infallible and could not err. But 
 he whom grace supports is enabled to keep himself 
 unspotted and blameless to the end. 
 
 Every believer in Christ is called to a holy life, to 
 be a saint, is sanctified and called. It is his voca- 
 tion to serve God in holiness and righteousness. 
 Many do thus serve him : never losing their first 
 love. In their case the exhortation to repent and 
 do the first works, or begin again with first princi- 
 ples, is not necessary and would be inapplicable. 
 They have served God with a pure conscience ; yet 
 they have need to leave the (first) principles and go 
 
Chkistian Holiness. 143 
 
 on to perfection. In the case of not a few the fear 
 is that they decline, or inwardly backslide, by yield- 
 ing to temptation and accustom themselves to shun- 
 ning the cross, neglecting duty, shirking responsi- 
 bility, and indulging practices which are of doubt- 
 ful propriety if not actually sinful. It is not to be 
 w r ondered at that their religion becomes a form, a 
 burden, a mere profession and shows its greatest 
 zeal and power in church machinery and the suc- 
 cess of its party. These have need to " repent and 
 do the first works," to begin anew to cry with David 
 (Psalm li: 10-13) " Restore unto me," &c. 
 
 The discipline we are under here requires devel- 
 opment and improvement according to our ability. 
 Holiness is the mark towards which we are to press. 
 
 We are living in the world not merely to re- 
 ceive good, but to save others. " Ye are the light 
 of the world. Let your light shine ; so shine,' 7 
 &c. This, properly understood, denotes per- 
 fect justice or rectitude in all business transactions 
 and the purest benevolence, having reference to that 
 state of mind when selfishness is removed and sen- 
 timents of the strictest equity prevail. As ye would 
 that men do unto you, do ye even so to them. None 
 but the pure in heart reach this high degree of jus- 
 tice, truth and sincerity in all things. " Follow 
 peace with all men and holiness, without which no 
 man shall see the Lord." The most succesful, the 
 only way to secure this is to — 1. Cherish a sense of 
 its necessity ; and 2. Conviction — a strong belief — 
 of the duty to seek it. Phil, ii: 12, 13. Work out 
 
144 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 your own salvation — i. e., form, build your religious 
 character. 
 
 To him that hath shall be given and he shall have 
 abundance. Consecrate yourselves to this one great 
 work, remembering God hath chosen you through 
 sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth. 
 
 Salvation in its beginning and completeness is by 
 faith. " By grace are ye saved through faith." Pen- 
 itence, prayer and consecration are the concomitants 
 of faith. " If thou belie vest with all thy heart" thou 
 may est be healed and saved to the uttermost, fully, 
 completely and finally. "According to thy faith so 
 be it unto thee." Amen. 
 
 [Published at the request of the family.] 
 
 FUNEAL SERMON 
 
 Of Pannie Sherwood York, Daughter of Rev. 
 
 B. York, D. D., preached at O'Kelly's 
 
 Chapel, the 20th of August, 1871. 
 
 By Rev. L. Branson, A. M., 
 Of the North Carolina Local Ministers' Conference. 
 
 And the poor have the Gospel preached to them.— Matthew xi: 5. 
 
 John the forerunner had fulfilled his active mis- 
 sion. It was now his destiny to fulfill that other 
 and more difficult part of a pious character — suffer- 
 ing the will of God. Having baptized multitudes 
 
Funeral Sermon. 145 
 
 unto repentance, and chastised the Pharisees and 
 Sadducees, he boldly reproved Herod the king for 
 his wickedness, thus procuring for himself arrest and 
 imprisonment in a solitary dungeon. 
 
 Not a murmur was heard from his lips ; nor, so 
 far as we know, did a single doubt cross his pious 
 mind as to the divinity of his own mission or that 
 of Christ whom he had so gloriously announced. 
 His deciples, however, seeing his imminent danger, 
 occupied a position well calculated to depress and 
 discourage ; hence John sent two of them to Christ 
 asking, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look 
 for another?" To this message the Saviour's an- 
 swer was both remarkable and divine. Said He ; 
 "Go and show John again those things which ye do 
 see and hear. 7 ' Then, referring to his miracles of 
 power ; such as ' restoring the sight of the blind/ 
 ' healing the lame,' ' cleansing the lepers,' ' unstop- 
 ping the deaf ears/ and ' raising the dead to life 
 again/ he enforces conviction of his Messiahship, by 
 a still higher class of evidence, in the words of the 
 text — " And the poor have the gospel preached to 
 them." 
 
