The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-06
THOUGHTS FROM THE PULPIT
Rev.Dr.Grafton Tells How Christians Are
to Know What They Ought to Believe.
Sermon BY Rev. DR.. Gilbert on the Need of
More Practical Piety-Rev. Jameson's
Discourse TO the Tippecanoe Club.

Rev. Dr. Grafton, of Boston, filled the pulpit
of Christ Church last night, and preached upon
the subject, How Is Christian to Know What
He Ought to Believer Tho address was an
exposition of the different crseds and the man
in which Christian might be enabled to
choose between them The speaker advanced
two axioms which no believed every Christian
would admit One was that the Lord was
teachsr-the great teacher, the light,
the prophet-and that, being such. He
would have surely taught His followers
q way that they might know what to do The
other was that Christ, being the founder of his
own religion, knowing it's Importance as no one
else knew it. left way which was the best
way-the safest way for Christians to follow:
But whom q man looked around about him and
saw the babel of letting creeds and doctrines
among Christians, he was naturally confounded.
and every intelligent man would ask, How am
to know what to believer What to doF II was
evident that there ware earnest Christian men
in ali these bodies. but they We're attached to
different doctrines.
lieve2 In order to present clear answer to the
question the speaker stated that he would divide
all religious denominations into three general
classes, according to what he termed rules OF
faith The first OF these classes WAS the one
which referred ali iuquirers and inquiries TO the
Bible and to the Bible only. If they were asked
would say, because tho Bible said SO.
They would not let anything come
between them and tho Bible. Dr.
they proclaimed rule of faith they could not
positively know that it was the rule the Master
had given to His followers. Tbs art OF printing
Christ. God could have given the world thus
art in the first century well as in the HI
teenth. and, if He had wanted o..conld have PIT
the Bible into the hands of the people when tie
was upon this earth.
The second great class was those who believed
in Papal rule. They taught that if you
looked into the Bible for God it would lead you
great confusion. Would it not be much better,
said they, II soma person were endowed with
gift from God-a special gift of the Holy Ghost
so that they should become a special authority
in matters of morals and faith infaible vi
car of Christi A great deal that was good
could be spoken Of this rule. 1t appealed to q
temperament which loved authority toia
you to ring the door-b of the Vatican and
you could get your answer But did Christ es-
tabsh it! There were two arguments in
the negative. One was that if He had the rule
would have been universally recognized long
ago and herssies would have never existed. The
other argument was that papal inf bilty was
never promulgated as dogma until 1871.
Even the Bible was better than that. for 1t was
800 years old In support of the argument DIR.
Grafton quoted from catechism published III
the time of Queen Anne: rs tho Pope infaili-
The third class was of those who believed that
Christ, himself, was the revealer OF the truth
that He had once delivered such a ruls OF faith
truth, but He Was tho truth. He had made
known unto his APOSTLES what they should do.
and had, when He departed. committed unto
them the revelations which they we're to reveal
to his followers. Mankind should make dis
tinction between religious. or revealed truth,
and all other truths. To ascertain the one
experience and observation were brought into
requieition. bat the other known through
revelation. It came not of mans inspection, but
in Gods person It had been given to the world
whole and complete. and whatever new had
been added to it was necessarily false. The
faith had hesn preserved by teachers who. while
not infallible, were inspired by the Holy Ghost.
That they were not nfallibIe was proven by the
fact that divisions among them. The
speaker thought God allowed divisions among
the churches in order to protect the true faith
and prevent its being torn down. He said the
prayer book was the authorized. the only author
lied voice of the church, and that in it all
might learn what was the true faith.