Sermon.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume I, Issue 6, 1 December 1910, Page 11

Sermon.

(Preached by the Rev. J. H. Rogers, m the Cathedral, Napier.) Romans i., 16 (literally) — "l am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is a POWER— of God— unto Salvation unto every one that believeth." Light and shadows have fallen on the path of the Church during the last few years ; the shadows come and go and are succeeded by others— the light remains, for it is of God. The present is a time— to borrow a word from your Bishop— -of . reconstruction ; there is not the. slightest change m any article of the Catholic Faith, but there are changes m our points of view, we have cleared away much which bad grown up around

the . faith and which we perhaps thought was a part of it, and the faith thus freed stands out clearer and more distinct. For instance as to Inspiration. We no longer think that the Bible came down as.it were from Heaven m the form m which we have it; we no longer are concerned as to the exact number of men slain m a battle, or the exact words m which a miracle is described ; we no longer think it matters whether the Book of Isaiah was written by one or two people, or, indeed, whether the whole contents of a book bearing the name of a certain author were written by that author, but we are perfectly certain that the compilers were absolutely guided by the Holy Spirit m their choice of materials, and even m the bits of folk lore and the stanzas of national war songs which they have quoted m their work. We are absolutely certain that God's revelar tion of Himself to man, graded according to the development of the race, is accurately set forth to us under the direct guidance of the same Holy Spirit. : The same thing applies to our view of the Incarnation. The time was when we were afraid of laying too much stress on this, lest we should throw m to the shade the Divinity of our Lord. Now we see that it is m the Incarnation — the taking of humanity into Himself — that we find our ground for present confidence m a Personal Saviour, the key to His gifts m the Sacraments and the hope of attaining to the grand possibilities which He has placed within our reach. The Resurrection also acquires more importance m the increasing light. Not so long ago people fixed every thought on the Cross as the means of rescuing us from punishment, and the chief importance of the Resurrection was its evidence that " the debt had been paid." Now we see that m the Resurrection and m our union with and partakingjrf that Risen Lord we obtain that" " Life more abundantly" of which He speaks. Moreover, a study of other religions and the teachings of the old Philosophers shows us that even m them was something of the Holy Spirit, some " feeling after " the true Light, which could only be His work. And here it is that our text comes in — here is the great difference he.?

tween all other systems ol< religion or philosophy and the religion of Jesus Christ. That, and that alone, is a Power, a Force of God unto Salvation; •■■•-•■.•.•■ ■■:• , ■•'•.■.•:!•■■-• '. ••' - :■..■•:'• ■'-;'■''"'.% The moral teachings of Confucius were excellent, but: there was nothing m them to help the learner to attain to them ; the self-denial of the Buddha was splendid; but there was nothing m it, beyond the power of example, to convert the selfish, and his only hope for the future 'was a condition m which personality was practically lOSt. . ■ . . .•• •' : - '-■' '.: ■■•-- Aristotle wrote ten books to eiplain the greatest good : m nine of them he elaborately discusses what it is not, and m the tenth he has prac* tically to admit that he cannot define it, and can only give the most hazy and elementary ideas leading m the direction of it. • :. Cicero is compelled to leave the grave of his daughter m a grief that he acknowledges to be hopeless.- ' Socrates, the nearest itr his ' teaching to the Christian ethics, hopes for immortality and impresses a 'very high standard of life, but he is utterly unable to show how either the One pt the other may be reached; ■• • : i: Bui now comes thtj Gospel^tliQ Revelation of Jesus Christ, and ,^i|" is a Power, a Force from God able Ib accomplish all that we need^ and to deal with all the problems m the world and m our own lives. ""■ ' For instance, the Incarnation, is a Power which deals with materialism and the lowness of our ideals. It shews us our possibilities and, puts them within our reach. He who took upon Him the forraf of a servant;, made complete through suffering, is now "at the right hand of God exalted," and He says this is the case "that where I am there ye' may be also;" and as S. John isiya we hn6w, that when He shall appear we shall be like Him. Here then is the Power to raise our Ideals. . But between us and them lies Sin, and whether we like it or not it must, be dealt with. The Power to deal with it is the Gospel of,- Christ — His Crucifixion. By that climax to a life, of self-sacrifioe, by His offering that complete sacrifice to God. He . cUs-.. charged, we know not hqw> (jhe penalties attaching to the whole human race. "He put away Sin by. the sacrifice of Himself/ By that' Sacrifice He removed the burden, - tife J

