THE REV. J.H. JONES ON TEMPERANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 122, 1 June 1885, Page 4

THE REV. J.H. JONES ON TEMPERANCE.

Yestekday morning the Rev. J. H. Jones, j pastor of tho Baptist Church, Ponsonby, preached, by request, an admirable sermon j on temperance, from I, Cor. viii., 13: J " Therefore, if meat make my brother lo offond, I will oa. no flesh whilo tho world , standelh, lest I make my brother to offend." The principle involved in ' the text, the preacher observed, was that what was in itself lawful might be rendered unlawful; or, in other words, what was right might bo made wrong, and thus provo a most serious and detrimental stumbling-block to others. The Ctiri. tian C.iurch. at one time, did not deem it [roper to interfere with the vice of drunkenness, but of late years it has vigorously aroused itself from its long culpablo remissness to a right sense of tho duty incumbent upon it of doing all it could in the opposito direction, for the laudable purposo of counteracting, as fur as possible, that soul destroying ovil. Until about a hundred yoars ago, Sunday Schools were not established, mid Christians of the present day marvelled that so excellent an institution for imparting spiritual instruction to the young did not exist earlier. It was clearly tho bounden duty, as well as the privilege of the Church, and of every lover of Christ, to put forth increased efforts to stem tho torrent of intemperance, which was producing indescribable misery, poverty, crime, wretchednoss, death anil sin in all directions. As the possession of divine grace in the heart was tho most effectual antidote for in temperance, as well as for all other infractions of the laws of Heaven incidental to fellow man, Christians should, by their prayers, precopts, example and works, endeavour to be instrumental in rescuing their brethren from tho vortex of drunkenness. Tho immoderate drinkers wero the sons and daughters of the moderate imbibers. If thero were no modorato drinkers In the present age, thero would be no immoderate drinkers in the next. Tho partaking of one glass was undoubtedly an introduction to tho swallowing of many more in the majority of many instances. All the Christian churches in Auckland and elsewhere should heartly combino to do battle with the demon of intoxication, which w a) engulphing co many in both temporal and eternal ruin,