The Portland daily press., 1897-11-30
DR.. GoRDoN's DOUBT.
Dr' BiancharPs Sermon at Congress
Square Church.


Rev DR.. Blanchard preached SER
lnoh on Sunday morning in Congress
0quofo church on ''Dr. Gordon's Doubt
Oh uoo's Success The text was taken
iroln l. Timothy. End ohapter-"God,
our saviour, who will have all men to
De saved and to come unto the knowledge
of the truth
he spoke In substance as~follows:
p, Inele vas scene of great interest in
~ hoGCh church Brooklyn a Short time
| ago. The occasion was the ceIsbrs slloao
OF the nttlegh anniversary of the beginning
of Henry Ward Beecher's nreaoSirl. -
that city. There were present D DR. Wash
lngton GLADDEN., OF Columbus. Ohio Dr
| w.. Y. Iuoer, president of Dartmouth
Boston, to assist the pastor. Dr. Tv1oa y,
Abbott. 1t was the address of Dr CO.. Coz.
| don OF which he should speak
| DIR. Gordon declared that the svs+or,
Of Calyinfsm was utterly Abandoned
| that there was no existing well ORGANIZED
| system OF theology-that the theology of
! the future must be built up on the viii
| of God. If God shall succeed, final mi
versal salvation will be the result Dr
Gordon admitted that this statement
looked like the doctrine of Uniyersalis1n
He declared that men must see that nv
scheme that puts God with an inclusive
and everlasting purpose of redemption
behind mankind looks like tJniyersalism:
but let US remember that any other
| scheme is, in Jour time, a royal road to
atheism
"If God shall succeed" What a doubt
| that Ia for man to entertaini DR.. Cor
don knows how God has already succeed
ed. He succeeded in preparing the earth
| for the coming of man. He took mil
LOWE <xf- \ IL Lx4 l., Il 4 IN
Vapor, sea, land grass, yegeta bic, reptiles,
animals-all these came in their turn. 1t
| seemed a long, long labor, but God sue
| ceeded He has succeeded in bringing
man from barbarism to his present state.
Millions of years were needed for this,
but he accomplished his end.
DR.. Gordon also sees how men are Sue
ceed1ng. Edison was told that the iron
ore could not be extracted from certain
rocks. He inytened new machines. These
use momentum, electricity, grayitation,
and i'll few moments the solid rocks are
crushed. Cannot God use means to melt
the wickedest souls?
Jesus Christ has succeeded. He said
tAnd I, II be lifted mp from the earth,
will draw all men unto me-" Slow and
hard has been the progress but His gospel
goes abroad to all the world. 1t has won
against paganism. 1t seems mighty
enough to conquer at last all the wrold
Why then does DR.. Gordon doubt? Why
| does he stand ON plymouth platform and
say, II God shall succeedP" Because he
holds to u certain metaphysical doctrine.
| That teaches that man has freedom of
will, and, therefore, that he may forever
| defy God. So thought John Greenleaf
Whittier once. But before he died, he
believed that God would succeed.
One answer TO this dor is-man has
no such freedom as to en- him perm
IxT 10 Io%x1 4 H. Il
to come into being; he did not choose
his heredity or his environment; he can
not do enough wrong to deserve endless
| punishment. God is father; God is SOW
oreign. He will adapt means to end
Tbs prodfgal is free to go-to fall-to
suffer. At last he VIII come to himself,
here or hereafter, and rise up and so to
his father.
| DIR. BLANCHARD then earnestly pleaded
| for the belief that God will succeed be-
cause this belief gives power to effort and
alone can give sufficient honor to GOD.
Paul says God, our Saviour, who will
have all men to be saved and come unto
| the knowledge of the truth" What God
wills will be done. Who can doubt that?
| II he does not succeed he must have
endless sorrow. Can we think of failure
| for God? He strives most courageously
| and vigorously who believes in final sue
| cess, 10 doubt success is to produce
weak ness. Let men see that they are
doomed to turn to God at last. They
can turn away-they can remain away
but God is witt. Them. He will not for
sake. He will make conditions harder
and harder till they see their folly-come
to themselves. This conviction will in
spire men to turn speedily.
Any other universe than one in which
God finally succeeds is not worthy of q
Sovereign Father. Oh, that men could
see the glory of such consumma-
tion oh that they could
see how irrational, how dishonoring to
God any Lesser one must be- We will not
doubt. We will believe that God will
succeed. So shall final, universal saliva
ton be the result.