The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1890-05-23

ana smother pfece ana savsF7sETHfs fs free
agency,p this is this and that is that. And
while stand looking at the fragments Or
therose pulled apart one whom the Marys
took for gardener comes in and presents ME
with crimson rose red as blood, and says;
| "Inhale the sweetness OF this, wear it on your
/ heart and wear it forever" / must confess
that prefer the rose in full bloom to the rose
/ pulled apart.
Whist time we have had with the dogma
4 tics, tile apologetics and the hermeneutacs
| The defect in some OF the creeds is that they
| try TO tell US all about the DEGREES Of God
| Now the only human being that was ever
compe 5ent TO handle that subject was Paul,
and h, would not have been competent had
he not been inspired. believe in the So
| vereir1ty Of God and believe IN mans free
agency. tho one can harmonic the tV' It's
| not nee essary that he harmonic the Il. T. BY
sermon that have ever heard that az
tempted such harmonization was TO me as
clear as a London fog, as clear as mud, My
brother of the nineteenth century, my
brother of the sixteenth century, give US
Paups statement and leave out our OWL
Better one chapter of Paul on that subject
than all of Calvin institutes, able and honest
and mighty as they are. Do not try to
measure either the throne of God or the
thund,rbolts Of God with your little steel
pen. What do you know about the decreesy
You cannot pry open the door of Gods
eternal cOunsels You cannot explain
the mysteries of Gods government
now. much less the mysteries of HIS
government i've hundred quintillion of years
ngo. move for a creed for all our denonIi-
nations made out of Scripture quotations
pure and simple. That would take the e;irtn
for God. That would be impregnable against
infidelty and Apollyonic assault. That
would be beyond human criticisI The de
nomination whatever It's name be, that can
rise up TO that viii be the church Of the mil
lenniurn, viii swallow up all other denoml-
nations and he the one that viii be the bride
when the Bridegroom cometh. Let US make
it simpler and palmer for people to get into
the kingdom OF God. Donct hinder people BY
the idea that they may not have been elected.
Do not tag on to the one essential of faIth In
Christ any of the innuInerable nonsssentiais.
man who heartily accepts Christ IS a
Christian and the man who does not accept
Him is not Christian and that is all thereis
Of il &c need not believe IN election or rep
rotation. He need not believe in the eternal
generation Of the Son. He need not believe
IN everlasting punishment. He need not be
lieve in infant baptism. de need not believe
IN plenary inspiration. Faith in Christ
is the criterion, is the test, is the pivot,
Is the Indispensable. But there are those
who would add unto the tests rather than
subtract from them. There are Thousands
VINO H0ul1 UOb aCtSpt lHbo
membership if they drink wine or il they
smoke cigars or if they attend the theater
or if they play cards or if they drive fast
horse. Now I do not drink wine or smoke or
attend the theater, never played a game Of
cards and do not drive fast horse although
I would If l owned one. But do not
substitute tests which the Bible does
not establish. There is one passage Of
Scripture wide enough to let all il
who ought TO enter and to keep out all who
ought 70 be kept ont: Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" Get
p mans heart right and his life viii be
right, But now that the old creeds have
been put under public scrutiny, something
radical must be done. Some would split
them. some would carve them, some would
elongate them. some would abbreviate them.
At the present moment and in the present
share they are a hindrance. Lazarus IS
alive but hampered with the old grave
clothes. If you want one glorious church
free and unencumbered take off the cerements
Of old ecclesiastical vocabulary. Loose her,
and let her got
Again, there are Christians who are under
sepulchrai shadows and hindered and hoppled
by doubts and fears and sins long ago re-
psnted Of What they need is to understand
the liberty OF the sons Of God. They spend
more time uuder the shadow OF Sinai than at
the base Of Calvary. They have been sing
ing the only poor hymn that Newton ever
wrote:
a It's point long 10 know,
-aEEr1 Of Il causes anxious thought
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