Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-21

ent ~ HarpeTs thtauo " "N w
hear the sermon Of Rev G. W. Cue. OF
the First NJ. f church, on. the subject OF
"Work Among the Churches" The text
was from Mark. 9.3S, 80, 40
And John answered him saving, Master, we
saw one casting cut devils m my name ana ne i
followeth moi nj ard we forbade him because he /
followeth not as But Jesus said, forbid him |
not, for there u no man who shnll DO miracle 10
that can lightly speak eNil ~ me; Tor he |
that h not against us 4 on our part
lam 80 glad. said Mr., Cue, Christ ut |
tered these words They are his endorse
ment Of every honest laborer in his vines
yard. II matters not 80 much by what
name we are called, II we are only bring.
ing forth the fruits OF the spirit. There IL
very little In name. Church names are
all OF human origin. they are simply the
labels that designate one body OF chris
tians from another and will wash away rs
we cross deaths river and before we
reach the throne.
We all stand or fall 10 the eyes Of God
by what we are and what we do. and not
by the name we CAL ourselves or the sect
TO which we belong God In his mercy
never gave TO any company Of priests or
preachers or visible organization, q mo-
nopoly Of his church. his blessings or his
heaven. Gods church Is his spiritual
reign. Christ says, "the kingdom OF God
cometh not without observation, but II Is
within you" so every converted. regen
Grated soul belongs TO the kingdom 70.
gardless OF denominational proclivity. IL
you are not born again, renewed In the
image Of God, you may join all the de-
nominations Of christians In the world
and thew will not save you from hell.
Cathedral walls and ritualistic perform
ances have never vet saved from q single
sin OF once appessed the wrath OF God.
Jesus Christ is the Savior OF men and
every man on earth has access directly TO
him without the mediation Of any conse
Grated man. When we speak OF the
church OF the living God. We embrace In
II the myriads Of believers OF every race
and age and sect. We mean the whole
multitude Of saints the world around,
who. believing In the Lord Jesus. are
trusting In Him for their salvation and
future happiness. This Is the true church
the church OF our heavenly father-and
cannot be limited by bars OF ceremonies
~ Creeds or rites. II is 1.-THE church our
blessed redeemer saved" With his own
precious blood over its entrance is writ.
ten by the Holy One Except ye be cons
verted and become as little children, ye
shall in no wise enter the kingdom Of
heaven. Christ says II am the door OF
the sheep; by me IL any man enter in hs
shall be saved And IL is said in Acts.
4-l2: Neither Is there salvation in any
other. for there Is no other name under
heaven given among men whereby we can
be saved" care not whether
you are Roman Catholic or
Protestant, whether you sing the hymns
OF Wesley or Watts, whether you sit be-
fore n robed priest or backwOods ex>
horter.if you have entered in by the door
OF the sheep, then you are subject OF
the kingdom OF God. care not whether
you have subscribed 10 the Westminster
confession Of faith or rejected all creeds
and all names care not whether your
conscience was satisfied with the drops OF
sprinkling In infancy or whether il de-
mands the deeper foods OF the river, IL
you have entered in by the door OF the
sheep, then YOU are q member OF the
church Of the living God and we are one
in Christ Jesus
believe In the christian denominations;
u Is my delight 10 mingle with them as
when week ago we met with the Presby-
terians and Christians and together re-
ceived the communion Of the Lords sup
per. Whenever | see house dedicated
10 the worship Of God and people as
sembling there for prayer, my heart goes
out In Gods blessing upon them. Inever
see the Roman Catholics returning from
their mass with prayer book In hand, but
what / think Of their sincerity and their
Iongings after Christ who is the bread OF
heaven. There are none whomake
greater struggle for salygh5n than do Ahe
Roman Catholics. ,-tJJh. how | wish their
iaith would TIDE hold of Jesus for saliva
-!-solrruStcad Of the Virgin Mary, and that
they would substitute faith for penance.
for no one is justified by the deeds Of the
law. by our own works or sufferings hut
Paul says In Galatians 3 O. the lust
shall live by faith" While the Roman
ists are too devout regarding the Virgin
Mary, ua Professionals have never honored
her enough. She was human and needed
salvation like all the rest and should moi
be worshipped. still she is blessed among
women and should be honUred above all
rs the mother of our Lord. While theil
type Of christianity differs from that OF
ours and | cannot endorse II. still fol
them a. for all other worshippers | have
profound respect. But when IL comes tC
national affairs. then ! meet every On.
croachment on their part or that Of any
other church for am unwilling to con-
cede to them what can not conscien
tiously ask for myself
In professionalism we have the Baptists
and many others. all OF
whom honor for their works sake.
would not fail 10 speak OF the unswerv.
ing loyalty Of the Lutheran church to the
flag OF our country and in cur city they
have an institution OF learning unsur.
passed by any in our land, the noble
president Of which greatly honor.
But these christian churches are only
the media through which God pours
his light and blessing out upon the hui
man race. They are the instruments
made use Of by divine providence for
bringing men from darkness TO light and
binding human hearts together. When
ssoul is born into the kingdom Of God II
naturally seeks for local Organization
through which 1t can best expand its en-
ergies and grow In grace To meet this
demand OF various classes OF minds the
different church organizations haye
naturally sprang into being.
From the days Of the Apostles until
now the christian world has not been
without several denominations OF
churches and each representing In Ia
members the great spiritual church Of
Christ. So today we have more than five
hundred denominations OF christians
spreading the gospel and reaching the
hearts OF men by telling OF Jesus and
his love. love to think Of this mighty
aggressive army marshalled under It's va.
nous banners In corps. brigades and
regiments marching against the power OF
evll IN every part Of our world. And
when in the grand review on the great
Judgment day this army Of blood bought
souls shall pass before the throne IL will
not be asked In what part OF the army
they served, TO what regiment. brigade
OF church they belonged, but ell OF them
viii hear the well done, good and faith,
Iul servant, enter into the JOY OF thy