Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1863-09-16
From tho American Christian Review.
"MY KINGDOM rs NOT OF THIS
WORLD"


will not respect the wisdom Of God as set
forth in both the teaching and example
of our Lord and his Apostles. We cannot
make ourselves, as great, rapidly increas-
ing and prosperous body, an exception
TO this rule If we desire and intend to
prosper in the great and good work of
uniting saints, building up the church and
saving mer, we must confine ourselves
strictly to the gospel-to the things OF the
kingdom Of God and the name of Jesus
Christ determined TO know nothing but
Christ and him crucfed-to glory in
nothing but the cross ofChrist. Our mis-
sion, as a religious body, as Christian
ministry, and as Christian writers, is not
OF this world. The wepons Of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God,
70 the pulling down of strongholds "We
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against wicked spirits in the heav-
enly regions" Our King commanded
one Of his men, when he drew sword,
and commencing battle with it, struck of
the ear of the servant Malchus, to put up
Ae S,oord adding that they who take the
sword shall perish By Hs SWOrd. The Apos-
Ue Paul fits out the Christian soldier and
equips him for his work, The following
are the habiiments for the warfare: The
loins are 10 be grit about with truth. the
breast-plate of Righteousness is to be put on,
the feet are TO be shod with preparation Of
Me gospel, The shield of faith is TO be Ia
ken, the helmet OF SaiUatioR and the sword
of the SDtrit which is the cord Of God
Here is the Christian armor-our prepara-
ton for war. There is nothing carnal
about it-nO preparation TO war against
flesh and blood We must hold fas. to
this armor--the heavenly arnor, and use
il with skill, resoTting to no other, ard
we shall see the tall sons of mea in thou
sands fall before US and join the army.
There we're as many questions of world
~ policy and strife in the time OF our
Lord and his Apostles as we have nov
questions, too, involving consequences
equally momentous, having in them as
much Of veal or woe for humanity yet
the Lord and his Apostles never introdu-
Ced one Of these questions into single
sermon, narrative Of epistle of the New
Testament. If they participated in these
questions at all, they kept it SO entirely
dist net from their religion that not
trace Of il appears in all their sermons,
narratives or letters. No man can Learn
from all that is contained in the New
Testament, which side they were on in
any political issue of their time. In all
they have left us of preaching, writing
and the.acton of churches, they have so
utterly ignored all political questions, that
we defy any man TO show what their pol
itics were, or whether they had any
They never, so far as appears from the
New Testament, in all they have said and
done, used their stations, as preachers,
writers, or churches, as political engines
and nstrumenislites. They kept their
one work before them kept their eye
singly to it and never departed from it,
nor in any way mixed with il the worldly
questions of strife, human ambition, pride
and jealousy. They permitted not the
carnal, heshy and sensual questions Of
worldly and human policy to contami-
nate the pure fountain at which they
drank Never did they allow their holy
mission, as preachers of the gospel OF
Christ, writers or churches, to be pervert
ed into engines Of national and worldly
strife, thus setting fire to the fuel and
tanning the flames of worldly contention,
fur and rage. Their mission was Peace
on earth; go)d will TO man." Their gos-
pei was emphatically the gospel of peace,
and their.prince was the prince of peace.
Their Master, in the first sermon he ever
preached said, blessed are the peace ma
lerS for they shall be called the children
of God" Their Apostles said, Follow
peace with all men and holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord.
We care not whether mans politics
be good or bad, whether he be right or
wrong, politically; whether he be wise or
unwise, politically his politics must be
kept out of the pulpit, out of the chuich
and out of our religious publications. The
temple of God is holy says the word of the
Lora, (which temple ye are, and it any
man shall detile the temple of God, him
shall God DESTROY" 1t is desecrating the
ministry, the pulpit and the church, for
any man TO introduce politics into them
and peryerting them from their divine
and sacred purpose. 10 make them en-
gines TO infame the passions of wicked
men to make them parties TO the dread
ful strifes of those times to involve them
III tue NdIudl NpllsSuNipuo VI
proud and envious men, is to PROSTATE
the church into the dust of the earth /;
20 carnalize, corrupt and utterly sink the
Christian ministry
This evil has been gaining upon US for
years, and we are now getting TO where
we can begin to see the result. We are
beginning to feel what a carnal pulpit has
done aud can do. We have had our
Theodore Clspp, Theodore Parker, 50 bold
shat most men saw the infidel, uneovern.
able and licentious tendency of the thing
10 these we have had Joseph Barker and
host Of Others, little rougher and coars
er. These have been followed by some
shameless and, certainly, graceless temdL
elrqymcu, all political preachers. We still
have Henry Ward Beecher, Ames, etc,
utterly reckless and more political thar
religious. An immense troop have seer
the excitement these create and begin "
think they never can be great men til
they too can fall in with the general mus.
and scramble. Indeed, the most fearful
ihiny ,,a soa In iba praeanl etatA of things