The record-union., 1899-05-08


acter and control your conduct, it is not
the religion of Jesus. justification that
does not make man just is not worth
having. If your trust in Jesus does
not lead people to trust in you, your
faith is vain you are yet in your sins
There is a vast deal of what Erasmus
called "irreligious religion" 1T has be-
come possible says Professor Bruce,
to be very religious and yet to be very
unchristian.' Religion to many people
does not mean rightness. There is a
lamentable divorce between religion and
rightness in many lives. Multitudes to-
day call Jesus Lord, Lord, and constant
ly neglect or refuse to do the things
He commands. man said to me re-
Gently of certain Christian, He is an
example of devout spirituality and in
tense worldly greed These two terms
are the antithesis of each other, and
yet they are yo4zed together to describe
brand of Christianity with which we
are all too familiar.
| was talking with minister in Chi
cago concerning well-known man
whose towering ambition and insatiate
greed had led him to violate every prill-
c1ple of equity and justice and trample
under feet his neighbors in business.
The minister said to me, "He lis a most
devout Christian; he has family pray
ers and is bringing up his family very
religiously He belongs to our church
and attends it most faithfully; is an
officer in it, and gives lavishly to ou-
religious enterprises What does that
mean? 1t means that the man has mis-
roll crin e. ~l.~
TheolOgically he believes in loving his
nelghbor, and commercially he would
cut his neighbours throat. He would
give money to the fatherless and wId-
ows in their affection, and next day,
without pang of conscience, wreck
the business of his neighbor and ride to
fortune over the failure of his Compel
itors. Millions reply to a plea for
Charles l. answers this and similar
cases with clear, moral discernment:
For his private virtues they are be-
side the question. If he Cypress and
extort all day shall he be held blame
less because he prayeth at night AMI
morning?''
We need to understand that relig-
ion without righteousness, devoutness
without Justice, is delusion of Satan
and an abomination in the sight Of God.
Isaiah ridicules it with sarcastic scorn:
ITO what purpose is the multitude of
your sacrifices unto Me, saith the
Icrd? Bring no more vain oblations.
Incense is an abomination unto me
When We make many prayers l will not
near The word of the Lord that came
through Amos is in the same direction.
ha te. r
will take no delight in your solemn
assemblies. Yea. though you offer me
your burnt offerings and meat offer
ings l will not accept them Take
away from me the noise of thy songs
for 1 will not hear the melody Of Thy
yiols. But let justice roll down as
waters and Righteousness as a mighty
stream. Hate the evil, love the good
and establish justice in the courts
Jesus in His day. in stronger language
still, inveighed against the irreligious
righteousness that prevailed about
Him. Woe unto you who 1.-THE
mint and anise and cummin and
leave undone the weightier mat
tiers, who cleanse the outside of
the cup, but within are full of extor-
ton and excess; we make long prayers.
but devour widows houses How can
We escape the damnation of help"
We lave laid too much emphasis on
the doctrine of justification by faith
and not enough on the doctrine ard
duties of the Sermon on the Mount
The fundamental and eternal mo~al-
ties. the ethics of the Gospel, the corsl-
mandments of Jesus, the laws of the
inc 6frra ~ 90 l.
fore the befogged moral vision of wor-
shippers to-day. We must understand
that we cannot be in good and regular
standing in Christ's church without d.
vineness of character; that we cannot
sit at His table without pureness of
heart and cleanness of hand. Religion
is Justice, righteousness, holiness, neral
virillty, ethical soundness. God is
righteous and only he that worketh
righteousness is accepted with Him.
The church of Christ must stand for
Righteousness in the community. In
stead Of some pietistic passage which
may mean much or nothing, let US in
scribe ever our church doors what the
visitor sees inscribed on ST. Marks in
Venice: Around this temple let the
merchants law be just, his weights
true and his covenants faithful"
The church has made the people IA
miliar with the Twenty third Psalm.
ltsis time they We're familiarized with
the Fifteenth Psalm: Lord who shall
abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall
dwell in Thy holy hill? He. that walk
eth uprightly and worketh right eous-
ness and speaketh the truth IN his
q ha 4 ali ~
his tor que nor doeth evil to his neigh
Der. nor taketh up reproach against
his neighbor. In whose eyes vile per-
sol Is condemned; but he honoreth
them that fear the Lord. He that
sweaTeth to his own hurt and changeth
net. He that putteth not out his money
TO usury nor taketh reward against the
innocent. He that doeth these things
shall never be moved" He who would
say l have preached righteousness in
the great congregation must emphasize
these qualities of character and con-
duct
We need an ethical revival. We need
a revival that will infuse into political
and commercial life the fire of a loftier
morality. We need a revival on the
basis of the ten commandments and
the sermon on the mount Men need
instruction in Righteousness. Clear
ideas of oughtness and Brightness
must be given by the pulpit. The
conscience needs to be aroused. and
1t needs to be enlightened as well as
aroused. Moralvisioned men are
needed in the pulpit to teach the ethics
OF the gospel. Men must be made to
understand that religion is something
more than saying prayers and singing
hymns and signing creeds. 1t is some
thing more than a pious wish. It is