Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-04-24

has been one change, which above all others
has altered our modern Christianity from
what was the Christian religion in apostol ic |
times, / think beyond all doubt ii must be |
this, the substitution OF a belief in doctrines |
tor loyalty to a Person as the essence and test |
of Christian life And if there be a revival
which Is needed to make Christianity strong |
against the enemies which beSet her anu
clear in the sight of multitudes who are
bewildered about her, it certainly must be the |
re-cOrOnatiOn of her personal idea. The re-as-
sertiOn of the fact that Christ is Christianity.
and that not to hold this or that concerning |
Him Is true, but to follow Him with love, and |
that degree of knowledge of HIM which has
been given. .us is to be Il Christian. There are
then, two distinct ideas of Christianity, one |
of which magnifies doctrine and its great sin |
Is heresy. The other of them magnites obe-
dience, and its great sin is disobedience. The |
first enthrones creed; the second euthrone,
person. OF the second sort. not of the first |
is the Christianity of the New Testament; OF
the first and not of the second, has been
very large part of theChrlstianity of Chr>ten- |
DOM" | wish you carefully to note the lead |
ing declarations OF this paragraph. 1t asserts |
the departure of the church from the apOstol- |
lc conception, that this was induced and per-
petuated by the substitution of "A belief in
doctrines, that a revival is needed rs against
the churchs enemies, and for the delivery OF
| those bewildered by apOstacy, and that this
can be done only by the assertion OF the
primitive Christianity which en,hrOned aPer-
son and not Il creed. by preaching that Christ
Is Christianity. How persistently we have
declared these things from the beginning,
through evil and good report is known to all
| ADVISED in these matters. We dld not reject
creeds because they We're necessarily false.for
| they were all not that, but because they were
| human substitutes for the Person of Christ
| and thereby radically changing the entire
structure and essence of the Christianity "f
| the Apostles. elias altered" says DR..
hat
| the Christian religion was in apostolic times.
| We aimed to return to the original personal
| basis; to primitive truth and apostolic meth
| Ods. We have lived to see the correctness Of
| our position vindicated by the utterances OF
| the great leaders of living thought every
! where. L wish you now to hear in I2ainte-
nance of this assertion one of the most dis
| tingushed scholars, (bOth theOlOgean and
philosopher) of our day aud country. Mark
| Hopkins, Presbyterian, which fact you will
| remember as read these extracts from
paper on Faith in the Princeton Review, l
think in the year 1879. He IS in search of
some principle so related to the three great
constituents of our nature, the intellect, the
sensibility and the will, that it may involve
| the action of the first. the affections of the
second. and the active energy Of the third.
| And then says, ''Sach principle we find in
| confidence in a personal being, and this Is
faith. This at least is generically the faith OF
the New Testament, and nothing else as" A
| s; ,,;n,.' nS t%a atora ~ tr,,a a,J rndon;
| ably it is, is thing really apart from Chris
| tian life, for in respect to the three great
| only namely tho ;nteiJect. Jogmat;c crecI
has M mora relation to The heart and will
in matters of religion, than the distractions of
the calculus, and beside such statement il
clearly antagonlZes the generic conception OF
| ,lence in a nersonal heino and .tootb,n1 ,Is,
i ;s0 After a d;sonssion of tho rala,;onn ho
tween reason and faith tho reIat;om hot tween
faith and nhiinsonhv is then taken nm and
il the only view accordant With tho nreSent
tendency IN make fbe Person of Christ and
not of creeds. the center of the Christi,n
system and the bond of union among Chris
tians. That creeds have ever been avowedIy
made the center ia NOT asserted. but before
and especially since the reformation they
have assumed undue prominence, and have
| Dracticaliv been made central cannot he de.
med. But according to the view now taken
faith in Christ is not the belief of truths
! about him. but the acceptance of Him AS a
Savior. and a commitment of ourselves to
, Him, IN all that he offers Himself to us for
and in all that he requires of us. This
changes our whole conception of the religion q
l wish YOU to mark this last sentence. Time
was when Alexander Campbell stood almost
alone in the advocacy of the ideas of lhi.
paragraph. The church drifted away from
her primitive mOOrings, making nracti.
caliy n creed, and not Jesus the center and
the strength, and thus changed wholly the
/ scriptural ideas of the church. Then came
this man, consecrating the power of his i'm.
