The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-01-28
OUTSIDE THE FOLD.
DR.. Tclmage breaches Sermon to
NOn-Church Members
The Heavenly Shepherd Likely to Find
Many Of His Sheep Among Those Who
Now Reject Christianity-A Chance
for All Sinners Yet to be Saved.

heN. i. lie VIII Idlmagc recently
preached the following powerful SER
mon to ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, taking for his
text John X, 16: 'Other sheep have
which are not of this fold" He said:
There is no monopoly in religion.
The grace of God is not a nice little
property fenced off all for ourselves.
1t is not a kings park, at which we
look through barred gateway, wish
ing that we might go in and pluck the
flowers and look at the deer and statu-
airy. 1t is fathers orchard, and there
are bars to let down and gates to swing
open.
In my boyhood days, next to the coun-
try school house where I went, there
was an apple orchard of great luxuri-
ance, owned by very lame man who
did not gather the apples and they went
to waste by scores of bushels Some
times the lads of the school, in the sin
fulness of a nature inherited from our
first parents who fell through the same
temptation, would climb over the fence
and take some of these apples, and not
withstanding the fact that there was
surplus, and all going to waste, the
owner of that orchard, reckless of max
ing his lameness worse, would take
after these lads and shout, "Boys drop
those apples, or I'll set the dog on you'll"
Now there are Christians who have
severe guard over the Church of God.
They have rough and unsympathetic
way Of treating outsiders. 1t is great
orchard into which God would like to
have all people come and take the rich
est and ripest fruit, and the more they
take the better He likes it. But there
are those who stand with hard and
severe nature guarding the Church of
God, and all the time afraid that some
one will get these apples when they
really ought not to have them.
Have you any idea that, because you
were baptised at eight months of age,
and because you have all your life been
surrounded by hallowed influences you
have right to one whole side of the
Lords table, spreading yourself out SO
nobody else can sit there? You will
have to haul in your elbows for there
will come great multitude to sit at the
table, and on both sides of you. You
are not going to have this monopoly of
religion. "Other sheep have which are
not of this fold"
Mcdonald, the Scotchman, has on the
Scotch hills great flock of sheep. Nc
Donald has four or five thousand head
of sheep. Some are browsing in the
heather, some are on the hills, some are
in the valleys, few are in the yard.
One day Cameron comes over to Nc
Donald, and says: mcdonald, you
have thirty sheep; have been counting
them" so, noG' says Mcdonald, 81
have four or five thousand" "Ah!' says
Cameron, ''you are mistaken; l have
Just counted them; there are thirty
"Why," says Mcdonald, ''do you sup
pose that is all the sheep have? have
sheep on the distant hills and in the
valleys, ranging and roaming every.
where. Other sheep have l which are
not of this fold"
So Christ comes. Here is group Of
Christians, and there is group Of
Christians; here is Methodist fold
here is a Presbyterian fold, here is q
Baptist fold here is a Lutheran fold
and we make our annual statistics, anG
we think we can tell you just how many
Christians there are in the world, how
many there are in the church, how many
of all these denominations. We ag
gregate them, and we think WI
are giving an intelligent and an &C
curate account; but Christ comes, ant
He says: "You have not counted then
right. There are those whom 20,
have never seen, those of whom
you have never heard. have my chi
dren in all parts of the earth, on al
the islands of the sea, on all the cont
nents, in all the mountains and in al
the valleys. Do you think that thes'
few sheep you have counted are all tn
sheep have? There is a great multi
tude that no man can number. ''Othe
sheep have which are not of this fold.
Christ, in my text, talks of the con
version of the Gentiles as confidentl,
as though they had already been con
verified, He sets forth the idea that Hi
people will come from all parts of tn
earth, from all ages, from all circum
stances, from all conditions. "Othe
sheep have which are not of this fold
In the first place, / remark, the Heav
emily Shepherd will find many of Hi
sheep among those who are at presen
non-church goers. There are differen
kinds of churches. Sometimes you will
find church made up only of Chris
tians. Every thing seems finished. Tn
church reminds you of those skeleto
plants from which by chemical prepe
ration all the greenness and the vel
dure have been taken, and they ar
cold. and white, and delicate, and beat
tiful, and finished. All that is wante
isa glass case put over them. The mir
lister on the Sabbath has only to TAX
an ostrich feather and brush off tn
dust that has accumulated in the las
six DAYS of business, and then they ar
as cold and beautiful and delicate as bt
fore. Every thing is finished: finishe
sermons. finished music, finished arch
lecture. finished every thing.
Another church is like an ANNOY, q
sound of drum and fife calling n0eo n
cruits to the Lords army. We nv
the applicants, Come in and get you
equipment. Here is the bath In wills
you are to be cleansed. here
the helmet you are to put o
your head, here are the sar
dals you are to put on your fee
La "a mr.