The
Sunday Sermon
Having the
Form, But Denying the Power
(Part 1)
by B.H.
Carroll
Edited by
Dr. Riktor Von Zhades
-Having a form of
Godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. -
2 Timothy 3:5
Everything in this world takes on a
form, and the form serves an excellent purpose; it is by no
means to be despised, but the form by itself is nothing. You may
understand the two thoughts by selecting from a tree a ripe
hickory nut, fully ripe. Now, there is a form around it; that
form is for its protection; first, the form of the hull, and then of
the shell, but sometimes you find one that has an external
seeming, yet it feels very light and there is nothing in it;
now, there is a mere form -- an empty shell.
The apostle here declares that in the
last days there shall be a class of Christians who have the
form of Godliness, but who deny its power, or, as he expresses it
they profess that they know God, but in works they deny it, and that
here may be no misunderstanding about this class, he describes their
characteristics. (Titus 1:16;)
They are selfish people; they love
themselves; they love silver; covetous -- that is what the word
in the original means, lovers of silver-they are proud, heady,
unthankful people; they receive favors and are not grateful for them.
They have no respect for the relations of life; as children,
they are disobedient to their parents; as wives, they are
disobedient to their husbands; as those who have entered into a
covenant, they break the agreements that they have made with other
people’; nothing binding; no sort of an agreement that is
made with them will hold. (James 5:12;) They consider not that they
are bound by obligations into which they enter with other men; they
are treacherous; they are blasphemers; they love pleasure more
than they love God. ( 2 Timothy 3:4;) Now, those are some of
the characteristics of these people.
He says that when that class prevail it
makes perilous times, hazardous, dangerous times; when those
who claim to be Christians are only shells, empty shells; when they
have the form of Godliness and deny its power; when they
profess to be Christians and in their lives go directly
contrary to the teachings of Christianity. (Matthew 23:27;) If he is
an old man and a Christian, he will be sober, grave, temperate,
sound in the faith; if she is an old woman, she, too, will be
sober and grave, and a thoughtful teacher of younger women, and
if she be a young woman and a Christian, she will be chaste and
discreet, and love her husband, and love her children, and will
regard it as a religious obligation to take due care of her
home; if it is a servant and a Christian, that servant will be
impelled by his Christianity to do faithful, honest service for the
wages that are paid; not answering back to his employer, not
stealing little things, purloining; not one who serves as under
the eye of another, an eye servant, but one who, whether the master
is present and looking on or not, for conscience’s sake renders a
faithful amount of work for the compensation which is paid.
(Titus 2:9; 1 Peter 4:11; Galatians 6:6;)
Now, it does seem to me that there is
an opportunity at this time in the world for the highest and
holiest demonstration of Christianity ever known in the case of
employees. There is a vast deal of unhealthy sentimentalism
prevalent, that kind of sentimentalism which encourages a man
to think that an employer is necessarily a tyrant; that an
employer is necessarily an oppressor of the poor. Oh! What a
revolution it would work, if throughout the length and breadth of
this land today all employees who claim to be Christians would
for Christ’s sake do genuine honest work when they are paid
to do the work; that they would give fair service, and that
they would not rely upon this unhealthy sentimentalism that leads men
to think that a contract does not mean anything; that a man’s
obligation amounts to nothing; that a question of honor is
nothing ( Leviticus 19:15;)
I do not hesitate to say today that if
I were not a preacher, and I knew how to perform such service,
I would like to be for a short time a cook, just to show what
honest, faithful service ought to be in that department, in order to
adorn the principles of the Christian religion. There is a
state of demagogism prevalent which arises from the dominion of
politics that is absolutely sapping the vitals of a sturdy,
rigorous manhood.
Christianity does teach a man to be
honest; it does teach that he shall give fair service for a
fair compensation; it does teach that men as they get older should
become riper for salvation; it does teach that in the home its
graces should be illustrated; it does teach that in matters of
obligation and word we should be faithful; and this is true, sound
doctrine, the doctrine preached by the apostle, and who, while
himself poor and a laborer, took that high moral ground that if
a man would not labor he should not eat; that he was not
entitled to it, and I do believe that if we would, for Christ’s
sake, frown down upon beggary as coming from strong men, that
kind of sponging on others when there is strength in the right
arm, when there is ability to render good service; I believe if
we would, for Christ’s sake, frown down upon it, that we would
have a more vigorous, sturdy manhood among our people.
Now, do not misunderstand me. While I
have not, as a Christian, one atom of respect for the demagogy
that is debauching the morals of the masses of the people --not
an atom-- neither have I for that power of wealth, for that
power of monopoly that would, under the guise of contract,
grind a man to powder and crush his very soul out of him. ( 2
Peter 2:19;) What I mean to say is, that it is a practical teaching
of Christianity and one that is too much ignored, that for
Christ’s sake we ought to be faithful men and women in every
department of life. It is contrary to the life of Jesus Christ
and His precepts to make religion a cloak for idleness in any
direction, or for a trifling character. ( Galatians 5:13; James 1:25;
James 2:12; 1 Peter 2:16;)
I thought it right --I thought the
times called for the pressing of this primal thought of the
text, that a man who professes to be a Christian and has a form of
Godliness is under obligation to recognize the power of that
Christianity in the little things of life, and in the business
of life, and in our homes, and in all of our social interchanges. ( 1
Corinthians 10:31;)
Unquestionably that is the teaching of
Jesus Christ and all His apostles and we can be faithful to
Jesus by attending to the smallest details of household affairs. We
can recognize the light of the authority of Jesus Christ by
being careful concerning the most insignificant duty of this
life, and it is by the massing together of these little things that
a great character is ever formed. A great character is never formed
by an exceptional act; it is never brought about by some
sensational surrounding; it is the development, it is the
outgrowth of habit, and by attention to everything that is right in
the sight of God, making His teachings the rule of our life in
the most infinitesimal affairs. (a)
(a) Editor’s notation - In order to
fully appreciate this last sentence, it is suggested the reading of
Psalm 119 in its entirety. Focus on such words/expressions as,
precepts, instruction, your ways, your words. In it the Psalmist
David gives glory to God by living his life according to His Word.
Dr. RVZ – Servant of the King Jesus
Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment