The San Francisco call., 1896-02-04

seen it. We could not go about our daiiy work
IL we did not have faith, if we did not believe
many things we have not seen and cannot see
How, then, in religion, shall we be without
faith? We have aspirations beyond material
things, and man has always been speculating
upon the nature of these higher aspirations,
these higher and nobler things that we cannot.
see. No man has seen God. No man could
live and see him. But all have speculated,
even as men may speculate upon tie nature OF
those outside noises. And many and various
have been the results of those speculations.
Now the question arises, Has God ever spoken
10 man? Has any one ever come to reveal God
10 us-even as the man from the outside comes
IN to tell us the cause of the noise? Yes: we
have had direct communication from God
He has sent us an accredited messenger n the
personanty OF Jesus Christ. Remember, l am
talking only to Christians those who believe
that Christ was the Son of God. and that the
rather gave him the necessary credentials. 1t
would be another bject entirely to undertake
to prove that God did send his only begotten
Son In to the world.
Now what is the nature of this message
brought by Christ His message must be a
rational one even as the explanation OF the
man who comes in from the outside must be
1t comes TO us in the nature of revelation IF
1t IS true at all 1t is at all times true. 1t is un-
quailfledly true and can never change. If God
mas sent us message his revelation must be
infallible. If the messenger is capable OF cor.
ruptlng the message he could not have come
from God.
All Christians say there was revelation and
that this revelation-a direct message from
God-was brought to the world by Christ. But
we have two great divisions of Christianity
Protestants and Catholics. Only the latter
claims infallibility. How about the Protest.
ants? Each one OF their many sects claims to
have an especial revelation. 1t is reasonable
TO suppose that God has never spoken al all
but 1t is not reasonable to suppose that God
having spoken, was not able TO preserve his
word intact.
Christ came to found a church. He speaks
of it as sheepfold, as city, and as in various
ways, but always as n body, as a society HIS
mission was but brief in years and it was
to carry on the work when he was departed.
He spent his three years of ministry in organ
lzlng this society. He gathered about him
Twelve poor fishermen, and if may say so
ml'hGa5 ab + you know hi how hard
these men, you remember now
what he told these men when they asked him
who shall be greatest in heaven. He did not
say you shall all be equal, though he might
have said so; but he turned to the child and
said that he who would be highest in heaven
should become even as the child. So is it not
clear that Christ meant that there should be
grades in this society he came to found? That
lhere should be dignataries and priests among
Oakland scholarship will admit that he was
greater than all his apostles. (Applause.) II
am your chief" he said, "yet have given you
an example OF humility, so that ye who would
pe highest must be hum blest." 1t is strange
now this incident has been distorted to the be-
Ile1 that Christ declared that all should be
equal, that there was to be no dignity in the
churcn and no dignitarles Did he not say
mat the most humble will be the greatest?
And does it not take true greatness to be truly
humble, even as q little child?
Inc question had been asked, Who shall be
srsalerl ChrlSt tells them all are in the hands
oi satan, but he tells them also that "there is
one among you for whom have prayed and