The herald., 1896-07-20

comes into his heart and life that love
is changed. We hear great many peo-
pie say, why, there's so and so, now he
loves his wife and children and is always
kind and affectionate, what more can
you want? He treats his friends prop
erly." This is all very proper as far as
it goes, but man must be willing 20
leave all of these things If the cause of
Christ require it. 1t is not question Of
Arminius and Calvin or Arius and Atha-
nasus, but as to whether we get the
Christ in our heart and necessarily in
our lives. Again, it is not a question Of
theories of the atonement, nor of the in
spiration of the scripture, but it is
question of getting the pure love of
Christ. to the exclusion of all things else,
to take possession of our heart.
The second essential in this religion
for the people Is in the word "crucitix-
ion," as eXemplified IN the text, who
soever cometh and doth not bear his
cross cannot be My disciple. or which
one of you intending to build a tower
setteh not down first and counteth the
cost. whether he have sufficient to finish
it lest haply after he hath laid the found
alton and is not able to finish it all that
see it begin to mock him, saying that
man commenced to build but was not
able to finish it." A tower cannot be
built without cost and it Is absolutely
useless unless completed for the top is
the point of value and use. it Is not like
other structures. Now when we come
to Christ we may have to cast aside GER
tain ambitions and desires, yes very
many other things must be crucified or
we will not be Christians after Christ's
idea, AS result a great many people
| are In the church that have started to
! build this Christian tower of Christ liv-
! ing and love and have got as far as the
laying of the foundation but never fin
| n -ArIr T.. At.l-
| things more than anything else that has
and is harning the churchs efficiency
today. There are so many that have
started in the Christian race but have
dropped out ere the goal has been
reached; they have not counted the cost
of Christianity.
Conservation is the third and last es.
| sentlal element; "Or what king going to
! make war against another king sitteth
not down first and consulteth whether
, he be able with 10000 men to meet him
! that cometh against him with 20 ,00C
men" The 10000 are the forces of the
! devil that we must overcome. If we ex-
pect to rout the foe with half of our
| number we shall be forever defeated
Yet this is the cause of the Christior
people today and the time will come
| when the forces of the devil are defeat
ed. When the time comes that Chris
tion people in one solid phalanx go forth
10 meet lne IOe, ana not tlll then. In
dividual conservation Is the thing Whole
hearted conservation for the cause of the
| Master, Jesus Christ. The religion we
want is the religion that contains the
three clements that I have named, ex-
clusion, crucifixion and conservation
The religion after this sort can be de-
fined; that is to say, it can be defined
because it has a specific object and a
specific following. You cannot define
| Christian science for there is no specific
| thing by which you can arrive at its
| teaching. 1t is too vague and indefin-
! able for thinking people. And so it is
with spiritualism; philosophically it 1.
materialism, theologically it is atheism
not God, but everything matter. Yol
cannot define religion of this sort fol
it does not say what to do or what tt
live. No more can Theosophy be de-
fined, for it is mere speculation abou
God with no religious creed in it.
Secondly, this religion emphasizes ant
| exhaults the moral virtues. The neeG
of following Christ; teaching becomes
| necessity if we would be virtuous be-
| cause it fosters the moral virtues. These
| teachings necessarily lead that way an6
always have done so, but none of the
other religions are that way. A person
| may be thoroughly orthodox and not be
l a follower of Christ. The belief in the