CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 317, 2 October 1908, Page 8

CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR.

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. \ AN OUTSPOKEN DELIVERANCE. , Tho Rev. Macdonald Aspland's presidential address to the Christian Endeavour Union, delivered to • a large audience in Wesley Church last evening, was of a thoughtful and stimulating .character, and contained a. vigorous protest against a certain form of popular theology; _ "The Christian Endeavourer on Active Service" was - the titlo of tho address. Tho preacher said that, while ho was ready to admit that humanity as a whole was far from tho goal of perfection, ho believed that it was steadily marching forward towards that goa.l. To put it. briefly and concisely, he had never been ablo to believe in what in theological circles used to bo spoken of : as the doctrine of "total depravity." He had little if any sympathy with those who would try to persuade■ a junior endeavourer of- some eight or ten summers to make a confession of sin similar to that which one might justly expect to'fall from the lips of a, confirmed criminal. Better slirely, and truer to tho interpretation of Scripture and our own spiritual intuitions,' would it bo to point out to the junior endoavourers that they woro already; God's children, ahd then urge them to abide in the Father's, house and continuo in His love and service. They should romember' that they were made in God's image, and SCO'to it that the.v were not cheated out of their.. birthright.. Unliko the lower creation, they possessed that which enabled them to hold communion with tho eternal Creator of all things., "God desires your fellowship oven more , than'you desire His. ' God is realising His fullnoss in humanity, whilo at tho'same time humanity is finding its truest satisfaction' in tho divino. As deity entered into our humanity, so in our humanity we can easily detect the divine; the fact is the two aro:inseparablo.' Man has a touch of the divine in his nature, the proof of which is found in, tho fact that his truest satisfaction is realised in spiritual channels." His prayer was- that as Christian Endeavourers they should ever live up to tho highest instincts of their' spiritual nature.

Temptation Necessary. Bines man . was a spiritual being, it followed that temptation was necessary to bis moral development.' Temptation, if rightly viewed and earnestly resisted, did not lower manhood, but'mado it more divine. There could be no real' victory apart from conllict, aud_ each'victory made easier the nest. Iu Christ they found the vision of perfection portrayed, and in Christ would-be.found the power needed to turn the vision to a gloriousreality. 7 "We. sing at times, and I feel somewhat flippantly, ; 'Only .a Step to Jesus.' That is true. That step gives us the much-needed vision of . which I have spoken, but • the 1 ac-quiring:'of-the divine graces becomes ours only through '.patient continuance in welldoing. -lir other, words, we, like our Lord, are made: perfect through suffering. I am laying particular stress on • this point, because I feel we are apt to forget the truth made plain > ; ears ago by Bunyan in his 'Pilgrim's •■Progress' that betweon leaving the City-'of Destruction and entering the City Celestial there 13 a'life-long conflict against evils without-'and! 'within." This brought them to':>the third point, how to fight to ensure victory. :;First, he would ask, by . whom must the' fighting be dono._ To his mind there wis but ! one answer, it must be done by the ehdeavourer who was seeking to lay hold of/ 'eternal"'life. Each soul must fight its oto battled,'" M l 'have never been able to agree'with .'those who would have us believe that humanity is a mass of helpless matter, unable of itself to' think, or do any good thing. To mymind such a theory degrades the humanity that Christ came to exalt. ' It is_ treading under feet the nature that by His incarnation He'raised-to a position of honour. . , Obsolete Teaching. ' , •; "I well remember that this was the kind of teaching I had to listen to when 1 was a boy in my teens. This was the kind of advice given to new converts: 'Now, you must, right at the beginning of your Christian , life, remember that of yourself you can . do nothing, all your good desires, your strivings after holiness, -are vain. It is not wliat you do, or desire-to,do, or bo; it is what Christ has done,. arid.'WiU do for you that countsi. As in the past, so in the future, He will do for you all that needs to bo done,' Ho will not allow you to have a share in the glory; 'that is all His own rail you havo to do is to trust yourself ,to His keeping, and allow Him to conquor for you. He will fight your battles and. win your victories.' Now I hope I shall nqt be misunderstood-whon 1 say that while I'- am prepared to admit that there is a certain truth expressed in the •foregoing, "there is also a good deal/of error. To my niind such is not the, New Testament conception of the Christian' life; it degrades manhood,'" and' is •an insult to the human race, of which we form a part." Christ took' possessionof-, a' man, not to destroy his personality, but : to quicken it into newness of life; -not to do for us, but to show us what .wrought, and could, do for ourselves, arid, indeed no other could do for us. "'He - camo not to triumph over pur humanity') but to enable' us to triumph in our humanity, even as He triumphed. He said it'in, all reverence, Christ did not fight our battles, He placed the sword in our hands , and inspired us to go and fight as Ho 1 fought. The Goliaths of evil must fall by ; our hands. God would; as in the past, so to-day, impart all needed strength for the .conflict, but we must do our part. Christ had 'said, "Be of gopd cheer, I have overcome the world;" Because He overcame,we might overcome. Ho was tempted—and the speaker meant all that was generally understood when he used the word tempted— yes, He was tempted in all points like as we were, yet without sin. Why? Did He triumph because defeat was a thing impossible? If so (he said it with all reverence) there was no praise: due to Him, and if we failed beoause victory was absolutely impossible, thero could be-no blame attached to our defeat. -Christ -triumphed over temptation,, not because yielding to the temptation was 1 impossible,, but • beoause He willed not to yield; to say less than that was to picture Christ going through a series of sham battles, while we were called to face the cannoil's mouth, ; The Reward. . Dealing- finally with the Christian Endeavourers' reward, tho preacher urged a life of cro shearing, hill-climbing, foe-facing, sjn-resisting. "We speak of the Cross sometimes s,s if Christ by his cross-bearing made it unnecessary , for lis to bear one. Would it not be truer to say that He carried His to show,.us how-to carry ours? He fought to show, and encourage us to fight. He triumphed* over temptation to prove to us that yielding.is not a necessity. Ho conquered to ensure our conquering. Ho rose as a pledge of our spiritual resurrection. He ascended that we might ascend also, even to the experience that is His." AN ENTHUSIASTIC MEETINC. -Tho meeting, which was a vory enthusiastic one,, took the. form of a united consecration service, •Greetings were received from Dr. Clark, world's president of the movement, the New Zealand Council, all tho provincial councils, -.'and 12 societies. Twentyeight societies'responded to the roll call. A special choir, under Mr. G. Frow, and several soloists, contributed to tho musical service. ' ■ . After delivering his address, tho retiring president handed over tho badgo of office to his successor, the Rev. T. Keith-Ewen, who gave out the following motto for tho year: "Look up, and not down; look forward, and not backward; look out, and not in; and .lend a helping : hand." It was announced that tho annual report, which had been duly audited, showed a credit balanco of £7. A presentation of a roller-toij desk was made to the secretary, Mr. L. J. Clark, who is rosignjng that position after seven years' service; in order to give more attention to tho Taranaki Street Junior Socioty, of which 110 is tho leader. The Rev. Macdonald Aspland eulogised Mr. Clark's sorvices to tho union. Nearly all tho large attendance took the union's consecration pledge. A large number remained for tho communion seryice, conducted by the Rev. S. ,J. Serpell. .