 Miracles of power might have convinced the world 
 of a Deity, but proclaiming a free gospel to those 
 unable to buy is a continued and living evidence of 
 of the Saviour's redeeming love. 
 
 In the discussion of this subject I shall present to 
 your view 
 
146 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 1. Christianity as the practical working of a great mis- 
 sionary spirit. 
 
 If I were called upon to point out any two acts in 
 the life of Jesus indicative of his wisdom, or of his 
 divinity, or of his infinite love, I should unhesitating- 
 ly direct your mind to ' Jesus proclaiming his gos- 
 pel to the poor ' — ' and to Jesus taking into his arms 
 the innocent, infantile world.' 
 
 All human systems uninspired by Christianity, 
 look first to the learned and the rich of earth for the 
 propagation of prestige and power ; but Christ's sys- 
 tem looks to the innocent, and the helpless — the chil- 
 dren and the poor. 
 
 These are the teachable, impressable classes, 
 and make up the great majority of the world's pop- 
 ulation. The true church is built upon the strength 
 of purity, and not upon man's ivisdorn or power; hence 
 Christianity has always sought for that class of sub- 
 jects that could be most easily impressed with the 
 lovely truths of a spiritual religion. The plain sim- 
 ple teaching of repentance and faith — the necessity 
 of a change of heart in order to a change of life, takes 
 hold upon the great masses of humanity. 
 
 Human religions begin the work outwardly and 
 expect to work inward and downward until the 
 heart is made pure and fitted for heaven ; but Chris- 
 tianity would first cleanse the fountain, that every 
 stream flowing therefrom may be chaste as the driven 
 snow. 
 
 Witness the results of the doctrines of Confucius, 
 
Funeral Sermon. 147 
 
 which have made the millions of China orderly and 
 prosperous in material things — learned and artful 
 in mind — but have left the heart of a great nation 
 unchanged, and full of idolatry and of every vile 
 passion that ever existed in the race of man. 
 
 Witness again the workings of popery: systematic 
 beyond precedent — stern in discipline as if it would 
 iron and chain down the passions of men. And yet 
 the spirit of this great beast has absorbed the very 
 heart blood of saints by the thousand. It com- 
 mences outwardly but can never reach and purify 
 the heart. 
 
 In the present age and in every age of the past, 
 every denomination of christians that has backslid- 
 den into ritualistic formality, has invariably lost spir- 
 ituality and has become devoid of Christ's great 
 missionary spirit, which estimates beings according 
 to the worth of their souls and not in reference to 
 their wealth, power and worldly influence. Christ 
 embraces the poor that He may spiritualize them, 
 and fit them to enjoy the riches of life and the un- 
 searchable riches of eternity. 
 
 The fundamental doctrine of experimental relig- 
 ion — the truth that "ye must be born again," is 
 one of the very foundation stones of the missionary 
 spirit. When the fire of grace is built within, burn- 
 ing up the dross of sin, every sensibility of the heart 
 is quickened, and magnetic lines are opened from 
 the new born soul towards every other soul in the 
 universe of Cod. The soul that was shut up in the 
 
148 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 prison house of sin, is now free as a bird of the air, 
 and just as appreciative of the beauties around it. 
 
 That soul that loved no other soul, and only loved 
 itself with a blasting flame, now fired by grace runs 
 out with open arms of affection that would embrace 
 all the world of sinners. The man is now a mis- 
 sionary in spirit and practice ; and the more he 
 drinks in of Christ's spirit the more he becomes a 
 missionary. He may not travel over a vast terri- 
 tory, and may never carry the gospel to heathen 
 lands, but if he has the spirit of the Master his mis- 
 sionary operations will be seen all around him, so 
 that, within his sphere of action, the wilderness will 
 begin to blossom as the rose. 
 
