The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1893-11-30

owned and blessed by God. Answer thes,
things if you can. Men who have hat
Divine and Holy Ghost ordinations. tn,
essentials of what is needed for the har
vest field, men like Moody, Spurgeon ant
many Others. These are in the Divin,
succession Apostolic too = tactual by
living, spiritual essence-ordained O
Heaven and the smile OF our CONNER
Father resting upon their labors Ii
spite OF what any of the extreme schoo
would say. Then there are those who
would unchurch others not Episcopally
ordained. Our beloved and temperate
Church does no such thing
In the % Art. and Introduction to Or
dlnation office, I'VE Judge lawfully cal
led and sent those ordained after oul
model, 'but she remains silent upon ether
communions. To unchnrch others would
be to fight against God As in Acts 5
37-S: Refrain from those men and let
them alone, for if this counsel or this
| work be of mon, it will come to naught
but II it be of God, We cannot overthrow
it, lest haply ye be found even to fight
against God" What will more lead to
disanion than to treat our fellow
wives and husbands who happen to be
dissenters as mere outsiders in the COM
mon Church of Christ; to hand them
| over with gracious and patronizing ar
rogance to uncovenanted mercies. The
great majority of them hold with us and
no less firmly than we do the great eter-
nal verities OF Christianity They be-
long no less than we do to the great body
of these to whom St. Paul sent his bles-
sing-nanely, ste all who love the Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth" Nc
less than as ''They are very members in
corporate in the mystical body of Christ
which is the blessed company of all faith
full people" They have been enriched by
| the Divine blessing and have shown in
the ripest specimens of saintliness,
those fruits of the spirit by which they
may be known as belonging to- the
| Church of the living God.
| Will any members of the Episcopal
/ Shol Oli vi 0llC oHuICI vi nOluC OutSlQe
of the darkest corner of Spain or Mexico
dare to say that the door of Heaven shall
not open to those as widely and spon-
| taneously as to any one of rs? If then
they shall be no less than ourselves,
honored members of the Church of tt e
Redeemed in Heaven, it seems small
and unwarantable bigotry to treat them
aud to speak of them as though they did
not belong to the Church of God on
earth. Rather can we not provoke to
love and good works? Can we not cheer
fully and always put in the forefront the
| eternal truths of the gospel respecting
which we are unanimous and relegate
to the background the question of orr
| ganiZation and minor differences about
which we are yet unable to agree. Unity
is compatible with diversity Diversity
| is a note Of life; unity is q note of love.
| 1t ever a union is to be striven for or
prayed for, it will be that of the ever
deepening love of God. When our souls
are full of the love of the Master, we
shall love the brethren They are of us
and we of them. Not by creeds,
councils and compromise or Parliaments
of Religion can Christian union be
fully realized. 1t must come from a
Heaven>born source-no earth mark
upon it. We must so lay aside every>
thing that would hinder this reunion.
The higher the character of the spiritual
life in any particular branch OF the
Christian church the greater long
ing and yearning for Christian union.
1t is all very well to look at others ard
see the mote, but not the beam in our
own eye. We can see readily the lack
of order, reverence land in a few instan-
ces an ignorant SOOTHING at the use of
forms OF prayers, despising the use of a
liturgy, and-so forth, in other coMmu-
MONS. Although enthusiasm and zeal
are Enthusiastically the fruits of the spirit
being manifest, good is being done in
spite of what some would term the es-
sentials of Church On the other hand
self examination of our own church work
and methods reveal that we have ornate
services, beautiful music, handsome
buildings, order, reverence, a set form OF
prayer and devotion incompatible
standing the test of time and use-never
tiresome, blessed and owned of God and
man. An Episcopal ministry, scriptural
preaching by men second to none in
scholarship and learning; but because of
these things, have we more fruits of
the Spirit? Are we more aggressive to-
wards the foe of sin? Are not all churches
lacking? Like many religious newspa-
| pers, leave out that which is religious and
place to the front the nonreligious. In
q word, the spiritual work is dethroned.
| Are we seeking to do that which our
Lord would sanction did he dwell among
us now in the flesh? Let first things be
first. Seek first the Kingdom OF God
and His righteousness and all other
things shall be added unto you" But
in face of all opposition the wave Of
Union is rolling on, and more than one
paper is devoted to that object. A
house divided against itself cannot stand.
The Charch is one. Christ is the body,
the Church, and it has many members.
The union of Christendoln will be soon.
est accomplished by the personal saintli-
ness of it's members. Very members
of the body of Christ. " The
nearer we live to Christ, the nearer
Church will come to Church and the more
love we shall have for each other. Every
year sees solid progress. United Tenn
perance Campaigns, Endeavor Sosieties
Brotherhoods, Young Mems Chl istiaI
Associations-all these are rivetS welding
Church to Church More work is being
done, perhaps better done, by.what is al
least unhappy Discussions. Yet God iI
His wisdom allows and even sanctions
these issues, even if not Apostolic 1t re-
mains for us to be faithful, then we shall
love those who love Him, even if of an
other fold, yet the same flock, having
one great Shepherd. What God sets
IT