The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-03-08
DR.. BARTON'S FAREWELL
SERMON.

SERMON.
DR.. Barton will not, as he said yester-
day morning in reading the notices, be
the ''late pastor Of Shawmut Church till
after March l, "and even then, If COM
pare the beautiful watch which was
given to me on Friday night with the
watch given to Mrs. Barton, l shall have
very little excuse for being the 'late"
pastor" said DR.. Barton, smiling gently.
But though he will be the pastor till
March /, none the less he took his formal
farewell of the church yesterday, preach
ing his farewell sermons in the morning
and at the evening prayer meeting
Morning Sermon.
The text of the morning discourse was
taken from the fifteenth verse, third
chapter of Paul's first letter to Timothy,
and dealt with the divine authority of
the church. Or. Barton did not bear on
his own severance from the parish heav-
lily, but alluded to it just once, evidently
feeling it too deeply to talk much about
it.
The text was a part of the verse, "The
church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth" DR.. Barton said
in part:
paul talks much more about the
church and the churches than any
other Of the New Testament writers.
Christ speaks Of the church only twice.
"These churches were Independent,
local, self-gOverning bodies. The final
appeal in all matters of government was
to the members, and the more or the
majority was taken as standard for
action. They regard the votes Of the
majority as expressing the idea of the
whole body, while the minority was to
be heard with patience. 1t was not a
tyrannical majority rule.
Now Church Speaks.
paul always speaks of the church Of
God with special reference to its rela-
tiOns to the truth. We speak uf the
church as though it had no special au-
thOrity, but contained only so much Of
wisdom, or so much of piety, as is repre-
sented by the wisdom or piety, Of the
total Of members. But was it not said,
'0n this rock will found my churches
whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye
loose on earth, the same shall be loOsed
in heaven The church OF God, in so far
as it represents the spirit Of God, speaks
with an authority that is more than
earthly authority, and a wisdom that is
more than earthly wisdom.
"And what boots it to pray, Sabbath
after Sabbath, that God will send US His
spirit, if we lOcalize all revelation in the
past. Gods promise did not set an end
to revelation when the bible should have
reached its present size.
''By revelation do not mean that the
world is given the power to foresee COM
ing events as such. Only once in long
time does the world need to know the
future in advance. He who understands
today may know something of tomorrow
by the understandings of faith. The
world is better off for not always know
ing the future in advance.
"But all is lost and hOpelessly lost II
the spirit Of God does not enlighten OuI
understandings of the things Of today.
About the Bible.
"The bible has largely grown out Of
the church. Not page Of 1t existed fol
hundreds and thousands OF years while
the work Of God was doing. When the
New Testament church was established,
it existed for many years before the New
Testament was written. Today, II the
choice lay between sending out mission
aries without the bible, or the bible
without missionaries, would say send
out the missionaries every time.
There is always the supplementary
bible, so to speak the book Of human
experience which every man who Il
led by Gods spirit contributes his page
Church af Christ.
THE Church Of Christ on the whole
has borne faithful witness in the world
No other organization Of which I hay,
heard is comparable with 1t for earnest
ness and continuity Of labor. am will
ing to be told that there are Judases ant
apOstates, and that for two and thre,
generations at time there have beer
great lapses in faith, for In what az,
has the Church Of Christ not been meas
urably above the life outside Of It
Even in the Dark Ages II is shown tina
the church was not wholly apOstate