The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-20
At THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
SERMON BY REV. CLARENCE T
BROWN LAST EVENING.
Reasons Why One Should Join a
Church-A Confession of Faith
and Hope.

The subject of Dr.. Browns lecture at
the First Congregational church last
night was: why and when one should
! join a church" He spoke for thirty
minutes. The speaker put mis- remarks
under two general heads. He said one
should join the church because, in the
! first place, ne needed the church, anu,
| in the second place, the church needed
| him. a Christian needs the great or
ganization which the church offers
Purely speculative morality has always
been useless: but you say the church
has made mistakes. Granted Let me
ask you whether you ever knew GOV
eminent that die not make mistakes
But would you not prefer almost any
kind OF government that you know or
to sheer anarchy. Would you aoohSh
lighthouses because now and then a
keeper sleeps at his post and ship IS
lost? You need the church in the. sec
ond place because of its stated times
and duties. Spontaneous goodness is a
rare article. Easy writing comes only
from hard writing. Easy righteousness
&C mes only from sturdy discipline. 1t
is not the absence of a skeleton" said
Beecher, that makes man lonesome
There is much to be said for a system
of obligations which one takes upon
only by patient following of the copy at
the top OF the page.
The speaker said that the strongest
argument that could be put, however,
for man joining the church, would be
that the church needs him and offers
him an opportunity for better service
Who would willingly live in a country
without Christian churches and institu-
tons? AS Grant said at the opening or
the war, the government is educating
me, and it has a right to my services,
and so a thoughtful man might say,
christianity has brought me liberty
and salvation. and, so far as | am able
to see, it has come largely through the
churches"
The sense OF obligation would lead
man to offer himself and his services
in return. If a man is thoroughly con-
WINGED that he ought to join a church.
the question of time is easily settled.
He ought to do it just as one would do
any other duty-as soon as 1t presents
itself. Just as soon as he comes TO that
conclusion and the opportunity offers.
You do not wait for feeling to push you
into doing your duty. Why should you
wait for it to push you into the church?
But you say you are not good enough.
If you really mean that, and honestly
want to do better, that is the very best
reason in the world for joining the
church. You do not go to school be-
cause you say you know everything.
but because you want to know more. l
am not lowering the standard of church
membership, but l am trying TO meet
an objection or two. Joining the church
is not a profession of perfection on
your part, but a confession of faith and
hope in Christ.
One of the stock arguments with I'M
believing lecturers is the awful creed
which he says every church REQUIRES
men to subscribe to on entering it Let
me give you the profession of faith
which one is asked to make when he
joins this church. 1t is so simple and
SO true to the needs of the soul and the
offers of God. that it seems TO me every
earnest disciple of Christ could easily
give his assent to it:
Called of God to be his children
through Jesus Christ our Lord, you are
here that, in the presence of God and
his people. you may enter into the fell
lowship and communion of his Church.
You do truly repent Of your sins; you
heartily receive Jesus Christ as your
crucified Savior and risen Lord: you
conSecrate yourself unto God and your
life TO his service; you accept his word
as your law, and his spirit as your
comforter and guide; and trusting in
his grace to confirm and strengthen
you in all goodness, you promise to do
Gods holy will, and to walk with this
church in the truth ana peace of our
Lord Jesus Christ.