The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1895-03-09


hundreds of thousands of shining,
struggling aud dying people who need
to realize just II thinS-that Jesus
Christ came to save them, and will
save them now. But VIC go into Il pro-
found and elaborate definition of what
justification is, and after all the work
there are not, outside of the learned
professions, 5000 people in the United
States who can tell what justification
is.
Now, what is Justification? | will
tell you what Justification is: When a
sinner believes. God lets him off. One
in Connecticut | went to 4
large factory, AMI ! saw over the door
written the words. No Admittancc.'
! entered and saw over the next door,
NO Admittance. OF course l entered.
| got inside and found it q pin factory,
and they were making pins, very
serviceable, fine and useful pins.
SO the spirit of exclusiveness
has practically written over the
outside door of many = church.
'No A~dmittance." And II the stranger
enter he finds practically written over
the second door, No Admittance,"
anu IL lie Hoco Ia oNcT III u pew
doors seems written, No Admittance."
while the minister stands in the pulpit
hammering out his niceties of belief,
pounding out the technicaiities of re-
ligion, making pins.
Comparatively little effort as yet has
been made to save that large class of
persons in our midst called slieptics.
and he who zoe to work here will
not be building upon another mans
foundation. There Is n great multi
tude Of them. They are afraid
of us and our churches. for the
reason hat we do not know
how to treat them. One of this class
met Christ, and hear with what
tenderness, and pathos, and beauty,
and success Christ dealt with him:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength. This
is the first commandment, n the
second is like to this, namely: Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as myself.
There is no other commandment
greater than this" And the scribe
said to him: We'll master. thou hast
said the truth, for there Is one God.
and to love Him with all the heart, and
all the understanding, and all the soul,
and all the strength, Is more than
burnt offerings and sacrifices" And
when Jesus saw hat he answered dis
creetly, he said unto him: Thou art
not far from the kingdom of God"
So a slSeptic was saved In ono inter-
view. But few Christian people treat
the skeptic in that way. Instead Of
taking hold Of him with the gentle
hands of love, we are apt to take him
with the iron pincers OF ecclesiastic-
ism.
You would not be SO rough on that
man IL you knew by what process he
had lost his faith in Christianity. I
have known men skeptical from the
fact that they grew up in houses where
religion was overdone. Sunday was
the most awful day in the week. They
had religion driven into them with o
trip-hammer. They were surfeited
with prayer meetings. They were
stuffed and choked with ~catechisms.
They were often told they were the
worst boys the parents ever knew. be.
cause they liked to ride down hill bet
ter han to read Bunyan's ''Pilgrim's
Progress. Whenever father and moth
err talked Of religion they drew down
the n of their mouth and rolled
up their eyes. II any one thing will
send a boy or girl to ruin sooner than
another, that is 1t.
Others wers tripped up of skepticism
from being grievously wronged by
some man who professed to be . Chris
tian. They had a partner In business
who turned out to be O frst-class scoun-
drel, though q professed Christian,
Many years ago they lost all faith by
what happened in an oil company
which was formed amid tho petroleum
excitement. The company owned nc
land, or, II they did, there vas nc sign
of oil produced; but the president OF
the company was a Presbyterian elder,
and the treasurer was an Episcopal
vestryman, and one director was 8
Methodist class leader, and the Other
directors prominent members of Baptist
and Congregational churches. Circular;
were gotten out telling what fabulous
prospects opened before this company
Innocent men and women who had G
little money to invest, and that little
their all, said: II don't know any
thing about this company, but so many
good men are at the head Of 1t that i,
must be excellent, and taking stock Ia
it must be almost as good - joinins
the church." So they bought the
stock and perhaps received one divi
de9d so as to keep them stiIl, but ate,
q while they found that the company
had reorganized, and had . different
president, and different treasurer. anG
different directors. 0therengagements
or il-health, had caused the former
officers Of the company. with many
regrets, to resign. And all that the
subscribers Of that stock had to show
for their investment was q beautifully
ornamental certificate. Sometimes
that man looking over his old papers,
comes across that certificate. and it i,
SO suggestive that he vows he wants
none of the religion that the presidents
and trustees. and directors of that oil
company professed. Oh, you mus
have patience with those who have
been swindled by religious p~retenders.
Live in the presence of others q frank
honest, earnest Christian life, thai
they may be attracted to the same
Saviour upon whom your hopes depend
Remember skepticism always ha.
some reason, good or bad for existing
Goethe's irreligion started when the
news came TO Germany Of the earth
quake at Lisbon, November ], 1878
That sixty thousand people SHOULD
rave persisted in that earthquake ant
in the after rising Of the Tagus 81
stirred his ~sympathies that he threw
up his belief In the goodness OF God.
Others nave gone into skepticisn
from q natural persistence in asking
the reason why. There are SO man,
!, things they cannot get explained
They cannot understand the Trini.i
: or how God can be sovereign and ye
. man u free agent. Neither can
They say; u don't understan,
, why good God should hav
let sin come into the world.
Neither do ]. You say; rWh,
was that child started in life with sucl
disadvantages, while others have al
physical and mental equipment?"
cannot tell. They go out of church oil
Easter morning and say: THAT doc