Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-07
From the Pastor of the Fort Worth
Christian Church.


1. The church is a divine institution. ~
1t has divine head. Christ is the head of
the chruch. (2) 1t has divine foundation.
Christ is the foundation OF the church. (5)
1t is divine in its revelations. a. It is
divine in its ordinances. They were of
divine appointment. No one can observe
them, and not be q member of the church.
(5) The church has a divine creed. Christ
is tine creed of Christendom.
2. The church represents the reign of the
Holy Spirit. The omnipotence of God was
manifested in the personal ministry Of
Christ: and the omnipresence of God is
manifested in the reign Of the Spirit. Jesus
said: Nevertheless 1 tell you the truth (;
it is expedient for you that go away; for
if 1 so not away the Comforter will not
come unto you; but if go, l will send him
unto you. And he, when he is come, will
convict the world in respect of sin, and OF
righteousness and Of Judgment; of sin, be-
cause they believe not on me; OF righteous
ness because go to the Father. and We
behold me no more; of judgment, because
the prince of this world hath been judged
John xvi, ~
The apostles were required to wait in
Jerusalem until they received the inspira-
ton of the Spirit On the first Penteco5t
after the resurrection of Christ Simon
Peter, the great apostle, preached his
memorable sermon, and it resulted in add
Ing OUUu persons 10 INC CHURCH. 1u6 WORK
of converting the world commenced at
Jerusalem, where Jesus told the apostles to
begin their work and it rapidly extended
to the nations of the world. In the days of
the apostles there was no difference be-
tween beingsa Christian and being q men,
Der of the church.
As the church represents the reign of the
Spirit, we should be very careful and not
sin against the Holy Spirit. That sin rep
resents a condition of heart, in which the
character is forever bent in the wrong
direction. Some persons are always in
trouble about future punishment That
subject does not trouble me. The question
of eternal sin had better be settled hrst.
If there is such thing as eternal sin; then,
the punishment necessarily follows. In
Mark iii, %, we have the original hamarte-
matos, and not l1riseos; this certainly means
eternal sin. We now turn to the revised
version and read as follows: ''But whose
shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit
hath never forgiveness, but is guilty Of an
eternal sin. -
g. The Church is the institution that is
the support of Christianity. Read care
fully Tim. iii, 10, which is as follows:
But if I larry long that thou mayest
know how men ought to behave themselves
in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the
TRUTH
L
to the church of the living God. 1t is the
same as the church of Christ. Turn to
Matt. xvi, 1919 and read from the revised
version: Nov when Jesus came into the
parts of Csesarca Phillippi, he asked his
disciples, saying; Who do men say the son
Of man ISL And they said: Some say John
the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others,
jeremiah or one Of the prophets He
saith unto them: But who say We that l am!
And Simon Peter answered and said: Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him:
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah; for
flesh aud blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my father which is in heaven.
And l also say unto thee that thou art
Peter, and upon this rock 1 will build my
church; and the gates of hades shall not
prevail against it. I will give unto thee
the keys Of the kingdom of heaven and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven
Can any candid man read this language
and then claim that Christ does not require
church membership OF all his disciplesl
You will observe that the church and king
dom are used interchangeably in the six
teenth chapter of Matthew. Jesus informed
Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler, that the new
birth was essential for even this great ruler
to enter into the kingdom of God John
iii; 80.
The church is the pillar and ground Of
the truth. BY the truth the apostle evil
IDENTIFY refers to the gospel. The church,
then, must support the gospel among all
nations.
1t may then very properly be called the
light of thu world. The apostle CALLS it
golden candlestick, because it is the great
ight-bearer. Drew, 1921 When Chris
tianity was introduced into the world,
great spiritual and moral force was aWak-
ened. Look at that cold, icy mountain The
heat of the sun meIts the snow upon it, and
behold, a beautiful, babbling brook at its
base. So like it was the Introduction of
Christianity into the Greek and Roman
world. Just as the sunshine closes out the
cold and ice of winter, so the moral and
spiritual forces of Christianity shut out the
cold and icy heart OF heathenism Compare
the countries before the introduction of
Christianity with the present century, and
You viii be able to see the great spiritual
power OF Christianity upon the races OF
men.
might give many other reasons for be-
ing member Of the church, but these 1
presume viii be sufficient. The church is
called the bride, the Lambs wife. would
not want man 10 call himself my friend if
he would slap my wife in the face; and / do
not presume Christ will accept the friend
snip of these who slap his bride in the face,
J.SW. LowBER.