Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-02-27
MISSIONS.
Rev G. A. Oglesby Writes to Argus
Readers Concerning Mis-.
sions and Spiritual
Duties.

> ~
the kindness to allow me t,
speak through your columns.
do not understand that [ am tt
have a department., but that yol
will publish my communications
provided. always, that they bt
unobjectiorable. I shall try ane
not abuse this liberty, and hope
to be of service to some.
[ wish to ask of all who do no
agree with me, or who may be-
Indifferent. that ''charity thai
beareth all things" You are moi
interested; your neighbor is.
Perhaps you ought to be. Lei
US study the question ~impartially
and see.
After the first two or three
articles, the communications will
be more in the nature of news
from the field"-incidents in the
lives of eminent missionaries,
interspersed with Scripture
reasons for missionary enter
prise.
I wish in the first place to SET
oat the Scrlptural doctrine touch
ing the great commission, .Go
ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature
Mark, xvi:15. With Christians
there is no appeal from the Bible.
Accepting its genuineness, au-
thenticity and inspiration, it is
what it claims to be-the Word OF
God. We are ready to live and
die by it. From it's utterances
we never dissent; to the sum of
its doctrines we never demur.
Above we have quoted a very
plain, emphatic command given
by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
at once the plainest, most posi-
tive, most direct ana yet the
most incomprehensible of all
commands. There is not a chg
word in it-not one that the most
unlettered mind has not a fair
idea of, aud yet who that has
paused to study it has not shad-
dered at the magnitude of the
task it impartS and at the indif-
ference of the majority of pros
fessed Christians. 1 know there
are some who sincerely believe
that u Lord did not mean that
the Church should undertake to
evangelize the world, saying
when God wants the heather to
have the Gospel He will give it
to them without your help" But
we r confronted by a com
mand that has only one side to
it. 1t is ours to obey. If you can
limit the meaning Of the terms
of this command, then you may
rest upon your oars" But by
what authority would you at
tempt such a thing. In a future
article we will show that God
would not allow the Apostles and
early Christians to restrict His
meaning.
IF the Master had said: Go
ye into all the world except China
and preach the gospel to every
creature except Chinese. you
could have no difficulty in under
standing that. But he did not
except the Chinese, nor the Jap
anese. nor the Africans, nor the
Indians. Go We. Chat means
movement, enterprise), unto all
the world; las ye go. preach
preach the gospel-the old-fash-
Toned, plain gospel of good news
to men. Preach to ''every crea-
ture." We have nothing to do
with results. Whether they
will hear" or whether they will
forbear," is no part of our ques
ton. Our duty ends when we
have kept this command by 60
ing, through our representatives
aud in person, into all the world
and preaching the Gospel to
every creature, and not short of
that.
The test of our fidelity to and
love for Christ is obedience: eff
We love me. keep my command
ments" IF ye keep my cons
mandments, ye shall abide in my
love; even as I have kept my
Fathers commandments and
abide in His love-" He that
Lath my commandments and
keeperR them, he it is that loveth
me; aud he that loveth me shall
be loved Of my Father, and I will
love him and will manifest my
self to him" He that loveth
me not keepeth not my sayings"
How will your life stand such a
test as that, my brother. For
years you have ignored the one
supreme, all comprehensive com
mand of your Lord. His was
not a life of waiting, but of varied
aud u%nceasing activities. His
was a life conflict with the pow
ers of darkness and of ceaseless
toll for the sa' vation of men. Tt
was after the sore temptation of
the wilderness and all that life Of
sorrow. in which He was rejected
by His own, reviled, abused and
insulted by His enemies and mis-
understood by His friends-after
Gethsemane's awful night and
Pilates hall, with it's mock robe
and scourge and crown of thorns-
and by calvary's CORY cross and
Joseph's tomb, that He came to
His disciples as a glorious con-
QuerOr-made perfect through