St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-27
THEOLOGICAL ICE"
i Forms Ihs Ithems. for Rev.
HllkInSOn's sermon.


Rev. William Wilkinson, preaching
in st. Andrews church yesterday on
the words, ''Stand Fast in the Liberty
Wherewith Christ Hath Made You
Free" said: Liberty is thing of price
less value, but it has constantly TO be
defended from the attacks of those who
would impair its breadth and make its
God-ordained blessings of no effect. OF
all the kinds in the world, that liberty
which Christ gives TO his people is the
best, the most useful and permanent.
1t is not liberty which is freedom
from restraint; it is rather that
which gives to all who possess il
the highest opportunity of exer-
else OF every power within the
wise law, suited to mans being as a re-
Sponslblc moral creature. 1t is liberty
from sin, i'll its power to enthrall man, in
It's death dealing, and devastating effect.
This liberty set forth in the new teSta-
meEt and made known to every man IN
Christ Jesus, who will do the will of
God-lS the one thing the church, in the
world stands to represent. it is found in
prescribed ways, in the public worship,
and sa(raments of the church, which
are by the faithful to be placed before
the world, as its masters appointed in
StrumentS for the spread of his liberty,
of salvation, till he shall come.
THE church is a fact, an organ
lied body, with place and duties it
must fill and perform. 1t has ministry
and all office which are to be set great
store by. When the church, however,
seeks to make it understood that with
it alone is salvation, that it alone in any
measure represents the Almighty, that
nr ~ - 1No 1e, 60. oil
for all there is to say, or for all there is
to know, 1t mistakes, as it also does viO-
lence to the teachings of the faith. In
the churches which have the purest
creeds no man can know their full
meaning. They are wiser. mean things
more profound and important than we
can ever appreciate. Those parts of
the church which have obviously incOm-
plete creedS yet hold valuable truth, i'll
the light of which they find Joy,
rest and peace. Because all men
do not see as our church sees
am to wrap myself in a garb of self
righteousness and say I'VE are hOlier
than you are, we have found the faith.
You are iii darkness and wander to
DEATH" Perish the thought! | will,not
anchor myself; no man shall anchor
me to lake of theological ice, float me
to the holy Catholic church, and all are
lost outside, for l know this is not the
faith. To me it is pleasure to know
that men who are as honest as | can
ever be, who have been baptized in the
name of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Ghost, are at work according to
their light in the kingdom of goodness
on purpose to extend it, to overthrow
evil and cast out devils; this makes my
heart rejoice. In Canon Farrar's house
sat three men, one of whom / know
well. He is bishop in this church:
the third man was not churchman, but
he loves God and is largely interested
in religion. This man took from his
pocket a book and said: Here are ten
names of men who have spent 400 years
forty years each. on an average-in
prisons in England. They have heard
the gospel, been saved by 1t, and for
more than year each has been an hon.
est man, who has worked for his own
living. and l believe will continue so
to do"
Said the bishop: "If you can do work
like that the Lord proper the labor of
your hands," So say l. In this noisy
age of conventions, of strife for social
distinction in the religious world, in this
age of show and increased kuOwledge,it
is of paramount importance that men
who fear God shall learn that the union
of ChristendOm will not be hastened by
good men lessening the value of each
each others creed or work. A cheerful.
grateful and clear knowledgement of
all which is good will not alone
meet the demands of simple truth,
but it will do more than all the
controversies of all the schools to make
men see alike. 1t is wonderful power
which resides in love, to make persons
see alike. When logic fails, and strife
engenders debate and division, love
unifieS and makes one. Let no man
build walls in the heritage of God
which he himself has not ordered, for
in so doing we run without being sent,
and are untrue to all the nOblest,
brightest and most useful principles
which are given to men. 1.-The love of
God is broader than the measures of
mans mind; the heart of the eternal is
wonderfully kind"
We make His love too narrow by
false limits of our own, We magnify
His strictness with zeal He will not
own. Oneness of vision is important;
it is 70 he prayed for, that men who
name the name of Christ may be one:
how much nearer this time will be-
when those who say they love Him
show 1t by works. AS for me, glory
in the fact that now, as in the apostolic
days, men of very different schools of
thought can and do find places OF happy
service in the vineyard of the Lord.