The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-08

stupid place. Il saw the twelve gates,
and they were twelve pearls"
In the second place ! want you to count
the number Of those gates. Imperial parks
and lOrdly manors are apt to have one ex-
pensive gateway. and the others are ordi-
nary: but look around at these entrances
70 heaven, and count them. One, two,
three, four. five, six, seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven. twelve. Hear IT. ali the earth
and all the heavens. Twelve gatesi
I admit is rather hard on sharp sectari-
anisms! If a Presbyterian is bgoted. he
tarians. II a Presbyterian is bigoted, he
brings his Westminster Assembly Cate
chism, and he makes a gateway out OF
that, and he says to the world: you
so through there OF stay out" If a
member Of the Reformed church is bigot-
ed, he makes a gate out Of the Heidelberg
Catechisrn. and he says. you 20 through
there or stay out" II a Methodist IS big
oted, he plants two posts. and he says:
Now you crowd in between those two
posts or stay out" Or perhaps an Episca-
palian may say: Here is a liturgy out
Of which / mean to make a gate; 90
through ~ or stay out" or a Baptist may
say. Here is a water-gatc; you go
through that or you must stay out" And
so in all our churches and in all our de
nominations there are men who make one
gate for themselves and then demand that
the whole world so through 1t. / abhor
this cOntractcdness in religious views.
on smali-souled man, when did God give
you the contract for making gates2 I
tell you plainly ] will not so in that gate.
1 VIII go I'm at anyone of the twelve
gates 1 choose. Here is a man who says,
Il can more easily and more closely ap-
proach God through a prayer-book." I
say, My brother, then use the prayer
book" Here Is a man who says, Il be-
lieve there is only one mode of baptism,
and that is immersion" Then say, Let
me plunge you" Anyhow, / say, away
with the gate of rough panel and rotten
posts and rusted latch. when there are
twelve gates and they are twelve pearls.
The fact is that a great many OF the
churches in this day are being doctrined
to death. They have been trying TO find
out all about Gods DEGREES, and they
want to know who are elected to be
saved and who are reprobated to be
damned, and they are keeping on discuss
ing that subject when there are millions
of souls who need to have the truth put
straight at them. They sit counting the
number of teeth in the jawbone with
which Samson slew the Philistines. They
sit on the beach and see a vessel going
TO pieces in the ofling, and instead Of get
ting into a boat and pulling away for
the wreck they sit discussing the differ
cnt styles of oarloclIs God intended us
TO know some things, and intended us
not TO know others. / have heard scores
of sermons explanatory Of Gods DEGREES,
but came away more perplexed than when
l went. The only result Of such discuss
ion is great fog. Here are two truths
which are to conquer the world: Man,
a sinner-Chrst. a Saviour. Any man
who adopts those two theories In his
religious belief shall have my right hand
in warm grip of Christian brotherhood.
A man comes down to a river in time of
freshet He wants to get across. He has
to swim. What does he do? The first
thing is to put off his heavy apparel,
and drop everything he has in his hands.
He must 20 empty-handed if he is going
to the other bank And / tell you when
we have come down to the river of death,
and find IT swift and raging we will
have to put off all our sectarianism and
law down all our cumbrOus creed, and
empty-handed putbut for the other shore.
Nv hat" say you, would you resolve
all the Christian church into one kind of
church? Would you make all Christen-
dom worship in the same way, by the same
forms?" oh, no. You might as well de-
eide that all people shall eat the same
kind of food without reference to appe-
tite, or wear the same kind of apparel
without reference to the shape OF their
body. Your ancestry, your temperament
your SURROUNDINGS will decide whether
you 20 to this or that church, and adopt
this or that church polity. one church
will best get one man to heaven, and an
ether church another man. do not care
which one of the gates you go through,
If you only go through one of the twelve
gates that Jesus lifted.
Wen, now l see all the redeemed of
earth coming up toward heaven. DO you
think they will all get M Yes. Gate
the first; the MOravians come up; they be-
lieved in the Lord Jesus; they pass
through Gate the second; the Quakers
come up; they have received the inward
light; they have trusted in the Lord; they
pass through. Gate the third; the Luth-
Grams come up; they had the same grace
that made Luther what he was and they
pass through Gate the fourth; the Bap
list pass through. Gate the fifth:
the Freewill Baptists pass through.
Gate the sixth; the Reformed church pas
SEES through. Gate the seventh: the Congre-
gationalists pass through. Gate the
eighth; the Episcopalian church passes
through. Gate the ninth; the Methodists
pass through Gate the tenth: the Sabba-
tarians pass through. Gate the eleventh;
the Church Of the Disciples pass through
Gate the twelfth; the Presbyterians pass
through. But there are a great host of
other denominations who must come in and
great multitudes who connected them
selves with no visible church, but felt the
power of godliness in their heart and
showed il in their life. Where Is their
gate? VIII you shut all the remaining
host out of the city? No They may
come in at our gate. Hosts of God, If you
cannot get admission through any other
entrance, come in at the twelfth gate
Now they mingle before the throne.
Looking up at the one hundred and forty
and four thousand, you cannot tell which
gate they came in. one Lord. One faith
One baptism. one CLASSY sea. one dox-
ology. one triumph. one heaven! why
Luther, how did you get in?" II came
through the third gate" "Cranmer. how
did you get IMP" Il came through the
eighth gate" "Adoniram Judson, how did
you get through" Il came through the
fourth gate Hugh McI<ail, the martyr.
how did you get through" Il came
through the twelfth gate" Glory 10 God,
twelve gates, but one heaven.
In the third place. notice the points of
the compass toward which these gates
look They are not on one side or on
two sides. or on three sides, but on four
sides. This is no fancy of mine but a dis
tinct announcement. On the north three
gates on the south three gates. on the
east, three gates. on the west, three gates.
What does that mean? Why it means
that all nationalities are included and it
does not make any difference from what