The record-union., 1893-01-16
TEE CHURCH OF TO-DAY"
Held to be an Improvement on the
Church of the Past.
Synopsis of Sermon Delivered Yes
terday by Rev. S. p. Davis at the
Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Yesterday morning Rev. S. P. Davis
preached in the Emmanuel Baptist
Church, at Twenty-fifth and n streets,
the following sermon on "The Church of
To-day" using as text, Psalm Xviii, Il
walk about Zion and go round about
her; tell the towers thereof:
There are many, he said, who think of
Gods Zion to-day with feelings very diff
ferent from those TO which the text gives
expression. Zion's enemies are not the
only ones who speak of the degeneracy
Of Christianity. Some who have the
deepest interest in the progress of our re-
ligion are sometimes discouraged and
have discouraging words. They are
ready to exclaim, "Alas! our lot has
fallen in evil times. o, that we had lived
in the good days of the past, when men
were more pious and the church more
godly than at presents"
But what are the facts? 1t is question
often asked and differently answered, as
to whether the world is growing better or
worse. That is not question which
propose now to discuss. But do assert,
and will attempt 10 show, that the church
evangelical Christianity as it now exists
lis an improvement upon the church of
the past 1t comes short of the divine
ideal and has its dangers and imper-
fections, some of which we may pres
emily notice; nevertheless we now have a
higher type of Christianity than mas ever
before existed.
Let us notice a few ways in which the
church OF to-day is an Improvement upon
the church OF the past. In the first place
we may say that this is true with respect
toa
KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES,
And this is what might naturally be ex-
pected in view of our unprecedented
facilities for acquiring this knowledge
For ages the Bible was locked up, so to
speak, in the languages of the learned
world, and the common people had not
the privilege of reading it for themselves.
And after it was translated, before the
days Of printing copies, were necessarily
lew and very expensive. But now the
people of every tongue can read the Bible
III their own language, and obtain it at a
price within the reach of all. Further,
there has been thrown upon its pages
greater light than ever before, from dis
coveries in Bible lands and the researches
OF modern scholarship along many lines.
That the church OF to-day often fails
rightly to interpret these Scriptures can
not be denied. But what about the past?
60 to the times when purity in doctrine
might most naturally be Xpected-when
churches were taught by inspired men
and even then You viii find the same
thing. For example, you will find
Jewish narrowness concerning the extent
ot salvation and a slowness to receive the
doctrine of justification by faith. And
later when churches were planted
throughout the pagan world the errors of
heathenism crept into them. Again, the
church OF to-day has
HIGHER STANDARD OF MORALITY
Than ever before. 60 to New Testament
times and you viii find in some of the
churches to which Paul and John wrote
practices which would not be tolerated in
any Christian church to-day. This, how
ever, we must remember, that theiI NOR
ality was far in advance of that of the
heathen world about them and from
which they had been converted, that they
lived IN most corrupt age and that the
contrast between the church and the
world was doubtless greater then than
now.
As we follow the history of Christianity
down INTO the Middle Ages when there
prevailed general ignorance of the
Scriptures, for the reasons already in
dicated, and also because the preacher be-
came priest and exchanged the pulpit
Tor an altar, then we find great de-
TO what a church ought to be was lost
sight of and the unconverted world was
brought into the church. The results we
know-results that led to the reforma-
ton.
Since the reformation there have been
great changes for the better, especially in
our own country and during the present
century, fact of which many iIlustra-
tons might be given. Take this ex-
ample The great and good DIR. Mott,
who in lS6f' became President of
Union College, afterward inaugurated a
lottery scheme on q large scale for the
benefit Of that institution. What would
be thought OF the Christian minister who
would now do such a thing? The church's
attitude toward lotteries and gambling
has very greatly changed since then-ex-
cept that it is still sometimes thought that
such things may be INDUCED IN. in a
small way, for religious purpose There
has also been great change IN the senti-
nent of the church with respect to the
drinking habit, so that the great majority
OF Protestant churches are now in reality
total abstinence societies-a state of affairs
very different from that which existed
even fifty years ago, when it was some
times thought that the minister himself
should be refreshed Tor his labors with
something stronger than water.
Again, the church of to-day is an inn
provement upon the church OF the past in
AGGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN WORK
Now there is an enlisting of the laity as
well as the ministry. Formerly but lit
tie more than church-going was expected
of the laity. Now they are enlisted in in
Vulnerable activities. We have Sunday
schools tor study and work, missionary
enterprises enlisting both sexes and
young peoples societies for the special
training of the young.
Hence, because of increased Christian
activity, Christianity IS now making such
progress as never before. The present
century, so noted for its boasted progress
in science, invention and discovery, is no
less noted for the progress of the gospel of
Christ Take our own country in mar
ticular, with its wonderful growth dur-
ing the present century, and the growth
OF Christianity has more than kent pace
with the growth OF our. population dur
ing the same time. Statistics show that
the membership of our churches as COM
pared with the population of our country
Is now in proportion three times greater
than in the year lSO0, Avoiding fractions,
we may say in round numbers that the
number OF communicants was then one
to every fifteen of the inhabitants: now
one 10 every five, taking the country as a
whole. Hume's prediction, made in
l940, that the present century would Wit
ness the downfall Of Christianity, is not be-
ing very rapidly fulfilled.
If YOU viii walk about Zion and tell
the towers thereof" you will find great
missionary societies. Christian schools,
religious publishing houses, the religious
press and churches, and their pastors as
Flowers" of strength and ''bulwarks''
confronting the enemy.
But not all is strength and beauty. The
church OF to-day has its
DANGERS AND IMPERFEcTIoNs.