Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-03-13

UdCh W bIO bAL4O uCA SC1CkLdRnI ~ dS
the elevating of signals or the burning
of bonfires 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 theologians
Of the last 326 years and put your own
head under the sleeve of the gown of a
sixteenth century doctor. 1 could call
the names of twenty living Presbyterian
ministers of religion who could make q
better creed than John Calvin. The
nineteenth century ought not to be
called to sit at the feet of the sixteenth.
But" you say, sit is the same old
Bible, and John Calvin had that as well
as the present student of Scriptures"
Yes; so it is the same old sun in the
the heavens, but in our time it has gone
to making daguerreotypes and photo
graphs. It is the same old water, but
in our century it has gone to running
steam engines 1t is the same old
electricity, but in our time it has become
hghtning-footed errand boy. So it is
the old Bible, but with new applications,
new uses, new interpretations. You must
remember that during the last 800 years
words have changed their meaning and
some of them now mean more and some
less. do not think that John Calvin
believed, as some say he did, in the
damnation of infants, although some of
the recent hot disputes would seem to
imply that there is such thing as the
damnation of infants.
Ill l.
of infants himself deserves to lose
Heaven. I do not think any good man
could admit such accessibility. What
Christ will do with all the babies in the
next world conclude from what He did
with the babies in Palestine when He
Rugged and kissed them. When some
of you grown people go out of this world
your doubtful destiny will be an embar-
rassment to ministers officiating at your
obsequies who will have to be cautious
so as not to hurt surviving friends. But
when the darling children go there are
no 'ifs" or "buts" or ''guesses."
The defect in some of the creeds is
that they try to tell us all about the de-
crees of God. Now the only human be-
ing that was ever competent to handle
that subject was Paul and he would not
have been competent had he not been
inspired. l believe in the sovereignty
of God and believe in mans free agen-
cy, but no one can harmonic the two.
1t is not necessary that he harmonic
them. Every sermon that 1 have ever
heard that attempted such harmoniza-
ton was to me as clear as London fog,
as clear as mud. My brother of the
nineteenth century, my brother of the
sixteenth century, give us Paul's state
ment and leave out your own. Better
one chapter of Paul on that subject than
all of CalYin's Institutes, able and honest
and mighty as they are. Do not try to
measure either the throne of God or the
thunderbolts of God with your little
steel pen. What do you know about
the DEGREES? You can not pry open the
door of Gods eternal counseIs. You can
not explain the mysteries of Gods gov
eminent now, much less the mysteries
of His government 500, 900, 900, 900, OO0,-
10000 years ago. I move for a creed
for all our denominations made out of
Scripture quotations pure and simple.
A man who heartily accepts Christ is a
Christian and the man who does not
accept him is not and that is all there is
of it. He need not believe in election
or reprobation. He need not believe in
the eternal generation of the Son. He
need not believe in everlasting punish
ment. He need not believe in infant
baptism. He need not believe in plenary
inspiration. Faith in Christ is the
criterion, is the pivot, is the indispensa-
bic. But there are those who would add
unto the tests rather than subtract from
them. There are thousands who would
not accept persons into church member
ship if they drink wine or if they smoke
cigars or if they attend the theater or if
they play cards or if they drive a fast
horse. Now, I do not drink wine or
smoke or attend the theater, never
played game of cards and do not drive
a fast horse, although 1 would if owned
one. But do not substitute tests which
the Bible does not establish. There is
one passage of Scripture wide enough
to let all in who ought to enter and to
keep out all who ought to be kept out:
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved"
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 IN
der the shadow of Sinai than at the base
of Calvary. They have been singing
the only poor hymn that Newton ever
wrote:
tbs point long to know,
Oft It causes anxious thought
Do love the Lord or no,
Am i 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
er it is coated, is morbid and can not be
we'll The doctor will say:
go out into the fresh air and into act
i've life and stop thinking of yourself