The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-10-24

EDlron LrpASos ExrRrss:

using with our holy religion.
In the first place it may be neces-
sary 10 define what we understand
Christian to be according 10 the
teachings Of Jesus and the apostles
According to Christ Christian is one
who loves God with all his heart and
his neighbor as himself, and accord
ing to Paul, one who has been trans
lated from the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom OF Gods dear son,
one who has the love OF God shed
abroad in his heart by the HOLY
Ghost which is given unto him, one
who is made free from sin and has
fruit unto holiness in order that the
end may be everlasting life. A Chris
tian is one who is consecrated to God.
body, soul and spirit for time and fol
eternity, one who lives for the glory
OF God and the good of his fellow
travellers to the judgment seat of
Christ, and who expects 10 give an
account for the deeds done in the
body, who regards his time and tai
ents of every Kind and character as
belonging to the Lord, according TO
Paul, "For We are not your own, We are
bought with q price. Therefore glo-
II Y God in your bodies and spirits,
which are his Let no unclean thing
have dominion over YOU Whether
you eat or drink, or whatsoever YOU
do, do all to the glory of God" aye
are the light of the world Let your
light so shine that others, seeing Your
good works, may be constrained to
glcri V your father who is in heaven p
According TO these definitions OF Il
Christian, he should be a pattern oi
| hat Is excellent and noble and
pure among men. He should be an
example for others tc follow. He
| He should be able to say to otkers
follow me as / follow Christ. A
Christian should be the best possible
type OF human being in all his
essential characteristics, physical, in
tellectual and moral II should be
| his highest ambition to attain 10 that
state of perfection that will enable
MIN to<ise higher and higher in the
scale OF moral excellence that assimi-
lates him in nature to angels and
enstamps upon him the image of his
! Maker.
If these are facts which none can
.leny, and which every child of God
must admit, then the facts which
have shown In former communica-
ions on the subject of tobacco rem
lers it absolutely impossible for a
man to be a Christian and use to-
bacco, except as other poisons, nc
,licinally.
! have shown IN former communi-
cations, / think, the following facts,
/ viz That tobacco Is one of the NEST
4 t.-5r -
habitual use impairs health, shortens
life and suRerinduces a long train Of
| physical maladies; that il is filthy
and disgusting in its nature and
character; that it is ad example to
set before the young and rising gen
Grafton; a fearful waste of money.
| costing the people of this nation mort
than one thousand million of dollars
annually, while there are thousands of
| people in our own land and nation In
absolute want and poverty, which this
money that Is worse than wasted for
tobacco would more than satisfy, and
| furnish thousands of widows and or
phans that are suffering for the neces-
saries and comforts of life with bread
and 20 spare, and could be so appropri-
ated as 10 make the desert blossom a
the rose, and yet this vast amount Of
/ thrown away for the qualification of a
vitiated appetite, which no person has
till he has overcome the terrible resist
ance which nature makes to expel this
poison from the system.
If these things are so, can q Chris
tian pursue a course which he knows
Is injuring himself, destroying his own
/ life, bringing on premature decay, set
i ting bad example for the rising gen
tat.a ffr,Na
habit that God has given him for
good and noble purpose, even to glorify
Him and do good te his fellow beings
| What answer will that man be able to
give when called to an account for his
stewardship who has thus wasted his
1 Lords money, deprived his family of
many of the comforts, conveniences
and necessaries of life, rendering HIM
self odious and disgusting to all with
whom he associates. BY his example
he invites all around him to inVesl a
portion of his means in tobacco. He
He says to them by his actions, which
speak louder than words. buy pipe,
! get good quantity of the weed and
spend a portion of your precious time
in pulling away at the pipe or in chew
ing up and splitting out this disgusting
compound of poison and nastiness.
Let it run down on your beard and
shirt bosom and squirt the juice around
I on your wife'S carpet and audirons and
on the stove and floor. These are but
a small portion OF the evils that aow
from the use of tobacco.
Can a man that loves God and his
feiiowman indulge in this horrible and
! disgusting practice, when he secs his
own family and his feilow-beings
around him In want and poverty and
the cause of God langHishing for the
means to carry it forward? Can a
Christian deliberately persist in this
vile habit and worse than throw away
his Lords money. One reason why
the wheels of Zion are clogged and
sinners are not converted to God is on
the account Of this vile habit among
/ church members. What reproach to
the cause of the Redeemer to think
that men who profess to love him and
whom he commands to keep them
selves pure and to let no unclean thing
have dominion over them, and whose
bodies should be a fit temple for the
Holy Ghost to dwell in, should be pol
| luted by the poisonous and reeking
fumes of tobacco. "A Christian should
be a pattern of all that is pure and
/ noble and praiseworthy among men.
He should be foremost in every good
word and work. He should be free
from even the appearance of evil, and
SO i've tnat When ne is called TO give
! an account OF how he has spent his
money, he may not be worse than the
man who had kept it laid up in nap
kin, and had spent it for the gratifica-
ton ~ vitiated and unnatural appe-
tite that makes him more animal and
less intellectual and moral in his ma
ture.
Finally, after taking a careful survey
of this question in all its bearings, we
/ First, that no man can be Christian
/ and use tnll:tcco exccnt rs OF her nelson's