The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-12-22
DAILY PRESS,
Thursday Morning, December "a, 1870

PORTLAND

The Church and Church Membership.
By special request we publish the following
sermon preached by Rev. CIV. Buck OF PARK
Street Church:
Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edity
one another, as ye also dol Thess. SILL.
My subject is the Church and Church Men,
bership. l have read this text because it sug.
gests two prominent characteristics of the
church as it existed in the earliest period; in
the first place it was a union of Christians in
most intimate and confidential personal rela-
tions; and in the second place it was separ-
ated from the world. Comfort yourselves
together" "Edify one another" What l
shall say will follow the lead of these two
themes:-the union of church members. and
their separation from the world; and nv de-
sign will be to answer this inquiry.-whether
after the illumination of the world by Chris.
tianity; after the development of Christianity
itself through eighteen centuries of contact
with human thought and experience; aid
after the personal manners customs and tas es
of the peoples OF Christendom have been modi-
fed by long period of increasing civilization
whether there still exists the same occasion for
good men and women to segregate themselves
in limited fellowship apart from the world
in word, whether the chnrch of apostolic
times would not be an anachronism in the
Christendom of to-day.
Paul. in his second missionary journey from
Antioch came to Thessalonica, populous
commercial city of Macedonia. He preached
there three Sabbaths and succeeded in estab
fishing a church. But between this new
church and the world there was unavoidably
broad separation. The worlds people raised
mob and attacked the house of Jason in
which they expected to find Paul and Sias.
Paul was obliged to continue his journey and
went to Berea. But his enemies followed
him and excited the multitude against him,
so that he could not tarry in that place. His
heart yearning towards his church at Thessa-
lonica, he sent Timothy to comfort and en-
courage them, with instructions to overtake
him at Athens. But without waiting at
Athens for Timothy he went to Corinth and
remained there year and half, in the years
90 and So. Timothy rejoined him there
and gave his report OF the Thessalonican
church; whereupon Pauls interest in that
church vas so qnickened that he wrote from
an overlooking heart the letter from which
the text is taken, and which stands in our
Bible as the First Epistle to the Thessaloni-
ans. This epistle is the earliest written word
in the New Tes ament; to this we NAV
therefore look for the earliest ideal of the
Christian Church.
The substance of Paul's exhortation in
this letter is,-keep yourselves together and
love one another, or in the words of the text,
comfort yourselves together and edify one
another" There is not word in this whole
letter which recognizes, save by implication,
mans duty to his fellow man bat words in
abundance !nculcating most tenderly the du-
ties OF church members towards one another.
Nota word from which the philanthropist or
reformer of modern times might receive i'm
pulse and benediction. Not a word to enforce
the Christians apostolic Obligations to con-
vert and save others by vigilant service. To
this infant church, just gathered from the
world, feeling yet its way to life, Paul urges
only the primitive necessities. First OF all,
being yet weak and unstable they need build
ing up in the the Christian faith; he would
have them therefore, build up one another.
They need to be comforted and encouraged
in the midst of persecution; he would have
them, therefore, comfort and encourage one
another. They need to guard themselves
against the hostile scrutiny of their enemies
he would have them, therefore, help one an
other to be blameless. The Christian inspira-
ton in their hearts is yet to rise into fame,
he seeks, therefore, to concentrate their atten-
ton upon themselves, that they may carefully
nurture the spark he has kindled among
them. His words breathe parental fond
ness and sOlicitude; he speaks to them as IL
they were his children, urging them to hold
together and help one another in their con-
fiiet with the world, and comforting them
with the hope of Immortality after the strug-
gle and the strife.
To one keeping in mind the circumstances
under which it was written the 1st Epistle TO
the Thessalonians will richly repay careful
perusal. 1t will be seen with what affection
Paul regarded these recent converts to Chris
tianity, and how exactly his fond entreaties
and cxhortations were adapted to the exi.
gencies OF new Christian society, struggling
yet in the face of drowning world" for a
solid, cohesive establishment.
ask you now to consider in what different
terms Paul would have addressed that church.
had it not been an infant church, surrounded
by enemies. Let us suppose that some of the
changes which in lapse of time do frequently
occur have occurred in this Macedonian city
The church which Paul established there has
increased In numbers and in power. The
grosser vices-that bad inheritance from the
world with which it started in liie-have dis
appeared malice, wrath anu wraugling have
given place to peace and charity; through
constancy in suffering, through the disciplin,
of tribulation, it hasiever nurtured itself at thi
Source of all power until now it is "mighty il
God for the pulling down of strongbOlds.
Suppose further, that in the same time the
"world" of Thessalonica has undergone sim
liar transformation. No longer do those thai
are without excite mobs against the believers
no more do they deny the claims which
Christianity presents; they even assemble in
considerable numbers in those places where
the church is assembled they listen with sin.
csre and reverent interest to every presenta.
tion of the gospel truth; and now, so far are
they from frowning upon or prosecuting the
church, they find in its existence ground o.
hepe for themselves, and very many OF them
intend-in certain misty way-to become
members of the church before they die.
In these changes all is changed-except the
principles of Christianity and the inspiration O
the Almighty. The church is transformed
| the community is transformed; shall the an
cent relation between them continue un
changed? Shall the remembrance of the ole
| feud survive to perpetuate the old division p
| Shall church and world still keep up form
and pretense of antagonism after antagonisn
| has ceased. If after all these changes Pau
were to write letter to the church at Thess
alonca in what terms would he write p
Would he say as he said to the infant church
"We exhort you brethren to abound in Low,
| still more; and to study to be quiet, and to d.
| your own business and to work with you
own hands that ye may walk becom
| ingly towards those without" Would h,
have encouraged them still to keep them
| selves together apart, and to build between
themselves and "those without" artificial wall
to replace those natural barriers which tim
had worn away?
1t requires no very bold presumption to as
| sert that Paul, the man of action, would hav
burned with impatience to see that church q
,p0rk, engaged not in fostering its own fire.
but in spreading the flame, not in contem
plating its own hope OF Immortality, but il
| opening that hope to those without, not il
holding the world at arms length, with coll
| repelling self complacency, but throwing
| around the wcrld two strong arms OF low
and labor. That Paul should have seen tina
church grown to maturity, power mighty il
Ged Tor the pulling down OF strongholds, ant
should have beheld its members absorbed II
thoughts OF their own sanctifcation and Il
brooding over their own hopes of the lif
hereafter. that Paul should have beheld thi
and beheld it approvingly is simply incredibl
to any one who has regarded PauPs own swil
and mighty career OF we'll doing. No, how
ever beautiful and appropriate are his word
to the struggling church at Thessalonica, d
would address other words to the church Q
to-day.
The apostolic ideal of the church was nece,
sarily determined in great measure by tn
conditions of the church. A hostile worl
pressed upon it from without, and in its ow
bosom vice and hatred fought against it wit
the forces of personal habit. Towards tn
world, therefore, the altitude OF the churc
must be that of patient endurance; toward
itself that of watchfu!ness and conflict. Thes
are the very elements OF the situation. b
the inexorabe unavoidable conditions ami
which the church began to exist it was con
PEELED to be separated from the world, wit