The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-02-17

The following sermon by Rev. DR..
Talmage was apparently suggested by
the storm Of theological controversy
now raging in the churches In these
times when it is quite uncertain what
many Of the clergy really do believe,
this sermon makes it very plain what
the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
believes. His text was taken from
Luke 9, xvii, "And He came down with
them and stood in the plain"
Christ on the mountains is frequent
study. We have seen Him on the Mount
of Olives, Mount of Beati tudes, Mount
Moriah, Mount Calvary, Mount OF AS
cension, and it is glorious to study Him
on these great natural elevations. But
how is it that never before we have no.
ticed Him on the plain? Amid the rocks
high up on the mountains, Christ has
passed the night, but now, at early
dawn, He is coming down with some
especial friends, stepping from shelv-
ing to shelving, here and there a loos-
ened stone rolling down the steep sides
ahead of Him, until He gets in level
place, SO that He can be approached
without climbing from all sides He is
on the level, My text says, "He came
down with them, and stood in the
plain"
Now, that is what the world wants
to-day more than anything elsa
Christ on the level, easy to get at, no
ascending, no descending, approachable
from all sides-Christ on the plain. The
question among all consecrated people
to-day is, what is the matter with the
ministers? Many of them are engaged
in picking holes in the Bible and apollo
gizing for this and apologizing for that.
In an age when the whole tendency is
to pay too little reverence to the Bible,
they are fighting against Bibliolatry, or
too much reverence for the Bible. They
are building fence on the wrong side
of the road; not on the side where the
precipice is and off which multituds are
falling, but, on the upper side of the
road, SO that people will not fall up
hill, Of which there is no danger. There
is no more danger Of Bibliolatry, or too
much reverence for the Scriptures, than
there is that astrology will take the
place of astronomy, or alchemy the
place of chemistry, or the canal boat
the place OF the limited express rail
train. What theological farce it is;
ministers fighting against too much
reverence for the Scriptures; ministers
making apology for the Scriptures; min.
listers pretending to be friends of the
Bible, yet doing the book more damage
than all the blatant infdels on all the
earth. The trouble is our theologians
are up in the mountain in fight above
the clouds about things which they do
not understand. Come down on the
plain and stand beside Christ, who
never preached technicality or didacti-
cism What do you, o, wise-headed &c
clesiastic know about the DEGREES OF
God? Who cares a fg about your sub
lapsarianism or your supralapsarian-
ism?
What n spectacle we have in our de-
nomination to-day; committees trying
to patch up an old creed made two or
three hundred years ago, so that 1t will
fit on the nineteenth century. Why dc
not our millinery establishments take
out Of the garrets the coal.scuttle bon
nets which your great-grandmothers
I, wore and try to fit them on the head Of
N,he modern maiden? You can not fiS
up three hundred year old creed so as
to fit our time. Princeton will sew on Q
little piece, and Union seminary will
sew on a little piece, and Allegheny
seminary and Danville seminary will
sew on other pieces, and by the time
the creed is done it will be as variegatet
as Joseph's coat of many colors, Think
Of having to change an old creed Il
make IL clear that all infants dying g
to Heavenl am so glad that the com
mittees are going TO let the babies in
Thank you. So many Of them are al
ready in that the hills Of Heaven lool
like a Sunday-school anniversary
Now, what is the use Of fixing up {
. creed which left any doubt on that sub
ject? No man ever doubted that al
infants dying go to Heaven unless h,
be an infant or a Charles Giteau.
was opposed TO overhauling the oil
creed at all, but now that II has beer
lifted up and its imperfections set up II
the sight Of the world, say, overbcar'
with It and make new creed. Their
are to-day in our denomination fiv
hundred men who could make a bette
one. ! could make better one myself
As we are now in process of changin
the creed and no one knows what W
are expected to believe, or will two Q
three years hence be expected TO be
lieve, could not wait, and so hav
made creed of my own, which In
tend to observe the rest OF my life.
wrote IL down IN my memorandum
booleisome six months ago, and 1t read
as follows: my creed: The gloriou
Lord. To trust Him, love Him, an
obey Him is all that is required. T
that creed ] invite all mankind. ]
Dewitt Talmage."
The reason Christianity has not mad
more rapid advance is because the pee
plel are asked to believe too man
things. There are, i believe, to-da
millions Of good Christians who hav
never Joined the church and are nC
counted among the Lords friends, b
cause they can not believe all the thing
that they are required 10 believe. On,
half the things man isexpected 10 b
lieve in order TO enter the church an
reach Heaven have no more TO do wit
his salvation than the question: Ho
many volcanoes are there In the moor