Sharp County record., 1890-03-20
,;4io;sm Tho denomina-

rond human criticism. Tho denomina,
tion whatever its name be, that can
sioo mn to that will be the church Oh Vlo
millennium. will swallow up all o'n1i '3l
denominations and be the one tha' "a.-
no tho bride when the Bridegroom CON
oh LET Ms make it simpler and pl"ln
or for neople to get into the klnguo!n .5oa ~
God, Do not hinder people by 'ne ,.atod l~
that they may not have Dee" oIoCI0 I..I ~
10 not tag on to the one eSSeh'l"l ,,a
faith in Cbrist any of the innumeraDio
ron-essentials. A man who nearby
accepts Christ is Christian anu tHo .
noon who does not accept Him IS noC
Christian, and that is all there IS ol iV'
Ho need not believe in election VI
ronrobation. He need not believe III
tbe eternal generation of the Son. no
mood not believe in everlasting punlSn
mont He need not believe IN lnl"hO
bontism He need not believe IN plen-
orr insniration. Faith in Christ IS tne
criterion, is the test, is the plVo'' 10 Vn0
Indispensable. ,,d odd
Rut there are those who would aoo
rnto the tests rather than subtract lrohn
them. There are thousands VINO "oulU
not accept persons into church MEMBER
shin if they drink wine or if they Smohe
cigars Or ii they attend the tneaU0e "
if they play cards or if they drive a laSU
horse. Now, l do not drink "lhe Vi
smoke or attend the theater, never
nlaved game of cards, and do noC
drive fast horse, although would Il
owned one. But do not substitute tests
which the Bible does not establish
There is one passage Of Scripture wloe
enough to let all in who ought TO enCer
and to keep out all who ought 10 Do
kept out: "Believe in the LORD Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved" Get a
mans heart right and his life Will
be right. But now that the olo
creeds have been put under pubic
scrutiny something radical must Do
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
shape they are hindrance' Lazarus IS
alive. but hammered with the, old grave
clothes. If you want one glorious
church, free and unincumbered, take
off the cerements of old ecclesiastical
vocabulary. Loose her and let her CO.
Again, there are Christians who are
under sepulchral shadows and hindered
and hoppled by doubts and fears and
sins long ago repented Of What they
need is to understand the liberty OF the
sons of God. They spend more time
under the shadow Of Sinai than at the
base of Calvary. They have been sing
ing the only poor hymn that Newton
ever wrote
'Tis point long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought
Do l love the Lord or no,
Am | His or am not?
Long to know, do you? Why do you
not find out? Go to work for God and
you will very soon find out The man
who is all the time feeling of his pulse
and looking at his tongue to see Wheth-
eY it is coated, is morbid and can not be
physically we'll, The doctor will say
$50 out into the fresh air and into act
i've life and stop thinking ofyourself and
you will get we'll and strong" So there
are people who are watching their spir
itual symptoms, and they call it self-ex
animation, and they get weaker and
sicklier in their faith all the time. Go
out and do something nobly Christian
Take holy exercise and then examine
Yourself, and instead of Newton's satur
nine and bilious hymn that first quot
ed, you will sing Newton's other hymn
Amaz ing grace, how sweet the sound
| That saved a wretch like me!
once was lost, but now am found;
, Was blind but now see.
, What many Of you Christians mos
need is to get your grave clothes off
rejoice that you have been brought from
: the death of sin to the life of the Cos
pei, but you need to get your hand loos
: and your feet loose and your tongue
, loose and your soul loose. There is n
{ sin that the Bible so arraigns and punct
, ures and fagellates as the sin of unbe
lief, and that is what is the matter wit
you.
"Oh," you say, 'ff you know what
r once was and how many times l hay
grievously strayed, you would under
, stand why do not come out brighter.
Then think you would call yoursel
the chief of sinners. l am glad you hi
upon that term, for l have promis
| that its into your case as the cogs Q
, one wheel between the cogs of anothe
wheel, or as the key fits into the laby
rinths of lock. A man who was ono
, called Saul, but afterwards Paul, de
clared:
''This is faithful saying, and worth
, of all acceptation; that Christ Jesu
, came into the world to save sinners, Q
: whom | am chief" Mark that-'o
, whom l am chief"
, Put down your overcoats and hat
and l will take care of them while yo
kill Stephen"-so Saul said to tn
stoners of the first martyr-'I do no
, care to exert myself much, but l will
guard your surplus apparel while yo
, do the murder"
The New Testament account saws
, "The witnesses laid down their clothe
at n vOrnu nan's foot yyhoca mama III n