 The minister, if he be of the spirit of the Master, 
 is always a missionary. His labors will tell upon 
 the minds and hearts of the great masses, and soon 
 these same masses will catch the same divine spirit, 
 so that with their hands, their influence and their 
 means, they help the minister in heralding the glad 
 tidings of salvation to sinners. A spiritual church 
 will always be a missionary church. 
 
 Methodism and her co-ordinate branches have al- 
 ways been largely missionary. Missionary opera- 
 tions did not make the Wesleys spiritual ; but spirit 
 life made them missionaries. 
 
 So long as Methodism is spiritual, just so long she 
 will use the necessary appliances for carrying vital 
 Christianity to the great body of the world's popula- 
 tion. 
 
 It is heart-work, a pure vital religion that takes 
 
Funeral Sermon, 149 
 
 hold upon the millions of children, giving them the 
 Bible, and spreading to their view the glories of the 
 cross. 
 
 While the formal^ of Popery contracts and de- 
 bases the mind, the spirit of Christianity opens op 
 to the young the beauties of the educational world. 
 
 Thus the church, in all her successful operations, 
 is supported and inspired by that divine missionary 
 spirit, originated and continued by the world's Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 I present to your view 
 
 II. Some of the operations of woman as a worker in the 
 missionary cause. 
 
 If Avoman was first to sin, grievously hath she 
 atoned for that priority. In the long dark ages pre- 
 ceding the first advent, no glorious light illumined 
 her pathway. In agony she beheld the son shed 
 the blood of his brother — in bitterness and wailing 
 she beheld the children of her travail swept by the 
 diluvian waters, and not one devoted son able to 
 save a sinking mother — in the long night of Egyp- 
 tian bondage she was but the servant of servants. 
 
 But in all her sufferings and degradation the 
 promise of God that "her seed should bruise the ser- 
 pent's head" was never forgotten. She looked with 
 confidence for the promised Messiah : and when he 
 came woman was entrusted with his youthful train- 
 ing. When Calvary was baptized with the Saviour's 
 blood, woman was last to leave the cross : and when 
 
 10 
 
150 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 Jesus had put off forever the habiliments of death, 
 woman was first to view the sepulchre. 
 
 She commenced the new era at a par value with 
 man, and now for these eighteen hundred and sev- 
 enty-one years she has been man's equal in devotion 
 and tenderness, and oftentimes his- superior in love 
 and in suffering. 
 
 Full well she knows that where there is most light' 
 and religion there is most of protection and happi- 
 ness for woman. It has ever been her practice to 
 carry food and raiment to the poor distressed in the 
 highways and hedges of life : and none are more 
 ready to kneel by the agonizing penitent and pour 
 into his wounded spirit the consolations of redeem- 
 ing love. 
 
 She has often forsaken the dearest earthly ties and 
 gone to distant lands to carry instruction to heathen 
 nations ; and as the banner of the cross has pushed 
 its way among the heathen tribes in our own coun- 1 
 try, woman has ever been near it with her earnest 
 devotion and her disinterested love. 
 
 In the great Sunday School work that now sweeps 
 .-over the land, woman is the most active and inspir- 
 ing worker: and when, in the celestial parks of the 
 golden city, Christ shall walk with the redeemed of 
 earth, gathering to his divine embrace millions of 
 .children saints, many of our sisters, and wives, and 
 mothers, will occupy places near to the heart of the 
 great Redeemer. 
 
Funeral Sermon, 151 
 
 I shall now present to your view 
 111. The character of lannie Sherwood York, and note 
 in what respects she showed forth the missionary spirit 
 of our Lord and Master. 
 
 Sister Fanny Sherwood York, daughter of Rev. 
 Brantley and Mary Wells York, was born at Trinity 
 College, Sept. the 18th, 1837, and died at Raffia 
 Badger Institute, June the 6th, 1871. 
 
 The example of pious parents was not lost upon 
 her early childhood. While but a little girl she 
 seemed to comprehend the great doctrine of " repent- 
 ance and faith," and before the age of twelve she had 
 connected herself with the Methodist Episcopal 
 South, thus beginning to show forth publicly, by 
 works, her confidence in Jesus. 
 
