The herald., 1894-01-08
THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OF HE'LL
Is Where Rev. Hamilton Thinks
the Laying
On of Hands to Cure Disease Orig
mated.
He Considers 1t All a Fsxe-Rev. Camp
beli opens the Week of Prayer
at the First NJ. E.
Church.

Rev. Wade Hamilton, pastor of the
West End NJ. E. Church South, preached
yesterday morning from the text, For
getting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things
which are before, press toward the
mark for the prize of high calling Of God
in Christ Jesus-Phillipians, third chap
ter, fourteenth verse.
II a man leads Christian lie he must
expect to strive; his life will be full OF
striving. But he need never strive in
vain for mastery over the flesh. God
has promised that His grace will be suf-
ticient for us. If we stop fighting we
are lost. II Peter had stopped on the
water he would have gone down.
In the animal, vegetable and mineral
Kingdoms, said the speaker, we find
constant striving, and the strongest
wins, but in spiritual warfare it is not
the suryival of the httest, but the sur
vival OF the faithful. Our hardest striv-
ing ia with self-our sppetites, our affec-
tions, our prejudices and passions. 1t
is a sublime period in Christians life
when, after all the battles and striving,
he can say 81 have fought the good
fight, have kept the faith, henceforth
there is laid up for me crown of eternal
life."
Before closing his sermon Mr.. Hamil-
ton referred to an evangelist now in
this city who claimed to heal sickness
through the power OF Christ by the
laying on OF hands. 81 do not believe
in this" he said. ''It is the worst
form OF sacrilege and blasphemy. l at
tended one of their meetings few days
ago, and their performance was go ridic-
ulous and disgusting that l left the
place. l hope the people of my church
will be more sensible than to believe in
this absurd conjuring. | believe that
Jesus has never had anything to do with
this. These things come from the bot
tomleHs pit of hell. God often sends us
pain and suffering for his own purpose.
No one ever got through this world with
out suffering. 1t is faith, and not mans
laying on of hands which God wants.
Christ is our mediator-we need no
other. His grace is sufficient for u.s."
First nj. X. Church.
With yesterday was inaugurated the
annual week of prayer which i'd sp-
pointed by the Evangelical alliance.
The occasion will be generally observed
by the various Protestant churches of
the city. The sermon suggested by the
alliance for yesterdays services was
upon the Pentecostal Power, from Acts,
eleventh chapter, first to fourth verses
inclusive.
Rev. J. W. Campbell of this church
preached upon this subject in the morn
ing before large congregation. He
fret gave short sketch of the early
apostolic church, including it's simplicity
and unity. He declared that the
early gifts of the apostles had de-
parted and were not now retained in
the church, not even by those who
{ profess to be in the direct line of apos-
tolic succession. With one exception
none OF the gifts remain. That gift is
the power of learning.
The speaker took the ground that to
be in the direct line of apostolic success
sion there should be retained all of the
gifts the apostles had possessed. If q
man has the gift of healing he too pos
sesses one of the powers OF the early
apostles, but if he has this power he
should also be able to raise people from
the dead. In other words, if he could do
the one thing he ought not to claim all
of the power OF the early church without
carrying it out.
He then treated of true ministry.
This die not consist of an education at
Ann Arbor. II the church is to grow it
is necessary to have men whose hearts
are set apart for the ministerial life and
work. The unity of the early church
was commented on and extolled, and
should be followed in the spirit in the
present age. The church was then, he
said, almost communistic, in that it had
all things in common.
The unity of the present day ehould
not consist 30 much in denomiDational
name or sectarian creed as a likeness
to God in spirit, life and.character.
The true church is made up OF people
of all denominations who truly IL 10 the
Lord God with all their heart, might
and strength, and love their neighbors
as themselves; and this is q broad
enough creed for the most liberal church
in the universe.
Services will be observed every even
ing this week. The following will be
the order of subjects:
Monday: Humiliation and Thanks
giving; Tuesday The Church Universal; /;
Wednesday Nations and Their Rulers
Thursday: Foreign Missions; Friday
Home Missions Saturday The Family;
Sunday: Sermon on the Second Coming
of the Lord, from Revelations, xxi, l2.
Rev. III. w. Crabbe.
Rev. H. W. Crabbe, of the Second
United Presbyterian church. preached
in the Y. M. G. A. auditorium. His
text was from the Second Epistle of