To conclude,—there should be any right-thinking, calculating person that, having begun, will fail to complete the building of this tower? How foolish before God and men, how dangerous!
Be steadfast! be wise!—
"Build on, my soul, till death
Shall bring thee to thy God;
He'll take thee at thy parting breath
To thy divine abode."
Amen.
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.—Gal. 6, 1.
The Christian Church is frequently compared with a hospital. The comparison is correct. Christ calls Himself a Physician; then those to whom He has come to heal are sick, and the institution which He has established for the spiritually soul-sick is the Church. Not for those who regard themselves well, who in self-righteous haughtiness would be no sinners, but for those who, acknowledging their soul-sickness, are looking for healing from the Physician of souls, Christ Jesus, is this divine institution. The Church, we may aptly say, is a hospital.
In a hospital, however, we have respect to proper treatment, we desire to become rid of our ailment, and are ready to submit to any course and remedy that will promote our healing. Equally so in the spiritual hospital ought we to be ready and thankful for any method and manner of treatment that helps us become rid of our sins, our faults, our errors. Such a course, suggested by the Gospel-lesson, would we for once regard in this morning devotion. Let us consider a Christian's duty toward an erring brother, noting, I. what this duty is; II. how it is to be performed; III. some of the happy results.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." What the Apostle here commands is this: If a Christian, a member of a congregation, falls, those who are standing are to help him up again. If he falls into error of doctrine, they are to bring him to the belief of the Bible truth, and if he falls into some sin of life, they are to remonstrate with him, so that he may repent and return into the way of right. That this is one of the most difficult of Christian duties is true, and that it is a duty grossly neglected by Christians is true also. But for that reason it becomes all the more necessary to call attention to it. "Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him," we read Lev. 19. Solomon says: "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." A greater than Solomon, even our Savior, has said: "If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault." Again, St. Paul directs: "Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering." These are but a few of many similar texts of Scripture that might be cited to show that to reprove an erring fellow-Christian is just as solemn and weighty as that which tells us, "Thou shalt not steal," or admonishes to read our Bibles, and attend on public worship. And be it noted, this is every Christian's duty. It will not do to say: Let the pastor do it, or let those do it who are better qualified than myself. It is indeed the pastor's duty, and it is the duty of those of whom you say they are better qualified than yourself, and it is also your duty; for thus says the Apostle: "Ye which are spiritual restore such an one." If you are spiritual, if you are a Christian, it is your duty to apply brotherly admonition; and is it right to shift your duty on to the shoulders of others?