The Newtown bee., 1895-03-15

JAS IS EVIDENCE OF THE BIBLES
 TRUTH THE SIN WAS THE. SIN OF PRErENCE PUTTING ON FALSE
 FACE.--CoUNILEss MULTlTUDEs FAIL OF BECOMING CHRISTIANS BECAUSE THEY KEEP PART OF THE PRICE WOLVES IN THE FOLD OF THE CHURCH CANNOT DESTROY HER.-A SERMON BY REV OTIS W. BARKER.
 "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wite, sold a possession and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to It, and brought certain part and l laid it at the apostles teet."-Acts 5 l.2. The little word ',buJ'' which opens 5his chapter is a door that swings from a room ot light into one of darkness. In the closing verses of the preceding chap ter we have beautiful picture of the early Church. The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of the people and brought forth Heavenly fruits. The Apostles did many marvellous works. They preached the salvation of Christ with power. | Daily there were added to the Church numbers of such as were being saved l It's members were one ill heart and life. | Their wishes were common, their | thoughts were common, their food was commun. That great wall in modern life which rises on every hand and shuts | off a little community here, small sec | tion there, the one being inordinatelY rich and the other miserably poor--this separating wall found no place amidst | this loving band. The rich willingly sold their property and brought of the | money received to relieve the wants of | the poor; and the poor vied with each other in thankfulness to the rich for | their favors. The only strife that en- tered the ranks of these first Christians. knit together by the ardor of their new | found faith and hope, was the emulation | to do each other good.
 But, as if future ages, looking back | upon these early times and comparing | them with their own, in which strong | self-seeking, worldly pride and foolish ambition found first place, should say | that such a scene of angelic purity was | narrative in this particular, should con- demn the whole record as untrue-unless | such a feeling as this should gain ground, l say, this narrative of Ananias seems intr oduced, to show that the Church then, even at its fountain head, where most of all we should expect 1t to be pure, had something of the character l of the Church to day. Now and then a false disciple crept within it's sacred fold. ! Now and then man used it as an in- strument to gratify his thirst for world | ly honor and distinction, used it as a step by which he would mount higher on the ladder of Fame.
 THE BIBLE IS RECORD OF FACTS
 as they actually are. Its tells the deeds of tempted men, not or angels dwelling in regions of light beyond the reach ot sin. The Bible was written by men, | touched, to be sure, with the inspiring | and quickening finger of God, but yet | by men of like passions and feelings as | ourselves, who looked out upon the world with just such eyes as we. It was written by Matthew, the tax gatherer, | who, when Christ found him sitting at | the receipt of customs" was none too l much above the average of his depised profession; by John, the loving, trust ing disciple, Christ's closest friend, who, in his early life, was enough imbued with the spirit of mere wordlincss to covet the place of honor at his Master $ right hand; by Paul, who was known far and wide as Saul the persecutor 1 who dragged unoffending men and wom. en from their own homes, because they | were guilty of the heinous crime o1
 being followers of Him who came out o1
 lowiy Nazareth. The Bible was writer by men for men, men such as you and
 are to-day, distracted with cares, cast
 down by sin; and, because it was SC
 written, it is safe guide for our daily life, not book to be carefully laid upoI our library shelves, our chief connection with it being to keep it free from dust
 It is book to be used, handled, though over, prayed over, wept over, every one
 of the 365 days of every common year Il The story of Ananias and Sapphira ii
 not pleasant one, perhaps. We offer
 choose other passages when we are read ing the Bible in search of it's treasures
 But suppose we strike it out and, along
 with it, the passage which tells of thl
 sin that stained King David's life, tn,
 passage which tells of Elijah's thorough discouragement and sore heartedness a
 Horeb, the passage which tells of Peter' stout denial that he ever knew the Lord
 in fine, every passage which portray
 the weakness and want of human nature
 What would you say of the Bible then
 Why, this would be your answer. Ina
 book is not the book for me. Take i
 away to some sun-lighted planet, where
 disease and hunger and death are mol
 known, and where there is no sin. Blu
 here is a specific, definite sin related, ! budb lOlloWGu CiOSc III bIc "dhC U
 the holy outpouring on the day of Pente cost, sin which thrust it's ugly shap,
 into the purity and simplicity of th'
 early Church.
 ssAnd kept back part of the price.
 How was this a sin? Did not Peter
 immediately after this, say to Anania:
 that, while the property remained, i was his own and also, after it was sold, i
 was wholly in his power? Had be not { perfect right to do this, to keep part O it back?
 DOES GOD ASK US TO
 give Him everything that we own, boti
 in lands and in money? Does He no
 know we need some part to buy our
 selves food and clothes? Yes, Got
 knows it all.
 But you should have been there fully
 to understand the sin committed. Car you translate into words shrug of tn,
 shoulders, which so strongly expresses
 dislike? Will written langaag ade Iquately portray the anger of tn, cienched fist or the firm1y-closed teeth
 Or, even yet, can you put on paper tn,
 algebraic sign that represents the heavy
 moan or the falling or a tear? No more can you read In the cold printers ink O. this page the look of deceit which Peter clearly saw upon the face of Ananias, al he laid his gold at the Apostles feet
 The face is the open mirror of the soul
 Ananias could keep back a portion oi the money obtained from~the sale, but he could not keep back the tell-tale look
 Every conscious gesture and expression and action of Ananias meant to say
 meant to have Peter understand, "This is all the land brought me.n But ar i'll disguised unwillingness that his eyes should meet the searching look of Peter plainly said, There's a portion here have not given in.'' That was the sin,