Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-17
PURPOSE AND METHOD
A Sermon Upon Christianity From
These Two Points of View.
THE APOSTLES ASKED.
Sometimes the Progress Seems Discourag-
ing to the Worker.
THE INSPIRATION OF AN EXAMPLE
WRITTEN FOR THE DrspATcH.I

about the coming of the Kingdom: Dos
Thou at this time restore the kingdom o
Israel?
1t is not likely that they were still think
ing their old ambitious thoughts. They
had grown wiser than that. The time hat
been when they looked forward to day o.
temporal authority. Christ, they thought
was to reign as king in Jerusalem. and al
the rulers of the earth were to- do Him rev
erence and to pay Him tribute. He was to
sit upon a splendid throne, and there were
to be SIX thrones only less splendid upon
each side of Him, and upon them the IL
fishermen and peasants of Galilee. The
whole nation had that idea about the Mes
sianic Kingdom, and the apostles naturally
shared in it But little by little Christ had
led them out of that, above that. They had
learned at last that the greatest of all king
doms is the kingdom of the truth, and that
the most exalted rule of all is that which
holds not the allegiance of the lips only,
but Of the will and of the heart. When
would that kingdom come? When would
the Lord Christ be the accepted ruler of the
race?
The Coming OF the Kingdom.
We, too, ask that question. The king
dom seems long time coming. We pray
daily that it may come; that the rebellious
devil may be driven out and the victorious
Christ come in, and the reign of universal
Righteousness begin. No more disobedience
to the law of God, no more turning away
h. 1x,;n
stealing, impurity, injustice, unbrotherli-
ness-when will it come, the triumph of
the truth and of the right?
Whenever we look back over year of
Christian work, and then look out, as we
must, into the world about US, the kingdom
of God seems to be coming very slowly.
The kingdom is like leaven, the Master
said, which woman took and hid in three
measures of meal until the whole was leav-
ened. But the leaven seems to make
very little impression on the Jumps. The
yeast does not seem to get good bold upon
the dough. The church is the yeast, and all
the irreligious community is the dough. Is
the dough rising at all? Is this city better
to-day than it was year ago, is it any more
the city of Christ than it was, after all the
Christian ministry of the twelve-month? Is
the neighborhood better for the existence Of
the church in the midst of it? What have
we really accomplished?
The Record Seems Discouraging.
1t is discouraging to think of all the SER
vices and all the sermons, and all the
Christian ministry of the parsons and the
people, and to ask ourselves what it has
actually effected. Is the kingdom of God
any farther along in the great fight which
it is waging with the kingdom of the devil?
At first, we are inclined to answer ''no."
The truth is, however, that God sees
great deal clearer than we do. In the midst
Of any battle, the soldiers who are in the
thick of it beneath the cloud of binding
smoke can only guess at the fortunes of the
day. They may be beaten back, but on the
other wing their comrades may be winning
The General on the top of the
hill, who sees the whole long line, knows
how the day is going. Elijah beat an
retreat once, and accounted
the battle utterly lost; but God showed him
hat he had won the victory.
The battle too, is longer than we realize.
A year is but a momentary incident in it.
We share in the impatience of the apostles.
We want the kingdom of God to come to-
day. But the great conflict of the church
and the world goes slowly.
Beating the King Too Badly.
In the Puritan Revolution, Cromwell ac-
,used the parliamentary generals of an un-
willingness to beat the king too badly.
again and again they torbore to reap the
tull harvest of their victory. That is true
n Gods fight against the devil. God is not
willing to beat even the devil too badly.
For the devil is the personifcation of the
lin of the world, and that sin abides in the
hearts Of human beings and these human
beings God loves. He is their Father, and
hey are His children. He feels as David
lid when his army was waring against re-
,ellious Absolom. He wants to put down
he rebellion, but he wants to spare the
ebeL God wants to drive sin out of the
world, but He wants to save the sinners
And that is long and difficult process
There is great difference between extirpa-
ion and conversion.
Nevertheless, looking back not a year but
onger than that, we can see that God is
eally gaining his blessed purpose The
world is unspeakably better for the presence
# the Church in it. And the Church is
tronger to-day, more ready and compesent
o help God in the conquest of sin, in the
Individual heart and in the whole life of the
than ever before; in all her his
ory. The kingdom Of God has more SUBJ
ects, the army of God has more soldiers,
nd the forces of the devil are fewer and
Teaker, than has been ever known before
)ur part is first to thank God and take
ourage, and then to go on with braver
earts to do the will of God.
The Work Of the Witnesses.
eye shall be my witnesses. That is the
Message. Jesus Christ standing with the
postles upon the Ascension Hill, said
hat, and lifted up His hands in benediction,
nd was taken away out of their sight. He |
ad given them their work. They were to |
o now and do it. And the work was
ummed up in that sentence: Ye shall be |
illnesses unto Me.
The great purpose of Christianity is to |
lake men better, and one of the chief WAYS
q which men are made better is by the per-
uasion and the inspiration of other mems
xample. That is what Christ meant by his
barge to the apostles to be witnesses to
lin; they were to follow His example and
ne meal, the whole world might become
1e kingdom of the Lord and of Christ.
o that the words suggest both the purpose
nd the method of Christianity.
We ought to understand what all our
ork is for, and why it has been done. And
We are to estimate it rightly, we ought
, have an ideal to measure it by. 1t will
e we'll for us to consider little, and get
early into our minds, the ideal purpose
nd the ideal method OF Christianity.
The Gospel With the Greeks.
Christianity is a religion. 1t is not primarily
ither philosophy or fraternity. When
he gospel was carried to the speculating
reeks, it not only gave them something,
ut it received something from them. There
as brought into it by their influence the
otion that the most important part of
hristianity is the answer that can be de-
uced from it to certain philosophical ques-
ons. Men have always been interested