But are we nothing more? God forbid. St. Paul tells us that we are something moreand our own conscience and reason tell us that we are something more. We know that to be a man, we must be something more than an animala mere brutefor when we call any one a brute, what do we mean? That he has lost his humanity, his sense of justice, mercy, and decency, and given himself up to his fleshhis animal nature, till the man in him is dead, and only the brute remains. Mind, I do not say that we are right in calling any human being a brute, for no one, I believe, is sunk so low, but there is some spark of humanity, some spark of what St. Paul calls the spirit, left in him, which may be fanned into a flame and conquer, and raise and save the man at lastunless he be a mere idiotor that most unhappy and brutal of all beings, a confirmed drunkard.
But our giving way to the same selfish shameless passions, which we see in the lower animals, is letting the brute in us conquer, is giving way to the works of the flesh. The shameless and profligate person gives way to the brute within himthe man who beats his wifeor ill-treats his childrenor in any wise tyrannises over those who are weaker than himself, he too gives way to the brute within him. He who grudges, envies, tries to aggrandise himself at his neighbours expensehe too gives way to the brute within him, and puts on the likeness of the dog which snatches and snarls over his bone. He who spends his life in cunning plots and mean tricks, stealthy, crafty, silent, false, he gives way to the brute in him, just as much as the fox or ferret. And those, let me say, who without giving way to those grosser vices, let their minds be swallowed up with vanity, love of admiration, always longing to be seen and looked at, and wondering what folks will say of them, they too give way to the flesh, and lower themselves to the likeness of animals. As vain as a peacock, says the old proverb. And shame it is to any human being so far to forget his true humanity, as to have that said of him. And what shall we say of them who like the swine live only for eating and drinking, and enjoyment? Or what of those who like the butterflies spend all their time in frivolous amusement, fluttering in the sunshine, silly and helpless, without a sense of duty or usefulness, without forethought for the coming frosts of winter, against which their gay feathers would be no protection? Do not all these in some way or other give way to the animal within them, and live after the flesh? And do they not, all of them, of the flesh, reap corruption, and fulfil St. Pauls words, If ye live after the flesh ye shall die?
But some one will sayDie?of course we shall all diegood and bad alike. Is it so, my friends? Then why does our Lord say, He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die? And why does St. Paul say, If ye through the spirit do mortify, that is crush, and as it were kill, the deeds of the body, all those low animal passions and vices, ye shall live.
Let us look at the text again. If ye live after the flesh ye shall die. If you give way to those animal passions and viceslow and cruelor even merely selfish and frivolous, you shall die; not merely your bodiesthey will die in any casethe animals dofor animals they are, and as animals die they must. But over and above thatyou yourselves shall dieyour character will die, your manhood or your womanhood will die, your immortal soul will die. The likeness of God in you will die. Oh, my friends, there is a second death to which that first death of the body is a mere trivial and harmless accidentthe death of sin which kills the true man and true woman within you. And that second death may begin in this life, and if it be not stopped and cured in time, may go on for ever. The black horse of which I spoke just now, may get the mastery and drag us down, down, into bogs out of which we can never riseover cliffs which we can never climb againdown lower and lowermore and more foolish, more and more reckless, more and more base, more and more wretched. And then there will be no more use in saying, The Lord have mercy on my soul, for we shall have no soul left to have mercy on.
This is the dark side of the mattera very dark one: but it has to be spoken of, because it is true; and what is more, it comes true only too often in this world. God grant, my dear friends, that it may not come true of any of you.
But there is also a bright side to the matterand on that I will speak now, in order that this sermon may end, as such gospel sermons surely should end, not with threats and fear, but with hope and comfort.
If ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. If you will be true to your better selves, if you will listen to, and obey the spirit of God, when He puts into your hearts good desires, and makes you long to be just and true, pure and sober, kind and useful. If you will cast away and trample under foot animal passions, low vices, you shall live. You shall live. Your very soul and self shall live, and live for ever. Your humanity, your human nature shall live. All that is humane in you shall live. All that is merciful and kind in you, all that is pure and graceful, all that is noble and generous, all that is useful. All in you that is pleasant to yourselves shall live. All in you that is pleasant to your neighbours. All in you that is pleasant to God shall live. In one word, all in you that is like Christall in you that is like Godall in you that is spirit and not flesh, shall live, and live for ever. So it must be, for what says St. Paul? As many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Those who let the spirit of God lead them upward instead of letting their own animal nature drag them downward, they are the sons of God. And how can a son of God perish? How can that which is like God and like Christ perish? How can he perish, who like Christ is full of the fruits of the spirit? of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance? The world did not give them to him, and the world cannot take them from him. They were not bestowed on him at his bodily birthneither shall they be taken from him at his bodily deathfor those blessed fruits of the spirit belong neither to the flesh nor to the world, but to Christs spirit, and to heavento that heaven in which they dwell before the throne of Godyea, rather in the mind of God Himself, the eternal forms of the truth, the beauty, the goodnesswhich were before all worldsand shall be after all worlds have passed away.
Oh! choose my friends, especially you who are young and entering into life. Remember the parable of the old heathen, about the two horses who draw your soul. Choose in time whether the better horse shall win, or the worse; whether your better self, or your worse, the Spirit of God or your own flesh, shall be your masterwhether you will rise step by step to heaven, or sink step by step to death and hell? And let no one tell you. That is not the question. That is not what we care about. We know we shall do a great many wrong things before we die. Every one does that; but we hope we shall be able to make our peace with God before we die, and so be forgiven at last.
My dear friends, that kind of religion has done more harm than most kinds of irreligion. It tells you to take your chance of beginning at the endthat is just before you die. Common sense tells you that the only way to get to the end, is by beginning at the beginning, which is now. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation, and you are accepted now, already, long ago.