St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-11-03
and French encycloredianism and
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scorbhtic symptoms: Many of us come
out OF the theological semiharies SO
loaded UP that we take the first ten
years to show our people how much we
know and the next ten years to get
our people to know as much as we
know, and at the end find that neither
| of us knows anything as we ought to
know. Here are hundreds OF thousands
of SHINING. struggling. and dying peo-
| pie who need to realize just one thing
that Jesus Christ came to save them
and will save them now. But we got
into a profound and elaborate detini-
ton of what jurisdiction is, and after
all the work there are not. outside OF
the learned. professions, 10000 people
who can tell what Justification Is. |
will read you the definitions: "Justiti-
cation is purely forensic act. the act
of Judge sitting in the forum. in
which the Supreme fuller and Judge.
who is accoun table to none and who
alone knows the manner in which the
ends of His universal government can
best be obtained, reckons that which
was done by the substitute in the same
manner as if it had been done by those
who believe in the substitute, and pure
~ on account of this gracious method
of reckoning grants them the full re-
mission of their sins"
Now, what is justification? l Will
tell you what justification is-when
n sinner believes, God let's him on.
One summer in Connecticut went to
a large factory, and I saw over the
door written the words: NO Admit
ance." 1 entered and saw over the
next door: "No Admittance. of
course I entered. l got inside and
found a pin factory, and they were
making pins. very serviceable. hne
and useful pins. So the spirit OF
exclusiveness has practically writ
ten over the outside of many a
church: "No Admittance." And if the
stranger enters he finds practically
written over the second door: NO
Admittance," and If he goes in. over
all the pew doors seems written: No
Admittance," while the minister
stands in the pulpit, hammering ont
his little niceties OF belief, pounding
out the technicalities of religion, maxi
ing pins in the most practical. com.
mon sense way, and laying aside the
nonessentials and the hard defini-
tions of religion. so out on the God
given mission, telling the people what
they need and when and how they can
get it.
Comparatively little effort as yet
has been made to save that large
class of persons in our midst called
skeptics, and he who goes to work
here will not be building upon an
other mans foundation. There is
large number of them. They are
afraid of us and our churches fol-
the reason we do not know how to
treat them. One of this class met
Christ. And hear with what tender
ness and pathos and beauty and sue
cess Christ dealt with him: Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and with all thy soul and
with all thy mind and with all thy
strength. This is the first and great
commandment, and the second is
like unto it, namely, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. There is
none other commandment greater
than these" And the scribe said to
him: "Well, master, thou hast said
the truth, for there is one God. and
to love Him with all the heart and all
the understanding and all the SOU
and all the strength is more than
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he an
swered discreetly He said unto him:
"Thou art not far from the kingdom
of God" So a skeptic was saved in
one interview. But few Christian
people treat the skeptic in that way
Instead of taking hold of him will
the gentle hand of love, we are apt
to take him with the pinchers of &c
clesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that
man if you knew how he lost hi:
faith in Christianity. l have known
men skeptical from the fact that
they grew up in houses where reli
gion was overdone. Sunday was thu
most awful day in the week. The.
had religion driven into them will
trip hammer. They were surfeitet
. with prayer meetings. They wer'
, stuffed and choked with catechisms
They were often told that they were
the worst boys the parents ever knew
because they liked to ride down hill
, better than to read Bunyan's ''Pil
D-ox~rc.e Whopovar f0fho,
and mother talked of religion, the!
| drew down the corners of theil
/. mouth and rolled up their eyes. /
I any one thing will send a boy o.
girl to ruin sooner than another
that is it. If had such father ant
I mother / fear / should have been n
. infidel.
Others were tripped up to skepti
cism from being grievously wronget
: by some man who professed to be ;
Christian. They had a partner il
: business who turned out to be first
class scoundrel. though a professe'
: Christian. Many years ago they los
all faith by what happened in an OF
company which was formed amid tn
petroleum excitement. The com
pany owned no land. or If they di'
there was no sign of oil produced
but the president Of the company wa
a Presbyterian elder. and the treas
urer was an Episcopalian vestrymar
and one director was a Methods
class leader and the other director
porminent members of Baptist an
Congregational churches. Circular
were gotten out telling what fabulou
prospects opened before this company
Innocent men and women who had
little money to invest. and that ittl
, their all, said: 81 do not know any
, thing about this company, but S
I many good men are at the head of
that it must be excellent, and tai
; ing stock in it must be almost a
| good as joining the church." S
; they bought the stock and perhap
received one dividend so as to kee
! them still, but after awhile the
/. found that the company had reol
! ganized, and had a different pres
/ dent ard different treasurer and di,
, ferent directors. Other engagement