Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-13
soul, that makes no difference. All the pain
of life is within his province.
in Every Trouble.


The Christian minister and every Chris.
tian citizen ought to be profoundly inter
ested in the labor troubles, and in all other
troubles which vex our generation: and
ought to give interest and sympathy and
help to all plans which look toward the bet
terment of life, toward the good of the
city, toward the bringing of more light, and
more knowledge, and more pleasure into
the hearts of men. For all good .happi-
ness is chapter in the Christian gospel.
But this gospel is the gospel of the king
dom. What is the kingdom?
The 'kingdom of heaven" 1t is called in
the New Testament; Gods kingdom, for
whose coming We pray in the Lord Prayer.
This it will be noticed, means a blessed
state of things in which God will be obeyed
the whole world over, and in which all who
obey God will be Joined together in one
great fellowship. The name OF this king
dom is the church.
The church, then, is first that company OF
those who have heard the gospel and be-
lieved it. and in whose hearts abides that
happiness which no kind of tribulation can
destroy. 1t is the discipleship of Jesus
Christ. And everybody belongs to it, or
ought to belong to it, who loves Him, and
tries to follow Him.
The Heart of the Gospel.
Christ is the heart of the gospel Happi-
ness is possible in this hard world only by
reason of Him. It is of Him we learn the
secret of serenity. They who know Him,
know happiness And the church exists as
the communion of all these people of
kindred spirit. Here these blessed souls
draw daily nearer to Christ and to each
other There is no need to tell them the
uses of the church, nor to show them how
the gospel comes naturally to be the gospel
of the kingdom.
But this is only part of the purpose of
the Church. 1t is the church militant. 1t
is company of good people banded to-
gether to fight the devil; aad thus banded
together not only for the delights of associ-
alton one with another, but for increase OF
strength against common foe. The tangi-
bic enemies of the kingdom of God are sin
and pain. The purpose Of the war is to
vanquish every assailant of the happiness
of man, every hinderer of the blessed gos-
pei of God. We need to stand together.
We are engaged in an undertaking which
cannot be accomplished by individual eff
fort. 1t needs the help and strength of
of the many is the Church. 1t ought not
to be necessary, upon this side of it, to ar
que at any length about the uses of the
Church, or the need of having any church.
The gospel, if it is to take hold of human
life, and to be realized as good tidings,
must be helped on by united effort.
The Value of United Effort.
The unhappinesses of mankind are so
many, and so hard is it to. dislodge them
out of human lite, SO entrenched are they
in perverted Affections, in sinful Inclina-
tions, in vested interests, that it ought to
be plain to everybody that one man by him
self here. and anosher man by himself
there. can accomplish nothing. When two
men join hands there is church. When
all good men join hands the kingdom of
God will not be far away.
Thus Christianity is not only gospel,
but it has to do with kingdom. We can
NOT get along without the kingdom. Chris
tianity is not only message, but it is
carrying the message into practical effect.
First the gospel, the good tidings of great
Joy to all people of the world, the declara-
tion of the purpose to uplift all life and to
make happiness universal; and then the
kingdom, the fellowship of those who be-
lieve the gospel, the union of all people
who desire to establish the universal reign
of happiness and who are willing to help in
that divine undertaking.
That is the kind of Christianity that
Jesus Christ preached-the gospel of the
kingdom. GEORGE HODGES.