 Her subsequent life proves to the world the ines- 
 timable value of correct parental instruction, and 
 should be a profitable example to all parents, upon 
 whom rests in a great measure the salvation of their 
 children. We should also remember this, as an in- 
 stance of conversion in childhood, and ever hereaf- 
 ter encourage our little ones to cast themselves up- 
 on Jesus. The child that is old enough to know 
 when sin is committed, is old enough to repent of 
 sin ; and he that is sensible of sin, may also be sen- 
 sible of pardon. 
 
 Our sister was educated principally at Olin Col- 
 lege in a class consisting of herself and two young 
 men, afterwards lawyers of distinction. Her activ- 
 ity and strength of mind was such that none sur- 
 passed her in the college course of study. Of this 
 
152 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 class, Fannie Sherwood York and Oliver Fitz Clegg 
 having lived well and died well, have entered, we 
 trust, and are now partakers of the glories of the 
 higher temple. 
 
 Sweet memories of these two, who have received 
 the higher honors, will ever fall encouragingly upon 
 the heart of R W. York, the surviving classmate. 
 
 With a liberal education, sister York was prepared 
 to enter intelligently upon the great mission of life. 
 With a spirit gentle, a heart pure, and emotions warm, 
 she was always ready to enter heartily into the 
 Master's work. 
 
 About this time in her history, her father, having 
 spent some twenty years in laborious educational 
 and missionary labor, found himself, though full of 
 the light of the spirit, shut out from the light of the 
 world. 
 
 It is interesting to see this young sister and 
 daughter entering into a father's affliction, and be- 
 coming eyes to the blind— a constant guide and sup- 
 port to one whose delight and joy has ever been to 
 perform the labors of a great missionary work. Du- 
 ring eighteen long years of physical blindness, on 
 the journey, in the school room, in the study, and 
 by the bedside of this afflicted parent, we have seen 
 this devoted child. 
 
 Thus linking her destiny with that of a great mis- 
 sionary, how could she do otherwise than imbibe 
 the spirit of this devoted work ? Accordingly we 
 find her ardently attached to the church in all its 
 
Funeral Sermon. 153 
 
 interests, and ever lending a helping hand in every 
 
 good work. 
 
 To her calling as a teacher she was devotedly at- 
 tached, looking upon the work as preparatory to the 
 extension of the gospel. She sought not for the 
 speculative joys of life, but found constant delight 
 in " doing with her might whatever her hands f6und 
 to do " She was a sweet and dutiful child, ever de- 
 voting her strength and energies to the happiness 
 of those around her. In her modest simplicity she 
 regarded herself as having accomplished but little 
 in life ; and yet many a weeping friend will ever re- 
 member Miss Fannie, and will bestow upon her 
 memory words of honor and affection. We may well 
 celebrate the deeds of one who lived so full of phi- 
 lanthropy—of one so absorbed in the comfort and 
 happiness of those she loved. Those that knew her 
 besti will be able to say many daughters have done 
 well, but Fannie excelled them all. 
 
 But the stern test of piety was yet to come. Through 
 suffering God designed to give her perfection ' of 
 christian character. The stroke of bodily affliction 
 was sudden and severe. The soul and body that had 
 lived together for 33 years, with so much success and 
 harmony, seemed loath to take a final adieu. For 
 ten days the body lay on the confines of the dark 
 rtomb, while the soul stood on Pisgah's top, viewing 
 with rapture the sunny land. But ere the pitcher 
 at the fountain was broken, or the golden chord 
 loosed, an angel convoy stood beside her lingering 
 
254 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 soul ready to bear it to the blissful scenes above. 
 She died in peace. Her rest is sweet and eternal 
 
 "Sister, thou wast mild and lovely^ 
 
 Gentle as the summer breeze, 
 Pleasant as the air of evening, 
 
 When it floats among the trees. 
 
 Peaceful be thy silent slumber, 
 
 Peaceful in the grave so low ; 
 Thou no more wilt join our number; 
 
 Thou no more our songs shall know. 
 
 Dearest sister, thou hast left us ; 
 
 Here thy loss we deeply feel ; 
 But '.is God that hath bereft us ; 
 
 He can all our sorrows heal. 
 
