The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-09-28
Now / IN pass q the other par.t

My mind Is yenrning for something
higher and more spiritual but before
can advance any further must have
these terms Explained by a liberal.
Christian mar" f-l
object to any such position as thnt,
will admit that, before man can
make progress in a spiritual and Chris
tian life, there are certain initial truths
which lie must know. Thus, n man
must know, something about sin before
he can have n conscience exercised re-
spsetihg sin. He must know some
thing about law before he can feel a
conviction OF having broken law. He
must know something of Christ be-
fore ho can have faith In Christ, There
fore, when Phillip and tho eunuch
went down in the chariot, it was need
h1ls before the eunuch could mRlle a
profession OF Christ, that tho apostle
should preach Christ to him; and ho
could have said, "How can i be Chris
tim TIL 1 know something about
Christl ~ There are certain fundamen.
tai elementary views OF moral chRrnc-
ter and obligation sueh that, IL man
be ignorant of them, he may wait and
say, "Put me in possession OF these
views, or 1 cannot go on to higher
llte;n but here Is a man who under
stands all these elementary truths on
which character Is based. 3 -
Now, there are a great many doc
tE1nes are which not necessartly Y initial,
although they are important. They may
be important for the conception ofchnf-
0cter, or important for the filling out
symmetricnlly the circle OF thought re-
specttng religious matters and vet
they may not be Indispensable to the
formation of Christian habits and a
Christian faith. And for man to sit
down before one of these doctrines and
Saw % L IT1IlSt have this nItaHtfnyI aoFfJo,5
before L can take anothor step,n Is so
manlfestly wrong although so yeFy
common, thntI wish to speak n few
words about 1t. II.
In preaching, It has been my lot to
deal with many men who said 'I am
going to be a Christian; but when
1 become n Christian, 1 nm going to be
g whole one. am not going To med
die with religion till I am prepared to
take 1t up understandiugly.h
recolleCt a man in Terre Haute who
was under serious convictions. and
whom i called upon. He saiC he was
going 10 tear up theology to the roots,
should bo real one. He was physi-
cinni and 1 said TO him, doctor, sup-i
pose n man should send to you in great
haste, asking you to come and see
him, us ho had symptoms of the choIe-
m; and suppose, when you reached his
btuhluef you AOuull. LndL ne nHu lOIlT or
five old medical works that he WINS
studying, and he said to you, "Slr. /
have called YOU to como In and assist
me in understanding these books; and
/ am not going to taISe one single step
in being dOctored till have torn up the
doctrines of medicine to the very roots;
| for when nm we'll, am going to be
well all through" what would You saw.
As 1t was n case in his own profession,
and pertinent, heisaw the reasonable
ness Of IL At once, and said, frankly, ffI
shonld say, Lazy aside these volumes,
and take the medicines that shall give
you, and then, niter you have recover
ed, you can study atyour leisure.'n He
was SO convinced of the error OF his po-
sitiOn that he abandoned IL ut once, and
offered himself to Christ, and in u few
days became q Christian. And It Is nb-
surd for any person TO sit behind doc
trine and sny, .when you explain that
TO me, shall be ready to go forwnrd.'
II am not opposed to any amount of
questioning, or any amount of expIa-
nation, that Is required for tho under
standing OF any theme or any StapIe
doctrine of our fiIitlI, but / do say that
the time for that Questioning or expla-
nation Is not before a man submits TO
tho authority of Christ, but afterWarIl
and that the first step toward the un-
derStHndfmg OF doctrine Is submission
OF ones heHrt and will to God. sIfanY
man will do my will, he shall know OF
tho doctrine which / teach, whether II
be of God, y said the Master y believe
that. / hold thnt the putting the force
of mans life fully and wholly into his
moral feeling Is, ordinarily, a prerequi-
site to the very solution OF many of the
difficulties In doctrine. How frequently
u Is the case that, when a man who has
been charged and surcharged with inf
del difficulties becomes "a christian, all
those difficulties quickly melt Rwayl
On some very cold morning OF Feb
ruary man wakes up In his house.
and says: HEvery window here Is cur
tntned with ice. Frost is on every pane,
and obstructs the light. And now, i
am not going to take n stop in my daily
duties, nor have n morsel of breakfast,
till every particle OF this ice Is remOv-
ed.n So he begins to scrape the glass
and before he hRs finished cleaning the
second pane, the frost Is formed on the
first one thlt he scraped, us much as IL
was when he began. He makes very
presence, i would say: HATY friend.
build q big fire In tho stove, and that
Will get your break fast; and while It Is
getting your breakfast, the IeiIt that II
viii dlhuse throughout the room will
melt the Ice, and the light Will be let in
through the windows in tho most legiti-
mate way.n st-'s - 3lt -
ands ofcrystalized skepticisms and diff
iiculties that attaGh to n mnn's under
stnnding because there is not any fire
in the heart because thnt very moral
state which solves difficulties Is want
ing in him. And II he would have his
difficulties solved he must believe In
the Lord Jesus Christ. Thewny to solve
difficulties Is to be in full communion
with God. There is a light let down from
the spirit OF God when a mans heart Is
In a state to receive It, that superceEles
the necessity of thousands of inYestiga-
tons. Men that fight and quarrel with
the sovereignty of God, when brought
to an experience of divine love, find
themselves breaking out, not in argu-
mants and reasontngs against TINT doc
trinei but in praise and thanksgiving
that God Is sovereign. Many n man to
whom the doctrine of grace Is a stum-
/ bling block, when once he has the
grnce OF God In his heart, is led thereby
to magnify the name of the Lord. And
tits afaet corrob oborated by experience
and practical wisdom TINT the wuy 70
solve difficulties Is to have the powerof
God in the soul, and rise to a higher
spiritual life.
Ishould therefore say, in respect to
such q csisP as this, 1tThe doctrine of
future punishment may be a proper
subject for investig igation; but whether
you believe 1t or not, whether you
think II divine or humhn, you are nm
der obligation % repent, and to love
God with all your heart, nnd mind, and
soul, and strength. u as,
Ithlnlo a man can be a Christian and
take either side Of the controversy on
this particular point. think n man
may be a Untyersalist and yet be a
I,Christian. do nOtthlnk TINT the sche-
dulles Of doctrines which, usually go
ItyftIt Nhra TTVtfrntaolfnF ffyt11tv.nt1