The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-15

For all things are yours; whether
Paul. or Apollos, or Cephas. or the
world, or life, or death, or things pres
ent, or things to come. All are yours;
and We are Christ's; and Christ is
God's.''-I Cor, 3-21-2S.
There was trouble in the church
down at Corinth; the people were in
a wrangle over their preacher. A diff
ficultv such as this is unknown in our
dav, so it hard for US to understand
how any serious friction could result
from such small matter. 1t would
be a strange thing indeed for any mod
ern church to express dissatisfaction
with its regularly appointed minister.
The churches TODAY are so modest IN
their demands, and withal so harmon
ious and so generous that they accept
without criticism any preacher, now
ever dull or unprepossessing; and as
long as he will stay they are willing to
stand by him to a man and provide
him the most liberal support. But at
Corinth it was different. They had had
two or three preachers there-men of
great ability, but men who varied
greatly in gifts of training ana temper
ament. The result was that the church
was divided into two factions. There
was a Pauline party, another faction
that favored Apollos, and still another
that adhered to Peter. One person
would say; Talking about preachers,
Paul is the man for me. His preaching
is so simple, direct, and cogent. Then
too he is so earnest, and his life is
so lofty and unselfish that every word
he utters seems like pure gold. For
my part I could listen to him by the
hour, and 1 have no desire to hear any
other preacher
Hereupon one of Apollos' admirers
would respond: For the life of me L
can't understand what there is in
Pauis preaching to attract any one.
I can't bear to look at him; he's so
small and unprepoSSeSSing. Besides
his voice and manner are both exceed
inglv harsh and he speaks so rapidly
that half the time ] cant make out
what he says. In my opinion there
never has been but one man in this
city that could really preach and that
was Apollos. He is an orator. I'd walk
10 miles any day to listen to a sermon
from him. Such eloquence I never
heard beforei The words flow from
his lips sweeter than honey. When he
begins to speak the very birds in the
trees are charmed into silence by the
exquisite music of his voice" At this
a representative of the Jewish portion
about as follows: We'll, SO far as we
are concerned, we have had about
enough of both Paul and ADollos.
Neither one of them is a regularly
authorized preacher Paul is tramping
through the country making tents for
living and trying to break down the
plain teachings of the Mosaic law, and
We think it is time to call a halt. AS
for Apollos, he's fluent and gifted, to
be sure. but he is altogether too flow
cry, and he is forever parading the
philosophical vagaries that he picked
I'D in the Greek schools. Peter is the
ideal preacher; he is the rock upon
which the church was founded; he re-
ceived his commission direct from
Jesus; his eloquence is impetuous and
overmastering; and more than that,
his preaching is pre-eminently spirit
ual. We want Peter and we will not
pay a penny toward the support of any
other man."
And so the battle ragged while the
church suffered in proportion to the
warmth of the strife. Now Paul wrote
to these Corinthians, and what he said
to them is true of every church today
that it is God that worketh all in all;
that men are only his ministers; that
they differ greatly i'll gifts; and that
the church has a claim to them all:
and not only that, but God gives all
things 70 his faithful followers. Paul
then gives a brief but all-inclusive in
ventorv Of the riches to which the
Christian is heir.
! am glad that the spirit of fellow
ship daily grows broader among the
churches. Even if it cared to do so,
no single denomination, in our day,
can lay exclusive claim to the great
preachers that God from time to time
raises UP to bless the race. l should
be very sorry indeed to think that 1
was deprived of all personal interest in
the work of DR.. Claiming, Phillips
Brooks, Mr.. Moody, Ian MacLaren, DR.
Hills and General Booth merely be-
cause was not an adherent of their
peculiar sect. church or organization
! should be very sorry if other Chris
tlanS could not share with uS the rich
gifts and rare attachments of Bishop
Simpson, Bishop Vincent and BishoD
McCabe. l am profoundly grateful that
men are growing more tolerant and
that UNCONVENTIONAL lines are becom-
ing mere barriers of gauze. | am glad
that we no longer stop to ask TO what
denomination man belongs when he
is nightly used of God, but that we
accept him for what he is worth and
1ovfullv avail ourselves of the truth
that God utters through him, mean
while generously overlooking his mis-
conceptions and innocent inconsistent
cSeS- IN personal sense. every true
minister is yours. You have a right
to his sympathy and his thought: his
message is not for one denomination:
II is for all mankind. You have a right
to enjoy his gift. whatever il may be.
and to light your tapers from the fires
of conversation that burn in his heart
Some good people seem TO think this
world is intended for the devil and his
emissaries. l Go not believe il. and I
am not willing to Weld my right and
title TO the fair and beautiful things
of earth We are too much prone to
allow evil men and women to smirch
and contaminate things otherwise
pure. and then claim them for their
own. The world is the Christians
heritage. We are told that
the earth is the Lords and the full
ness thereof and again, that the
meek shall inherit the earth" 1t is
true that God in his wcndrouS love and
mercy oours out his blessings with a
free hand upon those who are evil and
he makes his sun to shine
upon all and his rain to fall upon the
just and unjust alike. But in a real
and peculiar way, nevertheless, the
world belongs to the Christian; for il is
the happiness of his true followers that
God seeks to secure and this happiness
Fathers gifts as he would have US use
them. The universe is a splendid pail
ace that God has fitted w for his
earthly children. He says to US. my
child, this is to be your home for a
few decades. Enjoy all of its riches
and its beauties; you have free ac-
cess to them all: nothing shall be de-
MED you. Only let the nobler in
stincts of your being always rule. Sub
iugate Wha fever is base within vo1l-