 Yet again we hope to meet thee,. 
 
 When the day of life is fled ; 
 Then in heaven with joy to greet thee,. 
 
 Where no farewell tear is shed." 
 
 The religion which gave our sister peace in life, 
 and victory in death, will comfort the bereaved fam- 
 ily. Her public example as a christian of a pure 
 missionary spirit, will serve to inspire us all, with a 
 better hope and a more lively zeal, in the angelic- 
 work of educating and evangelizing the world. 
 
Christ as a Saviou; 
 
 155 
 
 COMPLETENESS OF CHRIST AS A SAVIOUR. 
 
 By H. T. Hudson, IX IX, 
 Of the North Carolina Conference. 
 
 For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And 
 ye are eomplete in Him. Col. ii : 9, 10. 
 
 The Divinity of Christ is clearly set forth in the 
 preceding chapter where it is said: "For by Him 
 were all things created that are in heaven, and that 
 are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
 thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: 
 all things were created by Him and for Him. And 
 He is before all things, and by Him all things con- 
 sist." . 
 There are three leading truths suggested by the 
 
 above passage : 
 
 1. The pre-existed of Christ. " He is before all 
 things" If Christ created the world, He must of 
 necessity be older than the world. The Creator is 
 necessarily older than the thing created. The builder 
 ofahousemustbeolderthanthehouse. Long before 
 the earth began to revolve on its axes, long before 
 the sun began to shine, long before the first star 
 blossomed in the blue fields of heaven, Christ ex- 
 isted in the full-orbed glory of the Godhead. "From 
 everlasting to everlasting Thou art God." " And 
 Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the founda- 
 tions of the earth; and the heavens are the works of 
 Thy hands." 
 
156 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 2. Christ is greater than the universe. The maker 
 is necessarily grander than the things made. The 
 architect is greater than the building. The painter 
 is greater than his picture. The author is grander 
 than his book. So Christ is infinitely greater than 
 the universe. He is greater in extent and grander 
 in power. How great is the material universe? 
 The earth measuring 8,000 miles in diameter and 
 25,000 in circumference, with its lofty mountains, 
 spreading seas, and vast continents, is great in itself, 
 but compared to the entire universe, it is but a leaf 
 in the stupendous forest of material existence. The 
 sun, warming and illuminating our world, is a mil- 
 lion and a half times larger than this great earth. 
 He enlightens a hundred such planets as ours, and 
 holds them steadily in the hand of gravitation as 
 they sweep around him at the rate of 3,000 miles per 
 minute. He pours such floods of light upon the 
 earth that there is not room enough to contain it. 
 The superfluity of his splendor runs off at the edges 
 and flames upon other stars. But this great world 
 of flaming fire is not the limit of the universe. The 
 astronomical telescope shows eighteen million such 
 suns to be shining in the immensity of space. 
 They are moving around the great central orb 
 which astronomers name Alcyone. This central 
 sun is located in the cluster commonly known as 
 the " seven stars," which Job calls the "Pleiades." 
 " Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?" 
 The Chaldaic word in the original literally means a 
 hinge, pivot, ov axle, which turns round and moves 
 
Christ as a Saviour. 157 
 
 other bodies along with it. The moon moves round 
 the earth, the eartli moves round the sun, and the 
 sun with his attendant planets moves round Alcyone, 
 the great central sun of the universe. " M. Madler, 
 of Dorpat, found that Alcyone, the brightest star of 
 the Pleiades, is the center of gravity of our vast solar 
 system— the luminous hinge in the heavens round 
 which our sun and his planets are moving through 
 space." So tremendous is the force of Alcyone, that 
 it seems to be the arch key which holds the vast 
 universe together. Its influence is sweet or trans- 
 cendently precious, because without it the physical 
 system would tumble into ruin. Grander than all 
 these magnificent worlds, stretching over immeas- 
 urable spaces, is Christ. His omnipotence is greater 
 than all the forces of nature. The wind sweeping 
 in the wild rush of the tornado, the lightning shiv- 
 ering the sturdy oak, the sea tempest tossing great 
 navies high on its rolling billows as playthings, the 
 earthquake lifting huge continents on its giant 
 shoulders, are but feeble pulsations in His arm of 
 almighty potency. " And I heard . . . the voice of 
 mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord 
 God omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 3. Christ is the owner of all things. " All things were 
 created by Him and for Him." There can be no 
 better right to property than that given by the act 
 of creation. From nothing Jesus Christ called the 
 material world into existence. Men claim the right 
 to go!d and silver upon the ground of finding them. 
 But Christ made them before they could be found. 
 
