The Portland daily press., 1897-06-02

tbo9 80. oise III Gno IndrKeCi anu hs w
th the anniversary, it is the only point where
the society itself comes in direct contact
Mn Mn 6he 1,r workers and their representa-
G GiVss. Without the anniversary which
1n1' IU'i Always blesses there would be no
eonSer unity, conference, information,
nSi;nPaehy and essential support. No
,riesioLafy society ever lived or could live
~; ~ iu,'ouo some conference correspondent to
= snfs fsv yearY waY gathering. All excepting
4h LoM People Who never see things as
o1hefs do, will agree no this. It, of
course, VIII cost somethin NO for the repre-
sentaGlVes OF the churches to be allowed
TO look INTO the faces of the workers who
come rom 1ar OF fields; but it is needful
a aor Cne cnurcnes to so gather inspiration
workers to have the relief of change and
TINS gracious source of help and courage; !;
but do not intend to delay your deliber-
alton longer with these objections.
For some years there has been a falling
off of contributions to the missionary
societies! Pray, what has been the causep
The surface answer at once is. uThe
times have been hard in business centers
from which the main contributions come,
and men naturally diminish the amount
given to benevolent work the first. - I'm
doubtedly this allegation is true-true to
some extent; but to my mind this excuse
for the depletion and for not giving is
not sufficient. 1t is not good one. 1t
hardly seems to me to be an answer of a
bility is strong that there has been a
change in the feeling of the vast majority
Of our Christian people toward missions
themselves. Whenever a famine comes,
even in India, our people give generously
to relieve the starving. Whenever a fire
sweeps up villages, or burns a city, the
sympathy of the pople far away from the
of rto icti ivafo -.
promptly offered. Whenever the water
and spring freshets overflow the river
banks and cover a whole region with in :
undation, destroying life and property
helping hands are extended from every
quarter, the suffering people are rescued
and promptly provided for. When war
and desolation touch any part of the
arises, to the verge of Starvation, Red
Cross societies fly on the wings of the
wind to give Christian sympathy and
generous succor. Hard times exist hard
times limit the means Of the individuals;
but the times never are SO hard that
when the news of these woes of humanity
aressbrought to our people by the electric
flashes they do not Immediately bestir
themselves and divide, if need be, with
the suffering ones near or far, the last
crust of bread. From these plain facts I
make the inference that Christian people
have changed their minds as to the veri-
table condition of sinners unsaved. In
other words that salvation somehow has
lost its meaning, or changed its meaning
perhaps changed its intensity
Even orthodox men cry out to me often
that the old idea-the idea taught by our
fathers of perdition has passed away. My
own uniform answer is this, put in the
form of question:: What was the idea
of our fathers concerning perdition,
which has passed away?" The usual an
swer is ''Why, the idea that there is
literal lake of fire and birthstone, and
that the resurrection body of him who
perishes is SO fashioned as to burn in it
forever and ever" I answer to that: 81
am nearly seventy years old-have heard
more than two thousand clergymen and
never heard that literal doctrine enunciat-
ed by one of them. I do not believe that
it was that sort of fear-fear of literal
perdition in literal gulf of intense fire
which animated our missionaries who
obeyed the Masters call and went into
every part of the know in world to carry
glad tidings of salvation; but neverthe-
less, there was @ real peril, and that same
peril exists today. 1t is the peril of not
attaining unto life, spiritual life, eternal
life. Individuals are without it, hosts of
them. If they will repent and believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, they may have it,
Communities are without it. There are
communities where there is little start
where a few have found the way, and
l liken that beginning to the little leaven
in the measure of meal. A few children
are there who are being led in the way of
life; but the many have not yet been
reached, and it is the duty of Christians
to show them the way; but friend says:
6 If there be no perdition, where is the
dangers" But there is perdition-a man
without life, is without life; a man
without spiritual life is without spiritual
life; man without contented soul has
a discontented soul, and no figures used
by our Lord and his apostles have suffi-
cient intensity in them to describe. the
wretchedness that actually exists in every
part of this country and in very part Of
the known world, and will exist until it
is relieved by knowledge and reception
on the part of individuals of the truth
l mean the truth of God. Men come to
us nowadays with all sorts of nostrums
and fanciful remedies. but there is really
no remedy from the attendant misery of a
man astray from God, but the conversion
of his soul and its complete renovation by
the spirit of the Almighty. There is no
method SO plain and SO simple for the
change of humanity, for the relief of
humanity, for the salvation of humanity
from acknowledged and actual perdition
as that given by Him who said II am
bne way, Une IfuUn ana Gno Lille.
Every member of our churches who
loves Christ will agree with me in this
fundamental truth. What 1, then, urge
upon everyone is, not to be mystifed by
too much intellectually, too much
hyper criticism of the divine word, too
much argument pro or con. Let our
great men, our superb scholars and think
ers continue their work of scientific
search. In the end it will do no harm, for
they can never be greater than God, nor
succeed in blotting out Gods own word
Therefore let us humber men come
straight to the Word itself and drink more
and more deeply from the teachings of
Christ. Let every Christian-I mean
every common, every day Christian-re-
turn to his first love, get his soul filled
with it till he conscientiously loves his
Saviour with all his heart and mind and
strength, and his unsaved neighbor in
New England, in the Mississippi or Mis-
souri, valley or on the Pacific coast, as
he loves himself. Could this take place,
could this revival come into each SOUL in
each Congregational Church throughout
our land, there would be no more trouble
about thesdebts of the Home Missionary
Society. There would be no more want
of workers reasonably supported in the
q i 1-1.- a