The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-04-04
STRICT LOYALTY TO TRUTH
Is the Acceptance of Creeds Consistent
with the Conscience Of All Ministers?
Serm on by Rev. John Baltzly That Is Likely
10 Attract Attention - Rev. Buchtel
Upon IN Apparent Conflict.

Rev. John Baltzly. formerly pastor of the
First English Lutheran Church Of this
city. now at Fond du Lac. Wis. where he
Is pastor of the church from which Rev. j.
a. Milburn came. preached at Plymouth
Church yesterday evening. taking as his
text John. eighteenth chapter. thirty
seventh verse:
Every one that is OF the truth heareth my
voice.
He spoke in part as follows: There are
some sayings of Christ that are peculiarly
revelatory of His spirit and thought, that
are more like Him, SO to speak. h others,
and this Is one of them.
There is not necessarily any moral
virtue in receiving truth; the virtue con-
sists in the arduous. unselfsh seeking
after IL. in being q sincere vOtary of II. in
being of truth SO wholly that we will
Own it when we meet with it. and bear
witness to it. too. Every one wishes to
have truth on his side, but it Is not every
one that wishes sincerely TO be on the side
OF truth And yet this latter Is Just the
test of disciplesnip that Christ puts forth
In tho words OF the text. My disciple, Ny
sheep, IS he that Is of the truth; and every
one that is of tho truth is My disciple lie
that is most loyal to truth. then. is the
that the ordinary test of what being
"a Christian is is hardly what this
test of discipIeship is. 1t hardly
one of the requirements for admission. to
church-fellowship. And yet Christ makes
1t the test of discipleship; and if it is that,
why then q man might DO 2 very good dis
ciple of Christ and yet not be able to join a
church,; il 1t Is that. a man might be a very
good disciple of Christ and vet be ineligible
TO a chair IN q theological seminary. And
II lie were III such a position 1t might hap
pen that his becoming q better disciple OF
C~hrist-that Is, becoming more loyal to
truth-would necessitete his removal from
1t. 60. also, a pastor might discover that.
being q true disciple of Christ in this mat
would ~disqualify him as q minister of
Christ. The very thing about him that the
simple soul would think would make him q
better minister. because q better disciple
hi~mself-nameiy. honesty with himself and
with his peoule-this may make 1T neces-
sary for him to give up ministering. / say
may. because q man cannot be q vOtary of
truth and at the same time engage to ar
rive at a prescribed goal. He that is to fol-
low truth whlthersoever 1t leads cannot
bave an understanding with himself that
he will be led by something else while do
ing it. Truth must lead Its follower. and if
It leads over a fence the follower has no
option but to ~climb-that is. If he is to be q
truth.
CONFORMITY AND HONESTY.
las things are now. conformity fs held to
be moro important than honesty, more de-
ferminative of discipleship. moro essential
to ministership. And. as things are. SO
they have been. In the judgment of the
church. Calico was more pleasing to God
when he recanted. though in doing SO he
lied, than when he protested the trnth. He
could remain in the church if he did the
former. But what of the kingdom that is
not of this worldP It looks as If the two
did not coincide. And is not this the case!
If the church has not room in 1T for one
that Is q disciple according to Christ's own
test of ~disclpleship. If it's fold is too narrow
TO take In one of His flock, if q follower OF
Him cannot be admitted to our fello
must we not admit that the church and
His kin are not identicaE
TO them that have eyes to see it is evil
dent that a large part of the religious feel
ing of to-day flows In channels outside the
main channel, or that which we have been
wont to regard its main channel. The
most striking thing ABOUT modern science
and men of science rs their enthusiasm,
their reverence to law, their high ideals
and their devotion to them. What DO
these things meant What is enthusiasm
What does reverence for law involvef
Where there are high ideals. what Is it
that goes with them? Is IL not
Worship What is reverence for
law but worship? Science is not irrelir.
ious. We are calling names to-day as fool
ishly as we did for so long whenever we
spoke of the French revolution. The real
atheists of that memorable time were they
that thought q system so iniquitous as that
then attacked could stand before the con-
Stunning ire OF q righteous God. And the
men that lifted their hands against that
monstrous body of conventIonalism might
well have flung back to their enemies the
nDn mr. g l.
when urged TO curse the Christians in his
dying hour. turned unexpectedly on the
conservitors of the old order and card:
Away with che infidelsp Things are mixed
to-day somewhat in the same way. The
church is faithless. Like Jacob. in his old
age, 1t says: w therefore dealt We so i'll with
me as to tell the man whether We had yet n
brotherP The Protestant. as Mr.. Fronde
says. has grown afraid of intelligence. He
has shrunk from facts, and prefers q pious
belief to the recognition of obvious truths.
he has lost his horror of falsehOOd, and
with it the secret of his strength. There
Is IN the men devoted to original scientific
investigation a deep religious feeling. 1t
cannot but be so. Tie touch of truth every
where stirs the religious feeling. Contact
with truth of every kind has moral effect.
he that comes In touch with nature comes
In touch with God. The man of science
feels himself to be in the presence of q
power that is not himself and is imInoas-
urably above himself. u power in the con-
temptation of which he is absorbed. In the
knowledge of which he finds safety and
happiness. His attitude is an attitude
of indignant sincerity He has bought
the truth and he will not sell IT.
lie does say harsh things of the church, but
the church first said harsh things of him.
1t has ruled him out OF it's fold. 1t was the
provoker of the quarrel that has gone on so
long now and so disastrously to the pro-
voker OF II. And all so neediessly and so
foolIshly. He Is at war with conventional
Ism. but that ever has been the foe OF re-
llgion. Christ was a martyr to cOnven-
tionailsm. Nearly every martyr has been
votary OF truth. one of whom the werld
was not worthy Just because a loyal sub
Jeet OF the kingdom that is not of this
hope that the Church of England made
room In Westminster Abbey for the body
OF that sinRle-minded servant of truth.
Charles Darwin. who, judged by the test
offered in the text was one of the Great
Shepherds ilockf
A CREED AS A TEST.
make a creed the test of fellowship
is simply to put character in the second
place and opinions IN the first place In the
determining of what 1t is to DO a Christian.
1t Is TO put n premium upon hypocrisy OF
else upon ignorance. 1t is TO make n bar
sinister of that which should be a pass
port TO any place of service; namely. sin
cerIty. honesty, loyalty to truth as 10 is
gwen one TO see IL. 1t Is forgetting that