153 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 God's ownership of all property is perpetual, inex- 
 tinguishable and under all circumstances indispu- 
 table and supreme. " The earth is the Lord's and 
 the fullness thereof; the world and they that 
 dwell therein." Christ is the great^ Proprietor of all 
 things, and He has never ceded His right to all of 
 earth's wealth to men. Man is only a steivard, who 
 holds property subject to the will of the great Pro- 
 prietor. What a man produces by his own skill and 
 energy, as crops, houses, books, &c, he claims as his 
 property. But productions are not creations. They 
 are but combinations out of materials and forces 
 which God put into his hands. God's right to prop- 
 erty rests on the higher ground of creation and com- 
 bination. Besides, man is the servant of God, and 
 all the servant makes belongs to the master. 
 
 II. The creative power of Christ clearly establishes 
 His Divinity, and out of His Divinity comes His 
 completeness as the all-sufficient Saviour of the 
 world. 
 
 Let us now T proceed to notice : 
 
 1. That the plan of salvation is complete in the fact 
 that it embraces all men in its redemptive provisions. 
 
 Our instinctive feelings would lead us to believe 
 that so glorious a Person as Christ would not be sent 
 on a partial and limited mission ; that supposing Him 
 to visit this earth and agonize in blood and shame, 
 He would embrace the whole race of mankind iii 
 His loving mission. And especially, when it is well 
 known that it was just as easy to redeem the whole 
 of the world as a part of it. The God of mankind 
 
Christ as a Saviour. 
 
 must be from the very necessity of His nature a 
 God of equal justice and impartial love. He gave 
 all men unasked their existence: will He cut off 
 millions of the human race, after they had fallen 
 through the agency of another, without giving them 
 any possible chance of being saved? "Shall not 
 the Judge of all the earth do right ?" Yes, He will. 
 For the Bible positively declares, that Christ de- 
 scended below the angels, tliat He, by the grace of God, 
 should taste death for every man. That Christ Jesus 
 gave Himself a ransom for all. That God so loved the 
 ivorld that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 believeth in Him should not perish. The entire race of 
 mankind is redeemed. Universal redemption is a 
 grand and glorious reality. The scheme of salva- 
 tion is complete in its scope; it encircles the entire 
 world in its arms of redeeming love. "God, our 
 Saviour, * * will have all men to be saved." " The 
 Lord is * * * not willing that any should perish." 
 
 III. The completeness of Christianity is seefl 
 when we consider its perfect adaptation to all p<rts 
 of man. 
 
 1. It is adapted to the intellect. 
 
 The spirit of Christ gives clearness, str^gth and 
 expansion to all the mental faculties. n he intellect 
 is developed and strengthened by the jXercise of its 
 powers on suitable subjects. No pander subjects 
 can be found than those presenter" m the gospel of 
 Christ. Christianity is an € ( lcator of men; it 
 teaches them to think And t' inkin g is education. 
 To "educate" means to lead jut the mi nd 3 to devel- 
 