, perial and almost matchIess intellect to tn,
restoration of the church 10 her divine foup
| dation, chosen of God and precious though
) dsallowed of human builders, and a stone o
stumbling to the creed builders of every age
, This changes our whole copception OF In,
, religion s.What reigion9 S,I.b az xva 90,
r | in the degeneracy of denominational forms
. How and by what is the whole conceptio,
changed? By the disbursement of cres,s n,
4 the re-a,sertion of the personal idea. by tn,
+: re- coronation of the living Christ, who is th
> power of God aud the wisdom of God. In This
:. the personal coacep,ion. Cbrist,uuitv differ
, from ali merely nh,Iosonhic,i schemes Ana;,
: we quote. ..Take PLATO away and pI,tnp;am -
remains. Take Christ away and Won have n,
g Christianity II is implied in what has ius
+ been said but requires separate mention ina
assent to u creed is not properly u confession o
fuith. 1t NAV or NAV not be AN assent I,
what ia inclllded in ..khe faith once deIivera,
, ! TO the saints but If ia not a confession of TN
. faith aphich ,nakes a man a Christian or wbicl
q is an epidence that he as one, The ambipuit,
!. here is unfortunate, as it has doubtless con
!, tributed not a little to dispIace the nerson n
], Christ from its proper central po,ition as th
y bond of union among Christians. This is M
). b,nd. and tbs only bond. and union throug
, | creeds, except rs a creed is involved in be
a lievIng on Him, that is, the acceptance O
:. | Him as q savior and the commitment Of our
= selves to him in love and Obedience. Is ant q
{ the QUESTION, Now 90 back with me +
9 our beginning and YOU hear this. the dis
. | tracted and divided condition of Christendon
is anti. Christian, anti-scrptural, anti-natur
. | al, breaking up the one Body: contrayenin
:, the Sayior's PRAYER that ..all NAV he one :.
), that there ought to be a restoration. and ih,,
= to do this on the basis of creeds ,s ont of th
4 question: and that the person of Christ "a
a the bond and tie only bond of union So jiyin
+ current thought speaks TODAY The yorI
| moves Whether the fact that we nv an n,
. g.nized effort have nersi.teutIv In soaso
y and out of se,son hold nm tho.a ,h;m S 81
t nu5an nf onr ,niSs,on bnr;, ,S SS as " VI
. ton. or man ia to he considar,d a., i.e. Soel
in hr,na;ny .hout ,biS ch.naa 7 ,a,.T -. In !. =
u no, at III anx;o,,s .n6 90 ~, E,,I az al
t th;na knnW Sb.t T,,Ia 80 ous ss VI M
@ e., ~, go, IS 81 , , 80 80 my Sca'
AZ, IL .ne .aI' " .no nus. savage warfare
g .Ha. we seSou ~. aioHe ~ .he ueclaration AM
r M ausooaos M y, .no pi msI oi Tue ABOVE pas
C aS an, an uUGIa ;,S , l,e ',sioh , anu we re
9 J.oo % & wiz ?oi ol ms .h's the sem'-ceh
.on",". VI yO"' oAi1'ou.I " See our pr'hcipie
y ahu leacniugs, once fiuucuied ana scOrned
Il once Iecked aike WIN me virus OF isnoran
e Hatred anu OF IearneG contempt become tn
= accePteu u.eeIances vi inc ieduers OF though
IS III tue sast euauses tah!ns piace around
= oaIf, cuauSes orihSins 70 man noller fait
e auu d oioauei auu ueeper hie uay Oy ua!
n All IhiS we see ahc know ana are conten
5 even sh0uIu Ou. part IN these mighty an
s neaithiul reVoiutiohs IN religious though
q lal oi reGosnition. heep IN mind that i