The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-11-27
present DAY PERILs."
Rev. Spencer B. Meeser Talks on the
Obstacles in the Path of the Church.


Rev. Spencer B. Meeser Talks on the
Obstacles in the Path of the Church.
At the First Baptist church last
night Rev. Spencer B. Meeser preached
from the subject present day perilsi
the perils to the church" His text
ives Ephesians WIS, 26 and 27. Rev. Mr.,
Meeser said in substance: The church
was the first expression of the life OF
Christ in the life of man. Its mem
bers came together, drawn by the fact
that they had all been saved by Jesus.
They found that they had similar de-
sires and common loves which arose
out of their equally personal faith in
Jesus Christ. They did not meet and
organize the church; they came togeth-
er because they found they had some
sacred and holy things in common.
The church was born in the hearts of
the people who had accepted. Jesus
Christ. 1t is not necessary to think
that Jesus instituted the church; in
deed, there is no account of his hav-
ing done so. He is the animating soul
of the church, and it is his body
through which he has worked for the
salvation of the race and has brought
the knowledge of God to mankind.
When men cease to be then the church
will cease to be; but not until then UNI
less God changes his purpose and
turns to some other plan Of providence
and of revelation. But there is a peril
that men will come to disregard the
church; that they will hold it in con-
tempt because it does not rise to the
dignity Of it's origin; that they will I'M
dervalue it because they think they
can do without it. There is the peril
that it will lose it's influence in the
world and in public life, because men
have lost sight of the divine origin of
it and come to think that it is simply
a human institution with no claim to
regard other than that which any
humanity organized society may have.
There is the peril that it may lose its
value because it is willing to stand for
other than the things that are essen
TALLY Christian. There is always the
danger that it will fail to represent
the great facts and truth of the life
of Jesus and permit itself to become
the advocate of trifiing distinction and
theology or the propagation of a sectari-
an propaganda. Here is where the per-
il of the loss of it's power and influence
lies.
Among the forms which this peril
takes, may be mentioned first, the peril
of over emphasis. When men say that
to be good or to be saved by the mercy
of God, a man must belong to the
church, they mean well, but they claim
what Jesus did not teach, and what
the apostles never affirmed What
ever else the Bible says of the church,
it does not teach that membership is
essential to salvation. Salvation is the
gift of God, and God does not make a
gift with a string to it.
Second. there is the danger of under
emphasis. Men sometimes claim too
little for the church and its duties.
While it is not a mortal sin not to join
the church of Jesus, it is wrong for
follower of the master not to belong to
his church. Sometimes this attitude
of disregard represents a mean spirit
that is inconsistent with the spirit of
Jesus. niggardly soul is not after
the pattern Christ.
Third, there is in the ill-adjustment
Of the church to the actual life and
needs of the day, a still more evident
peril. There should be no retreat to
denonlinationalism, but a steady adj
vance toward the ethical and social
aims of Christianity toward the actual
redemption of life as men have to live
it. and to the correction of the ills of
sin as they have wrought themselves
into the fabric of our homes and So
ciety.
The church is worldly minded. We
Go not lay enough emphasis on the
spiritual and the eternal in our own
conduct. Our life does not set the
righc example to the men in the world.
We are caught in the swirl of material
ism and are in the chase for the things
of this world as deeply as they whom
we seek to have look to the interests
of the soul. We are easily turned aside
from the work and worship of the
church. and are also so consumed with
the fervor of business that when the
call of the master comes, we cannot
give the service at all, or can give only
weary response to his command. Let
us give heed to ourselves.