The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-08
THE AFTERNOON MEETING.

Tomlinson Hall, seemed small one. This was,
however in consequence of the great size of the
hall. A like audience would have we'll filled the
largest church in the city. The services opened
with the singing of "Praise God from Whom All
Blessings Flow" which was followed by brief
prayer by Mr. Small. The choir then sang:
Yield not to temptation for yielding ssn,
Each victry will help you some other to win;
Fight manfu]ly onward dark passions subdue
Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through"
The Scripture lesson, the fourth chapter of
First John, was then read, with great impress
iveness, by Rev. j. A Rondthaler, of the
Tabernacle, who followed the reading with
touching prayer
Rev. l. H. Mcconnell announced that the re-
vival hymns used by Messrs. Jones and Small
could be obtained at the door, adding, Nov, as
the hymn is being sung we want good colec-
tion" the choir meanwhile singing lord, /
Care Not for Riches"
Mr.. Small announced as his text John, chap
ter vii. verse Z:
The world cannot hate YOU but me it hateth, be-
testify of it that the works thereof evil.
He said I do not believe that there is any
where in the record of Christ a more severe
sentence directed toward His disciples than this
If you will take it, study and analyze it, you
will see that it had a tremendous force and i'm
port and conveyed most singing rebuke to all
those who professed to believe in Him. Jesus
said that He put those disciples in a bad attitude
toward himself. Why9 Because II testify
that the works thereof are evil" and the world
hated Him. The world cannot hate you. Why9
Because you don't testify of it that the works
drew the broadcast sort of distinction between
His own character and the character of those
who profess His name but whose professions
are not lived up to they ought to be. He
drew distinction that perhaps you and would
do we'll to consider with reference to ourselves
here this afternoon Every man who processes
the name of Christ ought to ask himself this
question daily: docs the world hate me or
does the world love me? Does the world
hate the spirit that is in me. or am
at friendship with the world9r And
a Christian man ought never to be satisfied
with his own life toward Christ until he can
look into himself every morning, and say: docs
the spirit of the world hate mel! and answer it,
Eyes, the spirit of the world does hate me-"
Because the spirit of the world is at enemty
with is one of the best evidences | ever got
that am safe.
You say you don't understand that sort of
doctrine. 1t ls not peculiar to me, and won't be
to you if you will think of it a little while
Christ said no man can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the and love the other, or
cleave to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon-you cannot
serve God and the unrighteous world. He said,
further, that friendship with the world is enc
antaeonistic to God. The spirit that rules the
world to-day is the same spirit of rebellion and
rejection of Christ that it has always been-the
same that led to His crucifxion. The
same world is dominated by the same
spirit Every one who is the enemy
of Christ to day is moved thereto by the same
spirit that moved those of old who crucifed
Him. The same sins that crucifed Him then
are the sins that rampant in the world to-
day, and would to-day, if there were not re-
they crucified Christ himself There
men in Indianapolis that, were there
not laws to hold them in terror of its rigor and
justice, would head the mob and take preachers
and throw them to the lions of Barnum's circus
next week. That same spirit is rampant in the
world to-day, and the men that are dominated
by it cruel and bloodthirsty against the
religion Of Jesus Christ as those were against
Christ himself. You turn them loose in this or
any community without restrictions of the law,
founded upon the civilization that Christianity
has brought into the world, and whenever men
come, as Christ did. preaching against the infiu-
ences that Christ preached against, these men
who flourish by them will have the same
spirit of enmity and cruelty against the preacher
that those people had against Christ We are
told, when we profess Christ and come into the
church of God. to come out from among them
and be separated from them. We are told there
are two spirits in the world and we must be SUBJ
iect TO one or the other-to Christ, representing
the dominant spirit of God, spiritual life with
moral existence of all peace, concord and hap
piness or we must be subject to the spirit of
evil that Is in the world. We are told we must
make choice and come out from the world and
have no utilization with it. To say that is i'm
possible is to talk foolshness: There are men
living in this world-in Indianapolis have no
doubt-who are totally separated from the
world as if they lived in another sphere, except
as to their bare physical existence. They are
separated from the spirit of wordness-are far
above it. and their conversation is in heaven.
1t is possible for every Christian to so live as
to be considered by the world as in another
sphere from it. He can be thoroughly conse-
Grated to the service of God and all his conduct
of life be upon the lines of Chrst's likeness and
conformed to it. Separation from the world is
the badge of true Christianity. Separation from
the world is never complete until the Christian is
so far away from it and opposed to the spirit in
the world that he recognizes that all in the world
is against him and hates him. There were
plenty of people in Christ's day to stand up and
give reasons and arguments that the things in
which they INDUCED were right and proper, and
not sinful in their character Christ did not con-
descend to the puerility of arguing with them
In the actions He performed and the character
He lived He was leading the minds of men. He
testified to a purity of life and high
elevation of character, of an existence in
this world so far above all this
worldliness that no more was needed The only
rebuke needed 10 see what a divine spirit
was stirring in all his words and deeds and for
them to see that between their lives and hisawas
an unreasonable distance. With this example
every man whose character was bad who was
masquerading in the religion of their world took
up an enmity to Christ because His life rebuked
him.
Every man or woman who lives such a pure
life in any community at the present day will
find the world decidedly at enmity with them
Take the woman now living closest TO Christ and
you will find that all around her neghborhood
are people who don't like her. They will call her
crank, a fanatic, a religious enthusiast, an i'm
becile-almost anything They. feel that their