The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-02-07

cnurch that Is to proclaim the truth of
God to the world in such voice of GU
thority must not only have the truth re.
| vealed to her from God, but have it pre-
| served in her by God. And as the Lord
| Jesus told His Apostles, 'Tarry ut Jeru.
| salem until you are indeed filled with
| power from on high; the Holy Ghost
whom send unto you from the Father
must remain with you forever and shall
lead you into all truth. He shall call to
| your remembrance whatsoever have
| spoken unto you To he u true teaching
church the church must be an infallible
church, and this is Ivy the gift of Pente-
cost. fhe Holy Ghost remains in her and
with her, opening her memory to recall
all that the Lord Jesus taught and COM
manded. guarding her constantly to pre-
serve her from falSchood and error, in
spiring her perpetually to keep and pro.
claim and enforce Che precious things en-.
trusted to her keeping. The teaching
church is and must be IN inla!lible
church. -divinely preserved from every
error, divincly led unto the truth.
"And, fourth. the fact that the Church
of Col is Il teaching church involves the
duty of hearing and obeying with humble
faith. The fact that God has set such IL
teacher in the world makes it the worlds
duty to receive and obey it as from God.
You have right. every man has IL right,
to assure himself of the fact. And it is
very easy To do SO. Read the Bible: YOU
find our Lord instituting and commits.
sioning such IL church. Look ont into
the world and YOU cannot fail To see that
church doing the work which He sent
her to do. There is not Il reasonable man
III this country who has not easily ar
rived at the certainty of Nicodemus, who
came to Jesus and said: Master, we
know that Thou art II teacher come from
God, for no man can do these works that
Thou dorst except that God he with him
But having arrived Mt that conclusion,
the province of reason ceases and the
province of faith begins. The teachings
of IL teacher come from God are not to be
questioned or reasoned about or compared
with the conclusions of philosophy or the
more recent deductions of science hut to
Inc accepted and believed and obeycd
TEACHER OF THE NATIONS.
The Church of God, my beloved breth-
rem, as revealed to us in the Holy Scrip.
lures, is II teaching church. 1t has IA di-
vine deposit of truth. 1t teaches it bv n
divine authority. 1t is upheld by divine
assistance and it is to be believed and
obcyed rs the voice of God Himself. | am
painfully conscious that | have been
able to get these great truths before you
but briefly, imperfectly; but trust with
that these four characters are unquestion-
ably contained in the words of the text
(thc great commission of the Church of
Cod: Go teach I'LL nations, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever
have commanded you.'
mo man who claims to receive the Ri.
BILE us the word Of God can honestly DENY
that the Lord Jesus founded II church i'm
the world: Il church which should resist
a n nl.s of 81 md
till the end of time; IL church that should
be the teacher of the nations. This is
one great character II had almost said the
greatest charucter) i'll the glorious idea of
the church of God rs set before us in the
Holy Scriptures.
WHY HE BECAME "a CATHOLIC.
II suppose that you are IL aware. my
beloved bro thren, that am but recent
convert to the Holy Catholic Church and
though | stand before YOU here to dav IL
| man advanced in years and full of sad cy-
perience, yet am the youngest priest i'm
the diocese. And it seems proper that |
should begin my humble ministry amonp
you by giving some account of myself
and the way by which | came to this
| great grace in which I am. | am often
| asked the question, What was it that
influenced you to become II Catholicy'
What was the chief motive, tie great
reason, that decided you:' 1t is very
hard question to answer, . for this
matter OF motives and reasons is very
| complicated one in every heart Often
men think they are acting from one mo-
tive, when really they are influenced by
another. But this dare shy, that, as
nearly as can read my own heart. my
| great desire WAS and has been ard is to
obey God, to submit to the holy church
| which he has established and receive the
| grace and salvation that He has entrusted
| to her.
PAINFUL EX PERIENCES.
| Il was brought up ty devout and rclig.
| ious parents in the most Protestant of
| Protestant denominations. was nearly
of age before the fact dnwned on my mind
| that the Lord Jesus founded IL church i'm
| the world TO carry on the work of redcmp-
| ton. sought for that church. and after
not Il few painful experiences | imagined
that found it in the Protestant Episco-
pal Church Her form of government
her ostensible faith her beautiful forms
of worship and her theoretic discipline