The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-07-29

holy enthusiasm hearty congregational
singing can accomplish. While each
denomination of Christians must set
forth all the doctrines of the Bible, /
feel it is especially incumbent upon
each denomination to put particular
emphasis on some one doctrine.
Another great damage done by the
sectarianism and bigotry of the church
is that it disgusts people with the
Christian religion. Now, my friends,
the church of God was never intended
for a war barrack. People are afraid
of riot. You go down the street and
you see an excitement and missiles
flying through the air, and you hear
the shock of firearms. Do you, the
peaceful and industrious citizen, go
through that street? Oh, no. you will
say: "i'll go around that block" Now
men come and look upon this harrow
path to heaven and sometimes see the
ecclesiastical brcikbats flying every
whittier, and they say: well, guess
I'll take the broad road. There is SO
much sharpshooting on the narrow
road guess Phi try the broad road"
Francis l. so hated the Lutherans
that he said that if he thought that
there was one drop of Lutheran blood
in his veins he would puncture them
and let that drop out Just AS long as
there is so much hostility between de-
nomination and denomination, or be.
tween one professed Christian and an
other, or between one church and an.
other, so long will men be Disguised
with the Christian religion, and say:
IF that is religion, want none of it."
But now, my friends, having shown
you the or gin of bigotry or sectarian-
ism, and having shown You the dam
age il does, l want briefly to show you
how we are to war against this terri
BILE evil, and think we ought to begin
our war by realizing our own weak
ness and our imperfections. If we
make so many mistakes in the common
affairs of life, is il not possible that
we may make mistakes in regard to
our religious affairsP Shall we take
a man by the throat or by the col.
lar because he cannot see religious
truths just as we doP In the light
of eternity it win be found out, think,
there was something wrong in all our
creeds, and something right in all our
creeds, but since we may make mis-.
takes in regard to things of the world,
do not let us be so egotistic and sc
pulled up as to have an idea that we
cannot make any mistake in regard &c
religious theories And then | think
we will do great deal to overthrow
the sectarianism from our heart, and
the sectarianism from the world, by
chiefly charging in those things in
which we agree, rather than those on
which we differ.
Now, here is great gospel plat
form. A man comes up on this side OF
the platform and says: 81 don't be-
lieve in baby sprinkling." Shall
shove him Off? Here is a man coming
up on this side of the platform, and he
says: II don't believe in the persever.
ance of the saints" Shall l shove
him off? No l will say: DO you
believe in the Lord Jesus as your
Saviour? Do you trust Him for time
and for eternity?" Yes" DO you
take Christ for time and for eternityP"
Yes" ! say: Come on, brother;
one in time and one in eternity;
brother now, brother forever"
Blessed be God for gospel platform
so large that all who receive Christ
may stand on IL!
Perhaps | might forcefully illus
trate this truth by calling your atten.
tion TO an incident which took place
% years ago. One Monday morning
at about . o'clock, while her 900 pas
senRers were sound asleep in her
berths dreaming of home, the steamer
Atlantic crashed into Mars Head.
Five hundred souls in ten minutes
landed in eternityl Oh, what a scenel
Agonized men and women running
up and down the gangways and
clutching for the rigging, and the
plunge of the helpless steamer and
the clapping of the hands of the
merciless sea over the drowning and
the dead, threw two continents into
terror. But see this brave quarter.
master pushing out with the lifeline
until he gets to the rock; and see these
fishermen gathering up the ship
wrecked and taking them into the
cabins and wrapping them in the
hannels snug and warm; and see that
minister of the gospel with three
other men, getting into a lifeboat and
pushing out for the wreck, pulling
away across the surf and pulling
away until they saved one more man,
and then getting back with him TO
the shore. Can those men ever for
get that nightp And can they
ever forget their companionship in
peril, companionship in struggle, com
partnership in awful catastrophe and
rescue? Never! Neverl In what
every part of earth they meet, they will
be friends when they mention the
story of that night when the Atlantic
struck Mars Head. Well, my friends,
our world has gone into worse ship
wreck. Sin drove it on the rocks.
The old ship has lurched and tossed in
the tempests of 5000 years Out with
the lifeline! do not care what de-
nomination carries IL. Out with the
lifeboat! do not care what denomi-
nation rows it, Side by side, in the