The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-03-08
GOOD CHRISTIANITY.
A Discourse By Rev. T. De Witt
Talmage on Creeds.
Too Many Persons bound by Narrowly In
terpreted Creeds-Faith In Christ the
Great criterion-Broader
Views Needed.

NAS AoASAA Vi
Creeds," and he took for his text John
II "A: Loose him and let him CO."
He said:
by Bible Is, at the place of this text,
written all over with lead pencil marks
made last December at Bethany on the
ruins OF the house of Mary and Martha
N Lazarus. We dismounted from our
horses on the way up from Jordan to
the Dead Sea. Bethany was the summer
evening retreat OF Jesus. After spend
ing the day in the hot city of Jerusalem
de would como out there almost every
evening to tho house Of His three friends.
l think the occupants of. that house
were orphans, for the father and
mother r not mentioned. But
the son and two daughters
must have inherited property, for It
must have been. Judging from what !
saw OF the foundations and the size Of
the rooms, an opulent home. Lazarus,
the brother, was now the head Of the
household, and his sisters depended on
him and were proud of him, for he was
very popular and every body liked him,
and these girls were splendid girls.
Martha q first rate h~ousekeeper and
Mary q spirituelle, somewhat dreamy,
but affectionate, and as good o girl as
could be found in all Palestine. But
one day Lazarus got sick. The sisters
were In CONSERVATION. Father gone
and mother gone, they feel very nervous
Lest they lose their brother also. Dis
ease did its quick work. How the girls
hung over his pillow! Not much SLEEP
about that house, no sleep at oil.
From the characteristics otherwhere
developed Judge that Martha prepared
the medicine and made tempting dishet
OF food for the poor appetite OF the suf
ferer. but Mary prayed and sobbed
Worse and worse gets lazarus" until
the doctor that he can do nc
more. Tho shrek that went up from
that household when the last breath had
been drawn and the two sisters were be
ing led by sympathizers into an adjoin
ing room, all those OF US can imagin,
who have had our W hearts broken
But why was not Jesus there rs he ~
often had been? Far away In the ooun.
try districts preaching, healing other
sick, how unfortunate that this ON.
nipotent Doctor had not beer
1t that domestic crisis In Beth.
any. When at last Jesus arrived
in Bethany Lazarus had been buried
four days and dissolution had taken
place. In that climate tho. breathless
body d~isintegrates nor rapidly than in
ourA II. immediately after decease,
that body has been awakened into life.
unbelievers might have said that he was
only In q comatose state, or in a sort OF
trance, and by some vigorous manipula-
ton or powerful stimulant vitality had
been renewed. Not Four days dead.
At the door of the sepulcher is q crowd
Of people, but tho three most memorable
are Jesus. who was the family friend.
and the two bereft sisters. We went
into the traditional tomb In December,
and It Is deep down and dark. and with
torches We explored II. We found it all
quiet that afternoon Of our visit, but the
day spoken ofin the Bible there was pres
JcsuswilIdo. He orders the doors of the
grave removed, and then be begins to
descend the steps, Mary and Martha
close after Tim, and the crowd after
them. Deeper down into the shadows
and deeperl The hot tears Of Jesus
roll over His cheeks and splash upon
the back OF His hands. Were ever
so many sorrows compressed into SO
small q space as in that group pressing
ON down after Christ, oil the time be-
moaning that He had not come before.
Now oil the whispering and all the
crying and all the sounds of stunning
feet are stopped. 1t is the silence Of ex-
pectsncy. Death has conquered. but
now the venquisher Of death confronted
the scene. Amid the awful hush Of the
tomb the familiar name which Christ
had often had upon his lips in the hos
qualities Of the village home
came back TO his tongue. and with
pathos and almightiness, Of
which tho resurrection of the
last day shall be only an echo. he cries:
"Lazarus! come forth!" The eyes OF
the slnmberer open and he rises and
comes TO the foot OF the steps and with
great difficulty begins 70 ascend, for the
cenements OF the tomb are yet on him
and bis feet and hands are fast and the
impediments TO all his movements ore
90 great that Jesus commands: Take
of those cerements; remove these him
ORANGES; uDfasten these grave clothes:
loose him and let him gor'
Tho unfortunate thing now Is that 50
many Christians are only half liberated.
They hsve been raised from the death
and burial Of ain into spiritual life, but
they yet have the grave clothes on them.
They am like Lazarus, hobbling up the
stairs Of the tombs, bound hand and
foot, and the object Of this sermon is to
help free their soul. and ! shall try 70
obey the Masters command that comes
to me and comes 70 every minister Of re-
iigton, "Loose him, and let him GO"
First, many are bound hand and foot
by religious creeds. Let no man misin-
terpret me as antagonizing creeds- I
have eight or ten OF themi q creed about
religion. q creed shout art, O creed about
social life, q creed about government
and 30 on. "A creed 10 something that 4
man believes, whether it be written or
unwritten. The Presbyterian Church s.
now agitAung about It's creed. Some
GOOD men In IL are for keeping It be-
cause IL was framed from the belief OF
John Calvin. Other good men In Il want
revision. / am with neither party. In
stead OF revision l want substitution. |
was sorry to have the question disturbed
St all. The creed did not hinder us
from Offering the perdon and the COM
fort Of The Gospel 70 all men, and the
Westminster confession has not inter
fercd with mo one minute. But now
that the electric lights have been turned
on the imperfections OF that creed-and
every thing that man fashions is imper
fect-let US ~: the old creed respectfully
aside AID get a brand new one. 1t Is I'm
possible that people who lived hundreds
Of years ago should fashion an appro
pirate creed for our timea. John Gavin
was q great and good a but ne died
SO years ago. The best centuries Of
Bible study have come since then and
explorers have done their work, and o.
you might as well have the world &c
back and stick to what Robert Fulton
knew about steamboats, and re cot The
subsequent Improvement in navigation
and go back &c John Gutenberg, the in
ventor Of the art of printing, and rejeci
all modern newspaper presses, and &C
back 70 the time when'telegraphy wal
the elevating Of signals or h burning
Of bonires on the hilltops and reject
the magnetic wire, which Is the tongue
Of nations, as to ignore all the exegetes
and the philologists and the theologiani
OF the last 800 years and put your OWL
head under the sleeve of the gown of a
sixteenth century doctor. / could call
the anne OF twenty living Presbyterian
ministers Of religion who could make
better creed than John Calvin. Thf
~nineteenth century ought not to be