160 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 ope its dormant faculties ; and this is what the gos- 
 pel does. The Holy Spirit rouses up the intellect, 
 enobles it and puts it to thinking. Just as the 
 genial warmth of the vernal sun starts the roots to 
 growing, the buds to opening, the germs of the 
 vegetable kingdom to blooming, so the celestial fires 
 of the Holy Spirit starts the intellect of the world 
 in the line of growth, refinement and full develop- 
 ment. The great thinkers of the world are Christian 
 men. The sublime thoughts of Christ have put the 
 whole world to thinking. Four out of every five 
 books published in the wide -world are written on 
 some theme connected with Christianity. The lever 
 now moving the intellectual world is the religion of 
 Christ. Christianity exerts a great influence on the 
 sciences. When did the revival of science and lit- 
 erature take place in Europe? Not till the great 
 reformation of Luther stirred the dormant intellect 
 of Germany. The doctrine that Christ, the Son of 
 -Righteousness, was the great central orb of chris- 
 tiaaity suggested the scientific discovery of our ma- 
 teria, sun being the centre of the planetary system. 
 Theologians first discovered the true centre of the 
 spiritual -vorld, then was the discovery of the true 
 centre of pKnets made. The enlightening influence 
 of the gospeio OI1 tj nues to be the moving and refin- 
 ing power of nr,dern civilization. Where does the 
 sun of intellectua^] or y s hi ne to-day ? Why, among 
 those nations whicNjjayg com e most under the in- 
 fluences of christian^ Mental dormancy broods 
 over heathendom, ovk Mahometanism, Buddhism 
 
Christ as a Saviour. 
 
 and all others destitute of the rousing and stirring 
 truths of Christianity. 
 
 2. Christianity is adapted to the will of man. 
 
 The will being that faculty in man which is per- 
 sonal and executive, nothing is effected till this is 
 reached. Any religion which cannot control this 
 power of man is a failure; but Christianity is adapted 
 to control the will from the grandeur of those inter- 
 ests which it presents. Here every thing takes hold 
 on infinity and eternit} r . The motives to a course 
 of piety are commanding; the motives to shun evil 
 are terrific. Its language is: " What shall it profit 
 a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his 
 own soul ; or what shall a man give in exchange 
 for his soul." On the one hand is placed " eternal 
 life," on the other is the " blackness of darkness for- 
 ever." No grander motives can be brought to bear 
 upon the human will than those presented in the 
 system of Christianity. 
 
 3. Christ as a complete Saviour, is meeting perfectly 
 all the wants of the heart. 
 
 The human heart craves to love something that 
 is perfectly lovety, perfectly excellent, and glorious. 
 It craves to fix its affections on some living embodi- 
 ment of transcendent beauty — some faultless Being 
 who can appreciate and reciprocate the love which 
 the heart feels. The beauty of pictures, the beauty 
 of stars, the beauty of the rainbow, the beauty of 
 flowers, will not satisfy the human heart. These 
 are too coarse, too gross, too material, too unlike the 
 soul to satisfy its aspirations. The cry of the human 
 
162 North Carolina Sermons. 
 
 heart is that of Philip, when he said : " Lord show 
 us the Father and it sufficeth us." Divine beauty only 
 €an satisfy the heart ; and Christ recognized this 
 ■demand and replied : " He that hath seen Me hath 
 Been the Father." Christ is the " brightness of His 
 glory, and the express imago of His person." "We 
 beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten 
 of the Father.'*' " He is the fairest among ten thou* 
 sand and the One altogether lovely." And David 
 said : "I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy like- 
 ness." " One thing have I desired of the Lord, that 
 will I seek after * * * to behold the beauty of the 
 Lord." The beauty-loving element of man will be 
 fully satisfied in heaven when " Thine eyes shall see 
 the King in His beauty." 
 
 4. He is complete as a Saviour in being so grand as to 
 take in the rvhole capacity of mail's loving nature. 
 
 Being incomplete in ourselves we seek to draw 
 completeness from another. The heart demands an 
 absorbing object of worship ; something so great as 
 to swallow up its full powers. When the object 
 loved is too small the loving heart must turn back 
 upon itself or else go out in search of a new object 
 of affection. Such is the vastness of the soul, so 
 immense is the reach of its aspiration, so excursive 
 its roaming desires, that no earthly good can fill it 
 Man is always progressive ; seeking something be- 
 yond the present. Conquering the whole world 
 does not satisfy the ambition of Alexander. Moun- 
 tains of gold do not satisfy the wealth-loving heart* 
 
Date Due 
 
 __. 
 
 SEP 2 5 7fe 
 
 ___ 
 
 FEB1 
 Mah jj ft 
 
 
 
 L. B. Cat. No. 1 137 
 
Duke University Libraries 
 
 D00738865 
 
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