The Portland daily press., 1896-07-13
WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHRISTIAN.
Bev. Mr.. I1immen at Church of Messiah
Yesterday.

Rev. W. Fl. Kimnell of the Church of
the Messiah spoke upon this theme
taking for his text, "And the disciples
were called Christians first ut Antioch"
Acts II :26. A.
They were called Christians because
they regarded him with whom they had
been associated in life and who had died
upon tho cross as the Christ the an
nointed one and followed him. The
name may have been applied to him In
derision it may have been nickname a
term Of reproach. It was not of their
own choosing that they bore it willingly
and proudly.
A much wider application of the term
however is made now than at the time
OF its origin. 1t is now applied to the
countries and Institutions as we'll as in
divid1als. Indeed although it is SO com
mon there is no word that is more am.
biguous than this word Christian. It
means one thing TO one person and an.
other thing to another person and a
still different thing to third person. AS
some think of ii, iG has meaning that is
proud and. rich while as Others Lhink of
1t it has meaning that is marrow and
poor III you were TO 60 about the oity
ASKING thoeo you meet to tell YOU what
variety OF answers you would receive.
Xou would find some Catholics who
would say that mono outside of their
great denomination has right to the
name. You would probably find Episoo-
palisns who would claim that the only
genuine Christians were within that
denomination. And you would certainly
find some Niethodists and Baptists and
Congregntionalists ana Adyents who
would claim that there no mon and
women who can properly be called
Christians outside what have been
termed evangelical denominations. They
would utueriy refuse to recognize Uni
tartan and Universalist churches as
Christians.
liz is easy for persons to SO define a
word to mako 1t applicable 10 themselves
md not to others But when they have
dore this they may have emptied the
word OF its full and rich significance.
What is il to bo really Chrlstians
The Apostle Paul says: "If any man
have not the spirit OF Christ he is none
OF his -
A Christian is one W ho has the spirit
OF Christ. A person my be identified
with one determination or another or
with none possibly but il he have the
not the spirit Of Christ be is not a
Christian. The dogma held by person
does not always create or control the dis
position by which he il actuted. A
man'e creed does not necessarily deter
mine his character. Some persons are
better and some others are worse than
their creed. The saints of the earth be-
long to all denominations and the sinners
also. No one branch of the Christian
church nor all OF them combined has ex-
elusive possession of the spirit of Christ.
"a missionary once said that the three
best Christians he ever know were a
BrahInin MOhammedan anu jew. TIC
be Christian is to reveIently and trust
fully look up TO the great father of all
whose presence is in all the world and
whose providence is over all life every.
whore.
cit is to hallow His uame, to be CRATE.
full for his meroies, to be glad in His
are, attentive to His voice, obedient &c
His law and to rest in His goodness and
to wait patiently for Him. Such was the
attitude of Christ toward God. The
spirit of Christ ranks the soul above the
body and the spiritual above the
m atertal. To have the spirit of Christ is
to be loyal to reason and conscience Ii
is also to be benevolent and humane. II
ia that we love 'sGood Catholics, y says
one. Tread with reverence that posi-
N artem examination of one of theil
s,intly women revealed miniatur,
Christ On the cross completely formed in
side her heart''
E"If we have the miniature of Christ no
only after post NJ orteIu examination bu
ia our daily aIivipg then we are indeed
Christians
And in the midst of all creeds, al
opinions all religious ceremonies, and nj
denominations let US not forget that this
is the standard Of the Christian character
and life. BY it we and all who name the
namo of Christ are to be measured.
"Not he that repeateth the name,
But he that doeth the will.h