Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-05-02
Compensation.


His meals grow cold,
But he saw the baseball game.
Washington Star
Which Church Is Christ's?
But I fear, lest by any means your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.-I. Corinthians, XII, g.
st. Paul was a careful student of hu
man nature. He was scholar, critic,
man of the world and knightly defend
er of what he believed to be the truth
When fOrecasting the future of the
Church at Corinth, he dreaded the
tendency, everywhere prevalent, to de-
part from the simplicity of the Gospel,
and change the new religion into a
kind of philosophic theory which
would open the door to all sorts of dis
putations. Against that tendency he
warns his followers in the remarkable
epistle.
If we had preserved this simplicity
which st. Paul speaks of the Christian
Church would be the strongest force in
the world to-day. But we have sadly
departed from it, and the moral influ-
ence of the Church has corresponding
ly decreased. Churches are not for
the people, but for the classes-an ex
pensive edifice in which the wealthy
may pray to their Father, and cheap
churches in which the poor may pray
to theirs.
The line is drawn as tightly between
the rich and the poor in religion as in
society. 1t is almost impossible to say
of any church that it was built for the
people-that is. for whomsoever may
see fit to worship in it. The clergy
will tell you that this is not true, but
the experience of every poor man who
would kneel by the side of his rich
neighbor in costly edifice proves that
it is true, for his welcome is lukewarm,
if not forbidding. Religion is apt to
keep one eye on the Gospel and the
other on the wealthy members of the
congregation. That which st. Paul
feared has come to pass, and men have
been corrupted from the simplicity
that is In Christi
The Lord preached to all alike.
Wealth was as kindly treated as power
ty, or, to state the fact in other terms,
Christ cared for neither wealth nor
poverty, but for souls. He had word
to utter, law to announce, message
to deliver. and it was needed by the
members of the Sanhedrim as much as
by the poor Magdalen who crouched
at His feet. Nothing could be more
than the way in which He ignored
social environment, both that of the
hut and that of the palace. and APP
pealed to men as men. The open air
was His temple, the sands of the sea
shore were His pulpit, the multitude
was His congregation. He needed no
choir to attract the people, no surplic
ed assistants, no announcement of a
popular topic, none of the accessories
which mark our modern worship.
Besides, His only creed consisted of
belief in the fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood of man. These two
statements, which are within the COM
prehension of every creature on the
globe, are like the sources of the Mis-
sissippi and the Amazon, whose floods
irrigate whole continents and SO fer
tilize the soil that it cheerfully brings
forth crops for the sustenance of mil
lions. Christ demanded honest lives
and honest aspirations, pure hearts
and truthful lips. If He rejected or
received any one, it was ON the broad
basis of the saying, HE that is not
with me is against me-" You could
have been counted as His follower in
old Judea if you had simply believed
that there is heaven above you, and
a place for you there if you will earn
the right to it by loving your neighbor
as yourself. Nothing is more amazing
than the simplicity of Christ's teach
ings, unless it be the manner in which
they have been formulated by ecclesi-
astical councils, with the apparent
purpose of excluding the large MAORI
ty of mankind.
The question arises, therefore, and it
is a very serious question, If the Lord,
accompanied by His apostles, should
revisit the earth, which of all the
churches in the land would they APP
prove as fairly representing His doc
trine and divine purpose? Would the
exceeding pomp and ceremonial which
prevail be regarded as a corruption of
the simplicity of the Gospel as deliver
ed by Him nineteen centuries ago? Is
say, "This is wholly mine?" or would
He be so panied at the fashion and
selfishness and wOrldliness which are
evident everywhere that He would
choose to preach at the street corner
or on the open square?
And if the apostles desired to become
members of a church, could they tole-
rate the long creeds which would meet
them at the threshold, or would they
rather say, I'VE love the Lord Jesus
that is all He requires of us, and if it
is not enough we will go hence?"
We do not impeach the motives of
any one. The pulpit is great moral
force and our churches are the bulwark
of society. We are unstinted in our
praise of what has been done, but we
believe that if Christians more fully
represented the simplicity of Christ,
were more tolerant of each other, gave
more generous welcome to the poor
instead of holding themselves aloof,
broke down the barriers of sectarian-
ism and We'd with each other in the
noble rivalry of good works, the
Churh would be infinitely more eff
Gent than it is, and men would feel
that it is guide, philosopher and
friend" We make slender complaint,
for we honor the clergy, but there is no
reason why the Church should not be
as inclusive as Christ was, bidding all
alike to come to the feast and taking
no account of a mans wealth or power
ty.
Such church, with no other creed
than can be found in the Sermon on
the Mount, would be built ON eternal
foundations and become the leader of
the world in all good deeds. The in
difference of the community would
change to enthusiasm, and even the
agnostic would doff his hat as he pass
ed the door and admit that it's best
vindication is found in the fact that
"by their fruits we shall know them'
-Ne1O York Herald.
A certain cure for malarial fevers is
found in Simmons Liver Regulator.