The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-03

three hundred ana tWenty-SlN years
ago. The best centuries of Bible study
have come since then, and explorers have
done their W. TX, and you might as well
have the world go back and stick to what
Robert Fulton knew about steamboats, and
reject the subsequent Improvements in
navigation; and go back to John Gutten-
berg, the inventor of the art OF printing,
aud reject all modern newspaper presses,
and go back to the time when telegraphy
was the elevating of Signals or the
burning Of bonfires on tho hilltops and
reject the magnetic wire, which is the
tongue of nations, as to ignore all the exc
getes and.the philologists. and the theolo-
gians of the last 326 years. and put your
head under the sleeve of the gown of a six
tenth century doctor. l coul1 call the
name of twenty living Presbyterian minis
tiers of religion who could make 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 the Scriptures" Yes;
so it is the same old sun in the heavens,
but in our time it has gone to making
daguerreotypes and photographs. 1t 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 a lightning-footed errand
boy. So it is the old Bible,
but new applications, new uses, new inter
pretations. You must remember that
during the last three hundred 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 in
fants, although some of the recent hot
disputes would seem to imply that there Is
such thing as the damnation of infants.
A man who believes in the damnation Of
infants himself deserves to lose heaven. I
do not think any good man could admit
with all the babies in the next world 1 con-
clude from what he did with the babies in
Palestine when he Rugged them and kissed
them. When some of you grown people go
out of this world your doubtful destiny will
be an embarrassment to ministers otflciat-
ing 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 butts" or guesses. We must re-
member that good John Calvin was a logi-
clan and metaphysician, and by the pro-
clivties of his nature put some things in an
unfortunate way. Logic has its use and
metaphysics has its use, but they are not
good at making creeds A gardener hands
you a blooming rose, dewy fresh, but So
we're botanist comes to you with rose and
says: 81 will show you the structure Of this
rose" And he proceeds to tear it apart,
and pulls off the leaves, and he says: There
are the petals" and he takes out
the anthers and he says: Just
look at the wonderful structure
of these floral pillars" and then he cuts the
stem to show you the juices Of the plant.
. So logic or metaphysics takes the aromatic
rose of the christian religion and says: 81
will just show you how this rose Of religion
was fashioned" and 1t pulls of of it a piece
and says; SHAT is the human will" and
another piece and SAYS: "rhis is Gods will, u
and another piece and says: This is sover-
eighty" and another piece and saws: "This
is free agency" this is this and that is
that. And while / stand looking at
the fragments OF the rose pull ed apart, one
whom the Marys took for a gardener comes
in and presents me with a crimson rose,
red as blood, and says: 'Inhale the sweet
ness Of this, wear it on your heart and wear
it forever l must confess that perfer
the rose in full bloom to the rose pulled
apart What time we have had with the
dogmatics, the apologetics and the
hermeneutics. 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 COM
petent to handle that subject was Paul.
and he would not have been competent had
he not been Inspired / believe in the SOW
ereignty of God and believe IN mans fres
agency, but no one can harmonic the two
1t is not necessary that he harmonic them
Every sermon that | have ever heard
that attempted such harmonization 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 statement and
leave out your own. Better one
chapter Of Paul on that subject than all OF
Calvin's institutes, able and honest and
mighty as they are. Do not try to measure
the throne of God or the thunderbolts of
God with your little steel pen. What do
you know about the decroesl You cannot
pry open the door of G IDS eternal counsels.
You cannot explain the mysteries Of Gods
government now, much less the mysteries
of his government five hundred qui1tillion
of years ago. move for creed for all our
denominations made out of Scrip
ture quotations pure and simple.
That would take the earth for God.
That would be impregnable against
infidelity and Apollyonic assault. That
would lie beyond human criticism. The
denomination, whatever its name be, that
can rise up to that will be the church of the
millennium, will swallow up all other de-
nominations and be the one that will be the
bride when the Bridegroom cometh. Let
us make it simpler and palmer for people to
get into the kingdom of God. Do not
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 innumersbe non
essentials, A man who heartily ac-
cepts Christ is a christian and the man
who does not accept him is not christian,
and that is all there is to it. He need not
believe in election or reprobation. He need
rot believe in the eternal generation of the
Son. He need not believe in everlasting
punishment. He need not believe in infant
baptism. He need not believe in plenary
inspiration. Faith in ChriSais 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 who would not accept per-
sons into church membership if they drink
wine, or if they smoke cigars,
or If they attend the theatre,
or If they play cards, or If they drive a
fast horse. Now, / do not drink wine or
smoke or attend the theater, never played a
game Of cards, and do not drive a fast
horse, although / 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 ont all who
ought to be kept out: believe I'm
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved.n Get a mans heart right
and his life will ha right. Bur now