barrier, and gave us Power, freed from the tyrant, to follow Him. Still, the position of a debtor, freed indeed from debt but penniless and homeless, is a miserable one ; he is almost certain to return to his old bondage. And how can he hope, even though forgiven and set free, to struggle on through this life? This problem is met by the Power of His Resurrection. Here is Life from Him for all who will have it ; here is victory m Him for all who will claim it; here is patience of hope from Him for all who will use it. A Power — of God. Then there are the problems of sorrow, pain, oppression, wrong, failures, difficulties; problems that sometimes dishearten, sometimes divert us from our course ; and the Power to deal with these is m our Ascended Lord. Here comes m the whole question of Prayer — " the ascents of the soul to God " on which our Lord spoke so fully to His Disciples on the night before His Crucifixion. As there is no limit to the power of the Ascended Lord so there is no limit to the power of prayer on the part of those who offer it m His Name, accepting Him as their representative, m touch with Him. Let those who doubt try it, fairly, and without questioning, without selfishness, and they too will realize the Power. The Power of the Gospel is markedly proved m the Sacraments^ m which we have as it were the "force" of the Gospel concentrated on the individual. Our Lord has Himself attached a certain grace to these Gifts of His, and that grace is effectual m every case where it is not blocked by unbelief or lack of receptivity. Thus, m Holy Baptism the promise of life m Christ is sealed on the individual, the germ of life is bestowed ; it may be stunted, it may be stifled, it may be developed, but m any case the Power is there. In the other Sacrament, too — the Holy Communion — there is a Power of God, a Power to sustain life. "He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." The Power is latent, it may not be called out at once, it may never be called, out, but to deny its existence is to deny the word of the Lord Jesus. Yet again the Gift of the Holy Spirit' is a Power of God to vitalize every ordinance, every means of

grace. Holy Scripture read as an ordinary book strikes the reader as a wonderful literary production, containing passages of marvellous beauty, but when read m the Power of the Holy Ghost it is "able to make" us "wise unto Salvation," able to soothe, able to guide, able to testify of Christ. l^ublic Worship also, which too many people treat as they would a Lecture or a Concert, is something absolutely different under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The worshipper is joining m the Communion of Saints, hie is sharing the intercession of the Great High Priest, he is really confessing sin, and really receiving the personal assurance of forgiveness, he is really taking a part, by intercession, m Christ's great work m the world, he is really bringing down blessings on those whom he bears m his heart. The listener is hearing m Lessons, Epistle, Gospel, Sermon, not the words of man but a message of God to himself, the message he wants — -that any day. The Power of the Holy Spirit makes the Sacraments what Christ intended them to be. His working m us makes them to us all that they contain But S. Paul adds a condition : " The Gospel of Christ ... is a Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth." What does this believing mean 1 ? Some persons seem to have such wonderful experiences, such glorious feelings, others have nothing of the kind ; do not they believe? How nan I be sure that I believe 1 Belief is first a laying firm hold of the facts which God has revealed to us about Himself and His Son. These facts are absolutely clear, absolutely simple, absolutely and abundantly proved ; and they must be, on the the evidence given by God Himself, absolutely accepted and firmly held. From facts belief goes on to the Person," and unites itself with Him who has united Himself with us. It is entrusting one's soul m entire moral surrender to Him, giving over to Him our life's purpose, will, character to be dealt with as He sees fit. It is identifying oneself with Him m His attitude towards God, His attitude towards self, His attitude towards sin, and His attitude towards mankind. Thus identified w» do

realize that the Gospel is a Power of God unto. Salvation. My Brethren of the Clergy, suffer, I pray you, a loving word f?'om one whose work is almost done, and who has passed through almost every stage of religious difficulty. Let nothing, NOTHING tempt you to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Without it all effort, organization, administration, influence is ineffectual ; with it, m it, all you say and do is a Power, and that of God, unto Salvation. My Brethren of the Laity you, too, aje offered many substitutes for the Gospel of Christ, many excuses for being ashamed of it. That Materialism, which exaggerates the importance of things seen and felt and treats the Spiritual things as unreal, what has it to give you now and hereafter. That Intellectualism, which belittles the Oospel of Christ, can it give you any Power m difficulty, sorrow, death, judgment 1 But the Gospel of Christ can. No human need, no human suffering, no sense of sin, no fear of death, no expectation of judgment is beyond its Power. And that Power, that Force, is yours, and to-night it says to you, " Lift up your hearts." Let us reverently and humbly answer, " We lift them up unto the Lord."