The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-02-25
RELIGION IS EVERYTHING.
"FAITH WITHOUT WORKS is DEAD"
Sunday Christianity and Weekday Dis.
honss-Great Men who Have Been
COnsistent In Their Religious Pro-,
fessiOus-Dr. Talmage's Sermon.

Great audiences again assembled AT the
the service by DR.. Talnage in the Brook
Iyn academy OF music Sunday morning,
and also at the Christian Herald service in
the New YORK academy of music in the
evening. The remarkable interest in the
latter continues without evidence of abate-
ment. At the service in New York sun
day evening, one week ago, there were
many emotional episodes among the vast
audience, and last Sunday night these
were repeated, hundreds pledging them
selves anew to Christian lives henceforth.
Or. Talmage took for his text at the
Brooklyn academy: Faith without works
il dead."-Jsmes Ii, 20.
The Roman catholic church has been
charged with putting too much stress upon
good works and not enough upon faith.
charge professionalism with putting not
enough stress upon good works as con-
nected with salvation. Good works will
never save man, but If a man have not
good works he has no real faith and no gen
uine religion. There are those who depend
upon the fact that they are all right inside,
while their conduct is wrong outside.
Their religion, for the most part, is made
up of talk-vigorous talk, bOastful talk,
perpetual talk They viii! entertain you by
tine hour in telling you now good they are.
They come up TO such a higher life that
they have no patience with the ordinary
Christians in the plain discharge OF their
duty. AS near as / can tel this ocean
craft Is mostly sail and very little tonnage.
Foretopmast stay-ssil. foretOpmast stud
ding sail, maintopsail, miZzen-topsail-
everything from flying Iib to Inizzen
spanker, but making no useful voyage.
Now, the world has got tired of this, and
it wants religion that will work into all
the circumstances OF lie. We do not want
new religion, but the Old religion applied
in all possible directions.
Yonder is river with steep and rocky
banks, and il roars like young Niagara as
IL rolls on over its rough bed. 1t does
nothing but talk about itself ali 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. 1t does not run one fertll-
ling rill into the adjoining field. 1t has
not one grist mill or factory on either side.
IL sulks in wet weather with chilling logs.
No one cares when that river Is born
among the rocks, and no one cares when
il dies into the sea But yOnder is an
other river, and it MOSES its banks with
the warm tides, and II rocks with floral
lullaby the water lilies asleep OH its bOs-
ON. 1t invites herds OF cattle and hocks
of sheep and coveys of birds 10 come there
and drink. 1t has three grist Ills on one
eide and six cotton factories on the other.
It is the wealth of 200 miles OF luxuriant
farms. The birds of heaven Chanted wi hen
IL was born IN the mountains, and the
ocean shipping will press in from the sea
10 hail ii as il comes down to the Atlantic
coast. The one river is the mar who
lives for himself. The other river is
man who lives Tor others.
Do you know how the site of the ancient
city Of Jerusalem was chosen? There
were two brothers who had adjoining
farms. The one brother had 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 | will try to cheer him up,
and / will take some of the sheaves from
my field in the nighttime and set them
over on his farm. and say nothing about
il" The other brother said: MY brother
has large family, and it is very difficult
for him to support them, and will help
him along, and l will take some of the
sheaves from nv farm in the nighttime
and set them over on his farm, and say
nothing about it," So the work of trans
ference went on night after night, and
night after night; but every morning
things seemed TO be just as they were, for,
though sheayes had been subtracted
from each farm, sheaves had also
been added, and the brothers were
perplexed and could not understand. But
one night the brothers happened to meet
while making this generous transference
and the spot where they met was so sacred
that . was chosen as the site for the city
Of Jerusalem. If that tradition should
prove unfounded it will nevertheless
stand as beautiful alegory setting forth
the idea that wherever kindly and gen
erous and loving act is performed, that is
the spot fit for some temple of COM
memOTation.
/ 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 to 60 into all merchandise. 1t
will supervise the labelling OF goods. IL
will not allow man to say that a thing
was made in one factory when ii was made
in another. 1t will not allow the merchant
10 say that watch was manufactured in
Geneva, Switzerland, when it was manu-
featured in Massachusetts,. II will not
allow the merchant to say that wine came
from nbduelEa when lt came from NAlltOr-
MIA Practical religion will walk along
by the store shelves and tear off
all the tags that make misrepresentation.
Ii will not allow the merchant 10 say that
is pure coffee, when dandelion root and
chiccory and other ingredients go into it,
1t will not allow him to say that is pure
sugar. when there are in it sand and
ground glass.
When practical religion gets its full
swing in the world it will 90 down the
streets. and it will come to that shoe
store and rip off the fictitious soles of
many a fne-looking pair OF shoes, and
show that it il pasteboard sandwiched
between the sound leather. And this
practical religion will 60 right into a
grocery store and will pull out the plug
of all the adulterated sirups, and il will
dump into the ash-barrel in front of the
store the cassia bark that is sold for Gin
namon and the brickdust that il sold for
cayenne pepper; and il will shake out the
PTussian blues from the tea leaves, and it
will sift from the -four plaster OF paris and
bonedust and soapstone, and 1t will, by
chemical analysis, separate the one quart
OF Ridgewood water from the few honest
drops OF cows milk. and il will throw out