The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-02-18
PRACTICAL RELIGION.
The Value Of Good Works as an
NA Mlement Of Salvation.
Faith Is Necessary. But 1t Alone VIII No:
Save the Human Soul-What vigor'
GUS Practlcai Religion willDo
for the World DIR. Tai
IMAGES Sermon.

said:
The Roman Catholic Church has been
charged with putting too much stress
upon good works and not enough upon
faith. j charge Professionalism with put
ting not enough stress upon good works
as connected with salvation. Good works
will never save man, but If m n
have not good works he has no real
faith and no genuine religion. There
are those who depend upon the fact that
they are all right inside, while their con-
duct is wrong outside. Their religion,
for the most part, is made up of talk
vigorous talk, fluent talk, boastful talk,
perpetual talk. They will entertain
you by the hour in telling you how good
they are. They come up to such
higher life that they have no patience
with ordinary Christians in the plain
discharge of their duty. AS near as l
can tell this ocean craft is mostly sail
and very little tonnage Foretopmasts,
stay-sail, foretopmast studding sail,
maintopsail, mizzen-topsail - every
thing from flying jib to mizzen spanker,
but making no useful voyage. Now,
the world has got tired of this and it
wants a religion that will work into
the circumstances of life. We do not
want a new religion, but the old religion
applied in all possible directions.
Yonder is river with steep and rocky
banks, and 1t roars like young Niagara
as 1t rolls on over its rough bed. Itdoes
nothing but talk about itself all the
way from its source in the mountain TO
the place where it empties into the sea.
The banks are so steep the cattle can
not come down to drink. II does not
run one fertilizing rill into the adjoin-
ing field. 1t has not one grist mill or
factory on either side. 1t sulks in wet
weather with chilling fogs No one
cares when that river is born among the
rocks, and no one cares when it dies
into the sea. But yonder Is another
river, and IL MOSES its banks with the
warm tides, and 1t rocks with floral lul-
laby the water lilies asleep on its bosom
1t invites herds of cattle and foclSs of
sheep and coveys Of birds TO come there
and drink. II has three grist mills on
one side and six cotton factories on the
other. II is the wealth of two hundred
miles of luxuriant farms. The birds of
heaven chanted when IL was born in the
mountains, and the ocean shipping will
press in from the sea TO hail il rs it
comes down TO the Atlantic coast. The
one river is a man who lives for himself
The other river is man who lives for
others
Do you know how the site of the an
cient city of Jerusalem was chosen?
joining farms The one brother had a
large family, the other had no family.
The brother with large family said:
"There is my brother with no family;
he must be lonely, and l will try TO
cheer him up, and will take some of
the sheaves from my field in the night
time and set them over on his farm and
say nothing about IT," The other
brother said: "My brother has a large
family and It is very difficult for him TO
support them, and / will help him
along, and | will take some Of the
sheayes from my farm in the night time
and set them over on his farm and say
nothing about IT," So the work of
transference went on night after night,
lnnd night after night, but every morn
ing things seemed TO be Just as they
were, for though sheaves had been sub
tracted from each farm sheaves had also
been added, and the brothers were per-
picked and could not understand. But
one night the brothers happened to
meet while making this generous trans
ference, and the spot where they met
was so sacred that II was chosen as the
site Of the city Of Jerusalem. II that
tradition should prove unfounded IL
will, nevertheless, stand as q beautiful
allegory setting forth the idea that
wherever kindly and generous and
loving act is performed, that is the spot
6t for some temple Of commemoration.
have often spoken to you about
faith, but now / speak to you about
works, for "faith without works is
dead" think you will agree with me
In the statement that the great want Of
this world is more practical religion.
We want practical religion 10 go into all
merchandise. II will supervise the la
beling of goods. II will not allow man
10 say that q thing was made In one fac
tory when II was made In another. II
will not allow the merchant to say that
watch was manufactured in Geneva,
Switzerland, when IL was manufac-
tured in Massachusetts II will not al
4 low the merchant 70 say that wine came
from Madeira when II came from Cali
g7fornia. Practical religion will walk
salong by the store Shelves and tear off
all the tags that make misrepresenta-
ton. IL will not allow the merchant TO
say that is pure coffee, when dandelion
root and chicory and other Ingredients
70 into. IL. II viii not allow him TO say
that Is pure sugar, when there are in II
sand and ground glass.
When practical religion gets It's full
swing In the world, II will go down the
street, and II will come 10 that shoe
store and rip off the fictitious soles of
many n fine looking pair Of shoes, and
sshow that II Is pasteboard sandwiched
between the sound leather. And this
prnctical religion will go right into a
grocery store, and II will pull out the
plug OF all the adultented sirups, and
twill dump into the ash barrel, In front
OF the store, the cassia bark that is sold
for cinnamon and the brickdust that is
sold for cayenne pepper; and II will
shake out the Prussian blues from the
tea leaves, and II will sift from the -four
plaster OF Paris and boncdust and soap
stone. and II will by chemical ANALYSIS