Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1900-11-25

church members. What would Jesus do in the matter of wealthg How would be spend it2 What principle would reg ulate lis use of money2 Would he be likely to live in great luxury and spend ten times as much on personal adorn- ment and entertainment as he spent to relieve the needs of suffering humanity How would Jesus be governed in the making of moneyy Would he take rent als from saloon and other disreputable property or even from tenement prop erty that WAS so constructed that the inmates had no such thing as home and no such possibility as privacy or cleanliness
 .'What would Jesus dc about the great army of unemployed and desper- ate who tramp the streets and curse the church or are indifferent to it. lost in the bitter struggle for the bread that tastes bitter when it is earned on ac- count of the desperate conflict to get it ? l Would Jesus care nothing for them Would he go his way in comparative ease and comfort2 Would he say it was none of his business? Would he excuse himself from all responsibility to remove the causes of such a eondition2
 ..What would Jesus do i'll the center of q civilization that hurries so fast after money that the very girls em- ploYed i'll great business houses are not paid enough to keep soul and body to- gether without fearful temptations, so great that scores of them fall and are swept over the great, boiling abyss; i; where the demands of trade sacrifice hundreds of lads in business that ig- nores all Christian duties toward them in the way of education and moral training and personal affection? Would Jesus if he were here today, as part of our age and commercial industry, feel nothing. do nothing, say nothing, in the face of these facts. which every business man knows2
 ssWhat would Jesus do2 Is not that what the disciple ought to do2 Is he not commanded to follow in his steps2 How much is the Christianity of the age suffering for him Is it denying it. self at the cost of ease, comfort, luxury, elegance of living? What does the age need more than personal sacriice2 Does the church do its duty in following Jesus when it gives 3 little money to establish missjons or relieve extreme caza3 of wantf Is it any sacrifice for a n4sa who is worth $10, 900, 900 simply ta give S10,000 for some benevolent aork2 Is he not giving something that eaets him practically nothing, 50 far as any personal pain or suffering goes2 Is 1t true that the Christian disciples to- day in most of our churches are living soft. easy. selfish lives, very far from any sacrifice that can be called saerifiee2 r Wet would Jesus do2
 ssIt is the personal clement that l Christian diseipIeship needs to empha si..e. The gift without the giver is hsz5 The Christianity that attempts to tzaIler by proxy is not the Christian fly of Christ Each individual Chris tian, business man, citizen. needs to follow i'll his steps along the path of l personal sacrifice for him. There is not a different path today from that of Jesus own times 1t is the same path Tine cail of this dying century and of the new one soon to be is called for a new diseipleship. I now fellowship of Jesus, more like the early, sinlple, apos- tolie Christianity when the disciples left all and literally followed the Mas ter. Nothing but discipleship of this 1 kind eau face the destructive selfishness of the age with any hope of overcoming it. There is a great quantity of nom- inal Christianity today. There is need of more of the real kind. We need q revival of the Christianity of Christ We have, uneonseiously, lazily, selfish ly, formally, grown into discipleship that Jesus himself would net acknowl- edge. He would say to many of us wha III we cry, Lord, Lord, T never knew you. Arc we ready to take I'D the eross2 Is it possible for this church 10 sing with exact truth:
 Jesus, I r.iy cross have taken,
 All to leave and follow thceY
 tIf we can sing that truly. then we may claim discipleship, but if our def- hilton of being q Christian is simply to enjoy the privileges of worship. be gen- erous at no. expense to ourselves have good. easy time. surrounded by pleas ant friends and by comfortable things, live respectfully and at fhe saf1e time avoid the world great stress Of sin and trouble because it is too much pain to bear tiff this is onr definition of Christianity, surely we arc long way from following the steps of him who L. 1sle way with groans and tears and sol s5f anguish for lost humanity wh6 sweat, as it were, great drops of blood who cried out on the upreated e9es. My God. my God. why hast thou fersaken n1e2. 8
 s.6ra we ready to make and live [ new discipleship2 Are we ready to re consider opr definition of q Christian What is if to De a Christian? It is tc initiate Jesfis. II is to do as he would do. It is to walk in his steps'
 When Henry Maxwell finished his sermon, he paused and looked at tht people with look they never forgot and at the moment did not understand