Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-11-24
THE LIVING CHRIST.
INSPIRATION OF THE FUTURE RE-
LlGIoUs DISCOURSE.

DR.. Talmage Predicts That Theology
Must Take n Back Seat - Outlines
His Idea of the Nature of the Conn
ing Sermon.
NCopyrlght. Louis Klopsch. 1891
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19.-1n this dis
course DR.. Talmage addresses all
Christian workers and describes what
he thinks will be the modes Of preach
ing the gospel in the future; text, Ro-
mans xii, {, "Or ministry, let us wait
on our ministering."
While l was seated on piazza Of
hotel at Lexington, Ky, one summer
evening a gentleman asked me, what
do you think of the coming sermonF
! supposed he was asking me in regard
to some new discourse Of DIR. Cumming
of London, who sometimes preached
startling sermons. and | replied, 81
have not seen IT." But found out aft
erward that he meant to ask what !
thought would be the characteristics Of
the coming sermon of the world, the
sermons of the future, the word Cum
ming" as a noun pronounced the same
as the word coming as an adjective.
But my mistake suggested to me a
very important and practical theme
"The Coming Sermon"
Before the world Is converted the
style Of religious discourse will have
to be converted. You might as well
go into the modern Sedan or Gettys-
burg with bows and arrows, instead Of
rifles and bombshells and parks of ar
tillery. as to expect to conquer this
world for God by the old styles OF eX-
hortation and sermonology. Jonathan
Edwards preached the sermons most
adapted to the age In which he lived.
but IL those sermons were preached
now they would divide an audience
into two classes-those sound asleep
and those wanting to go home.
But there 10 a discourse Of the future.
Who will preach it | have no idea. In
what part of the earth it will be born
have no idea. In which denomination
of Christians 1t will be delivered | can
not guess. That discourse of exhorta-
ton may be born In the country meet
ing house on the banks Of the ST. Law
renee or the Oregon or the Ohio or the
Tomblgbee or the Alabama. The per
son who shall deliver ii may this mo-
ment be in n cradle under the shadow
of the Sierra Neyadas or In n New
England farmhouse or amid the rice
fields of southern sayannas, or this mo
ment there may be some young man In
one Of our theological seminaries. ID
the junior or middle or senior class.
shaping that weapon of power. or there
may be coming some new baptism OF
the Holy Ghost on the churches, so
that some Of us who now stand in the
watchtowers Of Zion. waking TO a real
ization OF our present inefficicncy, may
preach it ourselves That coming dis
course may not be 30 years Off. And
let US pray God that it's arrival may
be FASTENED while | announce to you
what think will be the chief char
acteristics of that discourse or exhorta-
ton when II does arrive. and | want TO
make my remarks appropriate and sug-
gestlve to all classes Of Christian work
ers.
A Living Christ.
First Of all. remark that that future
religious discourse will be full Of a liy-
ing Christ In contradistinction to di-
dactic technicalities. \ discourse may
be full of Christ though hardly men
tioning his name, and n sermon may be
empty of Christ while every sentence
is repetitious of his titles. The world
wants a living Christ, not a Christ
standing at the head Of a formal sys-
TEN Of theology, but a Christ who
means pardon and sympathy and con-
dolence and brotherhood and life and
heaven, a poor mans Christ, a rich
mans Christ, an overworked man s
Christ. an invalid's Christ, a farm
er's Christ, a merchants Christ, an
artisans Christ, an every mans Christ
A symmetrical and fine worded sys-
TEN Of theology is well enough for the
illogical classes. but II has no more
business in a pulpit than have the
technical phrases of an anatomlst or
psychologist or physician In the sick
room of a patient. The world wants
help, immediate and world uplifting
and II will come through discourse in
which Christ shall walk right down
into the immortal soul and take ever
lasting possession of It. filling II as full
Of light as is this monday armament
That sermon or exhortation OF the
future will not deal with men in the
thread5are illustrations Of Jesus Christ.
In that coming address there will be
instances of vicarious suffering taken
right out Of everyday life. for there Is
not day when somebody Is not dying
for others-as the physician saving his
diphtheritic patient by sacrificing his
own life; as the ship captain going
down with his vessel while he Is get
ting bis passengers into the llfeboat; as
the fireman consuming In the burning
building while he is taking a child out
OF a fourth story window; as In sum-
mer the strong swimmer at East
Hampton or Long Branch or Cape May
or Lake George himself perished try
ing TO rescue the drowning; as the
newspaper boy one summer. support
ing his mother for some years. his IN
valid mother. when offered by gentle
man 80 cents to get some Special pa
per. and he got II and rushed up In his
anxiety to deliver 1t and was crushed
under the wheels Of the train and lay
on the grass with only strength enough
to say. "Oh. what will become OF my
poor. sick mother nowT Vicarious
suffering-the world is full Of II. An
engineer said to me on locomotive In
Dakota: I'VE men seem TO be coming
to better appreciation than we used TO-
Did you see that account the other day
of an engineer who to save his passen-
gers stuck to his place. and when he
was found dead In the locomotive,
which was upside down. he was found
still smiling. his hand on the air
brakeY And as the engineer said II
to me he put his hand on the airDrake
20 illustrate hfe moaning and / looked